Arrest head of Qaeda.

Lebanese troops arrest head of Qaeda-linked group

The 'emir' of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades was arrested
 by the intelligence services of the Lebanese
 army in Beirut. (File photo: Reuters)

Al Arabiya News |1st jan 2013 :: Lebanese troops arrested the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked group responsible for a double suicide bombing at the Iranian embassy in Lebanon in November, the defense minister told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.

Maged al-Maged, the "emir" of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, "was arrested by the intelligence services of the Lebanese army in Beirut," Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn said, without specifying when the arrest took place.

"He was wanted by the Lebanese authorities and is currently being interrogated in secret," the minister added.

On Wednesday, Sirajeddin Zreikat, member of the Sunni Muslim extremist group, appeared to have had his Twitter account suspended.

Zreikat has claimed responsibility for attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut which killed 25 people.

He also warned there would be more attacks in Lebanon, if Hezbollah continued to send troops to support President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria's on going civil war.

In an interview with Al Arabiya News on the day of the embassy attack, former Iranian President Abolhassan Banisadr said “What is happening in Syria is an international war, all regional parties are involved. Iran, Lebanon and Turkey are heavily involved,” adding that the “Syrian and Lebanese people are the victims of this global war.”(Courtesy : Al Arabiya )

North Korea denies aiding Syria in fight against rebels.

North Korea denies aiding Syria in fight against rebels.

SEOUL | 15 Nov 2013 ::  North Korea denied it was sending military aid to the Syrian government, one of its few close allies, in its battle against rebel forces after media reports said that Pyongyang had sent advisors and helicopter pilots.

"Some foreign media are floating misinformation that the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) supplied war equipment to Syria, its airmen are directly involved in air-raids on insurgent troops in Syria," the North's state run KCNA news agency said late on Thursday.

The Jerusalem Post reported in October that 15 North Korean helicopter pilots were operating in Syria "on behalf of President Bashar Assad's regime" and said the report had been confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Other reports have identified North Korean artillery officers as being in Syria, although they were said not to be directing fire.

North Korea has long-standing ties with Syria and constructed a plutonium reactor there that was destroyed by an Israeli strike in 2007. It also has links with Syria's chemical weapons program.

Under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States, Assad agreed to destroy all Syria's chemical weapons after Washington threatened to use force in response to a sarin gas attack that killed hundreds of people on August 21.

Japanese media reports in August said Turkey had intercepted a shipment of gas masks and small arms from North Korea to Syria.

The North is under United Nations sanctions for its nuclear weapons and missile program and its role in proliferating nuclear and missile technology.(Courtesy: Dawn)

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Eight people, including seven policemen, were killed
 on Tuesday during attacks on two police stations
 and a local official's house northwest of
 Baghdad. — File photo

BAGHDAD | 24 Sep 2013 ::  Violence, including fighting between security forces and militants, killed 25 people in Iraq on Tuesday, as the UN warned that sectarian attacks threaten to force more Iraqis from their homes.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.

Militants attacked two police stations and a local official's house in the towns of Rawa and Aana near the highway to Syria in Anbar province, killing seven police and the official's brother, officers and doctors said.

Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi told journalists a large group of militants had attacked Aana, seeking to take control of security positions.

Security forces killed six of the militants, Assadi said, adding that SWAT units were deployed to the area.

Separately, soldiers battled militants in the Hamreen area north of Baghdad, killing four, while two soldiers were killed and nine wounded, officers said.

A helicopter pilot was wounded by gunfire in the operation, during which two militants were arrested and weapons seized, army Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Zaidi told AFP.

Two officers said a helicopter had been shot down, but Zaidi insisted that it was able to return to base.

Militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target security forces and other government employees, and security forces have carried out major operations against them in recent months.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Syrian Troops Attack Sunni Village, 15 Killed.

Syrian Troops Attack Sunni Village, 15 Killed.

VOA | 21 Sep 2013 :: Syrian activists say government troops backed by militia fighters have killed at least 15 people during a raid on a Sunni village in the center of the country.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday two women and a child were among those killed in the attack on Sheik Hadid village.

The group said the fighters used guns and knives to kill the residents, calling the raid a "massacre." It said it is not clear if the rest of the men killed were rebel fighters or civilians.

Syria's government is fighting a Sunni-dominated rebel force. Over 100,000 people have been killed in the two-and-a-half-year conflict.

Diplomatic efforts have recently focused on a U.S.-Russian deal that would require Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up his stockpile of chemical weapons.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says the Syrian government has begun supplying information about its chemical weapons, in line with the deal.

In a VOA interview Friday, spokesman Michael Luhan said the group has received a partial inventory of the weapons and expects to receive additional information by this weekend.

He said the OPCW would not release details of what was in Syria's declaration.

U.S. and Russian officials agreed, last Saturday, on a framework for ending Syria's chemical weapons program that included a one-week deadline for Damascus to submit a comprehensive list of such weapons.

The plan also calls for Syria to eliminate or remove all chemical weapons material and equipment by mid-2014.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Syrian non-compliance could lead to a request for punitive action in the U.N. Kerry said Friday that he had discussed prospects for a "firm and strong" U.N. resolution with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

Luhan said the next step for his agency was supposed to be a Sunday meeting to discuss plans regarding Syria's chemical weapons. However, he says the meeting has been postponed indefinitely.

A U.N. report released earlier this week showed overwhelming evidence that chemical weapons were used in an attack near Damascus, last month. However, the report does not assess blame.(Courtesy:Voice of America)

U.S. building coalition for Syria strikes, Kerry says.

U.S. building coalition for Syria strikes, 

Kerry says.

A protester raises the national flag of Syria during a demonstration
 against possible U.S. military intervention in Syria in front of the
 U.S. embassy in Rio de Janeiro, September 4, 2013. (Reuters)

Al Arabia | 05 Sep 2013 :: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday that an international coalition set to take action against the Syrian regime is growing, adding that Arab countries are being approached to participate.

“We are building support with ... other countries, among them the Arab League,” Kerry said, as the U.S. administration tries to sell its plan for military action to Congress.

The move against the government of President Bashar al-Assad was triggered by a suspected chemical weapons attack on a suburb of the Syrian capital last month, which Washington says has killed at least 1,400 people.

“Specific countries that have talked in terms of acting” include Turkey and France, as well as some Arab states, Kerry said in a statement carried by AFP.

Kerry said the United States had reached out to more than 100 countries in efforts to form a coalition that supports military intervention in Syria.

The news comes as a resolution authorizing a military strike on Syria was approved on Wednesday by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.(Courtesy:Al Arabia)Read More>>>