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Lebanon blasts near Iran’s embassy in Beirut

Breaking news 19 November 2013 Last updated at 08:22 Seven people have been reported killed as explosions struck near the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Conflicting reports say the blasts could have come from rockets or a car bomb. Several buildings were damaged, eyewitnesses said. Iran is a major backer of the Lebanaese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of Bashar al-Assad. The conflict in Syria has worsened sectarian tensions in Lebanon. The area around the Iranian embassy, in south Beirut, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. On 15 August, 16 people were killed in a blast in south Beirut. Hezbollah fighters were instrumental in a strategic victory by Syrian government forces in Qusair, close to the border with Lebanon, in early June.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Lebanon blasts near Iran's embassy in Beirut

Breaking news 19 November 2013 Last updated at 08:22 Seven people have been reported killed as explosions struck near the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Conflicting reports say the blasts could have come from rockets or a car bomb. Several buildings were damaged, eyewitnesses said. Iran is a major backer of the Lebanaese Shia militant group Hezbollah, which has sent fighters to Syria to back the government of Bashar al-Assad. The conflict in Syria has worsened sectarian tensions in Lebanon. The area around the Iranian embassy, in south Beirut, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold. On 15 August, 16 people were killed in a blast in south Beirut. Hezbollah fighters were instrumental in a strategic victory by Syrian government forces in Qusair, close to the border with Lebanon, in early June.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Sectarian fury could threaten Iraq's push for record oil output

BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 17 (UPI) — The Iraqi government is seeking to restore calm in the southern province of Basra, the country’s main oil production center, after hundreds of foreign oilmen were hastily evacuated amid violent protests by Iraqi oil workers. The evacuation, after rioters wrecked a camp used by Houston-based Schlumberger Inc., the world’s largest oilfield services company, came amid a worsening surge of sectarian warfare across Iraq that threatens to undermine a drive by the government to boost oil production to record levels and challenge Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil power. Until recently, the bloodletting, largely the work of Sunni extremists of al-Qaida against Iraq’s Shiite majority, had not seriously threatened the Basra oil fields, which produce around two-thirds of Iraq’s output. But in the last few weeks the Shiites around Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, have become targets, and any major escalation could impact […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
Category:

Sectarian fury could threaten Iraq’s push for record oil output

BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 17 (UPI) — The Iraqi government is seeking to restore calm in the southern province of Basra, the country’s main oil production center, after hundreds of foreign oilmen were hastily evacuated amid violent protests by Iraqi oil workers. The evacuation, after rioters wrecked a camp used by Houston-based Schlumberger Inc., the world’s largest oilfield services company, came amid a worsening surge of sectarian warfare across Iraq that threatens to undermine a drive by the government to boost oil production to record levels and challenge Saudi Arabia as the world’s leading oil power. Until recently, the bloodletting, largely the work of Sunni extremists of al-Qaida against Iraq’s Shiite majority, had not seriously threatened the Basra oil fields, which produce around two-thirds of Iraq’s output. But in the last few weeks the Shiites around Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, have become targets, and any major escalation could impact […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple