31 Taliban militants killed
Kabul: Afghan security forces killed 31 Taliban militants and injured 15 others in Nangarhar province, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday.
“The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) were aware of an imminent attack on checkpoints in Qelgho area of Khogyani district late on Wednesday. The ANDSF launched a responsive attack, leaving the casualties among the Taliban,” the Ministry said in a statement.
Ten vehicles were also destroyed during the fighting and five Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were defused after the clashes, Xinhua news agency reported citing the statement as saying. (IANS)
6.6 quake jolts Tibet
Lhasa: An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted Tibet on Thursday, authorities said, adding that there were no reports of casualties.
The quake struck Nyima County at 4.07 a.m., Xinhua news agency quoted the China Earthquake Networks Center as saying. The epicenter was monitored at 33.19 degrees north latitude and 86.81 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 10 km.
The county has launched an emergency response.
Telecommunication, electricity and water supply remain normal in the county. (IANS)
20 hurt in Pak bomb blast
Peshawar: A bomb went off at a busy open-air market in a tribal district in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, injuring at least 20 people.
The bomb blast occurred in Turi Bazar in the city of Parachinar when explosives planted on a cart went off as people were busy in buying groceries and vegetables. At least 20 people sustained injuries, police said. Soon after the blast, security forces and rescue teams reached the spot. The injured were rushed to District Headquarters Hospital. (PTI)
Suspect takes cop hostage
Kiev: A criminal suspect brandishing a hand grenade has abducted a senior police officer in central Ukraine and fled, officials said on Thursday.
When police tried to detain the man accused of stealing a car outside a court building in Poltava, he threatened them with the grenade and took one of the officers hostage. He then swapped the officer for the chief of regional criminal police and drove away in a car provided by police on his demand.
An operation to detain the man is underway, officials said. (AP)