Posts

Showing posts from June 21, 2020

Russia Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill US Troops: NY Times Report

US troops wait for their helicopter flight at an Afghan National Army (ANA) base in Logar province, Afghanistan August 7, 2018. (Reuters) A Russian military intelligence unit linked to assassination attempts in Europe had offered rewards for successful attacks last year, according to the newspaper. US intelligence has concluded that the Russian military offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants in Afghanistan to kill American troops and other coalition forces, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing officials briefed on the matter. A Russian military intelligence unit linked to assassination attempts in Europe had offered rewards for successful attacks last year, according to the newspaper. It said Islamist militants, or armed criminal elements closely associated with them, are believed to have collected some bounty money. "This primitive informational dump clearly demonstrat

Satellite Images Show Iran Blast Struck by Suspected Missile Site in Eastern Mountains

Image
Photo from the European Commission's Sentinel-2 satellite shows the site of an explosion that rattled Iran’s capital. (European Commission via AP) The blast shook homes, rattled windows and lit up the horizon early Friday in the Alborz Mountains. State TV later aired a segment from what it described as the site of the blast. An explosion that rattled Iran’s capital came from an area in its eastern mountains that analysts believe hides an underground tunnel system and missile production sites, satellite photographs showed Saturday. What exploded in the incident early Friday that sent a massive fireball into the sky near Tehran remains unclear, as does the cause of the blast. The unusual response of the Iranian government in the aftermath of the explosion, however, underscores the sensitive nature of an area near where international inspectors believe the Islamic Republic

2 Gaza Rockets Fired at Israel, IDF Attacks Hamas Targets in Response

In response, Israeli aircraft attacked two military facilities for Hamas, the Islamic group ruling Gaza. The Israeli military said Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired two rockets into southern Israel late Friday, shattering months of near-total calm. In response, Israeli aircraft attacked two military facilities for Hamas, the Islamic group ruling Gaza. There were no reports of injuries in either incident and no Palestinian militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. The rockets, which hit in opens areas of Israel, were fired a day after Hamas warned of violence over Israeli plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military said the airstrikes will impede" Hamas' future abilities. Tensions are simmering in the Palestinian territories over Israel's annexation plans for the West Bank, including the strategically important Jordan Valley. The annexation would effectively dash Palestinian h

2 Afghan Human Rights Workers Killed in Bomb Blast in Kabul

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. A Taliban spokesman denied the group was involved. A bomb attached to a vehicle killed two members of Afghanistan's independent human rights commission in Kabul on Saturday, the group said, as violence in the country rises despite a U.S.-brokered peace process. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said in a statement that 24-year-old donor coordinator Fatima Khalil and 41-year-old driver Ahmad Jawed Folad were killed by an explosive device while in an AIHRC vehicle on the way to its office on Saturday. "It is intolerable, assassinating human rights defenders is a war crime in the context of armed conflict," the AIHRC said, adding that staff had previously been the target of attacks. Kabul's police spokesman confirmed that two people died in a blast early on Saturday. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. A Taliban spokesman denied the group was involved. It

Hyper-violent Jalisco Cartel Tied to Brazen Ambush Meant to Kill Mexico City Police Chief

The attackers used grenades and a .50-caliber sniper rifle to assault the chief's armored vehicle early Friday and killed two of the his bodyguards and a woman driving by. Police chief Omar García Harfuch was shot in the shoulder, collar bone and the knee but was reported out of danger. Dozens of gunmen believed tied to the hyper-violent Jalisco New Generation Cartel deployed for a complex, multi-point dawn ambush meant to kill Mexico City's police chief, unleashing one of the most brazen attacks in Mexico since the equally ruthless Zetas carved a path of terror across the country nearly a decade ago. The attackers used grenades and a .50-caliber sniper rifle to assault the chief's armored vehicle early Friday and killed two of the his bodyguards and a woman driving by. Police chief Omar García Harfuch was shot in the shoulder, collar bone and the knee but was reported out of danger. He called the attack “cowardly” and blamed it on the Ja

4 Suspected Rohingya Members Involved in Kidnapping, Killed In Gunfight With B'desh Police

The gunfight took place Friday when a team of security officials was searching for the gang leader in a forest near the Rohingya camps at Cox's Bazar, said police Inspector Pradeep Kumar Das. Four suspected members of a Rohingya group allegedly involved in kidnapping for ransom were killed in a gunfight with Bangladeshi police near the sprawling refugee camps where refugees from Myanmar live, officials said. The gunfight took place Friday when a team of security officials was searching for the gang leader in a forest near the Rohingya camps at Cox's Bazar, said police Inspector Pradeep Kumar Das. Another inspector, Morzina Akhter, said the suspects opened fire at police, sparking the gunfight that led to their deaths. Police also recovered about 40,000 drug pills and locally made guns, he said. According to authorities and local media reports, the gang led by Abdul Hakim has kidnapped many locals for ransom and killed those whose families fail

20 US Senators Seek Emergency Refugee Protection for Afghan Sikhs, Hindus

The senators called on the State Department to prioritise resettlement opportunities under the US Refugee Admissions Program allocation ceilings for Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities. As many as 20 US senators have urged the Trump administration to grant emergency refugee protection to Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan facing persecution as religious minorities. In a bipartisan letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the senators called on the State Department to prioritise resettlement opportunities under the US Refugee Admissions Program allocation ceilings for Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities. The population of Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan have plummeted markedly due to years of persecution by the Taliban and more recent terrorist actions perpetrated by ISIS Khorasan (ISIS-K), they said. This Administration has repeatedly highlighted protecting religious freedom as a top foreign policy priority, the senators wrote. Sikh

Who Guards the ‘Maritime Silk Road’?

As China expands its global maritime interests, all eyes are on its navy. But Western policymakers concerned over China’s military capabilities and expanding geopolitical role are missing another security solution altogether: Chinese private maritime security companies. Little is known about them, though it appears that the few companies with a public web presence primarily operate across the Indo-Pacific, recruit Chinese military veterans and foreigners alike, and offer a range of armed and unarmed vessel protection services. The foreign companies traditionally dominating this industry, such as  G4S , are reportedly  losing some of their appeal , with Chinese companies that operate abroad in search of more affordable services and a better cultural fit. By offering services to protect what China calls the Maritime Silk Road, Chinese private maritime security companies stand to capitalize on business opportunities that are “on brand” with Chinese government interests. But it is clear th

Mexico City Police Chief Shot, Injured in Assassination Attempt

Image
MEXICO CITY - Mexico City's chief of police was shot and injured in an assassination attempt early Friday morning when gunmen set upon him in an upscale neighborhood of the capital, killing two of his bodyguards, authorities said.  Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on Twitter that public security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch was "out of danger" following the attack at around 6.30 a.m., which shocked residents of the Lomas de Chapultepec area of the city.  Police officers arrive at the area where a shooting took place in Mexico City, Mexico, June 26, 2020. An unspecified number of people had died, Sheinbaum added, without giving details. A Mexico City official said two of Garcia's police escorts were killed in the incident and that the police chief sustained three bullet wounds.  Separately, Ernestina Godoy, attorney general of Mexico City, said 12 people had been arrested.  Speaking at a regular government news conference, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador att

2.4 million children in Yemen could go malnourished amid pandemic: UNICEF

Image
The United Nations children’s agency, UNICEF, has warned that the shortage of humanitarian assistance amid the coronavirus pandemic threatens to push more children in Yemen to the brink of starvation. The UNICEF reported on Friday that the number of malnourished children in Yemen could increase to 2.4 million by the end of the year, which would be equivalent to nearly half of all Yemeni children under the age of five. The UNICEF report “Yemen five years on: Children, conflict and COVID-19” added that as the country’s “devastated health system and infrastructure overall struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, the already dire situation for children is likely to deteriorate considerably.” “If we do not receive urgent funding, children will be pushed to the brink of starvation and many will die,” UNICEF Yemen representative Sara Beysolow Nyanti said. “We cannot overstate the scale of this emergency.” Yemen was turned into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis after S

Pakistan Sentences 5 Men for al-Qaida Links while PM calls Osama Martyr in the senate

ISLAMABAD - A court in Pakistan Friday convicted and sentenced five men for being members of al-Qaida and supporting terrorism. A statement by the counter terrorism department of Punjab province said the court in Gujranwala city found the men guilty of terrorism financing, possessing explosives, membership in a proscribed organization, and possessing literature of a proscribed organization.  Each of the men has been sentenced to 16 years imprisonment along with financial penalties. Their personal property has also been confiscated according to the statement issued by CTD Punjab.  The men, Abdullah Umair, Ahmadur Rehman, Asim Akbar Saeed, Muhammad Yaqoob, and Muhammad Yousaf, were arrested in Gujranwala, around 75 km north of Lahore, in December of 2019. At the time the statement said they were preparing to carry out a terrorist attack.   According to Pakistan’s English daily Dawn newspaper, the men were running a media cell of al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, the local chapter of a

Narco Terrorism: Thailand, Myanmar Burn More Than $2 Billion in Seized Drugs

Image
Authorities in Myanmar and Thailand say they destroyed more than $2 billion in seized illegal drugs Friday to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.  In Bangkok and in Thailand's Ayutthaya province to the north, government officials incinerated 25 tons of confiscated drugs, including methamphetamine, "ice," ecstasy, cocaine and heroin.  National Police Lieutenant General Wisanu Prasarthong-osoth told the Reuters news agency drug dealers have not let the COVID-19 lockdown slow them down. He said they have resorted to sending drugs through the mail and other parcel delivery services. Policemen wearing personal protective equipment guard seized illegal drugs before burning them during a destruction ceremony to mark International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking outside Yangon, Myanmar, June 26, 2020. In Myanmar's capital, Yangon, the national police force burned $144 million worth of seized drugs. Confiscated drug stockpiles

Yemeni forces to strike strategic targets deeper inside Saudi Arabia: Top Houthi official

Image
Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement has praised the latest retaliatory missile and drone strikes on strategic sites deep inside Saudi Arabia, saying Yemen's army forces and allies are planning to hit more targets in reprisal for the kingdom's war on the impoverished nation. “A number of Yemen's strategic goals were achieved during the operation [dubbed the Fourth Deterrent Balance Operation]. Several others will soon be attained,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of Ansarullah's political bureau, said in an  exclusive interview  with Arabic-language al-Alam television news network on Thursday night. He added, “What distinguishes the recent Yemeni military offensive from the previous ones is the high number of missiles used in the operation, as well as the sensitive targets struck.” Yemen on latest raid: All missiles, drones hit intended targets in Saudi Arabia An official from Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement says all missiles and drones used the army’s latest ra