Afghan-led forces stormed a hotel outside Kabul Friday, rescuing civilians taken hostage by heavily armed Taliban gunmen in an overnight siege. Police say at least 20 people were killed in the 12-hour gun battle. NATO helicopters hovered overhead Friday as Afghan security and coalition forces fought a fierce battle to free the hostages and retake the Spozhmai Hotel.
In Egypt, thousands of demonstrators turned out in Cairo's Tahrir Square after Friday prayers, heeding an appeal by Islamist parties to protest against the country's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Several secular and youth groups also joined in to denounce recent moves by the council, including the dissolution of parliament.
Pakistan's lawmakers have elected a new prime minister to replace ousted Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a bid to end the country's political crisis. Parliament voted overwhelmingly Friday in favor of former water and power minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, who has been hit with corruption allegations and is partly blamed for the country's electricity crisis.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says a Turkish air force jet has gone down over Syrian waters. However, the prime minister told reporters in Ankara on Friday he could not confirm media reports that Syria shot down the plane. He said Turkish and Syrian vessels were searching for the plane and the pilots.
Details after the break.
Afghan-led forces stormed a hotel outside Kabul Friday, rescuing civilians taken hostage by heavily armed Taliban gunmen in an overnight siege. Police say at least 20 people were killed in the 12-hour gun battle.
NATO helicopters hovered overhead Friday as Afghan security and coalition forces fought a fierce battle to free the hostages and retake the Spozhmai Hotel.
Survivor Sharif Alakozai described his horror as the attackers, one wearing an Afghan police uniform, burst into the hotel's restaurant where about 50 people were eating.
"They fired on one young man who was in front of him," said Alakozai. "They shot his feet and when he fell on the ground they fired another four or five bullets into his chest." He adds that he saw three attackers - one in a police uniform and two in local civilian clothes.
The Taliban claimed it launched the attack because the hotel was used for prostitution, drinking and wild parties.
Interior Ministry spokesman Siddiq Siddiqi spoke to reporters after Afghan-led forces killed the last militant.
"Four attackers - Taliban terrorists - were involved in today's attack in Kabul. Unfortunately we have lost many civilians," said Siddiqi.
He says Afghan police were also killed in the fight before the area was cleared by the security forces.
General John Allen, commander of international forces in Afghanistan, blamed the attack and the deaths on the Pakistan-based Haqqani network.
Military officials in Afghanistan in the past have suggested ties between the Taliban and Haqqani militants.
The United States has called on Pakistan to do more to eliminate the Haqqani militant network, which stages its cross-border attacks from hideouts in northwestern Pakistan.
Afghan officials said they rescued most of the hostages, including women and children who were at the lakeside resort at the time. The hotel on the western outskirts of Kabul is a popular relaxation spot for wealthy Afghans.
Fabrizio Foschini of the Afghan Analysts Network in Kabul said the Taliban use such attacks on civilian targets to raise their profile in Afghanistan.
"Creating this situation of siege in a place where the police [and] security forces have to react and clean a place occupied by insurgents, it is more prolonged and draws more attention from the media," said Foschini. "So I think these kinds of attacks, that is their major purpose."
The United States and other coalition members are on schedule to reduce the number of troops they have in Afghanistan, with some nations expected to pull out completely next year.
Foschini said Afghan security forces are still seen as largely corrupt, but their actions in cases like this draws praise from locals. Afghan troops still need support from international forces, but they are increasingly taking the lead role in operations against militants.
Egypt
Thousands of demonstrators turned out in Cairo's Tahrir Square after Friday prayers, heeding an appeal by Islamist parties to protest against the country's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. Several secular and youth groups also joined in to denounce recent moves by the council, including the dissolution of parliament.
Protesters braving searing summer heat chanted slogans against Egypt's ruling military council. Organizers were calling the protest a "million man march," although webcam images from above the square showed crowds in some areas and empty spaces in others.
A top leader of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood said the sit-in protest at Tahrir Square would continue until the decision to dissolve parliament is reversed. Protest organizers blocked entrances to the square early Friday, preventing traffic from entering.
Anxiety is building, both in Cairo and elsewhere across Egypt, over the delay in announcing the winner of last week's presidential runoff election. Both the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi and his rival, former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq, claim to have won.
The head of Egypt's election commission, Farouq Sultan, delayed the announcement of a winner to examine over 400 complaints of electoral violations by both sides. The commission indicated earlier this week that it would announce results of the runoff Saturday or Sunday.
The ruling military council issued a statement Friday urging all Egyptians to respect the election commission's determination of who won the election and demanding they obey the law and refrain from attacking government property:
The statement says the law and an independent judiciary are the underpinnings of society and urges people to respect their decisions. At the same time, he insists that the army respects the people's right to express their opinions.
Many young activists who participated in the original January 25 revolution that overthrew former president Hosni Mubarak stayed away from Friday's demonstration. One leader of the April 6th youth movement, however, did attend. He said he does not share many of the Islamists' values but that he opposes "the army clinging to power."
Many Egyptians privately expressed fears that a win by either presidential candidate could lead to disturbances in the streets of Cairo and other cities. However, veteran editor and publisher Hisham Kassem says he is not expecting any major violence:
“I might expect a packed Tahrir, or a few more squares, but nothing destabilizing or nothing like the original [revolution], because the political players now had nothing to do with 25 January 2011. They were all taken by surprise, and they claim that they can command the masses, but that's not true,” said Kassem.
Egyptian political leader Mohammed ElBaradei suggested in a Twitter post that a mediation committee is "needed immediately ... to find a political and legal exit from the crisis." He added that Egypt "is on the verge of explosion."
Pakistan
Pakistani lawmakers have elected a new prime minister to replace ousted Yousuf Raza Gilani, in a bid to end the country's political crisis.
Parliament voted overwhelmingly Friday in favor of former water and power minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, who has been hit with corruption allegations and is partly blamed for the country's electricity crisis.
Ashraf won 211 votes in the 342-member national assembly. He is a member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, which holds a majority in parliament with its coalition partners.
Sardar Mehtab Abbasi of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League - N received 89 votes.
Upon accepting the post, Ashraf urged the opposition to join with the government to help resolve problems such as the economy and the energy crisis. He also called on militants to lay down their weapons.
In response to the vote, the United States said it is pleased that Pakistan's leadership issue is settled and looks forward to working with the new government.
Pakistan's Supreme Court triggered the political crisis when it confirmed a ruling Tuesday that Gilani was ineligible for office. The court previously found him guilty of contempt for refusing a judicial order to ask Switzerland to investigate claims of corruption against President Asif Ali Zardari.
Even before this week's developments, Zardari’s government had been reeling from a combination of rolling power blackouts, rising unemployment, militant attacks and a tense relationship with the United States.
The Supreme Court's action marked the first time a Pakistani prime minister was removed by the judiciary.
Members of the opposition and others who support the court welcomed the ruling, which they see as a gesture against corrupt and ineffective government. Others feel the court overstepped its boundaries.
Since Prime Minister Ashraf likely will face the same pressure to investigate President Zardari, a number of analysts are doubtful that the switch at top levels of the government will end the country's political standoff.
Turkey
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says a Turkish air force jet has gone down over Syrian waters.
However, the prime minister told reporters in Ankara on Friday he could not confirm media reports that Syria shot down the plane. He said Turkish and Syrian vessels were searching for the plane and the pilots.
Erdogan held the press conference upon returning to Turkey from a visit to Mexico and Brazil.
"We have no word on the pilots, but Turkish helicopters as well as four assault boats are searching for the pilots along with Syrian ships," said Erdogan. "We will see the outcome of this joint search operation.''
Turkish media and Hezbollah's al-Manar television in Lebanon had reported that Syrian forces shot down the plane.
Reports say the plane incident triggered an emergency summit of Turkish military, intelligence and government officials.
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