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A police officer guards the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro, on Thursday after a bomb was thrown into the embassy yard late Wednesday.
A police officer guards the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro, on Thursday after a bomb was thrown into the embassy yard late Wednesday.

U.S. Embassy bomber in Montenegro ID'd

PODGORICA, Montenegro -- The man who hurled a bomb into the U.S. Embassy compound in Montenegro's capital and then killed himself was identified by authorities Thursday as an ex-soldier apparently decorated by former Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said the man was 43-year-old Dalibor Jaukovic, who was identified by a close relative.

At a news conference, police formally identified the suspect by his initials D.J., in line with what the police official said earlier. The man had no criminal record and the attack wasn't an act of terrorism, police said.

Photos posted on Jaukovic's Facebook profile include a plaque honoring his contribution in the fight against NATO during its bombing of Serbia and Montenegro in 1999. The plaque appears to be personally signed by Milosevic. In a Facebook post in May, Jaukovic said "no to NATO."

Police said in a statement earlier that an assailant threw a bomb into the embassy yard and then killed himself by activating another one around midnight Wednesday.

The embassy said Thursday that all staff members were safe and accounted for after the incident.

Carter urges 2-state Mideast solution

UNITED NATIONS -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter warned Thursday that the two-state solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict "is being overtaken by a one-state reality which will have dire consequences for Israel in the long-term," according to a statement read to the Security Council.

In the statement, read by former U.S. Ambassador Richard Murphy, Carter concluded that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state "is in Israel's best interest."

A two-state solution "must be anchored on 1967 borders with agreed-upon adjustments and with Jerusalem as the capital for both Israelis and Palestinians," Carter said.

He said Gaza "is teetering on the brink of a humanitarian disaster" and warned that another war in the Hamas-ruled territory is "a real possibility -- and the consequences would be catastrophic."

Attack kills 8 Afghan officers, 4 others

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Taliban fighters attacked a polie security post in Afghanistan's central Ghazni province, killing eight policemen, while four intelligence officials died in an ambush by insurgents in the north, Afghan officials said Thursday.

In northern Parwan province, the attackers sprayed the intelligence officials' vehicle with automatic gunfire.

Arif Noori, spokesman for the Ghazni provincial governor, said the attack on the police there happened the previous night. He said the insurgents attacked from four sides using heavy weapons, including artillery, killing eight policemen and wounding a ninth during a two-hour attack.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. He said one policeman was captured in the attack.

In the Parwan attack, district Gov. Abdul Shookor Qudosi said it took place in Bagram as the officials were returning home from work Wednesday. Four insurgents converged on the vehicle, Qudosi said, killing everyone inside.

No one immediately responsibility for the Parwan attack, but the Taliban operate in the area.

101 Nigerian girls missing, parents say

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria -- More than 100 girls are still missing three days after suspected Boko Haram extremists attacked their school in northern Nigeria, parents said Thursday, as fears grew that they may have been kidnapped like those from Chibok town nearly four years ago.

The announcement came after government officials in Yobe state acknowledged that some 50 young women remained unaccounted for in the Monday evening attack on the village of Dapchi. There have been a number of conflicting reports, in part because of limited access to the area.

One parent, Bashir Manzo, said the parents compiled a list of 101 missing children and presented it to the governor.

The state governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, "told us the girls have not been found and we should continue to pray for their safe return," said another parent, Rabiu Sani.

Boko Haram gained international attention when it abducted 276 girls from a school in Chibok almost four years ago. While some escaped and many others were released as part of negotiations, about 100 remain with their captors.

A Section on 02/23/2018

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