The world in brief

— QUOTE OF THE DAY "Those people who committed those atrocities were uncontrollable elements in the military. Even I, as head of state in this very tense situation, cannot claim to be able

to control those elements in the military."

Capt. Moussa "Dadis" Camara,

the Guinea military officer who seized power in a December coup, after troops opened fire on protesters at a pro-democracy rally Article 2APlanted bomb kills 2 GIs in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - Two U.S. soldiers were killed Tuesday in a roadside bomb believed planted by al-Qaidalinked militants, U.S. officials said. They were the first American troops to die in an attack in the Philippines in seven years.

A Filipino marine also was killed, and two others were wounded in the blast on Jolo island, a poor, predominantly Muslim region where the Americans have been providing combat training and weapons to Filipino troops battling Abu Sayyaf militants. The Philippine military suspects that the group was behind the attack.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that the soldiers' vehicle hit a roadside bomb while they were on a resupply mission for a school construction project on Jolo.

Abu Sayyaf militants killed an American Marine with a nail-laden motorcycle bomb in nearby Zamboanga city in October 2002. U.S. counterterrorism troops were deployed to the region earlier that year.

Missiles kill 13 militants in Pakistan

PARACHINAR, Pakistan - Two missile attacks killed 13 militants in northwestern Pakistan's tribal belt Tuesday in the latest apparent strikes of a covert U.S. program.

Unmanned drones have carried out more than 70 missile attacks in the border region over the past year, but Washington rarely acknowledges the strikes. The United States says the mountainous tribal area is a base for militant attacks on American and other NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan and a stronghold of al-Qaida's senior leadership.

One of Tuesday's attacks targeted a Taliban compound in the South Waziristan tribal region and killed six insurgents, including two Uzbek fighters, and wounded six others, two Pakistani intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

A second missile later Tuesday plowed into a house owned by a known Afghan militant in North Waziristan, three intelligence officials and one government official said. Seven insurgents died, they said, also on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

29 die as 2 boats capsize in India

PATNA, India - Two boats capsized in flooded rivers in eastern India's Bihar state during a major Hindu festival, killing at least 29 people and leaving about 22 missing, police said Tuesday.

At least 20 people swam to shore from one boat that was overcrowded with people returning to their homes after participating in festivities during the Dussehra festival, said Neelmani, a top state police official, who uses only one name.

Rescuers found the bodies of 21 people, including 16 children, Neelmani said, adding that those still missing might be male family members who swam to safety but had not been counted by authorities.

Hours later, another boat also returning from festivities capsized on a river in Darbhanga district with 17 on board, he said.

Police recovered eight bodies and rescued eight people near Kuseshwar Sthan, a village nearly 90 miles north of Patna, Neelmani said.

Russia seeks missile-defense pledge

MOSCOW - Russia's envoy to NATO on Tuesday called for guarantees from Washington that a revised U.S.

missile defense plan wouldn't threaten Moscow.

Dmitry Rogozin said the prospective U.S. system, involving missiles on Navy ships, could potentially cause Russia concern.

He said Moscow wants assurances that the system would only be aimed to counter short- and medium-range missiles, and would not be moved near Russian borders or compromise Russia's own strike capability.

"If this system goes mobile, then where are the guarantees that this mobile thing, be it a boat, a cruiser, or a battleship ... will not sail into our northern seas?" Rogozin said at a news conference.

President Barack Obama this month dumped a plan for 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a related radar in the Czech Republic, which Moscow opposed. Obama said a missile shield involving a network of sensors and missiles at sea or on land would be deployed instead.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 09/30/2009

Upcoming Events