Foreign

Missile Attack on Al Asad Airbase Injures US Military Personnel

By Web News 392

A number of US military personnel have been injured in a missile attack on an airbase in western Iraq.

The US military’s Central Command said an Iran-backed militia targeted the Al Asad airbase, which hosts American troops, with ballistic missiles and rockets on Saturday evening.

An unspecified number of US personnel were “undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries”.

At least one Iraqi service member was wounded in the attack.

The strike against the base was claimed by a group calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. According to the US-based Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the group emerged in late 2023 and is comprised of several Iran-affiliated armed groups operating in Iraq.

It has claimed other attacks against US forces in recent weeks. And Al Asad base has been attacked repeatedly in recent years.

The US military said most of the missiles fired on Saturday were intercepted but some evaded air defences and hit the base, adding that an assessment of the damage is ongoing.

It is the latest in a series of attacks on US positions in Iraq and Syria by Iran’s proxies in the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza conflict last October.

The US military and allies have also intervened to stop Houthi missile attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

US forces carried out another airstrike on Saturday against the Houthis – an Iran-backed rebel group controlling much of western Yemen. The US military said it targeted a launch site, after identifying an anti-ship missile “that was aimed into the Gulf of Aden and prepared to launch”.

The Iranian military has carried out a number of missile strikes in recent days against targets in Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike in the Syrian capital Damascus which killed five senior members of Iran’s security forces.

BBC/Simeon Ugbodovon

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Foreign

Pope Francis, Shia Cleric Ali Al-Sistani Discuss Safety of Iraqi Christians

By Web News 808

Pope Francis has held a symbolic meeting with one of the most powerful figures in Shia Islam on the second day of his landmark trip to Iraq.

The office of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, spiritual leader of millions of Shia Muslims, said the talks had emphasised peace.

The ayatollah received his guest at his home in the holy city of Najaf.

It is the Pope’s first international trip since the start of the pandemic – and the first ever papal visit to Iraq.

Covid-19 and security fears have made this his riskiest trip yet.

The 84-year-old leader of the Catholic Church earlier told reporters that he had felt “duty bound” to make the “emblematic” journey, which will see him visit several sites over four days in Iraq.

What did the leaders discuss?

During talks which lasted around 50 minutes Grand Ayatollah Sistani “affirmed his concern that Christian citizens should live like all Iraqis in peace and security, and with their full constitutional rights”.

Iraq’s Christian minority have been hit by waves of violence since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.

Pope Francis will later travel to the ancient city of Ur, where the Prophet Abraham – central to Islam, Christianity and Judaism – is believed to have been born.

About 10,000 Iraqi Security Forces personnel are being deployed to protect the Pope during his visit, while round-the-clock curfews are also being imposed to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Some Shia militant groups have reportedly opposed the visit, suggesting the tour amounts to Western interference in the country’s affairs.

BBC

Foreign

Pope Francis on Iraq Visit Calls for End to Violence, Extremism

By Web News 697

Pope Francis has called for an end to violence and extremism, on the first ever papal visit to Iraq.

The pontiff is making his first international trip since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid and security fears have made this his riskiest visit yet, but the 84-year-old insisted he was “duty bound”.

He also said Iraq’s dwindling Christian community should have a more prominent role as citizens with full rights, freedoms and responsibilities.

He is hoping to foster inter-religious dialogue – meeting Iraq’s most revered Shia Muslim cleric – and will celebrate Mass at a stadium in Irbil in the north.

About 10,000 Iraqi Security Forces personnel are being deployed to protect the Pope, while round-the-clock curfews are also being imposed to limit the spread of Covid.

Iraq’s PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi greeted him at the airport, with a red carpet, Iraqis in national dress and songs from a largely unmasked choir.

Hundreds of people lined the airport road as the Pope’s convoy, heavily chaperoned by police motorcycles, left for the city.

But the Pope was seen to have a pronounced limp, suggesting that his sciatica condition continues to bother him.

‘Rich Christian heritage’

In a speech after being welcomed by Iraqi President Barham Salih, Pope Francis said he was very pleased to come to Iraq, which he described as the “cradle of civilisation”.

“May the clash of arms be silenced… may there be an end to acts of violence and extremism, factions and intolerance!” he said.

“Iraq has suffered the disastrous effects of wars, the scourge of terrorism and sectarian conflicts often grounded in a fundamentalism incapable of accepting the peaceful coexistence of different ethnic and religious groups.”

He turned to the country’s Christians, who he said should have a greater role in public life.

“The age-old presence of Christians in this land, and their contributions to the life of the nation, constitute a rich heritage that they wish to continue to place at the service of all,” he said.

He said Iraq’s diversity was a “precious resource on which to draw, not an obstacle to eliminate”.

Pope Francis later went to hold Mass in Baghdad’s Syriac Catholic church of Our Lady of Salvation, targeted in an attack in 2010 by jihadists which left 52 Christians and police dead.

BBC

Health

Oyo NMA Chairman Calls for Calm as Nigeria Records 1st Case of Covid 19

By Web News 1171

The Chairman, Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, Oyo State, Dr Akin Sodipo has urged members of the public to remain calm but maintain basic personal hygiene practices as the first case of COVID 19 also known as Coronavirus is recorded.

The case was of an Italian citizen who was in Nigeria for a brief business visit but fell ill and was taken to Lagos State Biosecurity Facilities for isolation and testing.

Dr Sodipo in an Interview with Radio Nigeria advised people to wash their hands with soap and water, use alcohol-based sanitizer, and avoid crowded places while people coughing or sneezing should stay indoors until they are better.

He urged medical practitioners and other health workers to be vigilant at this point and adopt safety measures such as wearing of face masks and gloves and prompt isolation of patients with symptoms of the disease to prevent spread.

Dr Sodipo assured residents that no case of COVID 19 has been confirmed in Oyo state but that the government was intensifying efforts to contain any outbreak of the virus.

Globally, more than eighty thousand people in about fifty countries have been infected while up to two thousand eight hundred have died.

Many countries are taking actions to prevent spread.

For instance, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Iraq have ordered schools closed while Saudi Arabia has halted travel to Mecca and Medina for this year’s Humrah.

Back home in Nigeria, a multi-sectoral Coronavirus preparedness group led by Nigeria Center for Disease Control, NCDC, has activated its operations centre which will work closely with Lagos State health authorities to respond quickly to any case.

Anthonia Akanji