Terrorism Watch

There is "credible information" that terrorists may unleash attacks targeting sports viewing events in the next few days in Kenya, the U.S. embassy there said in an emergency message for U.S. citizens. "American citizens are urged to avoid public venues, such as sports bars, night clubs, and restaurants, which will be broadcasting these games, as well as public transportation, such as buses, to and from the events," the alert said. The message specifically says the potential attacks could be linked to the Rugby World Cup , which runs until Oct. 23 in New Zealand, or the highly-anticipated soccer match between Kenya and Uganda taking place at Uganda's Namboole stadium Saturday. Last July, Uganda was hit with one of the most devastating terror attacks in its history when a pair of bombs exploded during a viewing of the soccer World Cup, killing 76 people . The al Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for that attack. Th

Souce: onlinenews RISALPUR/KOHAT: At least two people were injured when bomb exploded outside an NGO in Muslimabad area of Kohat on Thursday partially damaging the building of the NGO. According to police sources the unknown extremists targeted the NGO in Muslimabad, which creates awareness among the residents about bombs. The two guards deployed outside the NGO sustained injuries, while according to hospital sources condition of one injured is serious. Soon after the incident Rescue teams rushed at the site and started rescue operation. Meanwhile, another bomb exploded here in Usman CD’s House situated in Pir Sabaq area of Quetta on Thursday. The bomb partially damaged the building. Luckily, no loss of life is reported till filing of the report. FIR has been lodged with Noshehra Kalan police station against unknown terrorists under Anti Terrorism Act.

Source: Nationalpost Five years after they were caught buying arms for Sri Lankan rebels, three Canadians have signed an open letter from prison acknowledging they were wrong and renouncing political violence. “We incorrectly believed that violence could achieve the goals that we sought,” they wrote. “We now realize that what we did was not helpful in leading to a positive resolution of the issues that existed in Sri Lanka.” The rejection of armed militancy is a complete reversal for the Toronto men, who were part of the international weapons procurement network that supplied the Tamil Tigers, or LTTE, during Sri Lanka’s long civil war. But since being caught in New York shopping for $1-million worth of surface-to-air missiles and AK-47 assault rifles — a crime that earned them sentences of at least 25 years — the men have apparently had a change of heart. “Each of us has come to the conclusion that the criminal activity for which we have been sente

MUMBAI: Capturing images and viewing them at a command station during terror operations will soon be possible in the country. The wireless communication device, used to capture images when American military forces gunned down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, could become a reality in India. The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay will set up a research centre on homeland security to help police and paramilitary forces use state-of-the-art technology to tackle problems like urban terrorism, naxalism and cyber crime. The institute's electrical engineering department has developed a wireless communication device that will permit beaming live images to a command station. "Images are transmitted using ultra-broadband services. We are updating the version to shrink the size and make it more cost-effective," a student associated with the project said. The institute has collaborated with a recently set-up anti-terror force and is developing the device for it. However,

Source: http://techland.time.com/2011/10/06/watch-out-cyber-criminals-launching-steve-jobs-death-scams/ By Matt Peckham on October 6, 2011 It's sad but probably inevitable: When someone as recognizable and popular as Apple's Steve Jobs passes away, cyber crooks and spam moguls turn up in droves. So watch out, because the scams are already circulating, like one noticed by Kapersky Lab's Dmitri Bestuzhev, who snapped pictures of a Jobs'-death-related shakedown. "The death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was mourned by millions across the globe on October 5, 2011," it reads, urging visitors to "Remember Steve Jobs" by clicking "to purchase on of his inventions." Fake contest text highlighted neon-green claims you could "Win 1 of 15 MacBook Pros in Memory of Steve Jobs" is you submit your email. Do so, and chances are all you'll win is pole position placement on someone's virtual spam rolodex. MORE: Steve Jobs: Not a G

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/8808005/Russia-claims-it-has-detained-Chinese-spy.html Russia's security service said it had detained a suspected Chinese spy late last year who tried to gain access to sensitive missile technology, according to reports. 12:23PM BST 05 Oct 2011 It was not clear why news of the detention was released only now, less than a week before Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits China as part of efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing. Chinese citizen Tun Sheniyun had been accused of trying to buy sensitive material on a Russian anti-aircraft missile system while working under the guise of a translator for official delegations, the state-run RIA news agency said. "The investigation revealed that a Chinese citizen ... was working as a translator for official delegations and was attempting to gather ... documents on the anti-aircraft S-300 missile system from Russian citizens for money," Russia's Federal Security

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8812105/Afghanistan-war-10th-anniversary-dispatch-Life-was-safer-under-the-Taliban.html When the USA and Nato began their war against the Taliban government which had harboured Osama bin Laden they offered a tantalising new future to the Afghan people. After the repressive regime of Mullah Mohammad Omar and his Taliban zealots was swept away, Afghans would have freedom, democracy and aid to modernise their neglected, backward country. A decade later, the life of the majority of Afghans now stands in stark contrast to the bright vision laid out in those promises. Ten years of foreign presence in Afghanistan have done little for 48-year-old Ghulam Rabbani Ahmadzai, or ordinary people like him, he says. "We don't see any considerable changes," said the 48-year-old, leaning on the counter of his street restaurant and lamenting how little his life has changed. "Aid has been misused. There has been a

Source: VOA Photo: REUTERS Soldiers stand guard along a road after Sunday's riots in Ambon September 12, 2011. Several people were killed and dozens injured when riots broke out on Sunday after rumors spread online that a motor taxi driver was tortured to death by a group of residents. The Indonesian government has blocked 300 websites it calls extremist after several recent sectarian clashes. Despite the effort, hundreds more sites cataloging the glories of jihad are still readily available online. In a country where online social networks are growing fast, some analysts say a better method of countering hate speech may be through the online tactics of religious moderates. On September 11, seven people died and hundreds of homes and vehicles were burned in a deadly riot in Ambon, eastern Indonesia after the death of a Muslim man led to rumors he had been captured and tortured by Christians.  Those rumors sprea

Source: asianage In what is being viewed as a major shift in Naxal strategy, the outfit CPI (Maoist) is now trying to infiltrate key infrastructure sectors like railways, surface transport, coal, shipping, rural development, telecom and civil aviation with sympathisers and their own cadres. As the intelligence agencies feel the move could have serious long-term ramifications for the Indian economy, they have sent out a detailed note to the Naxal-affected states with a view to nip the menace in the bud. The Intelligence Bureau document, accessed by this newspaper, states that the main aim behind this move by the Naxals is that “when the need arises they can stall work and cripple the Indian economy”. The note adds, “While educated CPI (Maoist) sympathisers are being used to take up office work in these ministries and departments, those who are not qualified are pumped into various infrastructure projects going on across the country, particularly in Naxal-dominat

Source: Washingtonpost MANILA, Philippines — Army troops have clashed with communist rebels in the southern Philippines amid a hunt for hundreds of guerrillas behind an attack on three mining compounds. Military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos says one soldier was killed and three others were wounded in the gunbattle Thursday near Esperanza town in Agusan del Sur province. Burgos says the army scout rangers captured a New People’s Army encampment and 12 assault rifles and inflicted harm on an undetermined number of Maoist rebels. The rebels retreated and were being pursued by troops. It was not immediately clear if the guerrillas were among more than 200 rebels who laid siege on three nickel mining complexes Monday in nearby Surigao del Sur province. Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

An Argentine man is suspected of being the brains behind left wing guerrilla group FARC 's alleged attempts to infiltrate student protests, according to Colombia's police force. Police say that 35 year old Argentine Facundo Molares, alias "Camilo" or "El Argentino," arrived in Colombia in 2002 and has recently been working for FARC column "Teofilo." According to intelligence officials, Molares is one of the guerrillas responsible for reactivating the FARCs Clandestine Communist Party (PC3) and has been in charge of the ongoing infiltration of university student protests in Bogota , Cali , Medellin , Neiva, Bucaramanga, and Florencia. According to the police, the Argentine guerrilla is also the suspected leader of ten people who were arrested Monday for alleged political and logistical support of the FARC, eight of whom were university students and professors. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos and the country

Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 6 / Trend , G.Dadashova / The problem of illicit drug trafficking continued to be a global challenge, Kazakh permanent Representative to the UN Byrganym Aitimova, speaking on behalf of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), said at the meeting of the Third Committee of the 66th UN General Assembly on Oct.5. Aitimova said this problem could not be solved separately from the problems of organized crime, international terrorism, extremism, corruption and illegal migration. Welcoming the World Drug Report 2010 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), she nonetheless said that it was too early to discuss the reduction of heroin production from the cultivated crop area in Afghanistan, as noted in the UNODC World Drug Reports of the past three years. That production, 90 percent of the world's total, remained the main threat to the region and affected all parts of the globe. Aitimova said heroin use

TEHRAN ( FNA )- At least three Iranian pilgrims were wounded in a terrorist attack on their bus in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad at midday. FNA dispatches from Baghdad said a remote-controlled bomb blasted on the way of a bus carrying Iranian pilgrims in Taji town in Baghdad, wounding three Iranian pilgrims. Iraqi police forces transferred the wounded pilgrims to Taji hospital immediately after the attack. More that 1,500 pilgrims come from the neighboring Iran each day to visit Shiite shrines in Iraq, mainly in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. The shrine of Imam Ali (PBUH) is located in Najaf and the shrine of Imam Hussein (PBUH) is located in Karbala. Violence is at the lowest in the country ever since the US invasion in 2003, but Iraq's cities have seen a surge of terrorist attacks in recent weeks. Many Iraqis believe that the surge is t

Source: Independent World leaders and Syria's newly formed opposition movement united to condemn Russia and China yesterday for vetoing an attempt to up the pressure against President Bashar al-Assad if he failed to rein in his violent crackdown on anti-regime protesters. The rejection of a UN Security Council resolution that threatened sanctions against the Baathist regime late on Tuesday came despite EU nations watering-down a previous draft to try to win Russian and Chinese support. Moscow and Beijing have economic and strategic interests tied up in Syria. The US and EU have already issued numerous sanctions targeting Baathist leaders. Last month European governments struck an agreement banning imports of Syrian oil – a blow to Damascus, which had sold virtually all of its oil supplies to the EU. Yet the failure to reach a UN consensus will give succour to Mr Assad's regime, which would have been under enormous pressure if Russia and China had de

Source: Atimes MINDANAO - A series of mysterious bombings on the southern island of Mindanao has raised speculation that foreign-backed, local Muslim terror groups are ramping up and expanding their operations against government forces. However, it is just as likely the explosions are part and parcel of the region's tumultuous and often violent politics. No group has come forth to claim responsibility for the bombings, two of which detonated near the headquarters of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Philippine intelligence reports have claimed that the incidents are linked to terror suspect Basit Usman, a reputed member of the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and his trained cohorts from the notorious Abu

Source: independent Pro-democracy protests which swept the Arab world earlier in the year have erupted in eastern Saudi Arabia over the past three days, with police opening fire with live rounds and many people injured, opposition activists say. Saudi Arabia last night confirmed there had been fighting in the region and that 11 security personnel and three civilians had been injured in al-Qatif, a large Shia city on the coast of Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province. The opposition say that 24 men and three women were wounded on Monday night and taken to al-Qatif hospital. The Independent has been given exclusive details of how the protests developed by local activists. They say unrest began on Sunday in al-Awamiyah, a Shia town of about 25,000 people, when Saudi security forces arrested a 60-year-old man to force his son – an activist – to give himself up. Ahmad Al-Rayah, a spokesman for the Society for Development and Change,

Source: independent Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has appealed to aid workers not to desert the famine-ravaged nation after militants linked to al-Qa'ida killed 70 people in a suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu. A truck bomb struck at the heart of the capital on Tuesday and the Islamist group al-Shabaab warned of more "serious blasts" at a time when aid groups are struggling to reach four million people, most of whom live in the rebel-controlled southern and central parts of Somalia. President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said the rebels could not have "attacked the Somali people at a worse time", as the country struggles with the worst drought in decades. "The donor community should not reduce their support to the Somali people," Mr Ali told journalists in the Ethiopian capital when asked if he feared the attack might force aid workers to stay away from providing humanitarian support. "We will make sure our sec

  A suicide bomb blast yesterday claimed by al-Qaida-inspired rebels in Somalia killed at least 70 people in Mogadishu, the first such attack by the insurgents since pulling out of the city in August. Students awaiting exam results were among those killed Somalia's al-Qaida-linked rebels struck at the heart of the capital on Tuesday, killing more than 70 people with a truck bomb in the group's most-deadly attack in the country since launching an insurgency in 2007. Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed denounced the blast, which caused the most casualties among young students waiting for exam results at the education ministry, as a "cruel and inhumane act of violence." Another 150 people were wounded. The African Union force in Somalia said a truck laden with drums of fuel rammed a checkpoint outside a compound housing government ministries in the K4 (Kilometre 4) area of Mogadishu, where students had gathered to register for scholarships

Source: Moneycontrol India today hoped that its strategic partnership with Japan would deepen further to build an edifice for peace and stability in Asia, as Tokyo sought expansion of areas of bilateral cooperation to deal with the growing menace of piracy and terrorism. The two sides exchanged their views on these issues during a meeting between visiting Minister of State for Planning, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Ashwani Kumar and Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba. During the meeting, Kumar expressed sympathies on behalf of the people of India for the Fukushima nuclear disaster of March this year following a massive earthquake and tsunami and voiced the country's solidarity with Japan. He expressed the hope that India and Japan would together deepen their strategic partnership so as to build an edifice for peace and stability in Asia, an official statement said. Kumar informed the Japanese side that Prime Minister Manmohan S

Click to play video New Delhi: An Intelligence Bureau (IB) dossier with details of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) Politburo and central committee members has finally revealed some of India's most wanted. CNN-IBN has accessed the IB dossier which has the photographs and details of India's most wanted Maoist leaders. The following are India's most wanted - the Politburo and central committee members of CPI (Maoist), who for more than 30 years now have challenged India's security establishment and often defeated them. These are the people who have been described by the Prime Minister as the biggest internal security threat. The dossier has been prepared by the IB, Union Home Ministry and the police force of Naxal-affected states. The dossier lists the top brains behind the Naxal threat. On top of the list, General Secretary Ganpati alias Laxman Rao, 61, carries a reward of Rs 24 lakh and is the main ideological pillar behind the Nax

Source: DNA Militants today stormed a bus carrying Shia Muslims in Balochistan province of southwest Pakistan, killing 13 men and injuring seven others in the latest of a string of attacks targeting the minority community. Three gunmen travelling in a pick-up truck stopped the bus with about 30 passengers in Akhtarabad area on the outskirts of provincial capital Quetta, witnesses told the media. Two gunmen entered the bus and fired indiscriminately, they said. Thirteen men, most of them Shia Hazaras, were killed and seven others injured, police said. The injured were taken to the Bolan Medical Complex and those with critical wounds were shifted to Quetta’s military hospital. Officials described the condition of three of the injured as serious. The attackers fled from the area before it was cordoned off by police and paramilitary Frontier Corps personnel. City police chief Ahsan Mehboob removed a police officer from his post for failing to provide security to the bus in the wak

Sourse: CBS NEWS (AP)  NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus' president is mainly to blame for events that led to the explosion of seized Iranian munitions that killed 13 people and caused a political and economic crisis on the island, the head of an official inquiry said Monday. But President Dimitris Christofias rejected the inquiry's conclusion that he bears personal responsibility for the blast, saying it is not supported by the evidence that was given during weeks of public hearings and that he won't step down. The finding is not legally binding, and Christofias cannot be impeached under the Cypriot Constitution, but the inquiry's findings have likely quashed his chances at re-election when his current term in office ends in February 2013. Christofias conceded some political responsibility for the blast as head of state and he apologized for the "omissions, mistakes and weaknesses that led to the tragedy." But he said resigning now would lead the divided island &quo

Source: AFP KANO, Nigeria — Attackers used explosives and gunfire to target a military patrol near a wedding in violence-torn northeastern Nigeria, with residents reporting two civilians killed in the violence. The incident on Saturday, Nigeria's independence day, occurred in Maiduguri, hit by scores of attacks blamed on an Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, which also claimed an August bombing of UN headquarters in the capital Abuja. "There was a bomb and gun attack on one of our patrol teams yesterday," said Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Mohammed, spokesman for a military task force deployed to Maiduguri. "Our men responded to the attack but details are still sketchy." Residents reported that two people were left dead after the bomb blast and an exchange of gunfire between soldiers and residents. It was unclear whether they were killed by the bomb or gunfire. Those attending a nearby wedding took cover when the violence broke out. Two residents said those k

Source: Philstar COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Xinhua) -- Security forces on Sunday foiled a terror attack of suspected Muslim militants in the southern Philippines, police said. Residents discovered a powerful homemade bomb fashioned from an 81-millimeter mortar shell in front of a government office in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato and immediately reported to police, said police commander Senior Superintendent Roberto Badian. Bomb experts rushed to the scene and defused the bomb, Badian added. On Saturday, an explosion hit the city but caused no casualties. No group claimed responsibility for the twin incidents, but authorities blamed Muslim rebels in previous attacks in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao.

Source: australian networks An international counter terrorism expert has told a meeting of ASEAN military analysts that the terror groups Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf have merged in the southern Philippines. Professor Rohan Gunarathna, of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, says Jemaah Islamiyah - or J.I - and Abu Sayyaf leaders, operate as one organization in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. Professor Gunarathna told a two-day forum of ASEAN military analysts in Manila that a dozen J.I. operatives from Malaysia and Indonesia are planning terror attacks with the Abu Sayyaf. He says the Abu Sayyaf has been able to carry out bomb attacks because of training and support given by the J.I. The forum held in Manila allowed ASEAN intelligence analysts to share best practices and tools to combat terrorism. Travel warning The Australian Government has warned Australians travelling to Saudi Arabia and the Philippines of a very hi

Source: HT At least six people were killed in two back-to-back roadside bomb blasts near the Iraqi capital Baghdad late on Sunday, Xinhua reported. Two members of the Sunni paramilitary group "the Awakening Council" were killed when their car detonated a roadside bomb in al Nibaie area, some 50 km north of Baghdad. A second roadside bomb exploded minutes later when another vehicle carrying militiamen rushed to the scene. It killed four other people, said a police official requesting anonymity. The Awakening Council is a consortium of Sunni militia, who once worked with al Qaeda in the aftermath of 2003 Iraq war against American occupation. But they turned their rifles to al Qaeda after the latter exercised indiscriminate killing against both Shi'ite and Sunni neighbourhoods.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan ( AP ) — A motorcycle-rickshaw packed with explosives blew up as it was driving on the outskirts of southern Afghanistan's main city Monday, killing two civilians, officials said. The driver of the motorcycle appeared to be on his way to Kandahar city when the bomb detonated inadvertently, said Kandahar provincial government spokesman Zalmai Ayubi. The explosion, which killed two bystanders and wounded more than 10 others, did not appear to be a targeted attack, according to Ayubi and Provincial Police Chief Gen. Abdul Raziq. However, a government minister says his car was nearby when the bomb went off, suggesting that he may have been the target. Border and Tribal Affairs Minister Asadullah Khalid said on Afghan television that he was driving toward development projects in Kandahar when the bomb exploded near his vehicle. He was not injured. Civilian deaths have increased greatly in Afghanistan in recent years, largely because of insurge

sOURCE: INFOWARS It is hardly surprising that President Obama ordered the assassinations of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki since the last thing he wants is to bring any leader of al-Qaeda to trial. If the U.S. wanted bin Laden to have his day in court it might have had the Navy Seals go against his lightly defended hideout with stun grenades or tear gas instead of launching a shoot-to-kill attack. As The New Yorker article “Getting bin Laden” of August 8 by reporter Nicholas Schmidle makes clear, the bin Laden slaying was a shoot-and-kill operation from the get-go and “all along, the SEALs had planned to dump bin Laden’s corpse into the sea.” Schmidle writes that when the SEALs came upon Obama in his three-story compound in Abbottabad that he was unarmed and that those guarding him had already been killed. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to capture him and put him on trial. Instead, by having the SEALs execute him, Obama made good on his 2