Pope appeals to Muslims on terror
The Pope said the Church had good and bad elements.
Saturday, 20 August 2005, 21:41 GMT 22:41 UK
Pope Benedict XVI has appealed to Muslims to help combat the "cruel fanaticism" of terrorism.
At a meeting with Germany's Muslim leaders in Cologne, the pontiff said Islamic teachers had a "great responsibility" to educate the young.
Afterwards, the Pope led an open-air prayer vigil at a park outside the city, which was attended by at least 700,000 people.
Pope Benedict wraps up his four-day trip to his native country on Sunday.
'New barbarism'
The meeting with some 30 Muslim leaders follows the Pope's earlier pledge to build "bridges of friendship" with other faiths.
He urged Muslims to join Christians to try to stop the spread of terrorism, which he called a "new barbarism".
The Pope spoke of past wars that had been waged between Christians and Muslims with both sides invoking God's name as if, the Pope said, killing the enemy could be pleasing to God.
The Pope said by working together, Muslims and Christians could "turn back the wave of cruel fanaticism that endangers the lives of so many people and hinders progress toward world peace".
Since the Pope's election four months ago, he has been ultra-cautious in his comments on recent acts of international terrorism such as the London bombings, says the BBC's David Willey in Cologne.
The pontiff has limited his remarks to describing the perpetrators as fanatics who do not represent the true Muslim faith, our correspondent says.
There are about 3.5m German Muslims, mainly of Turkish descent - one of the highest figures in Western Europe.
A day earlier, the Pope met German Jewish leaders during a visit to a synagogue in Cologne.
He warned of rising anti-Semitism and paid his respects to Jews murdered during the Nazi era.
It was only the second time a Pope has visited a Jewish place of worship, following Pope John Paul II's visit to a Rome synagogue in 1986.
'Much to criticise'
After meeting the Muslim leaders, the Pope attended the outdoor evening service at Marienfeld, the site of disused coal mine outside Cologne.
He told the huge crowd that there was "much that could be criticised in the Church".
"We know this and the Lord himself told us so: it is a net with good fish and bad fish," the pontiff said.
Many of the pilgrims are expected to stay the night in the open air so they can attend the Pope's morning Mass - a huge outdoor event that is being seen as the climax of his visit, which marks World Youth Day.
The World Youth Day festival, created by Pope John Paul II who died in April, is held in a different part of the world every three years.
Group linked to al-Qaeda claims responsibility for rocket attack
The USS Ashland is seen at Aqaba port in Amman August 19, 2005. Two U.S. Navy ships sailed out of Jordan's port of Aqaba on Friday, soon after one of the vessels narrowly missed being struck by a missile, the U.S. Fifth Fleet and witnesses said. Attackers fired a rocket near the USS Ashland, but the missile missed the vessel and hit a nearby warehouse instead, U.S. military officials said. The two vessels had been on a joint training exercise with the Jordanian navy. (Abraham Faroujian/Reuters)
Saturday, 20 August , 2005 - 08:07:00
Reporter: Peter Cave
ELIZABETH JACKSON: An al-Qaeda related group has claimed responsibility for a Katusha rocket attack launched from a rented warehouse in the Jordanian Red seaport of Aqaba which killed a Jordanian soldier and injured an Israeli taxi driver.
The main target appears to have been two US warships docked in Aqaba, which escaped unscathed.
Our Foreign Affairs Editor Peter Cave reports from Jerusalem.
PETER CAVE: Aqaba lies on the Red Sea just 15 kilometres across the water from the Israeli resort of Eilat.
Three Russian-designed Katusha rockets were launched from the roof a warehouse building in Aqaba. The first shot across the bow of the USS Ashland and hit a wharf building with a thunderous explosion. A Jordanian soldier on guard outside was killed.
A second rocket passed near a second US ship, the USS Kearsage. It exploded in the grounds of a nearby public hospital, causing no major damage or injuries.
The third rocket crossed the narrow gulf of Aqaba and hit a road beside the Eilat airport, wounding the luckiest taxi driver in Israel. The Katusha ploughed through the empty back seat of his car, gouging a deep hole in the roadway, but did not explode.
The two US warships – a helicopter carrying amphibious assault ship, and a small aircraft carrier equipped with harrier jump jets – immediately put to sea.
The Israeli and Jordanian Governments have launched a joint investigation, and Jordanian authorities said they were seeking a Syrian and two Iraqis driving a car with Kuwaiti plates.
The warehouse where the Katusha launchers were found had been rented this week by four people believed to be Iraqi or Egyptian.
Not long after the attack a claim of responsibility, which can’t be verified, was posted on the website of called the Abdullah al Azzam Brigades of the al-Qaeda organisation.
It said a group of our holy warriors targeted a gathering of American ships docked in Aqaba port and also in Eilat port, with three Katyusha rockets and the warriors returned safely to their headquarters.
The same group has also claimed responsibility for the bombings in July of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula resort of Sarm el Sheik.
A spokesman for the US fifth fleet based in Bahrain said it was pretty safe to conclude that they were probably trying to hit one or both of the US ships. He said no sailors or marines were injured and that both ships would continue joint exercises with the Jordanian navy.
A spokesman for Jordan's Interior Ministry said the building which was damaged was a logistics hub for Iraq used by the US military for moving commodities. He said there was little damage.
News of the attack immediately sent world oil prices back above the $US 64 dollar mark, in what analysts described as a knee jerk reaction to perception that the Middle East remains a powder keg.
This is Peter Cave in Jerusalem for Saturday AM.