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| January 14, 2006 | Saturday | Zilhaj 13, 1426 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
U.S. targeted al Qaeda No. 2 in Pakistan airstrike ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) A U.S. airstrike in Pakistan targeted al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, but it was unclear if he had been killed, U.S. sources knowledgeable about the strike said in Washington. CNN quoted sources as saying the CIA had ordered the airstrike on buildings after receiving intelligence that Zawahri was in a village near the border with Afghanistan. ABC News quoted Pakistani military sources as saying five of those killed were "high-level" al Qaeda figures. Pakistan was investigating the reports, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said. "Our investigation is still going on; I cannot confirm anything," Ahmed told Reuters. A spokesman at U.S. Central Command in Florida, the military command responsible for the region, said there had been no official report of such an attack. A Pakistani security official and residents of the region said earlier that U.S. aircraft from Afghanistan had killed 18 people, including women and children, when they fired missiles in the Bajaur tribal region.(Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Protesters burn aid office after airstrike deaths in Pakistan KHAR, Pakistan, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - Pakistani tribesmen torched the office of a US-funded aid group Saturday amid protests against the death of 18 people in an alleged US airstrike targeting Al-Qaeda's number two, witnesses said. An estimated 5,000 people gathered at a stadium near Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal zone, close to the village of Damadola where Friday's attack h took place, an AFP reporter said. Some demonstrators then set fire to the offices of Associated Development Construction, a non-governmental organisation funded by the US Agency for International Development, an official at the aid group said. "They attacked our office in reaction to the deaths on Friday and put it on fire; it is badly damaged," site engineer Fazal Maibood said. The mob also took away hundreds of bags of cement, while upto 20 tonnes of steel were damaged by the fire, he added. Hundreds of policemen were deployed in Khar and other nearby towns to maintain law and order, witnesses said. Earlier, Jamaat-i-Islami legislator Haroon Rasheed, addressing the rally of protestors condemned the airstrike as a "slap on the face of the country's sovereignty" as the crowd chanted anti-US slogans, witnesses said. Pakistani officials meanwhile said they were investigating whether Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, was killed in what a US intelligence official described as an attack by a US Predator drone. Residents said they heard missiles being fired from aircraft, adding that there were women and children among the dead and that there were no foreigners in the village at the time. "Those killed were all innocent tribesmen, there were women and children among the dead," Rasheed said. "There was no Arab and no foreigners."(First Posted @ 16:04 PST Updated @ 16:48 PST)
Zawahri not present during attack-Pakistan official ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, was not in a village near the Afghan border that was hit by a a U.S. airstrike early on Friday morning, a senior Pakistani government official said on Saturday. "Al-Zawahri was not there at the time of the attack," the official told Reuters, after U.S. intelligence sources in Washington had earlier said the airstrike that killed at least 18 people in northern Pakistan had targeted Osama bin Laden's deputy.(Posted @ 17:05 PST)
Saudi still identifying hajj stampede victims JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) – Authorities are still identifying victims of the hajj stampede that killed 363 people at Mina on Thursday, the worst pilgrimage disaster since 1990. Pakistan said it lost 44 pilgrims; India said at least 28 of its citizens were killed and almost 100 still missing. Turkey said 12 of its pilgrims were killed. The deputy director of the morgue outside Mina, Hussein Bahashwan, said that as many as 100 Egyptians may be among the dead. Interior ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki told reporters that 203 pilgrims had been identified but provided the nationalities of only 179 including 10 Egyptians, 44 Indians, 37 Pakistanis, 18 Saudis, 11 Bangladeshis, seven Yemenis, six Sudanese, six Maldivans, five Afghans and one German among others. In July 1990 a total of 1,426 pilgrims were trampled or asphyxiated to death in a stampede in a tunnel in Mina.(Posted @ 21:06 PST)
Pakistan summons US ambassador over airstrike ISLAMABAD, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) – Pakistan summoned the US envoy to the foreign office in protest at the deaths of 18 people in an airstrike apparently targeting the deputy leader of Al-Qaeda, the ministry said Saturday. "Foreign secretary Riaz Khan handed over a formal protest to the US ambassador at the foreign ministry this evening," spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told AFP. Pakistani officials said earlier it was unlikely that Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri was in Damadola village in the Bajur tribal region at the time of the alleged missile attack early Friday. "According to preliminary investigations there was foreign presence in the area and that in all probability was targeted from across the border in Afghanistan," the ministry said in a statement. "As a result of this act, there has been loss of innocent civilian lives which we condemn. The investigations are still continuing," it added. "Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has lodged a protest with the US Ambassador in Islamabad."(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Saddam judge wants to quit over govt pressure -source BAGHDAD, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein has tendered his resignation in protest at pressure from the Iraqi government on the court, a source close to the judge told Reuters on Saturday. High Tribunal officials were trying to talk Kurdish judge Rizgar Amin out of his decision, the source said, adding that Amin was reluctant to stay on because Shi'ite leaders had criticised him for being too lenient on Saddam in court. "He tendered his resignation to the court a few days ago but the court rejected it. Now talks are under way to convince him to go back on his decision," he said. "He's under a lot of pressure; the whole court is under political pressure."(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Pakistan quake survivors under constant threat -UN ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Cold and disease are constant threats in Pakistan's earthquake zone but the United Nations said on Saturday if donations are sustained, the more than three million survivors should make it through the winter. "One hundred days into the process all is not well," chief U.N. relief coordinator Jan Vandemoortele told a news conference marking 100 days since the quake killed more than 73,000 people. "The survivors remain under constant threat and coughs, respiratory infection and pneumonia are widespread," he said. The United Nations was particularly concerned about people living at high altitudes, and those in unorganised tent settlements that have sprung up across the region, Vandemoortele said. The relief effort had only received $321 million of the $550 million it had sought for a six-month emergency relief effort, which is costing about $2 million a day, Vandemoortele said. "The test is still on. Cash and coordination remain critical," he said. "If the current rate of donation is sustained we will be able, we believe, to achieve the goal of getting the people through the winter." "No major outbreak of communicable disease has occured," said UNICEF's director in Pakistan, Omar Abdi. Between 10,000 and 15,000 children had been orphaned in the quake but virtually all of them were being cared for by members of their extended families, he said.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Kashmir quake survivors hurl stones at visiting officials SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - Villagers angry at delays in receiving financial aid in quake-hit occupied Kashmir on Saturday attacked three senior government officials with stones, police and witnesses said.The three, including former works minister Ghulam Ahmed Mir, were attacked in Sheri village in northern Uri sector during their tour of quake-hit areas, police said. No one was injured.The protesters had blocked a road by squatting on the highway. Police used teargas and batons to disperse them. The villagers responded with heavy pelting of the stones at the motorcade of Mir and two other party leaders, Abdul Majid Padder and Ghulam Nabi Monga, police said. Kashmir has also been in the grip of a 16-year-old freedom struggle that has left more than 44,000 people dead by official count.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
22 wounded in blast at Afghan religious festival KHOST, Afghanistan, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - At least 22 people were wounded in Khost province Saturday when a bomb tore through a crowd of people celebrating Eid al-Adha, police said.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Suicide attack hits US convoy in Afghanistan KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - The former deputy interior minister under the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule, Mullah Khaksar, was shot dead by unknown gunmen on a motorcycle while leaving his home in Kandahar province, his brother Abdulhah said. Khaksar reportedly maintained underground relations with the anti-Taliban northern alliance. Police were not immediately available to comment on the killing of Khaksar, who failed to get a seat in the parliament during October elections.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
14 policemen killed in Kathmandu blasts KATHMANDU, Nepal, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - Fourteen policemen were killed in separate bomb attacks by suspected Maoist rebels on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital, police said Saturday. Eleven people were killed in a bomb blast on a checkpoint south of Kathmandu while another three were killed in the capital's eastern outskirts, they said. No rebel casualties were reported.(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Al-Qaeda deputy said likely not killed in Pakistan DAMADOLA, Pakistan, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - Pakistani officials said Saturday that Al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was likely not killed in a US air strike, as anger mounted over the deaths of 18 villagers in the attack. Information Minister Sheikh Rashid condemned Friday's attack, without directly blaming the United States. Police used teargas to disperse protesters after a mob chanting anti-American slogans burned down a US-funded aid agency office near the site of the missile raid, witnesses said. Rashid told a news conference the government had "no information about Al-Zawahiri" following Friday's "condemnable" attack in Damadola, a village in the Bajur tribal agency. "Things are being investigated, and let the investigation first be completed," he added. Spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told AFP that Pakistan would launch a "strong protest" and confirmed that the foreign office would summon US envoy Ryan Crocker. Senior Pakistani government and intelligence officials said Zawahiri was thought not to have been in the area at the time of the air strike. "Our agencies have carried out initial ground checks and, combined with intelligence from the area, there is no indication about Zawahiri's presence in the area at the time of the incident or before."(Posted @ 20:55 PST)
Iran president defiant in face of Security Council threat TEHRAN, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Saturday his country would not back down over its disputed nuclear programme even if ordered to do so by the UN Security Council. "Even if the Security Council becomes involved, it will not help resolve the issue. We are not interested in going down this path, but if some people insist on depriving the Iranian people of their rights they should know that such a thing will not happen," he told a news conference. Ahmadinejad said his oil and gas-rich nation also has "leverage" of its own to defend its national interests. "They confront us and deal with us in a very harsh and illegal language, but ultimately they need us more than we need them," Ahmadinejad said .(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
President says Pakistan will have to build all proposed dams SWABI, Jan 14 (APP): President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday emphasized that Pakistan needed to build all proposed water reservoirs in order to ensure sustained agricultural and industrial development. "We need to build dams on all sites by 2020 as we will be facing a massive shortfall of 15 to 20 million acre feet of water - otherwise, the paucity of the precious resource will severely hurt prospects of long-term economic growth," he stated, while addressing a public gathering. "By building reservoirs we will not only make up for water shortage but also ensure provision of affordable energy to fuel rapid industrial growth, which is necessary to achieve the goal of all-round development," he said while announcing Rs 100 million grant for development of Swabi district. President Musharraf dismissed as absolutely incorrect the impression being voiced by vested interests that the construction of Kalabagh Dam might result in submerging areas of Charsada, Mardan, Nowshera or Swabi. The maximum height of the reservoir would be 915 feet while these areas are at an altitude of 1000 feet above sea level, he said.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Suicide car bomb wounds one U.S. soldier in southern Afghanistan KABUL, Jan 14 (APP/AP) _ A suicide car bombing against a U.S.-Afghan military convoy passing through a main road in Helmand province Saturday wounded an American soldier, said Khan Mohammed, a district police chief.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
14 Pakistani pilgrims burried in Saudi Arabia ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 (APP): Out of the total 45 Pakistanis who died in the stampede in Mina, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have buried 14 and arranging the burial of the rest, a press release of Ministry of Religious Affairs said here Saturday.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Musharraf to visit Switzerland from Jan 24 ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 (PPI) President Pervez Musharraf would visit Switzerland from Jan 24 to Jan 30. During the visit, President would attend annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and would meet world leaders on the sidelines of the WEF meeting.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
NWFP Govt. blames US for Bajaur killings Peshawar, Jan 14 (PPI) Senior NWFP Minister Sirajul Haq has accused the US led forces of bombing and killing innocent people in Bajaur Agency on Friday. In a statement he said the bombing was carried out by the US led military aircraft which intruded into Bajaur agency from nearby Kunar province of Afghanistan. Member National Assembly (MNA) from Bajaur agency Haroon Rasheed told BBC: "I myself and thousands of other tribesmen Are eye witnesses of the bombings by the five US jet fighters. At first a spy plane came and then five jet fighters attacked the village.”(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Gilani urges Ummah to help resolve Kashmir dispute MAKKAH, Jan 14(PPI) Senior Kashmiri Hurriyat leader, Syed Ali Gilani, has urged Muslim Ummah, particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to use their influence over India to resolve Kashmir dispute. According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking in an interaction in Makkah, Syed Ali Gilani said both Kashmiris and Palestinians are two oppressed nations and they are struggling for their legitimate rights. Gilani criticized India for not being serious in resolving Kashmir dispute and for creating hurdles in the peaceful settlement of the conflict.(Posted @ 20:50 PST)
Taliban deny Mulla Omar's presence in Pakistan tribal area Islamabad, Jan 14(PPI): The Taliban Saturday denied a report that Taliban leader Mulla Muhammad Omar was likely to be in Pakistan tribal area, which was reportedly bombed by a American plane early Friday killing 18 people. An American television reported that a CIA airstrike on a building in Pakistan tribal region of Bajur may have killed Osama bin Laden's most-trusted aide. "Mulla Omar and all other leaders are in Afghanistan and the report about his presence in Pakistan has no basis," Taliban spokesman Dr Muhammad Hanif said on satellite phone from Afghanistan, according to Iran's IRNA news agency in Islamabad. "Mulla Omar is in good health and is leading the Mujahideen, "Hanif said. "I categorically reject the report," he insisted.(Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Rs 5b to be allocated for rehabilitation of quake devastated business ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 (APP): A Rs 5 billion package has been prepared for grant of interest-free loans to quake devastated businessmen, Azad Kashmir Minister for Small Industries Raja Muhammad Yaseen Khan told Ptv in an interview on Saturday. The loans will range from Rs 100,000 to Rs one million. A proposal was also under consideration to write off the small loans granted to the survivors. Various agencies as well as government was distributing free LPG cylinders and firewood to the survivors to cope with the winter, he said. A sum of Rs 9.5 billion has already been distributed among the Azad Kashmir quake survivors as compensation, he added.(Posted @ 18:06 PST)
Roadside Bomb Kills Four Policemen In Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed two policemen and injured four other people when it blew up next to a police patrol in eastern Baghdad, police said. Gunmen assassinated Maulana Hadi al-Wa'ili, a Shi'ite cleric who led prayers at the Mehdi mosque in the mixed Baghdad neighbourhood of Hurriya, police said.(Posted @ 17:28 PST)
Nine killed in latest Afghan clashes KABUL, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S.-led and Afghan government troops have killed about eight insurgents in the latest clashes in Afghanistan, the U.S. military and Afghan government said. Two insurgents and an Afghan government soldier were killed early on Saturday in the province of Paktia, the Defence Ministry said. Two soldiers were also wounded in the fighting that began with a guerrilla attack on an army position, the statement said. Earlier, the U.S. military said about six insurgents were killed in a battle that erupted when gunmen fired on what it called an offensive patrol in the province of Uruzgan on Friday. "An estimated six enemy fighters were killed; the remainder fled the area," the U.S. military said in a statement adding that no Afghan or U.S.-led troops were hurt.(First Posted @ 10:20 PST Updated @ 17:24 PST)
British journalist freed in Iraq: paper DUBAI, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - A British journalist in Iraq was held captive for five days before being freed by US troops during a chance raid on an insurgent hideout. English-language UAE daily Emirates Today said its correspondent Phil Sands, 28, was kidnapped by unknown gunmen from a Baghdad neighbourhood as he travelled with a local driver and interpreter and was freed five days later when American military by chance stormed a hideout. “We were conducting raids on 'safe houses' when we discovered Mr Sands blindfolded and handcuffed," US military Central Command spokesman said.(Posted @ 16:58 PST)
At least 36 Indians among hajj dead: official NEW DELHI, India, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - At least 36 Indians were among the hundreds of Hujjaj who died in a stampede during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. "We have identified 36 Indians so far, but the number is likely to go up as we are still collecting information," Ausaf Sayeed, the Indian consul general in Saudi Arabia, said Saturday by telephone from Mina where the tragedy struck on Thursday.(Posted @ 16:38 PST)
Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges for harvest festival GANGA SAGAR, India, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) Hundreds of Hindus Saturday lined the Ganges river before dawn at Ganga Sagar where it empties into the Bay of Bengal and took a dip to celebrate the winter harvest festival. District Magistrate Roshni Sen said four people died and two dozen more fell ill after entering the chilly Ganges, which devout Hindus worship as a goddess. Across India people thronged other rivers for a dip before feasting on sesame seed preparations, agencies reported.(Posted @ 16:30 PST)
At least 11 Bangladeshis among hajj dead: official DHAKA, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - At least 11 Bangladeshis were killed in a stampede that left hundreds dead at the annual hajj pilgrimage, a Bangladeshi official said Saturday. "At least 13 Bangladeshi pilgrims are still missing and 12 were hospitalised after they were injured in the stampede," Mohammad Waliur Rahman, Bangladesh's hajj counsellor, said by telephone from Jeddah.(Posted @ 16:22 PST)
21 killed in Myanmar offensive on Indian separatists: rebels GUWAHATI, India, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - At least 15 Myanmar soldiers and six Indian insurgents died and dozens were seriously wounded in heavy fighting to evict the rebels, separatist leader Kughalo Mulatonu said by telephone from a location near the India-Myanmar border where the offensive took place this week. "It is no longer mere fighting but a full-scale battle with the junta using mortars and heavy weapons on us," said Mulatonu, who heads the main faction of the separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and is fighting for an independent tribal homeland in India's northeastern state of Nagaland. It claims to have some 50 camps and 7,000 rebels in Myanmar's northern Sagaing Division, which borders Nagaland. There was no independent confirmation of the clashes from the Myanmar or Indian authorities. Last month, Myanmar launched a major crackdown backed by some 3,500 government soldiers to evict the rebels.(Posted @ 16:22 PST)
Iranian kidnappers seek ransom for Turkish tourists ANKARA, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) – Kidnappers of three Turkish tourists kidnapped last month in southeast Iran are demanding a ransom of one million euros (1.2 million dollars) each, a Turkish diplomat said here Saturday. "The kidnappers are a gang of drug smugglers. This is not a political thing," said the diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.(Posted @ 16:18 PST)
16 Maoists killed in clashes in Nepal: army KATHMANDU, Nepal, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) - At least 16 Maoist rebels and a government soldier died Saturday during clashes in Syangja district, western Nepal, an army official said. "The patrolling troops killed 16 Maoists today during search operations at Manakamana area in the district," said the official. On Thursday, the army reported 10 rebels had been killed at Chitrebhanjyang and Ambote, also in Syangja district.(Posted @ 16:18 PST)
'Vast majority' of US troops to leave Iraq by year's end: top congressman WASHINGTON, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) A veteran US congressman who set off a firestorm in November by calling for a quick American withdrawal from Iraq is now predicting "the vast majority" of US troops will leave the country by year's end, or maybe even sooner. John Murtha, the top Democrat of the House defence appropriations subcommittee, said late Friday that President George W. Bush would be forced to accept an Iraq pullout plan because inaction will likely result in Republicans losing control of Congress in the November midterm elections. More than 140,000 US soldiers are currently deployed in Iraq.(Posted @ 14:24 PST)
Development in Balochistan to continue: PM ISLAMABAD, Jan 14 (APP): Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Saturday said the development of Balochistan people and improvement in the standard of living of its people was a major priority for the government. He was talking to Governor Balochistan, Owais Ahmad Ghani, at the PM House. Ghani briefed Aziz on the law and order situation in the province and informed him about the progress of work on the federal government funded projects. Aziz said the government desires a peaceful and secure atmosphere in the province. He said some elements were trying to create unrest in the province, but added that the security and solidarity of Pakistan would be protected at all cost.(Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Cricket-Pakistan, India, Australia plan tri-series in September LAHORE, Jan 14 (Reuters) Pakistan, India and Australia have agreed in principle to host a triangular one-day series this year in September before the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy in India. Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan said the countries had held discussions on the possibility of holding the tri-series between Sept 12 and Oct 5. "We all agree in principle it is a viable proposal. The only problem is that Pakistan is hosting Zimbabwe from late September and we are still not sure if their tour will go ahead on schedule," Shaharyar said.(Posted @ 13:40 PST)
China, Russia delaying Sudan peacekeepers, UN says UNITED NATIONS, Jan 14 (Reuters) Russia and China have delayed promised helicopters and medical units to a U.N. peacekeeping force in Sudan, thereby causing other countries to postpone sending troops, a U.N. official said. The United Nations expects 10,000 troops in southern Sudan to monitor a peace agreement signed a year ago that ended nearly three decades of civil war between rebels and the Khartoum government. But only about 4,000 have arrived.(Posted @ 13:35 PST)
Seven miners killed in Romania gas explosion BUCHAREST, Jan 14, 2006 (AFP) Seven miners were killed and five were injured in a gas explosion at a mine in south-western Romania on Saturday, the mine operators said.(Posted @ 13:30 PST)
Sri Lanka truce monitor base hit by grenade attack COLOMBO, Jan 14 (Reuters) Attackers threw a grenade into the compound of truce monitors in Sri Lanka's restive east early on Saturday, damaging vehicles and a building but causing no injuries, officials said, as fears of a return to war grow. The first direct attack against the monitors since a 2002 ceasefire halted a two-decade civil war came just hours after the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission reprimanded both Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and the government over a spike in violence.(Posted @ 09:58 PST)
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