Pakistani Taliban deny attacking a convoy of foreign ambassadors

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Pakistani Taliban deny attacking a convoy of foreign ambassadors

2024-09-23 17:49 Last Updated At：17:50

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban on Monday denied involvement in a bombing attack on a police convoy that was escorting foreign ambassadors in the restive northwest, as authorities said they were still trying to determine who was behind it.

Most of the ambassadors and senior envoys were traveling with their family members on Sunday to the Swat Valley, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, when the attack occurred in Malam Jabba, one of Pakistan’s two ski resorts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack, but Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, denied detonating the improvised explosive device that hit a police vehicle accompanying the convoy.

A police officer was killed and four others were wounded in the attack, which drew strong condemnation from Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other officials.

The envoys were all unharmed, but the attack suggested there was a security breach.

“For sure it was a security breach because the convoy's route was only known to police, and the bomb disposal unit had reportedly cleared the route,” said Abdullah Khan, a defense analyst and managing director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

“Some insider (appears to have) leaked the information about the travel plans of the foreign ambassadors to the militants," he added.

Khan said the attack signaled a shift in the approach of insurgents, who previously targeted security forces.

Pakistani defense analyst Syed Muhammad Ali said there was a need for better coordination between federal authorities and police about such high-profile visits to the northwest, which has witnessed a surge in violence.

Those traveling in the convoy were ambassadors and officials from Indonesia, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan. All of them later returned to the capital, Islamabad, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a statement, TTP said it had nothing to do with the attack. TTP is a separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.

Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary and have even been living openly in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, which also emboldened the Pakistani Taliban. The situation has strained relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government, which says it does not allow anyone to use its soil for attacks against any country.

Authorities were investigating to determine whether there was a security breach, since details about the convoy's travel plans had been circulated only to officials. Authorities said they were also collecting information to determine who planted the IED device along the route.

Mohammad Ali Khan, a senior police officer, said that so far no arrest had been made.

Sunday's attack came months after a suicide bomber in northwestern Pakistan rammed his explosive-laden car into a vehicle, killing five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver in Shangla, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Chinese victims were construction workers and engineers who were working on Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan. Since then, Pakistan has beefed up security for foreigners and envoys traveling in the region.

Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan contributed to this report.

Jayden Daniels throws for 5 TDs as the Commanders end the Eagles' winning streak at 10

2024-12-23 11:22 Last Updated At：11:30

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Jayden Daniels was not worried when he and the Washington Commanders trailed the Philadelphia Eagles by 14 points after just seven minutes, and the rookie quarterback was similarly undaunted staring down a 13-point deficit going into the fourth quarter, long after Jalen Hurts was sidelined with a concussion.

“I always believe that we can win the game no matter what,” Daniels said. “The game’s never over till the clock hits zero.”

Daniels got the ball when the clock read 1:58, and he delivered his latest masterful performance by finding Jamison Crowder in the end zone with 6 seconds left to give the Commanders an emotional 36-33 comeback victory Sunday that ended the Eagles' winning streak at 10 games. It was his fifth touchdown pass of the game as Daniels shined and kept Philadelphia from celebrating an NFC East championship.

“You got those guys that came in on the win streak they were on, they were hot and they’re a very good team — rightfully so, good offense, good defense, all-around well-prepared team and you want to go out there and see where you match up against those type of guys,” Daniels said.

"Those type of situations when it’s on thin ice and plays need to be made, that’s what you live for. If you really love this sport, you live for those big-time moments where it comes down to the end.”

Daniels is the first Washington QB to throw for five touchdowns since Mark Rypien in 1991. That was Washington's most recent Super Bowl-winning season. Rypien, who was the MVP of that Super Bowl, was in attendance for Sunday's game.

Daniels bounced back from two interceptions, including one in the final minutes, to lead a 57-yard touchdown drive against the NFL's best defense. Washington (10-5) is now on the verge of making the playoffs after handing the Eagles (12-3) their first loss since Sept. 29.

The Eagles played without Hurts for the vast majority of the game and failed to clinch the division and one of the conference's top two seeds despite Saquon Barkley running for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone.

Daniels was the primary reason for that, beating the Eagles a month after losing to them on the road. He was 24 of 39 for 258 yards with a pair of TDs to Crowder and Olamide Zaccheaus and one to Terry McLaurin — and Daniels was Washington's leading rusher with 81 yards on nine carries.

Daniels is the first rookie quarterback to throw for five or more touchdowns and rush for 65 or more yards in a single game in NFL history.

“It doesn’t get too much harder going against a team like that, back against the wall,” said McLaurin, who had five catches for 60 yards to eclipse 1,000 for a fifth consecutive season. “But when you’ve got to have it, when the game’s on the line, he made the plays and we just tried to make the plays with him.”

Daniels' brilliance was enough to overcome Brian Robinson Jr. losing two fumbles in the first half and Dyami Brown another early in the third quarter and Marshon Lattimore getting flagged three times for pass interference.

The Commanders also found a solution for Barkley, who was held to 41 yards after the first.

“Obviously when a quarterback goes out, we knew that a lot of the attention was going to be on him,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “He’s a special player, so you just want to contain him.”

Philadelphia's offense stagnated with the drop-off from Hurts to backup Kenny Pickett, who threw an interception to Frankie Luvu in his first meaningful NFL action in more than a year.

“We didn't do enough,” Barkley said. “We left a lot of plays out there, including myself.”

Luvu also leveled the hit on Hurts that knocked Philadelphia’s starting QB out of the game just a few minutes in. Hurts’ head also bounced off the ground at the end of his previous run, and he was ruled out after two trips to the medical tent on the sideline and the concussion evaluation that followed.

Hurts’ status is a question that will linger for the Eagles into their final two games of the regular season as the Super Bowl contenders eye a long playoff run. Pickett was 14 of 24 for 143 yards in relief, throwing a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown and the interception.

DeVonta Smith dropped a late pass that would have given Philadelphia a first down rather than a second field goal from Jake Elliott, and the receiver took responsibility for the mistake.

"I just dropped the ball," Smith said. “It cost us the game.”

Eagles: Beyond Hurts, edge rusher Josh Sweat left with an ankle injury and defensive tackle Jordan Davis limped off in the second quarter. ... Pickett said he had his ribs X-rayed and would undergo further testing.

Commanders: Lattimore and Brown left with hamstring injuries in the fourth quarter. ... Right tackle Andrew Wylie did not finish the game because of a groin injury. ... Rookie linebacker Jordan Magee left early in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.

Eagles: Host Dallas next Sunday.

Commanders: Host Atlanta next Sunday night.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl