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Showing posts from December 27, 2009

Peter Moore's release: timeline of hostages' ordeal

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Source: Telegraph Peter Moore, a British man held hostage in Iraq for over two and a half years has been freed. The following are the key dates in his ordeal: Published: 8:30AM GMT 31 Dec 2009 Peter Moore and his four security guards were kidnapped in Baghdad in May 2007 May 29, 2007 BearingPoint IT consultant Peter Moore and his four GardaWorld bodyguards are seized by 40 armed men disguised as policemen at the Iraqi Finance Ministry in Baghdad. September 6 The captives' families plead for their release, saying they are "ordinary family men". December 4 The hostage-takers release a video to Arab TV saying they will kill one hostage "as a first warning" unless British troops are withdrawn from Iraq. December 9 Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits Iraq and calls for the immediate release of the five men, saying hostage-taking will not alter British policy. February 26, 2008 Vid

fghan Bombing Inside Job?

A suicide bomber struck inside a U.S. base in Afghanistan, killing at least eight Americans. As David Martin reports, investigators are trying to determine how the bomber got onto the base.

Greek terrorist group claims responsibility for Sunday's bomb attack in Athens

Source: Xinhua ATHENS, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Threatening with more similar attacks in the future, a Greek guerrilla group claimed responsibility on Monday evening for the strong explosion that caused major material damage, but no injuries, at the offices of a Greek insurance company on a main Athens avenue on Sunday night.     "Conspiracy of Nuclei of Fire-Nihilists Sect" acknowledged that it was behind the attack in a statement that was posted on the Internet.     Counter terrorism experts take the claim seriously, noting that until last night this particular group used a different methodology and was responsibly for less serious attacks.     Police experts had suspected another group which has attacked financial targets in the past, like the Athens Stock Exchange building this September.     Now they express fears that "Conspiracy of Nuclei of Fire-Nihilists Sect" which until now had caused minor damages using make-shift bombs in cooking pots, has been upgrade

Kim Howells tells of joy and anger as Iraq hostage freed

Source: Wales online Dec 31 2009 by James McCarthy, Western Mail Add a comment Recommend FREED hostage Peter Moore was last night looking forward to being reunited with his family after being held for two-and-a-half years by Iraqi insurgents. Computer expert Peter Moore, 36, was kidnapped along with his four British bodyguards at the finance ministry in Baghdad on May 29, 2007. There were reports last night, some quoting what they said were military sources, that the men had been held in Iran in an operation masterminded by that country’s Revolutionary Guard. Former Foreign Office minister Kim Howells was central in trying to get Mr Moore and his four bodyguards – including executed 30-year-old Alec MacLachlan of Llanelli – released. Last night he was overjoyed Mr Moore was going home, but remained bitter about the “heinous” crimes his captors committed. The Pontypridd MP said: “I don’t know of any hostage situation where so much energy and resource

Iraq suicide bombing kills 25

Source: LA TIMES The governor of Anbar province is among 100 injured in the bombing in Ramadi. The attack brings back memories of violence from 2004 to '06, when the provincial capital was a wasteland. By Nawaf Jabbar and Ned Parker December 31, 2009 Reporting from Baghdad and Ramadi, Iraq - A suicide bomb attack Wednesday in Anbar province's capital killed 25 people and wounded 100, including the governor. The attack raised fears that the devastating bloodletting that swept western Iraq several years ago may be returning. Gov. Qassim Fahdawi had rushed to the scene of an earlier car bombing in Ramadi and was preparing to leave the s

30 killed, 50 injured in twin Iraq bombings

Source: HT Baghdad, December 30, 2009 At least 30 people were killed and 50 injured when two suicide bombers struck the western Iraqi city of Ramadi Wednesday, police said. Qassim Mohammed, the governor of the overwhelmingly Sunni province, and Abbas al-Dulaimi, the deputy director of the Ramadi police, were among those injured when a man detonated explosives packed into his car outside the governor's office, police said. Soon after, a second man detonated explosives strapped to his body outside the government building. There were contradictory reports as to whether Mohammed and al-Dulaimi had been killed in the blast. Police said that the two, and provincial council member Saadoun Abdel-Mohsen, were being treated for injuries. It was the bloodiest attack in the province this year.

Security, Fires, Funerals After Karachi Blast

Pakistanis have been burying their dead in the wake of Monday's attack on a Shiite procession in Karachi. Fires were still burning Tuesday following riots after the bombing, and officials said the death toll had climbed to 43. (29 December 2009)

Yemen 'can handle al-Qaeda menace'

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Source: Aljazeera Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said it was behind Friday's bombing attempt [File picture] The Yemeni government has vowed to deal with the "menace of al-Qaeda in Yemen" after the group claimed responsibility for a plot to bring down an aircraft bound for the US city of Detroit on Christmas. Saying his government would not authorise or co-operate with any potential US strike on its soil, Abdullah Alsaidi, Yemen's permanent representative to the United Nations, told Al Jazeera that his country "is capable of taking care of its own problems". Alsaidi welcomed co-operation with and assistance from the US "with respect to intelligence

Talking about Terrorism Terrorism and Security Systems

Source: cato at library Terrorism presents a complex set of security problems. That’s easy to see in the welter of discussion about the recent attempted bombing on a plane flying from Amsterdam into Detroit. The media and blogs are poring over the many different security systems implicated by this story. Unfortunately, many are reviewing them all at once, which is very confusing. Each security system aimed to protect against terror attacks and other threats involves difficult and complex balancing among many different interests and values. Each system deserves separate consideration, along with analysis of how they interact with one another. A helpful way to unpack security is by thinking in terms of “layers.” Calling it security “layering” is a way of describing the many different practices and technologies that limit threats to the things we prize. (It’s another lens on security, compatible with the risk management framework I laid out shortly after the Fort Hood shooting.) Le

Pakistanis Close Deadly 2009 Chapter

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Source: Islam online By  Aamir Latif, IOL Correspondent

CIA Workers Killed By Afghan Suicide Bomb

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Source: SKY News 7:55am UK, Thursday December 31, 2009 Jon di Paolo, Sky News Online Eight US CIA employees have been killed by a suicide bomb attack carried out by a ranking officer in Afghanistan's army. US soldiers on patrol in the province of Khost in Afghanistan A Taliban spokesman said the "well-dressed" official was of sufficiently high rank to walk past security into a foreign army base in south-eastern Khost. He then apparently gained access to a meeting being held by the CIA officials in the complex, where he detonated the explosives he was carrying. Other people were also wounded in the blast, defence officials reported, but no US or Nato troops were among them. It was the second time in as many days members of the Afghan army have turned on and killed the foreign troops and officials who are meant to be helping them. The attacks cast doubts on the practicality of Western exit strategies that in

Post-blast’ situation reviewed

Source: The news Fire tenders reached six hours late, meeting told Thursday, December 31, 2009 By our correspondent Karachi A meeting reviewing the law and order situation arising out of a bomb blast on the main Aushura procession was held at the Chief Minister House late on Tuesday. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah was briefed about the attack on the Muharram procession and the consequent violent reaction that led to the loss of precious lives and property. The issue of the reported late arrival of fire tenders to extinguish the inferno at the Boulton Market also came under discussion, official sources told The News. The meeting was followed by another meeting under the chair of Sindh Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza which was also attended by the Director-General Rangers and provincial officials at the Sindh Secretariat. The sources said that the meeting was informed that fire tenders reached the spots around six hours late to extinguish the blaze. The sources

Afghan civilians killed in air raid

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Source: Al jazeera At least eight civilians have been killed in an air raid by foreign forces in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, officials have said. A spokesman for the provincial governor told Al Jazeera that the civilians were killed when foreign forces targeted a home on Wednesday. Dawud Ahmadi said the strike came after foreign troops were ambushed by Taliban fighters. The foreign troops called for air support and planes thereafter bombed the area in the outskirts of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. Civilian deaths due to operations conducted by Wes

Three Saudi tourists killed in Niger attack - officials

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Source: BBC news Three Saudi tourists have been killed and three others injured after they were attacked by unidentified gunmen in Niger, officials there say. The Saudis were travelling by car to Mali and were attacked near the border, according to a government spokesman. The three Saudis who were wounded were taken to hospital in the capital, Niamey, he said. The attack was reported near Djambala, where both Tuareg rebels and militants linked to al-Qaeda are active. Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled bin Saud told Al-Arabiya TV that the tourists were assaulted after they stopped to perform morning prayers. He said that though al-Qaeda was present in the area, there was no proof the group was involved. "It appears to us so far that it was a robbery," he said. Mauritania claim Niger's Communication Minister Kassoum Moctar condemned the attack on state radio. "Niger's government deplores these barbarous acts that we

Official: Behind scenes, U.S. prodding Yemen to confront al Qaeda

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Source: CNN From Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent December 28, 2009 10:10 p.m. EST Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh began accepting U.S. help against al Qaeda last summer, an official says. STORY HIGHLIGHTS U.S. intelligence playing increased role in urging Yemeni president to fight terror Pentagon is spending $66 million this year to provide Yemen with security, military assistance Yemeni forces being trained on counterterrorism operations by U.S., official says Declining security situation in Yemen makes the effort against al Qaeda even harder Washington (CNN) -- "Solid intelligence" from U.S. and Yemen services finally persuaded Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh last summer to accept increased help in fighting al Qaeda in his country, a senior U.S. official told CNN. After years of pressure from the U.S. to crack down on al Qaeda in Yemen, Saleh was persuaded to accept help after he was presented with intelligence that al Qaeda "was target

Pakistan Bombing Kills 30

Television footage from Pakistan shows an explosion striking a major Shiite Muslim procession. The bombing killed 30 people and wounded dozens.

Qaeda-Linked Group Claims It Was Behind Bomb Attempt

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Source: Ny times HONOLULU — President Obama emerged from Hawaiian seclusion on Monday to try to quell gathering criticism of his administration’s handling of the thwarted Christmas Day bombing of an American airliner as a branch of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attempted attack. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image U.S. Marshals Service, via European Pressphoto Agency An undated handout photo of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspect in the thwarted bombing, was made available by the U.S. Marshals Service. “We will not rest until we find all who were involved and hold them accountable,” Mr. Obama told reporters during a break in his 10-day holiday vacation. “This was a serious reminder of the dangers that we face and the nature of those who threaten our homeland.” He added that he had ordered reviews of the air navigation screening system and the terrorist watch list system. “The American people should be assured that we are doin

Suicide bomber kills 30 on Shia procession in Karachi

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Source: Guardian Extremists accused of trying to start sectarian war as deaths spark violence Monday 28 December 2009 20.36 GMT Associated Press in Karachi  Pakistani shopkeepers look at the burning market set on fire in retaliation after the suicide blast in Karachi. Photograph: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images A suicide bomber struck a procession marking a Shia Muslim holy day in Pakistan 's biggest city today, killing 30 people in an attack blamed on extremists trying to spark a sectarian war. Outraged Shias responded to one of the worst sectarian attacks in the country this year by setting fire to buildings and vehicles at the blast site and pelting security forces with stones. The minority sect has suffered frequent attacks by Sunni extremist groups. Authorities said these sectarian groups have teamed up with Taliban and al-Qaida militants waging war against the government in a joint effort to destabilise Pakistan. More than 500 people have been killed in a

23 hurt as blast sparks riots

Source: The nation By: Mansoor Khan | Published: December 28, 2009 KARACHI – At least 23 people were injured when a bomb exploded near a Muharram procession passing through Qasba More. The blast sparked riots in some areas of the city where angry protesters torched several vehicles. Orangi Town Nazim Abdul Haque while talking to The Nation said that the procession was on its way when the device went off and suddenly fire engulfed the scene. He said panic gripped the area and people started fleeing the scene. He said ambulances of different welfare organisations reached the spot and rushed the injured people to Abbasi Shaheed and Qatar hospitals. Qatar Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Jamil Ashfaq told The Nation that 17 injured including four police personnel and a child had been brought to the hospital. He said the injured had sustained pellets wounds but their condition was out of danger. Abbasi Shaheed Hospital MS Dr Mushood while confirming the arrival of six injured, termed