Latest news with #Shia
Al Sahwa
34 minutes ago
- Al Sahwa
Elderly Woman Martyred, Child Injured in Houthi Shelling in Taiz
A 60-year-old woman, Jaleelah Qaid Abdullah Ghaleb, was martyred, and a 13-year-old girl, Rahaf Raed Abdulhakim, was seriously injured in a Houthi shelling attack on villages in the Al-Silw district, south of Taiz province, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. According to local sources, the shelling, which targeted the Al-Akayos village, was carried out by Shia Houthi militia stationed in the Khadir district. The injured child was rushed to a hospital in Taiz city for medical treatment. This incident comes hours after a young man, Basel Muhammad Naji, 25, was martyred in a separate attack by Houthi snipers in the Dhale province. These attacks are part of a series of daily crimes and violations committed by the foreign-backed Shia theocratic terrorists against civilians in various provinces.
NDTV
5 hours ago
- Politics
- NDTV
This Terror Group Is "Most Serious Threat" In South Asia, Has 2,000 Fighters
New Delhi: A recent United Nations report has described the so-called Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIL-K) as the "most serious threat" in South Asia, both regionally and internationally. According to the report by the UN Security Council's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, ISIL-K presently maintains an estimated force of 2,000 fighters, with active recruitment taking place inside Afghanistan as well as across neighbouring Central Asian countries and the Russian North Caucasus. Terrorists from other regional groups are also reported to be joining ISIL-K ranks. Concentration Of Threat The report states that ISIL-K fighters are concentrated in northern and north-eastern Afghanistan, particularly in areas bordering Pakistan. These zones have become critical operating spaces for the group, which uses madrassas not just for religious indoctrination, but also to train minors in suicide tactics. A specific suicide training programme for children, aged approximately 14 years, the report states. The group's strategic objective, the report says, includes launching attacks outside Afghanistan, beginning with Central Asia. There is concern that foreign terrorist fighters, particularly those currently based in Syria, may relocate to Afghanistan to join ISIL-K with the aim of exporting violence beyond Afghan borders. Sanaulla Ghafari The report states that the leadership of ISIL-K remains under the command of Sanaullah Ghafari (also known by his UN designation QDi.431). "ISIL-K continued to prioritise attacks on Shia communities, the de facto authorities and foreigners. Under the leadership of Sanaullah Ghafari (QDi.431), fighters were scattered across the northern and north-eastern provinces of Afghanistan. ISIL-K tried to establish operations in the States neighbouring Afghanistan," the report reads. Other Threat Actors Beyond ISIL-K, the UN report also highlights a range of other terrorist threats across Central and South Asia. Among these is The Resistance Front (TRF), which claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22, which left 26 people dead. Some Member States told the UN panel that the attack would not have been possible without operational support from Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), stating that TRF operates as a front for LeT. The Taliban administration in Kabul, which remains unrecognised internationally, is cited in the report as continuing to provide a permissive environment for several terror groups. These include Al-Qaida and its affiliates, such as Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), Jamaat Ansarullah, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP).
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Armed with caste report, Revanth Reddy govt plans BC quota, benefits for 14 Muslim groups
The Revanth Reddy-led Congress government in Telangana is considering a proposal to streamline the quota benefits for 14 Muslim groups, which include about 3 lakh Shia families, under the Backward Classes (BC) reservation regime based on their social, educational and economic backwardness. These 14 socially and economically backward Muslim groups had been given 4% reservation for government jobs and education under a separate category BC (E), which restricts quota benefits for them. Also, due to legal issues over allegations of religion-based quota and lack of awareness in the Muslim community, it has 'not been implemented properly', sources said. The Revanth Reddy government's social, economic, educational, employment and political caste (SEEPC) survey, whose report was made public in February this year, found that the Muslim community accounts for about 12.58% of Telangana's population, of which BC Muslims make up 10.08% and OC (Other Castes) Muslims about 2.5%. This is down from 12.69% Muslim population in the state as per the 2011 population Census. The expert committee which reviewed the caste survey report found that a number of Muslim women, especially in Old City of Hyderabad, did not wish to interact with the enumerators in the absence of their families' male members and did not share information about their households, occupation, livelihood, which might have led to about '1-2% under-reporting of the Muslim count', sources said. The survey report stated that the BCs — including the Muslim caste groups — form 56.33% of the state's population. Based on these findings, the Telangana Assembly passed two key legislation in March, increasing the BC reservation from 27% to 42% in government jobs, educational institutions and urban and rural local body polls. The Bills were then sent to Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma for his assent, who has referred them to President Droupadi Murmu. The Telangana government's advisor on the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), minorities welfare, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, told The Indian Express that as per the caste survey report, of the state's nearly 12.58% Muslim population, 2.5% are above the poverty line and could be considered as 'well off'. 'The report states that 10.08% of Muslims in the state are socially and economically backward. Like many BC communities, these Muslim groups require support in employment, education, political representation at micro level, and financial assistance to improve their livelihood chances. Occupation-based castes are at maximum risk of poverty as per the report,'' Shabbir said. The report has drawn focus towards the 3 lakh Shia families who are not doing well socially and financially but are also excluded from any government schemes and benefits, he said. 'Purely going by castes, Saiyyeds, Mughals, Pathans, Arabs, Kojja Memons, Agha Khanis, Bohras – all of them are excluded from quotas. The BJP is unnecessarily creating an issue that reservation is being proposed based on religion. These Muslims castes are based on their occupation just like many BC castes, and they need government support based on their social, educational, and financial backwardness, not on the basis of their religion,' Shabbir said. 'Whenever quota for Muslims was proposed, every government or court asked where is your data? This survey has given that data. We know the numerical strength of each Muslim group, and their plight is very dire. Most Muslims living below the poverty line are vegetable and fruit sellers, scrap dealers, drivers, etc just like other BC groups. They need jobs, education, financial support, and political representation,'' he said, adding that the government is considering extending to the 14 Muslim groups similar benefits and schemes that it is planning for the BCs, SCs, and STs in the state.
Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Radical Islamic cleric leads Peak District spiritual and fitness camp
A radical Islamic cleric who has supported members of Hezbollah is running a summer camp that combines combat training with religious education in the Peak District this week. Sayed Hussein Makke, a London-born Shia preacher and influencer, has mourned members of the Lebanese terror group – including a British friend who died fighting for Hezbollah – and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Earlier this year, his visa to visit Australia was revoked after Sky News reported that he had allegedly hailed Hassan Nasrallah, a Hezbollah leader killed in an Israeli air strike last year, as one of the world's 'greatest freedom fighters'. It was claimed that Mr Makke, who attended Nesrallah's funeral, had celebrated the number of mourners as evidence that the 'resistance' was 'alive and well'. The military wing of Hezbollah has been proscribed in the UK under counter-terror laws since 2008, and its political wing was banned in 2019. Lawyers for Mr Makke said he was not a member of, and had not provided support to, any proscribed organisation. The cleric is currently promoting a physical and Islamic training camp for young British men in the Peak District from Wednesday, July 30, to Aug 3. The camp, known as the Spiritual Warrior Project and held at Darwin Lake in Derbyshire, offers 'Olympic-level wrestling' alongside religious education by a cleric. The course is described as focusing on 'God-centric masculinity' and 'man psychology'. Applicants are asked how much they value 'discipline' and 'brotherhood'. Promotional material for the course says: 'Brotherhood is to trust your comrades – to know that you and your mission go further together than you could ever do by yourself. Spiritual Warriors live, eat and breathe brotherhood.' Speakers at the event include Sheikh Salman Zaarour, a Shia cleric who at a previous course is shown standing above a fire at nightfall guiding young men to 'reflect on our destinies'. An Instagram post shared by an account named Jafar Hammoud on Oct 7 last year, the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, features Mr Zaarour with fellow students at a seminary in Lebanon. The post is captioned 'war nights' and states that 'victory is near'. In a separate programme called the 'One-on-One King Programme', Mr Makke offers private mentoring to men and is said to explore 'the masculine archetypes – king, warrior, magician, lover,'in a programme tailored to overcome personal weakness and 'maximise potential'. Mr Makke also sells oil-based products, including a pill to 'boost libido' for customers embarking on the 'spiritual warrior path'. In a response shared by a legal group on his behalf, Mr Makke claimed media reports about Spiritual Warrior Project were an 'attempt to stir up hatred against our camp attendees'.
CNBC
a day ago
- Politics
- CNBC
With Trump pressure and a 'new Lebanon,' can Hezbollah's shadow economy be dismantled?
Up until a few months ago, the drive from Beirut's international airport through the Lebanese capital city's southern suburbs used to feature a stream of pro-Iranian and Hezbollah-themed propaganda. Hassan Nasrallah, the charismatic former leader of the Iran-backed group who was killed in Beirut last year, stared down at you from billboards while you drove along Imam Khomeini Road, named after the late founder of Iran's Islamic Republic. Images of Hezbollah leaders were interspersed with dramatic murals of fallen Iranian spy commander Qasem Soleimani. Now many of those images have been replaced with western and local brands. In June dozens of those billboards along the highway instead featured Formula One racecar driver Lewis Hamilton advertising shaving products. Many of the new posters also feature patriotic, unifying messages that replaced the formerly sectarian signage — an attempt by Lebanon's new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to encourage "A New Era for Lebanon," just in time for the summer tourism boom the Mediterranean country is hoping for after months of war. In this "new" Lebanon, Hezbollah is being forced to operate in the shadows — more than ever in the group's over 40-year history. The Iranian proxy, which controls several parts of Lebanon as a sub-state group and is designated a terrorist organization by Washington, has always looked for creative ways to evade U.S. sanctions. But since Israel's aggressive assault – its most deadly since the 2006 war – Hezbollah's leadership and financial infrastructure have been left in tatters. "Hezbollah finds itself in its greatest predicament since its foundation. The Israeli war against Lebanon greatly hit the party and its infrastructures, assassinating the party's senior military and political leaders including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah," Joseph Daher, author of "Hezbollah: The Political Economy of Lebanon's Party of God," told CNBC. "The regions majorly inhabited by the Shia population have been greatly targeted, destroying extensively civilian housing and infrastructures as well," he said. The group, whose political wing also holds seats in parliament, still wields significant political power in Lebanon, which last held parliamentary elections in 2022. Despite losing the most significant number of seats in the group's political history, it still held tight to a 62-seat coalition in the 128-member parliament. While Hezbollah "will not disappear because it has a strong, disciplined and organized political and militant structure, and benefits from the continued assistance of Iran," the group "has become increasingly politically and socially isolated outside Lebanon's Shia population," Daher said. While Hezbollah receives much of its funding from Iran, it has also developed extensive international financial networks to bring in revenue. The group makes money from traditional industries like banking and construction, but it also runs smuggling, money laundering and international drug trafficking operations around the Middle East and as far afield as Bulgaria and Argentina. Its revenues are estimated in the billions of dollars annually. Hezbollah's parallel governance strategy, operating as both a political party and sub-state group, has enabled it to survive and grow as an armed group for decades. When Lebanese depositors were locked out of their savings in 2019 after a financial meltdown crippled the country and its currency, Hezbollah remained able to fund its base and illicit activities. It operated cash-only businesses and ran black market U.S. dollar exchanges. This strategy will continue despite pressure on their finances, regional analysts saydue to the extreme difficulty of tracking informal, cash-only transactions. Lebanon's economy "operates more than 60% on cash exchanges, the circulation of which the state cannot trace," Daher said. "It is thanks to the segment of this cash in circulation that Hezbollah smuggles into Lebanon that it finances its activities and pays its employees and helps its popular base, alongside other sources of funding, both licit and illicit." However, the U.S. under President Donald Trump's administration is placing renewed pressure on Lebanon's new government to crack down on Hezbollah's illicit activities. In an apparent blow to Hezbollah's funding operations, Lebanon's central bank, the Banque Du Liban (BDL), issued a directive banning all financial institutions in the country from any dealings with Al-Qard al-Hasan — a Hezbollah-linked financial entity that provides local loans by taking gold and jewelry as collateral. It's a tool by which Hezbollah cements support from the country's Shiite population and gets more funding for its operations. Israel has specifically targeted Al-Qard al-Hasan facilities with airstrikes in the last year. The BDL move was "ingenious," said Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its counterterrorism and intelligence program, because Al-Qard al-Hasan has long been registered as a charity and thus was able to operate outside the Lebanese financial system, evading regulatory oversight. "Here, the BDL appears to have found a way to jump the gap and say, 'whatever you are, people can't provide services for you. You can't bank, and anybody who does is violating the law," Levitt said. Until recently, Hezbollah controlled almost all ports of entry in Lebanon, including the Beirut airport. Following Israel's assault on the group, its airport is now under the control of the Lebanese government, which has fired staff linked to Hezbollah, detained smugglers, and implemented new surveillance technology. And while Tehran is still funding its proxy group, its transport routes to Lebanon are dramatically restricted after losing a key ally with the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in Syria. Flights coming in from Iran and other locations meant to bring in material support for Hezbollah are being heavily inspected, experts told CNBC. "Cash transfers from abroad have been intercepted at the airport and border. We are talking about millions of dollars," Daher said of the renewed security in the country. Many who want to see Hezbollah's power dismantled say the time is now. "When you now have Iran under tremendous stress, and Lebanon overtly trying to crack down on Hezbollah's ability to function as an independent militia – and trying to target the funding it needs to be able to do that – you have an interesting opportunity," Levitt, who also served as deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department, told CNBC in an interview. For the first time in decades, both the prime minister and president of Lebanon are interested in asserting monopoly over the use of force in the country, he added. "They're interested in securing the much, much needed international aid that Lebanon needs to get out of the economic crisis, and they're interested in not saying no to the Trump administration." But it's not that easy. The group, long described as the most powerful non-state organization in the Middle East, is still loyally followed by hundreds of thousands of people who rely on it for social services and ideological leadership — and it remains well-armed. Notably, no one is officially demanding Hezbollah disband or cease to exist entirely. Trump's envoy to the region Tom Barrack recently demanded Hezbollah lay down its weapons, a proposition the group has rejected. "Hezbollah's not going to disarm because you ask them nicely," Levitt said. "But we have to enable the government of Lebanon to do this, give them the capability to do it, and have their back when they do it." That requires a combination of carrots and sticks, former U.S. officials say – ironically, tools that have in many cases been weakened by the shrinking of U.S. government resources under the Trump administration. Alexander Zerden, principal at Washington-based risk advisory firm Capitol Peak Strategies who formerly served at the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, outlined some of those potential approaches. "On the offensive side, the U.S. can and will likely continue to target Hezbollah financial networks inside and outside of Lebanon. The U.S. will seek to deny Hezbollah access to Syria, including lucrative reconstruction contracts," Zerden said. "On the incentive side, direct tools are more limited with reductions in diplomacy and development capabilities," he noted – one example of that being the gutting of USAID, which served as a powerful diplomatic vehicle. "However," he added, "there appears to be space for the U.S. to support economic reforms." For Ronnie Chatah, a Lebanese political analyst and host of The Beirut Banyan podcast, what's truly needed is international pressure that would push Iran to relinquish its involvement in Lebanon. "What has not yet shifted in Lebanon's favor is the international aspect, meaning finding a way for Iran to abandon Lebanon that I think can only happen by strategic diplomacy," said Chatah, whose father, a former Lebanese finance minister, was killed in a suspected Hezbollah assassination plot. "If the Trump administration wants peace the way it says repeatedly, if Donald Trump wants the Nobel Peace Prize too, there has to be some way forward for Lebanon to take the spotlight and to find a peaceful resolution that in some ways satisfies Iran's terms," he told CNBC from Beirut. What's been done so far by both the U.S. and Lebanese governments is important, but will not ultimately break Hezbollah's power in the country, Chatah warned. "The window of opportunity is now. It's not tomorrow, and unfortunately, it's a closing window," he said. "The intent is not enough. Whether it's by the Trump administration or even whether it's by the Lebanese president, the intention is not enough."
