“In a precise strike in Tehran: The IDF eliminated the Commander of the Basij Unit,” the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that Soleimani had led the Basij for the past six years.

It said the operation was carried out by the Israeli Air Force based on intelligence.Israeli media reported that Larijani, a senior figure in Iran’s political and security establishment, was also targeted for assassination, though no confirmation on his status was immediately available.

The Basij is a volunteer paramilitary force operating under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has played a central role in enforcing internal security.

Israel’s military said the Basij had led “main repression operations” during recent mass protests in Iran, which it cited as part of the rationale for the strike.

Iran experienced widespread unrest that peaked in January, with demonstrations challenging the clerical establishment. According to rights groups, the crackdown that followed resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of arrests.

The Israeli military said the strikes were part of broader operations that yielded “significant preventive achievements overnight,” quoting Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.

The targeting of senior Iranian figures in Tehran, if confirmed, would mark a notable escalation in Israel’s operations, extending beyond regional proxy engagements into direct action within Iran’s capital.

There was no immediate response from Iranian authorities regarding the reported strikes or casualties.

”Ahmad, a 50-year-old patient undergoing treatment at the facility, said he watched helplessly as fire engulfed the dormitory he shared with 25 others. He was the only one to survive.

“The whole place caught fire. It was like doomsday,” he told Reuters, describing how cries for help echoed through the building as the blaze spread rapidly following the explosions.

The Taliban-led government in Kabul said at least 400 people were killed and around 250 injured in the attack making it one of the deadliest incidents in the Afghan capital in recent months.

Pakistani officials, however, denied targeting any civilian or medical facility, stating that the strikes were aimed at militant infrastructure.

The incident underscores escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have seen periodic flare-ups along their shared border. The latest strike comes during the holy month of Ramadan, a time typically marked by restraint but increasingly overshadowed by violence in the region.

Ahmad said the attack came shortly after evening prayers, when patients had gathered inside their dormitory. Within moments, explosions ripped through the premises,triggering fires that spread uncontrollably.

Trapped inside, many were unable to escape.Mohammad Mian, a radiology worker at the hospital, described the destruction as overwhelming. He said many patients were housed in container-like units across the campus, where survival chances were slim once the bombs struck.

“It was extremely terrifying,” he said. “Those who survived were the ones whose rooms were not destroyed. But where the bombs fell, everyone there was killed.”When Reuters reporters visited the site on Tuesday, they found charred walls, collapsed structures, and debris scattered across the premises.

Personal belongings pillows, shoes, and clothing lay buried under rubble, silent reminders of those who had lived there just hours before.Inside Ahmad’s dormitory, some bunk beds remained upright, their bedding eerily undisturbed.

The ceiling had been blown away, exposing the room to the sky. The contrast between intact objects and total destruction around them highlighted the randomness of survival.Dr. Ahmad Wali Yousafzai, a health officer at the facility, said the hospital housed around 2,000 patients at the time of the strike. He recalled hearing three powerful explosions that sent shockwaves through the building.

“The blasts threw people from one wall to another,” he said. “Then fires started, and there were screams for help from all directions.”Medical staff and volunteers struggled to respond amid the chaos.

With limited personnel and resources, many victims could not be reached in time.“We were too few in number to save all of them,” Yousafzai added.

Emergency responders worked through the night and into the next day. Ambulance driver Haji Fahim said he transported at least eight bodies over several hours to a nearby facility, the Afghan-Japan Hospital.

“Now we have come again,” he said on Tuesday. “There are still bodies under the rubble.”The taliban government condemned the strike and called for international attention, while Islamabad reiterated that its operation targeted what it described as “terrorist support infrastructure.”

The conflicting accounts could not be independently verified.Analysts say the incident risks further destabilizing an already fragile relationship between the two neighbours, where cross-border militancy, refugee flows, and security concerns have long fueled mistrust.

For survivors like Ahmad, however, the geopolitical narratives offer little comfort. Standing amid the ruins, he said the memories of that night the flames, the screams, and the helplessness would stay with him forever.

“I could hear them calling for help,” he said quietly. “But there was nothing I could do.”

A series of landslides struck several areas of the Gamo Zone last week after intense rainfall destabilized hillsides, local authorities said. As of Thursday, officials had confirmed 70 fatalities, but the regional government updated the toll to 125 in a statement released on its communications office’s Facebook account.

More than 11,000 people have been displaced by the disaster, the statement said, as rescue and relief efforts continue in affected communities.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the disaster zone on Saturday to offer condolences to residents and pledged government support for recovery and assistance efforts, according to a message posted on his X account.

The session follows a phased election in which the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) secured a sweeping victory amid low voter turnout and the absence of a viable opposition. Retired brigadier-general and USDP chairman Khin Yi was elected speaker of the lower house on Monday, a position analysts say could play a central role in advancing the military’s political agenda.

Myanmar has been mired in civil war and a worsening humanitarian crisis since the armed forces overthrew the government of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, just as her administration was preparing to begin a second five-year term following a landslide electoral victory.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party, formed by the military in 2010, won 81% of contested seats in the election, according to official results. The bicameral parliament will also include dozens of military officers appointed directly by the armed forces, which are constitutionally guaranteed a quarter of the seats in the legislature.

Analysts say the arrangement effectively places the parliament under military control, giving the top brass decisive influence over the selection of the country’s next president. Junta chief and coup leader Min Aung Hlaing is widely expected to assume the presidency once the new government is formed.

“This level of control makes it clear that one can expect nothing substantial from this body; it is evidently a parliament that will operate solely at the whim of the military leader,” independent analyst Htin Kyaw Aye said.

The military leadership also plans to establish a new five-member panel, the Union Consultative Council, which some experts have described as a “superbody” designed to consolidate authority over both civilian administration and the armed forces.

The junta has rejected international criticism of the election, saying the process reflected the will of the people. Officials have indicated that a new government could be formed as early as April and have expressed hope that the political transition may help ease sanctions and revive foreign investment.

A commentary published Monday in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said the convening of parliament had raised expectations across the country for improved political stability and governance focused on national interests.

The pair were appointed co-executors of Epstein’s estate in August 2019, two days before he died in a New York jail while awaiting trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking of minors. As executors, Kahn and Indyke control the financier’s remaining assets and documents, including records that could shed light on Epstein’s financial network and the operations linked to his alleged abuse.

The U.S. House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed both men as part of its investigation into Epstein’s network and financial dealings. Kahn is scheduled to testify on March 11, while Indyke is expected to appear on March 19.

Lawmakers are seeking information about how Epstein’s financial operations were structured and whether associates involved in managing his affairs had knowledge of or insight into the broader activities linked to his criminal case.

Representative Suhas Subramanyam, a member of the committee, told that the two men could provide key insight into Epstein’s financial structure. Victims, he said, had mentioned them as individuals who might have had awareness of aspects of Epstein’s operations

.Kahn and Indyke oversee the estate that was estimated to be worth about $635 million at the time of Epstein’s death, according to figures cited by the law firm Edwards Henderson, which represents several survivors.

Court filings indicate the two men held signatory authority over many accounts connected to Epstein and were involved in the management of companies associated with his financial activities. Documents from litigation in the U.S. Virgin Islands alleged that some entities were used within a broader network linked to Epstein’s trafficking operation.

In 2022, the estate agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Virgin Islands government by paying more than $105 million and transferring proceeds from the sale of one of Epstein’s private islands, including Little St James.

Court filings cited in investigations have alleged that the two men received fees and loans from Epstein and played roles in managing a complex web of financial entities. Some documents also alleged involvement in financial arrangements connected to victims and recruitment networks.Lawyers for both men deny any wrongdoing.

Daniel Weiner, a lawyer for Indyke, that no court has found either Indyke or Kahn to have committed wrongdoing and that neither man has been accused by victims of sexual abuse or of witnessing abuse.

Kahn’s legal representative said his client had cooperated fully with requests from the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the 2019 investigation.

FBI records cited in reports indicate that during a raid on Epstein’s New York residence in July 2019, agents discovered a safe containing valuables and documents. According to the documents, Kahn instructed staff to remove items from the safe after the initial search warrant was executed, later returning the materials to investigators through legal channels.

As executors, Kahn and Indyke have also supplied the House Oversight Committee with thousands of pages of documents and photographs in response to subpoenas. Their legal teams say certain redactions were made to protect the identities of victims.

Emergency services responded to the site shortly after the impact, transporting the injured to nearby hospitals while security teams secured the surrounding neighborhood, according to officials familiar with the incident. The identities of the victims were not immediately released, and authorities did not specify the precise type or origin of the projectile.Local authorities said the injured were receiving medical treatment and that several sustained moderate wounds. Civil defense personnel also assessed structural damage to nearby homes and vehicles, which appeared to have been struck by debris from the blast.Investigation underwaySaudi security officials said an investigation had been launched to determine the trajectory and source of the projectile. Initial assessments focused on whether the strike was linked to ongoing regional hostilities that have periodically spilled across borders in recent years.Officials said forensic teams were examining fragments recovered from the site while military radar data was being reviewed to reconstruct the object’s path before impact.Residents in the area reported hearing a loud explosion that rattled windows and triggered panic among families before emergency crews arrived. Authorities urged the public to avoid the affected zone while investigators completed their work.Civilian areas exposed to regional tensionsThe incident comes amid heightened regional tensions that have periodically placed civilian infrastructure and residential districts at risk. Saudi Arabia has previously reported projectile and drone strikes targeting cities and energy facilities during periods of heightened conflict in the Middle East.Security analysts say such incidents highlight the vulnerability of populated areas to spillover from broader geopolitical confrontations. While Saudi air defense systems intercept many incoming threats, officials acknowledge that some projectiles can evade interception and cause casualties.Authorities reiterated that emergency response systems remain on high alert and that additional security assessments are being conducted in the aftermath of the strike.Medical teams continued treating the wounded late on Sunday while civil defense units cleared debris and inspected nearby buildings for potential structural hazards.