Dera Ismail Khan (Pakistan), August 19
A bombing outside the emergency gate of a hospital crowded with Shiite Muslim mourners in Pakistan’s volatile northwest killed at least 23 people and wounded 15 on Tuesday, officials said. The motive for the blast in Dera Ismail Khan District appeared to be sectarian, with the Shiites the apparent targets, said Mohsin Shah, a top district official.

The attack occurred a day after Pervez Musharraf stepped down as Pakistan’s president, adding to uncertainty about how the country’s new government will deal with growing extremist violence.

It also came as more killings were reported in a northwest tribal region where military clashes with insurgents have reportedly left hundreds dead and spurred promises of militant revenge.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion at Dera Ismail Khan District Hospital, but it came amid ongoing tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the area that have spawned several targeted killings in recent weeks, according to Shah.

He said a Shiite man shot earlier Tuesday in the centre of the city was taken to the hospital where he died from the wound. “Dozens of people from the Shiite community had gathered at the hospital where the bomb went off,” Shah said. Naveed Malik, the provincial police chief in North West Frontier Province, told the Geo news channel that the attack may have been launched by a suicide bomber. He said 23 people died and between 15 and 20 more were wounded.

“As you know, there has been sectarian tension here, and this wave keeps decreasing and increasing, so now we are having this sectarian wave a bit more and this is the result,” Malik said. Pakistan’s northwest has been plagued for years with militant and sectarian violence.

The country is majority Sunni, but has a sizable Shiite population. Most people from both sects live together peacefully, though extremists from both sides target each others’ activists and leaders. The Sunni-Shiite schism over the true heir to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad dates back to the seventh century.

Pakistan’s northwest tribal regions along the Afghan border, meanwhile, are considered havens for Taliban and al-Qaida-linked insurgents, many of whom are believed involved in attacks on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. — AP

Gori (Georgia), August 19
Russian troops, tanks and armoured vehicles today started to withdraw from the Georgian town of Gori. Under a scorching sun, four Russian armoured vehicles and several battle tanks and trucks blew up exhaust fumes and dust as they set off in the direction of South Ossetia.

“I order you to carry out a march along the route Gori-Tskhinvali-Vladikavkaz,” a senior Russian officer said to troops before getting in his armoured vehicle near Gori.

Russian soldiers waved and smiled from the vehicles as tanks and vehicles rumbled down the road. However, it was not clear whether other Russian military units stationed in Georgia were pulling out simultaneously.

“Today we can say that the process has started,” Igor Konashenkov, an aide to the Russian infantry commander said. He said the speed of troops’ withdrawal to Vladikavkaz depended on the capacity of regional roads, currently clogged with humanitarian aid shipments.

Fighting erupted in South Ossetia after Georgia on August 7-8 tried to recapture the rebel region, sparking an international crisis as Russia mounted the biggest military deployment outside its borders since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Moscow and Washington have been trading barbs over the conflict.

The United States has backed its ally Georgia and accused Russia of bullying Tbilisi after Moscow’s troops occupied several towns in Georgia outside the rebel areas. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had said on Sunday that Russian troops would begin to pull out of Georgia yesterday. — Reuters

London, August 19
An Islamist terror cell busted with details of bomb-making and suicide vests is said to have been plotting to kill the British Queen and some high-profile members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles.

This suspicion has been drawn from a list, containing information about the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Princess Royal, which police have recovered from the possession of the arrested members of the terror cell, “The Daily Telegraph” reported.

Also on the list were the names of Princess Michael of Kent, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke and Duchess of Kent.

“They had details of explosives and poisons along with information about London landmarks and a computer folder on Royal residences. We’d be foolish to rule out the fact that they may have been planning an attack,” the British newspaper quoted a counter-terrorism source as saying. The arrested members also had pictures, maps and details of the opening hours of official residences of the Royal Family, and prominent landmarks like the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge etc. — PTI

BRIEFLY

DUBAI
4 held with fake Indian currency: The Dubai police has arrested a four-member gang involved in counterfeiting and circulating fake Indian currencies. The Dubai Police Cyber Crime Department received information about an Asian gang which was planning to circulate them inside and outside the country. Police officials said the printing technology and the paper used in the racket were so perfect that only experts and hi-tech devices could detect them, the Gulf News said. — UNI

NEW YORK
Book on Prophet’s wife rejected: A US publisher has cancelled the publication of a novel about the youngest wife of Prophet Mohammed amid a growing controversy over the book.“The Jewel of Medina,” a debut novel by journalist Sherry Jones about Mohammed’s child bride A’isha, had been due for release in the US last week. — AFP