HomeNewsletterAbout Newsletter
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,   June 2006

In pursuance of a decision of the Board of Governors in 2001, the IISSM Newsletter was first hosted in June 2002. For a very modest beginning and with very limited circulation, it has, with support and encouragement from all, since virtually grown into a full-fledged News Magazine, as some friends have patronisingly said.

The Newsletter is basically an attempt to collect information of interest and concern, primarily pertaining to the field of security. The material so gathered is then shared with all with the hope and belief that the readers/ viewers may have the benefit of looking at things at one place at their convenience. True to its motto of promoting professionalism by sharing knowledge, IISSM considers it a privilege to provide this service free of cost. Incidentally, over the years, the clientele of the IISSM Newsletter has got expanded to cover friends and well-wishers in the non-security sector as well.




HomeNewsletterEditorial
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,   June 2006

How Have We Been

Developments at times take place very fast. While we saw resurgence of bold acts of terrorism in Srinagar and Doda, Taliban has been showing signs of reemergence in Afghanistan (but it does no longer figure in the US list of terrorist organizations). Srilanka has again been going through “bloody patches”. The peace process is yet to restart. The European Union has banned LTTE. Maoists in India have threatened to blow up the State Legislature in the State of Bihar.

On May 29, China and India signed a very significant MOU on defence-related issues. The Maoists in Nepal have agreed for peace talk. The Nepalese Parliament took a momentous decision declaring Nepal would henceforth be a secular country, signifying the end of the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. Hamas in Palestine have given enough indications that Palestine and Israel can coexist – an unheard of situation, even conceptually, some days back! Women preachers in Morocco are now promoting a more tolerant version of Islam and in Saudi Arabia, the government have pressed into service some militant clerics to win over the youth from the path of fundamentalism and terrorism. One should hold one’s breath to see these developments further fructify.

US efforts to sort out their intelligence problems continued. The recently-appointed CIA Director Peter Gross has left and Gen. Hayden has since taken over, giving rise to speculations how will an army general handle civil intelligence work. Time alone will tell.

And, did you know honeybees can not only sting but can also smell explosives? Pigeons can also calculate. Einstein’s mathematics was suspect and so he fell back on friends for support. Finally, why not take an IQ test of yourself? The General File below has all this for you.


D. C. Nath, IPS (Retd.)
Former Special Director, IB (MHA), Govt. of India
Editor-cum-Executive President & CEO
International Institute of Security and Safety Management
New Delhi, India



HomeNewsletterIISSM News
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,   June 2006




Terrorism File

Terror group threatens to ‘slaughter’ Fatah top echelon...
Jerusalem – April 30, 3006 – Security has been beefed up for the Fatah leadership, including Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman...







Security File

Maoists hijack boats, capture 9...
Hyderabad – April 30, 3006 – On Sunday, the Maoists hijacked two government boats along with nine crew members of Nagarjunakonda...







Cyber Crime

70 Percent of Malicious Software Aimed At Theft: Survey...
A recent study by Panda Software indicates that 70 percent of malicious software that is circulated is linked to different types...







Cyber Security

Call for a cyber security system...
New Delhi – Union Minister of State for Defence said on Thursday that India needs a national cyber security response system to...







Crime File

Jewels worth Rs.10 cr stolen in Hyderabad...
Hyderabad – May 16, 2006 – Burglars broke into a well-known jewelers’ shop in Hyderabad early on Tuesday and made away with...







Science and Technology

Ray gun will attack satellites...
Scientists in the US are working on a ray gun to destroy enemy spacecraft. President Bush has given the go-ahead to create...







Industry News

Private security guards not entitled to minimum wages...
New Delhi – Over three lakh private security guards are employed in Mumbai and Thane and equal number find work in national capital...







General Information

World’s roof is melting...
Beijing – May 2, 2006 – Pouring over four decades of research based on data from China’s 681 weather stations, scientists with the...







Legal Forum

Rape victim’s words gospel truth: SC...
New Delhi – The Supreme Court has advised all trial courts to take a victim’s testimony as gospel truth, unless lit is tinged with a motive...







Appointments

Hayden is new CIA chief, sparks debate...
Washington – May 8, 2006 – President George W. Bush on Monday chose Air Force General Michael Hayden to lead the embattled...




HomeNewsletterIISSM NewsTerrorism File
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,   June 2006

 

Terror group threatens to ‘slaughter’ Fatah top echelon

Jerusalem – April 30, 3006 – Security has been beefed up for the Fatah leadership, including Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, after an unknown group claiming affiliation to Al-Qaeda distributed leaflets here threatening to “slaughter” them , a media report said. This is the first time the group, believed to be headed by Jordanian terrorist Zarqawi, has issued a leaflet in Gaza.

Press Trust of India
The Indian Express – May 1, 2006.

Go Top


Tiger attacks kill seven in Sri Lanka – Five sailors hurt in naval clash

Colombo – May 1, 2006 – Suspected Tamil Tigers killed at least seven people in a mine blast and a shooting incident on Monday and the navy said it came under attack from the rebels’ sea wing intensifying fears of a return to civil war. The navy said five armed Sea Tiger boats approached one of its vessels in waters off Trincomalee on the north-eastern coast, and they attacked. An army spokesman said a Sea Tiger ship was sunk in the exchange. Near Trincomalee town, one sailor and four civilians were killed in a suspected rebel claymore fragmentation mine attack on a naval foot patrol, the army said. Seven were wounded in the blast, which occurred as a family was driving by in a motorized rickshaw. Suspected tiger gunmen shot dead two labourers and wounded three as they went to collect sand for construction work in the same district. Five fishermen working in the same area were missing.

Reuters
Hindustan Times – May 2, 2006.

Go Top


LeT Massacres 32 In J&K

Doda – In a desperate bid to derail a fledgling peace process, terrorists struck with a numbing carnage two days before a round table conference on the Kashmir issue was to start. Late on Sunday evening, a group of 6-10 heavily-armed Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists pulled out Hindu villagers from their homes and shot them. Nineteen were killed and about a dozen people survived with serious bullet wounds. Terrorist also killed another 13 people whom they had earlier abducted on Sunday.

Aarti Tikoo Singh/T.N.N.
The Times of India – May 2, 2006.

Go Top


Violence unabated in Iraq – 15 Killed In Suicide Attack

Baghdad – A suicide bomber blew himself up while standing in a line of recruits outside Fallujah’s police headquarters on Wednesday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 30. The bomber, dressed in civilian clothes, struck outside the entrance of the police building. The hidden bomb exploded several minutes after he joined the crowd of recruits waiting to enter the building, a police official said. On Tuesday, the bodies of four Iraqi soldiers were found in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi. On Wednesday, a roadside bomb exploded in an outdoor market in northern Baghdad, wounding 16 civilians. Gunmen attacked a police patrol in central Baqouba, 60 km northeast of Baghdad, killing a police officer and wounding another.

AP
The Times of India – May 4, 2006.

Go Top


Taliban resurgent in southern Afghanistan

Trin Kot – May 3, 2006 – The fact that US troops are pulling out of southern Afghanistan in the coming months, and handing matters over to NATO pecekeepers, who have repeatedly stated that they are not going to fight terrorists, has given a lift to the insurgents, and increased the fears of Afghans. The arrival of large number of Taliban in the villages, flush with money and weapons, has dealt a blow to public confidence. Uruzgan is now in the thrall of the Islamic militants once more, and the provincial capital is increasingly surrounded by areas under Taliban control, local and US officials acknowledge. Uruzgan is not the only province teetering out of control, Helmand and Kandahar to the south have been increasingly overrun by militants this year, who are moving freely and intimidating villagers and ambushing vehicles.

The New York Times
Hindustan Times – May 4, 2006.

Go Top


Terrorists kidnap 9 Hindus in J&K, kill 4 of them

Srinagar – April 30, 2006 – Suspected militants abducted nine Hindu villagers at gunpoint in a remote area of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday and killed four of them. The fate of the others is not known. A senior police officer, confirming the gory incident, said the villagers had gone up in the hills of Basantgarh in Udhampur district with their cattle for grazing. They had been spotted by the gunmen. The dead bodies of four of villagers have been recovered, and the whereabouts of the others are not known.

Yusuf Jameel
The Asian Age – May 1, 2006.

Go Top


Taliban Butchers Indian

New Delhi/Hyderabad/Kabul – April 30, 2006 – In a gruesome act, the Taliban on Sunday killed abducted Indian engineer K. Suryanarayana and dumped his beheaded body near a highway in south Afghanistan, evoking outrage in India. The Taliban claimed that the killing was “accidental”, that the Indian engineer had been shot dead while he was trying to escape; but the Afghan interior ministry immediately rubbished this, saying that the body had been found beheaded, which proved that the killing was deliberate. The deceased was working as engineer with Bahrain-based Almoyaed Company.

Agency Reports
The Asian Age – May 1, 2006.

Go Top


Taliban warns Indians again

New Delhi – Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban regime has renewed warnings to Indians to wind up their projects in the war-ravaged country and leave, the Outlook magazine said on Friday. The magazine said a spokesman for the militants had accused Indians working in Afghanistan of being agents of the United States. “We want all Indians to leave Afghanistan and shut down their projects here,” Taliban spokesman was quoting as saying.

AFP
The Hindu – May 6, 2006.

Go Top


More than 50 Iraqis killed

Baghdad – May 4, 1006 – More than 50 Iraqis were killed or found dead on Wednesday as Iraqi leaders struggled to fashion a unified Iraqi government that they hope can diminish the insurgency and ease violence between Sunnis and Shia. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest attacked the police recruiting depot on Wednesday morning in Falluja, killing at least 16 young men, Iraqi officials said.

Richard A. Oppel Jr. / New York Times Service
The Asian Age – May 5, 2006.

Go Top


2 killed, 4 hurt in café blast in China

Beijing – May 6, 2006 - Explosions rocked two Internet cafes in central China, killing two people, injuring four others. No motive was immediately apparent for an attack. “The casualties include two dead and four injured people,” said a man who answered the telephone at the Hefei city government office.

AP
The Asian Age – May 7, 2006.

Go Top


Car bombs kill 30 in Iraq

Baghdad - Car bombs killed 30 people in Iraq on Sunday and wounded more than 70 in one of the bloodiest spasms of violence in recent weeks as political leaders closed in on a deal to form a national unity government. At least 21 people were killed and 52 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a car on a crowded street in the Shia holy city of Kerbala.

Reuters
Hindustan Times – May 8, 2006

Go Top


Message from Osama: Kill Musharraf – Pamphlet Attributed to Al-Qaeda Chief Calls Pakistan General ‘Slave’ Of American President

Miran Shah (Pakistan) – A message distributed to Pakistani tribesmen and said to be from al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden prayed for the assassination of President General Pervez Musharraf, declaring him a ‘slave’ of US President George W. Bush. Bin Laden also purportedly called for help of the tribesmen whose homes, the message on the pamphlets said, were destroyed by the Pakistan army in the Waziristan tribal region for ‘American pleasure’.


The Times of India – May 8, 2006.

Go Top


Suicide Bombing Popular Terrorist Tactic
Washington Post (05/08/06) ; Sands, David R.


According to statistics from the State Department's annual report on global terrorism, there were 360 suicide bombings in 2005, causing about 3,000 deaths. In comparison, there were only 472 suicide attacks during the years 2000 through 2004, according to statistics compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Another report estimates just 300 suicide attacks in all of the years up to mid-2001. Such attacks are being used with increasing frequency in Iraq. Suicide bombings have become so popular because they are so effective. Although suicide bombings accounted for just 3 percent of all terrorist attacks in 2005, they accounted for more than 20 percent of the people killed during all attacks, the State Department said.

Security Management Daily – May 9, 2006.

Go Top


Suspected Islamic militants kill three Buddhists

Bangkok – May 9, 2006 – Three Buddhists were killed and seven other people were injured in three separate attacks by suspected Islamic militants in Thailand’s restive south, the police said on Tuesday. Two suspects posing as customers on Tuesday gunned down Sompong Sopin, a Buddhist motorcycle repair shop owner in the southern province of Pattanithe police said. In the same region on Monday, gunmen opened fire at sanitation workers. Five others were injured, the police said. Most ethnic Malays in the Muslim-majority south believe that Thailand discriminates against them because they are Muslims.

(AFP)
The Asian Age – May 10, 2006.

Go Top


Violence in Iraq, at least 34 dead

Baghdad – May 9, 2006 – Violence killed at least 34 people as efforts to finish choosing the new cabinet bogged down on Monday in a web of conflicting interests. The deadliest attack on Monday occurred when a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi court in central Baghdad, killing five Iraqi civilians and wounding 10, a police official said. Two Iraqi policemen died and 12 people were wounded when another car bomb went off near a police patrol travelling down bushy Palestine street in eastern Baghdad, a police official said. An American soldier was killed when a roadside bomb struck a military convoy on Monday in south-east of Baghdad, according to a US statement.

Qassim Abdul-Zahra/(AP>
The Asian Age – May 10, 2006.

Go Top


Insurgents kill 11 Iraqis and defence official

Baghdad – May 10, 2006 – Shootings by suspected insurgents killed 12 Iraqis on Wednesday. Casually figures from a suicide truck bomb attack in the northern city of Tal Afar on Tuesday night also rose to 22 dead and 134 wounded, officials said.

(AP)
The Asian Age – May 11, 2006.

Go Top


6 cops killed in Pak blasts

Quetta – At least six policemen were killed and 13 wounded on Thursday in a series of landmine explosions at a police training school in Pakistan’s troubled southwest, police and hospital sources said. Five landmines went off in quick succession as commandos of the police Anti-Terrorist Force were training at the school on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province.

Reuters
The Times of India – May 12, 2006.

Go Top


67 killed in Lanka naval battle

Colombo – May 11, 2006 – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers killed 17 sailors on Thursday in the worst naval battle. A Tamil Tiger suicide boat rammed and sank a Dvora fast attack craft as it escorted a ship transporting soldiers to the northern peninsula of Jaffna, navy spokesman said. He added three rebel craft were destroyed by naval gunfire while another four were crippled. About 15 rebel boats were involved in the abortive attack on the ship carrying troops.

P.K. Balachandran & Agencies
Hindustan Times – May 12, 2006.

Go Top


LeT relying on technology to enhance strike power

The interrogation of two LeT arrested militants arrested at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station on Monday, points to the fact that the outfit is now more inclined to recruit young men with a technical bent of mind to carry out precise and lethal terrorist strikes. Feroz Abdul Latif Ghaswala @ Abdullah, disclosed that he had obtained a diploma in diesel mechanics besides doing a course in computers. His accomplice Mohammad Ali also turned out to be a hardware engineer. After Abdullah was initiated into terrorism, he was sent to Bangladesh for training in manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and then for advance training to a terrorist camp in Pakistan. According to police officers, the revelations indicate that the outfit was relying heavily on new-age technological know-how to enhance its striking capability.

The Hindu – May 13, 2006.

Go Top


45 killed in spate of attacks

Baghdad – May 14, 2006 – A string of deadly attacks ripped through the Iraqi capital on Sunday, killing at least 30 people and wounding nearly 70, the police said. Six small Shia shrines were damaged in a series of blasts around Baqouba where sectarian tensions are running high. Elsewhere in Iraq, 15 people died in other attacks, including two British soldiers who were killed in a roadside bomb attack on Saturday night. Two suicide car bombs that exploded near a main checkpoint on a four-lane road leading to Baghdad’s International airport, killed at least 14 Iraqis and wounded six. In other attacks, 16 people were killed.

Agencies
Hindustan Times – May 15, 2006.

Go Top


MOROCCAN security authorities have been warned by European intelligence agencies to expect terrorist attacks on tourist targets this summer

Sources in Rabat confirmed that a message had been received “warning of potential attacks targeting administrative, financial and tourist spots, as well as certain embassies and foreign interests in Morocco.”

The information was received, in part, from German investigators after the interrogation of North African terror suspects in Frankfurt. Moroccan anti-terrorist officers recently arrested nine suspected Islamic militants in the tourist city of Meknes.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns of “a high threat from terrorism in Morocco”, but has stopped short of advising against non-essential visits.

Email dated May 14, 2006 from Mr. Mayer Nudell, USA.

Go Top


Gunmen kill 18, injure 37 in Iraq

Baghdad – May 16, 2006 – Gunmen raided a parking lot in northeast Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 18 people and injuring at least 37, the police said. The gunmen shot five guards who were looking after the garage in the Shaab neighbourhood and then detonated a bomb planted on a parked oil tanker, killing the others. The gun-battle in Baghdad broke out at about 10.30 a.m. between suspected insurgents riding in three cars and the Iraqi police in Dora, one of Baghdad’s most violent neighbourhoods. At least six civilians were killed and four wounded in the crossfire.

(AP)
The Asian Age – May 17, 2006.

Go Top


Bangladesh captures Taliban-trained militant

Bangladesh police have arrested a man who claimed to have been trained by the Taliban but denied links with outlawed Bangladeshi Islamist groups, officials said on Monday. The arrest came a day after a Bangladesh court sentenced 13 Islamic militants to up 30 years in prison for involvement in a series of deadly bomb blasts on August 17 last year.

Reuters
The Times of India – May 16, 2006.

Go Top


Police officer killed in Pak

Quetta – Suspected tribal militants shot dead a police officer in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, fired rockets at two gas fields and disrupted electricity supplies to hundreds of homes, officials said on Monday.

AP
The Times of India – May 16, 2006.

Go Top


High-security net over US embassy after terror threat

New Delhi – On Tuesday, the Delhi Police sounded an alert in and around the US embassy after a tip-off from Intelligence Bureau (IB) that American diplomats were likely to be targeted by an Islamic group based in Ramallah, West Bank. The agency has asked the police to sensitise all staff responsible for the security of other US establishments in the city. The agency also said that a “very important” US citizen based in Delhi is the likely target and that this attack was likely to take place either at the airport or at the embassy itself.

Sachin Parashar/TNN
The Times of India – May 17, 2006.

Go Top


Blast kills 7 in Russia

Rostov-on-=Don (Russia – May 17, 2006 – A powerful car-bomb set off by an apparent suicide attacker ripped through a convoy of vehicles in southern Russia on Wednesday, killing seven people including a high-level regional police officer

(AP)
The Asian Age – May 18, 2006.

Go Top


16 hurt in Doda grenade explosion

Srinagar – New Delhi – May 17, 2006 – Sixteen people were injured in a grenade explosion in Doda town in eastern Kashmir on Wednesday. An unidentified person tossed the hand grenade at Doda’s Ramlila Ground but it exploded near the gate, causing injuries to 16 persons, the police said.

Special Correspondent,
The Asian Age – May 18, 2006.

Go Top


16 Hindus injured in Doda grenade attack

Jammu – May 17, 2006 – Sixteen Hindu village defence committee (VDC) members were injured when unidentified persons hurled a grenade at a camp in Doda district, where they had come to collect weapons, official sources said. This is the fourth grenade attack in Doda in the past three weeks. Security forces have launched search operation.

Express News Service
The Indian Express – May 18, 2006.

Go Top


Terrorists target BJP rally in Doda, 15 injured

Jammu – Terrorists targeted a BJP rally injuring 15 members of the minority Hindu community in Doda district on Wednesday. Police sources said unidentified men hurled a grenade on people staging a protest demonstration against the Kulhand massacre and the subsequent attack on an earlier rally this week. The BJP leaders visited Doda to review the situation and meet the victims. They described the attacks as a part of sinister design by the pro-Pakistan terrorists to cleanse Doda ethnically, the way Kashmiri Pandits were hounded out of the Kashmir in early 1990.

Aarti Tikkoo Singh/TNN
The Times of India – May 18, 2006.

Go Top


105 killed as Afghan violence surges

Kandahar – May 18, 2006 – On Thursday, since the Taliban’s ouster, fiercest violence erupted across Afghanistan, with coalition forces engaging in multiple firefights, two suicide car bombs and a massive rebel massive rebel assault on a small town. Up to 105 people were killed. The Taliban death toll from fighting on Wednesday night and Thursday ranged up to 87, US and Afghan officials said. Also, 15 Afghan police officers, one American civilian, a Canadian soldier and an Afghan civilian were killed in the attacks.

Agencies
Hindustan Times – May 19, 2006.

Go Top


Fresh bout of violence kills 20 in Iraq

At least 20 people were killed in insurgent violence on Sunday, 13 of them in a Baghdad restaurant bombing. Another 18 people were wounded when the blast ripped through the crowded dinner in the up market Karrada district, highlighting the importance of plans set out by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliqi for a special security force for the capital.

AFP
The Times of India – May 23, 2006.

Go Top


19 killed in Baghdad

A bombing on Saturday in a Shia district of Baghdad killed 19 people and injured 58 and, in separate attacks around Iraq, two suicide car bombers left at least eight dead and 10 injured, officials said. The Baghdad blast occurred near a food stand in Sadar city where men gather to wait for jobs as day labourers, police official said. The bomb was hidden in a paper bag.

Hindustan Times – May 21, 2006.

Go Top


Terror hits heart of Srinagar

Srinagar – May 21, 2006 – Terrorists attacked a Congress Party rally in the heart of the city on Sunday, killing at least seven persons and wounding 22 others. The militants struck at the rally despite the apparently tight security cover. Officials said that those killed included three civilians and two local policemen. A police press release said that at 1.30 pm, a terrorist wearing police uniform tossed hand grenades and simultaneously opened indiscriminate fire from AK-47 assault rifle at the rally, resulting in injuries to several police personnel and civilians. The Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Al-Mansoorin outfits both claimed responsibility for the attack.

Special Correspondent
The Asian Age - May 22, 2006.

Go Top


2 killed, five tourists hurt as Srinagar hit by blasts

Srinagar – May 22, 2006 – Militants struck again with impunity in Srinagar leaving two persons dead and 78 wounded on Monday, a day after a deadly attack on a Congress rally here. They threw grenades in at least four different city localities, targeting the police and paramilitary forces. The police said the driver of a vehicle was killed on the spot and five tourists were wounded when the vehicle was hit by a grenade. The police and witnesses said 12 security personnel and 34 civilians were injured in three grenade explosions. The militants tossed a hand grenade at a flying squad Gypsy of the police near Chatipatshahi Gurdwara, wounding five policemen on board and 13 passersby. Another police Gypsy was attacked in similar fashion at Baba Dawood Khaki bridge, injuring two policeman and six civilians. The militants exploded another grenade at Fateh Kadal, targeting the CRPF, in which four CRPF men and an equal number of civilians were injured, the police said..

Special Correspondent
The Asian Age – May 23, 2006.

Go Top


Suicide car bomber rams into BSF bus; red carpet turns to red alert before PM’s visit

New Delhi – May 23, 2006 – A suicide bomber, in a explosive-laden car, rammed into a BSF bus, killing himself and leaving 27 security personnel wounded. The bomber sped past a police check-post on airport Road and so powerful was the blast that the entire Hyderpora neighbourhood reverberated with the noise of the explosion. This is the third consecutive day that suicide bombers have struck: the attack on the Congress rally on Sunday that killed seven people followed by four grenade attacks in downtown yesterday. Security officials are on tenterhooks after specific intelligence that Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, Al-Badr and the Jaish-e-Mohammed have joined hands to launch coordinated attacks in the valley.

Pranab Dhal Samanta
Indian Express – May 24, 2006.

Go Top


19 More Killed in Afghan Violence

Kandahar – May 23, 2006 – Taliban fighters ambushed a police patrol in southern Afghanistan’s mountains on Tuesday, killing three police but leaving 12 militants dead, while in violence near the capital, three health workers and their driver were killed by a landmine, officials said. Dozens of Taliban fled after ambushing the police, leaving the bodies of their colleagues. Several assault rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers were discovered. The blast killed a doctor, two nurses and their driver.

Noor Khan / (AP)
The Asian Age – May 24, 2006.

Go Top


7 killed, 8 injured in Iraq attacks

Baghdad – May 23, 2006 – In Iraq, shootings killed seven Iraqis and wounded eight on Tuesday. At about 6.30 a.m., a drive-by shooting at a minibus killed three Iraqi labourers and wounded four as they drove to work at a farm near Baqouba, 60 km northeast of Baghdad. At 8.00 a.m., gunmen riding in an Opel Sedan car shot and killed four ironsmiths and wounded one as they were riding a pickup truck to work.

Sameer N. Yacoub / (AP)
The Asian Age – May 24, 2006.

Go Top


65 killed in new Afghan flare-up

Kandahar - Sixty Taliban and five members of the Afghan security forces were killed in a major new clash in Afghanistan on Wednesday as the US-led coalition defended itself against mounting criticism of civilian deaths. The fighting started when a joint Afghan and coalition combat patrol returned fire after several Taliban rebels hiding in a nearby compound shot at them, a coalition statement said. The coalition put the militant death toll at 24.

AFP
The Times of India – May 25, 2006.

Go Top


Grenade blasts greet PM on Srinagar visit

Srinagar - Four grenade attacks, three in the city of Srinagar itself, greeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday, who had gone to attend the scheduled round-table conference. The first attack took place at 10 km from the conference venue at Qamarwari, injuring seven, including two policemen. In another attack at Zaribal, a further seven, including four security personnel, were hurt. A third blast which took place in downtown Srinagar, did not result in any casualties.

Rajeev Deshpande/TNN
The Times of India – May 25, 2006.

Go Top


Taliban warn Blair against attack

London – May 24, 2006 – Warning UK prime Minister against sending troops to Afghanistan, a Taliban commander has said his men would “kill” Britain’s “children” if they were deployed there. Taliban commander of Helmand province said to The Times via satellite phone, “I have between 2500 and 3000 men fighting at the moment, but I have thousands more I can call if I need them. They are in their homes waiting for my message to fight.”

(PTI/AP)
The Asian Age – May 25, 2006.

Go Top


4 killed in Sri Lanka violence

Combo – Four policemen were killed and four army soldiers were injured in two claymore mine blasts in northeast Sri Lanka on Thursday, the Sri Lankan military spokesman said. Four policemen were killed in the blast at Kathankudy in the eastern district of Batticaloa. In the next blast at 9.45 a.m., in Cheddikulam, four soldiers were injured, the spokesman added. In the blast at the Koppay junction in Jaffna on Wednesday, a policemen was killed and three army men were injured.

P.K. Balachandran
Hindustan Times – May 26, 2006.

Go Top


J&K explosion kills 4 tourists

Srinagar – Four tourists were killed and six others wounded in an explosion inside the vehicle they had taken to visit the Mughal Gardens here on Thursday evening. Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police said the explosion occurred inside the vehicle at Botapora along the Dal Lake, killing three passengers on the spot and the fourth succumbed to injuries at a hospital. Earlier during the day, two CRPF men were wounded in a sneak attack, the police said. Meanwhile, unidentified assailants shot dead three persons in Jammu and Kashmir overnight, the police said on Thursday.

Special Correspondent
The Asian Age – May 26, 2006.

Go Top


10 Taliban, 4 policemen killed

Kandahar – May 27, 2006 – Four policemen and 10 Taliban were killed in a fresh battle in Afghanistan on Saturday. Militants attacked a police vehicle in Ghazni province, provincial police chief said. After a one-hour exchange of fire, at least 10 Taliban were killed, he said. The incident took place in Giro district where Taliban militants had taken refuge in a village and were besieged by the police.

(AFP)
The Asian Age – May 28, 2006

Go Top


Pak pipeline blown up

Quetta – May 27, 2006 – A powerful bomb blew up a gas pipeline in a remote town of insurgency-wracked south-western Pakistan, gutting dozens of shops but causing no casualties, a government official said on Saturday. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

(AP)
The Asian Age – May 28, 2006.

Go Top


Militant storms hospital, kills one

Srinagar – A militant stormed into the Shere-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science, Soura, and shot dead a man being treated for wounds sustained in a militant attack in Sopore.

The Indian Express – May 29, 2006.

Go Top


Two blasts rock Srinagar

Srinagar – A J&K police constable was killed while six others were injured in two grenade blasts carried out by terrorists in Srinagar city on Tuesday. The first incident took place at the busy Naaz crossing in the heart of the city when terrorists lobbed a grenade at a police vehicle. While a constable was killed, another cop was injured. Two passersby also received blister injuries in the attack.

M. Saleem Pandit/TNN
The Times of India – May 31, 2006.

Go Top


Food for Thought

I believe in the dignity of labour, whether with head or hand; that the world owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

- John D Rockefeller, Jr.
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
The Times of India – May 1, 2006.


A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt


One of the indictments of civilizations is that happiness and intelligence are so rarely found in the same person.

– William Feather

Go Top

 

HomeNewsletterIISSM NewsSecurity File
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,   June 2006

   
 

Maoists hijack boats, capture 9

Hyderabad – April 30, 3006 – On Sunday, the Maoists hijacked two government boats along with nine crew members of Nagarjunakonda island inside the Nagarajunasagar dam in Andhra Pradesh. They commanded the crew to travel towards Nalamalla forests adjoining Srisailam reservoir. They have not left any ransom note or set out any condition for the release of the crew. Superintendent of Police, Guntur District, told HT that the Maoists took over the boats after the 234 tourists disembarked to go to the famous Buddhist museum.

Ashok Das
Hindustan Times – May 1, 2006.

Go Top


Maoists blow up police picket

Giridih – Maoists blew up a police picket at Khurki village in Giridih, while a suspected Naxalite woman was killed in an encounter with security forces in Garwah district, police official said. He added about 40 ultras reached the picket around 2.00 A.M. and triggered the blasts. In a separate incident, a suspected woman Naxalite was killed and another injured in a fierce encounter between security forces and Maoists at Sukhnadi village in Garwah district on Saturday.

PTI
The Indian Express – May 1, 2006.

Go Top


ULFA uses sex workers for extortion

Guwahati – May 2, 2006 – The banned United Liberation front of Asom was using call girls hired from Punjab and New Delhi as inducement to extort and kidnap businessmen in Assam. Disclosing this to this newspaper here on Tuesday, additional superintendent of city police said: “We succeeded in foiling the attempt of the ULFA by arresting two girls and the ULFA leader before they could have executed their plan.” The confession of the two girls have revealed that the ULFA leaders had managed to lure two businessmen who spent a night with two sisters in a flat on April 27, and they had been caught on the day when the ULFA were planning to kidnap them. Interrogation of the arrested ULFA leader Ajit Das has confirmed that outfit was targeting at least four businessmen for ransom.

Manoj Anand
The Times of India – May 3, 2006.

Go Top


Nepal Maoists agree to peace talks

Kathmandu – May 4, 2006 – Maoist rebels agreed on Thursday to peace talks with Nepal’s government that are aimed at ending a decade-old insurgency. The insurgents released a statement accepting an offer made by the new Cabinet on Wednesday. “We believe that the talks this time will not be unsuccessful like the two previous ones because there is a historic moment behind this” the rebel chief said.

AP
Hindustan Times – May 5, 2006

Go Top


Maoists blast railway station in UP

Ongole – The Maoists on Friday blew up Somadevapally railway station in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, the police said. As a result, two trains, including Vizag-Bangalore Express, were halted near the station. The Naxals also set afire a wine shop at Mundapadu village in the district.

The Indian Express – May 6, 2006.

Go Top


‘Naxals have arms factories'

New Delhi – May 6, 2006 – The Union home ministry has credible information that Naxalites have arms factories in certain areas of Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Besides, intelligence inputs indicate that left-wing extremists have started several small-scale irrigation projects in Bihar and Chhattisgarh. Intelligence reports also indicate that Naxalites have constructed a dam in Gaya district of Bihar.

Pramod Kumar
The Asian Age – May 7, 2006.

Go Top


Anti-Naxal cell to check Red menace

New Delhi – Home ministry has decided to set up a dedicated anti-Naxal cell to coordinate intelligence, develop outreaches and implementation of policies to check the rising Red menace. The cell will have smaller groups to deal specifically with development issues and armed police responses in the affected districts. If the proposal passes muster with the Union cabinet, the MHA will have an additional secretary manning the proposed anti-Naxal cell. There will be two joint secretaries reporting to the additional secretary. One of them will be an Inspector General of Police ranked officer. There will be two DIG-ranked police officers as deputy secretaries who will report to the IGP.

Subodh Ghildiyal/TNN
The Times of India – May 9, 2006.

Go Top


Huge cache of arms, explosives seized at Ellora, three in cop net

Mumbai – May 10, 2006 – The Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Maharashtra Police intercepted a vehicle carrying arms and explosives and arrested three people. All of them are residents of Aurangabad. A hunt has been launched to nab the fourth, ATS officials said.

Express News Service
The Indian Express – May 11, 2006.

Go Top


Another major arms haul: AK-47 rifles, RDX seized

Malegaon (Nashik) - The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Mumbai Police late on Sunday seized five SAK-47 rifles, 20 magazines containing 1,000 live cartridges and 13.5 KG of RDX in a raid on an electrical shop in Azadnagar. The raids were conducted following interrogation of five persons recently arrested in Malegaon. The electricity shop owned by Abdul Gani Osman Gani was locked. The police forced open the shutter and searched the premises and found five boxes containing arms, ammunition and explosives. Gani had gone underground by then, but on receipt of some information he was nabbed by the police.

Tarachand Mhaska/TNN
The Times of India – May 16, 2006.

Go Top


‘Maoists may target House’

Patna – Pay 15, 2006 – CPI (Maoist) guerrillas who had carried out surprise attacks at Jehanabad Jail last year, have now reportedly decided to blow up the Bihar Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council buildings. The Patna edition of national Hindi daily, Hindustan, has carried a report quoting the media in-charge of the outfit for Hazaribag (Jharkhand) range, Ranjana Kumari, that the strike would be carried out on any “black night” between May 28 and July 29. The same day, when the buildings of Bihar legislature would be blown up, some senior politicians would be lifted from across the state capital.

Kumar Uttam
The Asian Age – May 16, 2006.

Go Top


12 killed as Maoists target marriage party

Bande/Nagpur – Maoists detonated a powerful landmine on Tuesday, near Halewada village on Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border, killing 12 people of a marriage party on the spot. Sub Divisional Police Officer told TOI that the vehicles carrying the marriage party were caught in the landmine planted by Maoists Probably the Maoists mistook it for a police vehicle and blew it. Meanwshihlke, the Maoists on Tuesday issued a call for Bastar bandh on May 21 and 22 in protest against the Salwa Judum movement.

Times News Network
The Times of India – May 17, 2006.

Go Top


ULFA kidnaps OIL engineer

Guwahati – An Oil India Limited (OIL) engineer was kidnapped by ULFA militants in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district on Friday, official sources said. He was on his way from Duliajan to Barakuri when the militants abducted him around 9.00 P.M.

The Indian Express – May 20, 2006.

Go Top


Naxals go on violence spree to counter government retaliation

Raipur – The bandh call given by Maoists in protest against the ongoing “Salva Judum” anti-Naxal movement evoked violence in Bijapur and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh on Sunday. Naxals set four buses on fire and triggered a series of blasts, abducted a policeman and an Airport Authority of India official.

TNN
The Times of India – May 23, 2006.

Go Top


Maoists burn 6 vehicles, abduct two

Raipur – May 21, 2006 – Maoists abducted two persons and burnt six vehicles, including four buses, in Bastar region on the first day of their two-day Chhattisgarh bandh. They stopped four buses and two trucks near Birla village in Dantewada set them on fire, by making the passengers to get down. The Maoists had attacked several installations, including the NMDC and Essar Steel’s iron ore plants in Dantewada yesterday to disrupt work.

Press Trust of India
The Indian Express – May 22, 2006.

Go Top


Naxalites target construction firm in Jharkhand

Ranchi – May 28, 2006 – Suspected Naxalites on Friday night set ablaze four trucks and construction equipment belonging to a Jamshedpur-bassed firm, Vashnavi Construction, near Ghorebandha, in East Singhbhum district as they failed to pay up the demanded levy to the Naxalites. They also assaulted the supervisor of the firm. In another incident, at Maghania village of Chatra district, a suspected group of suspected Maoists blew up a school building on the night of May 24.

Manoj Prasad
The Indian Express – May 29, 2006.

Go Top


2 policemen injured in Naxal blast

Nagpur – Two policemen were injured in a landmine blast triggered by the Naxalites in Etapalli taluka of Maoist-infested Godchiroli district of Maharashtra on Sunday, the police said. A special squad was clearing a road blockade near Kasansur when the landmine exploded injuring the policemen, they said. The blast was followed by an exchange of fire between the police and the Naxalites.

(PTI)
The Asian Age – May 29, 2006.

Go Top


Food for Thought

I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.

- Rosa Parks


A man should never be ashamed to own he has been wrong, which is but saying, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

- Alexander Pope

Go Top

 

HomeNewsletterIISSM NewsCyber Crime
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,   June 2006

   
 

70 Percent of Malicious Software Aimed At Theft: Survey
Agence France Presse (05/04/06)

A recent study by Panda Software indicates that 70 percent of malicious software that is circulated is linked to different types of cybercrime and driven by financial gain. The report also says hackers are now moving toward forms of malicious code instead of email worms, which makes it more difficult to detect. About 40 percent of the problems Panda found were spyware, while 17 percent were Trojans. Eight percent were "dialers," and 4 percent involved the sale or rental of networks of infected computers. The email worm, which was previously thought of as a major Internet threat, accounted for only 4 percent of the total. "Epidemics caused by email worms stir up too much publicity and are therefore no use when it comes to generating profits," says Luis Corrons, director of PandaLabs. "Currently, the types of malware we are seeing more of are those such as spyware, Trojans, and bots, which can be installed silently and remain hidden on systems while they operate maliciously."

Security Management Daily – May 8, 2006

Go Top


Microsoft readies anti-piracy plan for India

New Delhi – My 14, 2006 – Microsoft company has lined up many initiatives to contain piracy in the existing versions of the operating system. Microsoft wants to replicate in India the Chinese success story, where the percentage of hardware sellers attaching genuine software to the products has gone up from three-four per cent to 87 per cent in the past eight months. The Chinese success, however, is also on account of the state’s intervention in enforcing norms. Presently, nearly 95 per cent of the individual users in India use pirated software, while 80 per cent of small and medium businesses and 25-30 per cent enterprises are using non-genuine packages. Soon, the company will also make available for free Windows Defender, an anti-virus and anti-virus and anti-malware package, to users only if they are using genuine software.

Phrena K. Mishra
Hindustan Times – May 15, 2006.

Go Top


Food For Thought

A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.

- Patricia Neal


The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.

- George Bernard Shaw


The world tolerates conceit from those who are successful, but not from anybody else.

- John Blake

Go Top

 

HomeNewsletterIISSM NewsCyber Security
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,  June 2006

   
 

Call for a cyber security system

New Delhi – Union Minister of State for Defence said on Thursday that India needs a national cyber security response system to combat growing cyber crimes. Inaugurating a seminar on “Promoting Global Cyber Security” organized by the Institute of Engineers India here, he said the system would serve as a platform for State Governments, public sector companies, corporates and individuals to exchange ideas and skills to fight these constantly evolving threats due to globalisation.

The Hindu - May 20, 2006

Go Top


Internet highway needs security

The iSec Securities in its latest information security newsletter has brought up some scary facts about using the net for payments and purchases. Mr. Sanjay Pande, a former top cop who runs the agency, said that the Internet highway is not monitored, identities of the users are unknown and the route taken by Internet traffic is also not determined. In 2005, MasterCard International disclosed that credit card breaches could have exposed 40 million customers. In 2006, India reported serious phishing attempts (trying to gain information about bank accounts, credit cards, etc. by sending unsolicited mails, which appear to have come from genuine source) on major banks in early 2006. Banks in India, Mr. Pande said, have been taking precautions by using cryptography. However, while this takes care of the data in transit, there is a weak area in terms of authenticating users. Besides the card number, most banks only require a password to allow users to do online transactions. Once these details are known, the rest of the job is easy for any hacker. Mr. Pande cautioned that with the increasing use of Internet cafes to purchase airline tickets, users need to exercise caution, lest they end up paying much more than they thought they were saving by being net savvy.

The Asian Age – May 31, 2006.

Go Top


Food for Thought

Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.

- Sophia Loren

Go Top


Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

– Carl Sandburg


Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.

– Cherie Carter-Scott

Go Top

 

HomeNewsletterIISSM NewsCrime File
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,  June 2006

   
 

Jewels worth Rs.10 cr stolen in Hyderabad

Hyderabad – May 16, 2006 – Burglars broke into a well-known jewelers’ shop in Hyderabad early on Tuesday and made away with jewellery and diamonds worth more than Rs.10 crores. The incident came to notice only next morning by the guards posted at the entrance of the shop. DCP (west zone) said the burglars had forced open the shutters at the bank. Then they drilled holes into the ply-wood doors and opened the bolt to enter the shop and stole all the jewellery in the showcases. “But they spared the strong room which has an alarm. The jewelers were supposed to keep all the jewellery in the strong room before closing shop. But they did not do it,” the DCP said.

Ashok Das
Hindustan Times – May 17, 2006.

Go Top


Banking system frauds doubled in 2005: FM

New Delhi – Frauds in the Indian banking system more than doubled in value terms during 2005, touching Rs.1,134.3 crore as against Rs.451 crore in the previous year, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. The finance minister said in a written reply in the lower house that a total of 2,658 instances of frauds were detected in the Indian banking system in 2005 against 2,520 instances in 2004. He added the Centre had taken several measures to prevent frauds in the Indian banking industry, including introduction of concurrent audit, monitoring of working of internal inspection and setting up of the Board for Financial Supervision and Investigation Office.

PTI
The Indian Express – May 20, 2006.


Laugh A While

Confidence on Software
What is confidence ????


A hypothetical situation where 20 executives board an airplane and are told that the flight that they are about to take is the first-ever to feature pilotless technology: It is an uncrewed aircraft. Each one of the CEOs is then told, privately, that their company's software is running the aircraft's automatic pilot system.

Nineteen of the CEOs promptly leave the aircraft, each offering a different type of excuse.

One CEO alone remains on board the jet, seeming very calm indeed. Asked why he is so confident in this first uncrewed flight, he replies : "If it is the same software that runs my company's IT systems, this plane won't even take off." !!!!

That is called Confidence!!!

Email dated 9.5.2006 from Sysman.

Go Top

 

HomeNewsletterIISSM NewsScience & Technology
Volume No. 5,   Issue No. 1,   June 2006

   
 

Ray gun will attack satellites

Scientists in the US are working on a ray gun to destroy enemy spacecraft. President Bush has given the go-ahead to create the weapon to destroy satellites in orbit. Experiments are currently being carried out in the New Mexico desert reports the Sun. Scientists are testing ‘”‘shaving mirrors” more than 11ft wide to shine test beams into space. Experts say, the ray gun, called Starfire, would shoot up focused beams of light with great clarity and force.

Hindustan Times – May 6, 2006.

Go Top


Food for Thought



If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don’t hoard it. Don’t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.

Brendan Francis

Go Top


It is easy to drive people, what is hard is to lead them

- Rabindra Nath Tagore


Responsibilities gravitate to the person who can shoulder them.

- Elbert Hubbard

Go Top