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Showing posts from January 2, 2011

Two shia Men Martyred by the Terrorists in Sindh

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Source: ABNA The target killing of Shia Muslims are being continued in the Sindh province as two more Shia Muslims, Syed Yawar Abbas Jaffari and Asim Zaidi have been gunned down by the terrorists of outlawed Nasabi-Wahabi organizations in Karachi and Hyderabad respectively. ( A hlul B ayt N ews A gency) - The target killing of Shia Muslims are being continued in the Sindh province as two more Shia Muslims, Syed Yawar Abbas Jaffari and Asim Zaidi have been gunned down by the terrorists of outlawed Nasabi-Wahabi organizations in Karachi and Hyderabad respectively. According to the Shiite News Correspondent, Syed Yawar Abbas son of Syed Sardar Jaffari Shaheed has been shot dead in PIB Colony Karachi. Nasabi-Wahabi terrorists opened gunfire at Syed Yawar Abbas at PIB Colony. He was being rushed to hospital; however, he succumbed martyrdom. An important point to note here is Yawar’s father Syed Sardar Jaffari, chariman of All Pakistan Shia Fed

Wikileaks: Israel planned to strike Hamas financially

A Wikileaks document states that Israeli Anti-Terrorism Bureau chief Danny Arditi had devised a plan to strike Hamas by boosting financial support to the West Bank government headed by Salam Fayyad, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir said Friday. BEIRUT ( A hlul B ayt N ews A gency) - A Wikileaks document states that Israeli Anti-Terrorism Bureau chief Danny Arditi had devised a plan to strike Hamas by boosting financial support to the West Bank government headed by Salam Fayyad, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir said Friday. The plan is intended to establish a special Palestinian intelligence monetary unit under US and EU supervision. The cable quotes Arditi as saying the proposal is aimed at destroying the Hamas group in Gaza financially and giving Fatah time to rebuild needed support. According to the document, Israel's national security council has committed to an initiative to provide the Gaza Strip with enough money to buy only basic materials. Adriti said Israel is

Yemeni soldiers killed in Islamist militant attack

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Source: BBC NEWS Continue reading the main story Related stories Yemeni president: 'We reject terrorism' Yemen: Security and the collapsing state 'Secret US-Yemen deal' revealed At least 12 soldiers have been killed in southern Yemen by Islamist militants, officials say. Gunmen reportedly ambushed a military convoy escorting water tankers and lorries carrying food supplies in Lawder, in Abyan province. Officials said army units were pursuing the gunmen. Yemeni troops have carried out a series of raids in the area in recent months, targeting militants said to be linked to al-Qaeda. Abyan and adjacent Shabwa province have become major fields of operation for al-Qaeda. Attacks by the group on western and regional targets are on the increase and al-Qaeda's Yemen-based wing is thought to have been responsible for the air cargo bombs intercepted in Dubai and Britain last October

Top 22 'commanders' of militant outfits killed in J-K: Police

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Source: HT Targetting the leadership of militant outfits in Jammu and Kashmir, police and security forces have shot dead 22 top 'commanders' of these groups in the state in 2010, police claimed on Saturday. "Police and security forces have killed 22 top commanders, including eight foreign terrorists, in J&K in 2010," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda said. In 2009, police and security forces killed 51 'commanders'. Out of the 51, 27 belonged to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen followed by Lashker-e-Toiba, he said, adding there are 450 to 500 militants operating in the state and 45 to 50% of them are foreign militants. He said that security situation is now under control and incidents of militancy are also low in the state.

Suicide bomber kills 17 in Afghan public bath

Source: daily times * Afghan border police commander among those killed KANDAHAR: A suicide bomber killed 17 people, including a police commander, inside a public bathhouse in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar on Friday in the country’s worst attack in more than five months. The bombing, which officials said wounded 21 people, was the bloodiest attack since July and comes after the end of the deadliest year in an increasingly unpopular war that has now dragged on for more than nine years, The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said three of its troops were killed in two separate attacks on Friday in the east and south of the country. Zalmai Ayoubi, spokesman for the governor of Kandahar province, said the target of the bathhouse raid, which took place in the town of Spin Boldak on the Pakistan border, was the border police commander. “This brutal and inhumane act was the work of the enemies of Islam and humanity,” he said, adding that all the other casu

Balochistan shuts down to protest student leaders’ killing

Source: daily times * Strike observed in several cities of province on Baloch National Front’s call Staff Reporter QUETTA: A shutter down and wheel-jam strike was observed in many parts of Balochistan on Friday to protest against the killings of two Baloch student leaders, Qambar Chakar and Ilyas Nazar. The bullet-riddled bodies of the two students were found from Kech district on Wednesday. The strike was also observed in Trubat, Mand, Tump, Khuzdar, Naal, Zehri, Naushki, Buleida, Gwadar, Pasni, Jiwani, Panjgur, Ormara, Dasht Plains, Hoshap, Kalat, Mashkay, Hub and Mastung in response to a call made by the Baloch National Front (BNF). Most of the shopping and commercial centres remained closed for the day and the streets wore a deserted look with no traffic plying on the roads. There was very thin attendance in government offices in the absence of the public transport. Women staged a protest rally in Turbat and marched through various parts of the city. They chanted slog

Bomb blast wounds four in Charsadda CD market

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Source: daily times PESHAWAR: At least four persons, including two police officials, sustained injuries when a low-intensity bomb exploded in CD market at Charsadda district on Friday evening, police said. The bomb, which went off in a CD mark et, known as Doozakh Market in Umerzai Bazaar, caused critical injuries to Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Samiullah. A constable Khalil Ullah and two locals identified as Arif and Syed Akhtar Bacha also sustained injuries in the blast. Only a few shops in the market were damaged in the blast. Police rushed to the spot soon after the explosion and started a rescue operation. The injured were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital. The area was cordoned off by the police for investigation. app

Al Qaeda Seeking Revenge against Morocco – Anti Terrorism Expert

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Source: Al awsat 06/01/2011 By Latifa al Arousni Rabat, Asharq Al-Awsat – Moroccan political analyst Dr. Mohamed Darif, who specializes in studying Islamist groups, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Moroccan authorities have dismantled dozens of terrorist cells since 2002 thanks to the pre-emptive security approach pursued by Morocco which had made it possible for the Moroccan authorities to foil a large number of these terrorist cells ' plans. Dr. Darif added that the continuous news in Morocco of terrorist plans being foiled and terrorist cells being dismantled can be explained by the logistical and technical abilities developed by the Moroccan security services, which has allowed Rabat to monitor the activities of such groups. Answering a question about some people's suspicions about why so many terrorist cells have been uncovered in Morocco - with Rabat claiming to have dismantled as many as 70 terrorist cells since 2002 - Dr. Darif told Asharq Al-Awsat that the

StandWithUs BART ads to take aim at ‘Palestinian terrorism’

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Source: Jweekly The pro-Israel national organization StandWithUs announced Jan. 6 that it is launching a new ad campaign, placing posters in six BART stations. The posters have received BART approval and will go up in the Berkeley, 12th Street/Oakland, MacArthur, Civic Center, Balboa Park and Embarcadero BART stations starting Jan. 17, a StandWitUs spokesperson said. Dubbed "Say Yes to Peace," the campaign has been launched, organizers said, to counter a recent poster campaign co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace, a group often critical of Israel. Those posters, still on display at three BART stations (according to the StandWithUs release), depicted Palestinian and Israel fathers with their young children, along with the headings "Be on our side: We are on the side of peace and justice" and "End U.S. military aid to Israel." The StandWithUs posters feature the image of a masked terrorist with the heading "Stop Palestinian Terro

Alexandria attack is plain terrorism

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Source: Tehran times Wednesday, January 5, 2011 By Linda S. Heard I was woken on New Year's morning by a flurry of phone calls from worried friends and neighbors. A terrorist bomb had struck Coptic worshippers celebrating mass at a church in the poor Alexandrian suburb of Baqoos, killing 21, wounding more than 80 and leaving a legacy of wrecked vehicles on the street. Everyone I've spoken to are shocked, saddened and dismayed at this turn of events, which threatens a rift between Egypt's Muslim and Christian communities. Ominously, in reaction to the attack, young Coptic youth entered a nearby mosque, threw out books and other items and clashed with riot police. Their fury is understandable but hitting out against Muslims is playing right in

Egypt terrorism expert: Church bombing evidence points to Qaeda in Iraq

Source: ahram A noted Egyptian expert on terrorism tells Ahram Online the evidence indicates that random Al-Qaeda entities crossing over from Iraq to Arab North Africa are the most likely culprits in the Alexandria church bombing Ahmed Eleiba , Tuesday 4 Jan 2011 Following mixed reports on the possible source of the church attack in Alexandria on New Year's eve, Major General Mohamed Megahed, an Egyptian expert on international terrorism and deputy director of the National Center for Middle East Studies, said that the available information indicates a strong possibility that foreign entities are involved in the church attacks, just as President Hosni Mubarak had pointed out in his speech on Saturday. In an an interview with Ahram Online, Megahed said that although the available information still needs further verification and confirmation, the Ministry of Interior is currently looking for 15 suspected foreign elemen
Source: Strategy page January 6, 2011: It is indeed a grim irony that while the Pakistan government has yet to execute anyone under its controversial blasphemy (against Islam) laws, enacted three decades ago, more than thirty alleged blasphemers have been killed in this period -- lynched by angry mobs. The assassination of Punjab Governor and media tycoon Salman Taseer in Islamabad, by his own security man on January 4, 2011, may have stunned all Pakistanis but would have surprised none in the international community. Such is the extent to which fundamentalism has permeated the population of Pakistan. The assassin, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, a member of the Elite Force of the Punjab Police, quietly threw down his weapon and surrendered after firing 26 bullets into Taseer. Qadri told his interrogators later that he killed Taseer because the Governor had called the blasphemy law “a black law” and had been campaigning for its repeal. Significantly, Qadri is from the Barelvi

Hijack attempt foiled aboard Turkish Air flight

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source: CNN By the CNN Wire Staff January 6, 2011 -- Updated 0425 GMT (1225 HKT) A passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight from Oslo to Istanbul tried to hijack a plane similar to the one pictured. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Passenger claiming to have a bomb approached the cockpit, Turkish media report He allegedly urged the captain to turn the plane around and head back to Norway Two passengers tackled the man, who suffers a mental illness, the news agency says Airport operations in Istanbul were not disrupted Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) -- A man claiming to have a bomb tried to enter the cockpit of a Turkish Airlines plane about to land in Istanbul, Turkey, but was tackled by passengers and taken into custody, Turkish media reported Wednesday. The man, identified as 40-year-old Cuma Yasar, was wearing a snowmask as he approached the cockpit during the descent of the Boeing 737-800 from Oslo, Norway, into Ataturk International Airport, the state news agency Anadolu s

Extremists trying to recruit from schools: Malaysia

Source: Zee news Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has said that Islamic, Tamil and Sikh militant groups were seeking to recruit from schools and universities in the country, but intelligence agencies were keeping a close watch on such activities. Expressing concern that students were being exposed to militant ideology, the nation's Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the militant groups active in the country included Islamist extremist, Tamil and Sikh separatists. But Hussein said there was no "immediate threat" that these leanings could lead to terrorism. "The situation is very much under control and a close watch is being kept on these activities," he said. The minister said that people of extremist ideology were not confined to the campuses but also were present within the society, Star newspaper said today. "Nevertheless, we do not take things for granted. Our intelligence personnel are constantly monitoring and conducting surveillance on these groups a

Explosion rocks French embassy in Mali

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Source: MSN 2 Malians injured; building sustains minor damage BAMAKO, Mali — An unidentified assailant hurled a homemade bomb and fired several gunshots at the French embassy in Mali's capital late Wednesday, wounding two Malian citizens. The blast from the explosive device appeared to be small, however, and caused only minor damage to an outer gate of the building. Hammadoun Billal Traore, a police officer in Bamako, said the explosive was a small gas cylinder. He said the attacker lit it and threw it toward an entrance to the embassy. The man then fired off several shots with a pistol before being detained by security forces. In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Christine Fages said she had no information about possible motives and said at least one Malian staffer at the embassy was "very lightly" injured. It was not immediately clear whether the attack was terror-related. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb operates in the

AP Exclusive: Building a network to hit militants

Source: fox news WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has ramped up its secret war on terror groups with a new military targeting center to oversee the growing use of special operations strikes against suspected militants in hot spots around the world, according to current and former U.S. officials. Run by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command, the new center would be a significant step in streamlining targeting operations previously scattered among U.S. and battlefields abroad and giving elite military officials closer access to Washington decision-makers and counterterror experts, the officials said. The center aims to speed the sharing of information and shorten the time between targeting and military action, said two current and two former U.S. officials briefed on the project. Those officials and others insisted on condition of anonymity to discuss the classified matters. The creation of the center comes as part of t

Terrorists Converge in Morocco-Algeria DMZ

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Source: morocco board Washington / Morocco Board News The dismantlement of a 27-member of an Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) terrorist cell near Amghala, about 200 Km from the Moroccan city of Laayoune, is a considerable enlargement to AQIM activities in the Sahara and regions under the control of the Algerian military and [Western sahara separatists] Polisario militiamen . The discovery of a large cashes of arms, and bomb-making material typically used to build bomb belts and car bombs is an alarming development that would alter to approach to fighting terror in the Sahara and the Sahel. Yet, the most disturbing aspect of the Moroccan security findings remains the location of the AQIM base in the no-man’s land located between the Moroccan borders and a swap of land where the Algerian supported Polisario Militia and the Algerian military patrol on a regular basis. The news of the arrest of the Amghala cell on the buffer zone in the Western Sahara comes at a

Morocco: Police arrest 27 as alleged Al-Qaeda cell uncovered

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Source: ADNKRONOS Moroccan authorities say they have arrested 27 people, including a member of Al-Qaeda's branch in North Africa for planning terrorist attacks in the kingdom. Rabat, 5 Jan. (AKI) - Moroccan authorities say they have arrested 27 people, including a member of Al-Qaeda's branch in North Africa for planning terrorist attacks in the kingdom. The network was led by "a Moroccan national who is a member of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and who wanted to create a rear base in the country for terror attacks," an Interior Ministry statement said late Tuesday, cited by Moroccan news agency MAP. The statement did not name those arrested or specify when their arrests took place. But it said the suspects "planned to commit terrorist acts with explosives-laden belts and car bombings." AQIM, the acronym by which the group is know, has bases spread across Algeria, Mauritania and Mali, according to analysts. Local daily Hespres

Somali pirates find Mozambique Channel a balmy home

Source: Defence web Somali pirates have hijacked a Mozambican-flagged fishing vessel about 200 nautical miles (370 km) southwest of Comoros in the Mozambique Channel, the European Union's anti-piracy taskforce says. The capture of the 140-tonne Vega 5 and its 14-strong crew of unknown nationalities – likely on Friday - was the third strike by pirates in waters between Africa and Madagascar in a week. Somali pirates usually operate further north in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia where a lack of central government and an Islamist insurgency has allowed piracy to flourish off the anarchic Horn of Africa nation's shores, Reuters reports. While the pirates frequently venture east around the Seychelles and towards the Maldives they are rarely active south of Tanzania. "Since late December, Somali pirates have been focusing their activities around Tanzania, Comoros and Madagascar to avoid rougher seas further north," Andrew Mwangura, head of the Ea

To fight Somali piracy, find a government to work with

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Source: the globe and mail As a step toward restoring order in Somalia, a former nation-state that disintegrated in 1991, the international community should explore ways of granting limited recognition to the part of it known as Somaliland. The world is giving disproportionate effort to propping up a putative national government that controls only a few neighbourhoods in Mogadishu, Somalia’s former capital, and which is called transitional; “artificial” would be more accurate. It would be wiser to build upon the stability of Somaliland. Infographic Where the Somali pirates attack Video Pirates attack U.S. ship again Meanwhile, the Somali pirates of the Indian Ocean are thriving more than ever, in spite of the work of the navies of 30 countries in recent years, and indeed ranging over a larger area. No country is showing consistent resolve to prosecute captured pirates in its own courts. The pirates are not simply a floating confederacy of cr

Somali pirates seize Algerian ship

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Source: IOL January 3 2011 at 07:14pm Reuters The brother of Deborah Calitz, the woman taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2010, says there is still no information regarding her whereabouts. Photo: Reuters Nairobi - Suspected Somali pirates have seized an Algerian-owned ship with 27 crew members aboard in the Indian Ocean. The European Union's anti-piracy task force said the MV Blida was hijacked on Saturday about 150 nautical miles southeast of the Omani port of Salalah. The ship was heading to Tanzania at the time it was seized. The force said late on Sunday that

U.S. Military Aid Is Available for Hire in Yemen

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By MARGARET COKER ADEN, Yemen—The Yemeni Coast Guard, working through private companies, is renting out servicemen and patrol boats—including vessels given to Yemen by the U.S.—for commercial ships seeking armed escorts against piracy. The arrangements are raising fresh questions about whether the San'a government is effectively using American military aid. The U.S. has donated boats for use in protecting Yemen's coastline against terrorists and other security threats. Discussions are under way in Washington about significantly ramping up assistance to help fight the al Qaeda network based in Yemen. Congressman Pete King (R., N.Y.), the incoming chairman for the House Committee on Homeland Security, said reports of diverted U.S. military aid to Yemen raise "serious questions, which will be addressed by the Homeland Security Committee," in Congress's next session. Four Yemeni officials familiar with the private security details said they

Neutrality will not shield Sweden from terrorism

Source: daily caller Until Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly’s explosive belt went off prematurely in Stockholm last month, Sweden was the poster child for isolationism in the war on terror. While Abdulwahab’s bomb failed to achieve his desired result, it did obliterate the myth that nations can remain neutral to global terrorism. Abdulwahab’s failed attack typifies the jihadis’ all-out war against “infidels.” He was a doctrinaire jihadist with ties to a local militant Islamist organization, and his attack didn’t spring up out of nowhere. There had already been warning signs that terrorists were mobilizing against the Scandinavian democracy. Militants had threatened Swedish artist Lars Vilks for his satirical cartoon portrayal of the prophet Mohammed, attacking his home and attempting to murder him with an axe. Others threatened Vilks. The Iraq-born Abdulwahab was a member of the Facebook group “Islamic Caliphate State.” He lived in Luton in Bedfordshire, England, home to fo

Pakistan's Minorities Come Under Fire…: The hidden war

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Source: Frontpage DECEMBER 21, 2010 Pakistan's Minorities Come Under Fire … By Kalsoom Lakhani The persecution and targeting of religious and sectarian minorities has occurred throughout Pakistan's history, but a number of attacks in 2010 highlight a qualitative shift in this trend. The scale, location, tactics, and claims of responsibility for attacks on minority religious institutions have changed dramatically between last year and this one, proving not only that Pakistan's minorities are a primary target of the region's extremist groups, but also that minorities are losing support among the population at large. Although the number of recorded attacks against minorities seems not to have changed much between 2009 and 2010, other key factors changed significantly. In 2010, attacks on minority religious institutions were for the most part large-scale, resulting in significantly higher death tolls than those in 2009. For in

The Generals' Victory : Book

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Source: Frontpage The arrival of a new Bob Woodward book is attended with rituals as solemn and predictable as those of the annual Congress of the Communist Party in North Korea-there are the three days of excerpts in The Washington Post ; a few days before that the obligatory spoiler piece in The New York Times where an enterprising reporter has obtained a copy of the heavily-embargoed tome; Woodward appearing for the full hour with Larry King; the defensive comments from the institutions that have something to defend-when asked to comment on Obama's Wars , Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell demurred, explaining "We don't do literary criticism;" the quotable insider disses, the best being General Tommy Franks on the senior Bush Pentagon official Douglas Feith-"the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth"; and the telling anecdotes about key players in the narrative, such as the one about the intensely focused General