Three days of continued violence has left more than 170 dead in Iraq. Suicide bombers targeted Shi’ite mosques in Karbala and Ramadi on Thursday, 100 km to the west of Baghdad. And in Baghdad itself at least three explosions were reported. Kirkuk in the north saw further attacks on a major pipeline adding to fuel supply problems in the country. At least 5 US soldiers were killed in attacks yesterday and a further 11 died today in the cycle of violence which puts the political future of the country in doubt. But in protests today hundreds defied the bombers and called for an end to the violence.
In the continuing War on Terror and further accusations of torture have surfaced, this time against the British government. Speaking at a press conference in Athens, Greece, three Pakistanis accused MI6 and Greek intelligence of kidnapping and torture. Besides denials from authorities, one of the Pakistanis said he was taken to a room and interrogated for 2 hours about the London bombings. Mohammed Munir, 34, said, “They asked whether I knew what had happened in London, and threatened to take me with them to England.” Saying that he was beaten during the interrogation he added, “They said that if we did [mention the arrest and beatings] they would slit our throats”.
Appearing on Al-Jazeera today a tape showed Ayman Al-Zawahiri called on President Bush to “Admit defeat” in the war in Afghanistan. He criticized the International Community for not having done enough in humanitarian efforts throughout the earthquake hit region of Pakistan. He also sent his prayers to the grief stricken region. Prayers at the beginning of the Hajj have done little after 76 died in Mecca when a 4 storey building collapsed yesterday. At least 60 people were injured.
[06/01/2006]
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