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Showing posts from January 31, 2010

Suspected terrorist attack on Russian train injures one

Source: Xinhua MOSCOW, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A bomb exploded on railway tracks in northern Russia Tuesday, injuring a train driver, with local media reporting it as suspected terrorism. The blast, equivalent to 200 to 400 grams of TNT, hit an inspection locomotive on the outskirts of the northwestern city of St. Petersburg, damaging a meter of the track. The regional transport prosecutors' office blamed terrorists for the explosion. "We are considering this as an act of terrorism. This is the main theory," Anatoly Kvashnin, head of the office, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Last November, a bomb attack derailed a Russian express train en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg, killing 27 people.

Deadly blast hits Iraq pilgrims

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Source : Al jazera The pilgrims were travelling through Baghdad on the way to Karbala when the blast struck [AFP]   At least 54 people have been killed and more than 100 injured in an attack by a suspected female suicide bomber in Baghdad, an interior ministry official has said. The attack took place on Monday amid a procession by Shia Muslims who were on a pilgrimage to the southern city of Karbala, 80km southwest of the Iraqi capital, for the religious rite of Arbaeen. Major-General Qassim Atta, the spokesman for the Baghdad operational command, said: "At 11.45am (0845 GMT), a woman wearing an exp

Female Suicide Bomber Hits Iraqi Pilgrims

A female suicide bomber walking among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt on Monday, killing at least 46 people and wounding more than 122, officials said. (1 February 2010)

Authorities probe reports of Taliban leader's death

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Source: Gulf news Militants claim Hakimullah Mehsud is alive and well By Mohsin Ali, Correspondent Published: 00:00 February 1, 2010 Pakistan Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud (left) places his arm around Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud during a news conference in South Waziristan on May 24, 2008. Image Credit: Reuters Islamabad: The state-run Pakistan television (PTV) claimed Sunday that Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had died of wounds suffered in a January 14 US drone missile strike and secretly buried by his loyalists. However, Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said they were trying to verify the report while the Taliban denied the claim. Reports of Mehsud's death first came to light after the drone strike on January 14 on his hideout in an area between North and South Wazirist

Gun attack at Mexico student party leaves 13 dead

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Source: BBC Gunmen kill partygoers in Mexico Gunmen have killed 13 people at a high school student party in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez. Two adults and 11 teenagers died, while about two dozen others were injured, as the attackers fired indiscriminately on partygoers, according to reports. It was not immediately clear if anyone at the party was linked to the drug gangs that have made Ciudad Juarez one of the world's most dangerous cities. At least 15 other people died in the city, on the US border, at the weekend. Witnesses said the gunmen drove up to the house in several cars late on Saturday or in the early hours of Sunday. Scattered bodies They began shooting at people from outside the property before moving inside, and pursued some of the youngsters trying to escape over a fence. The men

Taliban denies leader is dead

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Source: Al jazeera Hakimullah Mehsud, left, was previously reported killed on January 14 [File: EPA] The Pakistani Taliban has dismissed reports on state television suggesting that Hakimullah Mehsud, the head of the group, had been killed and subsequently buried. Pakistani televsion said on Sunday that Mehsud died in an attack by a US drone some time in the past two weeks, but the Tehrik-e-Taliban were quick to respond. "There has been a call to a local television station and Qari Hussein, a senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban, is said to have denied reports of the death of Hakimullah Mehsud," Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting fr

Taliban fighters attack Afghan city

Source: Al jazeera Afghan security forces trapped the Taliban fighters in an empty building in Lashkar Gah Afghan troops, backed by Nato helicopters, have clashed with Taliban fighters after they attacked United Nations and government buildings in Helmand province, witnesses and officials said. The battle lasted eight hours after Taliban fighters launched the assault in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of the southern region, early on Friday. Provincial officials said at least five attackers were killed and four Afghan soldiers had been injured in the fighting. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said seven fighters, armed with suicide vests and machine guns, had been sent to carry out the attack.

Secret 'Taliban talks' in Maldives

Source: Al jazeera It's a controversial idea that some say is the only way to bring peace to Afghanistan ... How to convince members of the Taliban to put down their guns, and bring them into the political fold. Al Jazeera has learned that secret talks were held last week on the Maldives Islands between a government official, Afghan MPs and an armed opposition group fighting alongside the Taliban. An ambitious plan is under way to get fighters lay down their arms in return for money and jobs. David Chater has this exclusive report.

Execution 'likely' for 9/11 suspect

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Source: Al Jazeera The mayor of New York said the trial of suspected 9/11 plotters should be moved out of the city [AFP] Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, has said the man accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks on the United States is likely to be executed following his trial. "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed ... will be brought to justice and he's likely to be executed for the heinous crimes he committed," Gibbs said in an interview with the CNN news network on Sunday. John Terrett, Al Jazeera's Washington correspondent, said the comment has a lot to do with the first amendment of the US constitution which guarantees free speech. "You see this all the time in the middle of

Bomber attacks Pakistan checkpoint

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Source: Al Jazeera More than 750 people have been killed in over 80 drone attacks in Pakistan since August 2008 [AFP] At least 16 people, mainly civilians, have been killed after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, officials said. Soldiers were searching the bomber when he detonated his device in Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal region, on Saturday. "The death toll has gone up to 16 including two paramilitary soldiers," Iqbal Khattak, a senior administration official, said. Another 23 people were wounded, with six in a critical condition.

Bin Laden deplores climate change

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Source: Al jazeera The new tape is the second from the al-Qaeda leader to be released in the last week Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, has condemned the US and other industrial economies, holding them responsible for the phenomenon of climate change. In an audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera, bin Laden criticised George Bush, the former US president, for rejecting the Kyoto pact and condemned global corporations. "This is a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions - whether intentionally or unintentionally - and about the action we must take," bin Laden said. "Speaking about climate change is not a matter of intellectual luxury - the ph

Day 2 of violence claims 10 more lives

Source : Daily times Sunday, January 31, 2010 By Faraz Khan KARACHI: As many as 10 people were killed in separate parts of the city on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 12 in the violent events that started the previous night. According to details, tension sparked off Friday night when activists of the Awami National Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement clashed over ‘wall-chalking’ in Qasba Colony, resulting in the death of one activist each of both parties. The violent incidents continued on Saturday, especially in Orangi Town where at least seven people were killed - bringing the death toll to nine in the town - while three others were slain in different parts of Karachi. In an incident of violence, Rasool Khan - a rickshaw driver by profession - was gunned down near Qasba Morr in Orangi Town by unidentified suspects who opened fire on him when he was waiting for passengers. The culprits then easily managed to escape from the crime scene. According to a press release iss

Karachi shooting tally mounts to 12, injures 15

Source: The news Updated at: 0500 PST, Sunday, January 31, 2010 KARACHI: The death tally in Karachi target killing shooting incidents has mounted to 12 persons and wounded 15 in last 36 hours. The spate of firing, commenced in Orangi Town and Qasba Colony localities on Friday night, is still in progress with regular intervals while police claimed the firing incident sprouted when unknown assailants gunned down two political activists in Qasba Colony on Friday night which was followed by series of shooting and target killing incidents in other parts also. The deceased were Sharif Khan of the ANP and Mohammed Javed of the MQM. On Saturday morning, armed men forced the closure of shops in Orangi Town, Peerabad, Qasba Colony, Paposh Nagar, Kali Pehari and Banaras areas. They also torched a mini-bus and resorted to aerial firing. SHO Orangi Town Matiur Rehman said that on Saturday afternoon armed men opened indiscriminate fire in Bukhari Colony, injuring five persons. They were shift

Israel: Slain Hamas Commander Was Top Weapons Smuggler

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Source: VOA The killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai prompts threats from Hamas, increases tension between Israel and the Palestinians and could hamper efforts to free a captive Israeli soldier  31 January 2010 Photo: AP The father of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was recently killed, holds up a family photo showing al-Mabhouh (C) at their home in the Jebaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 29 Jan 2010 Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are trading accusations and threats after the killing of a top Hamas commander in the United Arab Emirates.  Israeli officials say a Hamas commander who was found dead in the Persian Gulf city state of Dubai played a central role in smuggling weapons from Iran to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.  But officials stopped short of confirming Hamas allegations that Israel's Mossad spy agency assassinated the commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Hamas released news of the alleged assassination on Friday,

Karzai rejects Taliban conditions

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Source: VOA The Taliban says it is willing to hold talks only if foreign forces leave the country first [AFP] Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has said Taliban fighters should drop their demand that US and Nato forces must leave Afghanistan before reconciliation talks can be held. Karzai said on Sunday that talks would make it easier for troops to leave, adding that he was hoping to launch a peace initiative this year. At a conference on Afghanistan in London last week, Karzai called on tribal and ethnic leaders to take part in a "loya jirga" - or assembly of elders - as a start to peace talks and announced an international fund to reward Taliban fighters who disarmed. However, Taliban comma

Yemen Truce Offers Greeted With Suspicion

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Source: VOA 31 January 2010 Meantime, fighting breaks out just day after the leader of the Shi'ite rebels in northern Yemen said he wants an end to the clashes, and accepts the government's terms for a cease-fire.    Yemen's government says its troops have killed 20 members of the northern Houthi insurgency.  The latest clashes come as both the government and rebels offer conditions for ending the nearly six-year conflict. Yemen media report fighting in the northern provinces of Malahidh and Saada. Government officials say they are rejecting the latest Houthi offer to accept the government's ceasefire plan because the rebels failed to agree to all the terms. A statement Saturday attributed to rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said his fighters would accept five of the government's demands. The message, posted on the internet, said the rebels wanted the bloodshed to end, and called on the government to place national interests first. Govern

Yemen offers ceasefire to rebels

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Source: Al jazeera Abdel Malik al-Houthi says he would accept conditions after the fighting stops, and not before [AFP]  Yemen's national defence council has said the army could stop its offensive against al-Houthi rebels in the north of the country if they end all hostilities. The council, which is chaired by Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, issued a statement on Sunday which said there was "no obstacle" to ending military operations. But the offer would only come into effect if Abdel Malik al-Houthi, the rebel commander, complied with six conditions set out for the proposed ceasefire. These conditions in