Wars in the World

Twenty-three Tajik soldiers were killed Sunday in an attack by “Islamist terrorists” in the east of the Central Asian country, a defence ministry spokesman told AFP.

“Twenty-three defence ministry troops are dead and another 10 were wounded in a terrorist attack committed in the afternoon in the east of Tajikistan,” said spokesman Faridun Makhmadaliyev.

“The attack was committed by two groups of Islamist terrorists,” he added.

A Tajik military source said earlier that a military convoy had been attacked in the mountainous Racht valley, some 250 kilometres east of the capital Dushanbe, as it was trying to reach an observation post.

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Mauritanian soldiers have clashed with suspected fighters from al-Qaeda’s North African wing (AQIM) in Mali, two days after several foreign nationals were abducted in the region.

The fighting began on Saturday on the Mauritania-Mali border but then moved on to Malian territory, Mauritanian security sources said.

The sources told Al Jazeera that at least 12 AQIM members were killed and several more were injured. On the Mauritanian side, five soldiers were killed and five injured.

“We are presently in Malian territory and engaged in full combat,” a Mauritanian security source told the AFP news agency.

Hamdi Uld-el Hassen, a freelance journalist in Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, said the violence is a sign that Mauritania is stepping up its fight against al-Qaeda.

“This was the first palpable challenge to al-Qaeda,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Mauritania now is strengthening the military presence along the Malian border and that was a tangible message to al-Qaeda that Mauritania will not stay like it was in the past - waiting to be targeted by al-Qaeda.

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Two operators of special italian forces have been hit by shells in an operation to capture some people that had placed just before a device along the street.

One of both, lieutenant Alessandro Romani, 36 years, is died, not seriously injured another. It’s happened in district of Bakwa, in Afghanistan. At start seemed that both soldiers weren’t considered life threatening.

Victim is roman lieutenant

Soldier died is lieutenant Alessandro Romani, of IX paratroop regiment Col Moschin, Born in Rome on July 18 1974, had many experiences in foreign missions. Wounded collegue called Elio Domenico Rapisarda.

Both soldiers have been hit at shoulder. Romani, according sources of Defense, had been subject in these hours at surgery in USA hospital “Role 2” in Farah.

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IDF says strongman ran towards soldiers in threatening manner, ignored requests to stop, resulting in him being shot; circumstances of incident under investigation.

IDF soldiers killed a Hamas military commander overnight Thursday during security operations east of the West Bank city of Tulkarm, the IDF spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement on Friday morning.

The statement said that the Hamas member, Iyad Abu Shalabiya, ran towards IDF soldiers in a threatening manner, and had ignored the IDF’s requests to cease his approach, resulting in him being shot.

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http://www.jpost.com … ticle.aspx?id=188429

Ethiopian forces have killed 123 rebels in the eastern region of the country, an official has told the BBC.

The rebels are reportedly from the ONLF, fighting in Ethiopia’s Somali region.

They have been fighting Ethiopian control of the area since the 1970s.

A further 90 rebels are surrounded, says Abdi Mohamoud Omar, president of the Somali region of Ethiopia, and unless they surrender, further measures will be taken against them.

The force of around 200 rebels landed on the Red Sea coast on Saturday, the authorities in Somaliland said. They were then taken by truck to the Ethiopian border.

Factional fighting

Somaliland - which has declared independence from the rest of Somalia but has not been internationally recognised - has previously helped the Ethiopian government in its fight against the ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front).

Mr Abdi says his forces encircled the ONLF rebels in the remote Maar Maar mountains, which form the porous border region between Somaliland, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

A senior ONLF commander, known as Hassan Bossaso, was captured, Mr Abdi told the BBC.

Ethiopia blames its regional arch-enemy, Eritrea, for supporting the ONLF - an accusation Eritrea denies.

The ONLF wants self-determination for residents of Ethiopia’s Somali region, which is also known as Ogaden.

The News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk … orld-africa-11315967