Russian Attack Kills Two, Injures 11 in Ukraine’s Sumy, Authorities Say 

Ukrainian servicemen ride atop a tank after returning from Russia, near the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Sumy region, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP)
Ukrainian servicemen ride atop a tank after returning from Russia, near the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Sumy region, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP)
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Russian Attack Kills Two, Injures 11 in Ukraine’s Sumy, Authorities Say 

Ukrainian servicemen ride atop a tank after returning from Russia, near the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Sumy region, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP)
Ukrainian servicemen ride atop a tank after returning from Russia, near the Russian-Ukrainian border in the Sumy region, Aug. 17, 2024. (AP)

A Russian attack overnight damaged a factory in Ukraine's northern city of Sumy, killed two women and injured at least 11 people, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday. 

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said the factory manufactured packaging for baby food, juices and household products. 

One injured person died later in hospital, regional prosecutors said on Telegram, and the body of another victim was retrieved from the rubble. 

The airstrike caused a fire, prompting authorities to tell residents to stay inside and close windows because of air pollution. 

The northern Sumy region borders Russia's region of Kursk where Ukraine has made a major cross-border incursion since Aug. 6 while Moscow's troops press towards the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine. 

Ukrainian border areas suffer from constant Russian attacks, and Kyiv said the Kursk operation was aimed at protecting its settlements. 

Separately, a drone attack hit an industrial facility in Poltava in central Ukraine without causing any casualties, regional governor Filip Pronin said. 

The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 12 out of 18 Russia-launched drones overnight over five regions. Four more drones fell over the Ukrainian territory. 

Russia also used an Iskander-M missile during the attack, the air force added. It did not give additional details. 

In the southern port city of Odesa, authorities reported an explosion on Thursday evening after a ballistic air alert without providing details. 

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured in its strikes during the war, which began when Russian troops invaded its neighbor in February 2022. 



Guantanamo Detainees Moved Amid Structural Problems at Showcase Prison

A communal space for detainees at the Camp 6 detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2019.(Doug Mills/The New York Times)
A communal space for detainees at the Camp 6 detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2019.(Doug Mills/The New York Times)
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Guantanamo Detainees Moved Amid Structural Problems at Showcase Prison

A communal space for detainees at the Camp 6 detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2019.(Doug Mills/The New York Times)
A communal space for detainees at the Camp 6 detention center at Guantanamo Bay in 2019.(Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Washington: Carol Rosenberg

Undisclosed infrastructure problems forced the military to evacuate the prison housing the men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and other detainees from the war against terrorism, according to Defense Department employees.

The military had no comment on the sudden closure over the weekend of its former showcase prison.

But by Tuesday, all 30 detainees at Guantanamo Bay were believed to be confined to a medium-security prison building, called Camp 6, the Defense Department employees said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details of the security operation.

Camp 6 was built in 2006 for $39 million to house up to 200 detainees, and until this week held 16 general population prisoners in communal-style detention.

All 16 have been approved for transfer to the custody of other countries, including 11 Yemeni men whose transfer to Oman is on hold.

Camp 6 is designed with separate cellblocks, each containing about two dozen cells, a large common room and an adjacent outdoor area monitored by banks of cameras.

When it is operated as a medium-security facility, guards remotely open all the cell doors for much of the day, permitting the prisoners to eat, pray, watch TV and engage in other communal activities until they are ordered back to their cells.

As the detainee population has shrunk, fewer men were held in each cellblock, depending on their disciplinary status. Individual cells were replaced with a pantry, a library and other rooms that could be inspected by guards during hours of lockdown.

Officials at the Pentagon had earlier reached a deal with 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two alleged accomplices, reportedly involving a guilty plea in exchange for avoiding a death penalty trial.

But Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin revoked the plea agreement, reviving the possibility that they could someday face a death penalty trial. Defense lawyers are now challenging Austin’s rescindment as unlawful, or simply too late.

Along with Mohammed, Walid bin Attash is accused of training two of the hijackers, researching flights and timetables and testing the ability of a passenger to hide a razor knife on flights. Mustafa al-Hawsawi is accused of helping some of the hijackers with finances and travel arrangements.

The New York Times