60 people killed in mosque attacks(Afghanistan)
A gunman entered a Shia Muslim mosque in Kabul before opening fire and detonating an explosive, killing at least 39 worshippers.
An attack on a Sunni Muslim mosque in Ghor province killed 20 people.
No groups have so far said they carried out the attacks but so-called Islamic State (IS) has previously targeted Shia mosques across Afghanistan.The new attacks bring to at least 176 the number of people killed in bomb attacks across the country this week.
One eyewitness told the BBC that the scene at Kabul's Imam Zaman mosque, in the west of the city, looked like a "front line".Another witness, Mahmood Shah Husaini, said people had been praying when the bomber detonated his explosives.
The attacker is reported to have opened fire as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, before detonating a bomb.
Kabul police spokesman BasirMojahid confirmed the incident at the Shia mosque in Kabul, but did not give further details.
A spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry said investigators were working at the scene to determine the "nature of the explosion," AFP news agency reports.
The attack on the Sunni mosque in Ghor, central Afghanistan, also killed a pro-government militia commander, according to reports.
Details of the attacks remain unclear and the number of casualties is likely to rise. Dozens of worshippers were also injured, Afghan's health ministry said.
Friday's attacks come just days after police in Kabul said they had arrested a would-be suicide truck bomber, averting a major incident.
In August, more than 20 people were killed in a bomb attack against worshippers in Kabul. IS, a Sunni Islamist militant group, said it had carried out the attack.
A truck bomb in the Afghan capital in May killed more than 150 people and wounded some 400 more, most of them civilians. No group claimed to be behind that attack but the US-backed Afghan government accused the Haqqani group, an affiliate of the country's biggest militant group, the Taliban.
Afghanistan has seen a spate of suicide attacks and bombings in recent months.
There have been four major attacks on Afghan security forces this week alone:
On Thursday, 43 Afghan soldiers were killed after two Taliban suicide bombers in Humvee armoured vehicles destroyed a military base in the southern province of Kandahar. Two police officers were also killed in in Ghazni province
On Tuesday, Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen killed at least 41 people when they stormed a police training centre in the eastern city of Gardez while two police officers
Also on Tuesday, at least 30 people died in car bombings in Ghazni
Afghanistan's army and police have suffered heavy casualties this year at the hands of the Taliban, a Sunni group who want to re-impose their strict version of Islamic law in the country.
Source: BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-41699320
Inquiry: Student saw incident where Pastor Koh was taken (KL)
KUALA LUMPUR: A chambering student told the inquiry into the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh that he had "stumbled" upon the abduction while he and a friend were driving to a crematorium on Feb 13.
Roeshan Celestine Gomez, 25, said he first saw three black big cars surrounding a silver car in SS4 Petaling Jaya that day. There were several men wearing masks and were covered from head to toe in black, said Gomez.
Gomez said he then saw a struggle between one of the men and the driver of the silver car, adding that the windscreen of the silver car was smashed.
He said his friend who was sitting next to him had pulled out her handphone to record the incident when an Indian man approached them and stood in front of their car.
"He was agitated and pointed at my friend who put her phone down.
"I reversed my car but he continued to come at us," Gomez said at the inquiry held by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) on Thursday morning.
Koh, 62, was reportedly taken from his car by a group of men along Jalan SS4B/10 on Feb 13 while on his way to a friend’s house.
His silver-coloured car bearing the number plate ST5515D has not been found.
Gomez said he saw another man who was also recording the incident with a handphone and there were a few motorcyclists circling the scene.
He said the whole group later then drove away taking with them the silver car. Gomez said after the incident was over, he saw shattered glass on the road.He said he and his friend headed to the crematorium and later made a police report at the Kelana Jaya police station.The inquiry also viewed purported video clips of the incident.
Suhakam commissioner Datuk Mah Weng Kwai, who chaired the inquiry, said it was neither a criminal nor a civil trial.
The inquiry, conducted as per Section 12(1) of the Human Rights Commission Malaysia Act, also covers the disappearance of social activist Amri Che Mat, Pastor Joshua Hilmi and his wife, Ruth Sitepu.
The terms of reference for the inquiry were to determine whether these were cases of enforced disappearances or involuntary disappearances in breach of criminal, civil law or applicable human rights laws.
Pray: Father, we do pray for Pastor Koh and for Pastor Hilmy, Ruth and Amir. We don’t know where they are, but You do. We fear for their lives, for their suffering. But whether they are in earthly captivity or have been drawn to glory, You are there with them. Thank You for that comfort. We pray over the fear and sorrow of their loved ones, that You might turn their eyes from the storm that surrounds them to gaze into Your eyes of compassion and strength. Comfort them, Father. If those abducted are still on this earth, we pray for their return to their families soon. As they seek answers through local and international activist groups, we pray for the protection of Pastor Koh’s family, for his wife Susanna and for their children Jonathan, Esther and Elizabeth. Give them sufficient grace and discernment for every situation they encounter. And may Your incomprehensible love fill them. In the name of Jesus “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Amen. (from Open Doors USA)
Source: The Star - https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/19/inquiry-student-saw-incident-where-pastor-koh-was-taken/#Zy2vzb8VE9XhAb0V.03
Report: Global Persecution at Historic Peak
Christianity is “the world’s most oppressed faith community,” and anti-Christian persecution in the worst regions has reached “a new peak” claims a new report by Aid to the Church in Need.
“In terms of the numbers of people involved, the gravity of the crimes committed and their impact,” notes the report, “it is clear that the persecution of Christians is today worse than at any time in history. Not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the very worst forms of persecution.”
The report, “Persecuted and Forgotten?”, compiles analysis from a number of sources, including Open Door’s World Watch List and the Pew Forum’s Social Hostilities Index. In 12 of the 13 countries reviewed, the situation for Christians was worse in overall terms in the period 2015–17 than within the preceding two years. The only exception was Saudi Arabia, where “the situation was already so bad it could scarcely get any worse.”
The report claims that the United Nations and Western governments failed to offer Christians in countries such as Iraq and Syria the emergency help they needed as genocide got underway. “If Christian organizations and other institutions had not filled the gap,” says the report, “the Christian presence could already have disappeared in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.”
ISIS and other Islamist militant groups have committed genocide against Christians in Iraq and Syria. The militants are being defeated in many areas, though, which is making it possible for some Christian communities to return to their homes. “The defeat of [ISIS] and other Islamists in major strongholds of the Middle East offers the last hope of recovery for Christian groups threatened with extinction,” says the report. “Many would not survive another similar violent attack.”
Christians have also suffered increased violence and oppression as a result of a rise in religious nationalism. In India, persecution has risen sharply since the 2014 rise to power of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
The worst persecution, though, continues to occur in North Korea. As the report points out, the “unspeakable atrocities” against Christians include enforced starvation, enforced abortion, and reports of believers being hung on crosses over a fire and others being crushed under a steamroller.
Download the report here: https://www.churchinneed.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/persecution-1-1.pdf
99. NSFA Update #51
NATIONAL SECURITY FOREIGN AFFAIRS UPDATE
OCTOBER 23, 2017 (REPORT #51)
Highlights:
- Cold War returns with nuclear-armed bombers on 24-hour alert
- CIA expands Taliban hunt
- ISIS battle converges in the Euphrates Valley
- Iraqi, Kurdish forces exchange fire at shared border
- U.S. Forces Korea ready with THAAD
- Russia complains U.S.-led coalition destroyed Raqqa like allies did the German city of Dresden in World War Two
- U.S. SEC State calls on Iran-backed militia to go home
- Iraq’s PM rejects Tillerson’s call for PMU to “go home”
CURRENT
- Cold War Returns with Nuclear-Armed Bombers on 24-hour alert. DefenseOne reports the U.S. Air Force is preparing to put nuclear-armed bombers on 24-hour ready alert, something not seen since the end of the Cold War. “This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared,” Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, said. “I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we’re prepared going forward.” Putting the bomber fleet on alert is just one of many decisions facing the Air Force as the U.S. military responds to changing geopolitical environment that includes North Korea’s rapidly advancing nuclear arsenal as well as Russia’s increasingly potent and active armed forces.
- CIA expands Taliban hunt. The New York Times reports the CIA is expanding its operations in Afghanistan, sending teams alongside Afghan forces to hunt Taliban jihadi. The Times reports this is a shift for the CIA in that country, where it had focused on defeating al Qaeda and helping Afghan intelligence operatives. The agency’s paramilitary division, which is taking on the mission, numbers only in the hundreds and is deployed all over the world. The expanded mission reflects that agency’s assertive role under Mike Pompeo, the new director, to combat insurgents around the world. Pompeo said “We can’t perform our mission if we’re not aggressive. … This is unforgiving, relentless. You pick the word. Every minute, we have to be focused on crushing our enemies.”
- ISIS battle converges in the Euphrates Valley. The Air Force Times reports the coalition’s fight with ISIS jihadi is now focused along a stretch of the Euphrates River Valley straddling the Syrian border. ISIS no longer has a presence in cities such as Mosul, Tal Afar and Haditha. Rather, U.S.-led coalition forces are focused on driving ISIS out of towns like al Qaim. Air operations are “shaping” the battlefield by taking out weapons centers like car bomb factories and ISIS C3 centers. Brig. Gen. Andrew Croft, deputy commanding general for Air, Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command, Operation Inherent Resolve, said “They’ll move against multiple areas in the Euphrates River Valley in a multi-axis operation. The preponderance of ISIS forces, we believe, are in that area … essentially all the way out east to Rawa.”
CONSEQUENCES
- Iraqi, Kurdish forces exchange fire at shared border. The Military Times reports Iraqi federal and Kurdish forces exchanged fire at their shared border on Friday, ending a week of conflict whereby Kurds returned control to Iraqi forces. By mid-Friday, Iraq’s defense ministry said anti-terrorism forces used artillery against Kurdish forces in AltunKupri, a town in the Kurdish region. Kurdish forces withdrew last week in most areas to positions they last held in 2014, restoring the map to the time before the rise of ISIS.
- U.S. Forces Korea ready with THAAD. The Yonhap News Agency reports the U.S. Forces Korea set-up the unit charged with operating the advanced missile defense system deployed in that country. On Thursday, a ceremony was held in Seongju to transfer the Delta Battery of the 11th Air Defense Artillery brigade to the 35th ADA Brigade in South Korea. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, which has missile launchers, command and control facilities and a powerful radar, was first deployed in April, but at that time there were only two interceptor launchers. Four more launchers arrived last month.
- Russia complains U.S.-led coalition destroyed Raqqa like allies did the German city of Dresden in World War Two. The BBC reports the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed alliance of Kurds and Arabs, destroyed Raqqa, and Moscow compared that result to the Allied destruction of the German city of Dresden in WW II. Russia itself was accused of committing war crimes for bombarding Aleppo, Syria last year. UN war crimes investigators in June that there had been a “staggering loss of civilian life” in Raqqa. A Russian defense spokesman said “Raqqa has inherited the fate of Dresden in 1945, wiped off the face of the earth by Anglo-American bombardments.”
- U.S. SEC State calls on Iran-backed militia to go home. The BBC reports U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on Iran-backed militias fighting ISIS should leave northern Iraq as the battle is nearing its end. Tillerson insists mopping up should be left to the Iraqis. Iraqi forces have been fighting ISIS alongside Popular Mobilization Units, a coalition of Shia militia, backed by Iran. Those units have been accused of abuses, including torture and killings, during the anti-ISIS operations in Iraq.
- Iraq’s PM rejects Tillerson’s call for PMU to “go home.”The media office of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Oct. 23 criticized U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's recent statements that Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units who helped Iraq fight the Islamic State should "go home," Reuters reported. According to Reuters, the prime minister's office said that "No party has the right to interfere in Iraqi matters."
Pray – lets be in prayer over each of these very significant situations and pray as we are guided.
Robert Maginnis
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