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Showing posts from July 6, 2014

Shiite Rebels Agree to Pull Out of Key Yemen City

Yemeni Shiite rebels agreed today to withdraw from Amran, seized in a push towards the capital, in a deal struck with authorities who are dispatching troops to the strategic city. The Huthi rebels seized the northern city Tuesday, in a new challenge to the government, which is also facing an Al-Qaeda threat and a separatist movement in the south. The capture of Amran, just 50 kilometres north of Sanaa, threatened a federalisation plan that was agreed in February following national talks as part of a political transition. The rebels, also known as Ansarullah, have complained for years of marginalisation in the Sunni majority country, and say the transition plan would divide Yemen into rich and poor regions. In February they advanced from their mountain strongholds in the remote north towards the capital, battling loyalist troops and pro-government tribesmen. Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdessalam told  AFP  today that the Huthis had struck a deal with the defence ministry to withdraw from

Infamous 'Chechen' Warlord in Syria Is Really From Georgia, Report Says

An infamous jihadist warlord fighting in the Middle East and known as "Omar the Chechen" actually hails from the Christian nation of Georgia, a news report said Friday. The red-bearded Omar al Shishani, which translates as Omar the Chechen, has become one of the most recognizable faces of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS — an al-Qaida splinter group that controls part of Iraqi and Syrian territory. Yet the rebel fighter — identified as Tarkhan Batirashvili — does not hail from Chechnya at all, but the Pankisi Gorge in northern Georgia, the man who claims to be his father, Timur, told Sky News on Friday. The gorge was used as a base by Chechen Islamist militants during their 15-year-long standoff with Russia. According to the elder Batirashvili, his son had always wanted to be a soldier, joining the army and fighting for Georgia in its 2008 war with Russia. However, a bout of tuberculosis led to his discharge from the service on medical grounds, leaving Batirashvil

A NEW ‘CALIPHATE’ IN MIDDLE EAST: IS THERE AN ABU SAYYAF-ISIS LINK? – ANALYSIS

By  RSIS A video of a purported member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) pledging support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) surfaced recently. With an apparent spike in ASG-related activities, this is interpreted as evidence of convergence between the groups. However, the localised factors that motivate ASG factions should not be ignored. By Joseph Franco An audio recording of a purported Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) member pledging support to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) was uploaded to YouTube on 24 June 2014. The pledge was made in Arabic and played over jihadist-inspired graphics. The objective of the clip remains unclear. The month of June also saw major incidents involving the ASG. A top ASG leader, Khair Mundos, who had a US$500,000 bounty on his head, was captured by the police in Manila. Further arrests followed of ASG operatives associated with Mundos involved in plots to kidnap local businessmen in Zamboanga City, a Christian enclave in Mindanao. Thrustin

Abu Sayyaf releases abducted Chinese

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A Chinese fish farm manager abducted from Sabah by suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen has been freed Thursday in Sulu province, a police official confirmed Friday. Senior Superintendent Abraham Orbita, Sulu Provincial Police director, said Yang Zai Lin was released in an undisclosed area in the province following weeks of negotiation. The victim was immediately escorted by an emissary back to Sandakan. Sabah’s Police Inspector General Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was also quoted Thursday by Malaysian-based dailies on the release of Lin, 34, manager of the Wonderful Terrace Fish Farm based in Pulau Baik, Lahad Datu.  “The Malaysian authorities have coordinated us about the release of the victim,” Orbita said. However, the police official said there was no detail as to how the victim regained his freedom. “Apparently it was a third party that initiated the effort,” Orbita said. Yang was forcibly taken by six gunmen from his fish farm last May 6 and slipped him to Sulu

Iraq forces executed 255 prisoners in revenge for Islamic State killings: HRW

LONDON (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces and government affiliated militias appear to have unlawfully executed at least 255 prisoners over the past month in apparent revenge for killings by Islamic State fighters, according to a rights group on Saturday. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the killings had taken place in six Iraqi towns and villages since June 9 and at least eight of the dead were boys under 18. In all but one case, the killings took place while the Iraqi forces were fleeing from Islamic State militants and other armed groups, it said on its website. The vast majority of security forces and militias are Shi'ite, while the murdered prisoners were Sunni, it added. "The mass extrajudicial killings may be evidence of war crimes or crimes against humanity, and appear to be revenge killings for atrocities by (Islamic State)," HRW said. Islamic State, an offshoot of al Qaeda, until recently called itself the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It is spearhead

Ruslan Kutayev: Chechen human rights activist

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Ruslan Kutayev, human rights activist, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment in Chechnya for possession of heroin. His fellow campaigners are convinced that the charges were false. On Monday 7 July, a court in the Chechen town of Urus Martan, found Ruslan Kutayev guilty of unlawfully procuring and possessing heroin with no intent to sell; and sentenced him to four years in a minimum-security labour camp. Presiding judge Aleksander Dubkov also banned the 56-year-old president of the NGO 'Assembly of Peoples of the Caucasus,' and member of the political council of the 'Alliance of Greens and Social-Democrats,' from engaging in any public activity for a year after the end of his sentence. Arrest and beating Ruslan Kutayev was arrested on 20 February 2014, outside the house of relatives, in the hamlet of Gekhi. According to the Interior Ministry, a crime-prevention operation was being run at the time in the village, and the patrol detained Kutayev, whose behaviour s

Nigeria Police Say Uncover Plot To Bomb Abuja Transport Network

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Abuja:  Nigerian police have uncovered a plot to bomb the Abuja transport network, they said on Saturday, using suicide bombers and devices concealed in luggage at major bus stations. Abuja has increasingly been targeted by Islamist group Boko Haram, with three deadly bombings since April, including one in a bus park on its outskirts that killed at least 75 people. "Credible intelligence ... indicates that terrorists have perfected a plot to carry out attacks on the Abuja transport sector ... intended to cause panic amongst Abuja residents and visitors," police spokesman Frank Mba said in a statement. Source  http://ndtv.com/article/world/nigeria-police-say-uncover-plot-to-bomb-abuja-transport-network-557495

Suicide Bombers' Training Den in North Waziristan Unearthed

Islamabad:  A key facility run by Afghanistan militant group Haqqani network for training the suicide bombers has been unearthed in Pakistan's troubled North Waziristan tribal region, a media report said today. The Haqqani network militants have been involved in several lethal attacks inside Afghanistan, including deadly strikes on Indian mission in the war torn-country. The training school was housed in one of the many non-descript buildings at the dead-end of a small street inside Serai Darpakhel in North Waziristan, the Dawn reported. It was hard to find the iron door of the building and for the unsuspecting outsiders, there was nothing unusual about this place, except that it was known to all those who lived nearby. "It was a facility to indoctrinate and train suicide bombers," Dawn said. There is a courtyard with big columns, mats spread out, bed-rolling piled up in one corner and stairs leading to the upper portion painted in light cream and brown colours. Plastered

PKK asks for more as Parliament approves settlement reform bill

Parliament on Thursday evening approved a reform package that introduces various legal measures as part of efforts to solve the decades-old Kurdish question, with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) welcoming the move but openly indicating that the package will not suffice as a permanent solution.   The reform package provides, among other things, legal immunity for state officials who have been involved in talks with members of the terrorist PKK.   The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, when promoting the package in late June, said the package is aimed at continuing efforts to find a peaceful and democratic solution to the long-standing Kurdish question. The package gives the Cabinet unrestricted authority to take necessary measures to further these efforts.   The package was approved with 237 “yes” votes and 37 “no” votes. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which opposes the settlement process, did not lend its support to the package. The Republican

Australian Islamic preacher arrested in Philippines over alleged support of Isis

An Australian Islamic preacher has been arrested in the central Philippines  on suspicion of links to Muslim extremists and rallying support for Isis militants in Syria, according to police. The Australian government on Saturday officially listed the Islamic State group as a terrorist organisation. Robert Cerantonio, alias Musa, was allegedly calling for jihad and lecturing Muslim Filipinos to support the Islamic State (Isis), which has undertaken an insurgency in parts of Iraq and  Syria . Australian authorities are understood to be seeking his extradition. Chief Superintendent Prudencio Tom Banas said Cerantonio and a Filipino woman were arrested in their rented apartment in Cebu province's Lapu-Lapu city. Police and immigration agents raided the apartment on the basis of a deportation warrant, calling Cerantonio a "person of interest to the intelligence community". Cerantonio did not speak to media while being escorted to the custody of the immigration bureau in Manila

US Judge Indicts “Shining Path” Terrorist Leaders of Peru

Spanish A New York Court under Judge Richard Sullivan has brought charges against three members of the Communist Party of Peru, most commonly known as the Shining Path. The accused face terrorism, narcotics, and weapons charges in the United States, and the possibility of life in prison for each. The leaders of the Shining Path already have previous charges against them in their home country, for financing their operations through drug-trafficking and terrorist attacks on civilians and Peruvian army members. The accused are Florindo Eleuterio Flores-Hala known as “Comrade Artemio,” Victor Quispe-Palomino known as “Comrade José,” and Jorge Quispe-Palomino. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Florindo Eleuterio Flores-Hala has been taken into custody and is serving life in prison in Peru, while Quispe-Palomino and Jorge Quispe-Palomino are fugitives. US District Attorney Preet Bharara for New York has stated that “these defendants are leaders of a murderous paramilitary org

Peru attempts to address years of violence with tolerance museum

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It was Peru's deadliest conflict. During the 1980s and 90s tens of thousands were killed and thousands more forcibly disappeared when the Maoist guerrillas of the Shining Path unleashed violence against the very people they claimed to defend. Atrocities were also committed by Peru's security forces who used torture and forced disappearances during a state-sponsored campaign of counter-terror. Now, against all the odds,  Peru  has opened a museum of historical memory to commemorate the dead – and to address the country's enduring polarisation over human rights abuses committed by the armed forces. Adelina García, 50, remembers the night in December 1983 when her 27-year-old husband, Zosimo, was dragged from their home by hooded soldiers. She never saw him again. More than 30 years later she is president of the National Association of Families of the Kidnapped, Detained and Disappeared of Peru ( Anfasep ), based in Ayacucho, the Andean region that was the centre of the confli

Police clash with PKK supporters blocking highway in southern Turkey

HATAY - 12.07.2014  A clash broke out between security forces and a group of terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) supporters who closed Hakkari-Van highway during a protest on late Friday in the southern province of Hakkari. Members of the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) -- an affiliate of the PKK -- staged a protest against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). On Monday, ISIL carried out a suicide attack in Syrian town of Kobani, killing Fazıl Kapalak who is representative of the YPG-H in Kobani and four others.  When the group closed Hakkari-Van road, police intervened in the incident. When targeted with stones, Molotov cocktails and fireworks, police dispersed the crpwd with tear gas and water cannon.  Tension in the southern region is still ongoing.  Source  http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/Police-clash-with-PKK-supporters-blocking-highway-in-southern-Turkey_9059-CHMTQ5OTA1OS80

Armed security at Hamden mosque worries worshipers

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HAMDEN >> When Sayyid Abdur-Rahman visits the Abdul-Majid Karim Hasan Islamic Center, he goes to find peace and comfort. However, these days when Abudur-Rahman visits his place of worship, he feels conflicted. That’s because armed security guards at the Islamic center are allegedly using their firearms to stand behind old ways of thinking in the place of worship. “There’s a sickness going on with this thing,” Abdur-Rahman said. Abdur-Rahman is a former member of the mosque’s security team and legally owns a firearm. He acknowledged that, at one point, all members of the mosque were able to bring in their firearms. But a sign recently put up prohibits others from bringing in guns and, with some members at odds with the leadership, some members are feeling uneasy. Saladin Hasan said he feels like a criminal in the mosque, claiming members of the security team follow him and others around to intimidate them. “The only reason it worries me is that they’re (mosque leaders) restricting