DUBAI: A fire broke out at a power station in southwestern Iran on Saturday, Iranian media reported, the latest of several recent fires and explosions some of which have hit sensitive sites.
The blaze, which affected a transformer in the power station in the city of Ahvaz, was put out by fire fighters and electricity was restored after partial outages, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, a spokesman for state-run power company TAVANIR, told the semi-official news agency Tasnim.
On Thursday, a fire broke out at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility but officials said operations were not affected.
A former official suggested the incident could have been an attempt to sabotage work at the plant, which have been involved in activities that breach an international nuclear deal.
Nineteen people were killed on Tuesday in an explosion at a medical clinic in the north of the capital Tehran, which an official said was caused by a gas leak.
On June 26, an explosion occurred east of Tehran near the Parchin military and weapons development base that the authorities said was caused by a leak in a gas storage facility in an area outside the base.
Fire flares at Iranian power plant, latest in series of incidents
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Fire flares at Iranian power plant, latest in series of incidents
- The blaze, which affected a transformer in the power station in the city of Ahvaz, was put out by fire fighters and electricity was restored after partial outages
- On Thursday, a fire broke out at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility but officials said operations were not affected
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces
- There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led SDF
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier on Saturday, a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish fighters had ended with no clear sign of whether it would be renewed, as the main Kurdish-led force in the country called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
Syria’s state news agency SANA had quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the truce had ended and the government was “studying its options.”
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq. On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
