Month: March 2011

Baghdad, March 06: Stifled by tight security but met with far less bloodshed than the week before, thousands of people swarmed to protests Friday across Iraq to call for better public services and more accountable politicians.

The demonstrations went ahead despite curfews and bans on vehicle movement in major cities such as Baghdad, the capital, and Basra. But the gatherings were smaller than similar rallies the previous week, which saw more than a dozen people killed in clashes with security forces.

Tripoli, March 06: Forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi have launched a series of fierce attacks in key areas of east and west Libya.

There has been bitter fighting in Zawiyah – a rebel held town, 30 miles from the capital Tripoli.

It is believed two armoured brigades, with tanks and heavy artillery attacked anti-regime protesters at dawn.

One of the brigades is the elite Kharmis Brigade, which is headed by one of Col Gaddafi’s sons.

Tripoli, March 06: Eight British soldiers have been captured in eastern Libya as they escorted a senior diplomat through territory under the control of revolutionary forces.

According to a report published by The Sunday Times, the unexpected presence of a British special forces unit along with the diplomat “angered Libyan opposition figures, who ordered the soldiers to be locked up on a military base.”

The Britons have reportedly been taken to Benghazi in eastern Libya. The diplomat they were protecting had wanted to contact the anti-government forces.

Washington, March 06: When U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Derek Goins deployed to the most dangerous place in Afghanistan five months ago, he mentally prepared for the risk of getting shot by the Taliban or stepping on bombs buried throughout this southern river valley.

But he wasn’t ready for what happened to his two best friends, who were shot to death inside a patrol base by an Afghan army soldier who escaped into the arms of the Taliban.

Gaza, March 06: Israeli warplanes launched four raids on Gaza City after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel.

During the air raid, an Israeli F16 fired a missile at a target in the city’s Zeitoun district, but there were no casualties, said the sources.

Three of the raids targeted bases of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. These attacks caused significant damage both to the targets and to neighbouring houses.

Tripoli, March 06: Embattled Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi says he wants the United Nations or the African Union to investigate the anti-government protests in the country.

The 68-year-old Gaddafi made the remarks in an interview with the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, AFP reported early on Sunday.

On Saturday, pro-Gaddafi forces backed by tanks launched an assault on Zawiyah, 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, firing heavy mortar rounds at houses and attacking a hospital.

Tripoli, March 06: Ferocious battles between troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and rebel forces seesawed back and forth in both eastern and western parts of the country overnight, with hospitals reported overrun with casualties.

At the same time, the self-proclaimed national council – the opposition’s newly formed government – held its first formal meeting in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi and declared itself the sole representative of the war-torn country.

London, March 06: Britian’s Ministry of Defence says about 200 troops have been placed on standby to help with evacuation and humanitarian operations in Libya.

The troops from the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, are ready for deployment at 24 hours’ notice, an MoD spokeswoman said on Saturday.

“Troops from 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland have been on short notice to move to provide assistance to the evacuation and humanitarian efforts as required,” she told AFP.

Tehran, March 06: Two Iranian warships, which entered the Mediterranean last month sparking an outcry from Israel, have passed through the Suez Canal back into the Red Sea, naval commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari said today.

“The flotilla … has completed its mission successfully in the Mediterranean Sea and has returned to the Red Sea transiting through the Suez Canal,” the official news agency IRNA quoted Sayari as saying.

Tripoli, March 06: Witnesses say a Libyan jet fighter has crashed near Ras Lanouf a day after the eastern oil port city was overtaken by rebel forces fighting to oust Muammar Gaddafi.

Pictures taken by witnesses show the pilot’s body and twisted wreckage from the plane. The cause of Saturday’s crash couldn’t immediately be determined.

Pro-Gaddafi forces have launched a number of airstrikes against rebel targets as they seek to put down the 19-day-old rebellion.

Libyan jet fighter crashes in rebel-held east

Tehran, March 06: Top Iranian commander Hassan Firouzabadi says the US seeks to take control of Libya’s oil resources through military intervention in the country.

“The fact is the US wants to intervene in order to take over Libya’s oil wells, just like what they did in Iraq with Iraqi oil [resources],” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Firouzabadi said on Saturday.

A brutal crackdown by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime on opposition protests that began nearly two weeks ago has left an estimated 2,000 people dead so far.

Gaza, March 06: Israeli forces have launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, with initial reports indicating there have been casualties.

In the attacks, which occurred late on Saturday night, Israeli fighter jets targeted several sites across Gaza City.

The exact number of casualties is still not clear, a Media correspondent in Gaza reported.

However, witnesses say one of the missiles hit a target in the city’s Zeitoun district, causing significant damage to a number of houses.

Kabul, March 06: A soldier with the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has been killed in a roadside bomb attack in southern Afghanistan.

“An ISAF service member died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan today,” the military coalition said in a brief statement issued on Saturday.

However, the alliance did not announce the name or nationality of the victim.

The latest death brings to 75 the number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan so far this year.

Mogadishu, March 06: At least 70 Somali troops have been killed by two car bombs that detonated near two government security installations in the capital, according to a report.

The twin car bombs targeted the government training facilities for security forces, located in southern Mogadishu’s Industrial Road district, on Saturday.

About 160 Somali soldiers also sustained injuries in the powerful blasts, the Media correspondent in Mogadishu reported.

Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Cairo, March 06: undreds of Egyptians are marching to the country’s border with the Gaza Strip to demand that it be opened.

They are currently in Al Arish, about 50 kilometers from Rafah.

Press TV correspondent Roshan Muhammed Salih is also in Al Arish, where he spoke to several of the Egyptian activists, who told him they plan to hold a demonstration on the border on Sunday, with the aim of entering the besieged territory.