Clashes kill 20 Iraqi security personnel

HILLA: Clashes between security forces and militants near the Iraqi capital killed 20 security personnel on Saturday, an army officer and doctors said.

The fighting in three areas southwest of Baghdad also wounded 22 members of the security forces.

Clashes kill 20 Iraqi security personnel

HILLA: Clashes between security forces and militants near the Iraqi capital killed 20 security personnel on Saturday, an army officer and doctors said.

The fighting in three areas southwest of Baghdad also wounded 22 members of the security forces.

Iraq attacks kill 20

BAGHDAD: A wave of attacks across Iraq, including twin car bombs in an ethnically mixed tinderbox city, killed 20 people Wednesday as a year-long surge of violence showed no signs of let-up.

Nearly 50 people were also wounded in the violence, which struck in and around Baghdad, as well as in Salaheddin and Kirkuk provinces to its north, all areas afflicted by near-daily bloodshed.

In the deadliest attack, two vehicles rigged with explosives went off in the centre of Kirkuk, killing eight people and leaving nine wounded, said provincial health chief Sabah Mohammed.

Kirkuk, an oil-rich ethnically diverse city, lies at the centre of a swathe of territory that Iraqi Kurdistan wants to incorporate into its three-province autonomous region over the objections of the central government in Baghdad.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Elsewhere in north Iraq, two people were killed when a suicide attacker set off a truck bomb in Suleiman Bek, while a corpse booby-trapped with explosives killed a policeman in nearby Tuz Khurmatu.

In the adjoining province of Salaheddin, two separate bombings left a policeman and a soldier dead.

In the capital, meanwhile, a car bomb killed four people in a shopping area of Saba Abkar, while a policeman was shot dead in district in the south.

On Baghdad´s northern outskirts, two policemen were killed by a roadside bomb. (AFP)

Blasphemy: Court summons owners of over 20 channels

 

SARGODHA: A sessions court here on Monday summoned the owners of 20 TV channels and Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rasheed on June 4 (tomorrow) over the broadcasting of material blasphemous to the Ahle Bait.
Muhammad Ilyaz Qadri of village 71 Shumali had filed an application with the additional district and sessions judge against the owners of 20 TV channels, including ARY, Express, Dunya, Samaa TV, Geo News and Dawn News, contending that these channels had been airing religiously controversial programmes for some time. Meanwhile, Geo News also aired a controversial morning show over which it apologised to people, but none of the other channels apologised and brazenly aired vulgar and religiously controversial programmes.

Qadri contended that the channels, now making a hue and cry over a controversial broadcast in the Geo morning show, had themselves aired similar objectionable programmes. Meanwhile, the Imambargah Dur-e-Abbas administrator has filed an application with the sessions court for registration of cases against five TV channels — ARY, Express, Dunya, Samaa and Ab Tak — contending that Geo TV had apologised over the blasphemous broadcast but these channels neither apologised nor were they proceeded against. The court summoned the owners on June 5 (tomorrow).

Bahawalpur correspondent adds: Additional Sessions Judge Bahawalpur Haider Amin Monday issued direction to PS Baghdadul Jadeed police for initiating proceedings against anchorperson Mubashir Lucman and chief executive officers (CEOs) of Express News channel Sultan Lakhani, Dunya TV Mian Aamer Mehmood, ARY, Samaa TV and Ab Tak News for repeatedly airing blasphemous programme on their channels.

The Judge passed the direction while hearing the 22-A petition filed by lawyer Syed Lal Shah in which the petitioner requested action against the above-mentioned CEOs and the anchorperson who had repeatedly aired the blasphemous programme regarding Ahle Bait just in their professional rivalry and their this act had harmed sentiments of the Muslims.

The petition was filed on May 28th and the judge conducted the hearing on June 2 and announced the direction for the action by PS Baghdadul Jadeed. The detailed judgment will be released on Tuesday (today). After the direction former general secretary district bar association Munawar Hussain Bukhari told The News that Geo News apologized on the issue but the above-mentioned channels and Mubashir Lucman had deliberately repeatedly aired the blasphemous programme.

He said the petitioner first requested the PS Baghdadul Jadeed for the case against the CEOs, but on refusal by the police, the petitioner filed the 22-A plea with the District and Sessions Judge Bahawalpur Muhammad Rasheed Qamar, who forwarded the plea to additional sessions judge Haider Amin. He said Tuesday (today) they would approach the relevant police station for the registration of FIR.

Iraq attacks kill 20 as security forces cast ballots

BAGHDAD: Deadly attacks on Monday, including a spate of suicide bombings, killed 20 soldiers and policemen as they cast their ballots ahead of Iraq´s first election since US troops withdrew.

The bombings in Baghdad and north and west Iraq raise serious concerns about the ability of the country´s security forces to protect voters during Wednesday´s general election, when more than 20 million Iraqis are eligible to vote.

They come amid a protracted surge in violence and fears the country is edging towards all-out conflict. Attackers wearing suicide belts hit polling centres in Baghdad and cities north of the capital, while roadside bombs struck military convoys and targeted journalists covering the polling.

At a voting centre in western Baghdad where six security members were killed, ambulances rushed to and fro, collecting the wounded, as soldiers cordoned off the street and ushered passersby away, an AFP journalist said.

Attacks elsewhere left 14 dead overall -- all members of the security forces -- officials said.In the main northern city of Mosul, meanwhile, six journalists were wounded as a bomb went off while they were travelling in a military vehicle to cover police and troops voting.

The blasts shattered an early morning calm, when soldiers and policemen had queued outside voting centres amid tight security across Baghdad and around the country as polls opened, leaving with the traditional purple ink-stained finger indicating they had voted.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, lambasted by critics for allegedly consolidating power and targeting minority groups amid a deterioration of security, is bidding for a third term in the polls with Iraqis frustrated over poor basic services, rampant corruption and high unemployment.

The month-long campaign has seen Baghdad and other cities plastered with posters and decked out in bunting, as candidates have taken to the streets, staged loud rallies and challenged each other in angry debates.

Iraq attacks kill 20 as security forces cast ballots

BAGHDAD: Deadly attacks on Monday, including a spate of suicide bombings, killed 20 soldiers and policemen as they cast their ballots ahead of Iraq´s first election since US troops withdrew.

The bombings in Baghdad and north and west Iraq raise serious concerns about the ability of the country´s security forces to protect voters during Wednesday´s general election, when more than 20 million Iraqis are eligible to vote.

They come amid a protracted surge in violence and fears the country is edging towards all-out conflict. Attackers wearing suicide belts hit polling centres in Baghdad and cities north of the capital, while roadside bombs struck military convoys and targeted journalists covering the polling.

At a voting centre in western Baghdad where six security members were killed, ambulances rushed to and fro, collecting the wounded, as soldiers cordoned off the street and ushered passersby away, an AFP journalist said.

Attacks elsewhere left 14 dead overall -- all members of the security forces -- officials said.In the main northern city of Mosul, meanwhile, six journalists were wounded as a bomb went off while they were travelling in a military vehicle to cover police and troops voting.

The blasts shattered an early morning calm, when soldiers and policemen had queued outside voting centres amid tight security across Baghdad and around the country as polls opened, leaving with the traditional purple ink-stained finger indicating they had voted.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, lambasted by critics for allegedly consolidating power and targeting minority groups amid a deterioration of security, is bidding for a third term in the polls with Iraqis frustrated over poor basic services, rampant corruption and high unemployment.

The month-long campaign has seen Baghdad and other cities plastered with posters and decked out in bunting, as candidates have taken to the streets, staged loud rallies and challenged each other in angry debates.

20 students injured as school van plunges into ravine in Khanpur

KHANPUR: Twenty children were injured when a school van fell into a ravine in Khanpur on Thursday, Geo News reported.

Rescue sources told that the unfortunate van plunged into a ravine due to over speeding in Khanpur that wounded twenty school-going children out of which five were said to be in critical condition.

Seventeen injured children were shifted to Tehsil Headquarter Hospital, Taxila, two children were transferred to PIMS Hospital, Islamabad due to their serious condition while one was brought to Margalla Hospital, Taxila.

 

20 more militants killed as clashes continue in Waziristan

PESHAWAR: Twenty militants were killed in three different incidents of violence as clashes between the fighters of two rival groups of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in South Waziristan and North Waziristan tribal regions continued on Friday.
The clashes began last Monday after unknown people killed two militant commanders, Kasheed Mahsud and Matiur Rahman, in the Shaktoi area of South Waziristan along with three other fighters.

It seems the leadership of two militant groups has decided not to forgive each other though members of the Haqqani network and the TTP Shura intervened and tried to persuade the combatants to stop the fighting.

The Taliban and tribal sources said the fighters of the two groups had spread out to different places in South Waziristan, North Waziristan and settled districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to search and kill their opponents.

The fresh clashes started early in the day when a pickup truck carrying 10 fighters of commander Said Khan alias Sajna came under a rocket attack in the remote and mountainous Shawal Valley of South Waziristan.Taliban sources said all 10 militants onboard died on the spot. Beside others, two commanders of Sajna group identified as Nek Badshah and Nizam were also killed in the attack.

According to Taliban sources, the militants of Sajna group had decided not to bury their slain colleagues before avenging their killing.By Friday evening, the militants of Sajna group reportedly hit a double-cabin pickup truck, carrying the fighters of rival group headed by Commander Sheharyar, with a rocket and killed five people.

Some people said the death toll was higher but the Taliban sources confirmed the loss of five militants in the latest attack.According to source, fighting between the two major and powerful factions of the TTP had become a major cause of worry for the Taliban leadership and almost all its Shura members had suspended their activities to focus on securing a ceasefire.

“Some members of the Shura had gone two days ago and they convinced the rival factions to stop fighting but they have again started killing each other. Now almost all members of the Shura are in the conflict area to bring fighting to an end,” a senior member of the Taliban said.

Pleading anonymity, he said fighting between the two factions had damaged the ongoing peace talks with the government.“Members of the Taliban negotiations committee made several attempts to approach someone in the Shura and talk with them for an extension in the ceasefire but they couldn’t find anyone, as all of them are engaged in reconciliation efforts in Shawal and Shaktoi areas,” the Taliban commander said.

Commander Sajna belongs to the late Maulana Waliur Rahman group, who served as deputy to Hakimullah Mehsud. Both Waliur Rahman and Hakimullah Mehsud were candidates to become the TTP ameer when Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in August 2009 and their differences increased following Hakimullah Mehsud’s elevation to the position.

Taliban sources said Sajna as successor to Waliur Rahman and Sheharyar Mehsud as Hakimullah Mehsud’s successor continued to be rivals. There are reports that Sajna is in favour of peace talks with the Pakistan government while Shehryar Mehsud wanted the government to first remove his reservations before he could join the peace process.

In the third incident that took place on Friday near the Afghan border in Dattakhel area of North Waziristan, five members of the Afghan Taliban movement were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED), planted by unknown people, hit their car.Three militants were initially killed and two others injured in the blast succumbed to their injuries before receiving medical help.

20 hurt in school stabbing spree in Pennsylvania

MURRYSVILLE: A 16-year-old boy with a "blank expression" stabbed and slashed 19 students and a police officer in the crowded halls of his suburban Pittsburgh high school Wednesday before an assistant principal tackled him.

At least five students were critically wounded, including a boy who was on a ventilator after a knife pierced his liver, missing his heart and aorta by only millimeters, doctors said.

The rampage — which came after years in which U.S. schools have geared much of their emergency planning toward mass shootings, not stabbings — set off a screaming stampede, left blood on the floor and walls, and brought teachers rushing to help the victims.

The motive was under investigation. Police didn´t immediately release the name of the suspect, who was taken into custody and treated for a minor hand wound.

He later appeared before a judge, shacked by his hands and feet and dressed in a hospital gown. Charges were expected to be filed soon.

The attack unfolded just minutes before the start of classes at 1,200-student Franklin Regional High School, in an upper-middle-class area 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh.

It was over in a matter of minutes.Witnesses said the boy with the knives at first tackled a freshman and stabbed him in the belly, then got up and ran wildly down the hall, slashing other students.

Nate Moore, 15, said he saw the first attack and was going to try to break it up when the boy got up and slashed his face, requiring 11 stitches.

"It was really fast. It felt like he hit me with a wet rag because I felt the blood splash on my face. It spurted up on my forehead," he said.

The attacker "had the same expression on his face that he has every day, which was the freakiest part," Moore said.

"He wasn´t saying anything. He didn´t have any anger on his face. It was just a blank expression.

"Doctors said they expected all the victims to survive, despite large and deep puncture wounds to the abdomen in some cases.

The wounded campus police officer was treated and released. Authorities credited an assistant principal with subduing the assailant. They gave no details, but students identified the educator as Sam King and told local news organizations that they saw him tackle the boy after the youngster stabbed the campus officer.

King´s son told The Associated Press that his father was treated at a hospital, though authorities have said he did not suffer any knife wounds.

"He says he´s OK. He´s a tough cookie and sometimes hides things, but I believe he´s OK," Zack King said.