Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

Terrorist attack in Lakki Marwat martyrs six policemen

2022-11-20

[The Nation (Pak)] At least six coppers — including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) — were martyred when two gunnies on a cycle of violence opened fire on their mobile during routine patrolling, officials confirmed Wednesday.

The incident took place within the parameters of the Dadiwala Police Station when the cops were conducting a routine patrol near a fair in the city, a spokesperson for the city's police said.

The martyred cops include ASI Ilm Deen, Detective Foot Constable Ahmed Nawaz, Lower Head Constable Zubair, Frontier Reserve Police's sepoy Usman Ali, Constable Mahmood Khan, and driver Dil Jan.

The spokesperson for the district's police said that a search operation has been initiated to arrest the terrorists.

In a statement issued shortly after the heinous attack, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned it and paid tribute to the martyred coppers. "The nation salutes brave officers who have sacrificed their lives for their motherland."

Terming gunnies as the enemies of Pakistain, the prime minister vowed that the nation would stand strong against them. He then urged the KP government to provide the "Shuhda Package" to the families of the dear departed.

Link

India-Pakistan

Security Forces Gun Down 3 Terrorists in an Encounter in North Waziristan: ISPR

2021-02-18

[DailyTimes.pk] During an intelligence based operation (IBO), security forces killed 3 Lions of Islam from the Aleem Khan Khushali group. According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) the encounter took place in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s North Wazoo

Wazoo district on Tuesday.

"These Lions of Islam were involved in murder, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, fire raid on security forces and improvised bomb (IED) explosions," ISPR added. "Sanitisation of the area was carried out."

As told by military’s media wing the operation was carried out after the security forces noticed the presence of Lions of Islam in a compound in North Waziristan’s area Mir Ali.

The ISPR said that 42-year-old resident of Chitral Naib Subedar Aminullah and a 24-year-old resident of Landi Kotal Sepoy Sher Zamin embraced martyrdom and four other security personnel received injuries during the operation.

Previously two bad boyz were potted on 18th January during an IBO in Nargosa area of South Waziristan The military’s media wing further added to the previous operation that "During an intense fire, two Lions of Islam Usman Ali and Waheed Lashtai were killed and one was injured and apprehended".

Related from January 6:

Waziristan Militant Leader Aleem Khan Ustad Joins Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

[Defence.pk] On December 15, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), appeared in a video released by Umar Media, the official media arm of TTP (Umar Media, December 15). This video demonstrated a continuation of the series of mergers of Pakistani jihadist groups into TTP, which started in July 2020.

The video contains footage of the bay’ah (oath of allegiance) ceremonies of two jihadist organizations from Waziristan, Pakistan, including Mulawi Aleem Khan Ustad, and Commander Umar Azzam groups. Khan is a powerful jihadist commander who joined TTP with nine commanders and dozens of fighters (Tribal News, November 28).

TTP announced the mergers of both groups into its ranks on November 27 (Umar Media, November 27). The video shows that the merger ceremony apparently took place outside Afghanistan, most probably in Waziristan’s remote areas bordering the country. The footages include video clips of both commanders’ oath-taking, holding Mahsud’s hands and announcing their pledges of allegiance to him.

WHO IS MULAWI ALEEM KHAN USTAD?
Aleem Khan is from the tribal North Waziristan district, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which served as the base of al-Qaeda for more than a decade after 9/11, from 2004 to 2015 (Asia Times, November 5). Khan was deputy to Hafiz Gul Bahadur—the al-Qaeda host and shadow governor of Waziristan (Gandhara, March 16, 2015). The Gul Bahadur group became the largest local group in Waziristan between 2008 and 2014 and even hosted TTP in North Waziristan after the organization lost its strongholds in neighboring South Waziristan.

Gul Bahadur’s decline started after the 2014 military operation in North Waziristan, when the jihadists escaping that military operation sought shelter in Afghanistan. [1] Khan disassociated from Bahadur that same year and since then has operated independently (The News, August 20, 2014).

During this period, serious differences emerged that would divide Khan and Bahadur, resulting in the latter ultimately seeking leadership of the group (The News, August 20, 2014). Bahadur alleged that Khan was in league with the Pakistani government, and in return was receiving protection for his areas and tribesmen from military operations. As a reaction to this accusation, Khan announced that he was now emir of the group, removing Bahadur, who had moved to the Afghanistan side of the border to escape military operations.

A few months later, Aleem Khan somewhat confirmed what Bahadur had accused him of when he surprisingly announced an end to the war against the Pakistani Army, and offered his group’s assistance in returning the internally displaced people (IDPs) of North Waziristan back to their homes. Like thousands of others from North Waziristan, these IDPs had left their homes due to the military operations that took place in 2014. His group had taken responsibility for restoring peace in North Waziristan and threatened military operations against all those aiming to engage in an insurgency against the state (Daily Pakistan, March 16 2015).

Thus, the merger of the Aleem Khan group into TTP is important from two perspectives. First, it is a major blow to the Pakistani Army’s efforts to coopt the anti-state militants in Waziristan for peace and the restoration of government authority in the area (Gandahara, July 24 2018). Second, Khan’s bay’ah to TTP is the first time that a jihadist group from North Waziristan is joining the organization. It is particularly signicant that Khan’s group is a strong splinter of the Gul Bahadur organization.

The TTP and the Gul Bahadur group share a history of rivalry rooted in the tribal politics of the region. The senior leadership of al-Qaeda, particularly its Afghanistan-Pakistan chief, Mustafa Abu Yazid, tried to unify the TTP and Bahadur group, but the latter did not accept it for long [2]. Gul Bahadur’s rejection has roots in the historical tribal feuds between Mehsuds and Wazir tribes of Waziristan. The Wazirs considers themselves superior to Mehsuds [3]. Thus, Gul Bahadur, being the strongest leader of the Wazir tribes, never agreed to merge into TTP, which was led by the Mehsuds.

Link

India-Pakistan

Army Chief confirms death sentence for 10 terrorists

2018-01-20

[GEO.TV] Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa confirmed the death sentences of 10 hardcore faceless myrmidons on Friday, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The 10 faceless myrmidons were awarded death sentences by military courts.

The convicts were involved in faceless myrmidons activities, killing of innocent civilians, attacks on educational institutions, killing of soldiers, attacking law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and armed forces of Pakistain, the statement added.

The faceless myrmidons were involved in the killings of 41 personnel and injuring 33 others. Arms and explosives were also recovered from their possession.

Besides the 10 awarded death sentences, another three convicts were awarded imprisonment for varying periods by military courts.

Particulars of the 10 convicts are as follows:

Sami ur Rahman & Azeem Khan
Rahman son of Gul Habib and Khan son of Shaiber, were both members of a proscribed organization and were involved in attacking LEAs and armed forces of Pakistain, resulting in the death of Major Muhammad Ihsan, 9 soldiers as well as 2 police officials and injuring 13 others. They were also found in possession of fire-arms and explosives. The convicts admitted their offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.

Arshad Bilal and Anwar Ali
Bilal son of Khadim Khan and Ali son of Fazal Ghaffar, were also members of proscribed a organization. They were involved in attacking armed forces of Pakistain which resulted in death of 9 soldiers and injured 9 others. They were also involved in destruction of Government Boys Primary School, Langer, Swat. They were found in possession of fire-arms and explosives. These convicts admitted their offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.

Muhammad Aleem and Fazal Aleem
Both sons of Abdul Rasheed. The convicts were members of a proscribed organization. They were involved in attacking Law Enforcement Agencies and armed forces of Pakistain which resulted in the death of 4 soldiers. They were also involved in destruction of Government Boys High School, Nangolai, Swat. The convicts admitted their offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.

Rasool Muhammed
Muhammed son of Ahmed Jan, was a member of a proscribed organization. He was involved in attacking LEAs and armed forces of Pakistain which resulted in death of 4 soldiers. The convict also abetted other faceless myrmidons in slaughtering of civilian Said Raheem as well as Assistant Sub Inspector Irshad Ali, Head Constable Sarwar Ali Khan and Head Constable Sher Ahmed. The convict admitted his offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.

Sohail Ahmed
Ahmed son of Usman Ali, was a member of a proscribed organization. He was involved in killing of innocent civilians and attacking LEAs of Pakistain which resulted in the death of 3 civilians, Sub Inspector Mustafa Khan, a constable of police and injuries to 4 others. He was also found in possession of explosives. The convict admitted his offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.

Naimat Ullah
Son of Ahmed, the convict was a member of a proscribed organization. He was involved in attacking armed forces of Pakistain, which resulted in death of 2 soldiers and injuries to 4 others. He was also found in possession of fire-arm and explosives. The convict admitted his offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.

Rahmat Ali
Ali son of Noor Said, was a member of a proscribed organization. He was involved in attacking armed forces of Pakistain which resulted in the death of a soldier. He was also found in possession of fire-arms. The convict admitted his offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Nigerian official held over alleged ties to Boko Haram

2017-01-02

[AA.TR] A Nigerian local government official was detained in the country's restive northeastern region for allegedly shielding a Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
suspect at his home.

According to a ministerial statement on Sunday from the provincial Borno government, Shettima Lawan Mafa, a council chairman, was held by the military on suspicion he hid a top terror suspect.

"(Hon. Mafa) reported himself to the military last week and was detained pending the outcome of ongoing investigations being conducted by the military," Borno commissioner for local government affairs Usman Ali Zannah said -- the first official comment on the issue.

The army had yet to comment at the time of this report.

A number of top government officials have previously been indicted for alleged involvement in the insurgency. The country's senate majority leader Ali Ndume and former Borno governor Ali Modu-Sheriff face similar charges, although they have not yet been prosecuted.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

Boko Haram Leader 'Ordered Women to be Killed' in Gwoza

2015-03-28

[AnNahar] Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
leader Abubakar Shekau directly ordered women to be killed in the northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
n town of Gwoza, one man who was forcibly conscripted into the krazed killer ranks claimed on Friday.

Usman Ali said he witnessed the killing in the town, which the group's elusive leader proclaimed as part of a caliphate last year and which has generally been seen as the krazed killers' headquarters.

Another local man, Haruna Abubakar, also confirmed the massacre in the Borno state town but neither was able to say how many women were killed.

There has also been speculation that the 219 kidnapped schoolgirls from Chibok who have been held by Boko Haram since last April were in Gwoza but both said there was no sign of them.

Nigeria's military said on Friday that troops had recaptured Gwoza, the latest claimed success in a regional offensive involving Chad, Niger and Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
There has been increasing evidence that Boko Haram has committed atrocities as the coalition regains ground.

Residents who fled the town of Bama, also in Borno state, earlier this month, also reported that dozens of women forced into marriage with Boko Haram fighters were killed.

- 'We had no choice' -
Ali, a 35-year-old farmer, said the rebels came to his village of Kilekasa, 55 kilometers (34 miles) from Gwoza and about 15 kilometers from Chibok late on Friday March 13.

In the convoy of about 46 all-terrain pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns were two armored vehicles, he said, adding: "Shekau drove in a black Toyota jeep."

Shekau was taken to the village of Huyum about five kilometers away and the following morning all residents of Kilekasa were assembled and able-bodied men were given guns.

"We had no choice," he told Agence La Belle France-Presse, adding that one man who tried to flee was executed in front of them.

"On Sunday March 15, Shekau assembled his men including us, the new recruits, and addressed us. He said they should go back to Gwoza and kill all of their women they left behind.

"He said if they didn't kill them they would not join them in paradise. They took us along to Gwoza where we witnessed the carnage.

"They gathered the women who were in large number and opened fire on them.

"One of the women who was heavily pregnant asked to be spared until she delivered her baby but her request was turned down."

- Chibok girls -
Ali said he returned to Kilekasa later that day and fled at nightfall to Yola, the capital of neighboring Adamawa state.

"I don't know what has been the fate of the people in the village. When we went to Gwoza we didn't see any sign of the girls from Chibok. They must have been moved to another place," he added.

Abubakar, who fled Gwoza to a camp for internally displaced people in Yola, said his aunt left the town on March 16.

"She told me that Boko Haram moved out of the town three days earlier at night in several vehicles. They returned on Sunday and killed their wives, some of them pregnant," he said.

"They gathered them in one place and shot them dead. She said there were no Boko Haram gunnies when she left Gwoza. She didn't know where they moved to.

"When I asked her about the whereabouts of the Chibok girls she told me they were not in Gwoza."

Link

India-Pakistan

60 former militants rehabilitated

2013-08-25

[Dawn] The army has rehabilitated 60 more former Death Eaters after they renounced militancy and underwent a three months training in different trades at the 'Mishal centre for de-radicalisation' in Phetaam area of Swat.

The 17 Division of Pakistain Army organised a ceremony here on Friday to mark the rehabilitation of the bully boys, where General Officer Commanding of Malakand division Major General Sanaullah Niazi, civil and military officials and local elders were in attendance.

Commissioner of Malakand division Mohammad Akbar Khan was the chief guest on the occasion.

The former Death Eaters mostly belonged to Swat, Dir, Swabi, Malakand and Nowshera.

Usman Ali, 36, a resident of Charbagh, told Dawn that he had renounced militancy for good and received three months training in tailoring to earn his livelihood.

Said Mohammad, 20, a resident of Rahimabad near Mingora city, said he had learned tailoring and felt the change in his life.

"I will serve my country as a good citizen" he said.

Another resident of Rahimabad, Imran, 21, said he had learned how make shawls.

Shafiullah, 31, a former bully boy belonging to Deehrai area of Kabal tehsil, said he would begin a new life.

"Apart from being trained in welding profession, I learnt the ways and means to spend life as a good citizen," he said.

Ali Mohammad, 53, a resident of Charbagh, said he'd realised his mistake to take up arms against the state and would try his best to educate his sons and daughters so that they could serve the country.

Addressing the ceremony, Malakand division commissioner Akbar Khan said the army had defeated militancy in the area through its operation 'Rah-e-Rast' and that the victory had become possible after rendering a lot of sacrifices by the army personnel.

He said there was peace and stability in Malakand division and the people and the government should work together for peace and harmony in the country.

Mr Khan said the government, army and public should continue their joint efforts for de-radicalisation of the society and that the provincial government provided necessary funds for the de-radicalisation programme meant to make former Death Eaters good citizens.

Link

Britain

The Web Of Extremism Surrounding Woolwich Terror Suspects

2013-05-28

The Hook-Handed Hate Cleric, A White Muslim Convert And The Man Arrested Over A Plot Against Parliament

Lots of photos and a colour-coded chart to help visualize the connections at the link.

o Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, linked to many radicals
o Extremists Abu Hamza, Omar Bakri and Anjem Choudary are senior figures
o Ten men have apparent connections via various groups and mosques

A powerful web of Islamic bully boyz and terror convicts sits behind the two men believed to have executed Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, it emerged today.

Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, are both apparently linked to a wider network of men who are known to have either planned atrocities, preached violence or joined groups considered so extreme they are now banned.

These apparent connections have come to light since the British Mohammedans were tossed in the clink
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
on suspicion of hacking Drummer Rigby to death in broad daylight after he was run down with a car last Wednesday.

Both men are said to know Usman Ali, an alleged bully boy and former member of the banned group Al-Muhajiroun, who also ran the Friday prayer group in Woolwich, where Adebolajo and Adebowale went.

He was also held for six days by Scotland Yard over alleged links to a conspiracy to blow up the Canadian Parliament.

Even extradited hate preacher Abu Hamza is connected to the pair via his own associates, who he is said have radicalised at the Fisbury Park Mosque in the 1990s.

Others in the circle include white convert Richard Dart, who last month was jugged
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
for 11 years for plotting to attack British soldiers at Wootton Bassett. Dart was stopped as he tried to leave for Pakistain for terrorist training.

The contact Adebolajo, 28, and Adebowale, 22, had with these men and other may have inspired them to attempt to plot a terror attack.

At the top of the very top of this network is bully boy holy man Omar Bakri, who is banned from Britannia because of his activities, including his alleged links to Al Qaeda.

He met Michael Adebolajo on numerous occasions throughout 2004 and founded the now banned Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun, with which Adebolajo is believed to have been associated.

Now living in Leb, his leave to remain in Britannia was revoked after the 7/7 London attacks, which he said the British people brought on themselves.

His deputy Anjem Choudary knew both the terror suspects, who remain in hospital after being bumped off by police.

Choudary -- who helped form the now-banned Islamist groups Al-Muhajiroun and Al Ghurabaa - is accused of helping to radicalise several terrorists.

The 46-year-old described Adebolajo as a man of 'impeccable character' in interviews with BBC Newsnight and Channel 4 News last week.

Abu Izzadeen, who is also known as Trevor Brooks, was also an associate of Bakri and Choudary.

He was found guilty in 2008 of urging worshipers at a London mosque to join the mujahideen to fight British and American troops in Iran.

Abu Nusaybah, 31, whose real name is Ibrahim Hassan, was convicted along with Izzadeen five years ago, and was handed two years, nine months in jail.

He is also a close friend of Woolwich suspect Adebolajo and last week sensationally claimed that MI5 had tried to recruit his ally.

He was also a former prominent member of Al-Muhajiroun, the group banned in 2005 after radicalising a wave of British Mohammedans.

Adebolajo and Adebowale's links to Greenwich University's Islamic society are currently being probed by the Home Office, a group which heard from Dr Khalid Fikry, who has supported convicted terrorists.

Link

India-Pakistan

Ex-superintendent sacked over Bannu jailbreak

2012-12-17

[Dawn] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
chief secretary on Saturday sacked the former deputy superintendent-cum-superintendent of the Bannu central prison, Mohammad Zahid, after he was found responsible for inefficiency and negligence over the prison break, which led to the escape of around 300 prisoners, including a high-profile convict.

Mr Zahid (BPS-17), who was suspended soon after the incident on May 15, was dismissed from the service after through inquiry and issuance of a show cause notice to him.

The then assistant inspector general of prisons, Shah Salman, who was also suspended, has now been warned to be careful in future while processing cases of prisoners.

During the April 15, 2012 jailbreak, a former junior technician of Pakistain Air Force, Adnan Rasheed, who was on death row after convicted by a field general court martial for engineering attack on then military ruler General Musharraf in Dec 2003, had also escaped. He was transferred to Bannu Jail from Haripur without realising that he was a high-profile prisoner.

Another deputy superintendent-cum-superintendent, Usman Ali (BPS-17) was exonerated from all charges. He was also suspended.

A few days ago, the provincial home department had dismissed from service 11 warders of the Bannu prison in the same connection.

According to a news release issued by the provincial home department, these officers of the inspectorate of prison, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, were proceeded against under Rule 3 of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government Servants (Efficiency and Disciplinary) Rules, 2011, for different charges mentioned in the show cause notices issued to them on June 14, 2012, which were served upon them individually.

The provincial chief secretary, who is the competent authority, granted them all an opportunity of personal hearing as provided under the said rules.

In the April 15, 2012 incident, snuffies from the neighbouring North Wazoo Agency had attacked the prison in large numbers but the officials on duty offered no resistance.

Link

India-Pakistan

Karachi violence claimed at least 12 lives

2012-05-19

The incidents of assassinations continued in the city, as at least 12 people were killed and four other dead bodies were found from different areas of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
on Friday.

Three men were rubbed out by person or persons unknown in Federal B Area in the jurisdiction of Samanabad cop shoppe today. The dear departed were identified as Imran, Abdul Basit and Shoaib. An official at the cop shoppe said they had come from Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
to receive bodies of their two relatives killed in Baldia town a few days earlier.

Two bullet-riddled and tortured dead bodies were found from Baldia Number 5. The dear departed were identified as 22-year-old Mitho and 25-year-old Amir.

A young man, Usman Ali, was rubbed out by unidentified gunnies near Al-Asif Square, Sohrab Goth area last night.

Unidentified gunnies attacked three coppers, who were patrolling the area of Baldia town last night; two of the coppers were dead on the spot while the third received minor injuries.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.
If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...
bullet riddled body of a young man was found in Liaquatabad on early hours of Friday, police said.

Four people, including a child, were rubbed out in Mansehra
...

a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...
Colony in the jurisdiction of Sharafi Goth cop shoppe.

Decomposed body of a girl was found from a Gulshan-e-Iqbal on Friday, police said.

At least ten days old body of eight-year-old girl was recovered from empty plot in block 20 of Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

Two men were rubbed out at Gul Bai, Sher Shah Area and Shah latif town area. They were identified as Abdul Qadir and Sabir respectively.

After these incidents of violence police and rangers beefed up patrolling and started snap checking in different parts of Bloody Karachi.

Link

India-Pakistan

Five killed, 20 hurt in Swat attacks

2008-08-18

Five people, including a woman and a police constable, were killed and 20 others injured as violence continued in parts of the troubled Swat valley on Sunday.

Sources said six cattle heads also perished and a number of houses were destroyed in artillery shelling and firing while miscreants torched a girls' middle school, a boys' primary school, a health centre and a barber shop in different localities of the valley.

The security forces continued shelling suspected militants' locations in different areas. A woman was killed and five other members of a family sustained severe injuries when a shell hit the house of Wazirzada in Dagai area of Kabal Tehsil.

Another shell landed on the house of one Mian Gul, killing a 15-year-old youth and injuring four others in Hazara area of Kabal. In another incident, two persons identified as Sher Bahadur and Muhammad Rahim were killed and five wounded when the security forces shelled the area after unknown armed men opened fire on them at Manglawar.

A police constable, Fazal Murad Khan, was killed when armed men attacked the Wenai check-post in Matta Tehsil. Soon after the incident, gunship helicopters bombed militants' hideouts in upper areas of Kabal and Matta Tehsils.

Miscreants set ablaze a health centre in Gulibagh area of Charbagh Tehsil, reducing the furniture and medicines to ashes. They also torched a barber shop run by Usman Ali in the same area.

Likewise, a girls' middle school in Sambat area of Matta and a boys' primary school in Qambar near Mingora city were set on fire by the miscreants. All the furniture and record of both the schools were destroyed.

A bomb planted by unknown miscreants at a police post building in Dew near Landaki, exploded, damaging it completely. However, no casualty was reported as personnel of the law-enforcement agencies had already abandoned the building. APP adds: The curfew in Swat district will be relaxed from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm on Monday morning.

Link

Southeast Asia

Alleged terrorist nabbed; police claim foiling bomb attack

2008-03-20

A suspected bomber with links to the Jemaah Islamiyah was arrested by government security forces here, the police announced Saturday. Senior Inspector Usman Ali Pingay, Jolo police chief, said Rening Kamlon Sabdani alias Rening Asmaruddin was the main suspect in the March 1 explosion near the military headquarters here that wounded six people, two of them soldiers.

Pingay said Sabdani, 39, was arrested during a raid by police and military personnel on a house in Barangay (village) Bus-bus on March 8. "He was having a drink with another companion when we came around 3 p.m. His companion managed to escape," Pingay said.

He said Pingay said Sabdani's arrest was not immediately publicized because he was under tactical interrogation. He described the suspect as a member of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group. "We have already filed charges against him," Pingay said.

In Datu Odin Sinsuat in Shariff Kabunsuan province, soldiers reportedly foiled a bomb attack after they seized an explosive and arrested a suspected terrorist on Tuesday. Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division based in the that province, said the soldiers were manning a checkpoint in Makar village when they discovered a powerful improvised bomb while inspecting a passenger vehicle from nearby a town around noon.

He said the checkpoint was set up after the military received information that a bomb attack was to be carried out in one of the province's towns. Ando said the explosive, fashioned out of a 60-millimeter live mortar shell, was placed in a traveling bag inside the baggage compartment of the passenger van that was being inspected.

Ando said the bomb had a blasting cap and was packed with about a kilo of three-inch concrete nails and explosive powder. "It was fitted with a cellphone as detonator and a timer powered by a nine-volts battery," he said.

Ando said the suspected bomber, Saudi Abdul Ibrahim of Sultan Kudarat town, also in Shariff Kabunsuan, was arrested.

He said the make of the bomb was similar to the ones exploded by terrorists affiliated with the Jemaah Islamiyah in Central Mindanao but he could not say if the suspect was a member of any of the JI-affiliated groups operating in the region and other parts of Mindanao. Ando said the suspect was immediately turned over to the local police for further investigation.

Link

Afghanistan/South Asia

7 taken off international flights

2005-08-27

In separate incidents, seven people were offloaded from various international flights at the Islamabad International Airport on Friday. According to immigration officials, Abdul Hameed and Bakhtiar Khan from Swat were offloaded from the Doha-bound flight QR 398 for carrying stolen and invalid passports respectively. Abdul Hameed was intercepted by immigration officials on his way to the plane and was found to be carrying a stolen passport. Bakhtiar Khan was prevented from boarding the same flight after it was discovered that he had pasted his photograph over someone else's passport.

In another incident, a passenger Usman Ali was offloaded from a Canada-bound flight because of an expired visa. Similarly, a couple was prevented from boarding Paris-bound flight PK 733 as their travel documents were invalid. A woman, Irshad Begum, was offloaded from a Manchester-bound flight as she did not have proper travel documentation.

Link

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