From PressTV
Fierce clashes continue unabated between Kurdish forces and Takfiri ISIL militants in Syria’s northern town of Kobani, which has been under siege by ISIL for nearly two months.
On Saturday, Kurdish fighters advanced against ISIL terrorists in some parts of Kobani and gained more ground following clashes with the extremists.
“Our fighters are focusing on advancing in areas towards the center of the town, and hopefully in the coming days, we will be able to announce larger advances,” Idriss Nassan, a senior Kurdish official in Kobani, said.
At least 13 ISIL militants and six Kurdish fighters were killed in the fighting, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Fierce clashes continue in Syria Kobani Click here for the full story
From PressTV
Bombing attacks kill 40 in Iraq in one day
Saturday’s deadliest incident saw a car bomb ripping through a commercial street lined with restaurants in the neighborhood of al-Amin in the southeast of the capital. The attack killed at least nine people and wounded 18 others.
Two car bombs also killed eight people and wounded 16 more on a commercial street in the Amil neighborhood, also in Baghdad’s southwest.
Another car bomb went off on a commercial street in Baghdad’s busy central al-Karadah district, killing seven people and wounding at least 21 others.
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From the Jewish Daily Forward
Mitt Romney Slams ‘Naive’ Barack Obama at Israeli-American Council Launch
700 Attend Gala of Sheldon Adelson-Backed Group
(Haaretz) — The inaugural conference of the Israeli-American Council served as a platform for a blistering attack on President Barack Obama on Friday night, launched by his defeated rival in the 2012 elections, Republican Mitt Romney.
The “naive” president, Romney said, “is weakening our military, distancing ourselves from allies, and being divisive and demeaning towards our friends.”
Romney said that he was ‘stunned’ by Obama’s recent letter to Iranian leader Ali Khamenei. “That the president would write a letter of this nature, in effect legitimizing a nation and a leadership that is violating international norms and is threatening the world, is so far beyond the pale, I was stunned. I was speechless.”
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From PressTV
Israeli forces reportedly kill Palestinian man in W Bank
Israeli forces have reportedly shot dead a young Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank.
Witnesses said Israeli troops raided the village of Kafr Kanna early Saturday and opened fire on 22-year-old Khair Lotfi Hamdan following an altercation with him.
The Palestinian died of his wounds in the hospital shortly afterwards.
Israeli police, however, claim that they first fired into the air to warn the young man and shot him in the chest later when they felt threatened.
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From PressTV
Hamas creates ‘popular army’ in Gaza to confront Israel
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has announced the formation of a “popular army” in the besieged Gaza Strip to counter the Israeli regime’s aggression.
A spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said at a ceremony at the Jabaliya refugee camp on Friday that “the first section of the popular army for the liberation of al-Aqsa and of Palestine” would consist of 2,500 recruits.
Hamas said the new force is tasked with confronting any future Israeli aggression, particularly against the al-Aqsa Mosque in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).
Mohammed Abu Askar, a Hamas official, also noted that individuals over 20 years old could sign up “to be prepared for any confrontation” with Israel, adding that the popular force has been created “at a moment when the al-Aqsa Mosque is subject to serious Israeli violations.”
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From PressTV
Palestinian, Israeli forces clash after young Palestinian’s death
Palestinian demonstrators have clashed with Israeli forces during a protest in the Galilee region, after Israeli troops shot dead a young Palestinian man.
Thousands of demonstrators staged a protest in the village of Kafr Kanna on Saturday afternoon to condemn the killing of 22-year-old Khair al-Din Hamdan by Israeli forces earlier in the day.
They carried posters bearing Hamdan’s picture and waved Palestinian flags while shouting anti-Israeli slogans.
“My son was killed in cold blood because he is an Arab. This disaster is not related only to Kafr Kanna, but touches the entire Arab sector. This is a racist act. We will not forgive the police. We will take the appropriate steps against the police,” Rauf Hamdan, the father of the deceased, told the crowd.
