39 killed, 51 wounded in Iraq bombings

Baghdad: At least 39 people were killed and 51 wounded in three bombing attacks in the Iraqi capital city Sunday, police said. The deadliest attack occurred when a suicide bomber detonated his vest of explosives in a popular cafe in the Amil area in southwestern Baghdad, killing at least 37 people and wounding 42, reported Xinhua citing a police source. Two people were killed and four wounded when a roadside bomb struck a civilian car travelling on the highway near the Amiriyah area in western Baghdad, the police source said. Five people were injured when another roadside bomb exploded in the Ghazaliya area in western Baghdad, he added. The deadly bombing attacks in Baghdad Sunday evening came after at least 12 people were killed and 27 wounded in suicide bomb attacks on a local government compound in Iraq's western province of Anbar at noon. No group claimed responsibility for the attacks. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, almost 6,000 Iraqis were killed and over 14,000 injured from January to September this year.

Gunmen kill 19 in Nigeria highway attack

Lagos (Nigeria): Some gunmen dressed in military uniform killed 19 people in north-eastern Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon, BBC reported Sunday. According to witnesses, the attackers stopped motorists on a highway in Borno state and shot and hacked them to death. Earlier, a media report put the death toll over 10, while blaming suspected members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram for the incident. It's the latest attack in a region which has suffered violence from the militant sect of Boko Haram. The group had suffered a deadly blow only days ago in the northeastern state of Borno. On Tuesday, the Nigerian military had announced having killed 40 Boko Haram fighters during security operations. The Boko Haram sect seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the constitution.

Muslim Leaders Call for Peace after Mall Attack

Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM) leaders, strongly condemned the attack on the Westgate mall, saying that it was against their religion and Islamic teachings. Adan Wachu the Secretary General of the council in a statement said, “We condemn in the strongest terms the attack on peace loving Kenyans and international guests who have chosen to live and work in Kenya.” “We do not support the indiscriminate killing of innocent men, women and children. It is against all Islamic teachings and tenets,” he added. Wachu further urged all Muslim brethren to come out in big numbers and donate blood and volunteer at healthcare institutions and provide care and treatment to the wounded. He explained that the attackers were trying to create a divide between Muslims and non-Muslims.”I urge all Kenyans to remain calm and refrain from being divided on sectarian grounds by this unfortunate incident,” he explained.Mombasa County Senator Hassan Omar echoed the sentiments by the Muslim leaders asking the Al Shabaab attackers at the mall to let the people go and surrender to authorities.Omar explained that Islam does not advocate for violence and murder.”If those who have taken the hostages can hear us, please let those people in the mall go. Our religion does not support the idea of killing and committing such atrocious attacks on innocents, please just let them go and let them go alive,” he pleaded.Speaking at a press conference at the Jamia Mosque, he said that the police ought to also take decisive caution to avoid raising tension among Kenyans.”We have urged people and the police to exercise caution and not let those who want to divide this nation win. We have lived in peace as a nation and there is no reason as to why we should start fighting,” said Omar.

55 students arrested in Egypt clash

Cairo: At least 55 students were arrested Sunday after they clashed with Egyptian security forces during an anti-military protest at Al-Azhar University here, media reported. The clashes took place when the students tried to move their protest out of campus. The security forces fired tear gas to disperse the protesters, who were seen throwing rocks at the forces, Al Jazeera reported citing an interior ministry statement. The protest was held after the Anti-Coup Alliance called for a national uprising against the military-backed leadership that took power after president Mohamed Morsi was ousted July 3. Protesters were also demanding the release of political detainees. Similar demonstrations were held at Cairo University and in Abu Hamad district of El-Sharqiyah province. Al-Azhar is in the same Cairo suburb as the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, the scene of a former pro-Morsi sit-in where hundreds of protesters were killed as security forces broke up the sit-in.

Syrian government not to negotiate with 'terrorists'

Damascus, October 20: Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi has stressed on his country's readiness to participate in the planned Geneva II conference without preconditions, while stating that the Syrian government will not negotiate with " terrorists or Takfiris". While stressing that the "political solution has been an original choice for the Syrian government since the beginning of aggression on Syria," al-Zoubi said Syria will not negotiate with terrorists who took part in shedding the Syrians' blood or their supporters, whether they were Syrians or not, Xinhua reported. The Syrian government has, since the beginning of the crisis, accused regional and international powers of supporting the rebellion in Syria, which has turned into a sectarian conflict featuring al Qaeda-affiliated groups which are fighting against the Syrian administration. The minister's remarks were made just hours after Arab League ( AL) chief Nabil al-Arabi said the second Syria peace conference will be held in Geneva, Switzerland Nov. 23-24. Al-Arabi said he was informed of the date by visiting UN-AL joint special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi at the Pan-Arab body' s headquarters in Cairo Sunday. During their meeting, the two evaluated the regional and international efforts toward a political solution to the Syrian crisis, and discussed the current preparation for the conference and the contacts made with Syria's conflicting sides, especially with the national opposition coalition. Cairo is the first leg of Brahimi's regional tour in preparation for the long-awaited peace conference, which has been delayed multiple times. "The arrangements are being made to prepare for this conference, " Arabi told reporters after his meeting Brahimi. However, the AL chief admitted that "a lot of challenges should be tackled to convene the conference".