Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Suicide Bombings/Attacks
One Frontier Constabulary (FCB) soldier was killed and another injured in a suicide attack on an FC training centre in Shabqadar area town of Charsadda District on March 17, reports Dawn. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the attack was “foiled” and two suicide bombers were killed in retaliatory fire. FCB Commandant Liaqat Ali Khan said that the attackers tried to sneak into the training facility in the wee hours of March 17 to cause maximum casualties but the guards quickly responded and neutralised the attackers. One attacker was killed by FCB personnel while the other died after his jacket exploded when it was hit by gunfire.
Bomb/IED Blasts
At least three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and one civilian were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast on Sariab Road of Quetta on February 28, reports Dawn. The bomb, which was planted on the roadside, targeted an FC vehicle while it was on patrol. The explosion left the vehicle partially damaged.
A government girls school in Qila Abdulla town of same District in Balochistan was damaged when an improvised explosive device (IED) placed near its wall went off on March 22, reports Dawn. Levies officials said that unidentified men had planted the remote-controlled device along the school’s wall which exploded with a big bang. The blast shattered windowpanes of the institution, nearby houses and shops. No casualty was reported.
Targetted Killings
Three persons belonging to the Shia community were gunned downed under Paroa Police Station area in Dera Ismail Khan District on February 26, reports Dawn.
Unidentified gunmen killed a lawyer, identified as Mohammed Jan Gigyani apparently in a targeted shooting near the Afghanistan border in Shabqadar in Charsadda District on March 4, reports Daily Times. According to a Police officer, two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on Mohammed Jan Gigyani while he was driving his car on March 4. He said Gigyani was critically wounded and died en route to a hospital. He added that Gigyani was a prominent lawyer affiliated with Aftab Ahmed Khan’s Qaumi Watan Party (QWP).
One inspector was killed and a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was injured in an encounter with terrorists in Harrapa village of Sahiwal District on March 5 night, reports The Nation. According to Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officials, in the shoot-out two terrorists were also injured, around four others were arrested and explosive material was recovered. The two other terrorists escaped from the site.
Three personnel of Punjab Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) were injured in a drive-by shooting incident near Lady Willingdon Hospital in Lahore on March 13, reports The News. The assailants managed to flee after targeting Police officers. Police sources said that all three Police officers who are posted at Ghaziabad CIA were dressed in plain clothes and were returning home after performing their duty.
Miscellaneous
Four militants and two Army personnel, Lieutenant Khawar and Naik Shehzad, were killed in an exchange of fire during an intelligence-based operation conducted by Security Forces (SFs) in the Jani Khel area of Frontier Region (FR) Bannu in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 2, Dawn reported quoting Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
Separately, a United States (US) drone strike killed two suspected militants on March 2 in a border village along Pak-Afghan border in Kurram Agency, reports The News. One official from local Administration said that the missile struck two men riding a motorcycle. It was not clear who was being targeted. There had been no drone strike by the US in Pakistan since May 21, 2016.This was one of the longest periods that no US drone attack had taken place in Pakistan.
One militant was killed and 12 others arrested during a search operation by FC and intelligence Agencies in Andoor area of Ketch District in Balochistan on March 2, reports Daily Times. One FC soldier was injured due to exchange of fire with terrorists and a cache of arms and ammunition was recovered during the operations.
At least 10 militants and five soldiers were killed during a clash when militants lunched a cross-border attack on three Pakistani border posts along the Pak-Afghan border area in Mohmand Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the night of March 5, reports Dawn. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said that five soldiers of the Pakistan Army and more than 10 suspected militants were reportedly killed in the attack.
One militant was killed and four others arrested during a raid by Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel in Korangi Town area of Karachi on March 5, reports Daily Times. According to CTD official, Raja Umar Khattab, the terrorist killed by forces was identified as Dildaar alias Chacha, who was reportedly an expert in making explosives. He said that the detainees had been planning a terrorist attack when their hideout was raided. A large amount of explosive material, detonators and weapons were recovered from the site.
The Frontier Corps (FC) personnel on March 4 recovered cache of arms and ammunitions from a terrorist hideout in Chot Camp area of Kahan tehsil (revenue unit) in Kohlu District of Balochistan, reports The News. The recovered cache of arms and ammunition included weapons of various calibers besides 4900 Small Machine Gun (SMG) rounds, 453 x 12.7 mm gun rounds, 140 Automatic Grenade Launcher (AGL) rounds, and 24 Hand Grenades.
Two soldiers, Captain Junaid and Sepoy Amjad, were killed on March 6 during an intelligence-based operation against suspected terrorists in Malikabad area of Swabi District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Dawn.
An attempt to blow up the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express was foiled on March 6 when security personnel defused a bomb planted at a railway track near the Mangoli area in Nasirabad District, reports Dawn. According to official sources, all train services were suspended between Quetta and Sukkur as the bomb disposal squad (BDS) was not available in Dera Murad Jamali. The BDS team was summoned to the site from Sibi. Police said the saboteurs had planned to blow up the train by remote control. The Jaffar Express coming from Rawalpindi was the target as it was scheduled to reach Mangoli after 15 minutes, said a senior Police Officer, adding that the train was stopped at the Dera Allah Yar station.
10 militants were killed when Security Forces (SFs) stormed a compound in a nearby village of Malikabad area in Swabi District on March 8, reports The News. Earlier the day, five militants and two Army personnel, including one Captain Junaid, were killed during an intelligence-based operation against suspected terrorists in Malikabad area.
Separately, Police March 8 recovered an anti-tank mine and arrested six suspected persons during a search operation in Injeer Khwar area of Hangu District, reports Daily Times. District Police Officer (DPO) Ihsanullah Khan said that the Police was informed about an explosive device planted in Injeer Khwar area. He said that they called in the officials of the bomb disposal squad (BDS) who recovered and defused the explosive device weighing up to three kilogram. He said that the police conducted a search operation in Doaba and surrounding localities and arrested six suspected persons. He said the Police also recovered a Kalashnikov, a rifle, two pistols and several cartridges from the arrested suspects.
Balochistan higher education secretary Abdullah Jan was abducted from Wahdat Colony of Brewery Road area in Quetta on March 14, reports The Express Tribune. Jan’s son Mohammad Attiuqe said his father was on his way to work when unidentified assailants in a white Toyota Vitz kidnapped him near his house in Wahdat Colony. Jan was kidnapped along with his driver. However, the abductors released the driver near Sabzal Road area and drove off an unknown location, said DIG Quetta Abdul Razzaq Chema. No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction so far.
Suspected militants abducted three Government schoolteachers in Giskhor area of Awaran District in Balochistan in the evening of March 14, reports Daily Times. Levis official Muhammad Jan said that militants abducted three teachers as they were returning from a training session facilitated by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) for the upcoming national census in Giskhor area. Jan identified the abducted teachers as Rashid Ali, Elahi Bakhsh and Rasool Bakhsh. The men are part of a team in the District that will collect data for the census.
Two personnel of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) were killed when suspected militants from across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border reportedly attempted to attack a check post in Khyber Agency on March 17,reports The Dawn. Pakistani troops “effectively responded”, as a result of which six militants were killed during the exchange of fire, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, at least one FC soldier and two suicide bombers were killed during a “foiled” attack by suicide bombers on the FC training centre in Shabqadar area of Charsadda on March 17, reports The Dawn. Another FC personal sustained injures during the operation. ISPR release maintains that the Operation in still in progress.
At least six militants were killed during a search operation in the Mosal Kor village of Michini area in Peshawar on March 17, reports Dawn. FC spokesperson said that the SFs carried out a search operation in the Mosal Kor area when terrorists opened fire on the personnel. Six militants were killed in the retaliatory fire. SFs recovered a cache of arms and explosive from the possession of slain militants.
Security Forces (SFs) foiled a terror bid by seizing a significant quantity of arms and explosives in Kohlu District on March 18, reports Dawn. “The Frontier Corps (FC) and personnel of a intelligence agency conducted a raid and recovered 28 kilograms of explosives, six rockets and other weapons,” said a security official. The official added that the compound which was raided belonged to “miscreants of an outlawed militant organisation”. No arrest was made during the raid.
In a separate incident, FC forces and personnel of an intelligence agency arrested four suspected militants during a raid in Smungli area of Quetta. SFs claimed to have recovered five SMGs, three rockets and other weapons from their possession.
At least 19 suspects were arrested during joint search operations in various parts of Punjab, reports The News on March 20. According to Inter Services Public Relations said (ISPR), the joint search and intelligence based operations were conducted by Punjab Rangers, Police and intelligence agencies in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Attock, Sialkot, Lahore and Kasur as part of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad. At least 19 suspects were apprehended. Weapons, ammunition, laptops, currency, sectarian hate material and foreign passports were also seized.
PAKISTAN
Thousands of Afghan Taliban studying in studying in Balochistan, says Provincial Minister Sarfaraz Bugti
Balochistan’s Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs, Sarfaraz Bugti, on February 26, said that thousands of Afghan Taliban were still studying in seminaries across the province, reports Dawn. “There are many seminaries where Afghan Taliban are studying, and many are owned by the Afghan Taliban group,” Bugti said. Amin-ul-Hasnat Shah, the Minister of State for Religious Affairs, said that funds for most of these Madrassas originate abroad, mostly in Arab countries. “The government is monitoring the money trail and how this money is spent and utilised by the Madrassas. We want to ensure that these funds are not used for any suspicious activity or to promote extremism through Islamic seminaries in Pakistan.” Shah said the Government “has pledged to reform these Madrassas through registration and change of syllabus” and it was determined to “keep an eye on any extremism-related activities or links in these Madrassas.”
Afghans, Uzbeks among 350 held in countrywide operation
The law enforcement agencies arrested over 350 suspects, including Afghan nationals, besides recovering arms and drugs from their possession during a countrywide search operations on Saturday night and Sunday, Feb 26.
According to details, the law enforcers arrested more than 30 suspects and seized arms and drugs during a search operation in Gulberg and other areas of Peshawar, while 75 persons were detained in Bannu.
About a dozen Afghan nationals were among 20 people arrested in Karmpur and Jamal Ghouspur areas of Kashmore in Sindh. Similarly, Rangers and other law enforcers arrested over 160 people, including Afghan nationals, from different parts of Karachi.
In Bahawalpur, 22 suspects were arrested which also included Uzbeks and Afghans. The number of arrested suspects in other towns and cities is: Kalorkot (13), Lodhran (20), Chiniot (8), DG Khan (4) and Sargodha (25).
Meanwhile, the police in Quetta foiled a major terror bid by recovering a bomb planted on Arbab Karam Khan Road, which was defused by the bomb disposal squad. Separately, the Punjab Rangers has specified various lines for reporting any suspicious activity or information related to terrorism activity in the province.
Deweaponisation part of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad
The Army on February 28 said that the recently launched Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad (elimination of discord) also envisages a countrywide ‘de-weaponisation’ campaign, reports The Express Tribune. But no timeline can be given for the completion of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, said Major General Asif Ghafoor, the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Speaking in a television interview, Major General Ghafoor said the very name of the operation was self-explanatory. “It is aimed at eliminating the elements creating disorder and mischief, whether they are in or outside the country,” he added.
About the objectives of Radd-ul-Fasaad, he said all previous operations were primarily aimed at decimating hideouts of terrorists in different areas and restoring the writ of the state there. “And the main objective of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is to consolidate the gains of the previous operations,” he added. “This operation seeks to smoke out facilitators of terrorists inside the country.” “The operation also envisages a de-weaponisation campaign,” he said but refused to give a timeline for its completion.
Sindh hands over details of terrorists network to Balochistan
Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh Police Tuesday, Feb 28 handed over the details to Balochistan government regarding terrorists’ networks engaged in terrorist activities in Sindh having bases in Balochistan province.
Well-placed sources informed ‘The News’ that Law Enforcing Agencies (LAEs) found the evidences that terrorist networks having bases in Balochistan engaged in sabotage activities specially suicidal bomb blasts in throughout Sindh including recent suicidal bomb blast at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Sehwan which claimed the lives of near 100 people and some six other incidents of suicidal attacks at various parts of upper Sindh during the last two years.
In this regard recently many arrests have also been made of Jamali tribe from district Dadu and Birohi tribe from many parts of Sindh province.
A high-level delegation of CTD Sindh headed by Additional Inspector General Sindh Sannaullah Abbasi and some other officers met Balochistan IG, CTD authorities and Balochistan Home Department officials to discuss the issue and handover the material.
Well-placed sources of CTD informed ‘The News’ that information regarding the said terrorists networks gathered through different sources including the confessional statements of arrested terrorists in which they narrated about their links with Balochistan.
It is pertinently mentioned here that an arrested suicide bomber 18-year old Usman Yousafzai who arrested by local people from Imambargah Khanpur Shikarpur on September 15 (Eid day) has made various revelations including his stay at Quetta and then Khuzdar before entering Sindh for suicidal blast.
Islamic State cadres hide among general public in FATA and KP
The cadres of Islamic State or Daesh hide among the general population, using small businesses as a cover, The Express Tribune quoting a Police official reported on March 2. The official under the condition of anonymity said that their approach differs from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose cadres used to openly establish camps in parts of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and even in the settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). They are highly experienced in sabotage and concealment” since most cadres had previously belonged to the TTP, he added. “These people hide among the (general) population and we have solid evidence suggesting that they engage in small businesses such as fruit vendors, plying pushcarts, using it as a cover, avoiding suspicion … Their strategy is mostly successful,” he said, adding that these people rent houses and move frequently to avoid detection. “All new recruits are sent to Afghanistan … Once people know that you are fighting in Afghanistan, chances are that no policeman or anyone else will touch you simply because you are (among) ‘good Taliban’,” he maintained.
LeJ particularly active in the provincial capitals of Sindh and Balochistan, says report
Unnamed Officials involved in anti terrorist operations have revealed that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a proscribed organization, particularly active in the port city of Karachi and Quetta, reports Daily Times. The Organization is still the prime target of law enforcement agencies (LEA) for its close liaison with banned Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JuA). Most of the organization’s activists have gone underground to escape arrests. The officials claim that LeJ’s almost 90 percent network has been disabled by eliminating its top leadership. According to the officials, LeJ ties with Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) surfaced last year when terrorists attacked the Police academy in Quetta in October. The group is active in Karachi and Quetta with two deferent off-shoot groups namely the Naeem Bukhari Group in Karachi and LeJ Al-Aalmi in Quetta.
Uri attack Pak students innocent, admits Indian agency
India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday, March 8 released two ‘Pakistani schoolboys’, who were arrested last year for their alleged involvement in the Uri attack, after nearly six months of investigations, Indian media reported. The two school-goers, identified as Faisal Hussain Awan and Ahsan Khursheed, have been given a clean chit by the NIA and handed over to the Indian Army’s 16 Corps to send them back to Pakistan, according to an NIA press statement. The Indian agency said it found no linkages between the two Pakistani teens and the militants killed in the Uri attack.
The two boys, who lived in a village in Azad Kashmir located at an hour’s walk from the Line of Control, were picked by the Indian Army after they had strayed across the border. They were arrested on September 21, 2016, three days after the Uri attack in which unknown militants waged an attack on the Indian Army’s brigade headquarters in Uri, Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK), and left 19 Indian soldiers dead.
India, maintaining its tradition, had once again put the blame on Pakistan without even preliminary investigations held. The two Pakistani teenagers will be brought to Srinagar, from where they will be handed over to the Baramula police. The two boys will finally be handed over to the Pakistani authorities by Uri command force.
Ulema must undo extremist narrative of religion, says PM Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on March 11, during his visit to the Lahore based Jamia Naeemia, asked Islamic clerics to reject in forceful terms all the religious decrees that incite violence in the name of Islam, reports The Dawn. “Hate is being spread in the name of religion and it is the duty of the ulema to free it from hate and violence. One way of doing that is to reject all those fatwas that incite violence, [and] only the ulema can do it,” said the PM Nawaz Sharif. He promised that the “few remaining militants” would not be spared. The government, he said, had brought the political leadership, the army, the police and other law enforcement agencies on the same page as far as dealing with terrorism and terrorists was concerned. “Peace is not far off, especially if the ulema extend a helping hand,” PM Nawaz Sharif said, adding that religious scholars should play a proactive role in building an alternative narrative of Islam that promoted peace and harmony. The religion has been held hostage by hate-mongers, he said.
Militant wanted for attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore killed in US drone strike in Afghanistan
Qari Yaseen, wanted for involvement in attacks on General Headquarter (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, was killed in a US drone strike in Barmal District of Paktika province in Afghanistan on March 20, reports Daily Times. The drone strike carried out in Barmal targeted Yaseen and three of his accomplices who were travelling in a vehicle. Yaseen belonged to the Lodhran District of Punjab and was part of various terrorist attacks carried out in Pakistan. The other attacks included those on ISI offices in Lahore and Multan, Data Darbar, Marriott Hotel and the one in RA Bazaar, Rawalpindi. He was also said to be a facilitator for al Qaeda and Jundhulla in Pakistan, an expert at making bombs, including IEDs, and a trainer for terrorists.
ASF foils suspected terror bid, seizes weapon cache at Lahore airport
The Airport Security Force (ASF) on March 22 foiled a suspected terror bid at the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, by confiscating a cache of weapons and ammunition, reports Dawn. A vehicle was stopped and searched by the ASF personnel at the airport check post and during a routine inspection a weapon and a large cache of ammunition was found in the vehicle, the ASF officials said. The ASF confiscated a .223 bore rifle, seven magazines, and dozens of bullets from the vehicle.
20 Baloch insurgents surrender confess receiving RAW funding
Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad is successfully continuing across the country as at least 20 insurgents including a Ferrari commander surrendered to Pakistan Rangers Punjab on March 21, Daily Times reported on March 23 quoting Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement. The erstwhile militants said they were funded by Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) through Brahamdagh Bugti who leads the Balochistan Republican Party (BRP). Apologising for their past which was awash with terror activities in Balochistan, the surrendering insurgents said they were kept misinformed and fed with negative narrative over the decades, the ISPR statement added.
Earlier on March 18, the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) said that Baloch are neither traitors nor Indian agents and urged media to bring to light the woes of Balochistan, reports Daily Times. BNP-M Vice President Abdul Wali Kakar asked the media to visit interior parts of Balochistan. He regretted that a wrong image of Balochistan was being portrayed, and media was barred on the pretext of security issues. As a result, Balochistan does not get its due rights in the country’s media, he added. He was speaking to the Biennial Delegates Meeting of Pakistan Union of Journalists (BUJ). He stressed upon the media to help the Baloch get their due rights. Balochistan was craving for its basic human rights, including the availability of pure drinking water, health and education, he added. It was best opportunity to discuss the issues of Balochistan in front of journalists, hailing from various parts of the country.
66% decline in violence-related incidents since 2014, says CRSS annual security report
Violence-related incidents declined in 2016 as compared to the year before, and casualties from violence were half the number of casualties in 2015, Dawn reported on March 23 quoting the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) annual security report. Released on March 21, the report recorded a 66 per cent fall in violence-related incidents since 2014, but noted that terrorist groups have changed their strategy for suicide attacks and instead of sending in one suicide bomber to a location, sent two. It said militants, facing military operations and law enforcement, had begun to flee the county and had devised new strategies. The report said the targeting of geographical areas and population centres that were less protected was unprecedented, and militants also begun deploying a wider array of improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers despite strong resistance from security personnel. “Karachi has seen the most improvement, with urban crime and target killings on the decline. Compared to 1,671 people killed in target killing incidents in 2013, 183 people lost their lives in 2016,” report states.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
JMB militant arrested in Rajshahi district
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested a militant of Jama’’at-ul Mujahedeen Bangladesh (JMB) with 11 Jihadi books and some leaflets at Kakonhat railway station in Rajshahi District on February 26, reports The Daily Star. RAB said that Mohamad Ansar Ali (36) used to sell vests and send his earnings to another militant Sakib, who is still on the run.
Two policemen injured in militant attack in Rajshahi
Two Policemen were injured as suspected militants stabbed them in Bujruk Rajarampur village of Rajshahi District on February 28, reports The Daily Star. The injured are Salam (53) and Ismail Hossain (33). Police arrested suspected attacker Amin-ul Islam from the spot. However, the others managed to flee.
Neo-JMB’s Rajshahi division ‘military chief’ killed in gunfight with Police in Bogra District
The ‘military chief’ of Neo-Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)’s Rajshahi divisional unit has been killed in a gunfight with the Police at Jamnagar village of Bogra District, reports Dhaka Tribune on March 2. The deceased was identifies as Aminur Islam alias Alam (23). Police claimed that they had recovered a pistol, three rounds of bullets and two magazines from the spot.
Meanwhile, a team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan (60), a Neo-JMB ‘commander’ in a bus near Kakoli crossing in Dhaka city on February 28, reports The Daily Star. CTTC officials claimed that Boro Mizan leads a syndicate that supplied ingredients for grenades and arms used in the Gulshan attack from the Indian border area near Chapainawabganj District.
Govt bans Ansar Al Islam as its activities posed threat to public security
Government on March 5 banned Ansar Al Islam, the Bangladesh chapter of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), as its activities already posed a threat to public security, reports The Daily Star. The ban circular said the militant organization’s activities went against peace and order in the country. The radical group was earlier known as Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), which was banned on May 25, 2015, for militant and anti-state activities. It is allegedly responsible for the killing of several secular writers, bloggers and online and gay rights activists critical of religious bigotry.
Huge cache of grenades and explosive material
Police on March 8 recovered a huge cache of grenades and explosive materials from a house in Mirsharai area of Chittagong District, reports The Daily Star. On information gleaned from Jasim (20) and Hasan (20) arrested in Comilla District on March 7, Police raided the house on the ground floor of a two-storey building. The recovered items are 99 grenades, huge bomb-making materials, including 280 packets of metal balls (each pack contains 100 balls) and 40 packets of explosive gel and nine machetes. Five black panjabis and a banner inscribed with the word “Allahu” in Arabic were also found. Mohib-ul Islam, Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit said that the arrested are members of militant Neo-Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Comilla Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohamad Shah Abid Hasan at a press briefing held at his office auditorium on March 8 said that the militants arrested in Comilla had bigger plans, reports Dhaka Tribune. He said the two Neo-JMB militants who hurled bombs at a highway Police patrol during a vehicle search in Comilla are specially trained and had plans to launch big attacks.
Hefazat-e-Islam renews threat to besiege Dhaka city
Hefazat-e-Islam on March 10 renewed its threats to besiege Dhaka city if the Greek idol of justice “Themis” was not removed from the Supreme Court premises immediately, reports Dhaka Tribune. Leaders and supporters demonstrated over the issue in different Districts including Dhaka, Chittagong and Narayanganj after the Jumma prayers. They threatened to assemble thousands of people and hold another rally at Shapla Chattar in Dhaka city’s Motijheel, if necessary, like they did in 2013.
Sufi spiritual leader and daughter killed in Dinajpur
A Pir (Sufi spiritual leader) and his daughter were killed in Dinajpur District on March 13, reports Dhaka Tribune. Pir Farhad Hossain Chowdhury (65) and Rupali Begum (19) were found dead at his Khanqah Sharif in Hatrampur area. Both of them had bullet marks on their bodies and the young woman’s neck was slit with a sharp weapon. Police said that there had been no immediate clues to the means and motives of the murder. They suspect that it could be an Islamist extremist attack.
Two PBCP leaders killed in gunfight with Police in Satkhira District
Two cadres of Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) were reportedly killed in a gunfight with Police at Rahimabad Ambagan in Satkhira District on March 12, reports New Age. The deceased were identified as Bidyut Bachhar (46) and Sheikh Abu Talha (22). Police recovered two shutter guns, two bombs, two sharp weapons and two bullets from the spot.
HuJI-B ‘regional commander’ killed in gunfight with Police in Brahmanbaria District
Tajul Islam Mahmud alias Mama Hujur (46), ‘regional commander’ of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) was killed during a gunfight with Police in Kuti Chowmuhani area of Brahmanbaria District on March 16, reports Dhaka Tribune. Three Policemen were also injured in the incident. Police recovered 25 improvised bombs, five pipe guns, four bullets and five locally made sharp weapons from the spot.
Suicide bomber blows himself up in RAB barracks in Dhaka
A suspected suicide bomber sneaked into a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) barrack and blew himself up in Ashkona area of Dhaka city on March 17 in what appears to be the country’s first such attack by a terror suspect inside a law enforcement agency’s compound, reports The Daily Star. Two RAB personnel suffered splinter injuries. According to BBC Bangla, Islamic State claimed credit for the attack. Since 2005, there have been at least seven suicide bombings at mosques, cultural events and courts or during raids by law enforcers. But, no establishments of any law enforcers have ever come under such attacks.
Man carrying ‘bombs’ killed in Dhaka
A man carrying bombs was killed in Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) firing when he tried to penetrate a check post with a motorcycle in Khilgaon area of Dhaka early on March 18, RAB said, reports The Daily Star. “An unidentified miscreant, carrying explosives, tried to penetrate RAB-3 check post with a motorcycle at Shekher Jaiga area around 4:30am,” said a text message of the elite force floated to media. Sensing danger, officials of RAB opened fire, leaving the man dead, Mufti Mahmud Khan, Director of the elite force’s legal and media wing, said. Two RAB members were also injured during the incident, he added. The incident took place a day after a suspected suicide bomber sneaked into a Rab barrack and blew himself up in the capital’s Ashkona on March 17.
Three persons injured in attack by Samrat Khan Bahini in Dhaka
Three persons including two Policemen and police informant were injured in an attack by cadres of Samrat Khaja Bahini during a drive at Majidpur in Dhaka city on March 19, reports New Age. Tipped off, a Police team, led by Sub-Inspector (SI) Mehdi Hasan, conducted the drive to arrest three cadres of Samrat Khaja Bahini. The cadres attacked the Police and stabbed them while they were returning after arresting an accused Pichchi Khaja, leaving SI Mehdi, constable Sumon and police informant Amin-ul Isalm injured.
Suspected bomber blows himself up n front of Shahjalal International Airport intersection in Dhaka city
A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up at a Police check-post in front of Shahjalal International Airport intersection in Dhaka city on March 24, reports The Independent. An Assistant Commissioner of Police said the intersection is away from the airport security area so only the attacker was killed in the attack. There was no other casualty.
Meanwhile, after around two hours, Islamic State (IS) took credit for the attack through its Arabic Amaq news agency, reports Dhaka Tribune.
India – Internal Dynamics
Bombs recovered ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Manipur
Police recovered a hand grenade and a bomb from separate places in Manipur on February 24, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the northeastern State to address an election rally, reports The Times of India. The recovery comes even as an apex body of six rebel groups in Manipur has given a call for a ‘complete shutdown’ in the state on February 25 to protest against Modi’s visit, saying it was aimed at ‘hoodwinking the people of Manipur’. The Prime Minister will address a rally at Langjing Achouba ground in Imphal West District in support of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates in the ensuing assembly polls. A Chinese-made hand grenade was also found near the gate of BJP candidate Soibam Subhachandra’s residence at Ningombam Leikai in Imphal West District, while another bomb was found in front of another BJP worker O Sunil’s residence in Thoubal District.
Two security force personnel killed in exchange of fire with Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Two Security Force (SF) personnel of the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) 10th battalion were killed and two others sustained injuries in an exchange of fire with the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres in Bijapur District on March 3, reports India Today. The skirmish took place near Cherli village under Mirtur Police Station limits when a joint team of CAF and District Police was out on a road security operation, Inspector General (IG) (in-charge), Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said. The two slain SFs were Hemant Kumar, constable of the CAF and Gubba Ram, assistant constable of District Police.
Maoists move to upgrade guerrilla warfare tactics to make it mobile in Chhattisgarh, says Intelligence report
The Communist Party of India-Maoist have introduced horses in insurgency hit conflict zone of Bastar in Chhattisgarh to turn their guerrilla warfare more effective, intelligence report said, reports The Asian Age on March 7. A senior Police officer posted in the region disclosed on March 6, that Maoists, mounted on horses, were seen ambushing Security Forces (SFs) at Chareli under Mirtur Police limits in Bijapur District on March 3, leaving two Policemen dead. Two Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawans, Budharam and Gabbaram Kashyap, claimed to have seen Maoists opening fire on them from AK-47 rifles and other sophisticated weapons while riding horses in the forest area. The officer said, intelligence earlier tipped-off on Maoists’ move to upgrade guerrilla warfare tactics to make it mobile and deadly. There are reports of rebels receiving training on the new warfare tactics in Abujhmaad in south Bastar District of Narayanpur, in which horses were used. “It appears the rebels have taken a leaf out of Chambal robbers’ strategy of ambushing security forces riding horses,” he added.
9 persons injured in a low intensity bomb blast in Madhya Pradesh
In the first-ever strike in India by Islamic State (IS), a module radicalised by the terrorist organisation triggered a low-intensity blast in Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train Madhya Pradesh on March 7, injuring 9 passengers, reports The Times of India. The occurred near Jabdi station in Shajapur District of Madhya Pradesh, adds Hindustan Times. A high alert has been sounded across the state after the explosion. IG (Law and Order) Makrand Deouskar said the explosion was caused by a pressure pipe bomb filled with ammonia nitrate kept inside a bag on the luggage rack.
Sources maintain that the explosives were meant to be used elsewhere, most probably in Uttar Pradesh that goes to polls. It went off accidentally, sources said, adding that had the plan was to trigger the blast in the train, the explosives would have been kept under the seat for greater impact. Initial reports suggested that the explosion was caused by a tube light burst. But later it was found that the tube light exploded by the impact of the blast.
11 CRPF personnel killed in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh
Eleven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and three others injured in an attack by the Communist Party of India-Maoist near Bhejji in Sukma District on March 11, reports The Times of India. Senior Police officials of Sukma District said that Maoist opened indiscriminate fire on a Road Opening Party (ROP) between Bhejji and Kottacheru. Reports said the rebels looted weapons from the slain security personnel and took away the wireless radio sets from the spot. Further, details are awaited as the operation is going on.
CRPF jawan killed in Chhattisgarh
Assistant constable, Phagu Ram Mandavi (42) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed by a group of Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres in Bijapur District on March 14, reports Asian Age. Mandavi was visiting Bodli village ‘Mela’ (fair) under Bangpal Police Station.
IS posters show Taj Mahal as their ‘New Target’, says report
On March 14, warning of attacks in India, terror outfit Islamic State (IS) released a graphic depicting Taj Mahal as a possible target, reports indiatvnews.com. According to reports, the graphic image showing an image of Taj Mahal in the backdrop with an IS terrorist standing next to it was posted by the Ahwaal Ummat Media Center on a channel of Telegram, the encrypted communication app.
Site Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadi activity on the web, has confirmed the report. The graphic also has an inset which shows another image of the Taj Mahal within crosshairs with the words “New Target” written below it. Also, there is an image of a van with the Arabic text “Agra istishhadi” (Agra martyrdom-seeker) written in English. The security agencies have claimed that some 75 Indians have so far joined IS. This includes 45 who went from India, mostly from Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka, while the remainder were Indians living abroad.
Five Maoists and two Policemen killed in gun-battle in Chhattisgarh
At least five Maoists including a senior woman cadre and two Policemen were killed while three Security Forces (SFs) personnel, including two Sub-Inspectors (SIs) were injured in a gun-battle in forests of restive Dantewada District in Bastar Division of Chhattisgarh on March 18, reports PTI News. An injured Maoist cadre was also arrested from the spot.
During search, five bodies of ultras and a few weapons, including one AK 47 rifle and one INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rife, were recovered, he said, adding one injured Maoist was arrested. However, DRG constable Nirmal Netam and a Gopniya Sainik (secret troop recruited as auxiliary personnel) Sukram Gavde also killed in the exchange of fire, he added. Of the women maoists killed in the encounter, one was identified as Palle, who was active as ‘secretary’ of Malangir Area Committee and member of Darbha Divisional Committee of Maoists and another as Vijje, a member of the same area committee, he said. Palle was carrying a reward of INR 8 lakh on her head while Vijje was carrying a reward of INR 5 lakh, Police said. The identity of three other Maoists was being ascertained, he added.
Maoist posters warn police informers in Odisha
Posters of the Communist Party of India-Maoist appealing to the villagers not to become ‘Police informers’ was found at Lakhbahali near Pahadpadar village under Lanjigarh block of Kalahandi District on March 23, reports The New Indian Express. The CPI-Maoist cadres have also appealed to the locals to observe ‘Sahid Divas’ (Martyr’s Day) on March 23.
Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during period Feb 26, 2017 to March 25, 2017:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Arunachal P | 02 | 00 | 01 | 03 |
| Manipur | 02 | 00 | 02 | 04 |
| Left wing | 28 | 17 | 08 | 53 |
| Total | 32 | 17 | 11 | 60 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
UDMF cadres clash with Police as they stage demonstration in Rautahat District to thwart CPN-UML function
Cadres of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) clashed with Police as they staged a demonstration in the Rautahat District headquarters Gaur in a bid to thwart a function being organized by the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), reports The Himalayan Times on February 26. Over 500 cadres took out rallies at various nooks and corners of the city and also blocked the road connecting the East-West Highway and Gaur at Garuda.
Three persons killed in police firing in Saptari district
Three persons were killed in Police firing in Maleth, a Village Development Committee (VDC) of Saptari District on March 6, as Police resorted to firing after a clash between them and protesters of the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF), reports Kathmandu Post. The UDMF supporters were protesting against a mass meeting of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) as part of its “Mechi-Mahakali National Campaign” targeting local level elections. The deceased have been identified as Sanjan Mehata, Aananda Sah and Pitambar Mandal. Mehata died on the spot while two others succumbed to their injuries. 25 UDMF cadres and three Policemen were also injured in the clash.
Meanwhile, an indefinite strike called by the UDMF have crippled the lives of people in the Tarai region on March 7, reports The Himalayan Times. Agitated UDMF cadres have been burning tyres in marketplaces at Bhardaha, Kanchanpur, Rupani and Kalyanpur of Saptari District disrupting the everyday lives of people. Similarly, the UDMF cadres have also been staging protests by burning tyres at various parts of the Birgunj in Parsa District.
Separately, cadres of the UDMF vandalized the city office of the CPN-UML at Lahan town of Saptari District, reports Republica on March 7. They carried the furniture and the documents of the office on the road before putting fire on the materials. They also chanted slogans against the CPN-UML.
Nepalese national killed, seven injured as Nepal mob attacks SSB at Indo-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh
A Nepalese national allegedly killed in firing by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) along the border Indo-Nepal border at Lakhimpur Kheri District in Uttar Pradesh after SSB men tried to stop a group of Nepalese citizens from constructing an illegal bridge on no man’s land on March 9, reports The Times of India. The Nepalese citizens allegedly responded to this by assembling a mob which pelted the SSB men with stones, injuring seven border guards. In response, the SSB fired in the air to disperse the crowd. Heavy security force has been deployed at the spot and the situation is being monitored by senior officials, who are also in talks with authorities across the border.
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
Govt will bar provincial councils from discussing separatism, says Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on February 26 said that Government will bar provincial councils from discussing separatism, reports Daily Mirror. “The existing system will be used as a frame for devolving power in the new constitution. Some allege that the government is going to introduce federalism, but I aver that no such system will be introduced. The government does not intend to divide the nation,” he said. He further said the Government intended including a clause to that effect in the new Constitution and devolution of power in the new constitution would be based on the existing provincial council system.
Sri Lankan Tamils blast govt over failure to probe war crimes
Sri Lanka’s main Tamil party accused the government on Wednesday, Mar 1 of not lifting a finger to address wartime crimes, as the foreign minister asked the UN for more time to investigate abuses.
President Maithripala Sirisena had agreed to a United Nations resolution which, among other things, called for special war crime tribunals and reparations for victims of the 37-year Tamil separatist conflict that claimed at least 100,000 lives. Sri Lanka was given 18 months to establish credible investigations into atrocities, but the deadline lapsed without these promises being kept.
The Tamil National Alliance, a moderate party representing the minority Tamil population, has been scathing about the lack of progress and wants Colombo held to account.
Sri Lanka has been criticised for its response to atrocities stemming from the conflict, which formally ended in May 2009 with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers separatist group.
Last September the UN urged Sri Lanka to “take concrete steps to address the impatience, anxiety and reservations towards the process”.
Separatist groups capable of arming 15,000 terrorists within 48 hours, warns Joint Opposition
Joint Opposition on March 2 warned that the separatist groups are capable of arming 15,000 terrorists within 48 hours, reports Daily Mirror. Separatist groups have gathered information regarding 11, 000 rehabilitated and released Tamils and yet another 4,000 Tamils who did not surrender to the Army, and have sufficient hidden arms and ammunition, enabling them to create a group of terrorists within 48 hours, the Joint Opposition warned.
Ex-LTTE cadres form new political party
A group of ex-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres on March 3 formed a new political party in Trincomalee District, reports Colombo Page. The ‘Rehabilitated United Liberation Tigers Front’ was formed to get the issues faced by the minority Tamils addressed since the main stream political parties have failed. “People are getting frustrated by main political parties. They have failed to address Tamil issues. We offer an alternative by contesting elections from all areas in the north and east,” party’s leader Kandasami Indarasa said.
Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka on March 5 said that LTTE weapons are falling into hands of criminal elements, reports Daily Mirror. He said thousands of LTTE cadres, who had escaped being rehabilitated, were selling the weapons they had hidden during the last stages of the war to the highest bidder. Not only are these weapons being sold to underworld criminals but we understand they are falling into the hands of politically motivated groups as well.
Sri Lanka seeks two more years from UNHRC to probe war crimes committed during conflict with LTTE
Sri Lanka on March 13 has sought two more years from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to probe the alleged war crimes committed during the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), reports Times of India. Sri Lanka was granted 18 months by a UNHRC resolution in October 2015 to initiate a credible investigation into the nearly three-decade long civil war with the LTTE. According to the UN figures, up to 40,000 civilians were killed by the security forces during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’’s regime that brought an end to the conflict with the defeat of LTTE in 2009.
INTERNATIONAL
Somali president declares ‘national disaster’
Somali’s newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Tuesday, Feb 28 declared a “national disaster” due to severe drought which aid agencies say has left some three million in crisis.
The Horn of Africa nation is one of three countries — along with Yemen and Nigeria on the verge of famine which has already been declared in South Sudan — an unprecedented food crisis. “The president has appealed to the International Community to urgently respond to the calamity in order to help families and individuals to recover from the effects of the drought disaster to avoid humanitarian tragedy,” read a statement from the presidency.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned Monday that Somalia was at risk of its third famine in 25 years. The last one in 2011 killed some 260,000 people.
160 die in clashes on Myanmar-China border
At least 160 people have died in three months of clashes between the military and ethnic armed groups in Myanmar’s Shan state, a senior army official said on Tuesday, Feb 28 amid efforts to revive flagging peace talks.
More than 20,000 people have been displaced since fighting between the army and several armed ethnic groups erupted near the border with China in late November.
The unrest has rippled across the northern state of Shan and into neighbouring Kachin, hampering a push by Aung San Suu Kyi’s government to end the country’s decades-long borderland conflicts.
Military offensives that had been rumbling since mid-2016 intensified after several armed groups launched a major attack in November.
The army responded with heavy artillery and air strikes.
Experts say the fighting in the frontier areas is at its most intense since the 1980s. That has prompted the UN to warn of a humanitarian crisis building in conflict areas, particularly in Kachin where some 100,000 people have been displaced since 2011.
Giving the army’s first comprehensive toll from the Shan clashes, the chief of the general staff said 74 soldiers, 15 police, 13 government militia fighters and 13 civilians have been killed.
The toll comes as Myanmar’s government prepares for a second round of peace talks, currently slated for March. The negotiations have repeatedly been put back in the past because of political deadlock with armed groups.
Largest coup trial opens in Turkey
The biggest trial of suspects accused of involvement in last year’s failed coup opened in Turkey, Feb 28 on Tuesday in a courtroom specially built to hold more than 1,500 people. Some 330 suspects are being put on trial in Sincan outside the capital Ankara, and if convicted, they face multiple life sentences over their alleged links to the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last July.
The case is being heard at Sincan prison where there was heavy security in place, with a water cannon truck on site and a drone flying overhead as families arrived for the hearing.
The courtroom which has space for 1,558 people was packed, with security forces surrounding the suspects as they testified.
The first suspect, a military cadet called Abdulkadir Kahraman, told the court that on the night of the coup, troops were informed by their commander that there had been a terror attack and were given ammunition.
Other suspects gave similar statements, including Arif Ozan Demir who told the court the commander told them there had been an attack and that they should “be prepared”.
Some of the suspects added that a senior army officer told them to be prepared to use their weapons, Anadolu reported.
Ankara has blamed the failed putsch on Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States and his movement. Turkey has denounced the movement as a terrorist organisation and the suspects on trial at Sincan are also accused of belonging to an armed terror group.
Daesh to be extinguished with help of Muslim allies: Trump
United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday, Mar 1 he would not allow America to become a sanctuary for extremists and vowed to work with allies, including friends in the Muslim world, to destroy Daesh or the Islamic State militant group.
Trump, during his first address to Congress, said it was his obligation is to serve, protect and defend American citizens. “As promised, I directed the Department of Defence to develop a plan to demolish and destroy ISIS — a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, women and children of all faiths and beliefs,” Trump said, international media reported.
“We will work with our allies, including our friends and allies in the Muslim world, to extinguish this vile enemy from our planet,” he said. “We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America — we cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists,” he said as he defended his tough immigration policies.
He said his administration has been working on improved vetting procedures will shortly take new steps to keep the country safe and “to keep out those who would do us harm”. “We are also taking strong measures to protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism,” he said.
He said that his foreign policy calls for a direct robust and meaningful engagement with the world. America, he said, is willing to find new friends and forge new partnerships where shared interests align.
The US president also added that America “could not become a sanctuary for extremists”. Trump said: “We want all Americans to succeed, and that cannot happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We will restore integrity and the rule of law at our borders.
26,000 frightened Iraqis flee fierce fighting in west Mosul
At least 26,000 people have fled in the 10 days since Iraqi forces launched a push to retake west Mosul, where jihadists put up “fierce” resistance on Wednesday, Mar 1.
West Mosul is the Islamic State group’s last urban bastion in Iraq, and its recapture would mark the effective end of the cross-border “caliphate” its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced from a mosque in the city more than two years ago.
Iraqi forces have yet to advance deep into western areas, but the fighting combined with privation and harsh IS rule has already pushed a growing number of civilians to flee.
Field teams received “26,000 displaced people from west Mosul during the past 10 days,” Jassem Mohammed al-Jaff, the minister of displacement and migration, said in a statement.
The number who have fled is only a fraction of the 750,000 people who are believed to have stayed on in west Mosul under IS rule but it is expected to rise sharply in the coming days and weeks.
A commander in the elite Counter-Terrorism Service told AFP on Wednesday that IS put up tough resistance in the Maamun Flats area of southwest Mosul, which he said is considered “important for the control of the surrounding neighbourhoods”. The damage in the Maamun area is heavy, with homes destroyed, roads cratered and rows of crumpled cars, some of them piled one on top of another.
The drive to retake the west of Mosul — the smaller but more densely populated side of a city split by the Tigris River — began on February 19, after Iraqi troops retook its east side the previous month. Sniper fire is a significant danger in Maamun, said Kathy Bequary, the executive director of NYC Medics, a group providing emergency care from a mobile clinic.
45,000 displaced by battles around Yemen’s Mokha: UN
Fighting around Yemen’s port of Mokha has forced some 45,000 people from their homes, a UN official said on Wednesday, Mar 1 with many facing continued uncertainty and the threat of further displacement.
Shabia Mantoo, the Yemen spokeswoman for refugee agency UNHCR, told AFP that data compiled by her the agency and the UN Migration Agency (IOM) showed 45,000 people had been displaced in the last few weeks from Mokha and the nearby town of Dhubab.
Fighting has intensified in recent weeks in the southwest of Yemen, where forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi are battling to retake large parts of the country seized by Huthi rebels.
Loyalist troops took Mokha on February 10 and announced they aimed to push north and take the country’s main Red Sea port of Hodeida next.
Mantoo said many of those fleeing the fighting around Mokha made their way north to Ibb district and to Hodeida province. “Eight thousand people have been displaced from Mokha and Dhubab to Hodeida alone, many of them with literally nothing but the clothes on their backs,” he said.
Two major concerns now are how to maintain access to the area and where the displaced will go if the fighting reaches Hodeida.
The UN estimates three million people have been displaced across Yemen.
Egyptian court acquits Mubarak over killings
Egypt’s top appeals court on Thursday, March 2 acquitted Hosni Mubarak of involvement in the killing of protesters during a 2011 revolt, ending the final trial for the strongman who ruled for 30 years.
Mubarak had been sentenced to life in 2012 but an appeals court ordered a retrial, which dismissed the charges two years later.
Thursday’s ruling by the Court of Cassation is final.
The trial was Mubarak’s last, after prosecutors levelled various charges against him following his February 2011 resignation. He was accused of inciting the deaths of protesters during the 18-day revolt, in which about 850 people were killed as police clashed with demonstrators.
Mubarak, 88, has spent most of his time in a military hospital since his arrest in 2011. In January 2016, the appeals court upheld a three-year prison sentence for Mubarak and his two sons on corruption charges.
But the sentence took into account time served. Both his sons, Alaa and Gamal, were freed.
Six years after his overthrow, most of the charges brought against his regime members have been dismissed while the country still recovers from the aftermath of the uprising. The revolt had ushered in years of instability that drove away tourists and investors, decimating the economy.
US kills 8 Qaeda men in Yemen
US warplanes pounded al-Qaeda targets in Yemen for a second straight day Friday, Mar 3 killing eight militants, security and tribal sources said as Washington boosts its air war against the Jihadists.
A defence official in Washington told AFP that American forces conducted “about 10” strikes in Yemen on Friday.
The attacks hit similar targets as on Thursday — weapons caches, fighters and military equipment, the official said.
The Pentagon said on Thursday it had carried out more than 20 strikes against al-Qaeda in the southern provinces of Shabwa and Abyan and the central province of Baida. Yemeni officials said at least 12 suspected militants were killed in those strikes, which came barely a month after a botched American raid against the group left multiple civilians and a US Navy SEAL dead.
Egypt police kill four suspected militants
Egyptian police have killed four suspected Islamist militants believed to have been planning a “major attack” in a shootout near Cairo, the interior ministry said. The “takfiri” cell — an Arabic word for extremists who declare other Muslims disbelievers had been meeting when police raided their hideout in Giza province, southwest of Cairo, the ministry said in a statement on Friday, Mar 3.
“When the terrorist cell sensed the police drawing near they began shooting at them, which prompted the police force to fire back,” the statement said.
The suspects’ affiliation was not immediately clear but police often describe Jihadists with links to the Islamic State group or al-Qaeda as “takfiris”.
They were “preparing to execute a major attack in the coming period,” the statement said.
The Islamic State group’s Egyptian branch has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers in attacks, mostly in the Sinai Peninsula but also in Cairo.
Iran rejects US moves to seize ‘9/11 money’
Iran said on Tuesday, Mar 7 it was “completely unfair” for US lawyers to try to seize its overseas assets as compensation for the victims of September 11, 2001.
In 2012, a New York judge ordered Iran to pay $7 billion in damages to the families and estates of victims from the 2001 attacks, arguing the country had aided al-Qaeda by allowing the group’s members to travel through its territory.
Since Iran rejects the accusation and refuses to pay the money, the lawyers are now trying to access $1.6 billion of Iranian money frozen in a Luxembourg bank, according to a report in The New York Times on Monday.
Billions of dollars in Iranian assets were frozen in the US and Europe as part of efforts to push Tehran into a nuclear deal with world powers, which was finally signed in July 2015.
Some of Iran’s assets remain frozen despite the deal, in part due to ongoing compensation cases not just for the 2001 attacks but also the bombing of a US Marines barracks in Lebanon in 1983 that killed 241 American personnel.
“Iran’s frozen money in Luxembourg belongs to the period before the nuclear negotiations and Iran’s central bank lawyers are engaged in consultations to obtain it,” said Ravanchi. He said there had been no new developments in recent days.
Iran accuses US of stirring tensions in Gulf
A senior official in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday, Mar 8 accused the United States of provoking tensions after two separate incidents in the Gulf last week. He said actions by the United States and the United Kingdom in recent days showed they have “harmful, illegitimate and provocative objectives”.
“Not only do they not want stability and security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, but they seek to create tensions and a crisis,” he said.
The Pentagon on Monday blasted the “unprofessional” behaviour of the Iranian navy.
It said an Iranian frigate last Thursday came within 150 yards of the civilian-crewed USNS Invincible.
Then on Saturday, a number of small assault craft came within 350 yards of the Invincible and other ships.
In both cases, the US ship had to change course to avoid a collision, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said.
Davis accused Iranian forces of “a combination of unsafe or unprofessional behaviour” and warned that such incidents could cause a miscalculation or an accidental provocation. He said Iranian actions in the crowded waters of the Gulf had been improving of late.
Beijing demands US ‘stop cyberattacks’
China on Thursday, Mar 9 demanded the US “stop its cyberattacks” after Wikileaks released a trove of documents which they said exposed the CIA’s hacking operations.
According to the documents leaked this week, the US spy agency has produced more than 1,000 malware systems viruses, trojans, and other software that can infiltrate and take control of target electronics.
“We are concerned about the relevant reports. China is opposed to any forms of cyberattacks,” China´s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said. “China will firmly safeguard its own cybersecurity. It is ready to enhance dialogue and cooperation with the international community to formulate a set of international rules on cyberspace acceptable to all parties,” he added.
By infecting and effectively taking over the software of smartphones, WikiLeaks said, the CIA can get around the encryption technologies of popular apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo, and Confide by collecting communications before they are encrypted.
The CIA on Wednesday denounced the leaks, saying they put agents in danger and aid the enemies of the Unites States.
Belgium is secure now after Brussels bombings
A year after the Brussels bombings, Belgium is more secure but it faces the threat of battle-hardened jihadi fighters returning home as Islamic State makes its last stand, interior minister Jan Jambon said.
Jambon said tighter security had made Belgium safer than it was when home-grown suicide bombers killed 32 people at the airport and a metro station on March 22 last year.
Belgium’s federal prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw told AFP in November that the cell that carried out the Brussels bombings, and was involved in the Paris attacks, had got its orders from high up in the IS command.
The carnage in Brussels and in Paris in November 2015 involved “IS fighters carrying out attacks aimed at causing the most casualties possible,” he said.
However, with European Jihadists finding it harder to get to and from Syria and Iraq, “the IS no longer orders but inspires people to carry out attacks,” Jambon said.
That is the case for attacks perpetrated in the German capital Berlin in December, the French city of Nice in July and the southern Belgian city of Charleroi in August.
Saudi-led coalition air strike kills 22 in Yemen
At least 22 civilians were killed on Friday, Mar 10 and dozens wounded when a Saudi-led coalition air strike hit a market in western Yemen causing a fire to break out, a local official said.
Missiles launched by fighter jets of the Arab alliance hit a market selling the mild narcotic leaf qat, which is popular among Yemenis, near the Red Sea fishing town of Khoukha.
Rescue workers on Friday night were battling a blaze in the market caused by the attack and pulling bodies out of the rubble some of which were burnt beyond recognition, according to Hashim Azazi, deputy governor of Hodeidah province. “All of those killed were civilians, none were holding weapons,” said Azazi.
A coalition spokesperson was not immediately available to comment. Khoukha and the nearby city of Hodeidah are controlled by Iran-allied Houthi fighters who in 2014 overran Yemen’s capital Sanaa and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee into exile.
Yemeni government forces backed by Gulf Arab troops recaptured control of the southern Red Sea city of al-Mokha last month in a push that paved the way for an advance on Hodeidah, the country’s main port city.
Damascus bombings leave 46 dead
Twin bombs targeting pilgrims on Saturday, Mar 11 killed 46 people in Damascus, most of them Iraqis, a monitoring group said, in one of the bloodiest attacks in the Syrian capital.
State television said there were 40 dead and 120 wounded after “terrorists detonated two bombs.” It broadcast footage of several white buses with their windows shattered, some of them heavily charred.
The Iraqi foreign ministry said around 40 of its nationals were among the dead and 120 among the wounded.
There was no immediate claim for the attack.
Shrines are a frequent target of attack for extremists of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group (IS), not only in Syria but also in neighbouring Iraq.
The Sayeda Zeinab mausoleum to the south of Damascus, Syria’s most visited pilgrimage site, has been hit by several deadly bombings during the six-year-old civil war.
Twin suicide bombings in the high-security Kafr Sousa district of the capital in January killed 10 people, eight of them soldiers.
UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has called a new round of talks for March 23.
The rift over the UN-brokered talks between the rebels and the government has also seen deadly clashes between the jihadists and their former Islamist rebel allies.
Hate speech Myanmar monk banned from sermons
A Myanmar monk infamous for his bilious anti-Muslim tirades has been banned from giving sermons for a year by the country’s top Buddhist body, an unprecedented slapdown to man whose hate speech has galvanised religious tensions.
Wirathu, a monk once dubbed the “face of Buddhist terror”, has led calls for restrictions on Myanmar’s Muslim population, penning hyperbolic speeches warning of an Islamic takeover of the overwhelmingly Buddhist country.
Myanmar is gripped by deepening religious tensions that have repeatedly spilled into violence.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s government is under strong international pressure to explain a bloody crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine State over recent months.
The February assassination of Ko Ni, a respected and high-profile Muslim lawyer and long-time Suu Kyi ally, also heightened tensions.
Wirathu, who draws large crowds to his stock-in-trade Islamophobic speeches or social media posts, had already been barred from speaking at an event shortly after Ko Ni’s murder. But a special meeting of the country’s most senior monks — the State Sangha Maha Nayaka on Friday (Mar 10) decided to ban all of his sermons. He will face “action under the rule of law” for any breach of the order, the Sangha added, without specifying the punishment.
300 families of IS fighters flee Syria’s Raqa
Three hundred families of Islamic State group fighters have fled the Jihadists’ self-proclaimed Syrian capital of Raqa in 24 hours, as rival forces advance on the city, a monitor said on Saturday, Mar 11.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said “300 families of foreign fighters of IS have left the city of Raqa since dawn Friday to take refuge in the province of Deir Ezzor to the east and Hama to the west”.
The northern city of Raqa is the target of advancing Turkish-backed Syrian rebels, a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces as well as Syrian government troops supported by Russia.
The Observatory’s head, Rami Abdel Rahman, said that IS families were using the only remaining escape route, on boats across the Euphrates River to the south.
31 killed in double suicide attack in Damascus
Two suicide bomb attacks killed at least 31 people and wounded dozens more in Damascus on Wednesday, Mar 15 state media reported, in the second such spate of bombings in the Syrian capital in five days.
The first suicide bomber targeted the Palace of Justice, the main courthouse in central Damascus near the Old City. Justice Minister Najem al-Ahmad told reporters the initial death toll was 31, mostly civilians.
The second suicide blast struck a restaurant in the al-Rabweh area of Damascus to the west of the first attack causing several casualties, state media reported.
State news agency SANA cited the Damascus police as saying that there were 102 injured in the courthouse attack and 28 injured in the restaurant.
The courthouse bomber set off his explosive device at 1:20 pm (1120 GMT) as the police tried to search him and stop him from entering the building, state television cited the Damascus police chief as saying.
No further details were immediately available. The government and its allies, Russia’s air force, Iran and militias, have also maintained a fierce assault on some rebel-held areas including air strikes and artillery bombardments.
Over 40 Somali refugees killed
More than 40 Somali refugees including women and children have been shot dead aboard a boat in the Red Sea off the coast of war-torn Yemen, officials said on Friday, Mar 17.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.
The refugees were hit by light weapons fire in waters off rebel-held Hodeida but managed to dock in the city’s port, an official there said.
The bodies of 33 refugees were taken to hospitals where 35 wounded were also admitted, a hospital official said.
The International Organisation for Migration said 80 survivors were rescued and taken to hospital, including 24 in “extremely critical” condition.
‘Hizbullah commander killed by own men’
Israel’s military chief said on Tuesday, Mar 21 that Hizbullah’s military commander in Syria, reported dead last year, was killed by members of his own Lebanese group.
Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, speaking to a security conference, said intelligence had led Israel to the conclusion and matched previous reports.
Hizbullah itself has said Mustafa Badreddine, who was on a US terror sanctions blacklist and wanted by Israel, was killed in an explosion in May 2016 near Damascus international airport.
A probe had concluded that radicals known as “takfiris” had killed Badreddine, according to Hizbullah.
Eisenkot said Israel “believes that he was killed by his own officers”. “Those findings show to what degree relations between Hizbullah and its patron Iran are tense and complex,” he said.
33 Syrian civilians die in US-led air strike
A US-led coalition strike is reported to have killed 33 civilians in northern Syria ahead of a Wednesday, Mar 22 meeting of top officials in Washington focused on defeating the Islamic State group. Rebels and jihadists pressed offensives inside the capital Damascus and the central province of Hama, just a day before new UN-brokered peace talks open in Geneva. Years of diplomatic efforts have failed to end Syria’s raging six-year conflict, which began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
The war has killed more than 320,000 people, sparked a major refugee crisis, and dragged in world powers including the US-led air coalition bombing Syria’s jihadists since 2014. A reported coalition strike in the northern province of Raqa early Tuesday has killed 33 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The monitor said on Wednesday that the strike hit a school being used as a temporary shelter for displaced families, about 30-kmwest of IS-held Raqa city. “We can now confirm that 33 people were killed, and they were displaced civilians from Raqa, Aleppo and Homs,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. “They’re still pulling bodies out of the rubble until now. Only two people were pulled out alive,” Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Current Threat Levels
City/Region Threat Level
Islamabad Level 2 **
Karachi Level 2 **
Lahore Level 2 **
Punjab Level 2 **
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Level 3 **
Peshawar Level 2 **
Quetta Level 2 ***
Upper Balochistan Level 3 ***
Lower Balochistan Level 2 **
Upper / Rural Sindh Level 2 **
Gilgit and Northern areas Level 3 **
Tribal areas, close
to Afghan border Level 3 ***
Index to Threat Level References
Threat Level 1 *
No threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required.
Threat Level 2 **
No specific threat to foreigners, however because of the overall general law & order situation, some security precautions are advised, especially if traveling.
Threat Level 3 ***
Indicates that law and order situation is cause for concern and travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Foreigners should rehearse plans for evacuation.
Threat Level 4 ****
Indicates complete breakdown of civil administration and law and order leading to possible anarchy. All foreigners to remain indoors and confined to their own city. Families and staff not required to be evacuated retaining only a skeleton staff.
Threat Level 5 *****
Indicates complete breakdown of law and order, enemy action/hostilities, invasion/ occupation by enemy.
