July 2008

Suicide bomber kills policeman in Yemen

One policeman was killed and 17 people were wounded when a suicide bomber in a car detonated his device outside a police headquarters in the east Yemen town of Sayun on Friday, local police said. A police official blamed "extremist terrorists who use Islam as a cover" for the attack, which he said targeted a compound housing the Central Security and General Security networks, the Saba state news agency reported. The official, who was not named, said 11 policemen and six women were wounded, adding that the explosion damaged neighbouring houses. The driver of the booby-trapped vehicle had not been identified and was "torn into pieces" by the blast, Saba said earlier quoting another unnamed police official. Sayun, in the heart of Hadramut province, is 700 kilometres (430 miles) east of the capital Sanaa, and is known for its mud-brick architecture.

The attack was claimed by a little-known Islamist radical group, the Organisation of Islamic Jihad in Yemen. (AFP, 25 July 08)

Norway increases security after attack on refugee camp

Norwegian police and immigration authorities have increased security at a refugee center following a mass attack - allegedly involving Chechens armed with steel rods, knives and other weapons - that left more than 20 asylum-seekers injured. Police Superintendent Per Tore Fremstad called Thursday's episode a "wave attack" in which 40 to 50 armed men climbed a fence around the center in Vaaler, about 30 miles, or 50 kilometers, south of Oslo. He said the attackers, apparently from around the region, swarmed the building at 9:45 p.m. and "began hitting out at people almost randomly." More than 20 refugees were taken to local hospitals, including one with a broken arm and another with a skull fracture. (Int’l Herald Tribune, 25 July 08)

Terrorism hits India's high-tech hub

Whatever the motivations were for the apparent terrorists who exploded a series of small bombs in India's high-tech hub Bangalore earlier Friday, one thing they're not likely to succeed in doing is slowing that city's progress. As Om Malik notes, residents of several cities in India have grown accustomed to terrorist attacks (Reuters has an account of the explosions that appear to have killed at least one person and injured many more.). They are a terrible part of life in a country that has struggled with extremism in various forms.

Bangalore, of course, is of particular interest to the tech industry. In addition to the large Indian outsourcing companies and smaller software outfits headquartered there, American companies such as Intel and Texas Instruments also have major offices in the city. (CNET, 25 July 08)

Pro-Taliban militants kill two "U.S. spies" in Pakistan

Two tribesmen accused of spying for the U.S. forces in neighboring Afghanistan have been shot dead Wednesday by alleged pro-Taliban militants, media reports said. The incident occurred in the border village of Lowaa Mandi in North Waziristan tribal district, a known hotbed of Al-Qaida and Taliban militants. A note left on the bodies, said that the two men were spying for U.S. forces. "All those spying for the U.S. will suffer the same fate," it said. In recent months, several tribesmen, accused of spying for the U.S-led coalition forces across the border, have been killed by militants in the tribal region. (RTTNews, 23 July 08)

Bulldozer drive rampages in copycat attack, injuring 24

A bulldozer driver went on a rampage in central Jerusalem yesterday for the second time this month, injuring 24 people, one of them fairly seriously. Bulldozer driver Ghassan Abu-Tir, 22, of East Jerusalem, was shot to death by a civilian and a Border Police officer who were on the scene. The rampage was reminiscent of the attack on Jerusalem's Jaffa Road three weeks ago, which left three people dead. Investigators say that Abu-Tir left a construction site in the Yemin Moshe neighborhood around 2 P.M., in order to crush vehicles and passersby. He came down Washington Street and turned onto King David Street, close to the Kind David Hotel. (Ha’aretz, 23 July 08)

Bulldozer driver injures sixteen in Jerusalem

A Palestinian man drove an earth-moving vehicle into cars and a bus on a busy Jerusalem street Tuesday afternoon, injuring 16 people -- one seriously -- before being shot to death by an Israeli reservist and a border police officer. The apparently deliberate attack near Liberty Bell Park unfolded about 150 yards down King David Street from the King David Hotel, where Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is scheduled to arrive later Tuesday for the Israel portion of his Mideast-European trip. It eerily mirrored an incident three weeks ago in which a Palestinian construction worker went on a rampage with another earthmover, killing three and injuring more than 40. (Washington Post, 22 July 08)

Three killed in attacks in Thai Muslim south

Separatist militants in Thailand's Muslim deep south have killed three Thais, including two security officers, in a spate of violence days after an unknown rebel group announced a "ceasefire". One soldier was killed and five wounded on Tuesday when their patrol was ambushed in the southern province of Narathiwat, one of three provinces where a four-year-old insurgency has killed more than 3,000 people. Gunmen fired on the 12-man patrol after setting off a large roadside bomb, police said. (Reuters, 22 July 08)

Young Israeli severely beaten in terrorist attack

A young Israeli security guard at a small railway station in northern Israel was severely beaten late last week in what police are now classifying as a terrorist act. The 20-year-old victim told Israel National News that he was standing guard at his post when a group of young Arab men descended on him and struck him in the face. The assailants then demanded the guard hand over his weapon, but upon learning that he was unarmed continued with their brutal attack. The young Israeli managed to drag himself to a nearby Israeli navy base after the Arabs left. The victim remains hospitalized with fractured bones and internal bleeding. Police officials said the fact that neither the guard nor the guard station were robbed is evidence that the assailants' primary focus was stealing a weapon with which to perpetrate further acts of terror. (Israel Today, 22 July 08)

6 civilians killed in Afghan attack on fuel truck

A provincial official says an insurgent attack on a fuel truck has killed six civilians in eastern Afghanistan.  The official, Abdul Wakil Atak, says the truck was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by insurgents in Laghman province on Sunday…..(AP, 21 Jul 08)

Insurgent clashes in Pakistan kill 36: officials

At least six Pakistani paramilitary troops and 30 separatist rebels have been killed in clashes in the troubled southwestern province of Baluchistan, security officials said on Monday. Security forces launched a major operation against rebel camps in the gas- and mineral-rich province after a convoy of Frontier Corps soldiers came under attack on Saturday, the officials said. Troops also arrested 30 militants and destroyed two insurgent bases used for plotting attacks in the operation near Uch…..(AFP, 21 Jul 08)

Militants blow up house of MP''s mother

Unknown militants blew up the house of MP Mithal Al-Alosi's mother at Al-Jamea neighborhood, western Baghdad, but the house was said to be empty at the time.  Al-Alosi has been leading a campaign calling for the return of Iraqi displaced families to their homes in the suburbs of western Baghdad, including Al-Jamea neighborhood…..(KUNA, 21 Jul 08)

Taliban Threaten to Kill Officials Held Hostage

The Pakistani Taliban have taken dozens of hostages, including police officers, paramilitary fighters and even state bank officials, and threatened on Friday to begin killing them unless the government released four of their comrades captured last week.  The standoff has grown into one of the most serious recent challenges to the government’s resolve to curb the militants’ rapid expansion. The threat comes just 10 days before Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House……(New York Times, 19 Jul 08)

Afghans free journalist who took execution pics

An Afghan journalist who contributes to The Associated Press was freed Friday after his pictures and video footage of two women brazenly executed by the Taliban led intelligence officials to hold him for questioning for two days. Rahmatullah Naikzad confirmed that authorities had released him, saying he was "fine," and that he'd been let go in time to attend a family funeral. Naikzad's pictures and footage of the slain women in central Ghazni province, a few hours outside of the capital, were aired internationally and in Afghanistan, prompting widespread anger in Afghanistan over the killings…..(AP, 19 Jul 08)

Kidnappers of Britons in Iraq claim victim died: video statement

The group that kidnapped five Britons in Iraq in May 2007 claimed one of the victims has committed suicide, in a video statement released to The Sunday Times. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who paid a surprise visit to British troops in Iraq Saturday, described the reports as "distressing" and called for the hostages' immediate and unconditional release.  A Foreign Office spokewoman said the ministry had no "independent verification of the claims in this video"…..(AFP, 20 Jul 08)

Explosions Rock Buses in Southwest China, Two Killed

Two explosions on separate buses during Monday morning's rush hour killed at least two people and left 14 others injured in downtown Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan province, according to local public security bureau. Police preliminarily ruled the blasts to be deliberate, making them the first clear-cut acts of intentional violence against civilians in China this summer, something Beijing has feared might happen as it prepares to host the Olympic Games next month……..(Washington Post, 21 Jul 08)

Suspected insurgents shoot worker in Yala

Shooting in the restive South continued Friday, a day after three Muslim men claiming to be leaders of separatist insurgent groups in the far South announced a ceasefire in a video screened on Channel 5. The victim, identified as Somporn Kaewmanee, 27, was shot in the morning when he was working in a rubber plantation in Yala province……(Bangkok Post, 18 Jul 08)

Gunmen kill Somali elders aiding refugees

Gunmen shot dead three Somali elders on Friday who were helping local aid workers distribute food in a refugee camp outside Mogadishu, witnesses said. The shooting, by unknown men, appeared to be the latest deliberate attack on humanitarian efforts in the Horn of Africa nation where an Islamist-led insurgency is raging and more than one million people live as internal refugees. Witness Abdikafi Hassan said one of the elders died on the spot, while the other two passed away in hospital…….(Reuters, 18 Jul 08)

Pak-based rebels kill 36 in Kashmir blast

At least 36 people were injured Friday in a grenade explosion triggered by Pakistan-based insurgents in a market in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. The explosion occurred this afternoon in Banihal town in Jammu and Kashmircs Doda district and most of the injured were either women and children, Indo Asian News Service reported, quoting a police official. The grenade was targeted at a patrol party of the Indian key paramilitary unit -- Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)……(KUNA, 18 Jul 08)

Police: 4 Afghan security guards killed

Police say a roadside bomb and a militant attack have killed four private Afghan security guards in the country's insurgency-wracked south. Helmand provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal says the roadside blast occurred around 6 a.m. Friday in the province's Nava district. Three guards were killed and four wounded…..(AP, 18 Jul 08)

'Mass grave' found in Sri Lanka

…Reports from Batticaloa district say that a group digging a well came across the remains of about 20 people, with spent cartridges scattered among them.  There were also lengths of cloth that may have been used to tie up the victims before their death…….(BBC, 17 Jul 08)

13 Killed in Clashes

At least 13 people were killed during Tuesday clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu and a regional town of Berdale, Radio Garowe reported today. In Mogadishu, Islamist insurgents attacked a police station and engaged officers in a fierce battle that killed at least 6 people and wounded 7 others,…..(Garowe, 17 Jul 08)

Nigeria military: pre-dawn explosion damages Eni pipeline

Nigeria's military says an oil pipeline has been damaged by a pre-dawn explosion. Col. Chris Musa, the head of the Bayelsa State military, says Thursday's blast "affected output" on the pipeline owned by Agip, a subsidiary of the Italian energy giant Eni SpA. He did not say how much oil output decreased or how severe the damage was……(AP, 17 Jul  08)

Swat Taliban want colleagues freed before more talks

Swat-based Taliban said on Tuesday that talks with the NWFP government would be resumed only after the release of their colleagues and withdrawal of cases against them. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told journalists that the provincial government should release 40 detained militants, a promise made in the peace agreement. He said their agreement with the government remains intact, while only negotiations have been postponed. Also on Tuesday, unidentified armed men kidnapped two policemen in the Guli Bagh area of Swat. ……(Daily Times, 16 Jul 08)

Bicycle bomb wounds 11 in southwest Pakistan

A bomb planted on a bicycle wounded 11 people, including five paramilitary soldiers, in a southwest Pakistani town where separatist rebels have long been active.  The bomb was detonated as a truck carrying paramilitary troops passed through a market area of Mastung, a town about 50 km (30 miles) southeast of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province…..(Reuters, 16 Jul 08)

Three Somalia Soldiers, One Insurgent Killed in Mogadishu Attacks

Islamist insurgents in Somalia's war-torn capital Mogadishu launched three separate attacks overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning, including a bold attack on the home of a military commander. Insurgents armed with grenades and assault rifles attacked the home of Col. Ahmed Shani, a senior military official, in Mogadishu' s Medina district around 3am local time. At least three people - including two of Col. Shani's armed guards - were killed in the gunfight…..(Garowe, 16 Jul 08)

Somalia: 5th World Food Program worker slain

A World Food Program contractor was gunned down in the fifth fatal attack this year on one of the agency's workers, the WFP said Tuesday as thousands of Somalis gathered to protest the assaults. Most members of the crowd that assembled outside the capital, Mogadishu, had been driven from their homes by the country's seemingly unending violence……(AP, 15 Jul 08)

Turkish citizens kidnapped in Afghanistan -- Police

Unidentified militants kidnapped two Turkish citizens in western Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday.  The two were working on a construction project in Islam Qala district of the western Herat province. They were picked by armed men on Monday…..(KUNA, 15 Jul 08)

Police: Iraq suicide bombers kill 28 army recruits

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of army recruits Tuesday in an Iraqi province where devastating attacks persist despite security improvements in the rest of the country. At least 28 people died, the Iraqi police and military said.  The bombings came ahead of what Iraqi military officials have described as an imminent offensive in troubled Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad…..(AP, 15 Jul 08)

Multiple bombings kill 40 in northern Iraq

Bombers killed around 40 people and wounded scores in several attacks in northern Iraq on Tuesday, days after the government vowed to expand a crackdown against militants in a region where al Qaeda retains influence.

In the worst attacks, two suicide bombers killed 27 people and wounded 68 when they blew themselves up outside an army recruitment centre in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad…..(Reuters, 15 Jul 08)

Somali gunmen kill World Food Program worker

Gunmen killed a transport agent working for the World Food Program in Somalia where attacks on aid workers have risen in recent weeks, the agency said Tuesday.  The man, who was shot in southern Somalia on Sunday, was the fifth WFP-contracted worker to be killed this year in the war-torn Horn of Africa nation.  "We condemn these shootings and are very concerned that growing insecurity threatens to sabotage the humanitarian response in Somalia,"…..(AFP, 15 Jul 08)

Suicide bomber strikes Shia gathering in DIK

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia gathering in Dera Ismail Khan injuring at least three people, police officials said on Sunday.  The bomber had leapt in front of a car carrying people back from the gathering, in which top Shia leader Allama Sajid Naqvi was also present, said police official Muhammad Qasim Khan.  It appeared that the bomber’s explosives had not fully detonated as his body had not been damaged completely…..(Daily times, 14 Jul 08)

Militants return bodies of 17 troops

Suspected Taliban militants on Sunday handed over the bodies of 17 Frontier Constabulary (FC) troops killed in an ambush in the Hangu district, AFP reported. The dead were part of a convoy heading to a fort outside the Hangu city on Saturday when rebels attacked it with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, officials said. Hangu Nazim Haji Afzal Khan said the militants had initially refused to allow security forces to retrieve the bodies but relented after frantic negotiations with a jirga…….(Daily Times, 14 Jul 08)

Taliban claim kidnap of Afghan senator

Taliban militants claimed responsibility Monday for the abduction of an Afghan senator who was snatched at a gunpoint 70 kilometres (40 miles) from capital Kabul.  Abdul Wali, a member of the Upper House of the parliament from the province of Logar adjoining Kabul, was kidnapped Sunday as he was driving with his two guards and driver, police said. "Taliban have abducted Dr. Abdul Wali and until now Taliban's leading council have not made any decision on his fate,"…..(AFP, 14 Jul 08)

Grenade blast kills three in Baghdad

Three people including a policeman were killed after a motorist threw a hand grenade at police at a checkpoint in the Iraqi capital on Monday, an interior ministry spokesman said. The man hurled the device at traffic police who had stopped him in the Al-Alawi district of central Baghdad and asked to see his documents.  The blast killed three people and wounded 14 others, including four policemen…..(AFP, 14 Jul 08)

Militants breached US Afghan base

More than 100 insurgents breached a US outpost in north-eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing nine US troops in hours of fierce fighting, Nato says.  The militants used rocket propelled grenades and homemade mortars to bombard the base, close to Pakistan's border, from several sides. The attack caused one of the single worst losses of life for foreign troops since operations began in 2001……(BBC, 14 Jul 08)

Nine U.S. Soldiers Killed in Firefight

…The clash began when insurgents in a nearby village attacked a joint Afghan and American military outpost in Konar province early Sunday morning, NATO said in a statement. The insurgents fired on the base with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades for several hours, injuring 19 Afghan and NATO troops.  NATO said in a statement that the fighters used "homes, shops and the mosque in the village of Wanat for cover" and said the insurgents "suffered heavy casualties" in return fire.  Attacks in eastern Afghanistan have increased sharply in recent months as insurgents have streamed across the country's mountainous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan as part of an offensive declared this year by top Taliban leaders in Pakistan…..(Washington Post, 14 Jul 08)

Islamist Guerrillas Capture Burhakaba, Bardhere Towns

Islamist rebels in southern Somalia seized two more towns Sunday, as the Ethiopian-backed interim government's defense minister disclosed that newly-trained Somali soldiers had arrived in the country.  Heavily-armed rebels peacefully entered the town of Bardhere, in the southwestern region of Gedo, on Saturday afternoon and immediately disbanded a recently established police force. Sheikh Abdulkadir Yusuf, who spoke for the fighters, accused the Bardhere police force of "having links" to the interim government in Mogadishu, Somalia's national capital……(Garowe, 13 Jul 08)

Man threatening to blow up belt bomb shot
A man, who faced several criminal charges and escaped from a hospital, was shot in Chennai by the police in the early hours of Friday after he threatened to blow himself up with a 'belt bomb', the police said.   B Suresh, 29, was killed in a shootout in the northern suburbs of the city, police said.   "The accused had escaped while undergoing treatment in a hospital Wednesday and was traced to a hideout. Apart from threatening to blow himself up with an alleged belt bomb, he also opened fire and hurled country made bombs on those who went to secure him."……(IANS, 11 Jul 08)

Militants: Pakistan hostages will be slain if insurgents are not released

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman says militants will start killing a group of hostages if several insurgent prisoners are not released by Saturday afternoon. Maulvi Umar claimed Friday the Taliban kidnapped 29 people, most of them security forces. However, Hangu district official Haji Khan Afzal says only 16 or 17 people are being held.

Afzal says the hostages were taken during a militant siege of a police station Wednesday. The militants were demanding their associates be freed……(AP, 11 Jul 08)

Somalian Islamic Insurgents Attack Military Camp Near Baidoa

Somalian Islamic insurgents said they attacked a major military camp close to Baidoa, the seat of the transitional government, late yesterday.  "We waged an attack on Daynuunay camp," Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, a spokesman for the militia, told reporters today in a teleconference in the country's capital, Mogadishu. A number of government soldiers were killed and some military vehicles burned…..(Bloomberg, 10 Jul 08)

3 Russian police killed in Caucasus

Police say gunmen in the southern Russian province of Kabardino-Balkaria fired at a police car and killed three officers. Like other North Caucasus provinces, Kabardino-Balkaria is plagued by violence linked to Chechnya. Violence is also tied to an internal power struggle, clan rivalries and tension over the practice of Islam. (AP, 9 July 08)

PKK kidnaps 3 German tourists in east Turkey

Kurdish guerrillas have kidnapped three German tourists on a climbing expedition in eastern Turkey, a local governor said on Wednesday. The three tourists had established a camp on Mount Ararat in Agri province as part of a 13-member climbing team when they were seized by a group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, state-run Anatolian news agency reported. (Reuters, 9 July 08)

Islamist rebels attack Somali government HQ

Heavily armed Islamist rebels have attacked the presidential palace and key installations in the Somali government's Baidoa headquarters, killing at least four soldiers, officials said on Tuesday. Witnesses said mortar bombs fired by the insurgents late on Monday also hit the airport and a large refurbished warehouse that serves as the parliament of the Western-backed interim administration. "Several mortar shells landed on us, killing three troops,"…..(Reuters, 8 Jul 08)

Palestinian attorney general says explosion went off under his car, causing damage

The Palestinian attorney general said Tuesday that an explosion went off close to the fuel tank of his car, but the damage was very slight and he was not hurt.  Police said they were investigating the incident.  The attorney general, Ahmed Moghanni, said the explosion went off as he started his car outside his home in Ramallah…..(AP, 8 Jul 08)

Insurgents shoot and burn couple in South

Insurgents shot dead a couple, then set their bodies on fire early Tuesday in the southern province of Pattani.
The couple, who were construction workers, were killed as they rode a motorcycle to work in Mayo district. After they were gunned down, insurgents showered their bodies with petrol before burning them……(Bangkok Post, 8 Jul 08)

Suspected Islamic Insurgents Ambush Thai School Bus

Suspected Islamic insurgents opened fire on a school bus in Thailand's restive south on Monday, killing two paramilitary rangers and wounding three teenage students, police said. The bus was taking 10 students — aged from 13 to 18 — home from a school in Pattani province's Nong Chik district when an unknown number of assailants opened fire from a hiding place on the roadside, said police Maj. Gen. Kririn Inn-kaew… The government has made little progress in curbing the violence despite the presence in the south of nearly 40,000 police and soldiers. Drive-by shootings and bombings occur frequently…….(AP, 7 Jul 08)

Official: 3 Saudis killed in an explosion in a southern province

A Saudi Arabian security official says three Saudi men have been killed and another seriously wounded in an explosion.  The official says Monday's explosion occurred in the southern Saudi province of Bishah…..(AP, 7 Jul 08)

Afghan Capital Struck by Suicide Bombing

At least 40 people were killed and 141 injured Monday in a powerful suicide blast near the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan's capital, Afghan officials said. The explosion in the center of Kabul occurred around 8:30 a.m., ripping through a crowd of people waiting in line for visas at the Indian Embassy, said Ali Shah Paktiwal, chief of the criminal investigations division of the Afghan Interior Ministry. Authorities initially feared that the blast had hit the nearby headquarters of the Interior Ministry, but afterwards saw that the Indian diplomatic mission had been targeted…….(Washington Post, 7 Jul 08)

Female bomber kills two in Iraq market blast

A woman suicide bomber blew herself up in a market in the central Iraqi city of Baquba on Monday, killing two people and wounding 14 others, a medic told AFP. The bomber detonated her explosives vest in Al-Mafraq market in Baquba, the capital of restive Diyala province, at around 10:45 am (0645 GMT)…..(AFP, 7 Jul 08)

Relative Calm in Iraq Ends as Attacks Take 16 Lives

A wave of attacks in Baghdad and areas north of the capital Sunday shattered a relative lull in violence, killing 16 people and injuring 15 a day after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared that Iraq's government had defeated terrorism. [The attacks continued on Monday, wire services reported, when a suicide bomber blew herself up near a market in the city of Baquba, killing as many as 9 people and wounding a dozen others.] Also on Sunday, the United Arab Emirates announced that it was canceling $4 billion in debt owed by Iraq and restoring full diplomatic relations with the Iraqi government, according to the UAE's official news agency. It was the latest sign that Iraq's Sunni Arab neighbors are easing their diplomatic isolation of Iraq's Shiite-led government, after considerable pressure from the United States……(Washington Post, 7 Jul 08)

Pakistan Bombing Leaves at Least 10 Dead

At least 10 people were killed in Pakistan's capital Sunday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a crowd commemorating a deadly government-led raid on a radical mosque here last year, according to police.

The attack occurred early in the evening after more than 10,000 conservative Islamist protesters and mourners had gathered at the historic Red Mosque to mark the first anniversary of the raid. Witnesses said the crowd was just beginning to disperse when the explosion tore through a cluster of policemen near a post office a few hundred feet from the mosque……(Washington Post, 7 Jul 08)

6 explosions wound 37 in Karachi, Pakistan

A string of small explosions wounded at least 37 people Monday in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, rattling the country a day after a deadly suicide attack in the capital, officials said  Five men were detained in connection with the blasts, a police official said. The six blasts came within about an hour of each other, striking residential and commercial spots in the teeming port city, where political and militant-related violence is common……(AP, 7 Jul 08)

Ambush on school bus kills 2 rangers, wounds 3 students in Thailand's deep south

Suspected Islamic insurgents opened fire on a school bus in Thailand's restive south on Monday, killing two paramilitary rangers and wounding three teenage students, police said. The bus was taking 10 students — aged from 13 to 18 — home from a school in Pattani province's Nong Chik district when an unknown number of assailants opened fire from a hiding place on the roadside, said police Maj. Gen. Kririn Inn-kaew……(AP, 7 Jul 08)

Five dead in Philippines bus ambush

Five people were killed early Sunday when gunmen opened fire on a bus in the rebellion-hit southern Philippines, survivors and officials said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the ambush, which occurred before dawn near the town of Kauswagan, where separatist Muslim guerrillas are known to operate. The bus driver, conductor, and three passengers were killed in the attack…..(AFP, 7 Jul 08)

Suicide Attack on Indian Embassy in Kabul

The death toll in the suicide bombing outside the Indian embassy in Kabul on Monday (July 07) morning reached nearly 40 and counting, with more than 140 others, mostly civilians sustained injuries. The incident took place when an explosive laden car rammed into the vehicles parked outside the Embassy in the morning as many people were waiting to collect their visas. The death of India's defense attaché Brigadier R. Mehta and political and information counselor V. Venkateswara Rao were confirmed so far. The other two Indians killed in the attack were identified as security force personnel belonging to IndoTibetan border police. Monday’s blast was considered to be the deadliest since the U.S.-led offensive began in Afghanistan on October 2001 and first ever on Indian Embassy abroad. Indian government sources believe that this could be handiwork of Taliban, backed by Pakistan’s intelligence agency……(Counterterrorism Blog, 7 Jul 08)

In Somalia, senior UN official dies in gunfire outside mosque

Gunmen opened fire on people leaving a mosque in Somalia's capital tonight, killing one of the country's senior United Nations officials and wounding his son and another man, a witness and a family member said. Attacks on officials, including those working for the UN or aid agencies, are common in Somalia, where Islamic insurgents have vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency against the country's weak and corrupt UN-supported government. Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the UN Development Program for Somalia, was bloodied and unconscious as he was rushed to a hospital……(AP, 6 Jul 08)

Police, medical officials say bomb kills head of US-allied Sunni group south of Baghdad

Iraqi police and medical officials say a bomb has killed the head of a U.S.-allied Sunni group south of Baghdad. The police officer says Ali Abdul Ridha al-Badri was the head of an awakening council in Iskandariyah, 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Baghdad, and was killed after meeting with U.S. forces. The officer says the bomb was attached to al-Badri's car……(AP, 6 Jul 08)

Grenade blast kills 3, injures 11 in southern Philippines

Suspected communist guerrillas launched a series of attacks Thursday in the southern Philippines, lobbing a grenade that killed three people and raiding a police station and a gold mining company, officials said. The pre-dawn grenade blast, which also injured 11 people, ripped through the Park n Go bakeshop in Compostela Valley's Nabunturan township, where communist rebels, extortion gangs and other armed groups operate. In the same province's gold-mining township of Monkayo, communist New People's Army guerrillas harassed a mining company, prompting an hour-long clash that killed a rebel and wounded two policemen…..(AP, 3 Jul 08)

US soldiers find bodies of 14 civilians in Iraq

US soldiers found the bodies of 14 civilian men in the northern Iraqi city of Samarra, officials said Thursday.  A government spokesman said the dead had not yet been identified……(DPA, 3 Jul 08)

Islamist Rebels Ambush Ethiopia Troops in Central Region

Ethiopian troops who have been attacked repeatedly across several towns in central Somalia this week were ambushed again on Thursday, Radio Garowe reported. The Ethiopian army convoy left bases at the border town of Fer Fer and was reportedly en route to a base outside of the town of Beletwein when Somali rebels attacked.

One Islamist fighter told Radio Garowe that their fighters had retreated back towards Beletwein, the capital of Hiran region which has been under the control of the Islamic Courts militia since Saturday…….(Garowe, 3 Jul 08)

Clashes in Somalia kill 53, dozens wounded

At least 53 people were killed in Somalia when Islamist insurgents clashed with Ethiopian troops and Ugandan peacekeepers in separate battles, a human rights group said on Wednesday. The latest flare-up in the 18-month-old insurgency came a week before a U.N.-mediated ceasefire between an Islamist faction and the interim Somali government is to take effect……(Reuters, 2 Jul 08)

Suicide attack on NATO convoy causes injuries: Afghan officials

A suicide car bomber rammed a NATO-led convoy in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Wednesday, causing a number of injuries, Afghan police said. A NATO spokesman confirmed a car bomb attack but had no details of casualties. Afghan police border commander General Abdul Raziq said that a Canadian NATO convoy was struck by the blast on the highway linking Kandahar city to the troubled town of Spin Boldak, near the border with Pakistan……(AFP, 2 Jul 08)

U.S. helicopter shot down in Afghanistan

A helicopter belonging to U.S.-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire south of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, but there were no serious injuries to those on board, the U.S. military said. The pilots landed the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter safely and evacuated all personnel before it caught fire in the Kharwar district of Logar province, where Taliban militants are known to be active……(Reuters, 2 Jul 08)

Terrorist plows bulldozer into vehicles

Three people were killed and 66 were wounded - one moderately and the rest lightly - on Wednesday afternoon when a bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem.  A half-dozen cars were flattened and others were overturned by the Caterpillar vehicle. A bus was also overturned, and another bus was heavily damaged……(Jerusalem Post, 2 Jul 08)

Woman shot dead in South Thailand

A gunman shot dead a female villager in Narathiwat's Rusoh district Wednesday morning just as she dropped off her daughter at a local school… A letter, written in Thai, was left next to the victims' body. It said: "You kill Malays, I will kill Thai"…..(Nation, 2 Jul 08)

Chinese engineer kidnapped in Afghanistan: governor

An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier stands guard near the wreckage of a car in the Chak district of Wardak province, west of Kabul, in 2007. Unknown gunmen kidnapped a Chinese road engineer in southern Afghanistan, an official said Tuesday. The Chinese national and his Afghan driver were kidnapped Monday in Wardak province…..(Today, 2 Jul 08)

39 killed in Somalia fighting: residents

At least 39 people were killed on Tuesday in fighting that erupted when Islamist insurgents attacked Somali, Ethiopian and African Union forces in the capital and central region, residents said. The clashes, some of the most serious in months, came a week before a deadline for the implementation of a truce agreement signed by rival factions last month in Djibouti was due to expire……(AFP, 1 Jul 08)

Six killed in Iraq's Diyala province

Insurgents killed six people in Iraq's Diyala province on Tuesday, including three in a series of attacks which began with the killing of a member of an anti-Qaeda group, local police said.Early on Tuesday, gunmen targeted a checkpoint in the village of Al-Abbara, south of Diyala's capital city of Baquba, and killed one member of a local anti-Qaeda group who was manning the checkpoint, a police officer said. The gunmen then carried his body to a house and bombed it, killing a neighbor…..(AFP, 1 Jul 08)

Five aid workers kidnapped in Somalia: group

Somali gunmen have kidnapped five local employees of an Italian charity and the United Nations in the latest attack on humanitarian staff in the country, the head of the Italian group said on Tuesday. Elio Sommavilla, founder of the Water For Life charity, told Reuters four of those kidnapped worked for his charity, identifying the fifth as an agronomist with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

FAO in Rome could not confirm the kidnapping….(Reuters, 1 Jul 08)

Roman Catholic priest killed in Nepal in suspected terrorist attack

A Vatican-affiliated news agency says a Roman Catholic priest has been killed in Nepal in a suspected terrorist attack. AsiaNews says the Rev. John Prakash died after armed men broke into his residence in the eastern city of Sirsiya and set off an explosive device. Prakash was 62. The agency says police suspect a terrorist group called the Terai Defense Army. It says the group has demanded money from the principal of the local Catholic school in the past……(AP, 1 Jul 08)

Communist rebels kill 2 soldiers, torch tower in continuing attacks in Philippines

Communist rebels killed two soldiers in a public market and torched a cellular phone tower in the southern Philippines as the latest flare-up in the 40-year-old insurgency showed no sign of abating, officials said Tuesday.

New People's Army guerrillas shot dead the troops in Compostela Valley province's Nabuturan township, snatching the men's rifles before fleeing on a motorcycle, said Chief Superintendent Andres G. Caro II, the regional police chief……(AP, 1 Jul 08)

June 2008

Taliban shura backs Baitullah

A shura of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Sunday endorsed Baitullah Mehsud’s announcement about suspending all peace agreements and negotiations with the government in Fata and the NWFP.  TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar told Dawn on phone that the shura at a meeting held at an unspecified place and endorsed Mehsud’s announcement that all agreements reached with the provincial and federal governments would stand suspended and talks would be discontinued.  Citing reasons for suspending the peace deals, the spokesman said that despite agreements the government had launched operations against Taliban in Swat, Khyber Agency, Jandola and Darra Adamkhel……(Dawn, 30 Jun 08)

Taliban aims to control rural phones

Taliban forces have discovered a novel tactic to move undetected through strongholds at night - blow up cellular telephone towers unless local officials turn off the networks from dusk to dawn. The strategy has been used widely in rural areas of Kandahar and Helmand provinces in southern Afghanistan midwinter, said U.S. officials, who estimate that at least 50 towers have been attacked in Helmand province alone. U.S. officials, however, said the tactic is just as likely to alienate locals, who have grown accustomed to keeping in touch with family and friends…..(Washington Times, 30 Jun 08)

Islamists Ambush Troops Outside Mogadishu

Heavily armed Islamic fighters have attacked convoy vehicles escorting the deputy police commander of Baidoa town (the seat of the government on his way to the town from Mogadishu residents said.  At the attack occasion the commander with two armed vehicles full of soldiers was passing in Belidowgle area of lower Shabelle region where sudden fighting started……..(Shabelle, 30 Jun 08)

Philippines: Blast Kills One, Injures 16 In Northern Philippines; Improvised Bomb Defused In South

MANILA, PHILIPPINES: A hand grenade exploded inside a billiard hall in the northern Philippines, killing one man and injuring 16 other people, while a bomb found in the volatile south was safely defused, police said Monday (30 June). Baguio police spokesman Virgilio Hidalgo said investigators believe the blast late Sunday (29 June) was linked to a gambling argument……(AP, 30 Jun 08)

Police: 3 judges targeted by bombs in Iraq

A police officer says three Iraqi judges have been targeted by bombs in different areas of Baghdad, resulting in injuries but no deaths.  The officer says one of the bombs that exploded Monday injured the head judge in Sadr City, Ghanim Abdullah al-Quraishi, along with his wife and daughter. The other two judges escaped unharmed…….(AP, 30 Jun 08)

8 killed in India market bomb blast

At least eight people have been killed in a bomb blast at a crowded village market in India's troubled north-eastern Assam state, police said.  The separatist United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), fighting for an independent homeland for the state's more than 26 million people, was suspected to be behind the attack, according to police.  More than 45 people were wounded in the blast at Kumarikata, a small village near the border with Bhutan in Assam's Baska district…..(Reuters, 29 Jun 08)

Gunmen assassinate head of Basra city intelligence in Iraq

Head of intelligence in Basra city was assassinated in Baghdad, said a security source Sunday.  The source told KUNA that gunmen assassinated Brigadier Jaber Musaed, head of the intelligence service in the southern city of Basra…..(KUNA, 29 Jun 08)

Iraqi Qaeda group claims Anbar attack

The self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, started by al Qaeda and fellow Sunni militant groups, said in a statement it was behind Thursday's attack by a bomber wearing an explosive belt that killed more than 25 people and wounded many others. Iraqi police put the death toll at 20 people and the U.S. military said three U.S. Marines and two interpreters had been killed. The bomber struck a tribal council meeting in the town of Garma, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad. "(They) have sided with the Crusaders ... and they violated the honor of Muslims and stole their money in the name of fighting terrorism,"…..(Reuters, 28 Jun 08)

Three U.S.-led soldiers and Afghan interpreter killed

Three members of Afghanistan's U.S.-led coalition force and an Afghan interpreter were killed when their convoy was blown up by a bomb near the Afghan capital, the force said in a statement on Friday.  Thursday's attack in Wardak, southwest of Kabul, took the number of foreign soldiers killed in Afghanistan in June to 39, the highest monthly toll since U.S.-led troops ousted the Taliban in late 2001…….(Reuters, 27 Jun 08)

Nine Soldiers Killed in Mogadishu Attack, Fighting Breaks Out - Witnesses

Armed Islamic fighters have shot dead up to nine Somali transitional government soldiers in Deynile neighborhood north of Mogadishu an official and witnesses said later Thursday.  Witnesses confirmed the ambush, the latest in a string of attacks in Mogadishu……(Shabelle, 27 Jun 08)

Bomb Kills Marines, Iraqi Tribal Leaders

Two bombings in Iraq on Thursday killed at least 40 people, among them three Marines and two interpreters who were part of a civil affairs team meeting with Sunni tribal leaders, U.S. military officials said. Thirteen Americans, including two civilians, have been killed in Iraq since Monday, most of them during or immediately after meetings with local leaders or officials. The pattern illustrates the continuing risks that service members and diplomats face as they attempt to build up the Iraqi government……(Washington Post, 27 Jun 08)

Somali pirates demand US$1 million ransom for kidnapped Europeans, official says

Somalia needs urgent medical aid to save thousands of malnourished children and wounded adults who are trapped in one of the most violent, lawless countries in the world, an international aid group said Thursday. Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, treated more than 2,500 children suffering from acute malnutrition in the towns around Mogadishu, the country's shattered capital, in May alone. More than 2,000 people have been treated for traumatic injuries since the beginning of the year…..(AP, 26 Jun 08)

Dozens die as bombers target Iraqi government

At least 38 people were killed Thursday as bombers targeted an Iraqi municipal headquarters and a provincial governor's office. Col. Fawzi Fraih, civil defense director of Anbar province, said a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt during a meeting of tribal sheiks in Karmah, about 20 miles west of Baghdad. Officials said the sheiks were members of a group opposed to al-Qaida in Iraq and were meeting with Americans when the attack occurred. At least 20 people were killed and 12 others wounded……(MSNBC, 26 Jun 08)

Bomb hits US-led patrol near Afghan capital, militants killed in south

A bomb hit troops from the U.S.-led coalition patrolling south of the Afghan capital Thursday, causing an unspecified number of casualties, the coalition said. In neighboring Pakistan, the government denied that its main spy agency was behind a recent assassination attempt on the Afghan president and took aim at Kabul for failing to prevent the attack. The bomb struck the coalition convoy on Thursday morning during a patrol in Wardak province…..(AP, 26 Jun 08)

Roadside bombs kill 4 US soldiers in spike of violence against American forces

A U.S. soldier was killed in an attack by an armor-piercing roadside bomb Wednesday in Baghdad in a spike of violence that pushed to at least 10 the number of Americans who have died here this week. The soldier was killed by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, at about 9 a.m. in the predominantly Shiite eastern half of Baghdad, the military said. The powerful bombs are believed to come from Iran and have been used by Shiite extremists to kill hundreds of American forces…..(AP, 25 Jun 08)

Many killed in Iraqi bomb attacks

At least 30 people have been killed in two bombings in Iraq. The first occurred in the town of Karma, west of Baghdad, where a suicide attacker detonated a bomb at a local council meeting, killing at least 12.  More than a dozen people were wounded. It was the third attack in a week against a local administrative branch of the US-backed Iraqi government….(BBC, 26 Jun 08)

Somali pirates release Turkish ship

Pirates have released the Turkey-flagged cargo ship MV Arean which was seized off the lawless Somali coast at the end of May but a German ship seized at the same time is still being held, elders who negotiated the deal said Wednesday. "The vessel was released last night (Tuesday) around 8 pm local time (1700 GMT) - the pirates took delivery of a ransom of one million dollars before they released the ship," one of the mediators…..(DPA, 25 Jun 08)

22 Slain in Pakistan, Officials Say

Officials say Taliban militants have killed at least 22 rivals after taking dozens of captives in clashes in Pakistan's volatile northwest. The fighting near the South Waziristan tribal region began Monday when fighters attacked villages outside Jandola town. Militants loyal to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud took captives from a rival, pro-government faction, headed by Turkistan Bitani……(AP, 25 Jun 08)

Kabul parades ‘Pakistani bombers’

Afghan authorities paraded two alleged Pakistani militants before the media in chains and handcuffs on Monday in a fresh attempt to highlight cross-border infiltration by insurgents. The governor of southern Kandahar province said the two men were would-be Taliban suicide bombers, but one of the Pakistanis told reporters he had only entered Afghanistan to fight US-led and NATO-led forces. The public display comes just over a week after Afghan President Hamid Karzai sparked a major diplomatic row by threatening to launch attacks on militants based on Pakistani soil. Jihad, not suicide bombing: “I came to Afghanistan for jihad but am not a suicide bomber,”…..(AFP, 25 Jun 08)

Head of Mosul Municipality killed

Gunmen showered car of the head of Mosul Municipality with a hail of gunfire on Wednesday killing him along with his driver, a security source said. The source told KUNA the unidentified armed men attacked the vehicle of Khaled Mahmoud in the region of Al-Baladiat in the north of Mosul, killing him and his driver instantly……(KUNA, 25 Jun 08)

90 Iraqis wounded in car bomb: US military

A car bomb attack in northern Iraq's restive city of Mosul has wounded at least 90 civilians, the American military said Wednesday. The attack which occurred late Tuesday was carried out by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the military said.

A nearby coffee shop was also destroyed in the attack……(AFP, 25 Jun 08)

Taliban militants kill 28 members of tribal peace committee in Pakistan

Taliban militants have killed at least 28 members of Tribal Peace Committee (TPC) in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal agency, bordering Afghanistan, officials said. Their dead bodies were found Wednesday near Jandola district, security officials told KUNA on Wednesday. They added that two more members of the TPC were still missing……(KUNA, 25 Jun 08)

Three American Soldiers Killed in Iraq

Three American soldiers and an interpreter have been killed in a bombing in northern Iraq. A military statement says the deaths occurred late Tuesday night in Nineveh province…….(AP, 25 Jun 08)

Pirates kidnap four tourists off coast of Somalia: officials

Pirates kidnapped four foreign tourists, including a woman and a child, while they were sailing off the coast of Somalia's northern Puntland region, officials said Tuesday.

The four, whose identities were not immediately clear, were seized on Monday near the coastal town of Lasqorey, Puntland senior presidential adviser Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade told AFP.

"They were four tourists -- two men, a woman and a child. They were taken by pirates after they came close to the coastal area and we are trying to trace them by deploying our forces around the area,"……(AFP, 24 Jun 08)

Jandola falls to Baitullah, nine killed

Militants loyal to Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud captured Jandola, a town at the entrance to the South Waziristan tribal region, on Monday after a battle with pro-government tribesmen, police said.
At least six people, four tribesmen and two militants, were killed in the fighting for control of the town, the gateway to Waziristan, they said. “The Taliban have taken over Jandola,” and taken seven tribesmen hostage, the area’s police chief, Barkat Ullah, told Reuters…..(Reuters, 24 Jun 08)

Pakistan tribe gather dead after Taliban take town

Pakistani Taliban militants told rivals to collect the bodies of their men on Tuesday in a northwestern town the Taliban seized the previous day, a tribal elder said. Militants loyal to Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud seized the town of Jandola, on the main road into the South Waziristan ethnic Pashtun tribal region on the Afghan border, in fighting on Monday. The fighting comes as the government tries to end violence by Mehsud through talks despite concerns from the United States, which says negotiations and peace deals give militants a free hand to plot attacks……(Reuters, 24 Jun 08)

Powerful explosion destroys car in Kosovo's tense north; no injuries reported

A powerful explosion destroyed a car Tuesday in Kosovo's tense north, which is dominated by the Serb minority that opposes independence for Kosovo, police said. An explosive device was placed under a car belonging to a Serb member of Kosovo's police force and detonated, police spokesman Besim Hoti said. No one was hurt in the overnight blast in the northern part of the ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, which is split between majority ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs……(AP, 24 Jun 08)

26 killed in Sri Lanka's fresh fighting

Twenty-one Tamil Tiger guerrillas and five security personnel were killed while over 40 wounded in fresh fighting in Sri Lanka's northeast, official sources said Tuesday. The Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) of the ministry of defense said 10 rebels were killed in the north-eastern Weli-Oya region. Eleven were gunned down in sporadic clashes in north-western Mannar and northern Vavuniya regions Monday……(New Kerala, 24 Jun 08)

Baghdad blast kills 4 Americans

A bomb struck a municipal council building Tuesday in Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City district, killing four Americans, including two soldiers and two U.S. government civilian employees, U.S. officials said. At least six Iraqi civilians also died. U.S. troops captured a suspect who tested positive for explosive residue after fleeing the scene, the military said. It blamed Shiite extremists for the attack……(AP, 24 Jun 08)

Bomb kills 10 at Baghdad council meeting

A bomb killed 10 people including two U.S. government employees and two U.S. soldiers at a council meeting in the Baghdad stronghold of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday, officials said……(Reuters, 24 Jun 08)
 

Officials: Iraqi councilman kills U.S. soldiers

A member of an Iraqi city council shot at U.S. forces Monday outside Baghdad, killing at least three soldiers, two Iraqi Interior Ministry officials said. But the U.S. military said one coalition soldier and an "enemy" were killed and five others were wounded. The military said it is investigating. The Iraqi official fired an AK-47 at U.S. troops after they entered the City Council building in al-Madaen, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, according to one Interior Ministry official. The councilman killed at least three people and wounded four……(CNN, 23 Jun 08)

Mortar attack strikes US-allied Sunni group north of Baghdad, killing 10, wounding 24

Iraqi officials say a mortar attack north of Baghdad has killed 10 members of a U.S.-allied Sunni group that has joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq. Maj. Mohammed Thawra says about 10 mortar shells slammed into the group's headquarters and a checkpoint late Sunday in Udaim, a Sunni town 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Thawra, an Iraqi army battalion commander in Udaim, said Monday that 24 members of the so-called awakening council also were wounded in the attack……(AP, 23 Jun 08)

Militants abduct 17 police in Pakistan's Khyber Pass

Suspected pro-Taliban Militants kidnapped 17 Pakistani policemen from post