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Showing posts from July 26, 2015

IS Detains Four Journalism Students in Iraq: Watchdog

 | Aug 01,2015 The Islamic State group has detained four journalism students in Mosul on charges of leaking information from the jihadist bastion to Iraqi and media organisations, a media watchdog said today. The four were taken from their homes in different parts of the northern city late Friday, the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO), an Iraqi organisation, said in a statement. Mosul activists and a former security official confirmed to  AFP that four Mosul University students had been detained and taken to an unknown location. A journalist who was arrested for similar reasons in June, Jala al-Abadi, was executed in mid-July. According to JFO, IS holds at least eight journalists from the province of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital. Source  http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=908601

India ranks second only to Mexico in abductions

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MUMBAI: For specialty underwriters sitting in global reinsurance markets like London, India has a dubious distinction. It ranks second only to Mexico on a list of kidnapping hotspots—ahead of Pakistan, Iraq and Nigeria. The ranking is published by Control Risk, a UK-headquartered consultancy, based on reports of abductions, and is referred to by international reinsurers for providing 'kidnap and ransom' cover to both Indian and MNCs. Insurers say this does not mean that neighbouring countries like Afghanistan or Pakistan are any safer. What it indicates is that the number of complaints about kidnapping is higher in India. Although it may not be an organized business the way it is in some South American countries, there are many incidents that take place in the North and the East. Small wonder that India is now seen as a ripe market for selling K & R (Kidnap and Ransom) insurance policies. "The rankings are based not on insured events but on actual cases reported.

Rebel leader with P8-M bounty nabbed in Iloilo

A top female communist leader, who had a P7.8-million bounty on her head and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle while her comrades were endure hardships and violence in the mountains was arrested in a joint military and police operation in Iloilo City yesterday. Col. Noel J. Detoyato, chief, public affairs office, Armed Forces of the Philippines, identified the arrested rebel leader as Maria Concepcion Bocala, 64, alias “Concha Araneta” and “Etang,” secretary of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army Panay regional party committee that has jurisdiction over Iloilo, Capiz, and Aklan. Detoyato said Bocala was arrested in her residence in Juntado Subdivision, Calumpang, Molo, Iloilo City following a tip from some residents by virtue of warrants of arrest for her alleged involvement in several murder cases. The military noted that while Boncala enjoyed a lavish lifestyle in the city, her comrades continue to endure a life of hardships and violence. Her husband, Reynaldo B

Maoists resurface in Telangana

A group of armed naxalites has reportedly been sighted. or reasons best known to them, the Maoists seem to be unable to shun Adilabad or other North Telangana districts as their support base despite suffering tremendous losses in the past in the form of encounter deaths of their top leaders and surrender of numerous cadres. A 20 to 25 member strong dalam of armed naxalites has reportedly been sighted in the villages in Vaipet forest area of Indervelli mandal of Adilabad and another handful of them at Parkal and Bhupalpalli of Warangal and a few places in Nizamabad in the last few weeks. The presence of the band of the outlawed organisation gains significance in view of the ongoing Maoist Martyrs Week across the country's naxal-influenced areas. “There however, is little chance of them creating law and order problem in the North Telangana districts under prevailing conditions which are not at all favourable for them to thrive,” opined a police officer associated with a

Rs 1 crore reward on four top Maoist leaders in Jharkhand

Taking its war against the banned left wing extremist (LWE) outfit forward, the Jharkhand government on Monday increased the cash rewards for information on four functionaries of CPI (Maoist) from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore.  The Maoist leaders carrying the cash reward Rs. 1 crore on their head include Arvindji alias Dev Kumar Singh, Misir Besra, Prashant Bose and Vivek Chandra Yadav.  Each of these rebels currently carries a cash reward of  Rs. 25 lakh for information about their whereabouts.    The rebel leaders  also have cash rewards on their heads in neighbouring states, including Bihar, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.  A resident of Aurangabad in Bihar, Arvindhji, 50, is the topmost Maoist leader in Jharkhand who plans and executes most of the group’s subversive activities in the state.  He has a cash reward of Rs. 5 lakh on his head in Bihar, Rs. 40 lakh each in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Misir Besra alias Bhaskarji, 52, a resident of Jharkhand’s Gi

Police arrest dreaded Maoist commander in Jharkhand

Giridih, August 01 (ANI): Police arrested a dreaded Maoist commander in Jharkhand. Superintendent of Police (SP), Kuldeep Dwivedi, said extremist Vinod Manjhi was nabbed at his ancestral place in Giridih district after an intelligence input. Dwivedi alleged the Maoist leader was involved in killing of police officer and massacres.Maoists say they are fighting to give poor farmers and landless labourers control over their land and a greater claim on mineral wealth exploited by mining companies. They have killed police personnel and politicians and targeted government buildings and railway tracks in insurgent acts, killing thousands since the 1960s. Source:  http://www.aninews.in/videogallery2/40807-police-arrest-dreaded-maoist-commander-in-jharkhand.html

Three Maoist rebels killed in an encounter in Odisha

Malkangiri, August 01 (ANI): Three Maoist rebels, including two women cadres, were killed in a police encounter in the Malkangiri district of Odisha. Superintendent of Police (SP) Mitrabhanu Mohapatra was leading the police team, which also includes personnel of the district volunteer force (DVF). Two SLR rifles and an INSAS rifle have been recovered from the site of the encounter which was brought back to Malkangiri with 3 dead body of Maoist rebel. Based on the reports of an intelligence agency that a group of Maoists rebel was holding a meeting in a remote, forested area near Tandiki village in Chhattisgarh, the team led by the SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra reached the area and fired on the assembled Maoists, killing the three on the spot. Maoists say they are fighting to give poor farmers and landless labourers control over their land and a greater claim on mineral wealth exploited by mining companies. Source:  http://www.aninews.in/videogallery2/40827-three-maoist-rebels-killed-in-an-

Iraqi Kurds asks Kurdish Workers’ Party to ‘withdraw’ from territoryover Turkish airstrikes

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Kurds asks Kurdish Workers’ Party to ‘withdraw’ from territory over Turkish airstrikes. Source  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iraqi-kurds-asks-kurdish-workers-party-to-withdraw-from-territory-over-turkish-airstrikes/2015/08/01/943d9e0a-383e-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html

Some 260 PKK members killed in Turkey air strikes: Report

ISTANBUL: Around 260 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have been killed and hundreds more wounded in Ankara's week-long campaign of air strikes against targets of the group inside Turkey and in northern Iraq, the official   Anatolia  news agency said Saturday.  Without citing its sources, Anatolia said that among those wounded was Nurettin Demirtas, the brother of the leader of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas.  Ankara  has launched a two-pronged "anti-terror" offensive against Islamic State (IS) jihadists in  Syria  and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants after a wave of attacks inside the country. But so far the bombardments have focused far more on the Kurdish rebels.  In the latest air strikes on Friday, 28 Turkish F-16s destroyed 65 targets of the   PKK  including shelters and arms depots, it said.  The heaviest air strikes were on Thursday, when 80 Turkish aircraft hit 100 targets of the PKK, Anatolia s

25 Syria Rebels Killed in Failed Aleppo Attack: Monitor

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Beirut:   At least 25 Syrian rebels were killed in a failed attack on a makeshift army base outside the northern city of Aleppo, a monitoring group said on Saturday. Nine regime forces were also killed in fighting that erupted after several rebel groups launched the attack late Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Three senior rebel commanders were among 25 fighters killed, said the Britain-based monitor. Syria's official SANA news agency reported that "a number of terrorists were killed and wounded" by government forces in the west of the city. The Observatory said sporadic fighting was continuing on the western outskirts of Aleppo on Saturday morning, with regime planes carrying out air strikes and rebels firing rockets on loyalist positions. Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by fighting and divided between government control in the west and rebel control in the east since shortly after fighting began there in mid-2012.

ISIS trains four-year-old boy to shoot guns, hands sword to behead his own mother

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Representational Image  Representational Image London:  Adding to the list of atrocious stories that pour out of the refugee camps in Iraq, it has emerged that a four-year-old Yazidi boy was forced to join a terror camp where he was taught Quran, the Sharia, and even handed a sword to behead his mother. The  Daily Mail  reported that the child, youngest of four siblings was taught how to chop off people's head, shoot guns and hate his own people, at an age when most children around the world are just learning to read. It also quoted the child's mother saying that though her son was not forced to carry out the perverted act, she believed that if her son had stayed there any longer, he would have been forced to kill for ISIS. Speaking from a refugee camp in Dohuk, northern Iraq, the child's mother, Bohar (name changed) said that she and her three other children were captured by ISIS last August from south-east of Sinjar Mountain, and were imprisoned with 2,000 other Yazidis.

Taliban Deny Reports of Haqqani Network Founder's Death

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Chief of the Haqqani Network, Jalaluddin Haqqani. Kabul:   The Taliban Saturday denied reports of the death of the founder of Haqqani network, its allied militant group blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan. Some Pakistani media reported the death of Jalaluddin Haqqani, said to be in his 70s, on Friday when his son Sirajuddin was announced as one of the deputy chiefs of the Taliban following the death of its longtime leader Mullah Omar. "Some media outlets spread reports... about the death of a distinguished jihadi personality... Jalaluddin Haqqani," the Taliban said in a statement posted on their website. "This claim has no basis. Haqqani... was ill before but he has been blessed with good health for a prolonged period now and has no troubles currently." Haqqani's family also rejected rumours of his death, according to an Afghan Taliban commander who spoke to AFP from an undisclosed location in northwestern Pakistan. "I talked to his gran

Dreaded Islamic State linked terrorist killed in Egypt

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Islamic State militants File Photo The Egyptian army has killed one of the dreaded terrorists belonging to an  Islamic State  affiliated group in exchange of fire in restive North Sinai governorate, a senior military official said on Saturday.  Salim Soliman  Al-Haram  was killed in a fire exchange with military forces in Shiekh Zwayed when the army forces attacked his house, military spokesperson Brigadier General Mohamed Samir said. Al-Haram belonged to Ansar Beit el-Maqdes militant group which changed its name to Sinai Province after pledging allegiance to dreaded Islamic State terror outfit. Egypt's North Sinai has witnessed many violent attacks by militants since the January 2011 revolution that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak. The attacks targeting police and military increased after the ouster of Islamist ex-president  Mohamed Morsi  in 2013 by military following massive protests against his rule. Over 600 security personnel have been killed so far.The military has la

Indian Army finds cow bombs near border, Maoists hand suspected?

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Kolkata: Excitement was high in the Nayabasti area of Naxalbari,  Maoists hot-bed, where 100 cows were held near the border by the jawans of  Indian Army  after they saw stitches on their abdomen. Kolkata: Excitement was high in the Nayabasti area of Naxalbari,  Maoists hot-bed, where 100 cows were held near the border by the jawans of  Indian Army  after they saw stitches on their abdomen. While suspecting some foul play the Army personnels checked the cows with a metal detector. And what they found was really shocking...a 'Tick-tock! Tick-tock' sound was heard from all of them. Once the metal detector detected some strange sound from their stomach, the cows were taken to the nearest Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) camp. Around 4:30 pm near the Indo-Nepal border Friday, the security personnels of SSB held around 100 cows. Two smugglers were also held by them. Notably, the cows have a similar pattern of stitches to their stomachs. The cows will be x-rayed after been taken to the camp