Israel jets bomb Hamas weapons tunnels
GAZA, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Israeli jets Sunday bombed tunnels used by Palestinian militants to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip, officials said.
The tunnels were targeted as warplanes struck positions held by the militant group Hamas in Gaza for a second day, with Palestinian medical sources telling CNN that at least 277 people have died and 600 have been wounded in the strikes.
An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the strikes on the Rafah tunnels along Gaza's border with Egypt, saying 40 of the tunnels were targeted by warplanes. Witnesses told CNN two people were killed as two of the tunnels were hit by missiles.
Some 210 targets associated with Hamas have been hit since the operations began Saturday, an Israeli spokesman said, while Hamas militants have launched more than 110 rockets into Israel in that time. One Israeli woman was killed when a rocket landed on a home, CNN reported.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour, seeking a condemnation from the U.N. Security Council, told CNN Saturday, "There is no justification for punishing 1.5 million in the Gaza Strip because of the actions of a few."
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the air strikes would continue until Hamas militants were ready to "change their behavior."
Iraq president approves foreign troop pact
BAGHDAD, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Presidency Council Sunday said it has approved legislation allowing non-U.S. foreign troops to legally remain in Iraq after Jan. 1.
The council action was the last move needed to put the law into effect, which legalizes the presence of the troops, most of which are British, CNN reported. The new law will replace a U.N. mandate authorizing the presence of the foreign troops, which expires at the end of the year.
A statement released Sunday by the presidency council -- comprised of President Jalal Talabani and vice-presidents Adel Abdelhadi and Tareq Hashimi -- said the agreement will cover foreign forces from Britain, Australia, Romania, Estonia, and El Salvador, who will be required to pull out of Iraq by July 31, 2009, KUNA, the Kuwait news agency, reported.
A separate, previously approved status of forces agreement authorized U.S. troops to remain in Iraq until 2011.
16 dead, 12 hurt in Pakistan blast
BUNER, Pakistan, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A bomb exploded among voters in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province Sunday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 12 others, authorities said.
The remote-controlled bomb was planted in a Buner district school building and exploded with a thunderous clap as a large crowd of people had gathered to vote in a parliamentary by-election, KUNA, the Kuwait news agency, reported.
Authorities said they feared the death toll would go higher with several survivors in critical condition. Police said 12 people were injured but a local news report indicated as many as 20 were wounded in the blast, KUNA said.
Pakistan's prime minister, president and other political leaders have condemned the blast and ordered authorities to conduct thorough investigations into the incident.
12 militants slain in Ingushetia crackdown
MOSCOW, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Twelve militants and foreign mercenaries were killed during a security sweep in the Russian Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, authorities said Sunday.
The operation, carried out between Dec. 23-25, was centered near Verkhny Alkun in the Sunzha District of Ingushetia, which borders the troubled republic of Chechnya, officials of the Russian Federal Security Service told RIA Novosti.
Security officials said all the militants were killed despite fierce armed resistance. The group included 12 gunmen led by warlord Vakhi Dzhenaraliyev, who had been wanted for attacks on police and Russian interior ministry troops and was among those slain, the news agency said.
Russian security forces, who suffered no casualties during the security operation, also seized a large arsenal of arms and ammunition, the Federal Security Service said.
