#Phoenix braces for 'Draw #Mohammad' contest outside mosque

The Islamic Community Center of Phoenix Monday, May 4, 2015

Arizona police stepped up security on Friday near a mosque for a planned outdoor protest that includes drawing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, weeks after a similar competition in Texas came under attack by two gunmen.

Friday's event is set to run concurrently with evening prayers at the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix.

Most Muslims believe it is blasphemous to create pictures of the Prophet Mohammad.

"Dealing with this type of activity is a challenge that is facing law enforcement across the country," Phoenix police Sergeant Trent Crump said in an email response to questions.

"Dealing with groups of protesters and opposing views is not the difficult part. Our goal and the real challenge are trying to anticipate unlawful activities that might occur in conjunction with these events," he said.

Caricatures of the Prophet and celebrations of them have proven a flashpoint for violence in recent months. In January, gunmen killed 12 people at the Paris office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an act of retribution for the magazine's cartoons featuring the Prophet.

A similar attack was foiled outside Dallas in early May when the two gunmen opened fire outside an exhibit of cartoons of Mohammad.

The pair, who had attended the Phoenix mosque targeted in Friday's event, were shot dead by police without killing anyone.

Organizers of the Phoenix event described it as an act of retribution for the May 3 attack in the Dallas suburb of Garland.

"This is in response to the recent attack in Texas where 2 armed terrorists, with ties to ISIS, attempted jihad," organizers said in a Facebook posting, using a shorthand name for the Islamic State.

U.S. officials investigated claims that the Texas gunmen had ties to the Syria- and Iraq-based Islamic State militant group but never established a firm connection.

Phoenix's Mayor, Greg Stanton, said he did not think Friday's event was a "good idea" but said it would be allowed to go forward.

"It's not a good idea," Stanton told CNN. "I wish it wasn't happening in this location, in my city, but as mayor I can balance my responsibilities to the people of this city."

Organizers of the rally and officials at the mosque it is targeting could not be reached for immediate comment.

Phoenix police declined to provide specific details of their preparations.

One dead in shooting at #Copenhagen #Islam debate

Police presence is seen next to damaged glass at the site of a shooting in Copenhagen February 14, 2015

Unidentified gunmen killed at least one person and wounded three police officers after opening fire Saturday on a cultural centre in Copenhagen hosting a debate on Islam and free speech, police said.

France's ambassador to Denmark Francois Zimeray, who was attending the debate, was not hurt in the shooting which the French authorities called "a terrorist attack".

Danish police said they were hunting for two suspected assailants who fled the scene in a Volkswagen Polo. Security officials were seeking to track down the car through its licence number, they added.

Zimeray told AFP the attackers were seeking to replicate the January 7 assault by jihadists in Paris on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead.

"They shot from the outside (and) had the same intention as Charlie Hebdo, only they didn't manage to get in," Zimeray said by telephone from the venue.

"Intuitively I would say there were at least 50 gunshots, and the police here are saying 200," he told AFP.

"Bullets went through the doors and everyone threw themselves to the floor. We managed to flee the room, and now we're staying inside because it's still dangerous. The attackers haven't been caught and they could very well still be in the neighbourhood."

Zimeray said earlier on Twitter that he was not harmed.

Reports said that Swedish artist Lars Vilks, the author of controversial Prophet Mohammed cartoons published in 2007 that sparked worldwide protests, was also at the debate.

Charlie Hebdo raised the ire of Islamist extremists by republishing those and other caricatures, and later satirising Islam in later editions.

A Femen activist, Inna Shevshenko, said on Twitter that there were several dozen people in the room.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned what he called a "terrorist attack targeting a public meeting", saying in a statement that France "remains by the side of the Danish authorities and people in the fight against terrorism."

Vilks has been under police protection since his 2007 cartoons were published.

The French president's office said Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve was headed to the scene.

Breaking News : Muslim countries react to new Charlie Hebdo cartoon

Having condemned last week's armed attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a number of Arab capitals and institutions condemn the action of the magazine in publishing a new cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed



Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania take part in a rally of defiance and sorrow to honour the 17 victims of three days of bloodshed in Paris that left France on alert for more violence in Paris on Sunday

 "They can't imagine that  what they are continue doing can create a real new world war for insulting the #1 in Islamic world as a holy symbol and prophet of allah.they may be think this time will be no anger because many countries shared condolences for 5 or 6 people killed.but they have to be very sure they are the only one creating real serious bloody conflicts just to publish a useless non sense carton insulting great holy persons for laugh.that's not freedom of speech.that's dirt and misbehave" Tarek Elagamy Told.

Three million copies of the latest Charlie Hebdo edition issued Tuesday in France quickly sold out. Meanwhile, Arab and Muslim countries have begun condemning its new "offensive" cover, depicting the Prophet Mohammed.

Almost a week ago, Muslim gunmen staged a bloody attack on the weekly magazine, ending the lives of 12 persons, including a number of the magazine's journalists and cartoonists.

The new cover shows a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed wearing a white galabeya and crying while holding the slogan "I am Charlie" ("Je Suis Charlie"), under the headline "All is forgiven."

In the wake of last week's attack, the majority of countries in the international community condemned the massacre. Leaders of Arab countries, including the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Turkey and Jordan, participated in an international solidarity march in Paris. But when the magazine announced its new issue would include new cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, Egypt, Jordan and Muslim communities denounced the action.

"Ignore the new Charlie Hebdo edition," Egypt's Al-Azhar said in a statement published Wednesday on its official website, denouncing the new issue and describing the cover cartoon as the product of a "sick imagination."

Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta, responsible for religious edicts, also denounced the latest Charlie Hebdo edition in a statement Tuesday, describing its caricatures of the Prophet Mohamed is "an act unjustifiably provocative to the feelings of a billion and a half Muslims worldwide who love and respect the Prophet.”

For his part, Jordanian Minister of Awqaf (Endowments) and Islamic Affairs Hayel Abdulhafez Dawud denied an Anadolu News Agency report that he had called on all Arab and Muslim countries to boycott French products.

The website of Jordan's state newspaper reported that Dawud had been misquoted, the minister adding that there are many peaceful ways to denounce cartoons offensive to Muslim religious symbols. 

Dawud's statement followed the visit of the Jordanian King Abdullah and his wife to France to participate in the anti-terrorism solidarity march.

Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said that Syria denounced the killing of innocent people in anywhere in the world, but that the act of terrorism that took place in Paris was a reaction to European governments' policy of politicising "terrorists," the Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Morocco's FM Salaheddine Mezouar also went to the Elysee Palace and presented sincere condolences to the families of the victims.

However, the Moroccan government snubbed attending the march against extremism due to the presence of "blasphemous cartoons depicting the Prophet".

For its part, Iran issued a statement condemning the new Charlie Hebdo cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed. Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in a press conference that the new cartoon "provokes the emotions of Muslims around the world and hurts their feelings, and could fan the flames of a vicious circle of extremism."

Iran earlier condemned last week's deadly Paris attack.

Al-Qaeda Organization in Yemen announced its responsibility for the Charlie Hebdo attack Wednesday, after the new edition was issued.

In a video spread on news websites, the spokesman of Al-Qaeda in Yemen, Naser Ansy, said that the attack have been planned and funded by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahry.

"To make it clear for the Muslim community, the one who planned and funded the operation is Al-Qaeda, in respect for our prophet, and the order came from Emir Ayman Zawahry," Ansy said.

#Egypt's Al-#Azhar head blames "enemies' plot" for rising militancy

Ahmed El-Tayyeb's remarks came on opening session of Al-Azhar-sponsored international conference to fight terrorism

Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb, Egyptian Imam of al-Azhar Mosque

Head of Egypt's top Sunni Islamic institute, Al-Azhar said on Wednesday he wished the West would experiment their weapons in the desert instead of the bodies and property of the Arabs, as he gave the opening remarks for an international terrorism-fighting conference.

Egypt is part of the international coalition to fight terrorism, with high expectations from the international community about the significance of its role in fighting radical religious thought and spreading moderate Islamic teachings through its Al-Azhar organisation.

Ahmed El-Tayyeb said a variety of political, societal and religious reasons stand behind the rising wave of militancy across the Middle East, but the "enemies' plot" could be a main cause.

"The plot plays on the sectarian and racial tension along with providing these parties with weapons," he said.

"I just wish the arms factories in the west would experiment with their weapons and their efficiency in the desert instead of the bodies and the installations of Arabs."

The two-day conference, sponsored by Al-Azhar, was attended by Egypt's Coptic Pope, 600 Muslim clerics and heads of Christian churches from 120 countries.

The conference comes at a time when militant groups are gaining cross-border alliances.

Earlier in November, Egypt's leading Sinai-based group, Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis swore allegiance to the Islamic State militant group, which has claimed control over large parts of Syria and Iraq.

Other militant groups across the region, including in Libya, also pledged loyalty to IS, allegedly led by Iraqi militant Abu-Bakr Al-Boghdadi.

El-Tayyeb on Wednesday said the plots aim at "keeping Israel the strongest and richest country in the region."

He spoke of the US invasion of Iraq being predicated on "fabricated reasons" as part of a plot to break up the Iraqi army, one of the strongest in the region at the time. He added that fighting and divisions have spread to Syria, Libya and Yemen.

"God only knows when the war machine will be silenced in these stricken countries and when they will take their own decisions without regional and international pressure or interferences," he said.

The conference comes as part of the campaign by Egypt clerics and moderates to brush off the extremist image of Islam, increasingly exported by militant activity.

"ISIS attempt to export their vision of their new beguiled religion that came to people with slaughter, beheading and forced exile for those who disagree with it," El-Tayeb said. He condemned their brutality as "barbaric crimes" with the cover of Islam.

"This confrontation requires exporting moderate religious speech, which will set aside religion from the circle of manipulation...that threatens the society's safety and the nation's unity," top Lebanese Shia cleric Aly Al-Amin said.

Egypt's Coptic Pope Tawadros II, also giving opening remarks, stressed that Christianity calls for love, acceptance and peacefulness among one another.

Egypt's Christians, who make up nearly 10 percent of the population, have long complained of the discrimination and the waves of sectarian strife that occasionally soar for different, especially in the south of the country.

"We pray every day for the city we're living in, for our neighbors, our borders, the president, the army and the government," Tawadros said. "The Egyptian church has always lived patriotically, and never claimed a timely authority."

Kuwait Islamic Authority contribute 200 million pounds in charity work in Sharqia-الهيئة الإسلامية بالكويت تساهم بـ200 مليون جنيه بأعمال خيرية بالشرقية

قام الدكتور سعيد عبد العزيز محافظ الشرقية ومحمد النجار عضو الهيئة الخيرية الإسلامية بالكويت وأمين صندوق جمعية كفالة اليتيم بقرية العصولجى بتوزيع ملبغ 125 ألف جنيه تكلفة 18 قرض حسن بواقع 6 آلاف جنيه لكل مستفيد وإهداء أدوات منزلية لـ15 عروسة من الأيتام.

وقال محمد النجار فى كلمته بالحفل خلال هذا العام ساهمة الهيئة الخيرية بالكويت بـ125 مشروعا بتكلفة مليون 200 قرض حسن بدون فائدة ربوية بالإضافة إلى توفير جهاز أشعة دوبلر ملون بتكلفة 88 ألف بمستشفى الزقازيق العام وإنشاء مركز كبد متطور بمستشفى جامعة الزقازيق بتكلفة 2 مليون وتزويد مستشفى الأحرار بأجهزة الطوارئ 650 ألفا.

وأضاف النجار أنه تم منح الحكومة المصرية 2 مليار جنيه قرضا لمدة 5 سنوات لتنشيط الاقتصاد.

وشكر المحافظ دولة الكويت وشعبها العظيم مؤكد القروض الممنوحة للشباب تخلق منهم رجال أعمال صغير وتكريم اليتيم حق واجب علينا ويجب لتقديم دعم الفقراء والمساكين، مشيدا بدور الجمعيات الأهلية والمجتمع المدنى فى ذلك...

Bloomberg America: ban the Muslim Brotherhood is the most serious escalation of the political crisis-شبكة بلومبرج الأمريكية: حظر الإخوان المسلمون هو التصعيد الأخطر للأزمة السياسية

اعتبرت شبكة "بلومبرج" الإخبارية الأمريكية أن قرار المحكمة المصرية اليوم الإثنين بحظر تنظيم الإخوان في مصر ومصادرة أموالها هو التصعيد الأخطر والأكثر دراماتيكية في الأزمة السياسية الطاحنة التي تشهدها مصر.

وأوضحت الشبكة أن هذا التحرك يأتي إضافة إلى الحملة التي تشنها الحكومة المؤقتة المدعومة من قبل الجيش المصري ضد الإخوان عقب الإطاحة بالمعزول محمد مرسي في يوليو الماضي.

وأشارت الشبكة إلى أن الحكم- الذي يمكن الطعن عليه- يفتح الباب أمام السلطات لتعقب وملاحقة شبكة من الخدمات الاجتماعية التي يقدمها الإخوان، بالإضافة إلى ضربة قوية لأركان الجماعة من الدعم الشعبي.ويوقف دعمها المادى الخارجى ومصادرة ممتلكاتهم وأصولهم الثابتة والمالية بالأضافة الى أنه سيفتح المجال الى البحث عن مصادر تمويلهم المشكوك بها من السلطة المصرية وتلبية لندائات العديد من منظمات المجتمع المدنى التى تنادى بحل الجماعة ومعرفة مصادر تمويلها وتعقبها بكل مكان لأن دعمها أوصل البلاد الى تعدى الخطوط الحمراء للأمن القومى المصرى وأدخلها بعصر جديد من الأرهاب الدموى الذى تخلصت منه من قبل وها هى الكرة تتعاود من جديد لتدخل الجماعة نطاق الحظر وتلفظ أنفاسها الأخيرة فى مصر

ولفتت الشبكة إلى أن هذ الحكم هو الثاني من نوعه بعد أن تم حظر جماعة الإخوان لأكثر من 85 عاما وعادت إلى الحياة السياسية بعد انتفاضة يناير 2011، الا أنها لم تتعلم من أخطاء الماضى وأستمرت بخطة دموية ممنهجة تجاه مجتمع تريد الحصول على حكمه بالقوة المسلحة وهذا ما لفظه الشعب المصرى بكل قوة وأنتفض من أجله وها هي الآن في سياق الحظر.

وأضافت الصحيفة :"يبقى التساؤل: إلى متى ستبقى الجماعة محظورة؟".

Kenya Red Cross: The number of victims of the Nairobi attack to 69 dead and 63 missing - الصليب الأحمر الكيني : ارتفاع عدد ضحايا هجوم نيروبي إلى 69 قتيلا و63 مفقودا

أفاد الصليب الأحمر الكيني اليوم الاثنين بارتفاع عدد ضحايا الهجوم الإرهابي على المركز التجاري في العاصمة الكينية نيروبي إلى 69 قتيلا و63 مفقودا.

وذكرت شبكة "فوكس نيوز" الأمريكية أنه يعتقد أن ال63 مفقودا إما محتجزين كرهائن من داخل المركز التجاري أو سقطوا قتلى جراء هذا الهجوم الإرهابي.

يشار أن مجلس الأمن الدولي قد أدان في وقت سابق بأشد العبارات الهجوم الإرهابي في نيروبي يوم أمس الأول السبت، وأعرب عن تضامنه مع شعب وحكومة كينيا في هذا الوقت العصيب.

وكانت حركة الشباب الصومالية قد أعلنت مسئوليتها عن الهجوم قائلة إنه جاء ردا على الوجود الكيني في الصومال، مهددة في وقت سابق بشن هجمات ضد كينيا التي أرسلت نحو 4 آلاف جندي للمشاركة ضمن القوات الأفريقية لدعم الحكومة الصومالية.

مرة اخرى تحت شعار ناقصات عقل: الفلسطينية إقبال تدخل "جينيس" كأصغر طالبة طب فى العالم-Again under the banner of lacking mind: Palestinian Iqbal the intervention of "Guinness" youngest medical student in the world

استطاعت طفلة فلسطينية الخروج عن المألوف، والتحقت بكلية الطب وهى فى سن لم تتجاوز الـ 14 سنة من عمرها.

ودخلت الفتاة الفلسطينية إقبال محمود الأسعد موسوعة "جينيس" للأرقام القياسية العالمية، بوصفها أصغر طالبة طب على مستوى العالم، إثر السماح لها بالالتحاق بكلية طب "وايل كورنيل" فى قطر.

تقول "إقبال": "أنهيت مراحل الروضة فى عام واحد، واختصرت صفوف الابتدائى الستة بثلاث سنوات فقط، فى حين درست المرحلة الإعدادية فى عامين، ثم الثانوية فى عامين كذلك"، مضيفة "عندما أتيحت لى فرصة الدراسة الجامعية لم أتردد فى اختيار الدراسة فى كلية طب وايل كورنيل، كونها واحدة من أفضل جامعات العالم".

وتميزت "الطفلة المعجزة"، كما يطلق عليها، ونجحت بتفوق وتم تكريمها من قبل القيادات اللبنانية، وأكدت "أنها ستعود إلى فلسطين بالعلم لا بالسلاح".

السعودية تعلن عن نجاحها فى إنتاج طائرات بدون طيار وإطلاق 12 قمرًا صناعيًّا - Saudi Arabia announces its success in the production of drones and launch 12 satellites

أعلنت مدينة الملك عبدالعزيز للعلوم والتقنية في السعودية، أنها نجحت في صناعة طائرات بدون طيار.

وقالت مدينة الملك عبدالعزيز للعلوم والتقنية، في بيان لها اليوم الأحد، إنها نجحت في تحقيق العديد من الإنجازات العلمية، ومنها العمل على تطوير تقنية الفضاء والطيران لديها من خلال تصنيع طائرات بدون طيار من النوع متوسط الحجم القادر على الطيران في مدى يصل إلى 150 كيلومترًا، ولمدة طيران تصل إلى 8 ساعات، بسرعة 120 كيلومترًا في الساعة، وعلى ارتفاع 5000 متر.

وأضاف التقرير "أن المدينة تمكنت من صناعة طائرة صغيرة الحجم ذات مدى طيران يصل إلى 120 كيلومترًا، ومدة تحليق تتراوح ما بين 5 و 6 ساعات، وبسرعة 120 كيلومترًا في الساعة، وعلى ارتفاع 5000م، علاوة على طائرة كهربائية صغيرة الحجم تحلق على ارتفاع 1000م ولمدة تصل إلى ساعة ونصف الساعة تقريبًا".

وقالت المدينة في تقريرها إنها نجحت "في إطلاق 12 قمرًا اصطناعيًا في الفضاء، أحدها خاص بالاستشعار عن بعد، ويغطي مساحة المملكة العربية السعودية، والمنطقة العربية، وأجزاء كبيرة من قارتي أوروبا وإفريقيا، والهند وباكستان" مؤكدًا أن "أهداف هذه الأقمار تصب في خدمة التنمية والبحث العلمي في المملكة، لتصبح بذلك الدولة العربية الوحيدة التي استطاعت تحقيق توطين هذه التقنية المتقدمة في البلاد".

وأضافت أنها "أجرت اختبارات عدة على أجزاء مختلفة من (القمر السعودي سات 4) وتصميم منصة قمر اصطناعي متعدد الاستخدامات في المجالات البحثية، وإنتاج نماذج ارتفاعات رقمية وصور فضائية مصححة تعامديًا بغرض تحديد مجاري الأودية واتجاهاتها وأحواض تجمع المياه في عدد من مناطق المملكة، إضافة إلى تصميم وإنتاج نوافذ الهلال الجديد لتحديد الدرجات السماوية في مجال رصد الأهلة".

قوات إسرائيلية تدخل المركز التجاري في نيروبي لإنقاذ الرهائن وإسعاف الجرحى في هجوم الكوماندوز الإسلامي-Israeli forces enter the commercial center of Nairobi to rescue the hostages and rescue the wounded in a raid for Islamic commando

أفادت وزارة الداخلية الكينية، الأحد، أن حصيلة ضحايا الهجوم، الذي استهدف المركز التجاري "ويست جيت"  في نيروبي وصلت حتى الأن إلى 59 قتيلا.

وأكدت بريطانيا مقتل ثلاثة من رعاياها في الهجوم.

وقال وزير الداخلية الكيني جوزف أولي لنكو "حتى الآن لدينا 59 قتيلا"، مشيرا أيضا إلى إصابة 175 شخصا بجروح، مقابل مئتين في حصيلة سابقة للصليب الأحمر الكيني.

ولا تزال المواجهة مستمرة ظهر الأحد بين قوات الأمن الكينية والإسلاميين، الذين ما زالوا يحتجزون ما لا يقل عن 30 رهينة.

وقال إن "عددا معينا من المهاجمين ما زالوا في المبنى، (يتراوح) بين 10 و15"، مضيفا "نعتقد أن هناك أبرياء في المبنى لذلك فإن العملية دقيقة".

وقد هاجم عشرة مسلحين ينتمون إلى حركة الشباب المجاهدين في الصومال السبت مركزا تجاريا فخما في نيروبي ما أسفر عن مقتل 59 شخصا بينهم كنديين اثنين وفرنسيتين وزوجة دبلوماسي أميركي، وإصابة 150 بينهم أميركيون وبريطانيون إلى جانب كينيين من رواد المركز.

مقتل ثلاثة بريطانيين في الهجوم

 

أعلن وزير الخارجية البريطاني وليام هيغ الأحد أنه تأكد من مقتل ثلاثة بريطانيين في الهجوم على المركز التجاري بنيروبي.

وقال في بيان إن "ثلاثة بريطانيين قتلوا في هجوم نيروبي والعدد يمكن أن يرتفع".

وترأس وزير الخارجية البريطاني الأحد اجتماع أزمة حول هذا الهجوم المستمر منذ أكثر من 60 ساعة بحسب الحكومة الكينية.

وتم إرسال موظفين دبلوماسيين من لندن إلى نيروبي لتقديم "دعم قنصلي" بحسب البيان، كما أرسلت فرق من أديس ابابا إلى نيروبي.

قوات إسرائيلية تقتحم المبنى 

 

ودخلت قوات إسرائيلية الأحد المركز التجاري بهدف إسعاف الرهائن والجرحى.

وقال مصدر أمني  رفض الكشف عن هويته إن "الإسرائيليين دخلوا للتو وهم يسعفون الرهائن والجرحى".

واشنطن تندد بالهجوم

وندد وزير الخارجية الأميركي جون كيري بالهجوم على المركز التجاري، وأعلن أن الولايات المتحدة عرضت مساعدة كينيا وأنها متأهبة لمد يد العون بأي شكل ممكن.

وأشار الوزير كيري، في بيان أصدره، إلى إصابة مواطنين أميركيين في الهجوم من دون أن يحدد عددهم، لافتا إلى مقتل زوجة دبلوماسي تعمل لحساب الوكالة الأميركية للتنمية الدولية.

وجدد وزير الخارجية الأميركي عزم الولايات المتحدة على قطع الطريق أمام التطرف وتعزيز التسامح في كل أنحاء العالم.

مجلس الأمن يستنكر

استنكر مجلس الأمن الدولي الاعتداء الذي استهدف المركز التجاري، الذي يرتاده الأغنياء والأجانب في كينيا.

وفي بيان صدر بالإجماع عن المجلس، أعربت الدول الـ 15 الأعضاء عن تضامنها مع كينيا حكومة وشعبا، وكررت "إدانتها للإرهاب بكل أشكاله وعزمها على محاربته".

وأدان الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة بان كي مون بدوره الاعتداء، معتبرا إياه "عمل تعمد استهدف المدنيين العزل".

استمرار محاصرة المسلحين داخل المبنى

وفي نفس السياق، أكدت السلطات الأمنية في كينيا أن قوات الجيش والشرطة  تقوم منذ الساعات الأولى من فجر الأحد، بعملية كبيرة لتحرير الرهائن واعتقال المسلحين.

وكان الرئيس الكيني أوهورو كينياتا قد أعلن السبت أن 39 شخصا على الأقل قتلوا على أيدي "إرهابيين" في هجوم بالأسلحة النارية على مركز "ويست جيت" التجاري، وتعهد بأن تلاحق كينيا المسؤولين عن الهجوم.

 وقال  كينياتا في كلمة وجهها الى الشعب "لقد أمل مرتكبو هذا العمل الدنيء والجبان في تخويف الكينيين وتقسيمهم  وزرع اليأس بينهم. إنهم يريدون منا أن نصبح مجتمعا خائفا ومنكسرا ومغلقا، ولكن الثقة والوحدة يصعب السيطرة عليهما."

قوات إسرائيلية تدخل المركز التجاري في نيروبي لإنقاذ الرهائن وإسعاف الجرحى في هجوم الكوماندوز الإسلامي

دخلت قوات إسرائيلية، الأحد، المركز التجاري في نيروبي الذي تعرض لهجوم من كوماندوز إسلامي وذلك بهدف إسعاف الرهائن والجرحى، كما أعلن مصدر أمني لوكالة فرانس برس. 

وقال هذا المصدر رافضًا الكشف عن هويته إن "الإسرائيليين دخلوا للتو وهم يسعفون الرهائن والجرحى"، وأوقع الهجوم على المركز التجاري "وست جيت" 59 قتيلًا وقرابة 200 جريح بحسب الصليب الأحمر، ولا يزال عدد غير محدد من الأشخاص محتجزين رهائن.

39 killed and more carnage feared as Kenya mall attackers face off

Armed gunmen faced off with Kenyan police and soldiers inside an upscale Nairobi shopping mall early Sunday, hours after brazenly gunning down shoppers, diners and more.

Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET Saturday) -- an hour after reporting five "visibly shaken" hostages had been released -- Kenya's National Disaster Operation Center cryptically tweeted "major operations underway." What that meant was a mystery, and it didn't quell fears about what has happened or might happen to an unknown number of civilians who were still unaccounted for inside.

The same agency offered an update about three hours later stating that hostages were being held "in several locations," adding there was "no communications as yet." By then, government authorities had secured the mall's upper levels, though it was not known where the attackers -- and the threat -- remained.

Hours earlier, Kenya's president announced that 39 people, including some of his close relatives, were confirmed dead in the attack. Two gunmen, including one who was detained after being shot, are also dead.

Francis Kimenia, secretary to the Cabinet, tweeted another 293 people got treatment at three area hospitals, which "are appealing for more blood." The wounded range in age from 2 to 78, the disaster operations center said, urging people to "remember them in your prayers.

Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked militant group based in Somalia with ties to Nairobi's Eastleigh district and whose most recent attack of this scale came July 2010 in Uganda's capital, claimed responsibility for the carnage and vowed not to negotiate with Kenyan authorities. It claimed that "all Muslims" were escorted from the mall before the attack, suggesting its targets were people who didn't believe in their extreme form of Islam.

"The Mujahideen are still strong inside #Westgate Mall and still holding their ground," the group said late Saturday via Twitter. "All praise is due to Allah!"

Kenyan authorities, though, insist they have the upper hand, where it's now early Sunday morning. The last few hours of Saturday and the first few of Sunday, in Kenya, were largely quiet outside the mall except for movement

Police tweeted that the attackers "have been isolated and pinned down in a room by security forces." And Joseph Ole Lenku, the national government's cabinet secretary for interior and coordination, hinted that the worst should be over.

"Our security forces have taken control of the situation," Lenku said.

"Attackers of Westgate shopping mall have been isolated and pinned down in a room by security forces in the ongoing operation," the national police said on Twitter.

Kenya's president, Uhuru Kenyatta, blasted "the despicable perpetrators of this cowardly act (who) hoped to intimidate, divide and cause despondency among Kenyans and would like to (create) a closed, fearful and fractured society."

CNN security analyst: Kenya, Westerners high on Al-Shabaab's list

Kenya is no stranger to terrorism, including a 1998 bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi that left 213 dead and other attacks before and since tied to al Qaeda and related groups.

In a televised speech late Saturday, Kenyatta said his nation has "overcome" such attacks before, refusing to budge from its values or relinquish his security. And it will do so again, he promised.

"We shall hunt down the perpetrators wherever they run to," the president said. "We shall get them, and we shall punish them for this heinous crime".

Midday peace shattered by gunfire, blasts

"Westgate Mall lends itself a serene and safe environment away from the city center " the mall's official website states.

That may have been true before -- while there had been warnings, the high-end mall filled with more than 80 stores and restaurants had never been targeted. But it couldn't have been further from the truth Saturday.

Rattles of gunshots that started around noon shattered any sense of normalcy among those picking up groceries, savoring lunch and browsing through the racks at stores.

Uche Kaigwa-Okoye was sipping coffee when he heard what first sounded like a fallen table, then the continuing rat-a-tat of gunfire. As the gunshots became louder, people began screaming and running for the exits.

Gripped by fear: Not seeing attackers was part of the terror

Some went outside, only to turn around and go back into the four-story mall after realizing bullets were flying there as well. Kaigwa-Okoye was among them, joining about 20 people who took shelter for about five hours in a women's bathroom cubicle.

"They had grenades, and it was really, really loud," he told CNN, adding that he noticed tear gas in the corridors as well. "All of us felt like they were close."

As people texted family and friends outside the mall, word spread that nobody could be trusted -- and, even if the good guys could be sorted from the bad guys, the barrage of intermittent gunfire made any escape seem futile.

Sara Head, a Washington resident, experienced similar horror in the mall's parking garage. As her car pulled up, she and others heard gunfire -- prompting them to crawl underneath and sneak behind cars before getting into a stairwell. She had company there, including two people bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Eventually, the stairwell lights went back on and the door to a nearby supermarket opened, so they dashed through and past a nearby loading dock to safety.

"There was blood throughout the supermarket," Head recalled. "... It wasn't clear if it was OK to exit. I was short of sheep following."

Soldiers crawl under cars, copters fly overhead

By then, the sight of Kenyan soldiers in military fatigues crawling under cars with their guns cocked made clear that the once shiny, pristine Westgate mall had become a war zone. The whirr of surveillance helicopters overhead drove home the point.

Police took those leaving the building in a straight line, arms raised in the air. They were all taken to a secluded place for vetting to ensure they were not attackers.

The military asked media not to televise anything live because the gunmen might be watching screens inside the mall and therefore take cues on their movement.

And everyone else, except for authorities, was urged to stay away as roads and nearby locales, including another shopping center, was closed down.

World leaders condemn terror attack at Kenya mall, 

pledge support

The U.N. Security Council condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms," voicing solidarity with Kenya while calling terrorism "one of the most serious threats to international peace and security."

Most of the casualties are Kenyan, authorities said. But the mall is popular with expatriates and foreign nationals, who are among those killed and injured.

That includes two dead French nationals, their government said. Likewise, two Canadians -- one of them a diplomat -- died in the attack, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said there were several Americans among the injured but none among the dead, though the wife of a foreign national working for the U.S. Agency for International Development was killed.

"As we prepare to bring the world's leaders at the United Nations next week," Kerry said in reference to the upcoming U.N. General Assembly, "we are reminded again in tragedy of our common humanity."