Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Bomb/IED blasts
At least three people were killed in a landmine explosion in Hamzani village of Sui tehsil (revenue unit) in Dera Bugti District of Balochistan on April 27, reports The News. Levies sources said, the incident took place when three people who were traveling on tractor hit the roadside bomb. In the explosion, all the three died on the spot.
A man, identified as Bahram Khan, and his son, Muhammad Siddique, were killed in a landmine blast in Lehri area of Sibi District on April 28, reports The Express Tribune.
At least 13 people were injured when unidentified assailants threw a hand grenade outside a private guest house in Tehkal Bala area of Peshawar on May 1, reports The News. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)-Operations Abbas Majeed Marwat confirmed the incident. Marwat claimed the two suspected attackers were arrested.
Five Police personnel were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Eastern Bypass area Quetta, reports Dawn. No outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.
Two Policemen were killed and five persons, including three Policemen, were injured in an explosion outside the gate of Balochistan University in Quetta on May 10, reports Dawn.
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attached to a bicycle exploded near a government employees’ residential colony in Jamshoro District on May 10, reports The Express Tribune. However, no casualties were reported. Separately, three wagons of a goods train overturned and six others derailed when two bombs exploded on a track near Goth Mureed Sipio Railway Crossing in Tandojam area of Hyderabad District on May 9, reports Dawn. However, no casualties were reported. Hyderabad Deputy Inspector of General (DIG) Khadim Hussain Rind said that a pamphlet written in Sindhi was found at the place, but declined to share its contents.
A Policeman was killed and 19 others, mostly security personnel, were injured in twin blasts in the Mathra area of Peshawar on May 18, reports The Daily Times. The Lady Reading Hospital received the body of Policeman Iftikhar (35). Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Abdul Majid Marwat said that an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted on the roadside targeted a Police mobile van, leaving a Policeman and a passer-by injured. He said that another IED exploded when the bomb disposal squad reached the scene, injuring more than 15 people. The injured include 11 members of the bomb disposal squad, officials of the Counter Terrorism Department, Policemen and six civilians.
A Balochistan Constabulary personnel was killed and four others injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in Eastern Bypass area of Quetta on May 19, reports The Daily Times. Police sources said that unidentified men planted a remote-controlled bomb in the provincial capital.
An improvised explosive device (IED) blast killed two Policemen and wounded six others in a roadside attack in the Spiny road area of Quetta in the evening of May 24, reports Dawn. A Police contingent patrolling the area was targeted with an IED, police official said. “Four police officials and three passers-by were injured in the blast, which also damaged the police vehicle.” The injured were taken to Civil Hospital Quetta, where two police officials succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced dead.
Targetted Killings
An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Phandu Police Station, identified as Qaisar Ali Shah, was shot dead in a targeted attack in Yakatoot area of Peshawar on April 27, reports The News.
A man, identified as Abdul Moeen (35), was shot dead by Lyari gangsters in an incident of firing on the Sheedi Village Road at Lea Market in Lyari Town of Karachi on May 2, reports The News.
A Police constable, identified as Sher Muhammad, was shot dead by two unidentified armed assailants while he was on duty at Police Lines in Mardan District on May 2, reports The Express Tribune. Police have lodged a case in the Counter Terrorism Department and started investigations.
Two Shia school teachers, identified as Mukhtiar Hussain and Akhtar Hussain, were shot dead by unidentified militants in a targeted killing incident in Miryali area of Dera Ismail (DI) Khan District on May 6, reports The Nation.
Separately, two Shia lawyers, identified as Atif Zaidi and Ali Muntazir, were shot dead in a targeted attack on Gird Road in DI Khan District on May 6, reports The Nation. Police said all the four were victims of target killings and belonged to Shia community.
Elsewhere, a Revenue Assistant Officer, identified as Anwar Zeb, was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants while he was travelling home on Dalazak Road in Peshawar on May 5, reports The Nation.
Unidentified militants killed two people, including Shia religious scholar and rights activist Syed Khurram Zaki, in a sectarian attack in North Karachi Town of Karachi on May 7, reports The News. Zaki and his journalist friend, Rao Khalid, were sitting at a restaurant when two armed assailants opened fire at them. A passer-by, identified as Aslam, sustained injuries in the attack. Both the victims belonged to the Shia community. Meanwhile, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-Hakeemullah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to Reuters, saying Zaki had been targeted for his stance against radical cleric of Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz.
Four persons were killed in a firing incident in Shrengal area of Lower Dir District on May 9, reports Daily Times. Some unidentified armed men opened indiscriminate fire on a car, leaving three killed on the spot, and a woman injured, who was shifted to the nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead by the doctors.
A Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Union Council Chairman, identified as Malik Fiaz Hussain Kapahi (50), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in Rohilanwali town of Muzaffargarh District on May 9, reports Dawn. His friend Zafar, who was accompanying him sustained injuries.
A dead body of an unidentified man was found in the Gulbahar area of Liaquatabad Town of Karachi on May 11, reports Dawn. Gulbahar Station House Officer (SHO) Ghulam Asghar Abbasi said that from his appearance the victim looked Baloch.
Separately, four members of the Tablighi Jama’at (TJ) were shot at and wounded in a sectarian attack while they were preaching in Block-17 of F. B Area in Gulberg Town on May 11, reports Dawn.
In a targeted killing incident unidentified assailants shot dead a Sub-Inspector (SI) of the Traffic Police in Peshawar on May 12, reports The News. A Police official said that two unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on SI, Aftab Khan of the Traffic Police, when he was going for duty on a motorcycle.
A man, identified as Abdul Ramazan (25), was shot dead by two unidentified armed assailants in a targeted attack in Surjani Town of Gadap Town in Karachi on May 15, reports The News.
Jamiat Ulema e Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) local leader Haji Alam Shah was killed at his residence by unidentified assailants in Paroda tehsil (revenue unit) in Dera Ismail Khan District on May 18, reports The Daily Times. According to Police, three unidentified persons barged into the house of Alam and opened fire at him, killing him on the spot.
A worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), identified as Fahad Zaki, was shot dead and another, identified as Kamran, was wounded in targeted attacks in within the limits of the Khokhrapar Police Station in Benazir Sports Ground of Landhi Town in Karachi on May 20, reports The Express Tribune.
Three unidentified dead bodies were recovered from an area near Muhammad Khan Colony in Manghopir area of Gadap Town in Karachi on May 22, reports The News.
Separately, two traffic Police Officers, identified as Shakeel Ahmad and Muhammad Kamran were shot dead near Aisha Manzil area on MA Jinnah Road in Gulberg Town on May 20, reports The Nation.
At least five people were killed when militants opened fire at their vehicle in Mand area of Kech District on May 23, reports Daily Times. No outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.
Three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel, including District Officer Ameer Badshah and two constables, Gul Rehman and Gul Rasool, were killed when three unidentified militants opened fire on their vehicle at Patang Chowk in Peshawar on May 25, reports Dawn. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack in an email sent to journalists.
A member of the Jama’at Ahmadiyya, identified as Dawood Ahmad (55), was shot dead in a targeted attack while he was sitting outside his home in Metroville-Block II area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi on May 25, reports Dawn. Thirty Ahmadis have been killed in Karachi and not a single murderer has been brought to justice till now, making extremist elements feel encouraged,” said Saleemuddin, a spokesman for the Jamaat Ahmadiyya in a statement.
Miscellaneous
An alleged facilitator, identified as Musa, of a ‘commander’ of the Islamic State (IS/ also known as Daesh) in Afghanistan, identified as Abdullah alias Cheeta, was arrested from Regi Lalma area in provincial capital Peshawar on April 26, reports Dawn. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Saifullah said the suspect was wanted by the local Police for various crimes and was arrested during a search operation in Regi Lalma. Musa belonged to an inter-provincial criminal organisation, said the DSP.
At least three suspected militants were killed and four others injured during an exchange of fire with Security Force (SFs) personnel near Pak-Afghan border in Shawal valley of North Waziristan Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on May 26, reports Dawn.
Two Baloch Republican Army (BRA) militants were killed and another was wounded in an operation carried out by Security Forces (SFs) after receiving information about their presence by the Intelligence Agency in Prome area of in Panjgur District on April 27, reports Dawn. Arms and ammunition, including three Kalashnikovs, five 7mm rifles, hundreds of live rounds and two pistols and wireless sets and motorcycles were seized from the camp which was destroyed by SFs.
15 people, including three children, were injured in a grenade attack on Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JuD) madrassa, Baitul Mukarrama Al-hadees, in Tehkal area of Peshawar on May 2, reports Dawn.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Dr. Farooq Sattar’s coordinator Aftab Ahmed (42), who was under Rangers’ 90–day preventive detention, died on May 3 in Karachi, reports The News. The party alleged extra-judicial killing and demanded for probe in the incident. The pictures and video clips of the dead body revealed wounds that suggest he was brutally tortured to death. Speaking at Ahmed’s funeral, Sattar said Ahmed was picked by Rangers from his home in Federal B Area on May 1, 2016, while he was with his family even though there was no case registered against him at any Police Station. However, the paramilitary force maintained that Ahmed died a natural death caused by a heart attack.
Aftab Ahmad was subjected to torture ‘before his death’ with around ‘35 to 40 percent’ of his body bearing bruises, reports The Express Tribune quoting his post-mortem report. A 90-minute-long autopsy, performed by senior doctors at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre under the supervision of a judicial magistrate, found multiple bruises on Ahmed’s body of different shapes and sizes which were red and black in colour.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) killed at least eight suspected militants in an exchange of gunfire at Sharaqpur Road in Sheikhupura city on May 4, reports The News. Police said, on a tip-off, CTD carried out operation at Sharaqpur Road. On seeing the law enforcers, the terrorists opened fire on them. In retaliatory fire, eight terrorists were killed and four of their accomplices escaped. Huge quantity of weapons including four Kalashnikovs, as many pistols and six kilograms of explosives were recovered from their possession.
Meanwhile, two men and a woman belonging to a banned sectarian organisation and one personnel of a law enforcement agency were killed in a clash in Pind Ghakhara village, about 6 kilometres from Taxila town, in Rawalpindi District on May 4, reports Dawn. Police sources said that acting on a tip-off that some suspects were hiding in the village, a joint team of the law enforcement agency and the counterterrorism department raided a house, but suspects opened fire on them. Police retaliated and shot dead the suspects — Javaid, his wife Naheeda Bibi and son Ahmed and took into custody another suspect Mohammed Usman. One law enforcement official, identified as Sarfaraz, lost his life, while two other people, including a security man, were injured in the clash.
The Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) on May 4 killed three Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants during a search operation in Tofkian Tehsil (revenue unit) of Haripur District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports The News. A Policeman was also killed and another injured during the operation.
Frontier Corps recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the hideouts of Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants in Kodan area of Kohlu District during a raid on May 7, reports The Express Tribune.
Meanwhile, a ‘commander’ of the BLA, identified as Ahmed Nawaz, surrendered before the Frontier Constabulary, the civil administration and the local elders in Kharan District on May 8, reports Daily Times. According to FC spokesman Nawaz laid down his arms before the security agencies, wrapped himself in the national flag and sung national anthem.
Separately, four levies personnel, who were kidnapped by militants from Gaishkoor area of Quetta on an unspecified date, were recovered from the outskirts of Awaran District on May 8, reports Daily Times.
The son of Provincial Local Government Minister, Sardar Mustafa Khan Tareen, was abducted by unidentified militants from the Cadet College area of Pishin District on May 21, reports Dawn. Tareen was elected as a Member of Provincial Army (MPA) from Pishin District in 2013, and is affiliated with Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party.
PAKISTAN
PAC leader Uzair Jan Baloch confesses to murdering 198 people
The Lyari gangster Uzair Jan Baloch, leader of the People’s Amn Committee (PAC), on April 27 confessed his involvement in at least 198 murders, according to an unnamed Rangers official, reports The Express Tribune. Investigators reveal that Baloch has made several startling disclosures before the joint interrogation team. “Uzair Baloch has so far confessed to the murder of 198 people, directly or indirectly,” claimed a Rangers official, adding, “Baloch has also admitted his involvement in politico-ethnic targeted killings, anti-state activities, extortion, kidnapping for ransom, drug peddling and possessing arms and explosives.”
Separately, Kashif alias David, a target killer associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on April 27 confessed of killing more than 30 people including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Zaheer Akram Nadeem and a leader of Bihari Qaumi Movement, reports The News. Sindh Rangers spokesman, in a statement issued in Karachi, said, “Kashif aka David has confessed to killing more than 30 people.” The spokesman said that the accused was part of Ajmal Pahari group since 1995. Later, Kashif, on the directives of MQM Rabitta Committee and Tanzeemi committee, was running a team of assassins since 2005.
Afghan Taliban confirm delegation visiting Pakistan
The Afghan Taliban on April 27 confirmed that they have sent a high-level delegation to Islamabad for talks with Pakistani officials, saying they hope the visit will have “fruitful results” and will be “in the interest of both countries”, reports Daily Times. Daily Times quoting Voice of America reported that a Afghan Taliban delegation had travelled from its political office in Qatar to hold discussions in the light of “close relations, long border and commercial transactions” between the two neighbouring countries. Diplomatic sources say the Taliban delegation is on an “exploratory discussions” mission as part of Islamabad’s efforts to facilitate peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Taliban’s political office in the Qatari capital of Doha is solely authorised to hold political talks. “The esteemed leader of the Islamic Emirate (the Taliban) has instructed the delegation to discuss issues relating to Afghan refugees and some problems relating to the Afghan border provinces of Helmand and Nangarhar,” reads a statement.
Religious Seminaries boom in absence of Government checks
According to a report in Dawn on April 29, the number of madrassas (Islamic seminary) in the country, as well as the number of students enrolled in them, has been on the rise. Even though seminary boards offer different reasons for the growing number of students and institutions in the country, the administrators of all five mainstream seminary boards believe that a lack of a clear policy was augmenting negative growth as well. “The Government is not doing anything, but it wants the five boards and the seminaries registered with us to be as perfect as a polished shoe,” said Sahibzada Abdul Mustafa Hazarvi, Nazim-e-Ala (President) of the Tanzeem-ul-Madaris Ahl-e-Sunnat, the board for seminaries affiliated with the Barelvi school of thought.
“It was only due to misconduct that Wifaq-ul Madaris al-Arabia delisted Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad in 2007, in wake of anti-state political activities. But what have the authorities done? The seminary still continues to hold classes, is increasing its branches, enhancing the number of students and even criticizes the board for not registering it — this is the writ of Government in Islamabad,” Sahibzada Abdul Mustafa exclaimed. He said that there were around 9,000 madrassas affiliated with the Barelvi school of thought, imparting religious education to more than 1.3 million students. He said that there has been an increase of 10 percent in the number of seminaries and students as compared to the previous year.
Combing operations against terrorists’ sleeper cells approved
The corps commanders conference has approved a comprehensive plan for carrying out combing operations to preempt the potential sleeper cells and hideouts of terrorists.
The meeting was held in Rawalpindi on May 2 under the chairmanship of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif. The plan also seeks to enhance the reach of local and provincial law enforcement agencies.
The army chief lauded the successful completion of the Shawal operation. He paid rich tributes to the sacrifices of the troops of Army Frontier Corps and Rangers, who are valiantly fighting the war against terrorism to make Pakistan a safer place.
The forum was briefed in detail about internal and external security situation of the country. The participants of the conference dwelt at length on operational preparedness, training and other professional matters.
Former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Haider Gilani recovered from Taliban captivity in Afghanistan
Ali Haider Gilani, the son of former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who was kidnapped on May 9, 2013 from Multan District, was recovered from Taliban captivity in a joint operation carried out by United States (US) and Afghan forces on May 10 in Ghazni Province of Afghanistan, reports Daily Times. “Afghan National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar in a telephone call to Prime Minister’s Advisor Sartaj Aziz confirmed that Gilani was recovered in a joint operation carried out by Afghan and US Security Forces in Ghazni, Afghanistan,” a statement issued by the Foreign Office said.
Operation Zarb-e-Azb has had ‘far reaching effects’ in bringing peace, says US commander General John Nicholson
United States (US) Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan Commander General John Nicholson during a meeting with Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Raheel Sharif at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on May 10 acknowledged ‘the far reaching effects’ of operation Zarb-e-Azb in bringing peace and stability in the region, reports The Express Tribune. “During the meeting, matters of mutual interest including border coordination mechanism along Pakistan-Afghanistan border and security situation in Afghanistan were discussed,” said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Sindh Police to hire 20,000 army-trained Policemen
A total of 20,000 Policemen, including 8,000 for Karachi, will be added to the Sindh Police force to sustain peace, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah approved during the apex committee meeting in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh on May 12, reports The Express Tribune. Karachi Corps Commander Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar assured Shah that he will make the necessary arrangements to train the new recruits by the Pakistan Army. Shah was presiding over the meeting attended by Sindh Governor Dr. Ishratul Ebad Khan, Rangers Director-General Bilal Akbar, acting Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, Sindh Inspector general (IG) Allah Dino Khawaja and others at Chief Minister House. After thorough discussions, the participants agreed that peace in Karachi needs to be sustained and for that the Sindh Police need to be strengthened. These discussions followed presentations by the Rangers and Police chiefs on the performance of their forces and the challenges they face.
Encounter with CTD leaves eight ‘terrorists’ dead in Punjab
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Multan registered a First Information Report (FIR) after eight alleged terrorists were killed during an encounter on May 18, reports The Daily Times. A CTD official said that they had information from credible sources that al Qaeda ‘commanders’ Muneeb Javed alias Qandhari, Tayab Nawaz alias Hafiz Abdul Mateen, Muneeb Razaq alias Abdur Rehman and Zeeshan alias Abu Dajana were coming to Multan to hold a meeting in the city suburbs with al Qaeda ‘commander’ Bilal Latif alias Yasir Punjabi and others including two suicide bombers to plan attack on a university in Multan. A joint team of the CTD and a law enforcement agency team raided the meeting point near Nawabpur village on the bank of river Chenab. The militants opened fire on the CTD team and fired rockets and hand grenades. Yasir Punjabi and Muneeb Javed escaped from the scene along with five to six associates. As many as eight militants were killed by the firing initiated by their accomplices, a CTD official said. Those killed included Tayyab alias Abdul Matin, Muneeb Razaq alias Abdur Rahman, Zeeshan alias Abu Dajana and others. The identity of the other militants killed was being determined. A suicide jacket, two AK 47 rifles, two pistols, and three hand grenades were recovered from the scene.
Afghan Taliban is not under Islamabad’s thumb, says National Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz
While acknowledging that Afghan Taliban have not responded positively to the four-nation peace initiative, Islamabad on May 20 urged Kabul to come with ‘more unified and coherent’ approach in favour of reconciliation, also dispelling the perception that Afghan Taliban were under Pakistan’s thumb, reports The Express Tribune. “Without reconciliation, peace cannot return to Afghanistan,” said Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, adding, “We believe that there is a need for more unified and coherent messaging from Kabul in favour of peace and reconciliation with Taliban.”
Aziz dispelled the impression that the Afghan Taliban were under Pakistan’s thumb. “Vested interests have often tried to create a perception that Pakistan actually controls the Taliban,” he said, adding that such an impression breeds unrealistic expectations from Pakistan. Aziz said the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) had been making joint efforts to arrange direct talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. “The Taliban have not yet responded positively to these efforts but we believe that QCG countries in line with their shared responsibility should continue efforts for peace talks,” he stressed.
Army clears last militant stronghold in FATA, says Brigadier Shabbir Narejo
Brigadier Shabbir Narejo of the Pakistan Army on May 20 said that it had cleared the last militant stronghold in the Shawal Valley of North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) after a three-month long operation, reports The Express Tribune. “We have cleared the Shawal valley completely of militants,” said the Brigadier. “There were up to 2,000 trained militants in the valley, but we surprised them by launching the operation in the peak of winter in minus 12 degrees Celsius,” he said, adding that that six soldiers and up to 120 militants died in the fighting. “We have eliminated the threat and it would pave the way of the return of some 150,000 people of North Waziristan to their homes soon,” he added.
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour killed in US drone strike in Balochistan
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was killed in a United States drone strike in Kuchaki area of Naushki District, over 200 kilometers off Quetta, on May 21, reports The Express Tribune. According to sources, Mansour entered Pakistan from Iran at Zero Point in Taftan, a town in Chagai District, which shares border with Iran, and hit by US drone while traveling in a rented car to take him to Quetta. The crime scene is identified as Kuchaki in Nushki District. The car, with two people on-board, was bombed. Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed while the driver, identified as Muhammad Wali, also died in the attack – he was a civilian who worked for a local rental company, according to the officials, contradicting the US account that he was a “second combatant”.
According to details, Mansour’s passport showed he had left for Iran on March 28, 2016, and returned the day he was killed. Meanwhile, Afghan Government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah confirmed the incident, saying, “Taliban leader Akhtar Mansour was killed in a drone strike in Quetta, Pakistan, at 04:30 pm yesterday. His car was attacked in Dahl Bandin.” Afghanistan’s main intelligence service, the National Directorate for Security (NDS) also confirmed Mansour’s death.
Incompetence, corruption eating into country: CJ
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Saturday, May 21 said corruption and incompetence were eating into the country and retarding its march towards progress and prosperity. Addressing the Azad Kashmir Judicial Conference 2016 at a reception in Islamabad, the chief justice said the country could be put on the path of progress and prosperity by eliminating corruption and incompetence.
He said 60 percent of cases had been pending with the high courts for a long time and the main reasons for the backlog were incompetence, negative thinking and corruption in government departments. He said 20 percent cases were pending with the courts due to mala fide intentions, egotism and the case for case trend.
He said judges were the servants of the masses and not their rulers. He said the attitude of judges towards the parties should be positive, God-fearing, tolerant and amicable during the hearing of cases.
The chief justice said peace was impossible without a judicial system. He said self-accountability was inevitable for good governance. “Since judges perform a sacred duty, their attitude should be positive in the courts,” he said.
Justice Jamali said improvement could be brought in the judicial system through the use of the latest technology and there was also a need to benefit from the experiences of other countries in this regard. He said corruption and incompetence were eating the country like termites.
He said the bar was an important part of judicial system and therefore the duties of its members were manifold. The chief justice urged the bar not to pressurise judges so that the court proceedings could be completed in a pleasant atmosphere. Chief Justice of Azad Jammu and Kashmir also addressed the conference.
By killing Mansour, US killed Afghan Peace Process
By killing Taliban leader Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in a drone strike in Balochistan on Saturday, May 21 the US has killed the chances of any peace process in Afghanistan. The Taliban rank and file and whoever is chosen as their new leader won’t be able to justify holding talks with the Afghan government, which is heavily dependent on the US military and economic assistance for its survival, in the changed situation. The new Taliban ameer would have to follow the policies of the late Taliban supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar and his successor, Mulla Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, both of whom were against recognizing the pro-US Afghan government and holding peace talks with it.
The US has been generally opposed to engaging in peace talks with the Taliban, whether Afghan or Pakistan. Though it backed the so-called Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process and verbally supported talks with the Taliban, its actions haven’t contributed to peacemaking in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The US was aggressively opposed to peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban as it believed this would mean an end to Pakistan military operations against them and free them up to shift to neighbouring Afghanistan to fight against the US-led Nato and Afghan forces. The drone strike by the US in South Waziristan that killed Pakistani Taliban commander Nek Mohammad in June 2004 destroyed the April 2004 peace agreement concluded by the Pakistan Army with the local militants in Shakai.
The US also torpedoed a few other peace initiatives including the one between the Pakistan government and the TTP commander Maulana Faqir Mohammad in Bajaur Agency and with TTP head Hakimullah Mehsud in Waziristan by undertaking drone attacks just in time to derail any prospects of peace through negotiations.
Mulla Mansour had chosen the path of war and one of its consequences could always have been violent death. That it happened due to a missile fired by a US drone in Balochistan’s Naushki district was surprising because there had never been any attack by the CIA-managed unmanned aircraft until now in this province. The attack would bring to an end the relative safety that Afghan Taliban leaders and members enjoyed in Balochistan. The theatre of drone warfare in Pakistan has been extended to Balochistan from Fata, where an overwhelming majority of the attacks took place, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which experienced just one drone strike. This is a clear US message for Pakistan that it won’t hesitate to carry out drone strikes in Balochistan, or elsewhere if need be, if Islamabad didn’t take action against the irreconcilable Taliban figures refusing peace talks with the Afghan government.
We Respect Pak sovereignty but attacks will continue: US
The US respects Pakistan’s sovereignty but will carry out strikes to eliminate terrorists who are targeting our forces, the Obama administration said on Tuesday, May 24 as Islamabad expressed concern over the drone strike on its territory allegedly killing the Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
“We certainly do respect Pakistan’s territorial integrity. But as we’ve said before, we will carry out strikes to remove terrorists who are activity pursuing, planning and directing attacks against the US forces,” State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference.
Toner was responding to questions on Pakistan hitting out at the US for launching the drone strike on its soil to kill Mansour, terming it a “violation of its sovereignty”. “The strike sends a clear message that those who target Americans and Afghan people are not going to be given a safe haven. And then also, that it know that there’s only one option for the Taliban and that is to pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” Toner said in a subtle warning to the Taliban. He said the death of Mansour does not mean defeat of the Taliban but it does send a clear message.
“What I think it does send is a clear message. If you’re going to carry out attacks, if you’re going to lead attacks against our forces and against Afghanistan’s forces, then you are going to be targeted and you’re not going to have a safe haven,” Toner said.
He said it also sends the message that the Taliban must decide what their future is going to be. “Whether they are going to be part of a peaceful political future for Afghanistan, there is a path towards that. They can sit down with the Afghan government and begin negotiations and talks. We have encouraged that. We support an Afghan-owned, Afghan-led process,” he said.
“I think it presents them with a clear choice. You know that there are ways to engage and identify the fact that you’re willing to engage in a peaceful way. And frankly, Mansour showed no. Absolutely no predilection towards engaging in any kind of peaceful political process,” he said.
US designates two Pakistan-based terror groups as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists”
The United States (US) on May 25 designated two Pakistan-based and Taliban linked groups, Tariq Gidar Group (TGG) and the Jama’at-ul-Dawa al-Quran (JDQ), as “Specially Designated Global Terrorists”, reports The Express Tribune. US citizens are forbidden from associating with the TGG and the JDQ. Any assets owned by the groups in places under US jurisdiction will be frozen, and US law enforcement will be authorised to investigate their activity.
According to the US State Department, the TGG is linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and is led by Umar Mansoor. The outfit is based in Darra Adamkhel town of Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The faction, US officials believe, was responsible for the December 16, 2014 massacre at Army Public School in Peshawar. The JDQ is said to be based in Peshawar but to have sworn allegiance to the late leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Omar. According to the State Department, JDQ has alliances with al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
Ganabahini ‘regional leader’ killed in gunfight with Police in Kusthia District
Amirul Islam, a ‘regional leader’ of Ganabahini was killed in a gunfight with Police in Housing Mondal Filing Station area of Kusthia District on April 27, reports New Age. Four Policemen were injured during the gunfight. Police recovered four firearms, some sharp weapons and some rounds of bullet from the spot.
Meanwhile, Police arrested two cadres of Purbo Banglar Communist Party-Lal Pataka faction (PBCP-Lal Pataka) from Pirahati village in Pabna District on April 26, reports The Daily Star. Police also recovered two revolvers, twenty bullets, a magazine and a machete from their possession.
Ansar Al-Islam announces to target people who commit eight specific kinds of offenses against their ideology
According to SITE Intelligence Group, Ansar Al-Islam, Bangladesh Branch of Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), in a statement signed by one Mufti Abdullah Ashraf, claiming to be the spokesperson for Ansar Al-Islam on April 8 said that they will be targeting people who commit eight specific kinds of offenses against their ideology, reports Dhaka Tribune. The first category includes people who make statements against and belittling Allah, the Prophet (SM) and Islam. In the second category are the people who are supporting or patronising those making insults against Islam or Allah. The third category includes people who are preventing the practice of Shariah and Islamic tenets in their own spheres, whether they are school, college or university teachers, mayors or local leaders, heads of any organization, judges, lawyers or doctors. The fourth categories are the people who are implementing a western/Indian agenda by presenting a distorted view of Islam with their speeches and writings. Number five includes people opposing Shariah or undermining Islam through their speeches or statements. Number six consists of people who are spreading nudity and shamelessness in the society. People who are involved efforts to remove Shariah from education, culture and the economic arena fall under the seventh category. Finally the last groups of people are those who are trying to extinguish the light of Islam from this land.
A Hindu tailor hacked to death in Tangail District
Unidentified assailants hacked a Hindu man, identified as Nikhil Joardar (50), to death at his tailoring shop in Dubail area under Gopalpur upazila in Tangail District on April 30, The Daily Star. The motive is not yet clear, but the machete attack resembles the recent spate of targeted attacks that saw secular bloggers, writers and people of different faiths and ideologies killed over the last few years. Hours after the incident, global terror outfit Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the killing, United States (US)-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terrorist activities globally, said in a post. However, the authenticity of the claim could not be independently verified.
According to Police and local sources, two to three assailants, who came on a bike, took part in the killing. They swooped on Nikhil, father of two daughters, and hacked him indiscriminately, leaving him dead on the spot, said Aslam Khan, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) (Gopalpur circle) in Tangail. In 2012, Nikhil was in jail for several weeks on charges of making derogatory comments about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), said Abdul Jalil, officer-in-charge of Gopalpur Police Station. This could be a possible motive behind his murder, Police sources said.
However, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal stoutly denied, like in the past, presence of IS in Bangladesh. The Home Minister said the claim was part of a local and international conspiracy. “Only the foreigners are talking about IS because they want to infiltrate the terror group into Bangladesh,” he said. “Such killings are committed by home-grown militant outfits”, he added.
ILF sent hit list of 10 dignitaries to Natore Press Club
An outfit named Islami Liberation Front (ILF) sent a hit list of 10 dignitaries, including teachers, politicians and journalists to Natore Press Club on May 2, reports Dhaka Tribune. Vice-chancellor of Rajshahi University Professor Muhammad Mizanuddin, Rajshai City Corporation’s former mayor and central Awami League leader Khairuzzaman Liton, Rajshahi District Awami League General Secretary Asad, Rajshahi Sadar lawmaker Fazle Hossain Badsha, journalists Shibli Noman, Anu Mostafa and Kazi Shahed, freedom fighter Barjahan Ali Shahjahan, daily Sonali Sangbad Editor Liaqat Ali and daily Sunshine Editor Yunus Ali were on the list. In the letter containing the list, Islami Liberation Front said it had launched a mission to kill the 10.
Number of attacks in first four months of 2016 tripled compared to that of 2015, says Police
Police on May 3 said that the number of attacks in the first four months of 2016 tripled compared to that of 2015, reports The Daily Star. A report released by Police said that between January and April 2015, three terrorist attacks took place while as of April 30, 2016 as many as nine attacks were committed. Since 2013, 37 attacks took place. Of the 37 attacks, two were in 2013, 26 in 2015 and nine in 2016. The report said “The attacks claimed by the IS are actually committed by JMB while those claimed by the Al Qaeda in the Indian Sub-continent are by ABT.”
Sufi spiritual leader hacked to death in Rajshahi District
A Sufi Muslim spiritual leader was hacked to death in Rajshahi District on May 7, reports CNN. The body of 65-year-old Mohammad Shahidullah was recovered in a mango orchard at Jumarpara village of Tanore upazila (sub-district) of the District, Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Nisharul Arif said. Arif said Shahidullah was murdered as he left a meeting organized by his disciples. His body bore the hallmarks of previous attacks carried out by radical Islamist activists, including deep cuts on the shoulder and with his throat slit. However, Police are not sure “if the murder had any link to the previous murders of bloggers, secular activists and pirs,” Arif said.
Assailants hack Policeman in Old Dhaka
Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Anisur Rahman came under attack when unidentified assailants attacked him with sharp weapons around 9:30am inside an alley at Bangshal in Old Dhaka on May 7, reports bdnews24. ASI Rahman, who was posted at the Nababpur Police outpost, has been rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in critical condition, said local Police Sub Inspector Arshad Alam. “The attackers hacked him at random, injuring his ears, neck, chest and leg,” said DMCH Police outpost’s Inspector Mozammel Haque.
Militant outfits are returning to Northern part with new sleeper cells formed
with highly educated members and technology experts, says Intelligence agency
Intelligence agency said that militant outfits, especially the Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), are returning to the Northern part of Bangladesh with new sleeper cells formed with highly educated members and technology experts, reports Dhaka Tribune on May 9. The report said that the outfit JMB is planning to set up its den in all 16 Districts of the North Bengal. In the report, the agency also suggested to improve security initiatives immediately in North to face it.
US and India have agreed to work together with Dhaka to counter extremism in Bangladesh, says Diplomatic sources
Diplomatic sources on May 9 said that US and India have agreed to work together with Dhaka to counter extremism in Bangladesh, reports The Daily Star. Neither the US nor India wants to see instability in Bangladesh. The two countries also don’t want to see that the Awami League (AL) Government faces adverse challenges. That’s why they joined hands to help Dhaka, added the sources. After a meeting with Foreign Secretary Muhamad Shahidul Haque, US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat told reporters, “Our three governments Bangladesh, India and the United States – all fighting extremism. We’re all on the same page here. All three of us are on the same page in that regard.”
Four JMB militants arrested in Dhaka city
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four militants of Jama’t-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Dhaka city while they were preparing to conduct subversive activities on May 11, reports Dhaka Tribune. RAB officials recovered a pistol, some bullets, explosives and jihadi books from their possession.
Buddhist monk found throat-slit in Bandarban District
A Buddhist monk was found dead with his throat-slit with sharp weapon at a small monastery at Baishari of Naikhyangchari upazila (sub-District) in Bandarban District on May 14, reports New Age. The monk is identified as Mawng Shoi Wuu (70). Wuu was the chief of the monastery. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the murder of the Buddhist monk so far.
One person killed and another critically injured in machete attack in Kushtia District
Machete-wielding attackers killed a homeopath and critically injured a university teacher in Kushtia District on May 20, reports The Daily Star. The deceased is identified as Sanaur Rahman (60) and the injured is Saifuzzaman (42), an Assistant Professor of Bangla at Islamic University. The two were good friends, partly because of their common interest in Baul philosophy. Three youths aged between 25 and 30 intercepted the two at a secluded place at Bottoil when they were going to Sanaur’s village home on a motorbike. Police recovered a machete from the spot.
Hindu trader killed in Gaibandha District
Debesh Chandra Pramanik (66), a Hindu trader was murdered by unknown assailants inside his shop in Gaibandha District’s Gobindaganj sub-District on May 25, reports The Daily Star. He was stabbed in the neck and his throat was slit. Hours after the killing, Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack in an online post, says US-based SITE Intelligent Group that monitors terrorist activities globally.
Earlier, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam in an interview with Reuters on May 24 said that IS is trying to ride a wave of religious radicalization by falsely claiming a spate of killings in Bangladesh, reports Dhaka Tribune. He claimed that there was enough evidence implicating the local militant groups in these attacks.
India – Internal Dynamics
Naxals have links in Philippines, Turkey, says Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs
The Government said on April 26 that the Naxals-[Left-Wing Extremists (LWEs)] have close links with Maoist organisations in Philippines and Turkey and get support from several organisations in Europe, reports The Times of India. “The CPI (Maoist) has close links with foreign Maoist organisations in Philippines, Turkey etc. The outfit is also a member of the Coordination Committee of Maoist parties and organisations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA),” Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament). The Maoist parties of South Asian countries are members of this conglomerate. Besides, LWE groups have participated in conferences/seminars conducted in Belgium and Germany. “The so-called ‘People’s War’ being waged by the CPI (Maoist) against the Indian state has also drawn support from several Maoist fringe organisations located in Germany, France, Turkey, Italy etc.,” he said. “Inputs indicate that some senior cadres of the Communist Party of Philippines imparted training to the cadres of CPI (Maoist) in 2005 and 2011,” he added.
No nexus between Maoists and ISIS, says Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary
There is no nexus between the Communist Party of India-Maoist and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Government informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament) on April 27, reports NDTV. While replying to a question whether the Government has come across any nexus between the CPI-Maoist and the ISIS, the Minister of State for Home Affairs Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary replied in the negative.
Chhattisgarh Armed Force personnel killed in Maoist triggered IED blast
A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) personnel was on April 28 killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by the Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres in Bijapur District, reports The Business Standard. The incident occurred near Phulgatta village forest when a team of security personnel was patrolling the region, a senior Police official said. While the security men were cordoning-off a forest patch near Phulgatta, Assistant Platoon Commander Panchram Bhagat inadvertently stepped over a landmine, triggering the explosion in which he was critically injured, he said. The injured personnel were immediately rushed to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds. Bhagat, an Assistant Sub-Inspector rank official, belonged to CAF’s 10th battalion.
11 persons injured in an IED blast in Assam
Eleven persons, mostly from the Hindi-speaking community, were injured when a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Devi Pukhuri Paanchali of Tinsukia District on April 28, reports The Telegraph. The explosion occurred in a garbage bin in front of a shop owned by one Upendra Yadav around 7.40 pm.
Earlier, a crude bomb exploded in front of the main gate of a tea manager’s bungalow at Padumoni estate in Tinsukia District around 2 am on April 28, reports The Telegraph. There was no casualty in the attack. Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) is suspected to be behind it.
Islamic State (IS) makes Indian terrorist its poster boy to lure youth from the country, says report
An Indian Islamic State (IS) fighter, who was reportedly killed in Afghanistan while fighting for the group in 2014, has become the new poster boy for the terror outfit as it looks to lure more youth from the country, reports India Today on May 1. In a new video released by the IS features Indian terrorist Anwar Hussain saying, “Jihad is our duty. For this we (jihadists) have come from several parts of the world. Despite this, Allah ensured good food for all of us. We got best of best food and friends here. In this fight Allah has given us all those things, which one cannot get, even being rich.” Intelligence Agencies believe the video is a propaganda technique to revive the recruitment drive as the attraction for the global jihadi outfit has been reducing among Indian Muslim youth.
Anwar Hussain (39) a resident of Bhatkal town in Karnataka was a van driver. “No one has provoked me nor did anyone force me. I have come here at my will,” Hussain said in the video. This happens to be his final message before he was killed in Afghanistan. The YouTube video features a man purported to be Hussain speaking on his reasons for migrating from India to Dubai and thereon to Afghanistan for the cause of jihad and carries statements of men said to be his fellow commanders who recall how he died fighting but not before killing seven men of the “enemy”. According to agencies, teams of Indians are undergoing terror training in Afghanistan from where they will be sent to Syria and Iraq.
Indian origin Australia’s top IS recruiter killed in Iraq
Melbourne-born Indian origin Neil Prakash alias Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, Australia’s most wanted Islamic State (IS) terror recruiter was killed in an airstrike in Mosul on April 29, Attorney-General George Brandis said, citing American inputs, reports India Today. He was linked to several Australia-based attack plans and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the US. “Neil Prakash was the highest value target from an Australian point of view in the Middle East. He was the individual more than any other who had been actively inspiring and inciting domestic terrorism attacks within Australia,” Brandis said.
Brandis added that Australian authorities were instrumental in providing US allies with the location of Prakash – the Australian of Fijian-Indian and Cambodian background – in Mosul. “Australia did cooperate with United States in relation to the identification and location of Prakash,” he said. Brandis said Prakash was “the most prominent and dangerous Australian” and had networks in both Melbourne and Sydney. “He was very actively involved in terrorism recruitment.” “His death disrupts and degrades ISILs ability to recruit vulnerable people in our community to conduct terrorist acts,” Brandis said.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called Prakashs death as a “very, very positive development”.
43,000 Bangladeshis vanished in India in 4 years, says Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju
At least 43,000 Bangladeshi nationals, who entered India on valid documents, have vanished during the last four years, whereas only 19,995 could be deported during the same period, said Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, reports The Assam Tribune on May 11. Revealing this, Kiren Rijiju said in a Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) reply that the highest number of 24,364 disappeared in 2011, while 6,761 was deported the same year. Last year (2015), only 116 Bangladeshi nationals disappeared, while 474 were deported. The illegal immigrants fall into two categories: foreign nationals who have entered India on valid travel documents and found to be overstaying, and foreign nationals who have entered the country without any valid travel documents. A number of Bangladeshi nationals who came to India on valid travel documents have been found to be overstaying after expiry of their visas, he said. “There are also reports of Bangladeshi nationals having entered the country without any valid travel documents. As entry of such Bangladeshi nationals into the country is clandestine and surreptitious, it is not possible to have accurate data of such Bangladeshi nationals living in various parts of the country, he said.
IS global recruiters set sights on India, says report
Disclosures of recently-arrested Islamic State (IS) recruits revealed that group’s global headhunters including women from Argentina, Sri Lanka and Philippines are on the prowl for Indian youth who show any leanings to radical views on social media, India Today reports on May 13. Sources said the three women identify themselves as Karen from Philippines, Fatima from Argentina and Eje from Sri Lanka.
Also, Counter-terror agencies are closely monitoring nearly 25 motivators, mostly from outside India, who are looking for potential recruits and then indoctrinating them on social media. The details of their functioning have been told to investigators by IS inspired Indians in their interrogation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
There have been a total of 49 arrests linked to IS. While 25 were arrested by NIA, states like Telangana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu accounting for the other 24. Sources say the suspects during interrogation explained the functioning of these motivators who through social media and whatspp look for “talent” and after spotting them carry out the indoctrination by sending links to videos of atrocities on Muslims, speeches of Islamic extremists and write-ups that to lure them to the violent ideology.
Investigations have also revealed the group was making efforts to establish a channel of procurement of explosives and weapons, identify locations to organize terror training camps and motivate new recruits to target police officers, foreigners in India and to carry out terrorist activities in various parts of India. NIA claimed that those arrested were found to be in communication with some active members through chatting applications in order to motivate them to join IS.
HNLC threatens to unleash violence in Meghalaya
The Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) on May 15, asserted that it will resort to violence after the State government failed to respond to its willingness to hold talks even as it revealed that the plan of the arrested cadres along with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militant was to blow up the High Court of Meghalaya and the State Secretariat, reports The Shillong Times. In a statement to the press, HNLC ‘publicity secretary’ Sainkupar Nongtraw informed that they have coordinated with other groups of the North East. The recent arrest of its cadres along with an ULFA cadre is a huge loss but they will be replaced by others, the outfit said, adding that they will vehemently take to military tactics. He stated that the two institutions were a target as both was trying to ‘segregate’ the Hynniewtrep community by taking away the rights of the people. Threatening to intensify their violence, Nongtraw stated, “The police are overconfident of ‘Operation Hillstorm’. But they should not forget that the HNLC can create operation IED storm in the heart of the city and its political institutions.” “Henceforth if any casualty is taking place in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the State government shall be solely responsible. We have decided to take up the path of violence again,” the statement said.
The HNLC also boasted of having their own bomb experts who are capable of blowing up strategic locations and causing maximum damage. The outfit issued a warning to the public to not participate in Independence Day or Republic Day celebrations this time. “We shall plant IEDs in unexpected locations and the public would be solely responsible for their own casualties,” Nongtraw warned. “The arrest of our cadres shall not demoralize us but it shall trigger up more hardcore cadres to take up our cause,” the statement added. Taking a dig at Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, Nongtraw said, “The CM has inked peace pact with Garo militants but when it comes to our group he sidelines us. We had faith in him as a capable leader of the state but his working attitude has made matter worse,” Nongtraw stated. In view of the above the HNLC said that the banned group should not be blamed for any consequences as the chief minister has compelled them to take up violence.
CRPF trooper killed in Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh
A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper was killed after Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres attacked a force camp in Bijapur District on May 17, reports The Times of India. Officials said the incident occurred at about 3:00 am when a Maoist squad mounted sniper fire on a CRPF camp in the jungles of Rangareddy in Gangloor area of the District. In the ensuing gun-battle, Constable Satish Gaur (28) who was on sentry duty sustained bullet injuries and later succumbed to his injuries.
CorCom’s ambush claims six AR personnel in Manipur
At least six personnel of 29 Assam Rifles (AR) including one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) were killed and seven other personnel were injured in an ambush laid by suspected militants at Hengshi village near Joupi under Tengnoupal Police Station in Chandel District on May 22, reports E-Pao. The Coordination Committee (CorCom), a conglomerate body of several underground outfits claimed its hand behind the ambush. CorCom said that the ambush was carried out by a Joint Fighting Force (JFF) and added that six personnel including one JCO were killed. A statement issued by Public Relation Officer (PRO) headquarters of Inspector General of Assam Rifles-South (IGAR-S) said that a convoy of AR while returning after assessing a landslide area in Holengjang to the Battalion Headquarters location at Joupi in Chandel District had an encounter with cadres of a militant group at 1 pm. In the ensuing fire fight, one Junior Commissioned Officer and five soldiers were martyred. The militants exploded IEDs before they rained bullets on the AR convoy. Another source said that the suspected militants take away one Light Machine Gun, four AK Rifles and one INSAS Rifle along with ammunition when they escaped inside the thick jungle.
Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period April 26 to May 25, 2016:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Assam | 03 | 00 | 01 | 04 |
| Manipur | 00 | 06 | 00 | 06 |
| Left wing | 20 | 06 | 09 | 35 |
| Total | 23 | 12 | 10 | 45 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
Maoists prompt Nepal crisis
Nepal plunged into a new political crisis on Wednesday, May 4 after the main Maoist party that props up the ruling coalition said it would form a new government, leaving Prime Minister K.P. Oli isolated and at imminent risk of losing power.
Oli, 64, rose to power with the backing of the Maoists last October after promising to resolve protests against a new constitution by southern plains dwellers and to step up efforts to rebuild homes destroyed by last year’s massive earthquakes.
Increasing public anger at Oli has led the Maoists – who waged a decade-long insurgency before joining mainstream politics in 2006 – to conclude that he was an obstacle to ending the Himalayan nation’s constitutional standoff.
Minority Madhesis, who live mostly along Nepal’s lowland border with India, imposed a four-month blockade in protest at a proposal to carve Nepal up into seven federal states. They say it would divide their homeland and deprive them of a fair say in running the country.
“Our party has decided to form the new government and we appeal to other political parties to help us resolve the outstanding political problems in the south through talks,” said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, a leader of the unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) that dominates Oli’s unwieldy coalition. Shrestha said the main opposition Nepali Congress party had offered to support Maoist leader Prachanda to replace Oli.
The Maoists said they were waiting for the response from Oli before withdrawing their ministers from the coalition.
Dialogue with Government irrelevant as Government had failed, says FSF-N Chairman Upendra Yadav
Chairman of Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal (FSF-N) Upendra Yadav speaking at a press meet organized by Madhesi Journalists Society in Birgunj town of Parsa District on May 10 said that dialogue with Government irrelevant as the Government had failed, reports The Himalayan Times. He said “The government will face a great loss if the demands put forward by UDMF are not met. The people are suffering due to shortage of petroleum products and are not getting cooking gas, petrol and diesel, among other necessary items, even though the nature of the Madhes protest has changed. The ongoing Madhes protest has taken a national form.” Yadav appealed to all to make the agitation, which will start from May 14 decisive.
Federal Alliance warns Government against using force during its demonstrations
Federal Alliance in a press release on May 13 warned Government against using force during its demonstrations, reports The Himalayan Times. The Alliance announced that it would take out a rally from Ratnapark on May 14 and stage demonstrations around Singha Durbar on May 15. “If the government represses people’s movement and uses force, it could create a situation of long-term conflict and civil war. We want to warn that if such a situation arose, the government would be responsible for it,” the alliance said.
Meanwhile, responding to a call for talks from Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa, the parties under the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) banner on May 12 said that it will be useless sitting for talks with the Government unless some prerequisite conditions are met and a favorable environment is created, reports Republica. “The government should immediately create an environment for talks. We cannot accept that the government is serious about seeking a consensus through talks as long as it does not prepare the necessary environment. UDMF for its part is always ready for result-oriented and decisive talks,” stated the letter to the Prime Minister.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
Two former LTTE leaders arrested from different places
Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) on April 26 arrested a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader in Jaffna District, reports Daily Mirror. The suspect had been identified as Sivamoorthi Kanapathipillai alias Nagulan who had been a ‘commander’ of the Charles Anthony Brigade, an elite brigade of the LTTE during its heyday. Sources further said that though he had been a high ranking LTTE cadre he had neither been arrested by the security forces nor had surrendered to them after the decimation of the LTTE leadership in 2009.
Earlier, former Batticaloa LTTE leader Ram was arrested by the TID in Batticaloa District on April 24, reports Daily Mirror. Police said the former LTTE member, who was rehabilitated and reintegrated into society, is been questioned by the TID.
Government is setting up an accountability mechanism for alleged war crimes and human rights violations during final phase of war: President Sirisena
President Maithripala Sirisena at a meeting with newspaper editors and media heads on April 27 said that the Government is setting up an accountability mechanism for alleged war crimes and human rights violations during the final phase of the war, reports Daily News. He said “When the UNHRC Commissioner visited the country he focused his attention on three main areas, namely expediting resettlement, inquiring into cases of disappearance and strengthening the judicial process. We are currently working on those areas.”
Police arrested another rehabilitated LTTE leader in Batticaloa District on suspicion of regrouping
The Terrorist Investigations Division (TID) of Police on May 2 arrested another rehabilitated leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Kaththankudi of Batticaloa District on suspicion of regrouping, reports Colombo Page. Krishnapillai Kalinesan alias Prabha was arrested on charges of attempting to re-group the defunct LTTE. He was the former head of the LTTE intelligence wing in Batticaloa.
Torture still continues in Sri Lanka, says UN HR Expert Juan E. Mendez
United Nations (UN) Human Rights (HR) Expert Juan E. Mendez on May 7 said that torture still continues in Sri Lanka, reports Daily Mirror. Mendez told reporters in Colombo that he had found credible evidence of detainees being tortured and disappearances since the end of the war in May 2009. He heard between 16,000 and 22,000 people had gone missing during the conflict and its immediate aftermath. “The current legal framework and the lack of reform within the structures of the armed forces, police, attorney-general’s office and judiciary perpetuate the real risk that the practice of torture will continue,” he warned.
INTERNATIONAL
Bulgarian town bans Muslim ‘veils’
The central Bulgarian town of Pazardzhik banned the wearing of full-face veils in public on Wednesday, Apr 27 in a move the local government said would prevent tension among communities and boost security. The ban, the first of its kind in the Balkan country, was backed from politicians across the political spectrum in the town of some 70,000 people, where wearing full-face veils had become common among some Muslim Roma women.
Muslims make up about 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7.2 million population and most belong to a centuries-old community, largely ethnic Turks, among whom full-face veils are not common.
Popov said fine would be imposed on anyone who defies the ban, which police said was needed because the veils – which cover all but the eyes – hampered quick identification. Part of the Roma minority practices an ultra-conservative form of Islam and its women have started wearing full-face veils in recent years, angering nationalists and bewildering other residents of Pazardzhik.
Many Bulgarians are concerned that the migrant inflows into Europe may pose a threat to their predominantly Orthodox Christian culture and help radicalise part of the country’s long-established Muslim minority.
Earlier this month, the nationalist Patriotic Front coalition, which backs the government, proposed a nation-wide ban on full-face veils, arguing that such clothing was not typical for Bulgarian Muslims. The nationalists argued that such veils presented a national security risk and the issue had grown in importance in the wake of the violent Islamist attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Trump’s ‘America First’ speech alarms US allies
Donald Trump’s first major foreign policy address alarmed American allies, who view the Republican front runner’s repeated invocation of an “America first” agenda as a threat to retreat from the world. While most governments were careful not to comment publicly on a speech by a US presidential candidate, Germany’s foreign minister veered from that protocol to express concern at Trump’s wording.
“I can only hope that the election campaign in the USA does not lack the perception of reality,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.” “The world’s security architecture has changed and it is no longer based on two pillars alone. It cannot be conducted unilaterally,” he said of foreign policy in a post-Cold War world. No American president can get round this change in the international security architecture. ’America first’ is actually no answer to that.”
Carl Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister and foreign minister who served as UN envoy to the Balkans in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, said he heard Trump’s speech as “abandoning both democratic allies and democratic values”. “Trump had not a word against Russian aggression in Ukraine, but plenty against past US support for democracy in Egypt,” Bildt said on Twitter, referring to lines from Trump’s speech that criticised the Barrack Obama administration for withdrawing support for autocrat Hosni Mubarak during a 2011 uprising. Trump’s speech, uncharacteristically read out from a teleprompter, seemed aimed at showing a more serious side of a politician who has said he intends to act more “presidential” after months of speaking mainly off the cuff.
He promised “a disciplined, deliberate and consistent foreign policy” in contrast to the “reckless, rudderless and aimless” policies of Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s likely Democratic opponent if he secures the Republican nomination.
The speech included no dramatic new policy proposals that might generate headlines, such as his past calls to bar Muslims from entering the United States or to build a wall on the frontier with Mexico.
IS linked hackers post target list of New Yorkers
A group of hackers linked to Islamic State has posted online a list of thousands of New York residents and urged followers of the militant group to target them, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
Federal agents and New York City police officers have been contacting the individuals on the list to inform them of the posting, but the source said law enforcement does not believe there is any credible threat.
Suicide bomber kills 19 in Baghdad
A suicide bomber driving a car killed at least 19 people and wounded 48 others on Saturday, Apr 30 in an attack claimed by Islamic State on a group of pilgrims in a southeastern suburb of Baghdad, Iraqi police sources said. A second explosion near a militia checkpoint in the capital’s Dora district killed two and wounded three others, police sources said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that blast.
Amaq news agency, which supports Islamic State, said a fighter in the Nahrawan district had driven a truck loaded with three tonnes of explosives into the gathering of pilgrims.
They had been heading to Baghdad’s Imam Kadhim shrine to commemorate the 8th century death of one of senior figures.
Security has gradually improved in Baghdad, which was the target of daily bombings a decade ago, but attacks against both the security forces and civilians are still frequent.
Also on Saturday Islamic State militants launched an offensive near the northern town of Baiji, which Iraqi forces and militia fighters recaptured months ago along with a large oil refinery devastated by the conflict.
In the first set of attacks on Friday evening near Siniya west of Baiji, Islamic State seized four security checkpoints, according to sources in Salahuddin operations command.
The militants used car bombs, killing 11 members of the security forces and wounding 12 others.
Muslims not welcome in Germany: AfD
Germany: Members of the anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Sunday, May 1 backed an election manifesto that says Islam is not compatible with the constitution and calls for a ban on minarets and the burqa. Set up three years ago, the AfD has been buoyed by Europe’s migrant crisis, which saw the arrival of more than one million, mostly Muslim migrants, in Germany last year. The party has no lawmakers in the federal parliament in Berlin but has members in half of Germany’s 16 regional state assemblies.
Opinion polls give AfD support of up to 14 percent, presenting a serious challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and other established parties ahead of the 2017 federal election. They rule out any coalition with the AfD.
In a raucous debate on the second day of a party congress, many of the 2,000 members cheered calls from the podium for measures against “Islamic symbols of power” and jeered a plea for dialogue with Germany’s Muslims.
Merkel has said freedom of religion for all is guaranteed by Germany’s constitution and has said on many occasions that Islam belongs to Germany.
Up to 2,000 left-wing demonstrators clashed with police on Saturday as they tried to break up the first full AfD conference. About 500 people were briefly detained and 10 police officers were lightly injured, a police spokesman said.
The chapter of the AfD manifesto concerning Muslims is entitled “Islam is not a part of Germany”. The manifesto demands a ban to minarets – the towers of a mosque from where the call to Muslim prayer is made – and the burqa, the all-encompassing body garment worn by some conservative Muslim women.
Germany is home to nearly four million Muslims, about five percent of the total population. Many of the longer established Muslim community in Germany came from Turkey to find work, but those who have arrived over the past year have mostly been fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last month the head of Germany’s Central Council of Muslims likened the AfD’s attitude towards his community to that of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis towards the Jews.
Swiss Intelligence monitoring ‘Jihadists’
Swiss authorities were monitoring the social media activity of about 400 possible Jihadists who might pose a security threat, the NDB federal intelligence service said on Monday, May 2.
Switzerland is not a primary target for Islamist attacks because it is not part of the military campaign against groups such as Islamic State, but the security threat level has been elevated nonetheless, the NDB’s annual report said.
The report showed a photo of a Swiss passport next to an explosive belt posted online by a suspected Swiss Jihadist who had travelled to the Middle East, and an Islamic State video showing the Swiss flag among the 60 countries seen as targets.
“Attacks in Switzerland are more to be expected from lone wolves or small groups that would be conducted with simple means, little preparation and minimal logistical effort,” the report said.
Authorities have been closely tracking suspected Jihadists who return to Switzerland from countries, Syria in particular, where they are believed to get training in carrying out attacks.
A Swiss court last month sentenced three Iraqis for terrorism offences, a verdict that the senior prosecutor said should send a message to Jihadists not to see the country as an easy target.
The three main defendants, who had denied wrongdoing, were arrested in early 2014 on suspicion of planning terrorist attacks and helping Islamic State militants enter the country.
The Swiss attorney general’s office has more than 60 open cases linked to Jihadist militancy, it said on Monday.
US Blacklists Panama-based money laundering Operation
The US Treasury on Thursday, May 5 blacklisted an extensive Panama-based money laundering operation that allegedly helped multiple drug trafficking groups hide the source of their illicit gains through various companies, including Balboa Bank & Trust.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the operation, led by Nidal Waked Hatum and Abdul Waked Fares, used 68 companies including Grupo Wisa — a holding company that includes real estate, construction, retail and media businesses.
Panama’s banking regulator said it was taking control of Balboa Bank & Trust due to its alleged links to the money laundering scheme.“(Treasury’s move) puts at risk the interests of (Balboa) depositors … given that the prestige of the banking group is in question, and a substantial portion of its liquid assets are located in foreign jurisdictions subject to seizure,” the regulator said in a statement, adding there was no risk of contagion to Panama’s banking system.
Treasury’s targeting of the 68 companies freezes any assets they may have in the United States, and prohibits US firms and people from dealing with them. Balboa Bank, which has $44.1 million in capital and 172 employees, did not respond to phone calls to its offices.
Abdul Waked, president of Grupo Wisa and one of the two alleged leaders of the money laundering operation, called the accusations “false and unfounded” and said the company would work with authorities to clear up the “unfortunate confusion.”
To launder money, OFAC said the two men used trade-based schemes like fake invoices, bulk cash smuggling, and a range of companies from and a range of companies from real estate to retail, such as a luxury mall in downtown Panama City, the La Riviera chain of duty-free stores, and two Panamanian newspapers: La Estrella and El Siglo. Wajid Ali Syed adds: The Obama administration announced on Thursday a series of actions to increase transparency and disclosure requirements to enhance law enforcement’s ability to detect, deter and disrupt money laundering, terror financing and tax evasion.
Out of the Panama Papers came a lesson for the administration and the White House introduced rules that will end the use of anonymous corporations in the US and require disclosure of beneficial owners when foreigners deposit money or buy assets.
73 killed as rebels seize village near Aleppo
Rebels seized a village from government forces near Aleppo overnight, a monitoring group and rebel sources said on Friday, Apr 6 gaining important ground near the Syrian city where the United States and Russia are trying to de-escalate the war.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 73 people had been killed in the battle for Khan Touman, some 15-km southwest of Aleppo in a location near the Damascus-Aleppo highway. While multiple rebel sources said it had been captured, a Syrian army source denied Khan Touman had fallen. The attack was launched by an alliance of Islamist insurgents known as Jaish al-Fatah, including the al- Qaeda-linked Nusra Front, which has rejected diplomatic efforts to halt the war and promote peace talks.
The United States and Russia this week brokered a ceasefire in the city of Aleppo itself, where some 300 people have been killed in the last two weeks in government- and rebel-held areas as a result of air strikes and shelling.
The Observatory said 43 of the dead were rebels and 30 were government forces.
Meanwhile, the Syrian military denied on Friday it had conducted air strikes on a camp near the Turkish border that killed at least 28 people, but a top UN official said initial reports suggested a government plane was responsible for the “murderous attacks”. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein said Thursday’s attacks were almost certainly a deliberate war crime. France called them a “revolting and unacceptable act that could amount to a war crime or crime against humanity”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said women and children were among those killed in the attack on the camp near the town of Sarmada, which sheltered people fleeing the five-year civil war. The monitoring group said the death toll could rise further because many people were seriously wounded. In a statement published by state media, the Syrian military said: “There is no truth to reports… about the Syrian air force targeting a camp for the displaced in the Idlib countryside.”
Corrupt foreigners who launder money through luxury London homes face crackdown
Foreigners suspected of using London’s property market to launder ill-gotten gains will be forced to declare where they got their money from, under new government proposals to fight global corruption. In a bid to end Britain’s reputation as a haven for dirty money, any overseas politician or public servant who makes notably lavish purchases in the UK could be forced by police to explain the source of their income.
The measures, known as “unexplained wealth orders”, will form part of the agenda on Thursday, May 12 as David Cameron hosts an international anti-corruption summit in London. It comes in the wake of the publication of a second tranche of the so-called Panama Papers, which have highlighted concerns that offshore tax havens have been used to launder hundreds of millions of pounds through London’s booming property market.
According to the anti-corruption group Transparency International, some 36,000 homes in London 33 boroughs are currently registered as being owned by firms in offshore tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands, which do not have to reveal the buyers’ real identities. In Westminster, this accounted for 9.3 per cent of properties, or nearly one in ten, while in Kensington and Chelsea – London’s wealthiest borough – the figure was 7.3 percent.
While most such purchases are thought to be legitimate, anti-corruption campaigners say there is little doubt that some have been bought using the proceeds of embezzlement or other crimes. The National Crime Agency believes that such is the scale of the problem that criminal money from overseas has artificially boosted London house prices.
Transparency International and other anti-corruption organisations also want the government to introduce new legislation that would force any tax-haven registered firm to declare who its true beneficiary was before being allowed to purchase property in the UK.
Under the “unexplained wealth orders”, anyone who was suspected of purchasing a property that was well beyond their apparent means would also have to tell the authorities how they obtained the cash. The new rules would apply in particular to “politically exposed persons” – those who are known to have held public office either currently or in recent years as a politician or civil servant.
Past cases include the likes of James Ibori, a former governor of Nigeria’s Delta State, who was jailed for 13 years in 2012 after pleading guilty at a court in London to money laundering and fraud offences involving up to £150m from the Nigerian public purse. He allegedly bought four homes in Britain, including a £2m mansion in Hampstead and properties in St John’s Wood and Dorset.
Rachel Davies, Head of UK Advocacy and Research at Transparency International, told The Telegraph:
The move is still at the consultation stage, and may face legal hurdles, but Alan Sheeley, a civil fraud and asset recovery expert at the law firm Pinsent Masons, said he was hopeful that the government would press ahead with it.
Turkish shelling kills 45 IS militants in Syria
The Turkish military and US-led coalition forces killed 45 Islamic State militants in shelling and an air strike north of the Syrian city of Aleppo, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday, May 14.
The Turkish border town of Kilis, which lies just across the frontier from Islamic State-controlled territory in Syria, has been regularly struck by rockets in recent weeks.
Islamic State attacked a hospital in Deir al-Zor on Saturday and seized territory on the edge of the besieged eastern Syrian city still partly controlled by the government, the militant group said. Islamic State’s Amaq news agency said its fighters stormed the Assad Hospital and also took control of a check point, a fire station and university accommodation in the city close to Syria’s eastern border with Iraq.
The agency also said the militants had taken territory near the al-Tayyam oil fields, in the vicinity of the state-held military airport on the city’s southern edge. Islamic State controls most of Deir al-Zor province and has laid siege since March last year to the remaining government-held areas in the city of the same name.
Deir al-Zor province links Islamic State’s de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa with territory controlled by the militant group in neighbouring Iraq. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were reports Islamic State had detained medical staff and taken some government soldiers prisoner in Deir al-Zor.
It said there were ongoing fierce clashes between government forces and Islamic State in the area after the militants attacked the southwestern edge of the city at dawn. The fighting killed at least 20 members of the Syrian government forces and at least six Islamic State fighters, the Observatory said.
Islamic State said it killed 25 government troops and took three prisoners.
Bombings in Baghdad kill 53
Three bombings killed at least 63 people and wounded more than 100 in Baghdad on Tuesday, May 16 police and medical sources said, extending the deadliest spate of attacks in the Iraqi capital so far this year. A suicide bombing claimed by Islamic State in a marketplace in the northern district of al-Shaab killed 38 people and wounded over 70, while a car bomb in nearby Shi’ite Sadr City left at least 19 more dead and 17 wounded.
Another car bomb, in the southern neighbourhood of al-Rasheed, killed six and wounded 21, the sources said, in what a military spokesman described as a suicide attack.
Security has improved somewhat in Baghdad in recent years, even as the Islamic State (IS) seized swathes of the country almost up to the outskirts of the capital.
But attacks claimed by IS in and around the city last week killed more than 100 people, sparking anger in the streets over the government’s failure to ensure security.
There are fears that Baghdad could relapse into the bloodletting of a decade ago when sectarian-motivated suicide bombings killed scores of people every week.
That has cranked up pressure on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to resolve a political crisis or risk losing control of parts of Baghdad even as the military wages a counter-offensive against Islamic State in Iraq’s north and west with the help of a US-led coalition.
Abadi has said the crisis, sparked by his attempt to reshuffle the cabinet in an anti-corruption bid, is hampering the fight against Islamic State and creating space for more insurgent attacks on the civilian population.
Maldives severs Diplomatic ties with Iran
Maldives, a staunch supporter of Saudi Arabia, has severed ties with Iran, saying the Islamic Republic’s policy in the Middle East is detrimental to peace and security for the Indian Ocean archipelago, its Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, May 16.
Saudi Arabia in January cut ties with Iran over the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, in a worsening diplomatic crisis between the regional rivals following the kingdom’s execution of a prominent cleric.
“The Maldives believes that the policies that Iranian government pursues in the Middle East …is detrimental to peace and security in the region, which, in many ways, is also linked to stability, peace and security of the Maldives,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said the “irrational adventurism” in foreign policy decisions by President Abdulla Yameen’s administration would have serious repercussions on the security of the Maldives. “President Yameen is amassing all the world’s contentious issues to the Indian Ocean, with Maldives at the heart of it; clearly disregarding the security and protection of the Maldivian people,” said MDP international spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.
Since 2013, Saudi Arabia has played an increasing role in the Maldives, which like Saudi has a predominantly Sunni population, with investments in tourism and funds to build mosques.
Saudi established an embassy there last year.
Maldives established diplomatic relations with Iran in 1975.
Four killed, 90 injured in Baghdad’s Green Zone riots
At least four anti-government protesters were killed and 90 injured when security forces ejected them from Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, hospital sources said on Saturday, May 21. Iraqi security forces used live ammunition, rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas on Friday to dislodge the demonstrators from the central district which houses government buildings, parliament and many foreign embassies.
The toll, compiled from four hospitals where casualties were taken and Baghdad’s central morgue, accounts only for gunshot wounds and does not include cases of suffocation caused by tear gas.
Civilians have breached the Green Zone twice in three weeks, raising questions about the government’s ability to secure the capital which has also seen a spike in bombings this month claimed by Islamic State.
Protesters on Friday included supporters of powerful Shi’ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and people from other groups upset with the government’s failure to approve anti-corruption reforms and maintain security in the city.
Jaafar al-Moussawi, deputy leader of Sadr’s political movement, condemned the government for using what he called “excessive force”.
Malaysia’s Police nab 14 in anti-terror crackdown
Malaysian authorities detained 14 people believed to have links to the Islamic State (IS) in a series of raids across several states earlier this week. The 14 – all Malaysians – are the latest to be detained by authorities who have been on a concerted campaign over the past few years to stamp out the threat of Islamist militancy in the country.
Deputy inspector-general of police Noor Rashid Ibrahim said in a statement that eight of the suspects are believed to have transferred money to the IS in Syria and the Abu Sayyaf militant group in the southern Philippines.
All eight are also believed to have ties with Malaysian IS recruiter Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, who police had earlier identified as having recruited several Malaysians to launch an attack in the Southeast Asian nation.
Three others were detained on suspicion of promoting IS ideology, while two men and one woman were arrested for allegedly planning to travel to Syria to join the terrorist group.
The raids were carried out between May 17-20 by the police special branch’s counter-terrorism division in six states across the peninsula.
Muslim-majority Malaysia has been on high alert since Islamic State-linked militants carried out an armed attack in the capital of neighbouring Indonesia in January.
600000 die in Syrian jails
A monitoring group has said that at least 60,000 people have died in Syrian government jails during the five-year conflict. Syrian government officials could not be reached for comment on the report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which cited sources in the security apparatus for the toll.
The government has rejected similar reports in the past. “No fewer than 60,000 detainees were martyred …either as a result of direct bodily torture, or denial of food and medicine” the Observatory said in a written statement on Sunday.
The Observatory’s director, Rami Abdulrahman, said it had arrived at the number by adding up death tolls provided by sources in several Syrian jails and security agencies. He said more than 20,000 of them had died at Sednaya prison near Damascus. The Observatory said it had been able to verify the deaths of 14,456 people, 110 of them under the age of 18, since the start of the Syrian uprising in 2011. Abdulrahman said his sources were serving officials seeking to expose what was going on, and the Observatory had been gathering the information since the start of the year.
UN investigators said in February that detainees held by the Syrian government were being killed on a massive scale. “We know large numbers of people have died in detention in Syria,” said Nadim Houry, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch in a telephone interview. The only way to get to the bottom of the numbers question is to allow for independent monitors into the detention centres,” he added.
A Syrian defector known as Caesar in 2013 smuggled out tens of thousands of photos taken between May 2011 and August 2013 that show at least 6,786 separate individuals who had died in government custody, HRW said in a report issued in December. That toll was calculated by the Syrian Association for Missing and Conscience Detainees (SAFMCD), which was formed by an opposition body and reviewed all the photos, the HRW report said.
President Bashar al-Assad, in a 2015 interview, dismissed the Caesar photos as “allegations without evidence”, and part of a Qatar-funded plot against his government.
The independent experts said they had also documented mass executions and torture of prisoners by two jihadi groups, the Nusra Front and Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. These constituted war crimes and in the case of Islamic State also crimes against humanity.
Bombs kill 145 in Syrian Govt-held cities
Bomb blasts killed scores of people in Jableh and Tartous on Syria’s Mediterranean coast on Monday, May 23 and wounded many others in the government-controlled territory that hosts Russian military bases, monitors and state media said.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in the cities that have up to now escaped the worst of the violence in the five-year-old conflict, saying it was targeting members of President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 145 people were killed in attacks by at least five suicide bombers and two devices planted in cars. State media said 78 people had been killed in what is Assad’s coastal heartland.
The attacks were the first of their kind in Tartous, capital of Tartous province and home to a Russian naval facility, and Jableh in Latakia province, near a Russian-operated air base.
The Syrian foreign ministry sent a letter to the United Nations, state television reported, saying the blasts were a “dangerous escalation by the hostile and extremist regimes in Riyadh, Ankara and Doha”, referring to support given to the rebels by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar.
One of the four blasts in Jableh hit near a hospital and another at a bus station. The Tartous bombs also targeted a bus station, the Observatory and state media reported. The Tartous explosions also occurred in quick succession, no more than 10 seconds apart, a driver at the bus station said.
Islamic State claimed the attacks in a statement posted online by the group’s Amaq news agency, saying its fighters had targeted “gatherings of Alawites”.
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 *
Indicates there is no threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required.
Threat Level 2 **
Indicates there is 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. Level dictates that 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.
