N E W STUESDAY, JULY 5, 2016

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The third cell comprised of two Kuwaitis, one ofthem a policeman, who were seized along with twoKalashnikov rifles and ammunition. The pair confessedto plotting attacks in the country, the Ministry said. InNovember last year, Kuwaiti police busted an interna-tional cell led by a Lebanese man that was sending airdefense systems and funds to the Islamic State group.Several suspected IS members and sympathizers weretried in the Gulf emirate for a suicide bombing lastmonth claimed by the group.

In another development, the Public Prosecution hasreleased the suspect Abdullah Mubarak Mohammad,with whom authorities found a box containing twoweapons, ammunition and an IS flag, because there areno charges against him by law. Tweeters posted part ofa telephone call with the suspect in which he said hehas nothing to do with the organization, but was ques-tioned because he owns the farm where the box wasfound. A source said Kuwaiti law does not criminalizejoining IS, adding that the suspect was expected to bereleased after interrogations because there are no clear

charges against him. Meanwhile, His Highness the AmirSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday senta cable to Deputy Prime Minister and Interior MinisterSheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. In hiscable, His Highness the Amir thanked the minister, theMinistry’s Undersecretary and all security agencies andpersonnel for their fervent, relentless and sincere effortsmarked by efficiency and dedication in order to maintainnational security, and citizens’ and residents’ safety. TheAmir appreciated the great security efforts in foiling threeterrorist plans targeting national security and stability.

His Highness the Amir voiced confidence that thesecurity personnel would remain vigilant against anybid to undermine national security, wishing thenat ion ever last ing secur i t y and stabi l i t y. H isHighness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-AhmadAl-Jaber Al-Sabah and H is H ighness the Pr imeMinister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent two similar cables to Deputy Premier andInterior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, highly commending the securitypersonnel’s great efforts to thwart terrorist attemptstargeting national security. — Agencies

Kuwait busts three IS cells plotting attacks

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The Quran describes real patience as beautiful. “Therefore, bepatient with beautiful patience” (70:5). Beautiful patience is one ofcontentment and absolute conviction of God’s goodness and care.In Ramadan, for example, patience means being cheerful and pro-ductive throughout the month, and anticipating God’s pleasure, for-giveness and generous rewards.

The Quran encourages us to be patient: “Indeed, mankind is inloss, except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and exhortone another to uphold truth and exhort one another to persevere

with patience.” (103:2-3)”Those who show patience and work right-eousness - for them is forgiveness and a great reward” (11:11). “Sopersevere in patience, for the Promise of God is true.” (40:77) What agreater way to show patience than Ramadan!

Courtesy of the TIES Center, whose mission is to empower Kuwait’sexpats through social and educational services that promote a positiveand productive role in society, and to facilitate opportunities for intra-and interfaith interactions that promote social solidarity. For moreinformation, please call 25231015/6 or e-mail: info@tiescenter.net.

Ramadan & patience

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near the US consulate in Jeddah... which occurred inthe early morning hours of July 4.” “There are no casual-ties or injuries among US consulate staff. Media reporttwo Saudi police officers were injured,” it said.

US embassy and consulate remain in contact withthe Saudi authorities as they investigate the incident,” itadded, urging Americans to “take extra precautionswhen travelling throughout the country.” In March lastyear the US embassy closed its main office, as well asconsulates in Jeddah and Dhahran, for a few days overunspecified “security concerns”.

Blast in Medina, QatifIn another development, a suicide bomber detonat-

ed a device near the security headquarters of theProphet’s Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia, the second-holiest site in Islam, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya televisionreported yesterday. The blast followed others in Qatifand Jeddah yesterday, the last day of the Muslim holyfasting month of Ramadan and start of the Eid Al-Fitrafestival. Pictures circulating on social media showeddark smoke billowing from flames near the mosque.

Wave of IS attacks The US consulate in Jeddah was previously targeted

in December 2004 when gunmen opened fire andlobbed explosives at the compound, killing five people,in an attack blamed on Al-Qaeda. It was not immediate-ly clear who may have been behind yesterday’s inci-dent, but since late 2014 Saudi security officers andminority Shiites have been hit by deadly violenceclaimed by IS. Branding its rulers “apostate tyrants”, ISleader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi has called for attacks onSaudi Arabia, which is taking part in the US-led coalitionbombing the jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

In May the Interior Ministry said four suspectedjihadists died-two by blowing themselves up-during a

raid east of Jeddah. Two of them were wanted for someof the deadliest recent attacks in the kingdom. Theseincluded the suicide bombing which killed 15 people ata mosque inside a Saudi Special Forces compound inthe southwestern city of Abha last August. Another sus-pect killed in the May raid was sought in connectionwith deadly suicide blasts at two Shiite mosques in thekingdom’s east.

Police said he was also involved in the November2014 shooting of seven Shiite worshippers, whichbegan the series of attacks allegedly linked to IS in theSunni-dominated kingdom. IS-linked violence has alsostruck neighboring Kuwait, where a suicide bomberblew himself up in a Shiite mosque, killing 26 worship-pers, a year ago.

Yesterday Kuwait’s Interior Ministry said it had brokenup three IS cells plotting attacks there. Five Kuwaitinationals were arrested, including a policeman and awoman. They all confessed to plotting attacks against aShiite mosque and an interior ministry target, the ministrysaid in a statement. Despite the upsurge in attacks againstSaudis, foreigners have rarely been targeted in recentyears. In November 2014 a Dane was shot and woundedin the capital Riyadh. Police arrested three alleged Saudisupporters of IS in connection with the attack.

Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has sent a cable to KingSalman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, expressingKuwait’s strongest condemnation to the ‘terror act’ thattook place at one of Jeddah’s hospitals’ parking lot. HisHighness the Amir voiced out his support to all securitymeasures that will be carried out by the SaudiGovernment to combat terror acts. He reiteratedKuwait’s refusing stance to all manifestations of terror-ism everywhere. Also, His Highness the Crown PrinceSheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HisHighness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-MubarakAl-Hamad Al-Sabah sent cables of condolences to theSaudi King over the victims of the blast. — Agencies

Suicide bomber strikes near US consulate...

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“I understand the emotional feelings and actions thatoccurred in a moment of sadness and anger,” Abadi saidin a statement. IS claimed the attack in a statement say-ing it was carried out by an Iraqi as part of “ongoing secu-rity operations”.

The jihadist group said the blast targeted Iraq’s ShiiteMuslim majority, whom the Sunni extremists considerheretics and frequently attack in Baghdad and else-where. Bombings in the capital have decreased since ISoverran large areas north and west of Baghdad in June2014, with the jihadists apparently more concerned withoperations elsewhere. But the group has struck backagainst Iraqi civilians after suffering military setbacks,and in May, Baghdad was rocked by a series of blasts thatkilled more than 150 people in seven days.

‘Cowardly and heinous act’With thousands of vehicles moving in and out of the

city each day, such bombings are difficult to prevent. Butthere are also flaws in security measures in the city, espe-cially the use of fake bomb detectors at checkpoints

years after the man who sold them to Iraq was jailed forfraud in Britain. Abadi announced a series of securitychanges after Sunday’s bombing, including scrappingthe fake detectors.

He also ordered the deployment of scanning devices atentrances to Baghdad to be sped up, directed that securitypersonnel be banned from using mobile phones at check-points, and called for increased aerial reconnaissance andcoordination among security forces. But soldiers andpolicemen still carried the fake detectors at some check-points in central Baghdad yesterday, saying the order tostop using them had not yet been passed down.

The bombing came after Iraqi forces completely recap-tured Fallujah, a city 50 kilometers west of Baghdad, aweek ago. Anti-government fighters seized Fallujah inearly 2014 and it later became one of IS’s main strong-holds in the country. IS’s defeat there was compoundedby a devastating series of air strikes targeting jihadistforces as they sought to flee the Fallujah area that officialssaid killed dozens and destroyed hundreds of vehicles.Sunday’s Baghdad bombing was widely condemned,with UN Iraq envoy Jan Kubis calling it a “cowardly andheinous act of unparalleled proportions”. — AFP

Anger mounts as Iraqi death toll...

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In the city of Abbottabad, a teenage girl who helped a friendelope was tortured, injected with poison and then strapped tothe seat of a vehicle and set on fire. A jirga, or council of local eld-ers, ordered her killing as a message to others. The brutality andrapid succession of killings horrified many Pakistanis.

The numbers of such killings have been climbing. Last year,1,096 women and 88 men were killed in “honor” crimes inPakistan, according to the independent Human RightsCommission of Pakistan. In 2014, the number was 1,005 women,including 82 children, up from 869 women a year earlier. The truenumbers are believed to be higher, with many cases going unre-ported, activists say.

Some human rights and women’s rights activists believe therise in numbers and brutality reflects an older generation diggingin against creeping change. Over the years, more women havebeen going to school and working outside the home, and socialmedia have helped women raise their voices. More than 70 per-cent of Pakistan’s 180 million people are under 30, and some arechallenging traditions to an unprecedented degree.

“The old order of misogyny and extremism is falling apart, isreally crumbling,” says Marvi Sermid, a women’s rights activist.Centuries of tradition in Pakistan tie the idea of a woman as anuntouched commodity to a family’s honor. Traditions havebeen further strengthened by governments that often curriedthe support of religious hard-liners with legislation enshriningthe old ways.

Those who kill for “honor” are almost never punished inPakistan. A law based on Islamic Shariah allows the family of avictim to forgive a killer, and in these cases the killers are almostalways family. So other relatives give their forgiveness, unwillingto see loved ones jailed. Still, outrage over recent killings and oth-er violence against women has fueled an outcry against theestablishment. One target has been the Council of IslamicIdeology, a body of conservative Muslim clerics that advises thegovernment to ensure laws don’t stray from Shariah.

When the government proposed a law aimed at protectingwomen against violence, the council in May put forward an alter-

native allowing men to “lightly beat” their wives. Young peoplereplied with a Twitter campaign with the mocking hashtag#TryBeatingMeLightly. On TV talk shows, guests denounced thecouncil as misogynist and out of touch. Some lawmakers calledfor it to be disbanded. The outcry appears to be having an effect.The council in June decreed that honor killings are un-Islamic.

Meanwhile, police and prosecutors have found a way aroundthe forgiveness loophole. Rafiq and one of her sons suspected ofhelping in Zeenat’s killing have been detained and face chargesunder the anti-terrorism law, which defines any act that causesgeneral panic as terrorism. Zeenat’s death underscores the socialtraditions that underpin “honor” crimes. For months, neighborssaid, her mother complained about her two elder daughters,who married men of their own choice.

Zeenat was Rafiq’s last chance to save her honor. Sheplanned an arranged marriage for Zeenat with a member oftheir own social caste, the Rajput, which is said to be descendedfrom kings. But Zeenat had her heart set on a childhood friend, a20-year-old motorcycle mechanic named Hassan Khan wholived nearby in their crowded Lahore shantytown. “We were inlove,” Khan said, his voice barely a whisper. He showed a collec-tion of selfies on his phone that Zeenat had put together to therhythm of their favorite song, an Urdu pop tune called “YouMade Me Your Lover.” As the music played, Zeenat in the photosstruck different poses, always smiling, her black hair falling pasther shoulders.

She loved taking selfies, music and poetry, he said. She hadmemorized the Quran and taught it to local children. Zeenatand her mother fought about Khan, and Zeenat told him hermother beat her. Khan said Zeenat pleaded with him to marryher. In May, they finally did, marrying at a courthouse. Zeenatmoved into Khan’s home. A few days later, Zeenat’s mother anduncle came, begging her to come home, just for a few days.They said they would arrange a proper wedding for her andKhan, which would save their honor by showing neighbors shedidn’t elope. Zeenat’s uncle promised she would be safe. Khan’selders eventually agreed that Zeenat would go with her mother.At first, it seemed Zeenat’s mother had accepted their marriage,Khan said. — AP

‘Honor’ killings grow more brutal

LAHORE: Hassan Khan, whose wife Zeenat was killed by her mother, lays rose petals on her grave in Lahore,Pakistan. —AP