MANILA, Philippines: Philippine military officials say troops have killed a “high-value” Filipino militant who acted as a key link of the Daesh group to local militants and helped set up a series of deadly suicide attacks in the south that have alarmed the region.
The officials say Talha Jumsah, who used the nom de guerre Abu Talha, was killed Friday in a clash with government forces in the jungles of Patikul town in Sulu province, which has been rocked by three deadly suicide bombings this year. The suicide attacks started with a Jan. 27 bombing of a Roman Catholic cathedral that left 23 people dead.
Military officials said Saturday that Talha served as a bomb-making instructor and Arabic translator, and facilitated the transfer of foreign funds for the suicide attacks.
Daesh-linked Philippine militant behind suicide attacks killed
Daesh-linked Philippine militant behind suicide attacks killed
- Talha Jumsah, who used the nom de guerre Abu Talha, was killed Friday in a clash with government forces
- Sulu province has been rocked by three deadly suicide bombings this year
Russian drone attack forces power cuts in Ukraine’s Kryvyi Rih, military says
- Kyiv says the campaign has forced rolling outages and emergency cuts to cities across the country, as repair crews work under fire and Ukraine relies on air defenses and electricity imports to stabilize the grid
KYIV: Russian drones struck infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday, forcing emergency power blackouts for more than 45,000 customers and disrupting heat supplies, military administration head Oleksandr Vilkul said.
“Please fill up on water and charge your devices, if you have the chance. It’s going to be difficult,” Vilkul said on the Telegram messaging app.
Water utility pumping stations switched to generators and water remained in the system, but there could be pressure problems.
The full scale of the attack was not immediately known. There was no comment from Russia about the strike.
Russia has repeatedly struck Ukraine’s power plants, substations and transmission lines with missiles and drones, seeking to knock out electricity and heating and hinder industry during the nearly four-year war.
Kyiv says the campaign has forced rolling outages and emergency cuts to cities across the country, as repair crews work under fire and Ukraine relies on air defenses and electricity imports to stabilize the grid.
Kryvyi Rih, a steel-and-mining hub in the Dnipropetrovsk region and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, has been hit repeatedly, with strikes killing civilians and damaging homes and industry.
The city sits close enough to southern front lines to be within strike range, while its factories, logistics links and workforce make it economically important and a key rear-area center supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
