Saturday, July 04, 2009 KHOST: Two US soldiers were killed in an explosion in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, the US military said,as Afghan authorities reported that 32 rebels died in an ensuing US helicopter attack. "There was an incident with a possible IED (improvises explosive device) in Paktika province this morning in which two US service members were killed," Sergeant Charles March, a military spokesman said. The military spokesman could not give further details but Hamidullah Zhwak, a spokesman for the local administration, said the US casualties occurred when a fuel tanker was exploded by the rebels in front of a government building."After the blast the American helicopters came in and attacked the Taliban who were preparing to attack the district headquarters," he said, referring to the Zirok district where the incident took place.
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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