KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Two militants and two policemen were killed in an attack on the provincial governor' s office in southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Saturday morning.
"Two gunmen, who broke into the Kandahar provincial governor's office compound and intended to target employees, were killed by police after a 20-minute exchange of fire," the provincial government said in a statement.
U.S soldiers patrol at the site of attack in southern Afghan city of Kandahar on April 28, 2012. Two militants and two policemen were killed in an attack on the provincial governor' s office in Kandahar on Saturday morning. (Xinhua/Arghand)
"All the civilian employees of the governor's office are safe and sound," it said.
An official with the governor's office, Zulmai Ayubi, told Xinhua that two policemen were also killed and two others injured in the attack that occurred at about 11:20 a.m. local time.
"The Kandahar provincial governor Tooryali Wessa and other officials are safe and sound," he said.
KABUL, Afghanistan (Apr. 28) —
An Afghan and coalition security force captured two Haqqani leaders
during an operation in Khost district, Khost province, today.
Both
leaders planned and directed roadside bombings and attacks against
Afghan and coalition troops throughout the district. They also provided
weapons, ammunition and equipment to Haqqani members in the district.
The
security force detained two additional suspected insurgents and seized
multiple AK-47s, several hand grenades, and multiple magazines with
ammunition.
In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:
South
An
Afghan led security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation
in Shah Wali Kot district, Kandahar province, today. The leader
directed attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout
Shah Wali Kot and Khakrez districts. He also provided weapons,
ammunition and equipment to insurgents in both districts. The security
force detained one additional suspected insurgent as a result of this
operation.
In Musa Qal’ah district, Helmand province, an
Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an
operation today. The leader coordinated insurgent attacks against Afghan
and coalition security forces throughout Musa Qal’ah, Nahr-e Saraj, and
Sangin districts. He was responsible for an attack on an Afghan
National Army outpost in central Helmand earlier this month that killed
six Afghan soldiers. The security force fired no shots and damaged no
civilian property.
East
An Afghan
and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an
operation in Wali Muhammad Shahid Khugyani district, Ghazni province,
today. The leader conducted roadside bombings and other attacks against
Afghan and coalition troops throughout Ghazni province. As the security
force approached the leader‘s suspected location, one insurgent fired on
the force. Responding to the immediate threat, the security force
returned fire and killed the insurgent. The security force detained
multiple additional suspected insurgents as a result of this operation.
In
Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, an Afghan and coalition security
force captured a Taliban facilitator during an operation today. The
facilitator supplied weapons and roadside bombs to insurgents throughout
the district for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
The
security force detained multiple additional insurgents and seized an
improvised explosive device, multiple weapons and magazines with
ammunition as a result of this operation.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. Jason K. Edens, 22, of Franklin, Tenn., died April 26, in Bethesda, Md., of wounds sustained April 15, in Laghman province, Afghanistan, when the enemy attacked his unit with small arms fire.
Edens was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
For more information related to this release, media may contact the First Armored Division public affairs office at 915- 744-8406 or 915-744-8492, or via blackberry at 915- 203-3769 or 915-781-3143.
---
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and
Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder
respectfully announce the loss of Tennessee soldier, Specialist Jason
K. Edens of Franklin.
Edens died on April 26, in Bethesda, Maryland from wounds he
sustained during an enemy attack on his unit in Laghman province in
Afghanistan on April 15. The 22-year old Williamson County native was
an Infantryman assigned to 1st Squadron, 13th Calvary Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
“The state of Tennessee joins the Edens family in mourning the loss
of Jason,” Haslam said. “We also offer our condolences to all who knew
Jason, grew up with him in Franklin and served with him in the United
States Army.”
Edens graduated from Franklin High School in 2007 and enlisted in the Army in January 2009.
Edens is survived by his wife Ashley Edens of Elizabethton, his
mother Janet Crane of Phoenix City, Alabama and his father James Edens
of Franklin.
“He was a hero,” Ashley Edens said while describing her husband.
“Our sympathy goes out to the family of Specialist Jason Edens as
they mourn during this difficult time of loss,” Grinder said. “I join
Tennesseans in remembering the ultimate sacrifice of Specialist Edens
and we are committed to honor our fallen Tennessee heroes.”
Edens will posthumously receive the Tennessee Fallen Heroes Medal
during a private service. Arrangements are pending; however, the Edens
family expressed a desire for privacy for Spc. Edens’ funeral and
burial.
Spc. Edens previously received the Purple Heart, North Atlantic
Treaty Organization Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement
Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal,
Afghanistan Campaign Medal with a Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism
Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat
Infantryman Badge.
JOHANNESBURG, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The hostage taker had been shot dead, and the trapped people were rescued at a hospital in Durban, South African media reported on Friday.
The suspected man was killed by police snipers after the man shot several people at a hospital in Durban, the newspaper City Press reported on its website, citing hospital authorities.
The man arrived at the hospital at about 07:30 a.m. by hijacking a taxi, and took a reception woman hostage.
A large contingent of police rushed to the scene to control the situation, and some snipers were positioning themselves at main points surrounding the hospital kitchen.
As the woman managed to escape, the man fired several shots, leaving a nurse and two others injured, according to the report.
The snipers opened fire to stop the suspect from shooting at innocent people.
The three injured persons are still receiving treatment at the hospital, and they are in a stable condition, said the hospital.
At noon, the access to the hospital is still blocked, and police are probing into the cause of the incident.
KIEV, April 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 people were injured in four blasts in eastern Ukrainian city Dnepropetrovsk on Friday, local authorities and media said.
One woman was wounded when an explosion occurred in front of Globa Park, and another explosion took place near the Opera, causing no injuries, local media reported.
Earlier, Ukrainian emergency authorities said 12 people were injured in two blasts in the city.
According to the Emergencies Ministry, the first blast occurred at a busy streetcar station at 11:50 a.m. local time (0950 GMT), injuring five people and causing panic among the people at the site.
The second blast took place half an hour later, when an unknown object exploded in a garbage can near the central cinema, injuring seven people, the ministry said.
The injured were transported to local hospitals, and a probe was already under way, authorities said.
Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Vitaliy Zakharchenko and his assistants were on their way to Dnepropetrovsk.
---
Four explosions have shaken the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk
injuring at least 27 people. The blasts struck a series of locations in
the city center. Local authorities have begun a terrorist investigation
into the incident.
The first explosion went off as a crowded tram pulled into a stop
injuring five passengers. Local authorities say it was caused by a bomb
planted in a nearby rubbish bin.
“The explosion was at a
tram stop. The shockwaves smashed the tram’s windows, and the doors
buckled on two cars passing by. In one car, the airbags popped out.
Police were there in a minute, fire fighters arrived in about five
minutes,” writes Master_Tyre, a city web forum user.
Forty
minutes afterwards a second explosion was reported close to the city’s
railway station, wounding seven while the third hit a park injuring one
woman.
Authorities say that the fourth blast struck near the opera house close to the site of the first explosion.
It has been reported that some of the explosions were caused by “incendiary devices” planted in rubbish bins. As a consequence police are systematically removing bins and checking them throughout the city.
Authorities
have reportedly begun the full evacuation of the Dnepropetrovsk train
station causing a stampede of people towards the exits. Local media says
sniffer dogs and members of the bomb squad have arrived at the scene
after receiving an anonymous call saying there was a threat of an
explosion at the station.
Train services have stopped running until further notice.
Local
Ukrainian site vgorode.ua reports widespread panic in the city where
people are afraid where the next explosion will occur. Traffic has
reportedly ground to a halt in the city center as people flee their
offices in an attempt to get home. The city’s police have warned
citizens to stay indoors.
Telephone networks are down in the city
after being inundated with calls of people fearing for the safety of
their friends and family. Some news agencies have also suggested
authorities may have shutdown networks to curtail possible terrorist
activity.
It is unclear exactly how many explosions have hit the city with some local media outlets reporting up to ten.
Ukrainian president Viktor Yankovich has announced the creation of group of specialists that will investigate the blasts. “Our best investigators and detectives will be looking into the incident,” said Yankovich.
Damascus Governorate on Syria Map with Governorates. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
DAMASCUS, April 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 7 people were killed and 20 others injured when an explosion occurred Friday near a mosque in the heart of the Syrian capital Damascus, the latest in a string of explosions that rattled the city on the weekend, the state-run SANA news agency reported.
The blast ripped through al-Midan neighborhood near Zain al- Abidin mosque, said the report.
Preliminary speculations indicated that a suicide bomber detonated himself near a security agent's bus, pro-government media said.
After the explosion unknown gunmen opened fire at people who gathered around the scene, said SANA.
Al-Midan area was hit by a deadly explosion on Jan. 6. The explosion ripped through a busy intersection in the neighborhood and killed at least 25 people.
Friday's blast came following a number of explosions that occurred Friday morning in Syria.
Planeloads of returning
soldiers from the more than 4,000-member 1st Stryker Brigade Combat
Team, 25th Infantry Division from Fort Wainwright have been returning to
Fairbanks on an almost daily basis. Most of the remaining soldiers are
scheduled to return from their year-long deployment to Afghanistan in
the next few days.
Pfc. Ernesto Bravo kisses his daughter Jessalyn, 4, left, as he is
greeted by his family including Jessalyn's twin brother Griffin, top
right, and 11-month old sister Natalyn, back right, as well as friend
Bella Needham, 3, front right, as another flight of soldiers with the
1-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team returns to Fort Wainwright Thursday
morning, April 26, 2012 after serving a year-long deployment in
Afghanistan. Eric Engman/News-Miner
A flight that arrived Thursday morning
returned another 100 soldiers, including a large contingent from 3rd
Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment.
Samantha Baker, wife of Sgt.
Damon Baker, took it to the next level preparing for her husband’s
arrival. She carried a sign that towered over the crowd with her
husband’s name and a light-up arrow pointing to where she stood. The
folks at Denali Industrial Supply helped her build it, she said.
The sign did its job.
“Somebody came up to me and said, ‘I think that’s you over there,’” Damon Baker said after he was reunited with his wife.
Baker
has been to war before on two previous overseas deployments, but this
homecoming is different because it’s his last. Now that he’s home from
this deployment, he plans to leave the Army and settle more permanently
in the Interior where he’s planning to work for a civilian construction
company.
With the brigade members just about all back at Fort
Wainwright, attention turns to a community welcome home event scheduled
to begin at 10 a.m. May 12.
Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Delozier helps his son Korbin, 4, carry his pack as
another flight of soldiers with the 1-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team
returns to Fort Wainwright Thursday morning, April 26, 2012 after
serving a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. Eric Engman/News-Miner
A military parade, including a
majority of the Stryker Brigade’s members, will pass through downtown
Fairbanks and head to Pioneer Park, where a picnic is planned.
Organizers of the Salute To Our Military Parade — S.T.O.M.P. — hope to
have thousands of people lining the route.
A reviewing stand and
bleachers for dignitaries and the families of service members killed or
wounded in the wars will be set up on Second Avenue.
QUETTA: At least four militants were killed
and seven others were detained on Friday by Frontier Corps (FC)
personnel near Balochistan’s Turbat region in retaliation of an ambush,
DawnNews reported.
The incident took place 20 kilometres from Turbat in the province’s Gaban area, a spokesman of the FC said.
FC’s assault was in retaliation to an ambush by militants on their convoy, the spokesperson added.
In two separate crackdown operations in Nushki and Naseerabad, FC
officials recovered weapons and ammunition in large quantities.
The weapons and ammunition included 11 SMGs, three LMGs, 14 rifles,
nine short guns, five rocket launchers and 100 rounds of SMGs.
However, no arrests were made in the operations in Nushki and Naseerabad.
Districts of Paktika Province (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
SHARAN (PAN):
Three local policemen and a resident were arrested for carrying a
suicide vest in a police vehicle in southeastern Paktika province on
Thursday, an official said.
The four were arrested with the suicide belt in Barmal district,
local police commander, Gen. Azizullah, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
He said the detained local policemen belonged to security checkpoint in Musa Nika area.
Although it remained unclear what for the policemen carried the vest which seemed to be brought from Pakistan, he said.
The governor's spokesman, Mukhlis Afghan, confirmed the arrests, but stopped short of giving details.
QUETTA : A suicide attacker was killed in police firing on the outskirts of Metropolis Thursday evening.
According to details, some miscreants were trying to commit suicide
blast near Mumtaz Petrol Pump situation along Kirani road in the suburb
of City early tonight.
People spotted them and informed the police. Police opened the fire
in which a suicide attacker was killed. Two others managed to escape the
spot.
Suicide attacker appears to be Afghan nation aged between 20 to
22 years. Dead body was shifted to BMC Hospital.
Suicide jacket weighing
10/12 Kg he was wearing could not be exploded. It had ball bearings,
prime card three detonators and a 9- volt battery.
Washington Time
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