A car bomb that exploded near a convoy carrying a provincial governor in eastern Afghanistan left nine wounded, officials said yesterday.
Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said that Arsallah Jamal, the governor of Khost Province, survived the blast in Khost city unhurt, but five of his bodyguards and four civilians were wounded.
US troops surrounded the area of Wednesday's blast and took the wounded to a hospital at their base near the city, said General Mohammad Ayub, the provincial police chief.
It was at least the third attempt to kill Jamal, who was returning from a visit to districts near the border with Pakistan when he was targeted on Wednesday.
The US-led coalition, meanwhile, said on Wednesday its forces clashed with suspected militants in central Afghanistan, killing several insurgents and detaining two.
The troops moved into compounds in Nirkh District, Wardak Province, late on Tuesday on intelligence that militants were hiding there, a coalition statement said.
Troops found weapons, ammunition and explosive materials, it said.
The clash happened in the same province where NATO and Afghan troops on Monday called in airstrikes during a battle that left up to 20 militants but also as many as 12 civilians dead, Afghan officials said.
Afghanistan this year has seen the heaviest fighting since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban. In all, more than 5,200 people have died in insurgency related violence, including some 700 civilians, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials.
Meanwhile, NATO has reported progress in drumming up more troops for Afghanistan after nations leading the battle against the Taliban stepped up pressure on more reluctant European allies, but the US said significant shortfalls remained.
"I wouldn't say I'm satisfied," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. "But I would say that today was considerably more positive than I anticipated."
Diplomats said nine of the 26 NATO nations made new troop offers on the opening day of a meeting of defense ministers. Officials said it was too early to estimate the overall additional contribution to NATO's force of 41,000. But the alliance's top diplomat said the offers were significant because they would include new deployments to the most dangerous southern battlefields and more training teams to build up Afghanistan's army.
"I've noticed offers from nations, including for the southern part of Afghanistan," alliance Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference. "We have 90 percent filled of what we need, but ... there are still shortages."
Gates used the opening session of the two-day meeting to press other allies to send more troops to the southern front lines where troops from the US, Canada and Britain are taking the lead.
"What we need now are actions, deeds and a sense of urgency and commitment to back up our pledges and promises," he said.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
UNSCHEDULED VISIT: ‘It’s a very bulky new neighbor, but it will soon go away,’ said Johan Helberg of the 135m container ship that run aground near his house A man in Norway awoke early on Thursday to discover a huge container ship had run aground a stone’s throw from his fjord-side house — and he had slept through the commotion. For an as-yet unknown reason, the 135m NCL Salten sailed up onto shore just meters from Johan Helberg’s house in a fjord near Trondheim in central Norway. Helberg only discovered the unexpected visitor when a panicked neighbor who had rung his doorbell repeatedly to no avail gave up and called him on the phone. “The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don’t like to open,” Helberg told television