BAGHDAD: US forces were attacked four times in Iraq and Syria on Thursday with rockets and armed drones, but there were no casualties or damage to infrastructure, a USmilitary official said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said US and international forces were attacked at two sites in northeastern Syria with multiple rockets and a one-way attack drone.
In Iraq, multiple one-way drones were launched at the Ain Al-Asad air base west of Baghdad and a drone was launched at a base housing US forces near Irbil airport in northern Iraq.
A group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which analysts say is a catch-all for several Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups, had claimed attacks on those locations earlier in the day.
The attacks come the day after the US struck the Iran-aligned Kataeb Hezbollah (KH) armed group south of Baghdad in an attack that KH said had left eight members dead.
The attack was condemned by the Iraqi government as escalatory and a violation of sovereignty.
US officials said the United States had struck Iran-aligned groups after an escalation in their attacks that have targeted US and international forces dozens of times since Oct. 17, 10 days after the Israel-Hamas war began.
As of Thursday, there had been 36 attacks in Iraq and 37 in Syria, the US military official said.
US forces attacked 4 times in Iraq, Syria within hours
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US forces attacked 4 times in Iraq, Syria within hours
- US and international forces were attacked at two sites in northeastern Syria with multiple rockets and a one-way attack drone
- In Iraq, multiple one-way drones were launched at the Ain Al-Asad air base west of Baghdad
Jerusalem patriarch hails pope’s commitment to Gaza
The Catholic church’s highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that “Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate.”
Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and “closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one,” said the patriarch.
These positions became particularly evident in Francis’s response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.
“He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times — for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm,” said the patriarch.
He added that by doing so, the pope “became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this.”
Out of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.
Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.
Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in the besieged territory.
“Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict,” said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff’s actions.
“For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy.”
The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even as “the local authorities... were not always happy” with the pope’s positions or statements, they were “always very respectful,” he said.
Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem in the morning.
As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.
Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.
His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.
UAE FM meets Sri Lankan president in Colombo visit
- Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan highlighted the UAE’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Sri Lanka
- He attended the signing of a deal to establish the UAE-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council
LONDON: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE minister of foreign affairs, met Sri Lanka’s president and foreign minister in Colombo during an official visit on Tuesday.
Sheikh Abdullah and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors, building on strong and evolving ties between the UAE and Sri Lanka.
He highlighted the UAE’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with Sri Lanka to support the development goals of both countries, the Emirates News Agency reported.
The UAE is committed to partnering with friendly countries to enhance prosperity and sustainable development, he added. President Dissanayake commended the strong relationship between Abu Dhabi and Colombo, WAM reported.
Sheikh Abdullah spoke with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath, about opportunities for enhancing cooperation in areas such as the economy, trade, tourism and development.
The ministers exchanged views on several regional and international issues, and attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka.
The memorandum, signed on Tuesday by Saeed Mubarak Al-Hajeri, the Emirati assistant minister for economic and trade affairs, and Lakmal Fernando, vice president of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, aims to establish the UAE-Sri Lanka Joint Business Council.
Khaled Nasser Al-Ameri, the UAE’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, attended the meetings along with senior Emirati officials.
South Sudan opposition says under fresh govt military attack
- “The South Sudan People’s Defense Forces has attacked Panyume cantonment site,” Gabriel said
- “Clashes are still ongoing and details will follow later“
JUBA: South Sudan’s opposition accused government forces of attacking one of its military positions in Central Equatoria State on Tuesday as their fragile power-sharing agreement continues to unravel.
Central Equatoria State, which includes the capital Juba, was split into areas controlled by government and opposition forces under a 2018 power-sharing deal that ended South Sudan’s five-year civil war, in which an estimated 400,000 people died.
The agreement brought President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, Vice President Riek Machar, together in a unity government.
But the deal has been unraveling in recent months as Kiir moves to sideline Machar, who was placed under house arrest last month.
“The SSPDF (South Sudan People’s Defense Forces) has attacked Panyume cantonment site from multiple directions this morning,” opposition party spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said on Facebook.
“Clashes are still ongoing and details will follow later,” he added.
Facing sustained attacks on its positions, the opposition forces commander directed his troops to prepare for conflict, according to another statement by Gabriel on Tuesday.
“Lt. Gen. Peter Thok Chuol hereby directs all sectors, divisions and all units of the SPLA-IO (Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition) to be vigilant and promptly defend themselves and the civilians under their control areas,” he said.
Israeli strikes kill 14 in Gaza and destroy heavy equipment needed to clear rubble
- An Israeli strike on Jabaliya municipality's parking garage destroyed nine bulldozers provided by Egypt and Qatar
- The strikes also destroyed a water tanker and a mobile generator provided by aid groups
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 14 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and destroyed bulldozers and other heavy equipment that had been supplied by mediators to clear rubble.
Israel’s 18-month offensive against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, raising fears that much of it may never be rebuilt. The territory already had a shortage of heavy equipment, which is also needed to rescue people from the rubble after Israeli strikes and to clear vital roads.
A municipality in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza said a strike on its parking garage destroyed nine bulldozers provided by Egypt and Qatar, which helped broker the ceasefire that took hold in January. Israel ended the truce last month, renewing its bombardment and ground operations and sealing the territory’s 2 million Palestinians off from all imports, including food, fuel and medical supplies.
The strikes also destroyed a water tanker and a mobile generator provided by aid groups, and a truck used to pump sewage, the Jabaliya Al-Nazla municipality said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes.
Israeli strikes kill 14, mostly children
An Israeli airstrike early Tuesday destroyed a multistory home in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing nine people, including four women and four children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The dead included a 2-year-old girl and her parents.
“They were asleep, sleeping in God’s peace. They had nothing to do with anything,” said Awad Dahliz, the slain girl’s grandfather. “What is the fault of this innocent child?“
A separate strike in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp killed three children and their parents, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency service.
Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the ministry.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 people hostage. They are still holding 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Hamas has said it will only free the remaining hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire. Israel has said it will keep fighting until the hostages are returned and Hamas has been either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. It has pledged to hold onto so-called security zones in Gaza indefinitely.
Syria detains two leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad
- The group said the men had been detained “without any explanation of the reasons“
- An official from Syria’s interior ministry confirmed the detentions
DAMASCUS: Syrian Arab Republic authorities have detained two senior members of the Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, which took part in the October 2023 attacks on Israel from Gaza, the group’s armed wing and a Syrian official said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Al Quds Brigades said Khaled Khaled, who heads Islamic Jihad’s operations in Syria, and Yasser Al-Zafari, who heads its organizational committee, had been in Syrian custody for five days.
The group said the men had been detained “without any explanation of the reasons” and “in a manner we would not have hoped to see from brothers,” and called for their release.
An official from Syria’s interior ministry confirmed the detentions, but did not respond to follow-up questions on why the pair had been arrested. A Palestinian source in Damascus also confirmed the arrests.
Islamic Jihad joined its ally Hamas, Gaza’s ruling group, in the attack on Israel in 2023. It is a recipient of Iranian funding and know-how, and has long had foreign headquarters in Syria and Lebanon.
But its allies in both countries have recently suffered devastating blows: an Israeli air and ground offensive last year severely weakened the Lebanese Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, and Syria’s leader Bashar Assad, closely allied to Tehran, was ousted by a rebel offensive last year.
The new Islamist leadership in Damascus has cut diplomatic ties with Iran and is hoping to rebuild Syria’s regional and international backing, not least to eliminate sanctions and fund reconstruction after a brutal 14-year civil war.
The US has given Syria a list of conditions to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief, Reuters reported last month. Sources said one of the conditions was keeping Iran-backed Palestinian groups at a distance.
Israel has carried out strikes against Islamic Jihad in Syria for years. Last month, it said it struck a building on the outskirts of Damascus that it said Islamic Jihad was using as a command center, an assertion denied by the group.
