Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Friday 12 May 2017
Hamas leader announces arrest in shooting of commander

By FARES AKRAM shore up its standing with conference. He declined a shadowy senior figure in At the time, the group
Associated Press the public at a time when to identify the suspect but Hamas’ military wing, has quickly blamed Israel and
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) it has been weakened by implied he was a Palestin- shocked the militant group imposed a lockdown on
— Hamas’ newly elected the shooting, an economic ian who had collaborated that has ruled Gaza with Gaza. It set up military-style
supreme leader on Thurs- crisis and rising tensions with with Israel. an iron fist for the past de- checkpoints throughout
day announced the arrest the rival Palestinian Author- “All the evidence we have cade. the small, seaside territory,
of the man believed re- ity. Accusing Israel of or- indicates that the perpe- Faqha, 38, was killed in the sealed Gaza’s border with
sponsible for the mysterious chestrating the assassina- trator committed this crime garage of his apartment Israel and rounded up hun-
shooting death of one of his tion, Hamas declared vic- based on orders from the Is- building on March 24, short- dreds of people for ques-
organization’s top military tory and scheduled cele- raeli occupation,” Haniyeh ly after he had dropped off tioning.
commanders in March, a bratory rallies across Gaza. said. More details will be re- his family. Hamas said the Israel has not responded to
breakthrough in a case Ismail Haniyeh, who was leased in the coming days, killer used a weapon with a Hamas’ accusations that
that has embarrassed and named the head of Hamas’ he added, noting that the silencer, allowing him to es- it was behind the killing. Is-
shocked the Islamic militant political bureau last week, suspect would face execu- cape undetected before rael’s Foreign Ministry said
group. announced the arrest at tion. Faqha’s body was discov- Thursday it would have no
Hamas hopes the arrest will a hastily scheduled news The death of Mazen Faqha, ered an hour later. comment.q

Coalition: Capture of IS-held town undermines militant group

By SARAH EL DEEB on Raqqa, some 25 miles
Associated Press (40 kilometers) to the east.
BEIRUT (AP) — The capture In a statement, coalition
of a key Syrian town and a spokesman Col. John Dor-
nearby dam from Islamic rian described it as “yet
State group militants under- another victory” for Amer-
mines the extremist group’s ica’s ground force partners
ability to defend its de in the fight against IS.
facto capital, Raqqa and He earlier said that af-
disrupts its ability to plan at- ter Tabqa is secured, the
tacks in Western countries, forces will continue opera-
the U.S.-led international tions to “isolate and seize
coalition said Thursday. Raqqa.” The capture of
Tabqa and the nearby Tabqa by the Kurdish-led
dam, Syria’s largest, were alliance known as the Syr-
seized a day earlier by a ian Democratic Forces
coalition of Kurdish-led came a day after the
fighters in an offensive Trump administration an-
that lasted nearly seven nounced it will supply the
weeks, with the backing of force with heavier weap-
airstrikes from the interna- ons, a decision that infuri-
tional coalition. The fight- ated Turkey, which views
ers were clearing the town This photo shows fighters from the Kurdish-led Syria Democratic Forces, patrolling on a street in the main Kurdish militia in
and the dam Thursday of Tabqa, northern Syria. Syrian Kurdish-led forces say they are carrying out mine-clearing opera- the group as an exten-
land mines, the militants’ tions at the country’s largest dam and the nearby town of Tabqa a day after seizing them from sion of an outlawed rebel
Islamic State militants. Concerns were raised earlier this year that the dam could be damaged
favorite weapon. in the fighting or degraded by lack of maintenance, or that the extremists might sabotage it to movement fighting an in-
The fall of Tabqa also de- flood the surrounding areas. (Hawar News Agency, via AP) surgency in its southeast.
nies militants “a key coordi- The SDF has captured large
nation hub” that had been attacks against the West, as a base for the planning in northern Syria. swathes of land in northern
used by the group’s foreign the coalition said in a state- such operations after the The capture of Tabqa sets Syria from IS with the help
fighters since 2013 to plan ment. Tabqa had served militants lost other territories the stage for an advance of U.S.-led airstrikes. q

Iraqi forces move to surround Mosul’s Old City, held by IS

By QASSIM ZAHRA Iraqi forces struggled to Wednesday. Dorrian said her legs was rushed away its control. Today a fraction
Associated Press push into the Old City from over the past week Iraqi on the hood of an armored of western Mosul is the last
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S.- the south. forces retook more than vehicle. significant urban terrain IS
backed Iraqi forces were As Iraqi army and federal 30 square kilometers (12 The operation to retake holds in Iraq.
moving to surround Mo- police forces push from the square miles) of terrain from Mosul began in October, The U.N. estimates some
sul’s Old City on Thursday, north, the country’s spe- IS. and the eastern half of the 350,000 people remain
a week after launching a cial forces are moving to- Hundreds of civilians could city was retaken earlier this trapped in IS-held parts
fresh push to drive Islamic ward the Old City through be seen fleeing the fighting year. of western Mosul. Clashes
State militants from areas Mosul’s western industrial Thursday. The battle for the more over the past week have
they still hold, according to neighborhoods. A Mosul woman was given densely populated western forced more than 11,000 ci-
an Iraqi officer overseeing “The multi-axis advance ... a cigarette by an Iraqi sol- half, including the Old City, vilians to flee.
the operation. has presented the enemy dier, another was hand- has been slower. Mosul fell Dorrian said while IS defens-
Iraqi special forces Lt. Gen. with more dilemmas than ed a cane. A handful of to IS nearly three years ago es in Mosul are “degraded”
Sami al-Arathi said battle they can react to,” U.S.- wounded civilians were when the militant group each day, it is still impos-
plans had changed and led coalition spokesman evacuated from the front blitzed into Iraq from neigh- sible to predict how much
a northern advance was John Dorrian told reporters line, and a woman who ap- boring Syria and took nearly longer the operation will
launched last week after during a press conference peared to have lost both a third of the country under take.q