http://www.euronews.com/ Authorities in southern Turkey say they have detained four more suspects in connection with twin car bomb attacks last weekend. It means the total number of arrests after the bombs has risen to 17. Turkish media also say a car has been found which it is suspected was due to be used for a third attack.
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (Photo and Article: Reuters) - A Syrian-born Islamist cleric who taught one of the attackers accused of hacking to death an off-duty British soldier on a London street praised the attack for its “courage” and said Muslims would see it as a strike on a military target.
In an interview in Tripoli, northern Lebanon, where he has lived since being banished from Britain in 2005, Omar Bakri, founder of banned British Islamist group Al Muhajiroun, told Reuters he knew suspect Michael Abebolajo from a decade ago.
“When I saw the footage I recognized the face immediately,” Bakri told Reuters. “I used to know him. A quiet man, very shy, asking lots of questions about Islam.”
“What surprised me (is) the quiet man, the man who is very shy, decided to carry out an attack against a British soldier in the middle of the day in the middle of a street in the UK. In east London. It’s incredible.
“When I saw that, honestly I was very surprised – standing firm, courageous, brave. Not running away. Rather, he said why he carried (it out) and he wanted the whole world to hear it.”
The attack has been vociferously condemned by Muslim organizations across Britain.
Adebolajo, 28, a British-born convert from a Christian Nigerian immigrant family, went by the nickname Mujahid – warrior – after taking up Islam as a teenager in a suburb on the northeast outskirts of London.
He was filmed with his hands still covered with the blood of Afghan war veteran Lee Rigby, 25, after the attack. Clutching a butcher’s knife and meat cleaver, he said the killing was revenge for British participation in wars in foreign countries.
Yahoo News has the full article
Israel gearing up for ‘surprise war’ with Syria if Assad falls – general
(Photo: Wikipedia) The unrest engulfing the Middle East could result in Israel becoming involved in a “surprise war” with Syria, according to the head of the Israeli air force. “When you look [around] today I think that a surprise war can be born in very many configurations,” Major General Amir Eshel said at a conference near Tel Aviv. In particular, the… Read more →
(Photo: AFP)
A US Senate committee had passed a bill that would allow, if signed for the Obama administration to supply arms to Syrian opposition — a move that could threaten the entire region if these weapons end up in terrorist cells operating on the ground.
The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations 15-3 vote showed bipartisan support among US politicians for arming the rebels.
It remains uncertain if the full Senate will vote on the legislation that calls to “provide defense articles, defense services, and military training” directly to the opposition on the ground Syria who “have been properly and fully vetted and share common values and interests with the United States.”
“I don’t think that this resolution, this bill will gain traction in the House of Representatives, and if it does we will have to wait and see if Mr. Obama signs this bill,” historian Gerald Horne told RT.
Horne believes that the Israeli lobby in Washington might sway US politicians including President Obama.
“The Israeli lobby in particular has been quite energetic and quite active in regard of lobbying for aid to the rebels, which is quite curious since if these rebels come to power, I dare say that Israel will have many sleepless nights,” Horne says.
The language of the proposed legislature is vague but it suggests the sale of small arms but specifies that “no anti-aircraft defensive systems” would be provided.
Despite fear that sending arms to the rebels might backfire if al-Qaeda linked cells get a hold of them, US lawmakers are adamant that weapons will be supplied to those groups “committed to rejecting terrorism and extremist ideologies.”
Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky has voted against the bill, warning “You will be funding today the allies of al Qaeda,” Paul said adding “It is an irony you cannot overcome,” quotes the Washington Times.
New Jersey democrat and co-author of the bill, Senator Robert Menenedez addressed such concerns and stressed that the proposed bill has in place a “tough vetting mechanism” to prevent terrorist from obtaining US arms. “Vital national interests are at stake and we cannot watch from the sidelines,”Menenedez concluded.
In the meantime, US Secretary of State John Kerry is on a mission to Jordan to meet with representatives from 11 nations, as part of a US-Russian roadmap to end Syria’s violence.
If the bill is to be adopted it Russia in the past has argued that arming the rebels would contradict international law.
RT has the full article
Overnight, shots were fired from Syria at an IDF patrol. IDF forces returned fire, reporting a direct hit on source of the attack. The IDF will continue to operate day and night in order to keep Israel’s citizens safe.
Syria and Israel in exchange of fire
Israeli and Syrian forces have exchanged fire across the ceasefire line in the occupied Golan Heights. Israel returned fire after one of its military vehicles was hit by shots from Syria, Israel’s defence forces say. Media reports say no-one was hurt. Syria says it destroyed an Israeli vehicle which it says crossed the ceasefire line into territory its forces control…. Read more →
Assad preparing missile strike against Tel Aviv in case attacked again
Photo: (AP) Syria is making preparations to strike Tel Aviv in case Israel launches another attack on its territory, The Sunday Times reported on Sunday. The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles, the report said, adding that it has received orders to strike central Israel in case additional attacks against Syria are carried out. The Sunday Times said that… Read more →
Clashes erupt as Palestinians mark Nakba
Protests and rallies broke into clashes with Israeli security forces Wednesday as Palestinians mark Nakba, or the “day of catastrophe.” Rough Cut (no reporter narration)
