Taliban set 200 fuel trucks on fire in Kabul 
Kabul, July 5
A Taliban bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul set fire to some 200 fuel trucks that the militants claimed were supplying foreign troops in Afghanistan, officials said today.



Smoke and flames rise from fuel trucks after an overnight attack by the Taliban on the outskirts of Kabul on Saturday. Reuters

Army Chief visits naval base in Shanghai
Beijing, July 5
Army Chief General Bikram Singh today visited a naval base and a naval ship in Shanghai on the final day of his China visit during which he interacted with the People’s Liberation Army top brass to improve ties between the two militaries.

General Bikram Singh

Slaviansk, July 5
Government forces recaptured a flashpoint area of eastern Ukraine from pro-Russian rebels on Saturday, and Ukraine said its blue and yellow flag was flying again over what had been the separatist redoubt of Slaviansk.

A Reuters reporter saw a convoy of about 20 military transport vehicles and buses filled with armed rebels driving out of Kramatorsk where they had gone after apparently earlier fleeing Slaviansk 20 km to the north.

"Your order to free Slaviansk from the (separatist) fighters has been carried out," newly-appointed Defence Minister Valery Heletey was quoted by the presidential website as telling Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The rebellion in largely Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine has been a source of great tensions between the West and Russia. Moscow, which has already come under economic sanctions, denies Western accusations it has been backing the insurrection. The Ukrainian flag had been run up on the main administrative building in Slaviansk, Heletey said, replacing the Russian one separatists had hoisted in early April when they seized key buildings in the city of 130,000.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said a large number of separatists had fled in the face of sustained fire from Ukrainian forces. "A significant number of militants have left Slaviansk ... along the way, our battle groups are greeting them. They are suffering losses and surrendering," he said in a statement on his Facebook page.

A source close to the rebels told Reuters they had been outnumbered by 50 to one. "(The Ukrainian forces) have greater numbers of troops and military hardware," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The rebels acknowledged the loss.

Aleksandr Borodai, a leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "The punitive forces of Ukraine ... moved into a large-scale offensive.

"Given the disproportionate numerical superiority of the enemy troops, units of the armed forces of the Donetsk People's Republic were forced to leave their previous positions on the northern sector of the front." — Reuters

Islamabad, July 5
Pakistani air force jets today pounded militant hideouts in the restive North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, killing scores of insurgents, mostly Uzbeks, as part of the military offensive against the Taliban.

The early morning attack was launched in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, and Boya village after militants hiding in the areas continued their uninterrupted fire against Pakistani forces.

“The air strikes were launched against five terrorist hideouts to flush them out,” military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said.

“Caves and huge cache of arms and ammunition were destroyed and scores of terrorists killed in early morning strikes, silencing the firers,” Bajwa said.

Literature and flags of of international militant organisations have reportedly been found during search operations.

He said most of the terrorists killed in the strikes were Uzbeks. Al-Qaida affiliate Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan has had a large presence in the country’s tribal belt since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Bajwa said a soldier was killed when an IED went off during a clearance operation.

Pakistan on June 15 launched the long-awaited operation named ‘Zarb-i-Azb’ against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in the region bordering Afghanistan to flush out their strongholds.

At least 386 militants and 20 soldiers have been killed in the massive offensive, which has displaced nearly 600,000 people forcing them to live in temporary shelters. — PTI

Kabul, July 5
A Taliban bomb attack on the outskirts of Kabul set fire to some 200 fuel trucks that the militants claimed were supplying foreign troops in Afghanistan, officials said today.

The tankers were set ablaze as they sat in a parking lot waiting to enter the Afghan capital, which is currently gripped by a fraud dispute over presidential elections last month.

Taliban insurgents fighting a 13-year-war against US-led forces in Afghanistan often attack western supply convoys and claimed responsibility for the late yesterday night attack.

“At around 10:30 pm dozens of fuel tankers belonging to private companies caught fire,” Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP.

“No one can get close to them since the fire is still raging at the scene,” he added, saying that there had been no casualties.

Kabul police director Gul Afghan Hashimi said a magnetic bomb had been used in the attack while a NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces spokesman said they were investigating whether the fuel was intended for foreign troops.

The Afghan interior ministry said initial investigations found that 200 trucks had been damaged.

The incident took place in Chawk-e Arghandi and comes as the Taliban steps up attacks with NATO forces due to complete their withdrawal from the country by the end of the year.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that fighters belonging to the group had carried out the destruction. — AFP

Beijing, July 5
Army Chief General Bikram Singh today visited a naval base and a naval ship in Shanghai on the final day of his China visit during which he interacted with the People’s Liberation Army top brass to improve ties between the two militaries.

General Singh visited the naval base, one of the biggest of PLA’s Navy (PLAN), and interacted with local commanders, officials said.

He later visited a newly built corvette class naval ship before leaving for home concluding his five-day China trip.

During his visit, Singh held talks with PLA Chief of Staff General Fang Fenghui on improving relations between the two militaries.

They discussed a host of issues, including the implementation of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) at the ground level to avert incidents such as one in the Depsang Valley in Ladakh last year when the presence of Chinese troops resulted in a standoff.

The two sides signed the BDCA last year laying out standard operating procedures for troops aggressively patrolling disputed borders.

Fang has called for strengthening border control to prevent disruptions to the broader military-to-military relationship and bilateral ties. — PTI