The Taliban claim to have developed a new bomb, nicknamed Omar after their fugitive leader, which they say is impossible for Western mine sweepers to detect.
The biggest killer of Western troops in Afghanistan are home-made bombs, known as improvised explosive devices (IED). The Taliban deploy IEDs to wide effect in their eight-year insurgency and detonate by remote control.
Western military intelligence officials have said most foreign troop deaths, which hit a record 520 last year, are caused by IED.
But the Taliban claimed - ahead of a major assault by foreign troops on the southern Taliban stronghold of Helmand province - to have created a new IED using materials that make them undetectable.
The militia, which is leading an insurgency to bring down the Western-backed Afghan government and evict foreign troops, routinely exaggerates its claims.
The network's spokesman, who identified himself as Yousuf Ahmadi, said the new bomb had been named after Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahed, believed to be based in Pakistan.
"Omar is our latest weapon in the war against the invaders," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
"It's a very effective bomb, it can't be detected by mine-sweeping vehicles and it causes more deaths," he said.
He refused to provide more details, saying "it's our military secret" but added that each Omar cost around 100 dollars to make.
"With a 100-dollar mine we are able to destroy the enemy's multi-million-dollar anti-mine vehicles," he claimed, referring to heavily armoured vehicles used in Afghanistan by US and other Nato troops.
Mr Ahamdi charged the "Omar bomb" had already been used in attacks on Western forces, but his claim could not be verified immediately.
Around 113,000 foreign troops are deployed to Afghanistan under US and Nato command fighting a Taliban insurgency that increasingly relies on IEDs and suicide bomb attacks as its tactics have morphed into guerrilla warfare.
* AFP
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5