Above: American Hostage
2 contractors that had been held hostage for more than a year had been killed and their bodies were found. Relatives of one of the contractors commented that it was a mixture of relief and sadness, as they were sad to find out that they are dead but at the same time relieved that this turmoil had come to an end.
Kathy Reuben, Johnson-Reuben’s first wife said “Today, we do get to feel better, It’s over. Paul’s in heaven, he’s a happy man today.”
Above: The Mahdi Army has taken control of Basra.
Crude oil prices rose to $107.58 a barrel (up 1.68) in New York, after a pipeline explosion in Iraq cut one of the main supplies to the country’s main oil export terminal. The Zubair-1 pipeline is one of two that transport oil to the Basra terminal.
Although the Iraqi oil ministry is still not certain as to what caused the explosion, they pretty much have a concrete idea. The ongoing clashes in the area between Iraqi forces and Muqtada al-Sadr militants (shown in picture above) are now on its third straight day. Muqtada al-Sadr is one of the most influential Shiite clerics and political figures in Iraq. He is known to be anti-US. His Mahdi Army has just taken Basra hostage; possibly smuggling oil themselves to fund their cause.
On Monday, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri (shown in picture above [right] with bin Laden [left]), who is considered as Osama bin Laden’s second in command, urged Muslims to attack Jewish and American targets worldwide in retaliation for the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip.
The message was brought through a recorded tape, much like the two earlier tapes of Osama bin Laden who is calling for a holy war on behalf of the Palestinians. In those tapes he also warned of a severe reaction against European nations due to the republishing of the newspaper cartoon of the Islam Prophet Muhammad – which in my opinion is absolutely insane and proves to be a deterrent to peace more than anything else. The editor of Jyllands-Posten is a self-righteous ignoramus!
Above: Bomb victim, lost his leg
BAGHDAD, Iraq. Murtada was a man who lives a happy and contented life of being a simple taxi driver yet a proud father and husband to his family. Suddenly life has its way of turning even just the simplest lives to shatter. When people go to war, it seems inevitable for the people’s lives that are surrounded by the grueling war be affected by it, and in this story, I rest my case.
Above: Yemeni soldiers in a checkpoint near the embassy
The US embassy in Sanaa, Yemen was attacked on Tuesday; unfortunately the three mortar rounds hit the nearby school instead of the mission.
13 girls and 3 guards were injured in the mortar attack. Of the 13 students, 3 are in critical condition as of the moment. One guard who was patrolling at the back of the embassy was immediately killed.
Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh said in a statement to the press that the perpetrators are “terrorists.” He offered a hefty reward for any information leading to their capture.
