Briefs, March 10, 2013

Muslim cleric held for alleged bail breach

LONDON - Radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada was arrested in London for breaching his bail terms, days before the British government begins an appeal against a court decision blocking his deportation to Jordan. Accused by Britain of posing a security risk and being a spiritual inspiration for one of the 9/11 hijackers, Qatada is wanted in his native Jordan to face terrorism charges. Reuters

UN peacekeepers freed after Syria capture

AMMAN - Twenty-one United Nations peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels and held for three days in a southern Syrian village crossed safely into neighbouring Jordan, rebels and a UN official in Damascus said. The Filipino peacekeepers were seized in the village of Jamla by the Martyrs of Yarmouk rebel brigade on Wednesday. Reuters

Nigeria Islamist group kills foreign hostages

DUBAI - Nigeria-based Islamist group Ansaru said it had killed seven foreign hostages it seized on February 7 from a construction company in Nigeria, SITE Monitoring Service said. The group also issued screen shots of a video purporting to show the dead hostages, SITE said. Ansaru abducted a Briton, an Italian, a Greek and four Lebanese workers. Reuters

Ministry suicide bomb attack kills 9 civilians

KABUL - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a defence ministry gate in Kabul killing nine civilians and wounding 14 others during a visit to Afghanistan by US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel. Hagel was nowhere near the blast, said a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility. Reuters