Terrorism Watch

  Harris’s remarks came during her meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that lasted over an hour and “reflected warmth and cordiality”. US Vice-President Kamala Harris on Thursday called upon Pakistan to act against terrorist groups operating from its soil to ensure they do not threaten the security of both the United States and India and underscored the need to closely monitor Islamabad’s support for terrorism. Harris’s remarks came during her meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that lasted over an hour and “reflected warmth and cordiality”. She accepted Modi’s invitation to visit India and said she had wanted to “go back”, reminiscing about her earlier visits and the time she spent there. The meeting with Harris was politically important for the Indian prime minister because Harris, a leading progressive in the Democratic party, had been severely critical of the Modi government’s controversial decision to abrogate Article 370 guaranteeing special status of er

  A blast rocked Jalalabad city, the capital of Nangarhar Province in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties, local media said. The explosive device was placed in a flower vase and went off on a street during morning rush hour, the reports said. Source:  https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-09-25/Blast-rocks-Afghanistan-s-eastern-Jalalabad-city-13QiZSQs3gQ/index.html

  Rwanda's President Paul Kagame on Friday began a two-day visit to Mozambique's insurgent-hit north, where he has sent 1,000 troops to help local soldiers fight jihadist militants. Rwanda in July was the first of several African countries to provide reinforcements to Mozambique's army, overwhelmed by an insurgency in its gas-rich Cabo Delgado province linked to the Islamic State. Kagame landed in the provincial capital Pemba on Friday morning, the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency tweeted in the Kinyarwanda language. One of the activities planned during his two-day visit will be meeting the armed forces and police "sent to Cabo Delgado to restore peace", it added. Foreign forces have helped Mozambique regain ground since militants launched a coordinated assault on the port town of Palma in March, offsetting multi-billion-dollar gas projects and raising international concern. Alongside Rwanda, members of the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc ha

Isis fighters parade in a commandeered Iraqi security forces armored vehicle in 2014. Groups linked to Isis and al-Qaeda are seen as among the most serious terror threats in Southeast Asia.  In Indonesia and the southern Philippines, security agencies are most concerned by groups linked to al-Qaeda and Isis In Malaysia, however, an official has warned that religious and ethnically motivated violent extremism is the most significant danger the country faces A senior Malaysian counterterrorism official has warned that religious and ethnically motivated violent extremism is the most significant terrorism-related danger the country faces, while Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore are most concerned by groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State (Isis). The comments from officials and analysts came as This Week in Asia asked security agencies in the region about the most serious terror threats they faced 20 years after September 11. The response from Malaysia was starkly different, an

NEW DELHI: Amid fears that the Taliban group in Afghanistan may turn to  cryptocurrencies  as a way to finance its operations, digital currency exchange platform Coinbase has said that transactions associated with terrorist financing in 2020 made up less than 0.05% of all illicit volume in crypto. Moreover, illicit activity represented far less than 1% of all activity in the crypto space in 2020.   “While the industry has come a long way since Satoshidice, Mt. Gox and the Silk Road, illicit activity has dwindled but not fully ceased. However, representing far less than 1% of all activity in the crypto space in 2020, illicit activity is no more of a concern for the crypto-economy than it is for the traditional financial system," Coinbase wrote in a blog on Medium, publishing the findings of an analysis conducted by its special investigations team. The analysis focused on the largest terrorist financing-related organizations’ fundraising efforts over the past few years. “Assessing t

  The Kabul airport blast in August and the subsequent explosions in many places in Afghanistan prove that the Islamic State is using the Taliban's tactic to attack the new government in Afghanistan. A Reuters   report analysed   the recent attacks  and said that though the Taliban are underplaying the threat from the ISIS-Khorasan, the danger is real. The report said that the attackers used the same tactic the Taliban once used - pasting sticky bombs to the underside of the cars. This was the Taliban's operation style and using this they attacked officials and civil society figures. "We are worried about these sticky bombs that once we used to apply to target our enemies in Kabul. We are concerned about our leadership as they could target them if not controlled them successfully," one of the Taliban intelligence officials told Reuters. While the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan has apparently bolstered groups like ISIS-K and al Qaeda, ISIS-K is now a thr

  ZAMBOANGA CITY : Security forces killed an alleged   Abu Sayyaf   financier in a firefight in Luuk town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, the military's 4th   Civil Relations Group   said on Monday. The military said policemen, backed by soldiers, were trying to arrest Aldair Makumbong in his hideout in the village of Niog-Niog on Friday, September 17, when he opened fire on security forces, igniting a gun fight that eventually killed him. It was unknown why the report was only released yesterday. "The subject of the arrest warrant fired at the approaching government forces prompting the latter to retaliate in defense of themselves. The firefight lasted for several minutes, which resulted in the neutralization of Aldasir Makumbong," the 4th Civil Relations Group said. It said troops also recovered the dead man's rifle, ammunition and a box containing dried marijuana leaves Makumbong was also the prime suspect in the killing of a businesswoman in Zamboanga

This is the second infiltration bid in the last one week in Uri sector after five-day combing operation was called off. This was disclosed in a joint press conference of the Army and police by GOC 15 Corps Lieutenant General D P Pandey.  Pandey said, "Today morning, alert troops spotted a group of infiltrators in the Hathlanga area of Uri sector. They were challenged and three militants were killed. The September 18 bid was foiled and the militants were pushed back."  The Commanding Officer of the operation, while briefing the media men through video-conferencing said, "Today morning, army spotted a group of militants in Hathlanga area of Uri at 6 am. Surveillance was enhanced and the group was challenged. Three militants were killed after a brief exchange of fire." Further, he said that the three killed  terrorists  were carrying huge quantity of arms and ammunition that included five AK-47 riffles, seven pistols, 5 AK magazines, 24 UBGl grenades, 38 Chinese grenad

The UK government is facing a rising backlash over its refusal to recognize visitors as vaccinated unless they received their shots in a handful of select countries. Under  travel rules  unveiled last week, fully dosed arrivals from nations such as the US, Israel and Australia will be allowed to enter England without quarantine starting Oct. 4. But vaccinated people from vast swathes of the world still face tougher restrictions, including a 10-day home isolation period. The measure applies even if the visitor has had a vaccine approved and used in the U.K., such as the Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE version or the shot produced by AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford University. It doesn't matter whether the country is on the "red list" of those facing additional restrictions on entry or not. "The stance by the U.K. smacks of a colonialist mentality which should be condemned in the strongest terms," said Shabir Madhi, a vaccinologist at Johannesburg's University of the Witwa

  With PM Modi's first in-person bilateral meeting with the United States President Joe Biden in Washington this week, expect a surge in Modiphobia and Hinduphobia.   I'm not a Hindu but never cease to be astonished at the venom certain Hindus spew at Hinduism.  In a liberal democracy, self-criticism is an asset, not a liability. But Hinduphobia is not self-criticism. It is an extreme, anarchic form of hate.  The online conference "Dismantling Global Hindutva" would have deserved little or no attention but for its attempt to mainstream anti-Hinduism.  Had Ivy League universities in the US allowed their forums to be used to advocate "dismantling" Islam or Christianity through such a conference, it would have been shut down before the first phobic speaker clambered onto the lectern.  The same vicious abuse directed at Jews or Muslims would be termed unacceptably anti-Semitic or Islamophobic, punishable by applicable local laws. Civil society, academia, politic

  The man the U.S. and its allies hoped would be a moderate voice in Afghanistan's Taliban government has been sidelined after a dramatic shootout in the presidential palace in Kabul, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group's most public face who led peace talks with the U.S., was physically attacked by a leader of the U.S. terrorist-designated Haqqani Network in early September during talks at the palace over forming the cabinet, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing the incident. Baradar had pushed for an "inclusive" cabinet that included non-Taliban leaders and ethnic minorities, which would be more acceptable to the rest of the world, the people said. At one point during the meeting, Khalil ul Rahman Haqqani rose from his chair and began punching the Taliban leader. Their bodyguards entered the fray and opened fire on each other, killing and wounding a number of them, the people said. While Baradar

  As the global COVID-19 situation continues to evolve the UK had recently come out with an updated system to regulate travellers coming to the country. And while India's Covishield vaccine is based on the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 jab, this was not recognised by the western nation.   Now, a day after the new policy sparked controversy, the western nation says that it is now working to recognise the made-in-India Covishield jab. Despite the concession however, the UK government has reportedly raised questions about vaccination certification. "Formulations of the four listed vaccines, such as AstraZeneca Covishield, AstraZeneca Vaxzevria and Modern Takeda, qualify as approved vaccines," the updated guidelines explain. As per the original rules, Indians vaccinated with the the Serum Institute of India produced Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine were being considered 'unvaccinated' in the UK. Thus, upon entry, they would have to undergo relevant restrictions and quarantine

  Attackers struck Taliban vehicles in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, witnesses said, killing at least two fighters and three civilians in the latest violence since the group's takeover of the country in mid-August. In one attack, gunmen opened fire on a Taliban vehicle at a local gas station in the provincial capital of Jalalabad, killing two fighters and a gas station attendant, witnesses said. A child was also killed, they added. Another child was killed and two Taliban were wounded in a separate attack — a bombing of another vehicle. Another bombing of a Taliban vehicle in Jalalabad also wounded a person nearby, although it was unclear if that person was a Taliban official or not. ALSO READ |  US not seeking 'new Cold War', says President Joe Biden at UNGA amid tensions with China The witnesses spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. NO ONE CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY No one claimed immediate responsibility for Wednesday's attacks, although the Is

  The hypocrisy and racism in the ‘rules-based international order’ that the West likes to champion have been laid bare by the Covid-19 pandemic. After racist Western media coverage and the selfish behavior of Western governments in hoarding vaccines, we are now seeing   double standards   in travel policies. As per the new Covid-related  travel rules  in the United Kingdom,  fully jabbed Bharatiya citizens will be considered unvaccinated in the country  and will have to undergo 10 days of  quarantine . They also have to undergo a pre-departure Covid-19 test within the three days before the travel date, and after arrival in the UK take a Covid-19 test on or before day two and on or after day eight. This is what the UK considers fully vaccinated –  vaccinated under an approved vaccination programme in the UK, Europe, USA or UK vaccine programme overseas vaccinated with a full course of the Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer BioNTech, Moderna or Janssen vaccines from a relevant public health bod

  With the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, locals now fear children and youngsters will be forcibly recruited into terrorism. The issue has already been raised by the United Nations, with High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urging the Human Rights Council to take bold actions after the Taliban's return to power raised fears over brutal rule previously enforced when they were in power, reported International Forum for Right and Security (IFFRAS). Under the Taliban's previous regime, thousands of Afghans under the age of 18 were enrolled in terrorist groups, the recruitment process forced than voluntary. Human rights bodies reported at that time: "They were first ' brainwashed', then given training on the handling of weapons, and finally sent to war. Certain children, barely 6 years of age, were even used as child suicide bombers." The United Nations tried to retaliate by ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994 that