Syria’s Nusra Front says ending link to al-Qaeda
DAMASCUS — Al-Qaeda's powerful Syrian branch announced on Thursday it was ending its relationship with the global terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden and changing its name, to remove what it called a pretext used by world powers to attack Syrians.In the first known video statement ever to show his face, the leader...Syrian army texts residents to leave rebel-held Aleppo neighborhoods
The Syrian army sent text messages to residents of rebel-held eastern Aleppo saying it will grant safe passage to people wishing to leave the area, which has been effectively besieged by pro-government forces, state media said on Tuesday.The army called on residents to push "mercenaries" out of the city -- a reference to rebel...Elderly priest killed in French church, attack claimed by ISIS
Father Jacques Hamel, who was killed in the attackPARIS — A priest in his mid-80s was killed with a knife and another hostage seriously wounded on Tuesday in an attack on a church in northern France carried out by assailants linked to ISIS.Both attackers were shot dead by French police. Five people in all had been taken hostage. A...Knife attacker in Japan kills 19 in their sleep at disabled center
The facility after the attack, July 26SAGAMIHARA, Japan — A knife-wielding man broke into a facility for the disabled in a small town near Tokyo early on Tuesday and killed 19 patients as they slept, authorities said, Japan's worst mass killing in decades.At least 25 other residents were wounded in the attack at the Tsukui Yamayuri-En...Former Saudi general visits Israel, meets officials
Eshki and members of his delegation, meeting with Israeli Knesset members, July 22TEL AVIV — Retired Saudi General Anwar Eshki visited Israel last week and met with foreign ministry officials, including Director-General Dore Gold Yoav Mordechai, Haaretz reported. Eshki, who headed a delegation of Saudi academics and business...Muslim woman befriends frightened passenger
A Muslim woman took to Facebook to describe her encounter with a woman who was too terrified to sit beside her on a plane after she texted the world ‘Allah’. Jiva Akbor’s post touched thousands on social media as Akbor described how she befriended a woman who complained to the air hostesses about her text...
German-Iranian gunman kills at least nine in Munich shopping mall
July 23rd, 20160 Special forces in Munich after the attackMUNICH — A 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman who apparently acted alone opened fire in a busy shopping mall in Munich on Friday evening, killing at least nine people in the third attack against civilians in Western Europe in eight days.The pistol-wielding attacker, identified by Munich Police...Saudia Arabia denies reports that it banned Pokemon-Go for being ‘haram’
Saudi Arabia denied on Thursday that the conservative kingdom's top clerical body had renewed a 15-year-old edict declaring that the Pokemon game was un-Islamic.Saudi media reports said on Wednesday the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars had revived a 2001 decree against a Pokemon card...Pakistan to pass law against ‘honor’ killings in weeks
Pakistan's ruling party plans to pass long-delayed legislation against "honor killings" within weeks in the wake of the high-profile murder of an outspoken social media star, the daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Wednesday.The bill will go before a parliamentary committee as early as Thursday, said Maryam Nawaz...
Syrian opposition calls for suspension of U.S.-led air strikes after civilian casualties
July 21st, 20160 The head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition called for a suspension of the U.S.-led air campaign against ISIS in Syria while reports of dozens of civilian deaths from air strikes around the northern city of Manbij are investigated.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 56 civilians were killed in...Erdogan declares state of emergency after coup bid
ANKARA — Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as he widened a crackdown against thousands of members of the security forces, judiciary, civil service and academia after a failed military coup.Erdogan said the state of emergency, which would last three months, would allow his government...“Moderate” Syrian rebels behead child in gruesome video
Militants take a photo of a boy before beheading himDAMASCUS — A Syrian rebel group that has received U.S. military backing said it is investigating the beheading of a child in Aleppo after video footage circulated showing the boy being killed by a man who activists identified as a member of the rebel group.Images of a fighter cutting...
U.S.-led airstrikes kill dozens of civilians in Syria
July 20th, 20160 SDF ForcesAt least 56 civilians were killed on Tuesday in air strikes north of the besieged ISIS-held city of Manbij in northern Syria, and residents said they believed the attack was carried out by U.S.-led warplanes, a monitoring group said.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead included 11 children, and...
Turkey arrests thousands in post-coup purge
July 18th, 20160 Erdogan at the funeral of a victim killed in the thwarted coup, July 17ANKARA — Turkey purged its police on Monday after rounding up thousands of soldiers in the wake of a failed military coup, and said it could reconsider its friendship with the United States unless Washington hands over a cleric Ankara blames for the putsch.Nearly...
Turkish coup attempt crumbles
July 16th, 20160 People stand on an army tank at Ataturk airport in IstanbulISTANBUL — An attempted Turkish military coup appeared to crumble in the early hours of Saturday after crowds answered President Tayyip Erdogan's call to take to the streets to support him.Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the coast when the coup was launched, flew into......
Turkey army says it has seized power
Taksim square, Istanbul ISTANBUL — Turkey's military said on Friday it had seized power, but the prime minister said the attempted coup would be put down.If successful, the overthrow of President Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, would be one of the biggest shifts in power in the Middle East in years, transforming one...Yemen slides closer to famine
SANAA — Many areas of Yemen are close to famine partly because importers are unable to buy new food stocks from abroad as more than $200 million is stuck in banks due to the civil war disruption, trade and aid sources involved say. Western banks had already cut credit lines for traders shipping food to Yemen, fearing they would not...
Dozens reported dead as truck plows into crowd in France
July 14th, 20160 NICE, France — Dozens of people have been killed and many more were injured after a truck plowed into a crowd in Nice, France during Bastille Day celebrations.“There are people in blood, probably full of wounded,” a reporter for the Nice Matin newspaper said.Witnesses reported that the truck that drove into the crowd was watching...
ISIS confirms ‘minister of war’ Shishani killed
July 14th, 20160 ShishaniBAGHDAD — Abu Omar al-Shishani, who the Pentagon described as ISIS's "minister of war", was killed in combat in the Iraqi city of Shirqat, south of Mosul, a news agency that supports the militant group said on Wednesday.The Pentagon said in March that Shishani had likely been killed in a U.S. air strike in Syria, but this was......
Theresa May takes over as British PM
July 13th, 20160 Theresa MayLONDON — Outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron urged his successor Theresa May on Wednesday to keep Britain close to the European Union, even as she embarks on the monumental task of ending four decades of membership.Cameron is stepping down after Britons rejected his entreaties and voted to leave the EU in a referendum...
Israeli military nominates chief rabbi who permitted rape
July 12th, 20160 Eyal KarimIsrael's military has nominated a new chief rabbi who implied in a past religious commentary that its soldiers are allowed to rape non-Jewish women in wartime.Rabbi Colonel Eyal Karim's remarks 14 years ago stirred controversy at the time and remain on an Israeli religious website today, along with a link to a clarification he......
U.S. to send more troops to Iraq ahead of Mosul offensive
July 11th, 20160 American soldiers Tuesday in Mosul, 2007. Photo: APWASHINGTON — The United States is stepping up its military campaign against Islamic State by sending hundreds more troops to assist Iraqi forces in an expected push on the city of Mosul, the militants' largest stronghold, later this year.U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter made the...
Iraqi man saves hundreds of lives by hugging ISIS suicide bomber
July 11th, 20160 IRAQ- An Iraqi man has been hailed as a hero after he hugged an ISIS suicide bomber just before the jihadist detonated his explosives, saving hundreds of lives. Najih Shaker Al-Baldawi, from Balad city, embraced the attacker just before the man entered the town’s Sayyed Mohammad Shrine, Al Masdar News reported.ISIS......
