Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Hezbollah chief makes a rare public address in Lebanon

 
Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Sheikh Hassan Nasrullah Leader of the Hezbollah Shia Muslim political movement on the occassion of Ashura on Tuesday made a rare public appearance in Beirut afer several years.

He has rarely been seen in public since Hezbollah’s war with Israel in 2006, and was normally speaking to his supporters via video-linke.






The 34-day conflict left more than 1,200 Lebanese dead, most of them civilians. Some 160 Israelis, most of whom were soldiers, were also killed.
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah was “here to stay” and would never compromise on its weapons.

He also offered his support to the Syrian government and accused the United States of plotting to destroy Syria.

He accused some in the Syrian opposition of catering to U.S. agendas in Syria and the region, and called on protesters to realize that they were being “used” for the wider aim of striking at Assad’s regime for its support for Hezbollah and other anti-Israel groups in the region.

Ashoura is one of the holiest days of the Muslim Shiite calendar. It marks the anniversary of the death in the seventh century of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Imam Hussein. His death in a battle outside of the Iraqi city of Karbala sealed Islam’s historical Sunni-Shiite split, which still bedevils the Middle East.

Nasrullah said, “We are growing in numbers, our training is getting better and our weapons are increasing. And for those who are betting that our weapons are rusting, we say that our weapons are being renewed.”

His public appearance, he said, was a message to those who believe they can “threaten us,” he added, as many in the crowds shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition leader said Hezbollah’s decision to side with President Bashar Assad in his eight-month crackdown on Syrian protesters has shown the resistance’s group real face.
Head of the Syrian National Council Burhan Ghalioun said, reconsidering Syria’s strategy with Iran and putting an end to arms supplies to Hezbollah are among the Syrian opposition’s demands.
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12 militants killed in southern Helmand province

Tuesday, December 06, 2011 –
 According to local authorities in southern Afghanistan, at least 12 insurgents were killed following joint military operations by Afghan and NATO-led international security assistance force in southern Helmand province.


Helmand provincial governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi said, the operations were conducted by Afghan and NATO-led coalition forces in Ishaqzai, Barakzai, Tarmi and Khumari areas of Sangin district in Helmand province to clear the militants from the area.

The source further added, at least 12 militants were killed and another insurgent was detained following the joint military operations.

Mr. Ahmadi also said, there were no reports of civilian casualties during the operations.

According to provincial governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi, Afghan and NATO forces also seized and defused at least six improvised explosive device during the operations.

Taliban militants group fighting the Afghan government and international forces yet to comment regarding the operations.
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***GRAPHIC IMAGES*** of today Kabul attack

A Game of Honor - ARMY vs. NAVY football

from BLACKFIVE:

It's Not Just A Game - Army vs. Navy Showtime Special

Showtime shows us that playing for a military academy (not to mention in a time of war) is not like playing for any other team...The Army-Navy Game is this Saturday...


Go behind the scenes of the feature length documentary A Game of Honor as the cameras of CBS Sports and Showtime capture the Army Navy Game.

 

 

Triple bombings rock Afghanistan

Massive bombings rocked Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan Tuesday, a day after the Bonn conference that focussed on the strife-ridden nation's future. An eyewitness said more than 30 people were killed in Kabul but there was no independent confirmation of this.

'The blast, believed to be a suicide bombing, happened at a shrine in Murad Khani area (of Kabul) where hundreds of mourners were observing Ashura,' an official told Xinhua.

Karam Ali, an eyewitness, said more than 30 people were killed and several were injured.

An explosion also rocked Mazar-e-Sharif, killing four people and injuring four, northern region police spokesman Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai said.

Mazar-e-Sharif is 305 km north of Kabul.

'The terrorists planted an explosive device inside a handcart and detonated it by remote control killing four people and injuring four others, all are innocent civilians,' Ahmadzai told Xinhua.

He added that some people were going to attend the Ashura ceremony when the blast occurred and caused the casualties.

The third bombing took place in Kandahar city.

Delegates from over 100 countries and international organisations met in Bonn Monday to focus their energies on drawing up a roadmap for Afghanistan's future. The conference was aimed at mobilising the international community in support of Afghanistan, and beyond 2014, when international combat troops are due to leave the country.

48 People Killed in Kabul Suicide Attack: Officials

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a shrine in Kabul on Tuesday killing 48 people who had gathered to mourn Ashura, local officials said.

More than 100 people were wounded, according to officials.
The suicide attack occurred at Abul Fazl shrine near the Presidential Palace at 11.45 am, Mohammad Zahir, head of the Criminal Investigation Department of Kabul said.

Eyewitnesses said they heard a blast in the area and that many people were injured.
Some ambulances also arrived in the area to help the injured ones.

Afghan security forces arrived in the area shortly after the attack.

Ashura ceremony is held every year to mark the martyrdom of Imam Hussain.

It comes as the second blast took place in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif near a police station at around noon, killing four people.

A district police official in Mazar said the dead included at least one district police official. The bomb, which was carried on a bicycle, exploded near a mosque.

Meanwhile, another blast took place in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, wounding 6 people, local officials said.
The incident happened in a motorcycle parking lot, officials added.

by TOLONEWS

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from FOXNEWS:

Mohammad Bakir Shaikzada, the top Shiite cleric in Kabul, said that it was the first time that Shiites have been attacked in decades. He said he could not remember a similar attack having taken place,
"This is a crime against Muslims during the holy day of Ashoura. We Muslims will never forget these attacks. It is the enemy of the Muslims who are carrying them out," he said. He did not know who could have carried out such an attack.
Mustafa, a shopkeeper who witnessed the blast in Kabul, said he and his mother were delivering food to the worshippers. Two groups of 150 to 200 people from Kabul had just prayed at the shrine and left.
Another group of more than 100 from Logar province was entering when the explosion occurred. He said a suicide bomber at the end of the line of worshippers from Logar blew himself up near one of the gates to the shrine.
"It was very loud. My ears went deaf and I was blown 3 meters (yards)," said Mustafa, who uses only one name. "There was smoke and red blood on the floor of the shrine. There were people lying everywhere."
The shrine's loudspeaker continued to blast a recitation of the Quran as ambulances carried bodies and wounded away. Women stood outside the shrine wailing and holding crying children.
The mosque had been packed with worshippers and a large crowd that could not fit inside were gathered outside the building. The bomber walked into this crowd and detonated his explosives, said witness Mohammad Sharif.
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An Afghan National Army soldier disperses the crowd after a suicide attack at a Shi'ite Muslim gathering in Kabul December 6, 2011.
REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

An Afghan woman mourns after a suicide attack at a Shi'ite Muslim gathering in Kabul December 6, 2011.  REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
***GRAPHIC IMAGE!*** People help clear casualties from the site of a suicide attack at a Shi'ite Muslim gathering in Kabul December 6, 2011.  REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Policemen survey the site of a bomb explosion in Karachi December 6, 2011.
 REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
Policemen and paramilitary soldiers survey the site of a bomb explosion in Karachi December 6, 2011.
  REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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UPDATE:
NYT reporter: "Pakistani militant group of Sepah-e-Sahaba (called Lashkar jangawi ) claims responsibility of Kabul blast"

video: moment of the blast on CNN
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At least 25 killed and 48 injured in Iraq bombings

Monday, December 05, 2011 –

According to Iraqi security officials, at least 25 people have been killed and 48 others were injured in a series of bomb attacks in central Iraq targeting Shia pilgrims marking the festival of Ashura.

The officials further added, the incident took place in the Neel area north of Hilla which lies in the south of Baghdad after a car packed with explosives targeted pilgrims.

A Doctor quoted by AFP in Hilla hospital said, at least 16 dead bodies and 45 others who were injured following the incident were taken to the hospital.

Later, at least seven people died when a bomb exploded near a convoy of pilgrims in the capital, Baghdad.

The attacks came as the last 10,000 American troops prepare to withdraw by the end of 2011, more than eight years after the invasion that ousted Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and allowed the country’s Shi’ite majority to ascend.

In previous years, Ashura has been a target for Sunni Arab extremists, who see the ceremonies as symbolically highlighting the split between Islam’s two main branches.
Violence has declined in Iraq since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common.
According to Iraqi security officials, a total of 187 people were killed in November.
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