BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death a former policeman convicted of killing prominent academic Hisham Al-Hashemi, whose murder in 2020 sparked condemnation in Iraq and abroad.
The sentence against Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid for killing Hashemi, an expert on Sunni extremism and a government security adviser, was handed down by a Baghdad criminal court and can be appealed, the judiciary said.
A well-respected academic and expert on jihadist groups, Hashemi was shot dead outside his Baghdad home in July 2020 by gunmen on motorcycles.
A year later, state television aired the alleged confession of the mastermind of the assault who was then identified by his full name Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid Al-Kenani.
Then a police lieutenant aged 36, he said he shot Hashemi with a pistol.
At the time a security source said that the suspect was linked to the powerful pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah, which Hashemi had criticized in his writings and media commentary.
On Sunday, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said in a statement that “a death sentence has been issued against the criminal Ahmed Hamdawi Oueid for the murder of security expert Hisham Al-Hashemi.”
Hashemi’s murder sparked outrage across Iraq and was denounced by several Western countries as well as the United Nations.
Hashemi had thrown his support behind popular protests that had broken out in Iraq a year before his death against the government, which was seen by many as inept, corrupt and too close to Iran.
More than 600 people were killed and thousands wounded in the protests that had erupted in October 2019 and a crackdown on the demonstrations.
In the aftermath of the protests, a spate of killings, attempted murders and abductions targeted dozens of activists in Iraq.
Iraq court sentences to death killer of academic Hisham Al-Hashemi
https://arab.news/5kfpx
Iraq court sentences to death killer of academic Hisham Al-Hashemi
- Hashemi was shot dead outside his Baghdad home in July 2020 by gunmen on motorcycles
- Hashemi’s murder sparked outrage across Iraq and was denounced by several Western countries as well as the United Nations
At least 30 people killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza as stalled ceasefire talks set to resume
- Israel said missiles were fired into the country from Yemen, which set off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel and sent people scrambling to shelters
- Hospital staff say at least 30 people, including children, were killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes overnight and Friday morning
Staff at the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital said more than a dozen women and children were killed in strikes that hit various places in Central Gaza, including Nuseirat, Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al Balah. Dozens of people were also killed across the enclave the previous day, bringing the total of people killed in the past 24 hours to 56.
The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the latest strikes, but says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths.
Strikes Thursday hit Hamas security officers and an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone. Among those killed early Friday, was Omar Al-Derawi, a freelance journalist. Associated Press reporters saw friends and colleagues mourning over his body at the hospital, with a press vest laid on top of his shroud.
Israelis also woke up to attacks early Friday morning. Israel said missiles were fired into the country from Yemen, which set off air raid sirens in Jerusalem and central Israel and sent people scrambling to shelters. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, though a faint explosion, likely either from the missile or from interceptors, could be heard in Jerusalem. Israel’s army said a missile was intercepted.
As the attacks were underway, efforts at ceasefire negotiations were expected to resume Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had authorized a delegation from the Mossad intelligence agency, the Shin Bet internal security agency and the military to continue negotiations in Qatar. The delegation is leaving for Qatar on Friday.
The US-led talks have repeatedly stalled during 15 months of war, which was sparked by Hamas-led militants’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel. The militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive in retaliation has killed over 45,500 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the dead. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Israel’s military says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in dense residential areas. The army says it has killed 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced some 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, many of them multiple times.
French FM in Damascus calls for ‘sovereign, stable and peaceful’ Syria
- France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed his hope on Friday for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria as he visited Damascus for talks on behalf of the European Union
DAMASCUS: France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed his hope on Friday for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria as he visited Damascus for talks on behalf of the European Union.
“This hope is real” but also “fragile,” Barrot told journalists at the French embassy in Damascus on his first visit to Syria since longtime ruler Bashar Assad was toppled.Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and top French diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot visited Syria's Saydnaya prison on Friday, an emblem of abuses under deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, AFP journalists said.
The foreign ministers were in Syria to meet with the country's new authorities, including leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, in the highest-level visit by major Western powers since Assad was ousted on December 8.
Israel army says intercepted missile, drone launched from Yemen
- Israel’s emergency service provider, Magen David Adom, reported that it had treated several people who were injured or experienced panic attacks on their way to shelters
Jerusalem: Israel’s military reported that it shot down a missile and a drone launched from Yemen on Friday, the latest in a series of attacks from the country targeting Israel in recent weeks.
“A missile that was launched from Yemen and crossed into Israeli territory was intercepted,” the military said in a statement posted to its Telegram channel.
“A report was received regarding shrapnel from the interception that fell in the area of Modi’in in central Israel. The details are under review.”
Israel’s emergency service provider, Magen David Adom, reported that it had treated several people who were injured or experienced panic attacks on their way to shelters after air raid sirens sounded in the center and south of the country.
Hours later the military announced that it had also shot down a drone launched from Yemen.
The drone was intercepted before it entered Israel, the military added.
On Tuesday, Israel also said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
Much of Yemen is controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have been firing missiles and drones at Israel — as well as at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden — in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The Houthis have stepped up their attacks since November’s ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel has also struck Yemen, including targeting Sanaa’s international airport at the end of December.
24 killed as pro-Ankara factions clash with Syria’s Kurdish-led SDF
- The latest bout of fighting was sparked by attacks by the Turkiye-backed fighters on two towns south of Manbij, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
- Swathes of northern Syria are controlled by the US-backed SDF, which spearheaded the fight that helped oust the Daesh group from its last territory in Syria in 2019
BEIRUT: At least 24 fighters, mostly from Turkish-backed groups, were killed in clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the northern Manbij district, a war monitor said on Thursday.
The violence killed 23 Turkish-backed fighters and one member of the SDF-affiliated Manbij Military Council, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Britain-based war monitor said the latest bout of fighting was sparked by attacks by the Ankara-backed fighters on two towns south of Manbij.
Swathes of northern Syria are controlled by a Kurdish-led administration whose de facto army, the US-backed SDF, spearheaded the fight that helped oust the Daesh group from its last territory in Syria in 2019.
Turkiye accuses the main component of the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), of being affiliated with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which both Washington and Ankara blacklist as a terrorist group.
Fighting has raged around the Arab-majority city of Manbij, controlled by the Manbij Military Council, a group of local fighters operating under the SDF.
According to the Observatory, “clashes continued south and east of Manbij, while Turkish forces bombarded the area with drones and heavy artillery.”
The SDF said it repelled attacks by Turkiye-backed groups south and east of Manbij.
“This morning, with the support of five Turkish drones, tanks and modern armored vehicles, the mercenary groups launched violent attacks” on several villages in the Manbij area, the SDF said in a statement.
“Our fighters succeeded in repelling all the attacks, killing dozens of mercenaries and destroying six armored vehicles, including a tank.”
Turkiye has mounted multiple operations against the SDF since 2016, and Ankara-backed groups have captured several Kurdish-held towns in northern Syria in recent weeks.
The fighting has continued since rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad on December 8.
King Charles donates to International Rescue Committee’s Syria aid operation
- Donation will fund healthcare, protect children, provide emergency cash
LONDON: King Charles III has helped pay for urgent humanitarian aid needed in Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad.
Charles made an undisclosed donation to International Rescue Committee UK to fund healthcare, protect children and provide emergency cash.
The king is the patron of the charity, which says Syria is facing profound humanitarian needs despite the defeat of the Assad regime by opposition forces.
Khusbu Patel, IRC UK’s acting executive director, said: “His Majesty’s contribution underscores his deep commitment to addressing urgent global challenges, and helping people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives.
“We are immensely grateful to His Majesty The King for his donation supporting our work in Syria. This assistance will enable us to provide essential services, including healthcare, child protection and emergency cash, to those people most in need.”
The charity said it was scaling-up its efforts in northern Syria to evaluate the urgent needs of communities. Towns and villages have become accessible to aid groups for the first time in years now that rebel forces have taken control of much of the country.
The charity said Syria ranks fourth on its emergency watchlist for 2025 and a recent assessment found that people in the northeast of the country were facing unsafe childbirth conditions, cold-related illnesses, water contamination, and shortages of medical supplies.
Charles last month said he would be “praying for Syria” as he attended a church service in London attended by various faiths.
The king met Syrian nun Sister Annie Demerjian at the event, who described the situation in her homeland after the regime had been swept from power.
