Tag: Afghanistan

  • At Least 64 Killed, 320 Injured In Kabul Diplomatic Quarter Blast

    At Least 64 Killed, 320 Injured In Kabul Diplomatic Quarter Blast

    A massive blast rocked Kabul’s diplomatic quarters during the morning rush hour on Wednesday (May 31) the latest attack to hit the Afghan capital.

    Afghan officials said at least 64 people have been killed or wounded by a suicide car bombing, according to AFP.

    A huge plume of smoke could be seen rising from the area but it was not clear what the target was and there was no immediate confirmation of any casualties.

    Witnesses said dozens of cars were blocking roads and some wounded people could be seen.

    FRENCH AND GERMAN EMBASSIES DAMAGED 

    The French and German embassy in Kabul were also damaged in Wednesday’s car bomb attack, said French minister Marielle de Sarnez, who added there were no signs at this stage of any French victims.

    “There has been some material damage in the French embassy, as well as in the Germany embassy,” de Sarnez, who is France’s European affairs minister, told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday. She added she had no information on any possible casualties at the two missions.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack came as the resurgent Taliban are stepping up their annual “spring offensive”.

    Huge blast in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter on Wednesday AFP/AFP

     

    The Islamic State group has also claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting an armoured NATO convoy that killed at least eight people and wounded 28 on May 3.

    Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has warned of “another tough year” for both foreign troops and local forces in Afghanistan, where more than one third of the country is outside of government control.

    The blast was the latest in a long line of attacks in the Afghan capital. Kabul province had the highest number of casualties in the first three months of 2017 thanks to multiple attacks in the city, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.

     

    Source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Suami Isteri Berbasikal Ke Makkah Sudah Lepasi 11 Negara, Tinggal 1 Negara Untuk Sampai Destinasi

    Suami Isteri Berbasikal Ke Makkah Sudah Lepasi 11 Negara, Tinggal 1 Negara Untuk Sampai Destinasi

    Sepasang suami isteri Melayu yang sedang dalam perjalanan menunaikan ibadah umrah dengan sekadar mengayuh basikal sahaja, bakal mencapai hajat mereka tidak lama lagi setelah mengembara sembilan bulan lamanya.

    Ya, pasangan rakyat Malaysia itu – Encik Ahmad Mohd Isa, 27 tahun dan isterinya Noradilah Mohd Sapie, 28 tahun memilih untuk mengayuh kenderaan dua roda itu sahaja ke tanah suci.

    Sebelum ini, pasangan itu dilaporkan nekad mencabar keupayaan mereka melakukan ekspedisi berbasikal ‘Kembara Memburu Hikmah’ (KMH), dengan mengayuh basikal dari Malaysia ke Makkah sejauh 17,000 kilometer.

    Setelah bertolak dari Malaysia, mereka perlu melalui 13 buah negara lain dalam tempoh sembilan hingga 12 bulan – iaitu Thailand, Myanmar, India, Nepal, Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, UAE, sebelum menjejakkan kaki ke Arab Saudi selaku negara ke-13.

    Encik Ahmad Mohd Isa dan isterinya Noradilah Mohd Sapie ketika di Khazakhstan.

    TINGGAL 1 NEGARA UNTUK SAMPAI MAKKAH

    Dalam wawancara menerusi kiriman emel dengan BERITAMediacorp, pasangan itu memberitahu bahawa mereka kini sudah berada di Afghanistan, negara ke-11 daripada 12 negara yang perlu dilalui. Ini bermakna tinggal lagi 1 negara perlu direntasi sebelum tiba di Arab Saudi.

    “Alhamdulillah, selama 27 hari kami di Uzbekistan iaitu dari 11 Disember 2016 hingga 6 Januari 2017, sekarang kami sudahpun berada di Afghanistan. Insya Allah, mengikut perancangan kami, perjalanan seterusnya (mengikut urutan) adalah Iran, Amiriah Arab Bersatu dan Arab Saudi,” kata mereka.

    Menurut Encik Ahmad dan Cik Noradilah, antara cabaran besar yang mereka lalui sepanjang pengembaraan itu adalah masalah komunikasi dengan masyarakat di sesebuah negara.

    “Bahasa yang mereka tuturkan seperti Urdu, Uighur, Parsi dan Bahasa tempatan lain tidak dapat diterjemahkan menggunakan mana-mana aplikasi di internet.

    “Mereka pula kebanyakannya tidak memahami bahasa Inggeris atau Arab. Maka ini menyulitkan komunikasi antara kami untuk saling bertukar-tukar pandangan,” pasangan itu memberitahu BERITAMediacorp.

    Encik Ahmad Mohd Isa dan isterinya Noradilah Mohd Sapie ketika di Kyrgystan.

    PERTAMA KALI BERBASIKAL PADA MUSIM SALJI

    Sungguhpun begitu, pengalaman yang diraih ada juga yang memberi kesan mendalam kepada pasangan yang memang ‘kaki basikal’ dan membesar dengan berbasikal daripada zaman sekolah hingga ke universiti.

    Di laman Facebook KMH, pasangan itu berkongsi “pengalaman hebat” ketika berbasikal pada musim salji di Kazakhstan – menerusi video yang dimuat naik – kerana itulah kali pertama mereka bergelumang dengan salji!

    Ternyata bukan mudah kerana mereka beberapa kali tergelincir. Namun menurut pasangan berkenaan ia “membuatkan hati mereka semakin kental untuk meneruskan perjalanan”.

    “MAKANAN TIDAK PUTUS-PUTUS”

    Selain itu layanan baik yang diterima cukup membuatkan mereka tersentuh.

    “Pelbagai bentuk layanan dan bantuan yang di luar jangkaan kami terima daripada insan-insan berhati mulia sepanjang perjalanan ini dan semuanya membuat kami tersentuh.

    “Sejak memasuki negara-negara ‘STAN’ (Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kazahstan), rezeki dalam bentuk makanan tidak putus-putus. Kami tidak sempat untuk berasa lapar.

    “Setiap kali dijemput makan, makanan penuh terhidang atas meja, kata mereka, ini adalah adat budaya mereka untuk memanjakan tetamu dengan pelbagai jenis hidangan.

    “Semoga Allah merahmati hidup mereka yang memberikan bantuan, sokongan dan mendoakan kami sama ada kami tahu atau tidak. Setiap kebaikan itu ada balasan dan rahmat di sisiNya.”

    MAHU “SUJUD SYUKUR DEPAN KAABAH”

    Setelah sekitar sembilan bulan perjalanan mereka, iaitu sejak April 2016, kini Cik Noradilah dan suaminya semakin hampir ke destinasi utama, yang diidam-idamkan setelah sekian lama.

    Ketibaan mereka di Makkah nanti pasti menjadi satu detik bersejarah dalam kehidupan mereka dan tiada tolok bandingnya.

    BERITAMediacorp diberitahu sebaik sahaja menjejakkan kaki di Makkah, perkara pertama yang ingin dilakukan adalah “bersujud syukur di hadapan Kaabah”.

    RINDU DAKAP IBU BAPA

    Encik Ahmad dan Cik Noradilah dijangka berada di Makkah menunaikan umrah selama dua minggu sebelum pulang ke pangkuan keluarga tercinta di Malaysia.

    “Kami rindu sekali menjejakkan kaki ke tanah air sendiri selepas ke tanah suci Makkah dan Madinah. Selain itu kami juga rindu ingin mendakap kedua-dua ibu bapa kami yang tidak putus-putus mendoakan perjalanan kami agar sentiasa lancar dan selamat,” luah pasangan kembara ini.

    Encik Ahmad Mohd Isa dan isterinya Noradilah Mohd Sapie ketika di Nepal.

    Selain melakukan misi kemanusiaan di setiap negara yang dijelajah, pasangan suami isteri itu turut membawa cabaran merekod data berkaitan sejarah, budaya dan kehidupan masyarakat Islam.

    Turut mengiringi misi KMH itu ialah Mohd Nur Aiman Mohd Zaid, 27 tahun, dan Amirul Ariff Abd Wahab, 28, yang bertindak sebagai kru penggambaran video.

    Perkembangan semasa ekspedisi itu boleh diikuti melalui facebook Kembara Memburu Hikmah.

    Encik Ahmad dan Cik Noradilah yang berasal dari Selangor, dijangka menamatkan misi itu dan tiba di Masjidil Haram pada April 2017.

     

     

    Source: BeritaMediacorp

  • Son of Osama Bin Laden Banned From Entering Egypt

    Son of Osama Bin Laden Banned From Entering Egypt

    CAIRO – Osama bin Laden’s son Omar was refused entry to Egypt on Saturday, airport sources said, giving no reason why his name was on a list of people banned from the country.

    Omar, 34, Osama bin Laden’s fourth-eldest son, was traveling with his British wife Zaina al Sabah from Doha, and they asked to be sent to Turkey, the sources said.

    The couple, who lived in Egypt for several months in 2007 and 2008, were previously denied entry to the country in 2008.

    Omar bin Laden broke with his father in 2001 after living in Afghanistan for much of 1996 to 2001.

    In an interview with Reuters in 2010, Omar said he was working with Saudi Arabia and Iran to end his separation from a group of brothers and sisters that dates back to the chaos in Afghanistan following the al Qaeda attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

    Omar said bin Laden’s children were trying to be “good citizens of the world” but suffered from the lack of a father and the stigma of being the al Qaeda leader’s children. None were part of al Qaeda, he said at the time.

    “We are working with the Iranian government and with the Saudi government at the moment to have my mother’s children and grandchildren join us,” he said.

    Osama bin Laden was killed at his Pakistani hideout by U.S. commandos in 2011 in a major blow to the militant group which carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Dulu Pelarian, Kini Kapten Safia Ferozi Juruterbang Wanita Kedua Di Afghanistan

    Dulu Pelarian, Kini Kapten Safia Ferozi Juruterbang Wanita Kedua Di Afghanistan

    Meskipun membesar sebagai seorang pelarian, kini Kapten Safia Ferozi adalah juruterbang wanita yang kedua di Afghanistan.

    Beliau juga bertanggungjawab memandu pesawat pengangkutan tentera udara. Pada masa yang sama, ia juga menunjukkan bahawa lebih banyak lagi usaha perlu dilakukan untuk menarik lebih ramai wanita menyertai angkatan tentera negara itu.

    Cik Ferozi yang berusia 26 tahun mendirikan rumah tangga bersama seorang juruterbang yang turut bekerja dalam unit sokongan bagi angkatan tentera darat. Pasangan itu adalah sebahagian daripada angkatan tentera udara Afghanistan yang sedang membanteras kumpulan Taliban.

    “Apabila saya memakai pakaian seragam tentera, saya berasa amat bangga sebagai seorang wanita,” kata Cik Ferozi sedang beliau bersiap sedia untuk melakukan penerbangan dari pangkalan udara Kabul. Beliau mengemudi pesawat turboprop, C-208 yang digunakan sebagai pesawat pengangkutan.

    Hampir 16 tahun selepas tumbangnya rejim militan Taliban, kaum wanita di Afghanistan kini mengorak langkah untuk meningkatkan kehadiran mereka dalam masyarakat termasuk di parlimen, pemerintah dan tentera. Namun, secara purata kaum wanita di negara itu masih berdepan dengan cabaran dan rintangan dalam masyarakat yang rata-rata masih bersikap konservatif dan memegang kepercayaan bahawa kaum wanita harus duduk di rumah dan keganasan terhadap wanita merupakan satu masalah yang membelenggu negara itu.

    Setelah hampir 30 tahun, Afghanistan mempunyai juruterbang wanita yang pertama di negara itu pada tahun 2013 iaitu Kapten Niloofar Rahmani.

    Cik Ferozi berharap dapat menjadi inspirasi kepada wanita-wanita yang lain.

    “Sebagai seorang wanita, anda perlu menghadapi pelbagai cabaran, dan anda harus mengharungi semua cabaran itu,” kata beliau.

    Menurut jurucakap Kementerian Pertahanan Afghanistan, Jeneral Mohammad Radmanish, terdapat sekitar 1,800 wanita yang kini berkhidmat dalam angkatan tentera negara itu. Tentera Afghanistan yang menerima sokongan Amerika Syarikat dan NATO ingin menambah jumlah itu kepada 10 peratus dalam tempoh tujuh tahun akan datang.

    Source: Berita MediaCorp

  • Captured And Tortured By Terrorists, Pakistani Sought Solace In Radio Broadcasts Of Manchester United Games

    Captured And Tortured By Terrorists, Pakistani Sought Solace In Radio Broadcasts Of Manchester United Games

    Shahbaz Taseer, the son of a Pakistani politician, has spoken out about his four years in captivity.

    Mr Taseer was seized by gunmen in Lahore in August 2011, months after his father Salman was killed for opposing Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

    He told the BBC he was “tortured badly” while being held – but that he found solace in listening to Manchester United matches on the radio.

    He said he was eventually released by a senior member of the Afghan Taliban.

    Mr Taseer was reunited with his family in March, but has not spoken out about his experience in captivity until now, amid unanswered questions over how he was freed or whether a ransom was paid.

    He says he was held by Uzbek militants, before eventually being passed to the Taliban.

    Recounting the day he was captured, Mr Taseer told the BBC’s Today Programme: “I was ambushed by about five men… My first instinct was they were going to kill me.”

    “They drugged me five minutes after abducting me. I passed out – they had beaten me up very badly because I was moving and screaming while being drugged.”

    While held by Uzbek militants, he says he was “tortured badly”, and that he and his captors “could never relate to each other”.

    Shahbaz Taseer after his release (tweeted by Inter Services Public Relations)

    “I didn’t want a friendship. I was [categorical] – you’ve done this for money, you’ve ruined my life. You’re not going to find me being gracious at even a piece of bread you throw me.”

    However, he and his guard did find common ground – because they were both Manchester United fans.

    “I would listen to these Manchester United games every Saturday and Sunday on the radio on BBC. My guard, he was a Manchester United fan, but for him [listening to the games] was a sin.”

    They would listen to the matches together in secret, Mr Taseer said, and celebrate the goals together in silence.

    “Can you imagine, you’re watching a game, your team scores, and everybody screams, but here we are air jamming our celebrations.”

    However, the two were not friends, Mr Taseer said. “For me, [listening to the matches] was [for my] sanity, to listen to something about the world.”

    Mr Taseer said his ordeal ended after he was taken prisoner by the Afghan Taliban, who eventually let him go.

    “I found someone who was senior Afghan Taliban – he worked some magic, organised for me to meet a few motorcyclists who had no idea who I was. I just got on the back of the motorcycle and came to Pakistan.”

    He said being back home, “to wake up and have breakfast with my mother, and see her face”, was “the most unbelievable feeling”.

     

    Source: www.bbc.com