ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's chief army spokesman says a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a group of paramilitary officers near the Afghan border, killing at least eight troops in the volatile region. The attack on Sunday occurred near Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, a tribal area considered a haven for al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants. Pakistan has deployed security forces throughout its northwest to tamp down growing militancy. The troops have been frequent targets of attacks. Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas says the latest attack occurred at a checkpoint near the main gate of the Zalai Fort, where members of the Frontier Corps were gathered.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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