World Briefs July 18, 2010
Roadside bombs kill 5 NATO troops in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan - Five NATO troops died in roadside bombings in Afghanistan as international forces announced they foiled a terrorist attack on an upcoming conference in Kabul to be attended by leaders from more than 60 nations.The deaths added to a summer of escalating violence as Afghan and coalition forces step up patrols in the Taliban-dominated south in a push to wrest control of the traditional insurgent stronghold. Last month was the deadliest of the nearly nine-year-old war for international troops, with 103 killed including 60 Americans. So far in July 54 have died, 39 of them American.
Security was tightened across the capital for Tuesday's conference, which is attracting the heads of NATO, the United Nations and top diplomats, including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.In May, Taliban fighters had a gunbattle with security forces and militants launched a rocket that landed about 100 yards (meters) from the site of a national peace conference in the capital. Three civilians, but no conference delegates, were wounded.
Acting on intelligence, a combined international and Afghan commando force captured a Taliban bomb-making expert Friday night in Kabul, NATO said.Neither Afghan nor NATO officials would identify the suspect, give details of the plot, or say how advanced the planning was. But the Afghan Defense Ministry said several "enemies of the people" were killed in the raid and 26 suspected insurgents were arrested.
Oil pipeline explodes, burns for 15 hours in China
BEIJING - An oil pipeline exploded at a busy Chinese port, sparking a massive fire that burned for 15 hours before it was finally extinguished Saturday. Officials said no one was killed and set their sights on the cleanup, with a dark, brown slick floating on the sea.
State-run media said the pipeline blew up Friday evening, and the blaze raged among tanks at the port in the northern city of Dalian. More than 2,000 firefighters worked overnight to control flames that shot 100 feet into the air.The cause of the blast was not clear. The Xinhua News Agency said it happened while a Liberian tanker was unloading oil at the port. It said the tanker left safely.
A vast stretch of polluted sea remains the next challenge. About 20 boats were trying to clean up a slick of oil and pollution covering a 20-square-mile swath off Dalian's Xingang Harbor, Xinhua said.Dalian's downtown was thick with smog, and environmental protection officials told China National Radio that the scene remained unsafe because of chemicals in the air.
Militants kill 16 passengers in northwest Pakistan
PARACHINAR, Pakistan - Militants armed with assault rifles ambushed a convoy of civilian vehicles killing 16 people Saturday i n northwestern Pakistan, the scene of extensive military operations targeting Islamist insurgents.Several people also were wounded in the attack in Char Khel village in the troubled tribal region of Kurram. The travelers were heading to the main northwestern city of Peshawar in vehicles when they were ambushed.Kurram has witnessed scores of such attacks, robberies and kidnappings for ransom in the past three years.
Military offensives have left Pakistan's army tied up in most of the tribal belt, as well as in the Swat Valley, also in the country's northwest. Even after major operations have ended in some of these areas, militant activity has continued.The army has moved primarily against the Pakistani Taliban network, which is distinct from the Afghan Taliban factions, though it shares many of the same Islamist and anti-Western goals.
The U.S. has praised Pakistan for pursuing army operations against militant groups on its territory. In part, that's because it does not want Pakistan to be a sanctuary for insurgents battling U.S. and NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
- The Associated Press