Hostage Carnage Leaves 20 Dead in Bangladesh
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SUBSCRIPTION SUNDAY, JULY 3, 2016 RAMADAN 28, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Interior Ministry Man shoots dead Wales thump Taleban leader Ramadan TImings probes police five, injures 20 Belgium, book warns US ‘end Emsak: 03:08 station video in Serbian café first ever semis the occupation’ Fajer: 03:18 Shrooq: 04:53 Dohr: 11:52 Asr: 15:26 Maghreb: 18:51 3 9 20 11 Eshaa: 20:23 Hostage carnage leaves Min 35º Max 46º 20 dead in Bangladesh High Tide 04:20 & 17:50 Low Tide Kuwaitis safe; Islamic State claims responsibility 09:59 40 PAGES NO: 16923 150 FILS DHAKA: Islamist militants killed 20 people, most of them foreigners, inside an upmarket restaurant in Qiyam prayers held amid tight security Bangladesh’s capital, before security forces stormed the building and ended a 12-hour standoff yesterday. Islamic State said it was responsible for one of the Interior, Awqaf ministers join worshippers • Attendance muted most brazen attacks in the South Asian nation’s histo- ry, but that claim has yet to be confirmed. It marks a By Shakir Reshamwala major escalation in a campaign by militants over the past 18 months that had targeted mostly individuals KUWAIT: Thousands of worshippers converged on advocating a secular or liberal lifestyle in majority- the Grand Mosque early yesterday to spend the Muslim Bangladesh. night of the 27th of Ramadan in prayer and suppli- The gunmen, who stormed the busy restaurant in cation, as Kuwait is on heightened security alert amid turmoil in the region. But the number of wor- Dhaka’s diplomatic area late on Friday night, ordered shippers was markedly fewer than in previous years, all Bangladeshis to stand up before they began killing which used to witness the faithful foreigners, a source briefed on the police investigation praying on the streets, and vehicles said. Among the dead was the wife of an Italian busi- caught in a snarl stretching for kilo- nessman killed by a machete. She was found by her meters. husband after he spent all night hiding behind a tree The low attendance was possibly outside the cafe while the gunmen were inside, due to tightened security measures Agnese Barolo, a friend who lives in Dhaka and spoke and multiple layers of security to him, told Reuters. checks. Worshippers had to pass Seven Italians were in the cafe when the attack through metal detectors and body started, including several working in the garment pat downs before entering the industry, Italian media have reported, while seven mosque under the watchful gaze of Japanese citizens were unaccounted for. The killing of security forces. Streets surrounding the mosque foreigners will likely shatter the confidence of the were cordoned off, and traffic was light. Huge mar- expatriate community in Bangladesh, many of whom quees that were pitched outside the mosque in pre- work for multinationals in the country’s $26 billion vious years to house worshippers were not set up garment sector that accounts for around 15 percent of this year, as Ramadan tents were banned by the KUWAIT: Kuwaiti men pray at the Sunni Grand Mosque in Kuwait City yesterday during the Laylat Al-Qadr, or the economy. Bangladesh is the world’s second largest interior ministry this year. Eid prayers in open apparel exporter after China. Thirteen hostages were grounds have also been canceled this year due to Night of Destiny. (Inset) Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah (second right) and Minister rescued, including one Japanese and two Sri Lankans, security concerns. of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Yaqoub Al-Sanea (center) pray at the Sunni Grand Mosque in Kuwait City yester- the army said. Continued on Page 13 day. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Continued on Page 13 Ramadan Kareem Eighteen injured in Makkah stampede Ramadan experience; RIYADH: Eighteen pilgrims have been injured in a required admission to hospital, the newspaper cited a 2,000 pilgrims in the worst disaster to ever strike the stampede near Islam’s holiest site, Saudi media report- health official as saying. Every year, hundreds of thou- annual ritual. According to figures from foreign offi- An act of obedience ed yesterday, as the kingdom continues to review safe- sands of pilgrims flock to Makkah to carry out the less- cials, at least 2,297 pilgrims died. Saudi Arabia issued a ty after a deadly crush during last year’s hajj. The inci- er umra pilgrimage during Ramadan-especially during death toll of 769. Newspapers reported on Friday that, By Teresa Lesher dent happened on Friday night near the Grand its last 10 days. They include the Night of Destiny, among new security measures, haj pilgrims this year amadan is like spring cleaning to me: an annual ritual that Mosque in Makkah, the Al-Riyadh newspaper said, as when the angel Gabriel is believed to have given the will have to wear an electronic safety bracelet to store results in the cleansing of the body, the airing out of the Muslims gathered in large numbers to mark the Night Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) the verses of the Quran. their personal information, including address and Rmind, and the beautification of the soul. It provides the of Destiny, one of the high points of the holy fasting The incident comes as Saudi authorities continue to medical records. The haj and umra pilgrimages bring opportunity for reorganization and fine tuning of the soul that is month of Ramadan. unveil new safety measures for this year’s haj in millions of Muslims to the holy places in Saudi Arabia needed periodically to remind us of our roles and responsibilities All the injured were treated at the scene and none September. A crush at last year’s haj killed more than every year. — AFP and to commit to a fresh start in our faith. Even though it’s been more than 35 years since my first Ramadan, I still gain new insights and lessons each year. In a purely physical sense, fasting provides an opportunity to Anonymous SMS threatens, quit or at least interrupt unhealthy habits. Caffeine, sugar and nico- tine cannot be consumed throughout the day as is the habit of many people. When fasting ends at sunset, the body craves plenty warns Iranian journalists of liquids and a nutritious and balanced meal. By the end of Ramadan I usually have accomplished a healthy weight loss and TEHRAN: Hundreds of journalists in Iran have received said on social media that they would lodge complaints. improved eating habits. However, compared to the spiritual bene- an anonymous text message warning against contact Iran bans its citizens from having any contact with fits of Ramadan, this is insignificant. with “hostile” organizations outside the country, the Persian-language media based overseas, including the My first fasts of Ramadan were more an exercise in obedience ISNA news agency reported. “All contact and collabora- BBC’s Persian service and Voice of America. In April, an than anything else. Being a new experience and in the summer tion with hostile elements based abroad, by mail or oth- Iranian court sentenced four journalists arrested in months as well, fasting was a hardship that I endured because it er methods of communication, is a crime and will be November 2015 to between five and 10 years in prison was required by my new faith. The Quran, which was first revealed brought to justice. This SMS is the last warning,” the for “colluding” with foreign governments and harming in the month of Ramadan, instructs, “O you who believe! Fasting is message said. Iranian media reported that as many as “national security”. The journalists, some of whom work ordained for you as it was ordained for those before you that you 700 journalists and public figures received the SMS on for reformist media outlets, were part of a group arrest- might attain piety.” (2:183) Friday evening. ed by the elite Revolutionary Guard, which accused As required for every adult Muslim, I abstained from all physical Lawmaker Ali Motahari said the message had “creat- them of being “members of a network of infiltrators satisfaction during the hours of fasting: food, drink, smoking and ed worry among journalists.” “The intelligence ministry linked to Western governments” it said were hostile to sexual intimacy from the break of dawn until sunset every day of cyber-police must find the origin of this SMS and inform the Islamic republic. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. My first the public, and the judiciary must act against those Iran last month accused a British-Iranian woman, an Ramadan at age 19 was difficult as I did not have the benefit of responsible,” he said. “The Press Supervisory Board is employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation which early training as my own children now do. It was a new experience responsible for the media and other bodies must not supports journalists around the world, of seeking to ALEPPO: A man wraps bodies in shrouds following a to me and I was not used to denying myself anything, especially interfere.” Some journalists who received the message Continued on Page 13 reported airstrike at a market in the rebel-held district food and water, nor was I raised with fasting being a social norm or of Tariq Al-Bab, in the northern city of Aleppo. — AFP expectation. However, I firmly believed in the authenticity of the Quran as God’s word and the role of Muhammad (PBUH) as God’s messen- 31 killed in Syria ger. I reasoned that if I believed in this, then I must also accept everything prescribed and prohibited for the Muslim by these two BEIRUT: Syrian government shelling of a rebel-held sources.