Tag Archives: careers
9 killed in Indian consulate blast in Afghanistan
9 killed in Indian consulate blast in Afghanistan (Reuters) / 4 August 2013 Suicide bombers attacked the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s eastern capital Jalalabad on Saturday, killing nine people, including children, mostly in an adjacent mosque, officials said. Twenty-three people were injured. Guards at a checkpoint stopped the three attackers as their car approached the building around 10am, the office of Gul Agha Sherzai, governor of Nangarhar province, said in a statement. Two attackers leapt out of the car and a gunfight broke out, while the third remained inside and detonated his explosives. The blast badly damaged the mosque and dozens of homes and small shops in the area. All three assailants were killed in the explosion. The Taleban, which spearheads armed opposition to Western-backed President Hamid Karzai’s government, denied it was responsible. “Explosion in front of India’s Consulate in Jalalabad. All Indians officials safe,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said on Twitter. The bombing followed a world-wide travel alert issued by the United States on Friday, saying that Al Qaeda could be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. The United States has ordered the closure of 21 embassies and consulates on Sunday, including its Kabul mission. All the casualties were civilians, the governor said, though one health official said a soldier was among the injured. Most of those killed or injured were inside the adjacent mosque, according to Nangarhar police chief Mohammad Sharif Amin. India’s Kabul embassy came under attack in both 2008 and 2009, with dozens of people killed. The eastern border province of Nangarhar, and its capital Jalalabad, have long been a hotbed of insurgent activity. In June, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) decided to withdraw foreign staff and suspend some activities in the area after an attack that killed a guard and injured three others. The assault was the first of its kind on the strictly neutral ICRC in Afghanistan since it started operations in the country in 1987. On Friday, a five-hour battle between Afghan security forces and Taleban fighters in the province’s Shirzad district killed dozens of Afghan police and insurgents, officials said. Continue reading
Pakistan suicide attacks death toll rises to 57
Pakistan suicide attacks death toll rises to 57 (AFP) / 27 July 2013 Twin suicide attacks rocked a busy marketplace in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 57 people and injuring more than 160 others, officials said, in the deadliest attack to hit the country during the holy month of Ramadan. The explosions at the bazaar in Parachinar, the main town of Kurram tribal district on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, sent handcarts flying as shoppers bought food to open their fasts at sunset. Officials said the death toll has risen to 57 people in the twin blasts. More than 160 others have been injured in the attack. “We have sent 20 critically wounded people to major hospitals in Peshawar and Kohat to save their lives,” he added. Parachinar administration officials said both blasts were carried out by suicide bombers. “There were two blasts in the main bazaar of Parachinar. These were carried out by two suicide bombers who walked into the crowded market,” Riaz Mehsud, a senior administration official, told AFP. Mehsud said the market was packed with people and that handcarts were sent flying after the blasts, which also damaged up to 15 shops and two cars. “We found many body parts, including parts of the suicide bombers. There was blood and human flesh at the blasts site,” he said. The bombers struck in a largely Shia area but officials said they could not immediately identify the victims. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. “Many bodies can’t be identified because they have been mutilated very badly,” Salahuddin, a health technician at the hospital, told AFP. He said lists of the dead and injured were still being drafted, adding “I fear that the number of the dead and wounded people from this attack may rise.” Kurram is frequently the scene of sectarian violence between Pakistan’s Sunni Muslim majority and Shiite minority. Friday’s attacks come two days after suicide gunmen and car bombers attacked a government complex housing offices of Pakistan’s top intelligence agency in the southern town of Sukkur. Continue reading
President, VP congratulate Queen Elizabeth II on arrival of great grandson
President, VP congratulate Queen Elizabeth II on arrival of great grandson (Wam) / 23 July 2013 The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a cable of greetings to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the arrival of her great grandson. Similar cables of greetings were sent to Queen Elizabeth II by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. Continue reading
