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Showing posts from July 10, 2016

No Saudi link with 9/11 terror attacks says ’28 page’ report

US Congress has released the classified 28 pages of its report on 9/11 terror attacks. The secret report had for years given rise to speculations that whether the Saudi government had any role in the terror attacks  that killed 3000 people. According to the declassified report the  inquiry had not found anything to link Saudi authorities to the  terror attacks. But the report says the attackers might have got financial help from those who were residing in Saudi Arabia. “While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government” says the Congressional report. The panel completed its inquiry on the terror attacks in 2002, but withheld  28 pages of the report for 13 years. This raised the speculation about the content of the report. The relatives  of the victims  of the terror attacks have been campaigning for the release of  the 28 pages. They allege

Ahmadiyya Muslims call for unity in condemning Nice attack

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France has been in mourning since a man drove a lorry into crowds marking Bastille Day, killing 84 people Glasgow's Ahmadiyya Muslim community is asking faith and non-faith groups to unite in condemning the "barbaric" attack in Nice in which 84 people died. It is inviting all groups to "stand united against extremism and all forms of terrorism" by attending a dinner marking the end of Ramadan. A minute's silence will be observed for the Nice victims, their families and loved ones at the event. The Ahmadiyya community is known for its peaceful interfaith concerns. In April, it launched a campaign  promoting "peace, love and unity" following the death of Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah, who was a member of the Ahmadiyya community.  He died after an attack outside his shop on 24 March. Tanveer Ahmed, from Bradford, has  admitted murdering him . Asad Shah died after an attack outside his shop in March France has been in mourning sin

Andrew Coyne: A war that cannot necessarily be won, but must be foughtall the same

People mourn near the scene of an attack, the day after a truck mowed through revellers in Nice, France, Friday, July 15 After this week’s mass slaughter — they seem to arrive every few days now — the air was thick with declarations of martial resolve. “We are going to destroy this vile terrorist organization,” Barack Obama said. “We are at war with these terrorist groups,” said Hillary Clinton, promising to “look at all possible approaches” to “wage it and win it.” Donald Trump announced that if elected he would ask Congress for a declaration of “world war” (no, I don’t know what that means, either), while Newt Gingrich demanded the U.S. government interrogate every American of “Muslim background” as to their belief in Shariah law, and deport those who confessed. He did not specify where to. It is easy to agree that some approaches might be less workable than others. It is harder to acknowledge none of them might prevail, at least in the sense implied: of defeating

How Turkish media was raided during coup attempt

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CNN Turk Footage from CNN Turk shows the moment soldiers raided the broadcaster Soldiers have raided Turkish media as they tried to take over the country in a coup attempt in which at least 161 people have died. CNN Turk had its live broadcast shut down, while a journalist for state broadcaster TRT said she was made to read a statement by the coup plotters at gun point. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Gazetesi was also stormed by soldiers. More than 2,800 military personnel, including four generals, have since been arrested. The Turkish government says the attempted coup, in which 1,440 people were injured, is now over. Erdogan denounces Turkish coup attempt Read the latest live updates International reaction In pictures: Turkey coup attempt The coup attempt began on Friday evening when a section of the armed forces placed tanks in positions on key bridges in Istanbul, blocking them to traffic. Shortly after, the group released a statement saying that a "

Why did Turkish coup plot fail?

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Getty Images Soldiers involved in the coup eventually surrendered on the bridge over the Bosphorus For several hours on Friday night hundreds of Turkish soldiers appeared to have taken control of key areas of the main cities of Ankara and Istanbul. There was little sign of President Recep Erdogan as the plotters took over buildings and media outlets. They needed to secure the support of the public and especially the majority of the military. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim appeared to be leading resistance to the coup, but as most Turks know, it is President Erdogan who wields the power and has designs on extending it. If the coup was going to succeed, the conspirators had to keep him out of the picture and they were unable to do so. "I am the chief commander," he said later. Read the latest live updates Erdogan denounces coup attempt International reaction In pictures: Turkey coup attempt When the tide turned For hours it was unclear where President Erdogan was. Reports said

62 militants killed in a day in Afghanistan

KABUL: At least 62 militants were killed in a day in Afghanistan by security forces, who pressed on to clear out the terrorists in their latest operations in restive provinces, officials said on Friday. "Afghan National Security Forces conducted military operations in Nangarhar, Paktika, Wardak, Ghazni, Kandahar, Farah, Badakhshan, Takhar and Helmand provinces, killing 62 armed insurgents, wounding 28 and detaining two others," Xinhua news agency quoted the Defence Ministry as saying. Five local insurgent commanders were among the killed, the ministry added. The ANSF also seized weapons. Seven Afghan army personnel were also killed over the same period, officials said. Source http://m.timesofindia.com/world/62-militants-killed-in-a-day-in-Afghanistan/articleshow/53225049.cms

At least 300 killed in latest South Sudan violence: UN

GENEVA: At least 300 people have been killed in four days of intense gunbattles in the capital of South Sudan and 42,000 have fled the city, the UN said on Friday.  The recent violence in Juba echoed the fighting that triggered the civil war and marks a fresh blow to last year's peace deal to end the bitter conflict that began when President  Salva Kiir  accused ex-rebel and now Vice-President  Riek Machar  of plotting a coup.  "It's over 300 deaths since August 8," said World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic. The UN however said it did not have the number of injured.  The July 8-11 violence had left "42,000 internally displaced" in the world's youngest nation, said William Spindler, the spokesman for the UN refugee agency. "The number of refugees in neigbouring countries is now 835,000," he said.  However, the  International Organization for Migration  said many people were returning.  "Humanitarian access to affected peo

France and the Annals of Willful Blindness

By failing to take the jihadists’ ideology seriously, we refuse to understand the breadth of the threat we face. Well into year eight of Obama, with the prospect of years nine through twelve hanging heavy in the candidacy of Hillary Clinton, it feels like I write the same column every few weeks now.  How could it not? Fort Hood, Detroit, Times Square, Portland, Cairo, Benghazi, Boston, Garland, Paris, Chattanooga, Paris again, San Bernardino, Philadelphia, Brussels, Istanbul, Orlando, Istanbul again, Dhaka, and now, Nice.  Even if we leave out the more overt war zones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, Egypt, and Israel, the jihadist attacks targeting the West are coming in more rapid succession: iconic targets, dates of commemoration, diplomatic outposts, tourists, and citizens just going about their lives.  It is easy to grasp why this is the case. Willful blindness has metastasized from a dangerous dereliction of duty to a system of governance. Source http

Foreign and domestic policies make France 'most threatened country'

PARIS (Reuters) - After two militant attacks in Paris killed 17 people in January last year, Islamic State's French-language magazine Dar al-Islam appeared with the Eiffel Tower on the cover and the headline "May Allah curse France". France was struck again last November, with 130 dead in gun and bomb attacks in Paris, and now in Nice, where at least 84 people were killed by a truck that plowed through crowds after a fireworks display on Thursday evening. "Terrorism ... is a threat that weighs heavily on France and will continue doing so for a long time," Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Friday while vowing Paris would fight back. France's counter-terrorism chief Patrick Calvar said as much to a parliamentary committee last May, when the main fear was about security for the Euro 2016 football championship this summer. In the end that tournament went off without any major incident. "Today, France is clearly the most threatened country,&qu

US, Russia discuss need to “increase pressure” against ISIS and Nusrain Syria

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian President Vladimir Putin. AP file photo. ERBIL, Kurdistan Region— US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin for three hours on Thursday, reportedly to discuss the prospect of coordinating militarily in Syria in the future.  “The two discussed the need to increase pressure on terrorist groups like Daesh [Islamic State] and the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra,” John Kirby, the spokesman for the US State Department, told reporters.  The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, said that military coordination was not discussed during the meeting “A lot of questions remain regarding real interaction on implementing operation in Syria,” he told reporters.   The Washington Post has published this proposal which says the US will agree to work with the Russian military in Syria against the Jabhat al-Nusra group provided the Russians tell the Syrian regime to stop bombing certain area

Pentagon: Past Reports misled us about Shishani’s death

The Pentagon admitted Thursday that Daesh’s war minister was not killed in March, contradicting intelligence reports at the time. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters at a press briefing that Omar al-Shishani was again targeted July 10 at a meeting with 16 other Daesh leaders near Mosul. Cook was cautious this time, noting that the department is still working to confirm Shishani’s death. The Pentagon announced in March that Shishani was killed in the northeastern Syrian town of Shadadi and officials, including defense chief Ash Carter, on several occasions touted the targeting of Shishani as a significant success of the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition effort.  Pressed to explain how the Pentagon declared Shishani’s death in March if in fact he was not dead, Cook said intelligence pictures were misleading. “The intelligence that we had at the time led us to believe that he had been killed,” Cook said. “We recognized at that time that our intelligence picture was incomplete.” He de

ISIS confirms death of top commander Omar al-Shishani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Islamic State (ISIS) has confirmed reports from March that Omar al-Shishani (the Chechen) one of its top military commanders has been killed. However they claim, contrary to the original reports, he was killed this week fighting south of Mosul in Iraq – not in Syria months ago.   On Wednesday the ISIS mouthpiece media outlet, Amaq, reported that Shishani was “martyred” fighting in the Iraqi city of Shirqat, just south of Mosul.  This directly contradicts reports by the high-level US officials and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group who both said he had been mortally wounded by an American airstrike in Syria and died a few days later.  The Pentagon, at the time confirmed these reports. Now they are neither confirming or denying ISIS’s latest claim that Shishani has just been killed in Iraq.  Rami Abdulrahman of the Syrian Observatory told Reuters that ISIS likely stalled announcing the death in order to organize Shishani’s successor, sayin

Why is there a coup happening in Turkey?

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CHAOTIC SCENES FROM Turkey are being broadcast across the world tonight as the military launched a full-scale coup. The Turkish military says that it “has taken over” and installed martial law in its bid to overthrow the democratically-elected government. At the same time, Associated Press is quoting a senior government official who says that the coup has already been unsuccessful. This is the third coup since Turkey was created as a modern state in 1923. Why is this happening?  TheJournal.ie  takes a look at the historical and political background that has led us to here. What is happening right now? Source: Emrah Gurel One expert has described tonight’s events as a “20th-century coup taking place in the 21st-century,” as the Turkish military appears to have systematically targeted transport, communication, and the state broadcaster in its attempt to overthrow the government. Events have unfolded quickly since initial reports of military operations in Ankara and Istanbul began to surf