lifepace

Sunday, July 27, 2014

15 killed in wave of attacks in Afghanistan

As reported in 'The Japan News' : 15 killed in wave of attacks in Afghanistan 9:29 pm, July 27, 2014 The Associated Press KABUL (AP)—Attacks across Afghanistan, including hundreds of Taliban fighters swarming police checkpoints across the south, killed at least 15 people Saturday, officials said, as a recount in the country’s presidential election halted before a major holiday. The Taliban attacks focused on Kandahar Province, where Taliban fighters killed six police officers—including a district police chief—in assaults on some 15 checkpoints, said Dawa Khan Menapal, a spokesman for the provincial governor. Menapal said reinforcements later arrived to combat the Taliban fighters and the combat continued into Saturday night. In Helmand Province, a bomb hidden inside a motorcycle killed four civilians and wounded four others in Marjah district, said Omer Zwak, a spokesman for the province’s governor. In Kabul, a bomb blast killed an army officer and wounded his driver, said a police spokesman. In Herat Province, gunmen on motorcycles shot and killed two army officers in the city of Herat, said a provincial security official who spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to brief journalists. In a blow to hoped-for peace talks, the Taliban’s reclusive leader warned Friday that a bilateral security pact allowing thousands of U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond the end of this year will mean more fighting. Mullah Mohammad Omar called on both Afghan presidential candidates not to sign the agreement. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission stopped a recount in the runoff presidential election. Commission Chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani told reporters that the recount will resume later this week after the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Video shows smiling American bomber in Syria

AS reported in 'The Japan News' : Video shows smiling American bomber in Syria 9:36 pm, July 27, 2014

The Associated Press An undated frame grab shows American suicide attacker Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha. The Associated Press BEIRUT (AP)—An Al-Qaida-linked group fighting in Syria has released video of the first American to carry out a suicide attack in the country’s civil war, showing him smiling and saying he looked forward to going to heaven. The Nusra Front released the new video late Friday showing American citizen Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, 22, with other fighters before the May 25 attack that targeted several army positions at the same time. It said two of the other three suicide attackers in the assault in the government-held northwestern city of Idlib were from foreign countries, including one who was identified as being from the Maldives. Abu-Salha appears smiling in the video and speaks in broken Arabic. “I want to rest in the afterlife, in heaven. There is nothing here and the heart is not resting,” Abu-Salha says. “Heaven is better. When people die they either go to heaven or hell. There is happiness beyond explanation.” The video, released by Nusra Front’s media arm, al-Manara al-Baydha, was posted on jihadi websites. Opposition forces previously identified the American who carried out the bombing as Abu Hurayra al-Amriki and said he was a U.S. citizen. The name al-Amriki means “the American” in Arabic. It’s unknown how many people were killed in the bombing. Opposition rebels with the Nusra Front said Abu-Salha’s truck was laden with 16 tons of explosives to tear down the al-Fanar restaurant, a gathering site for Syrian troops.