Afghan official says at least 10 killed in Kabul attack
KABUL — Taliban insurgents staged a co-ordinated attack targeting a security firm in the eastern part of the capital on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 19 others when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives and fighters engaged security forces in a gun battle, Afghan officials said. The attack came hours after provincial officials said at least 30 civilians were killed along with 16 Taliban fighters during an overnight battle between Afghan government forces and insurgents in southern Helmand province.
The attacks were the latest in a series of brutal and near-daily Taliban assaults on military and police forces and government and other installations throughout the country. The resurgent Taliban, who in recent years have taken over nearly half of Afghanistan, claimed the attack in Kabul.
Guilty plea in Muslim teen’s death; will carry life sentence
FAIRFAX, Va. — In a plea deal that allows him to avoid a possible death penalty, a northern Virginia man has admitted he raped and killed a Muslim teenager last year. Twenty-five-year-old Darwin Martinez-Torres of Sterling entered the guilty plea Wednesday in Fairfax County in the June 2017 murder of 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen of Reston. She had been out with a group of friends eating a pre-dawn meal at a fast-food restaurant ahead of Ramadan services. Martinez-Torres was driving by and got into an altercation with the group. The plea deal imposes a life sentence without possibility of parole.
Pompeo downplays Saudi prince’s ties to killing
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says there’s no intelligence connecting the order to murder Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi to the Saudi crown prince.
Pompeo says “I do believe I’ve read every piece of intelligence” that came in “and there is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi.” Pompeo spoke after he and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis briefed senators behind closed doors Wednesday on the U.S. response to the Khashoggi killing.
Scientist reports second gene-edited pregnancy
HONG KONG — A Chinese researcher who claims to have helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies says a second pregnancy may be underway.
The researcher, He Jiankui of Shenzhen, revealed the possible pregnancy Wednesday while making his first public comments about his controversial work at an international conference in Hong Kong.
He claims to have altered the DNA of twin girls born earlier this month to try to make them resistant to infection with the AIDS virus. Mainstream scientists have condemned the experiment, and universities and government groups are investigating. The second potential pregnancy is in a very early stage and needs more time to be monitored to see if it will last, He said.