TRIPOLI, Libya (AFP) – by Mohamad Ali Harissi Libya has shipped the last of its chemical weapons stocks out of the country, officials said Tuesday, under a UN-backed plan to ensure the arsenal could not fall into the wrong hands. The move will ease fears that extremists like the Islamic State group could gain access to the weapons in Libya, which has been wracked by chaos since the 2011 overthrow of Moamer Kadhafi. A senior […]
Middle East
Massive sandstorm engulfs parts of Qatar
By Duane Dizon and Abigail Basa Eagle News Service Qatar DOHA, Qatar (Eagle News) — Parts of Qatar have been swept by a sudden dust storm on Wednesday afternoon (August 24) causing reduced visibility and astonishment among residents. Strong winds and light rains followed the dusty conditions across the country. The Qatar Meteorology Department (MET) explained that the sudden weather disruption was caused by temporary, strong downdraft winds resulting from thunder cells in the north. […]
Shabaab gunmen attack beach restaurant in Mogadishu
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AFP) -Shabaab jihadists attacked a beachfront restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, setting off a car bomb before exchanging fire with security forces, an AFP correspondent said. Sporadic shots could still be heard coming from the scene several hours after the attack began, the correspondent said, with at least one of the gunmen still thought to be holed up inside the restaurant. It was not immediately clear if there were any […]
Iraq forces retake key town south of Mosul
QAYYARAH, Iraq (AFP) – by Abdelhamid Zebari Iraqi forces on Thursday pushed the Islamic State group from Qayyarah, a northern town considered strategic for any future offensive against the jihadists’ last stronghold of Mosul. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi hailed the victory as a key step in the fight against IS but hours later suffered yet another political setback when lawmakers impeached his defence minister. Special forces, backed by US-led coalition air strikes, wrapped up a three-day […]
Syria regime launched chemical attacks, IS used mustard gas: UN report
UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) – by Carole LANDRY A UN investigation has established that President Bashar al-Assad’s forces carried out at least two chemical attacks in Syria and that Islamic State jihadists used mustard gas as a weapon, according to a report seen by AFP on Wednesday. The panel was able to identify the perpetrators of three chemical attacks carried out in 2014 and 2015, but was unable to draw conclusions in the other six […]
Turkey strikes IS as Syria border tensions flare
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Stuart WILLIAMS Turkey on Tuesday pounded Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria with new artillery strikes as expectations grew of a major Ankara-backed offensive against the group after a deadly suicide bombing on its soil. With tensions flaring on the Turkey-Syria border following the bombing in the nearby city of Gaziantep that left 54 people dead, Turkish howitzers on Monday hit jihadist and Kurdish rebel targets across the frontier. Turkey has […]
UN bracing for massive flight from Iraq’s Mosul
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The United Nations said Tuesday it was rushing to build camps to accommodate what it expects to be a mass exodus from Mosul once a battle begins for Iraq’s second city. The UN refugee agency warned that an expected battle to liberate Mosul, the Islamic State group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq, was likely to “dramatically worsen” the displacement situation in the country. Iraq is already facing one of the world’s […]
Libya parliament rejects UN-backed unity government
BENGHAZI, Libya (AFP) – Libya’s internationally recognised parliament on Monday voted no confidence in a UN-backed unity government, in a blow to efforts to end the country’s political chaos. But lawmakers gave prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj a 10-day deadline to come up with a new unity government line-up, they said in a statement issued later. The Government of National Accord led by Sarraj is struggling to assert its authority in Libya, which has been riven by […]
Israel launches ‘dozens’ of Gaza strikes, draws Turkish ire
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – by Stephen Weizman Israel said Monday it staged dozens of strikes on Gaza in response to rocket fire from the strip, causing limited casualties but sparking a war of words with Turkey. “We conducted strikes against several dozen targets in the Gaza Strip” on Sunday, an army spokeswoman told AFP. Palestinian medical officials said four people were wounded by Israeli aircraft and tank fire after a rocket fired from Gaza hit […]
Turkey seeks to identify IS child bomber who killed 54
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Fulya OZERKAN Stuart WILLIAMS Turkish authorities scrambled Monday to identify a child suicide bomber acting on the orders of Islamic State jihadists who killed 54 people including several children at a Kurdish wedding close to the Syrian border. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the IS group needed to be completely pushed out of the border zone inside Syria, amid Turkish media reports of an Ankara-backed offensive by rebels against the group. […]
Deadly battles as Yemen army seeks to break Taez siege
ADEN, Yemen (AFP) – Deadly clashes raged on Monday between Yemeni government forces battling to secure an entrance to the besieged city of Taez and Shiite Huthi rebels surrounding it, military sources said. Backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, Yemeni troops launched an offensive last week to break the rebel siege on Yemen’s flashpoint third city, in the country’s southwest. The heaviest fighting Monday was near its western entrance where air strikes by the Arab […]
Syrian regime jets hit Kurdish positions, even after US warning
HASAKEH, Syria (AFP) – by with Thomas Watkins in Washington Syrian regime jets pounded US-backed Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria for a second day Friday, even after the US-led coalition scrambled jets to protect its military advisers working on the ground. In another escalation of Syria’s bloody conflict, warplanes from President Bashar al-Assad’s regime were bombarding the city of Hasakeh — targeting Kurdish forces that for months have worked closely with coalition military advisers helping local […]
