Turkey intercepts chemical shipment from Syria

Source : All akhbar.com

Turkish authorities have seized a large quantity of chemicals from a convoy trying to illegally enter the country from Syria, which "could be transformed into weapons," the army said Sunday.The convoy of three vehicles refused to stop as it attempted to illegally cross the border on Saturday near the southeastern town Turkish town of Reyhanli, the army said in a statement.Para-military police were forced to shoot out the tires of the vehicles to stop them, and three drivers jumped out and fled in the direction of Syria.One of them was arrested, the army said without specifying his nationality.The haul of sulfur and another unidentified substance will be examined by a team of army specialists, the statement said.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported on Thursday that Syria's entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal.This included 1,000 tons of chemical agents, which can be used to make weapons, and 290 tons of chemical weapons.A UN Security Council resolution stating that the arsenal must be destroyed by mid-2014, was agreed by the United States and Russia to avert military strikes on Syria after deadly chemical weapons attacks near Damascus in August.The West blamed those attacks, which killed hundreds of people, on the Syrian government, which denied all responsibility, instead blaming the attack on rebels.(AFP)

Egypt militants bomb gas pipeline to Jordan

Source : Al Akhbar English

Attackers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula bombed a gas pipeline to Jordan on Sunday, witnesses said, amid a surge in attacks on police and soldiers since Islamist president Mohammed Mursi's ouster.

Witnesses told AFP the blast took place near the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish, scene of major disturbances since Mursi's overthrow by the military on Wednesday.

On Friday, armed Mursi supporters stormed the provincial headquarters, raising the black banner used by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants, an AFP correspondent reported.

A Jordanian government official confirmed that gas supplies to the energy-poor kingdom were cut.

"The gas supplies to Jordan stopped due to the attack," the official told state-run Petra news agency.

"The Egyptian authorities have informed us that they are currently evaluating the situation and the damage," he added without elaborating. Egyptian gas covers 80 percent of electricity generation in Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs.

But Sunday's bombing was the first reported in almost a year.

Five security officers were killed at their checkpoints in Sinai on Friday and four other checkpoints were attacked on Saturday.

A priest was killed at one checkpoint by a group of militants, according to security sources.

(AFP, Reuters)

French consul in Libya's Benghazi survives gun attack

Source : Your Middle East

France's honorary consul in Benghazi, Jean Dufriche, has escaped unharmed after gunmen fired on his car in the eastern Libyan city, a source close to him and a security official said on Friday.

The unidentified attackers shot at Dufriche's car from another vehicle as he was returning home late Thursday with his wife, said Mohammed Hijazi, security services spokesman in Benghazi.

The couple were leaving a hospital at around 11:00 PM (2300 GMT), when the gunmen opened up.

"At least ten bullets hit the vehicle, but no one was wounded," Hijazi said.

"Dr Dufriche and his wife returned to the hospital where security forces took charge of them."

A source close to the honorary consul said Dufriche was at the wheel when gunmen pulled alongside and fired at him several times with a "handgun".

The source said there were at least seven bullet holes in Dufriche's car.

"Dufriche and his wife were not wounded and were able to leave Benghazi for Tunis on Friday," the same source added.

Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 uprising that toppled former dictator Moamer Kadhafi, has seen several attacks targeting the security forces and Western interests in recent months.

On September 11 last year, Islamist militants attacked the US consulate in the city, killing ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

A car bomb targeted France's embassy in the capital Tripoli on April 23 this year, devastating the building and wounding two French security personnel.

© AFP 2013