21/05/2026

THURSDAY | MAY 21, 2026

9

Security guard slain in shootout hailed as hero

Pakistan tries to break impasse TEHRAN: Pakistan’s interior minister headed to Iran yesterday for a second time this week amid an impasse between Tehran and Washington over a proposal to end the war. “Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Tehran to meet officials from the Islamic republic,” IRNA news agency reported. Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the United States, with Mohsin previously in Tehran on Saturday to “facilitate” the process. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned of war beyond Middle East if the United States and Israel resumed their attacks. A ceasefire on April 8 brought a halt to the conflict, which has roiled the global economy. But with Washington and Tehran seemingly reluctant to resume the fighting, a war of words has taken its place. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with renewed military action, while Iranian officials have hit back with their own warnings. Nevertheless, despite sporadic outbursts of violence, the two countries have continued to take part in diplomatic exchanges, mediated by Pakistan. On Tuesday, US Vice-President J.D. Vance told reporters that “a lot of good progress is being made” and “we’re just going to keep working at it”, even as he told Iran the US military was “locked and loaded”. – AFP Israel snap election likely TEL AVIV: Israel moved closer yesterday to a snap election after lawmakers gave an initial nod to dissolve parliament, with opinion polls showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would lose the first national vote since the 2023 attacks. Lawmakers voted for an early ballot in a preliminary reading of a Bill to disband the 120-seat Knesset. If it receives final approval, a process that could take weeks, Israel could hold an election several weeks ahead of an Oct 27 deadline. Netanyahu’s coalition submitted the Bill to dissolve parliament after an ultra-orthodox faction traditionally close to the Israeli leader accused him of failing to deliver on a promise to pass a law exempting their community from mandatory military service. Some 110 members of parliament voted in favour of the Bill to dissolve, with no opponents or abstentions. It now heads to committee where an election date is agreed, before going back to the Knesset for final approval. Netanyahu still faces a long running corruption trial. Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is trying to broker a plea deal in the case, which could see Netanyahu retiring from politics as part of the deal. – Reuters

SAN DIEGO: The security guard slain at the Islamic Center of San Diego was hailed on Tuesday as a fallen hero who sacrificed his life to keep 140 schoolchildren inside the mosque safe by engaging two gunmen in a shootout that deterred the teenage suspects and helped thwart their attack. Authorities also disclosed that the 17 and 18-year-old assailants, who took their own lives shortly after Monday’s shooting, are believed to have met online and were apparently “radicalised” in hate-related ideology on the internet. On Tuesday, CNN reported that it had obtained and reviewed graphic video purported to be footage of the shooting recorded and livestreamed by the suspects. A day after the gun violence, police, FBI and other officials held a news conference focused on the three victims, all men affiliated with the mosque, who were slain in the attack and credited with putting themselves in harm’s way to save others. The security guard, Amin Abdullah, 51, also known to friends as Brian Climax, immediately recognised the two youths as a threat and opened fire on them as they ran past him outside the mosque, according to San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. The suspects then paused to return fire, Wahl said. Abdullah wound up fatally shot in the parking lot, along with two other men who distracted the suspects after they stormed into the building, drawing their attention through a window, thus luring the two teens back outside, Wahl said. The two other victims, mosque elder Mansour Kaziha, 78, and Uber driver Nadir Awad, 57, a neighbour o Video purportedly by gunmen surfaces The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail from Turkiye last week in the latest attempt to breach Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory, after Israeli forces intercepted a previous convoy last month. Israeli authorities said 430 activists aboard the flotilla were en route to Israel, while rights group Adalah said some had already arrived at Ashdod port. “Having set sail toward Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid and challenge the unlawful blockade, these civilian participants were abducted from international waters,” Adalah said. “These acts are a direct extension of Israel’s policies of collective punishment and starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry

Candles and signs are placed on the ground as people pay their respects in front of the Islamic Center after a vigil at a park. – REUTERSPIC

director of the Islamic Center, called all three of the victims “our martyrs and our heroes”. The security guard’s daughter, Hawaa Abdullah, offered prayers and paid a tearful tribute to her father as a man who doted on his family and was so dedicated to his job that he would not break for meals when he was on duty. She called on people of all faiths to honour him by coming together and being kind. “He stood against any form of hate,” she said. Police and FBI have said they are investigating the attack as a hate crime but have declined to offer a possible motive. – Reuters

populous city converged on the mosque, the two suspects fled by car. They were found dead in their vehicle a short time later several blocks away, apparently from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said. Wahl singled out Amin for special praise of his “heroic action”, adding that at first, “I had no idea how heroic those actions were.” “His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted and ultimately deterred those two individuals from gaining access to the greater areas of the mosque where as many as 140 children were within 15ft of these suspects,” Wahl said. Taha Hassane, the imam and

“Another PR flotilla has come to an end. All 430 activists have been transferred to Israeli vessels and are making their way to Israel, where they will be able to meet their consular representatives,” a ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. “This flotilla has once again proved to be nothing more than a PR stunt” The United States on Tuesday sanctioned four people associated with the flotilla and accused them of being “pro-terrorist”. About 50 ships had departed from southwestern Turkiye on Thursday. Nine Indonesian citizens who were part of the flotilla “have all been reported arrested by Israel,” a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said. Indonesia called on Israel to immediately release all vessels and crew members. Republika newspaper earlier said whose wife worked as a teacher at the school, were cornered and shot to death in the parking lot by the gunmen when they re-emerged. In the midst of the confrontation, it was Amin who transmitted the radio call that activated a security lockdown, which Wahl said also prevented further bloodshed. The gunfight and the security alert gave others time to take shelter, Wahl said, while Mansour and Nadir coaxed the suspects out of the building. Mansour was the first person to call 911 emergency, police said. Minutes before officers from around California’s second-most

Detained flotilla activists arrive in Israel ASHDOD: Israeli authorities have begun detaining activists seized from a Gaza-bound flotilla at the southern port of Ashdod yestersday, a rights group said. dismissed the operation as a publicity stunt serving Hamas.

Israeli soldiers are seen on a vessel bearing symbols of the flotilla, with a cargo ship behind it, as seen from Ashdod. – REUTERSPIC

Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly. Israel controls all entry points into Gaza. – AFP

two of its journalists were among the nine Indonesians detained. Organisers said the flotilla also included 15 Irish citizens, including