70 Syrian bodies found after massacre
DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- More than 70 bodies, mostly women, children and elderly people, were found in the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor in what opposition activists are calling a massacre.
The bodies were found Friday night in a cemetery on the southern edge of a city, the Los Angeles Times reported. Many of the bodies showed signs of torture, said activist Muhammad Younis.
Government security forces went door-to-door in the city and executed people in the streets about three weeks ago, Younis said.
"There were young children who were burned, the bodies were disfigured," he said. "He committed massacres so he would create chaos and fear."
The discovery came as U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi arrived in Damascus for talks with government forces and rebels on a cease-fire, officials said. Details of the talks between Brahimi and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem have not been released, Voice of America reported.
Brahimi is scheduled to meet with President Bashar Assad as well as rebels while in Syria.
Brahimi wants Syria to take part in a four-day cease-fire during the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday that begins Friday, the report said.
The envoy arrived in Damascus to the sounds of shelling in the city's suburbs, the BBC reported.
Fighting also was reported in Harem on the border with Turkey.
At least 30,000 people are reported to have been killed in fighting that began about 18 months ago.
A cease-fire in April fell apart after just a few days.
Report: Libya attack appeared spontaneous
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- There is no evidence the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was planned "days or weeks in advance," a U.S. official told the Los Angeles Times.
The attack, in which U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed, appears to have been a case of opportunism, and intelligence agencies have found no evidence connecting it to al-Qaida, the newspaper reported Friday, citing U.S. officials and witnesses interviewed in Libya.
A U.S. intelligence official who requested anonymity told the Times the attack was "carried out following a minimum amount of planning."
"The attackers exhibited a high degree of disorganization," the official said. "Some joined the attack in progress, some did not have weapons and others just seemed interested in looting."
"There isn't any intelligence that the attackers pre-planned their assault days or weeks in advance," another official said, adding most of the evidence to date indicates "the attackers launched their assault opportunistically after they learned about the violence at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo" earlier in the day.
The violence at the Cairo embassy was associated with protests of a video made in California that Muslims found offensive for its portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama Friday, demanding answers about the attack.
"Americans ... deserve a complete explanation about your administration's decision to accelerate a normalized presence in Libya at what now appears to be at the cost of endangering lives," Issa wrote. "These critical foreign policy decisions are not made by low- or mid-level career officials -- they are typically made through a structured and well-reasoned process that includes the National Security Council at the White House."
The Senate Intelligence Committee's seven Republican members also wrote a letter to Obama, demanding to know who leaked information about a possible retaliation for the Libya attack, The Hill reported Saturday.
"It seems counterintuitive to broadcast our intent to take action," they wrote, "as that would certainly give those responsible for this terrorist attack a chance to take evasive measures."
Six Afghan officers killed in two attacks
KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Six Afghan police officers have died in Helmand province in what officials are calling an insider attack.
A statement from the provincial governor's media office said the officers were killed in two successive attacks on a police checkpoint in the Greshk district, Khaama Press reported Saturday.
In the initial attack, two officers were killed by a cook and one of their comrades. Both of the attackers were believed to have links to militant groups, the statement said.
Later, several militants attacked the checkpoint, killing four more officers.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Greece: Racist attacks on immigrants grow
ATHENS, Greece, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- The number of racist attacks on immigrants in Greece is on the rise, fueled in part by anger over government austerity measures, officials say.
The Greek Council for Refugees says the rise is due to a government campaign to round up undocumented immigrants to help quell public anger over cuts in government spending, Euronews reported Saturday.
Council spokesman Spiros Rizakis said the government's current approach has "fed extremist and racist opinions" which have led to "attacks on a daily basis."
Members of the ultra-nationalistic party Golden Dawn showed up last month at a market of immigrant stallholders in the town of Rafina and destroyed the stalls of anyone who couldn't show the correct documentation.
