Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 30 July 2019
Death toll in attack at Afghan political office rises to 20

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Sunday marked the first
— The death toll from an day of the Afghan presi-
attack against the Kabul dential campaign, with a
office of the Afghan presi- vote scheduled for the end
dent's running mate and of September.
former chief of the intelli- After the attack, President
gence service climbed to Ashraf Ghani tweeted that
at least 20 people on Mon- Saleh was unharmed dur-
day, an official said. ing the "complex attack"
Around 50 other people targeting the Green Trend
were wounded in Sunday's office.
attack against the Green Saleh founded the Green
Trend party headquarters, Trend after he was sacked
which lasted hours and as intelligence chief in 2010
included a gunbattle be- by former President Hamid
tween security forces and Karzai. Though a relative
the attackers, who were newcomer on the Afghan
holed up inside the build- political scene, its focus has
ing, according to Interior been democracy and re-
Ministry spokesman Nasrat form while fiercely oppos-
Rahimi. ing the Taliban and their
Several gunmen were killed extremist ideology.
by the security forces, Ra- Ferdous Faramarz, the
himi said. Afghan security forces stand guard at the site of Sunday's attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, spokesman for Kabul's po-
The attackers' potential July 29, 2019. lice chief, said the attack
target, vice presidential Associated Press started with a suicide car
candidate and former bombing, after which oth-
intelligence chief Amrul- No one immediately in Kabul in the past. U.S. about a peaceful reso- er attackers entered the
lah Saleh, was "evacuat- claimed responsibility for The Taliban, who effectively lution to the 18-year war, building and started shoot-
ed from the building and the attack, but both the control half the country at America's longest conflict. ing at security forces.
moved to a safe location," Taliban and the Islamic this point, have also been The insurgents however, re- The explosion from the initial
Rahimi said. Some 85 other State group are active in staging near-daily attacks fuse to directly negotiate bombing was large enough
civilians were also rescued the capital and have car- across Afghanistan even with the government, con- to be heard throughout the
from inside. ried out large-scale attacks as they hold talks with the sidering it a U.S. puppet. capital.q

Right-wing alliance, Arab bloc formed ahead of Israeli vote

JERUSALEM (AP) — A group wing parties for a joint run,"
of religious nationalist par- Shaked wrote on Twitter.
ties in Israel announced Her New Right party failed
Monday that they would to garner sufficient votes to
run together in the upcom- enter the Knesset, Israel's
ing parliamentary elec- parliament, in April's elec-
tions, the same day four tions. The right-wing bloc
Arab political parties for- was announced a day af-
malized a merger of their ter the Palestinian national-
own. ist Balad party said it would
The United Right, headed join a reunited Joint List of
by former Justice Minister Arab parties, months after
Ayelet Shaked, is the third infighting fragmented the
political alliance formed political alliance, in order
in recent days ahead of to "increase Arab represen-
this week's deadline to fi- tation in parliament."
nalize party lineups for the Ayman Odeh, head of the
September 17 vote. It is ex- Hadash party, said Monday
pected to back Prime Min- that now that the parties
ister Benjamin Netanyahu have reunited, they can
should he be tasked with address the "great chal-
forming a government, po- lenge" facing the country's
tentially helping him to se- Arab minority.
cure a fourth consecutive Israel's Arab population
term in office. mainly consists of Palestin-
Israel faces an unprec- In this March 17, 2015 file photo, Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List, an alliance of four small ians who remained in Israel
edented repeat election Arab-backed parties accompanied by his family, casts his ballot in Haifa, Israel. after its creation in 1948
in September after Netan- Associated Press and their descendants,
yahu failed to form a ma- and makes up around
jority coalition government joined to form the Demo- this month. United Right, a constella- a fifth of Israel's popula-
following a vote in April. cratic Union. They hope to Shaked, who assumed the tion of religious nationalist tion. They largely identify
Last week, former Prime oust Netanyahu, who be- leadership of her New Right parties. with the Palestinians and
Minister Ehud Barak and came Israel's longest-serv- party last week, will also "Weeks of efforts bore fruit have long complained of
the left-wing Meretz party ing prime minister earlier head the newly formed today. We united right discrimination.q