Syrian forces kill two al-Qaeda leaders, insurgents near Aleppo

Syrian troops celebrate clearing a neighborhood in the capital, Damascus, of insurgents. (File photo)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/08/08/255100/alqaeda-leaders-rebels-killed-in-syria/

Syrian security forces have killed two local al-Qaeda leaders and nearly two dozen foreign-sponsored insurgents in clashes near the northwestern city of Aleppo, Press TV reports.

The security forces carried out an operation in the town of Tal Rafa’at, about 38 kilometers (23 miles) north of Aleppo, on Tuesday, killing the al-Qaeda leaders.

The government troops also killed at least 20 insurgents during clashes in a rural area near Aleppo.

Meanwhile, fighting continues between the Syrian army and the insurgents in several areas of Aleppo, including the northern neighborhood of Ashrafyiah, the southern district of Sokkari and the central area of Seif al-Dowla.

Reports say the insurgents have also attacked the police department in the city.

Similar clashes have also been reported in the western city of Homs over the past few days.

Many people, including large numbers of security forces, have been killed in the turmoil in Syria that began in March 2011.

On August 5, US senators John McCain, Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham said Washington should “directly and openly” provide assistance, including weapons, intelligence and training, to the insurgents in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on August 1 that the country is engaged in a “crucial and heroic” battle that will determine the destiny of the nation.

Letters from Spanish children draw Israeli ire

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119765&sectionid=351020202


Tel Aviv is seriously angered by letters from Spanish children urging Israel to 'stop killing Palestinians' and has accused Madrid of favoring 'anti-Semitism' in schools.

Israel expressed 'distress' on Sunday after its embassy in Madrid was flooded with hundreds of letters from schoolchildren protesting Tel Aviv's conduct toward the Palestinians.

One letter directed at Israel's envoy in Madrid, Rafael Shotz, asked, "How many Palestinians have you murdered today?"

"Mr. Ambassador, you should think about not killing Palestinian children and the elderly. I don't know if it doesn't bother you, having to murder people. You should leave Palestine," read another.

Officials within Israel's Foreign Ministry said the handwriting appears typical of children six to nine years of age and criticized Spanish authorities for condoning activities by "anti-Semitic and anti-Israel individuals who gain permission to operate within schools."

The Israelis were, moreover, perplexed by the different sources of the profuse letters, saying that "it seems as though whoever was doing this was moving from school to school," Haaretz reported.

Despite an earlier decision to summon Spain's Ambassador to Israel Alvaro Iranzo, the Israeli Foreign Ministry opted instead to call the official by telephone on Sunday to complain about the issue.

"Israel is greatly distressed," Naor Gilon, foreign ministry deputy director for Europe, told Iranzo. However, the Spanish side argued that the letters were not part of any Spanish Education Ministry program, but the initiative by private citizens.

Israel has sealed all border crossings to Gaza Strip for years, in a move widely condemned as a collective punishment of Palestinians. The blockade, tightened since 2007, exerts a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the populated coastal enclave which is home to some 1.5 million Palestinians.

Turning a deaf ear to calls for easing the siege, Israel launched three weeks of relentless airstrikes and ground incursions into the Gaza Strip on the last days of 2008, leaving well over 1400 people — mainly women and children — killed.