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Israel Issues Travel Warning to Parts of Sri Lanka over Terror Threat

A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
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Israel Issues Travel Warning to Parts of Sri Lanka over Terror Threat

A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura
A view shows graffiti, partially painted over, on a bridge overlooking the city's main highway, near a building with a light display commemorating the deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 22, 2024. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

Israel's national security council on Wednesday called on Israelis to immediately leave some tourist areas in southern Sri Lanka over the threat of a possible terrorist attack.

The agency said the warning pertained to the area of Arugam Bay and beaches in the south and west of Sri Lanka, and stemmed from "current information about a terrorist threat focused on tourist areas and beaches.”

The security council did not specify the exact nature of the threat and called on Israelis in the rest of Sri Lanka to be cautious and refrain from holding large gatherings in public areas.

"The Israeli security establishment ... is in close contact with the security authorities in Sri Lanka and is following the developments," it said. 
 

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32 Killed in New Sectarian Violence in Pakistan

Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
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32 Killed in New Sectarian Violence in Pakistan

Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Police officers stand guard near their vehicles during a protest by Pakistani Shiite Muslims against an attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram, in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, 22 November 2024. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN

At least 32 people were killed and 47 wounded in sectarian clashes in northwest Pakistan, an official told AFP on Saturday, two days after attacks on Shiite passenger convoys killed 43.

Sporadic fighting between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan has killed around 150 over the past months.

"Fighting between Shiite and Sunni communities continues at multiple locations. According to the latest reports, 32 people have been killed which include 14 Sunnis and 18 Shiites," a senior administrative official told AFP on condition of anonymity on Saturday.

On Thursday, gunmen opened fire on two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims travelling with police escort in Kurram, killing 43 while 11 wounded are still in "critical condition", officials told AFP.

In retaliation Shiite Muslims on Friday evening attacked several Sunni locations in the Kurram district, once a semi-autonomous region, where sectarian violence has resulted in the deaths of hundreds over the years.

"Around 7 pm (1400 GMT), a group of enraged Shiite individuals attacked the Sunni-dominated Bagan Bazaar," a senior police officer stationed in Kurram told AFP.

"After firing, they set the entire market ablaze and entered nearby homes, pouring petrol and setting them on fire. Initial reports suggest over 300 shops and more than 100 houses have been burned," he said.

Local Sunnis "also fired back at the attackers", he added.

Javedullah Mehsud, a senior official in Kurram said there were "efforts to restore peace ... (through) the deployment of security forces" and with the help of "local elders".

After Thursday's attacks that killed 43, including seven women and three children, thousands of Shiite Muslims took to the streets in various cities of Pakistan on Friday.

Several hundred people demonstrated in Lahore, Pakistan's second city and Karachi, the country's commercial hub.

In Parachinar, the main town of Kurram district, thousands participated in a sit-in, while hundreds attended the funerals of the victims, mainly Shiite civilians.