IN BRIEF (Page 8)

Yemen

US strike kills al-Qaida chief

A drone strike on Friday killed an al-Qaida leader in Yemen, sources said, the latest in a string of attacks targeting what the US considers the extremist group's most dangerous branch. A tribal source said the early morning strike on a vehicle travelling in Manasseh village in the southern province of Bayda killed Qaeed al-Dhahab and two other men.

Iraq

Terrorist group claims attacks

An al-Qaida front group claimed a wave of bombings across Baghdad in a statement on Friday, part of a surge in violence sparking worries of a return to all-out bloodshed. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant said the attacks carried out on Wednesday, when nationwide violence killed 75 people and wounded more than 200, were retribution for executions this month of people convicted of terror-related offences.

Afghanistan

Eight killed in suicide bombing

A suicide bomber attacked people leaving a memorial service at a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing a district chief, his apparent target, and seven others, police said. At least 11 people were wounded in the strike, whose victims included several civilians. The apparent assassination was the latest attack in a bloody week in Afghanistan, further underscoring the tenuous security situation here.

Indonesia

Minister against beauty pageant

Indonesia's religious affairs minister has called for the Miss World beauty pageant to be cancelled, as opposition in the Muslim-majority country mounts the week before the contest opens in Bali. Suryadharma Ali said that the organizers should follow the advice of the nation's top Islamic clerical body, which last week called for the contest to be scrapped even after organizers agreed to axe the bikini round. The minister is the first government official to publicly voice opposition to the pageant.

The Philippines

Commentator gunned down

Philippine police say a gunman has killed a popular radio commentator known for being critical of alleged corruption and rising crime in a southern city. Police chief Cristeto Rey Gonzalodo of Iligan city says Fernando Solijon was shot multiple times late on Thursday as he was about to get into his car after having drinks with colleagues at a friend's house. He says the gunman then fled on a motorcycle driven by another man. Solijon, 48, died on the way to a hospital.

AP-AFP-Xinhua

(China Daily 08/31/2013 page8)