Connect with us

World

FBI confirms New Orleans attacker is dead

Published

on

The FBI are investigating this morning’s (Jun. 01) deadly attack in New Orleans as an “act of terrorism” as they confirm the suspect is dead.
Ten people were killed and at least 35 injured after a man drove a pick-up truck into a large crowd.

The incident occurred at approximately 03:15 local time (09:15 GMT) in the French Quarter – an area popular with visitors to the city.

Police say the driver was “hell-bent on creating the carnage he did” and also opened fire on officers.

In an earlier press conference, the FBI had said an improvised explosive device was found at the scene and agents are assessing its viability.

(BBC News)

World

Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills 22

Published

on

By

At least 22 people have been killed and 63 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack at a church in Damascus, Syria’s health ministry has said.

A man opened fire with a weapon at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Prophet Elias in the Dweila neighbourhood during a service on Sunday evening before detonating an explosive vest, according to the interior ministry.

It said the attacker was affiliated with the jihadist group Islamic State (IS). There was no immediate claim from the group itself.

Photos and video from inside the church showed a heavily damaged altar, pews covered in broken glass and blood spattered across the walls.

Witness Lawrence Maamari told AFP news agency that “someone entered [the church] from outside carrying a weapon” and began shooting. People “tried to stop him before he blew himself up”, he added.

Another man who was in a nearby shop said he heard gunfire followed by an explosion that sent glass flying. “We saw fire in the church and the remains of wooden benches thrown all the way to the entrance,” Ziad said.

It was the first such attack in Damascus since Islamist-led rebel forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad in December, ending 13 years of devastating civil war.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch said in a statement: “The treacherous hand of evil struck this evening, claiming our lives, along with the lives of our loved ones who fell today as martyrs during the evening divine liturgy.”

According to initial information, the bomb blast occurred at the entrance to the church, resulting in the deaths of people who were both inside the building and in the immediate vicinity, it added.

The patriarchate called upon Syria’s interim authorities to “assume full responsibility for what has happened and continues to happen in terms of violation against the sanctity of churches, and to ensure the protection of all citizens”.

Interior Minister Anas Khattab said specialised teams from his ministry had begun investigating the circumstances of what he called a “reprehensible crime”.

“These terrorist acts will not stop the efforts of the Syrian state in achieving civil peace,” he added.

The office of UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, condemned the attack and urged Syrians “to unite in rejecting terrorism, extremism, incitement and the targeting of any community”.

US special envoy Tom Barrack said: “These terrible acts of cowardice have no place in the new tapestry of integrated tolerance and inclusion that Syrians are weaving.”

Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa – whose Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is a former al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria and is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN, US and UK – has repeatedly promised to protect religious and ethnic minorities. However, Syria has been rocked by two waves of deadly sectarian violence in recent months.

IS has frequently targeted Christians and other religious minorities in Syria.

In 2016, the group claimed a series of blasts near the Shia Muslim Sayyida Zeinab shrine in a southern suburb of Damascus, which killed more than 70 people.

IS once held 88,000 sq km (34,000 sq miles) of territory stretching from western Syria to eastern Iraq and imposed its brutal rule on almost eight million people.

Despite the group’s military defeat in Syria in 2019, the UN has warned that the threat posed by IS and its affiliates remains high.

A report published in February warned that the group might take advantage of the transition in Syria to surge attacks and make the country a renewed hub for recruiting foreign fighters.

It estimated that IS had between 1,500 and 3,000 fighters in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, with most of them, including key leaders, based in Syrian territory. About 300 fighters were based in the central Badia desert, which served as a centre for planning external operations, it said.

More than 9,000 IS fighters are being detained prisons spread across north-eastern Syria and 40,000 other people linked to IS, mostly women and children, are held in several camps.

(BBC News)

Continue Reading

World

China strongly condemns US attacks on Iran

Published

on

By

China strongly condemns the U.S. attacks on Iran and bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

The spokesperson made the remarks when asked to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States carried out strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.

The actions of the United States seriously violated the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, and have exacerbated tensions in the Middle East, the spokesperson said.

China calls on the parties to the conflict, Israel in particular, to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and start dialogue and negotiation, the spokesperson said.

China stands ready to work with the international community to pool efforts together and uphold justice, and work for restoring peace and stability in the Middle East, the spokesperson said.

(Xinhua)

Continue Reading

World

No military solution ; only hope is peace – Guterres

Published

on

By

Responding to the US strikes on Iran, UN Secretary General António Guterres has called the development a “dangerous escalation”.  He said.

On a X post he adds : “I call on Member States to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the @UN Charter and other rules of international law. At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace.”

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) has also condemned America’s “savage assault” on three Iranian nuclear sites.

The organisation also criticises the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for being “indifferent and even complicit”.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that the US has completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” he wrote on Truth Social.

In a public address, Trump later congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they worked as a “team” to erase this “horrible threat to Israel”.

“There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” Trump warned.

(Excerpts : BBC)

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Sri Lanka Mirror. All Rights Reserved