Page 39 - 072817

Groton Daily Independent
Friday, July 28, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 028 ~ 39 of 54
still trapped in areas controlled by IS.
The Observatory said 29 people, including eight children, were killed in airstrikes on the city on Wednes-
day. The activist-operated Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently group said 36 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in airstrikes and shelling.
The reports could not be independently con rmed.
In central Syria, ghting edged closer to the IS stronghold of Sukhna, the last major town held by IS in the Homs province, according to the Observatory and the government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media.
SCMM said Syrian troops killed and wounded a number of IS ghters in battles near a mountain that overlooks the area. The Observatory said troops are now about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Sukhna, which has been held by IS since the summer of 2015.
Near the border with Lebanon, a cease- re went into effect between the militant Hezbollah group and al-Qaida-linked ghters on Thursday morning as negotiations were underway to reach a deal that would eventually lead to the evacuation of Syrian ghters to the northwestern rebel-held province of Idlib.
The truce followed a six-day offensive by Hezbollah and Syrian troops who besieged al-Qaida-linked ghters in a small border area.
Senior Lebanese security of cial, Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who is leading the negotiations, told reporters in Beirut that the details of the deal will remain secret, adding that ghters and their families who decide to leave for Idlib will do it under the supervision of Lebanese authorities.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV said the deal will include the release of ve members of the Shiite group who are held by insurgents in Syria.
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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Marine dog with cancer gets tear- lled farewell
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of people in Michigan came together to say a tear- lled nal goodbye to a cancer-stricken dog who served three tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines.
Cena the 10-year-old black lab received a hero’s farewell Wednesday before being euthanized at the USS LST 393, a museum ship in Muskegon, and carried off in a ag-draped cof n.
Cena, who was recently diagnosed with terminal bone cancer, was a bomb-sniffer for the Marines until his retirement in 2014. The celebration for Cena was organized by his owner, Lance Cpl. Jeff Young, who was paired with the dog in 2009 and 2010 while on a combat tour in Afghanistan and who adopted him in 2014. Cena then became DeYoung’s service dog to help him with his post-traumatic stress disorder.
“My whole adult life I’ve had Cena,” DeYoung said. “When I was 19 overseas learning how to be respon- sible, I had Cena. And now I’m 27 and I’m having to say goodbye to one of the biggest pieces of my life.” DeYoung said he has carried Cena across rivers and thrown his body over him while under heavy re from the Taliban. He said Cena kept DeYoung’s body warm during cold desert nights, and comforted him
when he lost seven friends in three weeks.
As part of the celebration, DeYoung took his dog on one last ride in a topless Jeep that was decorated
and named “Cancer Response Team.”
“It started off with my basically wanting to go to a dealership and wanting to borrow a Jeep for a day
and really small to a community tribute or a community parade for him and he’s truly deserved it all,” DeYoung said. “The support, all the love people are giving him, he can see it and he can feel it.”
The ceremony was attended by the U.S. Marine Corps League, Michigan State Police, Muskegon County Sheriff’s Of ce, Muskegon City Police, Muskegon Fire Department and of cers from several other depart- ments, including a canine of cer named Rex. Attendees gave one nal three-volley salute with “Taps” playing in the background for Cena, who was wearing a decorated blue Marine vest.
“Lord, it is with heavy hearts that we are sending another Marine to you today,” said chaplain Wesley