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Showing posts from August 28, 2011

Xinjiang’s growing PoK links cloud China’s stance on Kashmir

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Source: hindu The Hindu In People's Square at the heart of Kashgar, a sign calls to "accelerate the development of Kashgar's Special Economic Zone" and to transform the city into a "model" international city. Photo: Ananth Krishnan At sunset, the Pakistan Café on Seman Road here bursts into life. Here, Pakistani traders from across this dusty trading town gather for tea, sharing stories of their day’s work, all united by a common ambition of grabbing a slice of this region’s growth. “We have great belief in what China is doing here,” says one trader who has driven to Kashgar from Gilgit, in disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The ongoing transformation of this old Silk Road town has left their spirits high. China is planning to build its first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the west in Kashgar, hoping to boost development in southern Xinjiang which has lagged behind the rest of the region and has been the source of recent et

Sikh social worker to head inquiry into London riots

Source: hindu A well-known Sikh social worker Darra Singh is to head a four-member panel appointed to inquire into the riots that shook London and other British cities earlier this month causing several deaths and damage to property worth millions of pounds. Bradford-born Darra Singh, currently chief executive of the government employment agency JobCentre Plus , is expected to bring his extensive experience of working with young people to his assignment. The panel will examine the causes of the seemingly unprovoked violence and recommend measures to prevent such incidents in future. Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it would be a “grassroots review” of what led to Britain’s worst rioting in nearly three decades. “We want to know what happened at street level, not from afar and only from the perspective of those affected. Having worked with young people, and on housing and violence issues in a range of cities around the country, in

Clinton should de-list MEK as terrorist group

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Source: NCR IRAN The Orange County Register - By NASSER SHARIF - September 01, 2011 “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams. These words by one of the U.S. founding fathers should be the only criteria for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as she reviews whether to remove the main Iranian resistance movement, Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK,) from the State Department’s terror list. As Americans, Southern Californians should care about this because America’s greatness, first and foremost, stems from its values and principles. Our values inspired many nations to stand up against tyranny and to challenge the status quo imposed on them by dictators. Over the years, our words and our commitments have been as solid as gold. And this is exactly the U.S. that the tyrants loathe, with the ruling mullahs in Iran at the top of the list. Y

Lashkar-linked charity raises terror fears

Source: hindu The Falah-i-Insaniyat's aggressive fundraising during Ramzan could help the jihadist group expand its reach “Sharing is caring,” reads a cheerful logo on the website of the Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation, soliciting charity from pious believers across the world during the holy month of Ramzan. The website promises that just ‘1,800 will pay for one poor person's iftaar, when Muslims break their day-long fast'; ‘3,000, it says, ‘will cover the cost the morning suhoor meal as well.' There are advertisements for rural drinking water schemes, medical services and relief for victims of last year's floods. But this message of mercy has set off alarm in India, and concern among counter-terrorism institutions worldwide: the Falah-i-Insaniyat, whose name translates as “the foundation for the prosperity of humankind,” is known to be a front organisation for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which carried out the November 2008 massacre in Mumbai, as well

'Lone wolf' terror seen as biggest threat

HAMBURG, Germany ( AP ) — After 9/11, it was the men who went to radicalized mosques or terror boot camps who were seen as the biggest terror threat. Today, that picture's changed: Authorities are increasingly focusing on the lone wolf living next door, radicalized on the Internet — and plotting strikes in a vacuum. The March fatal shooting of two American airmen in Frankfurt by a Kosovo Albanian. The attempted backpack bombing on Fort Hood, Texas, apparently inspired by the deadly 2009 assault on the U.S. base. The foiled attack on Fort Dix, New Jersey, by a tiny cell of homegrown terrorists. These Islamic terror plots share something in common with Anders Behring Breivik, the Norway killer who hated Muslims. They are the work of extremists who are confoundingly difficult to track because they hardly leave a trace. In today's transformed security landscape, authorities and experts say, the 9/11 plotters would surely have been caught. It's widely bel

ETA detainees in Venezuela were in Spanish flag boat

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Source: eluniversal The three suspected members of the Basque separatist group trie to escape from Cuba The three suspected members of the Basque armed separatist group ETA arrived on Thursday in Los Roques Island and tried to enter illegally. Elena Bárcena Argüelles, Francisco Javier Pérez Lekue and José Ignacio Etxarte Urbieta came from Haiti in a Spanish flag sailboat named "Silver Clouds" that ran aground on Los Roques Island, off the Venezuelan coast, reported sources of the National Armed Forces (FAN). Venezuelan authorities also arrested Sadir Allyn, a Haitian citizen, and Carlos Méndes, a national from Cape Verde. According to sources of the Coast Guard Command of the Venezuelan Navy, detainees arrived in Los Roques aboard a boat having mechanical problems. When they received support from the authorities and were requested their documentation, the Venezuelan officers found that the boa

FARC leader captured, 13 guerrillas killed: Santos

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Source: colombian A military operation in Valle del Cauca, west Colombia , on Friday resulted in the capture of a FARC leader and the death of 13 guerillas, said Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos. According to Santos, five guerillas were killed in direct combat whilst another eight were buried in an landslide caused by an aerial bombing raid. The president hailed the capture of the alleged FARC leader, known as "Tereco", saying that he had been "spreading terror in the zone of Buga and Tulua." The president has called the attack a strong blow against the structure of the FARC.

Peace process not child's game: Maoist leader Paudel

Source: himalayan times KATHMANDU: UCPN-Maoist’s politburo member Devendra Paudel, aka Sunil has claimed on Saturday that the party’s decision to hand over the keys of arms containers to Special Committee will not be revoked citing that political agreement reached on peace process is not a child’s game. Speaking at an interaction program organised by Reporters Club in Katmandu, Paudel, said, “The government will not back off on the decision to hand over the keys to SC.” Terming such decision over such national issues not a “child’s game,” Paudel traced the protest program led by Maoist vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya against his own party’s decision—baseless ,immoral and a mere outburst of anger devoid of any goals and objectives. Paudel also advised Baidhya to rethink over the protest program. Baidhya faction has unveiled fresh sets of protest program to launch awareness campaign across the country. Dr. Bhattarai along with other Maoist leaders has already u

Maoists want Manila to free more rebels before talks resume

MANILA (Reuters) - Maoist rebels Saturday demanded the release of at least five more detained guerrilla leaders before peace negotiations could resume with the Philippines government, the chief negotiator of the communist-led National Democratic Front said. Luis Jalandoni, a former Roman Catholic priest, said his group had also offered a truce and power-sharing deal with the government of President Benigno Aquino, opening a second track of negotiations to speed up the slow and tedious peace process. "It's a bold and innovative proposal," Jalandoni said, adding his group sent a confidential letter to Aquino on January 18, proposing an alliance and truce with government. He said the proposed political deal envisions social and economic reforms and nationalising industries, including mining and oil-and-gas projects. Jalandoni, who has acquired Dutch citizenship, said Aquino has responded by sending an emissary -- a senior government

Fighting in Southern Yemen Kills 15 Militants, 3 Soldiers

Source: VOA Yemeni authorities say fighting between Yemeni troops and al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's south killed at least 18 people Wednesday and Thursday. Western news agencies quote Yemeni security officials, medics and a source close to the insurgents as saying the dead include at least 15 militants and three government soldiers. They say the battles happened around the city of Zinjibar, which the militants seized in May, taking advantage of political chaos in the country. Yemeni officials repeatedly have said government troops are closing in on militant strongholds in Abyan province, whose capital is Zinjibar. But, the Yemeni military has faced strong resistance from the militants in months of fighting. The officials said Thursday Yemeni forces have broken a militant siege around a military unit on the outskirts of Zinjibar. There was no independent confirmation of the claim. Yemen has been plagued by political unrest since February, when oppositio

Anna is watching (some of) you…

Source: dawn THE comparison between this year’s remarkable Arab uprisings and the recent popular upsurge in India falters in one vital respect: barring the aberration of Indira Gandhi’s emergency in the mid-1970s, Indian democracy has remained intact since independence. That is indeed a creditable achievement in the South Asian context. Yet the extent to which elected legislators are in fact representative of the electors has once more been brought into question by the anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by the septuagenarian Anna Hazare, which has lately attracted a substantial following, particularly among the young. Alarmed by the popular support galvanised by the Hazare phenomenon, the political classes have accused him of conspiring to subvert democracy through blackmail. At the same time, others have criticised the movement for relying more or less exclusively on moral precepts and lacking a political dimension. Neither of the critiques is completely invalid.

India’s Kashmir admission: too little, too late

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Source: dawn blogs -Photo by Dilnaz Boga/Dawn.com The news that the Jammu & Kashmir State Human Rights Commission has officially acknowledged mass graves holding more than 2,000 bodies – 574 of them now identified as local residents, i.e. not foreign terrorists – is welcome but leaves a bitter taste. It’s good that the Indian establishment can allow such an admission, but so what? That’s surely little consolation to the many “ half-widows ” of Kashmiris “disappeared” by Indian forces. We could argue forever – and have been – about what Kashmir’s political status should be, or who is most to blame for the massive death and destruction wrought there over the past two decades. But morally honest Indians can’t avoid India’s culpability. Indian-held Kashmir was the scene of an important early chapter in my political education. I first went there in 1994, initially lured by the romance of seeing the landscape, and meeting the people, that V.S. Naipaul had memorabl

Poland slams vandalism of Holocaust memorial

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Source: Dawn An inscription reading “They were Flammable” and a Nazi swastika are seen in Jedwabne, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2011, on the monument dedicated to Jews from the town of Jedwabne burned to death by their Polish neighbors in 1941. - AP Photo WARSAW: Poland on Thursday voiced outrage at the vandalism of a Holocaust memorial in the north of the country dedicated to Jews who were burned alive in a barn by their Polish neighbours during World War II. Unknown perpetrators painted a green Nazi swastika on a stone monument in Jebwabne, where between 340 to 1,500 Polish Jews were killed in a July 10, 1941 massacre, perpetrated by Poles instigated by Nazi German occupiers, according to several historical accounts. The vandals also wrote the words “I am not sorry for Jedwabne” and splattered green paint over a memorial plaque written in Hebrew. “I wish to express my deep regret over the defacement of the monument in the town of Jedwabne commemorating the mur

Hamburg militants disperse, police keep watch

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Source: dawn About 20 former worshippers at the Taiba mosque, where the 9/11 leader Mohammad Atta once prayed, have now regrouped at the al-Taqwa mosque in the southern district of Harburg - Reuters Photo HAMBURG: Militants who once attended a Hamburg mosque linked to the September 11, 2001 attacks have moved on to other mosques since last year when German police closed it due to renewed security concerns, a German intelligence official said. About 20 former worshippers at the Taiba mosque, where the 9/11 leader Mohammad Atta once prayed, have now regrouped at the al-Taqwa mosque in the southern district of Harburg, said  Manfred Murck, head of the Hamburg branch of Germany’s domestic intelligence service. About 20 to 30 others use other centres in more central districts, Murck, Head of the Hamburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, told Reuters, adding that the 40 or 50 were an ethnically varied group of north and west Africans, Arabs and Asi

Militants lure 45 Pak boys to Afghanistan

Source: nation pak BAJAUR AGENCY - At least 18 Pakistani children out of 45, who have mistakenly crossed into Kunar province of Afghanistan, have been released while 27 are still in the captivity of Afghan militants, locals in Bajaur Agency said on Friday. In order to celebrate Eidul Fitr, about 45 children belonging to Bajaur Agency went for picnicking at Ghakhi area in tehsil Mamond situated on Pak-Afghan border. They mistakenly crossed into Kunar province of Afghanistan on Thursday and were kidnapped by armed militants at gunpoint and were shifted to mountainous area of Kunar province. Afghan militants made all children hostage, who are stated to be in 10 to 20 years of ages. However, reportedly 18 of them dramatically released and reached their homes, while remaining 27 are still in their captivity. The 45 boys belonged to Tarkho, Erab, Laghrai and Chamyar Johar villages of tehsil Mamond. The locals said that all the boys were picnicking when a group of about 12

ULFA-KLNLF delegations in New Delhi; talks on Saturday

Source: assamtimes An ULFA delegation arrived in Delhi on Friday to hold a crucial round of talks with the Centre on Saturday. Comprising the outfit’s finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika and deputy commander in chief Raju Baruah, the delegation is set to urge the Union home ministry to suspend army offensive aginast the outfit in view of the on going peace process. According to our Guwahati correspondent, before leaving for New Delhi at the Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Hazarika refused to divulge the details of the Delhi trip. In yet another development, a KLNLF delegation also arrived in the national capital on Thursday to hold a preliminary round of talks with the home ministry. Led by publicity secretary Rezzek Dera, the delegation is set to discuss the ground rules for reaching a meaningful round of talks with the Centre.

Second round of talks between ULFA, Centre today

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Source: ibn Guwahati: The second round of talks between ULFA and the Centre will be held on Saturday in Delhi where ceasefire ground rules would be discussed, while government would decide on the lines the parley would progress. "The ULFA-government meeting will decide on what lines the talks will be held and how the discussions will progress," Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told reporters. ULFA sources said the team would discuss the ceasefire ground rules and urge the government to reciprocate the outfit's unilateral ceasefire. The ULFA was unwilling to accept the term 'designated camps' and preferred that they be called 'nabanirman kendras', the sources said. Their number should also be raised from three in the state to nine, the ULFA demanded. A three-member ULFA team comprising its 'finance secretary' Chitrabon Hazarika, 'foreign secretary' Sashadhar Choudhury and 'deputy commander-in-chief' Raju Ba

Algeria moves Gaddafi's family to capital

Cairo, Sep 3 ( IANS/RIA Novosti ) Algerian authorities have decided to move the family members of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to the capital Algiers over safety concerns, Egyptian website Al-Ahram reported. Gaddafi's wife Safia, daughter Aisha, and two sons - Muhammad and Hannibal arrived in the Algerian southeastern border zone Aug 29. Gaddafi's family members will be under house arrest in Algiers, reports said. They were taken to Algeria by a team of 35 former South African Special Forces operatives, who were paid $15,000 each for the operation, Johannesburg's New Age newspaper reported. The paper cited an unidentified person who was asked to take part in the mission, but he declined. The rebel-led National Transitional Council (NTC) is demanding the extradition of Gaddafi's family from Algeria. Gaddafi's daughter Aisha has given birth to a girl since arriving in Algeria. Media reports suggested her pregnancy was a major factor in the decis

Gaddafi vows not to surrender

Tripoli, Sep 2 ( IANS ) Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has once again vowed in an audio message broadcast on television that he would not surrender. He urged his loyalists to continue their resistance to the rebellion. 'We are not weak women. We are not slaves. We can not give up. We can not surrender,' Gaddafi said in the message broadcast on Syria's Al-Rrai TV channel. 'Let this be a long fight and let Libya be engulfed in flames,' he said. Gaddafi called on his supporters in the capital Tripoli to fight back and 'set ambushes' against the 'collaborators' of NATO. He also urged the tribes who support him to continue fighting even if they could not hear from him again. 'All Libyan tribes are heavily armed and cannot be brought to their knees. We'll be awarded victory ultimately. We can never surrender,' said Gaddafi, whose whereabouts remain unknown. In an audio message broadcast on the Syrian TV channel Wednesday,

12,000 dead in seven years of Iraqi bombings

Baghdad, Sep 3 ( IANS/AKI ) Over 12,000 civilians and some 200 coalition soldiers died in suicide bombings in Iraq between 2003 and 2010, says a new report. Medical journal The Lancet said a paper by London-based Iraq Body Count highlights the much higher impact suicide bombings had on civilians than on foreign troops following the US invasion of Iraq. A total of 12,284 Iraqi civilians were killed in more than 1,000 suicide bombings. Of the 200 troops killed in suicide attacks, 175 were American, the report said. In excess of 30,000 Iraqi civilians were injured by suicide bombs between March 2003 and December 2010. The report was part of a Lancet series on the health effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

100 prisoners killed during Egypt protest: Report

Cairo, Sep 2 ( IANS/AKI ) At least 100 people held in Egypt's prisons were killed during the 18 days of protests that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak's government in February, an Egyptian human rights group has said. 'More than 100 prisoners were killed and hundreds hurt at only five prisons,' the report by Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said. The report described the deaths recorded between Jan 29 and Feb 20 as 'deliberate'. It said guards at one prison filled cells with tear gas 'and when the prisoners were out of the cells to escape the gas, they were shot in the yard'. EIPR compiled the data through the testimony of victims' families and photographs and videos recorded on mobile phones.

UN chief urges Turkey and Israel to mend relations

CANBERRA, Australia ( AP ) — United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Saturday urged Turkey and Israel to mend their relationship for the good of the Middle East peace process after Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador in the latest fallout over last year's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. In addition to expelling the envoy on Friday, Turkey also cut military ties over Israel's refusal to apologize for the raid, which killed nine pro-Palestinian activists, further straining a relationship that had been a cornerstone of regional stability. The dramatic move came hours before the release of a U.N. report that called the May 31, 2010, Israeli raid "excessive and unreasonable." The U.N. panel also blamed Turkey and flotilla organizers for contributing to the deaths. The U.N. secretary-general said Saturday that he has been trying to improve relations between Turkey and Israel since the attack. "I sincerely hope that Israel and Turkey wi

Russia to protect its companies in Libya

Moscow, Sep 3 (IANS) Russia will continue to protect the interests of Russian companies operating in Libya, a government spokesperson said. 'We are not just having the intention, but undertaking practical measures,' the Kremlin spokesman was quoted as saying by Xinhua. The Kremlin said prospects for Russian oil and railway companies to continue operating in Libya were 'not too bad' and they could complete their contracts. Moscow had billions of dollars worth of energy and infrastructure deals with Libya under Muammar Gaddafi. The foreign ministry has said it has recognised the rebel-led National Transitional Council of Libya as the legitimate government in the North African country. Russian envoy Mikhail Margelov, who participated in an international meeting on Libya in Paris, met NTC chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil and invited him to Moscow for talks about future Russia-Libya ties.

4 suspected LulzSec, Anonymous hackers arrested in UK

London, Sept 3 ( ANI ): Four men linked to hacker groups Anonymous and Lulz Security have reportedly been arrested in the UK. Police detained 20-year-old Christopher Weatherhead from Northampton and 26-year-old Ashley Rhodes from Kennington, near London. Scotland Yard's e-Crime unit is questioning a 24-year-old man from Doncaster, and a 20-year-old from Wiltshire for conspiring to commit offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, the BBC reports. Their arrests are part of a wider operation involving UK law enforcement and the FBI. Amazon, PayPal, the CIA, US Senate and the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency have all suffered intrusions or denial of service attacks by these two hacker groups. Anonymous had publicly declared its intent to target both PayPal and Amazon for, what the group perceived as, their complicity in isolating whistle blowing website Wikileaks, the report said. (ANI)

7 people killed by old bomb in western Myanmar

Source: yahoo AP YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — An official says seven people were killed when an old World War II bomb they found in a river exploded in western Myanmar. A security official told The Associated Press on Thursday that the dead included two children. He asked not be identified because he did not have clearance to speak to the media. The seven found the bomb floating in a river in Rakhine state Wednesday and it exploded when they retrieved it from the water. World War II bombs are still found in Myanmar, but this is the largest number of people killed by an old bomb in recent decades. Rakhine state saw battles between occupying Japanese forces and British troops during World War II.

NATO kills Afghan militant linked to al-Qaida

Source: Yahoo AP KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — NATO and Afghan forces killed a former Guantanamo detainee who had become a key al-Qaida affiliate after returning to Afghanistan, officials said Saturday. Sabar Lal Melma, who was released from Guantanamo in 2007 after five years of detention, had been organizing attacks in eastern Kunar province and funding insurgent operations, NATO spokesman Capt. Justin Brockhoff said. A NATO statement described Melma as a "key affiliate of the al-Qaida network" who was in contact with senior al-Qaida members in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Troops surrounded Melma's house in Jalalabad city on Friday night and shot him dead when he emerged from the building holding an AK-47 assault rifle. Several other people were detained. A guard at the house, Mohammad Gul, said a group of American soldiers scaled the walls of the compound around 11 p.m. and stormed the house, shooting Melma in the assault. Three others were de

Meghalaya rebel group says its leader is in Bangladesh

Source: yahoo Shillong, Sep 3 (IANS) The outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) Friday said its military wing chief Bobby Reagan Marwein is still alive and media reports of his death in Bangladesh are baseless. On Thursday, the Kolkata-based daily Telegraph said Marwein, the founding member of HNLC, a secessionist Khasi rebel group, was killed in a brawl in Bangladesh this week. 'Our Chief of army staff Mr. Bobby Marwein he is fine, secure, healthy and unharmed,' HNLC Spokesman Sainkupar Nongtraw said. 'There is no such thing anywhere where HNLC chief is involved in a brawl leading to his death. This is nothing but cheap propaganda,' Nongtraw said, while accusing the Indian government of 'spreading unfounded propaganda' against the HNLC. Refuting the report of Kolkata-based daily Telegraph, the HNLC said, 'such motivated report will not serve any purpose to weaken or demoralise the HNLC forces.' Meghalaya Chie

Maoists infiltrates into Assam, Ulfa helps Maoists: Gogoi

Source: HT Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday in Guwati said Maoists had infiltrated into Assam and the banned Ulfa had helped them in setting up bases but Maoists failed to make major headway in the state due to implementation of effective counter strategy from the government. "Maoistsinfiltrated into the state. Ulfa helps Maoists to grow in the state. We are monitoring the situation closely. Some youths from the state took trainings in Maoists’ camps outside the state," said Gogoi.  The chief minister said that Maoists had two over ground organizations in the state namely Assam Students Youths Organization (ASYO) and Assam Chah Janajati Suraksha Samiti (ACJSS). The president of ASYO, Aditya Bora and general secretary of ACJSS, Tingrai Orang were arrested by security forces from the dense jungles of Orissa during an encounter with Maoists.   The Maoists elements were active in some pockets in the state and most prone areas identified for growt

Chandler pirate kidnap: Book claims FCO failed family

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Source: BBCNEWS The couple's ordeal began when their yacht was seized in October 2009 A couple held captive by Somali pirates for more than a year have criticised the British government in a book, for failing to support their family. Paul and Rachel Chandler, formerly of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, but who now live in Devon, said assistance offered to relatives had been "derisory". The couple's ordeal began when their yacht was seized in October 2009. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it had been in "constant touch" with relatives. The Chandlers, who now live in Dartmouth, make their claims in a book documenting their 388-day kidnap. 'Begging phone calls' While the couple say they received "excellent support" from the FCO following their release, they criticise the support offered to their family during the ordeal. Writing in the book, they say: "We re

Terror Region: The Pirate Corridor

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Source: canada   An armed Somali pirate stands along the coastline while the Greek cargo ship, MV Filitsa, is seen anchored just off the shores of Hobyo town in northeastern Somalia where it's being held by pirates, in this January 7 picture. A six-nation East African regional bloc on February 1 urged Somalia's two breakaway regions of Puntland and Somaliland to jointly battle Islamist militia which it said had extended to the areas. Photograph by: Mohamed Dahir, AFP/Getty Images While Western armies were embroiled in long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Islamic extremists and pirates in Somalia closed ranks. Ragtag high seas bandits that were a mere annoyance to international shipping 10 years ago have evolved into a major threat. Pirate groups now supply Islamists with weapons, and in return receive combat training from terrorist groups. Islamist militia Al-Shabaab is believed to "tax" 20 to 50 per cent of the profits of pirates operat