Car bomb kills seven in Iraq
Baghdad – A car bomb exploded at an Iraqi police checkpoint south of Baghdad on Sunday, killing seven civilians and wounding 12, the police said. The explosives-packed vehicle had been left by the side of the road, and was detonated remotely.
Reuters
Hindustan Times – August 1, 2005.
Go Top
Laden still giving direct orders
London – Osama bin Laden is still giving direct orders for al-Qaeda attacks, Saudi Arabia’s next ambassador to the United States said on Sunday. The outgoing Saudi ambassador to Britain Prince Turki al Faisal said some of the most recent attacks attributed to al-Qaeda in the oil-rich kingdom had been directly ordered by the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Reuters
The Times of India – August 2, 2005.
Go Top
At least 29 killed on Iraq’s terror Tuesday
Baghdad – At least 23 people were killed in rebel attacks across Iraq on Tuesday. A suicide car bomber blew himself up close to a US military convoy, killing four people and wounding 23 others. In separate attacks, gunmen opened fire on a group of people leaving a city hospital where they had gone to see the body of a Sunni cleric, murdered on Monday. Five people were killed. Two employees of the finance ministry were shot dead on their way to work in Baghdad. One police colonel died in a drive-by shooting. In another incident, a civilian was killed when a suicide car bomber attacked a police patrol in the center of Baquba. Four Iraqi soldiers were killed when a bomb hidden inside a dead dog hit an army patrol in Balad. Three other people working at a US base in Baiji were killed when the bus they were travelling in was ambushed by armed gunmen, while a construction worker was shot dead. An engineer was gunned down in the northern town of Dhuluiyah, and a man was killed in a Baghdad bookshop when a bomb reportedly hidden in a suitcase blew up. On Monday, six US marines were also killed near Haditha, a town on the Euphrates river, said an army officer.
Agencies
The Times of India – August 3, 2005.
Go Top
Bomb kills 14 US Marines in Iraq
Baghdad – A roadside bomb explosion tore through a US assault vehicle in Iraq on Wednesday, killing 14 American Marines and a civilian. The blast was the second major attack against Marines in the area in the past three days. On Monday, six Marines were killed in clashes with insurgents in Haditha, and a seventh was killed by a car bomb blast in Hit.
Reuters
The Indian Express – August 4, 2005.
Go Top
Nepal Maoists kidnap 22 students
Kathmandu – August 3, 2005 – Maoist rebels have kidnapped nine junior civil servants and 22 students in two districts of Nepal, the police said on Wednesday. “A group of nine junior civil servants returning to their office at Basantpur in Palpa district was forced by a group of rebels to go with them to the nearby Chure jungle on Tuesday evening,” a police officer said.
(AFP)
The Asian Age – August 4, 2005.
Go Top
"Terrorism On Most Companies' Radar"
Fairfield County Business Journal (CT) (08/01/05) ; Scott, Andrew
The likelihood of terrorism-induced emergencies has jumped to the top of many firms' priority lists, causing them to create emergency response plans. ExxonMobil Chemical Co. recently tweaked its original emergency plan in order to deal with a terrorist event. Workers understand their roles in the execution of the plan and know where the emergency equipment, such as, flashlights and walkie-talkies, and contact lists are located. Other companies have set up alternative locations for their operations and disaster recovery plans to ensure that the business continues to run in the event of a catastrophe.
Security Management – August 3, 2005
Go Top
10 killed as crucial Iraq meet put off
Baghdad – Rebels killed 10 people in Iraq on Friday as a crucial meeting of national leaders called to settle constitutional problems was postponed because of an emergency session of the Kurdish autonomous parliament. Talibani had called the meeting to break the deadlock on drafting a new constitution.
AFP
The Asian Age – August 6, 2005.
Go Top
Violence surges in Iraq, 32 killed
Baghdad – Insurgents killed at least 32 people in a series of attacks in Iraq. Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 17 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up a truck in front of an Iraqi army headquarters in central Tikrit. Three other Iraqi soldiers were killed when gunmen attacked their patrol in south Baghdad, and two other people working in the oil ministry were also shot dead by gunmen in south-east Baghdad. In Samawa, one civilian was killed land 14 wounded as demonstrators clashed with police during a protest about lack of jobs and public services. Two people were also killed in Baquba when a roadside bomb exploded in the town center, targeting a police patrol. Seven Iraqis were killed at Al-Sharqat when their bus hit a roadside bomb on Sunday. Eleven others were also killed in separate rebel attacks.
AFP
Hindustan Times – August 8, 2005.
Go Top
UK fears child fidayeen
The terrorist could be preparing to use women and children as suicide bombers in further attacks on trains and other soft targets in London, internal Scotland Yard documents have warned. “Terrorists will try to use our actions against us and will adapt their methods, use women or even children,” the document states, which was released this weekend, on the orders of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
David Leppard / Sunday Times, London
Hindustan Times – August 8, 2005.
Go Top
US shuts offices in Saudi for two days citing threat
Dubai – United States diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia will be closed for at least two days to response to possible threats against American buildings, embassy officials said on Sunday. A statement posted Saturday on the embassy website warned of “ongoing security concerns in the region, including for sea borne vessels traveling in the southern Red Sea”, Reuters reported.
Hassan M. Fattah/NYT News Agency
The Times of India – August 9, 2005.
Go Top
US military drafts terror war plans
Coloradosprings – August 8, 2005 – The US military has devised its first-ever war plans for guarding against and responding to terrorist attacks in the United States, envisioning 15 potential crisis scenarios and anticipating several simultaneous strikes around the country, according to officers who drafted the plans. The command’s plans comprise two documents. One, designed CONPLAN 2002 (SHORT FOR CONCEPT DOCUMENT), is an umbrella document drawing together previously issued orders for homeland missions and covers air, sea and land operations. The other, identified as CONPLAN 0500, deals specifically with managing the consequences of attacks represented by the 15 scenarios.
Bradley Graham
The Indian Express – August 9, 2005.
Go Top
Maoists slay 40 Nepalese soldiers
Kathmandu – Maoist rebels killed at least 40 soldiers in northwest Nepal after a night-long fierce fighting, army officials said on Tuesday. All the soldiers were taken into control, lined up and shot from the back, the Royal Nepalese army said. The rebels have said their 26 of their soldiers were killed during the fight. The Maoists claimed they have captured huge cache of arms.
Yuvraj Acharaya/TNN
The Times of India – August 10, 2005.
Go Top
Terror alert in Saudi Arabia
US intelligence has been tracking suspected Saudi militants moving from Iraq back to Saudi Arabia amid new warnings that terrorists could strike against western embassies in the oil-rich kingdom. The British embassies in Saudi Arabia warned on Monday of “credible reports that terrorists are in the final stages of planning attacks”.
Hindustan Times – August 10, 2005.
Go Top
‘Terror’ attacks in Philippines, 24 wounded
Zamboanga, Philippines – At least 24 people were injured when two powerful blasts ripped through this southern Philippines city on Wednesday. Police said the first explosion hit a mini-bus and a motorcycle at a parking lot, wounding at least four people. Another blast tore through the second floor of a building housing a popular fast-food restaurant and a small hotel in downtown Climaco Avenue. A third bomb was found in the restaurant and safely detonated by police. Zamboanga city mayor said a total of 24 people were confirmed injured by the explosions which he compared to the London attacks.
(AFP)
The Times of India – August 11, 2005.
Go Top
The IRA - A farewell to arms
On July 28, 2005, the Irish Republican Army issued the statement for which most people in Britain and both parts of Ireland have been waiting for years. The IRA declared that its leadership had “formally ordered an end to the armed campaign”, and told all its units to “dump arms” and work through “exclusively peaceful means”. If the IRA means what it says, there are still many unanswered questions left. Unionists will point out that it does not contain the exact phrase “the war is over, which is something that they have long sought, and it does not say explicitly that the IRA itself is disbanding, which is something they have long demanded. The more important questions go beyond the critique of Northern Ireland’s unionists. Can the IRA’s statement break the stalemate in Ulster and help to establish something resembling a normal government? The IRA is clearly trying to salvage the political fortunes of Sinn Fein, which have been badly tarnished by the IRA’s own continuing criminal activity. The second and bigger question is: what lessons does the IRA’s abandonment of terrorism – or “armed struggle” as it always preferred to call it – hold for the task of combating and defeating today’s more virulent forms of terrorism? Talking to the IRA was justified and effective because they were fighting for something that many in Northern Ireland believed was a legitimate goal – Irish unity.
The Economist – July 30, 2005.
Go Top
Kadirgamar assassinated
Colombo – Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was shot dead by some unidentified gunman on Friday night. No arrest could be made immediately, but involvement of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is suspected. Inspector General of Police blamed it on the LTTE.
V.S. Sambadan
The Hindu – August 13, 2005.
Go Top
Militants kill 5 Hindus in Jammu village
Jammu – August 13, 2005 – Militants killed five Hindus and injured nine others in Udhampur district on Friday night. The victims were attacked when they were sleeping in Shajroo village. DIG Udham range said had the VDC members not retaliated, the toll would have been higher as at the time of the attack there were 40 people in the house.
Express News Service
The Sunday Express – August 14, 2005.
Go Top
Bangla blast kills 1
Dhaka – August 13, 2005 – One person was killed and around 50 injured when a series of bombs exploded at a Muslim shrine in the eastern Bangladeshi town of Akhaura, the police said. He said there were as many as 50,000 devotees celebrating Urs or the annual pilgrimage to the shrine of the Muslim saint when the Blasts occurred.
A.F.P.
The Asian Age – August 14, 2005
Go Top
UK now fears fuel truck bombs
London – August 14, 2005 – There was an intelligence warning that Al Qaeda terrorists were planning to drive hijacked fuel tankers into petrol stations in an attempt to cause mass casualties. Scotland Yard and M15 have long feared that Al Qaeda would try vehicle attacks on key targets in the capital. The warning from the US intelligence circulated to law enforcement agencies further elaborates that the type of vehicle may be anything from gasoline tanker trucks to trucks hauling oxygen and gas cylinders. Guidelines have been circulated to prevent tankers from being hijacked and used as weapons.
Vijay Dutt
Hindustan Times – August 15, 2005.
Go Top
Nepal Maoists on Bangla soil, seek out N-E militants
Agartala – August 14, 2005 - Nepal Maoists have infiltrated into Bangladesh and are in touch with Indian militant groups holed up there, intelligence sources said. The Bangladesh government has asked its home ministry to prepare a report on it. Reports indicated the Maoists could seek logistic support and guerrilla warfare training from northeast rebel groups like the ULFA, which has for long been in contact with the Nepal rebels. Besides, the Maoists get their arms supply through the Myanmar-Teknaf route, which is a hub of international gunrunners.
Syed Sajjad Ali
Hindustan Times – August 15, 2005.
Go Top
Six US soldiers killed
Baghdad – Six US soldiers died in roadside bombings and a shooting, the military said on Sunday, as lawmakers rushed to persuade Sunni Arabs to accept federalism provisions in the draft Constitution that is due on Monday. One soldier on patrol was killed and three others wounded in a blat east of Rutbah, 400 km west of Baghdad on Sunday, the military said.
A.P.
The Hindu – August 15, 2005.
Go Top
400 blasts in 30 minutes – Crude bombs rock Bangladesh, 2 die
Dhaka – August 17, 2005 – About 400 small bombs, suspected to have been planted by an Islamic militant outfit, rocked cities and towns across Bangladesh on Wednesday, killing two persons and injuring 138, in just 30 minutes. The bombs went off between 1100 A.M. and 11.30 A.M. in or around local courts as well as government offices. No organization claimed responsibility for the explosions, but the police suspect involvement of the outlawed Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen after leaflets under its name demanding Islamic law in the country were recovered from the blast sites. At least 46 suspects were arrested, sources said.
Agencies
Hindustan Times – August 18, 2005.
Go Top
CRPF jawan dies in blast
Srinagar - One CRPF jawan was killed and five personnel injured in a car blast in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Wednesday. Three civilians were also injured and four houses were damaged. The Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the blast.
HTC
Hindustan Times – August 18, 2005.
Go Top
Car bombs kill 43 in Baghdad
Three car bombs exploded in quick succession at a busy bus station in the Iraqi capital and a nearby hospital on Wednesday morning, killing at least 43 people. 11 other people were killed as rebels left a trail of blood across the country. State-owned Iraqi television later said four men suspected of carrying out the bombings were arrested by transport ministry guards.
AFP Baghdad
Hindustan Times – August 18, 2005.
Go Top
3 car blasts rip through heart of Iraq, 54 dead
Baghdad – At least fifty-four people have been killed in Iraq, most by a triple car bombing that struck in succession in the center of the Iraqi capital, killing 43 people, and injuring 73 others. A series of insurgent attacks also killed 11 Iraqis on Wednesday, including six soldiers assigned to protect oil pipelines, security officials said. An interior ministry official said two cars exploded 10 minutes apart in the Al-Nahda bus station and a third blew up later near Al-Kindi hospital located nearby. Two civilian cars and some police vehicles were burnt-out by the blast. In Northern Iraq, six Iraqi soldiers were killed as masked gunmen ambushed their patrol vehicle and opened fire, police said. In a separate incident, one civilian was killed and two injured when a crude bomb exploded in the capital’s neighbourhood, an interior ministry source said.
AP
The Times of India – August 18, 2005.
Go Top
AQ, Osama plotted American Hiroshima
Washington – Pakistani nuclear scientists led by A.Q. Khan, have armed Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda with nuclear weapons in their efforts to bring about an ‘American Hiroshima’, according to a sensational new book. The plan calls for the detonation of seven tactical nuclear devices in seven US cities at the same time. At least one of these weapons has been shipped to the US from Karachi in a cargo container, says Paul Williams, author of the book “Osama’s Revenge”. News about Khan’s involvement with al-Qaeda and the American Hiroshima plan first emerged with the capture of several al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan in October 2001, during the first phase of Operation Enduring Freedom, and, later, with the arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, in Laden’s military operations chief, in Karachi, according to Williams. From him, CIA officials uncovered details of al-Qaeda’s plan to create a series of “nuclear hell storms” throughout the US.
Chidanand Rajghatta/TNN
The Times of India – August 19, 2005.
Go Top
Missiles fired at US ships, miss target – Two American Warships Attacked At Jordan Port
Amman – Rockets were fired at two US warships in Jordan’s Red Sea Aqaba port on Friday, but missed their targets and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links to al-Qaeda, the Kabdullah al-Azzam Brigades of the al-Qaeda organization in the Levant and Egypt, said in a statement it had carried out the attack. The statement could not be authenticated.
Reuters
The Times of India – August 20, 2005.
Go Top
Russians too maintain Qaida’s N-arsenal
Washington – Al-Qaeda is paying nuclear scientists from Russia and Pakistan to maintain its existing nuclear arsenal and assemble additional weapons, claims a forthcoming book by a former FBI consultant. Quoting documents purportedly seized in Afghanistan, Paul Williams, the author of the book “The Qaeda connection: International Terrorism, Organised Crime and the Coming Apocalypse”, said the terror group also plans to assemble its own nuclear weapons with fissile material it purchased on the black market over a period of ten years. He contends the al-Qaeda has already planted in the US nuclear weapons it obtained from the Soviet Union. He added there was evidence to suggest that al-Qaeda was paying former Russian special forces Spetznaz to assist them in locating nuclear weapons formerly concealed inside the US by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Sunday Times of India – August 21, 2005.
Go Top
4 US soldiers killed
Four US soldiers were killed and three others injured in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, the US military said. The unit was conducting offensive operations in support of an ongoing mission to find and defeat enemy forces in the area when the attack occurred, it added.
AFP
Hindustan Times – August 22, 2005.
Go Top
Maoists kill four cops
Maoist rebels blew up a police vehicle in west Nepal on Monday killing four policemen and wounding three,a police officer said. “It was a big mine. The blast has causded a huge crater on the ground and the vehicle has broken into pieces,” the officer said.
Reuters
Hindustan Times – August 23, 2005.
Go Top
Bangla terror group vows more strikes
Dhaka – August 23, 2005 – A banned Islamic militant group blamed for hundreds of bomb blasts last week across Bangladesh has threatened to strike again unless the government introduces Islamic rule in the impoverished country. The group said in a statement on the website jihadunsprun.com, if Dhaka authorities failed to establish Islamic law or tried to arrest any member of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, “we will take direct action. Everybody is the enemy of Islam who wants to launch democracy as an international form. Therefore, we invite the ruling party and also the opposition to initiate the rule of Islam within a short time in Bangladesh.”
(Agencies)
Hindustan Times – August 24, 2005.
Go Top
Taliban recruiting teenage boys for Afghan polls: US
Sharan Base (Afghanistan) – Taliban rebels are employing Islamic boarding school of students in a desperate drive to recruit fighters, including teenage boys, before next month’s legislative elections, the US military’s operational commander in Afghanistan said.
A.P.
The Times of India – August 25, 2005.
Go Top
Al Qaeda may move to Africa
A senior US military officer has predicted that Al Qaeda fighters in Iraq will move to the “vast ungoverned spaces” of the Horn of Africa once conditions in the country get too tough for them. Gen. Douglas Lute, director of operations of the US central command, predicted Zarqawi would take the “path of least resistance” and leave for such countries as Sudan, Ethopia and Somalia. But before that, he suggested, Zarqawi would make a show of force in the run-up to the Iraqi constitutional referendum and subsequent elections.
Guardian News Agency
Hindustan Times – August 26, 2005.
Go Top
Al-Qaeda “threat” to Vatican
Madrid/Rome – The Italian authorities are investigating a 3-page fax written in Arabic, allegedly signed by Al-Qaeda, which makes veiled threats against the Vatican. The fax accuses the Vatican of supporting “the capitalist countries” who joined the war in Iraq and justifies terror attacks in Britain and Spain as self defence against terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The Interior Ministry in Rome confirmed that it had been informed of the contents of the fax. Italy maintains the third-largest contingent of US-led troops in Iraq. The fax criticizes the Vatican for its alleged support of the invasion of Iraq.
-Guardian Newspapers Limited
The Hindu – August 26, 2005.
Go Top
Rebels attack Iraqi prez’s cars, 8 dead
Kirkuk – Gunmen on Thursday attacked cars owned by Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, killing eight of his bodyguards and wounding 15, the police said. The 15-vehicle convoy came under insurgent fire south of Tuz Khormato. Eight of the guards were killed and 15 wounded.
(AP)
The Indian Express – August 26, 2005.
Go Top
Al Qaeda targets Asia economy
London – August 26, 2005 – Al Qaeda is preparing an attack on a big financial center in Asia, such as, Tokyo, Singapore or Sydney, to undermine investor confidence in the region, said top terrorist investigator of France in an interview with the Financial Times on Friday. Despite the threat, he added, “we are somewhat neglecting the capacity or desire of the Al-Qaeda organization to destabilize” the region. Al Qaeda has repeatedly threatened Japan, a close US ally, that stations 600 troops in Iraq and hosts the largest US military base in Asia. Nicknamed “Le Sheriff,” Bruguire warned of the danger of terrorists hijacking aircraft well before the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, after foiling a 1994 attempt by Algerian radicals to crash an Air France jet into the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
AFP
Hindustan Times – August 27, 2005.
Go Top
Zarqawi plans to hit Europe: Time
Washington – August 28, 2005 – Iraq’s most wanted Al Quada militant, Jordanian Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks, is overseeing preparations for a major attack in Europe, Times magazine said on Sunday. Times said Zarqawi has spoken of sleeper cells in Turkey and Iran “in communications with another Al Qaeda leader.” The reports imply that these cells may be in contact with European jihadist groups that previously had no links to Al Qaeda, Time said. “The fear is we will see these disparate, relatively inexperienced groups around Europe hook up with Afghan-trained terror cells, all under the influence of Zarqawi,” independent French terrorism expert Ronald Jacquard told Time. Zarqawi has written to Al Libbi about setting up camps in Jordan, Turkey, Syria or Lebanon, European officials say. He hopes the camp would provide instruction in European languages to facilitate jihadi attacks in Iraq and Europe, the Time said.
AFP
Hindustan Times – August 29, 2005.
Go Top
Explosion derails Russian train
Makhachkala (Russia) – A bomb exploded under a passenger train in the violence-plagued Russian region of Dagestan, derailing the locomotive and two cars but causing no injuries, officials said on Sunday. The interior Ministry said 500 passengers were on the train, which was en route from the Dagestani capital Makhachkala to the city of Astrakhan.
AP
The Hindu – August 29, 2005.
Go Top
30 injured as blast hits ferry in Philippines, Qaeda suspected
Manila – A bomb stashed in a pack of clothes exploded on a ferry in the southern Philippines as it was loading passengers on Sunday, injuring at least 30 people, military officials said. Army Brig. Gen. Raymundo Ferrere said a firebomb hidden in a cardboard box filled with old clothes apparently exploded in the ferry’s canteen on the lower deck.
AP
The Times of India – August 29, 2005.
Go Top
Maoists abduct 202, torch bus
Kathmandu – Maoist rebels in Nepal have torched a bus and abducted 202 people from various places in the past few days, the army said on Sunday. “The terrorists stopped a passenger bus and torched it at Sishubari in Udayapur district on Sunday”, a statement said.
AP
The Times of India – August 29, 2005.
Go Top
Two Pakistani soldiers killed in bomb blast
Two Pakistani soldiers have been killed in a bomb blast in the tribal region of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, a military spokesman said today. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, said an army spokesman.
The Times of India – August 29, 2005.
Go Top
Suicide attack hurts two guards in Israel
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the central bus station in the southern Israeli city during morning rush hour on Sunday, critically injuring two security guards in the first attack since Israel began its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this month.
The Times of India – August 29, 2005.
Go Top
Tamil daily bombed in Colombo
Colombo – August 29, 2005 – Men driving motorbikes threw bombs into the compound of the Tamil daily Sudar Oli in Colombo on Monday, injuring three people. Nine days ago, a bomb was thrown into the compound of the daily’s Advertising office in Wellawatte, in south Colombo, but no one was injured. Staff of Sudar Oli said that the attacks were instigated by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), whose leader had been accusing the daily of being a mouthpiece of he LTTE.
P.K. Balachandran
Hindustan Times – August 30, 2005.
Go Top
Arrest: A sign of Al Qaeda presence in Balkans
Belgrade – August 29, 2005 – The arrest in Serbia of a top terrorist fugitive, Abdelmajd Bouchat, 22-year-old Moroccan, has raised fresh concerns of an Al Qaeda presence in the volatile Balkans, where thousands of US and other international troops are stationed as peace-keepers. The arrest revived concerns that the Balkans could serve as a haven for Al Qaeda-linked terrorist groups. Zorsan Dragisic, a terrorism expert from Belgrade’s Faculty of Defence, said, “The Balkans is the springboard for Europe-bound terrorism.”
AP
Hindustan Times – August030, 2005.
Go Top
Food for Thought
Do not fear a stain that disappears with water.
- Proverb
Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes.
- Goethe
I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.
- Woody Allen
Go Top
|
