Egypt — Regime Shortens Curfew, Except on Fridays
A suicide bomber killed at least 25 people and wounded at least 36 in Baghdad on Friday night, and seven people died in other attacks in Iraq yesterday.
The suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged belt at a park in the north of the capital.
Earlier on Friday, gunmen burst into a house north of Baghdad and killed three people, while violence in Hilla, south of the capital, left two dead.
Sixn other shootings and explosions in Baghdad and in Mosul in north Iraq killed two people and wounded 12 others.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for a joint command centre in northern Iraq said security forces arrested seven Sunni insurgents.
One was the Finance Minister of the Islamic State of Iraq and as-Sham. He had reportedly tried to enter Iraq from Syria with fake documents.
Killings in Iraq are at their highest level since 2008, killing more than 3,600 people since the beginning of the year.
(Featured Photo: Aftermath of car bomb in Baghdad, July 21, 2013)
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Egypt: Regime Shortens Curfew, Except on Fridays
The regime has pushed back the start of curfew in 14 Egyptian governorates, including Cairo, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. except on Fridays.
The curfew will still end at 6 a.m.
The month-long curfew was imposed earlier this month after hundreds of Egyptians — mainly supporters of deposed President Morsi — were killed as security forces violently suppressed protests.
Fewer anti-regime demonstrators than expected were on the streets on Friday, following the detention of senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which backed the Morsi Government.
Lebanon Video: The Moment of Explosion Inside Tripoli’s al-Taqwa Mosque
Bahrain: 1000s Demonstrate on Friday Against Regime
Another video — see two others posted in Friday’s coverage — of the moment that car bombs detonated outside two mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon on Friday, killing 42 people:
The video inside al-Taqwa Mosque shows Sheikh Salem al-Rafei, a prominent critic of Syria’s Assad regime, preaching as the bomb detonates outside.
Bahrain: 1000s Demonstrate on Friday Against Regime
Thousands of people marched on Friday near Bahrain’s capital Manama to protest new strict new laws designed to curb dissent.
The Government gave prior approval to the march, called by opposition groups such as Al Wefaq, and it was not confronted by security forces.
King Hamad decreed additional measures earlier this month to curb non-government organizations, limiting their outside funding. Leaders of Bahrain’s human rights groups remain behind bars.
Lebanon: Death Toll Rises to 47 from Friday’s Double Bombing in Tripoli
The death toll has risen to 47 in Friday’s car bombs near the al-Taqwa and as-Salam Mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a suspect, Sheikh Ahmad Gharib, was arrested overnight, with “judicial sources” claiming arms, explosives, and maps were found at his home.
The sources said that Gharib is linked to Syria’s ruling Baath Party and had recently paid several visits to Syria, where he had previously studied Islam.
Security sources said that about 300 people who were wounded are still hospitalized.
Funerals of the victims have started across Tripoli, where the atmosphere is calm but many shops are closed and traffic is slow.
