Palm Sunday church bombings in Egypt kill 43, wound dozens

People clean up debris after an explosion hit Saint Mark’s Cathedral in the coastal city of Alexandria, the historic seat of Christendom in Egypt, Sunday, April 9, 2017, killing several people, just after Pope Tawadros II finished services. Bombs tore through two Egyptian churches in different cities as worshippers were marking Palm Sunday, both claimed by the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Hazem Gouda)

Continue reading

1 of 5 devices near train station explodes; no injuries

Bomb squad personnel stand around the scene of an explosion near the train station, early Monday, Sept 19, 2016, in Elizabeth, N.J. A suspicious device found Sunday night in a trash can near a New Jersey train station exploded early Monday as a bomb squad robot attempted to disarm it. (Jessica Remo/NJ Advance Media via AP)

Continue reading

Doesn’t a Nuclear Agreement with Iran make sense?

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd L) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State John after a statement about the international agreement struck over Iran’s nuclear program on early November 24, 2013, in Geneva. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

Continue reading

Terrorists may use toiletries to smuggle explosives onto planes headed for Sochi

Airlines warned of possible toothpaste tube bombs ahead of Olympics

Washington (CNN) — The United States is advising airlines with direct flights serving Russia to be aware of the possibility that explosive materials could be concealed in toothpaste or cosmetic tubes, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Wednesday night.

Continue reading

Iran can now build and deliver nukes, US intel reports

An Iranian worker at the Uranium Conversion Facility at Isfahan, 410 kilometers, south of Tehran. The conversion facility in Isfahan reprocesses uranium ore concentrate, known as yellowcake, into uranium hexaflouride gas. The gas is then taken to Natanz and fed into the centrifuges for enrichment. (photo credit: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian worker at the Uranium Conversion Facility at Isfahan, 410 kilometers, south of Tehran. The conversion facility in Isfahan reprocesses uranium ore concentrate, known as yellowcake, into uranium hexaflouride gas. The gas is then taken to Natanz and fed into the centrifuges for enrichment.                     (photo credit: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Tehran has capacity to break out to bomb if it wishes, intelligence chief James Clapper tells Senate, but would be detected if it tried to do so

Continue reading

Lebanese city of Tripoli rocked by deadly explosions

(BBC) At least 27 people have been killed and more than 350 injured by two blasts in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, officials say.

As Friday prayers ended, a blast hit the al-Taqwa mosque, usually attended by prominent Sunni cleric Sheikh Salem Rafii. His fate is not clear.

A second blast five minutes later hit the al-Salam mosque.

Continue reading

At least 27 killed Lebanon’s Tripoli blasts: minister

 

People run for help as a car burns outside one of two mosques hit by explosions in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, August 23, 2013. REUTERS-Omar Ibrahim

People run for help as a car burns outside one of two mosques hit by explosions in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli, August 23, 2013. REUTERS-Omar Ibrahim

(Reuters) – The death toll from twin blasts that hit two mosques in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli on Friday has gone up to 27, the health minister said.

“So far, we have 27 martyrs and 358 wounded,” Ali Hassan Khalil told Reuters.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam; Editing by Alison Williams)

Pakistan accuses India of shelling as Kashmir tension simmers

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol next to a stream near the Line of Control (LoC), a ceasefire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, at Sabjiyan sector of Poonch district, August 8, 2013. REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol next to a stream near the Line of Control (LoC), a ceasefire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, at Sabjiyan sector of Poonch district, August 8, 2013.   REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta

(Reuters) – Pakistan accused Indian troops of firing shells across the disputed border in Kashmir on Monday and tensions ran high in both countries after last week’s killing of Indian soldiers set off a wave of skirmishes between the two nuclear-armed rivals.

Clashes flared along the 740-km (445-mile) Line of Control that divides Kashmir on August 6 when five Indian soldiers were ambushed and killed in the Poonch region. New Delhi blamed the attack on the Pakistan army. Islamabad denied involvement.

While tit-for-tat shelling and machinegun fire are common along the LoC the current round of fighting is one of the most intense since a ceasefire signed in 2003. It has been linked to protests in both countries and rowdy scenes in India’s parliament. Under pressure from opposition politicians, the government has hinted at retaliation.

Continue reading