Tag: blast

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-Top News Crime UK News

Police arrest 3 after Liverpool car blast

The man killed in the blast has not yet been identified, the statement said. The injured man, who was driving, was in a stable condition in hospital…reports Asian Lite News.

Police announced the arrests of three men after a car exploded in front of Liverpool Women’s Hospital, killing one man and injuring another on Sunday morning.

The three men, aged 29, 26 and 21, were arrested in Liverpool’s Kensington district under the anti-terrorism laws, Greater Manchester Police said in a tweet.

The man killed in the blast has not yet been identified, the statement said. The injured man, who was driving, was in a stable condition in hospital.

Counter-terrorism police in the region were working closely with the Liverpool force, the statement added.

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said police were called to reports of a car explosion just before 1100 GMT outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital, just as a Remembrance Day Service was commemorating war dead at the nearby Liverpool Cathedral.

Police said they understood that the car involved was a taxi that pulled up at the hospital shortly before the explosion occurred.

“Work is still ongoing to establish what has happened,” Kennedy told reporters.

“We are keeping an open mind as to what caused the explosion but given how it has happened, out of caution, counter-terrorism police are leading the investigation supported by Merseyside Police.”

Police said the explosion had not been declared a terrorist incident at this stage.

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Categories
-Top News Afghanistan

Taliban Target Shia Mosque in Kandahar; 30 killed

The explosion’s cause is not yet clear, but it is suspected to be a case of suicide bombing….reports Asian Lite News

More than 30 people have died while 90 others have been injured after an explosion tore through a Shia mosque during Friday prayers in the Afghan city of Kandahar, the BBC reported.

Pictures from inside the Bibi Fatima mosque show shattered windows and bodies lying on the ground with some other worshippers trying to help.

The explosion’s cause is not yet clear, but it is suspected to be a case of suicide bombing. Witnesses said that there were three blasts in the mosque.

IS-K, a local branch of the Islamic State, is expected to claim responsibility for the attack, the BBC reported.

Kandahar is Afghanistan’s second largest city and the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, so an attack in the city by IS-K, which is extremely hostile towards the Taliban, would be significant.

Last Friday, a suicide attack on another Shia mosque during Friday prayers in the northern city of Kunduz had killed at least 50 people. IS-K had said that it carried out the attack, which was the deadliest since the US forces left Afghanistan at the end of August.

IS-K, a Sunni Muslim group, is the most extreme and violent of all the jihadi militant groups in Afghanistan. Sunni Muslim extremists have targeted Shia Muslims, whom they see as heretics.

IS-K has targeted Afghan security forces, politicians and ministries, the Taliban, religious minorities, including Shia Muslims and Sikhs, US and Nato forces, and international agencies, including aid organisations, the report said.

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Categories
-Top News PAKISTAN

BLA group claims responsibility for deadly twin blasts in Quetta

Unidentified attackers lobbed a hand grenade at a stall selling Pakistani flags ahead of the country’s upcoming independence day on August 14…reports Asian Lite News

The Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the two attacks in Quetta on Sunday.

In a statement circulated to local media, a BLA spokesman warned of more attacks related to Pakistan’s independence day celebrations.

On Sunday, unidentified attackers lobbed a hand grenade at a stall selling Pakistani flags ahead of the country’s upcoming independence day on August 14. The stall owner was injured in the attack.

“BLA has claimed responsibility for twin attacks in #Quetta today. They say both were targeted attacks. #BLA has warned people from celebrating Independence Day in Baluchistan,” said Suhaib Zuberi on twitter.

At least two policemen were killed and eight others injured in an explosion near Quetta’s Serena Hotel, a luxury hotel, on Sunday evening.

Pakistan media reports said four passers-by were also wounded in the blast that targeted a police mobile near Tanzeem Chowk, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said in a statement.

He said the bomb was fitted into a motorcycle. The injured were shifted to A hospital, where emergency was imposed.

He condemned the attack, saying “terrorists want to disturb Balochistan’s peace and spread fear”.

“[We] will bring to justice the elements trying to create disturbance in peaceful Balochistan,” he added.

The incident comes more than three months after a powerful bomb exploded in the parking lot of the Quetta Serena Hotel, killing five people and wounding a dozen others.

Pakistan Taliban had claimed responsibility of blast at Serena Hotel in April.

Police said that the explosion on Sunday took place at Zarghoon Road, near the city’s University Chowk, adding that the explosives were planted on a motorcycle. The explosion took place near a police van.

The injured, including two policemen, were shifted to the city’s Civil Hospital, Deputy Inspector General Quetta said, adding that the windows of nearby buildings were shattered due to the explosion. Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan has condemned the incident.

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-Top News China PAKISTAN

Pakistan bus blast: China puts hold on CPEC projects

Thirteen people have lost lives in a bus attack during the construction of the China-led Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district…reports Asian Lite News

After nine Chinese engineers lost their lives in the bus attack, Beijing has postponed its high-level joint committee for the Belt and Road Initiative halting a billion-dollar hydropower project in Pakistan.

Thirteen people including nine Chinese engineers were killed during the construction of the China-led Dasu hydropower project in the Kohistan district. Pakistan’s foreign office called it an accident caused by a mechanical failure. This triggered a strong response from Beijing, demanding that Islamabad probe the blast, Nikkei Asia reported.

“Obviously, these are efforts to block the CPEC mega project, previously a number of attacks targeted only the outlying areas of the CPEC in Balochistan, but this time it happened close to China,” Fakhar Kakakhel, a senior analyst covering terrorism informed.

Pakistani officials, later on, discovered traces of explosives at the site. A team of fifteen Chinese investigators had also reached Pakistan to look into the matter.

: Photo taken with a mobile phone shows security personnel working near the blast site in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 14, 2021. A blast happened in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, leaving 12 people including nine Chinese dead, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan confirmed. (Str/Xinhua)

In the initial reaction, Beijing postponed the 10th Joint Coordination Committee meeting, which is the ruling body for the USD 50 Billion CPEC project. Apart from that, Beijing also suspended work on the Dasu Hydropower Project, Nikkei Asia reported.

Experts believe that the attack has been a huge blow to China’s interests in Pakistan. The disturbing situation in Afghanistan will lead to more trouble in Pakistan where [CPEC] will be the main target, Nikkei Asia reported citing Kakakhel.

Meanwhile, Beijing has also asked Islamabad to identify security risks being faced by Chinese personnel in the country.

China’s State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi discussed with Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed about the recent terror attack in which nine Chinese nationals died in Pakistan.

After persistent attacks on Chinese nationals, now Pakistan has to convince Beijing that it can protect Chinese infrastructure and citizens from the terrorist groups when it has failed to protect its own. (ANI)

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-Top News Asia News Crime

Blast near Saeed’s house in Lahore kills 2

As per police sources, an explosive laden vehicle exploded near a police check-post located near the Allah Hu Boulevard in Joher town….reports Hamza Ameer

At least two people have died while over 15 persons have been critically injured in a massive bomb blast in the Joher town area in Lahore on Wednesday.

As per police sources, an explosive laden vehicle exploded near a police check-post located near the Allah Hu Boulevard in Joher town.

The intensity of the blast was so severe that several nearby buildings developed cracks, while the windowpanes of many houses and vehicles parked in the area were shattered.

Official sources confirmed that the injured persons include women and children, who have been taken to nearby hospitals. Local people have been urged to visit the hospitals to donate blood.

The injured persons also include police officers, who are also being treated in the nearby hospitals. Their condition is stated to be critical.

Security forces have cordoned off the area while the officers of the Counter Terrorism Department are working towards ascertaining the cause of the blast.

“We will only be able to determine the cause after carrying out an investigation,” said Inam Ghani, Inspector General of Punjab Police.

As per eyewitnesses, the intensity of the blast was huge. However, some of the eyewitnesses claimed that the explosive was planted on a motorcycle.

It is pertinent to mention here that the target of the vehicle carrying the explosives may have been the residence of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, whose house is located in the same area.

The security check-post, near which the blast occurred, is close to the residence of Hafiz Saeed.

Ghani said that the target of the attackers seems to be the security officials.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has taken note of the blast and has directed the IG to investigate the matter and submit a report on priority.

“Those responsible for the blast should be brought under the law,” Budzar said.

Meanwhile, Ghani said that a foreign hand is always present in such terror attacks, adding that hostile foreign agencies trying to target security officials and spread fear would not succeed in defeating the ongoing fight against terrorism.

ALSO READ: Afghan leaders warned against blaming Pakistan during US visit

Categories
-Top News Afghanistan Asia News

Massive Kabul blast kills 33

a piece of broken glass of a vehicle at the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Rahmatullah Alizadah/Xinhua)

No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion as of yet….reports Asian Lite News

The death toll in the explosion that took place here on Saturday near a school has risen to 33, officials said.

Besides, 55 others who sustained injuries were taken to different hospitals, according to Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry’s spokesman Tariq Arian, DPA news agency reported.

Arian said that casualties — all of whom were civilians, most of them young girls — were likely to rise.

He confirmed that an explosion occurred at 4.27 p.m. near a school in Dasht-e-Barchi, a Shia-Hazara-populated area of the Afghan capital.

Arian said the area has been cordoned off by police, without giving further details.

a piece of broken glass of a vehicle at the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Rahmatullah Alizadah/Xinhua)

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.

There was conflicting information about the possible cause, with some local media outlets initially reporting three blasts caused by rockets, while other reports suggested the explosion was caused by a car bomb.

Images on television showed backpacks strewn on the ground, bloodstained schoolbooks and people searching desperately for relatives.

Emergency, a non-governmental organisation, tweeted that one person who died and 26 people who were injured had been brought to a hospital that it runs in Kabul.

It said the victims were almost all girls between the ages of 12 and 20.

No one claimed responsiblity

There were fears that the death toll could rise further. Journalist Bilal Sarwari tweeted that at least 53 people had been killed and more than 150 were injured.

After the incident, many took to social media to condemn the killing of the civilians.

No group has claimed responsibility for the explosion as of yet.

Both the Taliban and Islamic State militant groups are active in Afghanistan.

The Taliban denied that it was involved. However, an Interior Ministry spokesperson tweeted that the Taliban was undoubtedly behind the attack.

President Ashraf Ghani also blamed the Taliban. The group had again showed that it was not only unwilling to resolve the crisis peacefully but would rather sabotage the peace process, a statement from the presidential palace said.

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The Afghan government has been in peace talks with the Taliban since September of last year, but these have stalled.

US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson called the attack “abhorrent” in a tweet.

He called the attack “unforgivable” and “an assault on Afghanistan’s future.”

His comments were echoed by the US State Department, which condemned the “barbarous attack,” in a statement.

“We call for an immediate end to violence and the senseless targeting of innocent civilians,” it said.

“We will continue to support and partner with the people of Afghanistan, who are determined to see to it that the gains of the past two decades aren’t erased.”

There have been growing concerns about the security situation in Afghanistan since May 1, the date that international troops officially began their withdrawal. The process is due to be completed by September 11 at the latest.

Many see this time as a test as to whether Afghan security forces, trained by US and NATO troops, are able to protect the government and provide security.

Also read:Taliban capture key district in northern Afghanistan