8,000 flee Mosul during latest push
BAGHDAD — Since Iraqi government forces launched the push last week to take the western half of Mosul from the Islamic State extremist group, about 8,000 people have fled from that part of the city and surrounding villages, the United Nations’ humanitarian aid agency said Tuesday.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it is expanding displacement camps to cope with the increasing numbers of those fleeing Mosul.
With the support of the U.S.-led coalition, Iraqi forces began on Feb. 19 the operation to retake western Mosul and have so far captured the city’s international airport and a sprawling military base next to it as well some neighborhoods from the southern edge. Iraq declared eastern Mosul “fully liberated” in January, after three months of fierce fighting.
The people fleeing western Mosul are “often exhausted and dehydrated,” the aid agency’s statement said, adding that an estimated 250,000 people could flee the fighting in the coming days.
Afghan policeman kills 11 colleagues
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Afghan policeman turned his rifle on his colleagues at a checkpoint in southern Helmand province, killing 11 of them before fleeing the scene, officials said Tuesday.
The attack happened late on Monday night in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, said Omer Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor.
The attacker collected all the firearms and ammunition from his colleagues, then fled the scene in a police vehicle — presumably to join the Taliban, officials said. “An investigation is underway,” Zwak added.
Dr. Din Mohammad at the Lashkar Gah Hospital said the hospital morgue received 11 bodies of slain policemen, all with gunshot wounds.
The Taliban made no official statement or claim about the attack, but Afghanistan has experienced several such incidents over the past years.
Australian called ISIS missile techie
SYDNEY — Australian police arrested a man accused of helping Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria seeking to develop a long-range guided missile and a laser warning device to detect airstrikes.
The 42-year-old Australian, who was trained as an electrician, was arrested in the rural town of Young in New South Wales state on Tuesday, the Australian Federal Police said in a statement. He’s to appear in court on charges that carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
The arrest, which came after a more than 18-month investigation, is “yet another reminder of the enduring threat we face from [Islamic] terrorism,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in Canberra. “This highlights that terrorism, support for terrorist groups, and [Islamic] extremism is not limited to our major cities.”
Police say the man was researching and designing a device “to help warn against incoming laser-guided munitions used by forces in Syria and Iraq,” according to the statement. He was also accused of “researching, designing and modelling systems to assist with Islamic State efforts to develop a long-range guided missile.”