Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

Hideout busted in Ramban, ammunition recovered: Officials

2023-05-02

Hideout busted in Ramban, ammunition recovered: Officials
https://t.co/s6DSkEGB0v
— Greater Kashmir (@GreaterKashmir) May 1, 2023

Ammunition was recovered after a joint team of security forces busted a militant hideout in Khari tehsil of Ramban district on Monday, officials said.

Quoting the officials, GNS reported that information was received through reliable sources regarding the presence of a cache of ammunition and other incriminating material in the far flung hilly and forested area of tehsil Khari in Ramban.

“Acting swiftly on the input, a search operation was launched by Police and SOG in the forest area and suspected hideout locations were searched during which the joint team busted and recovered ammunition from a hideout”, they said.

The recovered ammunition,as per the official include; two rifle grenades, one UBGL thrower, one wireless with antenna without battery, two IED type with wire, one detonator type with wire, seventeen AK47 cartilage, seven 9mm cartilage, one glass bottle having glycerine type liquid, one Khaki jacket and a Black leather shoe.

“A case FIR number 106/2023 under section 4 Explosive Substance act has been registered at P/S Banihal and investigation taken up”, they said.

Link

India-Pakistan

NIA raids 12 different locations across J&K

2023-05-02

NIA raids 12 different locations across J&K https://t.co/v3NOWker7c
— Greater Kashmir (@GreaterKashmir) May 2, 2023

National Investigation Agency was carrying out raids at 12 locations across Jammu and Kashmir
Kashmir

One India adds:

In a major crackdown, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted raids at multiple locations in Jammu and Kashmir.

A source tells OneIndia that the raids are being carried out in central and south Kashmir. Raids have also been carried out in Poonch and Rajouri.

The raids are taking place just a few weeks after the Poonch attack in which five soldiers were killed. The attack is believed to have been engineered by seven to eight ~~bandidos~~ holy warriors on April 20.

Investigations have shown that the ~~bandidos~~ holy warriors hid under a culvert on the road, following which they launched the attack. The Army trucks was carrying fruits and vegetables ate the Sangiote village from Bhimber Gali for Iftar to be organised by the Rashtriya Rifles, the probe also found.

The source also said that the ~~bandidos~~ holy warriors carried out the attack with the support of some locals.So far over 200 persons have been questioned by the probe agencies.

While the ~~bandidos~~ holy warriors are still on the lam, a religious holy man was detained by the police for questioning. Molvi Manzoor from Madrassa, Markaz -Ul-Marrif was arrested from Jammu city on the suspicion that he has links with those involved in the Poonch terror attack. His name had cropped up during the questioning of the others who have been detained in connection with this case.

The police have so far detained nearly 250 persons

“Round up all the usual suspects, Sgt. Ramesh. Eid is over, so no longer any need to be sensitive.”

which seven have been formally arrested. Most others have been released after questioning.

J&K police chief, Dilbag Singh said that six ~~bandidos~~ holy warriors that included an entire family of one of the them colluded on the instructions of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and provided logistic support that included arms, ammunition, grenades and cash dropped by a drone from Pakistain.

"We believe that ~~bandidos~~ holy warriors have been in this area for the past couple of months and they were shifting their hideouts from one place to another," Singh said.

It is also believed that the ~~bandidos~~ holy warriors lived in the natural caves of the jungles of Bhat Dhurian for three months.

Link

India-Pakistan

Man who provided ‘shelter’ to Poonch attackers for two months detained

2023-04-27

#Poonch attack: Man who provided 'shelter' to attackers for two months detained https://t.co/zbubKThNx3
— Greater Kashmir (@GreaterKashmir) April 26, 2023

As a first substantial breakthrough in the Poonch ambush probe, security forces zeroed-in on a man, who allegedly provided ’shelter’ and ’support’ to the bully boyz for at-least two months before they carried out April 20 attack that claimed the lives of five soldiers.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's knife out of his hand......
the search operation to track down the ultras entered the sixth day.

Sources told news agency—Kashmir
Kashmir

...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
News Observer (KNO), that following leads and cross checking the statements of 50 detainees in the case, forces zeroed-in on one Nasir, a local, for his involvement in sheltering and supporting the bully boyz for more than two months, before executing the ambush in Tota Gali, Bhata Dhurian in Bhimbir Gali Secto, Mender Poonch.

Army Commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi visited the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and took stock of the ongoing operation, the officials said, adding he asked the troops to be relentless in their pursuit. This was Army commander’s second visit in the region in less than a week.

Five Army personnel were killed, and another was maimed after their vehicle was attacked by bully boyz in Poonch last Thursday.

A massive search and cordon operation was launched after the attack and it has now spread to 12 areas across the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri.

Sources claimed that after sustained questioning and cross checking the statements a local, Nasir confessed his involvement and told Sherlocks that he sheltered the bully boyz at his house for more than two months and "provided them logistic and material support."

"Some of the detainees were let off after questioning," they said.

Special Forces are also engaged in the search operation, the sources said, adding the agencies are backed by drones, sniffer dogs and metal detectors.

A large spread of forest areas, deep gorges, natural caves and dense growths have been searched and the operation is now covering other places, they said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's knife out of his hand......
a balloon from across the border was noticed in Jhalas area of Poonch, they said.

Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi took stock of the search operation which entered its sixth day on Wednesday.

"He interacted with the troops deployed in remote areas and exhorted them to be innovative and relentless in their pursuit," the northern command tweeted.

This was the second visit of the army commander to the border districts within five days. Earlier on April 22, Lt Gen Dwivedi had visited the attack site at Bhata Dhurian, a notorious infiltration route for bully boyz from across the Line of Control because of its topography, dense forest cover and natural caves. Sources had earlier said seven to eight bully boyz spread in two groups are believed have engineered the attack.

According to initial investigation, the bully boyz reportedly hid themselves in a culvert on the road from where they launched the attack on the truck which was carrying fruits, vegetables and other items to Sangiote village from the Bhimber Gali camp for Iftar to be organised by the Rashtriya Rifles.

Over 50 bullet marks were spotted on the vehicle that shows intensity of the firing by terrorists, the sources said.

The troops involved in the operation are exercising utmost caution as the bully boyz may have planted improvised bombs (IEDs) in the densely forested area with deep gorges and caves, they added.

The slain soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.

Experts from various agencies including the National Security Guard (NSG) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have visited the site of the attack, the officials said.

They said a sniper is believed to have targeted the vehicle from the front before his associates showered bullets and lobbed grenades on the vehicle from opposite sides, apparently giving the troops no time to retaliate.

"The bully boyz used steel coated bullets that can penetrate an armoured shield," they said adding, "Before fleeing, the bully boyz stole the soldiers’ arms and ammunition."

Even as security forces continued with their cordon and search operations for the sixth day. People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), an offshoot of Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
(JeM), has released some pictures on social sites claiming them to be from the site of the ambush at Tota Gali. In the posts on social sites, PAFF, which had earlier claimed the responsibility of the attack, has stated that some parts of the videos of the ’Operation’ will be released ’soon’

Link

India-Pakistan

Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists involved in Kashmir bank loot incidents

2017-05-09

[Indian Express] Inspector General of Police in Kashmire, SJM Gilani, on Monday, said that the investigation has revealed role of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) Lions of Islam in the recent incidents of bank loot reported from south Kashmire. "Investigation revealed Lions of Islam of Laskar-e-Taiba & Hizbul Mujahideen involved in recent cases of bank loot in south Kashmire," news agency ANI quoted Gilani as saying.

Four incidents of bank loot took place in three days in Kashmire and currency worth lakhs was taken away. First such loot took place on May 1 as the ~~bandidos~~ forces of Evil attacked a cash van of Jammu and Kashmire Bank. Five coppers and two security guards were killed in the attack.

Another loot in Kulgam district on May 2 at Ellaquai Dehati Bank was carried out by the krazed killers. On May 3, two different incidents of loot happened and the lakhs of rupees worth of cash was taken away. In response to these attacks, the J&K Bank, on Saturday, decided to stop the cash transactions in 40 of its branches.

Meanwhile,
...back at the barn, a little lightbulb figuratively appeared over Bossy's head...
IGP Gilani also spoke about the incident of stone pelting by students. He said, "Some students were instigated by outside elements to pelt stones by giving them money, appeal parents of students to counsel them." Gilani also said that there were around 200 ’terrorists’ operating in the Valley currently out of which 110 are local ’terrorists’.

Link

India-Pakistan

Punjab bans 23 militant outfits operating under new names

2010-07-07

ISLAMABAD -- The Punjab government has banned 23 militant organisations operating under new names after having been outlawed and directed police to keep a strict vigil on 1,690 office-bearers and workers of the outfits after including them in Schedule 4.

According to the provincial home department, Jamaatud Dawa of Hafiz Saeed has not been restricted like others, but Saeed and his two associates have been barred from travelling abroad. Their accounts have been frozen and they will not be able to get arms licences.

Sipah-e-Sahaba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Laskar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-e-Jafria, Harkatul Jihad Islami, Harkatul Mujahideen, Hizbul Tehrir, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Muhammad had been banned by the Musharraf government in 2002, but most of them started their activities under new names.

It's like Pakistan has the world's largest 'Book of Synonyms' ...

Sipah-e-Sahaba was renamed as Millat-e-Islamia Pakistan, Jaish-e-Muhammad as Alfurqan and Khuddamul Islam and Tehrik-e-Jafria as Islami Tehrik Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Taiba as Jamaatud Dawa. Hizbul Tehrir did not change its name.

Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad have been active in the Indian-administered Kashmir and have also been blamed in terrorist acts inside mainland India -- Jaish-e-Mohammad in attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001and LeT in the Mumbai carnage of November 2008.

While Jaish's chief Maulana Azhar Masood has been keeping a low profile since his organisation was suspected of making an attempt on the life of former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in December 2003, the LeT's Hafiz Saeed continues to be very active in the guise of various outfits even after the new organisation Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) was also was banned when the United Nations Security Council declared it a terrorist organisation in 2002.

Link

Bangladesh

Ctg grenades used in all attacks

2009-11-13

[Bangla Daily Star] The grenades that went missing from the Chittagong 10-truck arms cache in 2004 were used in all grenade attacks including the one on August 21 Awami League rally, detained former BNP state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar has told interrogators.

The grenades were used in attacks on Shah AMS Kibria, former British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Anwar Choudhury, AL leader Suranjit Sengupta and Sylhet City Mayor Badruddin Ahmed Kamran, Babar told Criminal Investigation Department officials during interrogation in the August 21 grenade attack case.

The former state minister said three days after the August 21 incident Harris Chowdhury asked him to go to Hawa Bhaban where former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu was also present.

Both Harris and Pintu had threatened Babar to strip him of ministerial post when he refused hiding the truth and saving the perpetrators, Babar said.

The two also told him not to show any curiosity about the sources of the grenades.

Babar mentioned that all grenade attacks were made in the country after the arms haul at Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Jetty on April 2, 2004 when a huge number of grenades and arms went missing, CID sources said.

Meanwhile, detained Harkatul Jihad al Islam leader Abdul Majid admitted that he received the grenades from Laskar-e-Taiba leader Moulana Tajuddin, also brother of Pintu, for carrying out attack on the AL rally. But he was not sure from where Tajuddin collected them, said sources.

CID sources said Babar however denied his involvement in supplying the grenades saying he came to know about it after the attack.

Babar also said he didn't know then the number of missing grenades as intelligence agency personnel did not give him any information about it.

Meanwhile, Huji founder Moulana Sheikh Abdus Salam divulged that the plan to assassinate Sheikh Hasina was finalised after the masterminds received some of the missing grenades. Tajuddin collected the grenades from them, he added.

CID interrogated Babar, Salam and Majid together to crosscheck information.

Babar would be produced before the court today as his remand for third phase ended yesterday.

Link

Bangladesh

Laskar-e-Taiba active in Bangladesh for 14 years

2009-07-18

[Bangla Daily Star] Pakistan based Islamist terrorist organisation Laskar-e-Taiba has been active in Bangladesh for the last 14 years, intelligence sources said quoting one of the most wanted Indian terrorists recently captured here. Local leaders of the organisation have links to the network of absconding Indian mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, and also to leaders of other Islamist militant organisations like Harkatul Jihad al Islami Bangladesh (HuJi), the sources added.

The Detective Branch (DB) of police yesterday disclosed that they recently arrested an Indian national who is very much close to Laskar-e-Taiyeba, and also one of the most wanted by the Indian law enforcing and intelligence agencies.

Congratulations!

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner AKM Shahidul Hoque said the arrestee is identified as Mufti Obaidullah, who has been staying in the country since 1995. -"He was arrested from the capital , and was taking preparations for a jihad by organising Bangladeshi mujahids with directives from Ameer Reza, a leader of Kashmir based Laskar-e-Taiyeba, who is an Indian national now staying in Pakistan," the DMP commissioner said.

Obaidullah took part in Afghan conflicts four times. Besides, he was active in militancy in India, in collaboration with militants from Pakistan and Afghanistan. He also collaborated with Islamist militants of Kashmir, Benaras, Punjab, and Hyderabad in India, said the DMP commissioner adding that Obaidullah came to Bangladesh to evade Indian intelligence after the government of that country in 1994 had declared him one of the most wanted.

Clearly the good mufti is a very, very bad man.

DB sources said a team led by Deputy Police Commissioner Monirul Islam of DB-North identified the Indian terrorist on the basis of confessions made by another detained Indian national Daud Merchant, a close aide to Daud Ibrahim and one of the main accused in the killing of music baron Gulshan Kumer. Daud Merchant and his associate Zahid Sheikh, who is also an Indian, were arrested in Bangladesh a month and a half ago.

According to the sources, Mufti Obaidullah has a PhD degree on fatwa from Deobandh Madrasa in India, and he was a teacher at Jamiatul Sunnah Madrasa of Shibchar upazila in Madaripur since 2003.

But we all know what PhD means, and what PhDs know. ("Piled higher and deeper." and "More and more about less and less until they know absolutely everything about nothing at all").

In June 1995 he came to Bangladesh, took up a fake name, Abu Zafar, and started teaching in different madrasas in Monirampur of Jessore, in Shrimangal of Moulvibazar, and at Tikirpur Jamia Mahmudia Madrasa in Nawabganj of Dhaka.

He took part in the previous Afghan war in 1988 while he was a student. In 1990, he took part in the ensuing Afghan conflict for the second time, when he was trained in operating a wide range of light and heavy weapons like machinegun, anti-aircraft gun, BM-50 canon, rocket launcher, and mortar. In 1991, he re-joined the conflict for the third time and visited various war camps as a veteran fighter. Finally in 1992 he took part in that ever morphing conflict for the last time.

Talking to reporters yesterday in detention, Obaidullah said he came to Bangladesh only to hide, and brought his family into the country later. He admitted that he is one of the most wanted in India, and said four other most wanted Indians are also hiding in Bangladesh.

"In 1994, Indian commandos went to West Bengal from Delhi by helicopters to arrest me, but I managed to evade arrest and later left India," Obaidullah added.

He said he knows many leaders of Bangladeshi Islamist terrorist groups, but denied carrying out any militant activity in the country. He however did admit to being active in the Islamist terrorist movement in India.

He also said he has a number of friends and well wishers in the country who are former students of Deobandh Madrasa.

He also managed to get a Bangladeshi national identity card, and cast votes in several elections, Obaidullah said.

The ACORN people will be mad with jealousy when they hear about him.

Link

India-Pakistan

Lashkar hand in J&K encounter, group warns of more attacks on army

2009-03-26

Hardline Pakistan-based terrorist group Laskar-e-Taiba warned on Wednesday of fresh attacks against Indian troops, and said its fighters were responsible for days of fighting in Kashmir.

Eight soldiers and 17 terrorists were killed in gunbattle that started on Saturday in Kashmir's Kupwara district, close to the Line of Control (LoC).

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) said its members were involved in the fighting, one of the fiercest in recent years. "The gunbattle should serve as a message to India that struggle for Kashmir's freedom is on with full vigour," Lashkar spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi said, warning of more attacks on Indian troops. He was speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Ghaznavi said Lashkar members had initiated the gunbattle by ambushing an army column in the forest area. He said the fighting left 25 Indian soldiers and ten Lashkar men dead. The Indian army said eight soldiers and 17 rebels were killed, and that the operation was launched by the soldiers after they were tipped off.

Link

Europe

Italy: Pakistani leader says 'no surprise' in link to terror attacks

2009-02-25

(AKI) - A Pakistani community leader said on Tuesday he was not surprised to hear of a link between Pakistani immigrants in Italy and the deadly Mumbai terrorist attacks. Ejaz Ahmad, spoke to Adnkronos International (AKI), after media reports alleged that a man who collaborated with the Mumbai terrorists used a Western Union agent in the northern Italian city of Brescia to pay for telephone numbers used to make untraceable international calls via the Internet. "I am not surprised that the telephone cards of the Mumbai terrorists were charged by a Brescia call centre," said Ejaz Ahmad, director of the Urdu-language monthly, 'Azad'.

"Italians do not know that here among the diverse immigrant communities, the Pakistanis are number one in the telecommunications sector. I spoke about exactly this in the last issue of my magazine which is targeted at Pakistanis in Italy. It all began years ago, when several Pakistanis were managing telephone networks for foreigners. It was because of this contact that Pakistanis became involved in the call centre business and all of them threw themselves into this work. Today there are around 4,000 Pakistanis that run call centres or shops in Italy from where you can send money abroad."

Ahmad, who is also the Pakistani community representative on an Islamic consultation committee set up by the Italian interior ministry, said he was not surprised to learn that the Pakistani allegedly involved in the telephone registration scandal was a resident of the Spanish city of Barcelona. "There is a strong rapport between Pakistanis in Italy and those in Spain, particularly in business," he said. Ahmad said many of the Pakistanis in Brescia had come from the Punjab region of Pakistan, and many had also migrated to Spain.

He also said several investigations carried out since 9/11 have spoken of the fund-raising inside the community for Laskar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani militant group linked to the November attacks in Mumbai.

In Italy there are several Islamic groups that control a large sector of the Pakistani community. The most important is the predominantly Sunni Minhaj al-Quran which controls 17 mosques in the northern regions of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna. There are also Muhammadiya members and Shias who have a strong following in certain areas such as Brescia.

Link

India-Pakistan

Deccan Mujahideen claims responsibility

2008-11-27

An organisation calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed it was behind attacks in Mumbai that left at least 80 people dead, television channels reported on Thursday. The previously unknown or little known group sent an email to news organisations claiming responsibility. Indian journalist Ameet Sha told a private TV channel there was no confirmation but the pattern suggested involvement of Laskar-e-Taiba>Laskar-e-Taiba. She said terrorist attacks of such a magnitude and the participation of such a large number of gunmen raised questions on the security situation in India.

Link

India-Pakistan

Fugitive Lashkar suspect arrested

2008-01-12

A suspected Laskar-e-Taiba activist, convicted in the post-Godhra killings in Gujarat, fell into the police net yet again on Thursday afternoon, this time for his alleged involvement in a fake currency racket in Kolkata.

The detective department rounded up Abbas Khan alias Akhdas Khan alias Mohsin Alam from a house at Chamru Singh Lane in East Kolkatas Narkeldanga area. Officers seized fakes notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination from him. Khan has been remanded in police custody till January 15.

It was in Narkeldanga that Mumbai Police had arrested a suspect in the local train blasts a year ago. Another key accused in the case, Seikh Sameer, a resident of Maharashtra, had been nabbed from Jorasanko in 2006.

According to police, Khan has close links with LeT and had spent a few years in Pakistan. He was convicted by a Gujarat court for the Godhra violence but was released on bail. He jumped parole and police could not find any trace of him. Finally, on a tip, Kolkata detectives swooped on his hideout. Khan is being interrogated by senior officers of Kolkata Police and central intelligence agencies at Lalbazar. They are trying to establish his links with terror outfits operating from Pakistan and Bangladesh and want to find out if he had a hand in subversive activities.

Police believe Khan was trying to flee to Pakistan but couldnt make it across due to the stringent vigil on the border in the western and northern sector. He was then planning to escape to Bangladesh from where he would have headed for Pakistan, they say. A special team of the Gujarat Police is reaching Kolkata on Saturday to question Khan. Hyderabad Police officers are also eager to get their hands on him. A team has already landed in the city and is questioning Khan to find out if he is among the terrorists who had a hand in the recent serial blasts in Hyderabad.

Link

India-Pakistan

The Masood Azhar tapes

2006-09-22

TIMES NOW has acquired a CD recovered from arrested LeT militants, which confirms for the first time that Maulana Masood Azhar, the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammad who is based out of Pakistan, has embarked on a war against India. In the CD, Maulana Masood Azhar who was freed by the government in exchange for hostages during the IC 814 hijacking, is exhorting young men to rise up in arms and join the 'jihad' against India.

The CD contains provocative speeches, lectures, literature and visuals to motivate minorties into joining the LeT. The CD was recovered by the Gujarat police on Tuesday (September 19) after they busted a Laskar-e-Taiba cell and arrested four men - Illiyas Memon, Khalid Kashmiri, Kari Mufidul and Sirajuddin Ansari from Surat and Ahmedabad.

This is not the first time that such propaganda CDs have been recovered by authorities — there have been several instances of 'motivational' CDs, circulated by Lashkar-e-Toiba militants operating in the Kashmir valley, being seized by J&K police.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More