On 30 January 2023, at least 93 people, including 27 policemen, were killed and 221 others were injured in a suicide blast inside a mosque in the Police Lines area of Peshawar, reports Geo News. The suicide attacker was present in the front row during the Zuhr prayer (the second prayer offered at twelve noon) when the attacker detonated the explosive on himself. Sahibzada Noor Ul Amin, Imam of the mosque, was also killed in the blast. Capital City Police Officer, Peshawar (CCPO) Ejaz Khan said close to 300-400 Policemen usually offer their Zuhr prayers. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Bomb/IED Blasts
On 30 January, one person was injured following an explosion that took place in the Kachhi District of Balochistan reports Geo News. Police said that the explosives were placed on roadside. On 4 February, mother and her son were injured in a remote control bomb planted near their house in the Tangi Shaltalo Shah village of Salarzai Tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur District.
On 12 February, eight people, including two women, suffered injuries in a bomb attack on a vehicle carrying a wounded assistant sub-inspector (ASI) in Dandi Seedgi area of Ghulam Khan tehsil (revenue unit) along the border with Afghanistan in North Waziristan District reports Dawn. Unidentified people had attacked ASI Aminullah inside his home at around 4 am. Police officials said the ASI sustained injuries in the attack and was being shifted to the Miranshah hospital in a car when a bomb near the vehicle went off. On 16 February, at least two passengers were killed and six others injured as a result of a blast inside the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express train when it was passing from Chichawatni railway station in Sahiwal District reports ARY News. The train was coming from Peshawar. The blast occurred in bogie No 6 of economy class. Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA), through its media cell “Baask media”, claimed responsibility or the attack.
Targetted killings
On 24 January, a Policeman, identified as head constable Gul Baran, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Mallah Khel area of Daraban tehsil (revenue unit) in Dera Ismail Khan District reports Dawn. Gul Baran was killed after the unidentified assailants sprayed him with bullets while he was on his way home from a mosque.
Miscellaneous
On 28 January, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) killed two Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Jhangi area under Vohawa Police Station of Dera Ghazi Khan District, reports Dawn. CTD spokesperson said the CTD had received credible information that four TTP terrorists were present in Tri-Border area of Mauza Jhangi and were planning to attack some check posts in the District. The slain terrorists, identified as Roid Khan and Hanifullah Khan, hailing from Shabqadar area of Charsadda District, were involved in terrorism incidents and reconnaissance of LEAs offices in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and other cities of Punjab.
A terrorist was shot dead during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan District on January 28, reports Geo News. The killed terrorists remained actively involved in terrorist activities against security forces and [the] killing of innocent citizens, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
On 30 January, two terrorists blew themselves up and a third one surrendered to police after law enforcement personnel encircled their hideout in Hund village of Chota Lahor tehsil (revenue unit) in Swabi District reports Dawn. Two constables were also injured during the encounter.
Two terrorists were killed during an encounter with Security Forces in the Loni area of Kulachi Tehsil In Dera Ismail Khan District on January 30, reports Dawn. A cache of arms were recovered from the possession of the slain militants. On 31 January, the Security
Forces (SFs) recovered two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), seven rocket-propelled grenades and fuses near the Pak-Afghan border in Mamond tehsil (revenue unit) of Bajaur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Dawn. The recovery was made during an intelligence-based operation conducted jointly by a team of Police and Bajaur Scouts, according to a statement issued from the District Police Officer’s office in Khar town.
On February 2, police shot dead three terrorists during an encounter in Gujarabad area under Nasta Police Station of Charsadda District reports Samaa TV. Police officials said that they received a tipoff about the presence of suspected terrorists in the Gujarabad area. As
Police approached the location, the terrorists started firing upon the officers. A gun battle ensued in which three terrorists were killed. On 2 February, an unidentified terrorist was killed in retaliation by police officials after a gun attack on a police van patrolling in the Shabara area of Charsadda District reports ARY News. District Police Officer (DOP) Sohail Khalid said that two attackers on a motorcycle opened fire at a police van in the Shabara area. In retaliation, police killed one of the attackers and arrested another.
On 3 February, at least two terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with Security Forces in the Esham area of North Waziristan District reports ARY News. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said the intense encounter continued for hours during which two terrorists were killed. The ISPR said weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists.
On 4 February, two terrorist ‘commanders’, identified as Izhar and Zeenat Saqib, were killed and four arrested during a police operation in Swabi District reports ARY News. Police said that Izhar used to plan attacks from Afghanistan and send teams to carry out attacks. Izhar was wanted by the police in more than six cases while a reward of PKR two million was fixed for the information of the dead terrorist.
The police recovered a cache of arms and ammunition and explosives from the possession of arrested terrorists. Police on the night of February repulsed a terrorist attack on Pir Tangi Police post near Jandola Police Station of Tank District, reports The News. According to the
Police statement, Tank Police and residents of the area repulsed the attack on Pir Tangi Police post when dozens of terrorists armed with automatic weapons had attacked the Police post.
A couple of hours after the attack in Tank District, another Police post was attacked by terrorist in Daraban area of Dera Ismail Khan District, reports The News. No casualties were reported. Police on 3 February arrested four terrorist, including a prayer leader, belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during a raid on a house in Hund village of Swabi District, reports Dawn. Regional police officer (RPO) Mohammad Ali Gandapur said the raid was conducted on a house adjacent to the residence of Abdur Rehman, a local Government councilor and also the Pesh Imam of a local mosque, who was also present there.
He said the Police had also recovered five kilogram explosives, 26 hand grenades, 46 detonators, 60 safety fuses, two transmitters, a Kalashnikov, wire and receivers, one rocket launcher and a pistol, 49 dry battery cells, 237 rounds, four magazines, seven mobile phones and 78 CD decks. On night of 7 February Security Forces (SFs) killed 12 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists during an Intelligence-Based Operation (IBO) in Lakki Marwat District reports Dawn. According to a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), SFs and the terrorists exchanged fire during which the militants were killed. On 8 February, a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ‘commander’, identified as Irfanullah, was killed following an exchange of fire between Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and a group of terrorists in Khanewal District reports Samaa TV.
Three other terrorists, however, managed to escape. A suicide jacket, grenade and weapons were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorist. According to a CTD spokesperson, Irfanullah was the mastermind of the Rawalpindi car bombing and planning to target sensitive installations and important personalities along with his accomplices.
On 8 February, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested a Daesh ‘commander’ during a raid in Korangi Industrial area of Karachi, reports ARY News. According to the CTD officials, the arrested ‘commander’ was identified as Abdul Malik. A pistol along with rounds was seized from their possession, the CTD officials added. On 12 February, police foiled a terrorist attack in Bakhmal Police Station of Lakki Marwat District reports ARY News.
Police official stated that the Police acted on suspicious activities in the vicinity of the Bakhmal Police Station where terrorists opened fire at the Police team and fled from the scene. The Police confirmed the presence of terrorists through thermal cameras and later a gunfight took place with them. No casualty was reported in the exchange of fire.
On 14 February, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) foiled a terrorist attack and killed seven Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists in crossfire in Mir Ali Bypass Road of North Waziristan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Dawn. As per details, the terrorists attacked CTD team when they were moving suspected terrorists Miranshah to Bannu. In the crossfire with the Security Forces (SFs), three suspects in the custody and four terrorists were shot dead, while five to six terrorists managed to flee the scene by taking advantage of darkness.
On 20 February, the senior Hizb-ul-Mujahideen ‘commander’ Bashir Ahmad Peer alias Imtiyaz Alam was shot dead outside a shop in Rawalpindi city of Punjab, reports Daily Excelsior. Peer alias Imtiyaz Alam alias Haji, originally belonging to Babarpora area in Kupwara District of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was living in Rawalpindi. Peer was involved in “a number of online propaganda groups to unite ex-militants and other cadres for the furtherance of activities of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and others”.
On 21 February, at least two Levies personnel were killed as terrorists stormed a check post of Security Forces (SFs) near Babri area of Mastung District reports Geo TV. The officials also said that the terrorists also took the weapons of the slain personnel with them after the attack.
On 22 February, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) foiled a terrorism bid in Layyah District and arrested a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist, reports ARY News. The CTD conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Layyah District, arrested terrorist Abdul Qayyum. In a statement, a CTD spokesperson said that the arrested terrorist wanted to target a sensitive building in Layyah while the raiding team also recovered explosive materials and equipment for making suicide vests from his possession.
Pakistan
Death toll from suicide attack on mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines rises to 100
The death toll from the January 30, suicide attack on a mosque in Police Lines area of Peshawar, rose to 100 on January 31 after more bodies were recovered from the attack site, reports Dawn. Earlier, 93 fatalities and 221 injuries were reported. Capital City Police Officer, Peshawar (CCPO) Ejaz Khan said that more than 90 per cent of the victims were Policemen.
On January 30, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ‘spokesman’ Muhammad Khorasani denied any involvement in the attack, reports CNN. “Regarding the Peshawar incident, we consider it necessary to clarify that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has nothing to do with this incident.
According to our laws and general constitution, any action in mosques, madrasas, funerals grounds and other sacred places is an offence,” Khorasani said in a statement. Earlier, two other TTP officials Sarbakaf Mohmand and Omar Mukaram Khurasani had claimed the attack was “revenge” for the death of TTP’s splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) chief Khalid Khorasani in Barmal District of Paktika Province of Afghanistan on August 7, 2022.
After the TTP denied their involvement in the attack, KP Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mauzzam Jah Ansari said, “the police have suspicions that Jamaatul-Ahrar may be involved in the incident”. “Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has been involved with TTP to some extent but for some time, after the death of Omar Khalid Khorasani, they are split. Similarly, there is IS-KPK […] they issued a claim last night and we are investigating it. Such groups often give exaggerated claims. We will take our probe forward and we do not rely on their claims,” he added.
Not responsible for resurgence of terrorism, says former PM Imran Khan
Former Prime Minister (PM) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on February 1 said that he was not responsible for the resurgence of terrorism in the country, reports The Express Tribune.
I am not part of the government… how can I be blamed for it (rise in terrorism)
he said while addressing his supporters from his Zaman Park resident in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab. Imran also spoke at length about the causes of the deteriorating security situation in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and pointed out that he had categorically told the former Army Chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa that the economic and security situation would go out of hand if he allowed to succeed the ‘regime change operation’.
Earlier in the day, on February 1, PM Shehbaz Sharif raised serious concern over the resurfacing of terrorism in KP, accusing the PTI of failing to maintain security despite availability of special funds, reports The Express Tribune. In his remarks at a meeting of the Federal Cabinet, the PM said that PTI had been ruling the province for the last 10 years and was responsible to ensure the safety of the lives of innocent people that suffered a new spate of terrorist incidents. The PM said that PKR 417 billion were provided to the KP Government since 2010 under the National Finance Commission Award, and that the funding was supposed to be used for capacity-building of KP Police and Security Forces. He said that the money was the province’s right, but questioned where the amount was spent.
He said that the nation wanted the KP Government to be held accountable for the return of terrorism in the province. “Who regarded the terrorist as ‘jihadi’ and let them return?” he asked, in an apparent remark aimed at PTI Chairman, Imran Khan.
Pakistan asks Afghanistan for ‘concrete actions’ against TTP, says Foreign Office
Pakistan on February 2, asked the interim Afghanistan Government to take ‘concrete actions’ against terrorist outfits including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating out of the neighbouring country in the wake of deadly terrorist attack in Peshawar killing over 102 mostly police officials, reports The Express Tribune.
“Pakistan expects sincere cooperation from the interim Afghan government to address the
challenge of terrorism and hopes that Kabul would live up to the commitments made to the international community in this regard,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told during a weekly news briefing in Islamabad.
“We do not believe in accusations or finger pointing; however, we would reiterate our expectation that no country should allow its territory to be used for perpetrating terrorism against Pakistan,” she said without explicitly mentioning Afghanistan. “It is time the commitments made to the world and Pakistan are fulfilled with sincerity and in good faith with concrete actions,” the spokesperson emphasised, referring to the commitment made by the Afghan Taliban not to allow the Afghan soil to be used again by terrorist groups.
TLP workers vandalised and demolished Ahmadi Mosque in Karachi city of Sindh
The workers of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) on February 3 vandalised and demolished the minarets of Ahmadi Mosque in presence of Police near mobile market in Saddar Town of Karachi, reports Firstpost. This is the second incident in a month. Earlier, the minarets of Ahmadi Jamaat Khana on Jamshed Road in Karachi were demolished.
Terrorist attack in Karachi police chief’s office
On Friday Feb 17, several terrorist militants launched a brazen attack on the police headquarters in Karachi. The sounds of gunfire and grenade explosions jolted the city
and the incident led to the death of several rangers and police personnel, Geo TV reported. The authorities managed to take down 5 terrorists in a 4 hour-long gun battle between the security forces and the terrorists involved in the attack. All the terrorists were dressed in police uniforms.
After the news of the devastating incident broke out, Pakistan’s outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement. The Pakistani wing of the terrorist group has conducted several attacks in the country after the terrorist wing ended its ceasefire agreement with the Pakistani administration. The incident also came after the tragic Peshawar suicide bombing, which led to the death of over 80 people. According to police officials, out of the five terrorists that died, two were suicide bombers, and at least one blew himself up inside the building.
Afghanistan Internal Dynamics
Nations should help Taliban move to the 21st Century, Deputy Secretary General of the UN says
Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Amina J. Mohammed, said that the Taliban need to be moved from the ’13th century to the 21st’ following her visit to Afghanistan on January 25, reports Hasht-e Subh. She said she used every possible asset during her meetings with Taliban ministers to try to reverse their crackdown on Afghan women and girls, urging Muslim countries to help the Taliban move from the “13th century to the 21st.”
She further said that four Taliban ministers, including the foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi and a deputy prime minister, Abdul Ghani Baradar, spoke “off one script” during meetings with her delegation last week. United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Martin Griffiths said that the UN agencies will not be able to operate in a needed way if female employees cannot go back to work, Tolo News reported on January 26. He further said, “If we cannot get female employees back to work–which they are working in those two sectors and we are going to expand it, but if they weren’t–we would not be able to operate because we would not be able to deliver the kind of quality of programing we need. It is a practical matter.”
He added, «We don’t have time to go back. We only have an insistence on going forward. Going forward is getting women allowed — they are entitled to–but we need them anyway to deliver. So, the humanitarian priority that Afghanistan represents is probably the highest in the world. That is why you have seen these visits.”
AFTF calls to lift restrictions on female employment and education
Afghanistan Future Thought Forum (AFTF) said in a statement the group has examined the key challenges and opportunities that the people of Afghanistan face and has offered its plan to the Taliban Government and the international community, Tolo News reported on January 30.
AFTF has thirty members which include former Government employees, Taliban officials, representatives of civil society, and academics. This forum, which convened its fifth session on the situation in Afghanistan at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Public Policy in Doha on 23-25 January 2023, asked that the Taliban to lift its restrictions on women’s employment and education from across Afghanistan.
On 29 January, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of Iran, said at a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the Foreign Minister of Qatar, that the banning of women from education in Afghanistan is wrong and is against Islamic principles, reports Tolo News. He further said that Tehran is ready to work with the current Afghan administration to provide educational facilities for women and girls in Afghanistan.
We consider denying Afghan women and girls an education a wrong action in conflict with the teachings of the merciful religion of Islam, he added.
16 ‘convicts’ publicly flogged by Taliban in Helmand Province
16 ‘alleged’ convicts were publicly flogged by the Taliban in Helmand Province, Hasht-e-Subh reports on February 2. Taliban-appointed Deputy Director of Information and Culture Department for Helmand, Mohammad Qasim Riaz, said on February 2, that these people were flogged on charges of committing robbery, having extramarital affairs and breaching social and moral principles. According to him, each of these people was given 30 to 39 lashes
Qatar bribed prominent Afghan leaders a month before the collapse of Afghanistan to not fight Taliban, says report
Italian TG1 News Network revealed an investigative report showing that Qatar had paid Ashraf Ghani, Marshal Dostum, and Atta Mohammad Noor USD 110, USD 51, and USD 61 million, respectively, not to fight against Taliban fighters, khaama.com reports on February 3.
The network has recently published three documents that indicate the receipt of bribes to the prominent leaders of Afghanistan a month before the collapse of the previous government in Afghanistan. The document state that Ajmal Ahmadi has received USD 110 million on behalf of Afghanistan’s former president Ashraf Ghani. Document shows Ajmal Ahmadi, former director of the Afghanistan Central Bank and Representative of Former president Ashraf Ghani has signed the receipt.
On the other hand, the document revealed that the former first deputy of the Supreme National Reconciliation Council as the special representative of former vice president Marshal Dostum had received USD 51 million from the Qatar representative in Kabul. While Mohammad Farhad Azimi, representative of Atta Mohammad Noor and Former governor of Balkh, has received USD 61 million from Qatar’s representative in Kabul. The documents also revealed that all three representatives of the former Afghan leaders received money from the Qatar representative after signing the documents on July 7, 2021. The archive of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that Dr. Mutlaq Al- Qahtani was in Kabul and had met with Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace (Arg) on July 7, 2021.
US imposes new visa restrictions on certain Taliban members involved in repressing women’s rights
On 1 February, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced that the United States is imposing new visa restrictions on certain current and former Taliban members, non-state security group members and others who are believed to be involved in repressing the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, reports Hasht-e Subh. “The Taliban’s most recent edicts ban women from universities and from working with NGOs, and further the Taliban’s previous measures that closed secondary schools to girls and limit the ability of women and girls to participate in the Afghan society and economy”, he stated.
IFJ calls for immediate release of French-Afghan journalist Mortaza Behboudi
On 10 February, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called immediate release of French-Afghan journalist, Mortaza Behboudi’s a month after the Taliban arrested him in Kabul, reports Hasht-e Subh. Behboudi was earlier arrested in Kabul on 7 January. A journalist’s imprisonment, according to their advocates, is an attack on the right to be informed and to be able to inform others. As of yet, there have been no comments from the Taliban on this issue.
4000 ISKP terrorists stationed in Afghanistan Near Tajikistan Border, says Anatoly Sidorov, chief of Joint Staff Chief of CSTO
On February 14, Anatoly Sidorov, Chief of the Joint Staff Chief of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) said that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorists in Afghanistan reach 6500, out of which 4000 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISKP) are believed to be stationed near the Tajikistan border, reports Khaama Press.
He further said that ISKP and Al-Qaida in Afghanistan are a serious threat to the security of Central Asia. ISKP terrorists are mostly stationed in northern Badakhshan, Kunduz, and Takhar Provinces. Militant group poses threats to the security of Central and South Asia. “Instability in the regions is directly linked to the Taliban’s policy to repress religious and ethnic minorities, increasing level of violence and lack of unity.
The Taliban-run administration is currently plagued with a serious economic and humanitarian crisis,” he added.
Afghan Taliban ‘unlikely to stop support for TTP’, says US Institute of Peace report
According to a new report released on February 14 from United States (US) think tank, US Institute of Peace (USIP), the Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are unlikely to discontinue supporting militants in Pakistan as they feel that economic troubles prevent Islamabad from launching a major operation against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), reports Dawn.
“Amid Pakistan’s economic crisis and the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taliban
have re-emerged as an increasingly potent threat,” warned the USIP report. Referring to Kabul’s recent”.
criticism of Islamabad’s policies, the report argued that “this undiplomatic rhetoric underscores the Taliban’s determination to continue supporting the TTP, even in the face
of intensified pressure from Pakistan”.
USIP argued that the Taliban’s response to being confronted about their support for the TTP “has been to level counter-accusations — which does not signal an impending shift away from that support”. USIP report fears Pakistan’s deteriorating economy will limit its ability to act against terrorists.
Bangladesh Internal Dynamics
One person killed during gunfight between PCJSS and MLP in Rangamati District
One person identified as Samrat was killed during a gunfight between Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) and Mog Liberation Party (MLP) in Gonggrichhara
area in Raikhali Union of Rangamati District on January 26, reports Bdnews24.com.
Two missing persons from Sylhet District join JAFHS
Two persons, identified as Shabbir Ahmed and Abdur Razzak, who went missing from Sylhet District in March 2021, went to the hills in Bandarban District and joined the militant organisation, Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya (JAFHS), The Daily Star reports on January 28.
The two persons stayed in the camps of Kuki-Chin National Front on the hills in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) where they received rigorous physical training and learnt how to use firearms. The Kuki-Chin National Front provided the training, food and shelter in exchange for Bangladeshi BDT 3,00,000 a month from JAFHS.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) officers learnt about this following the recent arrests of militant leaders and the seizure of a mobile phone containing a video clip that shows JAFHS cadres in brown and grey camouflage outfit are receiving training on the use of firearms. The two missing persons were being seen in that video, according to RAB sources.
KNF man shot dead by Army in Bandarban District
On 28 January, a Kuki National Front (KNF) cadre was shot dead in a gunfight with Army in Ruma Sub-District of Bandarban District, reports The Daily Star. Police found his body on January 29. The gunfight took place when KNF cadres attacked Army Personnel in Artha Para and Bachlang Para area of the Sub-District on 28 January.
Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya poses a bigger security threat than any militant outfit ever did, according to official sources
Jama’atul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya posed a bigger security threat than any militant outfit ever did, according to official sources, The Daily Star reports on January 31. Commenting on Jama’atul Ansar’s combat training, operational tactics and activities, officers, wishing anonymity, said operatives of the newly emerged militant outfit were highly motivated.
Several officers who seized documents during raids on Bandarban hills said the militants followed the code of conduct of Al Qaeda and Islamic State (IS). Their plan was to establish a caliphate in Bangladesh through armed struggle and, if necessary, carry out attacks on key installations and important personalities. Militants’ aim was to fight non-muslim people in India, Pakistan and Myanmar, the officials added. To reach their goals, the group recruited young men, took them to the hills, and made them go through rigorous combat training provided by the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), an armed group of the Hill Tracts, they added.
Jama’atul Ansar has 55 members trained in the use of firearms that include assault rifles. The militant leaders wanted to have 313 trained members, and money was not much of a problem for them because funds came from foreign and local sources.
The organisation also owned businesses. The militant outfit owned farm animals in Districts of Munshiganj, Cumilla and the hill tracts area, officials said, adding that it also owned a perfume and garment shop in Dhaka’s Gulistan and a mobile accessories shop in Maghbazar.
Multiple cocktail bomb explodes in madrasa in Meherpur District
On 10 February, two cocktail explosion took place at a madrasa in Bamandi of Gangni Sub-District in Meherpur District, reports Dhaka Tribune. Police arrested six Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leaders on suspicion of being involved in the incident.
Gangni Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abdur Razzak said that BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami
(JeI) leaders and operatives were holding a secret meeting in a madrasa. When a Police team approached the spot, on information, two cocktails exploded. The activists fled while five unexploded cocktails, two local weapons and batons were seized from the spot, he added.
Ten militant outfits including ARSA found active in Rohingya Camps, says Defence Ministry
According to a report placed before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Defence Ministry, 10 terrorist and dacoit gangs including the militant outfit Arakan Rohingya
Salvation Army (ARSA), are active at Rohingya camps, The Daily Star reports on February 16.
The report states that Tambru’s Konapara camp on the zero line has become the centre point for ARSA’s organisational operations, training, and control of drug smuggling and terrorist activities due to a lack of regular patrolling and surveillance.
Among the ten active groups in Rohingya camps, ARSA is active in Ukhia, Balukhali, Palangkhali (Ukhia Sub-District) and Whykong (Teknaf Sub-District); Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) and Master Munna gangs in Ukhia and Palongkhali;
Islami Mahaj and Jabu dacoit gangs in Whykong and Chakma dacoit gangs, Nabi Hussain
dacoit gang, Putia dacoit gang, Salman Shah dacoit gang, Khaleq dacoit gang are active in Nayapara camp.
Noting that ARSA controls most of the camps, the report stated that ARSA and Nabi Hussain dacoit gang often engaged in clashes over dominance resulting in incidents of murders.
India Internal Dynamics
Police seize Maoist dump in Andhra Pradesh
The Police seized a huge dump belonging to the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) on the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) in the Alluri Sitarama Raju District in Andhra Pradesh on January 26, reports The Hans India. Three air pistol barrel granite launchers,413 containers of land mines, and one SLR gun along with 413 types of materials, explosive materials, and revolutionary literature were seized from the Maoist dump.
Bomb blast in Manipur
On January 26, a blast occurred in Wangkhei Yonglan Leirak (Lane) in Imphal East District, reports The Sangai Express on January 27. A boy sustained injuries in the blast. The People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) in a press release issued by the outfit’s ‘department of publicity and propaganda’, ‘publicity officer’ Mangal Khuman claimed responsibility for the blast.
It also claimed responsibility for the January 25 blast at Gandhi statue platform, Ukhrul town in Ukhrul District in Manipur, reported by SATP earlier, in which three persons were injured. The press release also claimed that the outfit had planted bombs at Kyamgei Pal Ahanbi in Imphal East District (along Imphal-Moreh highway), Keirao Langdum Lamkhai in Imphal East District and Heingang Khong in Imphal East District (along PangeiSaikul road) but the bombs failed to go off.
These operations were carried out by the Red Army’s Special Task Force A, B and C of PREPAK as part of the boycott of India’s Republic Day celebration (January 26) in Manipur.
Three SF personnel injured in IED blast in Jharkhand
Three Security Force (SF) personnel, identified as Rakesh Pathak, B D Anal and Pankaj Yadav, were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) exploded in Chaibasa area in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand on February 2, reports The Print.
Based on information that top CPI-Maoist leaders including Misir Besra, who was carrying a reward of INR 10 million on his head, have assembled in forest between Meralgada and Hathiburu villages, a joint team comprising Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Jharkhand Jaguar (JJ) and District Armed Police (DAP) was rushed to the area when the IED planted by the Maoists exploded, Superintendent of Police (SP), Ashutosh Shekhar said.
BJP functionary hacked to death by Maoists in Chhattisgarh
Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres hacked to death a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary, identified as Neelkanth Kakem (40), while he was attending a wedding function in Paikram village under Awapalli Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on February 5, reports The Hindu.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said, the incident took place
on Sunday (February 5) in Paikram village where the victim, Neelkanth Kakem, who was the president of Awapalli Mandal (administrative sub division) of the BJP, had gone with his family to attend the marriage of a relative.
A Maoist pamphlet, in the name of the Madded Area committee, claimed responsibility for the killing, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Chandrakant Governa said.
Al-Qaeda’s ‘New Terror Blueprint’ wants to spread its message in Indian languages for the purpose of recruitment of new cadres, says sources
According to intelligence sources, Al-Qaeda’s ‘Islamic Translation Centre’ is translating the terror outfit’s original propaganda material into different local Indian languages so as to spread its ideology and recruit new cadres, news18.com reports on February 22.
It mentioned that Al-Qaeda wants to spread its ideology and recruit new cadres for which it has asked its “local entities” in India to translate its original propaganda material into different local tongues. For this, it has an unofficial media venture called ‘Islamic Translation Centre (ITC)’, which surfaced online in April 2021.
Intelligence sources further stated that Al-Qaeda possibly wanted to imitate the media propaganda of the Islamic State (IS)and give emphasis to “media jihad” as a precursor to jihad on the ground. Sources also stated that the ITC translated official propaganda material of the Al-Qaeda into 29 different languages, including Arabic, Pashto, Persian, French, German, Portuguese, Norwegian, Indonesian, Rohingya, Hindi, Bangla, Odia among others.
Monthly Fatalities:
The following casualties, related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period January 26, 2022 to February 25, 2023:
| Civilian | Indian Security Personnel | Militants | Total | |
| Assam | 02 | 00 | 01 | 03 |
| Chattisgarh | 05 | 00 | 02 | 07 |
| Leftwing | 03 | 01 | 01 | 05 |
| Total | 10 | 01 | 04 | 15 |
Sri-Lanka Internal Dynamics
Three pressure bombs found in Muttur in Trincomalee District
Three pressure bombs were found at the Sri Lanka Telecom premises in Muttur in Trincomalee District by a worker there on January 25, reports Daily News. The bombs were found inside a decayed fertilizer bag. The Special Task Force defused the bombs.
Retired Army Sergeant arrested for keeping explosives in Matara District in Southern Province
A retired Army Sergeant was arrested, on February 8, after a team of Police from Matara District in Southern Province unearthed a cache of explosives, other accessories and ammunition from the garden of his house in Thihagoda in Matara District, reports Daily News. The Police recovered 3 kg and 350 grams of C04 high explosives, 01 bar of explosives weighing 610 grams, 2 bars of explosives weighing 205 grams each, 1 bar of explosives weighing 105 grams, 288 ammunition of 9mm type, T56 type 181 ammunition, five 3.8 mm type ammunition, 8 ammunition used for 12 bore type firearms, 10 electronic detonators used to detonate bombs, 153 non-electronic detonators, a smoke bomb, 32 feet of wire used to detonate explosive devices and several other items. The Police also recovered 153 sweet balls mixed with cannabis from a shop owned by the retired Army Sergeant. Investigations revealed that the suspected sergeant had taken the military equipment from an Army camp in Mullaitivu in Southern Province. Police information stated that the Police received information about these explosives from a person who heard the suspect talking about a deal to sell them to someone.
One person arrested for possessing explosives from Central Province
The Kandaketiya Police arrested one person from the Maliyadda area in Central Province who was possessing a cache of explosives hidden in a house, reports Daily News on February 10.
The explosives included 91 sticks of gelatine, 40 service threads used for blasts and 65 kg of ammonia. The suspect is a resident of Balangoda, Kirimatitenna in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province.
International
Iran executes more than 50 people so far this year
Iranian authorities have executed 55 people so far in 2023, a rights group said on Friday, Jan 27 adding that the surging use of the death penalty aims to create fear as protests shake the country. Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said it has confirmed at least 55 executions in the first 26 days of this year.
One killed in attack on Azerbaijan embassy in Iran
A gunman stormed Azerbaijan´s embassy in Tehran on Friday, Jan 27 killing the mission´s head of security in an attack Iran said was motivated by personal reasons but Baku labelled an act of “terrorism”.
Azerbaijan´s foreign ministry said “responsibility” for the shooting, which also wounded two
embassy security guards, lies with Iran — with spokesman Ayxan Hacizade telling media in his country a recent anti-Azerbaijani campaign in Iran had “encouraged the attack”.
Rebels kill at least 15 in eastern DR Congo
A wave of attacks on villages in eastern DR Congo attributed to Islamic State-affiliated ADF rebels killed at least 15 people Sunday, Jan 29 local officials said These latest killings come a week after a similar attack left more than 20 dead. “There were simultaneous attacks this Sunday between 4:00 and 5:00 am on three villages…,” said local official Dieudonne Malangai.
“In Manyala village we found seven bodies… at Ofay, there were eight dead, including seven women,” Malangai told AFP, and indicated that the final toll might be higher.
A humanitarian source confirmed seven fatalities in Manyala and “at least eight” in Ofay. “These ADF rebels also attacked Bandibese village but ran into resistance from soldiers who intervened and so there were no civilian deaths,” Malangai said after the raids on three villages in Ituri province bordering Rwanda.
Islamic State portrays the ADF, which has its roots in Rwanda, as its central African incarnation. In May 2021 an attempt to stem the violence, the government declared a state of alert in North Kivu and Ituri, replacing civil administrators with police and troops.
Three al-Qaeda suspects killed in Yemen drone strike
Three alleged al-Qaeda militants were killed in a suspected US drone strike in northeastern Yemen, local government officials said.
The attack was carried out on a car in Marib province, the scene of heavy fighting in 2021 in Yemen´s long-running civil war, the officials said.
“Three al-Qaeda members were killed in a strike by a drone that is believed to be American,” a government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Al-Qaeda swapped prisoners with Huthis in Yemen
Al-Qaeda said on Saturday, Feb 18 it had swapped prisoners with the Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, retrieving two of its fighters in the exchange, SITE Intelligence Group reported.
Two Huthi prisoners were traded for al-Qaeda jihadists alQaqa al-Bihani and Muwahhid al Baydhnani on February 14, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was quoted as saying.
AQAP, and rival militants loyal to the Islamic State group, have thrived in the chaos of Yamen’s civil war, which pits the Saudi-backed government against Iran-allied Huthi rebels.
A security source in the Huthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa confirmed the prisoner exchange to AFP, but gave no further details.
According to SITE, two Huthi prisoners were released as part of the swap.
Gunmen kill five policemen in southeast Nigeria
Less than a week before presidential elections in Nigeria, gunmen killed five police officers in two separate attacks in southeast Anambra state, police said on Monday, Feb 20 More than 90 million people are registered to vote on Saturday to elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari who is stepping down after two terms in office.
The country is facing multiple security threats including a separatist agitation in the southeast but also jihadist insurgents in the northeast and kidnapping gangs in the northwest.
On Monday, suspected separatists “attacked Awada police station in Idemili North… using Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and automatic firearms,” said police spokesman Ikenga Tochukwu.
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.
