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LIVE BLOG: The Middle East as it happens

Live
LIVE BLOG: The Middle East as it happens
Bringing you all the events from the Middle East and North Africa (and related news from further afield) as they happen
  • Kurdistan Regional Government unanimously votes to send fighters, weapons into Syria's Kobane
  • Baby killed, eight wounded when driver hits pedestrians in Jerusalem. Israeli police are calling the incident a 'terror attack'; Ma'an News says Palestinian driver lost control of car.
  • Explosion reported outside of Egypt's Cairo University
  • Two Israeli soldiers reportedly injured as Israeli army begins on Tuesday to deploy troops on the Israel-Egypt border. 
  • Six Jordanian opposition parties call for their government to withdraw from the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State militant group

Live Updates

11 years ago

The activist Sabra Nott has published on his website an updated list of groups considered part of the "moderate" opposition in Syria, who have been approved by Western officials.

"The most notable form of direct American support has been the supply of TOWs to certain rebel groups vetted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency," he writes at the top of the post.

"The missiles themselves most likely come from Saudi Arabia’s stockpile, although by law the supply of American-made weapons to a third party must be approved by the U.S. The approved groups overwhelmingly belong to the FSA, many have recognized the Syrian National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces (Etilaf), and all are committed to letting the Syrian people decide their own future."

11 years ago

Air strikes by the US-led coalition in Syria have killed 553 people since they began a month ago.

Strikes have killed 464 Islamic State fighters, 57 al-Nusra Front fighters and 32 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Six children and five women were among the civilians killed.

11 years ago

The Kurdistan Regional Government's parliament has unanimously approved to send fighters into the embattled Syrian city of Kobane.

Read MEE's story on the vote for more details.

11 years ago
A three-month-old has reportedly been killed and eight people wounded after a driver hit a group of pedestrians in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
 
Shortly before 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), the car hit pedestrians at the Ammunition Hill tram stop, which lies on the seamline between west and occupied east Jerusalem. 
 
Most reports have indicated that the driver purposefully rammed into the people, but Ma'an News Agency has said the 20-year-old driver, Abd al-Rahman al-Shaludi, lost control of his vehicle.
 
Israeli police said they are treating the case as a suspected "terror attack".
 
A unverifiable video has been posted on YouTube claiming to show the attack from a distance.

Find our more in MEE's story.

11 years ago
Hundreds of Iranians protested outside the Isfahan Department of Justice on Wednesday to protest fatal acid attacks against women in recent weeks.
 
The protesters accused security officials and the attorney general of not having adequately investigated the assaults and called for a stop the attacks as well as more support for the victims, according to Anadolu Agency.

Six women have been killed this year following acid attacks, according to Iranian officials. 
A series of acid attacks on women in the historic Iranian city of Isfahan has raised fears and prompted rumours that the victims were targeted for not being properly veiled. 
 
 
11 years ago

The Syrian air force has shot down two of three stolen jets which Islamic State militants test flew over Aleppo last week, information minister Omran Zoabi told Syrian State TV late Tuesday.

Last week, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that former Iraqi air pilots who have defected to IS were training members of the group to fly them.

11 years ago

Egyptian state media is reporting that an explosion outside of Cairo University on Wednesday afternoon has wounded five people while other outlets, including AFP, are reporting that nine were hurt in the blast.

According to AFP, five of the nine wounded were policemen stationed outside the campus to quell student protests. Auhorities have reportedly retained the services of a private security company called Falcon to maintain a security presence on 12 campuses. It was not immediately clear if the wounded officers were employees of the company or Cairo policemen.

In the past two weeks, the university's campus - as well as others nationwide - have been the site of protests against stricter government control over the universities and students. A private security company, Falcon, has been hired