World Briefs: Rockets hit coalition troop base in Iraq

BAGHDAD • Several Iraqi air defence servicemen were critically wounded yesterday as multiple rockets hit a military base which houses US-led coalition troops, in the second such strike in a week, the military said.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command said 33 Katyusha rockets were launched near a section of the Taji base, which houses coalition troops.

It said the military found seven rocket launchers and 24 unused rockets in the nearby Abu Izam area.

The military said it would arrest those responsible. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which, unlike recent similar attacks, took place in daylight hours.

A similar rocket attack on Wednesday on Taji, 20km north of Baghdad, killed two US troops and a British soldier, prompting Washington to launch retaliatory air strikes on Thursday which killed six Iraqis.

REUTERS

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At least 384,000 dead in Syria's ongoing war

BEIRUT • At least 384,000 people have died in Syria, including more than 116,000 civilians, since the war began in March 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said yesterday.

Sparked by repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests, the conflict has drawn in outside powers in a complex war involving rebel factions, militant groups and foreign interests.

As the war enters its 10th year, the government of President Bashar al-Assad now controls more than 70 per cent of Syrian territory, thanks to the military support of its allies Russia, Iran and Lebanese militant group Hizbollah.

According to the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources in Syria, the latest death toll includes about 22,000 children and 13,000 women.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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Couple kidnapped in Burkina Faso freed

BAMAKO • A Canadian woman and an Italian man kidnapped in Burkina Faso 15 months ago have been freed and appear to be in good health, the United Nations' peacekeeping mission in neighbouring Mali said yesterday.

Ms Edith Blais and Mr Luca Tacchetto went missing while travelling through Burkina Faso in December 2018.

Militant groups with links to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which are active in the region, have kidnapped Westerners in the past.

It is not known who was responsible for the couple's abduction or if any ransom was paid.

Mr Olivier Salgado, a spokesman for the UN mission in Mali, said the pair were found by peacekeepers near the northern Mali city of Kidal on Friday. They were flown to the capital Bamako yesterday.

REUTERS