Iran, Iraq to increase cooperation on eve of Arbaeen

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Iran’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said on Thursday that Tehran and Baghdad would increase cooperation to provide necessary services for the pilgrims heading to Iraq on the occasion of the Arbaeen mourning ceremony.

The minister said talks have been held between Iranian and Iraqi officials on improving the quality of services for the Arbaeen mourners.

The Arbaeen mourning ceremony is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world.

It marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of Shiite Muslims.

Each year, pilgrims, mainly from Iraq and Iran, travel long routes on foot to Karbala, where the holy shrine of Imam Hussein (AS) is located.

‘We are trying to create favorable conditions for the pilgrims,’ said Rahmani Fazli who flew to this southwestern province earlier on Thursday to visit the infrastructures of two border cities of Shalamcheh and Chazzabeh.

It is predicted that over a million people will travel to Karbala, Iraq, through Shalamcheh borderline.

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ISIL Created to Confront Islam, Muslims: Tehran Friday Prayers Leader

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Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people on Tehran University campus on Friday, Ayatollah Khatami said, “The ISIL and other Takfiri groups have been created to fight Islam; these heinous phenomena were created when the Islamic awakening was underway in Muslim countries.”

He reiterated that the Takfiri terrorist groups, including the ISIL, have not even said a word against Israel, and even Israel accepts and treats their wounded in its hospitals.

The senior Iranian cleric pointed to the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, and said, “The French government is harvesting what it has sown by supporting the terrorist groups.”

Earlier this week, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian took the sponsors of terrorism responsible for the Friday night’s tragic events in Paris which killed over 150 people, and said they ignored Tehran’s warnings about the backfiring of their supports for ISIL.

“Certain regional and trans-regional states helped the ISIL to be born. We had warned that those countries which support the ISIL should know that these insecurities would spread to their countries too,” Amir Abdollahian told reporters in Tehran on Monday.

“We cannot say explicitly that which country has played a role in the formation of the ISIL but (we can say that) ignoring those warnings ended in such consequences,” he added.

Many high-ranking Iranian officials have since long time ago warned advocates of terrorist groups against the adverse results of their supports for terrorism and their instrumental use of terrorist groups.

In June 2014, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani asked the masterminds and the states sponsoring the terrorist operations in Iraq and Syria to stop killing their Muslim brothers, warning that the terrorists would one day attack their supporters.

“We stress and advise all Muslim states and all those who unfortunately help the terrorists with their money and petro dollars to know that it will be their turn tomorrow, and they shouldn’t think that you have stimulated these savages merely against others,” Rouhani said.

He called on the sponsors of terrorist groups to stop their supports, and said, “Desist from violence; there is no confrontation between the Shiites and the Sunnis and they are brothers and have been living in Iraq, the Levant and Iran and everywhere beside each other.”

Rouhani underlined that any discord and conflict between Muslims merely gladdens the Zionists and the criminal powers, adding that the Islamic world needs unity more than any ever.

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Iraq forces discover booby-trapped dolls ahead of Arba’een

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A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabic-language al-Forat news agency on Thursday that the government forces discovered 18 toys laden with explosives on the road, just ahead of the Shia Muslim rituals of Arba’een, one of which is taking the road to the shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH) on foot.

Arba’een, which in Arabic means forty, falls on December 3 this year and marks 40 days after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH), the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The development came a few days after police stormed a Daesh hideout in Yusufiyah township, south of the capital, confiscating three explosive-laden vests, 30 rocket-propelled grenades and an unspecified number of hand grenades.

Iraqi forces have tightened security to protect pilgrims against terrorist attacks ahead of the mourning rituals.

Last year, Iraqi officials announced that the number of pilgrims attending mourning rituals of Arba’een reached 17.5 million in Karbala, located southwest of Baghdad. The number of Arba’een pilgrims reportedly hit 20 million in 2013.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by gruesome violence ever since Daesh terrorists began their campaign of terror in the country in June 2014.

The terrorists have been committing vicious crimes against all ethnic and religious communities in Iraq, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and others.

Army soldiers and Popular Mobilization units have joined forces and are seeking to take back militant-held regions in joint operations.

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Paris attack survivor speaks of compassion not hate

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Shafaqna conducted a very special interview this week as we talked to Claire Santana, a young French woman who, on November 13, witnessed first hand the terror preached by the Wahhabi clergy.

Rather than burden Claire with our questions, and risk to force to relive those moments she might chose to not speak of at the moment, we simply requested that she tells her story the way she wants it to be remembered.

Mother to a three-year old little boy, Claire moved to France from her home in Spain last September after her husband was offered a position at a PR firm in the French capital.

You said you wanted to share with others not your tale as a survivor of terror but a voice for peace – what do you mean by that?

I was at La Belle Equipe on Friday evening … I literally just got back inside when I heard loud noises … I thought people were shooting fireworks or something at first, and then I heard the screams.

I was pushed on the floor by someone next to me and after that it was pretty much darkness. I simply can’t remember … my mind literally went blank. All I remember is the smell and the screams of terror. I wouldn’t be able to tell you I long I was on the floor, only that someone got me back up and asked me if I was injured. I wasn’t … all these people dead and I was completely unharmed.

It is a strange thing to walk away from such devastation and think that a few meters, a few minutes could have ended my life. I am very fortunate I know this.

But I’m not angry. I can’t be, I don’t want to be.

All these people died because of hatred and ignorance and I refuse to follow the same standards. I will not be made to hate.

What do you make of politicians and media’s call on Muslims to apologize? Do you think Islam is to blame here?

No, absolutely not. Radicalism is just racism and fascism all rolled into one. I come from Spain and Spain knows exactly what fascism looks like … it’s not pretty I tell you. Islam, like Christianity or Judaism , or Buddhism cannot be blamed for the lunacy of a few.

I mean all religions have had their fair share of evil clerics … I don’t think the West has any lesson to give when it comes to fascism … especially when our history is full of men who built their powers on blood.

I don’t like politics very much but the way I see it politicians are using this tragedy to promote their policies and justify their wars and budget increases … they don’t care about the people.

If they did care for the people officials would have resigned over their failure as civil servants.

Did they though?! Not one came to apologize to the people for failing to keep the nation safe.

With all the technology they have, with all the spying and listening onto our conversations you’re telling they had no idea … well that is not acceptable to me!!! I want answers.

So Muslims need to apologize? Why would they? Did we apologize for colonialism? Did we apologize when we invaded, pillaged and robbed Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East across the centuries?

Did we blame Christianity for slavery? Did we call on all Christians to say sorry to every African American? This is the very definition of prejudiced to me.

The crazy thing is we are at war with the Middle East. Right now our leaders are killing civilians … they might not willingly target them but the result is the same – dead people. Have we issued an apology to all the families?

What would you like to tell people?

Well to begin with I don’t want all these people’s memories to be dishonored by calls for revenge. This is exactly what terrorists want us to do.

I also would like to know how terrorists managed to put their hands on military grade weapons. I heard in the media that they were very well trained and organized in the way they did thing.

We are told that refugees are to blame but this is ridiculous. Refugees fled the war, they fled the very people who attacked us.

My great grandfather was a war refugee at one point. He too fled the war and he was lucky enough to find good souls to give him shelter. Most Europeans have only to go back two generations to find their ancestors were war refugees at one point or the other so NO I refuse to blame the poorest among us.

We always talk about how Western society is better: more democratic, fairer and more tolerant … where is the tolerance, where is the justice and where is the compassion?

Claire chose not to share a photo with Shafaqna as she doesn’t want to draw more attention to herself. “I don’t want Friday to become this thing I carry around … I want to be me, the me I was before.”

Two ISIS terrorists die in police attack on suspected Paris attack mastermind

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The shootout occurred in Saint-Denis on Wednesday in an operation by special police forces trying to catch a suspect from the Friday attacks in the city, which killed over 130 people.

The suspects were holed up in an apartment in the neighborhood.

Police blocked off the area around Place Jean Jaures in Saint-Denis and ambulances arrived at the scene.

Terrorists with the Takfiri group of Daesh staged bombings and shootings in several venues across Paris on Friday night, killing at least 132 people and injuring 350 others. The fatalities included 89 people who died when gunmen burst into the Bataclan concert venue and opened fire before blowing themselves up.

Saint-Denis is close to Stade de France, the country’s national stadium, which was the site of one of the Friday attacks.

French President Francois Hollande said on Monday that the country was sending its nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Middle East to “totally eliminate” Daesh, which has overrun about a third of Syria and Iraq, where it is tyrannizing the civilian population.

Police vans and fire trucks also rushed to the suburb, while a helicopter loitered overhead.

‘Hunt for mastermind’

French prosecutors have identified five assailants from Friday attacks, including four Frenchmen and a fifth man who was fingerprinted in Greece among refugees last month. They believe two men directly involved in the assaults have subsequently escaped.

Investigators have said the Paris attack was planned in Syria and nurtured in Belgium.

The French news agency also reported that today’s police raid was aimed at arresting the suspected mastermind of last week’s deadly attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

An unnamed source close to the French investigation has said the 27-year-old “appears to be the brains behind several planned attacks in Europe,” adding that investigators believe he is most likely behind the 132 deaths.

Explosion sounds heard during Paris raid

According to the latest reports, at least seven explosions were heard at the scene of police raid to arrest suspects in last week’s deadly Paris attacks.

Sounds like grenade blasts could be heard from the direction of the standoff in the heart of the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

Casualties, arrests reported in Paris raid

French police sources say the standoff ended in two fatalities, including a woman who detonated the explosives she was carrying on her, while another suspect was taken out by a police sniper..

Seven people have been also arrested by the French police.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that SWAT teams arrested three people in the apartment whose identities have not been revealed yet. Another man and woman were detained near the apartment.

Later on, France’s BFM television reported that two more people within apartment building were also taken into custody.

French military forces were also deployed to north Paris as standoff with terror suspects continued.

Hours later, French police sources said the assault on an apartment in northern Paris was over, adding that they are still working to secure the suburb of Saint-Denis after the six-hour raid, which was part of a manhunt for those linked to a devastating string of attacks on Paris late on Friday.

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Boko Haram kills more people than ISIS: Report

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Fatalities from terrorism are at a record high now with just two groups, Boko Haram and Islamic State responsible for half of them, a new report showed. The Nigerian militants kill more people than their Iraqi-Syrian allies.

Two terrorist groups were responsible for over a half of the killings in 2014 – Nigeria-based Boko Haram and Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), which aims to expand its influence from the powerbase in Iraq and Syria globally. Together they were responsible for 51 percent of all global fatalities in 2014 claimed by any group, and almost 40 percent of all fatalities, according to the Global Terrorism Index published by the Institute for Economic and Peace (IEP).

The Nigerian jihadists, who pledged allegiance to IS in March 2015, killed more people than their fellow Islamists, claiming 6,644 lives compared to 6,073. Nigeria accordingly experienced a staggering 300 percent rise in terrorism deaths in 2014, although other militant groups take partial blame for the increase. In particular the Fulani militants killed 1,229 in Nigeria.

IS killed more people in combat than in acts of terrorism in 2014. It was responsible for at least 20,000 battlefield deaths over the year in clashes with various state and non-state combatants.

The Taliban, which was the deadliest group in 2013, was ranked third in 2014, despite killing 3,477 people in terrorist attacks, which is a 38 percent increase in fatalities. The group remains second-deadliest after IS in terms of battlefield kills, the report says.

Compared to previous year, the number of deaths from terrorism worldwide has increased by 80 percent in 2014. Over the last year 32,658 people killed, compared to 18,111 in 2013. It’s the largest number recorded and is almost ten times higher than in 2000, when 3,329 people were killed by terrorists.

Just five countries suffer the bulk of terrorist acts – Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria – accounting for 78 percent of all fatalities in 2014. Iraq bears the heaviest burden with 9,929 terrorist fatalities in 2014.

The threat is spreading. The number of countries experiencing more than 500 terrorism-related deaths rose from five to 11 in 2014 with the addition of Somalia, Ukraine, Yemen, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Cameroon.

The report doesn’t include this year’s terrorist attacks like the gun violence in France, the bombing of the Russian plane in Egypt, the high-profile bombings in Lebanon and Turkey and other incidents that reflect the growing threat of terrorism.

In addition to loss of lives terrorism takes a heavy economic toll on affected countries. IEP says conservative estimates of damage from terrorist activity in 2014 stands at $52.9 million, a 61 percent increase from the previous year and a 10-fold increase since 2000.

Battling terrorism remains more costly than the direct damage caused by it, the report said. An estimated $117 billion was spent globally to provide national security from terrorism threats.

Western countries remain relatively safe from terrorism. In the last 15 years 2.6 percent of all terrorism-related fatalities happened in the West and the percentage drops to 0.5 if the September 2001 attacks in the US are excluded.

‘Lone wolf’ attacks account for 70 percent of all terrorist deaths in the West since 2006 and 80 percent of those deaths can be attributed to right-wing extremism, nationalism, supremacism, anti-government extremism and other types of political ideologies rather than Islamic fundamentalism.

Despite the alarming trends terrorism remains a relatively small threat to lives, the report points out. Globally 13 times as many people are killed by homicides than die in terrorist attacks.

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Serbia, Macedonia start filtering migrant flow to Europe

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The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says Serbia and Macedonia have limited refugee entries into their countries to Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans only.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melita Sunjic said on Thursday that the two European countries had started turning back all refugees from other countries.

“As of 6 pm (1600 GMT) yesterday evening, Serbia started turning back [to Macedonia] all but Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans,” Sunjic said.

In recent months, EU states have been receiving thousands of refugees fleeing violence in Middle Eastern and African countries. Syrians, Iraqis, and Afghans make up the majority of the refugees arriving in Europe.

Figures gathered by the UN show that nearly 3,500 asylum seekers that tried to enter Europe via sea have drowned so far this year while over 800,000 refugees have crossed the Mediterranean to reach the continent in 2015.

The EU has predicted that at least three million more refugees would enter the bloc by 2017.

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Israeli forces arrest senior Hamas member in West Bank

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The Israeli military has detained a high-ranking member of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, amid ongoing tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli troopers stormed the house of Omar Barghouti Abu Asef in the northern occupied West Bank village of Kobar, located 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) northwest of Ramallah, early on Wednesday and arrested his two sons, Asef and Saleh.

Clashes then broke out between Israeli troops and the young residents of Kober as the situation escalated. Israeli soldiers fired live rounds as well as tear gas canisters to disperse the protesters.

The 62-year-old Hamas figure turned himself in early on Thursday after Israeli troops threatened to detain his wife as well, according to the report. He was taken to an unknown location.

According to his family, Barghouthi recently had a cardiac catheterization, and was about to undergo a liver surgery.

Tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories have dramatically escalated since August, when the Israeli regime imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Palestinians are angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and their attacks on Palestinian properties, saying that the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the compound.

Last month, senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, called the recent spate of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem), an Intifada (uprising) against the Tel Aviv regime.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, in a statement released on Tuesday evening, said at least 89 Palestinians, including 18 children and four women, have lost their lives and more than 10,000 others sustained injuries in the occupied West Bank and blockaded Gaza Strip since the start of October.

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Police charged young man threatening to kill Muslims in Montreal, Canada

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Montreal police have charged a 24-year-old man in connection with a video posted on YouTube that shows someone in a Joker mask threatening to kill Muslim people in Quebec.

Jesse Pelletier faces charges of uttering threats, inciting hatred against an identifiable group, making a declaration to incite fear among an identifiable group, and using a fake firearm.

In the video, a man wearing a mask resembling the Joker from Batman comics threatens the death of one Arab per week in the province.

Police arrested Pelletier at an address on Monselet Street in the borough of Montreal North on Tuesday night.

Pelletier appeared in court on Wednesday and has a bail hearing scheduled for Monday.

Pelletier’s lawyer, Audrey Amzallag, said after the court appearance that Pelletier meant the video as a “joke” and regrets the situation he is now in.

Interim Quebec Security Minister Pierre Moreau warned that the kind of threats made in the video carry serious legal repercussions.

“This attitude has to be condemned,” he said. “Under the Criminal Code, such threats can carry a sentence of five years in prison.”

Moreau also said investigating such incidents puts additional pressure on police resources.

“We’re diverting our security forces, who have more important things to focus on,” he said.

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