KABUL: Afghan and US-led troops killed 20 insurgents in ground fighting and air strikes in the southern province of Helmand, the US military said Saturday.The clashes erupted Friday in the strategic Kajaki district after a patrol was ambushed, it said in a statement. "The combined forces returned fire with small-arms fire and called for close air support destroying six enemy fighting positions and killing 20 insurgents," it said.Afghan and international troops are working together to fight Taliban-led insurgents who control large swathes of Afghanistan, notably in southern provinces like Helmand.
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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