killed
Tourist killed as 'Chander Gari' falls into ditch in Sajek
A tourist was killed and seven others were injured when a ‘Chander Gari’( a vehicle that usually carries tourists) fell into a ditch while returning from Sajek on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Fardin Hasan Bishal, 35, hailing from Dhaka's Shyampur.
The identities of the injured could not be confirmed immediately.
The accident occurred around 5pm when the Chander Gari reached Khasrang Hill Resort area from Sajek’s Konglak Hill, overturned and fell into a ditch, said Nurul Alam, officer-in-charge of Sajek Police Station.
Later, a team of Bangladesh Army and police rescued the injured people and took them to Dighinala Upazila Health Complex for treatment, added the OC.
The rescue operation is still going on till the filing of this report at 7:15pm.
Two killed as pickup van rams auto-rickshaw in Dhaka; 3 injured
Two people were killed and three others including two policemen were injured as a pickup van rammed a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Jatrabari area of Dhaka Friday morning.
The deceased were identified as CNG driver Md Akbar Hossain, 40, and pedestrian Md Hasan, 30.
Among the injured, one identified as Sohel, 35. However, the identities of the policemen could not be known.
Salman Rahman, sub-inspector of Jatrabari Police Station, said a speedy pickup van hit a CNG-run auto-rickshaw in Rayerbag area around 6:30 am, leaving them injured.
Also Read: 2 vegetable traders killed on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway as pickup van crashes into truck
Police rushed them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared Akbar dead on arrival, he said.
Later, pedestrianHasan succumbed to his injuries around 9:30am, added the SI.
The injured policemen are undergoing treatment at Rajarbagh Hospital.
Police, however, detained the pickup driver and his assistant, SI Rahman said.
The bodies have been kept at DMCH morgue for post-mortem, said Inspector Bachhu Mia, in-charge of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital police camp.
Fiery Greece train collision kills 32, injures at least 85
A passenger train in Greece carrying hundreds of people collided with an oncoming freight train in a fiery wreck in the country's north early Wednesday, killing 32 and injuring at least 85, officials said.
Multiple cars derailed and at least three burst into flames after the collision near Tempe, a small town next to a valley where major highway and rail tunnels are located, some 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens.
Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train cars due to the impact. They said others fought to free themselves after the passenger train buckled, slamming into a field next to the tracks.
Hospital officials in the nearby city of Larissa said at least 25 people had serious injuries.
“The evacuation process is ongoing and is being carried out under very difficult conditions due to the severity of the collision between the two trains,” said Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a spokesperson for Greece’s firefighting service.
Rescuers wearing head lamps worked in thick smoke, pulling pieces of mangled metal from the cars to search for trapped people. Others scoured the field with flashlights and checked underneath the wreckage. Several of the dead are believed to have been found in the restaurant area near the front of the passenger train.
Also Read: Greece: 3 dead after boat with migrants hits rocks
The possible cause of the collision was not immediately clear. Two rail officials were being questioned by police but had not been detained.
Passengers who received minor injuries or were unharmed were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) to the north. Police took their names as they arrived, in an effort to track anyone who may be missing.
A teenage survivor who did not give his name told reporters as he got off one of the buses that just before the crash, he felt a strong braking and saw sparks and then there was a sudden stop.
“Our carriage didn’t derail, but the ones in front did and were smashed,” he said, visibly shaken.
He added that the first car caught fire and that he used a bag to break the window of his car, the fourth, and escape.
Also Read: Cargo plane carrying munitions from Serbia to Bangladesh crashes in Greece
Rail operator Hellenic Train said the northbound passenger train from Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, had about 350 passengers on board.
In comments to state television, Costas Agorastos, the regional governor of the Thessaly area, described the collision as “very powerful" and said it was “a terrible night.”
“The front section of the train was smashed. ... We’re getting cranes to come in and special lifting equipment clear the debris and lift the rail cars. There's debris flung all around the crash site."
Officials said the army had been contacted to assist.
Hellenic Train, which has added highspeed services in recent years, is operated by Italy's FS Group, which runs rail services in several European countries.
More than 70 soldiers killed in Burkina Faso, extremists say
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for killing more than 70 soldiers, wounding dozens and taking five hostage, in an ambush on a military convoy in northern Burkina Faso.
The statement, posted Friday by Amaq, the group’s news agency, said it attacked a convoy trying to advance to areas under its control near Deou, in the Sahel's Oudalan province. It said it seized weapons and chased retreating soldiers for miles into the desert.
Images released by the group show 54 slain bodies in military uniform lying in the bloodstained dirt, as well as more than 50 seized assault rifles and images of the five soldiers it said were taken prisoner.
Read More: Burkina Faso says 66 women, children freed from extremists
The announcement comes one week after the attack in Deou and days after another attack in Tin-Akoff town, where locals and civil society groups say dozens more soldiers and civilians were killed when a military outpost was hit.
It's unclear how many people have been killed in the two incidents. Last week the government confirmed that 51 soldiers died in the Deou ambush but it has not responded to requests for updated numbers or commented on the attack in Tin-Akoff.
Violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group has wracked the country for seven years killing thousands and displacing nearly 2 million people. Frustration at the government's inability to stem the violence led to two coups last year, each one preceded by a major attack on the military.
This is the deadliest ambush on soldiers since the new junta leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, seized power in September and analysts say it could threaten his grip on power.
“There’s a persistent stream of militant attacks north of the country and the public is undoubtedly taking notice of their government's inability to provide security. Any further attacks this colossal could threaten a public scene and even threaten to unseat the junta,” said Laith Alkhouri, CEO of Intelonyx Intelligence Advisory, which provides intelligence analysis.
One soldier involved in the ambush in Deou, who was not authorized to speak to the media, said their convoy was outnumbered as more than 300 jihadis encircled them, firing rockets and mortars. “We lost many men”, he said.
The large number of jihadis and the different colored headscarves they were wearing appeared like a coalition of many extremist franchises that he hadn't seen before, he said.
The Islamic State and an al-Qaida linked group, known by its acronym JNIM, are not known to work together, but rather have been fighting each other for territory and influence in the country as well as in neighboring Mali where they operate. Analysts say it's extremely unlikely they would have joined forces.
Some locals say the increase of jihadi violence against the military is revenge for torture and extrajudicial killings by soldiers against people presumed to be jihadis.
Hamadou Boureima Diallo, a local journalist in the Sahel's Dori town, told The Associated Press by phone that he spoke with locals who witnessed the latest attack in Tin-Akoff and were able to flee and that they blamed the killings on revenge.
“These recent bloody attacks against soldiers is because when the soldiers arrest terrorists or presumed terrorists they torture them and make photos or videos that circulate on social media," said Diallo, recounting what the locals said. "We have seen some of the videos where presumed terrorists are being tortured. ... This is not good,” he said.
Man killed by muggers in front of wife, children in Savar
A 28-year-old man was killed by some muggers in front of his wife and children in Savar early Friday, police said.
Dipak Chandra Saha, officer-in-charge of Savar Model Police Station, said the deceased Sohel Mia along with his wife and two children, arrived at Savar from his village home in Rangpur by bus in the early hours of Friday.
Quoting Sohel's family members, the OC said "As soon as they got off the bus at Savar bus stand, some unidentified muggers targeted them and tried to snatch money and cellphones."When Sohel resisted, the muggers stabbed him indiscriminately, leaving him dead on the spot, added the OC.
On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College for an autopsy.
A drug addict has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the incident. However, his identity was not revealed.
The deceased, a mason by occupation, used to live with his family in the Majidpur area of Savar.
"Efforts are on to nab the muggers involved in the murder," said the officer.
10 Palestinians killed, scores hurt in Israel West Bank raid
Israeli troops on Wednesday entered a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank in a rare, daytime arrest operation, triggering fighting that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others.
The raid, which reduced a building to rubble and left a series of shops riddled with bullets, was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. A 72-year-old man was among the 10 killed and 102 people were wounded, Palestinian officials said.
The brazen raid, coupled with the high death toll, raised the prospect of further bloodshed. A similar raid last month was followed by a deadly Palestinian attack outside a Jerusalem synagogue, and the Hamas militant group warned that “its patience is running out.”
The Israeli military said it entered the city to arrest three wanted militants suspected in previous shooting attacks in the West Bank. It said it tracked down the men in a hideout.
The army said it surrounded the building and asked the men to surrender, but instead they opened fire. It said all three were killed in a shootout.
Also Read: Palestinian teen killed in Israeli army raid in West Bank
It said that during the raid, armed suspects “shot heavily toward the forces,” which responded with live fire. It said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops. There were no Israeli casualties. It released photos of what it said were two automatic rifles confiscated in the raid.
In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old casbah. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said of the 102 people wounded, six were in critical condition. Palestinian militant groups claimed three of the dead as members. But a 72-year-old man was also killed. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups.
Also Read: Palestinian man, Israeli child die as bloodshed rises
An amateur video posted online appeared to show security camera footage of two young men running down a street. Gunshots are heard, and both falls to the ground, with one's hat flying off his head. Both bodies remained still.
Amateur video footage appeared to show Israeli troops operating in downtown Nablus, and army vehicles firing tear gas canisters.
Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 militants in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people.
Days later, five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem.
The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-line government took office. The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence.
In the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group issued a veiled threat.
“The resistance in Gaza is observing the enemy’s escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank, and its patience is running out,” said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group.
The group has battled Israel to four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, and Israeli officials have expressed concerns about rising tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in March.
At least 55 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, a pace that could exceed last year's death toll. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Israel says that most of those killed have been militants but others — including youths protesting the incursions and other people not involved in confrontations — have also been killed. An AP tally has found that just under half of those killed belonged to militant groups.
Israel says the military raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks while the Palestinians view them as further entrenchment of Israel’s open-ended, 55-year occupation.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians seek for their hoped-for independent state.
BSF hands over body of Bangladeshi youth it shot dead after 4 days
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on Monday handed over the body of a Bangladeshi youth who was shot dead by its members on Friday.
A team of Hakimpur Police Station with the help of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members received the body of the youth around 5:30 pm and handed it over to his family, said Abu Sayem Miah, in-charge of the police station.
Earlier in the day, a flag meeting was held between Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB-20) Battalion and Indian Border Guard Force (BSF-6)1 Battalion at the Main Pillar area of the border, regarding the handing over of the body.
Shahabul Hossain Babu, 24, son of Abul Hossain of Dharanda village under Hakimpur upazila, was shot dead by Indian Border Security Force (BSF), along the Hili land port in Dinajpur on Friday night, locals on the Bangladesh side said.
Md Rafiqul Islam, a ward councilor of Hakimpur municipality, said Babu accompanied by others crossed into the Indian territory along the Hili border on Friday night.
"We heard sounds of two rounds of bullets from the Indian side and subsequently came to know that Babu was shot dead by the BSF,” he said.
Read more: 2 Bangladeshis shot dead in BSF firing in Lalmonirhat
Heavy rains leave 36 dead in Brazil
Heavy rain caused flooding and landslides that have killed 36 people in Brazil’s north Sao Paulo state, officials said Sunday, and the fatalities could rise.
Sao Paulo state government said in a statement that 35 died in the city of Sao Sebastiao and a 7-year-old girl was killed in neighboring Ubatuba.
The cities of Sao Sebastiao, Ubatuba, Ilhabela and Bertioga, some of the hardest hit and now under state of calamity, canceled their Carnival festivities as rescue teams struggle to find missing, injured and feared dead in the rubble.
“Our rescue teams are not managing to get to several locations; it is a chaotic situation,” said Felipe Augusto, the mayor of Sao Sebastiao. Later, he added there are dozens of people missing and that 50 houses collapsed in the city due to the landslides.
Augusto posted on social media several videos of widespread destruction in his city, including one of baby being rescued by locals lined up on a flooded street.
Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Twitter he will visit the region Monday.
Sao Paulo state government said in a statement that precipitation in the region has surpassed 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) in one day, one of the highest amounts ever in Brazil in such a short period.
Also Read: Bolsonaro says he may return to Brazil in the coming weeks
Bertioga alone had 687 millimeters during that period, the state government said.
Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas said in a statement he requested support from the army, which sent two airplanes and rescue teams to the region.
TV footage showed houses flooded with only the roof visible. Residents are using small boats to carry items and people to higher positions. A road that connects Rio de Janeiro to the port city of Santos was blocked by landslides and floodwaters.
The northern coast of Sao Paulo state is a frequent Carnival destination for wealthy tourists who prefer to stay away from massive street parties in big cities.
Israeli airstrikes kill 5 in Syria
Israeli airstrikes targeted a residential neighborhood in the Syrian capital of Damascus early Sunday, killing at least five people and wounding 15, Syrian state news reported.
Loud explosions were heard over a central area of the capital around 12:30 a.m. local time, and SANA reported that Syrian air defenses were “confronting hostile targets in the sky around Damascus.”
Syrian state media agency SANA, citing a military source, reported that five people had been killed, among them a soldier, and 15 civilians wounded, along with “destruction of a number of residential buildings.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, reported that 15 people, including a woman, were killed in strikes targeting sites connected with Iranian militias and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. They took place in the Damascus countryside and on an Iranian school in the neighborhood of Kafr Sousa in the capital, it said.
There was no immediate statement from Israel on the attack.
Also Read: Death toll from Islamic State attack in Syria at least 53
Israeli airstrikes frequently target sites in the vicinity of Damascus. The Saturday night strikes were the first since a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6.
The last reported attack on Damascus was on Jan. 2, when the Syrian army reported that Israel’s military fired missiles toward the international airport of Syria’s capital early Monday, putting it out of service and killing two soldiers and wounding two others.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, but rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations.
Israel has acknowledged, however, that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.
The Israeli strikes come amid a wider shadow war between Israel and Iran. The attacks on airports in Damascus and Aleppo were over fears they were being used to funnel Iranian weaponry into the country.
1 killed, 3 hurt in shooting at El Paso, Texas shopping mall
Police in El Paso, Texas, say one person was killed and three other people were wounded in a shooting Wednesday in a shopping mall.
One person has been taken into custody, El Paso police spokesperson Sgt. Robert Gomez said. No immediate information was given about that person.
“It’s too early to speculate on motive,” Gomez said.
The three who were wounded were hospitalized, Gomez said. Their conditions were not known.
Gomez said police believe the scene is secure and that officers are sweeping through the whole mall to verify that.
Authorities have set up a reunification center at a nearby high school.
Also read: Police say 3 dead, 4 hurt in latest California shooting
Police earlier said the shooting was reported at the shopping mall’s food court.
Wednesday’s shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall happened in a busy shopping area and across a large parking lot from a Walmart where 23 people were killed in a racist attack in 2019.