TEHRAN: Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and an armed criminal gang clashed on Saturday in a restive southeastern province, leaving three Guard members and “at least five bandits” dead, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The report said the fighting took place late Saturday evening in the district of Kourin, about 1,120 kilometers (700miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran, and near the Pakistani border. It also said that at least five other bandits were wounded. There were no further details.
The area is in Sistan and Baluchistan province, has been the scene of occasional clashes between Iranian government forces and various militant groups. The province, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, is also where a Sunni separatist group affiliated with Al-Qaeda and known as Jeish Al-Adl, or Army of Justice, operates.
Security forces have also clashed with drug traffickers in the province, located along a major smuggling route for Afghan opium and heroin.
Last July, armed bandits shot and killed four Guard members in the province.
Clashes in southeast Iran kill three troops, five bandits
https://arab.news/59txm
Clashes in southeast Iran kill three troops, five bandits
- The fighting took place on Saturday evening in Kourin district of Sistan and Baluchistan province
- Province has been scene of occasional clashes between Iranian forces and various militant groups
Qatar joins US-led Pax Silica Alliance to secure semiconductor and critical mineral supply chains
- Doha says participation in alliance will enhance its international partnerships in fields of semiconductors, computing, cybersecurity and digital technologies.
- Qatar is the second Middle Eastern country to join the US-led economic-security coalition, after Israel
LONDON: Qatar joined the US-led Pax Silica Alliance on Monday in a move described as a strategic step to enhance cooperation in advanced technologies and supply-chain security.
The alliance was launched last month in Washington with the aim of securing global supply chains for semiconductors, artificial intelligence technology, critical minerals and digital infrastructure.
Doha said participation in the alliance will enhance its international partnerships in the fields of semiconductors, computing, cybersecurity and digital technologies, helping to boost the country’s technological capabilities and economic diversification efforts, the Qatar News Agency reported.
Ahmed Al-Sayed, Qatar’s minister of state for foreign trade affairs, and Jacob Helberg, the US under secretary of state for economic affairs, signed the Pax Silica declaration during a ceremony in Doha.
Al-Sayed said the world was undergoing a significant transformation driven by AI, rising energy and mineral demands, and rapid technological advancements.
He described the declaration as “a new milestone in the Qatar-US partnership, founded on trust, shared interests, and a unified vision for advancing stability and prosperity.”
He added: “Qatar recognizes that the currency of geopolitical power has changed. Sovereignty is no longer just about protecting borders, it is about securing the supply chains of the artificial intelligence era.”
Qatar is the second Middle Eastern country to join the alliance; Israel signed up in December. Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK and Australia have also joined the bloc.
“In a region often defined by its fractures, Pax Silica marks a historic opportunity for the region to shift from political rivalry to economic interoperability,” Helberg said.
