All hostages safely rescued at Texas synagogue, governor says
Colleyville (US), Jan 16 (AP): Hostages who had been held for hours inside a Texas synagogue were rescued Saturday night, according to Gov. Greg Abbott, nearly 12 hours after the standoff began.
Prayers answered. All hostages are out alive and safe, Abbott tweeted.
Abbott's tweet came not long after a loud bang and what sounded like gunfire was heard coming from the synagogue, where authorities said a man had held people captive as he demanded the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan.
Details of the rescue were not immediately released and it was unclear whether the hostage-taker was dead or alive.
At least four hostages were initially believed to be inside the synagogue, according to three law enforcement officials who were not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation and who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The synagogue's rabbi was believed to be among the hostages, one of the officials said. One of the officials said the man claimed to be armed but authorities had not confirmed whether he was.
The Colleyville Police Department said one hostage was released uninjured shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday. The man was expected to be reunited with his family and did not require medical attention. A law enforcement official said the first hostage who was released was not the rabbi.
Authorities are still trying to discern a precise motive for the attack. The hostage-taker was heard demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, the Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to al-Qaida, the officials said. He also said he wanted to be able to speak with her, according to the officials. Siddiqui is in federal prison in Texas.
The officials said investigators have not positively identified the man and cautioned that the information was based on a preliminary investigation.
A rabbi in New York City received a call from the rabbi believed to be held hostage in the synagogue to demand Siddiqui's release, a law enforcement official said. The New York rabbi then called 911 .
Police were first called to the synagogue around 11 a.m. and people were evacuated from the surrounding neighborhood soon after that, FBI Dallas spokesperson Katie Chaumont said.
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Bairstow's century powers PBKS eight wickets win over KKR in IPL
Kolkata, Apr 26: Led by Jonny Bairstow's incredible hundred, Punjab Kings set a new world record for the highest run chase in the history of T20 cricket as they overhauled the 262-run target set by Kolkata Knight Riders with eight wickets to spare in the IPL here on Friday.
PBKS bettered South Africa's 259/4 against West Indies in March last year. In the IPL, Rajasthan Royals held the previous record for chasing down 224 against KKR at Eden Gardens recently, equalling the record they had set against then Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2020 in Sharjah.
Sent into bat, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 261/6 but PBKS completed the chase with eight balls to spare.
KKR rode on a 138-run partnership between openers Phil Salt (75 off 37 balls) and Sunil Narine (71 off 32 balls).
The batters that followed the openers then consolidated the home team's position and took them to an imposing total.
In reply, PBKS too were off to a great start and scored 93 runs for the loss of Prabhsimran Singh's wicket in the powerplay.
Prabhsimran blazed away to a 20-ball 54 before getting run out. Bairstow continued his brutal onslaught to help PBKS pull off a stunning win. Bairstow (108 off 48 balls) was well-supported by the in-from Shashank Singh who smashed 68 in only 28 balls.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 261/6 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 75, Sunil Narine 71).
Punjab Kings: 262/2 in 18.4 overs (Jonny Bairstow 108, Prabhsimran Singh 54, Shashank Singh 68).
