WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2022) US President Joe Biden has condemned anti-Semitism after several people were taken hostage at a synagogue in the Texan city of Colleyville and pledged to do everything to prevent "the rise of extremism" in the country.
"Let me be clear to anyone who intends to spread hate - we will stand against anti-Semitism and against the rise of extremism in this country. That is who we are, and tonight, the men and women of law enforcement made us all proud," the president said in a statement released by the White House.
Biden also noted that law enforcement officers had acted cooperatively and fearlessly to rescue the hostages and thanked them for their "tireless work."
On Saturday, a man took a rabbi and three others hostage at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue. US media reported that the hostage-taker was claiming to be the brother of convicted terrorist Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who allegedly had ties to the al-Qaeda terror group (banned in Russia). The hostage-taker was reportedly demanding freedom for his sister who is serving an 86-year sentence in a US Federal prison for trying to kill US officers in Afghanistan.
Late on Saturday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that all hostages had been released from the synagogue uninjured. The Colleyville Police Department confirmed that the suspect was dead.
