LA Times News

LA Times News

Egypt has 'conclusive' evidence that Al Qaeda group was behind church bombing

Posted: 23 Jan 2011 11:34 AM PST

Palestinian militants linked to Al Qaeda are blamed in the New Year's Day attack that killed 25 Coptic Christians. With foreigners named as the culprits, religious tensions may ease.

The Egyptian government announced Sunday that it had "conclusive proof" that an Al Qaeda-linked Palestinian militant group orchestrated the New Year's Day bombing outside a Coptic Christian church that killed 25 worshipers and exacerbated sectarian tensions across Egypt.

Deadly commando raid on Gaza flotilla did not violate law, Israeli panel says

Posted: 23 Jan 2011 08:42 AM PST

The government-appointed commission says in a report that the protesters aboard the ship trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip instigated the violence. Activists discount the findings: 'It's a whitewash.'

A commission appointed by Israel's government concluded Sunday that the country's military did not violate international law in carrying out a deadly commando raid last spring against a protest ship that was attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in defiance of Israel's naval blockade.

Al Qaeda-linked militants behind church attack, Egypt says

Posted: 23 Jan 2011 05:17 AM PST

The interior minister says the Army of Islam carried out the Jan. 1 bombing at a Coptic Christian church that left 25 dead. .

The Egyptian government announced Sunday that it had "conclusive evidence" that an Al Qaeda-linked Palestinian militant group orchestrated the New Year's Day bombing outside a Coptic Christian church that killed 25 worshipers and agitated sectarian tensions across the country.

Taliban and Western forces focus on Afghan district

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 09:00 PM PST

Deadly Sangin district in the southern province of Helmand is a center of narcotics trafficking for the insurgents and a strategically located area where Western forces are keen to show progress.

British troops who have served there tend to depart from standard military terminology when they talk about what kind of place it is. They use words like "spooky," "eerie," "haunted." Or they might invoke a short, sharp profanity.

Israeli intolerance shows up on Internet, in Knesset, on the street

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 09:10 PM PST

Racism, homophobia and religious discrimination seem to be more prevalent, taking the form of threats and even a government motion. But one journalist says the trend is just a sign of 'growing pains.'

The intent of the anonymous Internet video was unambiguous: "This person should be killed — and soon," read a message underneath a photo of Israel's deputy state prosecutor, Shai Nitzan.

Marines pay a price trying to secure an Afghan hot spot

Posted: 22 Jan 2011 08:33 PM PST

What happened to them in Sangin district of Helmand province shows the sacrifices in a campaign aimed at crippling the Taliban in a stronghold and helping extricate the U.S. from a decadelong war.

Marines tell of snipers who fire from "murder holes" cut into mud-walled compounds. Fighters who lie in wait in trenches dug around rough farmhouses clustered together for protection. Farmers who seem to tip the Taliban to the outsiders' every movement , often with signals that sound like birdcalls.