Report: Sept. death toll in Syria is 4,631
DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The number of civilian deaths in Syria's civil war in September was 4,631, bringing the death toll to 30,541 since the war began 18 months ago, activists said.
Of those killed in September, 333 were children, 391 were women and 78 succumbed to torture, the Syrian Network for Human Rights reported. The majority of the deaths -- 1,060 -- were in Aleppo in September, although the majority of deaths overall since protests began in March 2011 have been in Homs.
The report said of the total deaths since March 2011, 2,155 were children, 2,310 were women and 884 were attributed to torture. The number of military personnel reported dead is 1,575.
The organization noted that 8.3 percent of the civilian victims in the Syrian civil war have been children, more than four times the number of children killed on average in other wars.
"This phenomenon testifies to the Syrian regime's systematic shelling and killing of civilians," the network said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Saturday that escalating violence between Syria and Turkey could affect neighboring countries, The Hill reported. The two countries have been trading fire since Wednesday when a Syrian mortar killed five Turkish citizens.
On Sunday, Sheikh Adnan Al Arour, a Sunni Muslim preacher and Salafist leader in Syria announced on Twitter the capture of Syrian President Bashar Assad's cousin.
"Housam al-Assad, the cousin of Bashar has been captured," Arour wrote.
The Free Syrian Army has claimed responsibility for the capture, RIA Novosti reported.
Pakistan protest march halted
SOUTH WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Police in Pakistan stopped a protest march against U.S. drone strikes from entering South Waziristan because cars in the rally didn't have proper certification.
The local administration halted the two-day march of about 1,000 people Sunday because cars did not have No Objection Certificates, Geo News reported Sunday.
The group of protesters was expected to hold a public meeting in Jahaz Ground about the rally.
Demonstrators left the capital Islamabad Saturday morning destined for Kotkai in South Waziristan, Dawn News reported.
Kotkai, in the northwest tribal region, is the hometown of Qari Hussain, who is said to have been killed in a drone strike in 2010. He was the main trainer of Taliban suicide bombers in Pakistan.
The march was organized by Imran Khan, chief of Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), considered to be a centrist progressive political party said to be the fastest growing in Pakistan.
A report commissioned by Reprieve, Stanford Law School and the New York University School of Law last month estimated that 474 to 881 civilians were among 2,562 to 3,325 people killed by drones in Pakistan between June 2004 and September 2012.
Blanks fired at French synagogue
ARGENTEUIL, France, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- An unknown number of attackers fired blank bullets at a synagogue in Argenteuil, France, witnesses said.
The assailants, who were in a vehicle, slowed down while approaching the synagogue, fired the blanks, then sped off Friday, Le Parisien reported.
Moshe Cohen-Sabban, the president of the Val d'Oise Jewish community confirmed the shooting.
"It is an another act against the Jewish community. This is very worrying," he told Israeli broadcaster Arutz Sheva.
Police found nine blanks at the scene of the shooting, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported Sunday.
The incident came just hours after French anti-terrorism police announced they shot and killed a man wanted for the bombing of a kosher grocery store in Sarcelle last month. Police have arrested 11 men connected to the bombing and a domestic terrorist cell of alleged jihadists.
The suspects allegedly threw a small explosive device into the grocery store, injuring one person Sept. 19.
Sandusky mulls court sentencing speech
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Former Pennsylvania State University assistant football Coach Jerry Sandusky wants to speak at his sexual assault sentencing, his lawyers said.
The 68-year-old will be sentenced Tuesday for 45 counts of child abuse on 10 known male victims.
While he didn't testify in his own defense, he wants to speak at the sentencing, lawyer Joseph Amendola told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
"He continues to hope he'll get another shot," the lawyer said. "We've talked about being very cautious with our decision."
Each of the convictions can carry between five and 20 years in prison.
Amendola said the defense team originally planned to put Sandusky on the stand, but changed the strategy when Sandusky's adult son Matt testified he had been abused by his father,
The scandal at the university is far from over – two former administrators go on trial in January on charges of perjury and failing to report sexual molestation of male students.
Additionally, so far there are four civil lawsuits against Penn State by victims, the Inquirer said.
