Madinah suicide bomber disowned by family

July 9, 2016

Tabuk/ Riyadh, Jul 9: Fahd Musallam Hammad Al-Nujaidi Al-Bluwi has renounced his terrorist brother Naer Al-Bluwi, who carried out Monday’s suicide bombing in Madinah, stressing that he strongly rejects the terrorist act perpetrated in the vicinity of the Prophet’s Mosque.

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He said his brother’s actions went against Islamic teachings and that all his family members have disowned Naer and condemned his crime.

Fahd said three years ago, Naer joined the Border Guards, but later quit and was living in Tabuk. He used to visit his parents in the Wajeh Governorate occasionally.

He stayed with them this last Shaaban. On Ramadan 25, he told them on phone he was going to Makkah.

Fahd said his sister had told him that she had seen some clips belonging to terrorists in her brother’s mobile, adding that he immediately reported that to the security agencies.

Feeling broken and frustrated, Naer’s father said no words could express his anger and disgust with what Naer had done. “I disown him.”

He said: “I feel hopeless and saddened by this crime that my son carried out. He does not represent me or my tribe, and all my family supports the country’s efforts to fight terrorism.”

Zaki Hammad Al-Bluwi, Naer’s uncle, said his nephew’s criminal act is far from religion and humanity.

He said Naer was a criminal who slaughtered Muslims in the holy month, against all values and principles, and he and his family stood united against anyone attempting to harm the nation.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, Interior Ministry spokesman, said Naer had traveled abroad several times this year. He said the terror acts leave no doubts about their affiliation with terrorist organizations, especially Daesh.

“Enough evidence has been collected against those arrested and it shows that they supported Daesh,” said Al-Turki.

Investigations are under way, he said, stressing that the current security situation requires that people maintain calm and have patience. “The whole truth about the attacks will be revealed, after which the necessary legal procedures will be followed.”

Al-Turki said that preliminary investigations show that some of the 12 arrested Pakistanis have links with Daesh. The material used by the suicide bomber in Jeddah, nitroglycerin, is the same as the chemical used in the Qatif and Madinah bombings, he said.

Chemical expert Hisham Al-Sharqawi said one of its components, glycerin, is sold in drug stores and pharmacies as a moisturizing cream. It was transformed into explosives by the bombers. “This also indicates that the explosive belts came from the same source. The suspects who were arrested are affiliated with Daesh,” he said.

“It is one of the oils that are used as catalysts for explosives. When it is exposed to high temperatures, it explodes instantly,” he explained.

Al-Sharqawi said that some forms of acidic materials can become incendiary formulations, and that the most dangerous compounds within those materials are typically available for everyday use in various forms.

Nitroglycerin has been linked to several terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia, and is a primary material in explosive belts.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 17: Another 731 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UAE, pushing the total number of COVID-19 infections to 23,358, the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced on Sunday.

Six more deaths from the novel coronavirus have been also confirmed, taking the country’s death toll to 220.

The ministry also announced the full recovery of 581 new cases after receiving the necessary treatment, taking that number up to 8,512 of total recovered patients.

New tests conducted

The latest coronavirus patients, all of whom are in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care, were identified after conducting more than 40,000 additional COVID-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents over the past few days, the ministry said.

It expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

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Agencies
June 20,2020

Riyadh, Jun 20: Saudi Arabia will end a nationwide curfew and lift restrictions on businesses from Sunday morning after three months of lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, state news agency SPA quoted a source in the interior ministry as saying on Saturday.

The curfew will be lifted as of 6 AM local time on Sunday. Restrictions will remain, however, for religious pilgrimages, international travel and social gatherings of more than 50 people.

The kingdom introduced stringent measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in March, including 24-hour curfews on most towns and cities.

In May, it announced a three-phase plan to ease restrictions on movement and travel, culminating in the curfew completely ending on June 21.

The number of coronavirus infections has risen in recent weeks following a relaxation of movement and travel restrictions on May 28.

The kingdom has recorded 154,223 cases of COVID-19 and a total of 1,230 deaths, the highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

Saudi Arabia plans to limit numbers at the annual haj pilgrimage to prevent a further outbreak of coronavirus cases, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month.

Some 2.5 million pilgrims visit the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long haj, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. Saudi Arabia asked Muslims in March to put haj plans on hold and suspended the umrah pilgrimage until further notice.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Dubai/Washington, Jan 6: Tens of thousands of Iranians thronged the streets of Tehran on Monday for the funeral of Quds Force commander Qassim Suleimani who was killed in a US air strike last week and his daughter said his death would bring a "dark day" for the United States.

"Crazy Trump, don't think that everything is over with my father's martyrdom," Zeinab Suleimani said in her address broadcast on state television after US President Donald Trump ordered Friday's strike that killed the top Iranian general.

Iran has promised to avenge the killing of Qassim Suleimani, the architect of Iran's drive to extend its influence across the region and a national hero among many Iranians, even many of those who did not consider themselves devoted supporters of the Islamic Republic's clerical rulers.

The scale of the crowds in Tehran shown on television mirrored the masses that gathered in 1989 for the funeral of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

In response to Iran's warnings, Trump has threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites, including cultural targets, if Tehran attacks Americans or US assets, deepening a crisis that has heightened fears of a major Middle East conflagration.

The coffins of the Iranian general and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who was also killed in Friday's attack on Baghdad airport, were passed across the heads of mourners massed in central Tehran, many of them chanting "Death to America".

One of the Islamic Republic's major regional goals, namely to drive US forces out of neighbouring Iraq, came a step closer on Sunday when the Iraqi parliament backed a recommendation by the prime minister for all foreign troops to be ordered out.

"Despite the internal and external difficulties that we might face, it remains best for Iraq on principle and practically," said Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November amid anti-government protests.

Iraq's rival Shi'ite leaders, including ones opposed to Iranian influence, have united since Friday's attack in calling for the expulsion of US troops.

Esmail Qaani, the new head of the Quds Force, the Revolutionary Guards' unit in charge of activities abroad, said Iran would continue Suleimani's path and said "the only compensation for us would be to remove America from the region."

ALLIES AT FUNERAL

Prayers at Suleimani's funeral in Tehran, which will later move to his southern home city of Kerman, were led by Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Suleimani was widely seen as the second most powerful figure in Iran behind Khamenei.

The funeral was attended by some of Iran's allies in the region, including Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Palestinian group Hamas who said: "I declare that the martyred commander Suleimani is a martyr of Jerusalem."

Adding to tensions, Iran said it was taking another step back from commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers, a pact from which the United States withdrew in 2018.

Washington has since imposed tough sanctions on Iran, describing its policy as "maximum pressure" and saying it wanted to drive down Iranian oil exports - the main source of government revenues - to zero.

Talking to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Washington from Florida on Sunday, Trump stood by his remarks to include cultural sites on his list of potential targets, despite drawing criticism from US politicians.

"They're allowed to kill our people. They're allowed to torture and maim our people. They're allowed to use roadside bombs and blow up our people. And we're not allowed to touch their cultural sites? It doesn't work that way," Trump said.

Democratic critics of the Republican president have said Trump was reckless in authorizing the strike, and some said his comments about targeting cultural sites amounted to threats to commit war crimes. Many asked why Soleimani, long seen as a threat by US authorities, had to be killed now.

Republicans in the US Congress have generally backed Trump's move.

Trump also threatened sanctions against Iraq and said that if US troops were required to leave the country, Iraq's government would have to pay Washington for the cost of a "very extraordinarily expensive" air base there.

He said if Iraq asked US forces to leave on an unfriendly basis, "we will charge them sanctions like they've never seen before ever. It'll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame."

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