ISTANBUL: Turkish military prosecutors yesterday cleared five army officers accused of perpetrating a botched air strike on Kurds in 2011 that killed dozens of people including children. But the ruling was immediately denounced by Kurdish groups and representatives of the victims’ families as unacceptable. In December 2011, Turkish fighter jets bombed the town of Uludere on the Iraq border, killing 34 smugglers including 19 children in an attack Kurdish politicians described as a “massacre” of civilians.
Gas leak caused balloon crash
CAIRO: A fiery hot air balloon crash in Egypt last year that killed 19 tourists was probably caused by a gas leak, an official Egyptian report released yesterday. The accident took place on the morning February 26, soon after the balloon lifted off in the southern city of Luxor. A fact-finding committee found the “likely cause was a gas leak in the upper section of the hose... near the burner”, the report said.
Iran foreign minister Zarif to visit Beirut
BEIRUT: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Beirut on Monday amid an inquiry into November’s deadly blast at his country’s embassy, the Lebanese foreign ministry said. “Mr Zarif will arrive on a one-day visit, to meet Lebanese officials and discuss the inquiry into the attack on Iran’s embassy and the Majid Al Majid issue,” a ministry source said. agencies
