Daesh claims responsibility for Manchester bombing that killed at least 22

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Armed police officers stand near the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, in northern England, Britain on Tuesday. (REUTERS)
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A police vehicle is seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing in Manchester, northern England, Britain on Tuesday. (REUTERS)
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A police officer talks to locals outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England, Britain on Monday. (REUTERS)
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An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England, Britain, on Tuesday. (REUTERS)
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Police set up a cordon outside the Manchester Arena in northern England where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing in Manchester, Britain, on Monday. (REUTERS)
Updated 23 May 2017
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Daesh claims responsibility for Manchester bombing that killed at least 22

MANCHESTER, England: Daesh has claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly bombing of a concert at the Manchester Arena in the UK, in which at least 22 people were killed.
 
British authorities have identified the suspected suicide bomber as Salman Abedi, according to US officials quoted by AP.
 
The attack, which targeted a show by US singer Ariana Grande, involved explosives planted at the arena, according to a statement by the terror group posted on Telegram.
 
Daesh said “a soldier of the caliphate planted bombs in the middle of Crusaders gatherings,” then detonated them. It did not say whether the attacker was killed.
 
British police earlier said they believed that the attack was carried out by a lone suicide bomber who was also killed in the blast.
 
Daesh also claimed that “30 Crusaders were killed and 70 others were wounded,” higher than the totals confirmed by authorities in Manchester.
 
The US’ top intelligence official said however that the US government has not yet verified that Daesh was responsible for the attack.
 
Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, told Congress that the extremist group frequently claims responsibility for terror attacks.
 
Daesh operational involvement ‘not clear’
 
Terrorism expert Lee Marsden, a professor at the University of East Anglia in the UK, said it was not yet clear whether Daesh had any direct involvement in the Manchester bombing.
 
But he said attacks of this nature are likely to become more frequent as the extremist terror group loses ground in the Middle East.
 
Daesh has “claimed responsibility, as has been a consistent pattern with attacks in the West. However, what is less clear is whether the organization had any operational involvement in the attack or whether they inspired the suicide bomber concerned through calling for attacks through any means available,” Marsden told Arab News.
 
“As Daesh is facing defeat in Iraq and Syria and foreign fighters return home then the propensity for such attacks is likely to increase. In Britain, terror attacks have largely been perpetrated by British citizens and the ongoing activity by police in the Manchester area may reflect a local connection. Although it is clearly too early and inappropriate to speculate.”
 
Europe has seen several “low-tech” terror attacks, such as the incident in March in which 52-year-old Briton Khalid Masood drove a car into pedestrians on the pavement along the south side of Westminster Bridge.
 
But the use of explosives and suicide bombings on the British mainland, though rare, have “been flagged up as increasingly likely” as British men and women return home after fighting for Daesh in Syria, Marsden said. 
 
“The sophistication of this latest terror incident reveals the difficulties of trying to combat either tight cells of terrorist operatives or lone-wolf attacks. Although police have made one arrest, it is too early to say the extent to which this was an organised and coordinated attack,” he said. “Large gatherings of people without a strong police or security presence affords an easy target for those wishing to advance their cause through inflicting maximum casualties.”
 
‘A callous terrorist attack’
 
The British Prime Minister Theresa May called the bombing a “callous terrorist attack... that targeted some of the youngest people in our society.” The first victims to be named were teenager Georgina Callander and 8-year-old Saffie Roussos, according to Sky News.
 
Speaking on Tuesday morning in London, May said that many of the 59 people injured are being “treated for life-threatening conditions.”
 
Police said the apparent suicide attack is believed to have been carried out by one person with an improvised explosive device, who was also killed in the blast. A 23-year-old man was arrested in South Manchester in connection with the attack, according to Sky News.
 
May said on Tuesday morning that “police and security services believe they know the identity of the perpetrator,” but are not disclosing the name at present. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn called the attack an “appalling act of violence.”
 
The attack is the deadliest terror assault on Britain since four militants killed 52 people in suicide bombings on London’s transport system in July 2005.
 
There was no immediate change in the UK national terror threat level, which remains at “severe,” one level below the top level, “critical,” which means that an attack is underway or imminent. May said the threat level would be assessed over the coming hours and days.
 
Sky News reported that the nearby Arndale Shopping Center in Manchester was evacuated on Tuesday morning, as armed police made an arrest. It was not immediately clear if the incident was related to the terror attack on Monday.
 
Attacker “specifically targeted kids’ concert”
 
Police last night responded to reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena shortly after 10:35 p.m. (2135 GMT) at the arena, which has a capacity for 21,000 people, and where Grande had been performing to an audience that included many children.
 
Terrorism experts said that the target of the attack — a concert popular with teenagers and children — made it distinct from other Daesh atrocities in Europe.
 
Peter Lehr, lecturer in Terrorism Studies at the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St. Andrews University, Scotland, said that the attacker would have been well aware that many of the victims would have been children.
 
“In yesterday’s attack, it was the young ones who were targeted: after all, Ariana Grande is a teen idol, attracting mainly teens as a result,” Lehr told Arab News.
 
“Although we don’t have enough information on the suicide bomber, I am very sure that he was aware of that, and that he chose this particular target, and this particular evening, for this very reason.”
 
Lehr said the Manchester bombing differed to previous attacks in Europe such as that in Paris in November 2015, which targeted people in cafes, bars, and at a heavy metal concert. 
 
“In the Berlin Christmas market attack, (the target was again) mainly middle-aged middle class people,” he added.
 
A witness who attended the concert said she felt a huge blast as she was leaving the arena, followed by screaming and a rush by thousands of people trying to escape the building.
 
A video posted on Twitter showed fans, many of them young, screaming and running from the venue. Dozens of parents frantically searched for their children, posting photos and pleading for information on social media.

 
“We were making our way out and when we were right by the door there was a massive explosion and everybody was screaming,” concertgoer Catherine Macfarlane told Reuters.
 
“It was a huge explosion — you could feel it in your chest. It was chaotic. Everybody was running and screaming and just trying to get out.”
 
A spokesman for Ariana Grande, 23, said the singer was “okay.”
 
Paula Robinson, 48, from West Dalton about 40 miles east of Manchester, said she was at the train station next to the arena with her husband when she felt the explosion and saw dozens of teenage girls screaming and running away from arena.
 
“We ran out,” Robinson told Reuters. “It was literally seconds after the explosion. I got the teens to run with me.”
 
Robinson took dozens of teenage girls to the nearby Holiday Inn Express hotel and tweeted out her phone number to worried parents, telling them to meet her there. She said her phone had not stopped ringing since her tweet.
 
“Parents were frantic running about trying to get to their children,” she said. “There were lots of lots children at Holiday Inn.”
 
Global reactions
 
US President Donald Trump condemned the “evil losers” behind the attack on Manchester Arena, saying: “I won’t call them monsters because they would like that term. They would think that’s a great name.
 
“So many young, beautiful, innocent people living and enjoying their lives murdered,” he said.
 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced “sorrow and horror,” adding: “This suspected terrorist attack will only strengthen our resolve to work with our British friends against those who plan and execute such inhuman acts. I assure the people in Britain: Germany stands by your side.”
 
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to boost anti-terror cooperation with Britain after “this cynical, inhuman crime.
 
“We expect that those behind it will not escape the punishment they deserve,” he said.
 
Harun Khan, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, issued the following statement: 
 
“My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. I understand teenagers and children have been caught up in what the police has confirmed to be a terrorist attack. This is horrific, this is criminal. May the perpetrators face the full weight of justice both in this life and the next.
 
“I pay tribute to the police and emergency services who have worked valiantly to save lives last night. They were helped by civilians who rushed in to offer their support. I urge all those in the region and around the country to pool together to support those affected.”
 
British counter-terrorism police have said they are making on average an arrest every day in connection with suspected terrorism.
 
In March, a British-born convert plowed a car into pedestrians on London’s Westminster Bridge, killing four people before stabbing to death a police officer who was on the grounds of parliament. He was shot dead at the scene.
 
In 2015, a student Abid Naseer was convicted in a US court of conspiring with Al-Qaeda to blow up the Arndale shopping center in the center of Manchester in April 2009.
 
Manchester Arena, the largest indoor arena in Europe, opened in 1995 and is a popular concert and sporting venue.
 
— With Reuters, AP

 


Putin, congratulating Trump on election win, says he’s ready to talk

Updated 11 sec ago
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Putin, congratulating Trump on election win, says he’s ready to talk

Putin said he was impressed with how Trump handled himself in the moments after an assassination attempt in July

SOCHI, Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on winning this week’s US presidential election and said on Thursday he was ready to speak to Trump, as any ideas on facilitating an end to the Ukraine crisis merited attention.
Putin said he was impressed with how Trump, who decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to secure his return to the White House, handled himself in the moments after an assassination attempt in July, describing Trump as a brave man.

Father accused of murder of British-Pakistani girl blames stepmother

Sara Sharif was found dead in her bed in Woking, southwest of London, on August 10, 2023 with injuries including broken bones.
Updated 9 min 32 sec ago
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Father accused of murder of British-Pakistani girl blames stepmother

  • Giving evidence for a third day, Sharif admitted slapping Sara “multiple times” but denied beating, burning, or biting her

LONDON: The father of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl on Thursday denied her murder and instead blamed the girl’s stepmother, calling her “evil” and “psycho.”
Sara Sharif was found dead in her bed in Woking, southwest of London, on August 10, 2023 with injuries including broken bones, burns and bite marks.
Her father, Urfan Sharif, 42, had fled to Pakistan a day before the body was found, along with his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
Sharif then called police in the UK shortly after arriving in Islamabad and said he had “beat her up too much.” During the trial, Sharif said he made up this and another confession to “protect my family.”
All three adults were arrested upon their return to the UK a month later. They deny charges of murder and allowing the death of a child.
Details of the extent of Sara’s injuries have been detailed at London’s Old Bailey court, including claims from Batool that Sharif would beat his daughter badly.
Giving evidence for a third day, Sharif admitted slapping Sara “multiple times” but denied beating, burning, or biting her, insisting that he was “never at home” when she was injured.
Sharif broke down when his lawyer, Naeem Mian, questioned him about beating Sara, who was home schooled, with a cricket bat.
The taxi driver denied burning his daughter with an iron and instead said he was “made to” slap Sara by Batool, who constantly accused the girl of behaving badly.
Pointing to Batool sitting in the dock, Sharif shouted: “I should not have believed her... I didn’t realize I’m living with evil and a psycho.”
He also suggested that Batool was the one who bit her “like an animal.”
The jury was previously told that Sharif and Malik had provided their dental impressions but Batool had refused.
“I didn’t do it. Faisal didn’t do it. Who else was at home?” Sharif said.
He denied ever being aware of Sara being in pain. “She never told me that,” he said and indicated that he did not see injuries because Sara wore full-sleeve tops and long bottoms as well as a hijab head covering.
In the month leading up to Sara’s death, Mian said Sharif was out of the house at work from early in the morning to late at night while holing frequent telephone conversations with Batool, who would largely be at home.
Sharif wept as he recalled a time he came home and saw that Sara’s hands had been tied behind her back with brown packaging tape, accusing Batool of the act.
Asked why he did not call the police or ask Batool to leave, Sharif said that his wife was “manipulative” and that he believed her apology.
“I have been an idiot,” he added.
Forensic evidence shown to court included bundles of packaging tape and a white plastic carrier bag fashioned into a hood that could have been used on Sara’s head.
The bag had packaging tape stuck to it as well as long, brown hairs that matched Sara’s DNA, the court was told.
Both the bag and the non-sticky side of the tape had fingerprints that matched Sharif’s, who denied fashioning a hood out of the plastic bag or using it on Sara.
He said the fingerprints could be a result of him handling the items while sorting the garbage.
Sharif had previously accused Batool of being abusive toward him and preventing him from asking Sara about how she obtained her injuries.
In 2022, Batool texted her sister that Sharif had suggested using make-up to cover up bruises after beating Sara, to which the sister replied: “LOL it was going to happen you can tell.”
In the days before her death, Sharif said Sara, who did chores around the house, had asked him to “not go to work.”


German parliament passes controversial antisemitism text

The resolution was proposed and supported by MPs from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the conservative CDU-CSU, the Gree
Updated 40 min 39 sec ago
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German parliament passes controversial antisemitism text

  • Critics of the resolution — including voices from the Jewish community — say it could restrict artistic and academic freedom

BERLIN: The German parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly backed a resolution aimed at tackling a spike in anti-Semitism linked to the war in Gaza.
However, critics of the resolution — including voices from the Jewish community — say it could restrict artistic and academic freedom.
The text calls for a ban on public funding for any group “that spreads anti-Semitism, calls into question Israel’s right to exist or calls for a boycott of Israel.”
In cases of anti-Semitic acts in schools and universities, it calls for those responsible to be excluded from classes or even expelled.
The resolution was proposed and supported by MPs from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the conservative CDU-CSU, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
About 100 Jewish artists and intellectuals living in Germany said in a statement that the resolution would “weaken, rather than strengthen, the diversity of Jewish life in Germany by associating all Jews with the actions of the Israeli government.”
The general secretary of Amnesty International’s Germany chapter, Julia Duchrow, said that while Amnesty “explicitly welcomes the goal of adopting measures to fight anti-Semitism... the resolution adopted today not only fails to achieve this, it could lead to serious violations of basic human rights and legal uncertainty.”
“This resolution leaves space for abuse, criminalizes legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy and serves the racist narrative of ‘imported anti-Semitism’,” she said.
In an open letter in October 2023, Amnesty and 103 other civil society organizations had warned against conflating anti-Semitism and criticism of the policies of the Israeli government.
“Branding legitimate criticism of Israel’s human right record as anti-Semitic also undermines the fight against genuine anti-Semitism,” they pointed out.
While also mentioning anti-Semitism from the far right and far left, the German parliament’s resolution says that “in recent months the alarming extent of anti-Semitism based on immigration from North Africa and the Middle East has become clear.”
This accusation against immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East — who could be Christian, Jewish or Muslim and might either support or oppose the policies of the Israeli government — was criticized by some in the Greens.
But it was backed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose MPs also voted for the text.
AfD lawmaker Juergen Braun called “mass immigration... the central problem endangering Jewish life in Germany.”
The far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was the only party to vote against the resolution, with the other far-left Die Linke party abstaining.


Arab American US election successes marred by claims of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias

Updated 07 November 2024
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Arab American US election successes marred by claims of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias

  • Several Arab Americans candidates were reelected despite growing concerns about anti-Arab sentiment amid ongoing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran
  • Syrian American candidate for Illinois House of Representatives says she was targeted by anonymous Islamophobic and anti-Arab attacks during campaign

CHICAGO: Alongside Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the US presidential election on Tuesday, and amid ongoing tensions in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, several Arab American incumbents won reelection to their offices at state and congressional levels, some of them unchallenged.

Four Arab American members of Congress will return to the Capitol to represent their districts in California, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan, while five were reelected to State House seats in Illinois, Michigan, Colorado and Iowa.

In some places, however, there were allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment as opponents sought to capitalize on voter concerns about terrorism and foreign conflicts.

Suzanne Akhras, a Syrian American Democrat who lost to Republican incumbent Nicole La Ha in the race to represent the 82nd District in the Illinois House of Representatives, said she was targeted by anonymous text messages and phone calls falsely linking her to Islamic terrorism, including claims of ties to Hamas.

“These calls and texts tried to portray me as a danger to the community I love,” she said in a campaign video message to voters in September. “I have lived in Burr Ridge for nearly 20 years. I have been a PTA parent. I have spent my life advocating for vulnerable people and being of service. I founded a very successful non-profit organization.

"I am a proud American. I cherish our shared values of freedom; freedom to express our diverse faiths and freedom to celebrate the diversity of our backgrounds and cultures. Those freedoms I hold dear are under attack in our district. These attacks against me are based on racism, Islamophobia and are xenophobic.”

Akhras, who said she has been recognized as an “upstander” by the Illinois Holocaust Museum for confronting hate speech and crime, said the “disturbing calls and text messages” began shortly after she began campaigning door-to-door. She criticized the Republican Party in the state for failing to denounce the attacks, and accused La Ha of running an “abhorrent and dangerous, xenophobic” smear campaign.

Akhras, who wears a hijab and whose husband, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, helps provide humanitarian medical services to refugees and displaced people in conflict zones, including Gaza, also said that despite winning the Democratic primary in March, she received no support from the Illinois Democratic Party.

Elsewhere, Darrell Issa, who is of Syrian-Lebanese heritage, was reelected to Congress as the representative for California’s 48th district, defeating Democrat Stephen Houlahan with 60.2 percent of the vote.

In Minnesota, Democrat Ilhan Omar, who is of Somali descent, was reelected as the member of the House of Representatives for the 5th District with 75 percent of the vote, easily defeating her Republican rival, Arab American Dalia Al-Aqidi.

Democrat Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian American , defeated Republican James Hopper with 69.7 percent of the vote in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District. Republican Darin LaHood, who is of Lebanese heritage, ran unopposed in Illinois’ 16th District.

Two Arab American members of Congress, Democrat Anna Eshoo from California and Republican Garret Graves from Louisiana, did not seek reelection.

At the state level, Democrat Nabeela Syed, who is of Indian heritage, secured a second term in the State House as the representative for the 51st District with 55 percent of the vote, ahead of Republican rival Tosi Ufodike.

In Michigan’s 3rd District, Democrat Alabas Farhat defeated Republican Richard Zeile with 67.9 percent of the vote. Democrat Iman Jodeh was reelected in Colorado’s 41st District, gaining 61 percent of the vote against Republican Robert McKenna.

Palestinian American Abdelnasser Rashid and Syrian American Sami Scheetz, both Democrats, retained their seats without a challenge in Illinois’ 21st District and Iowa’s 78th District respectively.


US military judge reinstates 9/11 mastermind plea deal — official

Updated 07 November 2024
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US military judge reinstates 9/11 mastermind plea deal — official

  • Prosecution can appeal decision but it was not immediately clear if they would do so
  • Agreements triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks

WASHINGTON: A US military judge has reinstated plea agreements for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants, an official said Thursday, three months after the deals were scrapped by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The agreements — which are understood to take the death penalty off the table — had triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks, and Austin said that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial.
“I can confirm that the military judge has ruled that the pretrial agreements for the three accused are valid and enforceable,” the US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The prosecution has the opportunity to appeal the decision, but it was not immediately clear if they would do so.
The plea deals with Mohammed and two alleged accomplices were announced in late July in a step that appeared to have moved their long-running cases toward resolution after years of being bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.
But Austin withdrew the agreements two days after they were announced, saying the decision should rest with him given its significance.
He subsequently told journalists that “the families of the victims, our service members and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case.”
Much of the legal jousting surrounding the men’s cases has focused on whether they could be tried fairly after having undergone methodical torture at the hands of the CIA in the years after 9/11 — a thorny issue that the plea agreements would have avoided.