- This is the latest in a spree of attacks against minorities in the country
- Video footage shows men on the roof of the mosque using hammers to smash up the building
ISLAMABAD: Sunni extremists have demolished a mosque belonging to Pakistan’s minority Ahmadi sect in the eastern city of Sialkot, the latest mob attack on minorities in the country.
No one was inside the Ahmadiya Mosque and there were no casualties in the pre-dawn assault on Thursday. The mosque had been shut years ago by authorities to avoid violence.
A video of the attack surfaced on social media, showing a mob demolishing the mosque, which is said to have been visited by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who founded the Ahmadi faith in the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century. His followers believe he was a prophet.
Pakistan declared Ahmadis non-Muslims in 1974.
Ahmadis make a tiny minority of the Muslim-majority Pakistan and are often targeted by Sunni militants who consider them heretics.
In the video footage which has not been varified by Arab News men are seen on top of what is thought to be the mosque, using hammers to demolish the building as others stand in the street below to watch.
- They were treated by emergency services when brought back to land in Boulogne-sur-Mer
CALAIS: Five Iranian migrants attempting to reach Britain aboard a makeshift boat were rescued Saturday morning off the northern coast of France, officials said.
They were found around at 8:00 am (0600 GMT) in a state of hypothermia and were treated by emergency services when brought back to land in Boulogne-sur-Mer, according to the maritime authorities.
“These crossings are extremely risky and dangerous, despite the apparent proximity of the English coast from the French coast,” the prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea said in statement.
The five Iranians set off in a non-powered inflatable boat and lost their oars in calm seas but with poor visibility due to the haze.
They were found after five hours of searching by a Navy aircraft 8.5 nautical miles (16 km) north of Cape Gris-Nez, halfway to England, and then rescued by the National Society of Sea Rescue (SNSM).
On May 19, a Colombian national was found suffering from hypothermia by sea rescuers in the same area while trying to reach England illegally.
