IRAQ

Daily Star (Lebanon): Nasrallah Accuses Israel As Part Of Najaf Bombing

Hizbullah's secretary-general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, gave an address on the assassination of Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim Monday night, accusing the Israeli Mossad of the explosion that killed the Iraqi cleric and some 83 people at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, Iraq.

Nasrallah also said it was possible that the blast could have been arranged by Saddam Hussein or by Sunni extremists, but he emphasized the regional equation that Israel and America stand to benefit the most from the death of al-Hakim, and suggested Iraqis to examine the possibility of such an action by the Israelis.

Nasrallah did not provide any proof for his allegation but justified it by saying it was in the interests of Israel to eliminate Hakim, ãsince Iraq under Hakim would have been an Iraq that supports the Palestinian people.ä He also said that the bombing was sophisticated and beyond the capability of individuals without organizational support.

Rense: Israel Bombed UN Baghdad HQ - Syrian Govt Media
Israel also charged with bombed the Jordanian Embassy, Abu Gharib Prison and the Water Main

Shortly after the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad (8-19-03) that claimed at least 23 lives ÅEincluding that of U.N. envoy Sergio de Mello, Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad, Foreign Minister Farouq Al-Shar', and Ambassador to the U.N. Faisal Miqdad issued strongly-worded statements of condemnation. A few days later, the Syrian government press began to hint at who, in Syria's view, was behind the bombing: Israel. The following are excerpts from recent articles in the Syrian government daily Teshreen:

Hell's Gates Have Opened

In her regular column in the Syrian government daily Teshreen, [1] Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Dr. Buthaina Sha'aban wrote: "Before the war in Iraq, President Bashar Assad said in an interview with an Austrian newspaper, 'The war in Iraq will open the gates of hell.' Now, we in the Middle East feel that the gates of hell have indeed opened and have begun to consume the best of the people living on this globe and working to make it a better place for the entire human race. The death of Sergio de Mello, the U.N. envoy to Iraq, is one of the greatest, most distressing, and most surprising losses to result from the American occupation of Iraq.