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Iran Announces Death of Soleimani's Guard in Southern Aleppo

Asghar Pashapour
Asghar Pashapour
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Iran Announces Death of Soleimani's Guard in Southern Aleppo

Asghar Pashapour
Asghar Pashapour

Member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force Asghar Pashapour was announced killed in Aleppo’s battles on Sunday, according to Iranian sources.

Tehran’s militia participation in the attack on Idlib was confirmed in line with the Iranian Foreign Ministry's support for Damascus.

Sources said Pashapour was close to slain Commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad early January.

According to the Iranian Television Agency, he was killed “in confrontations with militant groups.”

His military rank in the IRGC was not revealed, but information indicates that he has accompanied Soleimani in Syria since the beginning of the war between the regime forces and the Syrian opposition factions.

IRGC intelligence agency’s Mashreq website has described Pashapour as “the man who was always concerned about Soleimani's life” and published a picture of them both gathered with other fighters at a site in Syria.

Young Journalists Club (YJC) news agency, for its part, released a video of a conversation going on between Soleimani and Pashapour in a site in Syria, in which the latter was asking Soleimani not to advance to frontlines.

Iran has not yet officially revealed a statistic on the number of its forces in Syria despite the announcement of the death of hundreds, including senior IRGC leaders over the past years.

In October 2015, Pashapour's brother-in-law died in an IRGC hospital in Tehran from his wounds after 13 months of fighting in Syria.

IRGC news agencies reported back then that he was subject to an assassination attempt using “chemical weapons” 40 days before his death announcement, without indicating who was behind the attempt.

Western diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that Iranian-backed militias are participating with the regime forces in battles to control Idlib, which are believed to be part of Tehran's “response” to Soleimani's assassination.

Iran had prevented its militias and Lebanese Hezbollah from participating in Idlib battles. However, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a few days ago that “six foreign pro-Iranian fighters were killed during the ongoing battles with the factions in the southern countryside of Aleppo.”

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World

Ex-Philippine President to Face Trial on Crimes Against Humanity Charges

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
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Ex-Philippine President to Face Trial on Crimes Against Humanity Charges

FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2016 file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the Philippine Economic Forum in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday confirmed crimes against humanity charges against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he allegedly oversaw while in office.

A three-judge panel found unanimously there were “substantial grounds” to believe the ex-leader was responsible for dozens of murders, first as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.

Duterte, 80, was arrested in the Philippines last year and denies the charges against him.

In their 50-page decision, judges found that the evidence shows that Duterte “developed, disseminated and implemented” a policy “to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals,” The Associated Press reported.

According to prosecutors, police and hit squad members carried out dozens of murders at Duterte’s behest, motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves.

“For some, killing reached the level of a perverse form of competition,” deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told the court in pretrial hearings in February.

A date for the start of the trial has not yet been set.

Duterte's lead defense lawyer Nick Kaufman told judges during the February hearings that he “stands behind his legacy resolutely, and he maintains his innocence absolutely."

Kaufman argued that the prosecution “cherry-picked” examples of Duterte's “bombastic rhetoric,” and his client’s words were never intended to incite violence.

Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.

Duterte has not been present in the courtroom for any hearings, having waived his right to appear. Last month judges found he was fit to stand trial, after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about his health.

ICC prosecutors said in 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the violent drug crackdowns. In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at avoiding accountability, Duterte, who was president at the time, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.

On Wednesday, appeals judges rejected a request from Duterte’s legal team to throw out the case on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction because of the Philippine withdrawal.

World

Denmark: Train Collision Leaves 17 Injured, 5 Are in Critical Condition

Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP
Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP
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Denmark: Train Collision Leaves 17 Injured, 5 Are in Critical Condition

Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP
Damages at the accident scene after two trains collided between Hillerod and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, 23 April 2026. EPA/STEVEN KNAP

Two commuter trains collided head-on near the Danish capital on Thursday injuring 17, of whom five were in critical condition, emergency services said.

"We can't provide any details for now about the cause of the accident," police official Morten Kaare Pedersen told reporters.

He said police were alerted to the accident at 6:29 am (0429 GMT), which occurred about 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Copenhagen between the towns of Hillerod and Kagerup.

Officials originally said four people were critically injured but revised that figure hours after the crash. It was not immediately clear whether the train's drivers were among the victims.

Investigators are looking into what caused the collision. Photos from the scene show the front ends of the trains smashed, though both remained upright on the tracks.

The mayor of the nearby town of Gribskov, Trine Egetved, in a post on Facebook, said some of the injured were flown to the hospital.

She said the crash occurred on a local rail line that's used by many Gribskov residents, employees and schoolchildren.

World

Report: Clearing Hormuz Strait Mines Could Take 6 Months

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Report: Clearing Hormuz Strait Mines Could Take 6 Months

Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

A Pentagon assessment said it could take six months to completely clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian-laid mines, which could keep oil prices high, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Iran has all but blocked the vital waterway since the start of a war with the United States and Israel, sharply driving up oil and gas prices and disrupting the global economy.

The strait -- through which one-fifth of the world's oil and gas passes in peacetime -- has remained largely closed during a shaky ceasefire, with the US imposing its own blockade.

Even if hostilities end and the blockade lifts, it could take months to clear the waterway of mines, according to a Pentagon assessment, the Washington Post reported citing officials close to the discussion.

The assessment added that it was unlikely such an operation would begin before the end of the war.

The six-month estimate was shared with members of the House Armed Services Committee during a classified briefing, the Post reported.

Lawmakers were told that Iran may have placed 20 or more mines in and around the strait, some floated remotely using GPS technology which makes them harder to detect, according to the report.

AFP has contacted the Department of Defense for comment.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Washington Post that its information was "inaccurate."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned of a "danger zone" covering 1,400 square kilometers -- 14 times the size of Paris -- where mines may be present.

Iran's parliament speaker said his country would not reopen the strait as long as the US naval blockade remained.

A spokesman for German transportation giant Hapag-Lloyd cautioned last week that shippers needed details on viable routes as they remain fearful of mines.

When the Hormuz strait briefly reopened at the start of the ceasefire this month, only a few ships trickled through amid fears of attacks or mines.

Earlier in April, the US Navy said its ships transited the waterway to begin removing the mines, but that claim was denied by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which threatened any military vessels attempting to cross the channel.

London hosted talks with military planners from over 30 countries starting Wednesday on a UK and France-led multinational mission to protect navigation in the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end.

The "defensive" coalition is set to discuss plans to reopen the strait and conduct mine clearance operations.