Al-Qaeda in Iraq on Friday threatened to kill people who vote in the war-torn nation’s election and imposed a self-declared curfew during polling hours when millions are to cast ballots.
The Islamic state of Iraq, the al-Qaeda front in the country, in a statement two days ahead of today’s vote said anyone who defies the curfew would “expose himself to the anger of Allah and … all kinds of weapons of the mujahidin.”
The group, which has previously threatened to sabotage the poll and claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed hundreds in Iraq, delivered its warning after a series of suicide bombings left dozens dead.
“The Islamic state declares … a curfew on election day … from six in the morning until 6pm, throughout Iraq and especially in Sunni areas,” US monitors SITE quoted it as saying in an Internet statement.
“For the safety of our people, any of those who learn of this, report it to those who do not know and supply yourself with needs for the curfew,” it said in a translation of the message that was posted on jihadist forums.
Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the leader of the al-Qaeda front, had already threatened last month to disrupt the election by “military means.”
The group’s latest statement came with voting already under way for Iraq’s estimated diaspora of 1.4 million in 80 cities in 16 countries.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said later voting was going well and that Washington would follow through with its plan to withdraw its troops from Iraq in less than six months.
Religious leaders used Friday prayers to order citizens to vote and safeguard democracy in the second parliamentary election since the ouster of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in a US-led invasion in 2003.
“You must go to the voting centers because it is your duty,” said Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Jorani, Sunni imam at the Al-Hai mosque in the central city of Baqubah, where 33 people were killed in three suicide attacks on Wednesday.
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS