Briefs | Israel – Mother of Palestinian baby killed in arson attack dies

A relative says the mother of a Palestinian toddler killed in a firebomb attack blamed on Jewish extremists has died of wounds suffered in the July attack. The baby’s uncle Hatem Dawabsheh said Reham Dawabsheh died of her wounds early yesterday. On July 31, assailants hurled firebombs into a bedroom of the family’s home in the West Bank village of Duma in a pre-dawn attack. Eighteen-month-old Ali Dawabsheh perished in the flames. His father who was also wounded in the attack died last month. The attack prompted widespread condemnation and pledges by Israel’s government to get tougher on Jewish vigilantes who have repeatedly attacked Palestinians and their property over the years.

Turkey – Several soldiers killed in PKK attack

Kurdish rebels attacked two military vehicles in southeast Turkey, the president said Sunday and suggested that several Turkish soldiers were killed in the assault. The prime minister returned to the capital to chair an emergency security meeting. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a television interview that two armored military vehicles were targeted by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party near the village of Daglica, in Hakkari province, bordering Iraq and Iran. He said an official statement would be made but indicated that several soldiers were killed in the attack. “It was attack on armored vehicles with land mines,” Erdogan said. “The information from our Chief of General Staff is very saddening.” He said Turkey’s security forces would respond in a “different and determined” manner. Firat news, an agency close to the rebels, quoted a rebel statement as saying 15 soldiers were killed in a “sabotage action” against a convoy of military vehicles. The claim couldn’t be immediately verified.