bomb Archives

Report: Bomb ingredient flows into ISIL-held areas from Turkey

May 5, 2015 By administrator

A large amount of fertilizer — a significant ingredient for explosives — is flowing from Turkey into territories held by the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Syria, amid concerns that Turkey is not doing enough to seal off ISIL’s supply lines, a report has claimed.

The New York Times quoted Mehmet Ayhan, a Turkish opposition politician, as saying, “It is not for farming. It is for bombs.” Reporters for the newspaper witnessed — four times on two recent days — large wooden carts loaded with fertilizer entering the Akçakale border gate and returning empty shortly afterwards.

The fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, is used for agricultural purposes but also by terrorist networks to build powerful explosives. Unlike the Harran and Akçakale districts, the closest Turkish towns to the border, the ISIL-held territories in Syria are dry and arid, making it essential for farmers to use fertilizer to increase productivity, particularly in the spring months.

The news report said few in Akçakale believe the fertilizer is meant to help Syrian farmers, adding that the open transportation of ammonium nitrate into ISIL territory points to “lingering questions about Turkey’s commitment to isolating its jihadist neighbors.”

Ankara has long been accused of fostering ISIL and radical groups in Syria to fight against the Syrian regime. Turkey rejects the accusations, says it is fighting a lonely battle against terrorists in Syria and that it does whatever it takes to impede the flow of foreign fighters from joining the ranks of ISIL. For nearly two months, Turkey has mostly closed all its border gates with Syria, largely because of fears that militants could slip into Turkey and target sensitive areas ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in June.

The newspaper mentioned one Turkish smuggler, now retired, who received $35 a head to move at least 25 foreign fighters for ISIL.

The New York Times said Turkish officials failed to explain why the substance was allowed to cross the border. Mustafa Güçlü, a spokesman for the Akçakale mayor’s office, first denied that any fertilizer was crossing, then said if there was any, it would be for agriculture. One official at the border crossing reportedly said that about 500 Syrians returned home every few days and that each was allowed 30 or 40 bags of low-nitrate fertilizer, “which is less explosive,” the report cited Mustafa Kurt, a café owner, as saying. “Of course they use it to make bombs.”

Syria: The Armenian quarter of Aleppo again under the bombs

February 20, 2015 By administrator

Armenian quarter of Aleppo

Aleppo is again plagued by heavy fighting while the Turkish jihadist forces are trying to gain a foothold in the second city of Syria, torn between forces loyal to the regime of Bashar Al Assad and rebels. Radical Islamists, whom the jihadists Daech have lent a hand, confronted the soldiers of the regime under a barrage of missiles. The Armenian quarter of Aleppo once again paid a heavy price for these particularly fierce fighting Tuesday, February 17.

The inhabitants of the Armenian quarter, which consist in self-defense militias since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, report of casualties and major destruction. The first results show 8 deaths and 36 injuries caused by missile strikes, which also caused extensive damage. The a UN special envoy to Syria Mr. de Mistura said that the forces of Damascus were ready to stop aerial bombardments on Aleppo for six weeks at for a cease-fire. De Mistura said that the Syrian regime’s proposal offered a glimmer of hope, even if the conditions for its implementation are still very vague. The Syrian National Council opposition parties coalition, said that the government would be judged by its actions rather than its promises.

Government forces are not ready to release the pressure, while they have deployed significant resources to try to cut a key supply route for the rebels. A hundred soldiers and rebels were killed in a single day, February 17 at the offensive by the army to take control of several villages north of the city of Aleppo.

Moreover, the Turkish Justice itself has brought evidence of the direct involvement of Turkey in the Syrian civil war, moreover alongside jihadists of the Islamic State (Daech). Turkish media have indeed echoes of the trial of EI activists accused of attacking the Turkish security forces in Nigde in 2014 that at the hearings of the Court, stated that the Turkish state not content to supply arms and ammunition to Syrian rebels but also provided them with support in heavy artillery.

Thus, in particular with the support of the Turkish heavy artillery, jihadist rebels had seized Kessab, a Syrian town near the Turkish-Syrian border and counting a major Armenian community. The jihadists, who were still a marginal force in the theater of Syrian military operations had demonstrated their cruelty, violently expelling Kessab Armenians and destroying their homes and churches.

The complicity of Turkey in the attack, which did not then sparked international outrage it deserved, was suspected. The trial transcript shows that Syrian rebels had held the Turkish military informed of the movements of the Syrian army in Kessab, obtaining their assistance in the capture of the city. Syrian forces loyal to the regime were to regain control of Kessab in 2014, for the return of Armenian inhabitants who fled partly in Lebanon.

Friday, February 20, 2015,
Gari © armenews.com

Armenians injured in Aleppo terrorists dropped barrel bomb explosion

October 2, 2014 By administrator

A new explosion hit Armenian district of Nor Gyugh in Syria’s Aleppo Monday, Oct 1.

According to Kantsasar newspaper’s Facebook post, in the afternoon, terrorists dropped a barrel bomb near Zavarian Armenian gymnasium, killing a teenage Arab and leaving 2 Armenians injured. The latters’ condition is now stable, the source says.

Nor Gyugh ofter targeted by terrorists, has suffered significant damage. 3 Armenians were killed and several injured during the August 9 shelling.

In June, the European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (ANC Europe) published an open letter, along with a letter addressed to the European Union’s foreign affairs representative, urging for action to be taken to stop the wholesale destruction taking place in the Armenian neighborhood of Nor Gyugh in Aleppo.

Earlier, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) launched a #Save Aleppo campaign calling President Obama to stop anti-Armenian attacks in Syria. The campaign aims to urge President Obama to stop the rebel bombing of innocent Christians and all civilians in Aleppo, press Turkey to allow the free flow of Euphrates waters to Syria, answer the ANCA’s concerns regarding Turkey’s role in the forced depopulation of the historically Armenian populated city of Kessab.

The 3-year civil war in Syria took the lives of over 170,000 and displaces around 9 million. Before the war, Syria was home to aound 80,000 Armenians. At present, 10,000 left for Armenia and 5,000 for Lebanon.

Dozens killed in bomb blast in Syria’s Hama

June 20, 2014 By administrator

A car bomb explosion in central Syria has killed dozens of people, according to reports from the state news agency SANA. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday that 34 people were killed and more than 50 others injured, when a car bomb exploded near the central Syrian city of Hama.

The blast reportedly went off in the government-controlled Horrah village in the countryside.

A source in the Hama police command told SANA that “terrorists blew up a truck loaded with about three tons of explosive materials,” which destroyed several houses and buildings in the village.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll was expected to rise because many of the wounded were in a critical condition. The group added that the area is dominated by Alawites, a sect which counts President Bashar al-Assad as a member.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, however militants often use car bombings to target government-controlled areas or military operations.

Syria’s conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against Assad’s regime but quickly evolved into civil war. The fighting has since claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people, according to the United Nations.

nm/hc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)