Pope prays in Turkey mosque
ISTANBUL – Pope Francis stood Saturday for two minutes of silent prayer facing east in one of Turkey’s most important mosques, a powerful vision of Christian-Muslim understanding at a time when neighboring countries are experiencing violent Islamic assault on Christians and religious minorities.
His head bowed, eyes closed and hands clasped in front of him, Francis prayed alongside the Grand Mufti of Istanbul, Rahmi Yaran, in the 17th-century Sultan Ahmet mosque, shifting gears to religious concerns on the second day of his three-day visit to Turkey.
“May God accept it,” Yaran told the pope of their prayer.
Islamic State group launches new assault
BEIRUT – The Islamic State group launched an attack Saturday on the Syrian border town of Kobani from Turkey, a Kurdish official and activists said, although Turkey denied that the fighters had used its territory for the raid.
The assault began when a suicide bomber driving an armored vehicle detonated his explosives on the border crossing between Kobani and Turkey, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Nawaf Khalil, a spokesman for Syria’s powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party.
The Islamic State group “used to attack the town from three sides,” Khalil said. “Today, they are attacking from four sides.”
Taliban attack kills 2, including foreigner
KABUL, Afghanistan – Taliban attackers armed with suicide bomb vests and assault rifles killed two people, one a foreigner, during a raid on a guesthouse near the Afghan parliament Saturday, authorities said, the latest attack in the capital as NATO troops withdraw from the country.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi did not identify the dead, only saying they worked for a foreign aid group he declined to name. Security forces rescued six Afghans held hostage by the attackers during the assault, he said.
The Taliban claimed the attack in a statement, saying they targeted “a secret missionary center.”
Associated Press
