IS claims bomb blast martyring three cops
"Jihadi John" was known as the executioner of the Islamic State group appearing masked in a string of videos showing the beheadings of Western hostages PHOTO: AFP
The Islamic State group has claimed a bomb explosion targeting police in Pakistan's southwest that martyred three policemen and wounded more than a dozen.
A bomb planted on a parked motorcycle on Tuesday targeted a passing bus carrying 40 policemen in Mastung, Balochistan, where security forces have been battling violence for decades.
In a statement late Tuesday, the group's regional branch, Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), which often carries out attacks on security forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan, claimed its "soldiers" targeted the police.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence in its regions bordering Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti strongly condemned the bombing and expressed profound grief over the loss of precious lives.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Israeli fire kills 8 near aid centres
Palestinians at al-Shifa Hospital react over the bodies of their relatives killed by Israeli fire near an aid distribution centre in central Gaza, June 11 [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters] Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed at least 12 people on Saturday, including eight who had gathered near aid distribution sites in the Palestinian territory suffering severe food shortages. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces while waiting to collect aid in the southern Gaza Strip. In a separate incident, Bassal said five people were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations. The Israeli army told AFP it was "looking into" both incidents, which according to the civil defence agency occurred near distribution centres run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Its operations began at the end of May -- when Israel eased a total aid blockade that lasted more than two months -- but have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Saturday that 450 people had been killed and 3,466 others injured while seeking aid in near-daily incidents since late May. The Israeli blockade imposed in early March amid an impasse in truce negotiations had produced famine-like conditions across Gaza, according to rights groups. Israel's military has pressed its operations across Gaza more than 20 months since an unprecedented Hamas attack triggered the devastating war, and even as attention has shifted to the war with Iran since June 13. Bassal told AFP that three people were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City in the north, and one more in another strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis. Israeli forces also demolished more than 10 houses in Gaza City "by detonating them with explosives", he added. Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities. Earlier this week, the UN's World Health Organization warned that Gaza's health system was at a "breaking point", pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running.
Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Chris Brown pleads not guilty
American R&B singer Chris Brown on Friday pleaded not guilty in a UK court to a charge stemming from an alleged London nightclub brawl in 2023, reported AFP. Brown, 36, in a navy blue three-piece suit and tie and wearing glasses, stood in the dock as the charge was put to him, replying: "Not guilty, ma'am." The singer, who is on £5 million ($6.7 million) bail, made no comment as he arrived earlier to find a large group of photographers gathered outside the central London court. He spoke only during the hearing to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his plea to the charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. He smiled and waved to fans in the public gallery as he left. A five to seven-day long trial was fixed to start on October 26, 2026. Currently on the UK leg of an international tour, Brown spent nearly a week in jail last month before being released on bail. Police arrested the star at a five-star hotel in the northwestern city of Manchester hours after reportedly flying in by private jet. Under the terms of his bail, he will forfeit the £5 million guarantee if he fails to return for court proceedings. Judge Tony Baumgartner gave him the green light to continue his scheduled tour, which began on June 8 in Amsterdam. The singer, who had a troubled relationship with Barbadian singer Rihanna, is next due to perform in London on Saturday ahead of dates in Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and Glasgow. The tour will continue in France and Portugal in early July before a string of concerts in the US, wrapping up in Memphis in the US in October. Brown is charged in relation to an assault in which the victim was allegedly struck several times with a bottle before being pursued, punched and kicked. The alleged incident took place at the exclusive private member's club Tape in Hanover Square in London on February 19, 2023 while Brown was touring in the UK. Grammy winner Other bail terms include that he should surrender his passport if he is not travelling. He is also required to live at a specific address known to the court and is not permitted to visit the nightclub where the alleged assault took place or contact the alleged victim, Abraham Diah. Shortly after being released from prison in May, Brown posted an Instagram story referencing his Breezybowl tour. "From the cage to the stage. Breezybowl," he posted. Akinlolu also entered a not guilty plea to the same charge of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent. Both men are also jointly charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm. They will enter pleas to that charge on July 11, the court was told. Brown also faces a third charge of having an offensive weapon, a bottle, in public. The Grammy-winning singer is known for mid-2000s hits such as Kiss, Kiss. He rose from a local church choir in Virginia to sudden fame with his rich R&B voice and later rap. 'History of Violence' In January, Brown filed a $500 million lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery and producers of the documentary Chris Brown: A History of Violence, accusing them of defamation and knowingly spreading false information about him. Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, the lawsuit targetted Warner Bros Discovery and Ample Entertainment, the production company behind the documentary that aired in October. The film chronicled Brown's history of legal troubles and abuse allegations, including a claim by a woman who alleged the singer drugged and assaulted her during a 2020 yacht party reportedly hosted by music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. According to Rolling Stone, Brown claims the documentary presented him as a "serial rapist and sexual abuser," despite no sex-related convictions and evidence that the allegations in question had been discredited. The suit alleges the producers acted "in pursuit of likes, clicks, downloads and dollars," ignoring journalistic standards and promoting "false information" despite being provided proof to the contrary. "To put it simply, this case is about the media putting their own profits over the truth," the filing reads. It further asserts that the Jane Doe referenced in the film had previously been "discredited" and accused of being an "aggressor" in past incidents. A spokesperson for Warner Bros Discovery responded to the lawsuit, saying: "We stand behind the production and will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit." While the documentary revisits many of these incidents, the lawsuit argues it goes beyond public record and ventures into "malicious and defamatory territory."
Express Tribune
9 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Court shields foreign students at Harvard
A federal judge on Friday indefinitely paused Donald Trump's bid to block Harvard from enrolling foreign students as the US president said a "deal" with the Ivy League school was in the works, reported AFP. The order by District Judge Allison Burroughs will allow international students to continue to attend the elite university while a lawsuit filed by Harvard plays out in the courts. Trump, who has cut federal grants for Harvard and tried a host of different tactics to block the institution from hosting international students, said that his administration has been holding negotiations with Harvard. "Many people have been asking what is going on with Harvard University and their large-scale improprieties that we have been addressing, looking for a solution," Trump said in a post Friday on Truth Social. "We have been working closely with Harvard, and it is very possible that a deal will be announced over the next week or so," he said. "If a settlement is made on the basis currently being discussed, it will be mindboggingly historic, and very good for our country." Trump did not provide any details about the purported "deal." The Trump administration has sought to remove Harvard from an electronic student immigration registry and instructed embassies to deny visas to international students hoping to attend the Massachusetts-based university. Harvard has sued the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to block the efforts, arguing that they were illegal and unconstitutional. Harvard previously secured two temporary restraining orders from Burroughs against the government's move to bar international students, and the judge extended it with a preliminary injunction on Friday. International students accounted for 27 per cent of total enrollment at Harvard in the 2024-2025 academic year and are a major source of income. In court filings, Harvard argued that Trump's actions were "retribution for Harvard's exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government's demands to control Harvard's governance, curriculum, and the 'ideology' of its faculty and students."
