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Kamis, 12 Maret 2020

Iran likely behind attack that killed Americans in Iraq: US general - Fox News

Two Americans killed by rocket strike in Iraq

A senior U.S. military source tells Fox News the American service members were killed when 15 rockets struck Camp Taji Military Base, 30 miles north of Baghdad; national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports from the Pentagon.

The head of U.S. forces in the Middle East says an Iranian-backed militia likely launched the attack killing the two Americans and a British soldier in Iraq Wednesday night.

"The Iranian proxy group Kata'eb Hezbollah is the only group known to have previously conducted an indirect fire attack of this scale against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq," Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told Senate lawmakers Thursday morning.

Despite adding over 10,000 U.S. troops to the region since May, McKenzie says Iran continues its attacks against U.S. forces.

“What has not changed is their continuing desire to operate through their proxies indirectly against us,” McKenzie added.

ROCKET FIRE HITS BASE IN IRAQ HOUSING US TROOPS, KILLING 2 AMERICANS, 1 BRITON, MILITARY SAYS

Iranian-backed Shia militia launched 18 Katyusha rockets at Camp Taji, located 17 miles north of Baghdad -- the largest attack on U.S. troops since Iran fired ballistic missiles in early January, days after a U.S. drone strike that killed Iran's most powerful general Qassem Soleimani at Baghdad's airport. Wednesday would have reportedly been Soleimani's 63rd birthday, the same day as the attack.

This photo released by the government-affiliated Media Security Cell on Thursday, March 12, 2020, shows a rocket-rigged truck launcher after a rocket attack on Camp Taji, a few miles north of Baghdad, in Rashidiya, Iraq. Iraq's military on Thursday said it opened an investigation into the rocket attack that hours earlier killed three servicemen, including two Americans, at an Iraqi base housing coalition forces that has been used as a training base for a number of years. (Media Security Cell via AP)

U.S. Central Command says 12 additional coalition troops were wounded in the rocket attack. Iraqi forces found a truck rigged with rocket-launching tubes a few miles from the base.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to his British counterpart after the attack.

2 US SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN IRAQ DURING MISSION AGAINST ISIS

"Today’s deadly attack on Iraq’s Camp Taji military base will not be tolerated. @DominicRaab and I agree – those responsible must be held accountable," Pompeo said in a tweet.

Ben Wallace, Britain's defense secretary, said Thursday: “Last night’s attack on UK and coalition personnel was a cowardly and retrograde act. The men and women of the UK armed forces are in Iraq to help that country establish stability and prosperity. The people that did this are not friends of Iraq."

Wednesday night, the remains of two U.S. Marine special operators who were killed Sunday in Iraq battling ISIS, returned to Dover Air Force base. Capt. Moises A. Navas, of Germantown, Md., and Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, of Simi Valley, Calif. were both 34 years old.

McKenzie did not drop any hints about a potential military response to the latest attack in Iraq , but told lawmakers he now has two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East, the USS Harry Truman and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In late December, the U.S. military blamed Kata'eb Hezbollah--whom the State Department designates a terrorist group--for launching a rocket attack that killed an American contractor.

Days later the U.S. military launched an airstrike targeting Kata’eb Hezbollah’s camps in western Iraq and eastern Syria killing dozens of militants.

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The terrorist group responded by sending an angry mob to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve.

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2020-03-12 14:21:28Z
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WHO Expert: Aggressive Action Against Coronavirus Cuts Down On Spread : Goats and Soda - NPR

Hong Kong and Singapore were hit early with the coronavirus. But each now has fewer than 200 cases, while France, Germany and Spain, which were hit late, all have more than 10 times that number.

Three weeks ago, Italy had only three cases. Now it has more than 10,000.

These dramatic differences show that how governments respond to this virus matters, says Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization's head of emergencies.

"Hope is not a strategy," says Ryan, who is an epidemiologist. "We are still very much in the up cycle of this epidemic."

The veteran of numerous global health crises, from SARS to bird flu to Ebola, Ryan points out that incredibly aggressive measures by China, South Korea and Japan appear to be bringing outbreaks in those countries under control.

"There's clearly an indication that a systematic government-led approach using all tactics and all elements available seems to be able to turn this disease around," he says.

He has been pleading with governments around the world to prepare for the new coronavirus before it shows up at their door — or to spring into action when it does arrive.

That's what Hong Kong and Singapore did.

Both quickly set up systems to try to identify and treat every case in their territory. Hong Kong developed diagnostic tests and rapidly deployed them to labs at every major hospital in the city. At one point in February, Hong Kong had 12,000 people in quarantine. Singapore's prime minister called for calm and assured residents that all health care related to the disease would be free.

Both Hong Kong and Singapore continue to find a few new cases each week, but they've avoided the explosive outbreaks that have occurred elsewhere.

Ashish Jha, who runs the Harvard Global Health Institute, says the response to the coronavirus has varied dramatically around the world. "Some countries have been very aggressive and have actually done quite a good job," he says. "Other countries have been quite lackadaisical and, I think, have suffered immensely from it. And I think there are lessons to be learned for all of us."

Italy and Iran both fall in the latter category. Jha says that before cases of COVID-19 were first diagnosed, Italy and Iran appeared to be in denial about the disease.

"I mean, you had the Iran deputy health minister coughing on national television talking about coronavirus," Jha says. "But really not taking it seriously."

That deputy health minister later tested positive for the virus.

As people started to get sick, neither Italy nor Iran did much testing. They were slow to stop mass gatherings. Eventually both countries were overwhelmed with cases.

So how has the United States' response been?

"Our response is much, much worse than almost any other country that's been affected," Jha says.

He uses the words "stunning," "fiasco" and "mind-blowing" to describe how bad it is.

"And I don't understand it," he says incredulously. "I still don't understand why we don't have extensive testing. Vietnam! Vietnam has tested more people than America has." (He's citing data from earlier this week. The U.S. has since started testing more widely, although exact figures still aren't available at a national level.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started screening overseas travelers for coronavirus in mid-January. But the initial test kits developed by the CDC were flawed, and it took weeks to sort out the problems. It's only this week that wide-scale testing has started to become available in the United States.

Jha believes that the weekslong delay in deploying tests — at a time when numerous other tests were available around the world — has completely hampered the U.S. response to this crisis.

"Without testing, you have no idea how extensive the infection is. You can't isolate people. You can't do anything," he says. "And so then we're left with a completely different set of choices. We have to shut schools, events and everything down, because that's the only tool available to us until we get testing back up. It's been stunning to me how bad the federal response has been."

He says right now there are probably five to 10 times as many cases out in the community as have actually been detected. Until these individuals are found, they are likely to infect more people, he says, and the outbreak in the United States is just going to continue to grow.

Hong Kong, which began testing in January and has been right up against the epicenter of the global outbreak, had only confirmed 126 cases through March 10. On that same day the U.S. reported twice that number for the previous 24 hours.

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2020-03-12 14:08:38Z
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Ireland closes schools and colleges to halt coronavirus spread - CNN

The closures will also apply to cultural institutions and will remain in place until March 29.

Indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people will also be canceled, he said at a press conference in Washington.

We have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory," Varadkar said. "And this is unchartered territory for us."

"We said we would take the right actions at the right time and we have to move now to have the greatest impact.

Boris Johnson won't be tested despite UK health minister contracting coronavirus

"Arrangements are being made to ensure that everyone entering Ireland through its ports and airports are fully informed and self-isolates if they develop symptoms," he said.

Public transport will continue to operate and shops will remain open, he said, and where possible people should work from home.

Public and businesses need to take a "sensible, levelheaded and responsible approach," he added.

He said that as a "general rule" people outside of work should reduce social interactions "as much as possible."

Varadka warned the virus would continue to spread, despite the measures -- which are intended to slow its progress.

London police seek four men after 'racist' coronavirus attack on East Asian student

"There will be many more cases, more people will get sick and unfortunately we must face the tragic reality that some people will die," he said.

The first death linked to coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland was recorded on Wednesday.

There have been a total of 43 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Republic of Ireland, with a further 18 in Northern Ireland.

"The virus is all over the world. It will continue to spread but it can be slowed. Its impact can be reduced, making it easier for our health service to cope and give our scientists more time to develop better testing, treatments and a vaccine."

He said that governments in neighboring Northern Ireland and Britain will be briefed on its strategy later today.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to hold a meeting of the government's emergency committee, called "Cobra," later Thursday afternoon. The name refers to the location where they take place: Cabinet Office Briefing Room A.

On Monday, the Irish government announced a number of St Patrick's Day parades would be canceled to slow the spread of the virus.

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2020-03-12 13:42:59Z
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