Suicide Bombings
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel on November 24 foiled a possible militant attack by killing a suspected would-be suicide bomber when he tried to sneak into a Police Station in Burki area of Lahore, reports Dawn. According to a statement released by Police, the suspected suicide bomber was killed in an exchange of fire when he shot at guards after being asked to halt at the premises of the Police Station. The suicide bomber was wearing an explosive vest and he had two grenades in his pockets. Police released pictures of an explosive vest, two grenades and a pistol, saying the suspect was carrying them.
Bombs Blasts/IEDs
At least seven persons were killed and more than 70 injured in a bomb blast inside a madrassah (seminary) in Dil Colony of Peshawar on October 27, reports SAMAA TV. The blast took place when Quran class was ongoing in madrassah which is located inside a mosque. Children and instructors are among the victims. Those killed and injured students were aged between nine and 15 years. City Superintendent of Police (SP) Waqar Azeem said “a person, who has yet to be identified, came to the madrassah at around 8am, kept a bag there, and left. There were explosives in the bag”. There were at least 40 to 50 people present at the site when the explosion occurred, he added. Three Policemen and two passers-by were injured in a grenade attack by unidentified assailants on Spinney Road in Quetta on November 12, reports Samaa TV.
Targeted Killings
A Police constable was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Miranshah town of North Waziristan District on October 29, reports The Express Tribune. Police officials said that the constable identified as Saifur Rehman was killed when he was offering evening prayer at a local mosque in Miranshah. The attackers also kidnapped several people from the mosque with them. The attackers took the body of the deceased constable with them and later threw it in the nearby fields.
A central leader of the traders’ organisation of Balochistan, Allahdad Tareen, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in his village Loai-Alizai in Pishin District in the evening of November 9, reports Dawn. Levies officials said that Allahdad Tareen was shot dead when he was coming out of a mosque after offering evening prayers. No one has claimed responsibility for killing so far.
An unidentified bullet-riddled body of a young man recovered from Rehman-Kahol Road in Chaman town of Killa Abdullah District in Balochistan on November 14, reports Dawn.
Unidentified assailants shot dead a Police officer and injured his driver in Jamrud on November 17, reports Dawn. Officials said former Jamrud station house officer (SHO) Gula Jan along with his driver was on way home in Shah Kas area in his personal vehicle when two armed men riding a motorcycle opened fire on them. The attackers managed to escape. The slain Gula Jan served as the first SHO of the newly-established Jamrud Police Station after the erstwhile FATA’s merger with KP and the extension of the Police Act to the region.
A doctor belonging to the Ahmadi community was shot dead while his father and two uncles were injured when a teenage boy opened fire on them in their home in Murh Balochan area of Nankana Sahib District on November 20, reports Dawn. Police said the Ahmadi family were offering prayers on Friday afternoon at their house when they heard a knock on the door. One of the family members, Dr Tahir Mahmood (31), went to open the door where a teenage boy carrying a pistol opened fire on him. The victim suffered bullet wounds and fell on the ground, while his family members rushed to the door on hearing the gunshots. The suspect also opened fire on them and injured Dr Mahmood’s father, Tariq, and uncles Saeed and Tayyab. Residents of the area subsequently nabbed the attacker. Saddar Sanghla Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Shamshair said that the suspect confessed to having attacked the family over religious differences.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) former central vice-president Sardar Muhammad Sharif Buledi was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle borne assailants within the limits of the Civil Line Police Station in Jacobabad city on November 23, reports ARY News.
Miscellaneous
Security Forces (SFs) conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO), and killed a “high-value target” militant responsible for killing innocent civilians, extortion and attacking SFs, in Buleda area of Kech District on October 31, reports The Express Tribune. The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, “A high-value target responsible for killing innocent civilians, extortion and attacking security forces was killed during the operation. A large cache of arms and ammunition [was also] recovered.” It further said that a soldier was injured during the exchange of fire.
Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) on October 30 claimed to have apprehended a terrorist, having reward money of PKR one million for his arrest in the Red Book of Gilgit Baltistan, during a raid in Shahra-e-Faisal area of Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, reports ARY News. According to a Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) spokesman, Yasir Abbas was wanted by Gilgit Baltistan Government and the local authorities had announced a reward of PKR one million over his arrest.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on November 2 busted a major terror module in the Rajanpur District of Punjab and arrested five militants, reports ARY News. According to the CTD spokesman, the CTD personnel carried out a raid in Rajanpur District and arrested five terrorists, who have been identified as Aijaz, Sagheer, Jabir, Anwar, and Kamran. We have recovered a suicide vest, hand grenade, and huge cache of weapons from their possession, the spokesman said adding that the alleged militants recently relocated their network to Rajanpur from Balochistan.
Malik Imran Hanif, the manager of the National Bank of Pakistan, was shot by a security guard in Quaidabad tehsil of Khushab District on November 4 over a purported blasphemy allegation, reports Pakistan Today. The guard who killed Hanif claimed of doing so over blasphemy. According to the initial reports, the two had been arguing for some time before the firing took place. Reportedly, the guard had been fired a few months back, but had recently been rehired.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) kills two suspected militants in an encounter near Dera Ghazi Khan town (Dera Ghazi Khan District) in Punjab on November 7, reports Daily Times. According to CTD spokesperson, the alleged militants belonged to a banned outfit, who were planning an attack on law enforcement agencies. CTD officials recovered ammunition and hand grenades from the encounter site.
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on November 13 arrested of two ‘most wanted terrorists’ of Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan (SMP) after an encounter at Manghopir Road of Karachi, reports ARY News. CTD in-charge Mazhar Mashwani said in a statement that two most wanted terrorists of SMP, Agha Hassan and Muhammad Ali Raza Naqvi, were arrested after a gun battle occurred at Manghopir Road and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession. Two others terrorists, Karrar Hussain and Syed Ausat Ali Rizvi, managed to escape taking advantage of the dark.
One intelligence personnel and one militant were killed during a gun battle when unidentified militants attacked the District commissioner office in Charsadda Town (Charsadda District) on November 18, reports The Express Tribune. According to reports, unidentified militants opened fire on an intelligence agency office injuring an official who later succumbed to his injuries. Police responded to the gun fire killing one of the attackers while he was trying to enter a building. District Police also recovered weapons from the slain militant.
Two Army soldiers were killed during an attack on a check post in Pash Ziarat area of South Waziristan District on the night of November 18, reports Dawn. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that militants fired on Security Forces near the checkpoint at night. The forces responded promptly, it said, adding that two soldiers, Havaldar Matloob Alam (32) and Sepoy Suleman Shaukat (25), were killed in the resulting exchange of fire. Another soldier was also injured.
Four members of the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA) involved in several militant attacks including on Rangers were arrested from Mirpur Khas District by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on November 19, reports The Balochistan Post. The CTD Sindh claimed in a press release saying that four militants belonging to SRA were responsible for the recent grenade and cracker bomb blasts on Rangers’ mobiles and check posts across Sindh. They were arrested with the help of Federal Intelligence Agency and a case was registered after recovering hand grenades and pistols, CTD said. The arrested militants are identified as, Sarang alias Sohail Mirani son of Zulfiqar Mirani, Bashir Ahmed Shar son of Abdul Razzaq, Anis Ahmed son of Haji Kamil, Khawand Bakhsh alias Saleem Sindhi son of Nazir Ahmed.
Four militants and Army soldier killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) on a militant hideout near Kaitu River in Spinwam area of North Waziristan District on November 22, reports ARY News. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the Security Forces conducted the IBO on a militant hideout. As soon as troops cordoned off the area, militant opened fire in an effort to flee from the area. However, all the militants were killed. During exchange of fire, one solider Sadam was killed while two other soldiers got injured.
Militants targeted a local peace committee member, identified as Misbah-ud-Din Mehsud, in Mehmood Colony nearby Ratta Kulachi Stadium in Dera Ismail Khan town (Dera Ismail Khan District) on November 21, reports Daily Times. However, Misbah-ud-Din Mehsud escaped the attack as he wasn’t in the vehicle at that time. Two of his gunmen Janana and Roshan Khan who are in the vehicle at the at the time of attack remained safe. According to details, the assassination attempt was made by using a remote-controlled device for blast and resorting to indiscriminate fire on the vehicle of Misbah-ud-Din Mehsud. Sources said Mehsud has been facing a security threat because of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Security Forces (SFs) on November 22 arrested three Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants during a raid in Gulshan-e-Maymar area of Karachi, reports ARY News. According to a spokesperson of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh), in an intelligence based joint operation, Sindh Rangers and Police conducted a raid in Gulshan-e-Maymar and arrested three TTP militants identified as Yaseen, Ikramullah alias Faisal and Mohammad Khalid alias Umar. Two among three arrested militants had recently returned from Afghanistan,” according to the spokesperson. They were hatching a plot for a terrorist attack in Karachi, he added. They had already reconnoitered the Karachi airport, US Consulate, Pakistan Security Printing Corporation and other sensitive locations.
The Security Forces (SFs) on November 23 conducted an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) in Tangi village of Bajaur District and killed two Daesh commanders, reports ARY News. The Daesh commanders were identified as Zubair and Aziz-ur-Rehman. Aziz-ur-Rehman was chief of Daesh Karachi chapter.
An act of sabotage was foiled by Security Forces (SFs) by recovering a bomb of 10 kilograms near a flour mill at Bund Road in Pishin town (Pishin District) on November 23, reports ARY News. “The bomb disposal squad (BDS) defused two bombs planted at a motorbike,” deputy commissioner Pishin Qaim Lashari said.
PAKISTAN
FC soldier killed in cross border firing on SF checkpost in Balochistan
A Frontier Corps (FC) soldier, identified as Naik Fakhr Abbas (22), was killed and two others sustained injuries when militants attacked Security check post along the Pak-Afghan border in Manzaikai sector of Zhob District in the night of November 2, reports The Express Tribune. The militants set fire two excavator machinery, one tractor, one roller, one Mazda vehicle, one Toyota truck and two heavyweight generators used by the SFs, adds The Balochistan Post. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released to the media. TTP ‘spokesman’ Mohammad Khorasani said that the military post was attacked last night, as a result of which the military personnel left the post and fled and Mujahideen captured the post. Mohammad Khorasani said that a video footage of the attack will also be published soon.
4,748 cases of ‘missing persons’ disposed of so far, COIED report
According to Commission for Inquiry of Enforced Disappearances of Pakistan (COIED), the commission has so far disposed 4,748 cases till October 31, 2020, reports Daily Times. A total number of 6786 cases were received by the COIED upto September 2020. During October 2020, 45 more cases were received by the commission and total numbers of cases reached to 6831. The COIED disposed of 30 cases in October 2020 and thus total disposal of Missing Persons upto October 31, 2020 is 4748 and balance as on October 2020 is 2083.
Lahore ATC convicts JuD leaders in terror financing cases
The Lahore Anti-terrorism Court (ATC) on November 5 convicted three leaders of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in two separate terror financing cases, reports The Express Tribune. The ATC handed down 16-year imprisonment to Haji Muhammad Ashraf with PKR 170,000 fine in FIR No 89, registered and investigated by Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Multan in 2019. The ATC awarded a one-year imprisonment with PKR 20,000 fine to Hafiz Abdul Rehman Makki in the same case. The ATC also handed down 16-and-a-half-year imprisonment to Malik Zafar Iqbal with PKR 170,000 fine in FIR No 90, registered and investigated by CTD, Multan in 2019. ATC-III Judge Ejaz Ahmad Buttar conducted the case proceedings and handed down imprisonment on proving charges. The CTD Multan had registered the cases against the convicts under section 11-N of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997. It was alleged that the convicts committed terror financing by managing assets of a proscribed organisation, and helped in raising funds.
FIA released red book containing 1,210 most wanted persons
The anti-terrorism wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has compiled a document listing the profiles of some 1,210 terrorism suspects that it deems most notorious, The Express Tribune reported on November 12. A copy of available with The Express Tribune, contained the name of Muttahida Qaumi Movement – London (MQM-London) chief Altaf Hussain and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Nasir Mahmood Butt. The list contains information on suspects wanted in some of the most high-profile terrorist incidents to take place in the country, such as those accused of carrying out the attempt on the lives of former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister (PM) Shaukat Aziz. Others listed include suspects wanted in the assassination of late Punjab Home Minister Shuja Khanzada and the kidnapping of former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Haider.
Of the total 1,210 suspects listed in the document, a majority – 737 to be precise are wanted by law enforcement agencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Another 161 suspects are wanted by law enforcement agencies in Balochistan, the document revealed. A hundred of the suspects listed are wanted by the agencies of Sindh, while another 122 are wanted by law enforcers in Punjab. Another 32 and 30 suspects on the list are sought by law enforcement agencies of Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Iran’s most wanted terrorist, who kidnapped Kulbhushan Jadhav, killed along with two his sons in Balochistan
Security Forces (SFs) on November 17 shot dead Iran’s most wanted terrorist Mullah Omar Baloch Irani along with two his sons during an exchange of fire in Turbat town of Kech District of Balochistan, reports India TV. All the three people, belongs to banned outfit Jash-ul-Adal, were wanted by the Iranian Government for long for kidnapping and killing of Iranian forces and other subversion activities. According to reports, Mullah Omar Baloch Irani worked for the Army and was also involved in the kidnapping of former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav. Irani had kidnapped Jadhav from Chabahar area of Iran and was later handed over to the Army.
ATC sentences JuD chief Hafiz Saeed to 10 years of imprisonment
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on November 19 sentenced the chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) Hafiz Saeed to 10 years and six months of imprisonment for being involved in an illegal funding case, reports Dawn. The court has also fined Saeed with an amount of PKR 110,000 and ordered the confiscation of his properties. Saeed is already in jail serving two sentences of five-and-a-half-years each, handed down to him in February this year, which means he will not serve any extra jail time. Another JuD leader Malik Zafar Iqbal was also awarded a similar sentence. The case against the JuD leadership was filed by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in 2019.
Security forces neutralize RAW-backed terrorist network
A major terrorist network receiving support from RAW was neutralised as security forces conducted an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) on a hideout near village Tangi, Bajaur District, the ISPR said on Monday, Nov 23
During a close encounter, terrorist commanders Zubair and Azizur Rehman alias Fida were killed. The two terrorists were involved in terrorist activities in Bajaur and Karachi. They were also involved in a number of terrorist incidents against LEAs, government officials and innocent civilians. The ISPR said the network was coordinating terrorist activities in various areas of Pakistan and receiving direct orders from their RAW-sponsored leadership from across the border.
Afghanistan – Internal Dynamics
Overall civilian casualty for first nine months of 2020 dropped by 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, according to UNAMA report
The UN mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) report released on October 27, said that the overall civilian casualty figure for the first nine months of 2020 dropped by around 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, but while the number of civilian casualties is lowest in the first nine months of any year since 2012, “the harm done to civilians remains inordinate and shocking”, reports Tolo News. UNAMA documented that Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) remain responsible for the majority of civilian casualties (58 per cent). Compared to the same period in 2019, the amount of civilian deaths attributed to AGEs remained at similar levels, although there was a decrease. The report said that the number of civilians killed attributed to the Taliban increased by six per cent in the first nine months of 2020, adding that the overall number of civilian casualties, killed and injured, attributed to the Taliban dropped by 32 per cent, mainly due to a reduction in the number of civilians injured by suicide attacks and ground engagements, though this was partially offset by an increased number of civilian casualties from targeted killings and illegal, indiscriminate pressure-plate Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs).
Four persons killed as mortar shell hits Kunduz Governor’s Compound
At least four people were killed and eight others were wounded after a mortar shell hit the Kunduz Governor’s compound on October 31, reports Tolo News. The Kunduz Governor’s Spokesman Esmatullah Muradi said the mortar shell hit a sports ground in the compound when some soldiers were playing volleyball. Sources said that those who have been killed are the security guards of Kunduz governor Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal.
CPJ’s its annual Global Impunity Index put Afghanistan in the fifth row among 12 countries where journalists are singled out for murder and their killers go free
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in its annual Global Impunity Index has put Afghanistan in the fifth row among 12 countries where journalists are singled out for murder and their killers go free, Tolo News reports on October 31. The CPJ in a report states that despite a reduction in violence against journalists in countries like Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and South Sudan, the cases of murders of journalists have not been investigated. “CPJ’s annual Global Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are singled out for murder and their killers go free, showed little change from a year earlier. Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and South Sudan occupy the worst four spots on the list, in that order, as war and political instability perpetuate the cycle of violence and lawlessness,” the report said. The Attorney General’s Office said that it has investigated 19 cases of violence and murder of journalists in Afghanistan over the past two years.
19 people killed in Kabul University attack
The Interior Affairs Ministry’s Spokesman Tariq Arian said that 19 people were dead and 22 others wounded in the attack on Kabul University on November 2, reports Tolo News. The attack started at around 11:00 am in the morning when three attackers entered the university compound and moved towards a training center at Law Faculty that was apparently their main target as security sources put it. The Law Faculty is near the eastern gate of the university from where the attackers entered the compound. Some eyewitnesses said the attackers entered classrooms and opened fire at students and professors at the training center of the Law Faculty.
Taliban will not allow any group including al Qaeda to exploit and use Afghanistan’s territory against other nations, says Taliban ‘spokesman’ Mohammad Naeem
Taliban ‘spokesman’ Mohammad Naeem said the Taliban will not allow any group including al Qaeda to exploit and use Afghanistan’s territory against other nations, Tolo News reports on November 4. Referring to the ongoing efforts for peace in Doha (Qatar), the Taliban’s spokesman said that the Afghan Government should clarify its stance on the negotiations if it is not ready to accept the US-Taliban peace deal as the foundation for the peace talks. “Right now, there is no al-Qaeda presence in Afghanistan,” Naeem said.
876 Civilians killed in Afghanistan in three months, according to SIGAR
The US Special Inspector for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in a report quoting the Resolute Support (RS) says 876 civilians were killed and 1,685 were wounded from July 1 to September 30, 2020, Tolo News reports on November 9. In line with the continued rise in violence, this quarter’s casualties increased by 43 per cent compared to last quarter (April 1–June 30, 2020), the report says. The report says that though casualties are typically high in the third quarter of any year, this quarter’s high figures are notable because they occurred during an ongoing peace process and despite Taliban commitments to reduce violence. According to the report, RS attributed about 83 per cent of this quarter’s civilian casualties to anti-government forces (40 per cent to unknown insurgents, 38 per cent to the Taliban, 3 per cent to Islamic State-Khorasan [Daesh], and 2 per cent to the Haqqani Network), roughly the same as last quarter’s breakdown. Another 8 per cent were attributed to pro-government forces (8 per cent to ANDSF and no incidents attributed to Coalition forces), and about 8 per cent to other or unknown forces, the report says.
14 SF personnel killed in Kunduz Province
At least 14 Security Force (SF) personnel were killed in an attack by the Taliban on Bala Hisar military base in Imam Sahib District in Kunduz Province on November 12, reports Tolo News. The sources added that 11 SF personnel were wounded in the attack. The military base, which is a key base in the northern province, fell to the Taliban for some hours but was retaken by the SFs, the sources said.
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics
JeI chief and 185 others indicted in 2014 violence case
A Dhaka Court on October 27 framed charges against 186 people, including Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Ameer (Chief) Dr Shafiqur Rahman, in a case of violence filed with Motijheel Police Station in Dhaka city in 2014, reports Dhaka Tribune. The case was filed over torching of a BRTC bus and hurling of crude bombs at a Police vehicle from an anti-Government procession at Motijheel area in the capital in 2014. The court also set March 22, 2021 to start recording the testimony of witnesses.
Four ‘Neo-JMB’ men arrested in Bogra District
The Detective Branch (DB) of Police arrested four cadres of Neo-Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (Neo-JMB) from Chandihara area in Sherpur upazila (sub-District)in Bogura District in the Rajshahi Division on November 7, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees are identified as Tanvir Ahmed alias Abu Ibrahim (25), Jakaria Jamil (31), Atiqur Rahman (28), and Abu Saaid (32), hailing from Gopalganj, Tangail and Mymensingh respectively. Abdul Baten, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of DB’s Rajshahi range Police, said, Tanvir was a member of the IT section of Neo-JMB while Jakaria was the head of the media wing of the outfit. Atiqur was a student of North-South University’s Pharmacy department, while, Saaid, an active member of the outfit. The DB team also recovered one pistol, one magazine, two rounds of bullets, one shooter gun, three Burmese knives, one kilogram of gun powder, two red tapes, four batteries and some Jihadi books from their possession.
Seven ICS cadres arrested in Bogra District
Police on November 10 arrested seven cadres of Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), while they were holding a meeting at Tota Mia hostel in Maltinagar cremation ground area of Bogra city in Bogra District of Rajshahi Division to overthrow the Government and carry out subversive anti-state activities, reports Dhaka Tribune. The arrestees are Mehedi Hasan (26), Yusuf Ali (26), Asadul Al Galif (24), Shaheen Alam (24), Zia Alam (25), Golam Mortuza (27) and Abdul Quddus (25). A large number of jihadi books, computers, laptops, sticks dipped in kerosene oil were recovered from the room.
25 Jamaat female activists arrested in Kushtia District
Police arrested 25 female activists of Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) from Jhaudia Bazar in Kushtia District of Bangladesh on November 14, reports New Age. Acting on a tip off, a team of Police conducted a drive in Jhaudia Mosque area and arrested the 25 activists while holding a clandestine meeting, said Mostafizur Rahman Ratan, Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of Islamic University Police. Police arrested them on charge of planning acts of sabotage.
Four JMB cadres arrested in Rajshahi District
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four cadres of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) on November 19 from Shah Makhdum area of Rajshahi District in Rajshahi Division, reports Daily Sun. The arrestees are JMB’s Rajshahi ‘regional commander’ Jewel Ali alias Habibullah alias Mahmud (33), Ashraful Islam (24), Alif Hossain (20) and Jewel Sheikh (22).
India – Internal Dynamics
DRG trooper killed in gunfight with Maoists in Chhattisgarh
A District Reserve Guard (DRG) trooper was killed and two others were injured in an exchange of fire with the cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) in the forested terrain of Orchha in Narayanpur District of Chhattisgarh on October 24, reports The New Indian Express. A senior police official said, “There was a gun battle between the troopers and the Maoists in the forested terrain of Orchha on Saturday morning. One DRG personnel was killed and another two sustained bullet injuries. The incident occurred when a team of security forces was out on the search operation.” The Police believed that Maoists had suffered casualties although their bodies could not be recovered.
Intel hints Maoist used drones to distract police, help top cadre travel in Maharashtra
Intelligent inputs with the Police department indicate the Communist Party of India-Maoist flew drones near security posts in sensitive south Gadchiroli to keep the Security Forces (SFs) distracted while their senior cadres crossed through the region, reports The Times of India on October 28. The flying drones, first spotted at Gatta village in Etapalli Tehsil (revenue unit) in Gadchiroli District in mid-September, have so far remained untraced, as the investigation is underway. The drones, after being sighted at Gatta, were spotted at several other places as they flew over villages and also tried to come near Police posts, leading to firing. The drones were spotted last at Venkatapur in south Gadchiroli.
SFJ offers Punjab students with iPhone 12 for raising pro-Khalistan flags on Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary
The US-based secessionist organization Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) released a video offering the students in Punjab free iPhone 12 Mini with pre-installed ‘Punjab Referendum’ apps for raising pro-Khalistan flags on the occasion of the 36th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, reports Times Now on October 23. Releasing the video SFJ had said, “To commemorate the 36th martyrdom year of Beant Singh, the assassin of Indira Gandhi, the secessionist group Sikh For Justice gave a call to the students to raise Khalistan flag in schools, colleges and universities in Punjab on October 31. SFJ General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun offered the students free iPhone 12 Mini with pre-installed ‘Punjab Referendum apps’ and VPN to safely connect with SFJ’s Voter Registration database circumventing the Ministry of Home Affairs’ ban.”
NIA arrests Madrasa teacher for al Qaeda links in West Bengal
On November 1, a Madrasa teacher identified as Abdul Momin Mondal was arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) for al Qaeda linkages from Murshidabad District in West Bengal, reports Indian Express. Momin who was working as a teacher in Raipur Darul Huda Islamia Madrassa in Murshidabad District, was found to be involved in a series of conspiratorial meetings convened by the members of the al Qaeda module and also trying to recruit new members for the group and was raising funds for furthering its terrorist activities. According to NIA, search operation was carried out in the house of the accused and digital devices were recovered. This was the 11th arrest made by NIA since September in the case ‘pertaining to anti-national activities by a group of jihadi terrorists consisting of more than 10 members inspired by globally proscribed terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda, who were planning to carry out anti-national and terrorist activities at different locations in India, including, but not limited to West Bengal, Delhi and Kerala’.
Maoists blow up community hall in Bihar
Suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres blew up a newly constructed community hall in Gaya District of Bihar late on November 15 night, reports Hindustan Times. Police said an armed squad of the CPI-Maoist stormed into Bodhi-Bigha village in Dumaria Police Station limits in Gaya District and planted dynamites that blew up the building. According to the villagers, the community hall, built with then Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Anuj Kumar’s fund at a cost of INR 2 million, had been on Maoists’ radar for a while. On March 27, 2019, Maoists had also blown up Singh’s house in Dumaria after he allegedly failed to return their INR 20 million given in demonetised notes to exchange. Police sources said there were pamphlets at the site demanding INR 20 million from Singh, purportedly from Maoists. The pamphlets claimed that Singh was a ‘police informer’ who harassed common people and had repeatedly been warned. “Our fight is against elements like Anuj Singh who get huge [amounts of] money from Maoists leaders on the pretext of giving contracts,” the pamphlet read.
Police personnel injured in an IED explosion in Chhattisgarh
Six Police personnel the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) believed to be planted by the Communist Party of India-Maoist exploded in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on November 20, reports Zee News. The explosion took place on Gorna-Mankeli road, where a team of Security Force (SF) personnel along with the BDS of the District Voluntary Force (DVF) was carrying out a demining operation to ensure safety during road construction work. In the operation, the team detected an IED packed in a steel box and planted beneath the dirt track and neutralised it, while another bomb connected to a pressure switch exploded when it was being removed, said an official.
Maoists shot dead a civilian on suspicion of being a ‘Police informer’ in Jharkhand
The Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres shot dead a civilian, identified as Mukesh Giri, on suspicion of being a ‘Police informer’ at Sinpur Chhath Ghat under Pathalgadda Police Station limits in Chatra District of Jharkhand on November 21, reports The Times of India. Mukesh, a coal trader was killed when he was offering Arghya along with other devotees at the Chhath Ghat. Police recovered three used cartridges and two Maoist posters from the spot.
Maoist camp neutralized in Odisha
Personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) neutralized a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) camp and recovered a huge cache of arms, explosives and other daily use items of the rebels in a forest near Bhainsadani in Nuapada District of Odisha on November 22, reports The Pioneer. The recovered items include – sixteen rifles, ten pistols, eleven rifle barrels, 83 electric detonators, 1250 metres cortex wire, plastic drum, 15 iron-made containers, the political maps of Puri and Cuttack Districts, Bhubaneswar and Andhra Pradesh, 26 Maoist booklets, 17 CD/DVDs, 165 belt boxes, and grocery items and many electronic items including a generator set, batteries, printer cartridge, charger and electric wires.
SFs recover ammonium nitrate and ammunition in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh
Security Forces (SFs) on November 24 recovered 500 kilograms of ammonium nitrate used to make explosives from a Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) hideout at a forest near Metatodke village under Aundhi Police Station limits in Rajnandgaon District of Chhattisgarh, reports Outlook. Based on the inputs provided by a surrendered Maoist, the recovery, from a buried plastic drum, was by a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and District Force (DF).
Arms and explosives recovered in Maharashtra
In a joint operation, the Police personnel from Gondia and Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh) District recovered a huge dump of explosives, belonging to the Communist Party of India-Maoist, concealed underground in the forests of Mouza-Kauabara in Gondia District of Maharashtra on November 23, reports United News of India. The recovered arms included barrels of the rifle, handheld grenade outer cover, electric wires, solar plates, electric tape roll, switches, books on Naxals [Left Wing Extremists, LWEs], huge drums, electric batteries and so on, said a Police official.
SFJ calls for raising ‘Khalistan’ flags at India Gate in Delhi on 26th November
Security agencies have issued alerts in Delhi to keep strict vigil in the national capital as the banned secessionist organization – Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) in its latest move has given a call to farmers of Punjab and Haryana to raise ‘Khalistan’ flags on November 26 at India Gate, reports The Hitavada on November 25. SFJ’s General Counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in a video message, advised farmers to reach Delhi on November 25 where arrangements for their night stay would be made at Gurudwaras Bangla Sahib; Rakab Ganj Sahib; Sis Ganj Sahib and Majnu Ka Teela and where Khalistan flags would be supplied to them for hoisting on India Gate. Also, SFJ called for the move on November 26 as it would be observed as the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attack in Mumbai.
Monthly Fatalities
The following casualties, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period Oct 26 to Nov 25:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militant | Total | |
| Manipur | 03 | 00 | 01 | 04 |
| Left wing | 12 | 00 | 07 | 19 |
| Total | 15 | 00 | 08 | 23 |
Nepal – Internal Dynamics
NCP is currently facing ‘a serious existential crisis’, says NCP General Secretary Bishnu Poudel
General Secretary of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Bishnu Poudel on November 1 said that his party is currently facing ‘a serious existential crisis’, reports Republica. Poudel, who is one of the close confidants of NCP Chairman and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and the Finance Minister in his Cabinet, wrote on Twitter that the “unified existence of the NCP has witnessed a serious crisis”. Poudel’s tweet has created ripples in the party’s internal dynamics as well as the country’s mainstream politics as the party holds a two-thirds majority in the federal parliament, and maintains a stronghold in six out of the seven provinces in the country.
Prime Minister K P Oli alleges some leaders within NCP trying to push country toward instability
Hinting at recent media reports that rival faction leaders within the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) are preparing to oust him from power, Prime Minister K P Oli on November 4 alleged that some leaders within NCP is trying to bring instability in the country, reports Republica. Addressing a function organized to inaugurate the newly-constructed annex building of Manmohan Center under the Institute of Medicine in Maharajgunj, Prime Minister Oli also said that he will not step down from power despite such efforts as this would mean pushing the country toward a fresh round of instability. Although he did not name anyone in his statement, it was clear that he was referring to the party’s other Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Two CPN-Maoist-Chand cadres arrested in Kathmandu city
Armed Police Force (APF) arrested two cadres of the outlawed Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand) protesting the visit by Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army Manoj Mukund Naravane in Kathmandu city of Kathmandu District in Province No.3, reports Khabarhub. The arrested are Khem Pradhan, Central Member of the Janatantrik Sampark Manch, and Tikaram Chaudhary, an active member of the Manch. According to APF, they were arrested at 11:30 am along with leaflets, banners, three mobile phones, and extortion documents.
Four CPN-Maoist-Chand cadres arrested in Kathmandu city on extortion charge
Police on November 11 four cadres of Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand) from Kathmandu city of Kathmandu District in Province No. 3on extortion charge, reports The Himalayan Times. Police said they had asked for a total of NR 30 million from the businessmen over telephone and threatened to inflict physical harm if they didn’t comply with their demands. Those arrested have been identified as Bintos Silwal (33), Ramdal Shrestha (31), Tirtha Man Tamang (51) and Nandu Raj Acharya (42).
Bomb exploded at municipal office in Udayapur District
A bomb went off at the help desk area of the Tapli Municipality office in Udayapur District of Province No. 1 on November 22, reports The Himalayan Times. The explosion damaged the administrative office, accountant’s office and deputy chair’s office. The equipment in the offices such as computer, printers, cabinets, sofas were also damaged in the incident. No groups or individual have claimed responsibility for the action. However, police suspect that the act was carried out by Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand) group.
Four CPN-Maoist-Chand cadres arrested in Kaski District
Police on November 23 arrested four cadres of outlawed Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist-Chand) from Deurali area in Pokhara city of Kaski District in Province No. 4, reports Republica. The arrested are Kumar Pariyar, Yam Prasad Bhattarai, Kali Bahadur Pandey and Bishal Shrestha.
Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics
Government committed suicide by passing 20th Amendment based on greed for power, says Former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya
Former Speaker and Chairman of the National Movement for a Just Society (NMJS) Karu Jayasuriya addressing a media briefing held at the Janaki Hotel in Colombo on November 13 said that the present Government had committed suicide by passing the 20th Amendment based on greed for power, reports Colombo Page.Mr. Jayasuriya said “From the moment the 20th Amendment was introduced there was a great deal of debate in this country. It was not approved by the intelligentsia of various religions, including the Maha Sangha, Catholic, Christian clergy. Also, many opinion polls conducted in this country show that even today the people of this country do not respect the 20th Amendment. It seems that the people are clearly rejecting it.”
Alternative proposals on new Constitution handed over to Prime Minister
A book containing alternative proposals for a new Constitution for Sri Lanka was handed over to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on November 16 by the President of the Buddhist Congress Jagath Sumathipala, reports Colombo Page. Representing the Buddhasasana Task Force and the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, the Venerable Maha Sangha presented the book to the Prime Minister at his official residence in Wijerama. The book has been compiled by the National Policy Council, Law, Public Administration, National Security and Foreign Policy Subcommittee of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress.
Former Minister Rishad Bathuideen urged me to release a suspect, says Former Army Commander General Mahesh Senanayake
Former Army Commander General Mahesh Senanayake testifying before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing the Easter Sunday attacks said that former Minister Rishad Bathuideen had made three phone calls to release a suspect who arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks, reports Daily Mirror on November 18. “Former Minister Bathuideen called and asked if anyone named Ahmed had been arrested. I said I couldn’t remember such a person. He called me back a few hours later and asked if I had found out about that boy. I replied I had more work to do than find out about that child. Then Rishad said that the boy was the son of a General Manager of his Ministry. At that point I did a search. The Director of Army Intelligence told me that Isham Ahmed had been arrested in Dehiwala. Rishad called me again. Even then I knew that the suspect was connected to a large network we were looking for. I told him to call me back in about a year and a half and that we would detain him and interrogate him, I had the power to do that,” he told the commission.
M.L.A. Hizbullah received over SLR 4 billion foreign funds to BoC accounts, says former BoC Manager I.C.K. Kannangara
Testifying before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) probing Easter Sunday attacks, former Bank of Ceylon (BoC) Manager I.C.K. Kannangara said that two BoC accounts operated by former Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M. Hizbullah had received over SLR 4 billion in terms of foreign funds within a period of three years before the Easter Sunday terror attacks, reports Daily Mirror on November 24. Hizbullah had operated five accounts at Colpetty branch. However, evidence had been led before the Commission pertaining to two accounts named Sri Lanka Hira Foundation and Batticaloa Campus Private Ltd, out of five accounts operated by Hizbullah. “The two accounts were current accounts. Sri Lanka Hira Foundation account had received foreign funds on fifteen occasions and Batticaloa Campus Private Ltd. account had received foreign funds on seven occasions during the period between 2016 and 2019,” the witness said.
INTERNATIONAL
Fierce fighting rages despite truce: Armenia’s missile attack kill 21 civilians in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan accused Armenia of killing 21 people and wounding dozens in a missile strike near Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday, Oct 28 the deadliest reported attack on civilians in a month of fighting over the disputed region.
Armenia immediately denied carrying out the attack, the second in two days, that Azerbaijan says killed civilians in its Barda district close to the frontline.
Yerevan also accused Azerbaijani forces of deadly new strikes on civilian areas of Karabakh, as both sides claim the other is increasingly targeting civilians after weeks of fierce frontline clashes.
The latest attacks came despite a US-brokered truce agreed at the weekend, the third ceasefire attempt in a row to collapse just minutes after it took effect. Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said Armenian forces had fired Smerch missiles against Barda, accusing them of using cluster munitions “to inflict excessive casualties among civilians”.
Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a bitter conflict over Karabakh since Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of the mountainous province in a 1990s war that left 30,000 people dead.
Woman’s throat slit in French church
A knife-wielding man killed three people at a church in the French city of Nice on Thursday, Oct 29 slitting the throat of at least one of them, in what officials are treating as the latest attack to rock the country.
The assailant was shot at and wounded by police, Nice’s Mayor Christian Estrosi said. “He kept repeating “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greater) even while under medication” as he was brought to hospital, Estrosi told journalists. Police found the body of a woman whose throat had been cut in an apparent beheading attempt inside the Basilica of Notre-Dame, in the heart of the Mediterranean resort city, a source close to the inquiry said.
The body of a man was also found inside while a third person succumbed to his injuries after seeking refuge in a nearby bar. Father Philippe Asso, who serves at the Notre-Dame’s basilica, said that no mass was underway at the time of the attack, but the church opens around 8am (0700 GMT) and “people come in to pray at all hours.”
Guard at French consulate in Jeddah knifed
A Saudi citizen injured a guard in a knife attack Thursday, Oct 29 at the French consulate in Jeddah, officials said, as France faces growing anger over blasphemous cartoons.
“The assailant was apprehended by Saudi security forces immediately after the attack. The guard was taken to hospital and his life is not in danger,” the French embassy said. Police in Jeddah said the attacker was a Saudi, but it did not give the nationality of the guard. The French embassy in Riyadh urged its nationals in Saudi Arabia to exercise “extreme vigilance”. Security around the Jeddah consulate later appeared to be tightened, with Saudi police cars seen patrolling around the complex at regular intervals.
Mahathir says Muslims ‘have right to kill French’
Malaysia´s former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday, Oct 29 that Muslims had a right “to kill millions of French people”, shortly after a knife-wielding man launched a deadly attack in Nice.
“Irrespective of the religion professed, angry people kill,” said the outspoken 95-year-old. “The French in the course of their history has killed millions of people. Many were Muslims. Muslims have a right to be angry and to kill millions of French people for the massacres of the past.”
Mahathir, who served as Malaysian premier twice for a total of 24 years, said that French President Emmanuel Macron was “not showing that he is civilised”, adding he was “very primitive”. The French should teach their people to respect other people´s feelings. Since you have blamed all Muslims and the Muslims´ religion for what was done by one angry person, the Muslims have a right to punish the French.
“The boycott cannot compensate the wrongs committed by the French all these years.” He made no direct reference to the Nice attack. The beheading of the teacher, Samuel Paty, prompted Macron to promise a crackdown on Islamic extremism. But the move has inflamed tensions, with protests against France erupting in several Muslim countries, with some urging a boycott of French goods. Meanwhile, Russia’s Kremlin said it was unacceptable to kill people, but it was also wrong to insult the feelings of religious believers.
Seven killed in Vienna synagogue shooting, suicide attack
Multiple gunshots were fired in central Vienna on Monday, Nov 2 evening, according to police, with the location of the incident close to a major synagogue.
Police urged residents to keep away from all public places or public transport. One attacker was “dead” and another “on the run”, while one police officer had been seriously injured, Austria´s interior ministry said according to news agency APA.
The president of Vienna´s Jewish community Oskar Deutsch said that shots had been fired “in the immediate vicinity” of the Stadttempel synagogue but added that it was currently unknown whether the synagogue itself had been the target of an attack.
He said that the synagogue and office buildings at the same address had been closed at the time of the attack. “It sounded like firecrackers, then we realised it was shots,” said one eyewitness quoted by public broadcaster ORF. A shooter had “shot wildly with an automatic weapon” before the police arrived and opened fire, the witness added.
Gunmen kill 32 in Ethiopia
Gunmen killed 32 people and torched more than 20 houses in a raid on an area of western Ethiopia, a regional administrator said on Monday, Nov 2. The killings were carried out on Sunday by an armed group called OLF Shane in the Western Wollega Zone of the Oromiya region, administrator Elias Umeta told Reuters.
OLF Shane split from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an opposition party that spent years in exile but was allowed to return to Ethiopia after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. Sporadic violence has rocked Ethiopia since then. “These gruesome killings of civilians are unconscionable and flout basic principles of humanity.” The latest killings add to recent incidences of violence in various parts of Ethiopia.
Journalist shot dead in Mexico
A journalist has been shot dead in crime-ridden northern Mexico, authorities said late on Friday, Nov 06, the sixth such murder this year in one of the world’s most dangerous countries for reporters.
Chihuahua state governor Javier Corral condemned the “cowardly” killing of Arturo Alba Medina in Ciudad Juarez near the US border.
Former NSA HR McMaster terms Donald Trump’s troop withdrawal plans as ‘Abhorrent’
Former National Security Advisor of the United States (US) President, HR McMaster, on November 22 criticized recent announcement on reduction of American security troop’s presence in Afghanistan calling the plan “abhorrent.”, reports Tolo News. HR McMaster, in an interview, further said that the Trump administration is handing the Taliban a victory by withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, McMaster said, “If the Taliban establishes control of large parts of Afghanistan, gives safe haven and support base to terrorist organizations who want to commit mass murder against us on the scale of 9/11, we will be far less safe and vulnerable to these groups,” he said. “And I think what happened is the prioritization of withdrawal over our interests led to us actually empowering the Taliban.”
Landmine kills nine soldiers in Nigeria
At least nine Nigerian troops were killed when a military truck hit a landmine in Jihadist-wracked northeast Nigeria, two security sources told AFP on Wednesday, Nov 4.
The incident happened on Monday near the town of Malam Fatori on the border with Niger which houses a garrison of soldiers fighting insurgent groups, the sources, who asked not to be identified, told AFP.
Egypt sentences 59 MB suspects
An Egyptian court sentenced 59 suspected members of the Muslim Brotherhood to 15 years in prison on Thursday, Nov 5 for alleged involvement in a high-profile 2013 sit-in, a judicial source said.
Seven other defendants were handed five-year sentences following the latest mass trial in the government’s crackdown on the former ruling party, now blacklisted as a terror group. The court acquitted 29 of the accused. The charges related to a nearly six-week-long sit-in in the capital’s Rabaa al-Adaweya Square, triggered by the overthrow by then armed forces chief, now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, of his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Mursi.
Austria shuts two mosques attended by Vienna attacker
The Austrian government ordered the closure on Friday (Nov 6) of two mosques in the capital, Vienna, frequented by the gunman who shot dead four people in the city centre earlier in the week.
The shooting on Monday was Austria’s first major attack in decades. The attacker was later identified as 20-year-old Kujtim Fejzulai, who was killed by police.
Integration Minister Susanne Raab told a press conference that the government’s religious affairs office “was informed by the interior ministry that Monday’s attacker, since his release from prison, had repeatedly visited two Vienna mosques”.
The two mosques are in Vienna’s western suburbs, one called the Melit Ibrahim mosque in the Ottakring district and the other being the Tewhid mosque in the Meidling area.
20 massacred in Mozambique
Suspected militants beheaded over a dozen men and teenagers participating in a male initiation ceremony in northern Mozambique, local sources said Wednesday, Nov 4 in the latest violent incident in the country’s insurgency-hit northeast. The dismembered of at least 5 adults and 15 boys were found on Monday scattered across a forest clearing in Muidumbe district.
17 bodies unearthed in Libyan mass grave
Seventeen bodies were unearthed in newly found mass graves in western Libya’s Tarhuna region, taking the total exhumed in recent months to 112, the missing persons authority said on Saturday, Nov 7.
Lotfi Tawfiq, who heads a committee tasked by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord to search for missing people, said five new mass graves containing 17 bodies had been discovered since Thursday.
The graves are located in Tarhuna, from where eastern strongman Khalifa Haftar’s forces launched an aborted assault last year on the capital Tripoli, seat of the GNA. The area, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Tripoli, served as the main staging point for Haftar’s failed offensive.
The presence of mass graves in Tarhuna was first reported after the withdrawal of Haftar’s forces from western Libya in June. Libya’s GNA Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha said the graves represented “atrocious acts” that cannot go “unpunished”. He disclosed one of the bodies exhumed was Mabrouk Khalaf, a general and former director of information.
Austria’s Muslims wary of backlash
When Osama Abu El Hosna found himself under a hail of bullets during the shooting rampage in Vienna, he heroically risked his life to save a policeman at the scene.
But while Hosna has been lauded for his courage, other Muslims say they are now scared to walk the streets of the city they call home as they fear a backlash against their community. Monday’s Nov 2 attack was carried out by an Islamic State supporter who had been convicted and imprisoned for trying to join the IS group in Syria.
Hosna’s own story is testament to the Islamophobia present in many parts of Austrian society and which has been fanned by right-wing politicians. In the majority Catholic country, half of Austrians believe mosques should not be tolerated and say they have a negative image of Muslims, according to a 2019 study by the University of Salzburg.
Muslims make up eight percent of the population, one of the highest proportions in the European Union. The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) openly uses Islamophobic and racist imagery, including during its spell in government between late 2017 and May last year.
According to the Dokustelle group, which documents anti-Muslim harassment and racism, incidents targeting Muslims went up from 309 in 2017 to 1,051 in 2019. The NGO also reports an increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the wake of the Vienna attack, including buildings being defaced with slurs.
Three dead in axe and gun attack at Russian military base
A Russian soldier suspected of killing three servicemen using an axe and a gun at a military base has been detained after a massive manhunt, officials said.
The shooting the second at a military base in a year took place at an airfield near the city of Voronezh where activists say army conscripts have been subjected to humiliating hazing. Authorities however insist that bullying rituals that plagued the military in the 1990s have been rooted out in the Russian army.
Investigators said that a 20-year-old soldier identified as private Anton Makarov attacked an officer at the Baltimore military airfield near the city of Voronezh at 5:30 am (0230 GMT). Voronezh is more than 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of Moscow.
Iran says expects Biden to ‘step away’ from wrong path
Iran said on Monday, Nov 9 that nothing will change between it and arch-enemy the United States under president-elect Joe Biden unless his administration takes three steps to correct America’s “wrong path”.
Decades-old tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and began reimposing sanctions.
Biden, who defeated Trump at the ballot box last week, said during campaigning that he plans to embark on a “credible path to return to diplomacy” with Iran. He also raised the possibility of returning to the nuclear deal.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday that there was still enough time for the United States to “turn back from this wrong path”. “We will certainly look closely at the actions and words of the next US administration,” said ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh. “There are three important changes that must come to be before anything can happen,” he told a weekly news conference.
Libyan lawyer shot dead
A Libyan lawyer was shot dead in her car in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday, Nov 10, a security source told AFP, confirming local media reports.
The lawyer, Hanan al-Barassi, “was shot dead in Road 20, one of the main commercial streets in Benghazi,” said the security source, who asked to remain anonymous. “Moments earlier, she had been broadcasting a live video via Facebook.” A media figure in Libya, 46-year-old Barassi was known for giving voice to female victims of violence in videos that she then broadcast on social media. She also ran a local association for the defence of women´s rights.
In the footage posted to her Facebook page just before she was shot, Barassi speaks to the camera while seated in her car. She criticises armed groups close to east Libya-based military strongman Khalifa Haftar, saying she had been “threatened”.
7 soldiers killed in Burkina Faso
Seven soldiers were killed and others wounded or missing after their patrol was ambushed in northern Burkina Faso, the centre of a five-year-old Jihadist insurgency, security sources said on Thursday.
The troops were attacked on Nov 12 between Tin Akoff and Beldiabe in Oudalan province, which borders Mali and Niger, one source said. “The provisional toll is seven soldiers dead,” the source said, with others wounded or missing. Another source confirmed the attack, adding that an operation had been launched “to hunt down the assailants” and find the missing soldiers.
Jihadists began making incursions into northern Burkina from neighbouring Mali in 2015 in a conflict that has left more than 1,200 people dead and forced more than one million to flee their homes.
Iran mocks Al-Qaeda No 2 killed in Tehran
Iran on Saturday, Nov 14 dismissed a US newspaper report that Al-Qaeda’s second-in-command was killed in Tehran by Israeli agents as “made-up information” and denied the presence of any of the Jihadist group’s members in the Islamic republic.
The New York Times said Abdullah Ahmad Abdullah, indicted in the United States for 1998 bombings of its embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, was secretly shot and killed in Tehran by Israeli operatives on a motorcycle at Washington’s behest.
The senior Al-Qaeda leader, whose nom de guerre was Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was killed along with his daughter, Miriam, the widow of Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza, the Times reported on Friday, citing intelligence sources.
The attack took place on August 7 on the anniversary of the Africa bombings, according to the paper.
Gunmen kill 34 in attack on bus in west Ethiopia
Gunmen killed at least 34 people in a “gruesome” attack on a passenger bus in west Ethiopia, a part of the country that has recently seen a spate of deadly assaults on civilians, the national human rights body said on Sunday, Nov 15.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a statement that “the estimated number of casualties, currently at 34, is likely to rise” from the attack which occurred on Saturday night in the Benishangul-Gumuz region.
A spokesman for the commission, an independent government body, confirmed that the casualties were all deaths. The EHRC statement said the bus attack occurred in the Debate administrative area, and that “there are reports of similar attacks” in three other areas, as well as “of persons who have fled to seek shelter”. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has provided scant information on recent violence in Benishangul-Gumuz, particularly in Metekel zone, where Debate is located.
Five killed in Somali attack
Five people, some of them police, were killed and more than 10 injured on Tuesday, Nov 17 when a suicide bomber attacked a restaurant in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, police said.
The officer and witnesses said the attacker walked into the restaurant near a police academy and blew himself up. “The death of five people, two of them members of the police, were confirmed, and more than 10 others were wounded,” Mohamed Abdirahman, a police officer at the scene, told AFP.
US imposes new sanctions on Iran
President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday, Nov 18 imposed sanctions on a major Iranian foundation and the country’s intelligence minister, further stepping up pressure before Joe Biden is sworn in.
The Treasury Department said it was freezing any US interests of the Foundation of the Oppressed, officially a charitable organisation for the poor that has sweeping interests across the Iranian economy including in oil and mining.
The move comes as Iran offers to return to compliance with a nuclear deal negotiated under former president Barack Obama if Biden lifts sanctions after taking office on January 20.
Outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in an indirect response, vowed to keep imposing “painful consequences.”
Bombings kill 29 in Syria
Twenty-nine people were killed Tuesday, Nov 24 by explosives in three separate incidents in parts of north Syria along the border with Turkey, a war monitor said. There was no immediate link between the two car bombings near Al-Bab and in Afrin that killed a total of eight people, or the incident that claimed 21 lives in a minefield.
