Guard killed in eastern Afghanistan bombers attack

KABUL: An Afghan provincial official says suicide bombers have attacked a parking lot at a police base in eastern Afghanistan, killing a guard and setting 25 trucks ablaze.

Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar province, says the attack happened late Sunday night in Behsud district. A suicide car bomber first detonated his vehicle at the entrance to the police base parking lot. Two other attackers then stormed in, shooting at the security forces.

Abdulazai says both attackers were killed by the police, but at least 25 fuel tankers and logistic trucks caught on fire and were burned during the fighting.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but insurgents have increasingly targeted Afghan forces ahead of the June 14 runoff in the country´s presidential election.

Mayor of eastern Ukraine city shot

The mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city was shot in the back on Monday and pro-Russia insurgents seized yet another government building as tensions rose in eastern Ukraine ahead of a new round of U.S. sanctions.

In a bid to ratchet up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Barack Obama has promised to levy new sanctions on Russian individuals and companies in retaliation for Moscow’s alleged provocations in eastern Ukraine.

Officials have not commented on the circumstances of the shooting and it was not clear who was behind it. Kernes was a staunch opponent of the pro-West Maidan movement that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

Kharkiv is in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian gunmen have seized government buildings, set up roadblocks or staged protests to demand greater autonomy or outright annexation by Russia.

On Monday, masked militants with automatic weapons seized another city hall building in eastern Ukraine, this time in Kostyantynivka, 160 kilometres from the Russian border.

After the seizure, about 15 armed men guarded the building. Some posed for pictures with residents while others distributed St. George’s ribbons, the symbol of the pro-Russia movement.

Kostyantynivka is just 35 kilometres south of Slovyansk, a major city in eastern Ukraine that has been in insurgents’ hands for more than three weeks now.

Mayor of eastern Ukraine city shot

The mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city was shot in the back on Monday and pro-Russia insurgents seized yet another government building as tensions rose in eastern Ukraine ahead of a new round of U.S. sanctions.

In a bid to ratchet up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Barack Obama has promised to levy new sanctions on Russian individuals and companies in retaliation for Moscow’s alleged provocations in eastern Ukraine.

Officials have not commented on the circumstances of the shooting and it was not clear who was behind it. Kernes was a staunch opponent of the pro-West Maidan movement that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

Kharkiv is in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian gunmen have seized government buildings, set up roadblocks or staged protests to demand greater autonomy or outright annexation by Russia.

On Monday, masked militants with automatic weapons seized another city hall building in eastern Ukraine, this time in Kostyantynivka, 160 kilometres from the Russian border.

After the seizure, about 15 armed men guarded the building. Some posed for pictures with residents while others distributed St. George’s ribbons, the symbol of the pro-Russia movement.

Kostyantynivka is just 35 kilometres south of Slovyansk, a major city in eastern Ukraine that has been in insurgents’ hands for more than three weeks now.

Ukraine troops kill 3 assailants storming eastern base

KIEV: Ukrainian troops repelled an overnight attack on their base in the southeast city of Mariupol, killing three of the assailants and wounding 13, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Thursday.

Around 300 people mounted the attack using guns and petrol bombs on the interior ministry troops, none of whom was hurt, Avakov said on his Facebook page.

"After attackers threw incendiary devices and Molotov cocktails at the military unit and opened fire at guard posts, the national guards fired warning shots," Avakov said.

After the attack continued, they turned their weapons directly on the assailants.

Sixty-three people were detained and security officials confiscated weapons, communication devices and "Russian cell phones", the statement said.

The operation was still ongoing with additional police patrolling the port city and special forces being helicoptered in as reinforcements, Avakov said.

The latest attack follows the seizure of administrative buildings by pro-Russian separatists in Mariupol and other towns across the restive east of the country.

High-level talks aimed at ending the escalating crisis involving the top diplomats of Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union are due to start in Geneva on Thursday. Kiev has struggled to reimpose its authority over its industrial heartland. A military operation to oust the separatists turned to fiasco Wednesday when pro-Moscow militants seized at least six armoured vehicles.