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Syrian oil field retaken as IS attacks kill 13 Iraqi troops

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f55f124bf2efd7_55f124bf2f014.thumbIslamic State suicide bombings and clashes between the extremist group and Iraqi troops killed 13 soldiers in Iraq’s western Anbar province Wednesday, while in Syria, government forces retook an oil field recently captured by the militant group, reports the Daily Mail.
Iraqi military and security officials said attacks in Anbar involved at least two suicide bombers who targeted a military outpost in the volatile province, which fell to the militants during the Islamic State’s blitz last year.

The outpost housed a joint contingent of Iraqi soldiers, policemen, and allied Sunni militiamen, the officials said.

Another 13 soldiers were wounded in the attacks, the latest to hit beleaguered Iraqi forces trying to claw back territory from the Islamic State.

Meanwhile, in Syria, government troops regained control of a major oil field in central Homs province, driving out Islamic State militants days after the extremists captured the field, according to Governor Talal Barazzi.

Barazzi said the army established control Wednesday of the Jazal oil field following intense battles.

Activists say the oil field is not operational.

The Islamic State controls most of Syria’s oil fields, most of them along the border with Iraq.
The group captured a third of both Iraq and Syria last summer and declared a caliphate on the territory it controls.

‘Tomatoes are Christian,’ Egyptian Salafi group warns Muslims against eating tomatoes

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The group’s message on Facebook.

A Salafi group called the “Popular Egyptian Islamic Association” has warned Muslims against eating tomatoes on the grounds that the fruit is a “Christian food,” n_23713_4NowLebanon.com has reported.

The group based its claim on the fact that a shape resembling a cross is revealed when one cuts a tomato in half.

The association published the warning on its Facebook page with a photo of a tomato cut in half, revealing a cross-shaped interior.

A message posted on the page read, “Eating tomatoes is forbidden because they are Christian. [The tomato] praises the cross instead of Allah and says that Allah is three [in reference to the Holy Trinity].”

The message went on to say, “I implore you to spread this photo because there is a sister from Palestine who saw the Prophet of Allah in a vision and he was crying, warning his nation against eating [tomatoes]. If you don’t spread this [message], know that it is the devil who stopped you.”

The message caused outrage among Facebook users, which prompted the group to clarify their warning, saying they did not tell people not to eat tomatoes. “We said don’t cut it in [such a way that it reveals] the cross shape.”