Another horrific incident occurs in Iraq, adding to the increasing country death toll, as a twin suicide bombing occurs in central Baghdad.
According to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, at least 27 people were killed and many others injured Monday, from the twin suicide bombing which occurred in a heavily crowded market street in central Baghdad.
Security forces, and medical teams rushed to the scene to contain the area after the attack, hurrying to clear the debris and help as many people as possible. Injuries totaled to about 100 people, officials said.
Most of the victims included large groups of laborers who usually gathered in the morning looking for work.
Monday’s suicide attack marked the second deadliest attack to hit the city of Baghdad in the past three days.
Earlier that week, on a Saturday, a suicide bomber attacked a Shitte gathering in a market square. Killing 41 people and injuring at least 33 people. The attack took place in a crowded market tent in the neighborhood of Shaab. ISIS later claimed responsibility in an online statement.
Baghdad has been a key target to the terror group, ISIS, as they gained land in 2014.
As of now, No group has taken responsibility for either attacks done in the past days.The attack in Aviation square was deemed the deadliest attacks in Baghdad since the massive truck bombing. Which killed 324 and injured many, in a commercial district of Karrada, July 2016. This bombing was the single deadliest attack Iraq has faced since the 2003 US invasion thatexiled Saddam Hussein.
Iraq has been subject to many attacks in the past from ISIS which have been occurring after the Iraqi government claiming victory over ISIS. They had claimed this victory after regaining control of an estimated one third of the country that had been under ISIS control.
President Donald Trump has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced plans to relocate the United States embassy there. This move is expected to further tensions in the region and unsettle any prospects for peace.
Every U.S. President since 1995, including Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama, has declined to move the embassy, citing national security interests.
According to National Security Council officials, Trump has signed a waiver officially delaying the move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for six months.
The status of Jerusalem has been one of the most sensitive and conflicting aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian war. In the past, U.S. foreign policy has avoided declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel in the absence of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. This is because both Palestinians and Israelis claim Jerusalem as their capital. Containing sacred sites to three major religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity, Jerusalem is of importance to both.
While in theory the embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would be simple, as there is already a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, the challenge exists in the diplomatic crises that would arise.
The United Nations partition plan in 1947 visualized Jerusalem as a separate “international city,” but the war that followed Israel’s declaration of independence, one year later, left the city divided, (Source: CNN).
East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, was annexed by Israel after the Six Day War of 1967. A United Nations resolution was thus passed condemning Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and declaring it a violation of International Law- this caused countries that had embassies in Jerusalem to move.
According to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
The issue of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is considered by Palestinians as a provocation and deconstruction of the peace talks. These talks have been on standby since 2014.
Palestinian officials warned the US against the move stating that it would be a step towards destabilizing the whole region and destroying the peace process
“Such a step would destabilize the whole region, destroy the peace process, disqualify the US from its role in the region and generate a new wave of extremism,” Member of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee and head of Information and Culture Department Hanan Ashrawi said.
“I hope that nobody would take such a step. This would be an extremely irresponsible and dangerous.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeinah said that the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is “equal dangerous to the future of the peace process and would take the region into the square of instability”.
According to Rudeinha, any just solution of the Palestinian Israeli conflict should guarantee that East Jerusalem is the capital of the independent state of Palestine. Rudeinha also stated that “failing to reach a solution to the Palestinian cause will prolong tensions, chaos and violence”.
On the other side, the Israeli government has praised Trump’s plan to move the embassy.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move is an “important step towards peace, for there is no peace that doesn’t include Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.”
Arab leaders are condemning the recognition by Trump including Jordan’s King Abdullah.
“There is no alternative to a two-state solution, and Jerusalem is key to any peace agreement. It is imperative to work fast to reach a final status solution and a peace agreement. Ignoring Palestinian Muslim and Christian rights in the holy city could fuel terrorism,” King Abdullah said.
The announcement has sparked numerous protests. Israel has deployed hundreds of extra troops in the West Bank as Palestinians went on strike and took to the streets this week.
At least 31 Palestinians have been wounded in clashes in the Gaza Strip and across the occupied West Bank, during protests against Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Earlier this week, the Iraqi army stated it has taken full control of Kirkuk, including the city’s airport and oil field, following a major advance on Kurdish-held territories. According to Al Jazeera, Iraqi security forces had captured the government building in the centre of Kirkuk city with no opposition from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.
This action was part of a major operation to retake the oil-rich province, during an escalating dispute that occurred when Baghdad declared a referendum on Kurdish secession illegal. As the Iraqi army advanced, thousands of people, including civilians and Peshmerga fighters, fled the disputed the city, which is said to be home to about a million Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen and Christians.
“It seems to be a complete withdrawal from the Peshmerga inside and around the city,” Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratfordreported from the outskirts of Kirkuk.
According to Stratford it took only about 15 hours for Iraqi troops to capture the city.
“Standing by the side of the road, there were Peshmerga fighters demanding that their colleagues went back to Kirkuk and continued to try and defend it. But there were also a lot of very frightened people desperate to get out as quickly as possible.”
While no response was immediately met with the capture, the Kurdish Peshmerga General Command (PGC) later issued a warning to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, stating the Iraqi government will pay a “heavy price for this unfairness” referring to its military campaign in Kirkuk, which it described as “a declaration of war against the nation of Kurdistan”.
“We call upon all the real Peshmerga of the country and the resilient and enemy-defeating people to do all they can to resist and defeat the attackers,” the statement said.
While the accusations have been denied by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the PGC has accused some of the leaders of PUK of “treason”, alleging that forces under the party’s control had withdrawn from areas they held.
“Unfortunately, some officials from the … PUK helped this plot against the Kurdistan nation and committed a great and historic treason against Kurdistan and the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for Kurdistan under the PUK flag,” the statement said.
The time that it took for Iraqi militant forces capture and seize the city has left Kurdish forces with many questions.
Al-Abadi met the threat with a call to the Peshmerga to collaborate in maintaining the peace in Kirkuk.
“We call upon the Peshmerga forces to perform their duty under the federal leadership as part of the Iraqi armed forces,” he said in a statement on Facebook, urging “all employees in Kirkuk to continue their work normally and not to disrupt the interests of citizens”.
According to reporters, Al-Abadi said he was fulfilling his constitutional duty “to serve the citizens and protect the unity of the country, which was in danger of partition due to the insistence on holding the referendum organized by those in power in the Kurdistan region in a unilateral step”.
Tensions between the two sides have been rampant since Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voted for secession in last month’s referendum. The non-binding poll was held in areas under control of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and in various disputed territories, including Kirkuk.
A lack of agreement on who should control Kirkuk, between the two parties, has created a division since the Kurdish Peshmerga forces first took control of oil-rich Kirkuk, after the Iraqi army fled from attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group in 2014.
World leaders from all regions including the United States, United Kingdom, Turkey, Canada and Francehave condemned the weekend truck bombing in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
The explosion has been named the worst single explosion in the East African country’s history. Occurring at busy Zoobe junction, the blast impacted an area of the city filled with many shops, hotels and offices leaving more than 300 dead.
In a statement released on Sunday, Washington condemned the bombing “in the strongest terms”. The US “will continue to stand with the Somali government, its people, and our international allies to combat terrorism and support their efforts to achieve peace, security, and prosperity,” the statement released by the Department of State said.
Boris Johnson, UK’s foreign secretary, said London “condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly attacks in Mogadishu, which have claimed so many innocent lives”.
The Eiffel Tower has turned off its lights in solidarity with the victims of the attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted, ”Solidarity with Somalia. Support to the African Union against Islamist terrorist groups. France stands by your side.”
Turkey has assisted several severely injured victims and plans on continuing so. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Ankara was sending planes “with medical supplies”, adding that the wounded would be flown to Turkey and treated there.
My condolences to the government and the people of Somalia. We stand by Somalia in the fight against terror and will tirelessly continue to help it recover from such atrocious attacks,” Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister said.
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also condemned the attacks in a tweet stating, “The attacks in Somalia are horrifying and Canada condemns them strongly. We mourn with the Canadian Somali community today.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged all Somalis “to unite in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism and work together in building a functional and inclusive federal state”.
“Sickened by attacks in Mogadishu. I send condolences to the victims and urge unity in the face of terrorism and violent extremism,” Guterres said in a tweet.
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the African Union Commission, asked the Somali government “to show renewed unity at this critical time and overcome divisions, to rebuild cohesion at all levels of the federal institutions.” The African Union has vowed to continue its support to the Somali government and people in their efforts to achieve sustainable peace and security.
We could only hope the international community continues to unite and empower one another over such tragedies.
Muslims worldwide plan to observe September 16, 2017 as a day of silence in solidarity with Rohingyas to protest the ongoing genocide against them. The call is given by the Chicago based Burma Task Force that has been actively raising the issue in the U.S. for the last few years.
More than 123,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh in the last 10 days after the latest Burmese military attacks against the Rohingya, which as reported by the United Nations (UN) began on August 25. Additionally, there are another 400,000 Rohingya Muslims trapped in forests and mountains as the military continues its attacks from the ground and air. UN aid agencies also say that Burma continues to block the delivery of food, water, and medicine to the Rohingya.
The Muslim American community on September 16 would present the demand to the Burmese Commander-in-Chief to ceasefire and stop all operations against Rohingyas and allow all emergency relief to reach the persecuted community. Additionally, they would also ask the Burmese government to allow journalists and UN officials to visit Burma to assess the situation.
The latest military campaign against Rohingyas has caused almost 90,000 people to flee under fire. Burma, known as Maynmar, has blocked UN agencies from supplying food, water and medicine to over a quarter of a million displaced people.
It is estimated that up to 1,500 Rohingyas are forced to flee Bangladesh on a daily basis. Refugees reaching Bangladesh have spoken of not only massacres, but rape and arson committed by fanatic Buddhist monks and armed forces.
The Myanmar military has admitted killing 400 people whom they have described as “terrorists.”
Meanwhile, the international community is putting pressure on Aung San Sun Kyi, Myanmar’s leader and a Nobel Peace prize winner, to act decisively to curb the military operations. About 300,000 people have signed an online petition asking the Myanmar leader to return the Nobel Prize awarded to her in 1991.
Described by the UN as the world’s most persecuted racial and religious minority the 1.3 million Rohingyas are squeezed into the north-west state of Rakine in Myanmar bordering Bangladesh.
They were stripped of their citizenship in 1982 and since then have been living as stateless people in their own country, which they have been living in for centuries. Since last year the military operations against Rohingyas have increased multifold and the UN has accused the army of committing ethnic cleansing.
Muslims led by the Turkish government have described the operation against Rohingyas as genocide and have urged the UN to take military action against Myanmar.
The Burmese Task Force is urging the Muslim American community to contact the following ambassadors about the plight of Rohingyas and demand military action against the perpetrators of crimes.
About 800,000 young undocumented immigrants are at risk of deportation, if the president and members of the House and Senate can not make a deal in the next 6 months. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who not only supports increased deportations but has opposed the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program since its inception under President Barack Obama in 2012, has called DACA unconstitutional adding ‘We are people of compassion and we are people of law.’
He has also helped block legislative efforts to help those called ‘Dreamers.’ ‘Dreamers’ refers to those who came to the U.S. as children.
DACA protections last for two years and allow Dreamers to work legally. With the loss of DACA protections, Dreamers might be sent away from the country they’ve lived in since they were children. Initially, government officials had said their focus was on deporting criminals, however this seems to not be the case.
Currently, the U.S. has 43 million immigrants. About 11 million are undocumented- 22 percent of whom are under the age of 25. Dreamers are immigrants who came to the U.S. before turning 16-years-old and have been living in the U.S. since June 15, 2007. 72 percent of Dreamers are in higher education and 60 percent are known organ donors. They contribute $460 billion to the U.S. economy, if the Trump administration succeeds in eliminating DACA some 700,00 would lose jobs.
The decision is likely to be challenged by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.). Even in Congress some Republicans are supportive of Dreamers, some had even introduced a bill- but the White House immediately shot it down in July.
About 1,800 governors, mayors, legislatures and public officials have opposed President Trump’s initiative.
Muslim organizations and interfaith groups have been supportive of Dreamers and most likely plan to join public officials to oppose Trump’s decision. Several churches have already declared their intentions to make houses of God sanctuaries for Dreamers, were they to be deported. Mosques and synagogues have also followed the lead in joining them.
The leading Muslim-American civil rights organization, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), has already condemned President Trump’s termination of DACA as “pandering to the demands of anti-immigrant extremists.” In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“The American Muslim community and CAIR stand with the 800,000 undocumented young people who were brought to our nation as children, who call the United States home and whose only dream is to come out of the shadows and to stay where they belong.
By terminating DACA, even with a six-month delay or ‘wind down,’ President Trump is pandering to the demands of anti-immigrant extremists and harming our nation by targeting some of the most dynamic and success-oriented members of society. In practical terms, the ‘delay’ in implementing the termination is meaningless for the vast majority of Dreamers and will inevitably result in chaos in their lives.
These young Dreamers deserve the chance to work and study — and to be protected from deportation — while Congress debates broader legislation to fix our broken immigration system.
President Trump’s heartless action will only serve to create fear and anxiety for the Dreamers and their loved ones, and will force them back to living in the shadows, rendering them unable contribute to our nation’s economy.
CAIR encourages state and local officials across the nation to enact policies prohibiting discrimination based on citizenship status and to offer sanctuary and support for Dreamers.
American Muslims will continue to push for measures that protect undocumented youth and support comprehensive immigration reform – reform that includes a roadmap to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented residents.”
Recently, CAIR National Board Chair Roula Allouch joined more than 1,860 fellow leaders in signing a new “We are with Dreamers” statement calling on President Trump to preserve the DACA program and for Congress to pass a standalone version of the bipartisan Dream Act of 2017.
CAIR has asked community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR’s Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report here.
Addition to the story since original publication:
The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), a coalition of leading national and local Muslim-American organizations, has also joined the growing number of civic organizations against the Trump Administration’s decision to end DACA.
“Repealing DACA is not only detrimental to immigrants that have participated in this program, but harms us all by contradicting core American values. Our nation prides itself on the opportunities that we provide and the freedoms that we enjoy. To take these opportunities away from hard working, and contributing members of society is dehumanizing, discriminatory and un-American,” USCO said, in a letter addressed to the White House.
“My original instinct was to pull out, and historically I like to follow my instincts,” President Donald Trump said in a speech outlining his plan for the 16-year US war in Afghanistan, at the Fort Myer military base in Arlington, Va. “I heard that decisions are much different when you sit behind the desk of the Oval Office.”
Referring to US support as “not a blank check,” Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan that calls for a troop increase and Pakistan to do more to stop terrorists, in a speech Monday night.
“Our commitment is not unlimited, and our support is not a blank check,” Trump said. “The government of Afghanistan must carry their share of the military, political, and economic burden.”
According to the Washington Post, he acknowledged that this “approach is a departure from his campaign rhetoric, and said he would prioritize American security over attempting to ‘dictate’ the Afghan people how to live”.
He has pledged that US troops would have a clear definition of victory in Afghanistan, but did not provide any details on what that would mean.
“The men and women who serve our nation in combat deserve a plan for victory,” Trump said. “They deserve the tools they need, and the trust they have earned, to fight and to win.”
In his address, Trump avoided various details stating he would not repeat the Obama administration’s mistake of signaling plans to US enemies.
“We will not talk about numbers of troops or our plans for further military activities,” Trump said. “Conditions on the ground, not arbitrary timetables, will guide our strategy from now on. America’s enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out.”
While Trump has not specified how long for and how many more troops will be sent to Afghanistan, congressional officials have stated an estimate of about 4,000 more than the current 8,400 troops.
“US Marines from India company march as they prepare to depart the American military compound at Kandahar airport, Afghanistan” Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The extra deployment has been delayed by the Pentagon pending agreement on an Afghan strategy. The additional troops are to serve in two roles: counterterrorism missions and training the Afghan forces.
He also stated that he would give military commanders the authority to act in real time and expand the authorities for US armed forces to target terrorists and criminal networks in Afghanistan.
“These killers need to know they have nowhere to hide, that no place is beyond the reach of American might and American arms,” Trump said. “Retribution will be fast and powerful.”
“America’s enemies must never know our plans or believe they can wait us out,” he added. “I will not say when we are going to attack, but attack we will.”
Trump also emphasized Pakistan’s role in his plan. The President has threatened to cut off US aid to Pakistan, in order to persuade them to help fight terrorism in Afghanistan- stating they have much to gain from partnering with the effort in Afghanistan and much to lose “by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists.”
“We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond,” he said.
While Trump stated that Pakistan has been a valued partner, he also reiterated his beliefs that the country has sheltered ‘terrorists’ that “try every single day to kill our people. We have been paying Pakistan billions and billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the very terrorists we are fighting,” Trump said. “But that will have to change, and that will change immediately.”
Afghanistan’s ambassador to Washington, Hamdullah Mohib said Trump’s words were “exactly what we wanted” because it “takes into account our country’s needs and constraints. We did not want it to be about troop numbers or time lines, but to conditions on the ground,” he said while visiting Kabul. “We welcome this strategy that integrates American military power into achieving our shared goals.”
According to Reuters, “a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban condemned Trump’s announcement that he will keep American troops in Afghanistan with no set timetable for withdrawal.”
“Instead of continuing war in Afghanistan, Americans should have thought about withdrawing their soldiers from Afghanistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement issued hours after Trump’s televised speech.
“As long as there is even one American soldier in our country,” the Islamist insurgents would “continue our jihad,” Mujahid said.
Tragedy hit as a car plowed through a crowd in Barcelona, Spain last week. 13 people were killed, with more than 100 injured, in the terrorist attack that occurred on one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist streets.
Spanish authorities have confirmed, on Twitter, that the suspect they shot and killed during an operation 30 miles west of Barcelona was 22-year-old Younes Abouyaaqoub, who had been the subject of an extensive international search since last Thursday’s attack.
According to the police, Abouyaaqoub shouted “Allahu Akbar” just before he was shot outside Subirats, shortly after being spotted by locals.
He appeared to be wearing an explosive vest during the confrontation, alarming police to alert a bomb squad and use a robot to check his body. While the explosive turned out to be fake, the police have announced that they believe Abouyaaqoub had stolen a vehicle and killed its driver while fleeing the scene after the attack on Las Ramblas.
Five other members of the cell – including Abouyaaqoub’s brother Houssaine – wearing fake suicide vests were also shot dead by police in Cambrils last Friday, the Guardian reported.
Photo By Nicolas Carvalho Ochoa/AFP/Getty Images
Authorities are investigating a link between three similar attacks, that they believe have been perpetrated by members of the same extremist cell including: the attack in Cambrils, Las Ramblas and a house explosion in the Spanish coastal town of Alcanar.
According to authorities, an investigation into the cell’s possible international links will stay open.
The self-described Islamic Stated has claimed responsibility for the car attacks in Spain. These attacks have risen as the deadliest attacks in Spain since the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
Over the last few years, terror groups have increasingly used vehicle in violent and extremist attacks within Europe.
According to the Huffington Post, “such attacks have killed over 100 people in major cities across Europe since 2015.”
Victims of the two attacks included citizens from at least 34 different countries- with the youngest victim being 3-years-old, according to Catalan Emergency Services.
Muslims around the world are condemning these attacks. Over 1,000 Muslims have marched down Las Ramblas with the slogan “Muslims against terrorism,” according to news reports.
