Saudi King orders Muslim clerics to fight extremism

Riadh - Saudi Arabia's King Fahd has ordered Muslim clerics to combat extremist ideologies which he said have duped some Saudi youth into joining terrorist cells that aim to harm the kingdom and Islam. Saudi Arabia is trying to quash militants at home and improve its image abroad after the September 11 attacks on US cities and suicide bombings in Riadh in May.

The Asian Age - September 1, 2003

Taliban adopts new tactics 

Kandhar - September 1, 2003 - The Taliban are regrouping and expanding their attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan. The clashes have increased since mid-August. Not only are US forces being attacked, but so are Afghan policemen. The United Nations reports that attacks have intensified significantly since May. Some Westerners are urging the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and the US to immediately increase aid, security and ties to Pashtun tribes in the area. The US administration is expected to double reconstruction aid to Afghanistan, and a new US military unit of 120 soldiers is to be established in December in Kandhar, to coordinate and provide security for aid projects. Western diplomats say the Taliban seem to have begun "psychological warfare." "They have a sophisticated strategy of going after local people," a senior Western diplomat said.

Hindustan Times - September 2, 2003

RBI gets cracking to choke terror funding

New Delhi - September 1, 2003 - The Reserve Bank of India has urged the financial sector to choke funding to terrorist groups by keeping vigilant eyes on dodgy accounts and installing surveillance software. State Bank of India chairman A.K. Purwar told reporters that the RBI had issued "know your customer" guidelines to all domestic banks. "A system has been put in place on the instructions of the RBI to identify and to follow the RBI guidelines," Purwar said. The government has identified that not only money, but other forms of currency such as gold and diamonds were also a source of funding for terrorists.

Hindustan Times - September 2, 2003

Laden threatens 'bio-attacks'

New York - August 30, 2003 - Osama bin Laden had convened a huge 'terrorist summit' in Afghanistan in April, 2003, shortly after Saddam Hussein regime collapsed in Iraq, in which he outlined plans to launch "unbelievable" attacks using biological weapons, a media report said today. "His priority is to use biological weapons," a source, who claimed that al Qaeda already has such weapons, was quoted as saying. 

The Statesman - September 1, 2003

India, Indonesia agree on anti-terror measures

Yogyakarta (Indonesia) - September 1, 2003 - At their first ever Joint Commission meeting, which was held here, both India and Indonesia reached an agreement to enhance security-related coordination between their defence forces on a select basis. Indonesia's delegation was led by its Foreign Minister and the Indian side was by the External Affairs Minister

The Hindu - Sept. 3, 2003

Car blast hits Iraq police HQ - Shia Cleric Hakim buried amid cries for revenge

Baghdad - September 2, 2003 - A car bomb ripped through Baghdad's police headquarters on Tuesday, killing one Iraqi policeman and wounding about 15 in a suspected attempt to assassinate the city's US-appointed police chief, who was not present in his office at that time of the blast. Meanwhile, wails of lament mingled with cries for revenge on Tuesday as more than 100,000 Shias ended the funeral for their slain leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim at one of their religion's holiest sites. 

The Asian Age - Sept.3, 2003

FBI says it can't infiltrate Al Qaeda

The FIB has concluded that it may never be able to plant undercover agents inside Al Qaeda, and so their agents are focusing more on recruiting terror operatives as informants and on continuing to get details from those already in custody. Al Qaeda's radical Muslim culture and its strict recruiting process have made it difficult for US agents to get inside the network. "The risks are too great," said a former top FBI official.

Hindustan Times - September 12, 2003.

Qaeda blasts India, Pak on 9/11

Washington - The threat from Hindu India to an Islamic Pakistan has entered the Al qaeda rant. In the latest videotape showing Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Zawahiri, the Al Qaeda number two, for the first time invokes at length the alleged threat from India and the purported treason of military dictator Pervez Musharraf while calling on the Pakistani people to overthrow him. "We ask our Muslim brethern in Pakistan: Until when will you put up with the traitor Musharraf, who sold the Muslims' blood in Afghanistan and handed over the Arab mujahideen to crusader America?" Zawahiri asks in the audio accompanying the visuals. "Had it not been for his treason, the surrogate government would not have been installed in Kabul, that government which brought the Indians to Pakistan's western borders. He opened up nuclear installations to US inspection, chocked off the jehad in Kashmir….and is (planning) to recognize Israel….after a handful of dollars the Americans stack in his pocket….." Zawahiri rails. The extensive reference to India and Pakistan in the tape is a new development. Al Qaeda had previously refrained from bringing India into the picture except for some stray references to the Kashmir India. 

Times of India - September 12, 2003.

Violence increases in the Valley

Srinagar - September 13, 2003 b- Three Army jawans and a Major were killed in a suicide attack at an army camp at Bungus valley near the line of control in Kupwara district. Two militants, believed to be foreigners, stormed a camp of the 5-Sikh Regiment on Saturday morning by tossing grenades and firing indiscriminately. The troops retaliated and the clash continued for about half an hour. The troops gunned down one of the fidayeen while another escaped. In other encounters in the Valley, 15 militants were killed. Two Pakistani militants were shot dead by security forces at Hyderbiegh village in Pattan quarter of Barmulla district. Three militants were killed and three jawans were injured in another encounter with security forces at Khumeryal near Kalaroos area in Kupwara. 

Hindustan Times - September 14, 2003.

Six killed in Srinagar car-bomb blast

Srinagar - September 6, 2003 - A massive car bomb explosion at the Parimpora fruit and vegetable market in Srinagar this morning claimed the lives of six civilians. Eighteen persons, including Brigadier S.C. Chopra, were injured. "It seems the explosive was placed under the front seat, and it was probably fabricated using RDX," said Ramesh Jalla, Supdt. of Police incharge of southern Srinagar. Many lives were probably saved because a truck parked near the car bore the brunt of the explosion, shielding the rear of the crowded Parimpora market. The Hjizb-ul-Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack. 

The Hindu - September 7, 2003.

3 policemen, two civilians killed in Nepal rebel attack

Kathmandu - Rebels raided a town in central Nepal, shooting to death three officers at a police station and two boys watching a soccer game at a school, the police said on Wednesday. At least six police officers were missing after the attack, who might be hiding in the nearby forests or might have been captured by the rebels. On Wednesday, two bombs exploded in Kathmandu. 

The Asian Age - September 11, 2003.

Russia blast kills two, injures 40

Moscow - Suspected Chechen rebels on Monday carried out a suicide attack ramming an explosive-laden truck into the regional headquarters of Russia's Federal Security Services in Ingushetia, killing two persons and injuring 40. 

The Asian Age - September 16, 2003.

'Laden operating from a cave' : US says Taliban plans attacks on UN, US staff

Dubai - September 18, 2003 - Osama bin Laden is running the terror war against the United States from a cave, a press report said on Thursday. "Al Qaeda is everywhere around the world and in strength," claimed Abu Mohammed Al-Ablaj in an email interview published by Al-Majallah, a Saudi-owned weekly. "Bin Laden is leading it from a cave, the same cave from where the orders went out to destroy the citadel of the Pentagon and which the Pentagon has not been able to destroy," he said. "Abu Abdullah (Bin Laden) enjoys full freedom of movement. He directs the fighting against the evil administration in satan's black house from his cave." The world's most wanted man propped on the Qatari television station Al Jazeera on the eve of the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States. In a video believed to have been recorded last April or May, Bin Laden and his top lieutenant Ayman Zawahiri, both looking aged and thin, were shown walking through a rocky valley, probably in Afghanistan, carrying Kalashnikov rifles. 

The Asian Age - September 19, 2003

Jaish running narcotics to fund operations

Bandipora (Balamulla) - September 18, 2003 - Raids carried out last week by the Jammu and Kashmir police suggest that the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad may be financing its operations by trafficking in narcotics across the Line of Control. On September 10, the State police arrested a medical-store owner for possessing three kgs of high-grade heroin on behalf of the Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is believed to have been shipped across the border. "This is the first major narcotics seizure. I can recall in the Kashmir Valley," says the Inspector General of Police, K. Rajendra.

The Hindu - September 19, 2003

3 killed in blast 

Jammu - September 21, 2003 - Three persons were killed and 30 injured, six of them seriously, in a powerful blast in a shop in Rajouri town of Jammu region this afternoon. Initial investigations revealed that the bomb had been hidden in a Video Cassette Recorder and placed on the staircase of the shop. 

The Hindu - September 22, 2003.

2 die in blast at UN Baghdad office

Baghdad: An apparent suicide blast outside the UN headquarters in Baghdad killed two people. It was the second blast at the UN office in less than a month following the August 19 truck bombing that had killed 22 people

The Times of India - September 23, 2003.

Many killed in Iraq cinema

Baghdad - September 24, 2003 - A blast ripped through a cinema hall in the northern Iraqi city of Mosoul today, causing several casualties, the police said. Islamabad militants have attacked some cinema halls in post-war Iraq for showing "pornographic films." Shopkeepers in the area said they saw about 20 people being carried out of the building, some of them with very serious injuries.

The Hindu - September 25, 2003

Colombia blast kills 10

Bogota - September 28, 2003 - A remote-controlled motorcycle bomb today killed 10 persons and injured 48 in Florencia city in Colombia. "People were leaving bars and night-clubs to go home when the motorcycle exploded," said Gen. Luis Alberto Ardilla. Gen. Ardilla blamed the attack on the largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The Hindu - September 29, 2003.

Taliban kills 7 bodyguards of an Afghan governor

Kabul: Taliban guerrillas killed seven bodyguards of Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, governor of the volatile southern province of Halmand, on Sunday night by attacking the convoy. The govenor was not traveling with the convoy. 

The Asian Age - September 29, 2003.

Germany's neo-Nazi terror front 

A foiled plot against a Munich synagogue is raising fears of a wave of right-wing violence. Police have been unraveling plans by a neo-Nazi group in Munich to carry out bomb attacks. Police have made 11 arrests including a 17 year old girl on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organisation. Police found a "hit list" with names of politicians who might be targeted for an attack, and also several Munich mosques, a Greek school, and an unspecified Italian target. Hajo Funke, an expert on right-wing extremist at Berlin's Free University, says the most striking characteristic of the group behind the Munich bomb plot is that it is not yet a full-fledged terrorist group. The group led by Martin Wiese remains aloof from far-right political parties and instead build loose autonomous groups called Kameradschaften, or comrades, which are 160 throughout Germany. The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which monitors extremist groups, says that while membership in right-wing organizations fell around 10 percent last year, the number of right-wing extremists willing to commit violence is rising. Their favourite targets are foreigners, especially blacks, Turks and Jews. In the past about 100 people have died in far-right or racist violence in Germany. 

Email dated 18.9.2003 from Mr. Mayer Nudell, USA.

Iraqi Police Chief Slain In Roadway Ambush

Masked assailants ambushed a pickup truck carrying the chief of the embattled police force in the nearby city of Khaldiya today, killing him and wounding two others in a brazen daylight attack, hospital officials and police said. The death of Col. Khudheir Mikhlif Ali, 48, was a severe setback to the police force in Khaldiya, 45 miles west of Baghdad, which has become a flash point of opposition to the U.S.-led occupation. The killing underscored yet again the challenges facing the United States as it attempts to build up the Iraqi security forces in an effort to bring order to the country. Last week, demoralized police officers in Khaldiya complained in interviews with The Washington Post that they had grown isolated and faced mounting accusations from townspeople of working as collaborators with the U.S. military. In August, the mayor's office was ransacked by an angry mob, which threw rocks and then burned the truck of Ali's predecessor. 

Posted on Website Tuesday, September 16, 2003 

Food for Thought

Home is not where you live but where they understand you.

-- Christion Morgenstems

*****

There is no such thing as a self-made man. We are made up of thousands of others.

-- George Adams

*****

No one ever injured their eyesight from looking on the bright side of things.

-- Unknown.