ISRAEL – Thousands of worshippers surge into Al-Aqsa mosque, 113 injured
JERUSALEM – Thousands of Muslim worshippers surged into Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque on Thursday and at least 113 were hurt in scuffles with police after Israel lifted security measures imposed at the sacred site in the face of days of violent protests. Chaotic scenes unfolded as Israeli police used stun grenades to try to control crowds […]
PAKISTAN – Fuel tanker inferno death toll tops 200
ISLAMABAD – The death toll from a lorry fire in Pakistan last week has risen sharply, with more than 200 people killed. The tanker carrying fuel burst into flames near Ahmedpur East on June 25. Villagers had gathered, reportedly to collect fuel leaking from the crashed tanker, when it caught fire. Dozens are being treated […]
IRAQ – Ruins retaken
MOSUL –– Iraqi security forces have recaptured the site of the destroyed Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul after driving back militants from so-called Islamic State. A BBC reporter who is embedded with troops says the complex is still exposed to sniper and mortar fire. Militants blew up the mosque and its landmark leaning minaret […]
IRAN – ‘US created ISIS’
TEHRAN –– Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has blamed the US for creating ISIS and fostering instability in the Middle East amid an ongoing crisis in the region. “That [the] US arms a terrorist group is what causes instability,” Khameini wrote on Twitter Monday. “Who created ISIS? The US!” He added that while US President […]
SYRIA – US-backed force launches assault on Raqqa
HUKOUMIYA – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Tuesday it had launched an operation to capture Raqqa, Islamic State’s de facto Syrian capital, piling pressure on the jihadists whose self-declared caliphate is in retreat across Syria and Iraq. SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Reuters the battle started on Monday and the fighting would […]
AFGHANISTAN – Deadly bomb blast
KABUL –– A powerful bomb hidden in a sewage tanker exploded in the morning rush hour in the centre of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, police said, killing at least 80 people, wounding hundreds and damaging embassy buildings. The victims appeared mainly to have been Afghan civilians. The bomb, one of the deadliest in Kabul and […]
ISRAEL – Israelis on edge
JERUSALEM – Only days before President Donald Trump visits Jerusalem, Israeli politicians describe an atmosphere of “nervousness” and “confusion.” One politician put it more bluntly. “No one has any idea what the plan is.” A changing schedule and shifting locations have made planning for the visit difficult. Trump was scheduled to give his keynote address […]
IRAN – Coal mine explosion traps up to forty miners
TEHRAN – Up to 40 miners remain trapped after an explosion in a coal mine in northern Iran, state television has reported. The IRTV1 channel said that there had been no news about the miners’ health. They are believed to be 1,800m underground at the Zemestan-Yurt mine, near Azadshahr in the northern province of Golestan. […]
Egypt’s Coptic churches hit by deadly blasts on Palm Sunday
Source: BBC Two blasts targeting Coptic Christians in Egypt on Palm Sunday have killed at least 45 people, officials say. In Alexandria, an explosion outside St Mark’s Coptic church killed 16 people. Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Church, had been attending Mass inside and was unhurt, state media reported. An earlier blast at […]