Number of Water Poisoning Cases in Iraqi Basra Rises to 111,000 Thought for Today MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The number of people poisoned by polluted drinking water in the Iraqi southern Basra province has reached 111,000, media re- Unfortunate is he who cannot gain a few sincere ported citing a statement by UN Iraqi envoy Mehdi Tamimi. Media reported in friends during his life and more unfortunate is August that 17,000 people were admitted to hospitals over illnesses contracted from polluted water. Tamimi called on the central government and local au- the one who has gained them and then lost them thorities to adopt a clear position on the issue, according to the Al Sumaria broadcaster. Mass protests erupted in Basra in July, and finding a solution to (through his deeds). the water crisis was one of the demands of protesters, who also called on the government to address unemployment and the electricity shortage. Amir al-Momeneen Ali (AS)

VOL NO: LV 10725 TEHRAN / Est.1959 Tuesday, October 16, 2018, Mehr 24, 1397, Safar 6, 1440 After Official Reopening Palestinian Shot Dead by Syrian Army Raises National Flag on Zionist Troops Crossing crossing of students along the bor- der. In addition to Quneitra, Jordanian officials announced a day earlier the reopening of Naseeb crossing, ’s main border crossing with , after a three-year closure due to the presence of foreign-backed terrorists. In July, Syrian troops recaptured the crossing, which terrorists had seized in 2015, disrupting the ma- This file photo shows armed Zionist troops at a crossing point in oc- jor trade route between Syria and cupied territories on October 15, 2018. Jordan, and oil-rich Per- AL-QUDS (Dispatches) – Zionist a 47-year-old Palestinian woman sian Gulf countries. troops shot dead a Palestinian who who died of a head injury on Fri- The reopening of the crossing is allegedly tried to stab one of them in day caused by what her husband a major boost to Jordan’s strug- the occupied West Bank on Monday, said were rocks thrown at their car gling economy amid price rises the military said. by Zionist settlers. and austerity measures which have The incident occurred at a bus The Shin Bet statement, in its ref- sparked the country’s worst pro- stop along a main highway near the erence to Biddya, made no mention tests in decades. large Jewish settlement of Ariel. of Friday’s incident, which the oc- “The Naseeb crossing is a vital “A Palestinian attempted to stab a cupying regime’s police are inves- lifeline for trade between the two soldier at the site. Our troops fired tigating. brotherly countries Jordan and Syr- at him and he was killed. There Palestinians began a wave of knife ia through them to other Arab coun- were no casualties among our forc- and car ramming attacks in the West tries,” said Jordan’s government es,” the military claimed in a state- Bank in 2015, after talks with the A national flag is seen on the Syrian side of Quneitra crossing from the Israeli-occupied Golan spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat. Heights on October 15, 2018. ment. regime collapsed. Such incidents The resumption of commercial There was no immediate Palestin- have become more sporadic. DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – The great victory achieved by the Syr- The UN force returned to the area trade through the crossing is a dip- ian comment. The regime’s Shin Palestinians want the West Bank, Syrian army has raised the national ian army against anti-government after Syrian government forces, lomatic victory for Syrian Presi- Bet internal “security” service said captured by the Zionist regime in flag over Quneitra crossing on the terrorists and the return of the UN backed by Russia, succeeded in re- dent Bashar al-Assad, whose gov- the assailant, whom it did not name, the 1967 Middle East war, to be border with the oc- peacekeepers to the Golan Heights. capturing territory near the Golan ernment is facing boycott by Arab was a resident of the West Bank vil- part of an independent state and cupied by the Zionist regime after In August, the United Nations Heights and driving out armed ter- states allied to Saudi Arabia. lage of Biddya and had no record of most countries consider Jewish nearly five years since it was taken Disengagement Observer Force rorist groups from a “de-escalation Syria has been gripped by for- anti-Israeli activity. settlements built in the area to be over by terrorist groups. (UNDOF) returned to the border zone.” eign-backed terrorism since March Biddya was the home village of illegal. In a statement to Syria’s official between Syria and the occupied SANA news agency said the re- 2011. The Syrian government says news agency SANA on Monday, territories and carried out a first opening of the crossing would the Zionist regime and its Western Over Alleged Terror Links Quneitra Governor Hammam patrol in the area, about four years ensure communication with Syr- and regional allies are aiding ter- Dbayat said the official reopening after it was shuttered due to terror- ian people in Golan, facilitate the rorist groups wreaking havoc in the of the key crossing came after the ist attacks. transfer of humanitarian aid and country. Suspends Over 250 Local Officials ANKARA (Press TV) – Turkey cused of being behind a long- Jordan, Syria Reopen Nassib Border Crossing has suspended more than 250 se- running campaign to topple the nior local officials over alleged ter- government via infiltrating the JABER (Dispatches) – The statement that normal traffic crossing in 2015 cut a crucial Syrian state television foot- ror links and activities unrelated country’s institutions, particularly border crossing between Jordan would not be allowed until a transit route for hundreds of age showed the Syrian side of to their posts, the interior ministry the army, police and the judiciary. and Syria officially opened to ci- later date. trucks a day transporting goods the crossing as being virtually says. Gulen has denounced the “despi- vilians and trade on Monday af- “We are fully ready to re- between Turkey and the Persian empty, with just a couple of ve- Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu cable putsch” and reiterated that ter being closed for three years. ceive passengers and transport Gulf, and Lebanon and the Per- hicles present. State news agen- removed 259 local neighborhood he had no role in it. The Nassib crossing opened of goods,” Imad Riyalat, head sian Gulf, in multi-billion dollar cy SANA said the logistical heads, known as “muhtar” in Turk- The international community an 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), a border of the Jaber crossing, told Re- annual trade. arrangements for opening the ish, from their posts, his office said and rights groups have been high- official at the Jaber checkpoint uters. “We expect the traffic to Since then, Syria’s only nor- crossing had been completed. in a statement on Monday. ly critical of the Turkish president on the Jordanian side told a Re- be slow now at the start, but in mally operating frontier cross- “A Jordanian citizen may The statement did not provide over the massive dismissals and uters reporter. By 11:15 a.m., coming days we expect passen- ing has been with Lebanon, leave for Syria in their own car further detail on what terror orga- the crackdown. the reporter had seen no traffic ger movement to pick up.” which itself has no other func- or as a regular passenger. Jor- nizations the officials were alleg- Last week, the interior ministry at the border other than one Syr- The Syrian government retook tioning land borders. danian cargo is also allowed to edly linked to. suspended 559 village guards, lo- ian businessman and a group of the area around the Nassib bor- Opening the border will also leave for Syria according to the The muhtar is the elected chief cals employed to combat Kurdish Jordanian traders who crossed der crossing with Jordan in July be important for Lebanon, Jordanian-Syrian agreement,” of a village or a city neighbor- militants, accused of links to ter- to the Syrian side. during a Russian-backed of- which relies on Syria for over- Petra said on Monday. hood, and responsible for day-to- ror organizations while 76 were Jordanian state news agency fensive to drive terrorists from land connections to all other Petra said Syrians entering day services for residents such as accused of people trafficking and Petra reported early on Mon- their stronghold in southwest countries because its only other Jordan must first obtain secu- registration. drug crimes. day that Jordan and Syria had Syria. The war in Syria began frontier is with the territories rity clearance from Jordanian Turkey has suspended or sacked Village guards, ethnic Kurds agreed to open the border to more than seven years ago. occupied by the Zionist regime, authorities, as has been the case over 140,000 public sector em- armed men paid by the government all in a change from an earlier The closure of the Nassib with which it has no ties. throughout the war in Syria. ployees because of alleged links supporting the Turkish state, have to a movement led by US-based the right to carry arms, to inform opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, on suspected separatist activities. whom the Ankara government ac- Turkish authorities detained 137 Three Saudi Soldiers Killed in Clashes With Yemeni Army cuses of having masterminded the people in country-wide operations SANAA (Dispatches) – At least three Saudi it has suffered during the war on Yemen. leased the video footage on Sunday as a proof July 2016 coup attempt against earlier this month over alleged soldiers have been killed in clashes with Yemeni A report by Reuters published in April last that the passengers were civilians. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. links to the PKK militant group. forces in border areas of the war-ravaged coun- year said that at least 400 Saudi soldiers had According to Yemenis sources, many wom- Tens of thousands of people have PKK militants regularly clash try, a report says. been killed in the cross-border fire since the en and children were among the casualties, also been arrested in Turkey on with Turkish forces in the Kurdish- Saudi Arabia’s pro-government Shohada start of the Saudi aggression against Yemen including five members of the same family suspicion of having links to Gulen dominated southeast of Turkey. al-Vajeb (Martyrs of the Military Service) more than two years ago. who were killed in the aerial attack on the and the failed coup. Turkey, along with the European group, which keeps track of Saudi military Meanwhile, a newly-surfaced video shows vehicle. During the 2016 botched putsch, Union and the United States, has personnel killed since 2009, announced the a mangled bus littered with groceries and a Saudi Arabia began its invasion in March a faction of the Turkish military declared the PKK a terrorist group news on its twitter account. woman’s hand bag after a Saudi airstrike on 2015 to restore power to Yemen’s former Ri- declared that it had seized control and banned it. The militant group The group identified the troopers as Abdul- Yemen’s Hudaydah Province that killed ci- yadh-allied officials. According to Yemen’s of the country and the government has been seeking an autonomous lah bin Mubarak, Ali Salem al-Ghamedi and vilians. Health Ministry, around 15,000 people have of Erdogan was no more in charge. Kurdish region since 1984. Mohammad bin Faye al-Za’bi, who were all The Saudi planes targeted two buses that died since the war began. The attempt was, however, sup- More than 40,000 people have killed on the “southern borders.” were carrying civilians fleeing the port city Hudaydah has become a flashpoint of the pressed a few hours later. been killed during the three-de- Saudi authorities rarely admit the kingdom’s of Hudaydah, killing at least 17 civilians and war being waged by Riyadh and its allies Ankara has since accused Gulen cade conflict between Turkey and military casualties. The kingdom has a policy wounding 20 others. against the Arab world’s poorest nation. It of having orchestrated the coup. the autonomy-seeking militant of withholding information on the casualties Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement re- came under a concerted The opposition figure is also ac- group.