Terrorism Watch

Chaibasa: Seven activists of ultra outfit  People's Liberation Front of India  (PLFI) were arrested from Karaikela area in Naxal-affected West Singhbhum district, a senior police officer said on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by the Sub-divisional police officer (Chakradharpur) Alok Priyadarshi and Additional Superintendent of Police (Operation) Vikash Sinha conducted a raid and arrested five ultras from near Ahar dam on Lal Bazar road last night, said Superintendent of Police, N K Singh. Based on the lead provided by the ultras, Singh said, two others - Durga Charan Koda and Amar Singh Sardar - were arrested later from their house in Karaikela. The other five arrested earlier were identified as Suman Kumar Nayak, Laxmi Narayan Mahato, Shiv Narayan Sumbrai, Praful Mahato alias Tutun, Anand Kumar Paan alias Doman Tanti, Singh said adding that three country-made pistols, one air gun, one rifle butt, one barrel of double-barrel gun, three live cartridges, two

Cairo: A renowned jihadi ideologue has urged the Islamic State group to release British aid worker Alan Henning, saying Islam forbids harming non-Muslims who work with relief agencies. Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi, who was released by Jordan in June after serving a five-year sentence on terror charges, said in a statement posted on his website and by a militant forum on Saturday that non-Muslims who help weak and poor Muslims should be respected and protected. Al-Maqdisi, also known as Essam al-Barqawi, was the mentor of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in a US airstrike in 2006. The Islamic State group, which has beheaded two American journalists and a British aid worker, has threatened to kill Henning in retaliation for US and European military action against it.  Source:  http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/jihadi-ideologue-calls-for-freeing-british-hostage_1473160.html

Brussels: Belgian authorities have prevented several attacks by jihadist fighters returning home from Syria and by sympathisers with the Islamic State extremist group, a report said Saturday. The daily L`Echo cited unnamed sources as saying the planned attacks could have been similar to the one on the Jewish Museum in central  Brussels  in May which left four people dead. The suspect in that case, Frenchman Medhi Nemmouche, spent more than a year fighting with Islamist extremists in Syria and is now being held in Belgium on charges of "murder in a terrorist context". Up to 400 Belgian nationals are estimated to have gone to fight in Syria, with about 90 known to have returned home, L`Echo said. "Our starting point is that among them, between one and nine aim to carry out an attack," a source said. "That is a conservative estimate, if you also take into account the people who help them." The newspaper said its sources did not want to give detail

DAVAO CITY, Philippines, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Two suspected leftist rebels were killed in a clash with government troops in southern Philippines on Friday, the military said Saturday. Soldiers also recovered two assault rifles from the slain rebels following a brief fire fight in Carmen town, in Mindanao's Surigao del Sur province, according to Major Christian Uy, spokesperson of the army's 4th Infantry Division. The encounter happened as soldiers from the army's 36th Infantry Battalion were checking reports about alleged New People' s Army guerrillas conducting extortion activities among residents of Hinapuyan village around 9:15 a.m. "Five armed leftist guerrillas fired at the troops, unmindful of the civilians at the (hamlet), prompting soldiers to retaliate. The firefight lasted for 10 minutes, after which the rest of the rebels fled," Major Uy said in a statement to Xinhua, adding two bodies of slain NPA insurgents were recovered in the area, as w

Damascus: Syrian forces Saturday started a wide-scale offensive on a key rebel-held Syrian city northeast of the capital Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the Syrian Air Force carried out eight airstrikes  on Adra and the nearby Tal Kurdi, Xinhua reported. The Syrian army clashed with an array of rebel groups in Adra, mainly the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front. Adra is a part of the Damascus's suburb of Douma, which has for long fallen to an array of rebel militias. Adra, home to more than 20,000 Syrians, contains the site of Syria's largest industrial zone, which is located east of the town. The industrial zone's area is around 7,000 hectares, with half being designated for services and the other half for industries. Source:  http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/syrian-forces-attack-rebel-held-town_1473196.html

Tyre: An Israeli drone on Saturday crashed inside Lebanon, coming down close to the demarcation line with the Jewish state, a military source said. "The drone crashed on the Lebanese border, inside Lebanese territory. Lebanese troops are in the area," the source told AFP. There was no immediate comment from Israel, but the incident is not the first of its kind. In February, an Israeli drone crashed on the Blue Line, the UN-demarcated line between Lebanon and Israel. Israeli soldiers crossed into Lebanese territory during that incident to retrieve the wreckage. Israeli aircraft regularly cross into Lebanese airspace, and the border area in southern Lebanon has been the scene of tense standoffs in the past. The Blue Line was drawn up in 2000 by the UN after Israeli troops withdrew, ending a 22-year occupation of south Lebanon.   Source:  http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/israel-drone-crashes-inside-lebanon-military-source_1473200.html

Two suspected Maoists and a constable of the Chhattisgarh Special Task Force were killed in an encounter near Barsur in Dantewada district Friday. Police recovered two country-made guns, an 8 mm pistol and other minor weapons from the suspected Maoists. The deceased constable, Budh Dev, was a resident of Balod. “A joint team comprising STF and district force left the Barsur police station for a special operation Thursday night,” said ADG Naxal (ops) R K Vij. The forces had an encounter with the Maoists inside the forests near Picchikoder village Friday morning, and firing lasted nearly 30 minutes. The forces managed to defuse an IED and recovered pressure bombs from the area, Vij added. Bastar has seen a sudden spurt in encounters in recent months. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/2-maoists-constable-killed-in-encounter/#sthash.5tmsEC8P.dpuf

Media caption   The BBC's Mark Lowen says there is "huge relief" in Turkey Dozens of hostages seized by Islamic State (IS) from the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have been freed and are back in Turkey. The 49 were greeted by flag-waving crowds in Ankara after arriving in southern Turkey early on Saturday. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey's intelligence agency had led the operation, but gave few details. The hostages were seized after IS militants overran Mosul in a rapid advance in June. Turkey has refused direct involvement in the military campaign against IS partly because of fears over the hostages' safety. Ahmet Davutoglu, centre, celebrated with the hostages on their arrival in Ankara The 49 were employees from the consulate - 46 Turks and three local Iraqis - officials said. They included diplomatic staff, children, and special forces police. Mr Davutoglu described their release as "joyful news". "In the early

New Delhi: The  Dalai Lama  on Saturday condemned mindless violence in the name of religion, saying the concept of jihad was being misused and misinterpreted by Islamist extremists. The Nobel Peace prize winner was referring to bloodshed unleashed by the Islamic State group in  Syria  and  Iraq  where it has overrun swathes of territory. "Killing in the name of faith is unacceptable," he told a meeting of India`s religious leaders representing as many as nine different faiths including Islam. Jihad or holy war should be a fight "to combat our inner destructive emotions", the 79-year-old spiritual leader said. "It (jihad) does not mean harming other people." The hard-hitting statements by the Dalai Lama come after the Islamic State group released a video earlier this month showing the beheading of a second US hostage, journalist Steven Sotloff. Earlier this week, British photojournalist John Cantlie appeared in a propaganda video released by the

Sanaa: Yemen`s state-run television building caught fire after a three-day mortar attack by Shi`ite rebels who are protesting against the government, residents and a TV employee said on Saturday, After weeks of protests and clashes, the conflict intensified on Thursday when the Shi`ite Houthi rebels  clashed with the army on the outskirts of Sanaa. The fighting expanded mainly between the Houthis and tribesmen allied with the al-Ahmar clan. Prominent figures from the mainly Sunni Muslim clan, one of the most powerful tribes in Yemen, hold senior positions in the armed forces and the government. Part of the TV building, which is located near other vital state institutions, caught fire after shelling intensified on Saturday morning, the employee told Reuters, adding that hundreds were trapped in the building as a result. Yemeni TV broadcast a written message for national and international organisations to intervene to save its employees from the shelling. In a neighbouring ar

BEIRUT (Reuters) - More than 300 Kurdish fighters have crossed into Syria from Turkey to help push back an Islamic State advance on a Kurdish border town, a group monitoring Syria's conflict said on Saturday. "They crossed over last night, they are more than 300," said Rami Abdulrahman, who runs the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that monitors the war using sources on the ground. He said it was not clear which group the fighters belonged to but said they had joined Kurdish forces in Syria who are fighting Islamic State around the town of Ayn al-Arab, known as Kobani in Kurdish Source:  http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2014/09/20/More-than-300-Kurd-fighters-cross-into-Syria-from-Turkey--monitor/

NEW DELHI: CPI Maoist have claimed in their propaganda material that anti-Naxal forces are dropping bombs from helicopters in Jharkhand and  Bihar  leading to loss of lives and property of tribals.  They have also alleged that forces have occupied schools and other facilities in tribal areas and turned them into police cantonments depriving locals of right to life with dignity. Notably, government had planned to make precision airstrikes against Maoists after the 2010 Chintalnar massacre in  Chhattisgarh  but the idea was nixed by the Army.  Narendra Modi government recently proposed to make stealth strikes by air-dropping troopers in the jungles. Sources said pamphlets making claims of bombs being airdropped surfaced in Latehar in Jharkhand on September 8 and are suspected to have been engineered by Central Committee member Deo Kumar Singh alias Arvindji.  The pamphlets were found in the same areas of Kumundih jungles where 16 security personnel were killed by Maoists in January 201

Patna: The  East Central Railway  (ECR) has decided to cancel running of 28 passenger trains under its five divisions in  Bihar  and Jharkhand for a week starting tomorrow fearing disruption during Foundation Day celebrations of the banned Maoists during the period, reports stated on Saturday. Considering past experience of Maoists attacking trains during bandh and other activities, the Railway has decided to run long distance mail/Express trains in a controlled and piloting basis, Chief Public Relation Officer of ECR Arvind Kumar Rajak said in a statement last evening. Due to this, passenger trains would be kept off the track from September 21 to 27, it said. Giving details of passenger trains cancelled, the ECR CPRO said eight trains each had been cancelled in Dhanbad and Samastipur divisions. Five trains including three Gaya-Patna passengers, Jhajha-Kiul and Kiul-Gaya passengers have been cancelled under Danapur division, he said. Four passenger trains have been cancelle

A THIRD British hostage held by Isil extremists has said in a video that he has been "abandoned" by Britain as he appeals for the UK government to "negotiate" with his captors. British newspaper photographer John Cantlie has become the latest kidnap victim to appear in an Islamic State (Isil) propaganda video, which he admits is a desperate attempt to save his life. Mr Cantlie, has been held by Isil for almost two years since he disappeared while covering the conflict in Syria in 2012. Mr Cantlie, obviously under duress, says that he will be making a series of "programmes" in which he seeks to expose the "truth behind Islamic State" and how the West is embroiled in "yet another unwinnable conflict". In the video, entitled "lend me your ears", he suggests that the only way to secure his release is to for the government to pay a ransom. The video marks a significant change of tactics for Isil, which has previously releas

Photographer John Cantlie appears in the latest Islamic State propaganda video   A 43-year-old man, who joined Princes William and Harry on a charity motorbike ride in 2008, has become the third Briton to be captured by Islamic State. In a video posted on YouTube, John Cantlie sits at a table and is forced by his captors to read from a script asking people not to back a war against the jihadists. He says to the camera: 'My fate lies in the hands of Islamic State, I have nothing to lose. Maybe I will live, and maybe I will die.'   It's the first time he's been seen since he was captured in 2012.   Earlier this month British aid worker, David Haines, was beheaded by the suspected UK-born extremist known as Jihadi John. Fears are growing that dad-of-two, Alan Henning, in Syria as part of an aid convoy, could be his next victim. Source: http://www.bestdaily.co.uk/your-life/news/a597770/prince-williams-friend-is-the-latest-hostage-being-held-in-syria.html

The Florida man who police say gunned down his daughter and six grandchildren Thursday had been to prison for fatally shooting his young son during a hunting trip 13 years ago, according to court records. View gallery . An undated photo of Don Spirit provided by the Gilchrist Co. Sheriff's Department. (AP) Don Charles Spirit, 51, phoned the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Department around 4 p.m. Thursday and made a reference to harming himself and others. “When he called 911, he said enough to alarm us to get someone there, and we needed to get there in a hurry,” Sheriff Robert Schultz said. But the father and grandfather shot himself as arriving officers approached. Deputies then discovered the bodies of Spirit's adult daughter and six children at the small, rural home near Bell, about 38 miles northwest of Gainesville in north central Florida. Sheriff Schultz identified the victims as Sarah Lorraine Spirit, 28; Kaleb Kuhlmann, 11; Kylie Kuhlmann, 9; Johnathon

The mocked-up Grand Theft Auto-style trailer features virtual fighters shouting "Allahu Akbar!" as they attack U.S. troops   Islamic State jihadists are believed to have released a new recruiting video based on a notoriously violent computer game. The mocked-up Grand Theft Auto-style trailer is designed to attract younger members and features virtual fighters shouting "Allahu Akbar!" as they attack U.S. troops. Throughout, the terror group's logo is displayed at the top of the screen, alongside the apparent "GTA" styling. According to Islamic State's media wing, the video aims to “raise the morale of the mujahedin and to train children and youth how to battle the West and to strike terror into the hearts of those who oppose the Islamic State". The words “Flames of War” appear at the end of the trailer, with the tagline: “Fighting has just begun” The Grand Theft Auto series it appears to be based on is one of the wor

Banka: Armed   Maoists   torched three mobile towers and a bus in different areas of the district, police said Friday. Around 40 women   Maoists   cadres, all in police uniform, raided Bhedia and Gonda villages and torched mobile towers of the telecom operators - BSNL, MTS, and Vodafone - last night, Superintendent of Police Dr Satyaprakash said. Simultaneously, about nine Maoists, riding on three bikes, torched a bus at Bhalua and another group of ultras exploded bombs and fired several rounds in the air to scare people in Bhedia Bazar, he said. Incidentally, the Maoists had called for a 24-hour bandh in Bihar and Jharkhand yesterday to protest the recent killings of their four colleagues Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/bihar/maoists-torch-mobile-towers-bus-in-bihar_1472623.html

Car carrying Chadian troops struck by explosives in northern Mali, claiming five lives and injuring several others at the scene   A roadside bomb in northern Mali killed five UN peacekeepers and wounded several others on Thursday, a spokesman said of the latest in a string of deadly attacks on the force. A car carrying Chadian troops hit the explosive north of Aguel'hoc, which is near the embattled city of Kidal, said Olivier Salgado. Earlier this month, four UN peacekeepers were killed and several were wounded when their convoy hit a mine in the same region. Another mine killed a peacekeeper earlier this week. There was no immediate claim of responsibility and Salgado did not speculate on who was responsible for the bomb. Previous landmines have been blamed on Islamic extremists linked to al-Qaida, and they have taken responsibility for some. Northern Mali fell under control of Tuareg separatists and then al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists following a mil