Islamic State Loots and Destroys Ancient Religious Sites in Mosul

MOSUL, Iraq – Jihadists with the radical Islamic State over the past few days have been looting and destroying ancient religious sites in this northern Iraqi city, a local government official told Efe on Sunday.

The extremists on Saturday stole relics, historic books and manuscripts that were inside one of the religious sanctuaries in Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, before demolishing the buildings with large earthmoving machines.

In addition to razing several sanctuaries, they destroyed the mosque of Muhsin, from which they stole valuable objects that had been housed there.

The government source said that the jihadists demolished that site, which consisted of a small 5th-century mosque with a large cupola and contained one of the tombs of the imam Muhsin.

The IS, meanwhile, released a video showing the group’s destruction of mosques and religious sites, calling it a “fight against ... heresy.”

The IS practices an extreme version of Sunni Islam that rejects the existence of mausoleums inside mosques because it feels that then the faithful could potentially direct their prayers to the dead resting there rather than to God.

Meanwhile, Iraqi security forces recovered control of most of the city of Biyi, 40 km (25 mi.) north of Tikrit, capital of Saladin province, provincial governor Jasem al-Jabara said.

Iraqi troops, aided by tribal fighters, retook the city’s industrial zones, the military district, the market area, the railroad sector and all the neighborhoods near the Biyi refinery, along with other sections of the city.

They also advanced toward Al Siniya, 10 km (6.2 mi.) west of Biyi, where they retook control of the region’s oil refinery in clashes with occupying jihadists that resulted in dozens of dead and injured in the IS ranks.

Iraqi authorities last November had announced their intention to regain control of strategically important Biyi, although the IS had made significant advances in the area and took over parts of the city on Dec. 21 after a series of attacks on government positions.

Biyi is the site of Iraq’s largest oil refinery – which produces 250,000 barrels of crude per day, although it was shut down on June 10, 2014, after jihadist advances in the area – and a hub for supply routes to Nineveh, Al Anbar and Kirkuk provinces.

Four Siblings Gunned Down in Southern Colombia

BOGOTA – Four siblings ranging in age from 7 to 17 were fatally shot inside their family’s home in a rural area near Florencia, capital of the southern Colombian province of Caqueta, authorities said.

Unidentified men entered the residence Wednesday night and opened fire, killing four of the Vanegas Grimaldo siblings.

The fifth sibling was wounded, but managed to get away.

The public ombudsman’s office identified the dead as Samuel, 17; Juliana, 14; Xiomara, 11; and Deiner, 7.

The surviving Vanegas Grimaldo sibling and a neighbor alerted authorities about the attack, the ombudsman’s office said. Investigators suspect the quadruple-murder may be linked to a dispute between the children’s father and squatters who invaded some lands he owns.

Caqueta Gov. Hugo Rincon expressed sorrow about the killings and vowed that authorities “will find those responsible for the massacre.”

Separately, a 13-year-old boy was slain and dismembered in Tulua, a town in the southwestern province of Valle del Cauca.

“For what we know so far, the minor resided in Cali (the provincial capital) and had gone to the town to spend vacation with relatives,” the ombudsman’s office said.

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Twenty-two people killed outside Cairo football stadium

By Ahmed Maher and Mahmoud Mourad

CAIRO (Reuters) – Twenty-two people were killed outside an Egyptian football stadium on Sunday when security forces barred fans from entering, the public prosecutor’s office said.

Most of the dead were suffocated when the crowd stampeded after police used tear gas to clear the fans trying to force their way into a league match between two Cairo clubs, Zamalek and Enppi, doctors and witnesses said.

A health ministry spokesman told Reuters by phone the final toll was 19 dead and 20 injured. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers between the health ministry and the public prosecutor’s office was not immediately clear.

Football matches are often a flashpoint for violence in Egypt where 72 fans were killed at a match in Port Said in February 2012. Since then Egypt has curbed the number of people allowed to attend, and supporters have often tried to storm stadiums they are banned from entering.

Outside the Cairo hospital treating the injured, scores of youths wearing Zamalek T-shirts appeared shocked as families arrived to see if their relatives were safe.

One mother cried and shouted when she found the name of her son on a list of the dead posted by hospital staff.

“I’d told him: leave football matches,” she said.

Relations between security forces and fan groups known as Ultras have been tense since the 2011 popular uprising that ended the rule of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, in which the Ultras played a key role.

“Huge numbers of Zamalek club fans came to Air Defense Stadium to attend the match … and tried to storm the stadium gates by force, which prompted the troops to prevent them from continuing the assault,” the interior ministry said.

The public prosecution ordered the arrest of the leaders of the Zamalek supporters group, Ultras White Knights, after Sunday’s incident, official media reported.

On their Facebook page, the Ultras White Knights described the 22 dead as “martyrs” and accused security forces of a “massacre”.

Despite the violence, the match went ahead and ended with a 1-1 draw.

The Egyptian Football Federation said it had reversed an earlier decision to allow fans to return to the stadiums by the start of the second half of the season. The original decision had been taken only a few days ago.

Shortly after that, the Cabinet said in a statement that the national league championship would be postponed indefinitely.

(This version of the story corrects the Egyptian Football Federation decision)

(Additional reporting by Mostafa Hashem, Ali Abdelati and Mohamed Abdellah; Editing by Robin Pomeroy and Eric Walsh)