Afghan police said today they had seized a major cache of nearly 300 rockets hidden on the outskirts of Kabul, which could have been used to attack the capital.
The find included 278 122mm rockets with a range of 20 kilometres and 15 rockets with a range of 30 kilometres, city police chief Abdul Rehman Rehman told reporters.
The discovery followed reports that Taliban insurgents were planning attacks on Kabul during a May 29 conference of more than 1,000 community and political representatives, Rehman said.
"We had reports that Kabul might be under threat from the north-east and north-west sides of the city," he said.
The rockets were surplus from the Soviet deployment of Afghanistan in the 1980s, he said, adding that intelligence reports pointed to the involvement of foreign agencies in funding the movement of the weapons.
Afghan officials accuse elements in Pakistan of supporting the insurgency in Afghanistan to exert influence in the country and balance rival India's power.
Pakistan rejects the accusations.
Kabul was bombarded by rockets during the 1992-1996 civil war. The conflict resulted in the deaths of an estimated 80,000 civilians.
Kabul regularly comes under mortar fire, but an attack with 122mm rockets could have a devastating impact, causing high casualties and presenting a formidable security challenge to Afghan and international security forces.
No arrests had been made in relation to the cache find, Mr Rehman said.
* AFP
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Ukraine%20exports
%3Cp%3EPresident%20Volodymyr%20Zelenskyy%20has%20overseen%20grain%20being%20loaded%20for%20export%20onto%20a%20Turkish%20ship%20following%20a%20deal%20with%20Russia%20brokered%20by%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey.%3Cbr%3E%22The%20first%20vessel%2C%20the%20first%20ship%20is%20being%20loaded%20since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20war.%20This%20is%20a%20Turkish%20vessel%2C%22%20Zelensky%20said%2C%20adding%20exports%20could%20start%20in%20%22the%20coming%20days%22%20under%20the%20plan%20aimed%20at%20getting%20millions%20of%20tonnes%20of%20Ukrainian%20grain%20stranded%20by%20Russia's%20naval%20blockade%20to%20world%20markets.%3Cbr%3E%22Our%20side%20is%20fully%20prepared%2C%22%20he%20said.%20%22We%20sent%20all%20the%20signals%20to%20our%20partners%20--%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey%2C%20and%20our%20military%20guarantees%20the%20security%20situation.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
