MIDDLE EAST

INSURGENTS ATTACK BAGHDAD INTERIOR MINISTRY

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Insurgents launched a surprise attack on Baghdad’s heavily guarded Interior Ministry building yesterday, killing two police officers and wounding several others, officials said. In southern Iraq, two British soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb.

In the northern city of Tal Afar, bodies of three district leaders were found yesterday, police said. The three had turned down demands by insurgents to cooperate in their fight with American and Iraqi forces.

Yesterday, Iraq’s president said he and the other top Kurdish leader had agreed to changes in the draft constitution to mollify concerns among Arab countries that the wording in the charter loosened Iraqi ties to the Arab world.

In a statement released by his office, President Talabani said he and Massood Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, agreed “to accept some amendments deemed vital for the Islamic and Arab worlds concerning the Arab League because Iraq is a founding member in the Arab League.” Mr. Talabani did not specify what changes in the language had been agreed to by him and Mr. Barzani.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

AMERICAN SUBMARINE COLLIDES WITH TURKISH SHIP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A nuclear-powered American Navy submarine collided with a Turkish cargo ship in the Persian Gulf early yesterday, the Navy reported. Nobody was injured and both ships appeared to suffer only superficial damage, the spokesman for the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet, Commander Jeffrey Breslau, said. The USS Philadelphia hit the Turkish-flagged M/VYaso Aysen at around 2 a.m. local time, said a statement from the 5th Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain. The collision occurred about 30 miles northeast of Bahrain, and the cause of the collision was under investigation, Commander Breslau said.

– Associated Press

SAUDI FORCES BATTLE AL QAEDA MEMBERS

DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia – Saudi security forces battled heavily armed suspected Al Qaeda members holed up in a sea-front apartment building yesterday, a day after two militants – one of them the kingdom’s No. 3 most-wanted terrorist – died in clashes across this eastern city.

A 31-year-old Saudi, Zaid Saad Zaid al-Samari, was killed during fighting Sunday in Dammam, a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give information to the press. A police officer also was killed Sunday. The clashes prompted American authorities to close the American consulate in nearby Dhahran.

– Associated Press

CENTRAL ASIA

THIRTEEN TALIBAN FIGHTERS KILLED

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Two hundred Afghan police, supported by American-led coalition forces, killed 13 suspected Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan following a spate of guerrilla-style strikes in the area over the weekend. Coalition and government forces suffered no casualties in the fighting Sunday night, Kandahar’s governor, Asadullah Khalid, said.

Meanwhile, a C-130 American military plane carrying Ambassador Ronald Neumann suffered an engine failure as he returned from a trip to see preparations for the September 18 elections. Emergency crews were on hand in Kabul when the plane landed safely using its remaining three engines.

– Associated Press

NORTH AFRICA

THEATER FIRE KILLS AT LEAST 29

CAIRO, Egypt – Fire broke out in an Egyptian theater during a crowded performance late yesterday, causing hundreds of audience members to flee the burning building in panic, a police official said. At least 29 people were killed, some from the flames and some in the ensuing stampede.

About 1,000 people were crowded into the theater in Beni Suef, a city on the Nile River about 60 miles south of Cairo, when the fire broke out at about 11:45 p.m., a police official said. It was brought under control by fire crews, but destroyed the building.

The blaze sparked panic in the packed audience, with hundreds stampeding from the burning theater to save their lives, the official added.

– Associated Press