KABUL — Six American soldiers serving with NATO forces were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Sunday, the alliance’s military in Kabul and an American official said.
NATO said the six soldiers died in an attack in eastern Afghanistan, but did not identify the victims by name or nationality. In Washington, an official said the dead were Americans.
Another NATO soldier died in a similar attack earlier Sunday, taking the day’s toll to seven and the total toll for this year to at least 234.
NATO has about 130,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting an insurgency by Taliban Islamists who were ousted from power by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001 for sheltering al Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
EGYPT
President annuls dissolution of parliament
CAIRO — Egypt’s Islamist president fired the first volley Sunday in his battle with the nation’s powerful generals, calling on the Islamist-dominated parliament to reconvene despite a military-backed court ruling that dissolved it.
A week into his presidency, the surprise move by Mohammed Morsi threatened to plunge the country into a new bout of instability and violence, nearly 17 months after the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.
“This is the start of a battle that has for some time been brewing,” said Negad Borai, a prominent rights lawyer and activist. “In this battle, the military may be the weaker opponent since it is up against an elected president.”
Mr. Morsi’s decree appeared to take the generals off guard. In the first sign of an imminent crisis, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces held an “emergency meeting” shortly after it was announced. The official Middle East News Agency said the generals met to “review and discuss the consequences” of the decision. The Supreme Constitutional Court, the tribunal that dissolved the legislature last month, was to meet Monday to discuss the issue.
IRAQ
Kurds sending oil to Turkey
IRBIL — Iraqi Kurdistan has begun sending oil produced in its three-province autonomous region out of the country without the express permission of the central government, an official said Sunday.
The central government in Baghdad, meanwhile, insisted that it reserves the sole right to export oil, which accounts for most of the country’s income and is at the center of a dispute between the capital and Kurdistan.
Seerwan Abubaqr, an adviser to the Kurdistan government’s Natural Resources Ministry, said the crude was being exported to Turkey so it could be refined into various products before being brought back to Kurdistan.
A dispute over oil between Baghdad and the Kurdish government in Irbil has worsened in recent months, with Kurdistan looking to ramp up oil production and export capabilities.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Rebels seize town after army flees
KINSHASA — Rebels seized a town in volatile eastern Congo after the army fled their advance, a local official said Sunday.
Omar Kavota said the M23 rebels seized the town of Rutshuru on Sunday. Mr. Kavota said the army members looted during their retreat.
Panicked residents were fleeing Rutshuru on Friday night amid reports that the rebels had advanced within shelling distance, according to a statement from the North Kivu Civil Society.
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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