Khar : An attack on a Pakistani military checkpoint by some 200
pro-Taliban militants triggered intense fighting that killed 25
insurgents and two paramilitary soldiers near the Afghan border,
security officials said Thursday. The fighting broke out on Wednesday
in Loi Sam village in the Bajur tribal region, said two army officers
and an area intelligence official. All three spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media.

The
officials said they received reports from local authorities about the
casualties. The local intelligence official said the militants used
rockets and assault rifles in the attack.

A local resident, Haji
Sakhi, said he heard gunshots on Wednesday, and on Thursday saw some of
the casualties _ apparently militants. ''The fighting stopped after
midnight, and today I saw several bodies in an open area of Loi Sam,''
he said.

Kabul (Afghanistan): In a massive explosion Monday
that reverberated around the city, a suicide bomber killed at least 40
people and injured 140 at the gates of the Indian Embassy in the Afghan
capital, the Interior Ministry said.

In New Delhi, the Foreign
Ministry said the military attaché, who held the rank of brigadier, a
senior diplomat and three other Indians were killed in the attack. The
dead also included six Afghan policemen.

While Afghan cities are no stranger to suicide attacks, Monday’s assault ranked among the deadliest in Kabul itself.

The
bomber rammed a car into two Indian diplomatic vehicles as they entered
the gates of the embassy, witnesses reported from the scene. They said
the blast wrecked several other cars and spread human body parts and
bloodstained scraps of clothing amid the debris.

The embassy is near the Afghan Interior Ministry, the scene of a huge blast last year.

Ghaziabad, June 29 : At least 11 activists of the Shiv Sena and
Hindu Mahasabha were arrested here Sunday as they tried to disrupt work
at the under construction Haj House, which is proposed to be a halting
place for Haj pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh.