Page 6 - aruba-today-20240415

A6 WORLD NEWS
Monday 15 april 2024
Pakistani police search for gunmen who abducted bus passengers

and killed 11 in the southwest

By ABDUL SATTAR took the bus to the closest to the families of the vic-
Associated Press police station. We didn’t tims and said he stood by
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — know if those people were them in their hour of grief,
Pakistani police searched alive or not.” according to a statement
for gunmen who killed nine Another passenger, Mo- from his office.
people after abducting hammad Tahir, said the “The perpetrators of this
them from a bus on a high- gunmen who boarded the incident of terrorism and
way in the country’s south- bus had targeted people their facilitators will be pun-
west. The same attackers from Punjab. “They said, ished,” Sharif said.
earlier killed two people ‘Get up from your seats Abductions are rare in Bal-
and wounded six in anoth- whoever is from Punjab,’” uchistan, where militants
er car they forced to stop. said Tahir. They asked the usually target police forces
The abductions took place standing passengers if they and soldiers or infrastruc-
on Friday in Baluchistan were from that province ture.
province, which has long and then swore at them. Although the government
been the scene of an insur- Ambulance carry bodies of people who were killed by gunmen, “’You kill our children,” said says it has quelled the insur-
gency by separatists fight- arrives at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, Saturday, April 13, 2024. Tahir, quoting the gunmen. gency, violence in Baluch-
ing for independence. Associated Press ‘”You do bad things to us.’” istan has persisted and the
The outlawed Baloch Lib- An initial police report said bus attack is the latest inci-
eration Army claimed re- blockade, then stopped sakhail said. The bus was that 19 of the passengers dent in the restive region.
sponsibility for the attack. the bus and went through heading from the provin- were traveling to Iran on Authorities are also strug-
It said it had information the passengers’ ID cards. cial capital of Quetta to their way to Western coun- gling to contain militancy in
from sources that plain- They took nine people with Taftan, a town bordering tries as migrants. The report, other parts of the country.
clothed spies were on the them, all from the eastern Iran. shared with The Associated In the northwest province
bus, according to a state- Punjab province, and fled Witness Sajjad Ahmed, Press, said that two of those of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
ment from the group. The into the mountains, he said. who was a passenger on abducted and killed were the army said Saturday that
gunmen killed the nine Police later recovered nine the bus, said there were 70 human smugglers. Punjab two soldiers were killed in a
men after checking their ID bodies under a bridge people on board. Masked has emerged as a hotspot gunfight with militants in Bu-
cards to ensure they were about 5 kilometers (3 miles) men stopped the vehicle for Pakistanis trying to make nar district.
intelligence officers. from the highway. near the city of Nushki, took the perilous journey to Eu- In a statement, the army
The group offered no evi- On Friday, the same gun- away nine people and told rope hoping for a better life said a high-profile Paki-
dence to support the alle- men had opened fire at a the driver to continue the there. stani Taliban commander
gation that spies were on vehicle that failed to stop journey, he told reporters. Pakistani Prime Minister She- was also killed. He was in-
the bus. for their blockade, killing “We heard the armed men hbaz Sharif condemned volved in activities against
Earlier Saturday, deputy two and wounding six, po- open fire on those people the attack, expressing his security forces, extortion
commissioner of police lice said. as we drove away,” said “deep sorrow and regret and the targeted killing of
Habibullah Mosakhail said A search for the perpetra- Ahmed. “We heard the over this shocking incident.” civilians, according to the
the gunmen had set up a tors was underway, Mo- sounds of firing. The driver He offered his condolences statement.q

174 people stranded in the air are rescued, almost a day after a

fatal cable car accident in Turkey

ISTANBUL (AP) — The last capabilities had continued from other cars were
of 174 people stranded in rescuing people through- also taken to hospitals for
cable cars high above a out the night. checkups.
mountain in southern Tur- The stranded people had Friday was the final day of
key were brought to safety been stuck on the Tunek- a three-day public holiday
Saturday, nearly 23 hours tepe cable car, just outside in Turkey marking the end
after one pod hit a pole the Mediterranean city of of the Muslim holy month of
and burst open, killing one Antalya, since 5:30 p.m. on Ramadan, which sees fam-
person and injuring seven Friday, when the accident ilies flock to coastal resorts.
when they plummeted to occurred. The cable car carries tour-
the rocks below. Istanbul resident Hatice ists from Konyaalti beach
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya Polat and her family were to a restaurant and view-
announced the successful rescued seven hours into ing platform at the summit
completion of the rescue the ordeal. Speaking to the A severely damaged cabin of a cable car transportation system of the 618-meter (2,010-
operation on X Saturday Anadolu agency, she said is seen outside Antalya, southern Turkey, Friday, April 12, 2024. foot) Tunektepe peak. It is
afternoon. the power went out and Associated Press run by Antalya Metropoli-
A total of 607 search and the pod flipped four or five tan Municipality. The cable
rescue personnel and 10 times. how we’ll get over this trau- helicopters soon after the car line was completed in
helicopters were involved, “The night was awful, we ma.” crash and sent for treat- 2017 and receives a ma-
including teams from Tur- were very scared. There State-run Anadolu Agency ment. Images in Turkish me- jor inspection around the
key’s emergency response were children with us, they identified the deceased as dia showed the battered beginning of the year, as
agency, AFAD, the Coast passed out,” she said. “It a 54-year-old Turkish man. car swaying from dislodged well as routine inspections
Guard, firefighting teams was torture being up there Those injured included two cables on the side of the throughout the year.
and mountain rescue for seven hours. It is swaying children and were six Turk- rocky mountain as medics Antalya Chief Public Prose-
teams from different parts every second, you’re con- ish citizens and one Kyr- tended the wounded. cutor’s Office has launched
of Turkey, officials said. He- stantly in fear. ... It was very gyz national. They were all Yerlikaya also announced an investigation.q
licopters with night-vision traumatic, I don’t know rescued by Coast Guard that 13 people rescued