At Least 10 Killed in Taliban Attacks in Afghanistan

Afghan forces. (AFP)
Afghan forces. (AFP)
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At Least 10 Killed in Taliban Attacks in Afghanistan

Afghan forces. (AFP)
Afghan forces. (AFP)

At least 12 people were killed on Tuesday in a suicide car bomb attack against a police headquarters in Afghanistan.

The attack targeted a police training center attached to the headquarters in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, officials said.

Officials and militants said that 60 people were wounded in the assault.

At least two attackers were also killed, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Three officials told Reuters that the provincial police chief was among the dead, but the ministry said it could only confirm that he had been wounded.

Both civilians and security forces were among the casualties, deputy public health director Hedayatullah Hameedi said.

“At the moment the area is sealed by the Crisis Response Unit and efforts are ongoing to eliminate the terrorists,” the ministry statement said.

In the western Farah province, police chief Abdul Maruf Fulad said the Taliban attacked a government compound in Shibkho district, killing three policemen.

In southern Ghazni province, the Taliban stormed a security compound, using a suicide car, and killed at least seven policemen.

Provincial chief police, Mohammad Zaman, stated that the attack in Andar district early on Tuesday morning triggered several hours of heavy fighting until the attackers were repelled.

The district compound has been destroyed, he added.



Repatriation Flights Start for Israelis Stranded in Cyprus 

Passengers from the Crown Iris a cruise ship board a bus, at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, June 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Passengers from the Crown Iris a cruise ship board a bus, at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, June 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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Repatriation Flights Start for Israelis Stranded in Cyprus 

Passengers from the Crown Iris a cruise ship board a bus, at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, June 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Passengers from the Crown Iris a cruise ship board a bus, at the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, June 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Flights took off for Israel on Wednesday from Cyprus, airport sources and web flight tracking sites showed, ferrying home Israelis stranded abroad during the conflict with Iran.

Israel's airspace has been closed since the two countries began trading attacks on Friday, stranding tens of thousands whose flights to Tel Aviv were cancelled.

Israel announced special flights for the repatriation of its nationals on Tuesday.

One flight operated by Arkia left Cyprus's Larnaca airport at 07:25 a.m. (0425 GMT) for Tel Aviv. Nine more were expected to depart Wednesday for Haifa, and four for Tel Aviv, carrying about 1,000 people, sources in airport operator Hermes said.

Israel's Transportation Ministry has said as many as 150,000 Israelis are abroad, with about a third trying to get home.

Large numbers have converged on Cyprus, the European Union member nation closest to Israel. Earlier on Wednesday, a cruise ship arrived in Cyprus carrying 1,500 participants in a Jewish heritage program who had left Israel on Tuesday.