Suicide bomber, gunmen attack security post in northwest Pakistan, killing 15 security personnel

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By Associated Press | Posted by TOE A  suicide bomber backed by gunmen attacked  a security checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing 15 members of the security forces, the military said Friday. In a statement, the military said troops repelled the overnight assault in Tank, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and killed 12 militants. The military blamed the attack on the  Pakistani Taliban , known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing sanctuary to TTP militants, an allegation Kabul denies. There was no immediate comment from the group. According to the military, the attackers attempted to storm the checkpoint but were pushed back by security forces before ramming an explosives-laden vehicle into the perimeter wall, triggering a powerful blast that severely damaged the checkpoint. The military said those ...
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Chicago firefighter dies weeks after being injured in fire at home near O’Hare

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Firefighters salute the ambulance delivering Lt. Kevin Ward’s body to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday.

Firefighters salute the ambulance delivering Lt. Kevin Ward’s body to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

A Chicago firefighter has died more than two weeks after he and two others were injured while battling a fire in a home near O’Hare International Airport.

Lt. Kevin Ward, 59, died at Loyola Medical Center, where he was taken from the fire in the 8300 block of West Balmoral Avenue on Aug. 11, according to the Chicago Fire Department. Two other firefighters suffered less serious injuries, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

“He was surrounded by family as he made his transition,” the department said in a tweet.

Under a massive America flag draped over the street by two fire trucks, dozens of firefighters and police officers lined up along the street outside the Cook County medical examiner’s office on the Near West Side for the procession carrying Ward’s body from Loyola.

Interim Supt. Fred Waller and Deputy Chief Larry Snelling, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick for the next superintendent, stood solemnly in line on the corner of Harrison and Leavitt streets. Ward’s body arrived at the medical examiner’s shortly after 12:40 p.m. in an ambulance followed by Truck 9, which he worked on on the city’s Far Northwest Side.

Ward joined the department in 1996.

In a statement, Mayor Johnson expressed his sympathies.

“On behalf of the City of Chicago, I offer my sincerest condolences on the passing of Chicago Fire Department Lieutenant Kevin Ward. I pray for the peace of his family, friends and loved ones during this most difficult time. Let us keep Truck #9 and all our dedicated first responders in our hearts as we honor Lt. Ward’s life and memory.”



from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/U6gZDHw

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