4 policemen killed, 11 injured in blast in Pakistan
Karachi:A powerful remote-controlled bomb blast near a mosque in Pakistan's Balochistan province has killed four policemen and injured 11 others, the second major attack to rock the restive region in the last three days.
The explosion occurred on Monday night when people were assembling for prayers near the mosque in the provincial capital Quetta's Satellite Town area.
The attack took place shortly after a police van arrived at the site to provide security to the people offering prayers at the mosque.
"The police vehicle carrying personnel for mosque security was targeted in the blast in which our four personnel of Rapid Response Group (RRG) lost their lives, while the condition of another was stated to be serious," said Quetta Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Razzaq Cheema.
Another 11 people were injured in the attack, Provincial Home Minister Ziaullah Langov said. This was the second major terrorist attack in Balochistan within the last three days.
Three heavily-armed militants on Saturday stormed a luxury hotel in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar in the restive Balochistan province, killing eight persons, including a Pakistan Navy soldier and three militants.
An improvised explosive device planted in a motorcycle went off close to the police van. Sources said unidentified people parked the explosive-laden motorbike near the mosque in Satellite Town area and detonated it by remote control when the police van arrived there, the Dawn reported.
"Three police officials among the injured died soon after being brought here at the hospital," officials at a healthcare facility said.
Many vehicles parked in the area were damaged and windowpanes of nearby buildings were shattered due to the powerful blast, though the mosque remained safe in the attack.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace those involved in the blast.
The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the motorcycle bomb blast targeting the police vehicle, the report said.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has strongly condemned the targeted attack. Khan has sought a report on the blast and said the country was fully committed to completely eliminating terrorism.
The prime minister said those who target innocent people in the holy month of Ramazan did not have a religion.
The nation's spirit is strong and Pakistan is determined to do away with the menace of terrorism, he said. Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan has also condemned the attack.
"Efforts are being made to sabotage peace under a wicked conspiracy. Those creating instability would be fought back with full force," he said.
Vowing to improve the security arrangements, the chief minister also directed the concerned authorities to provide the best medical facilities to the wounded persons.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
