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Showing posts from September 7, 2014

Qaeda eyes Hyderabad as base, terrorist outfit plans a huge push to create an Islamist state in India

Hyderabad is suspected to be the nerve centre of militant outfit Al Qaeda's plans to launch massive activities to declare an Islamist state in India. Close to 250 youth from the city have already been explained the long-drawn strategy to spread the message of jihad and five to six sleeper cells have been put in place to attract more youth from here, sources said. As per the counter-intelligence agencies' reports, a clutch of allied outfits including Indian Mujahideen (IM) and Lashkar e Taiba (LeT), have already begun operations in this direction. To combat this, the Union Home Ministry has all the counter-intelligence agencies including Intelligence Bureau (IB) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) forming an umbrella force. At a meeting chaired by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan in Raj Bhawan in Hyderabad on Friday, it was decided to deal with the situation on a priority basis. Senior officials from the NIA, IB, Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma, Hyderabad police commissioner M. Mahend

Assad’s jets kill dozens near Damascus as government makes advances against rebels

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At least seven children were reportedly killed in the attack – the latest victims of a war which has claimed nearly 200,000 lives Dozens of civilians were killed in a suburb of the Syrian capital when government jets launched a series of air raids against anti-regime rebel fighters. At least 42 people died in the attack on Douma in eastern Damascus, including seven children, according to a group monitoring the conflict. Residents remove debris to look for survivors in Douma (Reuters) Among those killed were an unspecified number of rebels who have been fighting to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad for more than three years, said the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Activists posted videos on YouTube showing the destruction caused by the raids in the suburb, a frequent target of deadly strikes People could be seen carrying the charred remains of victims amid scenes of panic as firefighters battled to put out blazes in several buildings.

Are Yemen And Somalia Good Examples Of U.S. Anti-Terror Strategy?

President Obama said in his  speech Wednesday night  that the strategy the U.S. would pursue against the so-called Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria would be similar to how it targeted al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen and Somalia. "This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years," Obama said. "And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America's core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order." In Yemen, the U.S. has conducted more than 100 airstrikes since 2002, killing at least 490 militants and 105 civilians, according to a  database maintained by  the  Long War Journal . It also pursues what one senior administration official called " direct action " against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsu

Could German Islamic extremists strike at home?

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Tarik S. hails from Bielefeld, a city in the middle of north-central Germany. Judging from photos of him on the Internet, he appears to be a friendly young man. But recently, his name made the rounds at the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Only now, he is referred to by his assumed "fighter" name of Ibn Osama al-Almany. He is one of around 400 Islamists who have left Germany for Syria to wage jihad. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution - Germany's domestic intelligence service - has an entire dossier on Berlin Islamist, Dennis Cuspert. By examining his biography, officials hope to comprehend how a former rapper is now committing horrific acts of violence on the side of the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist group in Syria. It is examples like these that have alarm bells ringing at the offices of authorities across Germany. "My gut is telling me that we're sitting on a cannon ball and the police have only uncovered a squa

Indian terror recruit killed in suicide bombing in Syria

Umer Ahmed, a member of the Al Qaeda-backed Al Nusra terror group, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria, reports a correspondent. A  suicide bomber of Indian origin has died in Syria, making it the first time that an Indian fidayeen  (suicide bomber) has been reported killed in global jihad. Umer Ahmed, a member of the Al Qaeda-backed Al Nusra terror group, was killed recently in a suicide bombing at the Hama governorate in western-central Syria. His death comes a few weeks after the ISIS sponsored Ansar-ul-Tawhid announced another Indian Anwar Bhatkal's death in Afghanistan. There were also reports that Abdul Majeed, a youth from Kalyan in Maharashtra, was killed in Iraq. These reports are a grim reminder that Indians are becoming part of the global war launched by Al Qaeda and ISIS. Umer Ahmed's death comes in the wake of Al Qaeda's declaration to set up India operations. Indian intelligence agencies are trying to find out more about Ahmed who is suspected

AP: More than 5,000 dead in C. African Republic

GUEN, Central African Republic (AP) — There are no headstones to mark these graves, no loving words, nothing to tell the world who lies in these two giant pits full of bodies, or why. Yet a handful of village elders are determined that nobody will be forgotten. These old men, their eyes clouded by cataracts and their ears hacked by machete blades, sit on dirty straw mats at a church and gather the names of the dead from broken survivors. They write each name carefully in Arabic with faded blue ink on lined paper, neatly folded and stored in the pocket of one man's tattered kaftan. The list is four pages long. At least 5,186 people have died in Central African Republic since fighting between Muslims and Christians started in December, according to an Associated Press tally gleaned from more than 50 of the hardest-hit communities and the capital, Bangui. That's well more than double the death toll of about 2,000 cited by the United Nations back in April, when it approved a peacek

Al-Qaeda India branch’s first attack ends in dismal failure as jihadists 'raid wrong ship'

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The group established only last week attempted to storm a ship in the Karachi port on the anniversary of 9/11, but reports suggest the mission ended in disaster Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, the new group announced last week by Ayman al-Zawahiri to bolster his flagging fortunes, suffered a setback when three of its fighters were killed and seven arrested in its first ever terror attack. Heavily armed militants attacked a naval dock in Karachi's sea port on Saturday night and targeted what they believed was an American aircraft carrier, but instead found a Pakistan Navy frigate and were overwhelmed before they could cause any damage, investigators said. Three jihadis were killed in the attack, four were captured and another three arrested the following day on information from interrogations. Two Pakistan Navy guards were wounded in the fighting. "It was a complete failure, they did not do any kind of damage, some were captured and we caught more, seve

Why Terrorists Love Twitter

ISIS and the challenge for social media sites In 2011, the Somali Islamist group known as Al-Shabab took to Twitter. Its official handle taunted the group’s enemies, boasted of battlefield triumphs and shared images from the front lines of conflict zones. It sparred with political antagonists, rattling off missives in grandiose English. The terrorists—like the site’s less murderous users—used Twitter to share news and promote their brand. In 2013, a Shabab account live-tweeted commentary as allied fighters carried out a terrorist attack at a Nairobi shopping mall. Terrorists love Twitter. That includes the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), the Sunni Muslim extremists whomthe U.S. is targeting in an expanded military campaign. ISIS has emerged as the most sophisticated group yet at using the service to spread its bloodthirsty message. And when ISIS jihadists and tens of thousands of acolytes swarmed Twitter in recent months, it raised the question of how social media

Yemen, Houthi Group close to sign reconciliation deal

A senior Yemeni official said on Thursday the presidency and the Houthi Group has reached a reconciliation deal in an effort to end the current crisis in the capital city of Sanaa. Faris Al-Saqqaf, an adviser to Transition President Abdo Rabbu Mansour Hadi, told media the deal is yet to be officially signed and announced. The deal calls for naming a new prime minister and forming a new government in 48 hours and has ensured to meet some demands of the Houthi Group in return for removing their tents and ending their protests from inside and outside the capital, he said. Houthis have been protesting inside the capital and mobilizing outside it to demand the recently hike to fuel prices be competely revoked and the government resign. They are continuing their protests after rejecting a recently national initiative which called for lowering the hiked fuel prices by 12% and forming a new government on the ground the initiative did not meet their demands properly. Al-Saqqaf said the reconcil

Scotland vote fires dreams world over

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Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators stand on the streets waving their “estelada” flags, that symbolizes Catalonia's independence, during a protest calling for the independence of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain (Photo: AP) London:  The surge in support for Scottish independence ahead of next week’s referendum has encouraged Catalans trying to break from Spain. Thousands of Catalans are expected on the streets of Barcelona on Thursday to demand a referendum on independence. Catalonia lost its status during the 1701-1715 Spanish wars of succession, when it backed the wrong contender for the throne and was punished by king Philip V. In Ukraine, insurgents have taken to social media to mock the possible break-up of Britain — and press their fight for their own state in eastern Ukraine. Crimea’s pro-Kremlin acting leader Sergei Aksyonov said the West would have “no other option” but to back the peninsula’s move to break from Ukraine. Nationalist supporters from Kurdistan, which wants i

War against IS: Allies cold, Russia cautions US

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Agencies |  September 12, 2014, 03.09 am IST US President Barack Obama (Photo: AP/File) London:  Russia said on Thursday airstrikes against Islamist militants in Syria without a UN Security Council mandate would be an act of aggression, raising the possibility of a new confrontation with the West in coming weeks. “The US President has spoken directly about the possibility of strikes by the US armed forces against ISIL positions in Syria without the consent of the legitimate government,” foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said. “This step, in the absence of a UN Security Council decision, would be an act of aggression, a gross violation of international law.” China responded cautiously, saying the world should fight terror but the sovereignty of countries must be respected. “China opposes all forms of terrorism, and upholds that the international community must jointly cooperate to strike against terrorism, including supporting efforts by relevant countries to maintain dom

Boko Haram under scrutiny over foreign fighters claim

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AFP |  September 11, 2014, 19.09 pm IST Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: AP/File) Nigeria:  Cameroon's claims this week that two Tuareg fighters were among the dead when troops bombarded Boko Haram positions have sparked fresh interest in the group's links to the wider jihadi network. Communication minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary did not elaborate on the nationality of the foreigners, who were among the more than 100 killed during an attempted cross-border raid at the weekend. But with the Tuareg spread across Mali and Algeria, which are both home to Islamist groups, the claim is coming under close examination. Boko Haram was designated an Al-Qaeda-linked terror group earlier this year while its recent land grab in Nigeria's northeast has prompted comparisons to Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq. Analysts remain sceptical, though, about the extent of its direct operational links with outside groups, despite claims that some fighters were trained in M

U.S. Pins Hope on Syrian Rebels With Loyalties All Over the Map

BEIRUT, Lebanon — President Obama’s determination to train Syrian rebels to serve as ground troops against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria leaves the United States dependent on a diverse group riven by infighting, with no shared leadership and with hard-line Islamists as its most effective fighters. After more than three years of civil war, there are hundreds of militias fighting President Bashar al-Assad — and one another. Among them, even the more secular forces have turned to Islamists for support and weapons over the years, and the remaining moderate rebels often fight alongside extremists like the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. “You are not going to find this neat, clean, secular rebel group that respects human rights and that is waiting and ready because they don’t exist,” said Aron Lund, a Syria analyst who edits the Syria in Crisis blog for the  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace . “It is a very dirty war and you have to deal with what is on offer.” Ana