Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/706971
ByAngelaCharlton The Associated Press PARIS French President Francois Hollande an- nounced new help Friday for Iraq's military in fight- ing Islamic State extremists, trying to show his govern- ment is taking action amid criticism that there weren't enough police protecting Nice's Bastille Day celebra- tion when a truck attack last week killed 84 people. Hollande also outlined plans for expanded military deployment within France this summer, and defended his interior minister's han- dling of the Nice police pres- ence. Frustration is mush- roomingthatFrenchauthor- ities were unable to prevent the July 14 attack despite be- ing in a state of emergency after a string of previous vi- olence. Hollande said he decided at an emergency security meeting Friday to send artil- lery equipment to Iraq next month as part of increased military help to fight IS. France has been conducting airstrikesagainstISandpro- viding military training, but Hollande reiterated Friday that France would not send ground troops. Stressingtheinternational natureofthefightagainstIS, Hollande said, "Even if was France that was attacked July 14, it's the world that was targeted." He pledged thatinvestigatorswouldfind the truth about "the circum- stancesandthecausesofthis tragedy, and the eventual networks of the terrorist." The Paris prosecutor says attacker Mohamed Lah- ouaiej Bouhlel had accom- plices and appears to have been plotting his attack for months,citingtextmessages, more than 1,000 phone calls andvideooftheattackscene on the phone of one of five suspectshandedpreliminary terrorism charges Thurs- day in the case. Bouhlel was killed by police. Amid questions about the police presence July 14, au- thorities in Nice are protest- ing against a request from French anti-terror police to delete surveillance camera images of the attack. The cameras could show where and how police were de- ployed. The city received a letter this week from the SDAT anti-terrorism agency, ob- tained by The Associated Press, saying images of the July 14 attack should be de- stroyed. An official with the national police said the re- quest was motivated by con- cern that the images could leak and be used for jihadi propaganda.Theofficialwas not authorized to be publicly named. A lawyer for the city sub- mitted a protest letter Fri- day saying Nice officials would not comply for legal, administrative and techni- cal reasons. But the lawyer also notes that the images are scheduled to be auto- matically deleted anyway on Sunday, according to Nice City Hall practice of deleting CCTV images after 10 days. Investigators will keep cop- ies of the images. RESPONSE By Christopher Torchia and Cinar Kiper The Associated Press ISTANBUL A top Turk- ish official on Friday ac- cused the United States of "standing up for savages" by not immediately hand- ing over a U.S.-based Mus- lim cleric who the govern- ment claims orchestrated last week's failed coup. Speaking in Washington, President Barack Obama said there was a legal pro- cess for extradition and en- couraged Turkey to present evidence. In a sign of increasing tension, Turkey said it was dispatching its justice and interior ministers to the United States next week to push for the extradition of the cleric, Fethullah Gulen. The two NATO coun- tries are allies in the fight against the Islamic State group; American military jets have been flying mis- sions against extremists in Iraq and Syria out of the Turkish air base at Incirlik. U.S. officials said Friday that electric power was re- stored to the Incirlik base, which had been operat- ing on a backup generator since July 16, when power was shut off at all military bases in Turkey following the failed coup. Meanwhile, Turkey's prime minister, Binali Yildirim, warned that coup plotters still at large might stage attacks, saying there is "a remote chance some madmen might take ac- tion, acting out of a sense of revenge and defeat." Turkey has launched a sweeping crackdown fol- lowing the failed July 15 insurrection, declaring a three-month state of emer- gency and detaining or dis- missing tens of thousands of people in the military and other state institutions. In the latest measures, the government revoked nearly 11,000 passports and de- tained 283 members of the presidential guard, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Turkey alleges that the coup attempt by some military units was con- ceived by Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since the late 1990s. Gulen has de- nied any prior knowledge of the coup attempt. Yildirim criticized the United States for failing to hand over the cleric, a for- mer ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's most dominant political fig- ure for more than a decade. "Stop standing up for savages who run over citi- zens with tanks, who strafe people from land and the air," Yildirim said. Some Turks, possibly influenced by traditional mistrust of U.S. policy in the region, have speculated that the United States is protecting Gulen and knew about the plot to overthrow the Turkish government. In his comments on Friday, Obama said any reports that the United States had previous knowledge of the coup at- tempt or has been any- thing other than support- ive of Turkey's government are "unequivocally false." He said he told that to Erdogan in a phone conver- sation this week. Obama said he also told the Turk- ish president that any false reports about alleged U.S. knowledge of the coup plot "puts our people at risk on the ground in Turkey and it threatens what is a crit- ical alliance and partner- ship between the United States and Turkey." Obama also echoed com- ments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that Tur- key must present evidence if it wants Gulen to be ex- tradited. Erdogan's spokes- man, Ibrahim Kalin, has previously said Turkey is preparing a formal extra- dition but that Gulen "can easily be extradited on grounds of suspicion." Gulen sought to reassure his followers in a sermon posted on his movement's main website. "Everyone should stand strong," Gulen said. "Those who kneel in front of God will not kneel in front of anyone else. Even when faced with the death pen- alty." He was referring to Er- dogan's statement that he would consider calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty for use against the coup plotters. ACCUSATION Tu rk ey c ri ti ci ze s US o ve r cleric accused of coup plot MAEVABAMBUCK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS The names of the victims of truck attack in Nice, that killed 84people last Thursday hang from two pillars at Nice City Hall in Nice, France on Friday. PETROS GIANNAKOURIS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Pro-government supporters wave a Turkish flag as they protest on Istanbul's iconic Bosporus Bridge, late Thursday. A er attack, France bolsters Iraq military fight against IS P.O.Box220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 Support our classrooms, keep kids reading. DONATE YOUR VACATION newspaper dollars to the Newspaper In Education Program HELP OUR CHILDREN Formoredetailscall Circulation Department (530) 737-5047 This could be your lucky day by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... 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