A car bomb targeting Iraq's new justice minister blew up in western Baghdad yesterday, killing four of his bodyguards and wounding seven other people, authorities said. Justice Minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan was not injured.
The blast, the latest in a wave of assassination attempts of high-level government officials, ripped through an intersection 500m from al-Hassan's home, striking the tail end of his convoy.
"A car was parking on the opposite direction of the road, when the driver, God curse him, saw us and exploded himself," said Loae Hassan, one of his bodyguards.
South of the capital, another car bomb exploded outside an Iraqi National Guard headquarters in Mahmudiyah, 30km from Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 47 others, hospital officials said.
The blast that struck the minister's convoy carved a crater 2m in diameter and half a meter deep into the pavement. Flames lapped the charred skeleton of one car stopped alongside a pylon supporting a bridge.
Hassan said several members of the minister's security detail were killed in the blast that completely destroyed three vehicles in the convoy. Among the dead was the minister's nephew.
Though al-Hassan's bodyguards initially said five people had died, the Health Ministry put the number at four.
Shortly afterward, insurgents lobbed a hand grenade at a police patrol in the same neighborhood, badly injuring two police officers, said police Major Hashim Raed.
Insurgents also shot and killed a Jordanian truck driver in western Iraq yesterday and then gouged out his eyes, leaving his body by the side of the road, witnesses said.
The Philippines withdrew 11 more soldiers from Iraq on Friday to meet the demands of kidnappers holding a truck driver hostage, ignoring warnings from the US that the move sends the wrong signal to terrorists.
An Egyptian hostage being held in Iraq will also be released today, his Saudi employer said yesterday.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
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