Militant infighting kills 17 in Iraq’s Kirkuk

KIRKUK: Militants who fought together to capture swathes of Iraqi territory have turned their weapons on each other during clashes in Kirkuk province that cost 17 lives, sources said Saturday.

The fighting erupted on Friday evening between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Army of the Men of the Naqshbandiyah Order (JRTN) in Hawija, in Kirkuk province, said the sources.

There were differing accounts as to what sparked the firefight, which is a potential sign of the fraying of the Sunni insurgent alliance that has overrun vast stretches of territory north of Baghdad in less than two weeks.

One security official said JRTN fighters had refused an ISIL demand to give up their weapons and pledge allegiance to the jihadist force.

Witnesses, however, told the two sides clashed over who would take over multiple fuel tankers in the area.

Analysts have noted that while the insurgents, who are led by ISIL but also include a litany of other groups including loyalists of now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, have formed a wide alliance, it is unclear if the broader grouping can hold together given their disparate ideologies.

ISIL espouses an extremist interpretation of Islam and wants to establish an Islamic state, whereas other armed groups have political differences with the regime in Baghdad, suggesting the alliance could eventually break down.

"If history repeats itself, then ISIL, because it´s got a transnational goal of a caliphate, because it´s radical, because it´s got this ludicrously absurd... approach to Islam, they can´t help but break that coalition," said Toby Dodge, head of the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics.

ISIL, which is seen as the most capable militant group in Iraq, has for months clashed with groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad in neighbouring Syria, where it also operates and where it is seen as far more extremist than even Al-Qaeda´s front group in the country.

 

New tornadoes tear through US South, 17 dead

WASHINGTON: Fresh storms hit Mississippi and the US Southeast Monday, threatening tens of millions of people a day after tornadoes killed 17 and ripped up homes in nearby states.

A tornado swept through the northern city of Tupelo around 2.30 pm (1930 GMT), the National Weather Service said, adding that a crew was en route to survey the damage.

Parts of Alabama were also at high risk of severe storms, with a moderate risk affecting portions of Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi as the system traveled east, with numerous tornadoes expected.

The National Weather Service said more than 49 million people living in the watch areas were threatened by the storms, upwards of 1.4 million of them in high-risk areas.

In the hardest-hit parts of Arkansas, emergency crews intensified their search for survivors, as residents of the close-knit community of Vilonia surveyed the damage.

Dozens of Arkansas National Guard troops were assisting local authorities with medical evacuations, fresh water deliveries and search and rescue operations.Vilonia police chief Brad McNew said the town of 4,000 had been rendered unrecognizable.

"It´s houses completely down to the foundations," he told NBC television. Through the night, rescuers used searchlights in blacked-out areas, sifting through mountains of rubble in the hopes of finding someone alive.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said 14 people had been killed in the state -- an earlier figure of 15 was revised as one victim was counted twice -- while an official in Oklahoma state said there were at least two tornado victims there.

Local media reported another fatality in the state of Iowa. McNew said more would have been killed if not for emergency sirens that warned people the twister was about to hit.

"I went to a tornado shelter myself with my family which was a couple miles away from where we were at.

A lot of people in the community were there. And so, it did work," he said."If you see the destruction that is here, even though we´ve lost some lives, there are many lives that was saved because of the storm warnings.

"Vilonia was struck three years ago by a tornado that took almost the same path, but Sunday´s twister was "a lot worse," McNew said.

Twisters also devastated large sections of the town of Mayflower, population 2,300, just northwest of the Arkansas state capital, Little Rock.

Rival groups’ clash leaves 17 dead in North Waziristan

MIRANSHAH: A fierce clash between two rival groups has killed 17 persons in North Waziristan in the past three days, Geo News reported on Saturday.

According to the official sources, the violent clash between Pipli and Madakhel groups over disputed land is continuing for the past three days in data Khel Tehsil of North Waziristan. Due to the dispute, 17 persons have so far lost their lives while 14 others got injured.

Both the groups are fearlessly using missile, tanks, rockets and other automatic weapons against each other.

Tension has gripped the area due to which the local residents are migrating to other safer areas.

Rival groups’ clash leaves 17 dead in North Waziristan

MIRANSHAH: A fierce clash between two rival groups has killed 17 persons in North Waziristan in the past three days, Geo News reported on Saturday.

According to the official sources, the violent clash between Pipli and Madakhel groups over disputed land is continuing for the past three days in data Khel Tehsil of North Waziristan. Due to the dispute, 17 persons have so far lost their lives while 14 others got injured.

Both the groups are fearlessly using missile, tanks, rockets and other automatic weapons against each other.

Tension has gripped the area due to which the local residents are migrating to other safer areas.

17 killed as train bombed at Sibi Railway Station

 

QUETTA: Seventeen passengers were killed and about 50 wounded on Tuesday when militants bombed a Rawalpindi-bound train parked at the Sibi Railway Station 120 km southeast of Quetta, hospital sources and officials said.
The blast came a day after the security forces said they had killed 30 separatist militants in one of the biggest clashes in months in the Balochistan province. The United Baloch Army claimed responsibility, saying the bombing was in retaliation to the security forces’ raids.

The bomb went off in the Jaffar Express in a carriage reserved for men. The explosion occurred when the passengers were disembarking. Eight members of a family were among the dead.

Two carriages quickly became engulfed in an inferno as the passengers, some of whom were on fire, screamed and struggled to escape, senior police official Mohammad Nazar, who was at the scene, said.

“We have recovered 12 bodies from the train. They have been burnt to charcoal,” he said, adding one of the injured had died after being taken to a military hospital in the town.Sher Khan Bazai, a senior administration official, confirmed the incident. “24 patients are in a critical condition; they will beshifted to Quetta as soon as they are stable enough to travel,” he said, adding that the injured included six women and four children.

According to police sources, explosive material was placed inside the train that exploded at the railway station after 10 minutes of the arrival of Jaffar Express.A bogie carrying at least 80 passengers was completely damaged when it caught fire after the explosion. Bomb Disposal Squad reached the scene while security was put on high alert.

Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said at least 12 people had died in the blast and added that involvement of a woman was suspected in the incident.He said there was no arrangement at the railway station to search female passengers.

Talking to Pakistan Television, he said foreign elements were involved in the blast to create terror in the province. He said investigation was underway to identify if the blast was remote-controlled or of other type.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said 20 injured persons had been shifted to Civil Hospital Sibi. Rescue teams reached the site and shifted the injured to hospitals for treatment. The victims included women and children.

Emergency was declared at the Sibi Civil Hospital and at the burns ward of Bolan Medical Complex, Quetta where some seriously burnt people were shifted.According to reports, no surgeon was present at the facility which was also facing shortage of medicines and other resources.

Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the blast resulting into loss of precious human lives.In a condolence message, the prime minister sympathised with the bereaved families and prayed for the departed. He directed the authorities concerned to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.

In his condolence message, President Mamnoon Hussain condemned the blast and sympathized with the bereaved families.The president, who is on a two-day visit to Quetta, directed the authorities concerned to ensure provision of best medical assistance to the injured.

 

15 of the same family out of 17 killed in Chakwal traffic mishap

CHAKWAL: Sixteen bodies out of the seventeen killed in yesterday’s traffic mishap have been shifted to Qasba Chota Sahiwal of Sargodha on Sunday morning, Geo News reported.

Among the dead 15 persons including three children and four women of the same family are included, whose funeral prayers would be offered this evening.

Sources said 67 persons from a village Chota Sahiwal of Sargodha were on board a mini-truck on its way to Pir Khara Darbar from Kallar Kahar. On a sharp steep turn, the driver lost control of the truck and it fell into a 150-foot deep ditch, killing 17 persons. The driver of the truck was also injured in the mishap.

Chakwal DCO rushing to the scene of incident arranged shifting of the victims to the hospital. He said that majority of the victims of this traffic accident were women and children. More than 40 injured are under treatment in the hospital, while the dead would be buried in Sargodha.

 

EU freezes assets of ousted Ukrainian leader, Yanukovych and 17 others

European Union (EU), a 28-nation bloc on 6 March 2014 froze the assets of Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted Ukrainian leader and Mykola Azarov, the ex-premier. The assets of other 16 former ministers, businessmen and security chiefs were also frozen. The assets were frozen on grounds of fraud as the Ukrainian officials suspected the misuse of state funds and violation of human rights.

This decision was taken by the leaders of European Union during an emergency summit held in Brussels. The summit was held to discuss the crisis in Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which at present is under de-facto control of pro-Russian forces.

Earlier, the foreign ministers of EU on 20 February 2014 decided to apply sanctions to any Ukrainian officials who were deemed as responsible for violence against protesters. But the final decision was made during the emergency talks.

These 18 people were listed in the official journal of European Union and these people have been targeted as the people who are subject to criminal proceedings in Ukraine to investigate crimes in connection with the embezzlement of Ukrainian state funds and their illegal transfer outside Ukraine.

These sanctions will be in effect for an initial period of 12 months with an aim to enable Ukraine’s new authorities to recover the frozen funds. Similar moves were also announced by Austria. Swiss authorities have also ordered freeze of assets of all the 18 people including Yanukovych and Oleksandr. Liechtenstein has also frozen the bank accounts of the same officials.

In another movement, MPs in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea have also voted to formally become part of the Russian Federation.