Gas station explosion kills 4 in Chechnya | The Arkansas Democratic Gazette

Gas station explosion kills 4 in Chechnya

MOSCOW — An explosion at a gas station in Russia’s southern Chechnya region killed at least four people, officials said Saturday.

An explosion in a gasoline tank sparked a fire at a gas station in Grozny, the regional capital, Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said, adding that two children were among the dead. The fire has been extinguished.

Grozny is about 930 miles south of Moscow.

Regional authorities said a criminal investigation had been opened.

Last month, an explosion at a gas station in the neighboring region of Dagestan killed at least 13 people and injured 23 others.

Afghan detained in attack plot, French say

PARIS — France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said Saturday that an Afghan national is under investigation on terrorism charges stemming from an alleged attack plot.

The suspect, aged 22, was among three people who authorities revealed earlier this week were detained in the southern Toulouse region.

The other two people were released.

Authorities said an investigation opened on September 27 subsequently revealed a “planned violent action targeting people in a football stadium or shopping center” allegedly linked to the Afghan suspect.

They said they found “several elements” linking the person to “radicalization” and “adherence to the ideology of the Islamic State group.”

US strikes target IS camps in Syria

BEIRUT — A series of U.S. airstrikes have targeted several camps run by the Islamic State group in Syria in an operation the U.S. military says will prevent the extremists from carrying out attacks in the region and beyond.

US Central Command said the airstrikes took place on Friday, without specifying in which regions of Syria. About 900 U.S. troops have been deployed to eastern Syria alongside the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which have been instrumental in the fight against ISIS militants.

Despite their defeat, attacks by IS sleeper cells in Iraq and Syria have increased in recent years, leaving many dead or injured.

The Islamic State group seized territory at the height of its power and declared a caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014, but was defeated in Iraq in 2017. As of March 2019, the extremists have lost the last piece of land they once controlled in Iraq. eastern Syria.

The U.S. military said the strikes would disrupt the Islamic State group’s ability to plan, organize and carry out attacks against the United States, its allies and partners, as well as civilians throughout the region and beyond.

It said battle damage assessments were underway and there were no civilian casualties.

Last month, the Iraqi military said Iraqi forces and U.S. troops had killed a top ISIS commander wanted by the United States, as well as several other top militants.

At its peak, the group ruled a region half the size of the United Kingdom, where it imposed its extreme interpretation of Islam, which included attacks on minority religious groups and harsh punishments against Muslims considered apostates.

Tribal fighting leaves 11 dead in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Tribal clashes killed at least 11 people Saturday in northwest Pakistan and injured eight people, including women and children, a local official said.

Tensions have risen in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after two people were seriously injured in a gunfight between rival tribes. The cause of the shooting was not immediately clear.

Vehicles were targeted in different areas of the district, leading to more casualties, senior official Javedullah Khan said.

Khan said efforts were being made to secure travel routes and restore normalcy. The injured were taken to hospital.

Pir Haider Ali Shah, a former parliamentarian and tribal council member, said elders had arrived in Kurram to negotiate a peace deal between the tribes.

“The recent shootings are regrettable and have hampered efforts towards lasting peace,” he said.

Last month, at least 25 people were killed in clashes between armed Shiites and Sunni Muslims over a land dispute. Although both live together largely peacefully in the country, tensions have existed for decades between them in some areas, notably in Kurram, where Shiites dominate parts of the district.

Also on Saturday, a separatist group in the southwest claimed responsibility for an attack that left 21 people dead.

The Baloch Liberation Army said its fighters targeted a coal mine in Duki district on Thursday evening with heavy weapons, rocket launchers and grenades.

The death toll is higher, with 30 dead and 18 injured. He also said that members of the Pakistani security forces were disguised as workers, without testifying.

Balochistan is home to several groups demanding independence from the federal government, accusing it of exploiting the oil and mineral-rich province at the expense of the local population.

In this photo taken from a video released by the press service of the Russian Emergency Ministry on Saturday, October 12, 2024, a firefighter puts out a major fire after an explosion at a gas station in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechen Republic , which killed at least four people. (Press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry via AP)

In this photo taken from a video released by the press service of the Russian Emergency Ministry on Saturday, October 12, 2024, firefighters extinguish a large fire after an explosion at a gas station in Grozny, the capital of Russia’s Chechen Republic , which killed at least four people. people. (Press service of the Russian Emergencies Ministry via AP)