Terrorism Watch

Interior Minister Muammer Güler announced on Thursday that the Turkish state will pay 173,000 citizens who have been victims of terrorism an amount of TL 3,016,512,916 in response to a parliamentary question. Demir Çelik, a Muş deputy from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), asked a parliamentary question for the interior minister regarding the applications made for compensation on the grounds of law No. 5233, a law regulating the compensation of damages stemming from terrorism and the fight with terrorism. Güler stated that TL 3,016,512,916 has been submitted to the governor's offices in order to be paid to the applicants. Güler, referring to the fact that the aforementioned law came into effect on July 27, 2004, said, “With this law, we compensate the damages of our citizens in terms of death, injuries, disablement, damages to moveable or real properties, damages linked to agriculture and livestock.” According to Güler, there have been 363,826 applications to the commissions res

Afghan national security forces have killed thirty-eight Taliban militants during separate operations across the country over the past 24 hours,   Press TV reports. “Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) conducted a series of operations in Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces, killing 38 Taliban militants and wounding 15 others. Thirteen more armed men were also arrested over the past 24 hours," the Afghan Interior Ministry said in a statement issued on Saturday.  The statement, however, did not mention if there were any casualties on the side of Afghan forces.  It added that Afghan policemen seized large amounts of ammunition and weapons used by militants after the operations.  The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but the country is still gripped by insecurity.  In late April, the Taliban announced the start of their annual “offensive” against US-led and Afgh

At least 22 people have been killed when a US-led assassination drone carried out an attack in Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Kunar, Press TV   reports. Mohammad Haroon Yousafzai, a spokesman for the Afghan National Army, said the attack took place in the Manoogi district of the province, located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) east of Kabul, on Saturday.  He identified the victims as Taliban gunmen, noting that four senior militant commanders were among the casualties.  Earlier in the day, a senior Taliban commander was killed when US-led foreign forces conducted an airstrike in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand.  Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the attack took place in the Marjah district of the province.  He identified the slain Taliban commander as Mullah Khan Mohammad, adding that his comrade sustained serious injuries in the airborne assault.  Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has accused the Colombian government of reaching a “secret” agreement with wealthy Colombian landowners, rather than talking to farmers. On Friday, FARC negotiator Jesus Santrich made the remarks during the latest round of peace talks, which resumed on Monday and will end on Sunday in the Cuban capital Havana.  Santrich accused the government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos of reaching an agreement with wealthy landowners instead of the indigenous farmers in an attempt to put an end to three weeks of protests over the high price of fertilizers and cheap imports of agricultural products from Europe and the United States.  On September 7, farm leaders came to an agreement with Bogota to end the protests, which left at least five people dead, and caused food shortage in the country.  “I think the president should listen to the farmers, the indigenous, the Afro descendant population who live in our rural areas,” said the FARC nego

September 13, 2013 The apprehension of a few people over the past few days in Maharashtra, which led to searches by the police at the residence of G N Saibaba, an English teacher, in New Delhi on September 12, 2013, has, once again, brought into focus the urban presence and activities of the Maoists. The police recovered a few hard disks and pen drives from the academic’s house. Saibaba is a prominent leader of the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), a proscribed front organization of the CPI (Maoist). Earlier, Prashant Rahi, reportedly a freelance journalist and alleged front organization member/over-ground cadre of the Maoists, and his associate, Vijay Tikri, were arrested by the Gadchiroli police in Deori, Gondia district, Maharashtra, on September 1, 2013. They were arrested following the arrest of Hem Mishra, a former student of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and two others, on August 22. Mishra is alleged to be a courier of the Maoists and was reportedly carrying sec

Karachi:   A senior Pakistani police officer was today shot dead here by unidentified attackers.  DSP Mumtaz Ali Shah was badly wounded when two unknown gunmen opened fire on his car in Model Colony near Malir Check Post while he was on way to work.  Shah was rushed to hospital but he succumbed to his injuries en route.  Police said that DSP Shah was deployed at Landhi jail.  The incident comes at a time when Pakistan's paramilitary forces have launched a crackdown to restore the alarming law and order situation in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and commercial hub.  Source  http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/pakistan-top-cop-mumtaz-ali-shah-shot-dead-in-karachi-418625

Press Trust of India | 14-Sep-2013 16:56 PM In a new twist, a renegade Taliban militia, the Suicide Group of the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, has taken responsibility for killing Indian author Sushmita Banerjee, claiming she was an "Indian spy". "We killed Sushmita Banerjee because she is an Indian spy," the group's spokesman Qari Hamza told The Daily Beast, the online home of Newsweek magazine. He admitted that his men kidnapped, harshly interrogated, and then killed her. "We took her from her house, investigated her for three hours and then left her dead," he said. Banerjee, 49, was married to Afghan businessman Jaanbaz Khan and recently moved back to Afghanistan to live with him. She was killed by militants in eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan last week. According to the news portal, Hamza claimed that during their "investigation Sushmita Banerjee also disclosed the names of other agents and we will go after them as well". The wr

Press Trust of India | 14-Sep-2013 18:54 PM Thiruvananthapuram: Give a break to chilli powder and pepper sprays. Amrita Centre for Security has developed a new device to protect women from sexual offenders and other forms of violence. The Amrita Personal Safety System (APSS) is an inconspicuous, wearable and easy-to-operate electronic device that will help girls and women to trigger communication with family and police when in distress, Krishnashree Achuthan, Director of Kollam-based Amrita University's Centre for Cyber Security Systems & Networks, said in a release. "The device will remain invisible to the offender and yet can easily be triggered by its user with multiple option to ensure stealthy and secure communication, she said. The device also offers automated information to the nearest police station, hospitals and fire stations about the victim so that she can get immediate help, she said. The Amrita Centre for Cyber Security is making efforts to ensure that this d

Bhubaneswar: At least 14 Naxals, including a woman, were killed by the Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Village Force (DVG) during an operation in the Malkangiri district on Saturday.   It is the biggest Naxal casualty in a single operation in the state till date.  The police received a tip-off after which it raided the site where the Naxals were camping close to the Chhattisgarh border. However, firing ensued after Naxals opened fire at them.  Police suspect the involvement of the Naxals in the attack on the convoy of Congress leaders in Darbha in Chhattisgarh on May 25. The police recovered huge cache of arms and ammunitions and Maoist literature from the Naxals during the operation.  First Published: Saturday, September 14, 2013, 08:53 Source  http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/14-naxals-killed-in-odisha-encounter-–-most-in-single-operation_876405.html

MOSUL, Iraq, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and 25 others wounded Saturday in a suicide bomb attack at a funeral near Iraq's northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, a provincial police source said. The attack occurred in the afternoon when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest at a funeral of the Iraqi minority of al- Shabak in the town of Baashiqa, some 10 km northeast of Mosul, which is about 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The Shabak people are a Shiite minority group living in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, particularly, around Mosul. The toll could rise as ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the victims to different hospitals and medical centers in Baashiqa and in Mosul, the source said. Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years, which raises fears that the country is sliding back to the full-blown civil conflict that peaked in 2006 a

Civilian lives have been claimed in a new Taliban suicide attack targeting foreign forces stationed in Kandahar. Three civilian lives have been claimed in a Taliban suicide attack in a failed attempt to target foreign forces in the Daman district of Kandahar province in Afghanistan, officials have said.  The attacker prematurely triggered a bomb packed inside his vehicle before getting close to an international military convoy on patrol on Saturday. "A suicide bomber driving a Toyota sedan detonated his vehicle in Daman on the road from Kandahar city to Spin Boldak (on the border with Pakistan)," Javed Faisal, the Kandhar govenor's spokesman told AFP. "The target of the suicide bomber was foreign forces, but it exploded prematurely. Three civilians were killed -- two children and a woman. Seven men were wounded." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, which occured three or four kilometres from Kandahar airport, a major base

Jonglei State On the last day of July, South Sudanese soldiers shot dead two unarmed women, Anyibi Baba and Ateil Rio. The killings were the latest in a pattern of grave violations against civilians by Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers fighting a Murle rebel group in Jonglei state. At least 70 Murle civilians and about two dozen ethnic Murle members of the army and wildlife forces have been unlawfully killed since December. Panic has spread among the Murle. Thousands have fled their homes, too scared of the soldiers to return. Tragically, violence in Jonglei is nothing new. Ethnic conflict driven by cattle raiding has cost the lives of thousands and displaced tens of thousands. Attacks and counter attacks between armed members of the Dinka Bor, Lou Nuer and Murle ethnic groups over the past three years have been especially bloody and have increasingly targeted women and children. Because authorities almost always fail to investigate or punish criminals, these groups me

SPEAKING FREELY Philippines under the neo-colonial boot By E San Juan Jr  Speaking Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows guest writers to have their say. Please click  here  if you are interested in contributing.   US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's visit to Manila in August and the proposal for a semi-permanent "rotational" stationing of US troops and military hardware in the Philippines are harbingers of a new Cold War in Asia. The Philippines is serving as a precarious lever in Washington's "pivot" towards Asia, a bid to restore the US's eroding hegemony over the planet.  A classic US colony from 1898 to 1946, the Philippines today  remains a semi-feudal neo-colony ruled by holdover oligarchs led today by president Benigno Aquino III. Resisting the US behemoth in the 1899-1913 Philippines-American War, 1.4 million Filipinos perished in the name of US "manifest destiny".  Ever since, including after achieving independence, the Ph

Walk around in a red beret, even without an Economic Freedom Front (EFF) badge on it, and the chances are people will take you for a fighter in Julius Malema's political "army". The beret has been around for hundreds of years, worn by peasants and workers, aristocrats and poets, hipsters, soldiers and revolutionaries. The Argentinian guerrilla leader Che Guevara famously wore a black beret studded with a brass star and the Black Panther Party in the United States adopted Guevara's headgear in the 1960s. So did Burkina Faso's Thomas Sankara, the Marxist revolutionary and pan-African theorist. Che Guevara. (AP) In recent times, it was the late Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chávez, who made the snug, round headgear famous again. Both Sankara and Chávez wore red berets. Here is a look at the favoured headgear of some politicians – and the writer Ben Okri – and what it says about the wearers. Julius Malema The self-styled commander of the EFF last week raided two factories,

Basilan new battle area; govt issues ultimatum The terrorist group Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters rebels had reportedly joined forces with the Nur Misuari-led Moro National Liberation Front against government troops, as fighting spread from Zamboanga City to Basilan on the fourth day of the standoff on Thursday. The new development has prompted Malacanang to issue an ultimatum to Nur Misuari and his men to end the standoff or face the full “force of the state.” Engagement. Soldiers take cover during heavy fighting with MNLF rebels as the standoff entered its fourth day in Zamboanga City. Below, members of the National Police’s special forces move forward to enemy positions among burning houses. “The forces of the state are ready to exercise the resolve of the government. While the government is exhausting all avenues for a peaceful resolution to the situation, let it be clear to those defying us that they should not entertain the illusion that the state will hes

Osage County will have the opportunity to hear about the harrowing experience of a missionary from Rose Hill, Kan., who served for years in the Philippines until she and her husband were kidnapped on their 18 th  wedding anniversary, and held captive until a military rescue operation freed her but left her husband dead. Gracia Burnham will speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 5, at the Osage City High School auditorium, 420 S. Fifth St. The event is hosted by the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Osage City, which is inviting the community to attend. Freewill offerings will be accepted. For 17 years, Gracia Burnham and her husband Martin served with New Tribes Mission in the Philippines, where Martin was a jungle pilot who delivered mail and supplies to other missionaries, and transported sick and injured patients to medical facilities, and Gracia supported the aviation program and home-schooled their children. While celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at Dos Palmas Resort, off Palawan Isla

COTABATO CITY, Philippines -Firefight broke out once more between soldiers and Moro National Liberation Front rebels, along with Abu Sayyaf Group bandits in Basilan on Friday. Quoting initial reports reaching Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, the military said  the fresh encounter occurred around 9:45 a.m. in Lamitan City.   In a radio interview, Lamitan vice mayor Roderick Furigay said the firefight took place less than a kilometer away from city hall.   He said the residents of four villages-- Bulanting, Colonia, Balobo and Cabobo-- have been evacuated.   Furigay, chairman of the city peace and order council, said armed villagers and government combatants drove the rebels away, but three more groups harassed Moro and Christian enclaves in Barangays Bulanting, Lagasan and Kulay Bato, triggering more clashes. Friday's hostilities in the city was preceded by a series of encounters in the area’s Colonia District, which began when followers of Misuari attacked  villages. Civilian volunte

MILF political affairs vice chair Ghadzali Jaafar. FILE PHOTO COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has called on the Moro National Liberation (MNLF) “to take the path of peace” following Monday morning’s attack on several coastal villages. The MILF, a breakaway group of the MNLF, is talking peace with the government. Jaafar also reminded armed and unarmed MILF members in Zamboanga City and the island provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to stay neutral. “If there is any MILF involvement, our role is to secure innocent civilians that may be caught in the crossfire. As much as possible no aggression or violent participation from our end,” said Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs. Recently, MNLF founding chair Nur Misuari publicly declared his plan to pursue the establishment of an independent Bangsamoro state at a time when the MILF was in the verge of finalizing with the Aquino government an enhanced ARMM autonomy which could b

cable operators to block all Indian channels for 24 hours starting 8:00 am on Friday. Protesting against Zee TV’s claim in its serial ‘Buddha’ that the founder of Buddhism was born in India, the association has also called for an indefinite ban on the channel. “If we self-respecting Nepalis don’t oppose such naked Indian expansionism then it could threaten our national honour and dignity,” the association stated in a release. Though nearly two dozen entertainment channels remained off air other Indian channels based on news, movies, music and religious discourse were not blocked despite the demand by the Maoist faction. The first episode of the serial ‘Buddha’ telecast on Sunday was blocked across Nepal by over 300 cable operators for fears of hurting sentiments of millions of Nepali viewers. In its website promoting the serial Zee TV had claimed Buddha was born in India. Actor Kabir Bedi who is part of the serial had also made the same mistake in a promotional programme. Historical re

Barnala police have reportedly foiled an attempt to revive terrorism in the state with the arrest of Surinder Singh Thikriwal. Two pistols, one of .32 bore and a .315 bore, along with cartridges, provocative literature and a diary containing local and international phone numbers have been recovered from him, the police claim. SP (headquarter) Narinder Kaushal and SP (detective) Swaran Singh Khanna said that the CIA staff arrested Thikriwal on the charges of plotting terrorist activities in collusion with Satnam Singh, a main operator of Babbar Khalsa. Satnam was recently arrested by the Fatehgarh Sahib police. During preliminary interrogation, Surinder Singh Thikriwal has admitted that he was in touch with Daljit Singh Bittu, Baba Bakshish Singh Najamani Wala, Jassa Mankiwala, Gurpreet Singh Mullanpur, all accused in the Shingar Cinema Blast case of 2007, Mandeep Singh of Sahnewal shooting incident over tearing up of a religious text, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Navtej Singh Batala Phoola Sin