Tag: Shia

Devastating suicide attack on Afghan mosque

A suicide bomb attack on a mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz has killed at least 50 people, officials say, in the deadliest assault since US forces left. Bodies were seen scattered inside the Said Abad mosque, used by the minority Shia Muslim community. More than 100 people were injured in the blast in […]

Isil leader 'planning fresh wave of attacks' in revenge for defeats in Iraq and Syria, leading Iraqi official says

“We are very grateful for the help we have received from the coalition forces,” he said “Their backing meant it was too much for Isil to handle.” But he warned that, as the military campaign against Isil began to wind down, it was important that countries like Britain continued to provide political support to the […]

Ashura rituals stir controversy among Shiites

THE LEVANT EXCLUSIVE - By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem* -- Each year, as they commemorate Ashura, the Shiites debate whether certain rituals are permissible. Some of those rituals are violent, such as Tatbir and hitting oneself with chains practices that harm one’s body and distort the revolution and objectives of Imam Hussein. They also reject the […]

Falluja abuses hard to prevent, not systematic: Iraqi minister

The Levant News | BAGHDAD | BY STEPHEN KALIN AND AHMED RASHEED for REUTERS | Iraq's interior minister said it was difficult to prevent attacks against people fleeing the Islamic State-held city of Falluja, but denied that such actions were systematic and pledged to punish anyone proven guilty of abuses. A regional governor said this […]

Glimmers of a Future in Iraq?

by Graham E. Fuller*-- Iraqi politics are in turmoil—nothing new here. Not surprisingly, the post-invasion order is taking a long time to shake down, given the destruction of the old. Entirely new relationships had to be forged under the new, radically changed environment. What Iraq requires above all is the painful creation of a new […]

THE KINGDOM’S PERFECT STORM: SECTARIAN TENSION AND TERRORISM IN SAUDI ARABIA’S EASTERN PROVINCE

By Chris Zambelis for CTC -- Abstract: With Saudi Arabia now firmly in the Islamic State’s crosshairs, concern over sectarian tensions in the kingdom’s volatile Eastern Province is rapidly increasing. The Islamic State has initiated a campaign of violence and terrorism targeting Saudi Shia to create and take advantage of worsening relations between Sunnis and […]

Saudi Arabia arrests Shia preacher for 'glorifying Hezbollah'

The Levant News -- Saudi security forces have arrested a Shia preacher in the east of the kingdom, charging that he "glorified" Lebanon's Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah online, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. Hussein al-Radi was arrested after Gulf Arab states declared Hezbollah a "terrorist" group earlier this month and brought in tough new measures […]

Decoding the changing nature of ISIS’s insurgency

The Levant News -- By Hassan Hassan* -- The war against ISIL is changing, and how its opponents adapt will be a key test of the group’s ability to achieve its goals. A string of attacks and counter-attacks over the course of this year so far signal a major shift in the way the group […]

Saudi Arabia’s Dangerous Sectarian Game

By TOBY CRAIG JONES for The New York Times -- WHEN Saudi Arabia executed the Shiite cleric and political dissident Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday, the country’s leaders were aware that doing so would upset their longtime rivals in Iran. In fact, the royal court in Riyadh was probably counting on it. It got what […]

The History of An-Najaf

THE LEVANT NEWS-- BY Dr. Haytham Mouzahem -- An-Najaf city is located southern of Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Including the shrine of Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib (599-661 CE), the Shia' called it the city of ''An-Najaf al-Ashraf'' which means the holy city of An-Najaf. Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib is the […]

Desperate journeys: Persecuted Hazara flee Afghanistan

Facing discrimination and a lack of opportunity, ethnic Hazara are among those landing on the Greek island of Lesbos. At least 16 people drowned and dozens went missing last week after overcrowded boats sank [Kevin Kusmez/Al Jazeera] THE LEVANT NEWS -- Lesbos, Greece - The smuggler camp where Milad was waiting is ideally situated as […]

Is Saudi Arabia on a hazardous adventure?

The Levant News -- by Ghassan Michel Rubeiz, Washington -- At great risk, Saudi Arabia confronts Iran in rhetoric and on the battlefield in Syria and Yemen. The National Council on US-Arab Relations, NCUSAR, is an established Washington intercultural agency focused on Arab Gulf interests. This year’s Iran meeting (October 14-15) was the 24th Arab-US Policymakers Conference. As a […]

ISIS claims suicide car bomb that killed over 100 people in Iraq

THE LEVANT NEWS – BAGHDAD on July 18, 2015 -- More than 100 people were killed in a suicide car bombing at a busy market in an Iraqi town on Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks carried out by Islamic State militants since they overran large parts of the country. The blast brought down […]

King Salman of Saudi Arabia Meets With Hamas Leaders

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and BEN HUBBARD for The New York Times -- The Levant News -- CAIRO — King Salman of Saudi Arabia met Friday with top political leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the most striking example yet of the new king’s willingness to work with Islamist organizations long considered foes. Analysts […]

Does Iran Control Iraq?

By Graham E. Fuller - Source: grahamefuller.com-- Saudi, Israeli and US neoconservative voices warn us tirelessly that Iran’s imperial sway has now come to dominate the governments of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and now Yemen, and still threatens Bahrain. Analytically speaking such views are not just exaggerated, but misleading and dangerous, and have led to the […]

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