Terrorism Watch

An advance into Yemen's Sunni Muslim heartland by Shi'ite Houthi fighters has galvanised support for al Qaeda among some Sunnis, deepening the religious hue of the country's many conflicts, with potential consequences well beyond its borders. Yemen's tribal, regional and political divisions were widened by the rapid fall of the capital Sanaa to Houthi fighters on Sept. 21 after weeks of protests against the government and its decision to cut fuel subsidies. "The Houthi expansion has created a sectarian problem," said Bassam al-Barq, a Sunni Muslim resident of the religiously mixed Sanaa, attending a protest by local activists held every week to demand the Houthis quit the capital.     "It has created sympathy with al Qaeda, as we see in Ibb and al-Baydah," Barq said, referring to two provinces in central  Yemen where some local tribes have allied themselves with al Qaeda's local wing, Ansar al-Sharia. Ahmed al-Kalaz, a forme

Sri Lanka, which denies any civilian was killed by its security forces, has repeatedly refused to cooperate with the probe, insisting a domestic commission of inquiry can do the job.  Sri Lanka on Saturday angrily rejected accusations by the UN rights chief that it was sabotaging a war crimes probe into the country’s brutal separatist war, calling the charges “extremely regrettable.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday accused Colombo of creating “a wall of fear” and repression to scuttle the UN-mandated probe by subjecting civil society groups and rights activists to surveillance, harassment and other forms of intimidation. But on Saturday Sri Lanka denied the charge. “The Government of Sri Lanka, its departments and agencies made no attempt whatsoever to prevent bona fide witnesses from submitting information to the investigation team,” Colombo’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha, said in a statement. “Neither was a

Three Mexican gang members have admitted to burning alive some of the 43 students who went missing and were found massacred in September The students were taken away by the police, after they opened fire on the group, as Maria de los Angeles Pineda, the wife of Jose Luis Abarca, mayor of Iguala, believed they were getting ready to protest her speech The students were actually one a bus tour in honor of students massacred there in 1968 and had no plans to protest Pineda and her husband were captured in Mexico City on Monday after being on the run for weeks +12 The 43 students, pictured, went missing as they travelled to a protest in Iguala, Guerrero State  in September  Gang members in Mexico have admitted to massacring 43 students who went missing in September. Attorney General Jesus Murillo said on Friday that three detainees revealed that they set fire to the group - some of whom were still alive - at a rubbish dump near Iguala in the state of Guerrero, close to whe

17 militants were killed in a gun battle with security forces in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal region along Afghan border, officials said today. The fighting took place in the Sepah Spin Qabar area of Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency last night. The bullet ridden bodies of the militants were shifted to Levies Centre in Shah Kas for identification. According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the militants were killed in a clash with security forces last night. About 50 to 60 terrorists stormed at security forces check-post in Spin Qamar area prompting effective response from the forces in which 17 attackers were killed. The ISPR said the terrorists fled the site and dumped 17 bodies of their companions. In a separate incident, Pakistani security forces killed a militant and recovered huge cache of weapons during a search operation in Chakdara area of Lower Dir district of Khyber Paktunknwa province bordering Bajaur agency. Three soldiers were also injure

The Islamic State's staggering successes come at a cost. After all, it's not cheap to wage war and manage territorial conquests whose population is now roughly the size of Austria's. So how can ISIS, cut off from the rest of the world by financial and trade sanctions, and under daily aerial and land bombardment by some of the richest countries in the world, afford to maintain a well-armed military and pay other bills? Interviews with Iraqi, Kurdish, European, Syrian and American government officials, analysts and intelligence agents sketch a portrait of ISIS's robust, sprawling, and efficient financial operation. The terrorist group relies on a relatively complex system to manage its far-reaching networks. Its currencies of choice -- cash, crude oil and contraband -- allow it to operate outside of legitimate banking channels. Turkey's southern corridor, Iraq's northwestern corridor and Syria's northeastern corridor are key weak spots, well away f

The group also planned to assassinate the country’s main opposition leader, Khaleda Zia, Indian officials said. Hasina and Zia have dominated Bangladeshi politics for more than a decade. Guwahati, India: Indian police have arrested a 36-year-old woman suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate the prime minister of Bangladesh and carry out a coup, police said on Saturday. The arrest comes days after Indian security officials said they had uncovered a plot by members of the Jamaat Ul Mujahideen, accused of carrying out scores of attacks in Bangladesh, targeting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The group also planned to assassinate the country’s main opposition leader, Khaleda Zia, Indian officials said. Hasina and Zia have dominated Bangladeshi politics for more than a decade. Pallab Bhattacharjee, additional director general of police in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, said the woman had been also charged with collecting arms with an intention of waging war agai

‘There is no other safe way to bring the seafarers out ( of Somalia ), other than to negotiate and give the ransom...’ ‘See, the government of India cannot pay the ransom money. That’s the problem… When I was in captivity I felt India is such a big country powerful why can’t they bring us back? But when I came back ( I understood the problem gradually )’ ‘I think brutal is a very soft word for them ( Somali pirates ). It is unimaginable. Every single minute is like death. You can see death just coming towards you.’ Chirag Bahri, himself once a captive in Somalia for eight months, who now helps piracy victims, speaks to Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/ Rediff.com  on how they achieved the near-impossible task of freeing seven Indian sailors held captive for four years and getting them back to India. Seven sailors (left to right) of the hijacked  MV Asphalt  --  Bahadur Singh, 58 (Mumbai), Litton Daniston Anthony, 27, (Tuticorin), George Joseph, 60, (Ernakulam), Sohan Singh, 45, (Lud

BAGHDAD: Car bombs killed 12 people in the Iraqi capital and the city of  Ramadi  to the west Saturday, police and medical sources said. Two car bombs exploded in separate attacks in Baghdad's mainly Shiite Amil district, said a police source. "A driver parked his car and went to a cigarette stall then he disappeared. Then his car blew up, killing passersby," said the police source, describing one of the attacks Read more:  http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Nov-08/276952-car-bombs-kill-12-people-in-baghdad-ramadi.ashx#ixzz3ITuKGB9L  

Ukraine said  Russia  is expanding its military presence in rebel-held areas as pro-Russian fighters attacked Ukrainian forces with artillery after as many as 200 separatists were killed. “The war is not over yet,” Igor Plotniskiy, the newly-elected head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic said in video  statement  televised and posted on the LPR website. The LPR wants “maximal integration with Russia,” he said. Ukraine said yesterday its forces killed the rebels at Donetsk Airport in the biggest separatist loss since a Sept. 5 truce. Russia sent tanks and military vehicles across the border into rebel areas, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said yesterday. The U.S.  State Department  and Pentagon, while saying Russia is massing troops and armor on its side of the border, said they couldn’t confirm a Russian tank incursion. Russia continues to increase its forces deployed in rebel areas, Ukrainian military spokesman Volodymyr Polevyi said today in Kiev. He said th