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US officials: ISIS bomb brought down Russian Airbus A321

Days after authorities dismissed claims that ISIS brought down a Russian passenger jet, a U.S. intelligence analysis now suggests that the terror group or its affiliates planted a bomb on the plane.

British Foreign Minister Philip Hammond said his government believes there is a “significant possibility” that an explosive device caused the crash. And a Middle East source briefed on intelligence matters also said it appears likely someone placed a bomb aboard the aircraft.

Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed Saturday in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula after breaking apart in midair, killing all 224 people on board. It was en route to St. Petersburg from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

The latest U.S. intelligence suggests that the crash was most likely caused by a bomb planted on the plane by ISIS or an affiliate, according to multiple U.S. officials who spoke with CNN.

The officials stressed that no formal conclusion has been reached by the U.S. intelligence community and that U.S. officials haven’t seen forensic evidence from the crash investigation.

Intelligence also suggests someone at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport helped get a bomb onto the plane, one U.S. official said.

“This airport has lax security. It is known for that,” the official said. “But there is intelligence suggesting an assist from someone at the airport. “

Egyptian authorities, who are leading the investigation into the crash, haven’t publicly responded to reports on U.S. intelligence. Since the crash, they’ve downplayed the possibility that terrorism could be involved.

The signs pointing to ISIS, another U.S. official said, are partially based on monitoring of internal messages of the terrorist group. Those messages are separate from public ISIS claims of responsibility, that official said.

In an audio message from ISIS’ Sinai branch that was posted on terror-related social media accounts Wednesday, the organization adamantly insisted that it brought down the flight.

“Find your black boxes and analyze them, give us the results of your investigation and the depth of your expertise and prove we didn’t do it or how it was downed,” the message said. “Die with your rage. We are the ones with God’s blessing who brought it down. And God willing, one day we will reveal how, at the time we desire.”

Typically, ISIS is quick to trumpet how and who carried out any attacks for purposes of praise and propaganda. To some, the fact that ISIS hasn’t provided details in this case raises doubt about the group’s repeated claims of responsibility.

Officials in Egypt and Russia have said there’s no evidence to support ISIS’ claims.

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Another Hezbollah Commander Martyred in Aleppo / Photos

Ahlul Bayt News Agency -ABNA- Hezbollah sources on Wednesday announced the martyrdom of one of its commander in Aleppo, Syria.

Ali Hussein Balhas, known as ‘Haj Javad’, was one of Hezbollah commander in battlefield against ISIS terrorists.

Haj Javad was from the village of Seddiqain in southern Lebanon and his body will bury in this Shiite region in the coming days.

Since resent weeks Syrian army forces and Hezbollah fighters have lunched a big operation -under the name of ‘Heavy Revenge’- against ISIS terrorists and so far have had great advances which led to the killing of hundreds of ISIS terrorists.

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Imam Khamenei addresses Iranian university students on the anniversary takeover of former US embassy in Tehran

Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in an address on Tuesday to thousands of university students and pupils, described the Iranian nation’s struggle against arrogance as “logical, wise and reliant on historical experiences”. Citing problems created for and blows dealt to Iran in the contemporary era due to certain politicians’ trust in the United States and their naivety, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “The US is what it used to be, but certain biased-minded and/or naïve people try to erase this conspiratorial enemy off the nation’s public opinion, so that the US would stab [the nation] in the back at the proper time.”

During the meeting, which was held on the eve of November 4, which marks the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the former US embassy in Tehran by Iranian students, and which marks National Day of Fight against Global Arrogance, Ayatollah Khamenei said the present period of time is the period during which the dignity of the nation is stabilized and the map of progress of Iranians is sketched out. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also underscored the high significance of public vigilance, awareness and insight at this juncture, particularly by the younger generation.
   
“The fundamental point in understanding and analyzing the present circumstances and mapping out the future drive of the country lies in understanding the fact that the struggle of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian people against arrogance, despite remarks by certain individuals, is not irrational and emotional, but a confrontation born out of wisdom and experience and supported by science,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Noting that paying attention to instructive experiences of nations prevents visual illusion and calculation error, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “Even if we set aside the evident verses cited in the Noble Quran about resistance and fight against injustice and arrogance, the great event of Mordad 28, 1332 (falling on August 1953 marking the US-engineered coup against Iran’s then government) shows how the US should be dealt with.”
   

Elucidating the events during the important period when Iran’s petroleum industry was nationalized in the 1950s, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution highlighted putting trust in and pinning hope on the US as the historic mistake of then Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadeq, saying: “To counter Britain, Mossadeq leant towards the US and this very optimism and simple-mindedness and neglect cleared the ground for the success of an American coup, a coup that wasted all endeavors of the nation throughout the nationalization of the petroleum industry, revived the autocratic and dependent Pahlavi regime and left dear Iran prey to the most severe national harms as well as politico-economic and cultural setbacks for 25 years.”
 
Touching on the deep and extensive infiltration of the Americans following the 1953 coup, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “In the face of such travails, the nations that have no qualified leader become inactive and surrender, but the Iranian nation, benefiting from the divine blessing of the leadership of Imam Khomeini, became more aware and targeted the dependent Pahlavi regime and its main supporter, i.e. the US, with an Islamic movement.”  

Citing Imam Khomeini’s remarks in 1963 about the depth of the nation’s hatred of the US president, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “That influential and determined leader who had deep-seated faith in divine promises explained to the people since the very formation of the movement that all mischief and conspiracy are plotted by the US.”  

Ayatollah Khamenei recalled the US’s enmity toward the 1979 Islamic Revolution since the very first months following the victory of the revolution, saying: “After the [Islamic] Revolution, the Americans had their embassy in Tehran and were in contact with the Iranian government for some time, but they did not stop plotting even a single day and this historical experience must make some people understand that relationship and friendship does not end the US hostilities and conspiracies.”  

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the takeover of the US embassy by a group of students was a reaction to the continuation of Washington’s conspiracies and the Americans’ sheltering of the definitive enemy of the nation, Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi. “The documents collected in the US embassy showed that this embassy was really the den of espionage and the center of persistent conspiracies against the ‘Iranian nation and the nascent Islamic Revolution’.”  

Ayatollah Khamenei said reflecting upon the documents of the Den of Espionage was necessary, important and instructive, adding: “These documents show clearly that throughout the formation of the [Islamic] movement, the Americans were constantly making efforts to deal blows to the Iranian nation in [support of] the shameful monarchial regime’s confrontation with people and also after the revolution.”
 
Citing the memoirs of US General Robert E. Huyser, who had come to Iran in the winter of 1979 to save the oppressive monarchial regime, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “These memoirs show quite well that the US had practically been encouraging and guiding the Pahlavi generals to massacre the Iranian people.”
 
The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also enumerated separatist and counterrevolutionary moves, the botched Nojeh coup by a group of army officers against the Islamic Republic, encouraging Saddam Hussein to invade Iran and continuously helping the hated dictator of Baghdad during eight years of the imposed war as other links in the chain of US conspiracies against Iran.

“Due to misunderstanding and inability to analyze the realities of Iran, the Americans have over the recent 37 years sought to subvert the [Islamic] Revolution fundamentally, but thank God, they have been defeated and they will fail in the future as well,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.   

Ayatollah Khamenei said the idea behind reviewing the chain of conspiracies of the Great Satan was to get a more precise knowledge of the US, adding: “In recent years, there have been those who have – spitefully by following the US, or naively – tried to turn a blind eye to the frequent experiences of the nation and paint a rosy picture of the US and create the impression that the Americans were once the enemy of Iran and have now steered clear of those conspiracies!”

“The goal pursued by these efforts is to wipe the real face of the enemy off minds so that the Americans could continue their enmity covertly and stab in the back when time is right,” said the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
 
“The fact is that the US’s objectives vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran have not changed at all and they will not hesitate even a second if they could annihilate the Islamic Republic, but they can’t, and with God’s help, under the aegis of youths’ endeavors, the expansion and deepening of the insight of the nation and the progress of Iran, they will fail to realize their objectives in the future as well,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said US officials showed some ostensible flexibility in the nuclear negotiations, saying: “The essence of the US behavior is pursuing the same hostile objectives of the past and the nation will not forget this reality.”

To that effect, Ayatollah Khamenei said: “During the negotiations, one of American officials spoke of hatred of war and even wept. Some naïve people may believe this story, but the US’ unflinching support for and incessant aid to the criminal, butcher-like and murderous Zionist regime and their support for the crimes committed against people in Yemen lay bare the reality of that claim and those tears.”
 
Referring to Iran’s normal relations with different countries in the world, even governments whose hearts are not on good terms with the Iranian nation, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution said: “Despite this trend, the Iranian people do not regard the US, which seeks any pretext to harm the nation and to obliterate the Islamic Republic, as a friend and refuse to extend a hand of friendship towards it because ‘religion, wisdom, conscience and humanity’ do not give the nation such a right.”

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the persistence of the US government’s all-out activities against the Islamic Republic, saying: “They have gradually realized that the reason behind the nation’s resistance lies in religious beliefs and convictions. For this reason, they are targeting these beliefs with new tools, but pupils, university students and all our youths will neutralize this ruse.”

 “The enemy is making massive efforts to transform universities into a bridge for connection to the West, like during the shameful period of the monarchial regime, but thanks to the vigilance of our dear youth, universities have turned into a stepladder leading to long-term ideals and our youth will preserve this influential situation,” said the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
 
    
Ayatollah Khamenei said the progress and strength of the Iranian nation prompted the enemies to opt for nuclear talks, adding: “Even throughout the talks, they took hostile measures in a bid to stop the Iranian nation’s move.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said insistence on knowing the depth of the US enmity toward the Iranian nation did not mean ignoring internal weaknesses, adding: “In policymaking, execution [of policies], efforts and dynamism, prioritization of affairs and other fields, we have weaknesses which the enemy has used [against us] on many occasions.”

Ayatollah Khamenei said neglecting the real enemy and getting preoccupied with internal disputes are a big mistake, adding: “Some forget the foreign enemy under the pretext of internal weaknesses and issues.”

 “We should not mistake the enemy for those with whom we have differences of view. The enemy is he who is making every effort to harm the nation and bring to power a puppet government which is dedicated and submissive to and intimidated by the West, and we should by no means forget this vindictive, conscious and serious enemy,” said the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
 
“Criticism brings about progress and the society is free and entitled to be critical, but we should never forget the Imam’s historic quote that ‘Vent all your anger at the US’,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution recommended that youth “take education and learning seriously, put public objectives before personal demands and increase their knowledge and analytic ability”, adding: “The voice of the Iranian nation is the only loud voice which is heard against injustice and exploitation and colonialism in the tumultuous global conditions and that conquers the hearts of nations and elites, and we should not lose this loud voice.”
 
Ayatollah Khamenei, whose speech was accompanied by shouts of ‘Death to the US’ by the students and pupils, added: “The slogan and shout of ‘Death to the US’ by the Iranian nation has strong logical and rational support and stems from the Constitution and fundamental thoughts that brooks no injustice and oppression.”

“This slogan means death to the policies of the US and arrogant powers and this logic is accepted by every nation when explained in clear terms,” said the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

“The Iranian nation continues its path with determination and hope and today’s youth, ‘through enhancing their faith and insight and relying on the main criteria’, will undoubtedly witness a period in which nations will have broken loose from the yolk of the monsters of fear, and dear and advanced Iran will have become the source of inspiration for all nations,” Ayatollah Khamenei said to conclude his speech.

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Italy closes Imam Musa Sadr case; He never arrived in Roma, Gaddafi kidnapped him

Ahlul Bayt News Agency – Italy’s prosecutor general shut the book on the 1978 disappearance of prominent Shia cleric Imam Musa Sadr, concluding that Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was behind his the disappearance.

The prosecutor general said that the investigation was complete and that all evidence showed that Sadr and his two companions Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin never arrived in Roma on August 31, 1978, the Beirut Press reported.

Therefore, they had been kidnapped by the Gaddafi regime, the finding show.

Sadr and his companions disappeared in August 1978 during an official visit to the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

The senior cleric was scheduled to meet with officials from the government of the Libyan dictator.

The three were never seen or heard from again and their fate is still unknown even after the overthrow of Gaddafi in 2011.

The Gaddafi regime claimed the three had left its territory in 1978, headed for Italy. But Italy had denied the claim for decades.

Meanwhile, the Italian lawyer of Sadr’s family says the investigations were contradictory, adding that political issues were involved.

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Enemies aimed to impose restrictions on Iran

Tehran’s provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani warned against the plots hatched by the US to penetrate into Iran.

Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Emami Kashani said, “The US and the global arrogance started their hostilities against Iran since the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in the country and they have continued to do so up until now.”

He reiterated that it is for the same reason that Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has warned against holding direct talks with the US and the plots hatched by Washington to penetrate into Iran after the nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and the world powers in Vienna on July 14.

On Tuesday, Ayatollah Khamenei cautioned that despite the nuclear deal and Washington’s claims, the US is still seeking to change the ruling system in Iran.

“The reality is that the US objectives vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran have not changed at all and if they can, they will not hesitate a moment to annihilate the Islamic Republic but they cannot, and with God’s help, they will fail in materializing this goal in the future too in light of industrious moves by the youth, increasing and deepening insight of the nation and Iran’s progress,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in Tehran, addressing the Iranian university students and pupils on the threshold of the ‘Students Day’ and the ‘Day of Campaign against Arrogance’ in Iran.

He referred to certain superficial and unreal flexibilities shown by the US during the recent nuclear talks with Iran, and said that the reality behind such behavior is that the US is still pursuing the same inimical policies towards Iran, which will never be forgotten by the Iranian nation.

Ayatollah Khamenei underscored that the US support for the criminal Zionist regime and the Saudi-led coalition’s crimes against the Yemeni people reveals Washington’s real face.

He referred to Iran’s normal relations with other world states even those who show some hypocritical behavior towards the Iranian nation, but said the US which uses every pretext to hit a blow at the nation and annihilate the Islamic Republic is an exception to this rule, reiterating that “religion, wisdom, conscience and humanity all stand against such friendship”.

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the US continued practical enmity towards the Islamic Republic, and said religious beliefs are the root cause of this enmity as it is the source inspiring the Iranian nation with resistance. “Therefore, they have targeted those beliefs using new instruments but our students and youth will foil such tricks and plots.”

In relevant remarks last week, Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated that it would be meaningless to Iran to take part in direct talks with the US on the regional issues as Washington is Tehran’s foe standing against a fair solution of the regional problems.

“The main culprit behind these insecurities (in the region) is the US support for the Zionist regime and the terrorist groups and these policies are 180 degrees different from those of the Islamic Republic,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in Tehran, addressing Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, his deputies and Iran’s diplomatic corps abroad.

He rejected direct talks with the US on the regional issues, and said, “The Americans are after imposing their (will and) interests and not resolving the problems. They want to impose 60% to 70% of their demands in the negotiations and implement and impose their remaining goals in practice and illegally; therefore, what is the meaning of (such) negotiations?”

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Ayatollah Sistani stresses unimpeded implementation of Abadi’s reforms

Iraq’s senior Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has called for the unimpeded implementation of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s reforms aimed at combating corruption and cutting government cuts in the Arab country.

“The need to protect the constitution and the law must not be used by the legislative or any other authority to circumvent or delay the reform steps,” Ayatollah Sistani was quoted by his representative Abdul Mahdi al-Karbalai as saying on Friday.

The remarks came four days after the Iraqi parliament voted unanimously to bar the premier’s administration from implementing, without its approval, key reforms envisioned in a comprehensive plan aimed at fighting corruption and reducing government costs in the Middle Eastern country.

As part of the reform initiative, which had been overwhelmingly approved by the Iraqi legislature back in August, Abadi eliminated three vice president posts and three deputy prime minister positions. He also reduced the size of officials’ security details and dismissed 123 deputy ministers and general managers.

Some of Abadi’s proposed changes to the country’s political system have been implemented but others appear to have stalled.

Apart from public anger over corruption in Iraq, the country also faces a difficult security situation. Gruesome violence has plagued the northern and western parts of Iraq ever since the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group launched its activities and took control of portions of the country in June 2014.

Iraqi army soldiers and the Popular Mobilization units have been engaged in joint operations to take back militant-held regions.

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Israeli forces kill Palestinian woman in Al-Khalil

Israeli forces have killed a Palestinian woman, whom they accused of running over a number of Israelis in the town of al-Khalil (Hebron) in the West Bank.

The Israelis fired more than 50 live bullets at the woman on Friday.Two other Palestinians who were present at the site of the incident near a gas station were also injured.

Also an Israeli settler stabbed, seriously wounded near Ramallah settlement in the latest tensions after Zionist Cabinet efforts to set restriction for Palestinian praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In this incident an Israeli settler was stabbed and seriously wounded near an illegal settlement in Ramallah on Friday shortly after a Palestinian woman was shot following an alleged vehicle attack near Halhul.

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Yemeni forces captured dozens of mercenary soldiers mostly Africans / Photos

Ahlul Bayt News Agency -ABNA- Dozens of foreign mercenaries from Saudi-led coalition troops were captured by the army and Yemen Popular Committees in Taiz, the third largest city in Yemen.

These foreigners, who are mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, came to Saudi Arabia to fight in exchange for money, al-Masirah TV network reported.

Traffickers also were paid one thousand of Saudi riyals per person, the report added.

Other reports also said Yemeni security forces arrested several gunmen before entering the capital Sana’a.

According to al-Masirah one of them was carrying an explosives belt.

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Child drowns, another missing in refugee boat sinking near Greece

A boat carrying asylum seekers has overturned off the Greek island of Kos, killing one refugee child and leaving another missing.

According to the Greek coastguard, the boat capsized on Thursday, triggering a rescue operation in search of survivors.

Rescuers have managed to pull out 14 people, including a man who said his six-year-old child was missing. The kid is said to have toppled into the sea.

The dead bodies of five refugees, including a woman and two children, were recovered early on Wednesday, the Greek coastguard said.

Over 400 refugees, among them many children, have drowned in the Aegean Sea since the beginning of 2015 in their attempt to cross the waters from neighboring Turkey. At least 80 asylum seekers died in October alone.

More than 590,000 people have entered Greece over the same period in order to reach wealthier European countries. Most of the asylum seekers who risk their lives to reach Europe are reportedly fleeing conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.

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