Car bomb kills at least 14 women,
injures many near Aleppo
Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A car bomb detonated near Aleppo on Monday, killing several people, mostly women, according to Syrian Civil Defense and a human rights monitor.
The explosion occurred in the city of Manbij, located about 57 miles northeast of Aleppo. Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, said in a statement that the car bomb detonated next to a vehicle transporting agricultural workers on a main road on the outskirts of the city.
It reported that 14 women and one man were killed in the blast, while another 15 were injured, some seriously. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated at least 18 were killed, including at least 14 women. Twelve others, mostly women and children, were injured.
The death toll is expected to rise.
Related
Despite the discrepancy in casualty figures, both groups separately described the incident on X as "a horrific massacre."
The SOHR stated that this is the sixth explosion in areas of Syria controlled by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army coalition, which includes radical Islamic rebel factions.
The violence comes days after the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was appointed interim president of Syria.
Al-Sharaa and his jihadist rebels toppled the Syrian government of dictator President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Following al-Sharaa's appointment as president on Wednesday, a number of changes were announced, including the dissolution of the Syrian parliament, cancellation of the country's 2012 Constitution and a mandate that all armed factions in Syria disband or be absorbed by the new national army, The Guardian reported.
Nigeria: Islamic State jihadis murder 27 soldiers
in jihad suicide attack
“Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth, because the garden will be theirs, they will fight in the way of Allah and will kill and be killed. It is a promise that is binding on him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. Who fulfills his covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that you have made, for that is the supreme triumph.” (Qur’an 9:111)
Once again we see jihad forces apparently more powerful than the national army. Who is funding and equipping them?
27 Nigerian soldiers killed in suicide attack
Agence France-Presse, January 26, 2025 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
At least 27 Nigerian soldiers were killed in a jihadist suicide attack in the northeast, two army sources said on Sunday.
On Friday, troops launched a ground offensive on a stronghold of Islamic State-affiliated militants in a wasteland straddling Borno and Yobe states….
He said the death toll could rise as some of the wounded were in a ‘critical condition’.
A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle concealed in thick foliage into a convoy of advancing troops targeting the Islamic State West Africa Province in Timbuktu Triangle, the two military officers said.
ISWAP split from the mainstream Boko Haram in 2016 to become the dominant militant faction in the northeast.
They seized territory hitherto under Boko Haram control, including the Timbuktu Triangle and Sambisa forest, a game reserve turned jihadist stronghold….
The 15-year-old conflict has killed 40,000 and displaced around two million from their homes in the northeast.
And only God knows how many girls have been taken captive. At least, AFP doesn't know, and doesn't seem to care an awful lot.
The violence spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, leading to the creation of a regional force to fight the militants.
Islamic Republic of Pakistan: Four men sentenced to death for blasphemy against Muhammad and Qur’an
How likely is it that they really dared to criticize Muhammad and the Qur’an, which would almost certainly mean death in Pakistan? Isn’t it more likely that someone has it in for them and knows that the blasphemy law is an easy way to destroy their lives? In any case, Pakistan being Pakistan, we will likely never know the actual facts of these cases.
4 men sentenced to death in Rawalpindi over ‘online blasphemy’: lawyer
by Tahir Naseer, AFP, January 27, 2025:
A court in Rawalpindi sentenced four men to death for posting blasphemous content online, a prosecution lawyer told AFP on Monday.
“They were sentenced to death … on Friday for spreading blasphemous content online against the Prophet Muhammad (PUBH) [sic] and the Quran,” Rao Abdur Raheem, a lawyer from the Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan, a private group which brought the case to court, told AFP.
“Our case was supported by forensic evidence from the devices used in this heinous act,” he added.
According to the court order dated January 24 — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — the four individuals were sentenced to death by hanging for violating Section 295C (Use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of the Holy Prophet [PBUH]) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
They were also sentenced to life in prison under 295B (defiling, etc, of the Holy Quran) and 10 years imprisonment under 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting Its religion or religious beliefs). “All the above-mentioned sentences of imprisonment shall run concurrently,” the order read.
This is the first time I have heard of someone being sentenced to both Life and Death. Pakistan is a bizarre place! Their hysteria over alleged blasphemy is astonishing.
The four were charged under sections 295A, 295B, 295C, 298A (use of derogatory remarks, etc, in respect of holy personages) and Section 11 (hate speech) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act in October 2022, according to a first information report seen by Dawn.com…
