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Showing posts from October 4, 2009

Indian Police Hunt for Maoists Who Killed 17 Police

Source: Bloomberg By Bibhudatta Pradhan Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Indian police combed forests for Maoist rebels who killed 17 security personnel and beheaded an informer in the western state of Maharashtra, as top officials consider a stepped up offensive against the guerrillas. Authorities have deployed “additional security forces for a large scale operation” against the rebels blamed for yesterday’s attack, S. Jaya Kumar, superintendent of police for the state’s Gadchiroli district, said by phone. Nearly 200 insurgents opened fire on a 40-strong police team, triggering a four-hour gun battle, Kumar said. The officers had traveled to the remote border with Chhattisgarh state for a routine exercise. Yesterday’s violence came five days before elections to the state assembly in Maharashtra, home to India’s financial capital of Mumbai, and a day after Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said there will be no talks with the Maoists until they lay down their guns. Prime Minister Manmohan Sin

Afghan bomb strikes India embassy

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Source: BB NEWS Advertisement Ambulances rushed to the location of the blast A Taliban suicide bomber has attacked the Indian embassy in Kabul, killing at least 17 people in a second attack on the building in little over a year. Afghan officials say a car bomber blew himself up near the Indian embassy and the Afghan interior ministry. The Taliban said it carried out the attack and the embassy was the target. Kabul has been attacked regularly in recent months, and the Indian embassy was itself bombed in July 2008, with dozens of people killed. Most strikes in the capital target foreign forces or government offices - but civilians are also often killed. More recently, six Italian soldiers were killed last month in a bomb attack on a military convoy. 'Cleaners killed' The latest blast hit at 0827 local time (0353 GMT), as residents were arriving to work.

Taliban claim responsibility for deadly UN blast

Source: AFP on Google By MUNIR AHMAD (AP) – 3 days ago ISLAMABAD — Taliban militants claimed responsibility Tuesday for the deadly suicide bombing at the U.N. food agency's heavily fortified compound in Islamabad, saying international relief work in Pakistan was not in "the interest of Muslims." The attack, which killed five workers for the World Food Program on Monday, pushed the U.N. to temporarily close its offices in the country and exposed the vulnerability of many international relief agencies working to provide aid to millions of civilians affected by the fight between the government and Islamic militant groups. Interior Minister Rehman Malik accused the Taliban of carrying out the attack to avenge the Aug. 5 slaying of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone attack. Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq confirmed his group was behind the bombing in a phone conversation with The Associated Press and lashed out at foreign aid workers here. "We proudly claim the r

At Least 42 Die in Blast at Market in Pakistan

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Source: NYT PESHAWAR, Pakistan — At least 42 people were killed Friday when an explosion rocked a crowded market in the northwestern city of Peshawar, local government officials said. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Reuters The aftermath of the explosion in Peshawar on Friday. More than 60 people also were wounded in the blast, officials said. The explosion, apparently caused by a bomb planted in a white vehicle, occurred in a busy market in the old quarter of Peshawar, the capital of the restive North-West Frontier Province. Peshawar has been a frequent target of attacks by Taliban militants. The blast came as the provincial assembly was in session about a half-mile away, and local television coverage showed legislators emerging from the building and making calls on their cell phones. The explosion, which created a thick cloud of smoke that could be seen several miles away, also destroyed several vehicles and damaged the façades of nearby buil

Nine dead in Iraq car bomb attack

Source: blog taranga DPA October 6th, 2009 CAIRO - A car bombing at a market near the western Iraqi city of Fallujah killed at least nine people Tuesday, al-Jazeera reported. Officials in the town of Amiriya said at least 31 people were injured. The explosion also set several nearby cars on fire. In a separate incident, an insurgent was killed in the western city of Ramadi as he tried to hide explosives in the city centre, Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.

Six Sentenced In Azerbaijan On Terrorism Charges

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Source: RFERL Azerbaijan's Qabala radar station October 06, 2009 BAKU -- Six people have been found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to long jail terms by a court in Baku, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani and Russian services report. Two of those found guilty of treason and espionage were from Lebanon and received 15-year sentences, while four Azerbaijanis were sentenced to 12 and 14 years in prison. They were all convicted of having taken part in preparing terrorist acts in Azerbaijan and also found guilty of smuggling illegal weapons and drugs. Prosecutors said the group planned to attack the Israeli Embassy in Baku and the Qabala (Gabala) radar station. The trial was held behind closed doors. The lawyers for the defendants said after the trial that their clients are innocent of the charges.

Confronting terrorism

Source: The nation Published: October 7, 2009 THE resurfacing of Baitullah's successor, Hakimullah, with Waliur Rehman his alleged rival right beside him, certainly casts serious doubts on official claims that these leaders had been killed. But a more pertinent issue arises on the strategy to deal with the Taliban and other extremist groups perpetrating terrorism in Pakistan. Clearly, the militaristic approach cannot work in isolation. Even when the military clears one area of terrorists, they simply re-emerge elsewhere, where the writ of the state is weak. Interestingly, there are also rumours that most of the Al-Qaeda leaders and the Taliban linked to them, have either died or moved out into other Muslim lands, primarily Arab. So in many ways the Taliban structures have become decentralised and functionally autonomous. In such a situation, the military's strategy of surrounding the militants in FATA, using covert means to disrupt them from within and using positive financ

J&K: 4 injured as militants hurl grenade

Source: TOI M Saleem Pandit, TNN 7 October 2009, 03:07am IST SRINAGAR: At least four people, including two troopers, were injured when militants hurled a grenade at a BSF vehicle at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Tuesday. Kashmir range IG Farooq Ahmed said the vehicle was partially damaged in the blast. He identified the four injured as BSF troopers Shambu Singh and Om Prakash and pedestrians Mushtaq Ahmad Jan and Showkat Ahmad Chattabal. A little known militant outfit Jamiat-ul-Mujhideen claimed responsibility for the blast, a local news agency reported. Farooq said the police have identified the militants responsible for recent grenade attacks in the city. "We're hopeful that we'll arrest militants responsible for the Tuesday's attack as well,'' he said. This was the second attack on security forces in a week. Three CRPF men were killed when terrorists fired at a patrol near a bus stop in north Kashmir town of Sopore on Tuesday last. Meanwhile, one army

Red Taliban beheads Jharkhand cop

 Source: ET 7 Oct 2009, 0759 hrs IST, ET Bureau Print EMail Discuss Share Save Comment Text: NEW DELHI: In a bone-chilling demonstration of red terror, Left-wing extremists beheaded an officer of the Jharkhand police, Francis Induwar, who they had abducted five days ago. The officer’s mutilated body was found on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur highway on Tuesday morning. CPI(Maoist) claimed responsibility for the brutal murder. “Francis has been awarded death to protest police repression,” a note found near the body stated. Incidentally, Induwar’s beheading comes days after a local Maoist leader in Jharkhand sought that the officer be swapped for three arrested Maoist leaders — Kobad Ghandy, Chattradhar Mahato and Bhushan Yadav. Union home minister P Chidambaram denied that any demand was communicated either to the Centre or the state government for a swap deal. Reacting with outrage at the cold-blooded killing, the minister said that even if a swap demand had been mad

Obama rules out smaller Afghan war

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Source: Al jazeera Obama says he wants a clear strategy going forward before deciding on troop strength [Reuters] The US president appears to have ruled out shrinking the war in Afghanistan to a smaller, counterterrorism effort, but gave no clear signal on whether he would send more troops to fight in the eight-year-old war. Barack Obama met Republican and Democratic leaders of key war oversight and appropriations committees at the White House on Tuesday, part of an extensive review of the war effort in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The politicians praised Obama for his candour and interest in listening, but emerged from the 90-minute closed-door meeting much as they entered: Republicans pushing Obama to follow his military commanders' advice to boost troop numbers and Democrats saying he should not be r

ISI trying to push Taliban into India: Report

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Source: Zeenews Updated on Wednesday, October 07, 2009, 09:49 IST   Zeenews Bureau New Delhi: In view of increased diplomatic pressure from the international community, especially from the US, to act swiftly against the Taliban; reports now suggested that Pakistan is now trying to push in surrendered militants into India. According to intelligence inputs, Pak’s spy agency the ISI has given the surrendered Taliban fighters, as a result of its military offensive against the militia in the tribal regions, two options: Either rot in jail or continue with terrorism, but this time across the Line of Control (LoC) in India. Intelligence agencies have recently intercepted telephonic conversations between top ISI officials and Taliban commanders about carrying more infiltration bids in the days to come. With the continued military and financial aid from the US, Pakistan had increased pressure on the Taliban militia and tactically devised this new strategy of turning

SCENARIOS-Obama's options in Afghan war

Source: reuters Mon Oct 5, 2009 1:28pm EDT WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama faces key decisions in the coming weeks on the war in Afghanistan, where insurgent violence has reached its highest level since the Taliban was ousted from power in late 2001. On one side of the White House debate are proposals to send 30,000 to 40,000 additional troops and trainers as part of a beefed-up counterinsurgency strategy advocated by the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal. On the other side are proposals, backed by Vice President Joe Biden, to narrow the mission in Afghanistan and concentrate instead on attacking al Qaeda targets along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and in Pakistan itself. Obama could opt for a hybrid approach, officials said, whereby the administration would increase the number of troops in Afghanistan by a more modest amount and at the same time push for a more concerted campaign against al Qaeda and Taliban "

Spanish judge charges Somali pirates with terrorism and kidnapping

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Source: EITB Basque tuna-fishing vessel Alakrana 'Alakrana' hijacked - 10/05/2009 | eitb.com | Spanish frigate Canarias and Dutch warship Germinal caught up with the tuna-fishing vessel during the night and shadowed it as it made for the Somali coast. A Spanish judge has charged two Somali pirates from a gang which hijacked a Basque tuna-fishing vessel last week with terrorism and kidnapping. According to Spanish radio station RNE, Spain's High Court judge Baltasar Garzon charged the two men with terrorism and kidnapping. The two suspected pirates had been captured as they navigated a small boat in the vicinity of the Alakrana. The two had just come off the Alakrana aboard a motorized skiff that carried 14 containers of fuel, rescue force commander Gen. Jaime Dominguez said. One of the suspected pirates was shot and slightly wounded as Spanish naval personnel boarded the skiff, Dominguez said. The Spanish-owned fishing boat Alakrana was hijacked by pir

Spanish navy arrests two Somali pirates at sea

Source: reuters Sun Oct 4, 2009 3:05pm EDT MADRID, Oct 4 (Reuters) - The Spanish navy arrested two pirates on Sunday from a Somali gang which hijacked a Spanish tuna-fishing vessel in the Indian Ocean last week, state radio RNE said. Spain dispatched the naval vessel "Canarias" on Friday after discovering that the "Alakrana", with 36 crew on board, had been captured while fishing off the coast of Somalia. [ID:nL2127916] General Jaime Dominguez said a navy helicopter intercepted a skiff in which two of the pirates were trying to make their way ashore from the "Alakrana", which was anchored 135 nautical miles off the Somali coast. "During the arrest, and as a consequence of a threatening response by one of the pirates, the latter was lightly wounded," Dominguez told RNE. "We will not do anything that might put the wellbeing of the fishermen at risk," he added. RNE added that High Court Judge Baltasar Garzon had charged the tw

Military unfinished businesses

Source: The Jakarta Post  | Mon, 10/05/2009 8:59 AM | Opinion The Indonesian Military (TNI) has been the dominant player in the country’s political and security affairs ever since its establishment 64 years ago. Such a role – though significantly reduced after the reform movement marked by the downfall of military man president Soeharto in May 1998 – can still be felt to date as there are still a number of commitments it has yet to fulfill. Today, on its anniversary, we feel obliged to remind the nation again how to maximize the benefits we can take from the TNI while still sticking to principles of civilian supremacy. We have always been thankful for the military, which has always been at the ready whenever natural disasters hit the country. It has been at the forefront in evacuation and rescue operations, including in the latest West Sumatra earthquake, where the death toll has passed 1,000 mark. But that is not enough to meet the prerequisites to be declared a professional

Military in Mindanao sets up anti-terrorism text campaign

Source: bworld online ZAMBOANGA CITY — The military has launched yesterday an anti-terrorism hotline via text messaging, Major Gen. Benjamin D. Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command chief, said, to empower the public in the campaign. "Security authorities with the help of the civilians could not be complacent about the threat of terrorism," he said. The anti-terrorism hotline — 0928-994-4361 — is being manned round the clock by a military unit. Mr. Dolorfino said the information will be treated with strictest of confidence. The campaign, called "I-text Mo Ang Terrorista Kay Sarge," was launched amid a series of activities in line with the city’s celebration of Fiesta Pilar this month. Task Force Zamboanga, which operated against lawless groups, earlier raised the security level to prevent any untoward incident during the celebration. In recent weeks, the military has stepped up efforts to eliminate the bandits in the neighboring island-provinces of Basilan

Assemblages of terror: confronting new forms of terrorism

Source: Daily Mirror Dr. Harinda Vidanage This article attempts to avoid towing with the plethora of views, analysis and arguments on foreign interference on Sri Lankan domestic political matters. It specifically focuses on the Tamil diaspora politics as a serious category of analysis in the post war conflict situation in Sri Lanka. The Tamil diaspora has over the years transformed into a transnational power house which has interlinked and networked with multiple agents, organizations and has developed the ability to influence powerful states that can implement and affect policy decisions in Sri Lanka. In this article I locate the problem of terrorism in the global scale, what I try to argue is that the new morphologies of terrorism and the problem of terrorism linking with modern agents of democracies, justice movements where modern transnational terror movements are able to implement devastating blows on sovereign nation states flourishing in the guise of democracy and rights

Renamed terror outfits face the heat in Pak

Source: TOI TNN 5 October 2009, 02:15am IST NEW DELHI: Terror groups in Pakistan may now find it difficult to squeeze out of tight spots by renaming their organisations. In a move that could have significant implications for groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari promulgated an ordinance on Friday extending the anti-terrorism law against such rebadged groups. Amending the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, the ordinance, effective immediately, stated that if “office-bearers, activists or associates of a proscribed organisation form a new organisation under a different name, upon suspicion about their involvement in similar activities, the said organisation shall also be deemed to be a proscribed organisation”. The government may then “issue a formal notification” about the proscription of the new group formed by members of a banned organisation, it said. In light of the fact that terror suspects routinely walk free because of the 30

A Confining Situation: Counter-Terrorism

Source: Strategy page October 5, 2009: The U.S. has found that al Qaeda has been using Afghan prisons as a recruiting and training venue. This should come as no surprise, as American and European counter-terror officials have found the same phenomenon in local prisons. The problem showed up in Iraq as well. Last year, it was noted that several dozen of the 100,000 or so Iraqis who had been held in U.S. prisons in Iraq over the previous five years, have been murdered by Islamic terrorists while in prison. The killings were done to enable the Islamic radicals to gain control over the more moderate inmates. This makes it easier for the Islamic radicals to plan attacks on guards, or even escape. Such control also provides the militants with better living conditions, at the expense of the prisoners they have intimidated. Finally, the radicals find it easier to find new recruits. This is not a new problem. American military police first encountered it during World War II, when

Villagers killed in Assam attack

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Assam has been plagued by violence since the 1970s Separatist rebels have killed at least 11 people in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, police say. Nine other villagers were injured in the attack on Sunday night in the state's Sonitpur district. Police blamed the attack on a hardline faction of the separatist National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). The NDFB has been negotiating with the government for the past five years, but a hardline group led by its former chairman Ranjan Daimary have fought on. Mr Daimary's supporters were blamed for explosions in four towns in Assam last October, in which 87 people were killed. Officials said militants belonging to Mr Daimary's faction attacked two villages on Sunday evening and began firing indiscriminately at its residents. Five villagers were killed on the spot, police said. Six others died of their wounds in hospital. The dead included women and children. Police have cord

Suicide bomb hits UN in Pakistan

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Advertisement Aftermath of the blast in Islamabad A suspected suicide bomber has attacked the UN World Food Programme offices in Pakistan's capital Islamabad, killing three people and injuring several more. Two of the dead are local women, and the third is an Iraqi man. It is unclear who is responsible but suspicion will fall on the Pakistani Taliban, correspondents say. They promised revenge for the killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone strike in August and have been behind a series of recent attacks. Last week at least 16 people died in two suicide car bomb attacks in north-western Pakistan. 'A huge explosion downstairs' Local television TV footage showed smoke rising from the heavily fortified UN building and shattered windows - shortly after the early afternoon attack. The explosion happened early in the afternoon The bomb exploded in the building's reception area. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the bomber was dressed

Evidence of links between Maoists and Mahato found

Source: the hindu Photographs and other incriminating evidence have been found revealing links between the Maoists and Chhatradhar Mahato, convener of the Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC), that led the agitation at Lalgarh and its adjoining areas in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district, Manoj Verma, the district’s Superintendent of Police told The Hindu on Sunday. Details of the PSBJC’s funding have also emerged in the course of the investigation. The involvement of certain individuals based here, in funding and advising the agitation at Lalgarh was also confirmed during Mr. Mahato’s interrogation, said Raj Kanojia, Additional Director-General of the West Bengal police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). There were reports that funds given to the PSBJC from various sources ran into several lakhs of rupees. The assistant treasurer of the PSBJC, Sukh Shanti Baske, who was arrested in the Lalgarh area on September 28, was brought to Kolkata fo

Militants gun down 11 in Assam

Source: the hindu At least 11 people were gunned down and nine injured in an attack by suspected militants of the Ranjan Daimari-led anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) at Bhimajuli in northern Assam’s Sonitpur district on Sunday night. Police said five persons died on the spot while six persons succumbed to injuries in hospital. The deceased included women and children. The condition of several of the injured was stated to be critical. The victims belonged to the Nepali and Assamese communities. Army troops and Assam Police contingents have cordoned off the affected villages and nearby areas and launched combing operations. 2 villages attacked Official sources said the suspected militants attacked two villages at Bhimajuli about 35 km off the Biswanth Chariali police station. The militants started firing indiscriminately with sophisticated weapons around 6.30 p.m., killing five persons on the spot at Bhimajuli located close to the Assam-Arunacha

13 injured by explosion in Central Sri Lanka October 2nd, 2009

 Source: ANI COLOMBO - At least 13 civilians, including 12 children, were injured when a van exploded in Sri Lanka’s central district of Kurunegala Friday morning. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted security sources as saying that the bomb explosion happened around 7 a.m. local time at Udawalpola, about 100 km northeast of Colombo. Twelve school children and the van driver were injured. Kurunegala police said the driver had just started the vehicle when the bomb went off inside the garage of a local resident. hey said a personal dispute might be behind the explosion. This was the first major explosion after the government troops defeated Tamil Tiger rebels in May and further investigations are underway,Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported. (ANI)

Still Not Tired

Source:  NYT By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Published: October 3, 2009 He didn’t want to wear earplugs. Apparently, he wanted to enjoy the blast. Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times That is what The Dallas Morning News reported about Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, the 19-year-old Jordanian accused of trying to blow up a downtown Dallas skyscraper. He was caught by an F.B.I. sting operation that culminated in his arrest nearly two weeks ago — after Smadi parked a 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac, supplied by the F.B.I., in the garage of a Dallas office tower. “Inside the S.U.V. was a fake bomb, designed to appear similar to one used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing,” The News wrote. “Authorities say Smadi thought he could detonate it with a cellphone. After parking the vehicle, he got into another vehicle with one of the agents, and they drove several blocks away. An agent offered Smadi earplugs, but he declined, ‘indicating that he wanted to hear the blast,’ authorities s