ISLAMIC MILITANTS CLAIM EXPLOSION IN NIGERIA CAPITAL
lagos, nigeria Islamic extremists on Saturday claimed responsibility for the massive rush-hour explosion last week that ripped through a busy bus station in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, killing at least 75 people and wounding 141.
“We are in your city, but you don’t know where we are,” said Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Boko Haram terrorist network, in a new video that threatened more attacks.
Shekau makes no mention in the video of the abductions of more than 100 girls and young women from a remote northeastern school hours after the bomb blast. Officials say dozens of the girls have managed to escape, but 85 remain unaccounted for.
16 killed in bombings across Iraq
baghdad » Attacks across Iraq, including a series of bombings targeting shoppers in a Sunni neighborhood in the country’s capital, killed at least 16 people Saturday, authorities said.
The deadliest attacks struck Baghdad’s predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Dora. On Saturday morning, police said two bombs exploded on busy commercial streets, killing four people. That night, police said three more bomb blasts in the same area killed five people and wounded 10.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, though Shiite militants have retaliated in the past for Sunni insurgent groups killing their own.
Iranian official says reactor will be redesigned B
tehran, iran » Iran will redesign its Arak heavy water reactor to greatly limit the amount of plutonium it can make, the country’s vice president said Saturday, markingamajor concession from the Islamic Republic in negotiations with world powers over its contested nuclear program.
The comments by Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi come as the talks face an informal July 20 deadline to hammer out a final deal to limit Iran’s ability to build nuclear arms in exchange for ending crippling economic sanctions.
Iranian state television quoted Salehi, who heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, as saying that Iran has proposed to redesign Arak to produce onefifth of the plutonium initially planned for it.
Two die in Bahrain car bombing B »
manama, bahrain Authorities in Bahrain say an apparent car bombing has killed two people and wounded one west of the capital, Manama. A statement Saturday from the Interior Ministry said the blast happened in Mughsha, a village along a highway west of the capital. It said investigators found traces of explosives in the car.
Man arrested in murder of ex-IRA leader B »
dublin Police in Northern Ireland have arrested a man for questioning about the killing of a senior Irish Republican Army hard-liner.
Police said Saturday the 26year-old man was being questioned about the shooting of Tommy Crossan.
Local residents say that gunmen escorted the 43-year-old Crossan to a fuel depot on Friday and shot him in the head and body at close range. Residents say a Catholic priest was called to give him the last rites.
Drone strikes in Yemen kill at least 12, authorities say
sana, yemen » A U.S. drone strike in southern Yemen killed at least nine suspected al-Qaeda militants and three civilians Saturday, authorities said, as part of ongoing strikes in the country against what it considers the terrorist network’s most dangerous local group.
Egypt’s el-Sissi visits Coptic pope B
cairo » Egypt’s former military chief and presumed presidential front-runner visited the Coptic pope Saturday ahead of Orthodox Easter, making his first public appearance since he formally made his bid for the presidency. Pope Tawadros II is a strong backer of retired Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Orthodox Easter is Sunday.