KABUL: U.S. forces say international and Afghan troops have killed 11 militants in a firefight in southern Afghanistan.A military statement says the fighting broke out during a Thursday night raid on a key Taliban insurgent in Helmand province. The statement says the forces came under fire from militants inside the targeted compound and returned fire. The statement says one insurgent was captured and 11 were killed. No civilian casualties were reported.The U.S. is sending 17,000 additional troops to southern Afghanistan to stamp out the resurgent Taliban who have de facto control of the region. Senior U.S. officials say President BarackObama plans to deploy 4,000 trainers to build up Afghan forces as part of a new strategy to be announced Friday.
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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