World News Briefs

Taliban leaders killed:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- U.S.-led airstrikes hit a Taliban gathering in volatile southern Afghanistan and killed at least three senior figures of the militant group, government officials said Friday. Local officials and doctors said dozens of wounded were brought to hospitals, one of them an 8-year-old boy.

Setback for Musharraf:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan's Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release on bail of a senior opposition leader who was sentenced to 23 years in prison for trying to incite an army mutiny, a defense lawyer and officials said. The decision to free Javed Hashmi, a close ally of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, will bolster political opposition to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who plans to seek a new presidential term from lawmakers this fall. Hashmi was sentenced in 2004 to 23 years in prison for circulating a letter from some soldiers criticizing Musharraf, but rights and opposition groups alleged the accusations were politically motivated.

Boat capsizes:

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone -- Dozens of people were feared drowned after a boat carrying an estimated 120 people capsized in heavy rain at the mouth of a river in Sierra Leone, the West African country's navy said on Friday.