Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 30 January 2018
IS attack on military academy in Afghan capital kills 11

By RAHIM FAIEZ and AMIR terrorism.”
SHAH Neighboring Pakistan also
Associated Press condemned Monday’s at-
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) tack, saying it “reiterates
— Islamic State militants its strong condemnation of
attacked Afghan soldiers terrorism in all its forms and
guarding a military acad- manifestations, especially
emy in the capital on Mon- the series of heinous at-
day, killing at least 11 troops tacks within the last week in
and wounding 16. Afghanistan.”
The attack, which began Both the Taliban and IS
before dawn and contin- have stepped up attacks
ued well past daybreak, in recent weeks, in what
was the latest in a wave of analysts say is a campaign
relentless violence in Kabul of violence intended to un-
this month unleashed by dermine the U.S.-backed
the Taliban and the rival Is- government.
lamic State group that has On Saturday, a Taliban at-
killed scores and left hun- tacker drove an ambu-
dreds wounded. lance filled with explosives
President Donald Trump into the heart of the city,
condemned the recent killing at least 103 people
spate of violence, saying and wounding as many as
“innocent people are be- Afghan National Army soldiers take position near the entrance gate of Marshal Fahim academy 235.
ing killed left and right,” in- after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. The Taliban claimed the
cluding children. After pre- Associated Press ambulance attack, as well
viously expressing support “the attack was against an med Fahim, the country’s country, was shot and killed as an attack a week earlier
for Afghan efforts to reach army unit providing security late vice president and by an Afghan soldier in a in which militants stormed
a political settlement with for the academy and not a military commander of so-called “insider attack” a luxury hotel in Kabul, kill-
the insurgent group, Trump the academy itself.” the Northern Alliance that that was later claimed by ing 22 people, including 14
said “there’s no talking to The Islamic State affiliate fought the Taliban, the the Taliban. foreigners, and setting off a
the Taliban.” in Afghanistan, which calls academy was inaugurated The same academy was 13-hour battle with security
Afghan Defense Ministry itself Khorasan Province, in 2013 after British forces also attacked in Octo- forces.
spokesman Dawlat Wa- claimed the attack in a oversaw the development ber last year by a suicide Masoom Stanekzai, the
ziri said a suicide bomb- statement carried by its of its officers’ school and its bomber who killed 15 offi- head of Afghanistan’s in-
er struck the military unit Aamaq news agency, say- training program. cers. The attacker was on telligence service, said five
guarding the academy, ing its fighters targeted the The academy was also foot and detonated his sui- suspects have been arrest-
setting off a gunbattle. Two academy. the site where the highest- cide vest as the on-duty of- ed for their involvement in
of the attackers were killed The academy, known as ranking U.S. military officer ficers were leaving the fa- the hotel attack. A sixth sus-
in the gunbattle, two deto- Marshal Fahim National to be killed in the wars in cility. That attack was also pect had fled the country,
nated their suicide vests Defense University, is some- Afghanistan and Iraq lost claimed by the Taliban. he said. He also said that
and one was arrested by times called “Sandhurst in his life, in August 2014. Army President Ashraf Ghani de- four people have been ar-
the troops, he said. the Sand” — a reference Maj Gen. Harold J. Greene, nounced Monday’s attack, rested in connection with
Waziri confirmed that 11 to the British academy. then deputy commander saying the “Taliban must Saturday’s ambulance
soldiers were killed. He said Named after Moham- of the transition force in the choose between Islam and attack.q

President says Poland did not take part in the Holocaust

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — up to three years. Israel to the legislation ap-
Poland’s president said A section of the bill ex- proved by the lower house
Monday that there was no empts prohibited state- of Poland’s parliament Fri-
institutionalized participa- ments made “within artistic day. Speaking during a visit
tion by Poland or its people or scientific activity.” to the southern town of Zory
in the Holocaust, but ac- Some six million Polish citi- on Monday, Duda said that
knowledges that individual zens, half of them Jews, referring to the camps built
Poles took “wicked” ac- died under the Nazi occu- and operated by the Ger-
tions against Jewish neigh- pation of Poland. mans in occupied Poland
bors. In Israel, the legislation has as “Polish death camps”
President Andrzej Duda said been interpreted as an at- is an example of the kind
that he would never allow tempt to undermine schol- of statements the law is
Poland and Poles in gen- arly research and deny meant to address.
eral to be “vilified” though facts about the Holocaust. The president said he con-
“false accusations.” Duda’s top aide, Krzysztof demned anti-Semitism and
Duda seemed to be react- Israeli Ambassador to Poland, Anna Azari, standing left, speaks Szczerski, met Monday with other forms of hatred.
ing to anger in Israel over a during a eremony markjng the 13th International Day of Israeli Ambassador Anna The prime ministers of Po-
bill that would outlaw pub- Commemoration in Memory of the victims of the Holocaust, at Azari to discuss the bill’s land and Israel agreed af-
lic statements assigning to the Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto in Warsaw, wording, which critics say is ter speaking by phone Sun-
“the Polish nation” respon- Poland, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018. Associated Press unclear. Szczerski charac- day night to try to resolve
sibility for crimes committed terized the talk as “difficult differences over the legisla-
by Nazi Germany during its Poland. law would be punishable and frank” and said he was tion by convening a group
World War II occupation of Violations of the proposed by fines or prison terms of critical of the reaction in of history experts.q