In brief: Cartel’s security head arrested

MEXICO CITY – The Mexican army announced Sunday that it had captured the head of security for Sinaloa drug cartel head Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, one of the world’s most wanted men.

The suspect, who was not identified by name, was captured in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan, the army said.

Guzman, Mexico’s top drug lord, is one of the world’s richest men and has eluded authorities by moving around and hiding since his 2001 escape from prison in a laundry truck.

Separately, Mexican soldiers discovered 13 bodies in an abandoned truck Sunday along with a message that they were killed in a war between rival drug cartels in the eastern state of Veracruz, officials said.

Egypt releases noted blogger

CAIRO – A prominent Egyptian blogger accused of attacking soldiers during deadly clashes was released Sunday after nearly two months in detention.

Alaa Abdel-Fattah’s first stop after he was freed was Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak in February.

He had been arrested Oct. 30.

“We need to end military rule,” Abdel-Fattah said moments after his release outside Cairo’s police headquarters. “We cannot just celebrate my innocence. We know from the beginning I am not the one who killed people. We have not gone after the real criminals who killed people,” he said in remarks carried on Al-Jazeera TV.

Bomber targets Afghan funeral

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber struck a funeral gathering in northern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 19 people, including a member of parliament, and heightening fears of an accelerating slide into violence in a part of the country that was once relatively peaceful.

The attack, which also left dozens of mourners injured, took place in the city of Taloquan, the capital of Takhar province.

The slain lawmaker was Abdul Matlab Baik, a well-known anti-Taliban figure.