Tag Archives: Bombings

Suicide bombers hit three Saudi cities

Muslim worshippers gather after a suicide bomber detonated a device near the security headquarters of the Prophet's Mosque in Medina

By Angus McDowall

RIYADH (Reuters) – Suicide bombers struck three cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan.

The explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi’ite worshippers and a security headquarters at a mosque in the holy city of Medina follow days of mass killings claimed by the Islamic State group, in Turkey, Bangladesh and Iraq. The attacks all seem to have been timed to coincide with the approach of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that celebrates the end of the fast.

A Saudi security official said an attacker parked a car near the U.S. consulate in Jeddah before detonating the device. The official said the government was checking the reports of blasts in Qatif and Medina.

In the only one of the three attacks that appeared to have caused many casualties, a suicide bomber detonated a bomb near the security headquarters of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the second-holiest site in Islam.

Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television said an initial death toll from the Medina blast included three suicide bombers and two security forces officers.

A video sent to Reuters by a witness to the aftermath of the Medina bombing showed a large blaze among parked cars in the fading evening light, with a sound of sirens in the background. A picture sent to Reuters showed a burnt and bleeding man lying on a stretcher in a hospital.

Other pictures circulating on social media showed dark smoke billowing from flames near the Mosque of the Prophet, originally built in the 7th century by the Prophet Muhammad, who is buried there along with his first two successors.

In Qatif, an eastern city that is home to many members of the Shi’ite minority, at least one and possibly two explosions struck near a Shi’ite mosque.

Witnesses described body parts, apparently of a suicide bomber, in the aftermath.

A resident of the city reached by telephone said there were believed to be no casualties there apart from the attacker, as worshippers had already gone home to break their fasts. Civil defense forces were cleaning up the area and police were investigating, the resident said.

A video circulating on social media and purporting to show the aftermath of a Qatif blast showed an agitated crowd on a street, with a fire raging near a building, and a bloody body part lying on the ground. Reuters could not immediately verify the video.

Hours earlier a suicide bomber was killed and two people were wounded in a blast near the U.S. consulate in the kingdom’s second city Jeddah.

The Jeddah blast was the first bombing in years to attempt to target foreigners in the kingdom. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Islamic State has carried out a series of bombing and shooting attacks in Saudi Arabia since mid-2014 that have killed scores of people, mostly members of the Shi’ite Muslim minority and security services.

Police and groups of local volunteers increased security near mosques in Qatif after suicide bombings hit mosques in Shi’ite areas last year, killing dozens. Another suicide blast at a mosque used by security forces also killed 15 a year ago.

(Additional reporting by Sami Aboudi in Dubai; Writing by Peter Graff; editing by Anna Willard)

Delta militants threaten ‘something big’, greet Nigerian children

A painting depicting Isaac Adaka Boro, a former Niger Delta militant in the 1960s, is seen along a road in the village of Kiama near Yenagoa

LAGOS (Reuters) – The Niger Delta Avengers militant group, which has mounted a bombing campaign against oil pipelines, on Friday threatened “something big” – but also wished Nigerian youngsters a Happy Children’s Day.

The Avengers say oil firms in the Delta are responsible for pollution and say the poor swampland region fails to reap any benefit from the wealth on which it sits.

The militants, whose activities have hammered Nigeria’s crude output, posted a warning on Twitter to the army and oil firms: “Watch out something big is about to happen and it will shock the whole world “.

They also sent out salutations to children. The Avengers

website showed a picture of children clambering over rusting oil pipelines above a message condemning the Nigerian government for denying the nation’s youth the “enchanting vista” of childhood.

Children’s Day is celebrated on May 27 in Nigeria, with primary and secondary schools closed.

(Reporting by Ed Cropley; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

U.N. says world must stand up for ignored humanitarian law

Bulgarian border policemen stand guard near barbed wire fence constructed on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, near Malko Tarnovo

By Dasha Afanasieva

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The U.N.’s refugee agency said on Monday border closures in Europe to stop migrants were “inhumane”, and government efforts to stem the flow had averted the crisis only temporarily.

The border closures across the Balkans and a controversial deal between Turkey and the EU have sharply reduced the number of people crossing into Europe this year, after a million made the often perilous journey in 2015.

“There are a lot of people patting themselves on the shoulder and saying the deal worked, the people have stopped coming: but there’s more to it than that,” Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UNHCR, said on the sidelines of the world’s first humanitarian summit.

“It has pushed the problem backwards and the problem is not yet solved.”

On the moves to seal borders, she added: “The sudden closure and the action by unilateral states was inhumane vis-à-vis many vulnerable people.”

Under the deal between Europe and Turkey, Ankara has agreed to take back illegal migrants from Europe in return for aid, accelerated EU accession talks and visa-free travel to the bloc.

Host country Turkey has taken in nearly 3 million refugees since the start of the Syrian civil war and spent nearly $10 billion. But aid groups say it is not a safe country for refugees.

Last week a Syrian on the Greek island of Lesbos won an appeal against a decision to forcibly return him to Turkey, successfully arguing that Turkey does not afford refugees the full protection required under the Refugee Convention, rights group Amnesty International said.

Fleming said it was not yet clear whether this would set a legal precedent.

Finalisation of the EU-Turkey deal has been held up by disagreements over Turkey’s anti-terrorism law, which Brussels wants brought in line with European standards.

Billed as the first of its kind, the United Nations summit in Istanbul aims to develop a better response to what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two.

(Editing by David Dolan and Andrew Roche)

Three bombings in Baghdad kill over 70 in worst violence so far

People gather at the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad's mainly Shi'ite district of Sadr City, Iraq, May 17, 2016.

By Kareem Raheem

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – At least 72 people were killed and more than 140 wounded by three bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday, police and medical sources said, extending the deadliest spate of attacks in the Iraqi capital so far this year.

Islamic State claimed one suicide bombing which killed 38 people and wounded over 70 in a marketplace in the northern, mainly Shi’ite Muslim district of al-Shaab.

A car bomb in nearby Shi’ite Sadr City killed at least 28 dead and 57 wounded, and another car blew up in the mixed Shi’ite-Sunni neighborhood of al-Rasheed, south of the capital, killing six and wounding 21, the sources said.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the arrest of the security official in charge of al-Shaab’s security after the attack, Abadi’s office said in a statement, without giving a reason for the detention.

Attacks claimed by IS in and around the city last week killed more than 100 people, the highest death toll in so few days so far this year, sparking anger and street protests over the government’s failure to ensure security.

Security had improved in Baghdad in recent years as sectarian tensions waned and the city’s perimeter was fortified. Islamic State, the ultra-hardline Sunni militants who control parts of north and west Iraq, have not tried to take the capital but carry out increasingly regular suicide bombings there, hitting Shi’ite areas and government targets.

With the latest death tolls, fears are growing that Baghdad could relapse into the bloodletting of a decade ago when sectarian-motivated suicide bombings killed scores of people every week.

This has cranked up pressure on Abadi who is struggling to solve a political crisis or risk losing control of parts of Baghdad to Islamic State militants. Away from the capital, Iraq’s military is waging a counter offensive against the group.

Abadi has said the crisis, sparked by his attempt to reshuffle the cabinet in an anti-corruption bid, is hampering the fight against Islamic State and creating space for more insurgent attacks on the civilian population.

A spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command told state television the attacker in al-Shaab had detonated an explosives-filled vest along with a planted bomb. Initial investigations revealed that the bomber was a woman, he said.

Islamic State said in a statement distributed online by supporters that one of its fighters had targeted Shi’ite militiamen with hand grenade and a suicide vest. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the other two bombings.

(Additional reporting by Saif Hameed and Mostafa Hashem in Cairo; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Turkey has prevented 85 security incidents since January

Police officers secure the area after an explosion in front of the city's police headquarters in Gaziantep

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey has prevented 85 “major incidents” since January, many involving live bombs, the government’s spokesman said on Monday, a day after the sixth suicide bombing in a Turkish city this year.

“We are making great efforts in the struggle against terror,” Numan Kurtulmus told reporters at a briefing in the capital, Ankara.

“We have prevented 85 major incidents since January. Forty-nine of those included live bombs.”

Turkey has been hit by a series of suicide bombings this year, including two in its largest city Istanbul blamed on Islamic State, and two in the capital Ankara which were claimed by a Kurdish militant group. It has also faced attacks from far leftist groups, mostly on police and security forces.

On Sunday, two police officers were killed and 22 people wounded by a suicide car bomb in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.

Last week, a suicide bomber blew herself up near the main mosque in the northwestern city of Bursa, injuring eight people. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, has since claimed responsibility for the attack.

(Reporting by Ercan Gurses; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Andrew Roche)

Bombers planned to attack France again

Damage is seen inside the departure terminal following the March 22, 2016 bombing at Zaventem Airport, in these photos made available to Reuters by the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad

By Robert-Jan Bartunek

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The militant cell behind bombings in Brussels had been plotting to hit France again after carrying out the Paris attacks in November, but was forced to strike closer to home as police closed in, Belgian prosecutors said on Sunday.

Investigations into the Islamic State attacks in Paris, which killed 130 people, showed that many of the perpetrators lived in Belgium, including surviving suspects who managed to evade police for more than four months.

Prime suspect Salah Abdeslam was arrested on March 18 in the Belgian capital. Four days later, suicide bombers killed 32 people in Brussels airport and a rush-hour metro train.

“Numerous elements in the investigation have shown that the terrorist group initially had the intention to strike in France again,” Belgium’s federal prosecutor said in a statement.

“Surprised by the speed of progress in the investigation, they took the decision to strike in Brussels.”

Belgian intelligence and security forces had been criticised abroad for not doing more to dismantle the militant cell, because of its links to the Paris attacks.

As of Friday, all publicly identified suspects were either in detention or dead, but Belgium remains on its second highest threat level, and Prime Minister Charles Michel said his government would remain alert.

His comments were echoed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who said France would not be lowering its guard.

“This is a further sign of the very serious threat facing Europe as a whole and of course France in particular,” Valls told a news conference in Algiers.

Abdeslam, born and raised in Belgium to Moroccan-born parents, told a magistrate he had planned to blow himself up at a sports stadium in Paris in November, but backed out at the last minute. His brother Brahim blew himself up at a Paris cafe.

Another man linked to the Paris attacks, Mohamed Abrini, was arrested in Brussels on Friday and admitted to being the “man in the hat” captured on video walking into Brussels airport alongside two suicide bombers.

Abrini, 31, has been charged with terrorist murders, prosecutors said.

Another main suspect who was seen alongside the suicide bomber in the Brussels metro, identified by prosecutors as Osama K, was also arrested on Friday in the Belgian capital.

Osama K, 28, widely named by media as Swedish national Osama Krayem, was filmed buying the bags used to carry the Brussels bombs.

(additional reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

ISIS Claims Twin Suicide Attacks in Lebanon and Threatens Russia in Latest Video

ISIS claimed to launch one of the deadliest attacks in recent years in Lebanon Thursday evening, when a double suicide bombing killed at least 43 people and wounded over 200 others in a southern Beirut suburb.

ABC News reports that the suburb is a stronghold for Hezbollah, a militant Shiite group. ISIS has mostly been targeting Syria and Iraq and has not recognized any affiliate in Lebanon thus far. However, Lebanon has seen deadly situations due to the civil war in the neighboring country.

The bombs were detonated only minutes apart during rush hour in the Hezbollah stronghold. Ambulances rushed to the scene and Lebanese military, paired with Hezbollah gunmen, would not allow anyone to enter the area. Hezbollah has asked for people to disperse and leave public areas as well as be on the lookout for suspicious actions.

“There’s a lot of shattered glass on the street, a lot of blood, and it’s really just a scene of chaos and carnage,” journalist Tamara Qiblawi told CNN shortly after the blasts.

After the attack, ISIS members posted on various social media outlets that they carried out the attacks.

Hezbollah has been fighting alongside Syrian government forces led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The suburb has been attacked in the past and Sunni militant groups continue to threaten the stronghold, according to ABC News.

Lebanese security officials told Fox News that the first attacker detonated the bomb inside a mosque then shortly after, the second attack was carried out in a bakery located nearby. A third attacker was found dead, close to the second explosion. His vest was still intact.

According to CNN, another would-be attacker who survived the bombing was found. Lebanese officials state that he was an ISIS recruit. He has been taken into custody and told authorities that he, and the other attackers arrived in Lebanon from Syria two days ago.

A national day of mourning was declared by Lebanon Prime Minister Tammam Salam. He called for Lebanon’s Parliament to stop their arguments and to begin functioning again. In fact, the government in Lebanon has been so disjointed that there is currently a trash crisis.

“I pray that this tragedy is enough to wake up politicians so that they can put their differences aside so we can protect the country,” Salam said in a statement, according to the Washington Post.

In addition to Thursday’s attacks, ISIS also released a new video on Thursday, threatening to attack Russia for revenge on the recent series of Russian airstrikes in Syria. The militant in the video stated in Russian: “Soon, very soon, the blood will spill like an ocean.”

Russian state security services are analyzing the video, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“I do not know the authenticity of this video, I do not know the authenticity of these sources, but in any case no doubt this will be material for review by our special (security) services,” Peskov told journalists on a conference call, according to Business Insider.

USA Today reports another suicide bombing took place Friday at a Baghdad memorial service for a Shiite fighter. At least 22 have been reported dead and at least 43 are wounded. At this time, ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the attack, but they are well known for targeting large Shiite gatherings. The radical Sunni group believes that Shiites are apostates who have strayed from Islam.