Sunday, 4 April, 2021 - 07:00
A general view of a nearly empty Baghdad downtown. (AP file photo) Baghdad – Asharq Al-Awsat
Deputy Director of Military Intelligence at the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General Zaid al-Maksousi, survived an assassination attempt in an area south of Baghdad on Saturday.
Security sources said that as his convoy was making its way back to Baghdad, it was attacked near the Diyala Bridge by gunmen traveling in three Salvador vehicles.
Maksousi’s security exchanged fire with them, injuring one and seizing one of their cars. Two of the security forces were also injured in the incident.
No one claimed the responsibility for the attack, including the ISIS terrorist organization.
Air Force continues to pound ISIS targets in Iraq 9 hours ago A U.S. Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle flies over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, Feb. 10, 2021.(Staff Sgt. Sean Carnes/Air Force) U.S. airpower continues to play a role in the ongoing fight against the remnants of the Islamic State. At least one U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was “part of Coalition Forces which conducted air strikes at request and approval of Government of Iraq,” a defense official told Military Times Saturday afternoon. The jets took part in a combined air and partner ground operation against ISIS targets in Iraq’s Salah-al-Din Governate, according to a tweet from Yahia Rasool, spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.
Iraq thwarts Daesh attack, arrests 9 militants middleeastmonitor.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from middleeastmonitor.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Pope-Sistani Riddle
By Pepe Escobar
By any historical measure, it was a game-changer: the first meeting since the 7
th century between a Roman Catholic Pope and a Shiite spiritual leader regarded as a “source of emulation.”
It will take a long time to assess the full implications of the immensely intriguing 50-minute face-to-face conversation, with interpreters only, between Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Sistani at his humble home in a Najaf alley near the dazzling Imam Ali shrine.
An avowedly imperfect parallel is that for the Shiite community of the faithful, Najaf is as pregnant with meaning as Jerusalem is for Christianity.
Syria And Its Allies Angrily Condemn Biden Air Strike - Workers Revolutionary Party wrp.org.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wrp.org.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.