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SATURDAY 27 JUNE 2015 • 10 Ramadan 1436 • Volume 20 Number 6474 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Kuwait, Tunisia attacks kill 64 27 killed, 227 wounded as bomber targets Kuwait Shia mosque Gunman kills 37 at Tunisia beach KUWAIT CITY: From a mass wounded to hospital. shooting at a Tunisian beach IS named the bomber Abu resort, a suicide bomber tar- Qatar slams Suleiman Al Muwahed and said in geting a mosque in Kuwait a statement on social media that and a decapitated body in a he had targeted a “temple of the French town, a wave of grisly attacks rejectionists” — a term it gener- attacks yesterday claimed at DOHA: Qatar condemned ally uses to refer to Shias whom least 64 lives and injured over attacks in Kuwait, Tunisia it regards as heretics. 250, shocking the world days and France and said the crim- On Tuesday, IS had urged fol- after the Islamic State (IS) inal acts are contrary to moral lowers to step up attacks during urged supporters to carry out and human values and contra- Ramadan against Christians, Ramadan attacks. dict religions and teachings Shias and Sunnis fighting with There was no apparent link of Islam and its principles of a US-led coalition against the between the attacks, but IS tolerance. ultra-hardline jihadist group. claimed the suicide bombing at In a statement, the Foreign The health ministry said the Shia mosque in Kuwait in Ministry reiterated Qatar’s Kuwait’s blood bank had opened which 27 people were killed, and solidarity with the countries additional centres to receive Islamist flags found at the site of and their people and support donations and urged citizens the French attack. for all security measures taken with non-urgent medical needs The suicide bomber blew him- to preserve their security and to avoid emergency units. self up in the packed mosque stability. Kuwait declared a day of in Kuwait city during Friday The ministry reiterated mourning today. Emir H H prayers, the health ministry and Qatar’s stance which rejects vio- Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah witnesses said, the first suicide lence in all its forms and mani- visited the mosque and said the bombing at a Shia mosque and festations whatever its motives bombing violated the sanctity of worst militant attack in the coun- and causes. Ramadan and Islamic law forbid- try for many years. It extended Qatar’s condo- ding the shedding of the blood of Shias comprise between 15 and lences to the families of the innocents. “National unity is a 30 percent of the predominantly victims, the governments of protective fence for the security Sunni state, where members of Kuwait, Tunisia and France and of the nation,” he said. Security forces and worshippers gather outside Imam Sadeq Mosque following the blast in Al Sawaber, Kuwait both communities are known to their people. QNA Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber City, yesterday. live side by side with little appar- Al Mubarak Al Sabah visited the ent friction. The IS, which on suicide bomber’s body that he was wounded at Emiri Hospital and and wounding 36 in the country’s RIU group said most of 565 to the beach he used his weapon.” Monday marks the first anniver- young. He walked into the prayer condemned the bombing as an worst attack in recent history. guests were from Britain and In Saint-Quentin Fallavier sary of its “caliphate” straddling hall during sujood (kneeling in attempt to jeopardise Kuwait’s There was no immediate claim “central European countries”. in France, a delivery man with Iraq and Syria, claimed respon- prayer). He looked ...in his 20s, national unity. of responsibility for the attack. British Foreign Secretary Philip known Islamist connections sibility for the attack, which also I saw him,” he said by telephone. Minister of Justice, Religious Witnesses described scenes of Hammond said in London five beheaded his boss and left the wounded 227 people according to “The explosion was hard. The Endowments and Islamic Affairs panic after the shooting at the Britons had been killed and body, daubed with Arabic writing, the interior ministry, in the dis- ceiling and wall got destroyed,” Yaqoub Al Sanea said that despite five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba warned that the toll could rise. at the site of a US-owned gas fac- trict of Sawaber in the eastern he said, adding over 2,000 people the attack, “Kuwait will remain Hotel on the outskirts of Sousse, In Dublin, Foreign Minister tory in the southeast before try- part of the Kuwaiti capital. from the Shia Ja’afari sect were an oasis of security for all groups about 140km south of Tunis. Charles Flanagan said an Irish ing to blow up the complex. MP Khalil Al Salih, who was praying. The mosque preacher of Kuwaiti society and all sects. “There are 37 dead and 36 woman was among the dead. He rammed his delivery van at the mosque when the attack was quoted by state news agency The government is taking pro- wounded. Some of the wounded Secretary of State for Security into a warehouse containing occurred, said worshippers were KUNA as saying the attack tar- cedures to protect prayers and are in a critical condition,” health Rafik Chelly told Mosaique FM gas canisters, triggering an ini- kneeling in prayer when the geted worshippers at the back of mosques”. ministry communications chief that the gunman was a Tunisian tial explosion, and was arrested bomber walked into Imam Al the mosque towards the end of In Tunisia, a man pulled a gun Chokri Nafti said. Interior min- student unknown to authorities. minutes later as he tried to open Sadeq Mosque and detonated his the prayer. hidden inside a beach umbrella istry spokesman Mohamed Ali “He entered by the beach, dressed canisters containing flammable explosives, destroying walls and Security forces sealed off the and opened fire at the packed Aroui said: “The assailant was like someone who was going to chemicals, prosecutors said. the ceiling. perimeter of the mosque while Mediterranean resort of Port el killed.” swim, and had a beach umbrella AGENCIES “It was obvious from the rescue workers carried the Kantaoui, massacring 37 people A spokesman for Spain’s with his gun in it. When he came See also pages 5 & 8 RAF hosts community Iftar Lankan president Qatar ranked third in world sacks parliament COLOMBO: Sri Lanka natural gas reserves President Maithripala Sirisena DOHA: Qatar ranks third in the world in terms of natural gas yesterday ordered the imme- reserves, said a report by British Petroleum (BP). According to BP’s diate dismissal of parliament, ‘Statistical Review of World Energy’ report, Qatar holds about 13.1 clearing the way for a snap elec- percent of the world’s total proven gas reserves. tion 10 months ahead of sched- Iran possesses the world’s largest proven natural gas reserves with ule, a government spokesman 18.2 percent. Russia has the second largest gas reserves with 17.4 per- said. cent and the Middle East holds about 42.7 percent of total gas reserves. “The president signed a The report said global energy consumption slowed sharply to an gazette notification a short while increase of 0.9 percent last year. Slow growth of energy demand was ago, dissolving parliament with largely due to China’s economy moving away from energy-intensive effect from midnight,” Rajitha sectors. THE PENINSULA Senaratne said. AFP Vatican in deal with ‘Palestine State’ VATICAN CITY: The Vatican signed its first treaty with the “State of Palestine” yesterday, calling for “courageous decisions” to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and backing a two-state solution. The treaty, which made official the Vatican’s de facto recognition of Palestine since 2012, angered Israel, which called it “a hasty step (that) damages the prospects for advancing a peace agreement”. Israel also said it could have implications on its future diplomatic Members of Sri Lankan community attend an Iftar organised by RAF at Al Arabi Stadium in Doha yesterday. relations with the Vatican. Report on page 2 Kammutty VP The accord, which concerns the Catholic Church’s activities in areas RAMADAN controlled by Palestinian Authority, also confirmed the Vatican’s proac- TIMING tive role in foreign policy under Pope Francis. See also page 4 Todays Iftar: Hadi government rejects new talks 06:31pm Aljazeera cameraman killed in Syria SANA’A: Air strikes by Saudi-led forces hit military bases in Tomorrow’s Imsak: DOHA: A 19-year-old Aljazeera Daraa, where the uprising against of Aljazeera. We have lost a Yemen yesterday and the country’s foreign minister was quoted as 03:06am cameraman was killed yes- President Bashar Al Assad’s young man full of life and hope,” saying there was no need to convene another peace summit after terday while covering fight- regime erupted in 2011. Al Asfer’s said Yasser Abu Hilala, General the first round of talks failed. ing in the Syrian province of father was killed in the early days Manager, Aljazeera. Talks in Geneva last week ended without a resolution to the con- Daraa, news channel said in a of the uprising and his brother Al Asfer represented “a com- flict, as the Iran-allied Houthi movement and Saudi-backed President statement. was later killed in regime air plete generation of Syrians who Abdrabbu Mansur Hadi refused to back down.