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World in brief

U.S. soldier dies, 3 wounded in Afghanistan

By wire services
Published June 11, 2005

KABUL, Afghanistan - An American soldier was killed and three U.S. troops were wounded when insurgents ambushed a patrol Friday in eastern Afghanistan - the third deadly attack on U.S. forces in the border region in a week.

Seven militants were killed in fighting set off by the ambush of U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces in Paktika province, a U.S. military statement said. The militants fled after the fighting and American forces deployed attack aircraft in pursuit.

Fighting in Paktika has killed five U.S. troops in the past week. The province is next to the Pakistani border, and militants based in tribal regions on the other side of the mountainous frontier often cross into Afghanistan to launch attacks. Seventeen suspected Taliban militants were reported captured in the area Monday.

Two American soldiers wounded in Friday's attack were taken to a nearby base for treatment while the third was treated and returned to duty, the military said.

The death brought to 149 U.S. military personnel killed in and around Afghanistan since the Taliban were driven out in 2001.

MARINE SENTENCED: A Marine whose gun went off while he was cleaning it, killing a comrade in Afghanistan, was sentenced in absentia Friday to 12 years in prison. Lance Cpl. Frederico Pimienta, 23, was convicted Thursday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Lance Cpl. Russell White, who was shot in the head last year. Pimienta was tried in absentia at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He left the base without permission before the trial, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip - Hundreds of Palestinians burned Israeli and U.S. flags Friday during a protest against the alleged desecration of the Islamic holy book, the Koran, at a prison in Israel.

The marchers, including about 30 militants, demanded that Israel put the alleged perpetrators on trial and apologize.

This week, the militant Palestinian Islamic Jihad group showed pictures of torn Korans, which militants said were ripped by Israeli soldiers inside Megiddo jail. Israel rejected the charges.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority released two militants jailed in connection with a Tel Aviv suicide bombing, making a conciliatory gesture intended to ensure that militants abide by the truce with Israel, Palestinian officials said.

The release was part of a package of gestures that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas made to militant groups Thursday after days of renewed violence with Israel. Abbas also agreed to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad in preparations for Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

TOKYO - An 18-year-old student tossed a homemade bomb into a high school classroom in southern Japan on Friday, injuring 58 teenagers when the gunpowder-filled jar exploded and sprayed shards of glass near the teacher's desk, officials said.

Police arrested the suspect and were questioning him about the attack at Hikari high school in Yamaguchi state, but said his motive remained unclear.

The student's classmates reportedly described him as a quiet loner who wouldn't even talk when a teacher asked him a question.

One student was seriously injured with cuts to his legs and abdomen, Fire Department official Noboru Baba said. Seventeen students were hospitalized.

ANGERS, France - One of the alleged masterminds of a French pedophilia ring denied charges Friday that he raped children and forced them into prostitution.

The man identified as Didier R. is one of 66 people on trial and is thought to have been a main organizer of a ring where dozens of children were allegedly prostituted, raped and abused.

Defendants cannot be identified by family names because of laws designed to protect the identify of child victims.

"I have nothing to do with this case - I deny it from beginning to end," said the defendant.

[Last modified June 11, 2005, 00:26:12]