Terrorist Activities in Pakistan
Suicide Bombings/Attacks
At least 24 persons were killed and another 100 injured in a suicide attack on an Imambargah (Shia place of worship) in the Noor market area of Parachinar town in Kurram Agency on March 31, reports The News. Sources said the explosion took place as people gathered for Friday prayers near the women’s entrance of Imambargah. A witness said security personnel at the Imambargah were checking devotees when an unidentified person parked a car next to the building, which then exploded. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction Jama’at-ul-Ahrar (JuA) claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast was part of its operation Ghazi and Shias were the targets, the outfit said in a statement sent to the media.
Four soldiers and two Government officials were killed while 22 others were injured in a suicide attack on a convoy of census teams on Bedian Road in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, on April 5, reports The News. A Police official said the explosion was caused when a suicide bomber blew himself up near an Army vehicle which is taking part in the ongoing census.
Six people, including four Army soldiers and an off-duty Air Force airman, lost their lives after a suicide bomber targeted a census team in Lahore’s Bedian Road area on April 5, reports The Dawn. At least 19 others were injured in the attack, according to the provincial Government. The proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the attack.
Bomb/IED Blasts
At least three persons were injured in a blast on Airport road in Gwadar town in same district of Balochistan on April 12, reports Dawn. Police sources said that the improvised explosive device (IED) was planted in a motorcycle parked on the side of a road.
A child was killed and two persons were injured in a roadside bomb blast in Shinkoot area of Bajaur Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 21, reports Dawn. Officials said Gul Mast Khan, a local resident, along with his children was coming home from a nearby mosque after offering Friday prayers when a remote-controlled bomb placed along the link road went off. A child identified as Marwan died on the spot while his father and other child, Farmanullah, received serious injuries in the blast. No one claimed responsibility for the blast.
A khasadar, local Policeman, was killed while another was seriously injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along a road hit their motorcycle in Alingar area of Mohmand Agency on April 23, reports Dawn. An official said that the deceased, Iqbal Khan, along with another khasadar was patrolling the area when their motorbike was hit by an IED. He died on the spot while his colleague received injuries.
16 people including women and children were injured in Lyari Jhatpat Market of Karachi when a hand grenade blast took place on April 22, reports Daily Times. Shakir alias Shakkar, a Gang War commander from the Baba Ladla group is reportedly behind the attack, a source from Lyari informed.
Targetted Killings
A prominent local leader of the Ahmadi community and a relative of Nobel laureate Abdus Salam was shot dead in Nankana Sahib on March 30 morning in an attack claimed by the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), reports The Dawn. Advocate Malik Saleem Latif, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Ahmadiya in Nankana Sahib, was on his way to a local court on a motorbike along with his son, Advocate Farhan, when Latif was targeted and shot at by “unidentified attackers”. “Saleem Latif was spreading Ahmadi beliefs in the region,” the LeJ said in a statement claiming the attack. “Around 1,700 advertisements were published against the Ahmadiya community in local and national newspapers in 2016,” said Saleem Uddin, a spokesman for the community. “There is no check on hate mongering and if the situation remains the same then the killing of Ahmadis will also continue,” he added.
Unidentified gunmen shot dead four laborers in Kharan District on April 5, reports Daily Times. Police and paramilitary personnel reached the area and took the bodies to DHQ Hospital. The deceased were identified as Ghulam Mustafa, Naizi Sohrab Shah and Sajid, who hailed from Sindh. The men were working on a road project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
A retired colonel of the Pakistan Army, Tahir Zia was gunned down in broad daylight near the Baloch Colony Bridge on April 5 morning. The banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Al-Almi claimed responsibility for the attack. However, investigators said they were looking into the claim. Col (Retd) Tahir Zia was shot dead and two passers-by, Rehan and Momin, were injured in the attack that occurred in the Bahadurabad police remit on the Service Lane near the Hafeez Centre on Sharae Faisal.
One veterinary doctor Prof. Dr. Ashfaq Ahmed (68) belonging to the Ahmadi community was shot dead in a sectarian target killing in the Sabzazar area of Lahore on April 7, reports Dawn. The doctor was being driven by his grandson when a motorcyclist pulled up next to their car and fired at point-blank range, killing him on the spot. His grandson, Shahzeb, remained unhurt, while the attacker, who was wearing a helmet, fled the scene. Prof Dr. Ashfaq Ahmed had retired as a professor from Lahore University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences. Salim Uddin, a spokesperson for the Jamaat-i-Ahmadiyya Pakistan, condemned the attack and protested that the doctor was targeted because of his faith.
A doctor, identified as Dr. Zulfiqar, was killed when two unidentified assailants called out him from his house and opened fire in Kharadar area of Saddar Town in Karachi in the night of April 13, reports Daily Times. Dr. Zulfiqar used to run a clinic in Khadda Market.
A man was shot dead in Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on April 23, reports Daily Times. Abdul Sattar was on his way to Balakot from Boi area when a group of unidentified people intercepted him near Garhihabibullah and fired at him, killing him on the spot. Police said that assailants tortured had tortured his brother before opening fire at him.
Miscellaneous
Security Forces (SFs) recovered a cache of arms and ammunition during a raid on a house in Kurram village in Mizer Valley area of North Waziristan Agency on March 26, reports The Express Tribune. The recovered arms included rockets of various types, seven rocket-propelled grenades launchers, and anti-tank bullets. The security source, however, declined to say if anyone was arrested during the raid.
Frontier Corps (FC) personnel averted on March 26 a possible terrorist attack by diffusing an improvised explosive device (IED) on Turbat-Dasht road in Turbat District of Balochistan, reports The Express Tribune. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that the FC, as part of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, recovered and defused an IED planted on Turbat-Dasht road.
Five militants, affiliated to al Qaeda and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan outfits, were killed by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) during an encounter in Kanja area of Gujrat District in Punjab on March 29, reports The News. The CTD sources said the militants were planning to target secret installations in Gujrat and Kharian. Weapons and explosives were recovered from the possession of slain militants.
A high-value terrorist Mehmood-ul Hassan alias Khawaja Madni and his accomplice from the TTP’ Sajna group were killed in an operation by Security Forces (SFs) in Jandola area of South Waziristan Agency on March 31, Dawn reported quoting the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement. The SFs personnel recovered weapons and ammunitions from the terrorists’ hideout.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on April 4 claimed that eight Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) militants had surrendered before the Army in Mohmand Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports Dawn. In a statement issued by the ISPR, the Army said the militants who surrendered include Akbar, Gull, Siraj and five of their accomplices.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab killed 10 Jammat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) militants in the night of April 7 at Manawan area of Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, reports The News. The CTD said the terrorists killed in the ‘encounter’ were involved in Mall Road suicide attack. Days after the attack, CTD personnel had apprehended alleged facilitator Anwar-ul Haq. The law enforcers, on Haq’s pointation, had also arrested his other accomplices. The sources said the CTD was taking the arrested facilitators to Manawan for recovery of explosives when their accomplices ambushed the team. In the retaliatory fire, 10 militants were killed including the facilitators of the attack.
Five terrorists and Pakistan Ranger Punjab personnel killed during an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) in Chhera Thal area of Dera Ghazi Khan District of Punjab on April 9, reports The News. According to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), in sequel to Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, Pakistan Rangers Punjab started special IBO in the area of Chhera Thal, 40 kilometres South West of Fort Manro, in the early hours and was continuing till the mid day. During trade of fire, Sepoy Kamran was killed while Deputy Superintendent Rangers Haroon got injured.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel shot dead a terrorist during snap checking at Sukkur-Shikarpur link road in Sukkur District of Sindh in the evening of April 9, reports The News. According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Irfan Samo, CTD personnel, during snap checking signaled three men riding on a motorcycle to pull over. The militants opened fire on CTD personnel that was retaliated. One terrorist was killed, while two others managed to flee during the encounter.
Seven Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) militants were arrested by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) at Severra Chowk in Multan town of same District in Punjab on April 11, reports Dawn. According to the CTD spokesperson, the militants were stationed at Severra Chowk and were caught with hand grenades and heavy explosives in their possession. The CTD had received information that the militants were planning to attack vital installations within the city, after which they conducted a raid near Severra Chowk, the spokesperson added.
Similarly, a raid conducted by CTD officials in Gujranwala town resulted in the arrest of two suspected terrorists who belong to proscribed organisations, reports Dawn. The raid was conducted after the law enforcement agency received information that the pair was planning to attack sensitive installations within the vicinity of Sialkot. During the raid, the CTD team recovered explosive material and detonation equipment from their possession.
A journalism student was lynched at Abdul Wali Khan University (AWKU) in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in broad daylight on April 13 after being accused of blasphemy, reports The Express Tribune. The deceased was identified as Mashal Khan, a resident of Swabi and a student at AWKU’s Journalism and Mass Communication department. A friend of the deceased student said that a mob attacked him before shooting him in the head and chest. He added that the mob then continued to beat his body with sticks.
At least nine militants and three Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) personnel were killed during an exchange of fire in Basti Dadwani near Choti Zareen area of Dera Ghazi Khan in the morning of April 15 (today), reports Dawn. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said “9-10 hardcore terrorists” affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed during the joint security operation launched by Rangers, intelligence agencies and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel near Choti Zareen area. Among the slain militants included Muhammad Asghar Dadwani alias Ustad Gorchani and Muhammad Naeem alias Waqas Dadwani. The Punjab Rangers personnel slain in the shootout were identified as Havildar Asif, Sepoy Aftab and Sepoy Azizullah. Two soldiers also sustained injuries.
Separately, one militant was killed and three of his accomplices apprehended during combing operation in Factory Area of Lahore on April 14, reports The News. According to Police, the terrorists opened fire on the security personnel during joint combing operation in the area and in the ensuing gunfight, a terrorist was killed and three security personnel sustained injuries. Three militants were arrested by the law enforcers. A suicide vest, detonators and weapons were seized from the site where exchange of fire took place.
Two suspects, identified as Ramzan Khan and an Afghan national, were taken into custody from Cantonment area of Lahore city on April 16, reports The News. The arrested due is suspected to be involved in Bedian Road, Lahore terror incident.
In addition, the Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) on April 16 apprehended two suspects from Bhatta Chowk of Lahore city, reports The News. The duo was arrested for their involvement in Charing Cross incident.
Further, Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) on April 16 arrested a terrorist, identified as Omar alias Sufiyan, at Saddar area of Ghazi Road in Lahore city, reports The News. He is said to be close aide of militant and proclaimed offender Azeem aka Fauji.
The Security Forces seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition during an operation in Kurram Agency, officials said on April 18. Political Officer Shahid Ali Khan and Commandant, Kurram Militia, Colonel Umar Malik told reporters that seven rocket launchers, 24 rocket shells, two anti-aircraft guns, 50 hand-grenades and 400 mortar shells were also seized in the operation. The officials said that the densely populated area of the town had been declared ‘red zone’ on the requests of tribal elders and traders. About 24 kilometer trench had been dug around the town, they said, adding, the trench had disrupted movement through unfrequented routes. The officials said that the trench would be made a ring road in future. They also announced that motorcycles and other vehicles’ entry into ‘red zone’ had been banned.
Police on April 18 arrested a target killer belonging to Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L) from Gulberg Town in Karachi, reports Daily Times. According to Gulberg Superintendent of Police (SP) Bashir Brohi, Jauharabad police arrested Umar Farooque alias Rashid Charya alias Rashid Kalla. Charya has been involved in at least 12 cases of target killing and terrorism. A pistol with five bullets has been recovered from him. “He joined Unit 131 of MQM in 1995. During the course of interrogation he has revealed multiple terrorist activities in Karachi,” the SP said. He said further Charya attacked Baloch Goth in 1995-96 in which five people were killed, including his own accomplice Jameel.
Eight terrorists affiliated with a banned outfit were killed in an encounter in Sheikhupura late Wednesday, Apr 19 officials of the Counter Terrorism Department claimed. A raid was conducted in Sheikhupura’s Narang Mandi area following a tip-off, which led to an exchange of gunfire with terrorists late Wednesday, CTD officials said. Consequently, eight terrorists were killed, who were said to be affiliated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. The deceased could not be immediately identified. Officials added that three to four terrorists managed to get away during the encounter. The law enforcers also recovered 3 kg of explosives and suicide vests from the scene.
A terrorist was killed and another arrested after Rangers raided a hideout in Urdu Bazaar area of Karachi on April 24, reports Daily Times. Four Rangers were also injured as the terrorists hurled grenades at them. Two passersby, including a teenager, were also injured.
Separately, foiling another bid to spread unrest in Karachi, Security Forces (SFs) recovered weapons buried in Karachi’s Lal Qila Ground in Azizabad on April 23, Daily Times reports. The weapons recovered included SMGs, LMGs, 9mm pistols and a large number of cartridges.
PAKISTAN
Islamic State of Khorasan benefits from Pak-Afghan rivalry, US reports
The rivalry between Afghanistan and Pakistan has created room for terrorists of the militant Islamic State (IS) group to build a foothold in the region, recent US reports on the issue point out, reports The Dawn on March 29.Last week, the United States hosted a 68-nation conference in Washington to formulate a joint strategy for combating the IS terrorists. In his address to the conference, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson not only noted the group’s presence in the Pak-Afghan region but also pointed out that the group had carried out “many terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan”. In the region, the group is known as the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISK) and operates from its bases in the Afghan areas along the Pak-Afghan border. In a recent report on ISK, the Congress-funded US Institute of Peace underlines the link between this group and Pakistani militant organisations to show how the Afghan-Pakistan rivalry benefited the terrorists. The USIP report quotes from a July 2016 report by the Afghanistan Analysts Network, which claims that Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, “the National Directorate of Security, has supported the militant organisation Lashkar-i-Islam and elements of TTP since 2014 “with the aim of playing these militants against Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistan’s long-time support of the Afghan Taliban.” Fighters from both groups later joined ISK.
Military courts resume after formal assent from President
President Mamnoon Hussain on March 31 gave his formal assent to the Pakistan Army Act 2017 and the 23rd Constitutional Amendment Bill ─ the two pieces of legislation aimed at granting legal cover to military courts, reports Dawn. When it was tabled the 28th Constitutional Amendment Bill was titled the 23rd Constitutional Amendment Bill. However, it will now be called the 28th amendment bill. It was presented along with the Army Act 1952 before the Senate earlier this week. Military courts were disbanded on January 7, 2017, after a sunset clause included in the legal provisions under which the tribunals were established, expired.
Four missiles fired from Afghanistan into Kurram Agency of FATA
Unidentified militants fired four missiles from Afghanistan into Kurram Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on April 2, reports Daily Times. A spokesperson for the local administration said that the missiles had been fired from Afghanistan’s Paktia province and did not cause any loss of life. One missile struck a shop in the Shingak area, another landed near a mosque, and two others in a graveyard at Kachkina.
Lower courts have become fan of govt: SC
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa of the Supreme Court has remarked that the lower judiciary has become a fan of the government though the judges are answerable to Allah Almighty for their decisions. He gave these remarks while presiding over a three-member bench of Supreme Court during the course of hearing of pleas in two separate murder cases on March 31.
The court acquitted one accused, Abdul Baqi, after eight years in a murder case in Balochistan and commuted the death sentence of the second accused Munir Hussain from Punjab to life imprisonment.
The court rejected the plea from Munir Hussain seeking acquittal from the case. During the course of hearing, Justice Asif Saeed remarked that lower courts had become a fan of the government. The decision would come in favour of government in any case wherein government was the petitioner. A court had to give verdict after taking into consideration the evidence as per law. He further remarked that judges are also answerable to Allah Almighty for their decisions. The suspect’s counsel said that they tried to fool the courts.
Pakistan comes first: COAS says nothing takes precedence over country
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on April 1 said nothing takes precedence over the country as Pakistan comes first than any individual or the institution. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), General Bajwa visited Baloch Regimental Centre (BRC) in Abbottabad. The COAS laid floral wreath at Yadgar-e-Shuhada to pay homage to martyrs of Baloch Regiment who laid their lives for the defence of the motherland.
The army chief expressed pleasure and honour to be at home of Balochis. He said that he has very special attachment with Baloch Regiment being second generation officer as his father was also an officer from Baloch Regiment.
General Bajwa interacted with officers and recruits including from FC Khyber Pakhtunkhwa undergoing training at the centre. He said the Pakistan Army shall continue to contribute towards national security. He reiterated his vision for better Pakistan where nothing takes precedence over the country. He said the country comes first than any individual or the institution.
‘Uzair Baloch in contact with RAW, Iranian spy agency’
The government has decided to conduct the trial of former Lyari gangster and chief of the proscribed People’s Amn Committee in a military court. According to a private television channel report on April 1, Baloch was allegedly in contact with foreign spy agencies, including the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and an Iranian intelligence agency.
Baloch was arrested on January 30, 2016 by the Sindh Rangers who claimed to have apprehended him from outside Karachi. A month later, Sindh’s Home Ministry issued a notification regarding the formation of a Joint Investigation Tribunal (JIT) to question the notorious gang war leader about his activities. He took control of the PAC in August 2009 and is alleged to have been involved in a range of criminal activities including killings, extortion and terrorism. The PAC was banned on October 2011.
Though the committee is presented as a community group by its leaders, it is blamed for its criminal activities, which included killings, extortion and drugs business by the police.
Currently, as many as 55 cases are pending against Uzair Baloch in various courts. Of these cases, one relates to the murder of Arshad Pappu and another relates to keeping weapons and explosives.
Army foils terror bid by recovering explosive laden vehicle in Balochistan
The Army, on April 9, seized an explosive laden vehicle and arrested two suspected persons near Chaman town of Killa Abdullah District in Balochistan, The News reported quoting a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). According to the ISPR, 80 kilograms explosive material was fitted in the vehicle that was prepared in Kandahar and brought in Pakistan to use it in a terror attack. The ISPR said the vehicle was seized in an operation that was carried on the basis of intelligence reports.
Uzair Baloch taken into military custody: ISPR
Director General Inter Services Public Relations Maj General Asif Ghafoor on Tuesday, Apr 11 said that the military had taken custody of Uzair Baloch. In a tweet he said, “Uzair Baloch taken into military custody under Pakistan Army Act/Official Secret Act – 1923 on charges of espionage (leakage of sensitive security information to foreign intelligence agencies)”.
Two Rangers personnel killed
Two Pakistan Rangers Sindh personnel were killed during a raid to arrest militants trained in Syria and Afghanistan and working for foreign intelligence agencies were arrested from Mawaach Goth area of Karachi, reports The News. Briefing media on the raid, Rangers spokesperson Colonel Qaisar said that they raided a militant hideout in Mawaach Goth area on a tip off that militants of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) have entered in the metropolis for subversive activities. ‘Eight KG explosives, one suicide vest, four ball bearing bombs and four SMGs were seized from the suspects,’ Colonel Qaiser explained, further adding that ‘two Rangers personnel were martyred during the raid.’ The LEAs also recovered 360-degree images of a site were from their possession, he said. Tahir Zaman aka Boxer Mota was trained in Afghanistan. IED expert Nawaz joined the AQIS group in 2012, he also provided medical services to another terrorist, Javed Swati. The third suspect, Bilal, was a close associate of main suspect Tahir who was involved in the Safoora attack.
Arrested wife of militant killed
Naureen Leghari, the wife of militant Ali Tariq who was killed in an encounter in Lahore in Punjab in the night of April 14, had allegedly joined the militant Islamic State (IS) in Syria, reports Dawn on April 18. According to sources, the woman had physically taken part in the encounter and had engaged police personnel for about an hour. Naureen Leghari, who was arrested during the encounter, had married her husband after leaving her home and joining the militants. Sources said that Leghari had allegedly visited Syria to join IS after leaving her home in February. She had also received training in Syria for using weapons, they said. She returned home to Lahore three weeks ago and was being tracked by security personnel.
Naureen Leghari was a medical student of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences in Jamshoro, Sindh. She had reportedly been contacted by militants through social media.
Lahore Police also arrested Hafeez, the owner of the house where the encounter took place, and a property dealer, Ayub, and were conducting raids to arrest Azeem, a facilitator of the militants who is said to be a leader of the IS. The law enforcement agencies had announced PKR 1 million head money for his arrest.
Former TTP ‘spokesman’ senior JuA leader Ehsanullah Ehsan has turned himself in, says Pakistan Army
The Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor, on April 17 announced that Ehsanullah Ehsan, former ‘spokesperson’ of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a senior leader of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), had turned himself in to Pakistan’s security agencies, reports Dawn. “…I want to take this opportunity to announce that Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson of the TTP and a leader of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, has turned himself into our security agencies,” he stated. In 2014, after a split in the TTP, Ehsan had become a ‘spokesperson’ for the JuA — what was then a newly-formed splinter group of the TTP. Ehsan had said at the time that 70 to 80 per cent of the TTP ‘commanders’ and fighters had also joined the splinter group.
500 militants including 12 ‘commanders’ and 16 ‘sub-commanders’ surrendered in Balochistan
Around 500 militants belonging to different banned Baloch militant organisations including 12 ‘commanders’ and 16 ‘sub-commanders’ surrendered themselves at a ceremony held on the lawns of the Balochistan Assembly in Quetta on April 21, reports Dawn. The militants announced that they had abandoned the armed struggle against the Government and would join mainstream politics. The militants belonged to the Baloch Republican Army (BRA), Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Lashkar-i-Balochistan and some other Baloch militant groups.
REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
Four JMB militants arrested in Dhaka city
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on March 29 arrested four militants of Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from Dohar on the outskirts of Dhaka city planning to carry out subversive activities around the country, reports The Daily Star. RAB said that all the arrestees have been involved in militancy for about one and a half years. They know how to use internet and mobile apps specializing in encrypted messages such as Threema and Telegram. They used to spread their ideology via Facebook and other social media.
Earlier, Neo-JMB on March 28 threatened to blow up Kishoreganj District Judge’s Court and Kishorganj Jail with bombs, reports The Independent. The threat was issued in a letter sent by Ahad Miah, who identified as Katiadi Police Station unit Neo-JMB Ameer to District and Session’s Judge Muhammad Mahbub-Ul Haque by a post. In the letter, the Neo-JMB leader demanded cancellation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s India visit, removal of Maulana Farid Uddin Masud as the imam Sholakia Eid congregation and the unconditional release of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh (HuJI-B) leader Mufti Hannan. If the demands are not met within 24 hours next, Kishoreganj District Judge’s Court and Kishorganj Jail will be blown up with bombs, the letter reads.
Meanwhile, Police said that Neo-JMB has adopted a new strategy of setting up its hideouts in Hindu-populated neighbourhoods across Bangladesh aiming to deceive law enforcement, reports Dhaka Tribune on March 30. According to Police, Neo-JMB members Kamal and his wife Arjina, who were arrested alive from Sitakunda confessed that the top leaders of the militant outfit were moving into secret hideouts set up in areas where Hindu communities lived. The group’s high command has instructed the militants at each hideout that they must conduct as much damage as possible by suicide attacks if busted, they told Police. Two Neo-JMB hideouts busted recently, all fit this description. At the Atia Mahal in Sylhet District, of the 28 families there, 20 are from the Hindu community. In two hideouts in Sitakunda District’s Namarbazar and Premtola areas, many Hindu community people were also living.
Body parts of seven to eight recovered
Body parts of seven to eight people, including those of four children, were recovered on March 30 from a Neo-Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) den at Nasirpur village in Moulvibazar District, reports The Daily Star. Police said the militants may have blown themselves up to avoid arrest when Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) teams launched an assault codenamed “Operation Hit Back” on the den. Monir-ul Islam, Chief of CTTC unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police said “Judged by the decomposed condition of the bodies, it seems the militants killed themselves on Wednesday (March 29) when SWAT started the raid in the evening. We think there were seven to eight bodies of people of different age. There were men, women and may be a couple of children. Our crime scene unit is working there. They will be able to specify the number.”
Meanwhile, Police in a drive arrested three militants of JMB from Debiganj Bazar in Panchagarh District on March 30, reports The Independent. Police recovered five Jihadi books from them.
Earlier, Police in a special drive arrested a militant of JMB from Bangal intersection in Satkhira District on March 29, reports The Independent.
RAB intelligence wing Director injured in bomb blast in Sylhet District succumbed to injuries
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Intelligence Wing Director Lieutenant Colonel Abul Kalam Azad, who was hit by splinters in a bomb blast near a militant den in Sylhet city of Sylhet District on March 25, succumbed to injuries at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Dhaka city on March 31 (today), reports The Daily Star. With his demise, the death toll in the twin blasts near the militant den at Sylhet’s Atia Mahal rose to seven.
44 people were killed in ‘shoot out’ with RAB in first three months of 2017
Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK) in a report “Statistical Report on Violation of Human Rights: January-March 2017” released on March 31 said that 44 people were killed in ‘shootout’ with Police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in the first three months of 2017 up from 32 during the same period in 2016, reports The Daily Star. Besides, 10 people died in Police firing, one in RAB shooting and two of torture at the hands of Police and RAB, according to the report. The report was prepared based on media reports and information collected by ASK.
Three persons killed during raid in Moulvibazar
Bangladeshi Security Forces, under Operation Maximus, stormed an Islamist militant hideout killing three militants (two males and a female) at Borohat in Moulvibazar District on April 1, reports, reports Dhaka Tribune.
41 JMB militants arrested in Satkhira District
Police arrested 41 militants of Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from different parts of Satkhira District during a two-day drive till April 7, reports The Independent. Police said they conducted the drive in eight upazilas (sub-Districts) from April 6 evening to April 7 morning and arrested 14 from Sadar, seven from Kolaroa, six from Kaliganj, five from Tala, four from Shyamnagar, two each from Ashashuni and Patkelghata and one from Debhata. Police said that the arrestees were wanted in various cases.
Meanwhile, the Government is the process of banning Neo-JMB following a formal request by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit to Home Ministry through Bangladesh Police headquarters, reports Dhaka Tribune. Currently, seven militant groups are banned in the country. If Neo-JMB gets banned it will be the 8th group in Bangladesh.
Police proposed govt to ban Neo-JMB
Police have proposed that the Government to ban Neo-Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) which reportedly led the Gulshan café attack on July 1, 2016, to disrupt its fresh recruitment, reports New Age on April 9. Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Chief Monir-ul Islam in a press conference at their media centre said that the move was initiated after they got clear picture over the structure of the Islamist extremists outfit faction. He said that the proposed ban would disrupt the recruitment processes as it would enable them to go tough against the operatives of the outfit and put a psychological pressure on the group.
Case filed against HeI would continue as per legal course, says Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan talking to newsmen after a meeting on combating extremism at Bangladesh Secretariat on April 12 said the cases filed against Hefajat-e-Islam (HeI) would continue as per legal course, reports New Age. The Minister ruled out chances of withdrawing 42 cases filed against the Islamist group after its top leaders including HeI Ameer (Chief) Shah Ahmed Shafi met the Prime Minister at Ganabhaban on April 11.
Meanwhile, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), a member of the ruling Awami League (AL)-led alliance, on April 12 came down heavily on HeI saying that the organization is the Bangladeshi edition of Islamic State (IS, formerly, Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham, ISIS, also Daesh), Taliban and al-Qaeda. In a statement, JSD President Hasan-ul Haq Inu and General Secretary Shirin Akter said if any compromise is made with HeI Ameer Shah Ahmed Shafi and his organization, they will declare war against Bangladesh and its constitution.
JeL claims Mongol Shobhajatra is haram
Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) on April 12 claimed that Mongol Shobhajatra procession, a colorful procession on the first day of Bangla year, is a part of the Hindu culture and labelled the iconic event of the Pohela Boishakh celebrations as haram or forbidden in Islam, reports Dhaka Tribune. JeI Nayeb-e-Ameer (Deputy Chief) Mujibor Rahman threatened Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioning “The government should not impose any anti-national cultural elements violating the constitution and if Hasina does, the outcome will not be good. Islam never approves this procession as the participants wear masks of dolls, elephants, dragons, horses and other animals, and parade the streets dancing with their partners.”
Meanwhile, Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) on April 13 called for the withdrawal of the Government’s order of mandatory Mongol Shobhajatra procession in educational institutions, calling it “anti-Islamic”, reports Dhaka Tribune. Aziz-ul Haque Islamabadi, the central organizing secretary of HeI claimed “Mongol Shobhajatra is a part of Ganesh worship and therefore goes against the fundamental tenets of Islam. Muslims only seeks blessings to Allah. The Muslims who will take part in the Mongol Shobhajatra procession will not remain Muslims. Therefore, we demand the withdrawal of the government’s order immediately.”
Neo-JMB den busted in Jhenidah District
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit on April 21 busted a Neo-Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) den in a house at Porahati village in Jhenidah District, reports The Daily Star. A huge stash of explosives and a 9mm pistol was recovered from the house. The explosives include three suicide vests, a pressure cooker bomb, around 20 plastic containers of bomb-making chemicals and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and detonators. No one was arrested as the suspected militants inside the house had fled before the drive began, said CTTC officials.
India – Internal Dynamics
Kerala ‘IS module’ plotted to target Hindu leaders, Ahmadiyya mosques and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, reveals arrested IS operative
Moinudheen Parakadavath, a resident of Kasargod District of Kerala and an important link in the Kerala Islamic State (IS) module of 22 missing persons, has told the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and central intelligence agencies that members of the caliphate wanted to target several Hindu leaders, Ahmadiyya mosques and Jamaat-e-Islami Hind to “create ripples”, The Times of India reports on March 27.
Ahmadiyya leaders and Jamaat-e-Islami have condemned IS activities in the past and said the outfit was causing more harm to Muslims and Islam than the enemies of Islam. Kerala-based Moinudheen, who was arrested by the NIA upon his deportation from Abu Dhabi on February 14, also revealed that “secret” online groups of IS members would regularly discuss their targets in India. In one of the conversations in a closed IS group on `Telegram’ channel, `Bab Al Noor’ of which Moinudheen too was a member, he said someone posted details of a Jamaat-e-Islami programme to be held in Kochi in 2016 where Rahul Eashwar, a Hindu orator, was invited as a speaker.
“One person suggested that we should target such events. I suggested that Kochi Jewish temple is also close to the venue. Someone suggested that we should use a bike to carry out the attack. But I suggested that we should use a tipper lorry for the attack,“ Moinudheen said during his interrogation.
“I was travelling from Abu Dhabi to Tehran with Shajeer Mangalasseri Abdulla, another resident of Kasargod in Kerala. We reached Tehran in June. After travelling 15 hours from Tehran to the city of Mashhad in Iran, we were informed on chat that there were some Keralites in Mashhad who were also travelling to IS territory and if we would like to meet them,” he said. “We met five persons from Kasargod in Mashhad – Dr. Ijas, Marwan, Manzad, Hafeesudheen and one more person whose name I don’t remember,” he told his interrogators.
After a few days, Moinudheen came back to Abu Dhabi while Shajeer is yet to be traced. He is said to be in charge of the Kerala IS module. Moinudheen was arrested by Abu Dhabi authorities in December, 2016 and sent to India in February.
Maoists explode two bombs
Around 20 armed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres stormed into Daikallu railway station office in Rayagada District late on March 30, and exploded a tiffin bomb inside it after dragging out the station master outside, reports Odisha Sun Times. “At least 15-20 armed Maoists arrived at the station at around 1.30 a.m. They first ransacked the office,” said station master S.K. Parida. The Maoists then pulled the station staffs out of the office. Soon they triggered an explosion in the office and snatched away the walkie-talkie used by the Station Master, the statement of the East Coast Railway said. The Maoists left the station after 2 a.m. The window of the office and several properties were damaged in the explosion, sources said. Before fleeing the spot, the Maoists also put up posters and banners of the CPI-Maoist protesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Odisha and appointment of non-Odia administrative and Police officers in the State.
Maoists kill two civilians in Odisha
Suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres shot dead a villager in Malkangiri District on March 31, suspecting him to be a ‘Police informer’, reports Odisha Sun Times. According to reports, the deceased has been identified as Raghu Hantal from Cheliamunda village under MV 79 Police Station limits in the District.
Meanwhile, in yet another incident by Maoists, they killed a Gram Rojgar Sevak (GRS) of Jantapali village under Chitrakonda Police limits in Malkangiri District by slitting his throat on March 31, reports Odisha Sun Times. The deceased was identified as Jaga Rao. According to reports, the Maoists had earlier threatened Jaga to leave his job. However, he didn’t do so for which a group of Maoists stormed into his house during night, dragged him outside and murdered him by slitting his throat.
Two powerful can-bombs recovered in Jharkhand
The 26th Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) battalion during a combing operation, recovered two powerful can-bombs suspected to be planted by the Naxals [Left Wing Extremists (LWEs)] from the forest area in between Tilaya-Dakasaram road in Gomia block in Bokaro District on March 31, reports The Pioneer. The CRPF personnel also recovered 105 piece of detonators within limits of Jagesher –Bihar Police Station of Bermo sub-division in the District.
Maoists warnings to oppose Modi’s visit
The Communist Party of India-Maoist on April 5, once again issued fresh warnings to the people, especially tribals of Rayagada and neighbouring Districts, through posters to oppose the proposed visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the State, reports Odishatv.in. Two such hand written materials in the name of Odisha State Committee of CPI-Maoist were found stuck on a tree at Sikarpai in Rayagada District. One of the posters read “Oppose Modi’s visit to Odisha on April 14, 15 and his Land Acquisition Act”. It also appealed to the people to oust Vedanta and save Niyamgiri hills.
Another poster threatened the Security Forces (SFs) against combing operations in the Maoist infested forests. The Maoists also alleged Rayagada Superintendent of Police (SP) lured the tribal youths with money to become ‘Police informers’ and asked him to refrain from such activities. ”Rayagada SP should stop instigating tribal youths to become police informers”, the poster mentioned.
Indian Muslim dies after attack by cow vigilantes
A Muslim man died after he was attacked by hundreds of vigilantes while transporting cows in India, police said on April 5, as tensions rose over the slaughter of an animal Hindus consider sacred.
At least six more people were injured when the truck was attacked by around 200 Hindu vigilantes, who police are still trying to identify. But police also said they were preparing a case against the survivors of the attack, whom they suspect of trying to smuggle the cattle across state borders.
Alwar police chief Rahul Prakash said the victim and his associates were returning to their home state of Haryana when the mob intercepted their vehicle.
15 Keralites including four journalists in IS ‘hit-list’
The Islamic State (IS) has reportedly made a ‘hit list’ of 15 Malayalees including four journalists who, according to the terror outfit, have allegedly been campaigning against Islam, reports Mathrubhumi on April 7. The list includes 11 computer professionals and four journalists from Kerala. There are reportedly 152 Indians in the list. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) got the information from the laptop seized from Najir Bin Yafi, a Maharashtra native recruiting people for IS. The list was handed over to IS leader Shafi Armar via Instagram. Details like their official designations, company profiles and email addresses have also been shared. Most of them included in the list are people working for the Armed Forces and the Intelligence. Seventy persons from Maharashtra, 30 persons from Karnataka, 15 each from New Delhi and Andhra Pradesh and seven from West Bengal are in the list. IS enlisted a total of 8,318 persons across the globe on June 2016. NIA has also directed States to strengthen security and closely monitor IS sleeper cells and former Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) cadres.
Two policemen killed in encounter with PLFI cadres in Jharkhand
A Sub-Inspector (SI) and a Policeman were killed in a gunfight with the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), in Simdega District late on April 8, reports Hindustan Times. Bano Police Station in-charge Vidhyapati Singh and his team of four guards stormed a house in Mahabuang village in Bano block in the night after they were alerted about the presence of PLFI ‘second-in-command’ Guddu Gope, Police said. As the Security Forces (SFs) came face to face with the rebel ‘commander’, Singh asked him to surrender but Gope opened fire with an AK-47, injuring Singh and District Constabulary trooper Raju Biruli. Gope managed to flee under the cover of darkness but a gunfight broke out between his men and the SFs.
Centre moves against Supreme Court
The Central Government of India, on April 12, moved the Supreme Court (SC), against its verdict by which protection to armed forces under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) for anti-militancy operation in Manipur has been negated, reports The Assam Tribune. Centre is seeking hearing on its curative plea against the verdict. The SC had delivered a verdict on July 8 last year (2016) giving the State Police liberty to probe the role of armed forces in alleged encounter cases in areas where AFSPA is in force. A Bench comprising Chief Justice JS Hear and Justices DY Chandrachud and SK Kaul agreed to hear the curative plea in which it has been alleged that the army and paramilitary forces are combat forces and there should not be this kind of fetter on them in anti-militancy operations. The apex court verdict on investigating the role of armed forces in encounter cases had come on a plea alleging that armed forces were misusing the protection under AFSPA in Manipur during anti-militancy operation. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, said the apex court verdict gave the powers to the State Police to probe the role of armed forces in anti-militancy operation. “This court ought to have appreciated that the principles of right to self-defence cannot be strictly applied while dealing with militants and terrorist elements in a hostile and unstable terrain. “This court ought to have taken into account the complexity and the reality of the conduct of military operations and tactics especially while combating terrorists,” the curative plea said.
26 CRPF personnel killed in Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh
26 personnel of 74th Battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and six others were injured in an attack by 300-400 cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), near Burkapal village within Chintagufa Police Station limits in Sukma District on April 24, reports PTI. The incident comes at a time when the country’s largest Paramilitary Force is without a full-time chief after K Durga Prasad retired on February 28, 2017.
Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during period to March 26, 2017 to April 25, 2017
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Arunachal P | 02 | 00 | 03 | 05 |
| Assam | 06 | 00 | 00 | 06 |
| Manipur | 05 | 02 | 04 | 11 |
| Left wing | 20 | 03 | 13 | 36 |
| Total | 33 | 05 | 20 | 58 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
UDMF cadres vandalize local bodies’ offices in Saptari District
Cadres of United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) on March 30 vandalized offices of the District Coordination Committee (DDC) and the Rajbiraj Municipality in Rajbiraj of Saptari District, reports The Himalayan times. The UDMF cadres shattered the windows of the Municipality Office, vandalized its doors, furniture and computers, before moving on to the DCC Office, chanting slogans. There, the cadres entered the account, administration and planning section offices and resorted to vandalism. The damage incurred in the vandalism has been estimated to be around NR one million, according to the employees.
Meanwhile, 20 Sadbhawana Party leaders, including three central leaders, resigned en masse on March 30, reports The Himalayan times. It was informed at a press meet organized at the office of the Federation of Nepali Journalists Rautahat chapter in Gaur that 20 leaders led by youth central leader Shambhu Singh Supreme had quit the party. Other members include central adviser Upendra Yadav, central organisation department’s Dhirendra Kumar Yadav and District Secretary Rakesh Yadav. Central member Supreme said that they were forced to quit the party as party Chairman Rajendra Mahato was running the party arbitrarily and promoting nepotism. “Since Mahato did not mend his ways, we were compelled to quit the party,” Supreme said. Supreme told media persons that party leaders like him saw no future in the party as Mahato was tarnishing the image of the party by the day.
Socket bomb recovered at businessman’s residence in Saptari District
A socket bomb was recovered at a businessman’s residence in Rajbiraj of Saptari District on April 4, reports The Himalayan Times. The bomb was found wrapped in a plastic at the gate of the residence of Binod Chaudhary, a trader of electronic gadgets. Police also recovered the leaflets issued in the name of Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) led by Jayakrishna Goit.
Nepal convicts ‘soldiers’
Three former Nepalese soldiers have each been sentenced in absentia to 20 years in jail for killing a teenage girl, only the second conviction for crimes committed during a decade-long civil war which ended in 2006.
Fifteen-year-old Maina Sunuwar was tortured and killed after she was detained by the army in 2004 for alleged links to Maoist rebels. But a military tribunal the following year ruled that her death was accidental and charged the three soldiers involved in the case with only minor offences.
Maina’s mother brought a case in a civilian court which delivered its verdict on Sunday, Apr 16 a court official told AFP. But none of the three convicted are currently in custody, and rights groups have raised concerns they may never serve their sentences. A fourth soldier, the most senior of all those accused, was acquitted.
Unidentified persons set NC liaison office on fire in Kailali District
Unidentified persons set a Nepali Congress (NC) liaison office, opened to carry out electioneering activities, on fire, in the wee hours of April 17 in Gulara of Kailali District, reports The Himalayan Times. President of NC Kailali Constituency, Bhakta Thapa, said the incident was planned by some forces with the defeated mentality in a bid to foil the local level elections slated for May 14. Police said the vandals are on the run and the suspects are not identified yet.
Meanwhile, Jaya Krishna Goit-led Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) planted a socket bomb at a shop in Rajbiraj, the District headquarters of Saptari District on April 15, reports The Himalayan Times. The bomb was planted at the Om Shree Roshan Emporium in a bid to terrorize locals in the run-up to the May 14 local level elections.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
Anyone found guilty of murdering innocent civilians under pretext of fighting war will be held accountable
Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) Chairperson Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga addressing a workshop for the security forces to create awareness about the work being carried out by the ONUR and the reconciliation priorities of the Government at the Jaffna Auditorium of SFHQ-Jaffna said that anyone proven guilty of murdering innocent civilians under the pretext of fighting a war will be held accountable, reports Daily Mirror on March 28.
LTTE suspect in Fort Railway Station bomb blast in 2008 sentenced to 20-year-rigorous imprisonment
Colombo High Court on March 30 sentenced a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suspect in Fort Railway Station bomb blast in 2008 that killed 16 people to 20-year-rigorous imprisonment, reports Colombo Page. Colombo High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe handing down the sentence to the accused Kanagasabei Dewadasan alias Nadan observed that the prosecution has proven the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.
Govt would not allow any foreign tribunal or judge to inquire into last phase of LTTE war, says Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
Skills Development and Vocational Development Training Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe at a press conference held at the Information Department auditorium in Colombo on March 31 said that the Government would not allow any foreign tribunal or judge to inquire into the last phase of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) war, reports Daily News. He said that President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had made those statements publicly. He added there are also the heads of the two main political parties and there is no way for such an inquiry. He also said that they had stated that according to the provisions of the Constitution, there is no room for the involvement of foreign judges.
Sri Lanka signals arrests over high-profile killings
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on April 2 he would not protect anyone guilty of murder during the civil war, flagging arrests for a spate of high-profile crimes allegedly perpetrated by security forces. Sirisena, who has been criticised for failing to establish credible investigations into war-era abuses, said he would not stand by murderers but would defend “war heroes” who helped crush the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.
“Those who killed journalists, sportsmen and others will not be protected,” he said. Whether they are in the military or the police is immaterial.”
His remarks will likely be seen by senior police investigators as a green light to arrest several prominent establishment figures over the 2009 assassination of respected newspaper editor Lasantha Wickrematunga. His murder heightened global condemnation of former president Mahinda Rajapakse’s regime, which had already been accused of abuses against journalists, activists and the Tamil minority population in the dying days of the war.
Police have already arrested six military intelligence officers in connection with a 2008 attack on another editor, and say the same death squad was also responsible for killing Wickrematunga in January 2009. Rajapakse’s defence secretary brother, Gotabhaya, has been implicated by his then army chief Sarath Fonseka of leading the group. Gotabhaya and Fonseka have been at loggerheads since the end of the war and have often accused each other of wrongdoing.
INTERNATIONAL
Syrian army captures IS village near Aleppo
The Syrian army captured the small town of Deir Hafer east of Aleppo from Islamic State on March 29, a Syrian military source said, part of its operations to drive back the jihadist group and consolidate its control in that area.
It was the site of an important Islamic State headquarters and contained a command and control centre, an arms manufacturing site, field hospitals and highly engineered fortifications, the source said.
The army surrounded and besieged it days ago as part of its campaign to recapture the areas to the east of Aleppo, including an important water supply facility for the city that it took earlier this month, and a military airbase.
The army’s advance is one of three rival offensives to have captured large areas of ground from Islamic State in northern Syria in recent months.
Turkey-backed rebels who oppose the Syrian army have also seized a pocket of territory along the Turkish frontier to the north of Deir Hafer.
A US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, the Syrian Democratic Forces, has captured swathes of land east of the Euphrates and is working to isolate Islamic State’s bastion of Raqqa, which it expects to assault in early April.
Saudi police kill two gunmen
Saudi police shot dead two gunmen after they opened fire on security forces during a raid in a flashpoint community, the interior ministry said on March 28.
Four other Saudis who also had “criminal records and have taken part in terror acts” were arrested following the clash on Tuesday morning, the ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.
It said security forces were storming a farm north of the town of Awamiya “used by terrorists for plotting and preparation of terror attacks” when they came under fire from a nearby farm.
Police found ammunition and materials for making explosives in both farms after the clash in which security forces “killed those who opened fire”, it said.
Awamiya, a town of 30,000 in the Qatif region of eastern Saudi Arabia, has been the scene of repeated security incidents in recent years.
It was the home of Nimr al-Nimr, a cleric put to death in January last year for “terrorism”.
His execution prompted Iranian protesters to torch Saudi diplomatic missions, leading Riyadh to sever ties with Tehran. Nimr was a driving force behind protests by residents that began in 2011 and developed into a call for equality in the Sunni-majority kingdom.
Italy foils plot to blow up Rialto Bridge in Venice
Three men from Kosovo and an unidentified minor have been arrested in Venice on suspicion of plotting to blow up the city’s celebrated Rialto Bridge, Italian police said on March 30.
“With all the unbelievers there are in Venice, you put a bomb under the Rialto and you go straight to heaven,” one of the alleged jihadist plotters said in a wiretapped conversation, said Adelchi d’Ippolito, the Venice prosecutor in charge of the case.
“That was one the most worrying and alarming remarks we heard,” he said at a press conference, revealing that the group had been under surveillance since last year.
The suspects were detained in an overnight sweep carried out after it was established that they had undergone “religious radicalisation”, according to a police statement.
Raids were conducted at 12 locations in the historic centre of the city, which is a magnet for millions of visitors from around the world.
IS second-in-command killed in airstrike
Ayad al-Jumaili, believed to be the deputy of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been killed in an air strike, Iraqi State TV said on April 1, citing Iraqi military intelligence.
The US-led anti-Islamic State coalition said it was unable at the moment to confirm the report.
Iraqi TV said Jumaili was killed with other Islamic State commanders in a strike carried out by the Iraqi air force in the region of al-Qaim, near the border with Syria. It gave no detail or date for the raid.
“The air force’s planes executed with accuracy a strike on the headquarters of Daesh in al-Qaim resulting in the killing of Daesh’s second-in-command Ayad al-Jumaili, alias Abu Yahya, the war minister,” said state TV, citing a statement from the directorate of military intelligence.
Iraqi forces, backed by a US-led coalition, have been battling since October to retake the city of Mosul, Islamic State’s stronghold in Iraq and the city where Baghdadi declared a caliphate nearly three years ago.
US and Iraqi officials believe Baghdadi has left operational commanders with diehard followers to fight the battle of Mosul, and is now hiding out in the desert with senior commanders. A separate battle is in preparation in Syria to drive Islamic State from its stronghold there, the city of Raqqa.
The Iraqi state TV report is the first by an official media to announce the death of Jumaili, who was an intelligence officer under Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi president toppled in the 2003 US-led invasion.
Leader in Egyptian IS affiliate killed in air raid
A leader in Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate was killed in an air raid last month, the Egyptian military said on April 3. “Following the results of the air raid on March 18. and upon the security apparatus’s investigation, it was revealed that Salem Salmy al-Hamadeen, Aka Abu Anas al-Ansari, was killed,” the military spokesman said in a statement.
Hamadeen was one of the founders of the group which was formerly called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, now called Egypt’s Sinai Province, and was responsible for arming and training militants.
He died after being wounded in the air raid, the statement said. The group announced in their latest weekly newsletter that he was killed by shrapnel from a missile that fell beside him.
The militant group staging the insurgency pledged allegiance to Islamic State in 2014 and adopted the name Sinai Province. It is blamed for killing hundreds of Egyptian soldiers and police since then.
250 Turkish diplomats seek asylum in Germany
More than 250 Turkish diplomats, government employees and their family members have filed for political asylum in Germany, Berlin said on Monday, April 3 amid a bitter row between the two NATO allies. Germany’s interior ministry said 151 of the asylum applications came from Turks holding diplomatic passports while the other 111 were from people with passports issued to other government employees and their dependants.
The ministry did not specify how many of the requests came from Turkish military personnel stationed at NATO bases.
The wave of requests for safe haven follows last July’s failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a subsequent crackdown, which has seen more than 100,000 people arrested or dismissed from their posts over alleged links to the plotters or to Kurdish militants.
Berlin has emerged as a strident critic of Ankara’s crackdown, voicing concerns over civil liberties in the country.
Erdogan’s government has accused US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen of having orchestrated the putsch.
Berlin says Turkey’s intelligence service is also watching alleged Gulen followers in Germany, which has a large Turkish expatriate community.
Turkey, meanwhile, has accused Germany and other EU countries of “Nazi” practices for banning campaign events by its ministers in the lead-up to an April 16 referendum campaign on extending the president’s power.
Meanwhile, Turkey dismissed 45 more judges and prosecutors as part of investigations into last July´s failed coup, the state-run Anadolu agency said, meaning around 4,000 members of the judiciary have now been purged. Turkish authorities have detained, sacked or dismissed more than 113,000 people from the police, military, public service, judiciary and elsewhere since the abortive coup over suspected ties to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the putsch.
Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the charge and condemned the coup.
‘About 10’ killed in Saint Petersburg metro blast
About 10 people were killed and several more injured on April 3 after an explosion rocked the metro system in Russia’s second city Saint Petersburg, according to authorities, who were not ruling out a possible terror attack.
President Vladimir Putin said investigators were looking into all possible causes for the explosion “accidental, criminal and first of all terrorist.” Pictures screened on national television showed the door of a train carriage blown out, as bloodied bodies lay strewn on a station platform. Above ground, emergency services vehicles rushed to the scene at the Technological Institute metro station, a key transport hub in the city centre.
The blast caused scenes of confusion, with traffic blocked on Moskovsky Prospect, a busy throughfare as emergency vehicles rushed to the station.
The committee later confirmed that security services had found a device at the Vosstaniya Square metro station which didn’t explode and “neutralised” it.
Turks urged to avenge ‘grandchildren of Nazism’ in poll
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 3 said Turks in Europe should give the “answer to the grandchildren of Nazism” by voting ‘yes’ in the April 16 referendum on expanding his powers. Turks will decide whether to approve an executive presidency that would axe the role of premier and boost Erdogan’s powers in the poll, seen as a crossroads in the modern history of Turkey. From March 27 until April 9, Turks in Europe are able to vote in the referendum, including in Germany where there are 1.4 million votes up for grabs in a critical battleground.
Erdogan praised Turks abroad, who he said were voting in greater numbers compared with previous legislative elections in 2015. “Let it be more and say ‘yes’ in the ballot boxes. God willing, give the necessary answer to those pushing fascist practices, those grandchildren of Nazism!” he said during a rally in the northern Turkish province of Rize.
The comments are likely to cause further strain in relations with Europe after weeks of tension which began after the Netherlands and Germany blocked Turkish ministers from speaking at rallies last month.
In response, Erdogan repeatedly compared some countries’ actions with “Nazi practices”, despite pleas from European leaders to tone down his language.
In apparent reference to EU leaders deemed hostile to Ankara, he added: “We would not allow three, five European fascists to hurt this country’s honour”. During several rallies in the aftermath of last July’s failed coup, many Erdogan supporters have called for the death penalty in another element of alarm for Europe.
Erdogan again said he would approve such a call if parliament passed a law bringing back capital punishment after the measure was abolished in 2004 as part of Turkey’s EU membership drive.
58 killed in suspected gas attack on Syrian rebel area
A suspected Syrian government chemical attack killed at least 58 people, including 11 children, in the northwestern province of ldlib on Tuesday, April 4, a monitor, medics and rescue workers in the rebel-held area said. A Syrian military source strongly denied the army had used any such weapons. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack, believed to have been carried out by Syrian army jets, caused many people to choke, and some had foam coming out of their mouths. All the children were under the age of eight.
War planes later struck near a medical point where victims of the attack were receiving treatment, the Observatory and civil defence workers said. The civil defence, also known as the White Helmets — a rescue service that operates in opposition areas of Syria — said jets struck one of its centres in the area and the nearby medical point.
It would mark the deadliest chemical attack in Syria since sarin gas killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta near the capital in August 2013. Western states said the Syrian government was responsible for the 2013 attack.
Damascus blamed rebels. The Syrian military source denied allegations that government forces had used chemical weapons. The army “has not and does not use them, not in the past and not in the future, because it does not have them in the first place”, the source said.
A series of investigations by the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found that various parties in the Syrian war have used chlorine, sulfur mustard gas and sarin.
A joint UN-OPCW report published last October said government forces used chlorine in a toxic gas attack in Qmenas in ldlib province in March 2015. An earlier report by the same team blamed Syrian government troops for chlorine attacks in Talmenes in March 2014 and Sarmin in March 2015. It also said Islamic State had used sulfur mustard gas.
The OPCW had no immediate comment on Tuesday. France called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting about Tuesday´s suspected attack. Turkey, which backs the anti-Assad opposition, said the attack could derail Russian-backed diplomatic efforts to shore up a ceasefire.
Over 6,000 flee ‘terrifying’ violence in Sudan
More than 6,000 people have fled fighting in southern South Sudan, with refugees recounting the slaughter of civilians by armed forces, the UN refugee agency said on April 7.
Fighting between government forces and rebels erupted in the town of Pajok in the country’s southern Equatoria region, a previously peaceful part of the country that has seen a surge in conflict in recent months.
According to a statement from the UNHCR over 6,000 people have fled into the northern Ugandan district of Lamwo since the attack while many others were hiding in the bush trying to find their way to safety in Uganda as main roads were blocked by armed groups.
Strike kills 15 near Raqa
At least 15 civilians, including four children, were killed in a suspected US-led coalition airstrike on April 8 near the Islamic State group’s Syrian bastion Raqa, a monitor said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 17 people were injured in the strike on Heneyda, and that the death toll could rise further because several of the wounded were in serious conditions.
Bombings at Egyptian Coptic churches on Palm Sunday kill 43
At least 43 people were killed in bomb attacks on two Egyptian Coptic churches on Palm Sunday (Apr 9) that included the seat of the Coptic Pope, the latest assault on a religious minority increasingly targeted by the militants.
Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also injured more than 100 people and occurred a week before Coptic Easter, with Pope Francis scheduled to visit Egypt later this month.
The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city about 100 kms north of Cairo, tore through the inside of St. George Church during its Palm Sunday service, killing at least 27 people and injuring at least 78, the Ministry of Health said. The second, carried out a few hours later by a suicide bomber in Alexandria, hit Saint Mark’s Cathedral, the historic seat of the Coptic Pope, killing 16 people, including three police officers, and injuring 41, the ministry added.
Coptic Pope Tawadros, who had attended mass at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, was still in the building at the time of the explosion but was not harmed, the Interior Ministry said. “These acts will not harm the unity and cohesion of the people,” Tawadros said later, according to state media.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi condemned the attacks and summoned the National Defence Council to an urgent session. Deflecting Western criticism that he has suppressed political opposition and human rights activists since he won election in 2014, Sisi has sought to present himself as an indispensable bulwark against terrorism in the Middle East, and he identifies militant Islam as an existential threat.
Thousands gathered outside the Tanta church shortly after the blast, some weeping and wearing black. They described a scene of carnage.
Islamic State´s branch in Egypt appears to be stepping up attacks and threats against Christians, who comprise about 10 percent of Egypt’s 90 million people and amount to the biggest Christian minority in the Middle East.
10 dead as new Somali army chief escapes car bombing
Somalia’s new army chief escaped a car bombing on Sunday, Apr 9 that killed at least 10 people in a bloody response by Shabaab militants to the president’s declaration of war on the group.
A suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into Ahmed Mohamed Jimale’s convoy near the defence ministry in Mogadishu, just days after he was named to the top army job on Thursday by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. Senior army official Muktar Adan Moalim told AFP that seven civilians and three members of the security forces had been killed in the bombing.
Security official Ali Abdirahman confirmed that the army chief better known to Somalis by his nickname Irfid was unhurt, as were other senior military leaders who had been in the convoy.
The attack was the latest deadly incident in days, after a car bomb in Mogadishu left seven dead on Wednesday, a landmine killed 19 Thursday and a mortar attack left three dead on Friday.
While the al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab have lost large swathes of territory and were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union troops in 2011, they continue to strike in the capital and countryside.
Beijing offers cash rewards to unearth foreign spies
China’s capital is stepping up a campaign against foreign espionage from Monday, Aapr 1-offering rewards ranging from $1,500 to $73,000 to citizens who blow the whistle on suspected spies, state media said.
Since taking office in 2013, President Xi Jinping has overseen a raft of laws and campaigns to secure China’s national security against both domestic and foreign threats.
The “pressing” need for new measures to guard against foreign spies is an unfortunate side-effect of China’s reform and opening up to the world, the official Beijing Daily newspaper said. “Foreign intelligence organs and other hostile forces have also seized the opportunity to sabotage our country through political infiltration, division and subversion, stealing secrets and collusion,” it added.
The Beijing City National Security Bureau is encouraging citizens to join counterintelligence efforts, by offering rewards of 10,000 to 500,000 yuan ($1,500 to $73,000) for information on spies, it said.
The government has acquired new powers to safeguard China with a national security law passed in 2014, followed by measures on counter-terrorism, the management of foreign non-government bodies and cyber security.
N Korea state media warns of nuclear strike
North Korean state media on Tuesday, Apr 11 warned of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of US aggression as a US Navy strike group steamed towards the western Pacific.
US President Donald Trump, who has urged China to do more to rein in its impoverished neighbour, said in a Tweet North Korea was “looking for trouble” and the United States would “solve the problem” with or without China’s help.
Tension has escalated sharply on the Korean peninsula with talk of military action by the United States gaining traction following its strikes last week against Syria and amid concerns the reclusive North may soon conduct a sixth nuclear test.
North Korea’s official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the country was prepared to respond to any aggression by the United States.
Coalition air strike kills 18 US-backed fighters in Syria
An air strike on Tuesday, Apr 11 by a US-led coalition fighting Islamic State mistakenly killed 18 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces south of the city of Tabqa, Syria, the Pentagon said on Apr 13.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said a suspected chemical weapons attack was a “fabrication” to justify a US military strike, as Moscow digs in to defend its ally despite increasing strains with Washington.
Denouncing a “very barbaric” attack, Trump ordered a strike that saw 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles slam into the airbase in central Syria from where Washington accused Assad’s forces of launching the attack.
It was the first direct US military action against Assad’s forces since the start of Syria’s civil war six years ago and led to a quick downward spiral in ties between Washington and Moscow.
Russia accused the United States of breaking international law with the strike against the Syrian regime, a key ally that Moscow has supported with air strikes since 2015.
Trump gave such criticism short shrift, saying: “I felt we had to do something about it. I have absolutely no doubt we did the right thing.”
Standing alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington, Trump also said it was “certainly possible” that Russia was aware of the suspected attack.
Yemen fight for Red Sea base leaves 25 dead
At least 25 soldiers and rebels have died in clashes around a key military base near Yemen’s west coast, military and medical sources said on April 12.
Loyalist forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition launched an assault to seize the Khaled Ibn Al-Walid base from Huthi rebels and their allies who had controlled it for over two years, military sources said. After seizing a mountain overlooking the camp in recent days, forces loyal to internationally recognised president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had advanced on the camp from two directions, they said.
The camp, one of the biggest in Yemen, is 30 kilometres from the government-held Red Sea town of Mokha which pro-government forces retook in February.
It sits on a key road linking Mokha to the Huthi-controlled port city of Hodeida and third city Taez, which is under rebel siege.
43 killed in blast near evacuation buses in Syria
A suicide car bomb attack on buses carrying Syrians evacuated from two besieged government-held towns killed 43 people on Saturday, Apr 15 as US-backed fighters advanced in their push towards the Islamic State group’s Raqa stronghold.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast targeted buses carrying residents evacuated from the northern towns of Fuaa and Kafraya under a deal reached between the regime and rebels. Bodies were still being recovered from the attack at a transit point in Rashidin, west of Aleppo, according to the Observatory.
The bombing took place as thousands of evacuees from Fuaa and Kafraya waited to continue their journey to regime-controlled Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia, or Damascus.
Syria’s war has left more than 320,000 people dead since erupting in 2011, with more than half the population forced from their homes and hundreds of thousands enduring siege-like conditions. It has sucked in regional and international powers and allowed jihadist groups to seize vast areas of the country.
12 soldiers die as Saudi ’copter goes down in Yemen
Twelve Saudi soldiers, including four officers, were killed on Tuesday, Apr 18 when their helicopter went down in Yemen, the Arab coalition fighting Yemeni rebels said in a statement.
The Saudi Black Hawk “fell during operations in the province of Marib” east of Sanaa, the coalition said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency, without clarifying the reason.
The rebel-controlled Saba news agency said a helicopter crashed east of the provincial capital Marib without giving further details. A Saudi-led coalition began air strikes over Yemen in March 2015 in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi´s internationally recognised government in its fight against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which play key roles in the coalition, have suffered the alliance´s heaviest losses in Yemen, with dozens of soldiers killed.
Current Threat Levels
City/Region Threat Level
Islamabad Level 2 **
Karachi Level 2 **
Lahore Level 2 **
Punjab Level 2 **
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Level 3 **
Peshawar Level 2 **
Quetta Level 2 ***
Upper Balochistan Level 3 ***
Lower Balochistan Level 2 **
Upper/ Rural Sindh Level 2 **
Gilgit and Northern areas Level 3 **
Tribal areas, close to Afghan border Level 3 ***
Index to Threat Level References
Threat Level 1 *
No threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required.
Threat Level 2 **
No specific threat to foreigners, however because of the overall general law & order situation, some security precautions are advised, especially if traveling.
Threat Level 3 ***
Indicates that law and order situation is cause for concern and travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Foreigners should rehearse plans for evacuation.
Threat Level 4 ****
Indicates complete breakdown of civil administration and law and order leading to possible anarchy. All foreigners to remain indoors and confined to their own city. Families and staff not required to be evacuated retaining only a skeleton staff.
Threat Level 5 *****
Indicates complete breakdown of law and order, enemy action/hostilities, invasion/ occupation by enemy.
