WASHINGTON: One of the four Americans killed in a suicide bomb attack in Syria this week was a Navy sailor and married mother of two whose father is a high-ranking officer in the New York State Police, officials said on Friday.
The Pentagon identified three of the four Americans killed in Wednesday’s attack in the northern Syrian town of Manbij.
They are Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan R. Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida, who was based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon M. Kent, 35, of Pine Plains, New York, and based at Fort Meade, Maryland; and a civilian, Scott A. Wirtz, from St. Louis.
The Pentagon has not identified the fourth casualty, a civilian contractor.
But according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, an Arabic interpreter who had emigrated from Syria to the US was among at least 20 people killed in the bombing.
Ali Taher told the newspaper on Friday that his older sister, Ghadir Taher, 27, of East Point, Georgia, was killed by the blast.
Ali Taher, who immigrated with his family to the US, said his sister’s smile would light up the room. He said she graduated from Tri-Cities High School and was kind and very easy to talk to.
The family learned of her death from her employer, Valiant Integrated Services, a defense contractor, he said.
In an email to the newspaper, Valiant spokesman Tom Becker confirmed the death, adding they were “extremely saddened by the tragic and senseless passing” of Ghadir Taher.
The attack, claimed by Daesh, also wounded three US troops and was the deadliest assault on US troops in Syria since American forces went into the country in 2015.
The Pentagon’s statement said Kent was from upstate New York but did not give a hometown. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement that she was from Pine Plains and was the daughter of state police field commander Col. Stephen Smith, the agency’s third-highest position.
“We owe her our eternal gratitude for her selfless dedication and sacrifice,” Cuomo said while ordering flags on state government buildings to be flown at half-staff in Kent’s honor.
Tara Grieb, principal of Stissing Mountain Junior-Senior High School in Pine Plains, said Kent grew up in the small, picturesque Hudson Valley town 145 km north of New York City and graduated from the local high school in 2001.
Grieb said Kent moved away after enlisting in the Navy in 2003.
“She was an honor student and a fabulous person,” Grieb said. “We are proud of her and her service and we support her family 100 percent in their time of sorrow.”
Kent’s mother, Mary Smith, taught sixth grade in the district until retiring last year, Grieb said.
Kent, who lived in Maryland with her husband and two children, was assigned to the Cryptologic Warfare Activity 66 based at Fort George Meade.
Cryptologic technicians are part of the Navy’s intelligence-gathering apparatus, analyzing encrypted electronic communications and using computers and other technology to compile information on the nation’s enemies.
Cmdr. Joseph Harrison, the unit’s commanding officer, said in a statement that Kent “was a rockstar, an outstanding Chief Petty Officer, and leader to many in the Navy Information Warfare Community.”
Florida’s Palm Beach Post reported that Farmer’s parents loaded suitcases into a friend’s SUV on Friday morning before heading to Dover, Delaware, for the return of their son’s remains.
Duncan Farmer characterized his son as “a good man. Good son. Good father. Good husband.” Then he added, “A good friend.”
Duncan Farmer said they knew Jonathan, a Green Beret, was in Syria, but “we didn’t know exactly where.”
Jonathan Farmer was born in Boynton Beach, Florida, south of West Palm Beach. He grew up in Palm Beach Gardens, attending the Benjamin School before going to Bowdoin College in Maine.
His father said Jonathan Famer was in the military for 13 years and had been in dangerous places “many times,” including Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
He said services will be at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Palm Beach Gardens, but a date has not been set. He said internment will be at Arlington National Cemetery.
In Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson asked Missourians to pray for the family of Wirtz, a former Navy SEAL who was working for the US Defense Intelligence Agency as an operations support specialist.
Wirtz “died bravely serving our nation in a dangerous part of the world, and for that we are grateful,” Parson said.
Syrian-born woman among 4 slain Americans in Manbij
Syrian-born woman among 4 slain Americans in Manbij

- US government sources say the Pentagon and other national agencies are investigating the bombing
- This is one of the deadliest attacks on US forces in Syria since their deployment in 2015
Macron tours Egypt aid outpost for Gaza

- Macron was in El-Arish, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip
- The French president said he would meet with sick Palestinians and medical professionals in El-Arish
EL-ARISH: French President Emmanuel Macron visited Egypt’s port city of El-Arish on Tuesday, a key transit point for Gaza-bound aid, to call on Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian access to the war-battered Palestinian territory.
An AFP journalist said Macron was in El-Arish, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, along with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Macron, who arrived in Cairo on Sunday, has said he would meet with sick Palestinians and medical professionals in El-Arish, an “outpost of humanitarian support for the civilian population of Gaza.”
The French leader is also expected to tour Red Crescent warehouses and meet with UN and aid representatives.
In a symbolic stop on his Egypt tour, Macron will call for “the reopening of crossing points for the delivery of humanitarian goods into Gaza,” a presidency statement said.
Israel cut off aid to Gaza in early March, during an impasse in negotiations to extend a truce with Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war.
Later in March, after a two-month truce, Israel resumed intense bombardment across the Gaza Strip and restarted ground operations.
In Cairo, Macron, El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for an “immediate return” to the ceasefire.
The three leaders met on Monday to discuss the war and humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s 2.4 million people, the vast majority of whom have been displaced at least once during the war.
In a joint statement on Monday, the heads of several UN agencies said many Gazans are “trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck” outside of the besieged territory.
Dubai crown prince makes first official visit to India

- Sheikh Hamdan is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
DUBAI: Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, leading a high-level delegation on his first official visit to India.
He was received at Indira Gandhi International Airport by India’s Minister of Tourism and Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi, with an official reception held in his honor.
During the visit, Sheikh Hamdan is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation across key sectors.
The visit reflects the UAE’s commitment to expanding strategic partnerships and promoting innovation and collaboration with global allies.
Paris makes jailed Erdogan rival honorary citizen

- Mass protests have erupted in Turkiye after the March 19 arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu
- He is widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging Erdogan at the ballot box
PARIS: The French capital on Tuesday made Istanbul’s jailed mayor a citizen of honor, with the city’s top official throwing her support behind the Turkish opposition figure.
Mass protests have erupted in Turkiye after the March 19 arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, a main rival to President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, on corruption charges his supporters say are false.
Widely seen as the only politician capable of challenging Erdogan at the ballot box, Imamoglu was elected as the opposition CHP party’s candidate for the 2028 election on the day he was jailed.
“Imamoglu is today unfairly prevented from representing his party and carrying the voice of millions of Turkish people,” Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo told the city council after it voted to make him a citizen of honor.
“Deprived of his freedom and his basic rights, he should be able to count on the full support of Paris,” said the Socialist, describing the French city as “the capital of human rights.”
This show of support “will perhaps allow the current Turkish authorities to hear the voices of democratic reason,” she added.
Hidalgo was among several European mayors who called for Imamoglu’s release last month.
Gaza rescuers say 19 killed in Israeli strikes overnight

- Five children and four adults were killed in a strike that hit a home in the central city of Deir el-Balah
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said on Tuesday that Israeli strikes overnight killed at least 19 people across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has resumed its offensive against Hamas.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that “19 civilians including several children were martyred” and dozens more wounded in the latest Israeli raids.
Five children and four adults were killed in a strike that hit a home in the central city of Deir el-Balah, while two separate pre-dawn attacks on Gaza City and Beit Lahia in the north left a total of 10 people dead, Bassal said.
Separately, a media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement, a Hamas ally, announced the death on Monday of an employee named Ahmed Mansur in an Israeli strike on a tent used by journalists in the Khan Yunis area.
The Hamas government media office had on Monday reported the death of journalist Hilmi Al-Faqaawi, who worked for a local news agency, in the same strike, which also wounded another nine.
The Israeli military meanwhile said the strike had targeted “Hamas terrorist Hassan Abdel Fattah Mohammed Aslih,” claiming that he operated “under the guise of a journalist and owns a press company.”
It said Aslih had “infiltrated Israeli territory and participated in the murderous massacre carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization” on October 7, 2023.
Israel resumed intense strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Efforts to restore the truce have so far failed.
According to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, at least 1,391 Palestinians have been killed in the renewed Israeli operations, taking the overall death toll since the start of the war to 50,752.
Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Protests, shouting as Israel court hears petitions against security chief sacking

- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last month that his government had unanimously approved a motion to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency
- Bar has pushed back against the government’s move to sack him, dismissing Netanyahu’s arguments as “general, unsubstantiated accusations”
JERUSALEM: Israel’s top court began a hearing on Tuesday on the hotly contested decision to sack domestic security chief Ronen Bar, with protests from government supporters and critics briefly interrupting the proceedings.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last month that his government had unanimously approved a motion to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, citing “lack of trust” and requiring Bar to leave his post by April 10.
The hearing on Tuesday follows petitions filed by opposition parties and non-profit groups, challenging the legality of the government’s move which the Supreme Court had already frozen until a ruling was made.
Protests were held outside the Jerusalem courtroom, and inside, shouts and interruptions forced the judges to halt proceedings after only 30 minutes.
“No court in the world is run this way,” said Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit after warning government supporters and critics who interrupted the hearing, which is broadcast live.
Amit called for a recess, during which scuffles between the sides continued outside the courtroom.
The hearing resumed about an hour later, with no audience, “to allow the right to argue without fear for all parties involved,” according to the judges.
Attorney Zion Amir, representing the government, said that “this is purely a political petition.”
The judges will likely issue a decision later in the week, according to media reports.
Bar has pushed back against the government’s move to sack him, dismissing Netanyahu’s arguments as “general, unsubstantiated accusations” motivated by “personal interest.”
Bar said the decision was meant to “prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters” being looked at by the Shin Bet, referring to the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is due to address the court, has also cautioned that ousting Bar was “tainted by a personal conflict of interest on the part of the prime minister due to the criminal investigations involving his associates.”
Baharav-Miara was referring to a case dubbed by media as “Qatargate” involving Netanyahu’s close advisers under investigation for allegedly receiving money from Qatar.
Tomer Naor, from the Movement for Quality Government in Israel which submitted one of the petitions, told AFP that “Netanyahu is under a severe conflict of interest.”
He said the group had petitioned the court to “remind that Ronen Bar is the head of the Shin Bet (and) is in charge of the investigation into ‘Qatargate’.”
Dov Halbertal, a lawyer who came to watch the hearing, said that “Netanyahu is the ruler, he can fire whoever he wants, especially this Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet that is responsible for the massacre” of October 7, 2023.
The fact that the court was hearing the petitions was “anti-democracy,” he said.
Baharav-Miara, who has often clashed with the Netanyahu administration over the independence of the judiciary, said that firing Bar could lead to the politicization of the powerful position.
Appointed Shin Bet chief in October 2021 by the previous government, led by opponents of Netanyahu, Bar has clashed with the long-serving incumbent since his return to power in late 2022.
Bar was critical of a government proposal to reform the judiciary, which drew hundreds of thousands of Israelis onto the streets in protest and was temporarily shelved when the Gaza war began with Hamas’s attack.
Bar, who was only meant to end his tenure next year, had suggested he would consider stepping down early due to his part in failing to prevent the October 7 attack, but only once the war is over and the hostages held in Gaza are freed.