The Middle East is red with the blood of Christians
New Age Islam News Bureau
17 Feb 2015
Pakistani security officials gather at the explosion site near the police headquarters in Lahore on February 17, 2015. (AFP)
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Arab World
• The
Middle East is red with the blood of Christians
• Over
27 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Baghdad
• US
Must Understand ISIS Religious Beliefs to Defeat It
• Egypt’s
Al-Azhar prohibits watching ISIS execution videos
• Hezbollah
chief admits his militia is fighting in Iraq
• Egypt
urges U.N. mandate for Libya coalition
• ISIS
'Morality Police' Rules with Iron Fist
• Hezbollah
fighting Islamic State in Iraq: leader
• Grand
jury indicts North Carolina man in killings of three Muslims
• Anti-ISIL
campaign a key challenge for Sisi
• Syrian
army recaptures several villages north of Aleppo
• UN
envoy on Syria to brief Security Council on ‘freeze’ plan
• ISIL
head’s uncle nabbed in Iraq: Sources
Mideast
• Imam
Khamenei: Islam Urges Justice on Non-Muslims
• Iran,
Saudi Arabia can help battle terrorism: Deputy FM
• Senior
Iranian Cleric Urges West to Stop Supporting ISIL
• Erdogan:
‘I’m alone, other leaders envy me’
• Iran
cleric slams ISIL killing of Egypt Christians
• Israeli
PM may have leaked US-Iran N-talks info
• Last
Yemen Jews eye exodus after Shiite militia’s takeover
India
• Do
you plan on making India a 'Hindu rashtra'? Muslim clerics asks RSS
• India
among 60 nations to attend White House summit on terrorNarendra Modi Says His
Government Will Not Allow Religious Groups To Incite Hatred
North America
• Being
Muslim in America after the Chapel Hill shootings
• Jewish-Muslim
food war plays out on Manhattan streets
• Obama,
Concerned About Anti-Muslim ‘Hate Crimes,’ Downplays Jihad
• Al-Qaeda
chief wanted American to ram jet into Mubarak plane
• Gordon
Brown devises security plan for Pakistani schools
• Vigils
held in NY, Houston for killing Muslim students
• Obama,
Danish leader vow to fight terrorism
• Rhode
Island Muslim School Vandalized In Hate Crime
• CAIR
calls for hate crime probe of US Muslim school vandalism
Pakistan
• Eight
dead in attack on Lahore's Police Lines, TTP claims responsibility
• Army
will go to any extent for Karachi peace: COAS
• Supreme
Court’s attention drawn to desecration of Hindu temples
• Vigilant
school boys help foil terror bid
• TTP
financier killed in Swat operation
• Pakistan
claims killing mosque attack mastermind
• Mamnoon
urges African states to learn from Zarb-i-Azb
• JI
wants open ballot in Senate polls
Europe
• ISIS
Sets Sights on Europe in Latest Beheading Video
• Britain
lacks strategy to fight the Islamic state in Iraq
• Islamic
Group Wants To Name New Mosque In Moscow After Putin; Russian Muslims Complain
About Too Few Places Of Worship
• IEA
says Middle East militancy poses ‘major challenge’ for oil
• Europe
rebuffs Netanyahu’s call for Jews to move to Israel
• Danish
intelligence knew gunman ‘at risk of radicalization’
• New
study provides unique insight in to Britain's Muslim Population
Southeast Asia
• Indonesia
moving 2 Aussies, 5 other foreigners for execution
• Indonesian
Muslim congress focuses on unity, pluralism
• Growing
European concerns about Muslim migrants
• Lawmakers
Call for KPK Chief Abraham to Step Down
Africa
• South
Sudan's warring forces 'recruiting children'
• Libya
air force chief says 50 killed in strikes
• Central
Africa leaders plan Boko Haram offensive
• Police
yet to identify African students’ attackers
• A
tough choice in Nigerian elections
South Asia
• Afghan
army launches major offensive against Taliban militants
• China
assumes leading role in Afghan reconciliation
• Bomb
hits vehicle in Afghan capital, wounds one: police
• Khaleda,
13 others sued for Gulshan blast
• ‘BNP-Jamaat
men’ torch 2 trucks in Moulvibazar
• No
end in sight to ‘slow-burn’ Bangladesh turmoil
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/the-middle-east-red-with/d/101565
Arab World
The
Middle East is red with the blood of Christians
17
Feb 2015
The
beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya by forces sympathetic to Islamic
State over recent days is sadly not an isolated case. On the contrary, it is
the latest of countless outrages perpetrated against Christians in or near the
Church’s Biblical heartlands over many years.
The
latest victims were migrant workers from Upper Egypt. The announcement by the
authorities in Cairo of retaliatory bombing raids on terrorist training camps
in Libya should not blind us to an inconvenient truth – that more than 600,000
Christians have left Egypt over the past 30 years under both Islamist and
supposedly secular regimes. Many got out because their homes or churches or
businesses had been firebombed.
Before
travelling to Egypt to research my book Christianophobia, I interviewed
immigrant Copts in Britain whose stories formed a pattern. One, a senior GP,
explained how no Christian medical student at his university in Asyut, Upper
Egypt, had been placed in the “Good”, “Very Good” or “Excellent” classes in
their final exams. The injustice convinced him that he would never prosper in
his own country, especially with the rise during the 1970s of the militant Gama
Islamiya, whose members dominated some campuses. “They started attacking
Christian students,” he told me, “barging into our rooms and tearing down
pictures of the Virgin Mary and other religious materials. A fight ensued. I
and other Christians were expelled from university accommodation, but the
Muslims who caused trouble were allowed to remain.” My interviewee was
fortunate in some respects. Other Christian students in the region were
murdered.
This
story reflects a broader reality: that acute hostility to Christians in the
Middle East long predates the invasion of Iraq. After the assassination attempt
on Nasser in 1954, many fundamentalists were rounded up and sent to prison.
Egypt’s next leader, Anwar Sadat, faced with heavy challenges from the Left,
indulged the Islamists and let many in from Saudi Arabia. He also called Egypt
a Muslim country, even though 15 to 20 per cent of the population was then
Christian. According to the charity Aid to the Church in Need, that figure has
now fallen to around 5 per cent – still 4.2 million people – as a result of
Christians leaving Egypt.
Many
of those Islamists in Egypt who came from (or returned from) Saudi Arabia were
converts to Wahhabism, the very hardline brand of Islam that has evolved on the
peninsula over the past two centuries. A grim irony of the Charlie Hebdo
murders and recent violence in Copenhagen is that Arab Christians endure far
more vehement insults at the hands of Wahhabists than do Muslims from secular
satirists in the West. This point is largely lost on the European media, but
the hypocrisy is not ignored by Egyptian writers such as Alaa al-Aswany, author
of the bestselling novel The Yacoubian Building. Commenting on the drip-feed of
anti-Christian poison on Wahhabist websites, he quotes from one called
Guardians of the Faith: “Being a Muslim girl whose role models are the wives of
the Prophet, who were required to wear the hijab, is better than being a
Christian girl, whose role models are whores,” says one post. “Being a Muslim
who fights to defend his honour and his faith is better than being a Christian
who steals, rapes, and kills children,” says another.
Just
as the background to the Holocaust included centuries of Christian
anti-Semitism, it is easy to see how poison such as this is fuelling the steady
eradication of Christians from other countries including Iraq. In 1990, there
were between 1.2 and 1.4 million Christians there. Today, about 260,000 remain.
In
the Iraqi city of Mosul, an exodus of Christians has occurred over the past
year after Christian homes were marked with an “N” standing for “Naserenes”.
Shortly after the Prince of Wales arrived in Jordan during his tour of the
Middle East two weeks ago, he was introduced to a group of Iraqi Christian
refugees. One told the Prince that they had been homeless for six months and
didn’t want to return, “because it is impossible to live with the people who
destroyed our homes and destroyed our church. . . When Da’ish [Islamic State]
came . . . they deprived us of everything”.
It
goes without saying that a huge proportion of Muslims in the region bear no ill
will towards their Christian fellow citizens. Blood is being spilt by fanatics
who hold that the more martial sections of the Koran apply to all situations,
rather than – as mainstream interpretation would have it – to a particular
historical moment when Muhammad’s earliest followers were in mortal danger. But
although the culprits are a minority, discrimination against Christians and
other minorities – as opposed to overt persecution – in Muslim-majority
countries forms a further layer of injustice largely unacknowledged either by
those societies themselves, or by Western governments frightened of ruffling
feathers.
Turkey,
notionally a beacon of prosperity and relatively liberal values in the Islamic
world, is a particular offender. Every Turkish citizen must state their religious
allegiance on their identity card. The word “Christian” will mean that the
bearer is excluded from many forms of public service. Christian schools and
other establishments are tightly controlled.
Turkey,
the modern successor to the Ottoman Empire, is also important because it casts
a sidelight on the political dimension of a problem often lazily blamed on
“religion” alone. The anti-Ottoman rebellions by subject peoples – above all
the Greeks in the 1820s and the Bulgarians half a century later – left a deep
scar on Ottoman consciousness that remains a part of modern Turkey. The
rebellions embedded two attitudes: a suspicion of non-Turks, and a belief that
if you are Turkish, this automatically means that you are a Muslim. In Turkey,
religion and ethnic identity became closely joined.
This
point offers a key to the hounding of Christians in Turkey today – especially
the persecution of converts with a Muslim background. Hardline readings of the
Koran are interlaced with a nationalistic mentality that was born out of the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and which holds conversion to Christianity or
Judaism to be synonymous with treason.
Sometimes,
nationalistic forces have religious consequences. There were population
exchanges between Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey, and Muslims in Greece in
1923 and again in the 1930s. During the Second World War, taxes on Christians
in Turkey were raised; those who could not pay were sent to labour camps. With
the worsening of relations between Turkey and Greece over Cyprus in the 1950s
and 1960s, a further exodus of Greeks took place. The demographic evidence now
speaks for itself. Christians formed 13 per cent of the Turkish population a
century ago, but now only number about a fifth of 1 per cent – that is, around
150,000 out of a population of 72 million. The implications of these melancholy
statistics are plain: Turkey, the Muslim country with the most modern and
secular state in the Middle East, has become less diverse and less tolerant.
Historically
Christian societies had a far-from spotless record on religious tolerance
before the Second World War, but the horror of the Holocaust jolted many to
become more tolerant and more self-critical.
In
the light of the horrors now being committed against Christians, Muslim-majority
countries should jettison their triumphalist baggage and permit freedom of
belief, including the freedom to convert from, as well as to, Islam. And
European leaders, so often tongue-tied by a self-lacerating fear of giving
offence, should not hold back from drawing attention to the glaring double
standard that is applied to Christians in many parts of the Middle East.
Rupert
Shortt’s book 'Christianophobia: A Faith Under Atttack’ is published by Rider.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/11416779/The-Middle-East-is-red-with-the-blood-of-Christians.html
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US
Must Understand ISIS Religious Beliefs to Defeat It
16
Feb 2015
The
Obama administration doesn't like to say the Islamic State (ISIS) or other
terrorist groups are Muslims, but the March issue of The Atlantic lays out the
case why it should.
In
an article titled "What ISIS Really Wants," author Graeme Wood talks to ISIS
sympathizers, including London imam Anjem Choudary and Australian preacher Musa
Cerantonio, who explain in eloquent and learned terms over tea how the ISIS
caliphate actually is a return to the original form of Islam practiced by its
founder, Muhammad.
According
to ISIS adherents, a caliphate — with control of land — is necessary to
bringing about the end of days, and they intend to do their part. ISIS
currently controls a large swath of northern Iraq and eastern Syria.
It
believes a large battle with the enemies of the faith will take place in Syria
and is trying to goad the United States, Turkey and other Western nations into
the fight.
But
in their strict interpretation of the Koran, not everyone who claims to be
Muslim qualifies. Those who fail to pledge allegiance to ISIS leader and
self-proclaimed caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi are apostate and subject to death.
Wood
writes that ISIS is likely trying to lure America and Turkey, which it sees as
an apostate Muslim nation, into the fight to fulfill an end-times prophecy of
Muhammad that true Muslims will be suffer defeats in battle and eventually be
backed into a corner in Jerusalem by the anti-Messiah.
At
that point, Jesus, whom Islam considers the second-greatest prophet, will
return and lead them in defeat of their enemies.
Understanding
all this is important, Wood writes, because it shows that ISIS is not some
ragtag group without any core ideology guiding their actions. But he doesn't
favor sending American troops to fight them, as he says their own rules of
existence will eventually cause them to self-implode.
ISIS
does not believe in national borders, and therefore refuses to sign treaties
with nations and will not represent any country it defeats in the United
Nations. To do so would be to put another authority above that of God, they
believe.
But
that hurts their ability to grow, Wood argues.
In
the end, what ISIS wants isn't being hidden. The group clearly states they are
building a worldwide caliphate — or Islamic government — in which everyone will
be converted, subjugated or killed.
"That
the Islamic State holds the imminent fulfillment of prophecy as a matter of
dogma at least tells us the mettle of our opponent," Wood writes. "It
is ready to cheer its own near-obliteration, and to remain confident, even when
surrounded, that it will receive divine succor if it stays true to the Prophetic
model."
Some
potential converts might be dissuaded through argument, and military action can
abate some of ISIS' terror, he said, "But for an organization as
impervious to persuasion as the Islamic State, few measures short of these will
matter, and the war may be a long one, even if it doesn’t last until the end of
time."
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/ISIS-radical-Islam-understand-beliefs/2015/02/16/id/625066/
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Over
27 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Baghdad
17
February 2015
At
least 27 terrorists were killed in fierce clashes between the Iraqi army and
ISIL Takfiri group in North of Baghdad, a military source said.
A
senior army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Iraqi
troops gained the upper hand over the ISIL in Northern Baghdad, and managed to
liberate the areas of al-Hawra, al-Buhairat and Tal-Tasa from the control of
the terrorist group.
The
source added that the troops succeeded in liberating the areas after heavy
fighting with the terrorists in which more that 27 terrorists were killed and
some 162 IEDs were defused.
The
ISIL terrorists currently control areas of Iraq and Syria. The group sent its
militants into Iraq in June 2014, seizing parts of land straddling the border
between Syria and Iraq.
Senior
Iraqi officials have blamed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and some Persian Gulf Arab
states for the growing terrorism in their country.
The
ISIL has links with Saudi intelligence and is believed to be indirectly
supported by the Israeli regime.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931128000275
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Egypt’s
Al-Azhar prohibits watching ISIS execution videos
17
February 2015
Al-Azhar,
Egypt’s top Islamic authority, said on Monday it prohibits Muslims from
watching and sharing execution videos released by the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria to avoid fulfilling the group’s evil aims, the semi-official Ahram Online
reported.
The
statements were made in the wake of a recently released video that shows 21
Egyptian Coptic Christians being killed by ISIS militants in Libya.
Al-Azhar
called on media outlets to avoid publishing the "crimes of the
terrorists" in order not serve the group’s "sinister aim" in
spreading fear among Muslims and affect their morale.
It
also said Muslims are prohibited from watching and spreading these videos,
which are meant to promote Islamophobia, the website added.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/02/17/Egypt-s-Al-Azhar-prohibits-watching-sharing-ISIS-execution-videos.html
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Hezbollah
chief admits his militia is fighting in Iraq
17
February 2015
Lebanon’s
Shiite movement Hezbollah is fighting the militant Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) group in Iraq, its chief Hassan Nasrallah revealed for the first
time Monday in a speech beamed to supporters in southern Beirut.
“We
may not have spoken about Iraq before, but we have a limited presence because
of the sensitive phase that Iraq is going through,” Nasrallah said in reference
to ongoing clashes between Iraqi troops, several militias and Kurdish forces
against the ISIS.
Hezbollah
is already fighting in Syria, alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.
Nasrallah’s
speech comes two days after his leading Lebanese opponent, Saad Hariri, called
on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria.
“I
say to those who call on us to withdraw from Syria, let’s go together to
Syria,” said Nasrallah.
“I
say, come with us to Iraq, and to any place where we can fight this threat that
is threatening our (Muslim) nation and our region,” he added.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/02/16/Hezbollah-fighting-is-in-Iraq-Nasrallah.html
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Egypt
urges U.N. mandate for Libya coalition
17
February 2015
Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Tuesday urged the U.N. Security Council to
adopt a resolution allowing for an international military intervention in
troubled Libya, Agence France Presse reported.
“There
is no other choice. Taking into account that the Libyan people must agree that
we act to restore security and stability,” Sisi said in an interview with
French radio Europe 1.
Sisi
has repeatedly called for some kind of global intervention in Libya, which has
been wracked by conflict since the overthrow of Dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a
2011 NATO-backed uprising.
The
European Union said Monday it saw no role for the bloc in any military
intervention, but would discuss joint action with Washington and Egypt.
“What
we are seeing today in Libya is a double threat: it is a threat of a country
that is breaking apart and of a country where Daesh is taking power and
infiltrating,” said EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/02/17/Egyptian-FM-use-of-force-is-right-to-self-defense-.html
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ISIS
'Morality Police' Rules with Iron Fist
16
Feb 2015
Islamic
State (ISIS)'s "morality police" is enforcing modest dress through a
reign of terror, human rights organizations claim Monday.
The
Al-Merced NGO reports that the city Albuhamal in the Deir al-Zor province of
eastern Syria, the modesty squad attacked a woman because her eyes were too
exposed to their liking. Two young men who tried to protect the woman were
arrested as well.
In
Mosul, a center for ISIS in Iraq, the city's morality police regularly beat
women with iron rods who are not dressed modestly according to a strict
interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.
Full
report at:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/191400#.VOPINvnF9nM
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Hezbollah
fighting Islamic State in Iraq: leader
February
17th, 2015
BEIRUT
– Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah is fighting Islamic State militants
in Iraq, its chief Hassan Nasrallah revealed for the first time Monday in a
speech to supporters.
“We
may not have spoken about Iraq before, but we have a limited presence because
of the sensitive phase that Iraq is going through,” Nasrallah said, referring
to ongoing clashes between Iraq’s army, militias and Kurdish forces against the
jihadis.
Hezbollah
is already fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces.
Nasrallah’s
speech comes two days after his leading Lebanese opponent, former prime
minister Saad Hariri, called on Hezbollah to withdraw from Syria.
“I
say to those who call on us to withdraw from Syria, let’s go together to
Syria,” said Nasrallah.
Full
report at:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/02/17/world/hezbollah-fighting-islamic-state-iraq-leader/#.VOMNqOaUd5s
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Grand
jury indicts North Carolina man in killings of three Muslims
February 17th, 2015
WASHINGTON
– A grand jury indicted a North Carolina man on Monday for the shooting deaths
of a newlywed Muslim couple and the wife’s sister last week, a court official
said.
Craig
Hicks, 46, of Chapel Hill, was charged by a grand jury with three counts of
first-degree murder and one of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling,
said Angela Kelly, an assistant clerk of the Durham County Superior Court.
Deah
Barakat, 23, a University of North Carolina dental student; his wife, Yusor
Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, a student at North Carolina
State University, were gunned down Feb. 10 in a condominium about 2 miles (3
km) from the University of North Carolina campus in Chapel Hill.
Full
report at:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/02/17/world/crime-legal-world/grand-jury-indicts-north-carolina-man-killings-three-muslims/#.VOMNqOaUd5s
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Anti-ISIL
campaign a key challenge for Sisi
16
Feb 2015
Since
his rise into the political spotlight about 18 months ago, Egypt's Abdel Fattah
el-Sisi has presented himself domestically and abroad as a leader in the fight
against political religious groups in the region.
The
slaughter of 21 Coptic Egyptian workers by the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL) in Libya, and the retaliatory air strikes launched by Egypt's
military, have expanded Sisi's regional war against such groups. The
developments come just weeks after Egypt declared al-Qassam Brigades, the armed
wing of the Palestinian faction Hamas, a "terrorist group".
Sisi
frequently fails to differentiate between groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood
and more violent and hardline organisations, such as al-Qaeda and ISIL.
Domestically, the Egyptian president launched a massive crackdown against the
Brotherhood, Egypt's largest political opposition group, declaring it a
"terrorist" organisation, arresting its leaders and banning its
political party. A widening military campaign against ISIL affiliates in Sinai
has killed hundreds of people, including civilians.
Full
report at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/analysis-anti-isil-campaign-key-challenge-sisi-150216094613046.html
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Syrian
army recaptures several villages north of Aleppo
Feb
17, 2015
The
Syrian army, backed by fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement,
has successfully wrested control of several villages north of Aleppo from
foreign-backed militants.
A
monitoring group said Tuesday that the Syrian military also blocked a main
supply route leading into the northwestern city amid heavy clashes between the
two sides.
The
so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in UK, said pro-government
forces had blocked a road leading north from the city towards the Turkish
border.
Aleppo,
Syria’s second largest city, once served as the country’s industrial
powerhouse, but it has been split between government-held western part and the
militant-held eastern portion since mid-2012.
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/17/397963/Syrian-army-gains-ground-in-Aleppo
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UN
envoy on Syria to brief Security Council on ‘freeze’ plan
Feb
17, 2015
The
United Nations (UN)’s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura is scheduled
to attend a UN Security Council meeting to brief its members about his “freeze”
plan aimed at ending the more than four years of conflict in the country.
De
Mistura, who recently made a visit to Syria, will hold talks with the members
of the council behind closed doors on Tuesday.
He
is expected to explain the results of his meetings with Syrian officials in
respect to the plan to freeze the clashes between government forces and
foreign-backed militants in the northwestern city of Aleppo to allow more
humanitarian aid access.
“Our
hope is that Aleppo could be a signal of goodwill, a confidence-building
measure which could and can facilitate the re-starting of a political process
with a clear political horizon,” he said last month in Geneva.
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/17/397957/Envoy-to-brief-UN-on-Syria-freeze-plan
------------
ISIL
head’s uncle nabbed in Iraq: Sources
Feb
16, 2015
Iraqi
security forces have apprehended two senior ISIL commanders believed to be
relatives of the terrorist group’s leader, Ibrahim al-Samarrai aka Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, Iraqi security sources say.
The
arrests were made on Sunday following a security operation near the city of
Samarra in Salaheddin Province, Iraq’s state-owned television cited an unnamed
security source as saying.
“A
group from the Regiment Special Assignments was able to arrest Baghdadi’s
uncle, named Saleh Ibrahim Abdulmomen and niece’s husband Dhiya Nouri Sadoun,”
the source from the southern Dhi Qar governorate’s police said
Last
December, Lebanese Interior Ministry announced that the young daughter of
Baghdadi along with her mother was held in the country.
On
December 2, 2014, Lebanon’s security officials said they had detained the ISIL
head’s wife and son at a border crossing with Syria. However, the Iraqi
government later said she was not married to Baghdadi.
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/16/397785/Iraq-detains-ISIL-heads-relatives
-----------
Mideast
Imam
Khamenei: Islam Urges Justice on Non-Muslims
February
17, 2015
Leader
of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said Islam has ordered
Muslims to treat the followers of other religions with “fairness and justice.”
Imam
Khamenei“What is seen in the world today is that powers and governments which
claim to [advocate] fairness and justice do not observe any fairness and
justice except within the bounds of their narrow, limited and cruel policies,”
Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with representatives of religious
minorities in Iran’s Parliament (Majlis).
The
Leader pointed to the propaganda campaign against Muslims in Europe and the US
and said, "What is at issue is not [the question] why the Muslims do not
have the necessary freedom in most of these countries, but at issue is [the
question] why the Muslims do not have any [sense of] physical safety."
Ayatollah
Khamenei cited the Hollywood-made film, American Sniper, as an example and said
it encourages Christian or non-Muslim youngsters to harass the Muslims as much
as possible.
Islam
does not accept this approach, the Leader said, adding, “Islam believes in
fairness.”
Ayatollah
Khamenei stated that Imam Ali, the first Imam of the Shias, has said a Muslim
would not be blamed if they die of sadness over the harassment of a non-Muslim
in a Muslim country. If a Muslim dies of this sadness, that person has died for
the right cause, the Leader pointed out.
Full
report at:
http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=195963&cid=19&fromval=1&frid=19&seccatid=32&s1=1
---------
Iran,
Saudi Arabia can help battle terrorism: Deputy FM
Feb
17, 2015
An
Iranian deputy foreign minister says the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia have
the necessary potential to help curtail terrorism.
“We
believe that Tehran and Riyadh have the necessary potential to help countries
exposed to the threat of terrorism in the region,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian,
deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, said Tuesday, IRNA
reported.
The
Iranian diplomat noted that Iran has taken steps to initiate consultations with
Saudi Arabia as an important country, adding that the Islamic Republic is
“optimistic” about the future of talks with the Persian Gulf kingdom.
Terrorism
in Mideast
Amir-Abdollahian
also described terrorism as the main threat facing the Middle East region.
He
said certain foreign states seek to fuel regional tensions by causing tribal,
ethnic and religious rifts, adding that “the existence of weak or ineffective
countries" has exacerbated terrorism and extremism in the region.
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/17/397947/Iran-KSA-can-help-antiterror-fight
------------
Senior
Iranian Cleric Urges West to Stop Supporting ISIL
17
February 2015
Grand
Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi slammed the beheading of 21 Coptic Egyptians
by the ISIL terrorists in Libya, and called on the West to stop its support for
the terrorist group.
In reaction
to the brutal murder, Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi hoped in a Monday message that
the perpetrators of the killings would be arrested soon and "receive
severe punishment".
He
also called on the followers of all other divine religions to cooperate with
each other to eradicate the "vicious group".
The
senior Iranian cleric warned the West about the repercussions of exploiting
terrorism and urged the Western countries to stop their support for the ISIL
"barbaric and oppressive group because its adverse repercussions would
affect all".
Earlier
on Monday, The Iranian foreign ministry strongly deplored the beheading of 21
Egyptian Coptic Christians, who had gone to Libya in search of work, by the
ISIL terrorist group.
Full
report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13931128001076
---------
Erdogan:
‘I’m alone, other leaders envy me’
17
February 2015
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has for the first time confessed that he feels
politically 'isolated' from the world and suggested that other leaders “envy
him “for “speaking his mind,” local news reports said.
Speaking
to a group of journalists after a tour of Latin America, Erdogan said being
“outspoken” when it comes to discussing regional issues made him “a target for
criticism,” the Turkish Cihan News agency reported Monday.
But
that does not matter as far as Turkish people keep up their support, Erdogan
implied.
“I
don't care about being alone in the eyes of the world. What matters is how the
people view me. We saw [how people see him] during the presidential election
that people sided with me. And there's no isolation when you consider other
countries' people as well.
“Maybe
there is an isolation on the level of leaders, but it's nothing other than
envy,” Erdogan said, in remarks published in several Turkish dailies on Sunday.
The
Turkish president provided his relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama as
an example of political isolation. He recalled how his relationship with Obama
“was good in the beginning” but then things changed.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2015/02/17/Erodgan-speaks-on-Turkey-s-isolation-says-he-is-unconcerned-.html
---------
Iran
cleric slams ISIL killing of Egypt Christians
Feb
17, 2015
A
senior Iranian cleric has strongly condemned the beheading of 21 Egyptian
Coptic Christians by the ISIL Takfiri militants in Libya, warning the West over
the consequences of providing support for the terror group.
In
a Monday message issued in reaction to the brutal murder, Grand Ayatollah
Nasser Makarem Shirazi expressed hope that the perpetrators of the killings
would be soon arrested and “receive severe punishment.”
The
Iranian cleric called on the followers of all other divine religions to
cooperate with each other to root out the “vicious group”.
Makarem
Shirazi further urged the Western countries to stop their support for the ISIL
“barbaric and oppressive group because its adverse repercussions would affect
all.”
The
ISIL Takfiri terrorists on Sunday released a five-minute gruesome video showing
the killing of the Egyptian Coptic Christians.
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/17/397910/Iran-cleric-raps-ISIL-Copts-killing
------------
Israeli
PM may have leaked US-Iran N-talks info
February
17, 2015
WASHINGTON
- US officials suspect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized
leaking details of US nuclear negotiations with Iran to Israeli journalists,
The Washington Post reported Monday.
In
recent days, the Obama administration has moved to limit the exchange of information
with Israel about the ongoing negotiations with Iran following suspicion that
Netanyahu’s office had given the Israeli media “sensitive details” of the US
position in the talks, Post’s columnist David Ignatius wrote.
“Concerns
that Israeli officials had leaked key details about those negotiations,
including that the US offered to let Iran enrich uranium with ‘6,500 or more
centrifuges as part of a final deal,’ has prompted the US to limit the amount
of sensitive information it exchanges with Israel about the Iran nuclear
negotiations,” Ignatius added. US officials believe recent Israeli reports
about the talks were “misleading” on the number and type of centrifuges Iran
would operate under a long-term nuclear accord.
Full
report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/17-Feb-2015/israeli-pm-may-have-leaked-us-iran-n-talks-info
------------
Last
Yemen Jews eye exodus after Shiite militia’s takeover
16
February 2015
SANAA:
A few worried families are all that remain of Yemen’s ancient Jewish community,
and they too may soon flee after a Shiite militia seized power in the
strife-torn country this month.
Harassment
by the Houthi movement — whose motto is “Death to America, death to Israel,
curse the Jews, victory to Islam” — caused Jews in recent years to largely quit
the northern highlands they shared with Yemen’s Shiites for millennia.
But
political feuds in which the Jews played no part escalated last September into
an armed Houthi plunge into the capital Sanaa, the community’s main refuge from
which some now contemplate a final exodus.
Around
six Yemeni Jews from the same family arrived in Israel on Friday, members of
the community told Reuters.
“Since
last September, our movements have become very limited for fear of the security
situation, and there are some members of the community who preferred to leave
Yemen,” sighed chief rabbi Yahya Youssef, sitting in his apartment within a
walled compound next to ministry of defense.
Full
report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/705111
------------
India
Do
you plan on making India a 'Hindu rashtra'? Muslim clerics asks RSS
Feb
17, 2015
Kanpur:
A delegation of Muslim clerics led by the Sunni Ulema Council's General
Secretary met RSS functionary Indresh and posed six questions to the Sangh
including whether it has prepared a format to turn India into a Hindu
'rashtra', which he claimed left the saffron outfit irritated.
The
Muslim delegation claimed that Indresh refused to answer their questions and
instead said that a conference of Muslim organisations should be called where
he would give the answers.
"We
had a meeting with senior RSS functionary Indreshji last night during which we
asked six questions, but he did not have any answer," Sunni Ulema Council
General Secretary Haji Mohammed Salees told PTI on Wednesday.
He
alleged that Indreshji, who is pracharak and looks after minority affairs in
the organisation, got "irritated" with the questions.
"Our
first question was whether RSS considers India a Hindu country. The second one
was whether RSS has prepared a format to turn India into a Hindu 'rashtra'. The
third one was whether this Hindu 'rashtra' will be according to Hindu religious
texts or RSS has chalked out a new philosophy," he said.
Full
report at:
http://www.firstpost.com/politics/plan-making-india-hindu-rashtra-muslim-clerics-asks-rss-2103887.html
------------
India
among 60 nations to attend White House summit on terror
PTI
| Feb 17, 2015
WASHINGTON:
Over 60 countries including India will participate in a White House summit on
"countering violent extremism" beginning today in the backdrop of
alarming growth of ISIS and recent terrorists' attacks in France and Denmark,
senior administration officials have said.
While
the first two days of the three-day summit are primarily focused on domestic
extremism given that there was substantial increase in home grown terrorism,
the final day, Thursday would see full participation of more than 60 countries
including several ministers to focus on foreign fighters among others.
India,
which for the past several decades has been a victim of foreign supported
terrorism and faces a challenge of domestic violent extremism that include
Naxals and Maoists in particular, would be represented by R N Ravi, Chairman of
the powerful Joint Intelligence Committee.
"It's
a very full and very ambitious agenda to expand and deepen our global coalition
to counter and prevent violent extremism," a senior administration
official said yesterday.
The
conference would highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent
violent extremists and their supporters from radicalising, recruiting, or
inspiring individuals or groups in the US and abroad to commit acts of
violence, efforts made even more imperative in light of recent, tragic attacks
throughout the world.
Full
report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-among-60-nations-to-attend-White-House-summit-on-terror/articleshow/46271968.cms
------
North America
Obama,
Concerned About Anti-Muslim ‘Hate Crimes,’ Downplays Jihad
02/16/2015
A string
of Islam-related murders on three continents this weekend has exposed
contradictions in President Barack Obama’s risky outreach toward Islamic
advocates in the United States and abroad.
The
weekend started Feb. 13 with a presidential statement condemning the murder of
three U.S.-born Muslims in North Carolina.
“The
brutal and outrageous murders” will be investigated by the FBI, and “no one in
the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are,
what they look like, or how they worship,” said the statement, which was
attributed to Obama.
The
three were murdered, execution-style, by a progressive atheist.
“Michelle
and I offer our condolences to the victims’ loved ones… we are all one American
family,” said the statement.
The
statement was released as Obama told his supporters he was trying to shape the
2016 election. ”I’ve only got two years
left, but two years is a long time,” he said at San Francisco fundraiser
Friday. “Two years is also the time in which we’re going to be setting the
stage for the next presidential election and the next 10 years of American
policy… so I intend to run through the tape and work really hard,” he said.
Full
report at:
http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/16/obama-concerned-about-anti-muslim-hate-crimes-downplays-jihad/
------------
Jewish-Muslim
food war plays out on Manhattan streets
17
February 2015
New
York City’s street curbs are playing host to another style of Mideast conflict,
between a halal food cart and a Kosher rival.
Running
with the headline “Intifooda,” the New York Post this week reported that Jewish
kosher-food purveyor Yisroel Mordowitz said he is being forced to move his food
cart due to a “halal mafia.”
Egyptian
competitors have, according to the newspaper, blocked him from taking a spot in
the coveted Rockefeller Center area, squatting or placing products and
umbrellas on the sidewalk.
“This
guy is hungry — hungry for money,” said one Halal food vendor, Mohamed Mossad ,
according to the newspaper. “I have a family, too!” he added.
“He’s
just coming to this particular spot, and he wants to grab it from me — and kill
me, actually. Kill my business.”
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2015/02/17/Jewish-Muslim-food-war-plays-out-on-Manhattan-streets.html
-----------
Being
Muslim in America after the Chapel Hill shootings
February
16th, 2015
This
Is What It’s Like to Be Muslim in America after the Chapel Hill Shootings
It’s
only been a few days since Deah Barakt, 23, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21, and Razan
Abu-Salha, 19, were killed, execution-style, in their home in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina by a neighbor, 46-year old Craig Stephen Hicks. The three
victims were American Mulisms, and their killer, an avowed atheist. For many,
the equation adds up to a hate crime motivated by Islamophobia. For others,
Hicks was reacting to a “parking dispute” with the victims.
Full
report at:
http://www.albawaba.com/blog_roundup/being-muslim-america-after-chapel-hill-shootings-657466
------------
Al-Qaeda
chief wanted American to ram jet into Mubarak plane
16
February 2015
NEW
YORK: In the terrorism trial of a man accused of being one of Al-Qaeda’s early
leaders, an American described being asked in 1995 by Osama Bin Laden to kill
Egypt’s president by ramming his plane with his own in midair.
“It
took me by surprise,” Ihab Mohammad Ali testified recently in New York. “I
responded, ‘Well, wouldn’t I be killing myself?’“
Ali,
52, said Bin Laden answered: “Well, then you would be a martyr.’“
The
glimpse into the early days of Al-Qaeda when Bin Laden had a private jet and
was barely known to law enforcement officials came amid the government’s
presentation of evidence over the past three weeks against Khaled Al-Fawwaz, a
man portrayed by prosecutors as a key player in the terror group when it was in
its infancy.
Full
report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/705121
------------
Gordon
Brown devises security plan for Pakistani schools
February 17th , 2015
United
Nations Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown on Tuesday proposed a plan for school
security in Pakistan including improved safety measures, said a report
published on the BBC.
The
former British premier held talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to make
schools safer in the wake of the Peshawar school attack which left more than 150
students and faculty members dead.
Mr
Brown stated that he wants to help schools "stand up to terrorist
violence". His proposal was followed by an agreement with Premier Nawaz to
improve the security situation of schools.
Read:
Militant siege of Peshawar school ends, 141 killed
The
proposal included safety measures such as armed guards, metal detectors,
security fences, emergency communication systems and more.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164179/gordon-brown-devises-security-plan-for-pakistani-schools
------------
Vigils
held in NY, Houston for killing Muslim students
February
17, 2015
NEW
YORK - Braving bitterly cold weather, hundreds of people, mostly Muslims, gathered Sunday afternoon in New York
for a vigil honouring the three Muslim
college students shot and killed by a white neighbour in North Carolina last
week - a slaying that sparked unease and concern among Muslims across the
country.
A
similar demonstration was also held in Houston, Taxes, near the city’s upscale shopping mall
Galleria and continued late into the evening. Participants lit candles and
quietly raised signs that bore messages including ‘Am I next?’ and ‘Muslims for
Peace.’ In New York, activists held rally at CNN headquarters in Manhattan’s
Columbus Circle against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim bias in news coverage
after the killings of three young Muslims, before a midtown march to Fox News’
office in Rockefeller Centre.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/17-Feb-2015/vigils-held-in-ny-houston-for-killing-muslim-students
------------
Obama,
Danish leader vow to fight terrorism
17
February 2015
U.S.
President Barack Obama expressed solidarity Monday with Denmark after two
shootings that shocked the Nordic nation, and vowed to confront anti-Semitism and
assaults on freedom of expression together with Copenhagen, Agence France
Presse reported.
During
a telephone call, Obama and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt
“agreed on the need to work together to confront attacks on freedom of
expression as well as against anti-Semitic violence,” the White House said in a
statement.
It
said Obama offered his condolences for the victims and expressed “American
solidarity with our Danish allies.”
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/02/17/Obama-Danish-leader-vow-mutual-efforts-to-confront-terror-.html
----------
Rhode
Island Muslim School Vandalized In Hate Crime
FEBRUARY
16, 2015
A
non-profit Muslim school in Rhode Island was vandalized with Islamophobic
graffiti on Saturday, one day after holding a vigil for the three Muslim
victims of the North Carolina shooting. The story garnered national interest
after the Providence Journal posted a photo of the graffiti on Sunday.
The
Islamic School of Rhode Island — which opened in 2003 as the first Muslim
school in the state — had never been targeted by vandalization or serious
threats before, the President of the school’s board of trustees told the
Providence Journal.
However,
the orange graffiti covering the school’s doors left little doubt about the
intentions of the vandalizers. Among the slurs scrawled on the school’s
entrance — including “pigs,” and expletives referring to “Allah” — one was
quite clear: “Now this is a hate crime.”
“This
apparently bias-motivated incident should be hould be investigated as a hate
crime, with the strongest possible charges brought against the perpetrators
once they are apprehended,” said Ibrahim Hooper, the director of communications
at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in a press release. “The recent
spike in anti-Muslim hate rhetoric and bias-motivated attacks on American
Muslims and their institutions must be addressed by our nation’s leaders.”
Full
report at:
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/02/16/3623380/rhode-island-muslim-school-vandalized-islamophobic-graffiti/
------------
CAIR
calls for hate crime probe of US Muslim school vandalism
Feb
16, 2015
The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on American authorities
to investigate a vandalism attack on a Muslim school in Rhode Island as a hate
crime.
The
United States’ largest Muslim advocacy group urged law enforcement authorities
on Sunday to bring "the strongest possible charges” against “the
perpetrators once they are apprehended."
Unknown
assailants broke into the Islamic School of Rhode Island in West Warwick over
the weekend and sprayed anti-Muslim, racial slurs on the walls of the
institution.
According
to West Warwick Police Captain Donald Archibald, the damage went "beyond
normal vandalism" and that the perpetrator wrote "senseless, hateful
comments."
"The
recent spike in anti-Muslim hate rhetoric and bias-motivated attacks on
American Muslims and their institutions must be addressed by our nation's
leaders," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/16/397795/US-Muslim-school-vandalism-hate-crime
------------
Pakistan
Eight
dead in attack on Lahore's Police Lines, TTP claims responsibility
February 17th, 2015
LAHORE:
At least eight people were killed and dozens injured in an apparent attack on
Lahore's police headquarters on Tuesday, hospital sources told Dawn. The
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) later claimed responsibility for the attack.
The
spokesperson for the Jamaatul Ahrar faction of the banned TTP, Ehsanullah
Ehsan, told Dawn that the attack was carried out by the splinter group.
The
blast took place near the main gate of Police Lines in Lahore's Qila Gujjar
Singh area. According to preliminary reports, it took place in a vehicle parked
in the area, however, there are some unverified reports that it was carried out
by a suicide bomber.
Huge
plumes of smoke were visible in the air in the heavily populated area which was
quickly cordoned off by security personnel.
Several
vehicles parked near the site of the blast caught fire and window panes in
nearby buildings were also shattered.
A
police Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) was among those killed in the attack while
the wounded also included a policewoman, according to police sources.
Inspector
General Punjab Police Mushtaq Sukhera told media representatives that the
target of the attack was police lines but chances are that the bomber may have
been searched on his way inside so he exploded himself prematurely.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164184/eight-dead-in-attack-on-lahores-police-lines-ttp-claims-responsibility
---------
Army
will go to any extent for Karachi peace: COAS
February 17th , 2015
KARACHI:
Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif has praised Sindh Rangers for their operation
against terrorists in Karachi and said the army will take whatever action is
needed to achieve a sustainable peace in the city.
A
couple of tweets by ISPR Director General Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa on the army
chief’s Karachi visit said Gen Sharif had been updated by Rangers DG Maj Gen
Bilal Akbar on targeted operations.
Know
more: Failure in fight against militancy is not an option: Nawaz
“The
COAS appreciated gains of operation by the Rangers, police and intelligence
agencies,” said one of the tweets, adding that the army would go to any extent
to support the operation to ensure peace in Karachi.
The
tweets ended with “well done, keep it up” while referring to Gen Sharif’s
response to the briefing.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164071/army-will-go-to-any-extent-for-karachi-peace-coas
------------
Supreme
Court’s attention drawn to desecration of Hindu temples
Nasir
Iqbal
February
17th , 2015
ISLAMABAD:
The patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani,
brought to the Supreme Court’s notice on Monday repeated incidents of
desecration of Hindu temples in the country.
At
the last hearing on Feb 11, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Nasirul
Mulk had asked Mr Vankwani to submit in writing alleged excesses aimed at defiling
the places of worship of Hindus.
The
court had taken up a matter relating to implementation of a set of guidelines
handed down in a June 19, 2014 judgment on minority rights.
Also
read: SC summons IG over attacks on Hindu temples in Sindh
On
Monday, Mr Vankwani, a PML-N MNA from Tharparkar, submitted two applications,
one requesting the court to take notice of desecration of temples and the other
seeking an order for the government to submit details about measures being
taken to protect the premises sacred to the minority communities.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164087/supreme-courts-attention-drawn-to-desecration-of-hindu-temples
------------
Vigilant
school boys help foil terror bid
February 17th, 2015
TAXILA:
An improvised explosive device was found in a shopping bag near a school in Wah
cantonment on Monday.
Students
spotted a bag placed at a bus stop near their school at around 7:30am. They
informed their teacher who contacted local administration and police.
Military
officials arrived soon after and shifted the suspicious bag to a nearby ground.
The bomb disposal squad personnel who were called from Rawalpindi reached the
scene at around 10am and discovered explosives inside it which they managed to
defuse.
“We
were waiting for friends near the school when we spotted the suspicious bag
which we reported to our teacher,” said Masood Ahmed, a ninth-grade student who
spotted the bag.
A
teacher, on the condition of anonymity, said since the attack on Army Public
School in Peshawar, students had become more vigilant.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164140/vigilant-school-boys-help-foil-terror-bid
------------
TTP
financier killed in Swat operation
February 17th , 2015
ISLAMABAD:
Notorious militant and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) financier Bakhat Raj
alias Asadullah was killed in an intelligence-led operation in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa's Swat region on Tuesday.
A
security official, on condition of anonymity, told Dawn that Bakhat Raj
financed the group's terrorist activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Buner
district and the port city of Karachi.
Security
forces are carrying out intelligence-driven operations across Pakistan during
which a number of important militants have been rounded up.
Last
year in December, the Pakistan army decided to continue ‘intelligence-based
operations’ (IBOs) against militant targets throughout the country to pre-empt
terrorist attacks.
The
decision was taken at a meeting of Corps Commanders held at the General
Headquarters under the chairmanship of Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel
Sharif.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164182/ttp-financier-killed-in-swat-operation
------------
Pakistan
claims killing mosque attack mastermind
16
Feb 2015
The
mastermind behind a suicide bombing at a mosque in Sindh which killed 61 Shia
Muslims last month has been killed, a senior Pakistani official has told the
AFP news agency.
The
January 30 blast hit the mosque in the Shikarpur district of the southern
province of Sindh as hundreds of worshippers attended Friday prayers.
"We
have been chasing Usman Saifullah Kurd for a long time. We finally got him
yesterday and he was killed in the exchange of fire," Akbar Hussain
Durrani, home secretary of the southwestern province of Baluchistan where Kurd
was killed, told AFP on Tuesday.
"Kurd
was a key commander of the Sunni hardliner group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi [LeJ] and
was involved in the Shikarpur attack and many other major attacks in Sindh and
Baluchistan provinces, particularly against the Shia and Hazara communities,"
he added.
Durrani
said security forces received a tip that Kurd was having lunch at a restaurant
in the city of Quetta, Baluchistan's provincial capital, where the LeJ group is
particularly active.
"Kurd
and his accomplices fired at the forces when they entered the restaurant, and
in retaliation was killed along with another accomplice," he said.
Full
report at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/pakistan-claims-killing-mosque-attack-mastermind-150216064347957.html
------------
Mamnoon
urges African states to learn from Zarb-i-Azb
Syed
Irfan Raza
February 17th , 2015
ISLAMABAD:
President Mamnoon Hussain has advised African states to learn from Zarb-i-Azb
military operation to combat the rising threat of Daesh (Islamic State) and
other terrorist organisations.
He
also urged Asian and African countries to devise a joint strategy to deal with
the menace of terrorism.
The
president was talking to a delegation of the Karachi Council of Foreign
Relations, accompanied by the ambassadors/high commissioners of some African
countries, which had called on him on Monday at the presidency. The delegation
included the ambassadors of Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, Algeria and
Mauritania.
Also
read: Zarb-i-Azb to be completed by year-end: minister
He
said African countries could benefit from Pakistan’s experience of carrying out
a large-scale military operation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
The
president referred to a recent act of barbarism by the IS in Libya and offered
condolence for the 21 Egyptians who were beheaded.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164080/mamnoon-urges-african-states-to-learn-from-zarb-i-azb
------------
JI
wants open ballot in Senate polls
February 17th , 2015
LAHORE:
JI emir Sirajul Haq has opposed secret ballot in Senate polls to make the
electoral process transparent.
Talking
to the media after inquiring after a party leader at the Shaukat Khanum
Hospital here on Monday, he regretted various political parties preferred the
wealthy while awarding Senate tickets.
Also
a candidate for the Senate from KP, Mr Haq demanded transparent election
arrangements and public ballot.
Also
read: 184 candidates submit nomination papers for Senate elections: ECP
Referring
to Baldia Town tragedy, he said the nation was looking towards the prime
minister and the army chief for justice. He cautioned if the tragedy of the
burning to death of 259 factory workers was politicised, no one would believe
in the slogans for uprooting terrorism.
He
said if the PPP accepted the MQM as ally in the Sindh government just for the
sake of a few seats, it would mean the party was not serious in eliminating
terrorism because “with terrorists sitting on its side, the government cannot
wipe out the menace”.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164107/ji-wants-open-ballot-in-senate-polls
------------
Europe
ISIS
Sets Sights on Europe in Latest Beheading Video
Feb.
16, 2015
Brutal
killing of 21 seems an attempt to provoke retaliation
A
relative of one of the Egyptian Coptic Christians purportedly killed by ISIS
militants in Libya reacts after hearing the news on Feb. 16, 2015 in the
village of Al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya.
The
executioner speaks in English and points his knife toward the Mediterranean.
“We will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission,” he says.
The
video released by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) on Sunday
showing the killings of 21 Egyptian Christian workers, appeared to be directed
at the Christian world, the continent of Europe and gloried in its brutality.
It
was filmed in Libya on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The video made no
reference to the other powers in Libya’s civil war, in which both of the
country’s rival governments claim to be combating ISIS.
Full
report at:
http://time.com/3711022/isis-libya-copts/
------------
Britain
lacks strategy to fight the Islamic state in Iraq
14th
Feb 2015
ANTONIA
FILMER
The
House of Commons Defence Committee published their critical assessment of the
situation in Iraq and the UK's response to Daesh (ISIS), on 5 February. The
conclusion was that the UK was behind the curve in terms of intelligence,
on-site expertise in analysis and military contribution. Chairman Rory Stewart,
MP, said, "The nightmare of a jihadist state establishing across Syria and
Iraq has been realised. Daesh controls territory equivalent to the size of
UK... Yet the role the UK is playing in combating it is strikingly
modest."
The
Committee was shocked that the service chiefs were unable, or unwilling, to
state UK's objectives or strategic plan for Iraq. They were shocked to
understand that there were no experts with a profound comprehension of the
local tribes and the politics of Iraqi or Shia militia. It was discovered that
UK has so far conducted only 6% of air-strikes against Daesh and only three
military personnel were employed outside of the Kurdish regions of Iraq,
compared to 400 Australian, 300 Spanish, 280 Italians and 3,100 Americans.
Prime
Minister David Cameron has openly stated his resolve to use everything in his
power to defeat the ISIS. Despite playing a major role in Iraq earlier, Britain
ceased to sponsor Iraqi officer-training at Sandhurst in 2009 and closed the
British Consular General in Basra in 2011. By 2014, Iraq did not feature highly
in the priority scale for UK intelligence, with no defence section in
Kurdistan, no Department for International Development (DFID) office in Iraq,
and with the British embassy in Bagdad being staffed by three juniors.
Full
report at:
http://www.sunday-guardian.com/news/britain-lacks-strategy-to-fight-the-islamic-state-in-iraq
------------
Islamic
Group Wants To Name New Mosque In Moscow After Putin; Russian Muslims Complain
About Too Few Places Of Worship
February
16 2015
By Cristina Silva
A
Muslim group has sought permission to build a new mosque in Moscow and name it
after Russian President Vladimir Putin. The United Islamic Congress of Russia
has filed the request with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, a frequent critic of
Muslim immigrants, according to media reports.
Sobyanin
has said the "excessive" number of Muslim newcomers to Moscow was
"harmful" and that no new building permits for mosques would be
granted. “It has turned out that the praying Muslims are not at all Russian
citizens and they are not Moscow residents. They are labor migrants. There are
only 10 percent of Moscow residents among them and building mosques for
everyone who wants it – I think this will be over the top,” Sobyanin said in an
interview with Moscow's Echo radio in 2013.
He
continued: “Muscovites now get irritated by people who speak a different
language, have different manners, with aggressive behavior. This is not purely
ethnic, but this is connected with some ethnic traits."
Full
report at:
http://www.ibtimes.com/islamic-group-wants-name-new-mosque-moscow-after-putin-russian-muslims-complain-about-1817880
------------
IEA
says Middle East militancy poses ‘major challenge’ for oil
17
February 2015
The
rise of ISIS Iraq and Syria presents a major challenge for the investment necessary
to prevent an oil shortage in the next decade, the International Energy
Agency's (IEA's) top economist said on Tuesday.
While
the IEA has sounded warnings that Middle East crude production will need to
rise in the 2020s to meet predicted demand, Chief Economist Fatih Birol said
there remain "myopic" views about the need for investment at a time
when the fall in oil prices means energy companies are slashing new drilling.
U.S.
oil output from shale formations, while expected to rise in the short term even
with the cutbacks in drilling and investment, will not be enough to meet
demand. The traditional Middle East producers will need to meet the expected
rise in consumption, Birol said, with Iraq expected to contribute about 50
percent of the additional oil needed.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/energy/2015/02/17/IEA-says-Middle-East-militancy-poses-major-challenge-for-oil.html
----------
Europe
rebuffs Netanyahu’s call for Jews to move to Israel
17
February 2015
COPENHAGEN:
Danish Jews on Monday turned down an offer by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to emigrate to Israel following a deadly weekend attack on a
synagogue in Copenhagen.
“We’re
very grateful for Netanyahu’s concern but having said that, we are Danish —
we’re Danish Jews but we’re Danish — and it won’t be terror that makes us go to
Israel,” said a spokesman for the Jewish Community in Denmark, Jeppe Juhl.
“So
we understand his concern for our well-being, and we value his concern but we
are Danish and we’re staying in Denmark. If we move to Israel it’s for other
reasons,” he told AFP.
Netanyahu
on Sunday urged European Jews to move to Israel after a Jewish man was killed
outside Copenhagen’s main synagogue in one of two attacks in the city at the
weekend.
“Israel
is your home. We are preparing and calling for the absorption of mass
immigration from Europe,” Netanyahu said in a statement, repeating a similar
call after attacks by jihadis in Paris last month that killed 17 people
including four Jews.
Germany
said Monday it wants Jews to stay and promised to ensure their security
following the Danish attack.
Full
report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/705591
----------
Danish
intelligence knew gunman ‘at risk of radicalization’
17
February 2015
The
suspected gunman in two fatal shootings in Copenhagen was flagged up by prison
authorities as being at risk of becoming radicalised, the Danish intelligence
agency said Tuesday.
The
Prison and Probation Service reported in September that the 22-year-old was at
“risk of radicalisation”, while he was serving time for a stabbing, the
Security and Intelligence Service (PET) said in a statement.
However,
it added: “PET had, against the background of the alert from the Prison and
Probation Service no reason to believe that the now deceased 22-year-old
offender was planning attacks.”
The
suspected gunman, identified by the media as Omar El-Hussein, a Danish-born man
of Palestinian origin, was killed in a shootout with police on Sunday.
Full
report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/02/17/Danish-intelligence-knew-gunman-at-risk-of-radicalization-.html
----------
New
study provides unique insight in to Britain's Muslim Population
Feb
17, 20
It’s
been called a landmark report – and the most comprehensive study on Britain’s
Muslim population.
Looking
at data from the 2001 and 2011 census – that asked Britons their religion for
the very first time.
These
figures tell a story that provides unique insight in to Britain’s Muslim
population.
They
are a growing community. There were 1 and a half million British Muslims in
2001. And 2.7 million in 2011. But, while that has been used by the right wing
to scaremonger about a “Muslim takeover” that is simply not true. Muslims still
only make up only 4.8% of the UK population
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/17/397885/New-study-provides-unique-insight-in-to-Britains-Muslim-Population
------------
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
moving 2 Aussies, 5 other foreigners for execution
February
17 2015
Eight
convicted drug smugglers, including seven foreigners, will be transferred to an
Indonesian prison island this week for imminent execution despite international
appeals for clemency, an official said Monday.
Among
the eight are Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, the ringleaders of a
group of nine Australians arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8.3
kilograms (18.3 pounds) of heroin to Australia from the Indonesian resort
island of Bali. The seven other members of the group — dubbed the "Bali
Nine" by Australian media — have received prison sentences ranging from 20
years to life.
In
addition to Chan and Sukumaran, five men from France, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria
and Indonesia, and a woman from the Philippines, will face a firing squad after
being moved to Nusa Kambangan prison, Attorney General's Office spokesman Tony
Spontana said, without giving exact dates. Six other drug smugglers, including
five foreigners, were executed in January at the same prison, located off
Indonesia's main island of Java.
Indonesian
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has rejected appeals by Australia's
government for clemency for Chan and Sukumaran, and vowed not to grant mercy to
any other drug offenders because Indonesia is suffering a "drug
emergency."
Full
report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/17/indonesia-moving-2-aussies-5-other-foreigners-execution.html
------------
Indonesian
Muslim congress focuses on unity, pluralism
February
17, 2015
The
importance of religious unity and tolerance toward members of other faiths or
different sects highlighted the sixth Indonesian Muslims Congress (KUII) in
Yogyakarta last week.
The
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) organised the three-day meeting on Islam's place
within and outside the archipelago. It wrapped up February 11th and featured
speeches by leading Muslim clerics and scholars, as well as top officials from
the new national government .
Islam's
existence in Indonesia has served as a world model for harmonious society
because of how Muslims here can live and work with people of other faiths in
relative peace, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said at the February 9th opening.
"We
always feel proud as the largest Muslim country. Consequently, we should be
able to co-exist with the other [faiths] better than other nations do,"
Kalla said.
Two
days later at the congress, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo reiterated
that message, saying Indonesia has shown tolerance and mutual respect is strong
and that the nation always takes the middle ground.
Full
report at:
http://khabarsoutheastasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2015/02/17/feature-02
------------
Growing
European concerns about Muslim migrants
February
17 2015
For
the last couple of months, weekly anti-Muslim demonstrations have been taking
place in several German cities. Led by Pegida, the acronym for its German name
of Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of Europe, the protests began
in Dresden and have spread to other cities.
These
marches have attracted counter-protests that often outnumber the anti-Muslim
demonstrators. Oddly, only 0.5 per cent of Dresden’s population is Muslim. And
although a demo in Leipzig drew 25,000 marchers, the numbers have fallen since.
One reason is that the leader of the movement, Lutz Bachmann, was revealed to
be a closet neo-Nazi when a photograph of him with a Hitler moustache and
haircut surfaced.
Even
though many German Muslims are of Turkish origin who mostly speak German and
are fairly well integrated, it is the new wave of asylum seekers from Syria who
have caused alarm.
Full
report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/17/growing-european-concerns-about-muslim-migrants.html
------------
Lawmakers
Call for KPK Chief Abraham to Step Down
Feb 17, 2015
Jakarta.
The House of Representatives deputy speaker has called on Abraham Samad,
chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, to resign.
Fadli
Zon said Abraham — who was named a suspect by South Sulawesi Police on Tuesday
for allegedly forging state documents and by the National Police on accusation
of meddling in a legal case — should
stop work immediately.
“The
KPK law states that a commissioner should resign temporarily if he’s named
suspect in a case,” Faldi said. “The president then should issue a decree and
take the next step.”
Fadli
argued that Abraham’s status would disturb the work of Indonesia’s anti-graft
agency.
Abraham
has been named suspect for allegedly helping Feriyani Lim obtain a passport
illegally at the immigration office in Makassar, South Sulawesi, in 2007.
A
spokesman for the KPK said the agency respected the legal process and would
assist Abraham with legal aid.
Full
report at:
http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/lawmakers-call-kpk-chief-abraham-step/
------------
Africa
South
Sudan's warring forces 'recruiting children'
16
Feb 2015
South
Sudan government and rebel forces are both recruiting children as young as 13
to fight in the country's civil war, a rights group has said in a report
rejected by the government.
The
government is "actively recruiting" teenagers, often by force, while
rebels are also using child soldiers in the 14-month long conflict, said Human
Rights Watch (HRW).
"Despite
renewed promises by both government and opposition forces that they will stop
using child soldiers, both sides continue to recruit and use children in
combat," said HRW's Africa director Daniel Bekele.
Minister
for Information Michael Makuei dismissed the report, saying there were plenty
of men still able to fight.
"How
can we recruit child soldiers at a time when we have sufficient manpower?"
he told the AFP news agency. "We have no child soldiers."
But
HRW say that government forces are taking children, in some cases, such as in
the northern war-damaged town of Malakal, "from right outside the United
Nations compound".
Malakal,
in oil-rich Upper Nile State, has changed hands six times since the war started
in December 2013, and 21,000 civilians have sought shelter and safety behind
the UN's barbed-wire fences.
Full
report at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/south-sudan-warring-forces-recruiting-children-150216092513508.html
------------
Libya
air force chief says 50 killed in strikes
February
17, 2015
Libya’s
air force chief said Monday that at least 50 people had been killed in air
strikes by Egyptian and Libyan warplanes launched after jihadists beheaded a
group of Egyptian Christians.
There
was no way to independently confirm the claim made by Libyan air force chief
Saqr al-Jaroushi to Egyptian television.
Jaroushi
told the private CBC Extra broadcaster that Egyptian and Libyan warplanes had
struck Islamic State group targets in the country including bases and weapons
depots.
‘Egypt
has the right to defend its children and has struck in Derna.
The
number of those killed is at least 50,’ he told CBC Extra in response to a
question on the number of militants killed.
Egypt’s
military earlier said it had launched the strikes in Libya in response to a
video released by the jihadists showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Copts.
Jaroushi
said there is a ‘high level of coordination’ between Libyan and Egyptian
forces, especially regarding intelligence.
Full
report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/17-Feb-2015/libya-air-force-chief-says-50-killed-in-strikes
-----------
Central
Africa leaders plan Boko Haram offensive
17
Feb 2015
Leaders
from Central Africa have met in Cameroon to finalise plans for a military
offensive against Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
Representatives
of 10 nations met in the capital Yaounde on Monday under the aegis of the
Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and committed to spend
$86m to fight Boko Haram.
They
also urged the international community to provide more support to counter the
armed group.
Nigeria-based
Boko Haram has widened its attacks into neighbouring nations, notably Cameroon
and Chad, in a conflict estimated to have claimed 13,000 lives since 2009.
"This
session is historic because we must use it to respond to the barbaric actions
of the terrorist group Boko Haram," Hamid Alami, secretary-general of
ECCAS, said on Monday.
"This
terrorist group has the military and human resources of a conventional army,
but uses asymmetric methods, making the fight more complex and costly for
Cameroon and Chad."
The
aim of Monday's discussion was to come up with "an agreed solution"
on the fight against the group, a source close to the Cameroonian government
told the AFP news agency.
Nigeria
absent
Full
report at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/central-africa-leaders-plan-boko-haram-offensive-150217051646361.html
------------
Police
yet to identify African students’ attackers
VATSALA
SHRANG
4th
Oct 2014
Delhi
police is yet to identify and arrest any of the attackers involved in the
beating up of three African students, who allegedly molested a girl. Sources
said that the Delhi police could have had them in custody. But thanks to a
shoddy probe the attackers were let off. The police neither scanned the CCTV
footage nor recorded the African students' statements. The Embassies of Gabon
and Burkina Faso, West African countries where the students came from, have
already written to the Ministry of External Affairs demanding a probe. The
incident took place at the Rajiv Chowk Metro station a week ago.
An
investigating officer from the railway unit of the Delhi police said that the
incident took place when some youths were making fun of Mapaga (22), Yohan (22)
, both from Gabon, and Guira (20) from Burkina Faso and taking their
photographs in their camera phones. When they objected, the rowdy crowd started
alleging that they were drunk and passing lewd remarks at a woman commuting on
the same train.
Full
report at:
http://www.sunday-guardian.com/news/police-yet-to-identify-african-students-attackers
------------
A
tough choice in Nigerian elections
16 Feb
2015
Lagos,
Nigeria - Oluwaseyi Adepoju is a political man but he won't be voting in
Nigeria's elections, now slated for March 28 after being postponed.
There's
simply no good choice to be made, he said. And even if there were, he lost
faith in his country's political system long ago.
Leaning
forward, he pointed to a scar on his forehead. "You see this? This was
from the last election."
He
was working for the Independent National Electoral Commission in Lagos state
during the presidential vote in 2011, which was seen - by local standards - as
relatively free and fair.
There,
he was exposed first hand to the corruption of power-hungry party men, who
one-by-one came to him with "envelopes" in the hope of persuading
Adepoju to doctor the figures.
But
he couldn't be bought.
The
repayment was a beating by thugs, who attacked him on the street as votes were
being counted.
Full
report at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/02/tough-choice-nigerian-elections-150215134322835.html
------------
South Asia
Afghan
army launches major offensive against Taliban militants
Feb
17, 2015
Afghan
military forces have launched a major offensive against Taliban militants in
the southern province of Helmand, which is considered the militants’
stronghold.
The
Tuesday operation, code-named “Zolfiqar,” was the Afghan troops’ first major
offensive after US-led forces ended their combat mission in the war-torn
country in December last year.
“This
is a totally Afghan-planned and Afghan-led operation. It will continue until
success is achieved,” said General Abdul Khaliq, the commander of the
operation.
At
least 76 militants were killed on the first day of the operation in four
districts of Helmand, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said.
“This
is not the first and will not be the last operation against the Taliban and
their allies,” Defense Ministry spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said.
The
operation started a day after six policemen were killed in the Maiwand district
of Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan. They were lured by the Taliban
militants into an abandoned building, where the militants set off a bomb, and
were then fired on by the militants.
Full
report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/02/17/397965/Afghan-army-begins-antiTaliban-raid
------------
China
assumes leading role in Afghan reconciliation
17
February 2015
China
is set to make history by helping prevent neighbouring Afghanistan from sliding
into complete chaos after Western forces ended their combat mission in the
mountainous nation.
A
year after economic and security interests prompted China to assume a lead role
in Afghanistan's peace process, Beijing appears to be on the cusp of bringing
the Kabul government and its Taliban enemies to the negotiating table.
Recently,
a Chinese foreign minister publically offered to mediate in the stalled Afghan
peace negotiations.
"We
will support the Afghan government in realising reconciliation with various
political factions, including the Taliban," Wang Yi told journalists.
"China is ready to play a constructive role and will provide the necessary
facilitation at any time if required by various parties in Afghanistan."
In
a significant symbolic step, Wang made these comments during a visit to
Pakistan last week.
Full
report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164186/china-assumes-leading-role-in-afghan-reconciliation
----------
Bomb
hits vehicle in Afghan capital, wounds one: police
February 17th , 2015
KABUL:
A bomb attached to a vehicle wounded one person in Kabul early on Tuesday,
police said, breaking a recent lull in attacks in the Afghan capital.
Kabul
had been rocked by a string of bombings by insurgents late last year in the
run-up to the withdrawal of most foreign combat troops from Afghanistan after
13 years of war.
Read:
Taliban claim victory after British withdrawal from Afghanistan
A
suspected magnetic bomb attached to a 4-wheel-drive vehicle exploded in the
east of the city, Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said.
One
person was wounded in the blast, Rahimi said, but he did not give any details
about the person's identity.
The
blast was powerful enough to send a plume of dark smoke into the sky over
Kabul.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1164172/bomb-hits-vehicle-in-afghan-capital-wounds-one-police
------------
Khaleda,
13 others sued for Gulshan blast
February 17, 2015
BNP
Chairperson Khaleda Zia and 13 other BNP leaders and activists have been sued
for yesterday’s crude bomb attack on a procession led by the shipping minister
at Gulshan 2 in Dhaka.
A
labour leader, Ismail Hossain Bachchu, filed the case with Gulshan Police
Station last night accusing Khaleda of masterminding the attack, Khalid
Morshed, a sub-inspector of Gulshan Police Station, told The Daily Star.
Mohila
Dal General Secretary Shirin Sultana, Khaleda's Press Secretary Maruf Kamal
Khan, BNP chief’s Special Assistant Shimul Biswas have also been made accused
in the case, the SI said.
At
least eight people were hurt in a crude bomb blast when a procession, led by
Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, was marching towards Khaleda Zia's Gulshan
office yesterday to lay siege to it.
The
bomb went off at the tail of the procession around 12:20pm yesterday. Shajahan
led over 1,000 people towards Khaleda's office protesting the ongoing blockade
and hartals.
http://www.thedailystar.net/khaleda-13-others-sued-for-gulshan-blast-65276
------------
‘BNP-Jamaat
men’ torch 2 trucks in Moulvibazar
February 17th , 2015
Activists
of BNP and its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami allegedly torched two trucks in
Moulvibazar Sadar upazila today, on the third day of the 72-hour countrywide
hartal (shutdown).
They
set ablaze the vehicles in Kamalpur Bazar area around 6:05am, but none was hurt
during the sabotage, said Abdus Salek, officer-in-charge of Moulvibazar Sadar
Police Station.
Police
are yet to arrest anyone in this connection as the BNP and Jamaat men fled the
scene soon after the incident, the OC said.
On
information, a firefighting unit rushed to the spot and doused the flame. A
case was filed in this regard.
In
Dhaka, police picked up at least 16 BNP, Jamaat and Shibir men from different
parts of Dhaka on charges of plotting subversive activities in 24 hours till
9:00am today, according to a text message sent by Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
But
no incident of violence was reported from anywhere in the country till filing
the report around 11:30am.
Full
report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/bnp-jamaat-men-torch-2-trucks-in-moulvibazar-65264
------------
No
end in sight to ‘slow-burn’ Bangladesh turmoil
February
17, 2015
CHRISTIAN
OTTON - Twelve-year-old Rakib Mia was on his way to scavenge for his family
when a petrol bomb exploded on the floor of his bus in Bangladesh, turning him
into a human fireball.
“What
did he do to anyone?”, said his mother Rashida Khatun after watching her son
wheeled off for surgery at Dhaka’s main hospital, overflowing with victims of a
lethal standoff between government and opposition.
Full
report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/17-Feb-2015/no-end-in-sight-to-slow-burn-bangladesh-turmoil
------------
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/the-middle-east-red-with/d/101565