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Southeast Asia

Police hunt international terrorists in Mindanao

2014-07-04

A former Universiti Malaya lecturer is among five suspected terrorists militants hunted down by police thought to be linked to the terror groups ISIL and Abu Sayyaf. Former lecturer Dr. Mahmud Ahmad and stationery shop owner Mohd Najib Husen are believed to be leaders in the local terrorist militant group that is training and sending members to fight in Syria and Iraq. Sources said authorities believed that the two men recruited and arranged for four Malaysians to be sent to Syria on March 5 this year, including Ahmad Tarmimi Maliki, the first Malaysian suicide bomber. One source said, "They were also responsible for arranging meetings between foreign and local militant leaders at a safe house in Shah Alam since late last year." It's thought that the meetings were to establish a Daulah Islamiyah Asia Tenggara (South-East Asia Islamiyah network). The sources said that Dr Mahmud, also known as Abu Handzalah, underwent training at an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan in the late 1990s, while he was studying at the Islamabad Islamic University in Pakistan. The third member being sought is former Selayang Municipal Council employee Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, also known as Abu Nur. A source said, "He is a spiritual leader of the group which spreads militant teachings and encourages Malaysians to fight in Syria." The two other wanted men are Darul Islam Sabah members Mohd Amin Baco and Jeknal Adil. Sources said that both men had undergone training with Abu Sayyaf since 2005. Police believe that Mohd Amin was involved in the brutal slaying of five people in southern Phi­lippines in 2011, the video of which went viral on YouTube. Mohd Amin and Jeknal are also suspected of kidnapping two people in Lahad Datu on Nov 12, 2012, the sources said.

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Iraq

Baghdad bombs against Shiites kill 25

2014-05-14

[Al Ahram] An apparently coordinated blasts struck on Tuesday as Iraq's Shiite majority marked the birth of a venerated figure in their faith, and came as officials tallied votes from the April 30 election amid a protracted surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 3,300 people this year. The government has blamed external factors, such as the civil war raging in neighbouring Syria, for the escalating unrest. But analysts and diplomats say the Shiite-led authorities have failed to do enough to reach out to the disaffected Sunni Arab minority and undercut support for militancy. At least nine boom-mobiles went off through the morning, when traffic gridlocks the streets. Smoke could be seen rising above several areas of the capital, and AFP journalists reported several shopfronts badly damaged and nearby cars reduced to mangled wrecks of metal. At least 80 people were maimed, overall. In Karrada, where three people died, the owner of a garage said the blast was caused by a turban posing as a customer who left his car, asking for the brakes to be fixed. "He said he would leave the car and go looking for spare parts, and then he left," said the 54-year-old who identified himself as Abu Nuri. "Only one of my employees was in the shop when a huge kaboom went off. He fell down, and smoke was everywhere. Many people were crying, and others were running away." Abu Nuri railed against the authorities and security forces, telling AFP: "The state has failed, it has completely failed. "Attacks target only innocent people, and those heroic officials are completely protected in the Green Zone," he said, referring to the heavily-fortified Storied Baghdad district, which is home to parliament and the US and British embassies. Two boom-mobiles also went kaboom! near a traffic police headquarters in the eastern Baladiyat neighbourhood, and blasts also hit Sadr City, Urr, Jamila, and Maamal, all of which are Shiite-majority. Another vehicle rigged with explosives exploded in the mostly-Sunni area of Arab Jubour, killing three, while a roadside kaboom went off near a police patrol in southeast Storied Baghdad, killing one. Elsewhere, two people, including a young boy, were killed in a rocket attack just north of the capital, while two others died in a boom-mobile in the town of Balad and a police officer was killed in the main northern city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... No group immediately grabbed credit for the attacks. But Sunni turban groups have in the past set off coordinated bombings in the capital and often target the country's Shiite majority, whom they regard as apostates. The attacks came as Shiite Mohammedans marked the birthday of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, and a key figure in Shiite Islam. Interior ministry front man Brigadier General Saad Maan, who has criticised the media in the past for exaggerating the level of unrest, played down the city-wide violence, saying in a statement that only one civilian had been confirmed maimed. Iraq is suffering its worst violence since the Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. Security officials had expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... that hard boyz could seek to exploit the vote count and what is expected to be a prolonged period of coalition talks afterwards to launch attacks aimed at further fraying already fragile ties between Iraq's communities. The authorities have trumpeted security operations targeting hard boyz in the north and west, insisting they are making progress against a variety of turban groups, including the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... But anti-government fighters have continued to hold on to Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... a city a short drive from Storied Baghdad, as well as other pockets of territory in the west.

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Iraq

Baghdad Car Bombs against Shiites Kill 25

2014-05-14

[AnNahar] A spate of rush hour bombs, mostly targeting Shiite-majority areas of Storied Baghdad, killed 25 people Tuesday in the first major series of attacks to hit the capital since elections last month. The apparently coordinated blasts, which also maimed 80 people, came as officials tallied votes from April 30 parliamentary polls amid a protracted surge in bloodshed that has killed more than 3,300 people this year. The government has blamed external factors, such as the civil war raging in neighbouring Syria, for the escalating unrest this year. But analysts and diplomats say the Shiite-led authorities must also do more to reach out to the disaffected Sunni minority and undermine support for militancy. At least nine boom-mobiles went off throughout the morning, when the city is typically gridlocked. Smoke could be seen rising above several areas of the capital, and AFP journalists reported several shopfronts badly damaged and nearby cars reduced to mangled wrecks of metal. In Karrada, where three people died, the owner of a garage said the blast was caused by a hard boy posing as a customer who left his car there, asking for the brakes to be fixed. "He said he would leave the car and go looking for spare parts, and then he left," said the 54-year-old who identified himself as Abu Nuri. "Only one of my employees was in the shop when a huge kaboom went off. He fell down, and smoke was everywhere. Many people were crying, and others were running away." Abu Nuri railed against the authorities and security forces, telling AFP: "The state has failed, it has completely failed!" "Attacks target only innocent people, and those heroic officials are completely protected in the Green Zone," he said, referring to the heavily-fortified Storied Baghdad district, home to parliament and the U.S. and British embassies. - Mostly Shiites targeted - Two boom-mobiles also went kaboom! near a traffic police headquarters in the eastern Baladiyat neighbourhood, and blasts also hit Sadr City, Urr, Jamila, and Maamal, all of which are Shiite-majority. Another vehicle rigged with explosives was also detonated in the mostly-Sunni area of Arab Jubour, killing three, while a roadside kaboom also went off near a police patrol in southeast Storied Baghdad, killing one. Elsewhere, two people, including a young boy, were killed in a rocket attack just north of the capital, while two others died in a boom-mobile in the town of Balad. No group immediately grabbed credit for the attacks. But Sunni hard boy groups have in the past set off coordinated bombings in the capital and often target the country's Shiite majority, whom they regard as apostates. Interior ministry front man Brigadier General Saad Maan, who has criticised the media in the past for over-egging the level of unrest, played down the city-wide violence, saying in a statement that only one civilian had been confirmed maimed. Iraq is suffering its worst violence since the Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007. Security officials have expressed worry that hard boyz could seek to exploit the vote count and what is expected to be a long period of haggling to form a government to set off attacks that could deepen already fragile ties between Iraq's communities. The authorities have trumpeted wide-ranging operations targeting hard boyz in the north and west, insisting they are making progress against a variety of hard boy groups including the powerful Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... But anti-government fighters have continued to hold on to Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... a city a short drive from Storied Baghdad, as well as other pockets of territory in western Iraq.

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Iraq

Al-Arabiya TV Report: Al-Qaeda Controls U.S. Prisons in Iraq

2008-01-09

In a report that aired December 21, 2007, Al-Arabiya TV examined how life in U.S. prisons in Iraq is largely controlled by Al-Qaeda members. According to the report, "some of these prisons have turned into factories for converting innocent people into extremists." One former inmate stated, "When you enter prison, either you become one of them, or else they kill you." Following are excerpts from testimonies by former inmates on conditions in the prisons. To view this clip on MEMRI TV. "Some of These Prisons Have Turned into Factories for Converting Innocent People into Extremists" Sheikh Abd Al-Jabbar Abu Risha: "The Camp Bucca prison has become a school for takfir supporters. When someone who is innocent enters the Bucca prison, he returns to us as one of the takfir supporters, as a result of his contact with them. There are several wards in that prison which oppose the takfir supporters, and the two groups are waging a war within the prison. When someone is released, he doesn't say: 'Thank God I am free.' He says: 'Thank God I am free of the takfir supporters there.'" [...] Narrator: "Most of the inmates know nothing about the extremist ideology. Since most of them were arrested for no good reason, Al-Qaeda has a good chance of recruiting them." [...] Reporter: "There are no clear figures regarding the number of detainees in Iraq. The official figures revolve around 20,000, while unofficial figures range from 70,000 to 100,000. From time to time, there are initiatives to release detainees, but the difficult security conditions are used to justify the policy of 'arrest now, and interrogate later.' Unfortunately, some of these prisons have turned into factories for converting innocent people into extremists. Let’s watch the testimonies of some former detainees, who have agreed to share their prison experience with us." "We Too Pray and Go to the Mosque - Yet In Their View, We Are Infidels" Rahman Al-Kubeisi: "They took me from Abu Ghureib, where I was held for one month. Conditions in Abu Ghureib were a little better than [in Bucca]. In Abu Ghureib, I saw strange things too, like an Emir in charge of religious law and an Emir in charge of military matters, a prohibition on smoking, and many things like that. But when I was transferred to Bucca, I saw things I never saw before, and never will see again. "The simplest example is that if you were sitting at the door of the caravan or tent, along with two or three people - because it was cold, and you were trying to catch some sun - someone would come and say to you: 'Get inside.' If you asked why, he would pull out some verse, or invent something, along the lines of: 'Do not sit next to the road.' If you did what he said - fine. If not, when the sun would set...They have yellow suits, which they call 'Suniat'... They zip up these suits, and they wear other clothes, which they use to cover their faces. They come over, cover you with a blanket, and beat you with a club or an iron rod. "All this is done because of something trivial, like sitting outside, but if they see someone smoking a cigarette - they break his bones. For 32 days, I didn't take a shower. The reason was that when I arrived, I had only one set of clothes, and when you took a shower, you had to wear long clothes, down to the knees. That was the situation. In the prison showers, there were 20 shower-heads spraying water at you, so you had no choice but to take off your pajamas or your pants, but this would get you into trouble, and they would break your bones. "There was a guy who was originally from Tikrit. He came from Al-'Auja, in the Salah Al-Din province. They attacked him for a trivial reason. After all, it is not that we are infidels and they are Muslims. No, we too pray and go to the mosque, yet in their view, we are infidels. Because this guy was from Al-'Auja, near Tikrit in the Salah Al-Din province, they fabricated some story about him, came in, covered him with a blanket, and broke his bones. In the prison, there are large pebbles on the ground. They filled a sock with pebbles, and used it to beat him, until they broke his skull, and he died." [...] "When You Enter Prison, Either You Become One of Them, Or Else They Kill You" Al-Kubeisi: "When you enter prison, either you become one of them, or else they kill you. Our Imam, who used to lead us in prayer and deliver sermons, was a teacher of Islamic studies. I knew him from Al-Ramadi. His name was Sheikh Adnan. People always tried to protect him - and I know what I am talking about, because I was detained in ward No. 2. People tried to protect him, because the takfir supporters had issued a death ruling against him. Why did they want to kill him? I was in prison at the time when the constitution was drafted. Anyone who did not want the constitution could vote against it. Nobody forced you to vote 'yes.' He said everyone should vote according to their convictions, and he refused to issue a fatwa against this. In Bucca, you need a fatwa even to drink water." [...] Al-Kubeisi: "A detainee from Al-Ramadi, from the Al-Sufiya region, went into the toilet. The toilets are small and made of plastic. They are the Kuwaiti kind, with the two steps that you need to climb. So he entered the toilet with his left foot... Sorry, with his right foot. They made a big fuss, and broke his legs. They said: 'How dare you step into the toilet with your right foot?' The Bucca prison is a safe haven for takfir supporters. The coalition forces do not intervene there, unless, for example, an entire ward is burned down - our ward was burned down - or in the case of a murder. Only then do they bring in the riot squad to take the body. Nobody dares to say who the killer was. Often, we wouldn't know ourselves, because they would cover their faces." With Swords and Daggers, "They Would Chop Off Either the Hands or the Head" Al-Kubeisi: "They have many capabilities. They have swords. At first, I would laugh when they told me that a sword fight took place in a certain ward. But then I saw with my own eyes - swords and knives. I don't know how they made or got hold of them, but these were real iron swords. Some say they make them from the air ducts in there. We had a cooling system with air ducts. Some say that they break pieces off, sharpen them, and make swords. You get swords like the real thing, and they use them to kill." [...] Former CampBucca Inmate: "One father used to smoke, but his son did not. Smoking was prohibited there, and they treated anyone who carried a cigarette pack as if he was carrying a bottle of 'arak. The son told his father to quit smoking, and the father said: 'How can you ask me to quit when I'm in such trouble? Smoking helps ease the psychological pressure a little.' The son insisted, an argument developed, and the son accused his father of heresy. What do they do to a heretic there? The son called the Emir, who said to [the father]: 'You committed heresy.' The father swore that he hadn't. The Emir ruled that he should be beaten 800 times with a shoe. The Emir was so despicable that he decided the punishment should be carried out by the man closest to him, and the son said he would do it. In front of about 250 people, he tied his father to the caravan, and beat him 83 times with a shoe. The father shouted: 'My son, this is not what our religion commands,' but he beat him 83 times until his entire body was red with blood." [...] Abu Nur: "When I just got to Bucca, the riot squad went in. They dug in the ground and took out swords - each sword half a meter or one meter long. Swords and daggers. They'd use them against former policemen or members of the Abu Risha tribe. In the beginning, [Al-Qaeda] was fighting the Abu Risha tribe. When I was there, I concealed my true identity. I didn't say I was from the Abu Risha tribe, because there was a war against us. At any moment, 12 to 16 masked men could enter the caravan. They would come late at night, while everyone was asleep. In each caravan, there were 26, 28, or 30 men. In each ward, there were 30 caravans. 12 to 16 men would come. Eight would guard the door, and the others would come in with swords and daggers. They would get hold of the guy and carry out punishment. They would chop off either the hands or the head. There was an officer from Tikrit. They hammered a tent peg into his head, killing him on the spot."

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Iraq

Dad goes on trial as a Jihadi!

2007-05-17

An al-Qaida insurgent who allegedly helped plan hundreds of bombings in the Baghdad area and beheaded two Russian hostages will soon be face trial in an Iraqi court, the U.S. military said Wednesday. Omar Wahdallah Dad, also known as Abu Nur and "the Spider", has been in U.S. custody since December and will be tried under Iraq's anti-terrorism law, U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters. Abu Nur could receive the death penalty, Caldwell said. Let's certainly hope so! Caldwell said Abu Nur has admitted to a role in 800 to 900 bombings while serving as a senior al-Qaida commander in the Baghdad area. The general said Abu Nur led a network responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in the capital, including one last year in the Shiite slum of Sadr City in which more than 200 people died. He said the Abu Nur admitted responsibility for the June 2006 kidnapping and murder of four Russian diplomats. Abu Nur is accused of personally beheading two of the Russians, the general said. An umbrella organization of seven insurgent groups, including al-Qaida in Iraq, posted a Web video showing the graphic killings of three Russian embassy workers who had been abducted in Iraq. The 90-second video showed two blindfolded men beheaded and the shooting of a third man. In the footage, two men clad in black and wearing black ski masks shout "God is great!" before beheading the first man. Then one militant appears standing over the decapitated body of a second victim in a pool of blood, with the head placed on top of the body.

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Iraq

US ID's 2 More Qaida Deaders

2007-05-04

The U.S. military on Friday identified two more top al-Qaida aides killed during an operation earlier this week targeting a senior propagandist for the terror network. The announcement came a day after the military said U.S.-led forces killed al-Qaida propagandist Muharib Abdul-Latif al-Jubouri early Tuesday west of Taji, near an air base 12 miles north of Baghdad. Al-Jubouri was one of five militants killed in the operation, but he was not identified until Wednesday after DNA testing. The military on Friday identified two of the other slain militants as al-Jubouri's spiritual guide Sabah Hilal al-Shihawi, also known as Sabah al-Alwani and Abu Nuri; and a foreign fighter Abu Ammar al-Masri, who is said was helping with insurgent activity and infrastructure support for al-Qaida. The military did not say where al-Masri was from, but his pseudonym, which is Arabic for "The Egyptian," suggests that he comes from Egypt. Both militants had been positively identified by associates at the site, and photos also had been used to identify al-Shihawi, according to the statement. Military spokesman U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Thursday that al-Jubouri was identified with photos and DNA testing but only one body had been removed from the battlefield.

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Iraq-Jordan

Abu Haidar jugged in Baquba

2005-02-20

Iraqi security forces on Saturday arrested the alleged commander of an insurgent cell close to Al Qaeda frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, police said. "Early this morning Iraqi security forces assisted by US forces raided the house of Haidar Abu al-Buwari in western Baquba," said a police spokesman for Diyala province, whose capital is Baquba. "He is one of the mujahideen princes who works with Zarqawi in the position of cell leader," he said. Police found rocket-propelled grenades, grenades, drugs, computers and a photocopier in the house, he added. Iraqi security forces also arrested a former high-ranking officer under Saddam Hussein allegedly involved in the insurgency in the northern city of Mosul, said a government statement. "Harbi Abd al-Khudaier Hamudi, 50, also known as Abu Nur, was arrested on February 12," it said.

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