Wednesday 11 October 2017

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

Tennis: Venus eclipsed by Japan's rising star Osaka

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HONG KONG (AFP) - Venus Williams suffered a shock exit in the second round of the WTA Hong Kong Open on Wednesday, comprehensively beaten 7-5, 6-2 by teenager Naomi Osaka.Japans top-ranked player reeled off eight consecutive games at one stage to power into the quarter-finals.It all seemed to be going to plan for second seed Williams when she broke the 19-year-old Osaka in the fifth game of the opening set.But then the Americans first serve deserted her when serving for the set at 5-4.Two double faults and a series of fierce ground strokes from Osaka which unerringly kissed the lines enabled the world number 64 to break twice and take the set 7-5.She played well, a disappointed 37-year-old Williams told reporters.You know, I made a few errors at 5-4 and after that she played pretty flawless. I can only give her credit.Osaka, who made headlines when she knocked Angelique Kerber out of the US Open in the first round last month, continued in the same vein at the start of the second set and raced into a 5-0 lead.I felt like I played offensively and hit really deep hard balls but she had the luck today and could return those balls even harder and deeper, said Williams.Williams briefly rallied to 5-2, but after a pep talk from Osakas coach, the Japanese refocused and closed out the match on her serve at the second time of asking after an hour and 24 minutes.Venus is someone Ive respected and admired, said Osaka, who was not born when Williams reached her first Grand Slam final at the 1997 US Open.Ive grown up watching her. Even though she someone I admire, its just another opponent at the end of the day so I tried to focus hard.Earlier, the seventh seed Daria Gavrilova battled into the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win over American Shelby Rogers.Rogers and Gavrilova renewed their rivalry at Victoria Park after setting a record for the longest-ever womens singles match last month, with a three hours and 33 minute epic at the US Open.I was really motivated, said world number 22 Gavrilova after avenging her Flushing Meadows defeat. She has such a great serve I knew I had to take my chances on her second serve.Rogers had come out on top 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 in their marathon New York encounter but on this occasion Gavrilova raced to victory in the first set 6-1 in just 26 minutes.Rogers, ranked 55, hit back immediately to take the second 6-2 in a scrappy encounter littered with errors.With both players coming under pressure on their serve in the final set, it seemed a matter of who would crack first.And at 2-2 and 0-30 it was Rogers who blinked, serving back-to-back double faults to hand the Russian-born Australian the crucial break.Another followed and the Australian closed out the match in an hour and 44 minutes.Sam Stosur ensured there would be two Australians in the last eight when she came from a set down to oust fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the final match of the evening 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.The Polish world number 18 started strongly and was a set and break up before Stosur struck back to level at 3-3 in the second.From then on the Australian constantly pressured the Radwanska serve, and a second break in the ninth game of the second set also broke the Poles resolve.Stosur, the 2011 US Open champion, raced through the final set to love to take her career record against Radwanska to four wins in five meetings.I feel I played really well and aggressively, said Stosur. Everything I tried came off. Really happy to be in the quarter-finals.

Tennis: Sharapova triumphs in Tianjin opener

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TIANJIN (AFP) - Maria Sharapova made an impressive start to the Tianjin Open on Wednesday by beating Romanias Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets.Seeded ninth, Begu loomed as a tricky first-round opponent for Sharapova, but the former world number one from Russia swept to a 6-4, 6-2 victory.However, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova suffered a shock defeat, going out to local hope Zhu Lin in three sets.Currently ranked 86th after returning from a 15-month doping ban, Sharapova -- granted a wildcard in Tianjin -- plays unseeded Magda Linette of Poland next.The 30-year-old Sharapova, who returned to tennis in April after serving a suspension for taking the banned substance meldonium, has yet to win a tournament since then.The five-times Grand Slam winner exited the China Open last week in the third round at the hands of Romanias Simona Halep, the newly crowned world number one.But Sharapova had no such trouble against Begu, seeing off the 57th-ranked Romanian in 82 minutes.The opening matches of the Tianjin Open have been badly disrupted because of rain and Sharapova said she was glad to finally get into action.Its been a long wait for everyone, it hasnt been easy, the Russian was quoted as saying by the official WTA website.I had a first practice outdoors and then I think it rained for 70 hours straight, unfortunately for the players.

Athletics: Coe calls for track and field revolution

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RABAT (AFP) - World athletics chief Sebastian Coe has told AFP he wants a radical review of track and field to ensure it survives as a spectator sport.With the sports biggest star Usain Bolt retired, IAAF president Coe said he was considering anything from franchised teams bidding for athletes to pop-up tracks in streets and football stadiums to attract new fans.Nothings off the table now. Let our imagination run wild, the two-time Olympic gold medallist said in an exclusive interview as he warned the candid discussions will be uncomfortable for purists.Following the success of the World Championships in London this year, there are fears the next edition -- in Qatar in 2019 -- will not draw the same crowds or worldwide interest, particularly as Bolt hung up his spikes after London.The Jamaican sprinter has been a shining light in recent years for a sport in danger of losing its appeal because of the Russian doping scandal, lengthy championships and over-complex formats for spectators.We are in the entertainment business and we have to look at it in that way, Coe said at a meeting of African athletics federations in the Moroccan capital Rabat.He laid out plans for a strategic review to show what our sport will look like for the next 30 or 40 years.Voted president of the International Association of Athletics Federations in 2015, Coe led Londons successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics.The former middle-distance runner said track and field bosses could draw inspiration from crickets Indian Premier League (IPL) -- in which players are auctioned and divided among franchises representing cities -- or the NFL, where teams pick players through a draft system.I think weve just got to allow some really open discussion about what our sport looks like. And yes, maybe its cities, maybe its franchises, maybe its auctions like the IPL, maybe its the pick.Coe, who won Olympic gold medals in the 1,500metres in Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984, said tinkering with individual track and field events would not be enough to bring about the fundamental change that is needed.He said his association was already working with different formats, such as holding events in the mountains, trail-running and even parkour -- or street-running -- where participants leap from buildings and scale walls.I think there is a need for probably a two-year deep, deep dive because the risk in the past is that we have looked at different elements in isolation, he said.Weve looked at one event and spent a lot of time talking about one event... but we havent brought it together.He said although it was important to have the purist argument and keep the sports multi-disciplined philosophy, it can be moved away from its traditional arenas.I think we need to think across the landscape, he said.What about pop-up tracks? What about having a 300 metre track that you put in the middle of the pitch at (Chelseas stadium) Stamford Bridge or in a football ground in Australia?Does it have to be a 200 metre track indoors? Street athletics, taking athletics to where the people are.I want there to be a ferment of thinking now, because this is where I think we can actually raise our aspirations and our ambitions.I think we have to have very open and candid discussions and sometimes they are going to be uncomfortable.

UN Security Council to hear Kofi Annan brief on Myanmar

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The Security Council will on Friday hold an informal meeting on Myanmar to hear former UN chief Kofi Annan provide details of a report on the plight of Rohingya Muslims, diplomats said.The UNs top political affairs official, Jeffrey Feltman, will travel to Myanmar on Friday for four days of talks on the crisis.More than 500,000 people, mostly Rohingyas, have since late August fled an army campaign in Myanmars Rakhine state that the United Nations has denounced as ethnic cleansing.UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to the military campaign, access for aid groups to reach the burned-out villages in Rakhine state and measures to allow the safe return of the Rohyinga.Mr. Feltman will be holding consultations with Myanmar to address these urgent issues, said a UN official.In late August, Annan presented the final report of an advisory commission on Rakhine state that he chaired at the request of Myanmars de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.The report called for urgent action by Myanmars authorities to address the plight of the Rohingya, who are stateless and have long faced discrimination in the Buddhist-majority nation.France and Britain requested the meeting with Annan as the council weighs its next steps to confront the crisis over the mass exodus of the Rohingya, who have crossed into Bangladesh.A report by the UN human rights office in Geneva said Wednesday that the military operations were aimed at permanently expelling the Muslim minority from Rakhine state.Britain has been working on a draft Security Council resolution that would call for the return of the Rohingyas, but negotiations with China, a supporter of Myanmars former ruling junta, have been slow, diplomats said.At the closed-door meeting on Friday, all council members are invited to attend along with a few regional countries and regional organizations, diplomats said.

With IS surrounded, talks held on civilian exit from Raqa

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KOBANE (AFP) - Talks on the safe exit of civilians trapped in Syrias Raqa were under way Wednesday, as US-backed forces prepare a final push to recapture the city from the Islamic State group.The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, have taken around 90 percent of the city from IS since they broke into it in June.The US-backed militia has surrounded remaining IS fighters in just a handful of positions, but thousands of civilians are still in the city, some of them being used as human shields by the jihadists.Late Tuesday, the US-led coalition said officials from the Raqa Civil Council -- a provisional administration for the city set up by the SDF -- were trying to negotiate the safe passage of civilians from remaining IS-held areas.The Raqa Civil Council is leading discussions to determine the best way to enable civilians trapped by Daesh to exit the city, where some are being held as human shields by the terrorists, the coalition said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.Those departing Raqa who are found to have fought for Daesh will be turned over to local authorities to face justice.The RCC declined comment on the discussions.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said the talks were focused on granting surrendering IS fighters and their families a way out of Raqa.The negotiations are for the exit of Daesh fighters and their families to Albu Kamal and eastern Deir Ezzor province, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.Albu Kamal is on the Syrian border with Iraq, and the town and adjacent areas in the east of Deir Ezzor province remain under IS control.Deals to allow IS fighters to withdraw from territory have been negotiated in the past, including in May when an agreement allowed several dozen jihadists to flee the town of Tabqa, west of Raqa.IS fighters and their families were also allowed to leave parts of the border region between Lebanon and Syria earlier this year, headed for Deir Ezzor, in a controversial deal agreed by the Syrian government and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah that was fiercely opposed by the US-led coalition.We have a responsibility to defeat Daesh while preserving civilian life to the greatest extent possible, the coalitions director of operations, Brigadier General Jonathan Braga, said in a statement on Tuesday.Make no mistake: a lot of hard fighting remains and we are committed to the lasting defeat of Daesh.Jihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokeswoman for the SDFs offensive, told AFP that between 600 and 700 active IS fighters were believed to remain in Raqa, with an additional 800 to 900 wounded jihadists also still inside the city.The UN estimates that up to 8,000 people may still be in Raqa, although each day groups ranging from a dozen to several hundred people escape towards the SDF.Coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon wrote on his Twitter account that more than 400 civilians had escaped on Tuesday.ISIS so-called capital slipping away, he wrote, using an alternative acronym for the jihadist group.On Wednesday morning, SDF fighters in the city contacted by AFP reported that the fronts were mostly quiet, although there were sporadic air strikes by the US-led coalition.The coalitions strike releases also showed the number of its air raids on Raqa dropping in the past two days from dozens a day to fewer than 10.The SDF has been advancing on remaining IS-held territory from two fronts in the citys north and east, and is expecting to enter the final week of the campaign when the two fronts meet up.Raqa became the de facto Syrian capital of the Islamic State groups self-proclaimed caliphate straddling Iraq and Syria, and gained international infamy for the gruesome acts of violence the jihadists perpetrated there.Its loss would leave IS with only a handful of remaining strongholds in Syria, mostly in Deir Ezzor province.In Iraq, it has been ousted from nearly all of its territory, except for a stetch of the Euphrates Valley along the border with Syria.

21 dead in 'catastrophic' California wildfires

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SANTA ROSA (AFP) - More than 200 fire engines and firefighting crews from around the country were being rushed to California on Wednesday to help battle infernos which have left at least 21 people dead and thousands homeless.This is a serious, critical, catastrophic event, California fire chief Ken Pimlott told reporters. Were not going to be out of the woods for a great number of days to come.Pimlott said that after a respite on Tuesday winds were kicking up again on Wednesday and the winds and dry conditions were hampering efforts to contain the blazes.We are still impacted by five years of drought, the director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.These fires were driven by the critically dry fuel bed, he added. We are literally looking at explosive vegetation.Pimlott said the death toll from the fires -- among the deadliest ever in California -- had risen to 21 and could be expected to go up further.Eleven of the deaths have occurred in Sonoma County, a wine-producing region which has been particularly hard hit, while six people have died in Mendocino County. There have been two deaths in Napa County and two in Yuba County.Entire neighborhoods in Santa Rosa, a city of 175,000 which is the county seat of Sonoma County, have been reduced to ashes.Thousands of people have been left homeless and 25,000 people have evacuated their homes in Sonoma County alone to escape, according to officials.More than 3,500 homes and businesses have been destroyed including several wineries in Sonoma and Napa counties, the heart of the states wine production.Hundreds of people have been reported missing in Sonoma County but the county sheriffs department said it expected most of them would eventually be located.Pimlott said firefighters were battling a total of 22 wildfires that have burned nearly 170,000 acres (68,800 hectares) and reinforcements had been requested.He said 170 fire engines had been ordered from the neighboring states of Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington and another 154 engines from elsewhere around the country.In addition, 60 firefighting crews from other states were on their way to California to provide assistance, he said.Our primary goal is to get these resources into the fires, Pimlott said.He said 73 helicopters, 30 air tankers and nearly 8,000 firefighters were currently taking part in the effort to extinguish the blazes.President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster in California, freeing up federal funding and resources to help fight the fires, and Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in eight counties.The US military has also been enlisted to battle the fires with 700 servicemen currently helping out and an additional 1,800 being mobilized.Bob Nelson, 53, stopped in his black pickup truck at a police roadblock near Santa Rosa, said he fled his home on Sunday and returned on Tuesday.There was no damage, he said. But then we got evacuated again.We dont know about our house now, Nelson told AFP. Ive got no idea. Its in the middle of two fires.Much of the damage in Santa Rosa can be seen from US Route 101, the north-south highway which runs from California through Oregon to Washington state.The Sonoma County Hilton perched on a hill overlooking Route 101 is a ruin of charred wood and twisted metal, as is the nearby Fountaingrove Inn.An enormous K-Mart store has been entirely destroyed with only a couple of blackened walls still standing.Among the wineries which reportedly suffered damage were William Hill Estate Winery in Napa, Signorello Vineyards, Stags Leap and Chimney Rock.Forest fires are common in the western United States during dry, hot months but, with 21 deaths so far, this years California fires are among the deadliest ever.The Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles County in 1933 killed at least 29 people and 25 people died in the 1991 Oakland Hills fire.

SpaceX launches, lands recycled rocket

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MIAMI (AFP) - SpaceX on Wednesday launched a rocket that had already flown to space and landed it successfully on an ocean platform, as part of its ongoing effort to recycle costly rocket components.On a clear autumn evening at 6:53 pm (2253 GMT), the tall, white Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying the Echostar 105/SES-11 satellite.Couldnt be more perfect weather for a launch, said a commentator on SpaceXs live webcast.The satellite aims to provide television coverage and communications capabilities to North America, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean.It is a dual-mission satellite for the US-based operator EchoStar and Luxembourg-based operator SES.About 10 minutes after launch, the tall portion of the rocket, known as the first stage, returned to Earth for a controlled, upright landing on a droneship called Of Course I Still Love You, stationed in the Atlantic.The Falcon 9 rocket is currently standing on the deck, said the SpaceX commentator, as video images showed the smoking rocket securely parked on the platform.Yet another successful landing of a Falcon 9 first stage, he added.This is our 18th successful landing.The Falcon 9s first stage which launched Wednesday had previously flown on a cargo mission to the International Space Station in February.SpaceX flew a recycled rocket component for the first time in March of this year.Wednesdays launch was its third successful mission with a flight-proven orbital class rocket, SpaceX said on Twitter.The effort is part of CEO Elon Musks broader vision of making spaceflight more affordable and enabling easier, more economical rocket travel, both from city to city on Earth and eventually to deep space.

England can't win Ashes without Stokes: Waugh

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Test great Steve Waugh says England cant win the Ashes without Ben Stokes and the bad boy allrounder would have been dumped immediately if he was Australian.England vice-captain Stokes was arrested last month in Britain on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm and suspended from internationals until further notice following an apparent fight outside a nightclub.He was included in their Ashes squad but the England and Wales Cricket Board last week said he would not travel with the rest of the players when they leave on October 28.No final decision on his involvement has been made.Former Australian captain Waugh, at the helm in 57 Tests for 41 victories, said England will not be the same threat without Stokes.If he doesnt come, I dont think they can win the Ashes, Waugh told Sky Sports Radio late Tuesday.While Stokes is yet to be charged, he remains under investigation, and Waugh hit out at Englands failure to immediately drop him from the Ashes squad.I think if it was anyone in the Australian side, they wouldnt be picked. You cant do that these days in public. It just didnt look good and its a bad image for the game, he said.I think they (England selectors) are pretty keen for him to play in Australia... hes probably their best player, so it would be a real shame if hes not out here.Stokes absence from the five-Test tour, starting in Brisbane on November 23, would be a huge blow for Ashes holders England, who have lost two out of their past three tours Down Under 5-0.He is an explosive middle-order batsman and a dangerous right-arm fast medium bowler, and not being in Australia will pile more pressure on the likes of the experienced Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson.Without Ben Stokes, well win, said Waugh.Its too much pressure on Broad and Anderson, and theyre getting a bit older, and I cant see them playing five Test matches straight.I think Australia will win 3-1.

US Assistant Secretary of State departs for Pakistan visit

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WASHINGTON (Dunya News) - US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells has left Washington for a visit of Pakistan on Wednesday, Dunya News reported.Alice Wells will meet civil and military leadership during her visit to Pakistan. The visit holds great importance as she is the first high-level US official to arrive, after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of harboring terrorists.US Acting Assistant Secretary of State will discuss issues related to the region during her meetings with Pakistan officials. She will also hold discussion on Pakistan’s role in the reconciliation process in Afghanistan.Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan and India will also come under discussion during Alice Wells meetings with Pakistani officials in Islamabad.Alice Wells will also finalize details of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s upcoming visit to Pakistan.

Husband, father-in-law of female cop arrested over her murder

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KARACHI (Dunya News) – Police arrested husband and father-in-law of Special Investigation Unit’s (SIU) official Sana over her murder on Wednesday, Dunya News reported.According to details, police commando Sana’s dead body was found in Liaquatabad area of Karachi. Police investigation has revealed that 27-year-old Sana had not committed suicide but was murdered by her husband Jahanzaib.On the other hand, Sana’s father-in-law informed police that Sana and Jahanzaib got married a few months ago and the couple used to quarrel with each other. He further said that the other family members were sleeping when Sana committed suicide.Police have registered a case and arrested Jahanzaib and his father.

Pakistan offered immense sacrifices in war against terrorism: Ahsan

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WASHINGTON (Dunya News) - Federal Minister of Interior Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said that people of Pakistan offered immense sacrifices in fight against terrorism, Dunya News reported.Ahsan Iqbal stated this while addressing a gathering of students, academicians, analysts, and media persons at an exclusive event organized by the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.The Interior Minister further said that blaming Pakistan on security failure in Afghanistan is unjustified and offensive to the people of Pakistan. He said that Pakistan desires peace in Afghanistan and would thus support any effort to effect political reconciliation in Afghanistan.He also briefed the audience about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). He said that CPEC was envisioned as a regional connectivity project by Pakistan and China.CPEC would not only radically overhaul Pakistan’s transport and energy infrastructure, but it would act as a catalyst for regional integration. It should thus be welcomed by all countries that desire to see stability and prosperity in South Asia.

PTI to move SC on delay in FATA merger in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to move Supreme Court on delay in Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) merger in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dunya News reported.Babar Awan held a meeting with PTI chief Imran Khan on Wednesday during which Imran asked him to prepare an application in this regard to be submitted in the Supreme Court.Imran Khan also directed him to review various legal aspects in details regarding FATAs future. Babar Awan will submit potential legal options to PTI chief for approval.Both the leaders also discussed current political situation in the country during the meeting.

Tehmina Janjua meets Russian special envoy on Afghanistan

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua held a meeting with Russian special envoy on Afghanistan on Wednesday, Dunya News reported.According to Foreign Office, Tehmina Janjua and the Russian envoy discussed peaceful solution of Afghan issue during the meeting. They also expressed concern over the increasing activities of Daesh in Afghanistan.Tehmina Janjua also invited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov to visit Pakistan. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister appreciates Pakistans role for reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan.

India reassures Aussies after rock thrown at team bus

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NEW DELHI (AFP) - Indias sports minister Wednesday sought to reassure Australian cricketers about their safety after a rock shattered a window on the bus taking them to their hotel following a series-levelling win in the second Twenty20 international.The incident in the northeastern Indian city of Guwahati was the second in two months, after Cricket Australia said in September that the teams bus window was broken by a small rock or stone in Bangladesh after a Test match.Pretty scary having a rock thrown through the team bus window on the way back to the hotel, batsman Aaron Finch tweeted after the eight-wicket win against India.The photo he posted on Twitter showed a shattered window pane with a large hole.Indian Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, an Olympic silver medallist in shooting, said there were tight security arrangements in place for the Australian team as well as for the players taking part in the Under-17 FIFA World Cup.Personal security of visiting athletes & teams is extremely important for us, he tweeted.Guwahati stone-throwing incident NOT reflective of our security measures. Aus team & FIFA are content w/those. India remains a graceful host.Two people have been arrested as police investigations into the incident continue, the Press Trust of India reported.Cricket Australias news site cricket.com.au said no one was hurt when the window was broken by a rock roughly the size of a cricket ball, but the Australian players were understandably shaken up.A CA spokesman told AFP they were satisfied with the levels of security provided.Top Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said guests should be treated with respect and urged restraint from his countrymen.The stone thrown at the Aussie team bus shows us in bad light, lets all act more responsibly. A vast majority of us are capable of that, he wrote on Twitter.The final T20 game will be played in Hyderabad on Friday.

Three suicide bombers from IS blow themselves near police HQ in Damascus

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DAMASCUS (AFP) -Three suicide bombers blew themselves up near the main police headquarters in Syrias capital Damascus on Wednesday, killing at least two people, the interior ministry said.The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released via the Telegram messaging app.The assault was the second time in a month that suicide attackers have targeted the capital, which has been insulated from the worst of the violence in the war-torn country.State news agency SANA quoted Interior Minister Mohammad Shaar saying both of those killed were police officers.Two of the suicide bombers detonated their explosives in front of the police HQ on Khaled Bin al-Walid street in central Damascus, his ministry said in a statement carried by state media.The terrorist suicide attackers tried to storm the police command headquarters... The guards opened fire on them, forcing them to blow themselves up before they entered the building and achieved their goals, it added.Police surrounded a third attacker behind the building who also blew himself up, the statement said.The interior ministry said two people had been killed and six wounded in the attack, among them two children.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five dead, not including the three attackers.IS in its statement on Telegram said two attackers entered the headquarters building and fought with those inside... then detonated their explosive vests.Damascus police chief Mohammed Khairu Ismail told reporters at the scene in the central neighbourhood of Qanawat that one of the dead was a policeman who tried to stop the bombers.- Officer grabbed bomber -One of our forces grabbed one of the suicide bombers and prevented him from entering the building, so he blew himself up, killing the sergeant, Ismail said.It was the second time this month that suicide attackers have targeted police in the capital. At least 17 people were killed in an October 2 attack on a police station in the southern district of Midan.That attack was also claimed by IS, which said three fighters armed with guns, grenades and explosives had targeted the station.More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the countrys conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests.Damascus has been shaken by several bomb attacks, despite being largely spared from the worst of the violence in the six-year war.In this months incident at Midan, one attacker was able to reach the first floor of the police station before blowing himself up.The Midan police station itself had previously been targeted in December 2016, when a seven-year-old girl entered the building wearing an explosive belt that was remotely detonated.Rebel groups have been gradually expelled from territory they once held in the capital, though they maintain a presence in a handful of positions, including the Jobar neighbourhood.They also hold territory in the Eastern Ghouta region outside the capital, and have regularly launched rockets into the city.A deal reached between rebel backer Turkey and regime allies Russia and Iran earlier this year has created so-called de-escalation zones in several parts of the country, including Eastern Ghouta, bringing a measure of calm.But the fight against IS continues, with government troops and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, leading separate offensives against the jihadists in northern and eastern Syria.
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