Syrian Army Kills over 100 Terrorists in different parts of the Country
Thousands of migrants wait for their departure to Germany at the Austrian side of the Hungarian-Austrian border in Heiligenkreuz on September 19, 2015 as several thousand migrants arrived from Croatia. (File photo: AFP)
Arab World
Syrian Army Kills Over 100 Terrorists in different parts of the Country
Yemen rebels free 3 Americans, 2 Saudis, 1 Briton: officials
Saudi Warplanes Kill Dozens of Civilian Yemenis
14 Civilians Killed in Militants' Attack in Syria
Yemeni Forces Kill, Capture Several Saudi Soldiers
Russian Satellite Imagery Helps Syrian Fighter Jets Target Militant Positions in Lattakia Province
Former Bin Laden Lieutenant Killed in Syria
Saudi Arabia: 100,000 troops to secure the Hajj
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South Asia
Five Daesh Militants Killed In Security Operation In Nangarhar
Taliban divided as talks failed between Mullah Mansoor and dissatisfied commanders
Afghan blast kills five policemen: officials
Certain individuals looking for chance to make chaos in Kabul: Jihadi leader
Bloody violence erupted among the Afghan and Syrian refugees in Croatia
Taliban warn villagers in Ghazni to empty their homes
TTP releases video allegedly showing Peshawar attackers
Taliban release most of Ghazni hostages
Kabul reacts towards Pakistan’s remarks regarding attack on air force base
Foreign Ministry: Kabul won’t allow its soil be used against neighbors
Pakistan to send high-powered delegation to Afghanistan to discuss anti-TTP actions
Govt declares national holiday to observe death anniversary of Burhanuddin Rabbani
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Mideast
13 Dead In Migrant Boat Collision with Ferry Off Turkey
Iran Asks UAE to Send Food, Medicine to Yemenis instead of Weapons
FM: Iranian People Cannot Trust US
Syrian Army, Militants Agree on One-Day Truce in Zabadani, Madaya, Fuaa, Kafraya
President Rouhani: Iran Expects IAEA's Fair Supervision of N. Agreement
Spokesman: Many Countries Eager to Screen Movie 'Mohammad'
Iran Dismisses Closure of Embassy in Yemen
Iran, Japan Trade Organizations to Hold Talks
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Europe
Germany Probes Syrian Asylum-Seeker For ISIS Links
Refugee journey:Reunited at last, a long way from home
Canada to accept 10,000 Syrians within one year
Ukrainian Army Opens Fire on Luhansk Six Times in One Day
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Pakistan
Five Terrorists Killed In Badhaber Base Attack Identified
In letter to NYT, USAID defends programmes in Pakistan
Pakistan in talks with Russia to buy Su-35 jets
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Africa
APC Official Writes To Buhari Over Saraki's Case
Boko Haram Insurgents Flee, Abandon Items - Usman
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Arab World
Syrian Army Kills Over 100 Terrorists in Different Parts Of The Country
Sep 20, 2015
TEHRAN (FNA)- Units of the Syrian army in cooperation with the popular defence groups killed at least 100 terrorists in different parts of the country, especially in the coastal province of Lattakia.
A military source said on Saturday that at least 33 terrorists were killed, most of them from Jabhat al-Nusra, in operations carried out by a unit of the army against their hideouts and positions in the camp of al-Atira village in Rabi’aa area, 60 km to the North of Lattakia.
The source added that 7 of the terrorists’ vehicles were destroyed with all arms and ammunition inside them and all terrorists onboard were killed.
A unit of the army also carried out bombardments against positions of the terrorist organizations in al-Souda village in the Northeastern countryside of the province, killing 47 terrorists and injuring others, in addition to destroying their arms and ammunition.
An army unit carried out a special operations against a terrorist group between al-Nawba Mountain and al-Shiekh Said in Salma area, about 48 km to the East of Lattakia city, killing all of its members and destroying a munitions cache.
Later on Saturday, the army launched a series of airstrikes against dens of terrorist organizations in the villages of Rweiset al-Kharb, West of Marj Shili, Akko, Kabani, Kibdin and in Kensabba in Lattakia's Northeastern countryside.
Several members of Jabhat al-Nusra were killed and a number of vehicles were destroyed.
Also in the past 24 hours, the Syrian armed forces continued combating terrorists in other parts of the country, killing scores of them and injuring others.
Units of the Syrian army, in cooperation with the Lebanese resistance, regained control over more blocks in al-Zabadani in Damascus Countryside.
A military source said that an army unit carried out a swift operation that led to advancing in the direction of al-Aara neighbourhood in the Centre of al-Zabadani region, eliminating many terrorists in the process, and sending others fleeing from several locations in the area.
The source said that the army established control over a number of blocks in the perimeter of the neighbourhood’s square, providing a strategic advantage that will help establish control over the entire neighbourhood.
In the Eastern Ghouta part of Damascus Countryside, army units carried out operations against concentrations and movements of members of Jaish al-Islam terrorist organizations in al-Samadi, Southeast of Rahma gas station, and East of Harasta suburbs at the Western outskirts of Douma area.
Sources on the ground said that these operations left many terrorists dead or injured and resulted in destroying their weapons, munitions, and vehicles.
Field sources also refuted allegations of malicious media outlets claiming that Jaish al-Islam had established control over part of the strategic Abu Zeid hill, asserting that these reports are completely baseless and are a desperate bid to raise the terrorists’ morale following the heavy losses they suffered in the past few days, which included leading the death of Mahmoud al-Ajwa Abu Obaidah whom they referred to as the deputy commander of Jaish al-Islam.
Also in Aleppo, an army unit killed and injured a number of terrorists and destroyed their vehicles, some of which equipped with machineguns, and mortar launchers in al-Mansourah village and Khan al-Assal area in the Western and South-western countryside of Aleppo province, according to the source.
Another army unit targeted positions of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in Kafr Hamra village in Aleppo’s North-western countryside, killing a number of them and destroying their weapons, ammunition, equipment and machinegun-equipped vehicles.
More terrorists were killed and others were injured during army operations that targeted their hideouts in Hareitan town, located on the road leading to Turkey.
Gatherings of terrorists were targeted in al-Ameriyeh village in the South-eastern countryside of the province, while others’ hideouts and positions were hit in al-Sheikh Lutfi village on the South-western outskirts of Aleppo city.
In the Eastern countryside of Aleppo, an army unit killed a number of ISIL terrorists and injured others as it targeted their gatherings in the surroundings of the Air Force Academy.
In Aleppo city, the army targeted terrorists’ positions in the neighbourhoods of al-Rashidin, Bani zaid, al-Ramouseh, Old Aleppo, al-Lairamoun, Jamiyet al-Zahra, al-Shaar, al-Fardous, al-Kallaseh and al-Sheikh Saeed.
A tunnel dug and used by terrorists in Salah Eddin neighbourhood was destroyed.
Also in the past 24 hours, popular defence groups in cooperation with locals in al-Foua’a and Kafriya towns in Idlib countryside thwarted a terrorist attack by Jabhat al-Nusra organization, the so-called Turkistan Islamic Party and Jund al-Aqsa, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and munitions upon them.
Field sources inside al-Foua’a said by phone that the popular defense groups with a coverage by the Syrian Army’s Air Force left hundreds of deaths and injuries in the ranks of Takfiri terrorist organizations during the past 24 hours on the axes of towns and villages of Bennesh, Ma’aret Masreen, Taftanaz, Ram Hamdan, Deir al-Zaghab, al-Sawaghiyeh in the surroundings of Kafriya and al-Foua’a towns.
The sources said that the popular defense groups in Kafriya and al-Foua’a fought the fiercest clashes since the start of the siege on the two towns with terrorist organizations, destroying 12 various vehicles on Taum axis in addition to four armored vehicles and five car bombs.
Terrorist organizations pulled the bodies of many dead and dozens injured terrorists to Ma’aret Masreen town near al-Foua’a before some vehicles came and took them to the Turkish territories, according to the sources.
Meanwhile, terrorist organizations acknowledged on their social media pages that more than 28 of their members were killed, including a leader in Jabhat al-Nusra and leader of the so-called Ansar al-Sham brigades.
Also in Hama, the Syrian Arab Army’s Air Force carried out intensive airstrikes on hideouts of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in the villages of al-Bahsa and al-Enkawi in the Northwestern countryside of Hama province, a military source said.
The source also stated that the Air Force eliminated a number of terrorists from ISIL in an airstrike on one of their gatherings in al-Baroudi farm south of Qasr Ibn Wardan village and destroyed a number of their vehicles along with the weapons and munitions they were carrying.
In the Southern Daraa province, an army unit destroyed 3 of Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations’ vehicles and killed a number of their members in al-Nazihin camp and al-Kark neighborhood in Daraa al-Balad.
The army operations against one of the terrorist organizations’ supply routes in al-Manshiyeh neighborhood ended up with the killing and injuring of a number of terrorists and the destruction of their weapons and ammunition.
Meanwhile, terrorist organizations admitted on their social media websites that they have received big losses in personnel and equipment, and the killing of a number of their members, among them Mohanad Naser al-Elian al-Hariri.
Also on Saturday, an army unit targeted the ISIL terrorists in al-Saqiyeh village in the Northeastern countryside of the Southern province of Sweida.
The army operations ended up with the killing and injuring of a number of the ISIL terrorists and the destruction of their vehicle with all weapons and ammunition inside it.
Also in Homs, a unit of the army carried out a series of consecutive operations against hotspots of ISIL terrorists in various areas in the city of Tadmur (Palmyra), a military source said.
The source said that the operations resulted in the death and injury of many terrorists and destroying their hideouts and large amounts of their weapons and munitions.
The army’s Air Force also carried out a series of concentrated airstrikes on gatherings of ISIL terrorists in al-Hail oil field 40km East of Tadmur, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment on the terrorists.
Later, the source said that army units destroyed terrorists’ hideouts in the village of Kafr Nan and al-Kenn Mountain in al-Rastan area in the Northern countryside of the province, killing and injuring a number of terrorists and destroying their weapons and munitions in the process.
Another army unit prevented an infiltration attempt by ISIL terrorists from the direction of al-Sultaniye village towards Abu al-Alaya village in the Northern countryside.
Also in the past 24 hours, a military source said that the Syrian Arab Army’s Air Force carried out a series of concentrated strikes on hideouts and gatherings of ISIL terrorists in the surroundings of Deir Ezzor Military Airport, inflicting losses upon them in personnel, equipment, and vehicles.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000310
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Yemen rebels free 3 Americans, 2 Saudis, 1 Briton: officials
By AFP: September 20, 2015
SANAA: Shia rebels in Yemen released three Americans, two Saudis and a Briton on Sunday after detaining them for around six months, a rebel official and a security source said.
The six were expected to leave the country on board an Omani plane carrying Huthi rebel officials to Muscat for talks with the UN envoy to Yemen, the sources said.
Huthi officials provided no information on the identities of the freed foreigners or why they were being held.
Speaking to reporters at Sanaa airport, Huthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam did not confirm the release of the foreigners but said: “We hope and it is possible that they will be handed over today.”
An American journalist believed to have been held by the rebels was handed over to Oman in early June along with a Singaporean. US Journalist Casey Coombs had been freelancing in Yemen since 2012.
Washington has provided intelligence and logistical support for the Saudi-led air campaign that was launched in March against the rebels, but has called for a political solution to the conflict.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/960313/yemen-rebels-free-3-americans-2-saudis-1-briton-officials/
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Saudi Warplanes Kill Dozens of Civilian Yemenis
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- Saudi fighter jets bombed several areas across Yemen, killing scores of civilians.
At least 50 people were killed in the latest Saudi airstrikes on a local market in the town of Munabbih in the province of Sa’ada late on Saturday.
Over a dozen people were also killed in different attacks on other parts of Sa’ada.
In a separate incident, three members of a family were killed after their house was hit in Ma’rib province.
Saudi warplanes also bombed the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Friday and Saturday, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 120 others.
Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 179 days now to restore power to Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 6,096 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000433
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14 Civilians Killed in Militants' Attack in Syria
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- The foreign-backed Takfiri militants fired rockets at a residential neighborhood in the Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, killing 14 civilians.
The militants fired rockets at al-Midan neighborhood, killing 14 civilians, including 7 children.
Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fuelled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 240,000 people, according to reports.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000857
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Yemeni Forces Kill, Capture Several Saudi Soldiers
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- The Yemeni army and popular committees killed 5 Saudi soldiers and captured several others in retaliatory attacks across the Persian Gulf kingdom.
On Saturday, the Arabic al-Mayadeen news channel reported that five Saudi troops had been killed in a rocket attack by Yemeni forces in the al-Masfaq region of the kingdom's Southwestern Jizan Province.
Also on Saturday, the Yemeni forces have managed to hit a Saudi military base in Saudi Arabia’s Southwestern province of Asir, taking several soldiers captive.
In a video released by Yemen's al-Masirah television network, the Yemeni forces are seen engaging the Saudi soldiers in the region, destroying their vehicles.
Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 179 days now to restore power to Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 6,096 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000384
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Russian Satellite Imagery Helps Syrian Fighter Jets Target Militant Positions in Lattakia Province
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015-
Military sources said that the country's Air Force, using satellite images, carried out a series of airstrikes above the Prophet Younis Mountains in the Lattakia Governorate’s Northeastern territories, killing at least 47 militants from Liwaa Suqour Al-Ghaab and Ahrar Al-Sham.
The sources said that the Syrian air force was provided satellite imagery from their Russian advisors, which in turn, displayed the movements of the militants between the Al-Ghaab Plains of the Hama Governorate and the Prophet Younis Mountains of the Lattakia Governorate near al-Souda village.
Sources on Saturday said that the army backed by the popular defense groups killed at least 80 terrorists in military operations against the Takfiri terrorists in the countryside of Lattakia.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000749
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Former Bin Laden Lieutenant Killed in Syria
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015 - A former lieutenant of the late Al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, has been killed in fighting with Syrian fighters, a monitor said.
"Abul Hassan al-Tunsi, an important leader of Al-Nusra Front, was killed in clashes Friday" between Takfiri militants and government fighters around the villages of Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib province, said the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.
Tunsi, who was in his 60s, arrived in Syria in 2012, Abdel Rahman said.
He was one of bin Laden's "assistants and fought in Al-Qaeda's ranks in Afghanistan and Iraq".
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000319
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Saudi Arabia: 100,000 troops to secure the Hajj
The Associated Press, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, 19 September 2015
The spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry says some 100,000 security personnel have been deployed to oversee the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage that begins on Tuesday.
Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki says among those securing the massive crowds during Hajj are members of an elite counterterrorism unit, traffic police and emergency civil defense personnel. They are being supported by additional troops from the army and national guard.
The pilgrimage comes as Saudi Arabia faces an expansion of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group attacks that have killed dozens of people this year.
Al-Turki vowed in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press on Saturday that militants “cannot control a centimetre anywhere in Saudi Arabia.”
The Hajj is expected to draw up to 3 million people from around the world this year to Makkah.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/2015/09/19/Saudi-Arabia-says-100-000-troops-to-secure-this-year-s-Hajj.html
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South Asia
Five Daesh Militants Killed In Security Operation in Nangarhar
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Sep 20 2015
Five members of the Daesh militant group have been killed in security operations in eastern Nangarhar province.
Colonel Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal, spokesman for the police headquarters of Nangarhar province says that these militants were killed during Operation Shaheen 09 which started jointly by personnel from the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Police and Army in Kot District on Saturday.
According to Col. Mashriqiwal, three other militants wounded in yesterdays raids.
Mashriqiwal, further said that a dead body was left behind by the militants in Sayed Ahmadkhil area which is a foreign national.
“Joint security forces and civilians did not suffer harms and the operation is successfully ongoing,” Col. Mashriqiwal said.
The police spokesman further said that the operation has been launched based on the request of the residents of this District.
http://www.khaama.com/five-daesh-militants-killed-in-security-operation-in-nangarhar-3927?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+khaama+%28KHAAMA+PRESS+%7C+Afghan+Online+Newspaper+%26+Magazine%29
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Taliban Divided As Talks Failed Between Mullah Mansoor and Dissatisfied Commanders
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Sep 20 2015
Differences among the Taliban leadership still persists as talks between the newly appointed Taliban group chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and the dissatisfied Taliban commanders failed to resolve tensions as a result of Mullah Mansoor’s appointment.
The rift could result into a split among the Taliban group leadership could derail fledgling peace talks between the insurgency and the Afghan government and open the way for the Islamic State group to expand its foothold in the country, according to Reuters.
Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, a spokesman for the anti-Mansour faction, said talks between Mansour and the dissatisfied commanders had failed.
“We waited for two months and wanted Mullah Mansour to understand the situation and step down to let the Supreme Council choose the new leader by consensus – but he failed,” said Niazi.
Niazi further added that the dissident commanders will now direct their own attacks on the Afghan government and its foreign allies in Afghanistan.
“Anyone engaged in militant activities under the leadership of Mullah Mansour isn’t a jihadi,” he said. “We will now publicly oppose him.”
This comes as the Taliban group claimed earlier last week that the issues among the Taliban leadership have been resolved with the allegiance of Mullah Omar’s son Maulavi Mohammad Yaqoob and his brother Mullah Abdul Manan to Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.
The circumstances surrounding the decision by Mullah Omar’s family members to pledge allegiance to Mullah Mansoor is not clear so far as Mullah Manan had earlier opposed with the election of Mullah Mansour as the replacement supreme leader of Taliban and had warned of internal fighting within the group should the differences among the Taliban leadership are not resolved.
He wanted Maulavi Yaqoob to succeed his father as the supreme leader of Taliban insisting that Mullah Mansoor was not elected by majority of Taliban’s central Shura ‘council’.
However, the Taliban group said the family members of Mullah Omar delayed the announcement of allegiance to Mullah Mansoor considering the interests of the group and rejected that the delay was caused due to rift among the Taliban leadership.
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-divided-as-talks-failed-between-mullah-mansoor-and-dissatisfied-commanders-1540
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Afghan blast kills five policemen: officials
By AFP: September 20, 2015
KHOST, AFGHANISTAN: A roadside bomb has killed five Afghan policemen on patrol in the eastern province of Paktia, officials said Sunday, the latest in a series of deadly insurgent attacks.
The blast in Zurmat district in the troubled province bordering Pakistan hit a police vehicle Saturday evening and killed all five officers on board, provincial police chief Zulmai Oryakhail told AFP.
The incident and death toll was confirmed by the provincial governor’s spokesperson Naqib Ahmad Attal.
No group or individual immediately claimed responsibility but both officials blamed Taliban militants for the attack.
Roadside bombs are the favourite weapon of the militants fighting to oust the Western-backed Kabul government.
Separately a bomb explosion wounded at least eight civilians in Asad Abad, the capital of Kunar province also on the border with Pakistan, provincial police chief Abdul Habib Sayedkhili told AFP.
Militants frequently target Afghan police and military, but the surge in attacks has also taken a heavy toll on civilians.
Nearly 1,600 civilians were killed and 3,329 injured in the first half of this year, according to UN figures.
NATO ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last December and pulled out the bulk of its troops, leaving the front-line fight to Afghan forces.
A 13,000-strong residual foreign force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/960325/afghan-blast-kills-five-policemen-officials/
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Certain individuals looking for chance to make chaos in Kabul: Jihadi leader
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Sep 20 2015
A prominent Jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayaf has said that certain individuals exist in Kabul who is looking for a chance to make chaos.
He said that security forces need to be praised for their sacrifices but to eliminate enemies “they have to be removed from our lines.”
Sayaf said that if enemies arrive at Kabul doors then clashes will began from inside.
He said that certain people are armed and looking for a chance to make chaos.
Sayaf said he is available to provide further details regarding them if he is asked.
While talking to the gathering commemorating the 4th death anniversary of Afghanistan’s former president and head of the country’s High Peace Council Burhanudin Rabani on Sunday, Sayaf warned those trying to dig ditch for Afghanistan. He said: “Those digging ditch for Afghanistan need to know that they will fall in the same ditch.”
Sayaf recalled his comments from the gathering commemorating Ahmad Shah Masoud’s death where he said that according to Islam if second ‘Amir’ emerges then he needs to be killed.
Without naming the person, Sayaf said that a man has said that Sayaf was unable to cut the neck of Mullah Omar but if Taliban get a chance they will cut the neck of Sayaf.
He said the man is setting in first or second lines of gatherings and receives $2,000 salary.
Sayaf called the man a ‘chicken’ that is being breaded ‘here’ but lays ‘eggs’ in ISI coops.
Sayaf said that people working within ‘our lines’ for others need to be removed.
http://www.khaama.com/sayaf-certain-individuals-looking-for-chance-to-make-chaos-in-kabul-3927-3928?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+khaama+%28KHAAMA+PRESS+%7C+Afghan+Online+Newspaper+%26+Magazine%29
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Bloody violence erupted among the Afghan and Syrian refugees in Croatia
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sat Sep 19 2015
Several people were injured following a bloody violence among the Afghan and Syrian refugees who are struggling to reach western Europe.
The incident reportedly took place on Friday in in Beli Manastir in Croatia in a bid to reach the country’s capital city.
The migrants were looking to board trains when the bloody violence broke out with the individuals using rocks, smashed glass bottles and sticks to hit each other.
They were waiting for the trains when tensions boiled over where some 3,000 migrants waited for buses and trains in the heat, women and children searching for shade under sparse trees.
The violence started at the ticket office and the police officers used batons as they tried to break up the fight, which started at the ticket office.
The chaotic scenes unfolded as Hungary continued to build a giant fence along the Croatian border – just days after sealing off access from Serbia with a 100 mile razor-wire barrier, according to MailOnline.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said a ‘fast-solution’ fence will be finished on a 26 mile stretch of the border – where the two countries are not divided by a river – by the end of today.
Hundreds of Hungarian troops are being called in to help build the barrier just days after the country erected a huge fence along its border with Serbia.
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) around 4,000 migrants and refugees pour into Greece each day and head north as “the crisis is growing and being pushed from one country to another”
The UNHCR estimates shows more than 442,440 people have crossed the Mediterranean this year, and 2,921 have died trying.
However, the International Organization for Migration puts those figures at 473,887 and 2,812, respectively.
http://www.khaama.com/bloody-violence-erupted-among-the-afghan-and-syrian-refugees-in-croatia-1537
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Taliban warn villagers in Ghazni to empty their homes
By ZABIHULLAH MOOSAKHAIL - Sun Sep 20 2015
Taliban militants have warned 100s of villagers in Ghazni’s Deh Yak District to empty their homes as soon as possible.
Rabat Sangi villagers say that Taliban have also blocked routes leading to their village which has resulted in serious problems for them.
Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the deputy governor of Ghazni province confirms the warning.
He said that Taliban had early warned Rabat Sangi residents to remove the security post of Afghan Local Police (ALP) from their area.
He added when the demand was not met then Taliban distribute night letters in the area warning its residents to leave.
According to Ahmadi, Taliban have furnished landmines on one route leading to Rabat Sangi from Ghazni city but said that there is another route that is still being used by residents of the area.
The Deputy Governor said that security forces are with Rabat Sangi villagers and the main route to the area would be cleared of landmines in coming few days.
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-warn-villagers-in-ghazni-to-empty-their-homes-3929
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TTP releases video allegedly showing Peshawar attackers
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Sep 20 2015
vlcsnap-2015-09-20-10h14m53s57Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released a video allegedly showing the attackers who targeted a Pakistan Air Force base in Peshawar on Friday that left 29 people killed and 29 others wounded.
The video that has been published on social media shows a man with long hear and beard identified as Khalifa Omar Mansour the military commander of TTP for Dara-e-Adamkhil and Peshawar.
The video shows a message stating that the attack on Pakistan Air Force base in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was carried out under the leadership of Khalifa Omar Mansour.
After the messaged, Mansour who sitting among other armed men is seen delivering a speech to justify the attack.
“Through these Fidayan ‘suicide bombers’, I want to inform the Muslims of Pakistan and Afghanistan that Pakistan’s ISI has began brutality and barbarism under the name of Operation Zarb-i-Azab in Malakand Division, Bajawar Agency, Mohmand Agency, Khyber Agency, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Karachi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country,” he said in his speech.
He further says that ISI’s bloodshed in Afghanistan is not hidden from any one.
Mansour added that such attacks are to take revenge.
At the end of the video, Mansour is seen giving ‘goodbye’ hugs to the alleged attackers.
The attack was carried out by 13 armed men who stormed the Air Force base in Badhber area early on Friday morning.
It left 29 people killed, most of them from Air Force and military, and 29 others wounded.
http://www.khaama.com/ttp-releases-video-allegedly-showing-peshawar-attackers-3926?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+khaama+%28KHAAMA+PRESS+%7C+Afghan+Online+Newspaper+%26+Magazine%29
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Taliban release most of Ghazni hostages
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sun Sep 20 2015
Taliban (3) Local officials say that Taliban had established a check point in Khan Baba area of Andar District where they dragged out dozens of passengers from different vehicles and took them to unidentified location on Saturday.
Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, Deputy Governor of Ghazni province the passengers were ordinary civilians who were on their way to Ghazni city for IED shopping.
He said militants abducted them believing that among them there might be people who have taken weapons against Taliban.
According to Ahmadi, most of them were released the same day but three of them are still in the custody of Taliban.
Meanwhile, an elder of Andar District has told media on condition of anonymity that 13 hostages remain with Taliban.
Residents of Andar District have been fighting with Taliban from several years. They took their weapons against the militant group when insurgency surged in their areas.
http://www.khaama.com/taliban-release-most-the-ghazni-hostages-3929
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Kabul reacts towards Pakistan’s remarks regarding attack on air force base
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sat Sep 19 2015
The President Palace of Afghanistan strongly rejected the remarks by Pakistani officials alleging that the coordinated attack on a Pakistani Air Force base was planned and coordinated from Afghanistan.
A statement by ARG Palace said “The government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan strongly rejects reports alleging that the Peshawar attack on Friday was planned and controlled from Afghanistan.”
The statement further added that the government of Afghanistan dismiss the reports as baseless and reiterated Kabul’s stance that the Afghan soil would never be allowed to be used against other nations.
“Afghanistan feels the pain and agony inflicted by terrorism and offers condolence to the victims of the terrorist attack,” the statement, said adding that terrorism is the enemy of the humanity and never recognizes good or bad.
The palace also insisted that the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan must work jointly and honestly to eliminate terrorism from the region and called on Islamabad to fight all terrorist groups without distinction.
Pakistani military officials claimed that the deadly attack on an air force base was planned in Afghanistan.
Asim Bajwa, spokesman for Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), told reporters that Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) splinter group had planned, executed and operated the attack from Afghanistan.
He also claimed that the Pakistani military has recordings which reveal the attack was planned executed and controlled from Afghanistan.
A group of 13 Pakistani militants stormed the air force base from two points around 5 am local time, leaving at least 29 dead including an army captain and soldiers.
This comes as Afghanistan has long been criticizing Pakistan for providing shelter to anti-government armed militant groups specifically the Haqqani terrorist network who are planning and coordinating attacks in Afghanistan.
The presidential palace issued a statement earlier this month stating that “The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan believes that one of the major differences between Afghanistan and Pakistan is regarding the presence of terrorist groups, specifically the Haqqani Network in Pakistani soil.”
“The recent remarks by Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz, suggesting that the Haqqani Network has been decomposed following military operations, are repeated claims by Pakistani officials during the past one decade,” the statement said.
The Palace insisted that documents and evidences shows that the network’s leadership, commander and control, supportive infrastructure and sanctuaries are still operational in Pakistan.
http://www.khaama.com/kabul-reacts-towards-pakistans-remarks-regarding-attack-on-air-force-base-1538
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Foreign Ministry: Kabul won’t allow its soil be used against neighbors
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sat Sep 19 2015
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has once again reiterated that Kabul won’t allow its soil be used against neighbors.
Shakib Mustaghni, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed these comments in response to the claim of Pakistani officials that the latest attack in Peshawar was planned and executed from Afghanistan.
Soon after the attack that left 29 people killed and 29 others wounded on Friday, Pakistan’s military spokesman appeared in a press conference and blamed Afghanistan for it.
“We have recordings which reveal the attack was planned executed and controlled from Afghanistan,” ISPR’s Asim Bajwa told reporters in a press conference.
However, he said that there is no believe that Afghan government would be involved in the attack.
Asim Bajwa said that it was the work of a splinter group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that is based in Afghanistan.
The casualties of Friday’s attack included personnel from the Air Force, military and civilians.
Meanwhile, reports suggest that Pakistan is going to send a high-powered delegation to Afghanistan to discuss anti-TTP actions with Afghan authorities.
http://www.khaama.com/foreign-ministry-kabul-wont-allow-its-soil-be-used-against-neighbors-3921
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Pakistan to send high-powered delegation to Afghanistan to discuss anti-TTP actions
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sat Sep 19 2015
In the aftermath of a deadly attack on an Air Force base in Peshawar that left 29 killed and 29 wounded, Pakistan is sending a high-powered delegation to Afghanistan to discuss anti-TTP actions with Afghan authorities.
Pakistan says that yesterday’s attack was carried out by a splinter group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghan soil.
Pakistan’s The Express Tribune news agency quotes an unnamed senior security official as saying that government will present Kabul with the ‘hard evidence’ shortly.
“Pakistan will convey to Afghanistan that it will no more tolerate such attacks emanating from its soil,” the official is quoted as saying.
The attack was carried out by 13-14 armed men who stormed the Air Force base in Badhber area early on Friday morning and Pakistan’s military spokesman later told reporters that the attack was organized, executed and operated from Afghanistan.
“We have recordings which reveal the attack was planned executed and controlled from Afghanistan,” ISPR’s Asim Bajwa told reporters in a press conference.
23 of those killed belonged to the Air Force.
Following the attack Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Asif also talked to media. He said that Afghanistan’s enemies have been targeted in Pakistan but Pakistan’s enemies have not been targeted there.
But Afghan leaders say that Pakistan is still financing and arming Afghanistan’s enemies.
http://www.khaama.com/pakistan-to-send-high-powered-delegation-to-afghanistan-to-discuss-anti-ttp-actions-3919
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Govt declares national holiday to observe death anniversary of Burhanuddin Rabbani
By KHAAMA PRESS - Sat Sep 19 2015
Afghanistan is observing the fourth assassination anniversary of the former president and high peace council chief Burhanuddin Rabbani.
A national holiday has been declared by the government of Afghanistan on Sunday which marks the fourth death anniversary of the former president.
The Ministry of Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs & Disabled said Saturday that the decision was taken by the cabinet of ministers and based on President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s instructions.
Burhanuddin Rabbani, former Afghan president and Head of Afghan High Peace Council was assassinated by a suicide bomber who had disguised himself as a peace messenger, representing the Taliban group.
The attack was carried out inside his residence in capital Kabul on the evening of 20th September 2011.
No group including the Taliban militants claimed responsibility behind the attack with both the Taliban and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network rejecting role in the attack.
In the meantime, the Afghan officials insisted that the assassination plot was organized by the Taliban’s council – the Quetta Shura in Pakistan.
http://www.khaama.com/govt-declares-national-holiday-to-observe-death-anniversary-of-burhanuddin-rabbani-1536
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Mideast
13 Dead In Migrant Boat Collision with Ferry off Turkey
By AFP: September 20, 2015
ANKARA: At least 13 migrants died off the coast of Turkey Sunday after the inflatable dinghy carrying them to Greece collided with a ferry, Turkish media reported.
Four children were among the victims of the accident involving a boat carrying 46 migrants from the north-western Turkish port of Canakkale to the Greek island of Lesbos, Dogan news agency reported.
Twenty people were rescued and 13 people were still missing, the report added.
Syrian refugees land on the Greek island of Lesbos aboard an inflatable dinghy after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey on September 7, 2015. PHOTO: AFP
There was no information on the nationalities of the migrants.
The sinking was the second Sunday in the Aegean Sea, with the Greek coastguard reporting another two dozen feared missing from a boat that got into trouble close to Lesbos.
The coastguard said it had rescued 20 people spotted in the water by a helicopter deployed by EU border agency Frontex, but the survivors said another 26 people had been in the boat.
On Saturday, a five-year-old Syrian girl died in another attempted crossing from Turkey to Greece — a perilous journey that has claimed hundreds of migrant lives this year.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/960304/13-dead-in-migrant-boat-collision-with-ferry-off-turkey/
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Iran Asks UAE to Send Food, Medicine to Yemenis Instead Of Weapons
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian called on the UAE officials not to ruin their brotherly relations with Tehran through baseless allegations, and said Abu Dhabi had better send foodstuff and drugs for the Yemeni people instead of supplying weapons to those who kill them.
"We advise the UAE friends not to replace the brotherly and neighborly approach towards Iran with baseless allegations against Tehran," Amir Abdollahian told FNA on Sunday.
"The UAE would be better off it sends food and drugs to the oppressed Yemeni people instead of weapons and help materialize strengthening the political process in Yemen and the region instead of reinvigorating the military approach," he added.
Amir Abdollahian advised the UAE officials to play an active and constructive role to further develop all-out cooperation with Iran in trade and economic fields after the nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers clinched on July 14.
His remarks came after a US state department spokesperson said that the US and UAE foreign ministers in their meeting underlined the necessity for continued cooperation to confront what they called as Iran's destabilizing behaviors in the region.
Amir Abdollahian described the US spokesperson's remarks as interfering and unreal, and said that the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown the most constructive behaviors towards the regional events.
UAE is a member of the Saudi-led coalition which has launched a war against Yemen since 179 days ago, killing at least 6,096 Yemeni people.
A large number of Emirati people held rallies across the UAE earlier this month to shout protest against the country's military operation in Yemen, urging Abu Dhabi to bring the military forces back home after they sustained tens of casualties in an attack in Maarib early September.
The Emirati protesters called on the UAE government to bring back home the troops before it becomes too late.
The UAE protests, which faced severe censorship in Abu Dhabi and western media outlets, condemned the UAE's aggression against the Yemeni civilians, mostly children and women.
They called on Abu Dhabi to take immediate action to pave the way for the return of the UAE soldiers after the country's army lost more than 65 soldiers in the Yemeni forces' attack on Al-Safer military base in Maarib.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000495
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FM: Iranian People Cannot Trust US
Sep 20, 2015
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian people cannot trust Washington given its past record of hostilities towards Tehran, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said, calling on the US to seriously implement its undertakings based on the nuclear agreement to build trust.
"Our problem with the US is the (Iranian) people's mistrust of that country's statesmen," Zarif said in a joint press conference with his Dutch counterpart Bert Koenders in Tehran on Sunday.
He said what the US officials have stated during the past months to sooth the anger of their internal critics of the recent nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers do not help build any trust in the US, and expressed the hope that after the implementation of the agreement, the US would seriously pursue its undertakings and somehow compensate for the lack of trust it has caused in past decades.
Zarif also addressed the European Union, and said, "The EU should pay attention that correct implementation of the agreement can best guarantee its seriousness and survival."
He, meantime, underlined Iran's enthusiasm for interaction with the EU, specially the Netherlands, in different fields, including discussion of the regional problems.
In relevant remarks on September 3, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei blasted the US statesmen for their contradictory remarks after the nuclear agreement with Tehran, and called on Iranian officials show more sensitivity and give proper response to their comments.
"In the nuclear talks with are negotiating with the 5+1, but the US administration is, in fact, the main party; but the US officials speak very badly and a decision needs to be taken about the manner they speak," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with the head and members of Iran's Assembly of Experts in Tehran.
"Don’t say that the Americans are uttering these words to convince their internal rivals; of course, I believe that the internal disputes in the US are real and they have differences and the reason for such a difference is clear to us but what is officially said needs a response and if no response is given to them, the other side's remarks will be entrenched," he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to the US officials' remarks on the suspension of sanctions, and said Tehran has always underlined the necessity for the termination and not suspension of embargoes.
"If the sanctions are not due to be removed, then there will be no deal either. Hence, there needs to be a decision to be taken in this regard," he added.
He said Iran has made some concessions during the negotiations with the world powers in order to see a removal of the sanctions in return, otherwise we wouldn't have attended the negotiations and Iran could have increased its 19,000 centrifuges to 60,000 centrifuges, continue 20% uranium enrichment and accelerate its research and development activities.
"If the sanctions are due to be suspended, our actions should also be arranged in the form of suspension and not essential measures on the ground," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
"Of course, the other side says that removal of certain sanctions is not within the US administration's authority; in response we say that those sanctions that fall under the US administration and the European governments' authority should be terminated," he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei also blasted the US officials' remarks that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has created some opportunities for the Americans both inside and outside Iran and in the region, and said, "The Iranian officials shouldn’t allow the US to make use of any opportunity inside the country and they should also try in order not to allow the Americans to find any such opportunity outside Iran because the closer they come to such opportunities, the worse the nations' sufferings, humiliation and backwardness will grow."
He reiterated the complete ban on any negotiation between the Iranian officials and the Americans on other issues, and said there won't be any other talks with the White House, except for the nuclear issue, because "the US positions are fully against the stances of the Islamic Republic."
Ayatollah Khamenei said the US cannot treat Iran as it does with regard to some other underdeveloped countries, and stressed that Iran is a powerful nation and has already proved its capabilities in action.
He referred to the US officials' remarks that they expect Iran to pick up a different course of action, and said they mean ignoring the Islamic values, non-commitment to the Islamic laws and Iran's confirmation of the US policies in the region which include full annihilation of the resistance forces and full hegemony over Syria and Iraq, but they should know that "such a thing will never happen".
Elaborating on the process of the JCPOA's approval in Iran after the nuclear agreement was reached with the world powers in Vienna on July 14, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that the JCPOA should be precisely scrutinized by experts, and stressed that the parliament should certainly play a role in this regard.
Yet, he said he reserves judgment on the agreement and would not advise "the parliament on how to study the JCPOA or on approving or disapproving it. These are the people's representatives who should decide about it."
Iran and the world powers reached a final agreement in Vienna on July 14 to end a 13-year-old nuclear standoff.
A week later, the UNSC unanimously endorsed a draft resolution turning into international law the JCPOA reached between Iran and the 5+1 group of countries (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
Now the US Congress and the Iranian parliament have less than one month to review the deal to approve or reject its practice.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000771
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Syrian Army, Militants Agree on One-Day Truce in Zabadani, Madaya, Fuaa, Kafraya
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015-
Military sources said that after a long night meeting between the Syrian Army's central command and Ahrar al-Sham leader, another 24-hour truce was agreed to be put in place at the cities of Zabadani and Madaya in Damascus governorate and Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib governorate.
According to a military source in Damascus, the ceasefire agreement between the Syrian Armed Forces and the militants of Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham was set to begin at 6 a.m. Sunday (Damascus Time) at the aforementioned cities; this non-violent agreement is scheduled to expire on Monday morning.
In the meantime, Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham has agreed to allow humanitarian aid to the besieged civilians of Fuaa and Kafraya; while the Syrian Armed Forces have agreed to allow all of the wounded militants to be evacuated from Madaya and Zabadani region to the Lebanese border, where they will seek medical assistance in the ‘Arsal District.
A media report in late August said that the violation of the ceasefire in the countryside of Damascus and Idlib province has been orchestrated by the Turkish government.
Ahrar al-Sham terrorist group has received orders from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to violate the ceasefire between the government and the militants in the town of Zabadani in Damascus countryside and two Shiite towns of Fuaa and Kafraya in Idlib province.
"One of the reasons that the ceasefire was violated was because Ahrar al-Sham called for complete withdrawal of the Syrian troops from the villages of Kafraya and Fuaa in Idlib," Secretary General of the Syrian Solidarity Party Mohammad Abolqassem said at the time.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000512
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President Rouhani: Iran Expects IAEA's Fair Supervision of N. Agreement
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a meeting with Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano underlined that Tehran expects the IAEA to remain fair when monitoring the implementation of Iran-powers nuclear deal.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has had extensive relations with the IAEA in the past 12 years and has always tried to keep these ties good, regular and legal," Rouhani said during the meeting in Tehran on Sunday.
"We hope that by acting upon its responsibilities, the IAEA would move more in the next few months to help the scientific progress of countries, including Iran," he added.
Rouhani referred to the nuclear agreement clinched between Tehran and the world powers in Vienna on July 14, and said, "While implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), we will implement the Additional Protocol (to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)) voluntarily and we hope that you will also fairly supervise the implementation of the JCPOA."
Stressing Iran's close cooperation with the IAEA, he said, "Fortunately, the truth about Iran's peaceful nuclear activities in the past few years has been proved by the IAEA supervisions and snap inspections and it has been emphasized that Iran has never had any diversion in its peaceful program."
Amano traveled to Tehran on Sunday to hold talks with Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi and other Iranian officials on ways to implement a cooperation roadmap plan signed between Tehran and the IAEA in July.
Amano and Salehi signed a roadmap of cooperation in Vienna on July 14.
The roadmap contains secret arrangements stated in one or two documents entailing on the methods to be used by the two sides in their cooperation.
Senior Iranian nuclear officials have said that all IAEA member states have such secret agreements and the UN nuclear watchdog is duty bound to keep them secret to any third party individual or state.
After the roadmap was signed, Salehi announced that the new agreement would fully settle all unresolved issues pertaining to Tehran's nuclear activities in the past.
"All past issues will be resolved completely after Iran and the Agency adopt some measures," Salehi told reporters after signing an agreement called the Iran-IAEA Cooperation 'Roadmap'.
He said that all agreements, including the measures decided for Parchin military site, will be implemented with full respect to Iran's redlines.
Iran had earlier announced that inspection of the country's military sites are one of its redlines.
"I hope that a new chapter in relations and cooperation between Iran and the IAEA will start after the settlement of the past issues," Salehi added.
Salehi made the remarks in Vienna just a short time after diplomats acknowledged a sum-up agreement had been made between world powers and Iran.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629001032
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Spokesman: Many Countries Eager to Screen Movie 'Mohammad'
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- Spokesman of the Iranian Culture Ministry Hossein Noushabadi announced that Mohammad (PBUH), The Messenger of God, a film produced by Oscar-nominated Iranian director Majid Majidi, has broken the record of attracting the audience in Iran, adding that many other countries have also asked for screening the movie.
"The movie seems to be breaking the record of audience," Noushabadi told reporters in a press conference in Tehran on Sunday.
"Many countries have demanded to display the film outside Iran. The movie is being dubbed into Arabic and English and we hope that it will be displayed in Islamic and non-Islamic states in the future," he added.
Asked about Iran's plan to introduce the film for competition in the Academy Award, Noushabadi said that a special committee has been set up to study different films to be nominated for the Oscar and it will decide about 'Mohammad (PBUH), The Messenger of God', too.
Mohammad (PBUH), The Messenger of God, garnered positive reactions from the audience across the globe.
The 171-minute, visually stunning film cost around $40 million (36 million euros) and took more than seven years to complete.
Mohammad (PBUH), which stars many top Iranian actors, opened and closed the Montreal Film Festival this year.
Majidi has said that the aim of his work, the first part of a trilogy, is to reclaim the rightful image of Islam, which he said extremists have distorted.
"Unfortunately at this time the impression of Islam is of a radical, fanatical and violent religion, which is not what it's about," he said in Montreal, where 'Mohammad' had its international premiere, and hours after screening back home.
"The barbaric acts of terrorism conducted by terrorist groups under the guise of Islam are not related to Islam," he said, alluding to beheadings and destruction of cultural treasures by the ISIL Takfiri militants in Syria and Iraq.
"Islam is a religion of peace, friendship and love, and I tried to show this in the film."
"I think this film can be a starting point of research for those who don't know Islam," he said.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000910
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Iran Dismisses Closure of Embassy in Yemen
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Expatriates Affairs Hassan Qashqavi rejected media reports claiming that Tehran has closed its embassy in Sanaa.
"The Iranian diplomats are present in the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa and our embassy is open," Qashqavi told reporters in Tehran on Sunday.
Iran had also earlier this month rejected Arab media reports that its embassy in Sana'a had been closed, stressing that the mission continued operation.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham rejected media reports claiming that Iran had closed its embassy in Sana'a as rumours, and told FNA that the Iranian embassy in Sana'a continues operation as usual, while Iranian Ambassador to Yemen Seyed Hossein Niknam returned to the country to use his annual leave.
She also dismissed certain Arab media reports claiming that Iran's embassy in Sana'a is acting as an operations room to command the resistance Yemeni groups.
"Such fake news are released to divert and weaken the Yemeni people and groups' role in their 6-month-long under-siege resistance and fighting against the foreign aggressors, terrorists and Takfiri groups inside Yemen and they are baseless," she said.
Her remarks came after Yemen’s fugitive Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin claimed early September that the Iranian embassy in Yemen’s capital Sana’a was offering financial, strategic, and military advisory support to the Houthis in country.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Yassin, who is in Saudi Arabia, claimed that Iran’s embassy in Sana’a had become a “Houthi operations room”.
He also claimed in an interview with the Saudi al-Akhbaria news channel that he would announce severance of Yemen's diplomatic ties with Iran and closure of the Iranian embassy in Sana'a in the next few hours after consulting with fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Yassin and President Hadi fled Yemen several months ago and have no executive power in Yemen.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629000582
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Iran, Japan Trade Organizations to Hold Talks
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- Chairman of Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Hiroyuki Ishige will meet his Iranian counterpart Valliollah Afkhamirad in Tehran early in November to explore avenues of mutual cooperation and sign various joint economic agreements.
Ishige will lead a high-ranking trade delegation comprised of Japanese private companies who are eager to discuss expansion of ties with Iran's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) as well as their Iranian counterparts.
In August, Iranian Industry Minister and Japan's Vice Minister of Economy expressed their countries' readiness for widening bilateral ties in different industries.
Iranian Trade Minister Mohammadreza Nematzadeh voiced Tehran’s willingness to increase mutual cooperation with Japan in power and automotive sectors.
"Iran has the world's largest hydrocarbon resources and accordingly its top priority is improving its production, investment, and trade ties in this area with Japan," Nematzadeh said, and added, "Our second priority in cooperation with the Japanese is in the power sector and production of the needed equipment in this field."
The Japanese minister Daishiro Yamagiwa, who headed a high-ranking economic delegation, said Tokyo is ready to start a new round of strategic and durable cooperation with Tehran in various areas after the removal of US-led sanctions.
Diplomatic relations between Iran and Japan were formally established in 1926 and throughout history, the two countries have maintained a friendly and strongly cooperation in various arenas.
The two countries' officials have held talks in different economic, trade, political and cultural fields in recent years to explore new ways of expanding bilateral ties.
The Japanese delegation arrived in Tehran following its European rivals who recently visited Iranian officials after the nuclear agreement between Iran and the six powers on July 14.
This agreement is expected to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran after coming into force and foreign economic delegations are traveling to the country one after another to track a way to its lucrative and untapped market.
But Iran has devised a selective policy to choose its foreign partners in post sanction era.
Iranian Government Spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said his country is scrutinizing offers by foreign trade firms and states to select the best economic partners from among a pool of proposals, stressing that Tehran does not want to expand ties on the basis of imports.
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629001011
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Europe
Germany Probes Syrian Asylum-Seeker for ISIS Links
By AFP | Berlin, 20 September 2015
German police are investigating an asylum-seeker on suspicion that he fought for ISIS in Syria, newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported Sunday.
The suspect is a Syrian national and lives in an asylum-seeker shelter in the northeast region of Brandenburg, the newspaper reported, quoting security sources.
The man had allegedly told other migrants living in the center that he had fought for the ISIS group and killed people.
His claims were filmed secretly with a mobile telephone by other residents of the shelter, leading to the probe.
Investigators are now trying to determine if the Syrian was indeed a member of the ISIS, the newspaper reported.
A spokeswoman for federal police declined to confirm or deny the report.
Despite the case, federal police do not believe that militants are infiltrating Germany through the influx of refugees.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2015/09/20/Germany-probes-Syrian-asylum-seeker-for-ISIS-links.html
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Refugee Journey: Reunited At Last, A Long Way From Home
By Reuters: September 20, 2015
GERMANY: Ihab steps off the train at Luebeck station and, seeing his family on the platform, break into a run.
“Umi, Umi!” he shouts – Mum! – and hugs his mother and father, his brother and sisters and their children, who have all come to meet Ihab, his wife Abeer and their two daughters.
Ihab’s parents and other family members found sanctuary in Luebeck some time ago, but have always longed for Ihab to join them. On the station platform, they cry with joy.
The young Syrian family have completed their week-long trek across Europe, from a Greek Mediterranean island to Germany’s Baltic coast.
They have crossed a continent to find a new home, safe from the barrel bombs, artillery shells and poison gas attacks which have killed many thousands of civilians during four years of civil war in their country.
They first sought refuge in Lebanon, one of Syria’s neighbours, although millions of Syrians are scattered between Turkey, Iraq and Jordan.
In late August, the family set out for Europe, taking a ferry to Turkey before paying people traffickers for the short but dangerous trip by boat to the Greek island of Lesbos, where I first met them.
From there, I joined them on the long way north to Luebeck, 2,000 km (1,200 miles) as the crow flies – but many more on the winding trail of the refugee.
Every stage of the journey, by bus, by boat and by train, took them further from their home in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, on the banks of the Euphrates river.
Watching them at the station in Luebeck, I remember the words of Ihab’s six-year-old daughter Yasmine on the train heading north: “My country is the best in the world. I will go back, when the war ends”.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/960283/refugee-journeyreunited-at-last-a-long-way-from-home/
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Canada to accept 10,000 Syrians within one year
By AFP: September 20, 2015
OTTAWA: Canada’s conservative government on Saturday said that it would accept 10,000 Syrian refugees within one year by simplifying and speeding up the immigration application process.
Visa officers will no longer ask the applicants to prove that they are refugees through a United Nations refugee agency, but will instead “presume those fleeing the conflict meet the definition of a refugee, which will make processing faster,” the Ministry of Immigration and Citizenship said in a statement.
As a result, “we anticipate meeting Canada’s current commitment of resettling 10,000 Syrians by September 2016 – 15 months earlier than planned. Canada’s existing commitment to resettle 23,000 Iraqis will also be fulfilled by the end of this year,” the statement read.
Visa officers will focus their interviews “on security, criminality and medical screening,” the statement added.
By this different designation “we are greatly expanding the potential for candidates,” Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said.
“We will have more human resources hitting the ground in the coming days and weeks” to process the applicants, he said.
Canada’s Conservative Party, currently in power, has been criticized in the past weeks for moving too slowly to help Syrian refugees pouring across the Mediterranean into Europe.
Opposition parties have promised, if they gain power in October 19 elections, to have a more generous policy towards Syrian refugees.
Polls show Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Tories in a tight race with center-left parties. Harper is seeking his fourth mandate in nine years.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/960316/canada-to-accept-10000-syrians-within-one-year/
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Ukrainian Army Opens Fire on Luhansk Six Times in One Day
TEHRAN (FNA), Sep 20, 2015- Ukraine’s military violated the ceasefire regime for six times in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) in the last 24 hours, the people’s militia said on Sunday.
"The Ukrainian military are not observing the ceasefire regime," LuganskInformCentre quoted the source.
"No victims have been reported," the representative said.
On September 12, in Berlin, foreign ministers of the Normandy Four (Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine) discussed settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. Despite of no evident progress, the parties were positive about the talks. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had a positive impression from the talks. "There have been certain arguments concerning the order of steps regarding the constitutional reform, the necessary actions from Kiev’s authorities in providing a permanent special status for Donbass, but the arguments we had, I believe, have been heard."
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940629001085
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Pakistan
Five Terrorists Killed In Badhaber Base Attack Identified
By Web Desk: September 20, 2015
Five TTP-linked terrorists who were killed in the Badhaber base attack on Friday have been identified through their fingerprints, Express News reported on Sunday.
Ibrahim, Siraj, Rabnawaz, Adnan and Muhammad Ishaq have been identified as five of the 14 terrorists who were killed following an attack on a PAF base in Peshwar early on Friday.
“Three of them belonged to Khyber Agency while the other two were from Swat district,” a source said.
Further, investigative authorities wrote a letter to the political administration of Khyber Agency seeking details of the families and relatives of the terrorists.
Earlier today, a post-mortem examination of the bodies of all 14 terrorists was conducted which were later buried in a Badhaber graveyard. The source said the attackers appeared to be aged between 19 to 27 years.
On Saturday, police rounded up dozens of suspects and a case was registered against them. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) registered the FIR under terrorism charges on the complaint of the Badhaber camp commandant. “The FIR has been registered and the CTD will investigate the matter,” an official of the Badhaber police station had confirmed The Express Tribune.
Further, in a search operation launched by the Badhaber police around the airbase, 28 suspects, including some Afghan refugees, had been taken into custody for interrogation. Police and security forces also launched joint search operations in the cantonment area and the PAF airbase in Kohat, arresting another 96 suspects with weapons, including repeaters, Kalashnikovs, shotguns and pistols.
On Friday, at least 29 people, including an army captain, were killed as militants attacked a heavily-guarded Pakistan Air Force base in Badhaber area on the outskirts of Peshawar, senior security officials had said.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/960251/five-terrorists-killed-in-badhaber-base-attack-identified/?utm_source=Daily+Roundup+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0c3ebb5ea6-Daily_Roundup_5pm&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_19961368d8-0c3ebb5ea6-65338937
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In letter to NYT, USAID defends programmes in Pakistan
By Web Desk: September 20, 2015
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has defended its programmes in Pakistan in a letter to the editor after the New York Times published an article questioning why the agency is walking away from legal process in Pakistan and highlighting its failure in making substantial contribution to the country.
The organisation which has been operating in Pakistan for nearly a decade, distributing billions of dollars, was criticised for having made “minimal impact on the ground”, according to the article. Further, critics accused the agency of taking up projects with little consideration for local concerns and being needlessly reliant on American contractors with “little development experience”.
Despite extensive criticism about its efficacy, some experts also acknowledged that the agency has been a victim of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.
Raza Rumi, a fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, who has also worked in Pakistan’s development sector said: “I would not say it’s been a failure — they’ve invested money in energy and education — but because of anti-Americanism and their own inability to effectively communicate, this hasn’t been seen.”
“They’ve spent so much money in FATA,” he added, referring to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. “The reality is no one actually knows the result.”
However, the agency argued that article on the United States development assistance to Pakistan should not ignore that USAID “has contributed to dramatic improvements in the quality of life for the citizens of Pakistan.”
In a letter penned to the editor, Larry Sampler, the assistant to the administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan affairs, USAID, claimed the agency has improved the lives of millions of people in Pakistan whilst enhancing American national security. Further, he said USAID has helped “decrease newborn deaths by 23%” in areas in which it operated and “increased access to electricity for over 17 million Pakistanis” as well as improved the reading skills of 120,000 children, which “should make both Americans and Pakistanis proud”.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/959731/in-letter-to-nyt-usaid-defends-programmes-in-pakistan/
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Pakistan in talks with Russia to buy Su-35 jets
By Web Desk: September 20, 2015
Pakistan and Russia are in the process of negotiating what analysts believe can be potentially the largest defence deal between the two countries, IHS Jane’s reported.
“The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has discussed buying Su-35 ‘Flanker-E’ fighter jets from Russia but a final decision is yet to be announced,” the IHS quoted a senior government official as saying.
The senior government official’s remarks come in the wake of Russian media reports that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had said talks were underway for an unspecified number of Su-35s and a recent agreement for provision of Mi-35M ‘Hind E’ attack helicopters to Pakistan.
“It is too early to say if a deal will conclude and the terms,” the official said highlighting Russia’s willingness to sell advanced military hardware to Pakistan despite Moscow’s longstanding ties with India.
“Pakistan’s interest in the Su-35 was driven by the PAF’s need for a twin-engine fighter that can fly for a longer range than the JF-17 and penetrate more deeply into the enemy’s territory,’ the official revealed.
Pakistan currently relies on a mixed fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16s, Dassault Mirage-5s, Chinese manufactured F-7s and the JF-17 Thunder, which is co-manufactured by Pakistan and China.
Last month, Russia agreed to sell state-of-the-art Mi-35 attack helicopters to Pakistan in what is seen as a ‘paradigm shift’ in Moscow’s policy to increase defence cooperation between the two countries.
“An agreement was signed between Pakistan and Russian authorities in Rawalpindi for the purchase of 4 Mi-35 helicopters,” a senior military official had said, not disclosing any further details.
Moscow for long ignored Islamabad in a bid to please its long-term ally New Delhi. But as a result of India’s growing tilt towards the US, Russia has now started expanding its cooperation with Pakistan.
For its part, Islamabad is eager to improve its ties with Moscow to diversify its options in the event of any stalemate in ties with Washington.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/960227/twin-engine-fighter-pakistan-in-talks-with-russia-to-buy-su-35-jets/?utm_source=Daily+Roundup+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0c3ebb5ea6-Daily_Roundup_5pm&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_19961368d8-0c3ebb5ea6-65338937
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Africa
APC Official Writes To Buhari Over Saraki's Case
Clement Ejiofor
The legal move against Senate president Bukola Saraki seems to have polarized members of the All Progressives Congress.
This became evident after Timi Frank, APC deputy national publicity secretary, wrote an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is yet to speak up on the issue.
The letter as of September 19 titled “Urgent Need to End This Impunity against Saraki” was published by Post Nigeria. It contains a call to the president to intervene before the political crisis has started within the party.
Timi urged Saraki’s detractors to let him continue doing his work in the interest of Nigeria.
Recall that the Senate leader was filed with 13-count charge of public funds looting by the Code of Conduct Bureau Tribunal. He, however, failed to appear in court on Friday. The saga continues and it is expected that the police receives a warrant for Saraki’s arrest next week.
See the extracts from Timi’s open letter to Buhari below:
“Mr President, it is worthy to note that Saraki in recent times has been treated as an outcast. This is very bad development which if not carefully managed will consume the All Progressives Congress and doom our democracy. What has happened unfortunately does not reflect the change we promised Nigerians.
“Is Senator Saraki the only former governor in Nigeria? Are there no other former governors especially from the South West and other zones that are not just enjoying their booty but are integral part of the government? Yes, Saraki is not the anointed candidate for the Senate presidency, but his colleagues elected him. So, why don’t we allow him some peace to deliver on the promises of change?
“Mr President, the executive needs the legislature; hence, the relationship must be cordial because if this situation is not properly managed, Nigerians will be disappointed in us as a party, a development that portends unfavorable results when we go to the polls in 2019.
“As far as Nigerians are concerned, it is very difficult to convince them that this orchestrated onslaught against Saraki is not a case of witch hunt. Nigerians are more politically aware now than ever.
“Sir, you need to act to stop some of these people hiding under your good name to perpetuate this grievous evil. The begging for an answer is: If Saraki were not the Senate president, would all these acts of intimidation and maltreatment be visited on him?
“Please, kindly intervene in good time to stop this apparent political persecution as some few people are now hiding under your name to reap political dividends from this impunity.
“We cannot afford to suffer from the conspiracy of silence at this time because as they say, evil thrives when good people keep quiet. It may be Saraki’s turn today, but it could be anybody tomorrow…”
“I also want to appeal to all Nigerians to pray for senate president; Dr. Senate President Abubakar Saraki in this trying period as I have no doubt that he is one of the few patriotic Nigerians with so much in stock for this country.”
It was reported earlier today that the embattled Senate president had relocated from the residence to the guest house. Source disclosed the move is linked with safety and security reasons.
http://linkis.com/MtzXF
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Boko Haram Insurgents Flee, Abandon Items - Usman
Clement Ejiofor, 20 September 2015
Boko Haram terrorists are reportedly fleeing their camps abandoning their vehicles and food items at at Kotambe Kote and Jere axis, Borno state.
This was made known by Colonel Sani Usman, the spokesman for the Nigerian army through PR Nigeria.
The statement reads:
“The military offensive against the Boko Haram terrorists is becoming more unbearable on them as they flee their camps abandoning vehicles, flags and foodstuffs at Kotambe Kote and Jere axis.
“In a related development, troops of 101 Battalion along with members of Nigeria Police Explosive Ordinance Device (EOD) team, today successfully detonated two bicycles laden with primed improvised explosive devices at Awaisari village near Alou Dam.”
It should be recalled that earlier this year President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the newly appointed service chiefs to eliminate insurgency in the northeast.
In a renewed offensive against terrorists, the troops have carried out numerous successful operations, including rescue of captives, storming camps, blocking supplies, detonating bombs and arresting Boko Haram key figures.
https://www.naij.com/556547-photos-boko-haram-insurgents-flee-abandon-food-vehicles.html?source=notification
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11:37 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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