Foreign

US Names Six Killed in Iraq Refueling Aircraft Crash

By Web News 411

The United States Department of Defense has released the names of six crew members killed when a US military refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq.

According to the Pentagon, the airmen aboard the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker were John Klinner, 33, from Alabama; Ariana Savino, 31, from Washington; Ashley Pruitt, 34, from Kentucky; Seth Koval, 38, from Indiana; Curtis Angst, 30, from Ohio; and Tyler Simmons, 28, also from Ohio.

The Pentagon said Klinner, Savino and Pruitt served in the United States Air Force, while Koval, Angst and Simmons were members of the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Military officials had earlier stated that the aircraft went down in western Iraq on Thursday and that the crash was not caused by either hostile action or friendly fire.

The aircraft was conducting a combat mission as part of ongoing US operations against Iran.

It was one of two planes involved in the mission, while the second aircraft landed safely.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described the fallen crew members as “American heroes.”

BBC/Edited by Maxwell Oyekunle

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Foreign

Military Confirms Death of Four in Iraq Plane Crash

By Web News 325

US central command ( Centcom) says four of six crew aboard a US military refuelling aircraft have died after it crashed in western Iraq.

Rescue efforts continue after the loss of the KC-135, it said, having earlier said neither hostile nor friendly fire were involved in the downing of the aircraft.

The tanker had been involved in ongoing US operations against Iran, and was one of two aircraft involved in the incident. The second landed safely.

The Boeing-manufactured aircraft are capable of refuelling planes midair and typically play a major role in US military operations. They were used extensively in the first Gulf War to extend the range of fighter jets and bombers.

Centcom said the incident occurred around 14:00 ET (19:00 GMT) on Thursday and that the circumstances of the crash were now under investigation.

It added that the identities of the personnel who had been killed were being withheld for 24 hours so their next of kin could be notified.

The KC-135 usually has a crew of at least a pilot, a co-pilot and a boom operator responsible for controlling the refuelling arm of the aircraft.

Centcom earlier described the crash as happening over friendly airspace – but this is a region of Iraq where pro-Iranian militias operate. Iran’s military claimed on state TV that an allied group had targeted the plane with a missile.

Since the outbreak of the US-Israel war with Iran, seven US soldiers have been confirmed as having been killed in the conflict.

The US military has now lost at least four aircraft during the current war.

Earlier this month, three F-15s were shot down in “an apparent friendly fire incident” over Kuwait, officials said. All six crew members were able to safely eject.

Boeing manufactured the KC-135 Stratotanker for the US military in the 1950s and early 1960s.

It has been a backbone to the US military’s air refuelling fleet, and allow combat aircraft to carry out longer missions without needing to land.

BBC / Titilayo Kupoliyi

Foreign

Missile Attack on Al Asad Airbase Injures US Military Personnel

By Web News 442

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 840

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 722

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 1211

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