KABUL // Two suicide bombers wearing police uniforms blew themselves up at an Afghan police headquarters today, killing at least 12 officers and wounding 16, officials said.
The blasts occurred within 20 minutes of each other in Paktika province, said Gen Daud Andarabi, the spokesman for the regional police commander in southeastern Afghanistan.
Nawab Waziry, the head of Paktika's provincial council, said both men wore police uniforms and made it through three security gates before reaching the main building on the police compound. One attacker denoted his explosives inside the police headquarters building, the other blew himself near the entrance, he said.
"There are lots of casualties," Waziry said. "The site was covered with blood."
The attack took place in one of the most violent areas of Afghanistan, where Nato and Afghan forces fight daily against the al Qa'eda linked Haqqani network. The area is about 150 kilometres south of Kabul and borders the Pakistani region of North Waziristan. It's controlled largely by the network, a Pakistan-based Taliban faction.
The border region has long been a refuge for Islamist extremists from around the world and has been the target of numerous drone strikes against the Taliban, al Qa'eda and the Haqqani network forces. Jalaluddin and Sirajuddin Haqqani, a former anti-Soviet commander and his son, are now battling American forces in eastern Afghanistan.
Elsewhere, Afghan and coalition forces killed at least 15 insurgents during an overnight search for a senior Taliban leader in remote eastern Afghanistan, Nato said today.
Security forces came under attack near a compound in Sherzad district of Nangarhar province last night, sparking a battle that killed the insurgents. Nato also used airstrikes in the operation. The alliance said insurgents were the only casualties.
Authorities were trying to determine whether the Taliban leader the troops were searching for was among those killed. The leader was not identified, but Nato said he helped foreign fighters, raised money and planned attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
Mohammad Hassan, a district chief in the area, gave a slightly higher estimate of the deaths, saying at least 18 Taliban were killed in the fighting, including a local commander. He said the airstrikes hit during a Taliban meeting.
Security forces destroyed the weapons found on the insurgents, including rocket-propelled grenade launchers and hand grenades.
Also today, Nato said Afghan and coalition forces called in an airstrike to destroy a network of tunnels and underground bunkers in a Taliban-occupied area of Musa Qala district in Helmand province.
The strike came during a daylong sweep to clear Taliban cells in the province. Coalition forces searched more than 70 buildings in the area, discovering weapons caches that included detonation cords, 200 blasting caps for roadside bombs, a rocket-propelled grenade and a 18-kilogram bag of homemade explosives.
In Kandahar province yesterday, three Afghan civilians - believed to be ages 10, 15 and 20 - were killed in a roadside bomb in Zhari district, Nato said.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
MO
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Look%20Both%20Ways
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
Copa del Rey final
Sevilla v Barcelona, Saturday, 11.30pm (UAE), match on Bein Sports