Israeli police have arrested 65 Israeli Arabs on suspicion of illegal arms dealing in what they say was the biggest ever operation of its kind. The suspects were primarily from northern Israel but also from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. A former criminal recruited as an undercover agent bought dozens of weapons, including 25 M16 rifles, a machine gun and an anti-tank missile. The government has promised to tackle a deadly crime wave in the community. At least 106 Israeli Arabs, including women and children, have been murdered in the past year, according to a tally by the … Continue reading Israeli police arrest 65 Arabs over illegal arms dealing

Iraq’s prime minister was unharmed in an attack by an explosive-laden drone on his residence in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, officials said Sunday.  Iraqi state media described the attack as an assassination attempt on the prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi. In a televised video message, al-Kadhimi said the residence “came under a cowardly attack, but thanks to God, me and all those who work with me are safe.” Al Kadhimi also called for calm and restraint in the wake of the attack, which occurred early Sunday. Iraq’s Interior Ministry said the attack involved three drones, two of which were shot … Continue reading Iraqi prime minister survives assassination attempt with armed drones

A U.S. defense official has confirmed news that Iranian forces seized an oil tanker in the Sea of Oman last week but said U.S. forces just observed the incident and did not confront the Revolutionary Guard.Members of the IRGC conduct a joint exercise with Russian forces. The semiofficial Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting outlet first reported Wednesday that U.S. forces confiscated a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Sea of Oman and then transferred it to another tanker. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard forces were said to have then carried out a helicopter landing on the second vessel, allowing them to take … Continue reading U.S. official confirms Iran seized oil tanker, says U.S. military just monitored incident

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince suggested using a “poison ring” to kill the late King Abdullah, a former top Saudi intelligence official has alleged. In an interview with CBS, Saad al-Jabri said Mohammed bin Salman told his cousin in 2014 that he wanted to do so to clear the throne for his father. There were tensions within the ruling family at the time over the succession. The Saudi government has called Mr Jabri a discredited former official with a long history of fabrication. In his interview with CBS’s 60 minutes programme Mr Jabri warned that Crown Prince Mohammed – Saudi Arabia’s … Continue reading Saudi crown prince suggested killing King Abdullah, ex-official says

A bomb attack on a military bus in central Damascus has killed at least 13 people, Syrian state media say. The vehicle was targeted with two explosive devices as it passed under Jisr al-Rais bridge shortly after dawn, Sana news agency reported. Video from the scene showed the charred remains of the bus, which was completely burnt out. Although Syria has been embroiled in civil war for a decade, such attacks in the capital are increasingly rare. Wednesday’s bombing was reportedly the deadliest in central Damascus since March 2017, when at least 31 people were killed in a suicide attack claimed … Continue reading Deadly blast on Syrian military bus kills 13

Israel does not want war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah but is prepared to face about 2,000 rockets a day from the armed group if conflict breaks out, a senior Israeli military official told AFP.In the May, 2021 conflict with armed groups in Gaza, cities like Tel Aviv and Ashdod experienced the “highest number of fire towards them in the history of Israel”, said Uri Gordin, chief of the army’s Home Front Command In May this year, the Israeli army fought an 11-day war against Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip, who fired around 4,400 projectiles towards the Jewish state. Israel … Continue reading Israel expects 2,000 rockets a day in any war with Hezbollah

An initial investigation into the escape of six Palestinian prisoners who tunnelled out of a high-security Israeli prison shows that surveillance cameras recorded the moment the men exited the tunnel, but none of the guards in the control room noticed. One of the guards at the Gilboa jail, who was on duty in the watchtower overlooking the tunnel opening, fell asleep during the escape, the probe – launched by Israel’s prison authority revealed on Tuesday. Prison authorities realised they had escaped at approximately 3:30am, it said. According to the findings, the six men had entered the bathroom in their cell … Continue reading OOPS: Israeli guard slept through Palestinian prisoners’ escape

Syrian air defences have shot down missiles fired by Israel in the skies over the capital, Damascus, SANA state news agency said early on Friday. “At around 1:26 am today, the Israeli enemy carried out an air aggression from the direction southeast of Beirut, targeting some points in the vicinity of the city of Damascus,” a Syrian military source was quoted as saying in a statement carried by SANA. Syrian TV showed scenes of air defences shooting at targets over the city. “Our air defence confronted the aggressor’s missiles and shot down most of them, and the losses were limited … Continue reading Syrian shoot down Israeli missiles over Damascus

At least 30 pro-government fighters have been killed in an attack on an airbase in southern Yemen, security and medical sources say. A spokesman for Yemeni southern forces said al-Anad airbase was targeted with armed drones and missiles. He blamed the Iran-aligned rebel Houthi movement, which is fighting a war against the Saudi-backed government. The Houthis have not yet commented on the reports, but they have attacked the same airbase in the past. Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in 2015, when the Houthis seized control of large parts of the country and a Saudi-led coalition launched … Continue reading Drone attack on government airbase kills 30 soldiers

A woman evacuated from Afghanistan amid the continuing chaos in the country has given birth to a baby girl on an evacuation flight. The US Air Force said the Afghan woman went into labour en route to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Medical personnel boarded the plane after it landed and delivered the baby in the aircraft’s cargo hold. Both baby and mother are said to be in good condition at a nearby medical facility. At one point on the journey, the pregnant woman began having “complications”, the thread said. The pilot had to descend in order to increase air … Continue reading Afghan woman gives birth to baby girl on US evacuation plane

Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired more than 10 rockets into Israel Friday, prompting retaliatory shelling, in a major escalation between the Iran-backed Shiite movement and Jewish state.Israeli artillery fires towards Lebanon in response to cross-border rocket fire claimed by Shiite militant group Hezbollah A flareup along the border this week has seen Israel carry out its first air strikes on Lebanese territory in seven years and Hezbollah claim a direct rocket attack on Israeli territory for the first time since 2019. “This is a very dangerous situation, with escalatory actions seen on both sides over the past two days,” the United Nations … Continue reading Hezbollah rocket attack on Israel draws retaliation

The Israeli air force said it carried out its first air strikes on neighbouring Lebanon in seven years Thursday following a second day of rocket fire across the border.Israeli artillery pounds border areas of south Lebanon in response to Wednesday’s rocket fire “Earlier today (Thursday), rockets were fired from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” the air force tweeted. “In response… fighter jets struck the launch sites and infrastructure used for terror in Lebanon from which the rockets were launched. “An additional target in the area from which rockets have been launched in the past was struck as well.” Israeli aircraft routinely … Continue reading Israel conducts first Lebanon strikes in seven years: military