Pentagon rejects Pakistan army claim on Nato blunder

WASHINGTON: The United States rejected Monday the findings of a Pakistani probe into Nato air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in late November, saying the investigation ignored the fact that “mistakes” were made on both sides. At a press briefing, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Pakistani army had officially delivered during the weekend a copy of the report conducted by Islamabad on the November 26 strikes against a Pakistani border post. “The statement that this was an unprovoked attack by US forces is simply false,” said Navy Captain Kirby. “It was not an unprovoked attack,” he said. “There were errors made by both sides here.” Underscoring its criticism of the Nato force in Afghanistan, the Pakistani military...

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Hundreds of ex-militants lay down weapons in India

GAUHATI: Hundreds of militants in jungle fatigues lined up to surrender weapons Tuesday as several insurgent groups formally joined a cease-fire with the government in a step toward ending a three-decade insurgency in northeast India. The 676 fighters who handed over weapons to authorities at a sports stadium in the Assam state capital of Gauhati are members of nine of the more than 20 groups fighting the government in the remote northeastern state. More than 10,000 people have been killed since 1979 when the insurgents began fighting for greater autonomy for their ethnic communities in Assam. However, over the past two years, the groups have begun to reach cease-fire accords and enter peace talks with the government. Tuesday’s...

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Two car bomb blasts kill 10 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD: Bombs in two parked cars exploded in a mainly Shia area of Iraq’s capital on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 31, police and hospital sources said. The first blast occurred near a group of labourers gathered to wait for jobs and the second near a traffic intersection, both in the northeastern Sadr City area of Baghdad. Iraq has been hit by a number of bombings targeting Shias after a political crisis that has threatened to break up its fragile coalition government and raised fears of renewed sectarian violence after US troops pulled out in mid-December. Violence in Iraq has dropped sharply from the height of sectarian killing in 2006-2007, but insurgents and militias still carry out daily attacks...

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US talks to Afghan insurgent group

ISLAMABAD: Anxious to accelerate peace moves, top-level US officials have held talks with a representative of an insurgent movement led by a former Afghan prime minister who has been branded a terrorist by Washington, a relative of the leader says. Dr Ghairat Baheer, a representative and son-in-law of longtime Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, told The Associated Press this week that he had met separately with David Petraeus, former commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan who is now CIA director, and had face-to-face discussions earlier this month with US Ambassador Ryan Crocker and US Marine Gen. John Allen, currently the top commander in the country. Baheer, who was released in 2008 after six years in US detention...

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India warns against Afghan ‘terrorism’ victory

WASHINGTON: India on Monday voiced caution about US-backed efforts to reach a political solution with Afghanistan’s Taliban, warning against a victory for the “dark forces of terrorism”. Nirupama Rao, the Indian ambassador to the United States, voiced strong support for US-led military efforts in Afghanistan but said that New Delhi was “keenly watching” tentative attempts for talks with the Taliban. “While we agree that ultimately there would have to be a political solution, we also believe that this should not become an overriding objective that needs to be achieved at all costs,” Rao said. “That would risk the prospect of a victory of those dark forces of terrorism and religious extremism that have plagued the region...

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Posted in: INTERNATIONAL