Another Drowned Toddler, a Four-Year-Old Syrian Girl, Washes up on Turkish Beach
An asylum seeker child waves good bye from a train going to Munich, to volunteers who helped them at Vienna's Westbahnhof train station in Vienna, Austria, September 6 2015.
Mideast
Another Drowned Toddler, a Four-Year-Old Syrian Girl, Washes up on Turkish Beach
Saudi Jets Kill 76 In Fresh Raids on Yemen
Shelling From Yemen Kills 3 in Saudi Border Region
Slovenia border police fire tear gas at migrants
Saudi Arabia Drops Cluster Bombs on Yemen Again
3 Saudi Soldiers Killed in Yemeni Retaliatory Attacks
Israeli aircraft strike Gaza after rocket fire
Israel ramps up security in Old Jerusalem
Saudi Military Equipment Destroyed in Ma'rib
Ground Force Commander Underlines Iran's Special Plans to Fight ISIL
NAM Condemns Israelis' Growing Violence, Incitement in East Jerusalem
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Arab World
Al-Qaeda's Syria Affiliate and Its Islamist Allies Execute 56 Regime Troops in Syria
Syrian Army, Hezbollah Advance in Zabadani Region, Kill over 13 Militants
Two ISIL Militants Killed in Iraqi Security Forces' Ambush in Diyala
Muslims flock to Haj despite deadly crane collapse
Russia sends jets to Syria, resumes U.S. military talks
Syrian warplanes attack ISIS-held Palmyra
Insurgents fired 370 rockets at two Syrian Shiite villages
Russia would ‘consider’ Syrian request for troops
Terrorists Acknowledge Heavy Casualties in Aleppo
Saudi Warplanes Bomb Home of Omani Ambassador in Sana'a
Saudi Arabia rejects UN report on death penalty
Iraqis hold demo in solidarity with PM’s reforms
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Europe
Imam Tells Muslim Migrants to 'Breed Children' With Europeans to 'Conquer Their Countries'
British Daesh Terrorist Rants about Angry, Rude, Lazy Arab ‘Brothers’
Croatia says cannot handle huge influx of refugees
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South Asia
15 Suspected Militants Killed In Tirah Strikes
Eight Policemen Martyred In Their Security Post in Zabul
I Am Threatened By Islamic Extremists, So I Have To Flee Bangladesh
Five killed in US drone strike in eastern Afghanistan
Desperate Afghans pin asylum hopes on Taliban threat letters
Pakistan to send high-powered delegation to Afghanistan to discuss anti-TTP actions
2 Bangladeshis killed in mortar attack from Yemen on Saudi hospital
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India
Ahmedabad Police Refers Muslim Dominated Area as 'Mini Pakistan' In FIR
India: Controversy as Hindu Calls for 2-Child Policy for Muslims
Gujarat: Muslim Delegation Requests Governor to Prevent Road Construction through Graveyard
Muzaffarnagar Riots End Hindu, Muslim Farmer Unity
Hizb ul Commander's Bullet-Riddled Body Recovered in Kashmir
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Pakistan
Altaf Must Ensure He Won’t Speak Against State: LHC
‘Pakistan Army Air Base Attack Was Planned From Afghanistan’
Pakistani among 7 Charged With Supporting ISIS in Germany
PAF base attackers wanted to engage troops in long gun battle
Peace in Afghanistan needed for ending violence, Pakistan tells UN
PAF camp attack case registered, owner of vehicle used in attack arrested
Terrorists were prevented from reaching their real target: DG ISPR
Imran Khan doesn't wish to see MQM, PPP united: Farooq Sattar
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Africa
IS Claims Attack on Tripoli Airport, 3 Killed
Nigeria Forces Purge Terrorists, Free 90 Captives
Rebels attack Somali army bases, retake town
Burkina Faso coup leaders release interim president
Daesh claims fatal attack on Mitiga Airport in Libya
Nigeria: WAEC Bows to Muslim Students' Presure, Adjusts Timetable
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Southeast Asia
Liberalism, Islam Can Coexist, Say Malaysian Muslim Groups
Hudud Makes Second-Class Citizens of Non-Muslims, Federal Christian Body Cautions
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North America
UNSC Urges Calm, Restraint at Al-Aqsa
US Urges Myanmar to Let Muslims Stand For Election
Ahmed Mohamed, the teen arrested for building clock, will not return to same school
Donald Trump declines to correct man who says Obama is Muslim
FBI: New York man tried to help and join Islamic State group
Muslims Must Counter Negative Image in US, Congressmen Say
The Canadian-Muslim Vote, other groups rallying Muslim voters
Edmonton's Muslim community urges Canada to open doors to more refugees
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Mideast
Another Drowned Toddler, A Four-Year-Old Syrian Girl, Washes up on Turkish Beach
18 September 2015
A four-year-old Syrian girl’s body washed up on a beach in western Turkey on Friday, state media said, just weeks after images of drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi shook the world.
The yet-to-be identified girl was found lifeless on a beach in the Aegean town of Cesme in Izmir province after a boat carrying 15 Syrians to the Greek island of Chios sank, the official Anatolia news agency said.
It said the Turkish coast guard rescued the remaining 14 Syrians, including eight children, from the inflatable boat. The girl appeared to be the only casualty.
Harrowing pictures of three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, whose body was found washed up on a Turkish beach after the boat carrying his family to the Greek island of Kos sank, caused an outpouring of emotion around the world, pressuring European leaders to step up their response to the refugee crisis.
But two weeks later EU members are still at odds over how to accommodate the tens of thousands of new arrivals.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Friday that the Turkish coast guard had rescued over 53,000 migrants from stricken boats since the beginning of the year.
He said around 274 migrants have lost their lives in Turkish waters this year seeking to leave the country by sea for Greece.
In the latest tragedy, 22 people who had left Turkey drowned on Tuesday when their wooden boat sank off Kos.
Migrants have in recent days turned to Turkey’s land borders with Greece and Bulgaria to avoid the sea voyage that has cost over 2,600 people their lives in the Mediterranean this year.
Several hundred refugees spent a third day camped in and around the Turkish border city of Edirne, which lies 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Greek border and is being promoted on social media as a safer route out of Turkey than sea journey in overcrowded dinghies.
Under an “open-door” policy championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has taken in 2.2 million Syrian refugees since the conflict in Syria erupted in 2011.
Kurtulmus said Turkey has so far spent almost $7 billion (6 billion euros) to provide for Syrian refugees.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/18/Another-drowned-toddler-washes-up-on-Turkish-beach-report.html
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Saudi Jets Kill 76 In Fresh Raids On Yemen
Sep 19, 2015
Unabated Saudi airstrikes have claimed the lives of at least 76 people, injuring around 130 others across the kingdom’s impoverished southern neighbour, Yemen.
Saudi jets pummelled the Yemeni capital Sana’a over Friday and Saturday, killing 35 people and injuring more than 120 others. Yemen's Saba Net news agency said the number of the victims could rise due to the intensity of the attacks.
The aircraft targeted the Yemeni Interior Ministry building, public services facilities and residential buildings in the city.
Yemeni workers look at a destroyed chocolate factory targeted by airstrikes in the capital, Sana’a, on September 17, 2015 (AFP photo).
Striking the Sirwah district in the Ma’rib province in west-central Yemen, Saudi planes killed four civilians and left a number of people wounded.
The kingdom’s warplanes attacked the Al Bayda province in southern Yemen, slaying a child and wounding two of the victim’s family members.
As many as 21 people were killed and two others wounded after the planes attacked a village in the north-western Yemeni province of Sa’ada. Saudi attacks also claimed the lives of 15 people and injured five others, targeting the province’s Bagim district
On March 26, Saudi Arabia began its aggression against Yemen – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to the country's fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
The conflict has so far left about 5,200 people dead and thousands of others wounded, the UN says. Local Yemeni sources, however, say the fatality figure is much higher.
The Yemeni al-Masirah TV network, meanwhile, reported that Yemen’s Army and popular committees had struck two Saudi military vehicles in Jizan, killing six Saudi military personnel and injuring a number of others.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/19/429819/Yemen-Saudi-Sanaa-Marib-Saada
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Shelling From Yemen Kills 3 In Saudi Border Region
18 September 2015
Shelling from across the border in Yemen killed three people in Saudi Arabia Friday and wounded 28, the civil defence agency said.
The agency described the deceased as residents of the Saudi border district of Jazan, while Saudi news channel Al-Ekhbaria said they were foreigners.
The civil defence added that four Saudis were among the wounded, without giving the nationalities of the others.
Al-Ekhbaria showed pictures of blast-damaged cars and shrapnel-punctured walls.
The attack brings to at least 64 the number of people killed in Saudi Arabia from border shelling and skirmishes since a Saudi-led coalition began a campaign against Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen six months ago.
Most of the border casualties have been soldiers.
The latest shelling came as local anti-militia fighters backed by Gulf Arab ground troops from the coalition pressed their offensive in Yemen.
The want to push the militias out of Marib province and eventually move on the capital, which the militias seized last year.
Riyadh formed the alliance in March, to support exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, in response to fears that the Houthis would take over all of Yemen and move it into the orbit of Sunni Saudi Arabia’s Shiite regional rival Iran.
The United Nations says nearly 4,900 people, including a vast number of civilians, have been killed in Yemen since late March.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/18/Shelling-from-Yemen-kills-3-in-Saudi-border-region-.html
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Slovenia Border Police Fire Tear Gas At Migrants
19 September 2015
Slovenian police used tear gas late on Friday to disperse a group of migrants on its border as the country’s government said it was considering opening safe corridors for refugees to pass through the tiny Alpine country.
The incident happened at the Harmica border crossing as several hundred migrants demanded to be allowed to enter Slovenia.
After over an hour of tension, riot police used tear gas to stop migrants, some with children, that were pushing against a police cordon at a bridge on the border.
The clash happened just hours after Prime Minister Miro Cerar announced Slovenia might consider the creation of safe corridors for refugees wanting to reach northern Europe if they continue arriving in large numbers.
Migrants react after pepper spray was used in a small village of Rigonce in Slovenia. (AFP)
“If the pressure of refugees (on the borders) becomes too strong, Slovenia will certainly discuss... possible so-called corridors with all the countries that might be concerned,” Cerar said in a statement after a meeting of the country’s National Security Council.
The Slovenian authorities on Friday registered over 1,000 refugees that had entered the country while more than 700 were still at the Obrezje border crossing, 20 kilometres (13 miles) east of Croatian capital Zagreb, waiting to be allowed in.
“New refugees continuously arrive so it is very hard to have exact figures,” Slovenian police spokeswoman Alenka Drenek told AFP.
On Thursday Slovenia suspended all railway traffic with Croatia after a group of some 150 migrants tried to enter the country on a train bound for Zurich in Switzerland.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/19/Slovenia-border-police-fire-tear-gas-at-migrants-.html
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Saudi Arabia Drops Cluster Bombs on Yemen Again
Sep 19, 2015
Saudi fighter jets attacked residential areas in Baqim district in Sa’ada with cluster munitions, Yemen’s al-Masirah TV reported on Friday night.
There are no immediate reports on the number of casualties or the extent of damage to properties.
Meanwhile, Saudi air raids killed at least 34 civilians, mostly women and children, and wounded scores of others in the province.
Saudi warplanes also launched 20 airstrikes on the capital Sana’a, where 19 people were killed and at least 100 others were injured. The Saudis also carried out eight more air raids on a prison in the province of Bayda.
Earlier on Friday, the airstrikes also targeted a military base in the East and a broadcaster building in the North of the capital.
Saudi airborne assaults further struck positions in the Yemeni province of Ibb, killing and injuring several civilians.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000327
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3 Saudi Soldiers Killed in Yemeni Retaliatory Attacks
Sep 19, 2015
Three soldiers were killed and 28 others were injured in the Saudi province of Jizan, reports said Friday. The Saudi civil defense agency confirmed the casualties.
Also on Friday, the Yemeni army, backed by popular committees, seized several Saudi military bases in the kingdom’s Southwestern region of Asir.
The video footage released by Yemen's al-Masirah television network on Friday showed Yemeni forces advancing into Saudi military bases in the region, destroying the vehicles and equipment of the Saudi army.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000357
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Israeli aircraft strike Gaza after rocket fire
19 September 2015
Israel carried out air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Saturday after Palestinian militants there fired rockets into southern Israel.
The overnight air strikes targeted two training camps belonging to the Islamist group Hamas, causing no injuries, officials and witnesses said.
Late on Friday, Gaza militants had fired at least two rockets into Israel. One struck a town, damaging a bus but causing no injuries. A second was shot down by a missile defense system.
A Palestinian group that supports the group ISIS claimed responsibility for one of the rockets fired at Israel.
The cross-border violence came as tension remained high in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where Israeli security forces and Palestinians have clashed over the past week.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/19/Israeli-aircraft-strike-Gaza-after-rocket-fire.html
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Israel ramps up security in Old Jerusalem
18 September 2015
Israel deployed hundreds of extra police around the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday after Palestinian leaders called for a 'day of rage' to protest at new Israeli security measures and the U.N. calling for restraint and calm.
Around 800 extra police were posted in the heart of the city and adjacent Arab neighborhoods, where tensions have been high for the past week, following violent clashes at al-Aqsa Mosque and stone-throwing attacks by Palestinians against Israeli cars.
The focus of tension is the compound housing al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock, one of the holiest places in Islam. Jews refer to the area as Temple Mount, where an ancient Jewish temple once stood. It is the most sacred place in Judaism.
“The Israeli police have heightened security in and around Jerusalem and the Old City in order to prevent and respond to any incidents that could take place,” said spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, adding that undercover units had been deployed.
In an effort to limit the threat of violence, Israel also banned access to al-Aqsa for all men under 40 on Friday, the Muslim holy day. But rather than putting a cap on unrest, the restrictions risked further fuelling anger and frustration.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/18/Israel-ramps-up-security-in-Jerusalem-s-Old-City.html
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Saudi Military Equipment Destroyed in Ma'rib
Sep 19, 2015
According to FNA dispatches, the Yemeni forces destroyed the seven tanks and military equipment in Jafineh district in Southern Ma'rib on Friday.
A military source said the Yemeni army forced the Saudi-backed mercenaries to retreat from the al-Maqhawi hill and al-Tabab, killing a group of them.
The source further said that the Yemeni forces destroyed 56 Saudi armored vehicles and military equipment in the past 4 days.
Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 178 days now to restore power to Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 6,012 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000628
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Ground Force Commander Underlines Iran's Special Plans to Fight ISIL
Sep 19, 2015
"The Iranian Armed Forces will not be surprised at all and we have plans to fight against the ISIL," Pourdastan said, addressing a ceremony in the Southwestern province of Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad province on Friday.
He assured the Iranian nation that the ISIL terrorist group is not able to threaten the country at all, and said, "We will powerfully make anyone who threatens the country regret his/her deeds."
Pourdastan also stressed that Iranian experts analyze the slightest moves made at borders and by foreign warships in the Indian Ocean and nearby regions, adding that the Armed Forces' defensive capacities are increased based on these analyses.
In relevant remarks in June, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour underlined security along the country’s borders, and said that the Takfiri terrorists were unable to pose a threat to Iran.
"The ISIL is not seen as a threat to the Islamic Republic of Iran," Pakpour told FNA.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran's Armed Forces don’t allow such threats to form and the IRGC makes its utmost efforts with full courage to defend the Islamic Republic of Iran and we are not at all concerned about an ISIL threat," he added.
Also in June, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi underlined that the ISIL was not able to even approach Iran's borders.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000448
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NAM Condemns Israelis' Growing Violence, Incitement in East Jerusalem
Sep 19, 2015
"NAM calls for respect for the rights of Muslim worshipers at Al-Haram Al-Sharif to worship in peace, free from violence, threats and provocations," NAM underscored in a statement on Friday.
Hereunder is the full text of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, in its capacity as Chair of the Coordinating Bureau (CoB) of the Non-Aligned Movement (CoB-NAM), on the situation in the Occupied East Jerusalem in its meeting held on 18 September 2015:
Statement by the coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on the situation in the Occupied East Jerusalem:
1. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) expresses its grave concerns regarding the recent disturbing developments in Occupied East Jerusalem due to illegal policies and measures that continue to be pursued by Israel, the occupying Power, ongoing provocations and incitement by Israeli religious extremists, including settlers, particularly in and around holy sites, including at Al-Aqsa Mosque at Al-Haram Al-Sharif compound, and all acts of aggression against the Palestinian civilian population.
2. The Movement strongly condemns the acts of violence and the provocations and incitement by Israeli occupying forces and extremists at this sensitive holy site, which threaten to further destabilize the already-fragile situation with far-reaching consequences. NAM calls for full respect for the sanctity of AI-Haram Al-Sharif and for the historic status quo and arrangements at this holy site by all parties. NAM calls for respect for the rights of Muslim worshipers at Al-Haram Al-Sharif to worship in peace, free from violence, threats and provocations.
3. NAM further calls for full respect of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, and for respect of the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions in this regard. The Movement recalls the determination by the Security Council that all measures by Israel, the occupying Power, which are aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 are illegal, are null and void and must be rescinded and ceased forthwith. NAM reaffirms that East Jerusalem remains an integral part of the Palestinian Territory occupied by Israel since 1967, whose illegal annexation by Israel has been rejected and remains unrecognized by the international community.
4. NAM also reaffirms in this connection its firm rejection and strong condemnation of all Israeli settlement activities and colonization policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and reiterates its call for the immediate cessation of all such illegal Israeli actions and the cessation of the provocative, reckless declarations that continue to be made by Israeli government officials and religious leaders in this regard.
5. NAM reiterates that Israel's settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, constitute grave violations of international law, including humanitarian law, relevant United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and the July 2004 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice. NAM deplores that Israel's settlement colonization measures have severely fragmented the contiguity of the Palestinian land and gravely undermined the viability of the two-State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders and the prospects for achieving peace on that basis. NAM reiterates its calls for an immediate and complete halt to all Israeli settlement colonization activities, including the construction of settlements and the wall, the confiscation of Palestinian land, the destruction of Palestinian homes and properties, the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, the transfer of Israeli settlers, and the exploitation of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which continue to be perpetrated in grave breach of international law. The Movement also condemns all acts of violence, terror, provocation and incitement against Palestinian civilians, including children, and acts of destruction and vandalism of Palestinian properties and land by Israeli settlers and calls for the perpetrators of these crimes to be brought to justice.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000596
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Arab World
Al-Qaeda's Syria Affiliate and Its Islamist Allies Execute 56 Regime Troops in Syria
September 19, 2015
DAMASCUS: Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate and its Islamist allies have executed at least 56 regime troops at a military airport they recently seized in the northwest, a monitoring group said Saturday.
Al-Nusra Front and the Islamists shot dead the regime fighters, who were being held as prisoners, “execution-style” inside the Abu Duhur airport, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said the killings in Idlib province had occurred earlier this week but his monitoring group — which gathers news from sources on the ground — confirmed them on Saturday.
Al-Nusra is a leading member of an alliance of jihadist and Islamist forces called the “Army of Conquest” that overran the Abu Duhur military airport on September 9.
When it overran the airbase, the Army of Conquest killed dozens of regime loyalists and took others captive. The powerful coalition has seized almost all of Idlib province except for Fuaa and Kafraya, two regime-controlled villages inhabited by Shiite Muslims.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1208017/al-qaeda-executes-56-regime-troops-in-syria
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Syrian Army, Hezbollah Advance in Zabadani Region, Kill over 13 Militants
Sep 19, 2015
The sources said that the Syrian army’s 42nd and 63rd Brigades of the 4th Mechanized Division, Hezbollah force, the Palestine Liberation Army (PLA), the National Defense Forces (NDF), and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), launched a massive attack against Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and Al-Nusra Front in al-Nabua district.
Not long after the clashes in al-Nabua began, the rebels of Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army found themselves nearly surrounded by the encroaching Hezbollah and Syrian army soldiers; this resulted in the rebel fighters having to completely withdraw from al-Nabua.
The sources said that recapturing of al-Nabua left a total of 13 militants killed and several more wounded.
Earlier this month, Israel attacked a position of the Syrian army in Zabadani that was used by government and Hezbollah's joint troops to pound terrorists.
The Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes against an artillery position of the Syrian Army near the town of Zabadani, around 45 km (28 miles) from Syria's capital Damascus, a military source said at the time.
"The Israeli Air Force planes carried out airstrikes at an artillery position belonging to the Syrian army," the source said. "The artillery was used by the army to repel attacks from militants in the Eastern part of Zabadani."
The source added that terrorists attacked Syrian army positions on the East side of Zabadani on September 10. The Syrian military, supported by the artillery shelling, managed to repel the attack after a three-hour battle.
After the Israeli Air Force carried out the airstrike, militants reportedly launched a second assault attempt, also repelled by the government's forces, according to the source.
On September 6, military sources said that the Syrian Army and the Hezbollah, in their mop-up operations in Zabadani, uncovered one of the largest supply tunnels of rebel groups in Zabadani area.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000336
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Two ISIL Militants Killed in Iraqi Security Forces' Ambush in Diyala
Sep 19, 2015
“The Iraqi forces in an ambush in the depth of the Hamrin Mountains (90 km North of Baqubah), at the border between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, killed two members of the ISIL,” Sadiq Hosseini said.
In August, a local official in the Eastern Diyala province said that the Iraqi security forces targeted a bomb-manufacturing workshop of the ISIL Takfiri terrorists in the Northeastern side of Baqubah.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000686
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Muslims flock to Haj despite deadly crane collapse
September 19, 2015
Lynne al-Nahhas - Pilgrims from around the world have begun massing in Saudi Arabia for the Haj, one of the biggest gatherings on the planet, undeterred by a crane collapse that killed 108 people at Islam’s holiest site.
More than 1.
2 million faithful have already arrived for the Haj, which begins on Tuesday against a backdrop of increased ‘jihadi’ violence, a surge of the deadly MERS virus and with the kingdom at war in Yemen.
From all races and ages, they flocked into the Grand Mosque, where they prayed - some silently in tears and others loudly in groups carrying their countries’ flags.
The Haj is among the five pillars of Islam and every capable Muslim must perform the pilgrimage at least once.
Previously marred by stampedes and fires that killed hundreds, it had been largely incident-free for the past decade after safety improvements.
But on September 11, during severe winds, a construction crane toppled into a courtyard of the Grand Mosque.
Saudis, Iranians, Nigerians, Malaysians, Indonesians and Indians were among the dead.
About 400 more people were injured, but it has not stopped pilgrims carrying out their rituals.
“Do you see the number of people here? Do you think they are fearful? It is quite the opposite.
People here have faith in God and perceive those that died as martyrs,” said Amin al-Rahman of Bangladesh.
The crane was one of several on a multi-billion-dollar expansion to accommodate increasing numbers of faithful.
With another million pilgrims expected for the Haj, King Salman acted swiftly to sanction the developer, Saudi Binladin Group.
Samira Abdulwahab, a pilgrim from Sudan who had just finished circling the Kaaba, which all Muslims face to pray, called the Grand Mosque “the safest place in the world”.
The Kaaba is now barely visible amid the surrounding construction works.
Tawaf is a ritual of the pilgrimage performed by the white-clad pilgrims who come from all over the world.
Fears of IS recruitment
While the pilgrims will not notice it, they are arriving in a country at war.
Since March, the kingdom has led an Arab coalition conducting air strikes and supporting local forces in Yemen against Huthi rebels.
Hundreds of kilometres south of the Muslim holy cities of Makkah and Medina, at least 61 Saudi soldiers and civilians have been killed since March in shelling and skirmishes on the Saudi frontier with Yemen.
Thousands more people have died inside Yemen.
Tehran and Riyadh also support opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, but political differences have not stopped Iran’s pilgrims from arriving for Haj.
This year’s pilgrimage coincides with a refugee crisis in Europe after millions of asylum seekers, most of them Muslim, fled wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Islamic State group, which has carried out widespread atrocities, has seized swathes of Syria and Iraq.
IS has also killed dozens of people this year in bombings at mosques in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Kuwait.
Ahmed Nour, a Syrian living in the port city of Jeddah, said there were worries about the threat from the Huthis as well as IS.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/19-Sep-2015/muslims-flock-to-haj-despite-deadly-crane-collapse
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Russia sends jets to Syria, resumes U.S. military talks
19 September 2015
Russia has sent fighter jets to Syria, U.S. officials said, raising the stakes in a military buildup that has put Washington on edge and led Friday to the first talks between U.S. and Russian defense chiefs in over a year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, eyeing the possibility of rival U.S. and Russian air operations in Syria’s limited airspace, agreed in a call with his Russian counterpart to explore ways to avoid accidental military interactions.
The coordination necessary to avoid such encounters is known in military parlance as “deconfliction.”
“They agreed to further discuss mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-ISIL campaign,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said after the call, referring to the campaign by the U.S. and its allies against ISIS militants.
The former Cold War foes have a common adversary in ISIS militants in Syria, even as Washington opposes Moscow’s support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, seeing him as a driver in the nation’s devastating, four-and-a-half-year civil war.
A senior U.S. defense official, recounting details of the conversation, said Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had described Moscow’s activities in Syria as defensive in nature.
Shoigu said Russia’s military moves “were designed to honor commitments made to the Syrian government,” the U.S. official said.
It was unclear, however, what those commitments to Syria are or how Russia’s military buildup was relevant to them.
Russia’s latest deployment to Syria
Russia’s latest deployment has added significant airpower to a buildup that, according to U.S. estimates, also includes helicopter gunships, artillery and as many 500 Russian naval infantry forces at an airfield near Latakia.
One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said four tactical Russian fighter jets were sent to Syria. Another U.S. official declined to offer a number but confirmed the presence of multiple jets.
U.S. ‘common ground’ with Russia
In London, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States was looking to find “common ground” with Russia.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/19/Russia-sends-jets-to-Syria-resumes-U-S-military-talks.html
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Syrian warplanes attack ISIS-held Palmyra
18 September 2015
Syrian warplanes unleashed a wave of deadly airstrikes on the militant-held town of Palmyra in central Syria on Friday, killing at least 15 and wounding many more, activists said, in some of the heaviest bombardment since the extremist group seized the ancient town May 10.
The Palmyra airstrikes come a day after the Syrian army carried out heavy air raids in the northern city of Raqqa, also held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria group (ISIS).
A local activist who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons reported at least 30 air raids on Palmyra Friday. A local media collective called the strikes a “massacre” and said 15 people were killed and more than 120 wounded. It said Palmyra’s only hospital was suffering severe shortages in staff and equipment, and some of the wounded had to be taken to Raqqa, more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) away.
It did not say if those killed were civilians or ISIS fighters. However the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a number of ISIS militants were among those killed.
The Syrian government says it is the leading force fighting ISIS in Syria and Russia, a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad, is trying to convince the West of the need to work with Syria in this effort.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/2015/09/18/Activists-Syrian-warplanes-attack-IS-held-Palmyra.html
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Insurgents fired 370 rockets at two Syrian Shiite villages
18 September 2015
Insurgents detonated at least five car bombs and fired 370 rockets at two Shiite villages in northwestern Syria on Friday, a monitor said, in a new assault on besieged government-held areas.
An alliance of insurgent groups, including al-Qaeda's al-Nusra Front, attacked al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, an area bordering Turkey that is mostly held by insurgents after rebel advances this year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Thousands of civilians have been living under siege in the two villages, which are still held by government forces.
Fierce clashes raged between the government forces and insurgents of the "Army of Conquest", a coalition of groups that includes Nusra Front and the powerful Ahrar al-Sham, the Observatory said. The number of casualties was not immediately clear.
Warring sides agreed to a brief ceasefire last month in the two villages and in Zabadani, a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border under siege by government forces and by Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, a Damascus ally.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/18/Insurgents-attack-two-Syrian-Shi-ite-villages-with-5-car-bombs-370-rockets-.html
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Russia would ‘consider’ Syrian request for troops
18 September 2015
Moscow would consider any request from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to send troops, as Washington frets over an alleged Russian military buildup in the war-torn country, a spokesman said on Friday.
In response to comments by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied reports that Russian combat troops were fighting with Syrian troops, but said Syria would ask for Russia’s help if needed.
If such a request is made, it will be “discussed and considered,” Peskov said.
Amid U.S. concerns over an ongoing Russian military buildup in Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday urged Washington and its allies to engage the Syrian government as a “partner” in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.
Peskov added: “But it is difficult to talk about this hypothetically.”
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/09/18/Russia-would-consider-Syrian-requests-for-troops.html
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Terrorists Acknowledge Heavy Casualties in Aleppo
Sep 19, 2015
The army clampdown on the terrorist organizations continued on Friday, inflicting great loss and damage on the terrorists by carrying out intensive operations against their hideouts and positions across Syria.
Also in the past 24 hours, an army unit destroyed an armored vehicle and a mortar launcher used by members of the Jaish al-Islam terrorist organization and killed a number of terrorists, including Abdelrahman al-Ajwah, Ghafir Abu Shanab, and Ghassan al-Wadi in al-Ajami neighborhood in Harasta.
Sources said that army units targeted terrorists’ hideouts and movements in the farms of Harasta, al-Samadi, and al-Maqale’a in the Western outskirts of Touma, which left a number of terrorists dead and injured.
In Aaliya farms at the Northern outskirts of Douma city, the army eliminated terrorists Abdelwahab al-Sedeeq and Juma’a Iskaf AKA Abu al-Yama, who were two leaders in Jaish al-Islam.
Army operations also resulted in destroying terrorists’ hotspots in al-Makaser and al-Hajjariye neighborhoods and around the municipal stadium in Douma city, killing a number of terrorists, including Sameer Taha, Hassan Fleitani, Kherieddin al-Oyoun, Mohammad Qaqish, Anas al-Nahhas, Kassem Aibour, Radwan al-Hendawi, and Abdullah al-Basha.
Also in Lattakia, a number of terrorists were killed in army airstrikes that targeted their gatherings in Salma area, Irra, Kitf al-Ghanme, Tallet al-Mallouheh and Tallet al-Rashwan in the countryside of Lattakia province, according to a military source.
Ali al-Sheikh Asaad, Obada Shaqra, Rafiq Abbas, Wassim Zakariya and Rafiq Shafiq Bitar were identified among the dead.
Army’s air force targeted terrorists’ dens in Rweisit al-Tanbour and Jub al-Ahmar in Lattakia, killing many terrorists, injuring others and destroying their vehicles, weapons and ammunition.
Army units killed and injured scores of ISIL terrorists and destroyed their weapons and ammunition near the army air force academy, East of Aleppo city on Friday.
The army also targeted terrorists’ hideouts and gatherings in al-Sfeira, Bulat, Traidam, Tal Rayman and near al-Neirab Airport.
In the Southwestern countryside, the army killed scores of terrorists and destroyed their vehicles in Khan al-Assal, Khan Touman and in the neighborhoods of al-Rashidin, al-Lairamon, Bani Zaid, Karm al-Jabal, al-Ramouseh, Saladin, al-Shaar, al-Firdous, al-Kallaseh and al-Mashdad.
Meanwhile, terrorists- affiliated social media pages confessed that about 47 of their terrorists were killed in a number of areas in Aleppo province.
Also in Idlib, the Syrian Arab Army’s Air Force eliminated many terrorists from Jaish al-Fateh and destroyed their vehicles, artillery and mortar launchers in Tal Toucan, Taftanaz, and Bannesh in in the surroundings of al-Fou’a and Kefraya towns in Idlib countryside.
Earlier, the Air Force launched strikes against terrorists’ dens and gatherings in Abu al-Dohour, Southeast of Idlib city.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000233
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Saudi Warplanes Bomb Home of Omani Ambassador in Sana'a
Sep 19, 2015
According to the Arabic-language Saba News Agency, a Yemeni security official said Saudi warplanes bombed the districts of al-Nahdin and al-Sabin in Sana'a on Friday night.
The airstrikes seriously damaged the Omani ambassador's home and nearby houses in al-Sabin district.
Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 178 days now to restore power to Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 6,012 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940628000425
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Saudi Arabia rejects UN report on death penalty
19 September 2015
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia has rejected a report from the United Nations secretary-general urging countries to scrap the death penalty, stating that this was punishment approved under Islamic law to protect the rights of victims.
The UN report was issued recently at a Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva. Faisal Trad, Saudi ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the Kingdom had every right to define its own laws.
“Saudi Arabia is an Islamic state, fully sovereign, and is proud that Islamic law is the basis of the country’s constitution. Islam ensures justice and protects the rights of all without discrimination, in addition to the right of life for all. The death penalty is a legal measure to protect the right to life and interests of the community,” he said.
He said articles five to 19 of the report supported the views of countries that had scrapped capital punishment. “The report, unfortunately, did not include any views from countries that believe this punishment is an integral part of measures to achieve justice and protect the rights of victims,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/808596
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Iraqis hold demo in solidarity with PM’s reforms
Sep 19, 2015
Dozens of Iraqis have held an anti-corruption demonstration to express their support for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s planned reforms aimed at uprooting graft and mismanagement in the violence-hit Arab state.
Protesters gathered at the Tahrir Square of the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad on Friday, demanding the implementation of Abadi’s proposed changes to the country’s political system intended to improve living standards and increase accountability.
Shouting slogans, the demonstrators also expressed their dissatisfaction with what they called poor public services, especially power cuts and water shortages.
A banner was hanging high at the venue, reading, “Bread, Freedom, Civil Country, Social Justice.”
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/19/429815/Iraq-Baghdad-Haider-Abadi-Reforms-
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Europe
Imam Tells Muslim Migrants to 'Breed Children' With Europeans to 'Conquer Their Countries'
18 September 2015
A top Iman has told Muslims to use the migrant crisis to breed with European citizens and 'conquer their countries'.
Sheikh Muhammad Ayed gave the speech at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem claiming Europe was only welcoming refugees as a new source of labour.
He said Europe was facing a demographic disaster and urged Muslims to have children with westerners so they could 'trample them underfoot, Allah willing.'
'Throughout Europe, all the hearts are enthused with hatred toward Muslims. They wish that we were dead, but they have lost their fertility, so they look for fertility in our midst,' Infowars reports.
In the full video, he said Americans, Italians, Germans and the French will be forced to take refugees.
Full report at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3240295/Imam-tells-Muslim-migrants-breed-children-Europeans-conquer-countries-vows-trample-underfoot-Allah-willing.html
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British Daesh Terrorist Rants about Angry, Rude, Lazy Arab ‘Brothers’
19 September 2015
LONDON: Omar Hussein has been quite busy since he left his native Britain at age 27. As the BBC noted, the former supermarket security guard defended beheadings after the murder of hostage James Foley and appeared in a propaganda video inciting British Muslims to “rise up” and “cause terror in the hearts of infidel communities.”
But though Hussein may seem lending a hand in Daesh’s attempt to establish a caliphate in Syria and Iraq evidently has a downside: fellow fighters borrowing cellphone chargers without permission. This was among many complaints Hussein, one of at least 700 Brits who have joined the extremist group, had about his service with the men in black — specifically, the “Arabs” among them.
Hussein’s lengthy complaint, titled “Culture Clash: Understanding The Syrian Race,” was posted on his blog under his nom de guerre Abu Saeed al Britani, as the BBC first reported. In more than 6,000 words, the bizarre rant took aim at “Arabs” and “Syrians” for, among other charges, their alleged shoe-stealing, lack of respect for personal space, bad dining habits and “childish behaviour.”
Then there was the cell phone problem. Sure, disputes about chargers sometimes arise in workplaces and dorm rooms. But they also turn up on the front lines of international jihad.
“They see no issue in unplugging your mobile phone to charge their own phone,” Hussein wrote. “Even if it’s your own charger, they would casually take your phone off charge to charge their own phone, even if there is no real need for them to charge their phone at that current time.”
Hussein’s Miss Manners-style essay started out magnanimously. But then Hussein turned into a bit of a Felix Unger — more specifically, a Felix Unger who is annoyed by Arabs. “Arabs as a whole have a unique culture, which differs dramatically from the western lifestyle,” Hussein wrote. “If one is unaware of these cultural differences, then it could be quite peculiar, annoying, and at times somewhat stressful to interact and associate with them.”
Arabs go through other people’s property without their permission, Hussein noted. “Arabs in general do not know where the red line is in giving another brother his space, and this is in their culture, maybe because they see this as a form of strong brotherhood,” he wrote. “Whatever the reason it’s annoying so patience is required.”
In the Levant, it seems, funny business is welcome — but not too much. “Sometimes it may get quite hard to hold a civilized conversation with a Syrian man, one minute he’s listening to you speak and the next he’s playing around with the other Syrian brother standing next to him,” Hussein wrote. “There is a time for being serious and a time for being childish and joking around. However the line between the two is somewhat hard for our Syrian brothers to judge.”
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/middle-east/news/808171
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Croatia says cannot handle huge influx of refugees
Sep 18, 2015
Officials in Croatia have announced that the Eastern European country is buckling under the flood of thousands of refugees who have entered the country on their path to reach Western Europe, asking newcomers to go to neighboring Hungary or Slovenia instead.
Speaking at a news conference in the border town of Tovarnik on Friday, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic said that his country could no longer cope with the trend, and that asylum seekers could not stay.
‘Welcome to Croatia! (Make sure you leave, though!)’
“What else can we do? You are welcome in Croatia and you can pass through Croatia. But go on. Not because we don’t like you, but because this is not your final destination,” Milanovic said.
The premier also called upon the 28-member European Union (EU) to step in and help, saying, “We have a heart but we also have a brain.”
Earlier in the day, Zagreb began transporting hundreds of refugees to the border with Hungary.
Refugees wait to board a train at the railway station in the village of Ilaca, near the Eastern-Croatian town of Tovarnik in border area between Serbia and Croatia, September 17, 2015. (Photo by AFP)
However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto slammed Croatia for encouraging the asylum seekers to illegally cross the border to his country.
“Instead of helping people, Croatia is encouraging masses and masses of people to commit a criminal offence – illegal crossing of the border is a criminal offense,” Szijjarto told a news conference.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said the first phase of a 41-kilometer (25-mile) barrier on the border with Croatia will be completed on Friday.
He said as many as 1,800 soldiers and 800 police will be being sent to the border with Croatia over the next days to bar refugee entries.
The developments come only two days after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “shocked” by Hungary’s actions, saying people “fleeing war and persecution... must be treated with human dignity.”
Top refugee spot
The Slovenian Interior Ministry also said on Friday that the nation of 2.05 million has no basis on which it would allow a corridor for refugees en route to Western Europe.
A man passes a child over to a police officer as they direct refugees onto buses at the train station in the city of Tovarnik, close to the Croatian-Serbian border, September 17, 2015. (Photo by AFP)
“At the moment, we have no basis on which we could form a corridor,” the ministry’s State Secretary Bostjan Sefic said.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/18/429744/Croatia-refugees-Europe-asylum-seekers-Hungary-Slovenia-
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South Asia
15 suspected militants killed in Tirah strikes
ALI AKBAR
September 19, 2015
LANDI KOTAL: At least 15 suspected militants were killed and several others were injured on Saturday as military planes pounded terrorist hideouts in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency.
Security officials said that air strikes were conducted on the hideouts of militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Lashkar-i-Islam. Fifteen suspected militants were killed whereas four militant hideouts were destroyed in the air strikes.
However, these claims could not be independently verified as journalists have limited access to the restive tribal agency.
The strikes come a day after a terrorist attack on Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp in Peshawar's Badaber area left at least 42 people, including 13 terrorists dead. The attack was claimed by the TTP.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1208014/15-suspected-militants-killed-in-tirah-strikes
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Eight policemen martyred in their security post in Zabul
Sep 19 2015
Eight policemen have been martyred in their security post in southern Zabul province.
A security official who did not want to be named said that the incident occurred in Bagh area of Arghandab District last night.
He said that it might be the work of an infiltrator.
Mohmand Nasratyar, governor of Arghandab District confirms the incident but does not provide further details.
He said that a delegation has been dispatched to the area to find out more about it.
Fawad Askari, spokesman for the police HQ of Zabul has also confirmed the incident.
He said a number of soldiers have embraced martyrdom in the incident, adding that a delegation was sent from Qalat, the provincial capital, to find out cause of the incident and number of the casualties.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/eight-policemen-martyred-in-their-security-post-in-zabul-3920
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I am threatened by Islamic extremists, so I have to flee Bangladesh
09/18/2015
Dhaka (AsiaNews) – The government of Bangladesh "is not doing anything to protect bloggers threatened with death by Islamic extremists. I cannot wait to leave the country because I do not feel safe,” said Adam Anupam, an atheist blogger, who shares with AsiaNews his concerns about increasing violence against intellectuals who denounce religious fanaticism by Muslims.
Anupam is atheist but from a Catholic family. Educated at Catholic schools, he now writes for several websites and social media.
"Bloggers are fleeing to Europe and other developed countries because they are safer there than in their homeland."
"I denounce all kinds of religious extremism that is harmful to human brings in general,” he said, “but I fear that I could be attacked in Bangladesh at any time by unscrupulous extremists."
The situation is becoming riskier for those who do not share the ideology of Islam. For some time, Muslim extremists have been targeting free thinkers and democracy activists, justifying their killing by calling their victims "atheists".
Ahmed Rajib Haider was the first blogger to be killed for his “anti-Islam" ideas in 2013. So far this year, four other bloggers have lost their lives.
in February Avijt Roy was murdered near the University Dhaka; in late March, also in the capital, Muslim fundamentalists hacked to death Oyasiqur Rahman; two months later, it was the turn of Ananta Bijoy Das, who was murdered in Sylhet; and finally, Niloy Chakrabarti was killed, execution style, in August in broad daylight, under the eyes of his mother and sister.
In such an atmosphere of fear, 12 bloggers have been pushed to leave the country, concerned about further attacks after the publication of a series of threatening letters sent to the press, in which they are named as the next targets.
Full report at:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/I-am-a-blogger.-I-am-threatened-by-Islamic-extremists.-So-I-have-to-flee-Bangladesh.-35351.html
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Five killed in US drone strike in eastern Afghanistan
Sep 19, 2015
At least five people have lost their lives in a US drone strike in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, police sources say.
Provincial police spokesman, Colonel Hazrat Hussain Mashraqiwal, said on Friday that the drone struck Nazyan district of the province, located 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of the provincial capital, Jalalabad.
He noted that the attack targeted Daesh Takfiri terrorists, adding that a militant commander was among the militants slain in the aerial assault.
On September 13, a drone strike against Lal Pur district in the same Afghan province, situated over 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of the capital, Kabul, left five people dead and two others injured.
In a similar incident, Afghan authorities said 15 members of Pakistan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban militant group were killed after a US drone hit Gomal district in Afghanistan’s southeastern province of Paktika.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/19/429794/Afghanistan-US-drone-strike-Nangarhar-Nazyan-Daesh-militants-
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Desperate Afghans pin asylum hopes on Taliban threat letters
September 19, 2015
KABUL: Stamped with the Taliban's crossed sabres emblem, the threat letter in Ahmadzia Abbasi's hand reads like a death warrant — but like many Afghans he sees the document as a ticket to a new life and asylum in Europe.
The Taliban widely use so-called "night letters" containing lurid threats of violence and death, often delivered by shadowy agents under the cover of darkness, as an effective tool of intimidation.
Many war-weary Afghans embarking on perilous voyages to Europe carry the nocturnal missives — real and counterfeit — in an effort to build a compelling case for their refugee application.
"Anyone who reads this will know that my life is in grave danger," said Abbasi, a 31-year-old social activist from eastern Logar province, holding up a night letter he found pinned to his front door in April.
The Pashto-language document, bearing the signature Taliban stamp, castigates him for supporting the "infidel government" and warns that his head will be cut off.
He said the threat was prompted by his push to promote girls' education in his village, which apparently angered the infamously misogynistic militant network.
"The letter is my best hope — my only hope — of gaining asylum," he told AFP in Kabul.
He has appealed for asylum to the European Union (EU) mission in Afghanistan, but the process is unlikely to be smooth as a record number of Afghans flee the turmoil and war convulsing their country.
Afghan officials say the country is witnessing an "unprecedented" migration towards European nations.
Some 77,731 Afghans applied for asylum in Europe in the first six months of the year, more than three times the figure in the same period last year, and higher than all previous years since 2001, according to the UN refugee agency.
Afghans are the second largest group of migrants trying to make Europe their home, behind only Syrians.
'People keep dying'
While many face genuine threats, fabricated night letters are common, highlighting the lengths some Afghans are willing to go in order to attain asylum.
Heshmat, 24, bought his for $80 from a group of counterfeiters recommended by a friend who recently made it to Germany with a similar letter.
He said he was unsure whether the network was linked directly to the Taliban but the forged night letter looks "very real."
"The human smuggler who will take me to Sweden says: 'Europe is now open to migrants — and a Taliban death threat can go a long way to demonstrate the need for asylum'," Heshmat told AFP, requesting that his last name be withheld.
Smuggling networks are flourishing in Afghanistan, making money from tens of thousands of desperate migrants undertaking dangerous journeys on well-trodden Mediterranean trails via Iran, Turkey and Greece.
Statistics suggesting the scale of fraudulent cases are hard to come by but Heather Barr, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, cautions against generalising the trend.
"Even if some letters are fake, that does not mean that all are — and Human Rights Watch has documented what we are fully satisfied are genuine threat letters in some cases," Barr told AFP.
"It's also worth remembering that the body count in Afghanistan is high and growing. I would ask anyone who argues that the threats are not real to explain why so many people who say they are under threat keep dying."
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1207786/desperate-afghans-pin-asylum-hopes-on-taliban-threat-letters
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Pakistan to send high-powered delegation to Afghanistan to discuss anti-TTP actions
Sep 19 2015
In the aftermath of a deadly attack on an Air Force base in Peshawar that left 29 killed and 29 wounded, Pakistan is sending a high-powered delegation to Afghanistan to discuss anti-TTP actions with Afghan authorities.
Pakistan says that yesterday’s attack was carried out by a splinter group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghan soil.
Pakistan’s The Express Tribune news agency quotes an unnamed senior security official as saying that government will present Kabul with the ‘hard evidence’ shortly.
“Pakistan will convey to Afghanistan that it will no more tolerate such attacks emanating from its soil,” the official is quoted as saying.
The attack was carried out by 13-14 armed men who stormed the Air Force base in Badhber area early on Friday morning and Pakistan’s military spokesman later told reporters that the attack was organized, executed and operated from Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/pakistan-to-send-high-powered-delegation-to-afghanistan-to-discuss-anti-ttp-actions-3919
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2 Bangladeshis killed in mortar attack from Yemen on Saudi hospital
September 19, 2015
Two Bangladeshi nationals were killed and 12 others injured in mortar attacks allegedly from Yemen in Saudi Arabia's southeastern province of Jizan early yesterday.
The deceased are Baten Miah, son of Mohon Miah of Brahmanbaria, and Nurul Hoque of Tangail. They were working as cleaners at Samtah General Hospital, said a foreign ministry press release.
Of the injured Bangladeshis, six to seven people received primary treatment while four to five others were admitted to the hospital, it added.
The attack was reportedly on a residential establishment in Samtah town, 7km away from the Yemen border, the press release said.
The mortar shells were fired reportedly from Yemen where Houthi rebels are fighting a Saudi-led coalition airstrike.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/2-bangladeshis-killed-saudi-hospital-145516
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India
Ahmedabad Police refers Muslim dominated area as 'Mini Pakistan' in FIR
September 19, 2015
Ahmedabad, Sep 19: In what could tarnish country's communal harmony, an FIR in communally polarised city of Ahmedabad has reportedly termed a Muslim dominated locality as 'Mini Pakistan'. As per a report published in TOI, the largest Muslim ghetto at Juhapura is commonly referred to as 'Mini Pakistan' that shares a 'Wagah border' - the arterial road that divides it from Hindu dominated Vejalpur. The term, earlier used by locals in the city, has now found a mention even in official records.
As per a report published in TOI, the largest Muslim ghetto at Juhapura is commonly referred to as 'Mini Pakistan' that shares a 'Wagah border' - the arterial road that divides it from Hindu dominated Vejalpur. The term, earlier used by locals in the city, has now found a mention even in official records.
As per the news daily, an FIR filed by Rakhial police against 4 persons involved in a brawl mentions two accused as residents of 'Vatva, Pakistan'!
Same is the case with Thane's Nallasopara, where some 500 Muslim families have reportedly recieved electricity bills that list their address as 'Chota' or 'Mini Pakistan'.
Full report at:
http://www.oneindia.com/india/ahmedabad-police-refers-muslim-dominated-area-as-pakistan-fir-1873888.html
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India: controversy as Hindu calls for 2-child policy for Muslims
by Daily Sabah
A leading Hindu nationalist sparked controversy Thursday after he called for Indian Muslim families to be restricted to having two children and face punishment for having bigger families.
“They should not be allowed to have more than two children. If they have more than two children then all facilities including ration, jobs and education should be stopped for them,” wrote Pravin Togadia, head of the controversial Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), in Hindu nationalist journal the Organizer.
His group is under the same umbrella of Hindu organizations that include the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Togadia was once a close colleague of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though Modi criticized him last year for comments about forcibly evicting Muslims from their property.
Togadia’s claimed Hindus faced “extinction” after government data released last week showed Hindus consisted less than 80 percent of the population for the first time, while the growth of the Muslim population had increased.
Full report at:
http://muslimvillage.com/2015/09/18/113345/india-controversy-hindu-calls-2-child-policy-muslims/
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Gujarat: Muslim Delegation Requests Governor To Prevent Road Construction Through Graveyard
Sep 18, 2015
A Muslim delegation led by Congress MLA Gayasuddin Sheikh on Friday called on governor O P Kohli and submitted a memorandum demanding appropriate action against Dahod district officials involved in illegal demolition of the Chhab Dargah Kabrastan or graveyard for constructing a road through it. The graveyard is registered with the state Waqf board.
The delegation members told the governor that a bid to build a road through the graveyard was made in 2009-10 as well without any prior notice to the trustees of the property and the Gujarat high court subsequently stayed construction of any road through the Muslim cemetery.
They told the governor that on September 6 this year, the district officials promulgated section 144 around the graveyard to prevent any resistance from the Muslims and bulldozed the boundary wall and dug out a number of graves to facilitate road construction.
The action of the district officials without any prior notice, they said, was illegal and uncalled for.
They told the governor that the action of the government officials was not only unjustified but also hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslims who have their ancestors buried in the graveyard.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/dahod-muslim-delegation-requests-governor-to-prevent-road-construction-through-graveyard/
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Muzaffarnagar riots end Hindu, Muslim farmer unity
S Raju
Sep 18, 2015
A spate of farmer suicides has soured the sugar bowl of western Uttar Pradesh, but there's an eerie calm in the region once abuzz with sweeping agrarian movements headed by grassroots leaders like Chaudhary Charan Singh and Mahendra Singh Tikait.
Dozens of farmers deep in debt and battered by unseasonable rains have ended their lives over the past year while sugar mills in the state owe the community more than Rs 5,000 crore. However, there hasn't been a major protest movement in the area after the bloody Muzaffarnagar riots two years ago that ripped through the area's lanes and fields.
The sectarian violence of September 2013 drove a wedge between the Jats and Muslims in the region's agrarian society and bruised the non-profit Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) founded by Tikait in 1986.
While the country witnessed a wave of farmer campaigns this year in protest against the NDA government's land policies, an edgy peace held sway in western UP.
Gulam Mohammad, a 70-year-old resident of Jaula village, recalls sitting on a month-long dharna led by Tikait to protest against the abduction and murder of a Muslim girl in the 1990s.
Farmers from different castes and faiths protested in Muzaffarnagar district's Bhopa town led by the BKU, he says with pride. At least 14,000 of them were arrested for the stir that forced the state government to act on their demand for justice.
Tikait united Hindus, including the Jats, and Muslims as a close-knit community. Gulam Mohammad and his supporters built a relationship with Tikait that lasted for almost three decades until the BKU leader's death in 2011.
"Had Tikait been alive he would not have allowed the riots to take place," Mohammad said with confidence.
i
Clashes between a handful of Jats and Muslims triggered the violence that spread like wildfire across the district with inflammatory speeches from local politicians fanning the flames.
Houses were torched, women raped and people hacked to death in front of their families, while hundreds were displaced and some still live in makeshift dwellings, too scared to go back.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/muzaffarnagar-riots-end-hindu-muslim-farmer-unity/article1-1391304.aspx
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Hizb ul Commander's Bullet-Riddled Body Recovered in Kashmir
Sep 19, 2015
SRINAGAR: The bullet-riddled body of a Hizbul Mujahideen commander from Kashmir's Tangmarg area was recovered on Saturday, police said.
"The bullet-riddled body of Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, resident of Vailoo (Pattan), was recovered on Saturday in Devbugh village near Tangmarg town," a police official said.
"He was a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen and was active for more than six years," he added.
"The body of the slain militant has been taken into possession by police for completion of necessary formalities before it can be handed over to the family for last rites," he added.
Last week, three bullet-riddled bodies of youth were found in an apple orchard in Kashmir's Baramulla district.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hizbul-commanders-bullet-riddled-body-recovered-in-Kashmir/articleshow/49022269.cms
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Pakistan
Altaf must ensure he won’t speak against state: LHC
September 19, 2015
LAHORE - The Lahore High Court yesterday told Muttahida Qaumi Movement that the order banning coverage of Altaf Hussain’s activities in both print and electronic media would be withdrawn if an affidavit that he would not speak against integrity of the state was submitted on his behalf.
A full bench, headed by Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, heard the case. MQM leader Farooq Sattar was also present in the court. As the hearing commenced, Asma Jahangir appeared before the bench and argued the ban on the coverage of activities of Altaf Hussain was unconstitutional. She argued it was against the Article 19-A of the Constitution.
Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi remarked there was no absolute liberty to this right. He added the military was a constitutional institution of the country and deserved respect.
Asma Jahangir contended many politicians issued statements against the country, but they were not banned. The bench said anybody could approach the court if there was such an incident and the court would decide it in accordance with the law.
Referring to one of the petitioners, Abdullah Malik, Asma said she did not know who he was and which civil society he represented. Abdullah Malik said he represented the civil society which was not receiving dollars from abroad. The bench asked Malik to say sorry to Asma Jahangir and he said sorry to her.
The court asked the MQM lawyers to submit an affidavit on behalf of Altaf Hussain on which Farooq Sattar said the MQM chief had said sorry in a number of interviews and withdrawn his objectionable statements.
The court advised the lawyers to furnish recordings of those interviews as part of the affidavit. Farooq Sattar said they would consult the coordination committee members in this regard. The court adjourned further hearing until October 2.
After the adjournment of the case, a group of lawyers chanted slogans against Altaf Hussain, Asma Jahangir and Dr Khalid Ranjha outside the courtroom.
Talking to reporters at the Lahore High Court, Dr Farooq Sattar said the local government elections being held in Punjab were just a jugglery. He added the LG system would be of no use if all the powers remained with the chief minister. He rejected the claim of PTI chief Imran Khan about coalition between MQM and PPP.
He said Khan would see a great difference between the two parties if he corrected his eyeglasses. He said the NAB action against corrupt people should have been started two years ago.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club, Farooq Sattar said the war against terror could not be won without completely implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) and strengthening the local government system.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Sep-2015/altaf-must-ensure-he-won-t-speak-against-state-lhc
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‘Pakistan Army Air Base Attack Was Planned From Afghanistan’
September 19, 2015
Islamabad: Friday’s attack on Pakistan army air base that claimed at least 42 lives was planned, controlled and perpetrated from Afghanistan, Director General Inter Services Public Relations Major General Asim Salim Bajwa said on Saturday.
A total of 23 Pakistan Air Force officials and three army personnel, including an officer and two soldiers, died in the attack by Pakistani Taliban guerrillas near Peshawar, Radio Pakistan quoted Bajwa as saying.
Full report at:
http://www.siasat.com/news/pakistan-attack-was-planned-afghanistan-2-838811/
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Pakistani among 7 charged with supporting ISIS in Germany
September 18, 2015
BERLIN: Prosecutors in Germany say they have charged six German nationals and one Pakistani with supporting Daesh or the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group and two other extremist organisations that are active in Syria.
Federal prosecutors said today that the seven, aged 23 to 59 and including one woman, formed a network to help facilitate and finance people's travel to Syria to join the groups, which also included Ahrar al-Sham and Jund al-Sham.
They face charges of supporting a terrorist organisation between the beginning of 2013 and September 2014.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/18-Sep-2015/pakistani-among-7-charged-with-supporting-isis-in-germany
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PAF base attackers wanted to engage troops in long gun battle
ZULFIQAR ALI
September 19, 2015
PESHAWAR: Unlike the past, the militants, who attacked Pakistan Air Force’s base camp in Badhaber, Peshawar, on Friday morning, seemed to have come with a different strategy to engage the security forces in a long gun battle, experts say.
“For the first time, the militants used an altogether different strategy as none of the attackers had worn suicide vest,” said Shafqat Malik, head of the Bomb Disposal Squad, who examined bodies of attackers and ammunition inside the camp.
Shafqat Malik said previously, militants used to wear suicide jackets.
“The quantity of ammunition, which terrorists had carried, showed they had come for a long gun battle,” he said.
The BDS head said two cellphones were also recovered from the attackers, who were aged between 20 and 30 years.
In the past, the militants used suicide vests in attacks, especially on security installations.
The attackers, who killed around 150 students and teachers at Army Public School Peshawar on December 16, 2014, had also used suicide jackets.
BDS chief says no attacker had worn suicide jacket
In a statement, Mohammad Khurassani, spokesman for the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the attack and insisted 14 militants took part in Badhaber camp attack and reached there in two vehicles.
The militants launched attack at around 5am. People in the vicinity heard loud explosions inside the camp.
The army confirmed that 22 PAF personnel, three soldiers, including Captain Asfandyar Bukhari, and four civilians were killed, while 25 others got injuries in attack.
Officials said heavy weapons and ammunition were recovered from attackers. They said militants wore identical jaguars and carried AK-47 rifles, rocket propelled grenades-7, anti-tank rocket launchers, hand grenades, improvised explosive devices and backpacks with loaded magazines.
The security officials said attackers lobbed hand grenades to engage guards manning the camp’s main entrance.
They believed that attackers had planned to breach the second line of defence to reach mess and residential quarters.
“Personnel did a good job and engaged attackers at the second line of defence close to mechanised transport section in the camp,” said an official.
Bodies of militants lied near the mechanised transport section.
“Had they (militants) reached residential quarters, it would have proved more fatal,” he said.
Major casualties occurred at the main mosque, where terrorists lobbed hand grenades at worshipers.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1207949/paf-base-attackers-wanted-to-engage-troops-in-long-gun-battle
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Peace in Afghanistan needed for ending violence, Pakistan tells UN
MASOOD HAIDER
September 19, 2015
UNITED NATIONS: “Peace in Afghanistan, and cooperation with Kabul, will enable us to fully defeat our common threat from violent groups,” Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, said on Thursday.
It would pave the way for the voluntary return of millions of Afghan refugees Pakistan still hosts – the most protracted presence of refugees in any single country in recent history, she told a Security Council meeting on Afghanistan.
“It will open the way for the ambitious plans for regional development and integration we have jointly worked on,” she said.
Also read: Pak-Afghan relations: Hanging by a thread
She concluded by saying that mutual respect for each other’s national interests and sensitivities must be the bedrock of the future Pak-Afghan relationship.
Ms Lodhi said that while external parties could play a role in facilitating Afghan reconciliation they “cannot impose” a solution. Reconciliation and dialogue, she said, had to be between the Afghans themselves and “owned and conducted by Afghans”.
She recalled that it was at the request of President Ashraf Ghani that Pakistan undertook to facilitate a dialogue between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban.
“Our sole aim was to establish direct contact between them and the Unity Government.”
Condemning all terrorist violence in Afghanistan, she told the 15-member council that continued conflict in Afghanistan was not in Pakistan’s national interest.
Warning that those “working overtime to sabotage and poison Pakistan-Afghan relations were no friends of Afghanistan”, she said both Afghanistan and Pakistan needed to be clear who their common enemies were.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1207981/peace-in-afghanistan-needed-for-ending-violence-pakistan-tells-un
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PAF camp attack case registered, owner of vehicle used in attack arrested
September 19, 2015
PESHAWAR: A case against the deadly attack on the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp at Peshawar’s Badaber area has been registered today.
The case was registered against unidentified militants on a complaint of the PAF camp in-charge. Anti-terrorism clauses are also included in the case.
It is pertinent to mention here at least 29 people were martyred and 13 militants were killed following a brazen attack on PAF camp at Badaber area on Friday.
Furthermore, police and secret agencies carried out a joint operation in Ahmedpur area, arresting owners of the vehicles used in a deadly attack on Pakistan Air Force (PAF) camp in Peshawar that left 29 people dead.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Sep-2015/paf-camp-attack-case-registered-owner-of-vehicle-used-in-attack-arrested
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Terrorists were prevented from reaching their real target: DG ISPR
September 18, 2015
Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asim Bajwa has claimed that the Peshawar base attackers were prevented from reaching their real target. He was addressing a press conference following the attack on Badaber Airbase.
“The terrorists were in constabulary uniforms. They stopped the car near the gate. After entering inside they divided into two groups,” Bajwa said adding that, “One group went to the mosque and the administration block, where they targeted vulnerable citizens who were busy in praying and ablution. The other group went to the technical block but was engulfed by the forces within the 50 meters inside the base” he added
He further added that the terrorists came from Afghanistan and were 13 to 14 in numbers. The Special Services Group (SSG) reached the base within 30 minutes and killed the terrorists, Bajwa revealed.
While answering the questions, the DG ISPR said: “Following the attack, a research operation was conducted in the area for nine hours,” He added that sympathizers of the terrorists will not be forgiven.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/18-Sep-2015/terrorists-were-prevented-from-reaching-their-real-target-dg-ispr
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Imran Khan doesn't wish to see MQM, PPP united: Farooq Sattar
September 18, 2015
LAHORE: MQM leader Farooq Sattar has stated that the PTI chairman does not wish to see good relations between the PPP and MQM, adding that the PTI chief has also failed to see the current scenario.
termed the Local Government (LG) polls in Punjab as juggling and said that public representatives, who would be elected under the LG act, will be powerless and the provincial government would enjoy the actual powers.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/18-Sep-2015/imran-khan-doesn-t-wish-to-see-mqm-ppp-united-farooq-sattar
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Africa
IS claims attack on Tripoli airport, 3 killed
September 19, 2015
TRIPOLI: Militants attacked Tripoli's airport on Friday and killed three security personnel, a Libyan official said, in an assault claimed by the Islamic State militant group.
"An armed group carried out an attack this morning on the prison located on the Mitiga air base, to try to free the detainees," the airport security official said.
"First there was an explosion.
.
.
and then a clash with automatic weapons," he said, adding that at least eight attackers died.
An AFP journalist who was at the airport heard a blast followed by gunfire.
IS later claimed the attack on Twitter.
Flights were unaffected by the incident at what is the only airport still functioning in the militia-held city.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/19-Sep-2015/is-claims-attack-on-tripoli-airport-3-killed
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Nigeria forces purge terrorists, free 90 captives
Sep 19, 2015
Nigerian soldiers have rooted out the terrorists of the Boko Haram Takfiri group from two villages in the country’s northeast, freeing 90 people.
Acting army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement on Friday that "troops rescued 23 men, 33 women and 34 children from the terrorists" a day earlier.
The development came after the troops purged the villages of Dissa and Balazala, located in the conflict-stricken Borno State, of militants.
The military said it had also reopened a primary school in the nearby town of Gwoza after the militants had forced it to shut down.
The group continues to hold more than 200 schoolgirls it kidnapped from their secondary school in the northeastern town of Chibok on April 14, 2014.
Also on Friday, the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) said the militancy waged by the Nigerian terrorist group had forced around 1.4 million children in the Lake Chad region to flee.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/19/429811/Nigeria-Army-Boko-Haram-Borno
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Rebels attack Somali army bases, retake town
September 19, 2015
MOGADISHU : The Islamist militant group al Shabaab overran two Somali army bases on Friday and killed at least seven soldiers, both the group and the military said, a day after the group retook a southern town.
The raids on the bases in the town of Yaqbariweyne in the Lower Shabelle region and the retaking of Janale town after African forces quit are the latest gains in an offensive by the group that has helped them seize several towns this month.
The government has dismissed al Shabaab's gains, saying the areas retaken have no strategic value.
But the offensive has shown the group can keep up pressure on the Western-backed government.
"We took the two Yaqbariweyne military bases in a fierce fighting this morning," Al Shabaab's military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters.
Thirteen soldiers were killed, he said.
Osman Abdullahi, a military officer, told Reuters seven soldiers were killed and five others wounded.
"The soldiers defended themselves and now they are fighting al Shabaab in the outskirts of the town," he said.
Rebels and officials often cite different casualty figures.
Farah Ali, a resident of Yaqbariweyne, which lies northwest of the capital, Mogadishu, said he had counted six dead soldiers and said the town was now calm.
On Thursday, al Shabaab said it had retaken Janale, about 90 km (55 miles) south of Mogadishu.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/19-Sep-2015/rebels-attack-somali-army-bases-retake-town
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Burkina Faso coup leaders release interim president
September 19, 2015
OUAGADOUGOU : Coup leaders in Burkina Faso announced Friday they had released the country's interim president Michel Kafando whom they had detained along with the premier and two ministers.
"As a sign of easing tensions and in the general interest, the national council for democracy has decided on the release of ministers and Michel Kafando," said a statement, adding that Kafando had been released late on Thursday.
There were no specific details about Prime Minister Isaac Zida.
Soldiers from the elite presidential guard burst into a cabinet meeting Thursday and seized Kafando and the others.
The coup - led by General Gilbert Diendere, close to ousted strongman Blaise Compaore - triggered street protests outside the presidential palace.
Three people died from gunshot wounds and at least 60 others were treated for various injuries, doctors at the main hospital in Ouagadougou, the capital, said.
The unrest hit the landlocked west African nation just ahead of presidential and legislative elections scheduled for October 11 - the country's first since veteran leader Compaore was forced out last year.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/19-Sep-2015/burkina-faso-coup-leaders-release-interim-president
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Daesh claims fatal attack on Mitiga Airport in Libya
Sep 18, 2015
The Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Libya have claimed responsibility for an attack on the Mitiga Airport east of the capital, Tripoli, which killed three members of Libyan security forces.
Daesh claimed the assault through a message posted on Twitter Friday after a Mitiga Airport official said an armed group had carried out "an attack this morning on the prison located on the Mitiga air base to try to free the detainees."
In the Twitter post, Daesh stated that the assault was carried out for the release of prisoners affiliated with the group.
In addition to the security personnel, eight militants were killed in the incident.
"First there was an explosion... and then a clash with automatic weapons," the official said.
All flights in the only functioning airport in the country are taking place without any change despite the attack.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09/18/429757/Libya-Mitiga-Airport-Daesh-
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Nigeria: WAEC Bows to Muslim Students' Presure, Adjusts Timetable
17 SEPTEMBER 2015
By Chidimma C. Okeke
The management of West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) has bowed to the concerns of Muslim students to amend the November/ 2015 WASSC Examination for private candidates' timetable.
The Head of National office of WAEC Mr. Charles Eguridu stated this at a soiree organised for journalists in Abuja. Eguride said recently the Muslim students had expressed concern on the timetable because some papers were scheduled between 2pm and 4pm and some before the end of Juma'at prayers.
He said: "Our attention has been brought to this concern and we decided to effect some amendment in the ongoing WAEC timetable to address the concerns of our Muslim brothers.
"All the papers that were supposed to start within 2pm are to be moved forward. We are supposed to have exam on the 25th and that day has been declared Eid Kabir so we have decided to reschedule the exam meant for that day to 3rd October."
Eguridu noted that WAEC was not unconscious to the yearning and aspirations of the people and so will continue to do its best to ensure that they deliver what is within their mandate to Full report at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201509171582.html
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Southeast Asia
Liberalism, Islam Can Coexist, Say Malaysian Muslim Groups
BY ANISAH SHUKRY
19 September 2015
Conservative and liberal Muslim groups today agreed that liberalism could survive in harmony with Islam despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's constant reminder that it is a threat to the religion and its adherents in Malaysia.
Speaking at a forum organised by think tank IDEAS today, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman today said that as long as liberalism did not demand that Islam reform itself, then it should not be a problem.
"Can faith and liberalism exist side by side? If we refer to Islam, liberalism can coexist if it is under the system of Islam," said Abdullah, a panellist in the discussion titled "Liberalism and faith: Do they go hand-in-hand?"
"But if liberalism tries to reform Islam, maybe that cannot be accepted by Islam because this religion came down from Allah and cannot be added to or reformed by any party."
His co-panellist, Datuk Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, said liberalism was not against Islam, but was "the authoritarian face of religion".
"The broad agreement with political liberalism is unmistakable: the state does not come down on one side or the other of metaphysical questions," said Farouk, who is the founder of the Islamic Renaissance Front.
"We are facing the authoritarian face of religion who believes they have a right to dictate who are Muslims and not, what is the true face of Islam and what isn't.
"That's why liberalism is important."
He added that promoting liberalism would not mean influencing people to become agnostic or atheist, because the concept itself was irreligious.
Political liberalism encompassed recognition, restraint, and the respect of individual freedom, he said.
Abdullah said liberalism could only affect Muslims' faith if it required them to reject Allah.
"In Islam, we believe that God created us, we believe in His laws and words. If we reject Allah's role, then that could touch on our belief and faith."
Meanwhile, UIA lecturer Dr Maszlee Malik, who moderated the forum, said liberalism contributed important ideals to the Muslim community that had been lost in history: abolishing slavery, free market and representative democracy.
"Muslims are indebted to liberalism. There is no excuse to say that liberalism is against Islamic values," said Maszlee.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/liberalism-islam-can-coexist-say-groups
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Hudud makes second-class citizens of non-Muslims, federal Christian body cautions
BY ZURAIRI AR
September 19, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 — Malaysia’s umbrella Christian body warned today that the Islamic penal code will turn followers of other faiths into “second-class citizens” if enforced, because the testimonies of non-Muslims will be deemed to be inferior compared to Muslims.
Dr Patricia Martinez of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) said the concept of non-Muslims as “dhimmi” infidels — a historic status of non-Muslim citizens in an Islamic state — has long been retired during the Ottoman Empire but has now been revived slowly.
“You might say that it is none of our business, but we’re stakeholders too. The testimony of people of other faiths, we have got less value in our testimony in hudud,” said the CFM executive council member, referring to the Islamic penal code.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/hudud-makes-second-class-citizens-of-non-muslims-federal-christian-body-cau
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North America
UNSC urges calm, restraint at al-Aqsa
September 19, 2015
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council appealed for calm and restraint Thursday after three days of clashes this week at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound between Israeli police and Muslim protesters.
In a unanimous declaration, the 15-member panel also expressed its "grave concern" and called for maintaining the rules governing the sensitive site seen as holy by both Muslims and Jews.
"The members of the Security Council called for the exercise of restraint, refraining from provocative actions and rhetoric, and upholding unchanged the historic status quo" at the compound "in word and in practice," a statement said.
The third-holiest site in Islam, the compound is also the holiest site in Judaism, which venerates it as the Temple Mount.
It is located in East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967 and at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both sides see the site as a symbol of religion and nationalism.
Under longstanding regulations, Jews are allowed to visit but cannot pray there to avoid provoking tensions.
Palestinians are deeply suspicious that Israel will seek to change rules governing the site, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he has no intention of doing so.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/national/19-Sep-2015/unsc-urges-calm-restraint-at-al-aqsa
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US urges Myanmar to let Muslims stand for election
SEP 19, 2015
WASHINGTON • The United States has expressed concern that preparations for Myanmar's landmark elections have been undermined by moves to exclude Muslim minority candidates from the ballot.
Myanmar will vote on Nov 8 in what many hope will be its freest vote in generations after decades of army rule, with Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party widely tipped to make huge gains.
But tension is rising in the Buddhist-majority country, which in recent years has seen outbreaks of deadly unrest against its Muslim minority.
"The United States is concerned about the disqualification of approximately 100 candidates for Burma's upcoming general election," State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday, referring to Myanmar by its former name.
"We are aware of reports that almost all Muslim candidates have been disqualified, including some current members of Parliament," he said. "Yet the relevant authorities have yet to provide the specific reasons for which they did not meet these criteria."
He complained that a quarter of seats have been reserved for supporters of the former military junta and branded the procedure for excluding candidates "an opaque and discriminatory process".
This, he said, "risks undermining the confidence of the Burmese people and the international community in these elections".
Full report at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/us-urges-myanmar-to-let-muslims-stand-for-election
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Ahmed Mohamed, the teen arrested for building clock, will not return to same school
Sep 19, 2015
A Muslim boy in the US arrested over a homemade clock today said he will not return to the school where teachers got him arrested for an invention that ‘looked like a bomb’ as more support gathered for the 14-year-old, with people questioning the real motive of his detention. Ninth-grader Ahmed Mohamed from Irving in Texas does not wish to return to MacArthur High and is searching for another school though his three-day suspension came to an end today, the CNN reported. The teen’s family stated that they will consider other schools, possibly even some outside of the US. Mohamed Elhassan Mohamed said his son will either enroll at a private school or be home schooled.
Mohamed’s handcuffing and arrest over an innocent attempt to impress his teachers with his homemade clock sparked a debate, including on social media where netizens questioned the real motive of teachers and authorities amid fears of Islamophobia as the child in question was of brown skin and a Muslim. Some Facebook users ‘shared’ a post that suggested the authorities never really thought the teen had a real bomb and wanted to ‘humiliate a little Muslim, African boy’. The post highlighted why the school was not immediately evacuated following the beep and discovery of the clock – a circuit board and power supply wired to a digital display, all strapped inside a case with a tiger hologram on the front. “…they (authorities) didn’t evacuate the school – like you do when there’s a bomb. They didn’t call a bomb squad – like you do when there’s a bomb. They didn’t get as far away from him as possible – like you do when there’s a bomb. Then they put him and the clock in an office – not like you do when there’s a bomb. Then they waited with him for the police to arrive. Then they put the clock in the same car as the police. Then they took pictures of it…” it read.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/world/americas/ahmed-mohamed-the-teen-arrested-for-building-clock-will-not-return-to-same-school/
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Donald Trump declines to correct man who says Obama is Muslim
Sep 18, 2015
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump declined to correct a questioner at a town hall event who incorrectly stated that President Barack Obama is Muslim and said he'd be "looking at" claims of terrorist training camps on American soil.
Trump, who has a history of making controversial remarks about immigrants and other groups, was kicking off a town hall event in Rochester, New Hampshire on Thursday - his first since Wednesday evening's second Republican primary debate.
"We have a problem in this country. It's called Muslims," said the first man Trump called on to ask a question. "We know our current president is one. You know he's not even an American."
Trump, who was a driver of the "birther" movement that claimed Obama wasn't born in the US, first responded with feigned exasperation - "We need the question," he said, to laughs - but let the man continue.
"We have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That's my question," the questioner continued. "When can we get rid of it?" Trump did not dispute the man's assertions and said he'd heard others raise the issue.
"We're going to be looking at a lot of different things. And you know, a lot of people are saying that, and a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there," said Trump. "We're going to be looking at that and plenty of other things."
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton tweeted late Thursday that Trump should disavow comments about Obama and insults of Muslims.
"Donald Trump not denouncing false statements about POTUS (president of the United States) & hateful rhetoric about Muslims is disturbing, & just plain wrong. Cut it out," she tweeted.
The incident evoked a moment during the 2008 campaign when Republican nominee John McCain took the microphone away from a woman who said she didn't trust Obama because he was an "Arab."
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/donald-trump-declines-to-correct-man-who-says-obama-is-muslim/article1-1391375.aspx
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FBI: New York man tried to help and join Islamic State group
September 19, 2015
New York :A man was arrested on charges he tried to help the Islamic State group, using Twitter to espouse support for the terrorist organization while attempting multiple failed trips to join fighters in Syria and Yemen.
Between September 2014 and last month, Ali Saleh stopped at airports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Indianapolis, according to unsealed court papers.
The 22-year-old Saleh was interviewed by federal agents at an Amtrak train station in Cleveland while en route to Toronto before he was finally arrested in Queens, according to the papers.
“Lets be clear the Muslims in the khilafah (caliphate) need help, the one who is capable to go over and help the Muslims must go and help,” Saleh posted on a Twitter account investigators believe he controlled in August 2014, when he booked a reservation to Turkey, a common point of entry to Syria, according to a criminal complaint.
That trip was thwarted after his parents took away his passport, the court papers show.
But Saleh had further contact with a co-conspirator about his travels as well as someone who encouraged those interested in joining the Islamic State group in Libya to contact him over social media, according to the criminal complaint.
Full report at:
http://www.siasat.com/news/fbi-new-york-man-tried-help-and-join-islamic-state-group-838836/
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Muslims Must Counter Negative Image in US, Congressmen Say
September 18, 2015
It is important to push back "against the narrative that Muslims represent terrorism and extremist ideologies," said U.S. Representative Andre Carson, one of only two Muslims in Congress.
The Indiana Democrat told VOA Urdu that Muslims need to present a positive image to American society.
“A lot of terrorism activities are thwarted because Muslims are working with the law enforcement agencies and they are part of the law enforcement agencies. But you never hear about these stories,” he said. “America is ours, and until we dismiss the negative notions of what it means to be a Muslim, we will still face this kind of discrimination across the country.”
Carson was referring to the temporary detention Monday of a Muslim student from suburban Dallas who was pulled from class after he showed a homemade clock to a teacher who mistook it for a bomb. Ahmed Mohamed was questioned by the principal and police, then was handcuffed and taken to a police station.
Intent questioned
Larry Boyd, chief of police in Irving, Texas, told CNN that after school resource officers determined the device was not a bomb, officers investigated whether Mohamed had brought the device to school with the intent to create alarm. Boyd said it was against the law to make even a phony bomb.
Representative Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the U.S. House, told VOA Urdu that Mohamed was doing what every kid his age should be doing, yet some people treated him like a criminal.
“There are bigoted, unfair people all over the world, not just here in the United States,” Ellison said. “But this is not a static situation. American Muslims and people of other faiths who believe in inclusion are busy, too. And we are reaching out, moving forward, building the bridges to make sure that a young Ahmed Mohamed can build that clock, can be creative and innovative.”
As Ahmed's story spread across social media, Twitter erupted with support for him. The hashtag #IStandWithAhmed was tweeted more than 1 million times.
President Barack Obama invited him to the White House, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted that he wanted to meet him. A NASA scientist asked Ahmed to give him a call in a couple of years for a job opportunity.
Full report at:
http://www.voanews.com/content/muslims-counter-negative-image-united-states/2969802.html
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The Canadian-Muslim Vote, other groups rallying Muslim voters
Sep 18, 2015
After just 30 per cent of Canadian Muslims cast a vote in the last federal election, a number of groups are trying to get more people from that community to the polls.
The Canadian-Muslim Vote has been handing out pamphlets and speaking to potential voters at Mosques and other gatherings throughout this election campaign. With issues like security legislation, immigration policy and Islamophobia in the news, there's plenty to talk about in the diverse community.
"If you are at a large Muslim event, you'll see us. If you are at a Muslim political event, we'll be there," said Muneeza Sheikh, who works with the organization.
At Friday prayers at Ryerson University, many young voters were reminded of their duty to get involved.
Khalid Daud said many don't vote because they feel that their views are not being heard.
"Perhaps they're discouraged," Daud, of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Canada, said.
Abrahim Khan, a first-year student who is politically active, has heard similar reasoning.
"Their issues are not being dealt with, so that steers them away from the whole idea of voting," he said.
Young Muslims are concerned about the same issues as other young Canadians, like rising unemployment, said Mohammed Hashim, an organizer with Dawanet, a non-profit, focused on empowering and engaging voters.
But, Hashim said, these predominately second-generation Muslims are more politically involved than their parents.
Full report at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/the-canadian-muslim-vote-other-groups-rallying-muslim-voters-1.3235122
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Edmonton's Muslim community urges Canada to open doors to more refugees
Sep 18, 2015
Edmonton Muslims calling on the federal government to allow more Syrian refugees into Canada launched an awareness campaign at the Al-Rashid Mosque Friday.
"The idea here is to collect as many names and take those names to our government and let them know that as Canadians, we've always been humanitarian and want to see more done from our government," said organizer Aumer Assaf.
Full report at:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/edmonton-s-muslim-community-urges-canada-to-open-doors-to-more-refugees-1.3235079
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