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Showing posts from June 26, 2011

Ethiopia arrests 9 on terrorism charges

Source: AP ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – An Ethiopian official says nine people were arrested last week on suspicions of organizing a terrorist network and planning attacks. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said Wednesday that two journalists were among those arrested. He says they were involved in planning attacks on infrastructure, telecommunications and power lines. Shimeles says two other suspects are members of an opposition party. Shimeles says the suspects were supported by Ethiopia's archenemy Eritrea and by an international terrorist group, which he did not name. International media rights groups have been calling for the release of Reeyot Alemu, a columnist for the independent weekly Feteh, and Woubshet Taye, deputy editor-in-chief of the weekly Awramba Times newspaper.

How will the Kabul raid affect a peace deal?

Source: CSM By Ben Arnoldy – Wed Jun 29, 11:25 am ET New Delhi – For all the talk about peace negotiations with the Taliban, one word rarely comes up: cease-fire. Instead, the US and the Taliban talk while shooting, a fact brought home again with the major terrorist attack overnight on a landmark hotel in Kabul. The siege left seven civilians dead, including one Spaniard. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says one reason his group struck the InterContinental Hotel was the presence of foreigners. Such provocative targeting of civilians by the insurgents, as well as the civilian deaths that result from US-led operations, erode trust around the negotiating table. However, since both sides clearly intend to try to show a stronger hand on the battlefield, neither Afghan nor American observers expect the attack to shut down the peace process. “When you see this kind of incident, especially i

AP IMPACT: Teaching jihad in Indonesian prisons

  By NINIEK KARMINI, Associated Press – Thu Jun 30, 7:29 am ET PORONG PRISON, Indonesia – A sweeping crackdown on terrorism in the past decade has spawned a new problem in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation: Militants in jail are recruiting new followers to their cause. Prisons threaten to undermine the progress made against terrorism here since 2002, when nightclub bombings killed 202 people on the tourist island of Bali, many of them Australians and Americans. The campaign has assumed global importance because of feared links between Southeast Asian terrorist groups and al-Qaida. That possibility was underlined by the January arrest of Bali bombing suspect Umar Patek in Abbottabad, the same Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was killed in May. The Associated Press was granted two days of unfettered access to Porong prison in early June by the chief warden

Suspects on trial over Morocco cafe bombing

Source: AP RABAT, Morocco – Seven people went on trial in Morocco Thursday for the bombing of a Marrakech tourist cafe that killed 17, one of the worst terrorist acts to hit the North African kingdom. The proceedings were postponed until Aug. 18 to allow lawyers for both the victims and the defense more time to prepare. Both sides pleaded their cases on Thursday's opening day. The April 28 explosion tore through the Argana cafe in Marrakech's old town, a popular tourist destination. Several of those killed were foreigners. Defense lawyers asked that the suspects be released pending the next court session, but the court refused. The defense lawyers also complained about the conditions of detention, comparing them to the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo. The prosecutor responded angrily that the claim was exaggerated. The chief suspect, Adel Othmani, appeared relaxed in the courtr

ISI Chief won't appear before US Court: Pak PM

Source: Newstrackindia Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday clearly declared that none could pressurise the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt. Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha to appear before a US court without his consent. "The ISI is an extremely important and sensitive institution of this country. If they do not agree to go to the American court, then no one can send them," Gilani said it before the national assembly on December 23 while addressing to the lower house of Parliament. Gilani was responding to a fiery speech by opposition leader Nisar Ali Khan, who criticised the government for it?s failed foreign policy. "The ISI is a sensitive agency of the Pakistani military and it is unimaginable that we will force their officers to appear in the US court on foreign dictation". As it is known that a family of Mumbai terror victim has filled a lawsuit against ISI before a Brooklyn court in US. The Court has issued the sum

Sri Lanka: Humanitarian disaster in making

Source: NEWSTRACKINDIA Bobby Ramakant Activists expressed their deep anguish and concern on unabated mass killings in Sri Lanka which is, as they underlined, "no short of a humanitarian disaster in northern Sri Lanka". "We also protest the covert provision of economic and military aid to Sri Lanka by Indian government which has, certainly, deeply aggravated the situation in Sri Lanka" said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2002) and Convener of National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM). The Sri Lankan government’s indiscriminate military actions have exacted an appalling toll on the civilian Tamil population. Unless India does its part to negotiate an immediate ceasefire, civilian casualties will continue to escalate, tarnishing India’s claim to be a morally responsible regional ‘spiritual’ power. "Indeed, we have watched with growing dismay the Indian government’s effective complicity with the Sri Lankan government’s ong

Three Naxal camps destroyed in West Singhbhum

Source: NEWSTRACKINDIA West Singhbhum, June 30 (ANI): In a joint operation, police and security forces destroyed three naxal camps and recovered a huge cache of arms and explosives at the Saranda forest in West Singhbhum.  Seventeen suspected Naxalites were also detained in an anti-Maoist operation that ended yesterday.  The three camps were being run led by senior leaders of Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB) of the CPI (Maoist) deep in the forest located around 25km off Chota Nagra police station of West Singhbhum. Large bags containing Naxalite literature that included jungle warfare training booklets were also found in the camps.  The three-day exercise was launched in Saranda on June 26 midnight.  The operation team comprised personnel from CoBRA battalions, district police and Jharkhand Armed Police. (ANI)

Rise in number of freed terrorists raises security fears

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Source: Guardian Home Office review of counter-terror strategy concerned at how to deal with convicted terrorists after release A prison dog handler patrols the grounds of Belmarsh, one of Britain’s eight high-security jails which between them hold 123 terrorism-related prisoners. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA Thirty-six recently released terrorists are being "managed in the community" with a further 34 expected to leave prison over the next four years, according to Home Office figures. A record 123 prisoners are now serving sentences for terrorism-related offences in jails in Britain. But nearly 10 years after 9/11 the number being freed is starting to rise and Whitehall security chiefs are increasingly concerned about the lack of preparations to deal with them. The official review of the Prevent counter-terrorism strategy found that slow progress has been made turning prisoners away from terrorism.

Shiite militias step up Iraq attacks on US troops

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Source: boston FILE - In this Wednesday, June 8, 2011 file photo, the transfer cases containing the remains, from left, of Army Pfc. Michael C. Olivieri of Chicago, Ill., Pfc. Christopher B. Fishbeck of Victorville, Calif., Pfc. Michael B. Cook of Middletown, Ohio, and Emilio J. Campo Jr. of Madelia, Minn., sit inside a U.S. Air Force C-5 cargo plane upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Del. The Department of Defense announced the deaths of Olivieri, Fishbeck, Cook and Campo Jr., who were supporting Operation New Dawn in Iraq. Shiite militias backed by Iran have ramped up attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, making June the deadliest month in two years for American forces after a rocket strike on Thursday. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)  BAGHDAD— Shiite militias backed by Iran have ramped up attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq, making June the deadliest month in two years for American forces. The militiamen's goal is to prevent the U.S. military from extending its pres

Life goes on in Sidon and Tripoli

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Jul-01/Life-goes-on-in-Sidon-and-Tripoli.ashx#ixzz1QotMKPLy SIDON/TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Despite spending the morning watching TV to follow up on the release of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon indictment, residents of the hometown of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri went about their day as usual. The STL, established by the U.N. to try those who assassinated Hariri in 2005, handed over Thursday the Lebanon portion of the indictment, State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza said. A judicial source told The Daily Star the indictment identified the suspects as Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hasan Oneissy and Asad Sabra. The four suspects are Hezbollah members. While examining his collection of more than 120 pins bearing slogans which call for unveiling the truth behind Hariri’s assassination, Khodr Habli told The Daily Star that the slogan had finally become a reality. “I saved them because they are so pr

Center for Syrian refugees opens in Akkar

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/Jul-01/Center-for-Syrian-refugees-opens-in-Akkar.ashx#ixzz1QoscdXCo AKKAR, Lebanon: A center to aid Syrian refugees who have fled to Lebanon was opened Thursday in Akkar, as local residents questioned why it took two months to act since the refugees began streaming across the border. A school in the village of Mashta Hammoud in Wadi Khaled was chosen to host the center, which was inaugurated during a ceremony attended by local residents and civil society representatives, who issued a statement afterward asking the government’s Higher Relief Committee and the United Nations to meet the needs of refugees. “We also call on them to clarify the reasons why these centers have been prevented from being opened, despite the passing of more than two months since our Syrian brethren began streaming across the border into Lebanon,” the statement said. The center was established by local NGOs and a Kuwait count

Syrian crackdown comes under fire at U.N. session on Golan observers

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Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Jul-01/Syrian-crackdown-comes-under-fire-at-UN-session-on-Golan-observers.ashx#ixzz1Qoo7SNuR UNITED NATIONS/BEIRUT: Europe and the United States heaped criticism on Syria at the United Nations Thursday during a renewal of the mandate for a U.N. observer force in Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as Syria continued military operations in northern cities close to the Turkish border. Israel accuses th

All eyes on Lebanese response to accusations in Hariri case

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Jul-01/All-eyes-on-Lebanese-response-to-accusations-in-Hariri-case.ashx#ixzz1Qomu7wlt BEIRUT: The implementation of arrest warrants issued by a U.N.-backed court against those suspected of involvement in the assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik Hariri will be a difficult enterprise likely to be coupled with increased international pressure on Hezbollah and the new Cabinet it dominates, analysts said Thursday. The indictment and accompanying arrest warrants that a team from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon transmitted to State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, in addition to media leaks about the names and affiliations of suspects, did not surprise anyone in Lebanon or the rest of the world, according to professor Mohamad Bazzi, adjunct senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations. “Nonetheless,” Bazzi told The Daily Star, “there are serious implications that will b

Wanted: 4 Hezbollah members

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Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Jul-01/Wanted-4-Hezbollah-members.ashx#ixzz1QomBoN8M BEIRUT: Four members of Hezbollah, including a senior military commander, were accused Thursday of the 2005 assassination of former statesman Rafik Hariri, as the U.N.-backed court probing the crime issued its first indictment to authorities in Beirut. State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza confirmed that he had received a sealed indictment from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. A judicial source told The Daily Star that the indictment identified four suspects as Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hasan Oneissy and Asad Sabra. Badreddine, Hezbollah’s military commander, was accused of masterminding the plot to kill Hariri. Ayyash, another senior party official, was accused of carrying out the attack, the source added. “I will now examine the indictm

Tulsa soldier killed in grenade explosion in Iraq

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KILLED Army Pfc. Dylan Jeffrey Johnson: He was killed by a grenade Sunday after being in Iraq only 3 1/2 weeks. By MANNY GAMALLO World Staff Writer Published: 6/28/2011  2:30 AM Last Modified: 6/28/2011  10:32 AM A young soldier from Tulsa, known among his Army buddies as a fun, happy-go-lucky person, was killed in a grenade attack in Iraq on Sunday, his father said. Army Pfc. Dylan Jeffrey Johnson, 20, had been in Iraq only 3 1/2 weeks when he was killed in a small town north of Baghdad, his father said. The soldier left for Iraq on Memorial Day in what was his first overseas deployment, and he arrived there June 2. Johnson was attached to the 4th Squadron of the 9th Cavalry Regiment, based at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. His father, Jeff Johnson, said he was notified about his son's death on Sunday night. He said his son was killed around noon local Iraq tim

June marks deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq since 2008

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Read more: dailystar   BAGHDAD: U.S. forces still deployed in Iraq have suffered in June their deadliest month in three years, as Iranian-backed insurgents put the heat on them to pull out on schedule at year’s end. In Kurdistan, a potential flashpoint for tensions among ethnic Kurds, Turkmen and Iraqi Arabs, and most of its residents say U.S. troops should remain after the end of this year to keep apart rival groups making claims on the oil-wealthy territory. “The withdrawal of U.S. troops will bring nothing but disaster,” said Asos Hardi, director of Awene, an independent newspaper in Kurdistan. “There is a danger of civil war, there is a danger for some forces to return to the past.” The 47,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are scheduled to leave

Police name three suspects in bomb blasts in three cities

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Source: mizzima Mizzima News – Burmese state-run newspapers reported on Wednesday that police have named three suspects who allegedly plotted simultaneous bomb blasts last week in three cities including Naypyitaw. Military officers cordon off the area in front of the Zaygho Hotel in Mandalay after a bomb exploded in a parked car on Friday, June 24, 2011. Photo: Mizzima A state-run newspaper reported that the three suspects are Sai Hsam, Sai Aik and Sai Kyaw Myint Oo, all young males in their 20s. On Friday, a bomb in a car exploded in Mandalay; two bomb blasts occurred in empty houses in Naypyitaw and Pyinoolwin (Maymyo) nearly at the same time on that day. The newspapers said that car brokers said that the three suspects bought an illegal car (blown up in Mandalay) with number plate 3B/1904. The owners of the two houses said that Sai Hsam and Sai Aik rented the houses in Naypyitaw and Pyinoolwin (Maymyo), the newspaper reported. The house in Naypyitaw was rented

LAGOS RANT: Is Lagos safe?

Source: News 24 As Boko Haram bombs continue to claim innocent lives in the north, one cannot but imagine the possibility of these horrors playing out in Lagos. The thought of multiple bomb blasts in this city has left me in a state of paranoia. Now I am faced with the visions of horrifying scenes of bombed out cars, mangled flesh and cries of innocent victims caught in this madness that has turned our country into another Pakistan. My fears increase each time I remember how easy it was for a lone bomber to break through security at the Force Headquarters, almost taking out Nigeria's number one cop. As I reflected on our county's descent into the abyss, I could not but spare a thought for the millions of residents of Lagos who think they are far removed from these atrocities but yet so near. The probability of terrorists targeting Lagos is high. Indeed Lagos will be a prime target for any radical organization that wants to give a voice to t

Anti-Maoist ops at Saranda yield 200kg explosives

RANCHI: Seventeen suspected Naxalites, including four women, were detained and over 200kg explosives seized in an anti-Maoist operation at the Saranda forest in West Singhbhum. Three rebel camps were also busted during the offensive that ended on Wednesday. The three-day exercise was launched in Saranda, considered the biggest sal forest of Asia , after arrested Maoist Nirmal Jharia tipped the security forces on June 18 off about rebel training camps being run in the jungle. The three camps were being run led by senior leaders of Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB) of the CPI (Maoist) deep in the forest located around 25km off Chota Nagra police station of West Singhbhum. "The camps were situated at an interval of 4.5 kilometers and one of the camps at Chanderdera village even had permanent concrete structure separate for men and women. It has jumping and target practice fields also," said West Singhbhum SP Arun Kumar Singh . Near Baliba village, police seized 2

Researcher studying Naxals goes missing

Source: Thehindu A young researcher studying the Naxal movement in Bihar has gone missing with her guide from the State's Jamui district, police officials said. She hailed from Bangalore. Juhi Kumari, who is in her early twenties, is believed to have gone missing on Wednesday, along with her aide Pradip Dass, when on the way to the Jamui Railway Station to catch a train for Bangalore late on Wednesday, said Jamui Superintendent of Police Raj Narain Singh. According to the police, Juhi's mobile was giving a “switched off” message. Though contact was momentarily established at 9.34 p.m., there has been no trace since. Mr. Singh said Juhi, who had been researching in the extremist hotbed over the last year-and-a-half, usually resided at a harijan hamlet known as Mahulia Tar, which falls in the adjoining Nawada district. Ms. Juhi had visited the area around four to five times, living and mingling freely with the dalits in the hamlet for a period of 15-20 da

The Osama bin Laden I knew : Hamid Mir

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Source: Rediff Pakistani journalist and Rediff.com contributor Hamid Mir interviewed Osama bin Laden thrice. Mir, who works for Pakistan's Geo TV network, was the only journalist to interview bin Laden after 9/11. Hamid Mir, who is writing bin Laden's biography, reveals what the world's most wanted terrorist was really like. "I was the son of a rich father, I could have spent my life luxuriously in Europe and America, like many other wealthy Saudis. Instead I took up arms and headed for the mountains of Afghanistan. Was it personal interest that drove me to spend each moment of my life in the shadow of death? No!" "I was merely discharging a religious obligation by waging jihad against those who attacked Muslims. It does not matter if I die in the course of fulfilling this responsibility. My death and the death of others like me will one day awaken millions of Muslims from their apathy." Osama bin Laden told me this one m