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Shiite cleric killed in grenade attack near Syrian capital of Damascus

By The Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Assailants killed a Shiite cleric Friday near the Syrian capital by hurling a grenade into his car, state media reported.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack that killed Farhan al-Mansour, the main preacher at a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab.

State news agency SANA and state TV said that security was boosted in the southern suburb of Damascus, adding that security forces have launched an investigation to find the suspects behind the attack.

The area was the scene of intense clashes during the early years of Syria’s conflict that broke out in March 2011.

Tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims used to visit the Sayyida Zeinab Shrine where they believe the granddaughter of Prophet Muhammad is entombed. Since the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government in December 2024, the numbers have dropped sharply.

Zeinab is a daughter of the first Shiite imam, Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad. She’s especially revered among Shiites as a symbol of steadfastness, patience and courage.

Sayyida Zeinab has been the site of past attacks on Shiite pilgrims by the Islamic State group, which takes an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam and considers Shiites to be infidels.

Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait following US strikes, threatens to end talks to end the war

By The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched drone and missile attacks Sunday targeting Bahrain and Kuwait in response to U.S. airstrikes that hit the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” could come to negotiations to end the war if Washington continues its attacks. Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, without Iran's direct oversight sparked the crossfire now gripping the region. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday that it would expand a route near Oman in the Strait of Hormuz to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic — setting up a new flashpoint with Tehran. Iran insists it alone must govern the strait after the war, upending decades of the world considering that the strait was international waters free for all, despite its sitting in Iran and Oman's territorial waters. Tehran has twice attacked vessels going through the Oman route, backed by a United Nations agency, in recent days. Early Sunday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a ship at sea early Saturday morning. That ship, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku, carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, a key negotiator between Iran and the United States.
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