24, November 2017
Egypt: 235 killed in attack on mosque 0
At least 235 people have been killed and over 130 others injured in a shooting attack and bombing at a mosque in the restive Sinai Peninsula, state TV says.
Police officers said militants attacked al-Rawdah mosque in the town of Bir al-Abd, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the North Sinai provincial capital of el-Arish, during Friday prayers.
The attack, the deadliest single incident in the country’s recent history, reportedly targeted the supporters of Egyptian security forces attending prayers there.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which had the hallmarks of the Daesh-affiliated Velayat Sinai terrorist group.
A security source was quoted by Sky News as saying that Egyptian military drones killed 15 perpetrators of the Friday attack. The source, however, did not provide further details on the attackers’ affiliation or where the airstrikes were carried out.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi convened an emergency security meeting soon after the attack, state television reported. The Egyptian president announced three days of national mourning.
“The army and police will avenge our martyrs and return security and stability with force in the coming short period,” Sisi said.
The Sinai Peninsula has been under a state of emergency since October 2014, after a deadly terrorist attack left 33 Egyptian soldiers dead.
Over the past few years, militants have been carrying out anti-government activities and fatal attacks, taking advantage of the turmoil in Egypt that erupted after the country’s first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was ousted in a military coup in July 2013.
Velayat Sinai has claimed responsibility for most of the assaults. The group later expanded its attacks to target members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian community as well as foreigners visiting the country. That has prompted the government to impose the state of emergency and widen a controversial crackdown, which critics say has mostly targeted dissidents.
Source: Presstv
26, November 2017
US pastor impregnates 14-year-old girl who gave birth to his child 0
A certified pastor in the US state of Colorado has been arrested after allegedly impregnating a 14-year old girl, who gave birth to his child.
The 22-year-old pastor, identified as Romello Leach of Colorado Springs, faces multiple charges of sexual assault against a minor, local daily The Gazette reported Saturday, adding that he served as a pastor for several local churches in the city.
According to the report, the unidentified teenage girl gave birth to the child on September 15 when she was 15 years old.
She reportedly did not inform anyone about her pregnancy until her mother noticed her “larger belly” in May, according to arrest records cited in the report.
The teenager’s mother took her to the Colorado Springs Pregnancy Center where they notified an employee that Leach was the father, the affidavit further stated. The employee then informed the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office of the pregnancy, prompting the launch of an investigation.
Leach told his ex-wife in a recorded telephone conversation that he had sexual relations with the teenager and admitted to being the father of her baby, arrest records also indicated.
Leach further explained to his ex-wife that “he knows he had made the worst mistake” and “it’s not like he will go around and sleep with everybody’s 13 or 14-year-daughter,” according to the affidavit.
In a different recorded phone call, Leach admitted to an unidentified person of having sexual relations with the girl at least four times and being the baby’s father. Leach “admitted the behavior was wrong and said he was full of lust at the time,” the daily reported.
Leach is being held at El Paso County jail without bond, the report said, adding that deputies were probing whether there were any other victims of Leach’s.
Culled from Presstv