The imam of an American mosque was killed by gunfire targeting him in front of his mosque in Newark, New Jersey, neighboring New York, while the authorities ruled out that the crime had occurred with racist motives. Matt Platkin, the Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, said on Thursday that the dead man was called Hassan Sharif. He was hit by several gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital, where he died. He added: "We do not yet know the motive behind this crime, but the evidence collected so far does not indicate that it was racially motivated or a terrorist act." "In light of global events and the increasing prejudice experienced by many communities throughout our state, especially the Muslim community, many in New Jersey are now possessed by an increasing sense of fear." He said. Matt Platkin also added that the number of Muslims in New Jersey is about 300,000 people. While the Transportation Security Administration announced that the deceased had been working as a security auditor at Newark Airport since 2006. Source: Libyan News Agency Damascus, Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Fayssal Mikdad, on behalf of the Syrian government, extended condolence to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian and to families of the victims who have passed away in the twin terrorist attacks carried out by criminal groups against the Iranian people in the city of Kerman on Wednesday. Mikdad, in a telephone call with Abdollahian, called for holding the forces behind that crime responsible and taking the necessary coordination to uncover its perpetrators and the need for the world to be united against terrorism. The Syrian Minister reiterated Syria's full solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran, as people and leadership, and with all families of the victims who met to commemorate human memory of martyrs of truth and justice, General Qassem Soleimani and Commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, late Abu al-Mahdi al-Muhandis. For his part, Abdullahian expressed his appreciation for the solidarity of the Syrian people with the Iranian people as the two countries have agreement on the necessity of combating terrorism in every way and resisting the growing Zionist tendency to take revenge on the Palestinians and their achievements in confronting the Zionist attacks on Gaza. Source: Syrian Arab News Agency
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