Afghan militants damage U.S. military chief’s planeAugust 21, 2012 - 12:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A military official says militants have fired rockets into a U.S. base in Afghanistan, damaging the plane of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff while he was on a visit. The top American military chief was not near the plane at the time of the attack and no one was injured, AP reports. NATO spokesman Jamie Graybeal says the attack Monday, Aug 20 night at Bagram Air Field outside Kabul did not affect U.S. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey's mission in Afghanistan. He says Dempsey had left by Tuesday morning, though it was unclear if he left on the same plane. Graybeal was in Afghanistan to discuss the state of the war after a string of disturbing killings of U.S. military trainers by their Afghan partners. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia Security Council chief traveling to Qatar Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan will travel on a working visit to Qatar. Armenian Foreign Minister regrets “tragic loss” of Iranian counterpart The Armenian Foreign Ministry has expressed shock over the death of the Iranian President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Armenian PM sends condolences to Iran Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent a message of condolence to the Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Armenia, Turkey discuss restoration of historic bridge The meeting took place on May 17 in Ashgabat on the sidelines of an international conference of ministers of culture. |