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THULQADA 7, 1433 AH
Israeli war on Iran will happen: Guards chief
40 PAGES
NO: 15577
150 FILS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2012
‘Aggression will spell doom for of Jewish state’
UAE Islamists deny forming military wing DUBAI: An Emirati Islamist group yesterday denied press reports that it has formed a military wing and that it was receiving funds from abroad to set up an Islamic state in the United Arab Emirates. The banned Al-Islah, or Reform, association is “pacifist, civilian and moderate and has never, and will never, choose to take up arms,” as part of efforts to push for reforms in the Gulf federation, the group said in a statement received by AFP. On Thursday, Al-Khaleej newspaper reported that Islamists detained in the United Arab Emirates had confessed to forming a secret organization that included a military wing aimed at establishing an Islamist state. Members of Al-Islah allegedly said they planned to topple the UAE regime, a federation of seven hereditary sheikhdoms, the newspaper said citing unnamed sources close to the investigation. “Investigations have revealed that the structure of the organization included committees and local branches in every emirate, as well as consultative and executive councils and a military wing,” said the report. It said the group admitted a plot aimed at “seizing power and establishing a religious state or a Caliphate”-the political system improvised by early Muslims after the death of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) in the 7th century. The organization had also been acting “in highlevel coordination with the organizations of the Muslim Brotherhood in three other Gulf states,” the Continued on Page 13
LILLE: A Muslim woman speaks with a French gendarme during an identity control yesterday as police enforced a ban on protests over an anti-Islam film. (Inset) A baby girl plays with a placard that reads “the name of Mohammad is dear to us than anything,” as she is held by her mother during a demonstration against a film ridiculing Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) yesterday in Islamabad. — AFP/AP (See Page 10)
Snipers sow panic in Aleppo; 85 killed ALEPPO, Syria: Troops clashed with rebels near the centre of Aleppo yesterday as snipers sowed panic in Syria’s second city, residents told AFP as monitors reported at least 85 people killed nationwide. The fighting raged in Suleiman AlHalabi, one of Aleppo’s main streets, and the army prevented residents from venturing in the area as steady gunfire rattled
the district. Violence nationwide left at least 85 people — 34 civilians, 28 soldiers and 23 rebels-killed yesterday, according to a watchdog. “The clashes broke out two days ago,” said Salah who fled his home on Suleiman Al-Halabi with his wife and three children on Friday for a safer location two streets away in neighboring Midan district. Continued on Page 13
ALEPPO: A Syrian rebel aims his rifle during fighting to root out government forces from their positions in the Amariya neighborhood of Aleppo yesterday. — AFP
Pakistan offers $100,000 bounty for film-maker ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani government minister yesterday offered a $100,000 bounty for the death of the maker of the anti-Islam film produced in the US that sparked violent protests across the Muslim world. “I announce today that this blasphemer who has abused the holy prophet, if somebody will kill him, I will give that person a prize of $100,000,” Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour told reporters in the northwestern city of Peshawar. “I also invite Taleban and Al-Qaeda brothers to be partners in this noble deed,” he said, adding that given the chance he would kill the Haji Ghulam film-maker with his own Ahmed Bilour hand and “then they can hang me”. His comments came a day after violent nationwide protests against the “Innocence of Muslims” film left 21 people dead. Thousands of Islamist activists in Pakistan staged demonstrations again yesterday but there was no repeat of the previous day’s widespread violence. Protests against the film, which mocks Islam and was made by extremist Christians, have erupted across the Muslim world, leading to more than 50 deaths since the first demonstrations on September 11. — AP (See Page 11)
Max 43º Min 25º High Tide 04:04 & 18:14 Low Tide 11:07 & 22:38
TEHRAN: An Israeli war on Iran “will eventually happen” but the Jewish state will be destroyed as a result, the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said yesterday, according to reports. “War will happen but it is not certain where and when,” General Mohammad Ali Jafari said, according to the ISNA and Fars news agencies. “The shameful and cancerous tumor that is Israel is seeking war against us, but it is not known when that war will happen. They now consider war as the only way to confront us, but they are so stupid that their (US) masters should stop them,” he said, speaking during an armed forces exhibition in Tehran. “If they begin (aggression), it will spell their destruction and will be the end of the story,” he said. “This (war) will eventually happen as the (Islamic) revolution is moving rapidly towards its goals, and they cannot tolerate this. And finally, they will impose a war situation.” The comments were the first time Iran has acknowledged the probability of open armed conflict with Israel. Previously, it has dismissed such a scenario as bluff on the part of Israel’s leaders. Tensions, though, have risen significantly in recent weeks, with Israel threatening to unleash air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel believes Iran’s nuclear program to be aimed at developing an atomic weapons capability that would menace its own existence, and its current status as the Middle East’s sole, if undeclared, nuclear weapons power. Iran insists its program is exclusively for peaceful, civilian ends, but it is locked in a deepening standoff with the UN nuclear watchdog and the UN Security Council over the issue. Jafari said that, “even if they (the Israelis) act rationally, this incident will happen.” He added: “Everyone knows that they cannot confront the power of the Islamic republic ... But there is no guarantee of rationality, and it is possible that they will go crazy” and attack. Continued on Page 13
Tide shifts to Obama in most crucial states DES MOINES, Iowa: In a presidential race seemingly frozen in place for months, the advantage has shifted toward President Barack Obama after a series of miscues by Mitt Romney, punctuated by the Republican challenger’s comments about people who pay no income tax. Despite a continuing gray economic sky and unrest in the Mideast, the president has edged ahead of Romney in some of the most competitive states, including Iowa and Virginia, and forced Romney to redouble efforts in Florida
and Ohio, without which he has little chance of becoming president. With about six weeks left before Election Day and early voting under way in some states, Romney faces a problematic map, a ticking clock and a campaign demeanor that has failed to click with many voters. Obama’s momentum did not come overnight. It built over several weeks in which Romney hit some potholes while the president made few errors and benefited from previously unseen advantages Continued on Page 13
President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One yesterday in Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland en route to Wisconsin to campaign. — AP
in the
news
Egypt doctor says Mubarak is well CAIRO: Egypt’s chief forensic doctor has told a staterun newspaper that Hosni Mubarak has never suffered a stroke and that he is not in critical condition, contradicting earlier medical reports that the former president’s health was deteriorating. There have been conflicting reports about the health of the 84-year old Mubarak, who was sentenced in June to life in prison for failing to stop the killing of hundreds of protesters during last year’s uprising. Mubarak was abruptly transferred to a military hospital after three weeks in prison amid reports that his heart had stopped. The state news agency said at the time that Mubarak had suffered a stroke.
Iraq to search for Syria-bound aircraft
84-year-old former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is seen in the defendant’s cage. —AP
BAGHDAD: An Iraqi government official says authorities will conduct random searches of Syriabound Iranian aircraft on suspicion that they might be carrying weapons to the war-torn nation. Iran is an ally to Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose military has battled opposition forces during an 18month-old uprising that has become a civil war. Iraqi spokesman Ali Al-Moussawi said yesterday that Baghdad has informed Iranian authorities that Iraq will be inspecting Iranian planes, flying to Syria. US officials have accused Baghdad of allowing Iran fly weapons to Assad’s forces through Iraqi airspace. Iraq denies the claims.
29 held during Bahrain protest DUBAI: Bahrain arrested 29 people in the commercial district of the capital Manama on Friday as anti-government protesters marched in the city centre in defiance of a government ban, state media said late on Friday. Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is based, has been in political turmoil since a protest movement dominated by majority Muslims erupted in February 2011 demanding the monarchy enact democratic reforms. The demonstration was organized by an opposition group called February 14, said Jasim Husain, one of the leaders of the main opposition group, Wefaq. It came two weeks after protesters and police clashed in the city centre for the first time since last year, following months of demonstrations in other parts of Manama and elsewhere in the country.