Kidnappers release local Hamas leader

An armed Palestinian group has released a local Hamas leader hours after kidnapping him from his West Bank home.

Riad Abdel Karim al-Raz, 47, also the head of the engineering department at Al-Najah University in Nablus was freed on Friday with torn clothing and a black eye. He said he had no idea who kidnapped him or what they wanted.

"People came and took me by force. They didn't treat me well, and then they apologised and told he I would be taken home," he said.

Asked whether he thought the kidnappers were affiliated with the ruling Fatah movement, which is competing with Hamas in upcoming parliamentary elections, al-Raz said: "I'm not sure myself who they are."

AJ

Gunmen slay Pakistani worshippers

Three gunmen on motorcycles have attacked worshippers belonging to a small religious sect in eastern Pakistan, killing at least eight people and wounding 20 others, police say.

The Friday attack on a building used by the Ahmadiyya sect happened in the village of Mong, about 400km northeast of Multan, a main city in the eastern Punjab province, said Mohammed Arif, an area police officer.

The attack came after a dawn prayer on the second day of Ramadan.

"So far we only know that three men riding on a motorcycle suddenly came in the village on Friday morning. Two of them went inside the mosque and started firing," he said.

"It was a scene of carnage. The floor of the one-room mosque was littered with blood," said Mohammad Sajid, who lives nearby. He said 25 people were praying when the attack happened at around 4.45am (2345 GMT).

AJ

Iran denies British attacks link

Iran has denied UK claims that it is responsible for explosions that have caused the deaths of all eight British soldiers killed in Iraq this year.
A senior British official linked the type of bombs used in the attacks to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

He said they had provided technology to a Shia Muslim group in southern Iraq.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman denied the charge, saying it was a "lie" and accusing Britain of fomenting unrest in Iraq.

Full story here

British troops detain 12 in Basra

British forces have detained 12 people in southern Iraq suspected of links to a surge in attacks against allied troops, the Ministry of Defence said.
Maj Steven Melbourne said there were "certain individuals" the army needed to question over the assaults.

Sources told the BBC some of those detained were Iraqi policemen.

The raid came two weeks after UK armoured vehicles smashed down the walls of a Basra police station, sparking protests in the city.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley, in Baghdad, said sources told her the arrested officers were from the same Basra police station.

Maj Stevens said in a statement: "There was a single raid last night in Basra in which 12 individuals were detained and an amount of weapons were confiscated.

"This was in response to attacks on multi-national forces in the last couple of weeks."

Full story here

29 al Qaeda members killed

American forces have killed at least 29 fighters in western Iraq clashes over the past 36 hours, a US military statement claimed today.

Warplanes killed 20 when they bombed an abandoned hotel in Husaybah, near the Syrian border, which had been taken over by fighters loyal to al-Qaeda in Iraq, the statement said, according to AFP. Aircraft late on Wednesday dropped four precision guided bombs on the three storey hotel which, according to the American army military, was used for launching attacks and storing weapons.

On Thursday, a M1-A1 Abrams tank killed two fighters in nearby Karabilah, in the Euphrates Valley.

And in another air raid, three buildings were demolished and seven fighters killed east of Karabilah after they opened fire on approaching marines, the statement added.

10 killed in Baghdad car bombing

Ten people were killed in a car bombing near the oil ministry in Baghdad in one of a spate of attacks on Thursday, adding to fears of spiraling violence in the run-up to the October 15 referendum on Iraq's new constitution.

The bombings and shootings came a day after a bomb attack in the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad, that killed 25 people as Shia Muslims gathered for prayers at the end of their first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

MET

Muslims flats

A new block of flats has opened in Bristol with bathrooms that are specially designed not to offend Muslims.

The toilets have been built so they do not face south east, which means tenants of the housing association-run flats are not facing Mecca when they use them.

Powerful extractor fans in the kitchen because Asian families prefer steam-cooking which leads to condensation problems.

Larger kitchen cupboards because Asian families tend to use more pots and pans.

A designated area of worship for Sikhs.

The 16 flats in Wilson Street, St Paul's, have been built at a cost of £1.7 million.

Muslim shot dead in Sri Lanka

A Muslim man was killed in Sri Lanka when unidentified men opened fire in a Muslim-dominated region. Police suspect fighters belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were behind the shooting in Kalmunei. The attack followed a campaign by Muslims in the area for an autonomous region in eastern Sri Lanka – an LTTE stronghold.

Ansar al-Sunnah execute spies

Ansar al-Sunnah issued five communiqués and a seven-minute video, announcing the execution, depicted in the film, of two of the “biggest spies” in Baghdad, and claims responsibility of several bombing operations and confrontations targeting American and Iraqi forces in Kirkuk, Arab Jabour, and al-Owja.

The first communiqué states that two spies, each allegedly heading a “network composed of 30 sources (spies)” in Baghdad, and working with Americans, were investigated and summarily executed, “by Allah’s rules.” The group warns that those who do not “come back to your religion and repent” will also be slaughtered. The video depicts the beheading of the two men.

SI

Video here