News in brief
2 killed as Russian jet crashes in Syria
MOSCOW: A Russian fighter jet crashed after taking off from an airbase in Syria yesterday, killing both pilots, Moscows defence ministry said in a statement carried by news agencies, reports AFP.
As it was climbing after taking off from the Hmeimim airbase, the Russian fighter Su-30SM crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. Two pilots, who fought until the last minute to save the plane, died, according to reports from the scene, the statement said.
The ministry said the plane had not come under fire, adding that according to preliminary information, the reason for the crash could have been a bird falling into the engine.
The accident brings Russias official military losses in Syria to 86.
The most recent acknowledged military loss came when a transport plane crashed on landing at the Hmeimim airbase in March, killing all 39 people on board.
But Russian nationals are regularly reported to be serving as paid mercenaries in Syria and taking on dangerous missions that often lead to casualties.
13 Nigerian killed in rustlers-locals clashes
KANO: Thirteen people were killed in prolonged clashes between cattle thieves and local civilian militia in northern Nigerias Zamfara state, police said yesterday, reports AFP.
The militia and cattle thieves fought a gun battle Tuesday through Wednesday in the remote village of Fankashi in the Maru district of the state, police spokesman Mohammed Shehu told AFP.
Our men recovered 13 dead bodies from the criminal gang and the vigilantes from the village after the fight, he added.
The village was attacked by the bandits, resulting in the fight with the militia, who were armed with locally made, single-shot muskets.
Police reinforcements were later sent to the area, said Shehu.
Rural communities in Zamfara have been under siege for several years from cattle rustlers and kidnapping gangs, who have raided herding communities, killing, looting and burning homes.
Villages formed self-defence forces in response but they, too, are often accused of killing suspected cattle thieves, prompting reprisal attacks.
Saudi Guantanamo Bay inmate transferred
RIYADH: A Saudi inmate from Guantanamo Bay has arrived back in the kingdom after the Pentagon said it was transferring him to his homeland, the first such move under President Donald Trump, reports AFP.
The widely expected transfer of Ahmed Haza al-Darbi, who pleaded guilty to helping plan a 2002 attack on a French oil tanker, was announced Wednesday and reduced the notorious jails population to 40.
But news of the move came the same day as the Pentagon said Defence Secretary Jim Mattis had sent the White House guidance on how Guantanamo might again start receiving new inmatesan oft-stated goal of Trump.
Darbi entered a plea deal in February 2014 that saw him admit to planning, aiding and supporting an attack on the MV Limburg, which killed a Bulgarian sailor, injured a dozen and caused a large oil spill in the Gulf of Aden.
