Special Emphasis on Terrorism (Dec – 2015)

Terrorist Activities in Pakistan

Bomb/IED blasts
At least eight people, including two tribal elders and six of their gunmen, were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device blast in the Marwar area of Bolan District on October 29. Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the Balochistan Levies, a convoy of tribal elders Mir Gul Khan Marri and Bahwal Khan Marri was its way home when it was hit by an IED. The explosion killed both the tribal elders and their six guards on the spot. The BLA had deceived Gull Khan by inviting him for negotiating surrender and killed him on the way back.

One Security Force (SF) official was killed while three others were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Sandana area of Tirah Valley on October 30, reported Dawn. Sources told that the SFs were on routine patrol when the explosion occurred.

At least three people were killed and 12 others were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded near a railway track in Dasht area of Mastung District on November 1, reports The News. The explosion partially damaged the railway track and a bogey of the Jaffar Express train, which was travelling from Quetta to Rawalpindi District in Punjab and passing by Mastung when the explosion hit the railway track.

A tribal elder, identified as Malik Younus, was killed while three of his companions were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Gulu Shah area in Salarzai tehsil (revenue unit) of Bajaur Agency on November 3, reported Dawn. Malik Younus was an active pro-government leader and was heading the peace committee in Salarzai tehsil of the Agency.

Separately, another pro-government tribal elder Malik Musanif Khan was killed in an IED attack was on his way to home from a nearby mosque in Mohmand tehsil of Mohmand Agency on November 3, reports Dawn.

At least seven people, most of them belonging to the Kutchi community, were injured in a hand grenade attack near the water pumping station located near Khadda Market at Shah Waliullah Road within the limits of the Baghdadi Police Station in Lyari Town of Karachi on November 13. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) local leaders, including Hashim Baloch and Aslam Sammu, were also sitting at an office at the pumping station. However, they remained unhurt in the attack. Police officials, while quoting the initial investigation, said that the PPP leaders were the actual target of the assailants. A Police Officer, Muhammad Iqbal, said that gangsters belonging to the Sheraz Comrade faction of Uzair Baloch gang were behind the incident. He said that the group’s aim was to create hurdles for PPP leaders in their preparations for the upcoming local bodies’ elections.

Three employees of television channel Dunya News were injured in a hand grenade attack on the Faisalabad Bureau office by unidentified motorcycle bourne assailants in Faisalabad District on November 20, reports Dawn. The assailants threw pamphlets containing threats by Daulat-i-Islamia Khorasan (Islamic State- Khorasan group).

Three Security Force (SF) personnel were killed in a roadside bomb blast in Warghara area of Tiarza tehsil (revenue unit) in South Waziristan Agency on November 22, reports Dawn. Intelligence sources said the personnel were patrolling the area when an improvised explosive device placed by the road exploded. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.

One man was killed and four others were injured in a remote-controlled blast near a bus terminal in the Lea Market area of Lyari Town in Karachi on November 25, reports Dawn, Senior Superintendent Police (SSP)-City Fida Hussain said that the intended target has not yet been ascertained.

At least three Policemen were injured in Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast targeting a Police vehicle that was on a routine patrol in Qambrani Road in Quetta on November 25, reports Dawn. No outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.

Targetted Killings
Two persons were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on October 31, reports Dawn. A worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was shot dead in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. Police said that armed men attacked Mohammed Aziz at Iqra Complex. In another incident, Atif Razzak (25) was going on a motorcycle when unidentified men on another bike attacked him near a petrol pump in Korangi. He died on the spot.

A local senior journalist Dr. Muhammad Zaman Mehsud was killed when unidentified militants fire at his vehicle on North Waziristan Road in Tank District on November 3, reports Dawn. Police sources said that that Zaman was travelling from Gomal Bazar to Tank when his car came under attack. Mehsud served as the President and Secretary General of the Tribal Union of Journalists’ South Waziristan Chapter.

Separately, unidentified militants shot at and injured a local Awami National Party (ANP) leader Dr. Zar Wali in his village in Mano Dheri in Utmanzai tehsil (revenue unit) in Charsadda District on November 3, reports The News.

A Shia, identified as Jafar Ali, was shot dead while another, identified as Tanveer Ali, was injured when unidentified militants opened fire at their vehicle in Kirani Road in Quetta on November 6, reports The News.

Armed assailants killed two members of the Hazara tribe in Spini road in Quetta on November 7, reports Dawn. “Armed assailants opened fire at a vehicle on Spini road and killed two members of the Hazara community,” said a Police official. Police official added that one person died at the spot of the attack while the other succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.

In a separate incident, two dead bodies were recovered from Naal tehsil of Khuzdar District, reports Dawn. A Levies official said that the identity of the victims could not be immediately ascertained and both had received multiple bullet injuries.

Former Station House Officer (SHO), Rana Muhammad Atif, was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants at the Sant Singh Railway Crossing near Mansoorabad area in Faisalabad District on November 9, reported The News. Rana was famous for Police encounters and was also national hockey player.

Two unidentified bullet-riddled dead bodies were found dumped in Baghau area of Barkhan District on November 10, reports Dawn.

Two Policemen, including an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Haji Muhammad Budhra and Constable Ghulam Rasool Sahatto, were shot dead by unidentified armed assailants on a Police checkpoint near Lakhi Ghulam Shah area in Shikarpur District of Sindh on November 10, reports The News. The attackers escaped while taking weapons of victims.

The councilor of Union Cuncil-5 Abbas Gujjar was shot dead by two unidentified armed assailants near Bijli Ghar on Multan Road within the Sabzazar Police in capital Lahore on November 13, reports The News.

One Policeman was killed while another sustained injury when terrorists attacked a check-post near the Super Highway in Karachi on November 14, reports The News. The deceased Police Constable is identified as Ali Raza.

Two Shia Policemen, identified as Police constables Ali Raza (50) and Ghulam Jaffer (46), guarding Ismaili community’s residential complex were shot dead by four unidentified militants at a checkpoint outside Jeewani Heights in the Sachal area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi on November 14, reports Dawn. With the murder of the two police officials, the number of policemen killed in the city during the current year reached 80, said an unnamed Police spokesperson.

Separately, a man, identified as Baderuddin (22), was killed and another, identified as, Muhammad Asif (22), was injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire at them in Shah Faisal Mohallah, Baloch Goth area of Orangi Town, on November 14, reports The News.

Levies personnel recovered two bullet-riddled dead bodies from Dasht area of Mastung District on November 16, reports Dawn.

A Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for general councilor, identified as Shabbir Arain, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Mirpur Bathoro Tehsil (Revenue unit) in Thatta District of Sindh on November 17, reports The News.

Unidentified assailants on November 22 shot dead a TV journalist, Hafeez Ur Rehman (42) on the outskirts of Kohat District, reports Dawn. Rehman, who had been working as a journalist for 12 years, was employed by the Neo TV network. He was also publisher of his own daily, ‘Asia’, until it folded earlier this year.

A Policeman, identified as Naveed Ahmad, was shot dead and another person injured in an attack by motorcycle borne unidentified armed assailants in Shahoo-Keth area of Panjgur District on November 21, reports Dawn.

Miscellaneous
Three terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with Police during a search operation in Mominabad area of Orangi Town in Karachi on October 28, reported The News. One of the militants managed to escape. Police also recovered arms from their possession.

Meanwhile, the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) on October 28 arrested two terrorists, identified as Mistri Pathan and Kamran Aslam alias Kamran Gujjar, involved in the May 13, 2015, Safoora Carnage, reports The News. The LEA also recovered weapons from their possession. According to the joint interrogation report compiled after the revelations of Tahir Minhas, the suspected gang leader of Safoora attackers, Mistri was the man who was wearing Police uniform along with Abdullah Mansuri and the two men stopped the bus in Scheme 33 area of the city. The report further says Mistri after shooting the driver, took control of the steering. While he kept driving the bus carrying members of Ismaili community, his other gang members were busy in gruesome shooting of innocent people. Kamran Gujjar was assigned to coordinate with and facilitate the gang members.

Two ‘commanders’ of BLA along with 28 militants laid down their weapons and surrendered to authorities in a press conference held by Provincial Minister Nawab Changaiz Marri in Quetta on October 29, reports Dawn. “We appreciate that the militants have surrendered and have announced their decision to join peaceful lives,” said Marri.

At least six terrorists were killed during a joint operation carried out by Frontier Corps (FC) and intelligence agencies in Johan area of Kalat District on November 1, reported Daily Times. During the operation, the suspects opened fire at the FC personnel from their hideouts. In retaliation, six militants were killed. The security forces recovered huge cache of arms and ammunitions from their possession.

A driver of a female additional session judge was killed in attack on judge’s motorcar on November 1 near Rana Deray area of Swabi District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Daily Times. Two unidentified motorcycle borne assailants opened fire at the vehicle of Haripur Additional Session Judge Hina Khan near Rana Deray area, killing the driver on the spot Sarwar Shah. However, Additional Session Judge Haripur Hina Khan was not present in the car. The mother of Hina Khan remained unhurt in the attack.

A Ranger was shot at injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire at Rangers personnel who were conducting routine snap-checking near the Labour Square in the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) area of SITE Town in Karachi on November 4, reported The News.

Security Forces (SFs) on November 4 claimed to have recovered a large cache of foreign-made-weapons during a search operations in different parts of Khyber Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reported Dawn. The weapons include Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPGs), Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs), MMR rifles, mortar shells, anti-aircraft guns SMGs launchers and thousand of cartridges. According to security official the weapons were manufactured in Russia and the United States. Security officials said that the weapons were recovered during search operations in different parts of Khyber Agency after end of Khyber-II Operation.

At least three persons including a child were injured when an office of Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh Police came under a cracker attack in the Malir area of Karachi on November 5, reports The News. According to Police, unidentified motorcycle riders fled after hurling a home-made bomb outside the CTD office, injuring a child among three persons passing through the site in a rickshaw and a bus.

Four militants and one Frontier Corps (FC) official was killed in an exchange of fire during a search operation in Surab area of Kalat District on November 6, reported The News. FC recovered ammunitions, including Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and other arms from their possession.

At least 20 suspected militants were killed as Pakistan Air Force (PAF) jets destroyed a number of militant hideouts and other related targets in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on November 7, reports Dawn. Security sources said that PAF jets targeted militant hideouts in Tirah Valley, killing five suspected militants and injuring three others. In a separate round of airstrikes, PAF jets struck targets in Rajgal area, killing 15 suspected militants. Militant hideouts and ammunition depots were targeted in Rajgal, claimed security sources. Report added that the identity of the dead ‘militants’ and their affiliation with any militant organisation is yet to be ascertained.

Two employees of the Special Communication Organisation (SCO) were abducted from the Derail Valley of Diamer District in Gilgit-Baltistan on November 3, reported The Nation. According to police sources, at least a dozen alleged terrorists took part in the kidnapping incident. They reportedly tied the watchman of the cellular company’s tower with ropes and took the two SCO employees namely engineer Essa, resident of Gilgit and operator Amjad Hussain, resident of Astor along with them. The SCO, is part of the Pakistan Army, and provides telecommunications services in the region.

The Bomb Disposal Squad defused a bomb, weighing about 10 kilograms that was found outside Markazi Imambargah Hussainia in Alipur tehsil (revenue unit) of Muzaffargarh District in Punjab on November 8, reports Dawn.

Police claimed to have arrested three Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militants from MPR Colony in Manghopir area of Gadap Town in Karachi on November 8, reported Dawn. They also claimed that the suspects were planning some major acts of terrorism to avenge the killing of LeJ leader Malik Ishaq in an encounter in Punjab. The three militants were identified as Zubair, Asif and Umair. An official of the Counter-Terrorism Department, Ali Raza said that four TT pistols, three kilograms of explosives and four “ball bombs” were seized from their possession.

“The held militants disclosed that Mufti Saddam of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan had sent them to Karachi to establish a group here for taking revenge of the killing of Malik Ishaq,” Raza disclosed. The CTD official said that the suspects established a ‘terrorist group’ in collaboration with some other banned organisations and they were planning some big terrorist activities in the city in near future.

In an operation targeting militant hideouts, Pakistani Air Force (PAF) jets killed 22 militants in the Shawal tehsil (revenue unit) area of North Waziristan Agency on November 14, reports Dawn. Six militant hideouts were destroyed in the airstrikes.

At least 10 Police officials were injured in grenade attacks during a raid to arrest Rahimullah, a militant accused of involvement in the Nanga Parbat massacre of foreign mountaineers (June 22, 2013) and abduction of two employees of the Special Communications Organisation (November 3, 2015), at his sister’s house in Tangir area of Diamer District on November 15, reports Dawn. According to officials, Rahimullah was hiding in the house. It was besieged by a heavy contingent of Police. When the police closed in, four grenades were hurled at them from the house while the accused escaped. Officials claimed that the Security Forces (SFs) arrested Rahimullah’s sister and brother-in-law during a search operation on November 16 on suspicion of being facilitators of the kidnappers’ gang in Darel Valley.

Thirty suspects were arrested after an explosive device was recovered on the Mall Road near the Armoured Corps Centre in Nowshera town of same District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on November 18, reports The News. Sources said unidentified terrorists had planted the explosive on the Mall Road, which was spotted by a Police patrol party. The Police party called the bomb disposal unit officials who defused the explosive. Police and Security Forces (SFs) launched a search operation in Hakimabad, Pir Sabaq, Armour Colony and Dheri Katikhel and arrested 30 suspects, including truck driver Attaullah and taxi driver Akar Khan.

An anti-terrorism court sentenced nine men, arrested from different parts of Lahore, provincial capital of Punjab, to five years imprisonment for financing banned outfits and imposed a fine of PKR 25,000 each on November 19, reports Dawn. The convicts were identified as Shahid, Maqbool, Riaz, Abdul Ghaffar, Akhtar Hussain, Mahboob Alam, Sajid Hussain, Muhammad Tahir and Majid Ali.

Two traffic Police personnel, Bashir Ahmed and Naseer Ahmed, were shot dead by unidentified assailants while they are were on duty at Atmanzi Bazaar in Charsadda District on November 20, reports Dawn. Charsadda’s District Police Officer (DPO) Shafiullah Khan told reporters that it was a case of targeted killing. He said all personnel of Charsadda Police had been provided with bullet-proof jackets, but the victims had been shot in the head.

Separately, Imdad Hussain Jafari, vice-president of Awami National Party (ANP) in PK-2, Ganj Ward in Peshawar was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Tedi Gate within the jurisdiction of Yakatoot Police Station in Peshawar, the provincial capital of KP, in the afternoon of November 20.

Four suspected terrorists were killed and one Rangers official injured in a targeted operation in Northern Bypass near Khairabad area of Saddar Town in Karachi on November 21, reports Daily Times. The Karachi Operation has been escalated after four Rangers Personnel were shot dead by terrorists in Baldia Town on November 20. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered.

Three suspected militants were killed in an encounter with Security Forces (SFs) at Jhalwari area in Mashkay tehsil (revenue unit) of Awaran District in Balochistan on November 23, reports Dawn. According to official sources, a convoy of Security personnel was going from Gajjar area to Parwar town when it came under fire at Jhalwari area. The deceased were identified as Razzaq, a resident of Kech District Sharbat, Bandil area of Mashkay and Inayatullah from Kandri area of Mashkay.

The Police on November 23 killed three Lyari gangsters allegedly involved in grenade attacks on political gatherings and the killing of Policemen during an encounter in Lyari town of Karachi. An encounter between the Police and gangsters took place when the police were conducting a search operation in Baghdadi. Police officials said that the three gangsters were killed during an exchange of fire and that the police also recovered weapons from their possession.

The Law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) in a mid-night raid on November 22 captured more than 40 suspects for their alleged involvement in torching a chipboard factory owned by a member of Ahmadi community and its worship place at Kala Gojran area of in Jhelum District in Punjab following a “desecration” incident there, reports Dawn. Sources said the LEAs officials identified the suspects involved in torching the factory and Ahmadis’ worship place through video footage of the incident and then launched an operation to arrest them late on Sunday night. It continued till Monday morning during which at least 40 to 45 suspects were arrested, they added.

Rangers killed four suspected terrorists during a raid in a hideout in Northern Bypass area of Karachi on November 24, reports Dawn. A Rangers’ personnel was also injured in the shootout. “The armed men in the hideout attacked personnel of our team when they were busy taking positions following information about the presence of terrorists in the area,” said the unnamed Rangers spokesman.

Separately, Rangers arrested four suspects during two search operation in Saddar Town and North Nazimabad Town on November 24, reports Daily Times. The Rangers recovered huge cache of weapons and ammunitions from their possession.

Four Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) terrorists, including the founding member of the outfit, identified as Haroon Bhatti, were killed while three Policemen were injured in a Police encounter in Badami Bagh area of Lahore on November 25, reports Dawn. A spokesman from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said that the Police had brought back Bhatti, along with his four associates, to Pakistan from Dubai with the help of Interpol on October 22, 2015. Police claimed to have recovered a huge cache of arms and explosives, including Kalashnikovs, rifles and hand grenades from the suspected terrorists’ possession. The three suspects were identified as Omair Nadeem, Omair Hassan and Noman Yasin.

PAKISTAN

7 FC personnel killed in FATA in militant attack from across the Afghanistan border
A group of militants opened fire on Frontier Corps (FC) check post in Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) from across the border in Afghanistan on October 27 and killed seven FC personnel and injured three others, reports The News. According to security officials, a group of militants opened fire on the FC post from across the border in Paktika province in Afghanistan. The FC troops retaliated that led to a heavy clash between the FC men and the militants. There was no information about the losses suffered by the militants in the clash as it was dark but seven FC personnel were killed and three others were injured.

Ensure that no one is forced to endure an investigation or trial on the basis of false blasphemy allegations, Supreme Court tells the Government
Issuing a written order on the dismissal of Malik Mumtaz Qadri’s appeal against his death sentence, the Supreme Court on October 27 urged the state to ensure that no one is forced to endure an investigation or trial on the basis of false blasphemy allegations, reports Daily Times. On October 6, 2015, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, had scrapped a plea seeking revocation of Qadri’s death sentence for assassinating former Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer on January 4, 2011. The sentence was first awarded by an Anti-Terrorism Court and then upheld by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) before it was challenged in the apex court.

Authoring the 39-page verdict, Justice Khosa said Qadri had murdered Taseer on the basis of nothing but hearsay. “It is an unfortunate fact which cannot be disputed that in many cases registered in respect of the offence of blasphemy, false allegations are leveled for extraneous purposes.” He said that in the absence of adequate safeguards against abuse of the blasphemy law, people falsely accused of the offence suffer irrevocably. The order said any call for reform in religion-related laws should be seen as a call for introducing safeguards against abuse of such laws, adding that it should not be interpreted as a call against the religious aspects of the offences covered by the laws.

Italy hands over Army Public School attack suspect to FIA
Italian Police on October 29 handed over a man suspected of involvement in the December 16, 2014 Peshawar Army Public School (APS) massacre to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), reports Daily Times. Usman Ghani – who hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan District – was escorted to Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) on October 29 by Italian Police after being arrested in Italy with Interpol’s assistance. Ghani is reportedly wanted for his involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed APS attack in which at least 150 people were killed, over 140 of them being children, they said. After he was handed over to FIA, the suspect has been shifted to the agency’s passport cell for investigation.

PEMRA prohibits media from covering JuD, FIF and LeT
Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on November 2 prohibited broadcasters from covering the activities of 72 different banned groups, including Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JuD), reports Daily Times. “All satellite TV channels/FM radio licences are therefore strictly directed not to give any kind of coverage to any proscribed organisation, including Jama’at-ud-Dawa, Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), Lashkar-e-Taiba,” PEMRA said.

Four terrorists including IS recruiter arrested in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Malakand arrested two suspects, identified as Abdul Ghaffar and Zakirullah, for facilitating terrorists in attacks on Police personnel and abetting other acts of terrorism during a raid in Matta tehsil (revenue unit) of Swat District on November 9, reports The News. The CTD claimed the suspects were providing assistance to Umarzada. The Police also recovered a car from their possession.

Separately, the CTD Bannu arrested a suspected terrorist, identified as Noor Said alias Lal Gulab, during a search operation in Bannu District on November 9, reported The News. The official said that the suspected terrorist was wanted in connection with the murder of a Police Constable.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Police claimed on November 9 to have arrested a recruiter for the Islamic State (IS, also known as Daesh), identified as Dadullah, from the Badaber area of provincial capital Peshawar, reports Dawn. The suspect was allegedly involved in recruiting for IS, said an unnamed Police Official. “The suspect arrested, Dadullah, belongs to Afghanistan, and was recruiting for an international militant organisation,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operation Mian Saeed. Weapons and hand grenades were also recovered from his possession.

Six suspected militants were killed in a Police encounter at a hideout of militants in Manghopir area of Gadap Town in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh on November 12, reports The News. Quoting an intelligence report, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar said, “They had come from Swat to carry out major terror acts in the provincial capital.” Two of the deceased were identified as Haider Ali, ‘commander’ of Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while the other was identified as Abdullah. Police claimed to have seized a large quantity of explosive material, arms and ammunition from their custody.

US puts sanctions on Altaf Khanani-led Money Laundering Organisation
The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on November 13 imposed sanctions on Altaf Khanani-led Money Laundering Organisation (Khanani MLO) pursuant to Executive Order 13581, which targets transnational criminal organisations (TCOs) and their supporters, reports The News, quoting a statement posted on the State Department’s websites. The Khanani MLO launders illicit funds for organised crime groups, drug trafficking organisations, and designated terrorist groups throughout the world. Additionally, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating Dubai-based money services business Al Zarooni Exchange under Executive Order (E.O.) 13581 for being owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Khanani MLO, and for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the Khanani MLO.

The Khanani MLO engages in third-party money laundering by transferring funds to financial institutions on behalf of drug traffickers and TCOs. The designations highlight the importance of dismantling the extended financial infrastructure of TCOs and their supporters. “The Khanani Money Laundering Organization exploits its relationships with financial institutions to funnel billions of dollars across the globe on behalf of terrorists, drug traffickers, and criminal organizations,” said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin.

The Khanani MLO has also laundered funds for designated terrorist organizations. Altaf Khanani, the head of the Khanani MLO, and Al Zarooni Exchange have been involved in the movement of funds for the Taliban, and Altaf Khanani is known to have had relationships with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Dawood Ibrahim, al Qaeda, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry rules out the footprints of IS in Pakistan
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry in an interview with Radio Pakistan on November 15 ruled out the footprints of the Islamic State (IS) and said no citizen could be allowed to have links with the terrorist organisation, reports The News. “Pakistan has the capability to thwart threats by any terrorist organisation, including the Islamic State,” he said. Chaudhry said terrorism was on its last gasps and Pakistan was winning the war on terror with complete support of the masses.

Paris like attacks can’t be ruled out in Punjab, says CTD Additional Inspector General Rai Tahir
The Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) cannot rule out threat of Paris-like attacks in Lahore and elsewhere in the province, a senior CTD Additional Inspector General (ADG) Rai Tahir said on November 17, reports Dawn. Another senior official has said a seminary in south Punjab has been sealed for providing militant training to its students. The two officials were briefing journalists about security arrangements being made for the coming local government elections in the province. Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was also present on the occasion. There is no election-related threat from the Middle East-based Islamic State militant group, also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, said ADG Rai Tahir. “But there are threats from the international terrorist organisation to Punjab,” he said.

Zero tolerance for ISIS in Pakistan, says DG ISPR Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa
Pakistan has a zero tolerance for Islamic State militants – also known as ISIS, Daesh and ISIL – and the terrorist group has no acceptance in the country, said Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa on November 20, reports The News. He also said a global response was needed to deal with the global threat posed by the terrorist group. Briefing reporters about the visit of Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to Washington, he said the Army Chief held discussions with top civilian and military leadership of the United States (US) on issues ranging from defense and military cooperation to regional security and stability including the longstanding Kashmir dispute with India. On the question of Daesh, Bajwa said that the group was a global threat and needed a global response to be defeated as also mentioned by the Army Chief. “There is a zero tolerance for Daesh in Pakistan. “Not even a shadow of Daesh will be allowed in Pakistan,” the DG ISPR said, adding that the Pakistani society has totally rejected it and there was no acceptance of the terror group in Pakistan.

567 militants
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa arrested 567 militants during 876 targeted operations that it conducted in various parts of the province in last ten 10 months, a summary report issued by the Department said November 25, reports Dawn. The report, a copy of which is available with Dawn, reveals that the CTD either arrested or killed at least 93 proclaimed offenders (POs) carrying head-money and wanted in high-profile cases. CTD report said that 10 of the 93 POs were killed by the CTD personnel. The CTD personnel traced 252 militancy-related cases during the time period, said the report. According to the report, the CTD personnel recovered four suicide jackets, 231 hand grenades, 1203 kilogrammes of explosives, 5675 detonators, seven RPG-7 launchers, 71 SMG rifles, 103 pistols and 48 rifles with different bores.

REGIONAL

Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics

Death toll rises to two in Dhaka city bombing
Death toll rises to two as a person who sustained injuries in Hussaini Dalan bomb attack in Dhaka city, has died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on October 29, reports Dhaka Tribune. Jamal Uddin, (55), died at the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU). On October 24, one person was killed and 87 others were injured in a homemade bomb explosion in front of Huseni Dalan in old Dhaka city. According to United States (US)-based SITE Intelligence Group, Islamic State (IS) claimed the responsibility of bomb attacks.

JMP ‘regional commander’ arrested in Pabna
Police on October 28 arrested Rakibul Islam Rakib, the ‘regional commander’ of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) at Majidpur area of Pabna District in connection with the attack on Pastor Luke Sarkar, reports The Daily Star. Police said that the arrestee, Rakibul Islam Rakib, along with his two associates led the attack on the Pastor.

One person killed and three others injured in separate incidents of violence in Dhaka city
One secular blogger and publisher was hacked to death and three other bloggers injured at their workplaces in separate incidents of violence in Dhaka city’s Shahbagh and Lalmatia on October 31, reports New Age. Police found the body of Jagriti Prakashani publisher, Faisal Arefin Dipan (40), in a pool of blood at his office on the second floor of Aziz Super Market in Shahbagh. Faisal was a blogger and publisher of the book of slain blogger Avijit Roy titled Biswasher Virus (The Virus of Faith). In another incident, unidentified attackers attacked Ahmed Rashid Tutul (40), another publisher of slain blogger Avijit Roy, along with two other writers and bloggers — Rono Dipam Basu (52) and Tareq Rahim (40) — storming into the office of the publishing house at Lalmatia. Ansar Al Islam tweeted claiming responsibility for the killing and attack on secular bloggers.

JMB suspect arrested in Mymensingh
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a suspected member of Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) at Char Radhakanai village in Phulbaria sub-District of Mymensingh District on October 30, reports The Daily Star. The arrestee is Hafez Mohammad Belal (31).

Another publisher gets death threat for publishing secular works
Just a day after Jagriti Prokashoni Publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan was hacked to death, the owner of another leading publishing house, Somoy Prakashan Publisher Farid Ahmed, on November 1 received a death threat, allegedly from a militant group, reports Dhaka Tribune. Farid Ahmed told that he received an SMS text threatening him with death for publishing secular works. The SMS reads: “You have published many books by atheists, you have committed many sins. Prepare to die!” The text was signed off by a group named Al-Ahrar.

ABT posts list of targets of 14 bloggers and secular writers
A Facebook page claiming to be run by banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) on November 1 posted a list of targets that includes the names of 14 bloggers and secular writers, reports Dhaka Tribune. The new list included the names of Taslima Nasrin (USA), Omar Faruk Lux (Germany), Farjana Kabir Khan Snigdha (Germany), Arifur Rahman (UK), Asif Mohiuddin (Germany), Sannasy Ratan alias Samaddar Ratan (Norway), Subrata Shuvo (Norway), Julius Ceaser, Abdul Mamun, Susuptu Pathak, Nirjhar Majumder (Sweden), Santanu Adib (UK), Kadar Ali and Ajam Khan. Many of the names mentioned in the list were also included in previous lists published by the militants. Claiming that atheists would be killed one by one in Bangladesh, the Facebook post added that anyone involved with the publishing of books by atheists would be targeted, while anyone making anti-Islam films or videos would also face action from the militant group.

27 journalists and freelancers have been killed in Bangladesh since 1992, says CPJ
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, 27 journalists and freelancers have been killed in Bangladesh since 1992, reports New Age on November 2. It said that the motive behind the killings of 19 have been confirmed while eight others remained unconfirmed. The victims whose cases termed as ‘motive confirmed’ are Niloy Neel (Freelance, Aug 7, 2015), Ananta Bijoy Das (Freelance, May 12, 2015), Washiqur Rahman Babu (Freelance, Mar 30, 2015), Avijit Roy (Freelance, Feb 26, 2015), Sadrul Alam Nipul, (Dainik Mathabhanga, May 21, 2014), Ahmed Rajib Haider (Freelance, Feb 15, 2013), Jamal Uddin (Gramer Kagoj, June 15, 2012), Gautam Das (Samakal, Nov 17, 2005), Sheikh Belaluddin (Sangram), Kamal Hossain (Ajker Kagoj), Humayun Kabir (Janmabhumi), Manik Saha (New Age), Shukur Hossain (Anirban), Harunur Rashid (Dainik Purbanchal), Nahar Ali (Anirban), Shamsur Rahman (Janakantha), Mir Illias Hossain (Dainik Bir Darpan), Saiful Alam Mukul (Daily Runner) and Mohammad Quamruzzaman (Neel Sagar). The victims whose motive behind their killing remained unconfirmed are Nurul Islam Faruqi (Channel i Television), Shah Alam Sagar (Oporadh Domon), Meherun Runi (ATN Bangla), Golam Mustofa Sarowar (Maasranga Television), Diponkar Chakrabarty (Durjoy Bangla), Syed Farroque Ahmed (Pubali Barta), Ahsan Ali (Freelance) and SM Alauddi (Ogrodoot).

One police constable killed and four others injured near Dhaka city
One Industrial Police Constable was hacked to death and four others were injured as some unidentified men made a sudden attack on them at Baraipara in Ashulia, a suburban area near Dhaka city on November 4, reports Dhaka Tribune. The deceased is Mukul Hossain, a Constable of Sripur Police. Police said that five Police Constables of Industrial Police were preparing to set up a check post there when a group of about seven people, riding three motorbikes, swooped on them.

Three ABT cadres arrested in Sylhet
Three cadres of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) were arrested on November 4 in blogger Ananta Bijoy Das killing case in Sylhet District, reports The Daily Star. The three accused are Dulal Biswas, Abul Hassan and Jafran Hassan.

On May 12, Ananta was hacked to death by a group of masked miscreants at Subidbazar Bankolapara residential area of Sylhet city in Sylhet District.

11 JMB militants arrested in Dhaka city
Police arrested 11 militants of Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Uttara’s Abdullahpur area in Dhaka city on November 9, reports Dhaka Tribune. Police recovered some explosive materials and local weapons from their possession.

Army man attacked in Dhaka
A lance corporal of Military Police (MP), identified as Samidul Islam was injured after being hacked with a machete by an unidentified assailant in the Kachukhet area near Dhaka Cantonment on November 10, reports Dhaka Tribune. In a press release, the Inter Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said that Samidul was hacked from the back with a sharp weapon by a pedestrian. The ISPR also said that the victim suffered minor injuries and was undergoing treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka. It said that on-duty military personnel detained a suspected attacker but his name was withheld “for the sake of investigation, which has already started.”

Italian citizen injured in attack by unknown miscreants in Dinajpur District
An Italian citizen sustained bullet injuries in an attack by unknown miscreants at Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) bus stand in Dinajpur town of Dinajpur District on November 18, reports New Age. The injured, Piero Arolari (57), who has been working at Mission Hospital, is giving service to the people of Dinajpur for the last 35 years. Police said that a group of miscreants riding a motorcycle opened fire on Piru in the area while he was going to his workplace by a bicycle around 8:30am, leaving him injured.

IS warns of fresh attacks in Bangladesh
The Islamic State (IS) has warned that the terror group is preparing for fresh attacks in Bangladesh, reports Dhaka Tribune on November 21. In the latest edition of its online propaganda magazine ‘Dabiq,’ the extremist groups strategic expansion to countries like Bangladesh is discussed at length. The extremist group dedicated an entire article titled “The Revival of Jihad in Bengal” to their activities in Bangladesh or Bengal as it refers to the country. The magazine said reiterating IS’ claim of carrying out the attacks. “A security cell belonging to the soldiers of the Khilafah in Bengal assassinated an Italian crusader named Cesare Tavella on the streets of Gulshan in the city of Dhaka. Only days later, another security cell targeted a Japanese citizen in the northern region of Rangpur. These back-to-back attacks have caused havoc among the citizens of the crusader nations and their allies living in Bengal and forced their diplomats, tourists and expats to limit their movements and live in a constant state of fear.” The article claimed that while IS was busy preparing for further attacks, the secular Awami League Government continued to “twist the facts” on the ground and play a blame game.

BHBUC secretary general attacked in Faridpur District
Two assailants wielding machetes attacked the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBUC)’s Faridpur District secretary general Aalak Sen in front his house in Kamalapur area on November 24, reports New Age. The religious minority leader was admitted to the Faridpur Medical College Hospital with injuries on hands and legs.

BD accuses opposition official of Italian’s murder
A senior Bangladeshi minister accused a main opposition party official on Wednesday, Oct 28 of ordering an Italian aid worker’s murder as part of a plot to destabilise the government.

Police are hunting for Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) official M.A. Qayyum for allegedly orchestrating the deadly shooting of Cesare Tavella in the capital late last month. Four people have been arrested over the attack, with police on Monday saying three of them admitted carrying out the September 28 killing on the orders of a so-called “big brother”.

“Qayyum is the big brother,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal told reporters on Wednesday. Qayyum, who is believed to have fled the country, is a mid-ranking BNP official and a former Dhaka councillor.

Kamal said police have “conclusive evidence” Qayyum ordered the killing as part of a “conspiracy” to trigger anarchy and pile pressure on the government, although he did not elaborate.

The killing near Dhaka’s diplomatic zone was the first of a series of attacks to be claimed by Islamic State (IS), and was followed days later by the gunning down of a Japanese farmer in northern Bangladesh.

India – Internal Dynamics

AR`s JCO killed in militant’s ambush in Manipur
A Junior Commissioner Officer (JCO) of Assam Rifles (AR) was killed and an unspecified number of the personnel were injured in an ambush by suspected People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipuri’s Ukhrul District in the early hours on October 26, reports India Today. Police sources said the ambush took place at Khokai village where the AR was on patrol duty. The suspected militants first detonated two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and when the 44 AR personnel rushed to the spot, attacked them with sophisticated weapons. The JCO, whose identity is yet to be disclosed by AR, died on the spot. Police said the details were yet to be known as Khokai is a remote village from the Kamjong sub-division headquarters.

SAP trooper killed in Bihar as villagers attack Police team that went to arrest a Maoist
A Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) trooper was beaten to death and six other Policemen, including a Station House Officer (SHO), were injured when villagers attacked a Police team which had gone to arrest a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre in Kushmahat village under Nima Chandpura Police Station limits in Begusarai District, reports The New Indian Express on October 27. Superintendent of Police (SP) Manoj Kumar said on a tip-off that a Maoist operative Bauna Sada was hiding in Kushmahat village, a police team led by SHO Amit Kumar raided the village and arrested him. However, the villagers started hurling stones at the Police team and freed the Maoist, the SP said adding, the Police opened fire in its defence. One SAP trooper Surendra Kumar Jaiswal, was caught by the villagers who beat him to death.

3 CRFP personnel injured in IED blast
Three Constables of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured in an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) blast in Sukma District on October 28, reports The Hindu. Commenting on the matter Santosh Singh, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Operations, Sukma said “A pressure IED, planted by the Maoists, exploded near Burkapal CRPF camp of Sukma when a team of CRPF’s 74th battalion was out as a road opening party. Three CRPF men suffered injuries in the incident.” The explosion took place when one trooper accidentally put his foot on the pressure IED.

Maoists kill 2, set ablaze 29 vehicles
The Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres killed two persons, identified as Brujlal Tulavi (27) and Anil Kalko (30) of Kergatta village in Rajnandgoan District of the State and threw their bodies near Sawargaon village on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border, reports The Hindu on October 31. The Maoists left a handwritten note near the bodies accusing Tulavi and Kalko of running a “secret network of police informers” in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. “Brujlal and Anil have been punished for their anti-people activities. Both of them used to work as special police officers for the Chhattisgarh police and were running a network of police informers. They would inform the Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh police about the party’s movements,” said the note.

Meanwhile, the Maoists set ablaze 29 vehicles near Chargaon mines in Kanker District, reports The Hindu on October 31. A group of 60 to 70 Maoists thrashed some drivers and cleaners of these vehicles resulting in injuries to many of them.

One person injured in blast
Asiho Kahmei, the driver of Inspector General (IG) Zone II, L Kailun, was injured after a bomb exploded at his residence in Mahabali Kabui village under Porompat Police Station in Imphal East District on November 11, reports E-Pao. Police source said that the bomb, suspected to be an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), exploded under a rice container bag. Asiho was said to be having dinner in the next room when the bomb exploded while other family members were watching TV in another room. Police have recovered few splinters of the bomb. However, they are clueless on who or how the bomb was planted.

19 Indians have joined Islamic State, say media report
Intelligence agencies have said that so far at least 19 Indians have joined Islamic State (IS), india.comreports on November 15. Around 50 people who are following IS propaganda on social networking sites are under watch of the agencies. Indian intelligence said that most Indians who have joined the organisation are the ones who have moved to Gulf countries for work. According to the Report, an official said, “We are worried over the spread of ISIS. In India, LeT remains the most dangerous enemy. ISIS is a threat to India but not like it is to Europe. Indian nationals have gone to join ISIS and have been brought back as well. We are constantly working to check the spread of ISIS propaganda.”

Report also says that the Police forces across the country are on high alert and agencies are asked to intensify their security in the bordering areas. Coastal area security have also been beefed up and Home and External Affairs are constantly monitoring the affairs in France. Sources also said that as terror situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan affects India. Security agencies had asked their US, European and West Asian counterparts with surveillance in IS-held territory in Iraq and Syria to help them with estimate number of Indians in the militant organization.

AR trooper killed in ambush in Manipur
An Assam Rifles (AR) trooper was killed and two others were injured in an ambush by United National Liberation Front (UNLF) militants near Zangnomphai village in Chandel District of Manipur on November 18, reports The Assam Tribune. A group of armed militants ambushed an AR patrol party near International Border Pillar No 60 of the village, Police officials said. The slain rifle man was identified as Raghunath Prasad who hailed from Madhya Pradesh. While owning up the attack, a statement of the UNLF said that the attack was conducted by members of its armed wing Manipur People Army (MPA) under its code name “Operation Waaba”, adds Nagaland Post. It claimed that one soldier of the “Indian Occupational Force (IOF)” was killed in the ambush that also inflicted injuries to two other soldiers. The attacked was launched on the troops of 3 AR at Yamnomphai (Laiyang Khunou) near the Indo-Myanmar border pillar no. 59 and 60 yesterday evening, around 3.30 pm and no casualty on the MPA side, the statement added. The attack on IOF was part of its military campaign to restore the sovereignty of Manipur, the statement signed by M Sak-hen, director of department of publicity of the outfit added.

India 6^th worst hit by terrorism
According to the third edition of the Global Terrorism Index 2015 (GTI), India ranked 6th out of 162 nations most affected by terrorism in 2014, Mid-day reports on November 20. India witnessed a slight increase in terror-related deaths, up by 1.2 percent in 2014 to reach a total of 416, the highest number of terrorist incidents and deaths since 2010. In addition, there were 763 incidents which represents a 20 percent increase from 2013, a report by Washington-based Institute for Economics and Peace said. In India, the two deadliest Islamic terrorist groups in 2014 were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

Alert against links between IS, JMB and LeT
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) warned Jharkhand Police against possible links between Islamic State (IS) and sleeper cells of Indian Mujahideen (IM), Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) whose operatives have been arrested from Jharkhand in past, The Times of India reports on November 20. At a press conference in Ranchi on November 20 Police spokesperson and Additional Directorate General (ADG) (operations) S N Pradhan said: “The MHA inputs have been promptly shared with all SPs with instructions to take it with all seriousness. A few districts which have a background of terrorist activities have been instructed to be extra careful about the alert.”

Police officials believe Jharkhand has high risk of vulnerability to IS designs as its north-eastern border is situated close to Bangladesh. In September 2015 police arrested JMB second-in-command Tariqul Islam alias Sadiq alias Sumon from Ramgarh, a District which neighbours Ranchi. The arrest revealed that JMB was using Jharkhand as its hiding ground as its key man Rejaul Karim was arrested from Sahebganj railway station (close to Bangladesh border) in January (2015). “There are apprehensions IS might collaborate with local units of these terrorist groups in Jharkhand. We have to be alert against it,” Pradhan said.

Maoists kill naib Sarpanch in Odisha
The Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres have killed a Naib Sarpanch (deputy head of village level local-self government institution) of Bagdor panchayat under Belpara block in Balangir District on November 23, reports The New Indian Express. A leaflet left behind by the Maoists at the spot termed the Naib Sarpanch Alekh Majhi as a ‘police informer’. Around six Maoists, including two women cadres, descended on Dhourakhaman village under Bagdor panchayat at night when the Naib Sarpanch along with his brother-in-law Kanjita Majhi was returning from their brick kiln located about 100 metres away. The Maoists took both to the outskirts of the village and assaulted them. Later, the Maoists dragged the duo to the centre of the village and held a Kangaroo court. They accused the Naib Sarpanch of being a ‘Police informer’, resorting to irregularities in distribution of Public Distribution System (PDS) rice and demanding bribe from beneficiaries for houses under Indira Awas Yojna (IAY). After the hearing was over, the Maoists pronounced death for Majhi. They tied Majhi’s hands and took him to the outskirts of the village where he was shot twice, leaving him dead. The Maoists also pasted leaflets, both handwritten and printed on the walls of the houses and warned village headman Hemsagar Majhi (55) of refraining from anti-social activities.

Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period Oct 26, 2015 to Nov 25, 2015:

	Civilian	Indian Security  Personnel	Militant	Total
Assam	08	00	01	09
Manipur	04	01	03	08
Meghalaya	02	00	00	02
Nagaland	01	00	07	08
Left wing	05	03	16	24
Total	20	04	27	51

Nepal – Internal Dynamics

UDMF cadres vandalize dozens of vehicles in Saptari District
Cadres of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) vandalized dozens of vehicles at different places on the East-West Highway in Saptari District on October 25, reports Republica. The vehicles were heading to their destinations under police escort. Police said the agitating cadres were hiding on the side of the highway threw rocks at dozens of vehicles at Bhardaha, Rupani, Kanchanpur Baira, Barmajhiya, among other places in the District in course of police escorting.

Meanwhile, a gas cylinder bomb was found at the house of Nepali Congress (NC) lawmaker Surendra Yadav in Rajbiraj Municiplaity of Saptari District on October 26, reports The Himalayan Times. Pamphlets of Akhil Tarai Mukti Morcha (ATMM) were also found nearby the explosive. ATMM coordinator Jay Krishna Goit in a press statement claimed responsibility of the incident.

Separately, NC leader and lawmaker Sunil Yadav on October 26 accused the Government of not being sensitive towards the prolonged Madhes agitation and warned of intensifying the agitation in Tarai-Madhes if the Government did not take immediate steps to address the concerns of the Madhesi people, reports The Himalayan Times.

Nepal border crackdown deepens standoff
Nepal’s busiest entry point for goods from India has witnessed a new wave of unrest after police failed to clear a border blockade, the attempt only strengthening the resolve of protesters to fight the Himalayan nation’s new constitution. Knots of demonstrators gathered around piles of smoldering tyres in Birgunj, the latest flashpoint in agitation across the southern Tarai-Madhes strip, speaking of their anger at a federal setup enshrined in the new basic law.

The lowlanders, many of them ethnically distinct from Nepal’s hill and mountain groups, complain their region has been carved up, denying them a say in running the nation of 28 million as it seeks a new start after years of instability.

The middle hills and the capital Kathmandu have suffered fuel and cooking gas shortages after protesters in the south switched to blocking supplies from India, Nepal’s largest trading partner, almost two months ago.

Many in Nepal accuse India of supporting the protesters – a charge New Delhi denies. India has expressed its dissatisfaction with parts of the constitution, although it also says it cannot allow trucks to enter Nepal while conditions are unsafe.

An Indian national was shot dead by Nepali police on Monday during a protest that erupted after police cleared protesters from a highway. In a setback for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bid to improve neighbourhood relations, Nepal has turned to China for help, getting an emergency consignment of fuel and opening seven border crossings to traders.

Since Monday’s killing, police have fought running battles with protesters who threw stones and petrol bombs by the clock tower and in side streets. Around 300 protesters were camped out on the ‘friendship bridge’ that runs through the last section of no-man’s land to the border.

One person injured as UDMF cadres vandalize ambulance in Morang District
One person injured as United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) cadres on November 20 vandalized an ambulance carrying a sick child at Katahari of Morang District, reports The Himalayan Times. The child’s mother, who was inside the ambulance, sustained minor injuries. Police said around 10 cadres vandalized the ambulance operated by Rangeli Cooperative and Credit Cooperative.

Meanwhile, cadres of UDMF vandalized the house of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal in Gaur of Rautahat District on November 20, reports Republica. The entrance and the window panes of the house situated on the main road of the Gaur Municipality-3 have been badly damaged. Over 100 cadres wielding bamboo-sticks pelted stones and bricks at the house.

Four persons killed and many others injured in Police firing as agitating UDMF cadres clashed with Police in Saptari District
Four persons were killed and many others were injured in Police firing as agitating United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF) cadres clashed with Police along Bharadaha-Rupani road in Saptari District, reports The Himalayan Times. Three UDMF cadres Birendra Ram (18) and Nageshwor Yadav (28) and Shiva Shankar Das were killed in Police firing on November 21, whereas critically injured local Dilip Sah (30) succumbed to bullet injuries on November 22. Sah was observing the demonstration from the roof of his house and was hit by a bullet in his head when Police opened fire. His five-year-old daughter Muskan also sustained minor injuries. Six UDMF cadres and 20 Police personnel were also injured in clashes.

Meanwhile, cadres of UDMF set ablaze a Police post on November 23 in protest of the killing of three demonstrators in the Police action in Saptari District, reports Republica. The unruly protestors put the Police post in Koladi Basain-1 of the District on fire.

Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics

Sri Lanka arrests Maldivian wanted over ‘bomb plot’
Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a Maldivian man wanted in connection with an alleged bomb blast aboard President Abdulla Yameen’s speed boat and forced him to return home, an immigration official said on Monday, Nov 2. The man, identified as Ahmed Ashraf, was arrested on Sunday night in a Colombo suburb after the Maldives asked Sri Lanka to cancel his visa, immigration department spokesman Lakshman de Zoysa told AFP.

De Zoysa said he was not deported but instead handed over to the Maldivian authorities in Sri Lanka for repatriation.

Ashraf is reportedly an close associate of the country’s Vice President Ahmed Adeeb who was arrested last month over an alleged plot to kill Yameen, fuelling fears of fresh turmoil on the honeymoon islands wracked by political power struggles.

President Yameen was unharmed in an explosion on his speedboat on September 28 that slightly injured his wife and was described by authorities as an attempt on the leader’s life.

President Yameen ordered a major shake-up of his security following the explosion and sacked several of his ministers, although it emerged over the weekend that an FBI report found no evidence of a bomb blast.

UNWGEID commences visit to Northern Province to probe disappearances during the war
The United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID), which is on a mission to Sri Lanka, has commenced a visit to Mannar District in the Northern Province to probe the disappearances during the war, reports Colombo Page on November 12. The five-member Committee has met with the families of the missing and disappeared in Mannar and the surrounding area during the war. The Committee has also inspected the mass grave at Thiruketheeswaran in Mannar where skeletal remains of 81 people were unearthed during excavation. The Committee is scheduled to tour Kilinochchi and Jaffna Districts in the next few days.

Govt is planning to replace PTA with fresh legislation modeled on Patriot Act of United States, says Report
The Government is planning to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) with fresh legislation modeled on the Patriot Act of the United States, reports Daily Mirror on November 16. The PTA was used as a legal tool to deal with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terrorism at that time. However, there were criticisms by some sections over the retaining of the Act even after the war was over. Critics have dubbed it ‘a draconian piece of legislation’ that undermines individual freedom in the post war context. Accordingly, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Legal Draftsman’s Department are working in this direction at the moment.

Govt will launch special projects to improve living conditions of people in war-ravaged Northern Province, says Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilaka
Media Minister Gayantha Karunathilaka on November 19 said that the Government will launch special projects to improve the living conditions of the people in the war-ravaged Northern Province, mainly in the islets off the Jaffna peninsula, reports Colombo Page. The Minister said the cabinet of ministers has granted approval to a proposal submitted to the cabinet by Minister of Rehabilitation and Resettlement D.M. Swaminathan to implement 10 projects to upgrade the living status of these communities. There are more than 15 islands including Delft, Pungudutivu, Nainativu, Analaitivu and Mandaitivu around the Jaffna peninsula in the Northern Province. People are residing in six of these islands and 15,000 families in total live in these islands. They have to spend lot of money and time for travelling to the mainland due to the existing inefficient transportation, which is mainly by boats. The proposed projects include upgrading the transport system in these areas for families to travel from the islands to the mainland.

PCICRMP is studying preliminary UNWGEID report of secret underground detention center in Trincomalee Naval Base,says PCICRMP Chairman Maxwell Paranagama
The Chairman of Presidential Commission to Inquire into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons (PCICRMP) Maxwell Paranagama said that the PCICRMP is studying the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) preliminary report of secret underground detention center in Trincomalee Naval Base, reports Colombo Page on November 20. He told that none of the witnesses who appeared before the commission’s sittings complained about the existence of a torture chamber in the Trincomalee Naval Base.

Sri Lanka’s ex-navy chief denies operating secret jail
Sri Lanka’s former navy chief on Saturday, Nov 21 denied operating secret jails during the country’s 37-year ethnic war, local media reported, after UN experts urged an investigation into what they said were torture chambers. Retired Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda rejected UN experts’ claims that a secret prison hidden inside the main naval base in the island’s northeast was used to torture minority Tamil prisoners, under his command.

Karannagoda said the “prison” hidden inside the base in the port city of Trincomalee was actually a British World War II air raid shelter used to house breakaway Tamil rebels collaborating with the military. “The navy had no option but to accommodate them in previously unused buildings. We used British-time air raid shelters,” he was quoted by the local English-language Island daily as saying. We didn’t operate torture chambers in Trincomalee.”

The main Tamil National Alliance opposition demanded in parliament on Saturday that Karannagoda be arrested for his alleged involvement, demanding an investigation.

Sri Lanka’s former regime consistently denied the existence of secret jails, but the new administration which came to power in January, has agreed to investigate.

INTERNATIONAL

Till Nov 17 Turkish police detain 71 in raids against IS
Turkish police detained 71 people on Tuesday, Oct 27 in raids against suspected Islamic State militants in Istanbul and other cities, the local news agency Dogan reported, while the army said it caught 17 militants attempting to cross into Syria.

The sweep comes a day after police launched a series of operations against Islamic State groups, including a raid on more than a dozen houses in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir where seven militants were killed and 12 more captured.

Turkish authorities have extended operations against suspected Islamic State cells after a double suicide bombing in Ankara this month that killed more than 100 people, the worst attack of its kind in Turkey’s modern history.

The bombing was blamed on the militant group. “With yesterday’s operation, we prevented an attack bigger than that in Ankara. We captured many devices and materials used to make bombs.

Senior names from Islamic State’s Turkish unit were killed in the operation,” a security official told Reuters. “One suicide bomber with explosives wrapped around his body was also killed in the operation, before he found a chance to attack security personnel,” the official said.

In Tuesday’s operation, 21 people, including seven children, were detained in simultaneous raids on houses in Istanbul, Dogan news agency reported. Thirty people were detained in the central city of Konya and 20 others in Kocaeli, an industrial province east of Istanbul, Dogan said.

Last week, President Tayyip Erdogan said Syrian intelligence and Kurdish militants, not only Islamic State, were behind the Ankara attack, which occurred during a rally of pro-Kurdish activists and civic groups.

Egypt extends emergency in North Sinai
Egypt has extended by three months a state of emergency imposed on parts of Northern Sinai as the military mounts counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militants, the government said on Wednesday, Oct 28.

Insurgents have killed hundreds of soldiers and policemen in Sinai since mid-2013 after the overthrow by then-military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi following mass protests against his rule.

The state of emergency extension, announced by now President Sisi in a written decree on Wednesday, will be implemented in Rafah, al-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and surrounding areas starting retroactively from Tuesday and also extends a night-time curfew.

The measure was first introduced exactly one year ago after 33 security personnel were killed in an attack at a checkpoint in northern Sinai. It was extended by three months in January, April, and July. The attack was claimed by Sinai Province, an affiliate of Islamic State, which earlier changed its name from Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.

The group, which aims to topple the government in Cairo, has mainly focused on targets in Sinai. The military announced an operation on Sept 7 carried out by joint units from the military and the police against militants in Sinai. The military said it killed 535 militants in just two weeks during the first phase of the operation.

High numbers of Afghan asylum seekers ‘unacceptable’
Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Wednesday, Oct 28 the rising number of Afghan asylum seekers was “unacceptable”, as he urged young citizens of the south Asian nation to stay at home and rebuild their homeland.

“Afghanistan is in the second place of (asylum seekers’) origin countries in the current month and also for the whole year, that is unacceptable. We are in agreement with the Afghan government that we don’t want that,” De Maiziere said.

“There is an increasing number of citizens from the middle class, also from Kabul, and we are in agreement with the Afghan government that young Afghans from middle class families should stay in their country and rebuild it,” said De Maiziere.

German soldiers and police had been sent to Afghanistan to help “make the country safer”, said the interior minister, adding that “large amounts of development funds” have been sent to the country.

17 children among 91 killed in Syria attacks
At least 91 people, including 17 children, were killed on Friday, Oct 30 in attacks on opposition strongholds in the north and outside Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The deaths came as top diplomats from 17 countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, met for the first time in Vienna hoping to find a political solution to the conflict. Of the 91, at least 59 died in government attacks on Douma, a town on the eastern edges of the capital.

The Britain-based monitor said the strikes were believed to have been carried out by regime or Russian warplanes. More than 250,000 people have been killed since Syria´s war began in March 2011. Both the government and opposition forces have been condemned by rights groups for firing indiscriminately on civilian areas.

The opposition National Coalition said those killed in Douma on Friday morning had been struck by Russian air raids. He said the attacks “indicated an attempt to undermine the efforts to stop the violence” during the Vienna meeting.

Dozens killed as Yemeni forces clash with rebels
Dozens of Yemeni rebels and pro-government fighters have been killed in clashes in several southern provinces as Saudi-led coalition aircraft targeted the Iran-backed insurgents, military officials said on Saturday, Oct 31.

Fierce clashes raged in the areas of Al-Zaher and Thi al-Naem in Baida province between Huthi rebels and Popular Resistance fighters allied with forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, tribal sources said. The clashes overnight left 19 rebels and 14 Popular Resistance fighters dead, according to tribal and medical sources. Gun battles also flared up in Al-Madaribah in southwestern Yemen on the border between Lahj and Taez provinces, leaving an unknown number of fighters killed and wounded, military sources said.

Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition raided positions of Huthis and allied renegade troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, military officials said. The air strikes destroyed rebel vehicles in the central Ibb province, close to Daleh, which was seized by pro-government forces along with four other southern provinces earlier this year. The coalition launched an air campaign against the rebels in late March, in support of Hadi who had been forced to flee to Riyadh.

Iran threatens Arabs as much as IS: Bahrain
Iranian support for subversion in Arab states is as big a threat to the region as the Islamic State Jihadist group, Bahrain´s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said on Saturday, Oct 31 at a security conference in Manama.

“These actions are no less a threat to us than Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for the Jihadist group and accusing Iran of smuggling arms into Bahrain. He added that the Houthi militia in Yemen, which Gulf states are fighting and accuse of being a proxy for Iran, which the group Tehran both deny, can have a future in the country so long as it disarms and participates in a political solution.

US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday the United States remained “laser focussed” on what he called objectionable Iranian actions including support of terrorism in the region in the wake of its nuclear deal with major powers. Addressing the annual Manama Dialogue regional security conference in Bahrain, he added that US engagement in the Middle East, while deeper than ever, was broad and went beyond the military aspect. There was no military solution to Syria’s war, he said.

14 Boko Haram members dead
The Chadian government said on Sunday, Nov 1 that soldiers repelled two attacks by Boko Haram on army posts around Lake Chad, leaving 14 militants dead. “Two members of Boko Haram were neutralised and a third blew himself up, wounding 11 civilians” during an attempted suicide attack on the Bougouma army post, the government said in a statement, referring to the Nigerian Jihadist group.

Russian airline blames Egypt crash on ‘external’ factors
The Russian passenger jet that crashed in Egypt killing all 224 people on board came down due to “external” factors, the airline said on Monday, Nov 2 as relatives began identifying their loved ones in Saint Petersburg. Senior Kogalymavia executive Alexander Smirnov said that “no technical failures” could account for why the Airbus 321 would have broken up in mid-air, as investigators have said happened.

“The only explanation is some kind of external action,” Smirnov told a news conference in Moscow, without elaborating, adding that the doomed jet was in “excellent technical condition”.

Both Cairo and Moscow have played down the claim from Egypt’s IS branch that it brought down the aircraft flown by Kogalymavia between holiday destination Sharm el-Sheikh and Russia’s second largest city on Saturday. Investigators are examining all possible causes as they comb the remote crash site in the Sinai peninsula as part of an Egyptian-led probe into the disaster that also involves experts from Russia, France and Airbus.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow “cannot exclude any version” of what caused the crash as investigations were still ongoing, but warned against “guessing” at the reason.

Russia has a dismal air safety record, and while larger carriers have begun upgrading ageing fleets, the crash is likely to raise concerns about smaller airlines such as Kogalymavia.

Five Kuwaitis jailed
A lower court in Kuwait on Monday, Nov 2 sentenced five men to 10 years in jail each for raising funds for the Islamic State Jihadist group. Three of those convicted were Kuwaiti citizens, according to the court ruling. The court ordered that the remaining two, who were foreigners, be deported after serving the jail term. Their nationalities were not immediately clear. It also acquitted two others.

The men were charged with raising about 400,000 Kuwaiti dinars ($1.3 million) and transferring the funds to IS, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq and carried out attacks throughout the Middle East.

Over the past year, Kuwaiti courts have issued several rulings against IS supporters.

In September, a lower court sentenced seven people, including five in absentia, to death for helping a Saudi suicide bomber carry out an attack on a Shiite mosque in Kuwait that killed 26 worshippers and wounded hundreds.

Ban hits out at ‘hate speech’
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hit out on Monday, Nov 2 at “extreme elements” in Myanmar who are sowing hate speech and bigotry towards religious minorities, days before the country votes in landmark elections.

Myanmar heads to the polls next on Sunday in what observers are hoping will be the fairest election for decades as the nation slowly shakes off almost a half-century of brutal military rule. But the vote is taking place against a rising tide of anti-Muslim sentiment, spear-headed by a small but increasingly influential movement of hardline Buddhist nationalist monks.

In a statement put out by his office, Ban Ki-moon said he had “deep concern” about “the continuous resort to hate speech, the incitement of communal animosities and the abuse of religion for political purposes resorted to by extreme elements among the majority community in Myanmar”. Ban also called on voters to reject politicians who espoused discriminatory policies when they went to the ballot box.

The UN chief did not name any person or group in his remarks. However he did hit out at “vulgar remarks” directed against Yanghee Lee, the UN’s special rapporteur for Myanmar. During a visit to the country in January she was rounded upon by influential firebrand monk Wirathu who described her as a “whore”.

Al-Qaeda calls for lone wolf attacks on West
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has called for lone wolf attacks against Western countries, in particular America, and praised recent Palestinian attacks against Israelis. Zawahiri spoke in a video released on Twitter and published and translated on Nov 2 by US-based SITE, which monitors violent extremist websites.

SITE noted that the video was broadcast on Twitter, on Sunday, rather than on extremist websites as is usually the case.

“The first matter is striking the West and specifically America in its own home, and attacking their interests that are spread everywhere,” Zawahiri said, according to SITE. “The supporters of Israel must pay with their blood and their economy.” As examples of lone wolf attacks, he cited the 2013 Boston Marathon bombers Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev. Their attack with pressure cooker bombs killed three people and wounded 264.

The al-Qaeda leader hailed the past month’s attacks by Palestinians against Israelis in Occupied al-Quds and elsewhere in Israel and the West Bank. He also repeated an appeal first launched in September for Jihadists to unite from Turkey to North Africa, despite his rejection of the caliphate proclaimed by the Islamic State group, which controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria. A US-led coalition of countries has been bombing IS positions since August 2004.

Turkey bombs Kurds
Turkish warplanes have bombed Kurdish rebel bases in Turkey and northern Iraq, the army said on Tuesday, Nov 3 as officials announced the first militant deaths since the government swept back to power at the weekend. Ankara also ruled out an immediate resumption of peace talks that have been stalled since tit-for-tat violence erupted in July, shattering a 2013 ceasefire.

The military said it had targeted bases of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Monday in the southeastern Hakkari province, as well as several northern Iraqi regions including their main stronghold on Qandil mountain.

The operation was launched just after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a surprise victory in Sunday’s election.

Officials said on Tuesday that several Kurdish militants had been killed in clashes with security forces in the restive southeast.

Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said conditions were not yet ripe to revive peace talks.

Iran arrests three journalists
Iranian authorities have arrested three pro-reform journalists, one of whom has been critical recently of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, news agencies reported on Tuesday, Nov 3.

State television said the elite Revolutionary Guards had arrested “several members of an infiltration network linked to hostile Western governments who were working in the country’s media and social networks.” It did not give details, but said they would be published later.

The ILNA news agency, which is close to Iran’s reformists, had earlier reported the arrest of journalists Issa Saharkhiz and Ehsan Mazandarani, but did not say when they were detained or on what charges. Saharkhiz was released in 2013 after serving three years in prison for insulting Khamenei and publishing anti-regime propaganda. He was head of media at the culture ministry under reformist president Mohammed Khatami, who was in office from 1997 to 2005. In recent months, he had criticised Khamenei and other senior figures in interviews with foreign media.

Mazandarani runs the reformist daily Farhikhtegan. He was previously arrested in 2009 for acting against national security and contact with foreigners, at a time of protests against the re-election of hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Russian plane ‘brought down’ by explosives
Britain said on Wednesday, Nov 4 that the Russian plane that crashed in Egypt this week after taking off from the resort of Sharm al-Sheikh might have been brought down by an explosive device.

“While the investigation is still ongoing we cannot say categorically why the Russian jet crashed,” Prime Minister David Cameron’s office said in a statement. “But as more information has come to light we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device,” it added. As a precautionary measure, the government has decided that flights due to leave Sharm for Britain on Wednesday evening will be delayed to allow time for a team of UK aviation experts, currently travelling to Sharm, to make an assessment of the security arrangements in place at the airport.

Meanwhile, Syrian government offensives backed by Russian air strikes have displaced at least 120,000 people in the war-wracked country, a senior US official said on Wednesday, accusing Moscow of complicating the situation on the ground.

Patterson said the Russian air strikes have so far targeted moderate opponents to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, killing civilians in attacks on civil defense crews, hospitals, centeres for displaced persons and ambulances.

Five Bahraini get life in jail for ‘spying for Iran’
A Bahraini court on Thursday, Nov 5 revoked the citizenship of five convicted of spying for Iran and sentenced them to life imprisonment, a judicial source told AFP. The verdict comes amid escalated tension between Bahrain and Iran, as Manama recalled its ambassador and asked Tehran´s envoy to leave last month claiming interference in its affairs. It also came a day after Bahrain said it has uncovered a “terrorist organisation” linked to Iran and arrested 47 of its members, foiling imminent attacks in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom.

The five defendants were convicted of “spying for and seeking with Iran and its agents to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom”, the source said. They were found guilty of working with Iran´s elite Revolutionary Guard to carry out attacks in Bahrain against public facilities and banks.

Two of them had received training in Iran on “the manufacture and use of explosives and firearms in preparation for carrying out these hostile attacks”, according to the charges. Three of those convicted, one of whom is in Iran, are being tried in absentia while the remaining two who appeared in court Thursday said they were forced to confess “under torture”, the source said.

In Iran, a foreign ministry official rejected the latest accusations against Tehran as “baseless”.

Bahrain has been hit by unrest since a pro-democracy uprising in 2011, and it frequently accuses predominantly Shiite Iran of meddling in its affairs. Its interior ministry said on Wednesday that the busted cell was the latest case of Iran trying “to shake the security and stability of the kingdom of Bahrain through organised terrorist attacks”.

Over 50 killed in Yemen fighting
More than 50 people were killed in Yemen in the past two days in fighting pitting an Arab coalition against Houthi fighters backed by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, medical sources and residents said on Sunday, Nov 8.

In Taiz, medical sources told Reuters 29 people including eight civilians were killed in clashes in Yemen’s third largest city, where relief workers have said fighting has blocked food supplies and left thousands of people in extreme hunger.

Jordanian kills US instructors
A Jordanian policeman shot dead two US instructors, a South African and a fellow Jordanian at a police training centre on Monday, Nov 9 before being gunned down, the government spokesman said.

Mohammed Momani said the shooter also wounded two American instructors and three Jordanians.

The assailant was shot dead by colleagues at the centre in Al-Muwaqqar, 30-km east of Amman, Momani, who is also information minister, said in statements carried by state news agency Petra.

Authorities opened an investigation to determine the motive for the shooting, he added.

The three foreign instructors killed were on contract with Jordanian police, Momani said.

Italian police say 15 arrested in European swoop on militants planning attacks
Police in six European countries arrested at least 15 suspected members of an Islamist militant group that was planning attacks in northern Europe and the Middle East, Italian authorities said on Thursday, Nov 12. They said the militants planned to strike Norwegian and British diplomats in the Middle East and politicians in Norway but gave no further information about the potential targets or the time frame for any attacks.

The early-morning raids targeted the Rawti Shax group, which police said was a Kurdish Sunni Muslim group dedicated to overthrowing the government of Iraq’s Kurdistan region and replacing it with rule by sharia (Islamic law).

Italy’s national Carabinieri police led the investigation, with security forces in Italy, Britain, Norway, Finland, Germany and Switzerland taking part in Thursday’s swoop. A total of 17 arrest warrants were issued, almost all for Iraqi Kurds, and 15 suspects were picked up immediately.

One of those wanted was believed to be in Iraq, while it was not yet clear whether another suspect had been found in Switzerland. All of them face international terrorism charges, the Italy’s Carabinieri police said in a statement.

Among those detained was Mullah Krekar, the one-time leader of the Ansar al-Islam militant group. He was served the arrest warrant in a prison in Norway where he was already serving an 18-month term for making death threats against a Kurdish man and encouraging others to commit criminal acts in a TV interview. Krekar went to Norway as a refugee in 1991 and had earlier been deemed a threat to national security.

Terror attacks in Paris, 130 killed
On the evening of 13 November 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks occurred in Paris, and its northern suburb, Saint Denis. Three suicide bombers struck near the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, followed by suicide bombings and mass shootings at cafés, restaurants and a music venue in Paris. The attackers killed 130 people, including 89 at the Bataclan theatre, where they took hostages before engaging in a stand-off with police. There were 368 injuries and seven of the attackers also died, while authorities continued to search for accomplices. The attacks were the deadliest on France since World War II and the deadliest in the European Union since the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks saying it was in retaliation for the French airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq.

In response, a state of emergency was declared and temporary border checks were introduced. On 15 November, France launched the biggest airstrike of Operation Chammal, its contribution to the anti-ISIL bombing campaign, striking ISIL targets in Al Raqqah. 18 November, the suspected lead operative of the attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud was killed in a police raid in Saint Denis along with at least two other people.

US has ‘contained’ IS group: Obama
The United States has halted the course of the Islamic State group, President Barack Obama said in remarks broadcast on Friday, Nov 13 calling for a stepped up drive to “completely decapitate” the militants’ operations. The ABC News interview was recorded on Thursday at the White House, hours after the start of a major operation by Iraqi Kurdish forces, backed by US-led strikes, to drive IS out of the northern town of Sinjar.

“I don’t think they’re gaining strength,” said Obama. “From the start, our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them. They have not gained ground in Iraq. And in Syria — they’ll come in, they’ll leave. But you don’t see this systematic march by ISIL across the terrain,” he said, using an alternate acronym for IS.

Obama gave the interview before news broke of a US air strike in Syria targeting “Jihadi John,” a masked British militant who appeared in a string of graphic execution videos. He warned that regional strife will persist “until we get the Syria political situation resolved.Until Assad is no longer a lightning rod for Sunnis in Syria and that entire region is no longer a proxy war for Shia-Sunni conflict, we’re going to continue to have problems,” he said.

Five soldiers killed in Ukraine
Five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in clashes in the country´s separatist east over the past 24 hours, in the deadliest violence since a September truce, the military said on Saturday, Nov 14. The troops were killed in clashes with pro-Russian rebels to the north and west of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk.

Over 8,000 people have been killed since the rebels took up arms against Ukraine´s pro-Western government last year following the ouster of a Russian-backed president in the capital Kiev.

The violence had significantly abated after the two sides agreed to a renewed truce in September that had largely held.

But in the past few weeks, the clashes have multiplied, leading to several deaths on the government side.

‘IS’ Jihadist blows himself up in southern Turkey
A suspected Islamic State Jihadist blew himself up in southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border, during a police raid late on Saturday, Nov 14 injuring four officers, one seriously, media reports said.

The militant activated explosives attached to his body when police raided an apartment building in the town of Gaziantep, the Dogan news agency said.

The raid was conducted as part of the investigation into a double suicide bombing on October 10 in Ankara that killed 102 activists assembling for a peace rally, Dogan said.

The latest attack comes as world leaders gathered in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, 300 kilometres to the west, for a G20 summit where the fight against terrorism will be a major discussion point, following this weekend’s Paris attacks.

On Saturday, four suspected IS militants travelling by car were shot dead by the army when they approached a military checkpoint in Gaziantep.

Migrant quotas would spread terrorism across Europe
European Union migrant quotas would spread terrorism across Europe, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told lawmakers on Nov 16 in response to the Paris attacks, as parliament prepared a legal challenge against the quota regime. Orban, whose policy to fence off the flow of hundreds of thousands of migrants pouring into Europe from the Middle East and Asia has drawn criticism from his neighbours, used Friday’s attacks in Paris to defend his hard line against migration.

In September EU leaders approved the mandatory relocation of up to 120,000 migrants across member states by 2017 in a decision opposed by Hungary and several other eastern European Union nations.

The Nov 13 attack in Paris prompted a similar response from Poland, where European affairs minister designate Konrad Szymanski said his incoming government could not accept migrants under EU quotas.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said that militants may have infiltrated the migrant wave.

Orban said the continent failed to prevent militant attacks because of its mishandling of the flow of migrants escaping conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. He blamed the EU’s ineffectiveness on its insistence on a federal system, calling it a “systemic error” and a “distortion of thought” that prevented efficient action and comparing it to Nazi and Communist regimes in the 20th century.

Seven terror plots ‘stopped’: Cameron
British security services have foiled around seven terror plots since June with fighters returning from Syria posing a growing threat, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday, Nov 16.

“Our security and intelligence services have stopped something like seven attacks in the last six months, albeit attacks planned on a smaller scale” than Friday’s attacks in Paris, he told BBC Radio 4 from Turkey.

Security services have spent a “long time” working out how to deal with multiple coordinated attacks on the street, but will have to go “right back to the drawing board” after the Paris attacks, which killed at least 129 people. “It was the sort of thing we were warned about,” said the prime minister.

Al-Azhar seeks anti-IS ideological battle
A leading Muslim cleric called on Monday, Nov 16 for an ideological battle against Islamic State group militants, including the deployment and training of moderate clerics in Europe to counter extremist thought. “It primarily requires an intellectual treatment,” Abbas Shoman, the deputy sheikh of Egypt’s Al-Azhar institute, told AFP. “It should not be limited to security treatment,” he said.

The cleric said Al-Azhar, one of the leading centres of Islamic learning, had advised French officials before Friday’s Paris attacks that moderate clerics were needed in France. Al-Azhar’s head, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, condemned the bloody attacks that were claimed by IS, describing them as contrary to religion.

Shoman said Al-Azhar has little presence in Europe, but the numbers of Europeans who have joined IS pointed to the presence of extremist preaching in the continent. Shoman, who described coalition air strikes against IS as “not serious” and warned against “punishing civilians”, said Al-Azhar could send clerics to France, or train them, to counter extremists. “You have to open the path for moderate clerics, and Azhar is ready,” he said.

King Abdullah II warns of ‘world war’
King Abdullah II of Jordan warned on Tuesday, Nov 17 of a “third world war against humanity”, in the wake of the Paris attacks, describing the Islamic State group as “savage outlaws of religion”.

During an official visit to Kosovo, Abdullah said both Europe and Islam were under attack from the “scourge” of terrorism that could strike at any time.

“We are facing a third world war against humanity and this is what brings us all together,” he told a press conference.

“This is a war, as I´ve said repeatedly, within Islam,” he said, adding: “Groups such as Daesh (IS) expose themselves daily as savage outlaws of religion devoid of humanity respecting no laws and no boundaries.”

French, Russian raids kill 33 IS militants
French and Russian air strikes in northern Syria have killed at least 33 Jihadists with the Islamic State group in the last 72 hours, a monitoring group said on Wednesday, Nov 18. Dozens of IS fighters were also wounded in the raids on weapons depots, barracks and checkpoints in the Jihadists’ de facto Syrian capital of Raqa, said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

France intensified strikes on Raqa following last week’s attacks in Paris that left 129 dead, with warplanes carrying out dozens of raids on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Russia also pounded Raqa with long-range bombers and sea-launched missiles on Tuesday, after Moscow confirmed that a bomb attack brought down a Russian passenger jet over Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board.

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front said it had downed two Russian reconnaissance drones over a military airport it controls in northwest Syria. If confirmed, the incident would be the first time that the armed opposition down a Russian aircraft since Moscow launched strikes in Syria on September 30.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group also said Al-Nusra Front had downed two drones over Abu Duhur, but could not specify if they were Russian.

IS executes five ‘spies’ in Anbar
The Islamic State group executed five men it described as spies in Iraq’s Anbar province, west of the capital, according to photos posted online. The photos show the barefoot men dressed in orange jumpsuits kneeling in a street as a crowd of people, many of them apparently militants, look on. Black-clad men wearing balaclavas are then pictured shooting them with pistols.

The photos were said to have been taken in Anbar, where security forces are battling to regain ground from the militants, especially around provincial capital Ramadi, which the militants seized in May. But no precise location was given, and the authenticity of the images could not be independently confirmed.

IS has carried out many gruesome executions in Iraq and neighbouring Syria, where it controls significant territory, and has also claimed attacks elsewhere, including the bombing of an airliner in Egypt and a rampage by militants in Paris.

27 die in Mali hostage siege
Special forces stormed a luxury hotel in Mali on Friday, Nov 20 after gunmen seized guests and staff in a hostage crisis that left at least 27 people dead, a week after the Jihadist rampage in Paris. Many of the 170 hostages initially trapped by the suspected Islamists in the besieged Radisson Blu hotel in the Malian capital Bamako were foreigners and a Belgian regional assembly official was reported to be among the dead.

About nine hours after the attack began in a hail of automatic gunfire, the country’s security minister said there were no more hostages after Malian special forces backed by US and French troops stormed the building.

The most powerful jihadist groups active in Mali are aligned with al-Qaeda rather than Islamic State, which has emerged latterly as the global leader of violent Islamic extremism.

Gunmen had entered the 190-room hotel compound in Bamako at around 0700 GMT in a car with diplomatic plates and automatic gunfire was heard from outside, security sources said. The hotel’s owner, the Rezidor Hotel Group, said 170 guests and staff were initially trapped, with employees of the French and Turkish national airlines as well as Indians and Chinese among known to be among those staying there.

Female suicide bombers kill five in Cameroon
Four female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a flashpoint area of northern Cameroon on Saturday, Nov 21 killing five civilians including a traditional chief, the regional governor said.

One of the women attackers set off her explosives outside the house of the local chief in a village near Fotokol, a town often targeted by Boko Haram Islamists. He and four members of his family were killed, governor Midjiyawa Bakari told AFP.

The other women blew themselves up but did not kill anyone else. Boko Haram has mounted numerous attacks in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria and is turning the border region near Lake Chad into a war zone, the UN refugee agency said last month.

Anti-Muslim crime soars in Britain
Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose 300 percent in Britain in the week following the coordinated attacks in Paris, according to figures published on Monday, Nov 23.

A “vast and overwhelming majority” of the 115 attacks were against Muslim women and girls aged between 14 and 45 who were wearing traditional Islamic dress, according to the findings reported in The Independent newspaper. The perpetrators were mainly white males aged between 15 and 35, according to the report, which noted that the true numbers of attacks were likely much larger than those reported.

The figures come from a report to a government working group on anti-Muslim hate compiled by Tell Mama, a helpline that records incidents of physical and verbal attacks on mosques and Muslims. A large number of the attacks occurred in public places such as buses and trains.

The rise in attacks is in line with a similar increase that happened after the murder in south London of British soldier Lee Rigby by Muslim extremists in 2013, according to the report. Islamophobic and anti-Semitic incidents had already risen sharply before the attacks in Paris, by 70.7 percent and 93.4 percent respectively in the year to July 2015 compared to the previous 12-month period, according to police figures.

In all, 816 Islamophobic incidents were recorded in Greater London between July 2014 and July 2015, compared to 478 in the previous period.

The same period saw 499 anti-Semitic incidents, a rise from 258 the previous year.

Emergency clamped in Tunisia
Tunisia was under a state of emergency on Wednesday, Nov 25 after the bombing of a presidential guard bus killed at least 12 people, the latest attack in a country plagued by Islamist violence. President Beji Caid Essebsi and other members of the National Security Council were meeting to discuss crisis measures following the blast on Tuesday in the heart of Tunis.

A 9:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew has been imposed in the capital following the attack, along with a new nationwide state of emergency, which had been lifted less than two months previously.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing in a busy area in the heart of Tunis, a few hundred metres from the interior ministry, which came as the 26^th Carthage Film Festival was in full swing.

According to unconfirmed reports in Tunisian media, the blast was caused by a man wearing an explosives belt.

The transport ministry announced following the blast that security would be reinforced in the country’s ports and only passengers would be allowed to enter Tunis’s international airport.

Tunisia has been plagued by Islamist violence since the 2011 revolution and dozens of members of the security forces have been killed.

Current Threat Levels

City/Region                                           Threat Level

Islamabad                                              Level 2                          **

Karachi                                                   Level 2                          **

Lahore                                                    Level 2                          **

Punjab                                                    Level 2                          **

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa                            Level 3                          **

Peshawar                                               Level 2                          **

Quetta                                                    Level 2                         ***

Upper Balochistan                                 Level 3                         ***

Lower Balochistan                                 Level 2                           **

Upper / Rural Sindh                               Level 2                          **

Gilgit and Northern areas                      Level 3                           **

Tribal areas, close

to Afghan border                                    Level 3                          ***

Index to Threat Level References

Threat Level 1                                                                                *

No threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required.

Threat Level 2                                                                               **

No specific threat to foreigners, however because of the overall general law & order situation, some security precautions are advised, especially if traveling.

Threat Level 3                                                                              ***

Indicates that law and order situation is cause for concern and travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Foreigners should rehearse plans for evacuation.

Threat Level 4                                                                             ****

Indicates complete breakdown of civil administration and law and order leading to possible anarchy. All foreigners to remain indoors and confined to their own city. Families and staff not required to be evacuated retaining only a skeleton staff.

Threat Level 5                                                                             *****

Indicates complete breakdown of law and order, enemy action/hostilities, invasion/ occupation by enemy.