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Shia Volunteers Lead Fightback Against IS

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Maret 2015 | 12.14

By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent

Ansar Marjaiyeh, or Soldiers Of The Religious Leadership, is a group of Shia volunteers leading the fightback against Islamic State militants near Fallujah.

IS snipers are just 200m away, and they return fire hard and fast. The volunteers are slowly pushing the militants back, but holding the territory they retake is their main challenge.

Their weapons are not impressive, but their resolve is. Dozens of these fighters have been killed so far. This is just one of several open fronts with the Islamic State group in Iraq.

More than 20,000 Shia militiamen from different groups, many backed by Iran, are involved in the fight against IS. They make up what is known as the Popular Mobilisation Force. Around 5,000 Iraqi officers and soldiers are working with them.

The men proudly show off their weapons and what they have picked up during battle.

One militia leader showed us what he said was a receipt, bearing the stamp of the Islamic State group, invoicing the Syrian government for crude oil worth thousands of dollars. The receipt said the oil was to be transferred from Mosul to Syria.

We met up with hundreds of fighters on their way to the frontline in Tikrit - the birthplace of former president Saddam Hussein, which was taken over by IS last summer.

The military operation In Tikrit is in its third week, but the militias still only control parts of the city.

Hadi al Amiri heads up the Badr Brigade, one of Iraq's most effective fighting forces.

Seen by many as Iran's man on the ground, he told Sky News that dozens of Iranian advisors are helping take back territory from IS, and that Tikrit would be retaken within days.

But he insists co-ordination with local Sunni forces has been key, and is confident his men will soon take back Anbar before recapturing the country's second city, Mosul.

He said: "We were victorious in Diyala, and we're using the same strategy here, as a result of a high degree of co-ordination between the army, the popular mobilisation forces and the police."

In Diyala, though, Sunni families returning have found their homes burned and looted. Rights groups say dozens of villages were destroyed not just by IS, but also Shia militias carrying out revenge attacks.

We spoke to people in Diyala who told us they heard about those attacks from their neighbours and friends, but did not see anything themselves.

Militia leaders insist they have strict orders not to harm locals under their control, and near Tikrit, we found Shia fighters helping hundreds of families going home.

There are also some areas where the battle was too fierce, meaning there is nothing left to come back to. Islamic State flags still litter the walls along the streets as mangled metal and charred buildings replace what used to be a vibrant neighbourhood.

For now, the momentum is with the militias and the Iraqi army.

Tikrit will be a strategic and symbolic victory before the push northwards, but that will entail Shia militias controlling Sunni and mixed villages - putting Iraq's delicate sectarian balance to the ultimate test.


12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

At Least 142 Killed In Yemen Suicide Bombings

At least 142 people have been killed and hundreds more injured after four suicide bombers attacked two mosques in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

The bombers struck during Friday prayers at mosques mainly used by supporters of the Shia Muslim Houthi group which recently seized control of the government.

The attackers detonated their explosive belts inside and outside the buildings.

One witness said: "A man with a crutch and his leg covered with plaster showing the Houthi sign on the crutch entered the inside of the mosque, then we heard the explosion."

A spokesman for the country's health ministry said at least 30 of those wounded in the attacks were in a critical condition in intensive care.

In an online statement, the previously unknown Sanaa branch of Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings and said they were "just the tip of the iceberg".

The US condemned the attacks, but said it was too early to confirm whether IS was involved.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there is not, as yet, a "clear operational" link between Yemeni extremists and IS fighters in Syria and Iraq.

"We express our condolences to the families of the victims, we deplore the brutality of the terrorists who perpetrated today's unprovoked attack on Yemeni citizens, who were peacefully engaged in Friday prayers," he said.

Yemen is divided by a power struggle between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the north and UN-recognised President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who fled to the southern city of Aden in February after escaping house arrest in the capital.

He has established a rival seat in Aden with the backing of Sunni-led Gulf Arab states but twice in the last two days unidentified aircraft have attacked his presidential palace.

A government spokesman said the President was not in the palace at the time and is unharmed.


12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shocked Survivors Recount Tunisia Horror

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 20 Maret 2015 | 12.14

A woman who was inside the museum in Tunisia when it was stormed by gunmen has recounted her ordeal from her hospital bed.

Italian Bruna Scherini was among a group of cruise ship passengers visiting the Bardo Museum in central Tunis when it came under attack on Wednesday.

Ms Scherini was shot in the leg by a gunman with an automatic rifle and is recovering in hospital.

She told how she and her daughter were looking around the museum, renowned for its collection of Roman mosaics, when the attackers started shooting.

"We entered a room where we were looking at mosaics, and suddenly my daughter started to hear gunshots so we all tried to escape and all of us tried to save ourselves as best we could," she said.

"We tried to hide behind the exhibits, and in the corners where there was a little hiding place.

"It was just a second and then we all spread a bit in different directions, there were various rooms and everyone was trying to find a place to hide somehow."

Ms Scherini said the attackers "sprayed bullets around to intimidate us".

"Next to me there were two people who didn't move and others who were injured. Everyone was injured," she said.

"A friend of mine was with me and her little girl, they are okay, they saved themselves. Thank goodness nothing happened to the girl."

Twenty tourists - many of them cruise passengers - were among the 23 people killed, making it the worst attack at a tourist site in Tunisia in more than a decade.

The two gunmen, both Tunisian, were among the dead.

Witnesses have described how the men opened fire on tourists arriving at museum before chasing them inside. The attackers later died in a firefight with police.

A Spanish couple were found alive and well on Thursday morning after cowering in fear in the museum all night.

Juan Carlos Sanchez and Cristina Rubio, who is four months pregnant, stayed hiding - hours after the attackers died and the other visitors were escorted to safety.

Speaking from the maternity ward of a Tunis hospital, Mr Sanchez told how they were waiting to have lunch with their tour guide when a man ran past, fleeing gunshots.

They then found a small room to hide in.

"That's where we stayed until the police saw us today and then we left. We spent all night there and we thought the terrorists were still outside," he said.

"But it was simply the police who were searching for people. We thought they were terrorists out there and that's why we didn't venture out."

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  1. Gallery: Police Secure Area After Terror In Museum

    Police officers stand outside the parliament

A tourist injured after an attack by gunmen on Tunisia's national museum is wheeled on a stretcher

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12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

British Woman Among 23 Killed In Tunisia Attack

A "much-loved" British mother-of-two was killed in the terror attack in Tunisia that left 23 people dead, it has emerged.

Newly retired Sally Adey, 57, was on holiday with her husband Robert, who is believed to be unharmed.

Terrorist group Islamic State has released an online audio recording in which it claims responsibility for Wednesday's shooting at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

Witnesses say the gunmen opened fire on tourists arriving at museum, before chasing them inside. The two attackers were among the 23 people left dead.

Twenty foreign tourists were gunned down, including visitors from Japan, Italy, Colombia, Australia, France and Poland.

Most of the victims were passengers on two cruise liners.

The Adeys, both solicitors from Shropshire, had been on MSC Splendida, which docked at the port in Tunis early on Wednesday.

Julia Holden, a close friend of the Adey family and a partner at Shakespeares Solicitors in Birmingham where Mr Adey works, issued a statement on the family's behalf.

"Sally Adey was a much-loved daughter, wife and mother. The family are devastated by her loss," she said.

"They are also saddened for others who have lost people they love, and for those who have been hurt."

David Crawshaw, who was the Adeys' neighbour in Shifnal for more than a decade, said: "They were really the sort of neighbours you want, a fine, hard-working family, and Sally will be missed by us."

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  1. Gallery: Police Secure Area After Terror In Museum

    Police officers stand outside the parliament

A tourist injured after an attack by gunmen on Tunisia's national museum is wheeled on a stretcher

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12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Nairobi Mall Attack Mastermind Killed By Drone

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 19 Maret 2015 | 12.15

An al Shabaab leader thought to be a mastermind of the Nairobi shopping mall attack was killed in a US drone strike last week, the Pentagon says.

Adnan Garaar was targeted while in a car near the town of Dinsoor, 150 miles west of the Somalian capital Mogadishu, on 12 March.

Residents said the car contained three al Shabaab members and the vehicle was completely destroyed.

Confirming Garaar's death, the US military said in a statement: "He posed a major threat to the region and the international community and was connected to the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya.

"His death has dealt another significant blow to the al Shabaab terrorist organisation in Somalia."

Some 67 people, including six Britons, were killed in the Westgate Mall attack in September 2013.

The attack was the largest in Kenya since al Qaeda bombed the US embassy in Nairobi in 1998.

Al Shabaab has vowed to carry out attacks in Kenya and Uganda in retaliation for the countries' contribution to the African Union force supporting Somalia's government.


12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

At Least 17 Tourists Killed In Tunisia Attack

At least 20 people have been killed after militants attacked a museum in the Tunisian parliament building compound.

Of those killed, 17 were foreign tourists.

Initial reports on local media said those killed included British nationals, but the Tunisian prime minister Habib Essid told national television the victims were Polish, Spanish, German, Italian and Tunisian.

The gunmen, wearing military uniforms and armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, opened fire on tourists as they were getting off buses and later held hostages inside the Bardo Museum.

Security forces surrounded the building and later stormed it, killing two militants. One policeman was killed along with a cleaner during the operation.

The interior ministry said Tunisian troops freed all the hostages, but there were reports that security forces were hunting as many as three accomplices believed to still be at large.

Thirty-eight people were also wounded in the attack, according to Health Minister Said Aidi.

The massacre is a blow for the country which is heavily dependent on Western tourism.

The museum is a leading tourist attraction in the country, and houses one of the world's largest Roman mosaic collections.

The local stock market fell in the wake of the attack and a number of tour operators said they had temporarily suspended excursions to Tunis.

Prime Minister Habib Essid said in a national address: "All Tunisians should be united after this attack which was aimed at destroying the Tunisian economy.

"These savage minority groups will not frighten us and the fight against them will continue until they are exterminated."

Both the US and UK have condemned the attack and pledged support for the Tunisian government.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "appalled" by the attack.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are urgently looking into the serious events in Tunisia and are working with the Tunisian authorities as well as with contacts in the tourist industry to establish if any British nationals have been affected.

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  1. Gallery: Eight Tourists Killed In Tunisia Militant Attack

    Tunisian security forces attempt to secure the area after gunmen attacked Tunis' famed Bardo Museum

At least seven foreigners and a Tunisian were killed in an attack on the museum by two men armed with assault rifles, the interior ministry said

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12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Turkey Detains 'Syria-Bound' British Woman

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 18 Maret 2015 | 12.14

A 21-year-old British woman has been detained in Turkey on suspicion of trying to travel to Syria to join Islamic State militants.

The woman, named by officials as Jaila Nadra H, was detained at a bus station in the capital Ankara on Monday and is being held pending deportation hearings.

One official said she was expected to be deported "soon".

Another said authorities apprehended her based on Turkish intelligence and were not tipped off by British authorities.

Correspondence and images on her mobile phone indicate she was planning to head to IS territory, officials said.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm the detention of a British national in Ankara and are providing consular assistance."

The development comes as footage emerged of three British teenagers suspected of planning to join IS militants in Syria.

The CCTV video of the young men was taken at an airport in Istanbul just before they were stopped allegedly heading to the border with Syria.

The teenagers, two aged 17 and one aged 19, were arrested and flown back to the UK but have since been released on bail.

Their parents had contacted police when they did not return home after Friday prayers.

UK police then got in touch with Turkish officials and were able to stop the three.

Their arrests came after tensions between UK police and Turkish officials were raised following the disappearance of three girls who attended Bethnal Green Academy in east London.

Their disappearance led to criticism from Turkey's deputy prime minister, who said officials had not been given enough warning about them going missing.

Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16 - all from East London - took flights to Istanbul last month, from where they are thought to have travelled to join Islamic State militants in Syria.

The schoolgirls are believed to be staying at a house in al Raqqa, Sky sources say.

Security services estimate 600 Britons have gone to Syria or Iraq to join militant groups, including Mohammed Emwazi, also known as "Jihadi John", who has appeared in several IS beheading videos.


12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Netanyahu Hails 'Great Victory' But Result Close

Netanyahu Hails 'Great Victory' But Result Close

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Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed a "great victory" in Israel's election - but exit polls put his party neck-and-neck with the centre-left Zionist Union.

Mr Netanyahu is fighting to remain as prime minister after his centre-right Likud won 27 seats, the same number as its main rival in the 120-member parliament, according to two polls.

A third put Likud on 28 and Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union on 27, with the figures coming out moments after voting ended.

Likud appeared to have gathered some late momentum as it had trailed by up to four seats in the final polls published last week.

The two leaders will now each try to join up with other parties in order to form the next government.

But Mr Netanyahu, 65, could find it easier to create a coalition, as he has backing from an array of smaller right-wing and religious parties.

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  1. Gallery: Israel Goes To The Polls In Tight Election

    Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his vote in Jerusalem

An Israeli soldier choosing a ballot from behind a voting booth near Ofakim

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Isaac Herzog, co-leader of centre-left Zionist Union party, poses for a photograph at his party's headquarters in Tel Aviv

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Mr Herzog places a note in the Western Wall, the holiest prayer site for Jews in Jerusalem

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A supporter of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party holds a campaign poster in Bnei Brak

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Netanyahu Hails 'Great Victory' But Result Close

We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed a "great victory" in Israel's election - but exit polls put his party neck-and-neck with the centre-left Zionist Union.

Mr Netanyahu is fighting to remain as prime minister after his centre-right Likud won 27 seats, the same number as its main rival in the 120-member parliament, according to two polls.

A third put Likud on 28 and Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union on 27, with the figures coming out moments after voting ended.

Likud appeared to have gathered some late momentum as it had trailed by up to four seats in the final polls published last week.

The two leaders will now each try to join up with other parties in order to form the next government.

But Mr Netanyahu, 65, could find it easier to create a coalition, as he has backing from an array of smaller right-wing and religious parties.

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  1. Gallery: Israel Goes To The Polls In Tight Election

    Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his vote in Jerusalem

An Israeli soldier choosing a ballot from behind a voting booth near Ofakim

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Isaac Herzog, co-leader of centre-left Zionist Union party, poses for a photograph at his party's headquarters in Tel Aviv

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Mr Herzog places a note in the Western Wall, the holiest prayer site for Jews in Jerusalem

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A supporter of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party holds a campaign poster in Bnei Brak

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12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Israel Election: Netanyahu Rallies Supporters

Written By Unknown on Senin, 16 Maret 2015 | 12.14

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

Israel's prime minister has implored right-wing voters to "stop a left-wing government from coming to power" at a rally in Tel Aviv before the country goes to the polls on Tuesday.

Crowds gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Sunday night as Mr Netanyahu urged supporters to turn out in high number to combat flagging opinion poll ratings.

"Our rivals are investing a huge effort to harm me and the Likud, to open a gap between my party, the Likud, and (our rivals)," Mr Netanyahu said.

"If we don't close this gap, there is a real danger that a left-wing government will rise to power."

The three-time Israeli prime minister has in recent days intensified his rhetoric, making accusations that foreign powers are conspiring to unseat him.

Speaking to Israel's Channel 2 News on Saturday, he said: "There is a huge international effort, with major money, partnering up with leftist organisations here and also with media figures in order to bring down the Likud government that I head."

The final opinion polls of the campaign show the Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, taking between 24 and 26 of parliament's 120 seats, compared with 20-22 seats for Likud.

The Zionist Union has accused Mr Netanyahu of mounting a scare campaign, in an effort to divert attention from Israel's socio-economic challenges, such as rising house prices and high living costs.

Their campaign has focused on a plan to combat rising house prices, as well as a commitment to improve relations with the US, which they say were damaged by Mr Netanyahu's recent speech to Congress on Iran that was derided by the White House, and to re-start negotiations with the Palestinians.

But the party that gets the most seats will not necessarily lead the next government.

The next prime minister will be the leader who is able to build a coalition commanding a majority of at least 61 seats.

"The two largest parties are at about 20% in the polls, they'd be declared losers in a British election, but they're going to win the election here," says Professor Reuven Hazan, head of the political science department at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

"Whatever the percentage of the national vote a party gets, that's exactly the number of seats it will get," he added.

"With only 20% of the votes, and therefore only 20% of the seats, they will have to form a majority coalition.

"So the name of the game is not so much who gets more seats, but who can actually form that majority after the elections."

The comparative strength of the right-wing bloc over the left and centre bloc has led some analysts to consider Mr Netanyahu better placed to form a governing coalition, even if his Likud party receives fewer seats than the Zionist Union.

There are likely to be at least 11 parties taking seats from across the political spectrum, including the Jewish orthodox and Arab parties.

Final polls put the newly formed Joint Arab list - an alliance of Israel's main Arab parties - in third place at around 13 seats.

Both the hard right Jewish Home and centre-right Yesh Atid look set to win between 11 and 12 seats, while the newly formed centre-right Kulanu could pick up between 8 and 10 seats.


12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyclone Pam: Vanuatu Devastation 'Apocalyptic'

The president of a Pacific island nation devastated by a tropical cyclone says he "fears the worst" as the first aid teams reached the disaster zone.

Up to 50 people are reported to have been killed by Cyclone Pam, which brought winds of more than 185mph when it struck Vanuatu, levelling homes, smashing up boats, destroying roads and bridges, and bringing down power and phone lines.

But aid agencies say the real number is expected likely to be much higher as rescuers reach the outlying islands.

Thousands have been left homeless on the archipelago.

A Red Cross spokesman described the situation as "apocalyptic" and Vanuatu's government has declared a state of emergency.

President Baldwin Lonsdale, who happened to be at a disaster risk conference in Japan, compared the storm to a monster.

He said most houses in the capital Port Vila had been damaged or destroyed.

President Lonsdale said the impact would be "the very, very, very worst" in isolated outer islands but he held out hope the number of casualties would be "minor".

He had earlier made a tearful appeal for international assistance.

Aid workers were particularly concerned about the southern island of Tanna, about 125 miles south of the capital, Port Vila.

An official with the Australian Red Cross said an aircraft had managed to land there and confirmed "widespread destruction".

"Virtually every building that is not concrete has been flattened," the official said.

Witnesses in Port Vila described sea surges of up to 26ft (8m) and widespread flooding.

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  1. Gallery: Fears Dozens Killed By Powerful Cyclone Pam

    At least 10 people have been killed by Cyclone Pam, after winds of more than 185mph struck the South Pacific's Vanuatu archipelago

The streets of Porta Vila are littered with debris and uprooted trees

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12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyclone Pam: State Of Emergency In Vanuatu

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 15 Maret 2015 | 12.14

A state of emergency has been declared in Vanuatu after at least eight people were confirmed dead in the aftermath of tropical Cyclone Pam.

Officials say the death toll is likely to rise after the storm caused widespread destruction across the 65 inhabited Vanuatu islands.

The cyclone saw winds of up to 168mph strike villages across the South Pacific islands, leading to power outages and the destruction of major infrastructure.

The confirmed fatalities occurred in and around Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, according to World Vision emergency communications officer Chloe Morrison.

Officials are yet to assess the full extent of the damage in many of the hard-hit outer islands, Ms Morrison added.

Isso Nihmei, Vanuatu coordinator for the environmental and crisis response group 350, said: "Most people right now, they are really homeless."

"We're still not having communications with the other provinces," he added.

"We're just running around trying to get information around Port Vila; with the other islands it's really hard to get anything."

UNICEF estimated that 54,000 children are among those affected by the cyclone.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the impact and scope of the disaster remains unclear.

"We hope the loss of life will be minimal," he said at the World Conference on Disaster Risk and Reduction in Japan.

The UK has pledged to contribute up to £2m in aid to help in the wake of the storm.

Britain's Department for International Development said "up to £1m" will be made immediately available to UN organisations and international aid agencies already working in the region.

An additional £1m will be made available through the UK's Rapid Response Facility, which provides emergency support.

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  1. Gallery: Fears Dozens Killed By Powerful Cyclone Pam

    There are fears dozens of people have been killed after Cyclone Pam stuck the Pacific's Vanuatu archipelago

The streets of Porta Vila are reportedly littered with debris and uprooted trees following the storm

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Kurds Claim Islamic State Used Chlorine Gas

Kurdish authorities claim to have evidence which shows Islamic State used weaponised chlorine gas against Peshmerga fighters in January.

The Security Council of the Kurdish region said soil and clothing samples showed traces of chlorine after an IS car bombing attempt.

Analysis of the samples showed they "contained levels of chlorine that suggested the substance was used in weaponised form".

The allegation has not been independently verified.

Peter Sawczak, spokesman for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, said: "We have not had a request from Iraq to investigate claims of use of chemical weapons in Iraq, and the OPCW cannot immediately verify the claims."

The use of chlorine as a chemical weapon dates back to World War One.

The substance was banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997.

Chlorine has been used "systematically" in the civil war in neighbouring Syria, an OPCW fact-finding mission found last year.

The Kurdish authority said in a statement that the car bombing attempt happened on 23 January on a highway between Mosul and the Syrian border.

Peshmerga fighters fired a rocket at the car, killing the driver.

About a dozen Peshmerga fighters later experienced symptoms of nausea, vomiting, dizziness or weakness.

Video footage and photographs of the incident were sent to the Reuters news agency.

In some of the photographs, several canisters are seen lying on the ground.

The White House said in a statement it could not confirm the allegations but found them "deeply disturbing" and was monitoring the situation "very closely".

A US defence official said the use of chlorine as a weapon was a possible sign of "growing desperation due to the pressure being applied by coalition air power and Iraqi ground forces".

Iraqi Kurds were the victims of the deadliest chemical attack of modern times when Saddam Hussein's air force bombed the town of Halabja in 1988, gassing at least 5,000 people to death.


12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More
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