Special Emphasis on Terrorism (Nov-2017)

Terrorist Activities in Pakistan

Suicide bombings/attacks
At least 20 persons, including a Police constable, were killed and more than 30 injured on October 5 when a suicide bomber struck outside the Dargah (shrine) of Pir Rakhel Shah in Gandawa area of Fatehpur, a small town in the Jhal Magsi District of Balochistan, where anniversary celebrations was going on, reports Dawn. The deceased include at least three children. District Police Officer Mohammad Iqbal said the suicide bomber had tried to enter the shrine but a Police constable on security duty stopped him, after which the attacker detonated his explosives. Initial reports suggested that the explosion took place when the dhamaal — a devotional dance performed at shrines was being performed after evening prayers. Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said that “if he [the attacker] had managed to enter the Dargah, the death toll would have been much higher.”

Bomb/IEDs attacks
Four Security Force personnel were injured when their patrolling vehicle hit a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) near Afghan border in Shorki area of Khyber Agency on September 27, reports The News.

At least one person was killed and two others injured in a remote-controlled blast in the Ghat area of Malam Jabba in Swat Valley District on October 2, reports Dawn. Police said the blast targeted a family member of a Village Defence Committee (VDC) member, Ahmed Zeb. Zeb‘s father was killed and two others wounded, Police officials said.

At least 20 people sustained injuries in an explosion near a hospital located on Ring Road near Shinwari Town, within the jurisdiction of Paharipura Police Station, Peshawar on September 29, Police said, reports Daily Times. While Rescue 1122 spokesperson Bilal Faizi said 20 people sustained injuries and were treated on the spot, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP, Operations) Sajjad Khan said only five people were seriously injured in the explosion. According to the bomb disposal squad officials the device used in the attack was probably homemade and that the hospital owner was the target of the attack as he was already receiving threatening calls from extortionists.

At least four Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were martyred and three others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast near the Pak-Afghan border in the Kharlachi area of Kurram Agency on October 15, reports Dawn. An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said the troops targeted by the blast were part of a search party for handlers of the rescued foreigners, Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle, who were recovered by the Army near Kohat. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

At least seven Policemen were killed and 12 other people were injured in an explosion on the Quetta-Sibbi Road in Sariab Mill area of Quetta on October 18, reports Dawn. According to initial reports, Security Forces (SFs) claimed a roadside bomb exploded just as a Police vehicle carrying 35 Police personnel passed the area.

Two Security Force (SF) personnel, identified as Sepoy Tasawar Ali and Sepoy Ghulam Rabani, were killed their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Jalal check post of FR Bannu in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), on October 18, reports The Express Tribune.

Thirty-five persons were injured in two grenade attacks in Mastung and Gwadar District of Balochistan in the evening of October 19, reports Dawn. Unidentified persons on a motorcycle hurled a grenade near a mobile market at Safar Khan Chowk in Mastung town, injuring 15 persons. Later in the evening, 20 people were injured when miscreants lobbed a grenade at Al-Zubair hotel on airport road in Gwadar. Most of the injured were labourers from Sindh.

Targetted Killings
At least five Shia Hazara persons were killed and one other was seriously injured when unidentified assailants opened fire at their vehicle on Kasi road in Gawalmandi area of Quetta, on October 9, reports Dawn. According to the Police, the deceased were going to Hazar Ganji Sabzi Mandi in the vehicle when motorcycle borne assailants sprayed bullets at the vehicle and managed to escape.

A local journalist, Haroon Khan, a correspondent for Waqt News TV, was shot dead outside his house in Swabi town of same district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 12, reports Dawn. Haroon Khan came under fire when he stepped out of his home. He was also affiliated with Akhbar-i-Khaiber, while earlier he remained associated with the Mashriq TV.

A Policeman was killed and three others, including a child, were injured when unidentified militants opened fire on a Police patrolling party on Faqeer Muhammad road in Quetta on October 13, reports Dawn. Constable Ali Muhammad was killed in the attack while two other Policemen were injured along with the child. The assailants managed to escape after the attack.

A Police Inspector, Abdul Salam, was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Qambrani road of Quetta on October 18, reports The Express Tribune. Abdul Salam was shot multiple times, Police said.

Miscellaneous
Security Forces (SFs) conducted intelligence-based operations in Kamar Khel, Baz Garhi and Bara area of Khyber Agency and recovered arms and ammunition, Daily Times reported on September 27 quoting Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR). Submachine guns, grenades, rockets, improvised explosive device (IED) and mortar rounds were recovered from the sites.

One senior militant Shafqatullah laid down arms and surrendered before Police in Lakki Marwat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on September 26, reports Dawn. A Police official said that Shafqatullah was wanted to law enforcement agencies in several militancy-related cases, including Shah Hasankhel suicide blast of January 1, 2010. Over 97 villagers, including security personnel, had been killed in the blast when a suicide bomber blew up his double-door pickup truck in the middle of a volleyball match. The surrendered militant was also involved in attacks on district police office, police lines and city police post when militancy was at peak in the southern district and was also wanted in cases of blowing up a water supply scheme in Lakki city, a government primary school in Shah Hasankhel village and a house in Dhoda village.

Police on September 28 claimed to have killed five militants in a raid in Sacha area of Malir Town in Karachi, reports The News. Malir Town Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Rao Anwar said the raid was jointly carried out by intelligence agencies and Police on the basis of secret information. Anwar claimed that the militants had plans to carry out attacks on Youm-e-Ashura. He said a senior al Qaeda leader Amir Sharif was among the dead.

Two senior Central Jail officials in Karachi were arrested on September 28 over alleged obstruction of the investigation of a jailbreak involving two high-profile militants on June 14, reports Dawn. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested Central Jail Superintendent Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh and Assistant Superintendent Abdul Rehman Shaikh, CTD Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Amir Farooqi said, over a range of charges from alleged destruction of evidence to threatening witnesses. DIG Farooqi, who was handling the jailbreak investigation, said the accused jailers were creating hindrances into the investigation of the two militants linked to the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) – Mumtaz alias Firaun, and Ahmed alias Munna, who were involved in the murders of 60 people, including members of the Shia community and law enforcement agencies.

Sindh Rangers recovered arms from Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L) unit office in Orangi Town of Karachi on September 30, reports Daily Times. According to Rangers spokesman, on an intelligent report that the activists of MQM-L has hidden arms and ammunition in the unit office in Orangi town’s Sector-7- C for target killing and disturbing law & order situation in the city, the Rangers conducted a raid and recovered a Light Machine Gun (LMG), one AK-47 with 11 magazines, and a 22-rifle, two 30-bore pistols with a magazines and 1850 different types of rounds.

Intelligence agencies and Security Forces (SFs) conducted raids and seized weapons from Makhi Nala area of Kahan in Kohlu District in Balochistan, reports Daily Times on October 1. In a press conference, Kohlu Deputy Commissioner Agha Nabil said that the SFs raided Makhi Nala area of Kahan. Three hand grenades, seven anti-tank mines, 477 LMG rounds, one kilogram of explosive material, rifles, machine guns, detonator, five Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG)-7 fuses, 400 yards of detonator cable and other weapons were recovered.

In another raid, a vehicle that was going to be used as vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was seized during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) from Tore Shah, North of Pishin in Balochistan, reports Daily Times on October 1. The vehicle was going to be used to disrupt Muharram in Quetta. Three suspects were also arrested.

Separately, Pakistan Rangers Punjab and Police carried out patrolling/ flag marches in important areas of major cities in Balochistan, reports Daily Times on October 1. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that extensive intelligence based operations were carried out in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Multan, DG Khan, Lahore, Sialkot, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan. During these operations, 27 suspects were arrested and a cache of illegal weapons was seized. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested four suspected terrorists from Multan, seizing a sizeable quantity of arms and explosives from them. The CTD conducted a raid on a tip-off and arrested four activists of banned outfit, who were identified as Nasir, Ali, Tahir and Shafqat. The CTD also claimed to have seized six hand grenades, two pistols, one IED, two kilogrammes of explosives, three-meter detonating cord, eight-meter safety, and 10 detonators from the suspects.

A soldier was killed and another sustained injuries when militants opened fire on a forces check post in the Rajgal area, along the Pak-Afghan border, of Bara tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency on October 3, reports Daily Times. “Two soldiers posted at the checkpoint were targeted with sniper fire from across the border,” officials said. The militants then escaped from the area.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on October 5 shot dead two suspected militant at Sher Shah Bund area of Multan District, reports The News. According to CTD, they, on tip-off, carried out a raid in Sher Shah Bund area about the presence of terrorists linked to the banned outfit, as the cops approached their hideout they restored to firing. In retaliation two of the terrorists got killed. However, three other managed to escape. Explosive material and sophisticated weapons were recovered from the possession of slain militants.

The former spokesperson of Balochistan Government and central secretary information National Party (NP), Jan Buledi, narrowly escaped an attempt on his life as unidentified assailants attacked his convoy, leaving his son and two security guards injured in Kech District of Balochistan on October 4, reports Dawn. Levies officials said that suspected assailants opened indiscriminate fire at Buledi’s vehicle when he was heading to Turbat from his hometown Buleda.

One Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militant, Saad Surkhan, who was planning to carry out major acts of terrorism in the city, was gunned down in an encounter with a joint team of Police and Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Khwaja Ajmer Nagri area of Karachi on October 5, reports Dawn. However, his two accomplices managed to escape. Saad Surkhan had provided a suicide jacket to the assassin of Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada on August 16, 2015, a senior IB official said on condition of anonymity. The killed suspect was twice arrested in Karachi but was released on bail.

Frontier Constabulary (FC) Balochistan on October 7 foiled a major terrorism bid as it recovered huge cache of arms and explosives during search operations carried out in various parts of the Balochistan Province, reports The News. According to a statement by military’s media wing, 1300 kilograms of explosives, Sub-machine Gun (SMG), rocket, hand-grenade, communication devices and maps of important areas were seized by FC during raids being carried out under the ongoing ‘Operation Raddul Fasaad’. The operations were conducted in Kohlu, Ghazi Nullah, Uch and Naseerabad areas.

One person, identified as Naeem Yunus distributing pamphlets of the proscribed terror outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT) outside a mosque in Islamabad was arrested by Police on October 6, reports Daily Times. Police said five men were handing out pamphlets outside a mosque in Sector G-7/2 meant to incite the public against the government and state institutions. When they saw the Police approaching, they tried to flee. However, Police managed to arrest one of them. According to Police, the pamphlets found in his possession read, “Get rid of this weak leadership which seeks honour in subservience to an alliance with America.” The papers also carried a hate speech against the government and the institutions of Pakistan.

At least 20 suspected militants were killed in United States (US) drone strike on a compound near the border with Afghanistan in Kurram Agency on October 16, reports The News. As per details, four missiles were fired on a compound during the strike, in which suspected militants of Haqqani network were killed.

A ‘commander’ of Lyari gangster, Ghafoor alias Chhotu, allegedly involved in targeted killing of, among others, three foreigners in the Hub area of Balochistan was shot dead by Pakistan Rangers Sindh during an encounter in Murad Memon Goth of Malir town in Karachi on October 19, reports Dawn. Acting on information, the Rangers encircled the hideout in Murad Memon Goth at around 2am. On seeing the Rangers’ personnel, the suspects resorted to firing with automatic weapons. Reinforcements were called in by the Rangers and during an intense exchange of fire, one suspect was gunned down while trying to escape in Bachal Goth near Murad Memon Goth. His two accomplices fled taking advantage of darkness, said the Rangers’ official. The dead suspect was identified as Ghafoor alias Chhotu.

One militant was killed and seven others arrested during an intelligence-based operation by Frontier Corps (FC) personnel in Rojhan Jamali area of Mastung District in Balochistan on terrorist’s hideouts who were involved in target killing and grenade attacks, Dawn reported on October 21 quoting ISPR press release. A cache of arms and ammunition including explosives was recovered during the operation.

PAKISTAN

Won’t allow Pakistani land to be used for terrorism, says Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States (US) Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said on September 28 that Pakistan would not allow anyone to use Pakistani land for terrorism, reports Daily Times. Addressing a ceremony at Pakistan Embassy in Washington held in connection with the Defence Day of Pakistan, Aizaz Chaudhry said that Pakistan was committed to eliminate terrorism jointly with the international community. “This day is observed every year to commemorate the spirit and the valour displayed by our armed forces in defending our borders against the blatant aggression of our neighbor during 1965 war,” he said. He said that the armed forces of Pakistan had not only defended our frontiers successfully, but had also participated in the world’s largest counter terrorism operation. This resulted in clearing up most of the area, under the influence of anti state elements. Besides, the armed forces also participated in the nation building activities, particularly during natural calamities and emergencies,” he added.

Students shouldn’t be misguided by anti-state propaganda: COAS
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sept 28 said that students should never get misguided by anti-state propaganda being engineered by certain anti-state elements from abroad with the support of hostile foreign agencies, advising them to focus on their education, work hard and dispel negativity. He said that Pakistan was incomplete without Balochistan, adding the country could not progress without peace, stability and progress of the province.

He was interacting with a group of 173 students and members of faculty from various educational institutions of Balochistan at the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR).The COAS termed youth Pakistan’s most precious asset and urged them to contribute to national integration and progress by performing their positive role.

The COAS said that Balochistan is blessed with the most talented and vibrant youth and future of Pakistan belongs to them. Reaffirming education as national priority, he said, “We will do our best to provide whole-hearted support towards attainment of the national objective.” He said that establishment of the campus of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Quetta was a step towards this end.

He maintained that the Pakistan Army is committed to providing them a safe, secure and stable Pakistan, saying the army is capable of meeting all internal and external challenges and no one can dare cast an evil eye on Pakistan. The COAS also mentioned the development projects which the Pakistan Army has initiated with the support of the government for development in the Balochistan province, including communication infrastructure, schools and cadet colleges.

18 militants to be transferred from Karachi Central jail to other jails of the province
Eighteen of convicted and under-trial militants, including leaders of sectarian outfits, are likely to be transferred from Karachi Central jail to various other jails of Sindh, The Express Tribune reported on October 3. There were nearly 100 high-profile ‘hardcore’ terrorists incarcerated at the Karachi central prison belonging to militant organisations such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Daesh (Islamic States). This includes the militants who attempted to assassinate former president and then army chief General (retd) Parvez Musharraf, Omar Shaikh, who was sentenced to death for killing American journalist Daniel Pearl, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British terrorist of Pakistani origin with links to various Islamist militant organisations such as JeM, al Qaeda, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) and the Taliban, and LeJ co-founder Mohammad Ajmal alias Akram Lahori.

US based MQM leader financed targeted killing of party worker, claim Pakistan Rangers Sindh
A US-based leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) London faction allegedly financed the targeted killing of a party worker in Karachi three months ago, Pakistan Rangers Sindh claimed on October 4, reports Dawn. Pakistan Rangers Sindh also announced the arrest of three suspected target killers, allegedly belonging to MQM, in connection with the chairman of union council-13, Rashid alias Mamu. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Pakistan Rangers Sindh‘s spokesperson said that the Rangers carried out an intelligence-based action in Karachi’s Shah Faisal Colony and arrested three suspects “involved in the targeted killing of UC chairman Rashid alias Mamu.” The arrested suspects were identified as Asif Raees, Shahid Aziz and Mohammed Danish Khan.

Govt warns of action against over ‘jihad fatwas’ on social media
Federal Minister of Interior Ahsan Iqbal on October 6 called on clerics and religious leaders to denounce ‘jihad fatwas’ posted by people on social media, declaring that in an Islamic country only the State had the right to declare jihad, not a Mohalla or a mosque, reports Daily Times. “Only the state can declare jihad … no group of people has the right to declare jihad against another group,” he told the National Assembly while speaking on the suicide blast at Dargah Fatehpur Sharif near Gandawa area of Jhal Magsi District in Balochistan. “We need to prevent that from happening and I humbly request religious leaders to condemn the fatwas posted on social media. If we let this go on, the country will turn into a battlefield with various groups and ethnicities pitted against each other,” he added.

“The enemy wants Muslims to behead each other. If we continue treading this path of violence and unrest, we wouldn’t even need an [external] enemy to destroy us,” the Minister said. “If we start handing out fatwas on kufr in every street and neighborhood, and the maulvi in every street mosque starts handing out fatwas about who is kafir and who is Muslim, then there will only be chaos. It is God who is to decide who is going to heaven or hell … it is not our job,” he said. The Minister said it was not the right of the any individual to issue decree and declare any person non-Muslim or to do politics in the name of religion. “Another thing people do is given out fatwas about who can be murdered – that is not for individuals to decide, only the state can decide such matters.”

Terror list with 37 names is fake, IB chief tells parliamentarians
The Director General of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Aftab Sultan met several parliamentarians on October 6 only to assure them that a list containing their names and accusing them of having links with banned outfits was a fake document and not issued by his agency, reports Dawn. Having names of 37 lawmakers who were alleged to have links with banned outfits, the list first came to light when a private television channel aired a report claiming that former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif had directed the IB to keep a close watch on these legislators, who mostly belong to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). The meeting between the parliamentarians and IB chief Aftab Sultan was arranged by PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The lawmakers named in the list complained to PM Abbasi that their opponents could use the document to institute cases against them and, thus, they would not be eligible to hold a public office.

Pakistan Army recovers Canadian-American family abducted in Afghanistan
The Pakistan Army said on October 12 that it had recovered five abducted foreign hostages from terrorists in an operation based on intelligence shared by the United States (US), reports The News. An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said the hostages included a Canadian, his American wife, and their three children. The hostages were recovered “through an intelligence-based operation by Pakistani troops.” “They were captured by terrorists from Afghanistan in 2012 and kept as hostages there,” the ISPR handout said. US intelligence agencies had been tracking them and shared their shifting across to Pakistan on October 11, 2017, through the Kurram Agency border.

Provinces told to launch action against banned religious outfits
The Federal Government has directed the Provinces to launch action against proscribed (banned) religious outfits and those kept under observations by seizing their offices, weapons and properties, Dawn reported on October 18. The Federal Ministry of Interior also instructed all the Provincial chief secretaries and the chief commissioner of the capital territory Islamabad to submit reports on the organisations’ financial activities. According to sources, the orders were issued to the chief secretaries of the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir to restrain members of all such organisations from continuing their activities. The decision was taken after the recent statement of Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in which he stressed the need for “putting our own house in order.”

JuA chief Umar Khalid Khorasani along with nine of his associates killed in US drone strike in Afghanistan
Umar Khalid Khorasani, the ‘chief’ of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), an offshoot of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has been killed in a US drone strike in Paktia province of Afghanistan’s on October 18, reports Dawn. “Chief of our Jamaat-ul-Ahrar Umar Khalid Khorasani, who sustained serious injuries in a recent US drone strike, succumbed to his injuries Wednesday evening,” JuA ‘spokesman’ Asad Mansoor told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location. “At least nine close associates of Khorasani were also killed in the strike,” he added. Mansoor said a high-level meeting of JuA’s consultative council will be convened soon to appoint the outfit’s new chief. However, a senior JuA ‘commander’ said on condition of anonymity that one of JuA’s senior commanders, Asad Afridi, has already been appointed new JuA chief.

Missing journalist Zeenat Shahzadi recovered after two years
Missing journalist Zeenat Shahzadi who went missing more than two years ago returned home on October 20 safe and sound – much to the surprise of the family, reports The Express Tribune. Zeenat Shahzadi, who was affiliated with a private TV channel, went missing on August 19, 2015 while travelling to her office in an auto-rickshaw in Lahore. According to witnesses, Shahzadi had been whisked away by gunmen riding in two cars who intercepted the three-wheeler she was travelling in. The Express Tribune called up Shahzadi’s mother for her reaction but could not get through. “I’ve spoken to Shahzadi’s mother and she has confirmed that her daughter has returned home,” IA Rehman, veteran Human Rights campaigner and former chairperson Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said. However, Rehman wouldn’t say who had recovered Shahzadi and how. “The good news is that she is back at her home. Details of her recovery will trickle in,” he said. Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, President of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, told the BBC that Shahzadi had been recovered from an area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Thursday night. “Non-state actors and anti-state agencies had abducted her and she has been recovered from their custody,” Iqbal added. “Tribal elders from Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa played a role in her recovery.”

ASP chief among eight terrorists killed in Karachi
Ansar-ul-Shariah Pakistan (ASP) ‘chief’, Shehryar alias Dr. Abdullah Hashmi, among eight militants were killed in a raid jointly carried out by the Pakistan Rangers Sindh and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Raees Goth area of Baldia Town in Karachi on October 21, reports The News. A spokesman for the Rangers said Dr. Abdullah Hashmi, Ameer (chief) of ASP was mastermind behind several terrorist attacks. Another suspect identified as Arsalan Baig was member of group’s “Target Killing Team”, he said. A Rangers official said that one CTD personnel and two Rangers personnel sustained injuries during the encounter. Explosive material, arms and ammunition were recovered from the militant hideout.

REGIONAL

Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics

Ten grenades recovered in Dhaka city
Police recovered 10 grenades in an abandoned bag in Dakkhinkhan area of Dhaka city on September 28, reports The Daily Star. An officer of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said Neo-Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) militants were seen using such kind of explosives earlier.

Local Awami League leader killed in Kishoreganj district
A local leader of Awami League (AL), identified as Manik Mia, the general secretary of ward number 8 unit AL under Sadekpur union, was killed by unidentified assailants in Mendipur area of Bhairab upazila (sub-District) in Kishoreganj District early on October 1, reports New Age. The assailants severed hands and legs of Manik after slaughtering him, said Md Mokhlesur Rahman, Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of Bhairab Police Station. Two suspected killers trying to flee were captured by Police.

Militants using secured messaging apps to dodge cops, say Anti-Terrorism Unit officials
Police’s Anti-Terrorism Unit officials said that militant outfits have apparently smartened up and become tech-savvy as they are now using encrypted communications applications or apps more and more to maintain communications online, making it harder for the law enforcement agencies to trace them, reports Dhaka Tribune on October 1. They said the militants initially used popular apps like Facebook and its Messenger, and Google Hangouts to communicate. But recently they have started using instant, but encrypted messaging apps such as Threema, Telegram and Wickr to keep their chats more secret. At present, officials said, militants also use WhatsApp, Viber, Tango, Hike and several other similar apps as most of them have the encryption facilities, but they rapidly switch platforms to avoid detection. They may also use Silent Circle, Signal, Chat Secure, OS Tel or Red Phone, which are highly advanced and more privacy-conscious messaging apps, in the future. If they do that, it will become more challenging to trace their secret and online networks. Bangladesh Police during the International Police Conference held in Dhaka city from March 12-14 disclosed that research on 250 arrested militants found that 82% of them got involved with their respective terror outfits online.

JMB militant arrested in Jamalpur
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on September 30 arrested a militant of Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) in Jamalpur District, reports The Daily Star. The arrestee was identified as Moktarul Islam (21).

Female Neo-JMB arrested in Dhaka
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on October 3 arrested a female militant of Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) from Chawkbazar in old part of Dhaka city, reports The Daily Star. The arrestee, Sadia Amin (21), who teaches at a kindergarten in Old Dhaka, is a member of Neo-JMB’s one of the two operational units, Brigade Ad-Dar-e-Kutni, according to a RAB press release.

GNLA ‘commander in chief’ being given treatment in Mymensingh
Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA)’s ‘commander-in-chief’ Sohan D Shira is reportedly undergoing treatment at Mymensing-Sherpur area in Bangladesh for an infection on his legs, reports The Shillong Times. Sources from the Border Security Force (BSF) said the paramilitary force had received inputs that Sohan D Shira was initially treated by medical practitioners in South Garo Hills District. According to the report, BSF has already shared the inputs about the presence of Shira in Bangladesh to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

Five Ansar al Alam militants arrested in Rajshahi
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on October 6 arrested five militants of Ansar al-Islam in Puthia upazila of Rajshahi District, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are Anisur Rahman (32), Shahidul Islam (31), Nazrul Islam Mollah (42), Mohammad Shahin (27) and Babar Munshi (45).

HeL demands Bangladesh cut ties with Myanmar
Leaders of Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) during a rally organized at Laldighi Maidan in Chittagong city where thousands of leaders and activists joined after the Jumma prayers on October 6 demanded that Bangladesh cut diplomatic relations with Myanmar over the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in its Rakhine state, reports New Age. They also urged the international community to mount pressure on the Myanmar government to stop genocide against the Rohingya people.

20 Bangladeshis with terror links missing in Uttar Pradesh, says ATS
Twenty Bangladeshi youngsters, believed to be in touch with Islamic terror organisation recruiters have gone missing from western Uttar Pradesh (UP) over the years, according to the revelation made in a report prepared by Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the UP Police, which arrested four illegal Bangladeshi immigrants linked to Bangladesh-based terror modules in the past 10 weeks. All four had taken refuge in Saharanpur and were staying in Deoband, the Islamic seminary in western UP.

IG UP ATS Asim Arun said, “Faizan went missing from Saharanpur in the first week of August. We had recovered IS literature from his room and he had even scribbled a few things on a piece of paper used for making lethal bombs”. Linked to Jama’at-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) and other Islamic terror outfits, Faizan, was apparently trying to wage war against the country and had visited Kashmir valley. Through cash deposit receipts found in his room, the ATS found that Faizan had received money from different sources, regularly. “Most of the payments the group of illegal immigrants received were valued below `50,000 but we were surprised to see up to `9.80 lakh deposited in one go in accounts operated by them at Saharanpur”, the IG said. Other security agencies in the country have been alerted to look out for Mr. Faizan.

Two Neo-JMB militants arrested in Narayanganj
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on October 12 arrested two militants of Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) in Tarabo area of Narayanganj District, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are Mamunur Rashid alias Mamun (34) and Ismail Hossain (29). Documents relating to militancy were also seized from them.

India – Internal Dynamics

ULFA-I kidnap tea estate supervisor in Assam
A tea estate supervisor, identified as Sailyo Dahotia (40) was abducted by a six-member armed group, suspected to be Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) militants, from Dihingia tea estate in the Kathalguri area in Tinsukia District on September 28, reports The Times of India. The incident occurred around 6.30pm near the office of the tea garden on September 28 while other employees were busy with Durga Puja festivities. Police said ULFA-I had served an extortion notice, demanding INR 1 lakh, to the proprietor of the tea estate Rajib Phukan three months ago. Despite repeated intimidation and threats over telephone, Phukan refused to cough up the money. Meanwhile, on the basis of his complaint, Police conducted a couple of raids to nab the ULFA-I members suspected of being involved in the extortion bid.

Two persons including a CRPF Constable injured in two separate incidents of IED blasts in Chhattisgarh
A ward councillor identified as identified as B Ashok Kumar, suffered critical injuries after a pressure bomb planted by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) exploded at Elarmadgu village under Bhejji Police Station limits in Sukma District on October 1, reports News Nation. Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP), Abhishek Meena, said the blast triggered after Kumar inadvertently touched the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) hidden in bushes. He added that incident occurred when he was heading towards the anganwadi centre to pick his mother.

Meanwhile, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) constable of 195th battalion, identified as Hemant Boro, was injured in an IED blast, triggered by of the CPI-Maoist cadres near Chikpal village under Katekalyan Police Station in Dantewada District on October 2, reports Indian Express. The incident took place when CRPF and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) had launched the operation in the interiors of Katekalyan.

Police unearth Maoist link to cannabis trafficking cartel in Maharashtra
The Mumbai Police is believed to have identified a Naxal [Left Wing Extremists (LWEs)] link to a well-entrenched marijuana trafficking operation on October 2, reports Mumbai Mirror. Officers in the Mumbai Police claimed that they have identified a Naxal “levy manager” who uses the proceeds from the sale of marijuana to fund Naxal activities in Chhattisgarh and Odisha. The manager, identified as Narayan Sahu, is still at large, but the Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) arrested his compatriots Indrapradhan Laddukishor, Prashant Jena, Kalia Prakash and Narayan Dhanurjay from Kalyan on September 23 and seized 28 Kilogram of marijuana in their possession.

The Police said that Sahu, along with Indrapradhan, was in charge of collection of funds, mostly from cities such as Mumbai. He directed the movement of marijuana from the Naxal-controlled Districts of Malkangiri, Ganjam and Gajapati, in southern Odisha, into Mumbai. Indrapradhan, in turn, arranged for the necessary “human resource requirements” at the delivery end. “Both Indrapradhan and Sahu ensured the supply chain links remained intact until the consignments reached designated targets,” said a police officer. Police officials are working out leads to establish if Sahu is related to an active Naxal who is part of the “unofficial administration” responsible for collection and levying of “taxes” on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border (AOB). According to the Police, Naxals “supervise the cultivation” of marijuana on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border.

Maoists raising a new armed group, says Union Ministry of Home Affairs official
Cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist were attempting to raise a new armed group along the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh tri-junction as they continue to face the heat at their stronghold in Bastar region, an official of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) stated on October 2, reports The Hindu. The official said the new unit, ‘Vistara Platoon,’ was trying to gain a foothold at the tri-junction, which has lesser deployment of Security Forces (SFs) than the seven Districts in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh, said to be one of the last Maoist bastions.

An official of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said the forces had opened new camps in the once-inaccessible Bastar region to “squeeze out” the CPI-Maoist cadres. The official added, that the focus of SFs will be on the South Bastar-Sukma region and Dantewada and Bastar Districts. There are more than 160,000 CRPF personnel deployed in Chhattisgarh, of which 130,000 concentrate on a 40,000 square kilometres area in Bastar, known for rich mineral deposits of iron ore, granite, tin and corundum.

Arms and ammunition recovered in Meghalaya
Police recovered sophisticated arms along with ammunition from the forest in Dosogre Chipitgittim area of South Garo Hills District on October 2, reports The Assam Tribune. The Garo National Liberation Army cadre, Bande Ch Marak who was arrested on September 29 from South Garo Hills District led to the recovery of arms and ammunition which the GNLA cadre had hidden in the village from where he was arrested. “SGH police along with SF 10 commandos recovered one AK 56 rifle with one magazine, one SLR rifle with one magazine, 76 rounds of AK ammo and 13 rounds of SLR ammo kept buried by GNLA in the forest in Dosogre Chipitgittim area,” said Superintendent of Police (SP) Abraham T Sangma.

NDFB-P leaders raise the ‘statehood’ demand again in Assam
The ceasefire agreement signed by the Progressive faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-P) with the Centre is nearing completion of 12 years, but the NDFB-P leaders have firm belief that they will have a separate state of “Bodoland” one day, reports The Telegraph. Leaders of the NDFB-P on October 3 raised the statehood demand again while addressing their cadres at a conclave organised on the occasion of the 31st foundation day of the outfit at Kumguri designated camp in Serfanguri in Kokrajhar District of Assam. Over 600 cadres of the outfit are lodged in this camp which was set up in 2006. Two other camps are at Borbori in Baksa District and Sapekhaiti in Udalguri District in which around 400 cadres are staying.

ASI arrested for Naxal links in Jharkhand
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Jharkhand Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of Police in connection with the case of killing of Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), Ramesh Munda, allegedly by Naxalites [Left Wing Extremists (LWEs)], in 2008, reports The Hindu on October 8. Investigations revealed that ASI, Sheshnath Singh, had provided information about the movement of Munda to the Naxals, an NIA spokesperson said. Singh has been sent to Policy custody till October 15, he said, adding that NIA teams had also conducted searches at four locations in Ranchi. Munda was shot dead in the Bundu town of his Tamar constituency in the Ranchi District on July 9, 2008.

Four State govt officials arrested in Nagaland
The National Investigating Agency (NIA) on October 14 arrested four senior officials of the Nagaland Government for their alleged involvement in collecting ‘tax’ from various Government organizations on behalf of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) and diverting Government funds to militants, reports Times of India.

Police kill ‘police informer’ near AOB in Andhra Pradesh
A 29-year old non-tribal, identified as Gampa Lova Srinu was killed by the Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres on the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) near the Korukonda tribal hamlet, in Balapam panchayat of Chintapalli mandal in Visakhapatnam District on October 16, reports The Times of India. Srinu was brutally killed by the outlawed group suspecting him to be a ‘Police informer’, Police sources said. Srinu went to Korukonda tribal market, where he ran a small business, on October 15^th morning. While returning home late in evening, a group of Maoists, believed to be members of the Korukonda Area Committee, abducted and later killed him, Police said. “The Maoists killed Srinu in Vizag agency. Our team identified the body and found bullets near the body,” Visakhapatnam Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Dev Sharma said, adding that Chintapalli Police have registered a case. Chintapalli Circle Inspector (CI) A Chandrasekhara Rao said a letter was found near the body, which was written by Ramana, ‘secretary’ of Korukonda Area Committee.

Top Maoist leaders in Bihar, Jharkhand are millionaires, says Intelligence report
Two top Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) leaders in Bihar and Jharkhand who boast of fighting for the cause of marginalised sections of the society are millionaires and their family members lead a lavish life with the extortion money collected by cadres, according to an intelligence report prepared by the Special Task Force (STF) of Bihar Police, reports The Times of India on October 21. The report which has been submitted to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), says that children of top Maoists Sandeep Yadav and Pradyuman Sharma, who are active in Bihar and Jharkhand, study in prestigious colleges, own sports bikes and travel by air. Sandeep, who is in charge of Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC), is wanted in 88 cases and carries a reward of INR 5 lakh on his head. His brother Dhanik Lal is also a Maoist. Pradyuman is wanted in 51 cases and carries a reward of INR 50,000. He is also a member of the special area committee.

The report says that Sandeep’s elder son Rahul Kumar is a second semester BBA student at a reputed private college in Patna. A sports bike, purchased from an Aurangabad showroom on down payment, is registered in his name. Sandeep’s younger son Rahul Kumar lives with his mother Rajanti Kumari in Ranchi. He also owns a sports bike and studies at one of the most reputed colleges in Ranchi. His sister studies at a private residential school in Gaya District. Sandeep’s wife is an untrained teacher at a government primary school in Lutua panchayat of Gaya district. Though Rajanti remains absent from school, she gets regular salary and owns property worth at least INR 80 lakh, the report says. She has INR 13.53 lakh in three different bank accounts in Aurangabad and has invested INR 2.31 lakh in mutual funds.

The Maoist leader’s son-in-law Gajendra Narayan is a teacher at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Radheshyam Park area in New Delhi and has more than INR 12 lakh in different bank accounts. He booked a flat worth INR 35 lakh this year. Pradyuman and his brother Pramod Singh own 250 acres of land in Jehanabad which is valued at INR 83.8 lakh. His niece Puja Kumari travels by air and studies in a medical college at Kanchipuram. She had paid INR 22 lakh for her admission. Pradyuman’s nephews Barun and Tarun Kumar deposited INR 23 lakh in their bank accounts in July this year. They also own sports bikes in addition to 40 decimal land worth INR 10 lakh in Jehanabad.

Indian agencies looking for doctor seen asking physicians to join IS in propaganda video
Indian security agencies are looking for information about a doctor, believed to be from of Kerala, who recently featured into a propaganda video of Islamic State (IS), India Today reports on October 23. Abu Muqatil al-Hindi, who appears to be in his mid-forties and speaks with a thick accent, is seen exhorting medical professionals from across the world to join the healthcare services at the IS-held zones of Syria in the name of Islamic brotherhood. Agencies point out to another doctor in the same video, named Abu Yusuf al-Australi who turned out to be Dr. Tareq Kamleh from Adelaide (Australia) who joined the terror outfit in 2015. “We strongly suspect al-Hindi to be at the helm of recruiting jihad-sympathisers from India,” a top security official told Mail Today on condition of anonymity. “Shahjahan Velluva Kandy from Kannur (Kerala), who was deported from Turkey after he was caught trying to sneak into ISIS territory, had revealed during questioning that at least six persons from the state have joined ranks in Syria,” the official said.

A senior officer said the video presents a rare strategy of IS, where instead of taking pride in their brutal actions as earlier they are employing a positive PR campaign to tout their medical successes. “But make no mistake. They still thrive on hatred for un-Islamic administrations,” the official said. The video also focuses on civilian victims of the air strikes and the heroics of Raqqa’s fighters. According to information available with Indian authorities, till last year, 21 men, women and children from Kerala left for Afghanistan via Iran to live in the IS-controlled territory. Some of them are learnt to have been killed in drone attacks.

Monthly Fatalities
The following deaths related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period Sept 25, 2017 to Oct 26:

	Civilian	Indian Security  Personnel	Militant	Total
Andhra Pradesh	03	00	00	03
Bihar	02	00	00	02
Odisha	03	00	00	03
Manipur	02	00	00	02
Left wing	05	00	02	07
Total	15	00	02	17

Nepal – Internal Dynamics

Three year old girl killed in post-election violence in Rautahat District
A three-year-old girl was killed in a clash occurred between the two neighbors in post-election violence in Rautahat District on September 30, reports Kathmandu Post. A dispute between two neighbors – families of Hulas Ray Yadav and Krishna Chaudhry – over the matter of drinking water later took a nasty turn as the issue was given a political color on the basis of political connection of both families to different political parties. The Yadav family is reportedly close to the Nepali Congress (NC) while the Chaudhry family is said to be the supporter of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML). Yadav’s three-year-old daughter Anjali Kumari was killed in the scuffle. With this four persons were killed in Rautahat District since the third phase of local-level elections took place on September 18. It may be noted that three persons were already murdered in the District since the September 18 elections. Sawmill proprietor Birendra Saha (45) of Balchanpur Baradewa of Chandrapur Municipality-10 was found dead in the morning of September 29 with serious head injuries resulted in from attacks by a sharp-edged weapon. Prior to this, Swayawa Akbar of Paroha Municipality and Ram Pukar Yadav of Katahariya Municipality were killed by unidentified groups. Akbar is the son of a NC candidate (defeated) for a ward chair while Yadav was the cadre of Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN).

TNA to move adjournment motion seeking immediate release of those held under PTA
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will move an adjournment motion seeking the immediate release of those held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), reports Daily Mirror on October 17. Opposition and TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, who is expected to move the motion, said Sri Lanka had accepted both domestically and internationally that the Prevention of Terrorism Law is draconian, obnoxious and should therefore be regarded as obsolete. “The Sri Lankan State has made several commitments both domestically and internationally that the said Law will be repealed, and that a new Law will be enacted in keeping with acceptable domestic and international norms. The Sri Lankan State is yet to fulfill this commitment, but that does not derogate from the Sri Lanka State’s commitment that the said Law should not remain on the Statute Book.) The only evidence available against most of these persons are confessions extracted from them against their will under the Prevention of Terrorism Law which would be inadmissible against them in a normal Court of Law. Many of the cases have been postponed because the Prosecution is not ready to proceed with the Cases. Almost all of them have been in custody for very long periods of time, for as long as, they would have been sentenced, if sentence was passed on them shortly after being taken into custody. The families of these persons in custody have suffered for very long periods of time, without the support of their bread winners. This vitally important factor has not been given due consideration,” the motion says.‘

Envoys urge CPN-Maoist to Center to demonstrate flexibility for transitional justice
During a meeting between Kathmandu-based Ambassadors of almost all countries except India and China and top leaders of Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-Maoist Centre) on October 16, the envoys urged CPN-Maoist Center to demonstrate some “flexibility” so that the long cry of conflict victims for transitional justice is met, reports Republica. Worried about the lack of progress in terms of dispensing transitional justice to conflict victims, Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara said “We have had a discussion about the issue with ambassadors of different countries. Although the constitution drafting and implementation process moved smoothly, there has been no progress on transitional justice issues.”

Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics

Govts are not bound by advice or recommendations of UN Special Rapporteurs, says Foreign Affairs Ministry
The Foreign Affairs Ministry issuing a statement on October 11 said Governments are not bound by the advice or recommendations of United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs but can avail of the expert knowledge and experience of Special Rapporteurs who are available to Governments as a resource, reports Daily Mirror. “Advice and expertise of UN Experts can be obtained by countries in a manner that would benefit institutional capacity building, policy formulation, and policy reform and training needs as a Government may consider necessary,” it said.

Northern protestors meet president for discussions on Tamil prisoners
A group of protesters including the Northern Provincial councilor K. Shivajilingam held a discussion with President Maithripala Sirisena on October 19 at the Presidential Secretariat regarding the Tamil prisoners, reports Colombo Page. The group including councilor K. Shivajilingam staged a protest demonstration carrying black flags when President Sirisena was visiting Jaffna on October 14. A small group of people demanding the transfer of three Tamil prisoners who have been sent from the Vavuniya Prison to the Anuradhapura Prison, back to Vavuniya Prison staged a protest along the road waving black flags. The President asked the demonstrators to visit Colombo and discuss any problems with him to find ways and means to settle them.

SL calls monks who attacked Rohingya Muslims as ‘animals’
The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday, Sept 27 slammed a group of radical Buddhist monks who attacked Rohingya refugees on the island as “animals”, pledging action against police who failed to protect them. Rajitha Senaratne, a cabinet spokesman, said the government condemned Tuesday’s storming of a UN safe house where 31 Rohingya Muslims, including 16 children and seven women, had been given shelter.

“As a Buddhist I am ashamed at what happened,” Senaratne told reporters. “Mothers carrying very young children were forced out of their safe house which was attacked by a mob led by a handful of monks,” he said.

The mob broke down the gates of the multi-storied building near the capital Colombo, smashing windows and furniture as frightened refugees huddled together upstairs. There were no reports of casualties among the refugees, who were later taken to another location, but two police officers were wounded and admitted to hospital.

Senaratne said police had been ordered to take disciplinary action against officers found to have failed to control the mob. Sri Lanka’s extremist Buddhist monks have close links with their ultra-nationalist counterparts in Myanmar. Both have been accused of orchestrating violence against minority Muslims in the two countries.

The 31 Rohingya refugees were rescued by the Sri Lankan navy five months ago after they were found drifting in a boat off the island’s northern coast They had been living in India for several years before leaving a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu state.

INTERNATIONAL

Palestinian kills three Israelis
A Palestinian opened fire at Israeli security personnel on Tuesday, Sept 26 at the entrance to a West Bank settlement where he had worked, killing three and wounding another before being shot dead, police said.

The attack, which came as US envoy Jason Greenblatt was due in Occupied al-Quds for talks on relaunching the moribund Middle East peace process, drew condemnation from Israeli officials who called for action from the Palestinian leadership.

It also occurred in the middle of the Jewish high holiday period, when Israeli-Palestinian violence has erupted in the past, and led police to order reinforcements to prevent further unrest.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded a clear condemnation of the attack from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, adding that the gunman’s home would be demolished and Israeli work permits withdrawn from his extended family.

The target of the attack was Har Adar, a well-to-do settlement northwest of Occupied al-Quds, high in the hills close to the Green Line that separates the occupied West Bank from Israel.

Trump ignores pleas to calm N Korea tensions
Donald Trump on Sept 26 accused North Korea of torturing a captive US student “beyond belief”, spurning pleas from allies and foes in east Asia to tone down his warlike rhetoric.

For the first time, Trump publicly accused Pyongyang of abusing the late 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, an allegation likely to heighten tensions between the two nuclear powers. Last June the Ohio native was sent home in a coma after more than a year in prison in North Korea. He died a few days later. Aides say Trump was personally shocked and angered by Warmbier’s death, and that the government suspects mistreatment. But the US president had stopped short of publicly accusing the regime of torture, a move that would raise expectations of a tough response, raise tensions and could complicate any future releases.

Since June, the United States and North Korea have traded military moves and bombastic insults in a stand-off over Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes. After seeing Warmbier’s parents on television on Tuesday morning, Trump cast previous concerns aside.

“Otto was tortured beyond belief by North Korea”, he said in an early morning tweet. The missive came just hours after South Korea — whose densely-populated capital Seoul is located just 35 miles from the demilitarised zone dividing the Korean peninsula — asked its US ally to take the heat out of the situation.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha visited Washington to warn it was imperative to “prevent further escalation of tensions or any kind of accidental military clashes which can quickly go out of control.” Similarly, China, the North’s neighbor and only major ally, warned on Tuesday that any conflict would have “no winners”.

Ousted Thai PM Yingluck sentenced in absentia to 5 years for negligence
Thailand’s top court on Wednesday, Sept 27 sentenced ousted premier Yingluck Shinawatra in absentia to five years in prison for criminal negligence, a verdict that likely ends the political career of a popular leader who fled the junta-run kingdom last month.

Yingluck’s administration was toppled in a 2014 coup and she was later put on trial for failing to stop corruption and losses in her government’s rice subsidy scheme, which the court said cost the country billions of dollars. She pleaded innocent and accused the ruling junta of a political witch-hunt. But the Supreme Court in Bangkok deemed her guilty, saying she failed to stop graft and losses in the rice programme.

She “should have designated reasonable and effective regulations that could concretely prevent loss from the beginning of the programme,” the verdict said, adding that the policy cost Thailand nearly $10 billion in losses.

After attending dozens of hearings in a trial that lasted more than one year, Yingluck failed to turn up for a ruling originally scheduled for August 25 — a day of high drama that left the kingdom dumbfounded.

Mursi gets ‘life sentence’
An Egyptian court sentenced top Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie to another life term in prison on Thursday, Sept 28 in the latest example of a crackdown against Islamists since the army overthrew President Mohammed Mursi.

The sentence relates to violence that broke out in 2013 after the army toppled Mursi in the wake of mass demonstrations against him. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the military at that time and was elected president the following year.

Authorities outlawed the Brotherhood after Mursi was ousted and arrested thousands of its supporters. They also dissolved its Freedom and Justice Party, which Mursi led.

Mass life and death sentences have been common since then in what rights groups call an unprecedented crackdown. Fifteen others were sentenced to life in prison in the same case on Thursday while 77 were given 15-year sentences with hard labour.

Only 38 of those sentenced on Thursday were present at court while the rest were sentenced in absentia. The judgement can be appealed in a higher court within the next 60 days.

73 Syrian govt fighters killed
The Islamic State group has killed at least 73 Syrian government troops and allied fighters in surprise attacks on their positions in a desert region, a monitor said on Friday, Sept 29.

The deaths came in Thursday attacks launched as the Jihadist group faces a Russian-backed regime offensive against some of its last bastions. The extremist group claimed the attacks against several positions south of the town of Sukhna in central Homs province, saying its fighters had killed dozens of regime troops.

The attacks come a day after IS released what it said was an audio recording of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the first in a year, in which he urged resistance. Syrian troops pushed through the vast desert that separates the main cities of the west from the Euphrates Valley this summer and broke an IS siege of nearly three years on government enclaves in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor earlier this month. Thursday’s attacks targeted government forces around Deir Ezzor and on their supply lines through the Sukhna area from the west, the Observatory said.

Syrian state media made no mention of the army’s losses, but said its troops “confronted an attack by the terrorist Daesh group on the highway between Deir Ezzor and Palmyra, deep in the Badia desert.”

Pope to wage war on ‘fake news’
Pope Francis is to tackle the rise of fake news in a bid to stop trolls and irresponsible media outlets fomenting hate.

“I have chosen this theme for World Communications Day 2018: ‘The truth will set you free’. Fake news and journalism for peace,” he said on Twitter on Friday. Sept 29. Francis has repeatedly warned journalists of the weight of their responsibility in a world dominated by social media.

Last year he compared scandal-obsessed media outlets who smear politicians and spread gossip to people sexually excited by excrement and described their readers as feces eaters. The Vatican said on Friday the Argentine pontiff wanted to tackle “an often misleading distortion of facts” and the spread of “baseless information that contributes to generating and nurturing a strong polarisation of opinions”.

“In a context in which the key companies of the social web and the world of institutions and politics have started to confront this phenomenon, the Church too wishes to offer a contribution,” it said.

The pope himself was the victim of a fake news story in February. A fake front page fashioned in the same style as the Vatican’s official newspaper, which was sent to numerous cardinals and bishops, ran a spoof interview with him.

UN to send war crimes investigators to Yemen
The UN Human Rights Council agreed on Saturday, Sept 30 to send war crimes investigators to Yemen, overcoming resistance from Saudi Arabia, which had fought to head off an independent international probe. In a resolution adopted by consensus, the council mandated UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to send a group of “eminent experts” to Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been bombing Huthi rebels since March 2015.

The experts will conduct “a comprehensive examination of all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights” committed in the conflict and seek “to identify those responsible,” it said.

Launching the probe marks a victory for a group of European states and Canada, which pushed hard for an international inquiry fully independent of a Yemeni national investigation that is backed by the Saudis.

The Saudi-led coalition has been accused of bombing schools, markets, hospitals and other civilian targets in support of Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels have also been accused of widespread abuses, which the UN team will also probe.

Saudi Arabia had for the past two years succeeded in blocking the rights chief’s call for an international inquiry. In a letter leaked to several media outlets this week, the kingdom threatened economic and diplomatic retaliation against rights council members which voted for the EU/Canadian proposal.

Firing on concert in US kills 59
A gunman killed at least 59 people and wounded more than 200 when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas on Sunday, Oct 1 in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

A 64-year-old Nevada resident identified as Stephen Paddock was the attacker who targeted the concert from the 32^nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue. Paddock killed himself before police entered the hotel room he was firing from, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters. “We have no idea what his belief system was,” Lombardo said.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the massacre, but the US officials expressed skepticism of that claim. In its claim, Islamic State said that the gunman was a recent convert, according to the group’s news agency Amaq. Its claim did not include the gunman’s name and showed no proof. In the past, the group has also claimed responsibility for attacks without providing evidence. Police said they had no information about Paddock’s motive, that he had no criminal record and was not believed to be connected to any militant group.

“We are looking at in excess of 50 individuals dead and of 200 individuals injured at this point,” Las Vegas Metro Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a pre-dawn press conference on Monday in the Nevada gambling hub. He said there were more than 10 rifles in the room where Paddock killed himself. He had checked into the hotel on Thursday. Police found several more weapons when they searched Paddock’s home in Mesquite, which is about 145 kilometres northeast of Las Vegas, Mesquite police spokesman Quinn Averett told reporters.

Over two million new refugees this year: UN
Conflicts, violence and persecution in Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria and elsewhere have forced more than two million people to flee as refugees this year, the UN refugee chief said on Monday, Oct 2. At the end of 2016, a record 65.6 million people had been uprooted from their homes worldwide, with 22.5 million of them registered as refugees. “The despair of millions of men, women and children driven from their homes, cast adrift into a life of uncertainty, is a stain on our collective conscience,” Filippo Grandi told UNHCR’s annual Executive Committee meeting in Geneva.

Calling for more international cooperation and support to address the crisis, he pointed to the dire needs of the more than half a million Rohingya Muslims who crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar since August 25.

During the same period, 50,000 refugees had flooded out of South Sudan and another 18,000 had fled clashes in the Central African Republic, he said. War-ravaged Syria continues to account for the world’s largest number of forcibly displaced people, with civilians there still bearing the brunt of clashes.

Grandi warned that refugee rights and protection were eroding worldwide, including in Europe and the United States, “driven by confused, sometimes frightened public opinions often stirred up by irresponsible politicians.”

US-led strike kill 18 civilians in Raqa
A US-led coalition air strike killed at least 18 civilians on Tuesday, Oct 3 in the Islamic State group’s former stronghold of Raqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

“International coalition planes targeted water wells where a group of civilians were gathered in the north of Raqa city, killing at least 18 civilians,” Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The Britain-based group said four children were among the dead. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, broke into Raqa in June and has since wrested 90 percent of the city from IS.

But activists say coalition strikes in support of the operation have killed hundreds of civilians and caused enormous damage. The coalition says it takes “extraordinary care” to avoid civilian casualties in its strikes and that it investigates credible claims of civilian deaths.

In late September, the coalition acknowledged the deaths of 735 civilians in its strikes on Syria and Iraq since 2014.

Turkey detains 35 officials
Turkish police on Tuesday, Oct 3 arrested 35 local authority officials in Istanbul over alleged ties to last year’s failed coup, just weeks after the city’s long-serving mayor stepped down, state media reported.

Another 77 Istanbul officials also face arrest, with a total of 112 warrants issued for current or former employees of several district authorities, Anadolu news agency reported. They are accused of links to US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the bloody coup, charges he fiercely rejects. They allegedly used Bylock, a messaging app used by the July 15, 2016 putsch suspects.

They are accused of “membership in an armed terror group,” Anadolu reported. Separately, Ankara prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 142 people — 121 of them from the education ministry, most of whom had been sacked, and 21 former employees of the sports ministry, Anadolu said.

Turkish judge finds 42 soldiers guilty of trying to kill Erdogan
A Turkish court on Wednesday, Oct 4 found 42 former soldiers guilty of trying to kill President Tayyip Erdogan during last year’s failed coup, and handed most of them life sentences in the highest profile case related to the attempted putsch so far. Judge Emirsah Bastog read out guilty verdicts for 42 of the 47 defendants, according to a Reuters reporter at the court in Mugla, southwestern Turkey.

Mugla is near the luxury resort where Erdogan and his family narrowly escaped a team of rogue soldiers who stormed his hotel during the night of the coup. The trial, which started in February and included Erdogan as a co-plaintiff, is part of a sweeping security crackdown that followed the failed putsch of July 2016. It is the biggest such case to reach a conclusion so far.

“I hope the verdict is beneficial to everyone,” Bastog said as he sentenced 34 of the accused to “aggravated” life sentences, the harshest punishment possible under Turkish law because it lengthens the minimum sentence required for parole. Another six defendants were given life terms while two others were given lesser sentences. No verdict was given for three who were tried in absentia, including US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating the coup.

Iran sentences member of nuclear negotiating team to 5 years in jail
Iranian authorities sentenced a member of Iran’s nuclear negotiating team to five years in jail, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday, Oct 4 although it gave no details of the case.

Iran reached a nuclear deal with the United States and five other major powers in 2015 that led to the lifting of most of the international sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

The potential detente with the West has alarmed Iranian hardliners, who have seen a flood of European trade and investment delegations arrive in Tehran to discuss possible deals, according to Iran experts.

Reports last year in the Iranian media said a nuclear negotiator with dual nationality had been arrested after being accused of providing sensitive economic information to Iran’s enemies. In May, the judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said a member of the negotiating team who was facing espionage charges had been sentenced to a prison term, but added that he could not provide details since the verdict could be appealed.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in October 2015 detained Siamak Namazi, a businessman in his mid-40s with dual US-Iranian citizenship, while he was visiting family in Tehran.

The IRGC in February arrested his 80-year-old father, Baquer Namazi, a former Iranian provincial governor and former Unicef official who also has dual citizenship.

Three US soldiers killed in Niger
Three US Green Berets and an unknown number of Nigerien soldiers were killed in a clash on the Niger-Mali border, where Islamic State fighters have established a presence, officials from said on Thursday, Oct 5.

A joint US-Niger patrol fell into an ambush on Wednesday in the Tillaberi region in the country’s southwest, requiring French Mirage 2000 fighter jets to be called in for air support.

Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said there were many casualties in the battle, and US Africa Command said two more Special Forces troops were wounded.

Another person from an unnamed country was also killed, according to the Pentagon statement, which did not specifically mention Nigerien casualties.

A French military spokesman said French helicopters had evacuated wounded from the scene and added that the fighting was continuing. “The Nigerien operation is still ongoing, from what I know,” said French Colonel Patrik Steiger.

The Pentagon said the clash took place approximately 200 kilometers north of Niamey. That puts the attack near the border with Mali, where armed Jihadists are known to operate.

Philippines ‘breeding ground for terrorists’
A Filipino suspect in a thwarted jihadist plot targetting New York City had boasted that his country was “a breeding ground for terrorists”, the US Justice Department said on Saturday, Oct 7. Russell Salic and two others have been charged with involvement in the plan to carry out the attacks in the name of the Islamic State group during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in 2016.

A statement released by the US embassy in Manila said Salic, 37, transferred money to the other suspects for the operation, saying he could safely do this from the Philippines without attracting attention.

Multiple locations including New York’s subway, Times Square and some concert venues were identified as targets in the plot that was foiled by an undercover FBI agent, US authorities announced on Friday.

The agent posed as an IS supporter and communicated with Salic and his two alleged accomplices Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian who purchased bomb making materials, and Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old American citizen living in Pakistan.

El Bahnasawy told the undercover FBI agent that Salic was a trusted IS supporter who had provided funding to help the group on prior occasions, according to the Justice Department.

The statement quoted messages sent by Salic to others involved in the plot in which he described terror laws in the Philippines as “not strict” in comparison to countries such as Australia and the UK.

US embassy in S Arabia issues warning to its citizens
The American embassy in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Oct 7 cautioned its citizens after reports of an attack around the royal palace in the Red Sea city of Jeddah.

Saudi news websites reported that security forces had foiled an attack around the Al-Salam palace that left the attacker and at least two Saudi guards killed. There was no official confirmation of the incident.

Russian air strikes kill 120 Daesh fighters in Syria
Some 120 Islamic State fighters and 60 foreign mercenaries were killed in a series of Russian air strikes in Syria over the past 24 hours, the defence ministry in Moscow said on Saturday, Oct 7. Puzzlingly, the ministry also said three senior IS commanders including Omar al-Shishani had been confirmed dead as a result of an earlier Russian strike.

Moscow reported al-Shishani’s death despite the fact that the Pentagon said in 2016 the notorious fighter had been killed by American troops in Iraq.

In another air strike, more than 60 foreign mercenaries from the former Soviet Union, Tunisia, and Egypt were killed in the Euphrates Valley south of Deir Ezzor.

The ministry said “large numbers of foreign mercenaries” were coming into the Syrian border town of Albu Kamal from Iraq.

It also said Russian forces had killed senior IS commanders Omar al-Shishani, Alaa al-din al-Shishani and Salah al-Din al-Shishani, all natives of the Northern Caucasus.

Moscow reported their deaths after taking “several days” to confirm the results of an earlier strike on the northern outskirts of Albu Kamal which destroyed an IS command post with more than 30 fighters including the natives of the Northern Caucasus.

The Pentagon announced in March 2016 that American forces had killed Shishani, one of the most notorious faces of IS known for his thick red beard.

The Russian defence ministry was not immediately available for further comment.

Civilians pour out of Raqa as bombing intensifies
Dozens of desperate civilians streamed out of battlefront districts of Syria’s Raqa on Thursday, Oct 12 after a ferocious resumption in bombardment against Islamic State group holdouts in the city.

US-led air strikes have helped the Syrian Democratic Forces oust IS from around 90 percent of the group’s one-time bastion, but hundreds of jihadists and civilians are still believed to be holed up near Raqa’s city centre.

Early on Thursday morning, dozens of people mostly women and children crossed the front line in Raqa’s central Al-Badu district and were transported by SDF forces to a row of one-room concrete warehouses on the western edge of the city. Many of the children were without shoes, their tiny feet covered in dirt after they fled their battle-scarred neighbourhoods on foot. Haggard-looking men of all ages most of them suffering wounds to their legs or head — had been siphoned off into a separate area for questioning.

Several residents told AFP that air strikes and artillery fire had resumed with a vengeance on Wednesday night after several days of relative calm.

This week, officials from the Raqa Civil Council — a provisional administration set up by the SDF were working to secure the safe passage of civilians from remaining IS-held areas.

SDF field commanders told AFP the front lines had been quiet in recent days apart from sporadic strikes. The US-led coalition backing the SDF’s offensives said it carried out no air raids around Raqa on Monday and six on Tuesday. By comparison, it conducted 24 strikes around Raqa on Wednesday.

Six Egyptian soldiers killed in Sinai attack
Six Egyptian soldiers were killed in a “terrorist” attack in restive North Sinai, where Jihadists are active, the army’s spokesman said on Friday, Oct 13.

“Terrorist elements attacked a security post in El-Arish with hand grenades and firearms,” Tamer el-Rifai wrote on his Facebook page.

“The assailants fled and many were killed and wounded,” he said, without giving further details.

A jihadist insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula has killed hundreds of troops and policemen since the army ousted Egypt’s elected Islamist president Mohammed Mursi in 2013, with an Islamic State group affiliate claiming responsibility for many attacks.

Mogadishu reels as truck bomb toll hits 137
The death toll from a massive weekend truck bomb in a busy shopping district of Mogadishu surged to at least 137, police said on Sunday, Oct 15 warning it could rise further after one of the worst-ever attacks to hit war-torn Somalia. The figure was a huge jump from an initial police estimate of 20 dead in the hours after the deadly explosion ripped through the Somali capital on Saturday, causing scenes of carnage and widespread devastation.

In a posting on Facebook, the deputy speaker of the Somali Senate suggested there was evidence the toll could be well over 200. “We visited Medina hospital where the director told us that 218 dead bodies were admitted the hospital since yesterday,” wrote Senator Abshir Ahmed, saying the hospital chief had told them 130 of the bodies had been “burned beyond recognition”.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Shabaab, a militant group aligned with Al-Qaeda, has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in its bid to overthrow Somalia’s internationally-backed government. Mogadishu’s mayor Tabid Abdi Mohamed also visited those wounded in the blast, saying he lacked words to describe what he had seen.

Iran police seizes 100,000 fake Iraqi visas
Iranian police have seized 100,000 fake visas for Iraq and made six arrests ahead of the huge annual pilgrimage of Arbaeen in November, newspapers reported on Monday, Oct 16. “Police forces have dismantled a band of six persons and seized 100,000 fake visas for Arbaeen” which this year falls on November 9, Tehran’s police chief Hossein Rahimi said.

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.