Suicide bombings that killed 65 people in northern Iraq bear the hallmarks of al-Qaeda-linked extremists and could be revenge for the arrest of senior operatives, US and Kurdish officials say.
Black flags lined the streets across the northern Kurdish region as thousands of Kurds, dressed in black, mourned the dead in Arbil, 350km north of Baghdad.
Leaders of the two Kurdish political groups targeted by Sunday's twin blasts and coalition officials in Iraq say the attacks could have been the work of the extremist Ansar al-Islam.
The radical group, which controlled an enclave of northeastern Iraq before being crushed by US forces at the end of March, is suspected of links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Senior coalition officials have already warned of a growing al-Qaeda threat in Iraq as foreign fighters team up with homegrown guerrillas, providing funding and tactical support.
One top coalition military official said the attack on offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Arbil may have been revenge for the capture in Iraq on Jan. 22 of Hasan Guhl, a Pakistani al-Qaeda facilitator.
Guhl was seized near the northern border with Iran.
He was believed to have been scouting locations for al-Qaeda operations as well as seeking to join forces with other Islamic extremists.
According to one Kurdish source, KDP militiamen played a key role in the capture, less than 100km from Arbil.
Senior Kurdish officials said that radical Islamic groups had dispatched the bombers, who slipped through lax security during the Muslim Eid al-Adha festival to mingle with guests and get close to Kurdish leaders.
Key figures were killed from both the parties, which for more than a decade controlled the semi-autonomous north during the rule of Saddam Hussein in defiance of the Iraqi president.
"The attacks were orchestrated by Islamists of the Ansar al-Islam, paid for by the neighboring countries, because these methods are not those of Iraqis but of foreigners coming from nearby countries," said Adel Butani, a spokesman for the KDP, who was injured in the attack.
Coalition officials say an increasing use of suicide bombing tactics in Iraq points to the involvement of foreign fighters, possibly working in league with Saddam loyalists.
They said the foreigners were taking advantage of a 10-month insurgency to destabilize the region, passing on techniques and tactics to homegrown insurgents and using Iraqis as pawns to further their goals.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS