Pakistan bomber, gunmen kill 9 people
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- A female suicide bomber struck outside a hospital in Pakistan on Sunday as the wounded were being brought in from an earlier shooting against police, in a complex assault claimed by the Pakistani Taliban that killed a total of nine people and wounded another 30.
Salim Riaz Khan, a senior police officer in Dera Ismail Khan, said gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on police in a residential area, killing two. He says the bomber then struck at the entrance to the hospital, killing another four police and three civilians who were visiting their relatives. He said eight police were among the wounded, and that many of the wounded were in critical condition.
Inayat Ullah, a local forensics expert, said the female attacker set off 15 pounds of explosives packed with nails and ball bearings.
The blast damaged the emergency room and forced it to shut down, according to a hospital official, who said the wounded were taken to a military hospital. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed the attack but did not acknowledge that the bomber was a woman.
Later on Sunday, police said they had arrested 16 suspects in the attack, all of whom belong to banned organizations.
U.S. says Venezuelan jet was aggressive
CARACAS, Venezuela -- U.S. authorities on Sunday said that a Venezuelan fighter jet "aggressively shadowed" an American intelligence plane flying in international airspace over the Caribbean, underscoring rising tensions between the two nations.
The U.S. Southern Command said that Venezuela's action demonstrates reckless behavior by President Nicolas Maduro, whose government accused the U.S. plane of entering Venezuelan airspace.
U.S. authorities said their EP-3 plane was performing a multi-nationally approved mission on Friday and the Venezuelan SU-30 fighter jet closely trailed the plane, which the U.S. says endangered its crew.
Venezuela's defense minister, Vladimir Padrino Lopez, countered that the U.S. plane entered Venezuelan airspace without notification, violating international rules. He said the flight also endangered commercial flights from Venezuela's main airport.
Upon identifying the plane as a U.S. electronic intelligence gathering aircraft, the fighter jet escorted it from the region, Venezuelan authorities said, adding that there have been 76 such incidents this year.
President Donald Trump's administration and the leaders of more than 50 other nations back opposition leader Juan Guaido's attempt to oust Maduro, whom they accuse of leading the country into a historic crisis.
Wildfires injure 20 people in Portugal
LISBON, Portugal -- About 1,800 firefighters were struggling to contain wildfires in central Portugal that have already injured 20 people, including eight firefighters, authorities said Sunday.
The fires broke out Saturday across three fronts in the district of Castelo Branco, about 125 miles northeast of Lisbon, the capital, Portugal's Civil Protection Agency said.
Firefighters were being supported by 19 firefighting aircraft and hundreds of vehicles.
It's the first major bout of wildfires in Portugal this year. Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita gave the injury toll Sunday and said authorities were investigating the cause of the blazes.
State broadcaster RTP televised images of flames consuming woods in the rural region. RTP showed firefighters hosing down a line of advancing flames as they rapidly approached houses in the village of Sarnadas as water-dumping aircraft swooped overhead.
While most of the injured were from smoke inhalation, one person was evacuated to a hospital to be treated for burns, according to health authorities.
Japan studio fire suspect faces charges
TOKYO -- Japanese police have obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect as soon as he regains consciousness from injuries in a deadly arson at a Kyoto anime studio, officials said Sunday.
Kyoto police said they are ready to arrest Shinji Aoba, 41, on arson and murder allegations. Aoba is accused of storming Kyoto Animation's No. 1 studio on Thursday, setting it on fire and killing 34 people.
About 70 people were inside the studio in southern Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, at the time of the attack. Some of the survivors jumped from balconies and were injured.
NHK and other media, quoting an unnamed source, said Aoba has served prison terms for robbing a convenience store in 2012. The man reportedly told police that he set the fire because he thought "[Kyoto Animation] stole novels."
Company president Hideaki Hatta said his studio never had contact from the suspect. The company founded in 1981 and better known as KyoAni is perhaps most famous for its mega-hit anime series about high school students, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, based on a series of novels. The studio also trained aspirants to the craft.
The attack shocked Japan and drew an outpouring of grief from anime fans worldwide.
The fire is Japan's deadliest since 2001, when a blaze in Tokyo's congested Kabukicho entertainment district killed 44 people in the country's worst known case of arson in modern times.
-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports
A Section on 07/22/2019