The Taliban kidnapped the district coordination officer in Dir, destroyed six NATO fuel tankers outside Peshawar, and said they would remain in Buner until sharia is enforced. Mullah Fazlullah ordered the Taliban to halt patrols in Swat. The military warned that a major operation would begin soon in Arakzai.
Pakistan ‘abdicating to Taliban’
In a video released on the Internet, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan threatened to attack Germany and its Jewish citizens. A “Commander Mohammad” criticized Germany’s involvement in Afghanistan and accused “the sons of Germany of being in the service of the Jews” unlike “Granddad Hitler.”
The 11 Pakistani men and one British man detained in raids after a senior police official was photographed with classified material have been released without charge. The government will attempt to deport the Pakistanis “on grounds of national security,” according to a statement by the Home Office.
Petraeus: "Tough months" ahead in Afghanistan
The speaker of the Somali parliament denounced Shabaab for employing foreign fighters and distorting Islam. The government is asking for help to build a coast guard while the Somali president advised against attacks on pirate bases on land. Hawiye clans leaders called for the formation of civil security forces in Mogadishu.
The Taliban said the government claim of talks is “propaganda.” Afghan and Coalition forces killed one Taliban fighter and detained six more during an operation in Kunar province. A Coalition helicopter made an emergency landing in the Tirzaye district in Khowst province. Counter narcotics police seized three tons of morphine in Nangarhar province.
Security forces detained 15 wanted men in Basrah and five Naqshabandiya fighters in Diyala, and killed a suicide bomber in Mosul. Insurgents wounded eight civilians and a policeman in bombings in Mosul and kidnapped a judge in Kirkuk.
Spokesman invites Osama bin Laden to shelter in Swat; Taliban are manning checkpoints in Swat and Buner and on the border of neighboring districts, and occupy a hospital in Shangla.
US helps snare top Afghan drug lords
Afghanistan seizes 3,000 kgs of morphine: ministry
Police detained 37 al Qaeda suspects thought to be plotting attacks on foreign targets in Turkey. The raids took place in the provinces of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Konya, and Adana. Today’s raid follows the detention of seven other al Qaeda suspects in Eskisehir earlier this month.
Canada chides US for remarks on 9/11 plotters
US takes new look at Somalia strategy
Nine people have been killed as the Islamic Courts Union and Hizbul Islam battle for control of Beletwein. Seven were killed after Shabaab fighters attacked a clan outside Kismayo. A senior Islamic Courts commander was assassinated in Mogadishu; Shabaab has been blamed for the attack.
US signs Afghanistan transit deal with Tajikistan
World piracy doubles in first quarter 2009 due to Somalia
Nearly 100 militants may have sneaked into Jammu & Kashmir
The father of the education minister was kidnapped in Wardak province. US troops destroyed two Taliban anti-aircraft guns in the Nadi Ali district of Helmand province. A US Predator UAV crashed in Paktika province. The government claimed it conducted negotiations with the Taliban; the Taliban denied the claim.
Security forces detained 10 insurgents in Kirkuk, 109 wanted men in Basrah and 39 more in Karbala, Babil, Diyala, Salahidin, and Baghdad. Yesterday’s suicide attack in Baqubah killed three Iraqi police and wounded eight US soldiers; no US soldiers were killed as initially reported.
The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps has deployed to the eastern borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan to counter an unnamed “enemy conspiracy.” Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are two of four US banks seeking to open branches in Tehran, according to a report.
The US Treasury Department and the UN have designated Abdul Haq as a terrorist with ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban. The designation may complicate the Obama administration’s efforts to relocate seventeen Uighur detainees currently held at Gitmo. Some of the Uighur detainees have openly admitted their ties to Abdul Haq.
The government deployed more troops to help secure the release of 62-year-old Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni, bringing the total number of Marines, police, and village guards encircling Abu Sayyaf positions on Jolo island to more than 1,000. At least three Muslim clerics were also deployed to negotiate with Abu Sayyaf for the release […]
Forgotten hostages in the Philippines
US generals gauge where fight in Afghanistan is headed
Swat Taliban vow to extend sharia law to other areas
The Taliban kidnapped six Frontier Constabulary personnel in Swat, and banned political parties and bombed a boys’ school in Bajaur. Security forces killed three civilians while mortaring Taliban positions in South Waziristan, captured a would-be suicide bomber in Islamabad, and targeted Taliban bases in Jamrud in Khyber.
Muslim Khan, the spokesman for the Swat Taliban, invited Osama bin Laden and other terrorists to shelter in Swat and admitted to an alliance with other international and Pakistani terror groups. “Osama can come here. Sure, like a brother they can stay anywhere they want,” Khan told The Associated Press. “Yes, we will help them […]
Tiny weapons, jet engines in killer drone upgrades
Ahmadinejad prompts walkout from UN racism summit