The head of the Pakistani Taliban was killed by a US drone strike on Nov. 1 last year, security and Taliban sources said.
Hakimullah Mehsud was one of the most wanted and feared men in Pakistan, with a US$5 million US bounty on his head, leading an insurgency from a mountain hideout in North Waziristan, the Taliban’s stronghold on the Afghan frontier.
“We confirm with great sorrow that our esteemed leader was martyred in a drone attack,” a senior Taliban commander said.
Photo: EPA
照片:歐新社
In Washington, two US officials confirmed Mehsud’s death in a CIA drone strike. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
At the White House, a spokeswoman said officials had seen the reports Mehsud may have been killed in Pakistan. “We are not in a position to confirm those reports, but if true, this would be a serious loss” for the Pakistani Taliban, Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a statement.
The killing of Mehsud was the latest setback for the Pakistani Taliban, a group aligned with its Afghan namesakes and which has staged attacks against Pakistani armed forces and civilians in its fight to topple the government.
(Reuters)
巴基斯坦神學士組織的首腦去年十一月一日在美國無人機攻擊行動中被殺,安全部隊和神學士組織的消息來源指出。
梅蘇德曾是巴基斯坦最惡名昭彰和最令人畏懼之一的男人,美國懸賞五百萬美元取他性命。他自神學士組織在阿富汗邊境的據點、北瓦濟里斯坦的山區藏匿處領導反叛行動。
「我們以十分悲痛的心情證實,我們可敬的領袖在無人機攻擊中被殺」,一名神學士高階指揮官說。
在華盛頓,兩名美國官員證實梅蘇德在CIA無人機攻擊行動的死訊,他們要求匿名。
在白宮,發言人說,官員已經看過梅蘇德可能已在巴基斯坦被殺的報導。「我們不能證實那些報導,但若這是真的,那將是巴基斯坦神學士組織的嚴重損失」,國家安全會議發言人海登在聲明中說。
梅蘇德之死是巴基斯坦神學士組織最新一次的挫敗,該組織與位在阿富汗的同名組織緊密合作,為了推翻政府,對巴基斯坦武裝部隊和平民發動攻擊。
(路透)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: As well as Eid al-Fitr, Southeast Asia is celebrating the Water Festival this week. B: And this year, Thailand is expanding the celebration between April 12 and 16 for the event, officially known as the Songkran Festival, expecting to make 24.3 billion Thai baht in tourism revenue. A: Does Taiwan celebrate the Water Festival? B: Some local cities and counties do have similar activities. A: Let’s go experience the festival then. A: 除了「開齋節」外,東南亞「潑水節」本週也盛大登場! B: 泰國今年從4月12日到16日擴大「宋干節」連假,預估觀光收入可高達243億泰銖。 A: 台灣會慶祝「潑水節」嗎? B: 有些縣市會舉辦類似活動。 A: 那我們也去體驗一下吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)