Reuters, Afghanistan
For the fighter pilots at the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump’s new strategy for the war should mean escalating an already surging air campaign, and possibly including an unrestrained offensive against the Taliban.
The number of U.S. air strikes in Afghanistan has already dramatically spiked since Trump took office in January, from 1,074 in all of last year to 2,244 as of August 20 this year.
Belgian soldiers shot dead knife attacker
Reuters, Brussels
Belgian soldiers shot dead a man in the center of Brussels on Friday evening after he came at them with a knife shouting Allahu Akbar (God is great), in a case authorities are treating as a terrorist attack.
The man, a 30-year-old Belgian of Somali origin, died after being rushed to hospital. The soldiers were not seriously hurt in the attack; one had a facial wound and the other’s hand was wounded.
10 civilians dead in US-backed Somalia raid
AP, Mogadishu
Ten civilians, including three children, were killed in a raid by foreign and Somali forces on a farm in southern Somalia, a deputy governor said Friday, as the U.S. military confirmed it supported a counter-terror operation in the area and said it would look into the allegations. The deaths raise questions about growing U.S. military involvement in the Horn of Africa nation after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations against the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab, often in support of Somali forces.
Rebels kill 3 in Indian police camp in Kashmir
AP, Srinagar
Anti-India rebels in Kashmir stormed a police camp in the disputed region Saturday, killing two paramilitary soldiers and a police officer, an official said. At least two gunmen entered the camp in southern Pulwama town firing guns and grenades at the sentry, said Director-General of police S.P. Vaid. In the initial attack, a policeman was killed and four other personnel, including a paramilitary soldier, were wounded.
