At least nine security personnel were killed and 17 others were injured in a suicide bomb blast in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, reported Dawn News on Thursday.
A suicide bomber on a motorbike struck a security forces convoy in the Mali Khel area, The Pakistan Telegraph quoted police sources as saying.
Pakistan’s caretaker PM Anwaar ul Haq Kakar expressed grief over the Bannu division incident. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Kakar wrote, “Heartbroken by the loss of 9 valiant soldiers in Bannu Division, KPK, to a cowardly terrorist act that injured many. Such acts are utterly reprehensible. My thoughts are with the families of the martyred and injured. Pakistan stands resolute against such terror.”
This is the second such incident in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region in over a month. On July 30, at least 54 people were killed and more than 100 were injured after a suicide bomber triggered a blast at a political party meeting.
Over 400 JUI-F members and supporters were attending the meeting.
BEIRUT (AP) — An airstrike early Thursday hit an alleged drug factory in southern Syria near the Jordanian border, causing damage but there was not word on casualties, Syrian opposition activists said. They said the attack was believed to have been carried out by Jordan’s air force.
Jordan’s state media reported over the past weeks that several drones carrying drugs were shot down after crossing from Syria.
The Captagon industry has been a huge concern for Jordan, as well as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, as hundreds of millions of pills have been smuggled over the years, where the drug is used recreationally and by people with physically demanding jobs to keep them alert.
Ahmad al-Masalmeh, an opposition activist who covers developments in southern Syria said the target was also used as a narcotics warehouse where smugglers would prepare and package illegal drugs before smuggling them across the southern border into Jordan.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition war monitor, also reported the strike, saying the factory was destroyed. Meanwhile, the pro-government Sham FM radio station said the strike hit a farm, causing material damage. Neither immediately reported any injuries or deaths.
In May, an airstrike over a village in the southern Sweida province killed a well-known Syrian drug kingpin and his family, which activists believe was conducted by the Jordanians. Amman has been concerned by militias’ drug smuggling across the Syrian border into the kingdom, most notably highly addictive Captagon amphetamines, which have turned into an estimated multi-billion-dollar industry in war-torn Syria.
Jordan has never confirmed nor denied conducting May’s airstrike, but has said on several occasions that it would use force in its ongoing efforts to combat smuggling across the border. Neither Jordanian officials nor Jordanian state media have yet commented on Thursday’s strike.
The strike also comes as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries continue to work to rekindle ties with Damascus, after relegating Syria to a pariah state because of President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011. The uprising later turned into an all-out war, now in its 13th year, that splintered the country and killed over 300,000 civilians in the first decade, according to the United Nations.
The United States, United Kingdom, and western governments have accused Assad and associates in Syria’s cash-strapped government of taking the lead in Captagon production, and have sanctioned relatives of Assad, Lebanese drug lynchpins, businessmen and other associates in Syria for their involvement in the industry.
Nihran Bin Omar oil gas field near Basra, Iraq, January 12, 2017. Photo: AP
SULAIMANI, Iraqi Kurdistan region,— Multiple rockets were launched on Wednesday towards the Khor Mor gas field situated in the Sulaimani province in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The Iraqi Kurdish natural resources ministry issued a statement on the same day, reassuring the public that there were no casualties resulting from the attack.
According to reports from Iraqi Kurdish officials, two rockets made impact near the perimeter of the Khor Mor gas field. No immediate reports of casualties or damages were received in the aftermath of the rocket strike.
The consortium composed of the Pearl Consortium, the United Arab Emirates’ energy firm Dana Gas, and its affiliate Crescent Petroleum, holds the rights for the exploration and development of both Khor Mor and Chemchemal gas fields, which are among the largest in Iraq.
While no specific group took responsibility for the attack, previous similar attacks have been claimed by Iraqi Shiite armed factions supported by Iran, according to some Iraqi officials.
In light of the incident, the statement further conveyed that the acting minister of natural resources would engage in close coordination with Dana Gas to diligently monitor the situation. The primary objective of this coordination is to ensure that the rocket attack does not impede the ongoing production of crucial gas and electricity.
Rockets have previously targeted Dana Gas’ Khor Mor gas fields.
On October 2022, eight Katyusha rockets were fired at the Khor Mor gas field in Iraq’s Kurdistan region
On July 23, 2022, three rockets had hit the Khor Mor gas field.
On June 26, 2022, six rockets had hit the Khor Mor gas field in Chamchamal district.
On June 24, 2022, a Katyusha rocket targeted Khor Mor gas field in Chamchamal district in Sulaimani governorate.
On June 22, 2022, Two Katyusha rockets targeted Khor Mor gas field in Chamchamal district.
In May 2022, sources said there was “minor material damage” at the Kawergosk refinery northwest of Erbil following a rocket attack. The refinery is owned by Iraqi Kurdish businessman Baz Karim Barzanji, CEO of major domestic energy company the KAR Group, who has close ties with ruling Barzani clan.
On April 6, 2022, three rockets landed near Kawergosk oil refiner, no casualties or material damage reported.
On March 13, 2022, Iranian forces launched 12 ballistic missilesat Erbil, claiming the attack was in response for an Israeli military attack in Syria that killed Iranian military personnel. But most of the missiles hit a villa owned by Sheikh Baz.
FILE – Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt attends the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, on June 21, 2023. The Norwegian embassy in Bamako would shut down by the end of the year. Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said Thursday Aug. 31, 2023 that Oslo would have ”to find other ways to follow up our interests in Mali moving forward.” The diplomatic mission was also representing Norway in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. (Hannah McKay/Pool Photo via AP, File)
Updated 4:13 PM CEST, August 31, 2023Share
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway announced Thursday that it will close its embassy in Mali, saying the withdrawal of a U.N. peacekeeping force from the West African nation “will have consequences for the security of Norwegian and other diplomatic missions and international organizations.”
In June, Mali Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop demanded that U.N. peacekeepers who have been grappling with an Islamic insurgency for more than a decade leave immediately, saying they had failed in their mission.
At the end of the month, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution terminating the mandate for the U.N. force, known as MINUSMA, and requesting that its withdrawal be completed by the end of the year.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said the embassy in Bamako, Mali’s capital, will close by the end of the year and Norway will have ”to find other ways to follow up our interests in Mali moving forward.” The diplomatic mission also represents Norway in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad.
Last year, Col. Assimi Goita, who had himself appointed Mali’s transitional president, ordered French troops and a European Union force to leave the country.
The U.N. peacekeepers were a contingent of more than 15,000 in what has become one of the most dangerous U.N. missions in the world. At least 170 peacekeepers have been killed in the country since 2013, according to the United Nations.
Mali has struggled to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were forced from power in Mali’s northern cities the following year with the help of a French-led military operation, but they regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the Malian army and its allies.
The growing insecurity in Mali has increased instability in West Africa’s volatile Sahel region. Mali has had two coups since 2020 in which the military vowed to stop the jihadi violence.
Rwanda president, Paul Kagame, who doubles as the Commander-in-Chief of Rwanda Defence Force (RDF), has approved the retirement of 95 military generals and senior officers as well as 930 junior soldiers.
Top on the list of retirees is General James Kabarebe, the country’s former Minister of Defence and Chief of Defense Staff.
Those affected were disclosed in a statement published on the Rwanda Defense Force’s official website on Wednesday.
The announcement came amid recent military coups in Niger Republic and Gabon.
Until his retirement, General Kabarebe served as the special advisor to the president on security.
Local media reports that some of those retired had attained the retirement age of 65 while others were indicted for misconduct.
“The president has also approved the retirement of 83 senior officers, 06 junior officers and 86 senior NCOS, 678 end of contract and 160 medical discharges,” the statement partly read.
Prior to their retirement, President Kagame promoted a number of lieutenant colonels to the rank of colonels and brigade commanders
Although the statement did not categorically state the reasons behind the retirement of the military officers, the president had in previous weeks addressed opinion leaders on the need to keep the country united.
His words: “Our history has been an example of how destructive division can be. We have also seen that it is our unity that has led to our country’s transformation. We have people who lost their family members, others who have family members who are perpetrators, everyone has suffered the consequences of division.”
wardogsclub.wordpress.com 