Pakistan/Terrorism: terrorists attack security checkpoint in Mohmand, 30 terrorist killed

At least one Pakistani soldier was killed and another four wounded when a group of about 200 terrorists ambushed a checkpoint of the paramilitary Frontier Corps with rockets and automatic weapons in the Mohmand district in the northwest of Pakistan on Thursday, military officials said.

Local administration official Maqsood Ahmed stated that government troops equipped with mortars and long range cannons retaliated, eliminating 30 terrorists.

Thursday's clash erupted two days after Pakistani government announced that it had cleared the Taleban and Al-Qaeda from nearby Bajaur region after nearly two years of military offensive in the area.

In a separate incident,  a spokesman of Pakistani army confirmed that it had killed 38 terrorists and arrested 18 in a week-long operation near the town of Kohat in the north-west Taliban stronghold of Pastawana.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: five Pakistani road workers shot dead in Kandahar

Unidentified gunmen on motorcycles shot dead five Pakistani road construction workers and injured another one in the Panjwayee district of Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, officials said.

Kandahar's deputy police chief, Mohammad Shah Faroqi stated that the workers were on their way to their construction site when two gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on their minivan at about 7 a.m. local time on Thursday morning. He added that the Pakistanis worked for Saita Construction Co., a Japanese joint-venture with a contract to repair the road from Kandahar to Punjwai district.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The attack occured after a week when Taleban suicide bombers attacked on two guest houses in the capital city of Kabul, killing nine Indians and two Europeans.

Pakistan/Terrorism: Tehreek-e-Taleban commander killed in shootout

The Pakistani Army declared on Wednesday that a Tehreek-e-Taleban (TeT) commander, who was the key supplier of suicide jackets and explosives, had been killed in a recent gun fight. The terrorist was identified as Mohammad Iqbal and had been operating an inter-city network for supplying the explosives. “He was a key supplier of suicide bomb jackets and explosives to Islamabad and other cities of Pakistan,” said the Army's officials.

Another important Taleban commander, Mohammad Tufail alias Abdullah, was also killed in the fight that broke out late Monday on the outskirts of Peshawar. He was allegedly involved in missile and rocket attacks and the car suicide attack on an army mosque in the garrison town of Nowshera in June last year.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taleban today bombed the residence of Malik Zaliman Shah, a pro-government tribal elder, in the Aliabad area of Hangu district. 10 family members were injured in this attack. Talebani spokesman Hafiz Ziaullah later confirmed it and claimed the responsibility for the attack.

 

India/Pakistan/Insurgency: two killed as newspaper sparks Muslim riots in Karnataka State

Security forces imposed a curfew on Tuesday in Shimoga and Hassan towns in Karnataka State after two people were killed on Monday when Muslims protested against an article of controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin published in a local newspaper.

Reportedly, in this article Taslima Nasrin challenged the traditional Muslim veil as “curbing women's freedom”. Protesters ransacked shops and damaged vehicles. Two persons were killed, one in police firing and the other in violence.

Meanwhile, Nasrin denied writing the article and said she suspected a deliberate attempt to damage her name.

In a separate development, Pakistani officials stated on Tuesday that two children were wounded due to unprovoked firing by Indian forces across the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday night.

However, an Indian army spokesman clarified soldiers had retaliated after Pakistani troops opened fire. "We retaliated after 30 minutes, aiming only on Pakistani military posts," Lieutenant Colonel Biplab Nath said, adding that Pakistani troops also fired several rocket-propelled grenades.

Pakistan/United States/Terrorism: Pakistani Taleban confirm death of Qari Zafar

Pakistani Taleban's senior commander Qari Muhammad Zafar was killed in a recent US drone strike in North Waziristan tribal region, the terrorist  group confirmed on Tuesday, vowing to carry out attacks to avenge his death.

In a statement the Taleban stated that Zafar was among 14 terrorists killed in a drone strike at Dargah Mandi near the army camp in Miranshah on February 24. The Taleban described Zafar as a martyr and vowed to avenge his death by stating that "mujahideen will soon take revenge against the Pakistani government for his killing anywhere in the country." Zafar was accused for carrying out the devastating suicide bombing on Marriot hotel in Islamabad on September 20, 2008, in which 54 people lost their lives.

In a similar development, Pakistani intelligence officials stated on Monday that the leader of an Al-Qaeda-linked Chinese terrorist group has been killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan's restive tribal agency of North Waziristan.

Reportedly, Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, the leader of the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Party, and two comrades died when a missile fired from a CIA-operated drone struck a vehicle in North Waziristan district on February 15. The death was confirmed by severla intelligence officals, who confirmed the death of Abdul Haq al-Turkistani.

Pakistan/Terrorism: terrorists destroy NATO oil tanker in Peshawar

Suspected terrorists attacked a NATO oil tanker in the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) early Monday, police officials said.

Reportedly, the terrorists torched the oil tanker that was carrying fuel to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan. Police said they returned fire on the terrorists and arrested two of them, the rest of them have fled after an hour-long skirmish.

In the recent months terrorists have torched nearly 400 trucks and containers in the restless tribal district along the Afghan border, prompting the US and its NATO allies to look for alternative supply routes through Central Asian states.

India/Pakistan/Security: New Delhi and Islamabad hold first talks in 15 months

On Thursday morning, the first high-level peace talks since the 2008 Mumbai attacks were held between India and Pakistan. The Foreign secretaries of both countries met in New Delhi.

India's Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told reporters after meeting with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir that she agreed with Pakistan’s wish to restart the 'composite dialogue' but added that India first wanted “to create a climate of trust and confidence”. Both countries nonetheless agreed to “remain in touch”.

Rao also handed Bashir three dossiers dealing with information on “some individuals” associated with the Mumbai terror attack, saying that for now there was only one item to discuss: terrorism.

The international community hopes that a positive outcome helps to reduce the tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, as their rivalry spills over into Afghanistan and complicates US-backed efforts to stabilise the region.

Pakistan/Afghanistan/Terrorism: Islamabad to hand over Taleban commander

The office of Afghan president Hamid Karzai stated on Thursday that Islamabad has agreed to extradite Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader, the Taleban's military chief and second-in-command, captured earlier this month.

"The government of Pakistan has accepted Afghanistan's proposal for extraditing Mullah Barader and other Taleban members who are in its custody and showed readiness to hand over those prisoners ... on the basis of an agreement between the two countries", a statement from Karzai's office said on Thursday.

There were no immediate comment available from the Pakistani government on the Afghan statement. However, late on Wednesday Islamabad said Mullah Baradar was being investigated for crimes in Pakistan and would be tried there in the first instance.

"The request of Afghan authorities will be examined according to the law and if Mullah Barader has committed any crime inside Pakistan, he will be first tried in Pakistan", Pakistan's interior ministry said.

India/Pakistan/Terrorism: Indian Border guards said to be attacked by Pakistan ahead of peace talks

An Indian Border Security Force (BSF) soldier was wounded on Wednesday when Pakistani troops fired across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba sector, BSF officials said.

Although Vinod Sharma, a BSF spokesman, confirmed the shooting, there were no immediate comments available from Islamabad concerning the incident.

The latest shooting comes just a day before the foreign secretaries of the two nuclear-armed neighbours are set for talks that could eventually pave the way for the resumption of the formal peace process, which were called of after the 2008 Mumbai attack that killed 166 people.

Meanwhile, security forces said that the 24-hour gun battle at Chinkipora, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore district, had come to an end on Wednesday morning. During this gun battle, which began on Monday evening between Indian security forces and terrorist of Hizbul Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) and Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), five terrorists and three soldiers were killed.

Pakistan/United States/Terrorism: US missile strike kills 8 terrorists in North Waziristan

At least eight suspected terrorists have been killed on Wednesday when a US drone fired missiles at a terrorist hideout in Pakistan's North Waziristan Agency near the Afghan border, Pakistani intelligence officials and residents said.

Reportedly, the drone fired three missiles at a compound in Dargah Mandi village, four kilometres north of Miranshah, the Agency's main town. The attacked region is considered as a stronghold of the Haqqani network. The death toll could further rise as previous reports said only four terrorists had been killed.

A similar US drone attack last week in the same area killed Mohammed Haqqani, a brother of Al-Qaeda-linked warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani, whose network is fighting against US and local forces in neighbouring Afghanistan.

In a separate incident in North Waziristan on Wednesday, suspected Taleban fighters shot dead two men they accused of spying for the US. Both bodies were found in Mir Ali with a note attached warning other informants they face the same fate.

Earlier on Wednesday, four civilians were killed and three others wounded when the Taleban fired a rocket into a residential area of Peshawar, capital of North-West Frontier Province.

Pakistan/Terrorism: suicide car bomb kills at least nine in Swat Valley

At least nine people, including two members of the security forces, were killed and 35 others wounded when a suspected suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laded car near a security forces convoy at a market in Mingora, the capital of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province's Swat Valley, on Monday, police officials said.

Farooq Khan, a senior police official in the valley, confirmed that many people were injured by the explosion, adding that several nearby shops and vehicles had also been damaged.

Soon after the blast security forces cordoned off the area and the injured were shifted to Saido Sharif Hospital. According to hospital authorities eight of the wounded brought to them were in critical condition.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Reza Gilani, already condemned the attack, saying "such inhuman acts of terrorism" would not sway Pakistan from its determination "to curb this menace and fight the insane extremists".

No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing so far.

Sudan/Insurgency:  Sudanese troops arrested two over Darfur peacekeeper shooting

Sudanese troops arrested two men allegedly involved in the shooting of seven Pakistani peacekeepers in Darfur, officials said on Thursday. The Pakistani peacekeepers were injured when a group of unknown assailants ambushed their convoy near the South Darfur capital Nyala on Tuesday. UNAMID initially said four of the police were in critical condition.

UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni said the attackers drove away with two vehicles belonging to the forces. One of them was later recovered by the Sudanese authorities.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged the Sudanese government to immediately investigate the incident and to ensure that the assailants are swiftly identified and brought to justice.

Pakistan/Terrorism: blast killed at least 12 in Khyber Agency

At least 12 people have been killed and over 100 injured when a bomb exploded in a busy hashish market in Pakistan's Khyber Agency on the Afghan border on Thursday.

Reportedly, the explosion damaged a mosque and a few shops, killing a commander of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Islam in Dars village of Upper Tirah valley. "Twelve people were killed and more than 30 injured in the bomb blast, we are still not sure about the nature of the blast," an intelligence officer said, adding that the death of Lashkar-e-Islam commander Azam has been confirmed.

According to witnesses the bomb exploded in a weekly hashish market set up in the grounds of a recruitment compound used by the pro-Taleban Lashkar-e-Islam and near a mosque. Officials fear the death toll could rise as as many people are still trapped under the rubble.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Sudan/Pakistan/Insurgency: seven peacekeepers injured in Darfur ambush

Seven Pakistani peacekeepers were injured when a group of unknown assailants ambushed their convoy in Sudan's Darfur region on Tuesday. According to the joint African Union-United Nations mission and local sources two of them suffered serious injuries.

UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni stated that the attackers opened fire on an armed UNAMID police patrol near Nyala, capital of South Darfur. After confirming the number of injuries, he reported that the attackers drove away with two vehicles belonging to the forces.

According to the United Nations nearly 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million have been displaced since the ethnic minority rebels in Darfur first rose up against the Arab-dominated Sudan government in February 2003.

Pakistan/United States/Terrorism: three killed in US missile strike in Miranshah; army confirms arrest of Taleban commander

At least three suspected terrorists have been killed when a US drone missile hit a terrorist hideout in the village of Tapi in the east of Miranshah, North Waziristan, on Wednesday.

Pakistani officials claimed it was the second attack on the village this week. Miranshah, the main town in the region is a believed to be a safe haven for Taleban and Al-Qaeda fighters. According to the officials three other men were also wounded in the drone attack and the identity of the three dead men is yet to be confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani military confirmed that the Afghan Taleban's top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, had been captured.

A joint operation conducted by Pakistani and US forces led to the capture of Baradar in Karachi. Baradar is said to be the left hand of Afghan Taleban leader Mullah Omar and the Taleban's commander for military operations. According to US intelligence sources, he was captured on Sunday. However, the news on the capture of Baradar was denied by Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

Pakistan/United States/Terrorism: Taleban commander held in Karachi

A joint operation conducted by Pakistani and US forces led to the capture of a top Taleban leader in Karachi. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is said to be the left hand of Afghan Taleban leader Mullah Omar and the Taleban's commander for military operations. According to US intelligence sources, he was already captured on Sunday.

Senior Pakistan military sources confirmed his arrest last week and said Baradar is currently being interrogated at a secret location by both Pakistani and American intelligence officials. The capture is considered to be a breakthrough in the fight against the Taleban.

However, the news on the capture of Baradar was denied by Taleban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who stated that this  is a démarche "to divert the attention of people from [NATO’s] defeats in Marjah and confuse the public".

The arrest of Baradar comes at the start of Operation Moshtarak, one of NATO's biggest offensives against Taleban Islamic militants in Afghanistan. The offensive in Marjah involves 15,000 US, British and Afghan troops.

India/Pakistan/Terrorism: unknown Pakistani group claims responsibility for Pune blast

On Tuesday, an unknown Pakistan-based terror group, the Lashkar-e-Taiba Al Alami (LeT-international), claimed responsibility for the bombing on the German bakery in Pune on Saturday that killed 10 people and wounded 60 others.

A person identifying himself as Abu Jindal, the spokesman of the terrorist group, called The Hindu newspaper and claimed the group had carried out the attack because of what he said was India’s “refusal” to discuss Kashmir in the forthcoming talks with Pakistan. He further added his group had split from the Laskher-e-Taiba because it "took orders" from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

Reportedly, the telephone number that showed up on the caller identity carried an area code of Waziristan in the North-West Frontier Province in Pakistan.

Earlier on Monday, Ilyas Kashmiri, a top guerrilla commander, whose 313 Brigade is an operational arm of Al-Qaeda claimed the Brigade's involvement in the Pune bomb blast.

In the message the Al-Qaeda commander warned the international community to "play their role" in getting the Kashmiris their right of self-determination and preventing India from committing brutalities in Kashmir. He also warned the international community not to send their people to the 2010 Hockey World Cup and also not to participate in the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi later this year.