- DAWN - Latest Stories; 18 February, 2005


18 February 2005	Friday	08 Muharram 1426

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Militants blow themselves up, 50 others arrested: QUETTA, Feb 18: Two militants blew themselves to bits with a hand grenade after a gunbattle with police, while 50 suspects were arrested in a separate incident, officials said today. The militants killed themselves today when police raided a house in Quetta, police said. Five hand grenades, two Kalashnikov rifles and hundreds of bullets were recovered from the house, the walls of which had been painted with anti-Shiite slogans, Bhatti said. Police in Karachi today arrested around 50 suspected members of outlawed extremist groups, city police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP. One of the men who blew himself up in Quetta and most of the 50 arrested in Karachi were from the Al-Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group, police said. (AFP) (Updated @ 13:20 PST)

Commandos to guard against violence at Shiite ceremony: ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Specially trained commandos will be deployed across Pakistan for the first time to prevent sectarian bloodshed during Shiite Muslim mourning processions this weekend, officials said. The commandos would be sent out "on an urgent basis to deal with any situation," said Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain. In a statement he said troops had been ordered to stay alert in all places where sectarian clashes may happen and "preempt any terrorist acts" during the Ashura ceremonies. (AFP) (Posted @ 14:20 PST)

TV appeals for Osama Bin Laden info give 'useful' leads: US - ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Television, radio and newspaper ads run by the United States in Pakistan asking for leads to Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda kingpins have yielded useful information, a US official said today. The brief television spots flash up colour pictures of bin Laden and his 13 most wanted henchmen while a voiceover in Urdu, offers rewards of up to 25 million dollars. "During the last couple of days we got some 28 calls and a number of them gave useful information," US embassy spokesman Greggory Crouch told AFP. He declined to specify if the information was related to Osama bin Laden. (AFP) (Posted @ 15:00 PST)

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Twenty killed in Baghdad mosque bombing: BAGHDAD, Feb 18: Suicide bombers killed at least 17 people in attacks on two Shi'ite mosques in Baghdad today as thousands of Shi'ites commemorated Ashura. Separately, a rocket landed near a police station and close to a mosque in a Shi'ite district of northwestern Baghdad killing three people and wounding five in a shop, police said. In the first suicide attack, a man wearing an explosives- packed vest merged into a crowd near a mosque in the Doura area of southwestern Baghdad and blew himself up, survivors said. The blast killed 15 people and wounded 33, Yarmouk hospital said. Soon afterwards, an explosion shook a second Shi'ite mosque in western Baghdad, the U.S. military and police sources said. Police initially blamed that blast on a mortar strike but later said two suicide bombers had approached a crowd outside the mosque. They were spotted by police, who shot them, but one still blew himself up, killing at least two people, police said. (Reuters) (Updated @ 21:15 PST)

Israeli cabinet to approve new West Bank barrier route: JERUSALEM, Feb 18: The Israeli cabinet is set to approve on Sunday a new route for its controversial West Bank barrier which will incorporate large settlement blocs but less occupied Palestinian land, officials said today. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will also ask his ministers on Sunday to give their approval for the clearance of all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and another four in the northern West Bank, his office said. Both votes were put together in an attempt to divert international attention away from the barrier, which the UN's International Court of Justice ruled illegal last July, the Israeli daily Haaretz speculated today. (AFP) (Posted @ 13:50 PST)

Israel allows 16 Palestinians expelled from West Bank to return home: JERUSALEM, Feb 18: Israel is to allow 16 Palestinians who were deported to the Gaza Strip on security grounds to return home to the West Bank today, the Israeli defence ministry said. "The (defence) minister Shaoul Mofaz has authorized the return of 16 Palestinians who had been expelled by the army," from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip, a spokeswoman for the ministry said. (AFP) (Posted @ 10:00 PST)

Russia's Putin says Iran has no nuclear weapons: MOSCOW, Feb 18: Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that recent moves by Iran showed it did not possess nuclear weapons and he said Moscow would continue nuclear cooperation with the Islamic Republic. (Reuters) (Posted @ 16:15 PST)

43 Maoist rebels killed in Nepal in two days: KATHMANDU, Feb 18: At least 43 Maoists have been killed in the past two days in different parts of Nepal during security operations and in a clash with villagers, the Himalayan Times said today, quoting army sources. (AFP) (Posted @ 11:50 PST)

Karachi Stocks up 153.38 points: KARACHI, Feb 18: At close of trading the KSE-100 index was at 7733.36, up 153.38 points from Thursday's close. The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 59.65 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:20 PST)

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