Page 9 - Aruba Today

WORLD NEWS 9
Friday 11 December 2015

Saudi foreign minister criticizes Iran at Gulf Arab summit

ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI ers after the two-day sum- Riyadh is also hosting a ic Republic’s policies have However, the official state-
Associated Press mit in Riyadh concluded Syrian opposition summit hindered diplomatic ties. ment from the six-nation
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) that “Iran is playing a nega- that gathered more than His comments point to the Gulf Cooperation Coun-
— Gulf Arab leaders meet- tive role in most regional is- 100 representatives from struggle for regional su- cil refrained from directly
ing in Saudi Arabia reiter- sues.” He said he had only various factions and rebel premacy between the Sun- criticizing Iran, but instead
ated Thursday their calls for met for “a few minutes” groups, in an effort to unite ni kingdom and the Shiite condemned terrorism and
a political solution to the with his Iranian counterpart their ranks ahead of pro- republic that has played called on Yemen’s warring
wars in Yemen and Syria, in Vienna last month on the posed peace talks with out in conflicts in Bahrain, sides to reach a political so-
but the kingdom’s foreign sidelines of a meeting on Syrian President Bashar Lebanon, Syria and Ye- lution. The GCC also called
minister went a step further, Syria’s nearly five-year war, Assad’s government. men, where Saudi Arabia for a political transitional
criticizing Iran’s role in those in which Saudi Arabia and Al-Jubeir said the kingdom is leading an Arab military period in Syria that eventu-
conflicts. Iran are backing opposite hopes for better relations intervention against Shiite ally leads to free and fair
Adel al-Jubeir told report- sides of the conflict. with Iran, but that the Islam- rebels backed by Iran. multiparty elections. q

IS destroys bridge as Iraqi forces close in on Ramadi

Iraqi security forces take combat positions on the front line with Islamic State group militants in SUSANNAH GEORGE from the city center to the
Ramadi, capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, 70 miles west of Baghdad, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015. Fol- Associated Press northwest. “Daesh forces
lowing significant advances on the Anbar provincial capital Ramadi Tuesday, Iraqi forces are now BAGHDAD (AP) — Besieged trying to stop our progress
preparing to push into the city center from the southwest and the north. Islamic State militants in the bombed the last bridge
Iraqi city of Ramadi de- which connects the city
(AP Photo/Osama Sami) stroyed a lock on the Eu- center,” he said, referring
phrates River that served to IS by its Arabic language
as a bridge as government acronym. The locks’ de-
forces on Thursday sought struction leaves some 300
to cement their gains IS fighters trapped in the
around the militant-held center of the city, he add-
city west of Baghdad. ed. Col. Steven Warren,
Since Iraq’s military the spokesman for the U.S.-
launched its push on Ra- led coalition in Baghdad,
madi earlier this month, the said the destruction of the
militants have destroyed bridge may prove to be a
all other bridges leading tactical mistake for IS.
into the city, both on the “What they’ve also done
Euphrates and its tributary, now is they’ve really cut
the Warar River. Iraqi Maj themselves off,” he said.
Gen. Ismail al-Mahlawi, “So the fighters left on the
the head of military opera- north side of the river can’t
tions in the western Anbar retreat and the fighters
province, said the lock on the south side of the
destroyed Thursday was river can’t send reinforce-
the last remaining bridge ments.” q

Triple bombings in northeastern town in Syria kill 15

BEIRUT (AP) — Triple car the town of Tal Tamr, add- of wounded and missing. the most effective fighting captured the town of
bombs exploded in a town ing that the vehicles were The Observatory, which re- force against the Islamic Mheen and surrounding
in northeastern Syria’s pre- packed with large amounts lies on a network of activists State group, although villages from the extremists
dominantly Kurdish prov- of explosives and signifi- on the ground, said the ex- there was no immediate two weeks ago as part of a
ince of Hassakeh on Thurs- cantly damaged shops ploding vehicles were likely claim of responsibility for general offensive to secure
day, killing 15 civilians and and businesses. tankers, causing the mas- the attacks. the highway connecting
wounding dozens more, The Britain-based Syr- sive explosions. Earlier Thursday, the Islamic Damascus to the country’s
Syria’s state-run news ian Observatory for Human Tal Tamr is an overwhelm- State group retook a stra- northwest.
agency said. Rights said at least 12 peo- ingly Kurdish town where tegically important town The loss deals a setback
It said one of the explosions ple were killed in the bomb- the main Kurdish fighting in the central province of to the Syrian army’s strat-
took place near a medi- ings, adding that the death force in Syria — People’s Homs from government egy to fortify the corridor
cal center and another toll was likely to rise be- Protection Units, or YPG — forces, activists said. with support from Russian
at a crowded market in cause of the large number is in control. The group is The government had re- airpower.q