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At least 20 dead as suspected jihadists attack Chadian soldiers,
military says
5 Aug, 2021 15:37
More than 20 Chadian soldiers have been killed near Lake Chad after suspected jihadists, purportedly belonging to the Boko Haram group, attacked troops stationed in the notoriously volatile region.
Speaking to Reuters, Chadian army spokesman General Azem Bermandoa said that at least 20 soldiers had perished in an attack in the early hours of Thursday.
“We deplore the death of about 20 of our soldiers during a routine patrol in the locality,” Bermandoa said, adding that the attackers had been repelled by troops and that multinational forces had reinforced the area.
He stated that operations were now underway to further secure the area and track down those responsible for the killings.
Speaking with AFP, Bermandoa said the assault had occurred at Tchoukou Telia, an island on Lake Chad located some 190 kilometers (118 miles) to the northwest of the country’s capital, N'Djamena. The vast body of water sits on or near the borders of four countries – Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad.
The region's deputy prefect, Haki Djiddi, told AFP that the death toll was 24. He added that several soldiers were wounded and that others fled into the nearby countryside. Djiddi said the troops attacked had been resting after having returned from a patrol.
Islamist terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have operated from the volatile region, carrying out attacks against civilian and military targets.
In March 2020, around 100 Chadian troops were killed by Islamist militants during a night raid on the lake's Bohoma peninsula. Then-President Idriss Deby Itno led an offensive against the groups before being killed by rebels in northern Chad in April 2021.
Since Boko Haram led a revolt in Nigeria in 2009, approximately 36,000 people have died and some three million have fled their homes, according to UN figures.
Chief of Afghan government’s media department assassinated – police
6 Aug, 2021 10:05
Police have confirmed that the head of the Afghan government’s media information center, Dawa Khan Menapal, has been assassinated in Kabul, the country’s capital. The attack has been claimed by the Taliban.
“Unfortunately, the savage terrorists have committed a cowardly act once again and martyred a patriotic Afghan,” Interior Ministry spokesman Mirwais Stanikzai said, referring to Menapal’s killing. Stanikzai shared a photo of his deceased colleague.
Menapal had previously been the director of the Public Library of Afghanistan, as well as working as the director of information culture in Kandahar Province for several years.
According to Afghanistan’s TOLOnews, the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack.
The assassination came just days after the Taliban warned they would target senior officials in the Kabul-based administration in response to an escalation of airstrikes in the war-torn country.
It seems the USA has increased their airstrikes in an attempt to soften the effects of the Army's pull-out.
The group has stepped up operations following the drawdown of allied forces, reclaiming territory from the government in Kabul. The US is expected to complete its pullout by August 31, marking the end of a two-decade-long campaign.
On Tuesday, the Taliban said it was behind a deadly attack on the residence of Afghanistan’s acting defense minister, in which at least eight people were killed and many others wounded. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned it was just the beginning of retaliatory operations.
The US and Canada have both started receiving Afghan evacuees amid concerns that those who helped allied troops during the protracted conflict will face reprisals from an increasingly assertive Taliban.
Taliban takes first provincial capital in Afghanistan
as city of Zaranj falls into group's hands
6 Aug, 2021 13:49
© Getty Images / Scott Olson
After so many years of American Marines teaching Afghan troops how to fight, it's a pity they never taught them how to drive.
Taliban insurgents have captured the city of Zaranj, the capital of Afghanistan's southwestern Nimroz province. The city is the first provincial capital to fall amid the ongoing Taliban offensive against government troops.
The militants entered the city on Friday afternoon, according to media reports corroborated by footage circulating online. The development was confirmed to Reuters by Nimroz's police spokesperson, with the official, who remained anonymous for security reasons, blaming the fall of the city on a lack of reinforcements from Afghanistan's central government.
Footage shared online purports to show Taliban militants entering the city en-masse, on foot as well as riding atop a column of captured government armored vehicles.
The militants reportedly also broke into a local prison, freeing inmates from the facility.
The city apparently fell into hands of the Taliban largely without fighting, imagery from the scene suggests. It was not immediately clear whether the local security forces fled or defected to the Taliban.
In recent weeks, the resurgent group has launched a fresh major offensive against government forces, capturing large swaths of territory and establishing control over multiple border crossings.
The Islamist militants have also put pressure on several provincial capitals, including such major cities as Kandahar in the south and Herat in the west. Before the capture of Zaranj, however, the Taliban's territorial gains primarily occurred in sparsely-populated rural areas.
Outraged Lebanese villagers block rocket-launching Hezbollah trucks,
fearing risk of Israeli reprisals
6 Aug, 2021 14:18
A pickup truck with a rocket launcher is seen in Chouya, Lebanon, August 6, 2021
© REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Hezbollah militants suffered a backlash in southern Lebanon as villagers confronted members of the group while they were apparently moving rockets and launchers, blocking their vehicles, according to videos shared online.
On Friday, a crowd of villagers in south Lebanon reportedly took a stand against Hezbollah militants, as the Islamists trafficked their weapons between launch sites, amid an escalation in its conflict with Israel.
Local media reports that the villagers of Chouya were outraged with the Iran-backed militants, who had launched rockets at Israeli targets from locations in their village. They claim the militant group was putting the village at danger from retaliatory Israeli fire.
In videos shared online by reporters, a blue Isuzu truck laden with a rocket-loaded launcher can be seen being brought to a halt by an angry crowd, while locals challenge those transporting the weapons.
More footage appears to show fights breaking out between residents and the alleged Hezbollah militants, including a clip of one individual being manhandled into the back of a car. Upon taking his seat in the car, the opposite door opens and the man is punched.
The president of the municipality of the village of Chouya confirmed the incident, adding that two trucks carrying rocket launchers had been stopped and that their contents have since been seized by the army, a correspondent at the National wrote on Twitter, citing a conversation with the mayor.
In a statement, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said they had arrested four people in relation to the launch, but that only one launcher had been seized.
The Times of Israel, citing an alleged statement by the militant group, said Hezbollah acknowledged the events that took place in Chouya and vowed not to put such villages in danger again.
Since Wednesday, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged fire around the Blue Line that separates Israel from Lebanon. Tel Aviv has called on Beirut to take responsibility for acts of terrorism committed against Israeli citizens by Hezbollah, while Lebanon has demanded Israel refrain from its "aggressive" operations on its territory.
On Wednesday, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) called on all parties to stop the conflict from escalating further, and said it would work with the LAF to reinforce security.
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