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From Washington, this is VOA news. Coming up, the latest on tensions in Iraq. Pakistan army launching an offensive against militants. Hello everyone, I'm Steve Norman.
A top government official says Iraqi forces have "regained initiative" in their fight against Sunni militants who seized large parts of the country and vowed to overrun Baghdad. The prime minister's security spokesperson, Lieutenant General Qassem Atta, says that Iraqi forces have killed 279 "terrorists" since Saturday. Iraqi government forces are digging trenches outside the northern entrances of the capital Baghdad, but continued to say the city is safe and secure, that is, even as worries grow that advancing Sunni militants will attack the city. We get more now from Edward Yeranian. In a bid to reassure the situation is under control, Iraqi state TV shows hundreds of volunteers standing in front of a military recruiting station. They interviewed military commanders to reinforce the message that popular enthusiasm to fight Sunni militants is strong. Iraqi intelligence chief General Qassem Mohammed Atta said Sunday the situation in the capital, Baghdad, was secure. He says that the situation differs from that of one or two days ago and the government armed forces have gained traction. He says the situation in Baghdad is completely under control and security checkpoints are in place. Edward Yeranian, for VOA news, Cairo. Israel is accusing Hamas of kidnapping three teenagers last week and has arrested 80 Palestinians near Hebron, where the youths disappeared. Many of those arrested in overnight raids were Hamas members. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's agreement with Hamas and said he would hold him responsible for the safety of youths who disappeared apparently while hitchhiking, that is, in the West Bank. "You remember that Israel warned the international community about the dangers of endorsing the Fatah-Hamas unity pact. I believe that the dangers of that pact should now be abundantly clear to all. We have seen since the signing of that pact an increase in terrorist activity emanating from the West Bank." A Palestinian spokesman rejected that contention and criticized Israel for what he said was "collective punishment" against Palestinians "besieging the province of Hebron." Ukraine and Russia pressed forward with emergency negotiations late Sunday aimed at reaching a natural gas deal that would avert a supply cutoff to energy [independent] Ukraine, dependent, that is. Ukrainian and Russian media say the last-ditch talks in Kyiv opened hours ahead of an early Monday deadline set by Moscow for Ukraine to pay an almost $2 billion energy debt. The talks began as Ukraine concluded a national day of mourning for 49 Ukrainian service members killed when their military transport plane was shot down Saturday by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Pakistan has launched what it says is a "decisive" military offensive against foreign and local terrorist bases in North Waziristan tribal territory. Ayaz Gul has details. The announcement that a "comprehensive" military operation has been unleashed came just hours after officials declared that a series of pre-dawn air strikes against suspected targets killed more than 100 of what they said were mostly foreign militants in the Waziristan district. A Pakistan army spokesman says the government has ordered the troops to eliminate all "terrorists" from the area and deny space to "these enemies of the state anywhere across the country." Defense Minister Khawaja Asif says the government has resorted to the use of military power because its attempts to end the problem of militancy through peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban did not succeed. Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad. Vote counting is under way in Afghanistan, where voters chose a new president in a runoff election between candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani. Official [parliamentary] preliminary results are not expected until July the 2nd. Turnout for Saturday's election was high. Get more news at voanews.com. |