Over 300 killed in Ghazni city fighting: Afghan Defence Minister
Kabul, Aug 13: Over 300 people, including 100 government troops and 30 civilians, have been killed in the intense fighting between Taliban militants and the security forces in Afghanistan's Ghazni city, the country's Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami said on Monday.
The militant group started its offensive in the city last Friday. "As of midday today, the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces recaptured control of nearly all parts of Ghazni city and the Taliban militants would be expelled from the city soon," Bahrami said at a joint press briefing with Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak.
He said that up to 100 government security force members, 30 civilians and over 194 Taliban militants were killed during the four-day clashes between security forces and Taliban militants in the city, Xinhua news agency reported.
At least 147 militants were injured. The US was supporting the Afghan government forces in conducting airstrikes targeting the Taliban.
Within the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry deployed reinforcement in Ghazni city and its adjacent areas. Fresh troops will bring considerable changes in the security situation of the city in the next 24 hours, Bahrami added.
Last week, Taliban militants launched a massive attack on Ghazni, 125 km south of Kabul, in a coordinated effort to take back the city. Hundreds of Taliban insurgents stormed important government entities including the National Directorate for Security (Afghanistan's Intelligence Agency) and the provincial governor's office.
"The Afghan police and Army will soon clear Ghazni city from the Taliban and normalcy and peace will return into the city as soon as possible," the Interior Minister said.
The clashes also blocked a main road connecting Kabul to southern and western provinces and scores of travellers were stranded.
According to authorities, about 100 soldiers of the Afghan special force were missing in the Ghazni province. President Ashraf Ghani ordered more troops to be sent to the city.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that residents of Ghazni were struggling to access basic services and medical care.
"Medication at the main hospital is reportedly becoming scarce... Main access roads both north and south of the city to larger cities where medical facilities are available are contested and unsafe for people to travel," the OCHA said in a statement.
"We call on all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect the lives and rights of civilians and to protect civilian infrastructure," it said.
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Iran, US receive proposal for 45-day ceasefire and reopening of Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): Iran and the United States received a draft proposal late Sunday calling for a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, two Mideast officials speaking on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press.
The proposal comes from Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators, hoping the 45-day window would provide enough time for talks to reach a permanent ceasefire. Iran and the US have not responded to the proposal, which was sent to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, the officials said.
The head of intelligence for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed Monday in an attack targeting him, Iranian state media said.
Strikes on cities across Iran have killed more than 25 people from Sunday to Monday, while in Israel's Haifa, two people were found dead and two others were missing in rubble a day after an Iranian attack.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday stepped up his threat to hit Iran's critical infrastructure hard if the country's government doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline.
Trump punctuated his threat with profanity in a social media post, saying Tuesday will be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”
The war began with joint US-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes from the United Nations and international law experts.
Here is the latest:
An Iranian drone strikes the UAE telecommunications building
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An Iranian drone attack damaged a telecommunications building in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
The attack targeted a building of the state-funded du telecom company.
No one was injured, WAM reported, quoting officials in Fujairah.
South Korea's spy agency sees no signs of North Korea supplying Iran
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South Korea's National Intelligence Service says there are no signs North Korea is providing Iran with weapons or other war-related supplies.
The spy agency's officials told lawmakers Monday that North Korea may be taking a cautious approach to preserve the possibility of dialogue with the Trump administration, according to two lawmakers who attended the closed-door briefing.
North Korea's Foreign Ministry has condemned the US-Israeli attacks on Iran as illegal, but the NIS said Pyongyang has not sent an official condolence message over the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's late supreme leader.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in recent years, has embraced the idea of a “new Cold War” and attempted to expand cooperation with countries confronting the US, including an economic delegation sent to Iran in April 2024.
South Korea plans to send ships and special envoys to Saudi Arabia
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South Korea plans to send at least five ships to Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port in the coming weeks to establish new oil transport routes in the Red Sea.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said Monday the ships will be deployed in phases beginning in mid-April, and the number of vessels could increase depending on contracts with Saudi partners.
Officials did not disclose the companies involved but said some domestic refiners may use non-Korean shipping firms.
South Korea also plans to send special envoys to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Algeria to step up diplomatic efforts to secure alternative fuel supplies, ruling party lawmaker Ahn Do-geol said.
The foreign ministry did not immediately reveal when the envoys would be sent.
Iran executes a man over the January protests
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Iran has executed another man convicted over charges stemming from the nationwide protests that swept Iran in January.
The judiciary's Mizan news agency identified the man hanged as Ali Fahim in a report on Monday.
It was unclear when he was executed.
Fahim had been convicted of allegedly storming a military base to seize weapons.
Amnesty International said Fahim and others convicted in the case “were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention, including beatings, floggings, prolonged solitary confinement, and death threats at gunpoint before being convicted in grossly unfair trials that relied on forced confessions extracted under torture and lasted only a few hours.”
The Human Rights Activist News Agency had said Fahim and others had entered a Tehran base of the all-volunteer Basij militia, an arm of the Revolutionary Guard, after it had been burned, then had been forced into confessions.
Iranian missiles hit central Israel
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Israeli rescue services reported Monday morning that several sites were hit by missiles launched from Iran toward multiple cities in the centre of Israel.
In Petah Tikva, paramedics provided medical treatment to an injured woman in serious condition with a chest injury from shrapnel and evacuated her to the Beilinson Hospital.
Firefighters in that city are handling cars on fire and continue searching to ensure there are no people trapped in the rubble.
In Tel Aviv, a man slightly injured by glass shrapnel was evacuated to the Ichilov Hospital.
Footage provided by the rescue service Magen David Adom shows damage to residential buildings due to the attack.
Meanwhile, Israel's military warned the public Monday morning of another missile barrage coming from Iran, the fourth such alert of the day.
