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Showing posts from October 30, 2011

3 killed in bomb attack on Iraq anti-Qaeda militia

BAGHDAD — Four bombs targeting the home of an Iraqi anti-Qaeda militia leader killed at least three people and wounded several others north of Baghdad on Saturday, security officials said. The bomb blasts struck the home of Yassin Issa Daud, a leader of Sahwa (Awakening) militia in Taji, north of Baghdad, about 6:30 am (0330 GMT), Taji police Captain Ahmed Fahad said. The explosions killed three people, including Daud's brother and wife, and wounded six other people, Fahad said, adding Daud was not in his home at the time of the attack. Officials from the interior and defence ministries put the toll at four killed and 11 wounded. "Four people were killed and 11 others wounded by the explosion of four roadside bombs that targeted the house of a Sahwa leader in Taji," the interior ministry official said. The defence ministry official gave the same toll. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity. On Thursday, a suicide bomber and a car bomb targeted S

Duqu hackers continue attacks; after India raids, it’s Belgium’s turn

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Hackers used a server in Belgium to collect data stolen from machines infected with the Duqu computer virus, after authorities shut down another rogue collection system in India, according to security experts. Governments and security experts around the globe are working to unlock the secrets of the elusive malware, which some say could be the next big cyber threat after the Stuxnet virus that was believed to have infected Iran’s nuclear program. Researchers at Symantec Corp said they had identified a sample of Duqu that was configured to communicate with a specific server at Combell Group, Belgium’s largest Web-hosting company. Hackers frequently use or lease servers at data centres to manage their malicious activities, without the knowledge of the data centre operator. Symantec said in a report on its website on Tuesday that it had notified Combell that the server was being used for malicious activity. Combell Group said it shut down that server on Th

China refutes US cyber espionage accusation

BEIJING - China on Friday rejected a US accusation that it uses cyber espionage to steal sensitive economic information and technology from the United States, calling the claim "unprofessional and irresponsible". An unusually blunt report on foreign cyber spying submitted to the US Congress on Thursday claimed that the Chinese are the world's "most active and persistent perpetrators" of economic espionage, according to AFP. It also claimed China and Russia "are the most aggressive collectors of US economic information and technology". Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei rejected the accusation at a regular news briefing on Friday, and repeated Beijing's long-standing position that it wants to help fight cyber espionage. "Online attacks are notable for spanning national borders and being anonymous. Identifying the attackers without carry

Malaysia to ban sex manual for obedient Muslim wives

Malaysian authorities plan to outlaw a book about sex published by a group of Muslim women who call themselves the Obedient Wives Club and advocate subservience to husbands. The Malay-language book titled "Islamic Sex" is not available in shops but is believed to have been read by hundreds of members of the club formed this year by a small Malaysian Islamic sect that practices polygamy. The book contains no explicit photographs but was written by the club's 56-year-old founder to describe her experiences and opinions on marriage. It has passages on how couples should physically and spiritually approach sex, claiming that most women only satisfy ten percent of their husbands' sexual needs. The government's Islamic affairs department studied the 115-page book and recommended banning it because it could cause confusion among Malaysia's Muslim majority about acceptable religious teachings, a Home Ministry officia

Could Islamist rebels undermine change in Africa?

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Creeping from the periphery in Africa’s east and west, Islamist militant groups now pose serious security challenges to key countries and potentially even a threat to the continent’s new success. The biggest story in Africa south of the Sahara over the past few years hasn’t been plague, famine or war but the emergence of the world’s poorest continent as one of its fastest growing – thanks to factors that include fresh investment, economic reform, the spread of new technology, higher prices for commodity exports and generally greater political stability. Nigeria and Kenya, the most important economies in West and East Africa respectively, are pillars of the change in Africa as well as having the largest and most easily accessible markets for foreigners. Both now face growing battles with Islamist groups; Kenya throwing troops into neighbouring Somalia in pursuit of al Shabaab fighters, Nigeria struggling with bombings and shootings by its homegrown Boko Haram s

Calendar for regrouping Maoist fighters endorsed

Special Committee Secretariat to begin work from tomorrow • Deadline set for November 23 KATHMANDU: The Special Committee (for supervision, integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants) today approved an 18-day calendar prepared by its Secretariat for concluding survey and regrouping of the Maoist ex-fighters by November 23. Today’s SC meeting, held at its Secretariat office under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, also directed the Secretariat to promptly carry out all the assignments mentioned in the calendar. As per the calendar, surveyors selected by the Secretariat would leave for cantonments on November 10 and 13. Some 19,000 plus Maoist ex-fighters are awaiting decision on their future — to be integrated into the army or rehabilitated into society — in seven main cantonments and 21 satellite camps stretched across the country since 2007. “The survey and regrouping work will start from November 16 at all cantonments sites,” said Madhav Pras

TMC man leading anti-Maoist forum killed

PURLIA /MIDNAPUR : A Trinamool Congress leader spearheading an anti-Maoist forum was dragged out of his house at Ghatbera village at the foot of the Ayodhya Hills and strangled with a metal wire late on Thursday, dashing hopes of peace in the violence-scarred region. The body of 51-year-old Jitu Singh Sardar was found on Friday morning on the outskirts of the village, near the bank of a dam. The site is just 2km from the place where Trinamool leader and Union minister of state for shipping Mukul Roy will hold a rally on Saturday. The Maoists claimed responsibility for the murder in handwritten posters they left near Sardar's body and warned villagers not to join Roy's rally. Shantiram Mahato, Trinamool's Balarampur MLA, said, "The rally will be held as scheduled. We will not bow to such scare-mongering." But police operations against Maoists received a major boost on the same day with the arrest of Joydeb Mahato, spokesperson and an infl

Banned outfit suspected in Advani bomb case: STF

Two former hardcore members of banned terror outfit Al-Umma have been identified as the masterminds behind the plot to target the convoy of BJP leader LK Advani during his yatra near here and a manhunt is on to nab them, Special Investigation Team officials said in Madurai "Police" Fakruddin and Bilal Mallick, close associates of slain terrorist Imam Ali, had started hatching the conspiracy as the schedule of Advani's yatra was announced last month, they said. The STF suspect that the two were hiding in either Bangalore or Andhra Pradesh and special teams have been sent there for investigation, the officials said. Fakruddin, son of a retired police constable, was involved in a blast case at Ovamalai in the district in 2002, in which Imam Ali was arrested. He had helped Ali to escape when he was being taken to Palayamkottai prison. Ali, a dreaded terrorist, was killed in an encounter in Bangalore in 2002. Bilal Malik was one of the accused in the murder o

'Bomb recovered in Dholpur similar to one used in Agra blast'

Jaipur, Nov 4 (PTI) The design of the crude bombs recovered from two criminals, who were killed in an encounter with police in Dholpur, was similar to that of used in Agra blast in September, a senior police official said today. The police force recovered two hand grenades besides pistols and rifle which the notorious criminals, hailing from Uttar Pradesh were carrying, police said. "Design of the country made hand grenades is similar to the bomb used in Agra hospital blast. We have called experts to examine it," Dholpur SP Rahul Prakash said. Four persons were injured on September 17 after a crude bomb exploded at the reception of a hospital in Agra. source: ibn

Peterlee soldier loses his legs in Afghanistan bomb blast

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Michael Keighley, of Peterlee, County Durham, was injured while serving in Afghanistan Published on Friday 4 November 2011 17:36 A HERO soldier has been left with life-threatening injuries, after his legs were blown off in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. Michael Keighley fell and triggered an improvised explosive device while searching for bombs. The 23-year-old was serving with The Rifles when he found two bombs buried underground. After discovering a third device, he turned to warn his fellow soldiers and tripped over some

Three bomb blasts, gunfire rock northeast Nigeria

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria Nov 4 (Reuters) - Three bomb blasts and gunfire shook the Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Friday, where an Islamist sect is engaged in a campaign of violence against local authorities, witnesses and military sources said. One blast was at the El-Kanemi College of Islamic Theology around the time of Friday prayers. A local security source said it was not yet clear if there were any casualties. Nigeria's northeast has suffered almost daily shootings and frequent bombings in the past months, attacks blamed on militant Islamist sect Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden", usually targeting public and religious figures. Security forces this week started door-to-door searches for weapons in northeast Borno state after an arms amnesty for Islamist militants expired on Oct. 31. It was unclear if the bombings were a response to that operation. Boko Haram says it wants Sharia law more widely imposed acros

PKK terrorists becoming victims of their own attacks

Outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists have fallen into their own traps on occasion in recent years, researcher and author Mustafa Yakutcan told Today’s Zaman.   Yakutcan, who will publish a book on his research on unsolved murders, suicide bombers, terrorist attacks and suspicious suicides in the Southeast as well as suspicious fires in the region, stated that the number of terrorists who have failed to bring to completion their attempts to stage suicide bomb attacks, remote controlled bomb attacks or other bomb attacks has increased over the past few years. Yakutcan attributed this to the recent effectiveness of Turkey’s counterterrorism efforts against PKK terrorism. He said one of the reasons for this is that the PKK units providing weapons and explosives training to militants have been destroyed by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and police force, and therefore, there are not as many professional bombers in the terrorist organizati

Carlos the Jackal faces terrorism panel over 1980s bombings

PARIS — Gray hair and a paunch have replaced the beret, leather jacket and dark glasses but Carlos the Jackal’s defiance remains intact before he stands trial in France for a series of bombings in the 1980s. The international revolutionary from Venezuela, born Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, built a career as one of the world’s best known guerrillas after a hostage-taking of OPEC oil ministers in the name of the Palestinian struggle in 1975. Since his capture and sentencing nearly two decades ago, the Jackal has been resident of a French prison. On Monday, Ramirez, already condemned to life in jail, will face a three-judge terrorism panel to answer charges he was behind four urban bombings in France that killed 11 people and wounded nearly 200 in the early 1980s. “I am really in a combative mood,” Ramirez, 62, told Europe 1 radio last month. “I’m not fearful by nature…My character is suited to this kind of combat.” The Marxist with a Che Guevara beret became

International vessels that remain in the hands of Somali pirates

Fifteen vessels, taken by Somali pirates and listed chronologically below by date of hijacking, remain in captivity SOCOTRA 1: Seized on Dec. 25, 2009, in the Gulf of Aden. The Yemeni-owned ship had six Yemeni crew. ICEBERG 1: Seized on March 29, 2010. Roll-on roll-off vessel captured 10 miles from Aden. Crew of 24. PRANTALAY 11, 12 and 14 – three Thai fishing vessels – hijacked on April 17-18. Total of 77 crew. Prantalay 12 remains in captivity. Prantalay 11 and 14 were freed by the Indian navy. OLIP G: Seized on Sept. 8. Maltese-flagged merchant vessel with 18 crew – 15 Georgians, three Turks. CHOIZIL: Seized on Oct. 26. South African-owned yacht hijacked after leaving Dar es Salaam. One crew member was rescued by a European Union anti-piracy task force but two others were taken ashore as hostages and have not been heard from since. ALBEDO: Seized on Nov. 26. Malaysian-owned cargo vessel was taken 900 miles off Somalia as it headed for

Piracy 'delaying vital food aid from reaching Somalia'

Somali pirates are notorious for being behind a spate hijackings on the high seas but their activities have also exacerbated food shortages in the Horn of Africa, a senior official from the African Development Bank has said. Professor Mthuli Ncube, who fulfills a dual role as the bank's chief economist and vice president, says that piracy has both prevented and delayed vital food aid from being delivered to Somalia. This has worsened the humanitarian situation inside the country which -- alongside neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia -- is experiencing one of the most severe droughts and subsequent food shortages in living memory, he explains. Some 12.4 million people in the Horn of Africa currently require humanitarian assistance as a result of food shortages, the U.N. estimates. "[Piracy] affects the transit of food quickly, where it's needed by refugees," Ncube says. "It also brings up the costs of transporting the food and it goes b

Somali pirates seize 21 Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines — A Marshall Island-flagged, Greek-owned chemical/oil tanker with a full crew of 21 Filipino seafarers was hijacked by Somali pirates last October 31 while the vessel was approaching the Gulf of Eden on its way to Mormugao, India, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Thursday. The DFA said MT Liquid Velvet’s principal based in Greece has assured the local manning agency that it is taking responsibility for the matter. The families of the crew members have been informed by the local manning agency of this incident, it said. The DFA has instructed the Philippine embassies in Nairobi and Manama to monitor the situation and the Combined Maritime Forces, as well as the Philippine embassy in Athens, to keep track of the negotiations being undertaken by the vessel’s principal with the pirates. Experts have warned that pirate attacks off Somalia are likely to increase now that the regional monsoon season has ended. The pirates have made milli

Nigeria pirates hijack MT Halifax oil tanker

Pirates have seized an oil products tanker off southern Nigeria, security officials say. Gunmen boarded the MT Halifax off Port Harcourt, the main city in the oil-rich Niger Delta, they said. The owners of the vessel lost contact with the tanker on 30 October, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The UN this week urged West African nations to increase naval patrols following a surge of pirate attacks. The IMB says the crew of 25 are being held by the pirates, who are expected to steal the oil in the ship's hold. In West Africa, crews are generally released unharmed after the crude oil is stolen from the ships, unlike in Somalia, where crews and their ships are held until ransoms are paid - often after several months. The nationalities of those onboard are thought to be Filipino and Indian, with an Italian ship master. Commodore Kabir Aliyu, a spokesman for Nigeria's

Somali pirates release ship with Pinoys on $2M ransom

After nearly a year in captivity crewmembers of an Algerian-owned ship — two of them Filipinos — regained their freedom as Somali pirates released their ship. The pirates freed the MV Blida and its crew of 25 after accepting a $2-million ransom from the shipowners, the Somalia Report website said Thursday night. The Somalia Report quoted a pirate who said the ransom was much lower than the $7 million they originally demanded for the ship and its crew. Apart from the Filipinos, the MV Blida's crew included 17 Algerians, six Ukrainians, one Jordanian and one Indonesian. Two crewmembers were taken off the vessel by the US Navy in October for medical reasons. The Somalia Report quoted one Mohamed Ahmed as saying the cash was dropped on Wednesday evening , and the pirates released the ship Thursday morning after "counting and dividing the money." Last August, the pirates threatened to kill the crew amid demands for a $4 million-$7 million ransom. The pirat

Cybercrime costs UK £27 billion

Cybercrime costs the UK economy £27 billion a year, it has been claimed. Prime minister David Cameron has claimed that UK cybercrime costs the country's economy £27 billion every year. He said that tackling hackers and other online criminals was a top priority and that the UK needed to work with international partners and industry if it was to stamp out the practice. Speaking at a summit in London, Mr Cameron noted that the level of cybercrime affecting both private businesses and governmental departments was unprecedented. He said: 'It costs just 69p - about the price of a song on iTunes - to buy someone's credit card information online.' He added that a cross-border approach would strengthen the UK's position and that the government was investing £650 million in 'improving [the country's] cyber defences'. Recently, Baroness Neville-Jones accused China and Russia of carrying out cyber attacks on BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. Sourc

Israel shuts radical seminary in West Bank

Israel's education ministry has shut down a religious high school in an ultranationalist settlement in the West Bank and has cut off funding to an adult seminary there, saying students and staff have been involved in violence against Palestinians and the Israeli military.   Education Ministry director Shimon Shoshani told Israel Radio on Wednesday that what happened at the seminaries in Yitzhar was "inconsistent with Jewish, democratic and educational values." Israeli media cited Yitzhar officials as saying studies will continue at both the high school and the adult seminary. Source: Todayszaman

"White Book of Terror" presented to the Makhachkala public

" resource  Today, the presentation of the "White Book of Terror" took place in Makhachkala. The book is dedicated to all the victims of terrorist attacks that occurred in Russia,  RIA Dagestan  reports. The presentation was held in the "National House of Children's Public Associations" of the Committee on Youth Policy of Dagestan. It was attended by guests from Astrakhan, representatives of ministries and departments, veterans, youth and children's organizations of the republic. "The White Book of Terror. People. Events. Facts" is a tribute to all innocent victims of the terrorist attacks, fighters against terrorism and crippled destinies.

Jund al Khilafah claims double bombing in Kazakhstan

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/10/jund_al-khilafah_claims_double.php#ixzz1cc6T0Q2C The Jund al Khilafah, or Soldiers of the Caliphate, a "brigade" of foreign fighters based along the Afghan-Pakistan border, has claimed credit for two bombings in the city of Atyrau in Kazakhstan. Last week the terror group threatened to conduct attacks in the country if the government did not repeal the ban on women wearing the veil and apologize for the ban. It appears the terror group quickly made good on that promise. Today, one person, who appears to be one of the members of the group planting one of two bombs in Atyrau, was killed in a premature detonation. The Soldiers of the Caliphate claimed credit for the bombings, in a statement released today on jihadist forums. In the statement, which has been translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the group denied that the operative killed was a suicide bomber, and said the blasts &q

Colombian Soldier Dies in Rebel Ambush

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Source: Latinamericanherald BOGOTA – One soldiers was killed and four others wounded in an attack by leftist FARC guerrillas in a rural area near the south-central city of Neiva, the Colombian military said Wednesday. The rebels detonated explosives as the patrol passed in a truck, the commander of the army’s 9th Brigade, Gen. Henry William Torres, said from his headquarters in Neiva, capital of Huila province. One private died and three other privates and an officer were injured in the blast, the general said in a statement. Troops managed to defuse two other explosive devices left the scene, Torres said, blaming the attack on the 66th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The soldiers on patrol were “carrying out the constitutional mission to protect the civilian population from the threat represented by the FARC,” the general said. Colombian army, air force and police units killed seven

Militant ‘student warriors’ announce ‘Blood Storm Military Offensive’

New Delhi ( Mizzima ) – The Vigorous Burmese Student Warriors (VBSW), an underground group, has announced that it will launch a “Blood Storm Military Offensive” against the Burmese government. It urged the government to release all political prisoners and seek a nationwide cease-fire. In a statement issued on Sunday, it said: “We do not trust their political tricks in which pro-democracy activists are the victims. We will never accept it.” The statement said that the government refuses to talk to all the ethnic groups at once, preferring its “divide and conquer” strategy. In the past, the VBSW has claimed responsibility for bomb blasts in Burma and said the bomb attacks were intended to retaliate against the Burmese junta. In the statement, VBSW said it also objected to the actions of some local and foreign organizations and people who are “the Burmese government’s puppets.” In 2008, VBSW claimed responsibility for a bomb blast near a restaurant in downtown Rangoon, an

Untimely pilgrimage to Phnom Penh

A group of senior Nepali Communist leaders from UCPN (Maoist) and NC-UML are going to Phnom Penh next week, to learn about Cambodia’s peace process. Going on donor-funded junkets to virtually all post-conflict countries to learn from their peace process has been a thriving cottage industry in Nepal over the past decade. From South Africa to Northern Ireland, El Salvador to East Timor, Mozambique to Sri Lanka, Peru to the Philippines, there is hardly any post-conflict country that Nepali political, military and civil society leaders have not visited. Nor have they been deprived of opportunities to attend meetings on issues of peace-making in Geneva and Oslo, New York and New Delhi, and myriad other places. Lack of exposure to the experiences of other countries is not a reason for the slow progress in Nepal’s peace process or constitution-making. It is therefore totally unnecessary and untimely for so many of Nepal’s senior political leaders to embark on yet another fore

Iraq death toll up sharply in October

BAGHDAD - The number of Iraqis killed rose sharply in October, making it the first month since January in which the toll was higher than the same period a year ago, official figures showed on Tuesday. A total of 258 Iraqis — 161 civilians, 55 policemen and 42 soldiers — were killed in attacks in October, according to data compiled by the ministries of interior, defence and health. A further 438 were wounded — 195 civilians, 142 policemen and 101 soldiers. The figures also showed 85 insurgents were killed in October. The overall death toll for October represented an increase of roughly 39 percent from September, when 185 Iraqis were killed. It was also markedly higher than in October 2010, when 185 Iraqis were killed, making it the first month since January in which the death toll was higher than the corresponding month the year before. The tolls for the months of February through September 2011 were lower than the same months in 2010. October’s deadliest attack

Rai: Christians face challengesof extremism

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BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Wednesday that Christians in Iraq and Christians in Lebanon are facing the same challenges of violence and extremism in the region. Rai, who returned to Beirut after a visit to Baghdad, said that the blood of Christians who were killed in repeated acts of violence in Iraq over the past eight years would become a foundation for a new Iraq. Tuesday, Rai held a mass at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad to mark the first year anniversary of a devastating bomb planted by an Al-Qaeda affiliated group, killing some 58 people. The patriarch, who was invited by the Syriac Catholic Church of Baghdad, returned t

Police yet to locate 15 kidnapped by Maoists

As many as 15 people, who were abducted by the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) in Bihar's Jamui district late on Monday, are yet to be traced despite intensified operations by security personnel. Jamui Superintendent of Police Raj Narain Singh told The Hinduthat the hostages were being held in a 7-8 km stretch of mountainous terrain between Jamui and Giridih district, which falls in Jharkhand. Police said eight labourers, three villagers and four employees of a private construction firm engaged by the Bihar State Bridge Construction Corporation were kidnapped at gun-point. The outlaws stormed the firm's office at Balthar Ghat in Jamui after it refused to pay the requisite levy amount demanded by themAfter failing to know the whereabouts of the firm's contractors and other key personnel, they abducted the labourers and villagers. Police said the ultras had not imposed any ultimatum as yet but were demanding a “sizeable” ransom.  Source: the

Chinese Rule of Tibet Protested Ahead of G20

About 50 Tibetan students demonstrated Wednesday outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, demanding that the self-immolation of 10 Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns over the past month be addressed at Thursday's G-20 summit in Cannes. One of the New Delhi demonstrators, Tsering, said that activists are seeking to highlight the desperate situation in Tibet, where religious practitioners set themselves on fire in protest of what they see as a Chinese intrusion into their cultural traditions and religious beliefs. "Tomorrow is G20 summit, so there are 20 countries who are participating, twenty big economies [and] China is also participating in that summit," said Tsering. "So we want to urge China to stop killing inside Tibet. From March 16, consistent self-immolation is going on, so we want to urge China to look into Tibet." In Cannes on Wednesday, two activists waving banners protesting the ongoing Chinese crackdown on Buddhist monks and nuns in Tib