World briefs 4/23/06

Official: Senior al-Qaida agent killed in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- A suspect slain in a shootout with Pakistani agents this week was a senior al-Qaida operative from Syria, Pakistan's interior minister said Saturday. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao identified the suspect as Marwan Hadid al-Suri, 38. He died in a gunbattle Thursday after agents acting on a tip-off stopped him at a roadblock at Khar, a town near the northwestern tribal region of Bajur. Al-Suri "was in charge of al-Qaida operations against Pakistani forces in North and South Waziristan. He was behind attacks against coalition and Afghan forces in eastern Afghanistan," Sherpao said.

4 Canadian soldiers killed by Afghan bomb

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- A roadside bomb exploded Saturday as a Canadian armored vehicle drove by, killing four soldiers, the Canadian military said. The attack occurred at about 7:30 a.m. as Canadian forces patrolled the Shah-Wali-Kot district village of Gomboth, about 25 miles north of Kandahar, Canadian military spokesman Lt. Mark MacIntyre said. Most of Canada's 2,200 troops in Afghanistan are based in Kandahar, where they have taken over security from U.S. forces.

-- From wire reports