GENEVA, SWITZERLEAND -Western leaders’ promises of help to the Afghan government when their troops leave, made Monday at an international conference in Germany, appeared to offer smaller hopes of peace following deadly attacks in Kabul and a city in the north Tuesday 6 December.
Close to 60 people died and 160 were injured when a suicide bomber attacked Shi’ite Muslims at a Kabul shrine crowded with religious observers.The blast was the worst in three years. Several of the wounded are reportedly in critical condition
The Irish Times reports that “a Pakistani militant group with close ties to al-Qaeda said it carried out the attack, although security sources could not confirm the group’s involvement.” Aljazeera says attention is focusing on Sunni groups based in Pakistan, but it is unclear as yet who is to blame.
Links to other sites: Aljazeera, Guardian (photo gallery), Irish Times, Reuters
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Any sense of normality in Mumbai, India, disappeared Wednesday as terrorist attacks returned to the city that was traumatized by three days of attacks in 2008 that killed 166 people. Three separate attacks have taken at least 21 lives and injured more than 100 people, in Zaveri Bazaar, the Opera House business district and Dadar in the city centre. The bombs, which government officials are saying were homemade, targeted the city’s financial district at rush hour.
The blasts could raise tensions between India and Pakistan again; the 2008 bombs were blamed on Pakistan, by India. The Times of India reports that “The 2008 attack killed 166 people and was blamed on Pakistan-based militant groups. Tensions escalated between the countries and peace talks were suspended. The talks recently resumed. Soon after Wednesday’s blasts were reported, Pakistan’s government expressed distress on the loss of lives and injuries. ”
Links to other sites: BBC, Reuters, Times of India
The death toll has now risen to at least 60, according to police in Uganda, from two bombs that went off Sunday 11 July in Kampala, where crowds had gathered to watch World Cup football on TV. At about the 90th minute of the game a bomb went off at an Ethiopian restaurant and at nearly the same time another was set off at a rugby sports centre near a stadium. At least 71 people have been hospitalized with injuries. The dead and injured include foreigners, but details are still sketchy. Government officials say investigations are not focused on any one group, although Islamic militants have threatened attacks in Uganda.
Links to other sites: All Africa, CNN, Reuters
An explosion of unknown origin at a coal mine in West Virginia killed 25 workers and four are still missing. The disaster is the worst at a US mine since 1984. Methane gas, which the mine seam releases in large quantities, is suspected. NPR points out that it remains one of the greatest dangers of mining.
In another mining disaster in the past few days, in China, 115 miners out of 153 were rescued after nine days in a flooded mine, but Chinese authorities say they are now finding bodies and several miners are still missing.
Links to other sites: NPR, West Virginia Gazette, Xinhua
Suicide bombers triggered explosions in two crowded Metro subways in Moscow early Monday 29 March. The death toll currently stands at 37, with 33 people injured. The first went off about 08:00 at Lubyanka station, during rush hour, and the second 40 minutes later at Park Kultury station. “No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts but suspicion was likely to fall on groups from the North Caucasus, where the Kremlin is fighting a growing Islamist insurgency,” reports the Moscow Times.
Police were saying late morning in Moscow that female terrorists are suspected to have carried the bombs, according to Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
Links to other sites: Moscow Times, Ria Novosti
Two bombs have killed 49 people, unofficial sources report, with the death toll rising as many of the scores of injured are in critical condition, in Lahore Pakistan. It is unclear if the blasts were two suicide bombs or one, followed by a remote-control device exploding in the heart of Lahore’s commercial centre. One bomb went off in a crowded market, where shops and motorcycles quickly caught fire, and the other near a bank, late Monday 7 December.
