U.S. strikes PakistanFebruary 14, 2009 - 13:15 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A senior Taliban official said a U.S. missile strike killed "at least 25" Al-Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan's South Waziristan region on the Afghan border on February 14.The strike by pilotless drones was the third such attack since U.S. President Barack Obama took office on January 20 and could ignite fresh popular anger in Pakistan over the cross-border raids from Afghanistan. The Taliban official said those killed were mostly Uzbek fighters. "Around 50 to 60 mujahedin [fighters] have been living there for about a week," the source told Reuters. "All of them were Uzbeks." Intelligence officials confirmed the incident. U.S. drones carried out about 30 missile attacks on suspected militants in 2008, according to a Reuters tally, more than half after the beginning of September. Pakistani President Asif Zardari told CBS News in an interview scheduled to air on February 15 that the Taliban have established themselves across a large part of his country, forcing Islamabad to fight a war against the hard-line Islamist group that is about Pakistan's own survival, RFE/RL reports. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |