No: 17264 Friday, June 23, 2017

9

L o c a l

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

KUWAIT: Men and women pray at the Grand Mosque in Kuwait City early on Thursday, on the night of ‘Lailat al-Qadr’ which marks the revelation of the Holy Quran, Islam’s holy book,

to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) through the archangel Gabriel during the fasting month of Ramadan. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

Qiyam prayers held at Grand Mosque

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MOSUL: Mosul’s trademark leaning minaret was missing from its

skyline for the first time in centuries yesterday after desperate

jihadists blew it up as Iraqi forces advanced on an ancient

mosque compound. Explosions on Wednesday evening leveled

the Nuri mosque where Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi gave his first ser-

mon as leader of the Islamic State group and its ancient leaning

minaret, known as the “Hadba” (Hunchback).

Officials from Iraq and the US-led anti-IS coalition said the

destruction of the site was a sign of the jihadist group’s immi-

nent loss of Mosul, with Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi calling it

an “official declaration of defeat”. The loss of the unmistakable

12th century minaret-one of the country’s most recognizable

monuments sometimes referred to as Iraq’s Tower of Pisa-left

the country in shock. But the destruction had been widely antici-

pated, with commanders saying IS, also known as ISIS and

Daesh, would not have allowed Iraqi forces to score a hugely

symbolic victory by recapturing the site.

“They blew up this place in an attempt to cover up their

heavy losses in the media, but the media and the people see the

victories and see the collapse of Daesh,” Brigadier General Falah

Fadel al-Obeidi, from the elite Counter-Terrorism Service, said in

Mosul. IS claimed on its Amaq propaganda agency that the site

was hit in a US strike, but the US-led coalition said it was the

jihadists who had “destroyed one of Mosul and Iraq’s great treas-

ures”. Brett McGurk, the US envoy to the coalition, said it was the

“clearest sign yet of desperation and defeat” from the jihadists.

The destruction of the site in Mosul’s Old City adds to a long list

of priceless heritage and historical monuments destroyed by IS

during its three-year rule over parts of Iraq and Syria. The

minaret, which was completed in 1172 and has been listing for

centuries, is featured on Iraq’s 10,000-dinar banknote and was

the main symbol of Iraq’s second city-giving its name to count-

less restaurants, companies and even sports clubs in Mosul.

Mosul battle not over    

After seizing Iraq’s Sunni Arab heartland in June 2014, IS

reportedly rigged the Hadba with explosives but was prevented

from blowing it up by the local population. The jihadists consider

the reverence of objects, including of such sites, as heresy. The

minaret used to be visible from many spots in the city, especially

from the east bank, across the Tigris river that divides the city.

Iraqi forces had been approaching the Nuri mosque on

Wednesday, after launching an assault on Sunday to retake the

Old City, the last district of Mosul still under IS control.

About 100,000 residents are believed to still be trapped in the

Old City by IS, which has been using civilians as human shields to

defend its last redoubt in Mosul. The area still controlled by the

jihadists is small but its narrow streets and the presence of so

many civilians has made the operation very perilous. Two jour-

nalists were killed on Monday and two others wounded near the

Old City and reports by medics and rights groups suggest that

trapped civilians are paying a heavy price. 

The jihadists have been offering fierce resistance in the Old

City, with barrages of mortar fire and a huge number of booby

traps slowing the Iraqi advance. While Iraqi forces have made

good progress to reach the Nuri mosque, Iraqi commanders

have warned that the battle for the Old City is far from over.

When asked about the explosions that forever changed the face

of the city on Wednesday, one west Mosul resident said that

human lives remained more important than any historical monu-

ment. “Although it was Mosul’s symbol and icon, there are peo-

ple who have been killed. They are much more precious than the

minaret,” 38-year-old Yasser Ali said. —AFP 

IS destroys iconic Mosul minaret

Iraqi PM Abadi calls it an ‘official declaration of defeat’

MOSUL: In this file photo, residents walk past the crooked minaret called Al-Hadba, or ‘hunchback’, in a busy

market area in Mosul, Iraq. (Inset) An image grab from a video broadcasted by Iraq’s Al-Sumariya TV channel

shows the base of Mosul’s trademark leaning minaret, known as the ‘Hadba’ (Hunchback), a day after it was

destroyed by jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group. —AFP photos

16

11

18

Trump factor seen

in naming of new

Saudi crown

prince

Car bomb hits

southern 

Afghanistan

bank 

Brits and Thais

race to close

stolen supercar

pipeline

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

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11

I n t e r n a t i o n a l

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

RIYADH: Closer ties between Saudi Arabia

and US President Donald Trump’s admin-

istration helped pave the way for a succes-

sion shake-up making a 31-year-old prince

the kingdom’s de facto ruler, analysts say.

On Wednesday King Salman, 81, named

his son Mohammed bin Salman crown

prince and heir to the throne after firing

Mohammed bin Nayef, whose counter-

terrorism expertise had made him a

favorite of previous American administra-

tions.

Over the past two years Mohammed

bin Salman accumulated vast powers at

the expense of Mohammed bin Nayef, 57,

a veteran law enforcer who served as both

crown prince and interior minister.

Mohammed bin Salman chipped away at

his authority but Mohammed bin Nayef’s

popularity with the previous US adminis-

tration of Barack Obama had prevented

his ouster, said Stephane Lacroix, associate

professor at Sciences Po university in Paris.

“This all changed when Trump came to

power,” he said.

After assuming office in January,

Trump made it clear that his Middle East

partners are Mohammed bin Salman, Abu

Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed

bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Egyptian presi-

dent Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Lacroix said.

Riyadh welcomed Trump’s more aggres-

sive attitude towards its rival Iran, which

Saudi Arabia accuses of interference

throughout the region. Mohammed bin

Salman was an early visitor to Washington,

where he met Trump in March before the

president last month made the first over-

seas trip of his presidency to Saudi Arabia.

Trump received a royal welcome from

Mohammed bin Salman and others. In a

speech, the president urged Muslim lead-

ers assembled in Riyadh from around the

world to “drive out” extremists and “terror-

ists”. He singled out Iran as a culprit.

Trump’s approach emboldened

Mohammed bin Salman and the Abu

Dhabi crown prince who seized the

chance this month to cut ties with their

Gulf neighbor Qatar, analysts and diplo-

mats said. They accused Doha of support-

ing groups, including some backed by

Iran, “that aim to destabilize the region”.

Trump has made statements siding with

Saudi Arabia on the Qatar crisis.

Deep instability

With his Trump connection estab-

lished, Mohammed bin Salman “knew that

the US wouldn’t mind him sidelining

MBN,” Lacroix said, referring to the ex-

crown prince by his initials. “I think the

Trump factor matters tremendously,” he

said. On Wednesday Trump telephoned

the new Saudi crown prince to congratu-

late him on his appointment. Frederic

Wehrey, of the Middle East Programme at

Washington’s Carnegie Endowment for

International Peace, said “a lot of signal-

ing” from Washington including a more

activist regional foreign policy-influenced

the appointment of Mohammed bin

Salman as crown prince.

“I think that matters,” Wehrey said. The

Saudis were not “waiting for a nod from

the (United) States” but the warming of

relations played a role alongside domestic

Saudi factors, he said. By making

Mohammed bin Salman “de facto ruler”

heading the kingdom’s most important

portfolios, King Salman created “a solid

foundation” for his son’s policies, said

Andreas Krieg of the Defence Studies

Department at King’s College London. 

It signals to Washington that the king-

dom is committed to reform “and is the

most important partner for the Trump

administration” against both Iran and

Islamic State group jihadists, Krieg said. His

appointment “is purely about demonstrat-

ing a degree of certainty in times of uncer-

tainty,” Krieg added. Mohammed bin

Salman must also have “full support” from

Saudi royals as pressure mounts from a

series of challenges, he said.

These include the relations with Qatar,

a military intervention that has continued

for more than two years in Yemen, an

economy adjusting to the loss of oil rev-

enue, and attempts at social reform in a

deeply conservative Islamic nation. Lacroix

said that among the thousands-strong

royal family there does not seem to be

much opposition to Mohammed bin

Salman’s appointment, which has concen-

trated power in one man. “This is a very

new thing... the Saudi regime was always

built upon a balance of power between

different actors, different factions,” he said.

“This is the most autocratic version of

the Saudi regime we’ve seen until now.”

With the Saudi royal succession “a done

deal,” the real issue is how to create the

best possible working relationship

between the White House and the Saudi

royals “at a time of really deep instability

and trouble” in the Middle East, said

Anthony Cordesman of the Centre for

Strategic and International Studies in

Washington.—AFP

Trump factor seen in naming 

of new Saudi crown prince

Riyadh welcomes Trump’s attitude towards Iran

MECCA: A handout photo made available by the Saudi press Agency shows Saudi Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman sitting as royal family members and other officials pledge allegiance to him, at

the Royal Palace in Mecca. —AFP

Turkey lifts foreign travel 

ban on charged novelist

ISTANBUL: Turkish court yesterday lifted a foreign travel

ban imposed on one of the country’s leading contempo-

rary novelists after she was put on trial on charges of sup-

porting “terror” groups. The move by the Istanbul court

will allow Asli Erdogan to travel abroad and receive prizes

she had been unable to collect due to the ban. However

she remains on trial on charges of “terror propaganda” for

outlawed Kurdish groups, in a case denounced by free-

dom of expression groups.  The next hearing is due on

October 31, her lawyer Erdal Dogan said.

Erdogan, 50, was arrested last summer and held for

132 days on terror propaganda charges during a probe

into the now-closed Ozgur Gundem newspaper, which

Ankara condemned as a mouthpiece for the outlawed

Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). She was released in

December but the charges were kept in place and the

travel ban maintained until now. The travel ban of the

prominent Turkish translator Necmiye Alpay, 70, who is

on trial in the same case, was also lifted. Erdogan, speak-

ing to journalists outside the Istanbul court, welcomed

the travel ban lifting as a “positive step” but slammed the

continuation of the case. “I have been writing for 18 years

and no crime has been found in any of my writings,” she

said. She said anyone could face similar experiences in

Turkey. “They make us understand that in this country

every journalist, every lawyer, every politician could find

themselves in prison before sunrise or after sunset,”

Erdogan said. “That’s a heavy trauma we’ve been exposed

to,” she added.

‘I am struggling’

The novelist’s detention sparked an international out-

cry and amplified concern over freedom of expression

after last July’s failed coup, which sought to unseat

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She was charged over

three articles written for Ozgur Gundem last year on the

situation in the Kurdish-majority southeast, where

Turkish armed forces are battling the PKK, which is listed

as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. If con-

victed, Erdogan-no relation to the president-could still

face life imprisonment. “There’s only one thing that I

know. I am innocent. I am forced to pay a price just

because I expressed my opinion in the name of freedom

of thought,” Erdogan said. She however admitted that

her mind would not be at ease until the case was con-

cluded. “I haven’t overcome the trauma yet,” she said. “I

am struggling because it’s the first time in my life I have

been on trial.” —AFP

ISTANBUL: Turkish novelist Asli Erdogan talks

to media in front of Istanbul’s courthouse after

her trial. —AFP

TEHRAN: Iran is shipping more than 1,000

tons of fruits and vegetables to Qatar

every day after Gulf countries led by Saudi

Arabia cut relations with Doha, Fars news

agency reported yesterday. Saudi Arabia,

the UAE and Bahrain are among several

countries which announced on June 5 the

suspension of all ties to Qatar over what

they say is its support for extremist groups

and its political proximity to Iran. Qatar

denies the allegations. Iran, an arch-rival

of Saudi Arabia, began exporting food to

Qatar days later as the unprecedented

Gulf crisis left the isolated emirate without

the land transport links it usually relies on

to import food. Mohammad Mehdi

Bonchari, director of ports in Iran’s

Boushehr province, said Tehran was ship-

ping 1,100 tons of food each day to Qatar,

Fars reported. Iran has also flown food to

the emirate. On June 11, Iran’s national

airline told AFP that it had sent five planes

of vegetables to Qatar.

On the same day Fars quoted the head

of Iran’s cattle exporting association as say-

ing 66 tons of beef had been exported to

Qatar, with another 90 tons of beef expect-

ed to follow. Qatar’s air lines have been

forced to re-route some of their flights to

go over Iran to avoid the newly banned

skies over Saudi Arabia, Yemen and

Bahrain. That has increased traffic in

Iranian air space by 17 percent, the official

state news agency has reported.

Iran has urged Qatar and Gulf neigh-

bors to engage in dialogue to resolve their

dispute. Foreign Minister Mohammad

Javad Zarif has called for a permanent

mechanism in the Gulf to resolve crises like

the blockade against Qatar. —AFP 

Iran sends 1,100 tons of food to Qatar daily

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