World Scene

PAKISTAN

Taliban integrates for cross-border strike

PESHAWAR | Hundreds of militants, many from Afghanistan, attacked a Pakistani paramilitary camp in a lawless northwestern tribal region early Sunday, sparking a major clash that left six security troops and 40 insurgents dead.

The brazen raid in Mohmand suggested sophisticated cross-border coordination among Taliban militants nesting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and underscored the continued strength of the militancy despite an ongoing Pakistani military offensive.

Insurgents attacked the Pakistani Frontier Corps’ camp about 2 a.m. Saturday with mortars and rockets, then used small arms to fire on a checkpoint near the Mohammad Ghat camp, said a paramilitary official, who gave details on the condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to comment to the media.

The 600 or so attackers were eventually driven off, but scattered skirmishes continued, he said.

SOMALIA

Pirate’s body found with cash

MOGADISHU | The body of a Somali pirate who drowned just after receiving a huge ransom washed onshore with $153,000 in cash, a resident said Sunday, as the spokesman for another group of pirates promised to soon free a Ukrainian arms ship.

Five pirates drowned Friday when their small boat capsized after they received a reported $3 million ransom for releasing a Saudi oil tanker. Local resident Omar Abdi Hassan said one of the bodies had been found on a beach near the coastal town of Haradhere and relatives were searching for the other four.

“One of them was discovered, and they are still looking for the other ones. He had $153,000 in a plastic bag in his pocket,” he said Sunday.

The U.S. Navy released photos of a parachute dropping a package onto the deck of the Sirius Star, and said the package was likely to be the ransom delivery.

IRAQ

New crisis grips parliament

BAGHDAD | The Iraqi parliament faced a new crisis Sunday after members of the country’s major Sunni Arab bloc fell out with one another over the nomination of a new candidate for speaker.

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