Six soldiers, 15 militants dead in Kurram operation

TrendPK.com

PARACHANAR: Six security troops were martyred and 15 militants killed in a skirmish in the Jogi area of the northwestern Kurram tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, security officials said.  
 
They said the fight also left three security men and 13 insurgents injured.

Officials said the area was completely cleared of militants following Pak army’s search operation in which heavy artillery was used.

A permanent check post had been established in the area, sources said. TrendPK

UK Army defuses bomb in N Ireland

This was the second time in three months the Spanish bank has been targeted by suspected Irish nationalists opposed to a 1998 peace deal.

Two masked men carried the bomb into the bank branch in the city of Newry, on the border with the Irish Republic, on Monday morning, shouted a warning that the device would go off within 45 minutes and then escaped on foot, police said.

Terrified staff and customers fled the bank in the city centre and police hastily sealed off the area and evacuated nearby businesses.

“This was a viable device which was capable of causing death, serious injury and substantial damage to the area,” said area commander, Chief Inspector Davy Beck.

Dissident pro-Irish paramilitaries have increased their activities in the past few years, bombing businesses and target police officers, in a bid to derail a power-sharing government created as a result of a 1998 peace deal between groups that want Northern Ireland to remain part of Britain and those that want it to re-unite with the Irish Republic.

Gunmen torch 19 NATO oil tankers in Mastung

MASTUNG: Suspected militants attacked a convoy of tankers carrying fuel supplies for coalition forces in Afghanistan, torching 19 vehicles.

The attack took place on Sibi-Quetta Highway in Mastung District of Balochistan.

Fire brigade teams were brought to Mastung from Quetta to extinguish the blaze that could be seen several kilometers away.

Security forces reached the scene and cordoned off the area.

No loss of life was reported in the attack. TrendPK

Gaddafi defiant, govt said talking with rebels

TRIPOLI: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi urged his people early on Monday to “liberate Libya” from NATO and traitors, a day after rebels captured a key town on the road west to Tunisia, severing Tripoli’s main supply route.

Late on Sunday, representatives of Gaddafi’s government were holding talks with rebels at a hotel on the southern Tunisian island of Djerba, a source with direct knowledge of the talks said — though the government spokesman denied it.

The talks followed a dramatic advance by the rebels that won them control of the town of Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli on the coast, enabling them to halt food and fuel supplies from Tunisia to Gaddafi’s stronghold in the capital.

Tripoli was not under immediate threat from a rebel attack, but rebel forces are now in their strongest position since the uprising against 41 years of Gaddafi’s rule began in February, controlling the coast both east and west of Tripoli.

The rebels are helped by NATO aircraft which, under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians from Gaddafi’s forces, are bombing military facilities and equipment that are trying to crush the rebel fighters.

Gaddafi’s speech on Monday, delivered over a poor quality telephone line and broadcast by state television in audio only, was his first public address since rebel fighters launched their latest offensive, the biggest in months.

“The Libyan people will remain and the Fateh revolution (which brought Gaddafi to power in 1969) will remain. Move forward, challenge, pick up your weapons, go to the fight for liberating Libya inch by inch from the traitors and from NATO,” the Libyan leader said.

“Get ready for the fight … The blood of martyrs is fuel for the battlefield,” he said, in what state television said was a live speech.

In Djerba late on Sunday, security staff turned away a Reuters reporter from the hotel where the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the talks between rebel and government representatives were being held.

Lights were on inside the hotel and a man in jeans and t-shirt, a list in his hand, was standing outside with hotel security staff.

In Tripoli, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim blamed Western leaders and the media for the spread of rumours that the government was engaged in talks on the leader’s departure from Libya.

“This information is absolutely incorrect and it is part of a media war against us. Their target is to confuse us, break our spirit, and shake our morale,” he said.

“The leader is here in Libya, fighting for the freedom of our nation. He will not leave Libya,” Ibrahim said.

Gaddafi’s characteristically defiant speech followed a day of action across a swathe of northwest Libya during which rebels said they had seized the town of Surman, next door to Zawiyah, there was fighting in the town of Garyan that controls the southern access to Tripoli, and shooting could be heard near the main Libyan-Tunisian border crossing.

REBEL FLAG

Rebels from the Western Mountains region to the south advanced into Zawiyah late on Saturday, and early on Sunday, about 50 rebel fighters were milling around near the central market, triumphantly shouting “Allahu Akbar!” (“God is greatest”).

The red, black and green rebel flag was flying from a shop. At the point where it passes through Zawiyah, the main highway linking Tripoli to Tunisia was empty of traffic.

Rebel fighters told Reuters there were still forces loyal to Gaddafi in the town, including snipers on tall buildings. Bursts of artillery and machinegun fire could be heard.

One rebel fighter said Gaddafi’s forces controlled the oil refinery on the northern edge of Zawiyah — a strategic target because it is the only one still functioning in western Libya and Gaddafi’s forces depend on it for fuel.

The fighting was spreading west from Zawiyah along the coastal highway towards the main Ras Jdir border crossing with Tunisia. A rebel spokesman called Abdulrahman said rebels had seized Surman, the next town west along the coast from Zawiyah.

But at the border crossing to Tunisia, Libyan customs and immigration officers were operating as usual, despite reports of clashes between rebels and pro-Gaddafi forces in the area late on Saturday.

On another front in Sunday’s fighting, heavy gunfire could be heard from the town Of Garyan, a Reuters reporter in the area said. A rebel fighter told Reuters “We control 70 percent of Garyan. There is still fighting taking place at the moment.”

Government spokesman Ibrahim said Zawiyah and Garyan were “under our full control” but that there were small pockets of fighting in two other locations in the area around Tripoli.

The coastal highway between Tripoli and Tunisia had not been blocked by the fighting, Ibrahim said in a telephone interview on Sunday, but foreigners were not being allowed to use the route “to save them from any bullets here or there”.

Rebels, backed by NATO warplanes, have been trying since February to end Gaddafi’s rule in the bloodiest of the “Arab Spring” uprisings convulsing the Middle East.

After a period of deadlock, the rebels’ advance to the Mediterranean coast near Tripoli represents a major shift in the balance of forces.

Gaddafi says the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants, and has described the NATO campaign as an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya’s oil. AGENCIES

Three Pakistanis killed by car in Birmingham riots

LONDON: Three Pakistani men died Wednesday after being hit by a car during riots in Birmingham, officials said, as witnesses said they died while trying to protect their community from looters.

The deceased include two brothers Shehzad Hussain and Haroon Hussain and another youth Mussavir Ali.

Police said they had arrested a man and launched a murder inquiry after the incident which happened at around 1:00 am (0000 GMT) as Britain’s second largest city suffered from another night of riots.

Paramedics said they found around 80 people at the scene after the men were hit by the car. Two of the men were pronounced dead on the spot and the third died later in hospital.

Witnesses and family members said the victims were Pakistani men and were part of a group protecting the area from looting after local people had left a local mosque.

“People came out of prayers and they were protecting the area. My friends were targeted — they were standing on the side of the road and the car just came and ran them over,” witness Kabir Khan Isakhel said.

Another witness said the incident happened after a car was set ablaze in a nearby street and youths gathered, prompting local people to defend a local shopping area.

“They lost their lives for other people, doing the job of the police,” Mohammed Shakiel said outside the hospital where the men were taken, prompting around 200 people to gather in support.

“They were protecting the community as a whole.”

Several cars drove past the group as it was guarding the stores and the occupants shouted abuse before one vehicle returned and mounted the pavement at “tremendous speed” and hit the men, throwing them into the air, Shakiel said.

Tariq Jahan, the father of Haroon Jahan, one of the men who died, told the BBC: “I’ve got no words to describe what, why he was taken and why this has happened.”

“He was a very good lad, starting at the beginning of his life. He had his whole life ahead of him. It makes no sense why people are behaving like this and taking the lives of three innocent people.”

Police said a 32-year-old man was being held on suspicion of murder. It said the victims were aged 20, 30 and 31.

“West Midlands Police have launched a murder enquiry, arrested one man in connection with the incident and recovered a vehicle nearby which will be examined by forensics experts,” a police statement said.

Britain has been hit by four nights of violent rioting. London was quieter on Tuesday night but the unrest spread to other cities including Manchester and Birmingham. AGENCIES/ TrendPK

North Waziristan: US drone attack kills 4 militants

According to sources, the drones fired two missiles on a house and killed four militants after which fear gripped the area.

The sources further said that the casualties in the attack are feared to be increased.

Four more killed in Karachi

As per details, a political worker Aqeel was targeted by unidentified miscreants near Shumail Homes, Malir. Tension spread in the area after the killing.

Muntazir Ali, an employee of a private bank, was shot dead near City Station. A man was shot dead in North Nazimabad. Police recovered a body from Miran Naka, Lyari.

Snow, rain disrupt routine life in AJK

MUZAFFARABAD: After a break of four days, rain and snowfall returned to Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Saturday.

The latest spell of snow and downpour led to blockage of several roads, paralyzing the normal life in many parts of AJK.

The main road of Neelam Valley continues to remain blocked for the past one week.

It is feared that the continued blockage could cause temporary food shortage in the area. TrendPK

Zardari vows to unearth BBs killers

President Asif Ali Zardari said that killers of Benazir Bhutto (BB) would be uncovered at any cost.

Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, the president said that democratic government will continue reconciliation process. He said that the government will fulfill all the promises made with people. He said that Swat would be made an exemplary city. He said that extremists were wiped out of Swat and the government established its writ in the area. He said that Kaladhaka will also be an ideal city like Islamabad.

Lahore: 13 killed in Urdu Bazaar suicide blast

At least 13 persons have been killed and 52 injured as a suicide bomber blew himself up at Urdu Bazaar Lahore on Tuesday evening at a time when a large number of people were gathered at Karbala Gamay Shah and Data Darbaar to observe Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (R.A) and Urs of Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh (R.A).

According to details, police stopped a suspected person for checking but he threw his bag due to which the blast was occurred at Urdu Bazaar chowk. Head of the suicide bomber has been found.

According to our correspondent, 3 policemen are also among the dead. Rescue teams immediately reached the spot and started relief activities. The injured were shifted to Meo Hospital Lahore where emergency was imposed after the blast. Situation of most of the injured is stated to be critical. Cars and motorcycles were also damaged in the blast. Panic and fear prevailed among the people gathered at Data Darbaar. Police cordoned off the area and asked the people to clear the area to avoid any other untoward incident.

CCPO Lahore Aslam Tareen while talking to trendpk.com has confirmed that it was a suicide blast and the blast was occurred during checking of a suspected bomber.

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