bomb blast
Daughter of 'Putin's brain' ideologist killed in car blast
The daughter of a Russian nationalist ideologist who is often referred to as “Putin's brain” was killed when her car exploded on the outskirts of Moscow, officials said Sunday.
The Investigative Committee branch for the Moscow region said the Saturday night blast was caused by a bomb planted in the SUV driven by Daria Dugina.
The 29-year-old was the daughter of Alexander Dugin, a prominent proponent of the “Russian world” concept ideology and a vehement supporter of Russia's sending of troops into Ukraine.
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Dugina expressed similar views and had appeared as a commentator on the nationalist TV channel Tsargrad.
“Dasha, like her father, has always been at the forefront of confrontation with the West,” Tsargrad said on Sunday, using the familiar form of her name.
The explosion took place as Dugina was returning from a cultural festival she had attended with her father. Some Russian media reports cited witnesses as saying the vehicle belonged to her father and that he had decided at the last minute to travel in another car.
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No suspects were immediately identified. But Denis Pushilin, president of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic that is a focus of Russia's fighting in Ukraine, blamed it on “terrorists of the Ukrainian regime, trying to kill Alexander Dugin."
2 years ago
Taliban: 2 civilians killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan
A bomb hidden in a cart went off on Friday near a mosque in a minority Shiite neighborhood of the Afghan capital, killing two civilians and wounding another three, a Taliban official said.
According to Khalid Zadran, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief, the attack happened in western Kabul, in the Sar-e Karez area. There were fears the casualty numbers could rise after further reports come in.
Read: Taliban under scrutiny as US kills al-Qaida leader in Kabul
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but blame is likely to fall on the Islamic State group, which has targeted Afghanistan’s minority Shiites in large-scale attacks in the past.
The regional affiliate of IS, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, has increased attacks on mosques and minorities across the country since the Taliban seized power last August. It has been operating in Afghanistan since 2014.
IS is seen as the greatest security challenge facing the country’s Taliban rulers. Following their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban have launched a sweeping crackdown against the IS headquarters in the country's east.
On Wednesday, in a gunbattle between the Taliban and IS gunmen killed five, including two Taliban fighters. The fighting erupted near the Sakhi shrine in the Karti Sakhi neighborhood as people were busy preparing for Ashoura, which commemorates the 7th century death in battle of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
2 years ago
2 killed, 8 injured in car bomb blast in western Afghanistan
At least two people were killed and eight others wounded in a car bomb blast in Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Friday, a provincial public health official confirmed.
"Based on initial information, two were killed and eight wounded in the car bomb blast. The injured were admitted to a regional hospital in provincial capital Herat city...," Mirwais Jalali, physician-in-chief of Herat Regional Hospital, told Xinhua.
The wounded were receiving treatment in an intensive care unit, he said.
READ: 4 Afghan children killed in unexploded ordnance blast: gov't
The incident occurred in Jebraheel locality of Herat city around Friday evening, a provincial security source told Xinhua earlier.
He said the Taliban security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration has vowed to crack down on the outlaws and criminals to ensure law and order in the Asian country.
2 years ago
Suicide bomb hits Palm Sunday Mass in Indonesia, 20 wounded
Two attackers blew themselves up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral during a Palm Sunday Mass on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, wounding at least 20 people, police said.
A video obtained by The Associated Press showed body parts scattered near a burning motorbike at the gates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province.
Rev. Wilhelmus Tulak, a priest at the church, said he had just finished celebrating Palm Sunday Mass when a loud bang shocked his congregation. He said the blast went off at about 10:30 a.m. as a first batch of churchgoers was walking out of the church and another group was coming in.
He said security guards at the church were suspicious of two men on a motorcycle who wanted to enter the building and when they went to confront them, one of the men detonated his explosives.
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Police later said both attackers were killed instantly and evidence collected at the scene indicated one of the two was a woman. The wounded included four guards and several churchgoers, police said.
The attack a week before Easter in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation came as the country was on high alert following December's arrest of the leader of the Southeast Asian militant group, Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been designated a terror group by many nations.
Indonesia has been battling militants since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Attacks aimed at foreigners have been largely replaced in recent years by smaller, less deadly strikes targeting the government, police and anti-terrorism forces and people militants consider as infidels.
President Joko Widodo condemned Sunday’s attack and said it has nothing to do with any religion as all religions would not tolerate any kind of terrorism.
Also read: Big suicide bombing in Kabul kills 18 at education center
“I call on people to remain calm while worshipping because the state guarantees you can worship without fear,” Widodo said in a televised address.
He offered his prayers to those injured and said the government would cover all costs of medical treatment. He said he had ordered the national police chief to investigate the attack and crack down on any militant network that may be involved.
At the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, which opened Holy Week ceremonies at the Vatican, Pope Francis invited prayers for the victims of violence. He cited in particular “those of the attack that took place this morning in Indonesia, in front of the Cathedral of Makassar.’’
At least 20 people were wounded in the attack and had been admitted to hospitals for treatment, said Mohammad Mahfud, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.
“The perpetrators or terrorist groups behind this attack will continue to be pursued,” Mahfud said.
Indonesia's National Police spokesperson Argo Yuwono said police were still trying to identify the two attackers on the motorbike and whether they were linked to a local affiliate of the banned Jemaah Islamiyah network or were acting independently.
Also read: Suicide bomber in SW Pakistan kills 8 at Islamist rally
Indonesian forces in December arrested the group's leader Aris Sumarsono, also known as Zulkarnaen. Over the past month the country's counterterrorism squad has arrested about 64 suspects, including 19 in Makassar, following a tipoff about possible attacks against police and places of worship.
While Jemaah Islamiyah has been weakened over the past decade by a sustained crackdown, in recent years a new threat has emerged in militants who fought with the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and returned to Indonesia or those inspired by the group’s attacks abroad.
Indonesia's last major attack was in May 2018, when two families carried out a series of suicide bombings on churches in the second-largest city of Surabaya, killing a dozen people including two young girls whose parents had involved them in one of the attacks. Police said the father was the leader of a local affiliate of the Islamic State group known as Jemaah Anshorut Daulah.
3 years ago
Afghan bomb kills at least 8; UN slams high civilian deaths
A powerful car bomb killed at least eight people and wounded 47 in Afghanistan's western Herat province, officials said Saturday. Hours later, the U.N. condemned an “alarming” increase in attacks in the country targeting civilians.
3 years ago
2005 bomb blasts: 17 get different jail terms in Satkhira
A Satkhira court on Wednesday convicted 17 people and sentenced them to different jail terms in a case over 2005 bomb blasts in the district.
3 years ago
Big suicide bombing in Kabul kills 18 at education center
The death toll from the suicide attack Saturday in Afghanistan’s capital has risen to at least 18 killed and 57 people wounded, including students, the interior ministry said.
3 years ago
Bomb blast at Chattogram traffic police box: 6more 'Neo-JMB members' held
Members of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) Unit of Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) have arrested six more suspected members of Neo-JMB from number 2gate area of the port city in connection with the bomb blast at a traffic police box in the city’s Sholosohor area in February.
3 years ago
2 children hurt in crude bomb blast in Jashore
Two children were injured after a crude bomb they mistook for a toy exploded at Ghop Mahmudur Rahman School ground in Jashore district town on Monday evening.
4 years ago
8 killed, 28 injured in Mogadishu hotel blast
Eight people were killed and 28 others injured in a car-bomb attack at Elite Hotel in Liido Beach of Mogadishu on Sunday, said officials.
4 years ago