23 Aug News Roundup « Terror News Briefs

23 Aug News Roundup

U.S. confirms telecoms’ role in eavesdropping

The Bush administration has confirmed for the first time that American telecommunications companies played a key role in the National Security Agency’s domestic eavesdropping program after asserting for nearly two years that any role played by the companies was a “state secret.”

The acknowledgment came in an interview that Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, conducted with The El Paso Times last week in which he discussed a number of sensitive issues that the administration has long insisted were classified and has refused to discuss publicly.

Tigers heavily involved in Montreal drug trade

CANADA: Citing Royal Canadian Mounted Police sources the Jane’s Intelligence Review said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) controls portion of US $ one billion drug market in the Canadian city of Montreal.

The Jane’s Intelligence Review said that one of the main ways of earning money out of its USD 200-300 million annual income of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is narcotics smuggling using its merchant ships, which also transports illicit arms and explosives which they procure all over the world for a separatist insurgency in the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka.

Spy Chief Reveals Classified Details

National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell pulled the curtain back on previously classified details of government surveillance and of a secretive court whose recent rulings created new hurdles for the Bush administration as it tries to prevent terrorism. McConnell’s comments _ made in an interview with the El Paso (Texas) Times last week and posted as a transcript on the newspaper’s Web site Wednesday _ raised eyebrows for their frank discussion of previously classified eavesdropping work conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA.

Tolerance and tradition in Turkey

Turkey, the first secular republic with a majority Muslim population, is expected to soon have a president who prays in public and whose wife wears a headscarf as a manifestation of her religious convictions. Anti-religious secularists in the Muslim world see this development as a threat to Turkey’s laicism. But it could also be an opportunity to define secularism in the Muslim world as a political system ensuring separation of theology and state rather than as an anti-religious ideology.

Young People Increasingly Drawn To Islam

Ilgar Ibrahimoglu is the most visible of a new generation of Muslim teachers who are teaching young Azerbaijanis about Islam. Every weekend a group of them come to his office in Baku to learn about the Islamic way of life.

Ibrahimoglu’s problems illustrate the ambivalence of attitudes towards religion in Azerbaijan, an overwhelmingly Muslim country.

The young imam says that he tries to bring people together from the Shia and Sunni communities to unite against Islamic radicals. His approach has won him respect from young people who say they believe the different trends of Islam do not contradict one another.

Terror trial hears threat claims

A student who is standing trial on terror charges threatened to “blow up Glasgow”, a court has heard.
Mohammed Atif Siddique, from Alva in Clackmannanshire, has denied a total of five offences.

Fellow student Razia Hussain told the High Court in Glasgow she gave her college classmate two nicknames – “Suicide Bomber” and “al-Qaeda”.

Ms Hussain also claimed Mr Siddique, 21, only communicated with anyone if it was something to do with Islam.

Aug. 22 airpower summary: Transports keep cargo, pax on the move

oalition airpower supported coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force troops in Afghanistan during operations Aug. 22, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

In Afghanistan, Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles conducted successful shows of force to stop enemy firing while ground units were exiting an area near Kajaki Dam.

Enemy fire emanating from a compound in Kajaki Dam ceased after a Royal Air Force GR-7 Harrier destroyed the building with enhanced Paveway II munitions. The RAF pilot’s wingman also dropped a general-purpose 540-pound bomb near the compound.

German hostage appeals for help

A German engineer held hostage by the Taleban has appealed for help in a video broadcast on a private Afghan television channel, reports said.
The hostage was seen lying on a sheet on the ground, clutching his chest and coughing on the video.

The German man was seized on 18 July in Wardak province in south Afghanistan.

U.S. to screen aid groups for terror links-report

WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The United States plans to screen thousands of people employed by aid organizations that receive funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development looking for possible links to terror organizations, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Outlined in a recent Federal Register notice, the program demands for the first time that nongovernmental organizations file detailed information on key personnel who apply for or manage funds distributed by the U.S. aid agency, the Post said.

<a href=”http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N23208777.htm”>Reuters</a>

US wants Islamic charity figure held as a flight risk

EUGENE, Oregon: The co-founder of a defunct Islamic charity has links to Islamic radicals and should be held in jail pending trial on tax fraud and conspiracy charges, U.S. prosecutors argued Wednesday, a week after the former fugitive voluntarily returned to the United States.

Pirouz Sedaghaty, a native of Iran and a U.S. citizen, left the country in 2003 during an investigation against him.

2 Canadians killed in Afghanistan

Two Canadian soldiers and an interpreter were killed and two journalists injured on Wednesday during an attack in southern Afghanistan, the Canadian military said.

The soldiers and journalists from Radio-Canada, the country’s French-language public network, were on a patrol that was returning from a mission west of Kandahar when a roadside bomb exploded, officials said.

The network identified the journalists as cameraman Charles Dubois, who suffered a severe leg injury, and Patrice Roy, who was being treated for shock.

Army gets new ‘enhanced blast’ weapon to fight Taliban

British soldiers in Afghanistan are being supplied with a new “super weapon” to attack Taliban fighters more effectively, defence officials said yesterday.
The “enhanced blast” weapon is based on thermobaric technology used in the powerful bombs dropped by the Russians to obliterate Grozny, the Chechen capital, and in US “bunker busters”.

Ex-Taliban commander killed in Chaman

CHAMAN: Unknown gunmen here killed one Mullah Abdul Waris, identified as a former Taliban commander, SHO police Lateef told APP on Wednesday.

Mullah Waris was sitting with his friends in a shop at western bypass when unknown motorcyclists pelted him with bullets, killing him on the spot. Police officials said they were investigating the case.

Bomb injures 8 children: Eight children were injured when they were trying to “manufacture” a homemade bottle bomb in Jahanian.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb looses control of its members in Algeria

The attack that targeted a former prominent member in the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) was carried out by a member of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, said the leader of the armed organisation Abu Musab Abdelouadoud.

In a statement issued on August 19, Abu Musab Abdelouadoud said “one of his soldiers targeted Mustapha Kartali without asking the authorisation of the command.”

British Jets Shadow A Bomber

Two Royal Air Force jets shadowed a Russian strategic bomber that approached British airspace, Britain’s Defense Ministry said.

The incident occurred Friday, the same day that President Vladimir Putin placed strategic bombers back on long-range patrol for the first time since the Soviet breakup.

Britain’s Defense Ministry issued two photographs Tuesday on its web site showing one of the two British Typhoon F2s flying near the Tu-95 strategic bomber over the northern Atlantic Ocean.

The ministry provided few details about where and why this happened, but the Tu-95 apparently was in international airspace and approaching Britain’s skies when it was shadowed.

MILF troops leave Basilan village ‘near Abu camp

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agreed Tuesday to pull out 200 troops from an encampment allegedly nestled near a lair of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group at Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan.

GMA News reported that the decision was reached during a meeting of the joint monitoring and assistance team under the GRP-MILF panel.

J&K police alerts on sleeper cells

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir police has alerted its counterparts in other states about Pakistan-based militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad floating “sleeper cells” to clandestinely spread its terror network across the country.

Based on the data of 650 calls from 3 mobile handsets and 207 calls from a satellite phone owned by slain JeM militant and Ayodhya mastermind Kari Saifullah Akhtar, police found the outfit “set up the sleeper cells with plans to spread its tentacles in several states and J&K in particular”.

Al Qaeda, Other Terror Groups Swim in Global Sea of Saudi-Funded Wahhabi Institutions

Saudi Arabia’s pervasive influence on Islamic education in the United States has led to the development of a new breed of American: the jihadist. Since the 1970s, the Saudi government has been aggressively promoting Wahhabism, the country’s dominant branch of Islam, in America and across the globe. Today, it has been estimated that 80 percent of American mosques are under Wahhabi influence, described by both scholars and U.S. officials as a radical, violent philosophical platform used by terrorists and their supporters to justify violence against Christians, Jews and other “non-believers.”

Two Russian scientists targeted for allegedly releasing state secrets

MOSCOW: Russian security services are investigating two scientists for allegedly revealing state secrets, a probe that rights activists on Wednesday said highlights the chill that has fallen over Russian scientific research under President Vladimir Putin.

Oleg and Igor Minin are the latest in a growing number of academics who have been targeted by the Federal Security Service for alleged espionage, revealing state secrets or misuse of classified information.

SRI LANKA: Acid attack on Tamil journalist part of increasing violence against journalists

A Tamil daily journalist sustained injuries to his face, chest and legs when he was attacked with acid by a group of unidentified assailants last week.

Kalimuttu Palamohan, who writes under the name K. P. Mohan, was working with Tamil daily Thinakkural as a specialist in military affairs when he was attacked on Aug. 15 at 3 p.m.

Palamohan said this latest attack took place while he was leaving the hospital where he was treated for an elbow injury which he sustained in June after being attacked by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) personnel. This was the fifth time he has been attacked, he said.

Sri Lanka hunt turns to Tigers in north (Asia Times)

With the eviction of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from Batticaloa, capital of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, and the Tigers’ eventual collapse in the Thoppigala jungle area (Barron’s Rock) on July 11, the expulsion of the rebels from their strongholds in the province was complete.

KARMAH TERRORIST SAFE HOUSE DESTROYED FOLLOWING IRAQI SCOUT, U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES RAID

FALLUJAH, Iraq – Iraqi Army Scouts, with U.S. Special Operations Forces as advisers, conducted an intelligence-driven helicopter assault in western Iraq Aug. 21, resulting in the elimination of a suspected weapons cache and the destruction of an insurgent safe house.

Forces conducted a targeted raid at a residence in the vicinity of Karmah suspected of being used by foreign fighters and al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists. While clearing the building, the assault team noticed that the floor in the main room of the structure had recently been dug up and fresh cement covered the floor with wire leading out of the house.

<a href=”http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/Lists/Current%20Press%20Releases/DispForm.aspx?ID=5607″>centcom.mil</a>

BBC Nixes Muslim Suicide Bomber for “Eco-terrorist”

he BBC has abandoned plans to screen a fictional terrorist attack by Muslim suicide bombers in the primetime drama Casualty after internal clashes over whether the highly sensitive subject matter would cause offence.

BBC drama executives were keen to push the storyline and may even have started filming, a source close to the production told The Observer. But they were overruled by the corporation’s editorial guidelines department, which ordered that the episode be changed so that the Muslim characters were replaced by animal rights extremists.

Key Taliban commander arrested in City-The Frontier Post

Key Taliban commander arrested in City PESHAWAR : Security officials in the neighbouring Pakistan have arrested a key Taliban commander during a raid last night.The commander named Mumtaz is resident of the eastern Nangarhar province and believed to be a loyalist of senior Taliban leader Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani. A security official, who wished not to be name, told Pajhwok Afghan News Mumtaz was detained by intelligence officials in Saddar Bazaar of Peshawar around 10pm last night.

Lebanon arrests 2 Palestinian suspects in bombing targeting U.N. mission

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) – Lebanese authorities have arrested two Palestinians in connection with a roadside bombing that targeted U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon last month, a security official said Thursday.
The suspects, Salem Kayed and Ahmed Mohammed, were arrested Wednesday near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon after they were lured

LTTE’s strategy to acquire high-tech weaponry – Jane’s Intelligence Review

Jane’s Intelligence Review- well known International Review Agency has stated that the LTTE’s strategic need to acquire high-tech weaponry, such as surface-to-air missiles, indicates that its activities will continue.

The Jane’s Intelligence Review in a special edition highlighting LTTE terrorist activities stated that the LTTE’s strategic aim of defeating the Sri Lankan military and securing a political victory in the form of a separate Tamil state depends on the organization’s capacity to source money and arms abroad.

Islamic Extremism May Spread in Uzbekistan, Crisis Group Says

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) — Islamic extremism may rise in Uzbekistan because of the government’s repressive policies, the International Crisis Group said, revitalizing rebels fighting to impose a Muslim state across three Central Asian nations.

President Islam Karimov has repeatedly justified his control of the landlocked country, saying it’s necessary to prevent a Taliban-style movement taking over part of the region, the Brussels-based group said in a report yesterday.

How the Cold War could have turned Britain into Armageddon

When flower-power was at its height, the youth of Britain was getting stoned to Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and an older generation was queuing to see Tommy Steele in Half A Sixpence, Harold Wilson’s Government was contemplating Armageddon.

A secret memo from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, declassified last week by the National Archives, exposes a terrifying disjunction between the British people enjoying the warm summer weather of 1967, and the anguished discussions of their political leaders in Downing Street about the threat of a nuclear war, which seemed almost as critical then as it had been at the time of the Cuban missile crisis.

Throughout the Cold War, 389 mega-tons of Soviet atomic weapons were aimed towards Britain. Together, they carried 20,000 times the ARMA destructive force of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945.

Russia: nationalists likely behind Aug. 13 train bomb

MOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) – A senior Russian prosecutor said nationalists were the most likely culprits in a bombing which derailed a train travelling from Moscow to St. Petersburg on Aug 13, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday.
“The most serious (line of inquiry) is a terrorist attack by nationalist youth groups from Moscow or St Petersburg,” First Deputy Prosecutor-General Alexander Bastrykin said in an interview to be published in Rossiisskaya Gazeta on Friday, Interfax reported.

<a href=”http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L23737677.htm”>Reuters</a>

Al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden’s Network of Terror

MACON,GA.- After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda (or al-Qa’ida, pronounced al-KYE-da) surpassed the IRA, Hamas, and Hezbollah as the world’s most infamous terrorist organization.

Al-Qaeda—”the base” in Arabic—is the network of extremists organized by Osama bin Laden.

Al Qaeda in N. Africa apologizes for unauthorized bombing

ALGIERS, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s north Africa wing said one of its fighters was behind a bomb attack on a former senior Islamist rebel in Algeria but said the assault was carried out without the approval of the group’s leadership.
Al Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb said it had not planned to target Mustapha Kertali, a founder of the banned Salvation Islamic Front (FIS) and once a leading member of its armed wing, as he was not involved in attacking its fighters.

Al-Qaeda teach kids, 6, to kill

The Sun has video evidence of boys barely old enough for school handling AK47 assault rifles.

Military expert Chris Dobson warned: “This is very worrying. Terrorist commanders are gambling on our troops fatally hesitating before pulling the trigger if confronted with a boy. Modern weapons are so light children would have no problem getting 30 or 40 rounds off. And these children are being brainwashed to kill.”

<a href=”http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007390138,00.html”>TheSun</a>

THE ISLAMIST

During the past six months, more than 300 Muslims have been arrested in five European countries, and charged with involvement with terrorism. Most are young, often aged between 16 and 30. Almost all were born in Europe and hold the nationality of the European country in which they were plotting terrorist operations. European intelligence services claim that large numbers of young Muslims may have already stepped into the antechamber of terror. In Britain alone, the number of young Muslims suspected of flirting with terror is put at over 4000.

What is happening? Why are these young European Muslims drawn to terror? What should Europe do to integrate them into its pluralist culture?

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb looses control of its members in Algeria

In a statement issued on August 19, Abu Musab Abdelouadoud said “one of his soldiers targeted Mustapha Kartali without asking the authorisation of the command.”

It is the first time that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has admitted attacks carried out against civilians saying its command did not know that in advance.

12 killed in Al-Qaeda raid on Iraqi town

Twelve civilians were killed and 12 kidnapped when suspected Al-Qaeda in Iraq militants raided the town of Kanan northeast of Baghdad on Thursday, blowing up a mosque and two houses, police said.

“The first attack was against a mosque,” Baquba police chief Brigadier General Ali Dilayan told AFP. “They blew up the mosque, then they bombed two houses crowded with family members.”

“Initial reports say there are 12 corpses in hospital. The toll may rise because we are still searching through the rubble.”

Al Qaeda kidnaps Iraqi women and children

Two hundred members of Al Qaeda attacked the village of Sheikh Younes Al Tai and Shiekh Ali on Thursday at dawn in Kinaan District killing more than 25 people. Al Qaeda militants kidnapped seven children and eight women and detonated three houses in addition to Al Hussein mosque. They arrested as well Sheikh Younes Abd Hamid and three prayers before killing them in front of the mosque. Head of Baquba police Major Ali Dalyan said that retrieving bodies from under wreckage is ongoing. Police chased the insurgents and arrested tens of suspects, a military spokesman said.

Pat Tillman widow’s quiet presence

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. – In the three years since Pat Tillman was killed on an Afghanistan ridgeline – from his emotional memorial service to the heated congressional hearings investigating his death – his widow has shunned cameras and microphones.
Marie Tillman has been so reserved in public that most people don’t even know that Tillman was married, much less to his Leland High School sweetheart from his hometown of San Jose.

Terror suspect Jack Thomas agrees to fresh controls

MELBOURNE terror suspect “Jihad” Jack Thomas has agreed to obey strict new curfew orders to demonstrate his commitment as an Australian, a court has heard.

Mr Thomas did not believe restrictions controlling his movements were necessary, but wanted to follow them in an effort to clear his name and underline his opposition to terrorism, the Federal Court was told yesterday.

Mr Thomas became the subject of Australia’s first interim control order in August last year, which required him to report to police three times a week, observe a curfew and restricted with whom he could communicate.

No place like home

Headline stories of local residents in the UK and abroad literally running second homeowners out of town, as reported in Cornwall and the Lake District, is more hype and political spin than anything, if some commentators are to be believed. Yet there are still other pitfalls that need to be negotiated when possessing a home away from home, as Sam Barratt writes.

Anyone reading the latest national newspapers could be forgiven for thinking that owning a second home has become the latest extreme sport. According to some coverage, second homeowners are under attack from furious locals intent on driving them out of the area by whatever means necessary.

500 Tamil Speakers Apply for Police Jobs

More than 500 ethnic Tamils and Muslims have so far applied to become police officers in the recently taken over Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, a Deputy Inspector General of Police said.

“The majority of them are ethnic Tamils and Muslims, which is a good news for us as we need more Tamil speaking officers to serve in the East,” said Jayantha Wickramaratne, Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Suspected Abu Sayyaf bomber arrested

MANILA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) — The Philippine police arrested a suspected bomber from the Abu Sayyaf group in the central city of Cebu while he was en route to Manila amid warnings of sympathy attacks and for the armed anti-government group, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

The suspect was identified as Gino “Noy” Ampuan, who supposedly works under Abu Sayyaf leader Basit Usman. The leader was affiliated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a separatist group in the southern Philippines, according to a statement released by National Police spokesman Samuel Pagdilao.

Tigers’ IED Tied to Night Vision Device Detected

The IED was trapped to a night vision device which was similar to a pair of goggles in shape enabling the criminal to trigger it while being worn on the face.

This is the first time the Security Forces recovered this type of IED from the JAFFNA peninsula.

C-4 explosives weighing about 500 g was uncovered from the inside of the IED.

High ranking Army official stops at Fort Hood

More than a third of soldiers currently deployed to Iraq are members of the National Guard and Army Reserve.

Thursday, the man in charge of training those troops visited Fort Hood where some of the soldiers prepare for overseas deployment.

Russian Air Force chief says technical failure caused Su-24 crash

ZHUKOVSKY (Moscow Region), August 23 (RIA Novosti) – A power supply failure most likely caused the crash of a Su-24 strike aircraft in Russia’s Far East early Thursday, the Russian Air Force commander said.

A Su-24 Fencer tactical bomber crashed Thursday about 115 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of the Khurba airfield in the Khabarovsk Territory, but both pilots successfully ejected from the aircraft. In recent years, Russia has been gradually phasing out the Su-24, which has a patchy safety record.

Charity Wants Seized Documents Back

An international Muslim humanitarian organization, which was raided by federal counterterrorism officials nearly a year ago, is asking a judge to order the return of nearly 200 boxes of paperwork it says are critical to its operations.

FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents searched the Southfield headquarters of Life for Relief and Development last September. Agents hauled away computers, documents, letters and ledgers, but no one was charged and the agency was allowed to continue operating.

Koreans beg for hostages’ release

Two South Korean women, held hostage for weeks by the Taliban in Afghanistan, have appealed for the release of the other 19 hostages.

Speaking exclusively to Al Jazeera, in an interview broadcast on Thursday, Kim Kyung-ja and Kim Jee-na said the relief they felt at their release was overshadowed by the plight of the remaining hostages.
“You probably think we are happy now, with our families. In fact, we can hardly sleep at night,” said Kim Jee-na.

Indian cyber specialists investigating Glasgow airport attack leads

Edinburgh, Aug.20 : Cyber specialists in India, he United States and Australia India are reportedly working round the clock, swapping information and updating each other on leads relating to the June 30, 2007 attack on Glasgow Airport.

The probe has become the biggest “cyber inquiry” in Scotland.

Experts trying to find clues to the origins of the plot are examining hundreds of computers, mobile and landline telephone traffic, reports The Scotsman.

The bungled airport raid on Saturday, June 30, came just over a day after two huge unexploded car bombs were discovered in London’s West End.

Putin: Russia Will Be World’s Largest Military Aircraft Maker

ussian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he is determined to make Russia the world’s leading producer of military aircraft, the Guardian reports.

Putin said Russian-made aircraft would be a priority after decades of taking a back seat to the West.

“Russia has a very important goal, which is to retain leadership in the production of military equipment,” said Putin, who made his comments during Russia’s air show.

Ex-military spy in ‘Hello Garci’ exposé warned vs perjury

MANILA, Philippines — A former military spy who revealed the videotaped conversation between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and a former election commissioner during the May 2004 election faces perjury if he will testify before the Senate, the President’s legal adviser warned Thursday.

“This is political. This is not in aid of legislation. This is in aid of presidential ambition,” Sergio Apostol told local radio, accusing of Senator Panfilo Lacson of using former Technical Sergeant Vidal Doble of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to launch another presidential election bid in 2010.

Film and pop stars targeted by Al-Qaeda

A video posted on YouTube by followers of the Al Qaeda-affiliated organization, Islam Base, lists potential targets for MURDER BY AL QAEDA, according to a security expert. Celebrities in the video are all hip hop and sports stars, including Usher, Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and David Beckham. Terrorism expert Neil Doyle is quoted as saying: “There’s no question — this video is setting sports stars up as potential targets. Choosing their words carefully, using double meanings and veiled threats, the people behind it are trying to stay within the realms of the law.”

Taliban attacks kill 13 in Afghanistan

The Taliban are leading a bloody insurgency against the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai and international foreign forces as well as those working for them which has claimed thousands of lives.

The convoy of trucks was ambushed by dozens of militants in Zabul province on the main highway between Kabul and southern Kandahar city.

About 80 private security guards escorting the convoy fought the militants near provincial capital Qalat, an official from the security company said.

“I’ve lost 10 guards,” official Mohammad Saleem said. “It was very intense fighting. It lasted two hours and we were under siege by Taliban,” he said.

The convoy had earlier left Bagram Air Base — the main US-led military base — north of the capital Kabul and was heading to Kandahar.

Women, children taken in fierce Iraq Qaeda battle

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Al Qaeda fighters kidnapped 15 Iraqi women and children after attacking two villages north of Baghdad on Thursday and killing a religious leader who had been trying to form an anti-al Qaeda tribal alliance, police said.

Police said 32 people had been killed in an hour-long battle between villagers and al Qaeda. The attackers, who struck just after dawn, dragged the imam of the local mosque, Younis Abd Hameed, and three worshippers outside and executed them.

Residents said the local fighters were loyal to the Sunni Arab “1920 Revolution Brigade,” which has increasingly clashed with al Qaeda, and had repelled the attack.

Growing Pains for Terror Appeals Court

GROWING PAINS: The new terrorism appeals court opens for business Friday. Among the first questions it faces is whether the court is legal.

THE FIRST CASE: Did the military, by omitting a single word – “unlawful” – mistakenly undermine tribunals at the U.S. military’s prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

RUSH TO HEAR: The court quickly – some say inappropriately – developed rules and preparations to hear the first case.

U.S. OK’d Troop Terror Hunts in Pakistan

Newly uncovered “rules of engagement” show the U.S. military gave elite units broad authority more than three years ago to pursue suspected terrorists into Pakistan, with no mention of telling the Pakistanis in advance.

The documents obtained by The Associated Press offer a detailed glimpse at what Army Rangers and other terrorist-hunting units were authorized to do earlier in the war on terror. And interviews with military officials suggest some of those same guidelines have remained in place, such as the right to “hot pursuit” across the border.

From tourism to terrorism: Bali’s split personality

FEW global events brought home more vividly to westerners the impact of Jihadist terrorism on soft targets than the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005.
But why did Indonesian Jihadists targeted Bali twice in short succession?
Michael Hitchcock of London Metropolitan University and I Nyoman Darma Putra of the University of Queensland have made the first major academic analysis in an attempt to provide the answer.
The authors show that Bali has something of a split personality.
On the one hand, it is an Asian-Pacific tropical island paradise whose culture and welcoming islanders have turned it into a kind of worldwide brand in many ways distinct from Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.

Arroyo appoints new Centcom chief

CEBU, Philippines – THE HEAD of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Special Operations Command will take over the helm of the Armed Forces Central Visayas Command (CentCom).

Major Gen. Victor Ibrado will replace Lt. General Cardozo Luna, incumbent Centcom chief, who will be reassigned to the Eastern Mindanao Command based in Davao City.

Once he takes over Centcom, Ibrado will continue discussions on the planned transfer of the CentCom headquarters to Lapu-Lapu City as Capitol moves to recover the 81-hectare of province-owned lot that CentCom now occupies in barangay Apas.

Army’s learning curve in South

The Thai Army is planning to send nearly 100 of its troops to take part in a joint exercise with the Indian military in the country’s eastern state of Jharkhand. Army officials are hoping to gain some valuable experience from their Indian counterparts who have for the better part of three decades faced nearly 40 militant outfits in the country’s northeast region. The move is part of an agreement signed in June in India during Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont’s visit. The two countries agreed to work together towards strengthening security cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts.
New Delhi is looking to expand its defence ties and improve its level of maritime cooperation bilaterally with countries in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Tajiks released from Guantánamo sentenced to 17 years in prison

From Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, comes news that two of the three Tajik detainees released from Guantánamo in March – Muqit Vohidov and Rukniddin Sharopov – have received jail sentences of 17 years in “high-security penal colonies” (aka labour camps) for “serving as mercenaries in Afghanistan” – where they were accused of aiding the Taliban by fighting for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) – and for taking part in “illegal border crossing.” After passing sentence, the Supreme Court judge, Musammir Uroqov, said that both men had maintained their innocence, and added, “In their last words, they said they didn’t expect such consequences for acts they committed.”

Terror News Briefs

23 Aug News Roundup

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