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Showing posts from December 14, 2014

2014 Sees Dramatic Uptick in Boko Haram Abductions

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FILE - Villagers who fled the village of Gwoza, after an attack by Boko Haram in November, arrive at a camp for internally displaced people in Yola, Nigeria. Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnapped more than 100 people Sunday from the village of Gumsuri, Nigeria, after raiding the town and killing 35 other residents, according to survivors of the attack. They said those taken are primarily women and children. Kidnappings would not be a new strategy for Boko Haram, although no one has claimed responsibility. 2014 saw a dramatic uptick in Boko Haram kidnappings as the sect seized territory in the northeast. The sect also grabbed women and girls, forcing them into marriage or labor in its camps, and conscripted men into its ranks. Reports of how many people were taken from the Borno state village of Gumsuri range from "more than a 100" to as many as 185. If confirmed, it could be one of Boko Haram's largest kidnappings to date. Security issues Yola-based Nigerian professor

US: Sony Cyberattack Is ‘Serious’ National Security Matter

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December 18, 2014 5:27 AM  Last updated on: December 18, 2014 9:32 PM William Gallo / Victor Beattie A banner for 'The Interview' appears outside a theater in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, Dec. 17, 2014. U.S. officials are treating a cyberattack on Sony Pictures as a "serious national security matter," with the National Security Council considering a proportionate response, the White House said Thursday. Evidence shows the attack against Sony was carried out by a "sophisticated actor," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. But he declined to blame North Korea, saying the investigation is still progressing. That country is suspected of orchestrating the hack in retaliation for the Sony film "The Interview," about a fictional plot to assassinate Pyongyang’s leader, Kim Jong Un. The company on Wednesday cancelled the film’s scheduled December 25 release after the four largest U.S. theater chains said they would not show it. A spokesman said

10 members of the PKK, 4 of whom under 18 years of age, surrendered to to authorities at Habur Border Gate of Turkey

World Bulletin / News Desk 10 members of the PKK, reported to have arrived from the organisation’s camps in northern Iraq, surrendered at Habur Border Gate in Sirnak province… A group of 10 members of the PKK, 4 of whom under 18 years of age, surrendered to to authorities at Habur Border Gate of Turkey in Sirnak province in the country’s southeast on Thursday. The incident was reported in an official statement that was released from the office of Sirnak governor. Legal proceedings have been launched about the surrendered PKK members, it was also stated in the statement. Source  http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/151162/10-pkk-members-surrender-at-habur-border-gate

PM: WE HAVE DOCUMENTS SHOWING PKK, GÜLEN MOVEMENT RELATION

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ISTANBUL —  Following provincial meetings in four different Turkish cities over the weekend, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu echoed his previous claims regarding the relation between the Gülen Movement, which allegedly infiltrated key state bodies to overthrow the elected government, and the PKK, which took up arm against the Turkish state in order to carve out an independent Kurdistan in southeastern Turkey. Initially, Davutoğlu touched on the alleged contact between the movement and the PKK on his way back to Turkey from Poland last week. Reiterating these statements, he asserted that the government has documents showing contact. "We have open and clear documents [regarding the relation]. This is not gossip. This is contact," said Davutoğlu. Last week, Davutoğlu said that the government is well aware of the talks and contacts between the Gülen Movement and the PKK, and added that the public also has a right to know about these relations. The Gülen Movement is considered a na

Another Tibetan is Jailed For Discouraging Worship of a Controversial Deity

Another Tibetan has been ordered jailed by Chinese authorities for urging residents of his home county to abide by the Dalai Lama’s call not to participate in a controversial form of worship deemed “divisive” by the exiled spiritual leader, sources said. Uyak Tulku Lobsang Tenzin—a native of Dzogang (in Chinese, Zuogang) county in Tibet’s Chamdo (Changdu) prefecture—was handed a sentence of 10 years early this month, a local source told RFA’s Tibetan Service. Tenzin, aged about 60, had been accused of “working with the Dalai clique and misleading people on the worship of Shugden,” RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Chinese police frequently investigate and arrest Tibetans considered to have responded to the policy directives of the India-based Dalai Lama, who has advised Tibetans not to worship Shugden—a Tibetan “protector” deity whose rituals he has denounced as sectarian and divisive. Details on the exact date and location of the Tenzin's sentencing were not i

Leaked CIA report on targeting Taliban

The targeted killing of Taliban leaders has had little impact on the organisation, a CIA report released by WikiLeaks says. The 2009 report said that Taliban were able to replace senior members quickly, coalition operations against its leadership largely ineffective. The report, released on Wednesday, analysed the pros and cons of 'high value targeting', defined as 'focused operations against specific individuals or networks whose removal or marginalisation should disproportionately degrade an insurgent group's effectiveness'. It concluded that the Taliban was not particularly vulnerable to the tactic, due to its 'high overall ability to replace lost leaders, a centralised but flexible command and control overlaid with egalitarian Pashtun structures'. Most of the Taliban fighters come from the the Pashtun ethnic group of the tribal region in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The report did say benefits of such targeted operations include 'eroding insurgent effec

Peshawar gunmen used 'hit list' to identify young boys of important army officers

Militants from the Pakistani Taliban, responsible for the Peshawar school bloodbath, reportedly had a hit list of young boys that was used by them to identify and kill sons of important army officers. According to The Washington Times, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP confirmed the macabre list on Wednesday. The Taliban reportedly issued a statement via an email saying that "more than 50 sons of important army officers were killed after being identified." The email further stated "the auditorium where students of secondary and higher secondary sections were being taught first aid was targeted." Responding to the Taliban mail, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the nation will take account of each and every drop of its children's blood. At least 141 people, including 132 children were gunned down in Pakistan on Dec 16 when nine Taliban terrorists attacked an army-run School in Peshawar. Source http://wap.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/peshawar-gun

Pakistani army: Dozens of militants killed

The military claimed that the fleeing insurgents "left behind bodies of their accomplices" after the firefight. Three members of the Pakistani security forces were wounded, it said. CNN wasn't able to independently confirm what took place. Pakistani security forces also killed eight militants in the southwestern province of Balochistan, including a Taliban commander, during a heavy exchange of fire, an intelligence officer said. The military actions follow this week's  horrifying Taliban attack on an army school  in Peshawar that killed 145 people, 132 of them children. The school massacre prompted widespread revulsion across Pakistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif responded by announcing an end to a moratorium on the death penalty in terrorism cases. The Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, said they targeted a school that mostly admits soldiers' children  because the students aspired to follow in their fathers' footsteps  and target mili

School attack isolates Fazlullah within Taliban

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ISLAMABAD: The brutal carnage at the Army Public School in Peshawar, which killed 130-plus innocent children, seems to have isolated Mullah Fazlullah not only within the Pakistani Taliban but also among the ranks of the Afghan Taliban who have also condemned the incident. In a clear indication of the growing isolation Mullah Fazlullah faces within the Pakistani Taliban after the deadly assault, the TTP’s Jamaatul Ahraar, which is considered to be the most influential and equally ferocious splinter group of the Taliban, has distanced itself from the Peshawar massacre, saying that the act of killing children was condemnable. The Jamaatul Ahraar spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in a statement that the killing of innocent non-combatants, women, children, old or sick was forbidden in Islam. “The Jamaatul Ahraar has nothing to do with the killing of schoolchildren in Peshawar and we believe that the teachings of Islamic Shariah should have been kept in mind while dealing with them”. Ehsanul

Tihar Jail on LeT's radar; high alert in Delhi, security tightened

New Delhi: Delhi Police is on a high alert and has tightened the security of vital institutions in the national capital, including the Tihar Central Jail, in the aftermath of terror strikes in Peshawar and Sydney. Reports on Friday said that the authorities have beefed up the security of Tihar Jail following intelligence inputs that the high profile prison may be targeted by terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) to free terrorists lodged there. The security of this high-profile prison, which already has a three-layer security apparatus, has been enhanced further after the inputs. Delhi Police has also heightened vigil on all important transit routes following a recent Home Ministry advisory alerting about a possible LeT strike in the city. "Following the high alert in the capital, the security of the jail has been increased by several notches. No risk will be taken as far as the security of the inmates and the prison is concerned," Mukesh Prasad, DIG, Tihar Jail said in a

Vigilantes Vs Boko Haram

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Jerrywright Ukwu, 42 minutes ago  The reign of terror by terrorist group, Boko Haram in north-east Nigeria and beyond has seen the rise of several local vigilante groups who have sprung up as a result of the inability of the  Nigeria military to effectively curb the activities of the rampaging rag-tag army. The Vigilante groups also set up road blocks like the Nigerian army. Photo credit: Al Jazerra Business Week brings an insight into how these vigilante groups operate in one of the most dangerous region in the world. READ ALSO:   UPDATE: BH Reportedly Kidnap 185 Women And Children In Borno “Allahu Akbar!”  local Nigerian militiamen known as vigilantes shout as they go into battle against the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram. They chant partly to bewilder the insurgents and partly because they too believe in the Islamic faith and that they have God on their side in a war in northern Nigeria that is pitting Muslim civilians against militants trying to set up an Islamic State-style

We have killed all the children...What do we do now?:attackers

"We have killed all the children in the auditorium...What do we do now?" one of the Taliban attackers told his handler after shooting indiscriminately at the students in the main hall of the army-run school from where more than 100 bodies were recovered.  "Wait for the army people, kill them before blowing yourself," his handler ordered, instructing the suicide attackers who were executing one of the most gruesome attacks against children in recent history.  Citing a security official, the Dawn said it was one of the last conversations between the attackers and their handler on Tuesday shortly before two remaining suicide bombers charged towards the commandos positioned just outside the side entrance of the Army Public School's administration block.  "This and other conversations between the attackers and their handlers during the entire siege of seven and a half hours of the school form part of an intelligence dossier Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif shared wi

Islamabad Schools Warned of Plans of Magnetic Bombs on Buses

Students grieving for their classmates massacred by the Pakistani Taliban on Thursday vowed to defy the militants and return to school as soon as possible. ( Peshawar School Attack: Live Updates ) Mohammad Billal, 14, said he would defy his parents' advice to stay at home, and return to school as soon as he can.  "I will come the moment it opens because I am not scared of terrorists. I know how to send a message to them," Billal said. ( Silent Classes, Bloody Notebooks: Day After the Pakistan School Massacre ) A team of gunmen stormed the Army Public School in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Tuesday, slaughtering 148 people including 132 children. ( The Men Who Shot 132 Children at Their School in Pakistan ) Officials pledged to clean and restore the buildings and reopen on January 4 -- less than three weeks after the attack.Moakal Jan, 13, lost nine of his friends in the attack.  He said he wants to punish the Taliban for Tuesday's bloodshed. ( Inside

Philippines rebels say they will attack govt forces despite truce

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Rebel spokesman Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, in a 2010 file photo. Pic: Edwin Espejo Communist rebels in the Philippines say they will attack government forces conducting peace and development operations despite the unilateral order of President Benigno Aquino III for the suspension of military and police operations (SOMO) against the New People’s Army. In press statement, Jorge Madlos a.k.a.  Ka Oris  said, “We wish to point out and clarify that the NDFP-Mindanao considers the COPD and other similar military operations as part of the offensive military operations of Philippine Army units, and are, therefore, legitimate military targets of the New People’s Army (NPA).” Ka Oris is the Mindanao spokesman of the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political umbrella of the NPA and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) which is marking its 46th anniversary on December 26. Madlos was reacting to a statement from the spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division who allegedly said commun

Government announces unilateral halt to operations against New People's Army

The army’s chief of staff, General Gregorio Pio Catapang, said the unilateral suspension of military and police operations against the New People’s Army would begin at midnight Dec. 18 and end on Jan. 18. The traditional Christmas ceasefire does not apply to other insurgent groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Abu Sayyaf, both Islamist groups fighting for independence in the southern Philippines. "The ASG [Abu Sayyaf Group] and the BIFF, we will continue to hunt them," Catapang said. In a statement, Teresita Quintos Deles, the presidential adviser on the peace process, said the suspension of hostilities would allow the “unhampered rehabilitation of calamity-affected communities, many of which are also conflict-affected.” The New People’s Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and was formed in 1969. Source  http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/150899/seasonal-ceasefire-for-philippine-communist-insurgents

Odisha Government cancels Plots/flats allotted under discretionary quota since 1995 Odisha Police destroyed 4 Maoist camps in Telan forest of Kalahandi

Report by Odisha Diary bureau, Kalahandi:  Police, Naxals exchange fire in Telan forest of Kalahandi district. 4 Maoist camps destroyed during the operation. This was informed by the IG (South western range) Jaswant Kumar Jethwa.  -  Security personnel destroyed 4 Maoist camps and recovered 18 rounds of live ammunition, kit bags, solar panels, uniforms, cooking items, batteries and radio sets from these camps. No casualty has been reported from the security personnel side. There is no confirmed information on the casualties on the Maoist side either, informed Yaswant Jethwa, IG, South Western range. Jethwa  informed that Naxal Central Committee member Jhampanna managed to escape during exchange of fire between police and Maoists. He has a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head. Combing and search operations have been intensified in the area with police teams stationed at strategic locations. - See more at: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=55735#sthash.MsJb4ff8.dpuf

4 Maoist Camps Busted in SOG Raid

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M RAMPUR(KALAHANDI):  The Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel and Maoists were engaged in a heavy exchange of fire in the Telan reserve forest in Kalahandi district during a combing operation on Tuesday night. CPI (Maoist) central committee leader Jaipanna along with 40 cadres managed to escape, said YK Jethwa, IG (South West). The items seized from Maoist camps busted by SOG personnel | EXPRESS PHOTO Addressing mediapersons on Wednesday Jethwa said SOG personnel destroyed four Maoist camps and seized arms and Maoist literature during the combing operation that was led by Kalahandi SP Brijesh Kumar Roy. Jaipanna alias Jingu Narasimha Reddy, who belongs to Warangal in Andhra Pradesh, carries a reward of `25 lakh on his head, Jethwa said. Jaipanna is also the Central Military Commission member of the outfit. Police suspect that he was involved in Nayagarh and Koraput armoury loot and was here to strengthen the Naxal cadres. The security personnel seized 18 rounds of live ammunition,

Brixton Maoist cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan pictured for first time in decades

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The 74-year-old appeared at London's Westminster magistrates' court after being first arrested last November and spending more than a year on bail An OAP Maoist activist was seen publicly today for the first time in decades as he answered charges of cruelty, false imprisonment, indecent assault and rape. Aravindan Balakrishnan, 74, appeared at London's Westminster magistrates' court after being first arrested last November and spending more than a year on bail. He was held by police as part of an investigation into alleged slavery after detectives said three women were 'freed' from a flat in Brixton, south London. This morning the diminutive defendant spoke in court only to confirm his name and address. He had to repeat his date of birth after getting it wrong first time. Balakrishnan, now of Edmonton, north London, faces 25 charges dating back to 1980. He is accused of badly treating a child, now 31, and then falsely imprisoning her for 14 years after she turne

ISIS beheads 150 females, including pregnant women, for refusing to marry terrorists

Baghdad: As the world along with Pakistan mourns the death of children killed in the dastardly carried out terrorist attack in an army-run school in Peshawar by Taliban, reports of more violence from another brutal terror group have emerged. Baghdad: As the world along with Pakistan mourns the death of children killed in the dastardly carried out terrorist attack in an army-run school in Peshawar by Taliban, reports of more violence from another brutal terror group have emerged. Islamic State militants have reportedly beheaded at least 150 women, some of them pregnant, for refusing to marry them. Iraq's Ministry of Human Rights, in a statement released, said that the women in the western Iraqi province of Al-Anbar were attacked by the Islamic State terrorists and were later buried in mass graves in Fallujah. "At least 150 females, including pregnant women, were executed in Fallujah by a militant named Abu Anas Al-Libi after they refused to accept jihad marriage," the stat