Special Emphasis on Terrorism (Oct-2014)

Terrorist Activities in Pakistan

Suicide Attacks
At least 12 militants, wearing suicide vests and armed with rock­et-propelled grenades (RPGs) and automatic weapons were killed and 11 Security Forces (SFs) were injured in an 11-hour gun battle near Khalid Aviation Airbase – and Samungli Airbase in Quetta on August 14, reports The Express Tribune. Earlier it was reported that six militants were killed. The SFs also detained five suspects in a search operation conducted in con­nection with the attack targeting the Samungli airbase.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Ghalib Mehsud faction claimed responsibility for the attack on the Airbase’s in Quetta . Ghalib Mehsud is the leader of Fidayeen-e-lslam which is the suicide wing of TTP. Commander Southern Command, Lieutenant General Nasir Khan Janjua said, ‘They all seemed to be foreign nationals.” Superintendent of Police (SP) lmran Qureshi Police said, “All dead terrorists seem to be Uzbeks.” The Balochistan Government has decided to conduct DNA tests of all 12 terrorists killed.

TTP spokesperson Azam Tariq said that the attack was in retalia­tion for Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Speaking to the media via telephone, he said the attacks on both airbases were carried out by militants from different groups, including Khalid Mehsud alias Sajna’s Ishtehari Group, Umar Khalid Khorasani’s Afia Brigade and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) suicide bombers under TTP Commander Salar Mehsud. “The Government initiated the drama of peace talks and later held the Taliban responsi­ ble for its failure,” the TTP spokesperson said. “In fact, it was the government’s plan to initiate mil­ itary action and displace tribesmen.”

Bomb/IED Blasts
An explosion on August 4 on Muddhi road of Kulachi area in Dera Ismail Khan town (Dera Ismail Khan District) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) killed former provincial election candidate for KP and Pakistan Tehreek-i-lnsaf (PTI) member Faqir Jamshed and two others, reports Dawn. The explosion occurred near the vehicle in which Jamshed was travelling . The former candidate was travelling from the Kulachi tehsil (revenue unit) towards the town of Dera Ismail Khan when the roadside bomb exploded, killing Jamshed and his two companions. The other two killed with Jamshed were his guards.

Meanwhile, unidentified mili­tants targeted a Security Forces vehicle with an improvised explo­sive device (IED) on Barawal Road in Sorbatt area of Upper Dir District on August 4, reports The Express Tribune. Fortunately, the officials escaped unhurt. A law-enforcement official said that a vehicle of the 21- Brigade Dir was on Barawal Road when an IED planted nearby exploded. He added the officials onboard remained unhurt, but the vehicle was damaged. Following the blast, a search operation was launched in the area and 12 sus­pects were arrested.

Three people travelling in a motor rickshaw sustained injuries when a bomb exploded on Maal Road in Chaman town of Qilla Abdullah District on August 11, reports The News. Police said that unknown men had planted an explo­ sive device in a motorcycle and parked it on the Road near a market.

At least three people were injured on August 11 in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast near Sarozai area of Doaba in Hangu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Daily Times. According to the Police, a passen­ger van en-route to Peshawar from Hangu when it hit a homemade IED planted roadside in Sarozai area. Station House Officer (SHO) of Doaba Police Station, Aainullah Khan said that three people were injured in the blast and added that the bomb might have been planted to target Security Forces or Police.

At least 22 persons were injured when a bomb went off near a mar­ket in Quetta on August 12, reports The News. “The bomb was detonated with a timer and was planted near a small roadside stall, Quetta Police Chief Abdul Razzak
Cheema said.

A Frontier Corps (FC) official was killed and another was injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast close to a Security Forces’ (SF) vehicle that was on routine patrol near Sharifabad Chowk in Hazarganji area of Quetta on August 13, reports Dawn.

A tribal elder, Malik Abdul Hakeem, survived a roadside bombing in Gulu Shah area of Khar tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 13, reports The News. Malik Abdul Hakeem was driving in the Gulu Shah area when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated near his vehicle. However, he remains unhurt in the incident.

At least 29 shops were destroyed when an explosive device planted by unidentified mili­tants exploded in China Market of Timergara Bazaar in Lower Dir District on August 25, reported The Express Tribune. However, no casu­alties were reported as the market was closed at that time. Timergara Station House Officer (SHO) Roshanzada said the device was planted in a pressure cooker adding that a search operation was under way to arrest the militants. The Bomb Disposal Unit (BOU) said that 10 kilograms of explosives were used in the device.

Targeted Killings
At least four persons were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on July 30, reports Dawn. One person was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Bihar Colony of Lyari Town.

Separately, one person was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Shah Faisal Colony of Lyari Town on July 30, reports Dawn.

In a separate incident, one person was shot dead in Sheesh Mahal area of Liaquatabad Town on July 30, reports Dawn. The vic­tim’s attacker was later arrested and weapons were seized from his possession.

One Saifullah Malik din khel was shot dead when unidentified assailants opened fire on him at Nullah Yousaf Talab in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on July 31, reports The News. He suffered severe injuries and was shifted to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Separately, the beheaded body of one of the two persons, who had been kidnapped a few days ago, was found in Orakzai Agency on July 31, reports The News. Two persons had been kidnapped by unknown people from Kacha Pakka area for ransom some time back. They added that the kidnappers had slaughtered Rahib Ali for not paying ransom and dumped his body at Tanbi area of Orakzai.

Unidentified assailants shot dead a Frontier Crops (FC) soldier, Naik Shehnaz Gui of Platoon No 418 Dosli, North Waziristan. Agency (FATA), at Lon-Bacha Abad on the Link Road in Dera Ismail Khan town (Dera Ismail Khan District) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 31, reports The News. Naik Shehnaz Gui was returning to Loni checkpost after dropping his colleague Zaman Khan at his home in Kulachi. The attackers escaped from the scene after killing Naik Shehnaz Gui and took along his motor bike, cash and other items.

Three persons. including a woman, were killed in Panjgur District of Balochistan Province on August 1, reports Daily Times. According to reports, unidentified armed men barged into a house in Prom tehsil (revenue unit) of Panjgur District and killed two men, identified as Anwar Baloch, Firdos and a woman.

Meanwhile, two persons includ­ing a child were killed in a firing incident in Pashtunabad area of Quetta on August 1, reports Dawn. Police told that unidentified gun­men opened fire at a rickshaw and killed its driver. A child playing in the street was also killed when a stray bullet him.

At least five persons were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi on August 3, reports Daily Times. A person, identified as Aamir Azhar (45), was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Sakhi Hassan area in Chowrangi.

Separately, Maulana Mohammad Faisal (35), was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Pakistan Masjid in Ranchore Line area on August 3, reports Daily Times.

In another incident, an activist of a political party was killed and another was injured at Majeed Colony in Landhi Town on August 3, reports Daily Times.

Also, Nadeem (30) was shot dead by unidentified assailants along with Mirza Adan Khan Road in Lyari on August 3 , reports Daily Times.

Meanwhile, a gangster, identified as Nabeel (24), was killed an encounter in Lyari on August 3, reports Daily Times. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) City Shiraz Nazir said that on a tip-off, a Police party conducted a targeted raid at Kalakot in Lyari, where crim­inals opened fire on them. In retalia­tory firing, one criminal of Lyari gang war was killed.

At least two personnel of the Balochistan Constabulary were killed and several others were injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire on their vehi­cle in Splanji area of Mastung District on August 5, reported Dawn. So far, no outfit claimed responsibil­ity for the attack.

One Sikh shopkeeper, identified as Jagmohan Singh, was killed and two of his friends, one identified as Paramjit, were injured when uniden­tified armed assailants opened fire at them at Khushal Bazaar in Hashtnagri area of provincial capital Peshawar, on August 6, reports The Express Tribune. According to a wit­ness, there was only one attacker who was wearing a mask and had a pistol in his hand. He targeted the three boys separately. However, there were conflicting reports about the number of attackers. “In the last one year, at least three members of the Sikh community have been killed in the settled districts,” said Soran Singh, the Pakistan Tehreek­ e-lnsaf (PTI) minority Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA).

At least seven militants and two security personnel were killed and more than 20 others were injured in an operation in Turbat District on August 7 after unidentified militants opened fire at a Security Forces’ (SFs) convoy in the same area, reports Dawn. Home Minister of Balochistan Mir Sarfaraz Bugti con­firmed that seven militants were killed and more than 20 injured in the clashes, adding that weapons were also recovered from the pos­session of militants. SFs launched an operation in the area in the aftermath of attack at forces’ con­voy by militants in Nasirabad area of the District.

Separately, unidentified militants opened fire and killed a Balochistan Constabulary officer, identified as Aziz Ahmed, near the Governor House in GPO Chowk in Quetta, provincial capital of Balochistan on August 7, reports Dawn.

Two people, including the former President of District Chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), identified as Taufiq Ali Hoti, and another member of the same party, identified as Arif, were shot dead by unidentified militants near the zoo in Garden neighbourhood of Saddar Town in Karachi on August 7, reports Dawn.

Separately, a Police Official, identified as Sajjad, was killed in a firing incident in Kati Pahari area of Orangi Town on August 7, reports Dawn.

Elsewhere, an unidentified dead body was recovered from Steel Town close to Gulshan-e-Hadeed area of Bin Qasim Town on August 7, reports Dawn.

In a separate incident, a Policeman, identified as Farhan Baig, was shot dead at point blank distance in Latifabad city of Hyderabad District on August 7, reports Dawn. Baig was a jail department’s Policemen and the gunman of Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General (DIG) prisons, Muzaffar Ali Siddiqui. He was on his way to DIG’s prison to per­form his duty and was intercepted by four unidentified militants near Ayesha Masjid unit-6 Latifabad on main road.

A Shia man, identified as Syed Kazim Shah (60), and his daughter, identified as Aroosa, was killed, while his wife and another daughter sustained injuries in a sectarian attack outside his home in Khuda Ki Basti area of Surjani Town in Gadap Town of Karachi on August 10, reports Dawn. His wife was identi­fied as Naeema and daughter as Rida (9). Senior Superintendent of
Police (SSP) lrfan Baloch said Kazim had received threat from a sectarian organisation.

Separately, a milk shop owner, identified as Jamil Ahmed, was shot dead at his milk shop located in Block 17 within the limits of the Samanabad Police Station in Gulberg Town on August 10, reports The Express Tribune.

In another incident, a Police Officer, identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Hameed Khattak (34), who was shot at and injured on August 9, 2014, near Khyber Hotel within the limits of the SITE-A Section Police Station in Baldia Town succumbed to his injuries on August 10, reports The Express Tribune.

Elsewhere, a cadre of Ahl-e­ Sunnat-Wal-Jama’at (ASWJ), identified as Farazuddin, was shot dead in a targeted attack near Jhanda Chowk in Liaquatabad within the limits of the Super Market Police Station in Liaquatabad Town on August 10, reports The Express Tribune.

Two people, including a woman, identified as Rehana Bibi, and a boy, identified as Inzimam Khudabaksh Baloch ( 11), were killed after being caught in crossfire between militants and Security Forces (SFs) in Kharan District on August 10, reports The Express Tribune. According to Balochistan Levies official, a group of armed mil­itants opened fire at Frontier Corps (FC) check post on Quetta Road near Sheikh Masjid in Kharan District, sparking retaliatory fire. SFs launched a search operation in the area following the attack.

Separately, two unidentified decomposed dead bodies were found dumped in Mandrani area of Sui in Dera Bugti District on August 10, reports The Express Tribune. According to Levies offi­cials, the victims were shot after being tortured and their identities could not be determined till the fil­ing of this report.

A man, identified as Abdul Khaliq, was shot dead in a firing incident on the Lyari Expressway within the limits of the Soldier Bazaar Police Station in Jamshed Town of Karachi on August 26, reports The Express Tribune.

Separately, an alleged gangster identified as Shoaib, was killed and three others managed to escape during an encounter with the Police in Chakiwara area of Lyari Town on August 26, reported The Express Tribune. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sheeraz Nazeer said that he was involved in several tar­geted killings, kidnappings and extortion cases.

Another gangster associated with the Jabbar Jhengu group, iden­tified as Taj Muhammad alias Sunny, was killed during an exchange of fire with the Rangers in Lyari Town on August 26, reports The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, three target killers associated with a political party, identified as Sarfaraz alias Nikka, Wasim Khan and Shahid Wazir, were arrested during separate raids in Landhi Town on August 26, reported The Express Tribune. According to the Rangers spokesperson, the sus­pects were involved in various target killing cases.

Two Policemen, Khurram (40) and Junaid Akram (38), were shot dead and another pedestrian, Saddam (14), was injured when unidentified armed assailants opened fire at them at Naggan Roundabout in New Karachi Town of Karachi on August 27, report­ed Daily Times.

Separately, one Sub-Inspector, identified as Sahib Dino (50), was shot dead at Matkay Wali Pulia in Korangi Town on August 27, reports Daily Times.

In another incident, a Shia doctor, identified as Dr. Naseem Hussain Jaffri (50), was shot dead by unidentified militants in Korangi Town on August 27, reports Daily Times.

Elsewhere, an assistant pro­ducer, identified as Nadir Ali Shah (42), was shot dead in Korangi Town on August 27, reports Dawn. Shah worked for private TV channel, Jaag.

Another man, identified as Abdullah (35), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants in Orangi Town on August 27, report­ed Daily Times.

Also, a man, identified as Hafiz Mehboob Shah (45), was killed by unidentified militants at Bilal Roundabout in Korangi Town on August 27, reports Daily Times.

In a separate incident, a man, identified as Muhammad Zahid (50), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants at Qasba Colony in Orangi Town on August 27, reported Daily Times.

In addition, an unidentified man was shot dead by near Ghareeb Shah Shrine in Lyari Town on August 27, reports Daily Times.

A man, identified as Abdul Qayum (23), was shot dead while Haji Adam (25) was injured in a fir­ing incident near Memon Society at Kharadar Market in Karachi on August 28, reports Daily Times.

Separately, a man, identified as Shah Rasool (28), was shot dead by unidentified armed assailants near Qabar Chowk in SITE Town on August 28, reports Daily Times. Police said that he hailed from Buner District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In another incident, unidentified militants shot dead one Asif (36) at Mir Jam Goth in Malir Town on August 28, reports Daily Times.

In a separate incident, an uniden­tified man shot dead near Boat Basin in Clifton area of Saddar Town on August 28, reports Daily Times.

Senior journalist and Secretary General of Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) lrshad Mastoi, trainee reporter Abdul Rasul and an accountant Mohammed Younus of a news agency were shot dead in Kabir Building near Jinnah Road in Quetta on August 28, reports The Express Tribune. According to Station House Officer (SHO) Bijli Road Police Station, Hashim Shah, two militants barged into the office of the news distribution agency Online News and opened fire at the people inside.

Separately, three Security Forces (SFs) personnel were injured when militants attacked a SF convoy that was guarding gas fields in Hamai District on August 28, reports Dawn.

Unidentified militants opened fire on worshippers at a shrine in Awaran District of Balochistan, killing at least six persons and wounding seven others on August 29, reports The News. The attack came at a shrine of the Zikri com­munity in the Awaran District. “Three gunmen came on two motorbikes and fired at the wor­shippers, praying at sunset. “At least six people have been killed and seven others are injured,” Akbar Harifal, the senior adminis­tration official in the area said.

Three missing Baloch men, two of them said to be related, were found shot dead on the outskirts of Malir town of Karachi on the morn­ing of August 29, reports Dawn. Two bodies were found behind the bush­es by the roadside near Jam Goth, according to Memon Goth Station House Officer (SHO) Azam Hayat. Both bodies, each with a single bul­let wound in the head, were wrapped up in a blanket and a bed­spread. Another victim with a single gunshot wound in the head was spotted in the Malir riverbed in Shah Latif Town, said Shah Latif SHO Arshad Awan. The victims were identified as Rafiq (28), Ismail (30), and Pervez Saleem (35). An exami­nation of the crime scene showed they had been kidnapped and gunned down somewhere else before their bodies were dumped there, said SHO Hayat. He added that no spent bullet casings were found at the crime scene.

Separately, an official of the Sindh government, Nadeem Ahmed (43) was gunned down in Shah Faisal Colony on August 29, reports Dawn. Nadeem Ahmed, a grade-16 officer, was going to office in the secretariat building on a motorbike when he was targeted, said Shah Faisal SHO Abdul Khaliq.

Meanwhile, Police Constable, Lutfullah (45), was gunned down near Al Asif Square in the Sohrab Goth area on August 29, reports Dawn. Lutfullah, was going to his workplace in Sohrab Goth on a motorbike when he came under attack. Five Policemen have been killed during the past three days in Karachi, according to the officials. With the latest incident, the number of Policemen killed in the city this year (2014) has risen to 116.

Miscellaneous
Suspected militants beheaded a trooper, Attaullah, who was on leave, in Shingari area of Jamrud tehsil (revenue unit) in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on July 28, reports The News. The sources said local tribesmen recovered the beheaded body of Attaullah, in the seasonal stream in Shingari area.

At least seven militants were killed and nine others were injured as a Pakistan Army check post was attacked in Lower Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 30, reports The Express Tribune. The check post is located between the Ankalsar and Tarpaman areas of Lower Dir. According to the sources, 70 to 80 militants attacked the check post in the cross-border attack at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Militants were forced to flee after the Pakistan Army retaliated, military sources said.

Two militants were killed and another sustained injuries in a clash between two groups in Akakhel area of Bara subdivision in Khyber Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 1, reports The News. The sources said the militants affiliated with Abdul Wali and Ghulchakai-led groups exchanged gunfire. A militant belonging to Abdul Wali Group was killed on the spot while two militants from each group were wounded. One of the injured militants suc­cumbed to his injuries later.

Meanwhile, one security official was killed when militants attacked a Security Forces’ check post in bor­der area of Ghakhai pass in Mamond tehsil (revenue unit) of Bajaur Agency on August 1, reports Daily Times. According to ISPR, a group of militants entered Pakistani territory from Afghanistan’s Kunar province and attacked the border post in Ghakhai pass area. The assault was carried out using heavy weaponry, killing one FC official.

Seven Uzbek militants and two soldiers were killed during the ongo­ing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in Data Khel area of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 4, reports The Express Tribune. The soldiers were identified as Subedar Mashkoor and Lans Naik Zaheer.

Further, during search operation an IED-making factory has been destroyed in Mir Ali and nearby places as well as 75 rockets and suicide vests were recovered on August 4, reports The Express Tribune. Operation Zarb-e-Azb in NWA is being continued successful­ly as Mir Ali, Miranshah, Boya, Degan and Baka Khel have been cleared of militants, ISPR reported. Data Khel has been cleared and is in control of the forces and villages close to Miranshah and Mir Ali are also in the process of being cleared of militants, ISPR added.

Meanwhile, the majority of Government schools and colleges formally reopened in Bajaur Agency on August 4 after a gap of one and a half months, reports Dawn. However, several educational insti­tutions continue to be closed with their teachers absenting themselves from duty. All government and pri­vate schools and colleges in the agency were closed in June for security reasons. Officials of the education department claimed most Government schools and colleges across the agency reopened in the day, while majority of the maximum number of teachers and students showed up there.

At least 30 militants were killed in airstrikes carried out by fighter jets in Dattakhel, Marsikhel and Kamsham areas of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 5, reports The News. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated that six terrorist hide­outs were destroyed in the airstrike.

Two levies personnel were injured in a hand grenade attack on a check post in Parsh area of Khar tehsil (revenue unit) in Bajaur Agency of Federally Administered Tribal Areas on August 25, reports The Express Tribune. The political administration launched a search operation after the incident but no arrests were made.

Separately, the political adminis­tration of the Khyber Agency made public on August 26 a list of 70 wanted militants who the authorities say were involved in terrorist activi­ties in the Agency, reports Dawn. The administration officials con­firmed that the list of wanted mili­tants was prepared and that it had been made public at the political authorities’ offices in Jamrud tehsil of the Agency.

The sources further said that the move was intended at motivating the locals to help arrest these ele­ments who may be involved in mili­tancy and other criminal activities. The tribal elders have also been warned to hand over the suspected militants nominated in the list to the administration and failing to do so would attract strict action against their tribes under collective respon­sibility laws. The authorities would also consider a targeted operation in case the militants are not handed over to them, sources said.

Meanwhile, the tribal elders of North Waziristan Agency on August 26 demanded the Government to give a time frame for return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral areas, reported Dawn. “Whether we are going to go home after two days or two years, we are ready to sacrifice for our country but we should be given a date so we know when we are going home,” said Nisar Khan, a tribal elder who is also President of North Waziristan Mutasireen (affected) Committee.

A woman was wounded when militants blew up the shrine of Sufi saint Sheikh Taqi Baba in Mastung District of Balochistan on August 26, reports Dawn. No outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.

At least six suspected militants were killed and two others were injured when a drone fired two mis­siles in a house in a village in Dattakhel area of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on August 6, reports The Express Tribune. Quoting intelligence sources, Dawn adds that the mili­ tants killed were foreigners.

Separately, three militants, including two Lashkar-e-lslam (LI) militants and one Tauheed-ul-lslam (Tl) militant were killed as the two rival militant outfits clashed in Zakakhel area of Tirah Valley in Khyber Agency on August 6, reports Dawn. Three LI militants were captured by TI militants. The Express Tribune adds that the two LI militants were identified as Aqeel and Baghi.

Five militants were killed and three others were injured in a clash with a tribal militia in Dana Khola area of Lower Orakzai Agency in Federally Administered Tribal Areas on August 23, reports Dawn. The Officials said that the local peace militia and militants exchanged fire because militants attacked villagers residing in the area. According to sources, the militants belonged to Momin Khan Group of Darra Adamkhel Chapter of Tehreek-e­ Taliban Pakistan.

Separately, Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) militants killed a tribesman, identi­fied as Nek Mohammad, for spying on the outfit in Speen Drand locality of Tirah valley in Khyber Agency on August 22, reported Dawn. According to details, the man was shot dead and then his body was displayed in an open area for sever­al hours before being handed over to his family.

In another incident, the khasadar force recovered the dead body of a man, identified as Salim Khan, dumped in a house in Pump House locality near Ghundi in Jamrud tehsil (revenue unit) of Khyber Agency on August 22, reports Dawn. The officials said that the man belonged to Sikanderkhel sub-tribe of Kukikhel.

Later in the same Agency, the administration on August 22 sealed at least 90 shops of Turkhel tribes­ men over failure to check militant attacks on NATO vehicles in Sur Kamar area of Jamrud tehsil, reported Dawn.

Pakistan
Four persons including SHO killed in Karachi

Ghazanfar Ali Kazmi, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Preedy Police Station, was shot dead in Garden area of Karachi, the provin­cial capital of Sindh, in the night of August 12, reports Dawn. According to Police, unidentified assailants attacked him near Anklesaria Hospital when he was going in his private car to his home in Garden Police headquarters. He was taken to the Civil Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. The victim had taken part in the 1992 operation against criminals in Karachi.

Earlier in the night, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Jamil (45) was shot dead and two passersby injured in an attack at Gul Ahmed Chowrangi in Quaidabad area of Karachi, reports Dawn According to Police, ASI Jamil was sitting with his friends near his home at Gul Ahmed Chowrangi when motorcycle bourne unidentified assailants opened fire on him and fled.

Earlier, one doctor, identified as Amir Mehdi (56) was shot dead in a sectarian attack in Landhi area of Karachi in the evening of August 11, reports Dawn. Amir Mehdi was sitting at his ‘Rifah-i-Aam Clinic’ in Landhi-2 when two assailants rid­ing on a motorcycle emerged there, fired shots and rode away. The doctor and his compounder broth­er, Nihal Ali, suffered bullet wounds. Amir Mehdi later suc­cumbed to his injuries.

Earlier, 40-year-old Abbas Haider Zaidi was travelling in a car when four assailants riding two motorcycles intercepted him at the Kamal petrol pump near Bara Board in the Pak Colony area and fired at him. reports Dawn. Police said it’s a sectarian attack.

Six militants killed in Airbase attack in Balochistan
Security Forces (SFs) have killed six militants while thwarting an attack on Pakistan Air Force’s Samungli Air Base in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province, on August 14, reports The Dawn. Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said armed militants opened fire and hurled grenades at the Air Base. He further said 13 SFs were injured in the attack.

TTP declares ‘war on media’ in a message sent to media groups across the world
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in a message titled, “The global war of ideologies and the behaviour of media”, sent to media advocacy groups across the world, including to the “heads and members of organisations working for the rights of media members around the world,” warned the Pakistani media that if they did not stop crit­icising the mujahedeen (holy war­riors), they will be attacked and “no crying and sobbing” will pre­vent the holy warriors from punish­ing journalists, reports Dawn on August 6 (today). TTP also warned that the journalists would not get the chance to repent their mistakes if they did not stop the criticism now.

The message, signed TTP ‘media commission’, Mohmand Agency, reminded the journalists that the Taliban had tolerated this “unbearable behaviour” from 2000 to 2014 but the time had come to put an end to this practice.

TTP ‘commanders’ form new splinter group TTP-Jama’at-ul-Ahrar
Key ‘commanders’ belonging to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on August 26 announced the formation of a new group by the name of TTP-Jama’at-ul-Ahrar, with Maulana Qasim Khurasani as the new ameer (chief) and also com­prising of other ‘commanders’, reports Dawn. Former TTP ‘spokesperson’ Ehsanullah Ehsan, who has been nominated as the ‘spokesman’ for the splinter group, mostly comprising the Mohmand Agency TTP Chapter said from an undisclosed location that the new group was not willing to take sides in the current political tussle in Islamabad as they only wanted the Shari’ah (Islamic Law) system to prevail in the country.

Senior militant commander killed in KP
A senior militant commander, Waleed Akbar, associated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) was killed and one of his accomplices injured on August 27 during a Police encounter in the Hari Mor area of Prova tehsil (revenue unit) in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reports Dawn. The commander was killed in the encounter that ensued when mili­tants attacked District Police Officer (DPO) Sadiq Baloch in the Chodwan area of Prova tehsil fol­lowing which Police repulsed the attack. The DPO said the Police was conducting a search operation when the militants led by Akbar ambushed their convoy in the Hari Mor area. Subsequently, Akbar was killed in the encounter.

Akbar had several charges on him, including planning suicide attacks on funeral processions and law enforcement agencies’ person­ nel. The TTP commander was also allegedly involved in the killing of Shia community leaders and police personnel during the Ashura bomb­ing near a Muharram procession in Dera Ismail Khan on November 25, 2012. The DI Khan police had arrested kbar along with four oth­ers allegedly involved in the Ashura bombing in Dera Ismail Khan during raids on January 2, 2013. However, in July 2013, Akbar managed to flee during the Dera Ismail Khan jail break incident when dozens of heavily-armed Taliban insurgents had freed nearly 175 inmates, including 35 ‘high-profile militants’. during a brazen overnight attack on the central jail in 2013.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan to strengthen security cooperation to fight against terrorism
Sri Lanka and Pakistan have reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen cooperation in counter­ing terrorism and transnational crime in a comprehensive manner, reports Colombo Page. During a meeting between Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry and his Sri Lankan counterpart Kshenuka Seneviratne on August 6 in Islamabad, capital city of Pakistan, the two sides agreed to enhance cooperation in combating drug and human trafficking, han­dling asylum seekers and other transnational crimes and to contin­ue the cooperation with renewed vigor, which includes training of security personnel.

Terrorists won’t be allowed to regroup
The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on August 11 said that the Operation Zarb-e-Azb would reach its logical end and it would suc­ceed with the help and support of the valiant nation, reports The News. He said the Army would not allow the terrorists to return and regroup in the country. He expressed these views while chair­ ing the corps commander’s confer­ence. The meeting expressed the resolve that the terrorists would not be allowed to regroup and return and nor would they be allowed any space across the country. Presiding over the confer­ence here at the General Headquarters, COAS General Raheel Sharif expressed complete satisfaction at the progress made in the operation so far. He paid rich tributes to the courage shown and sacrifices rendered by the troops during the ongoing operation.

Two drivers killed as oil tankers attacked in Jamrud
Two drivers were killed when gunmen attacked three oil tankers in Hawaldari post in Jamrud on Tuesday, August 19 official and trib­ al sources said.

The sources said the empty oil tankers were going to Peshawar after supplying oil to Nato forces in Afghanistan when unidentified gun­men opened fire on them. Two drivers were killed in one of the oil tankers while the occupants of the other two vehicles escaped unscathed.

The slain drivers were identified as Israr Khan son of Rustam Khan, a resident of Landikotal, and Salim Khan son of Ikram Khan, a resident of Lakki Marwat. The bodies were shifted to Jamrud hospital where­ from these were dispatched to respective areas for burial.

Meanwhile, a taxi driver was killed when gunmen opened fire on a cab in Jamrud bazaar, local sources said. The sources said the firing incident also took place near the Bypass Road in Jamrud when unidentified gunmen attacked a cab (6815-B).

The driver identified as Abdul Wahid sustained iniunes in the firing and was shifted to a hospital in Peshawar, where he succumbed to injuries. The slain driver hailed from Lakki Marwat. The taxi was carrying four passengers from Torkham bor­der to Peshawar when it was attacked. However, the other occu­pants of the vehicle escaped unhurt.

Terrorists will not be allowed to return to Mohmand: Gen Rabbani

Corps Commander Peshawar Lieutenant-General Khalid Rabbani said on Wednesday, August 20 peace had been restored in Mohmand Agency and terrorists wouldn’t be allowed to return to the tribal region. He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the solar water supply scheme in Pandyalai tehsil in Mohmand Agency. The gov­ernment of United Arab Emirates (UAE) had provided funds for the project to overcome the scarcity of drinking water in Mohmand Agency. Nine projects out of 10 solar water supply schemes have been com­pleted in Mohmand Agency to address the water shortage prob­lem. Over 150,000 people would be benefited from the schemes.

The corps commander said the restoration of peace was not possi­ble with the support of the Mohmand tribe that rendered numerous sacri­fices for peace. He said peace and stability was imperative for develop­ment and uplift work. He urged the tribal people to support to the law­ enforcers to maintain law and order and not to allow the terrorists to return to their areas.

Lauding the efforts of the UAE government for carrying out devel­opment work in the terrorism-hit areas, he said various UAE funded projects in health, education and other fields were underway in differ­ent parts of the country.

The corps commander said up to 1,000 posts were being created for the tribesmen in the Pakistan Army to provide jobs to unem­ployed youth. He said the local tribespeople had been recruited in Frontier Corps (FC).

On the occasion, the tribal elders informed the Corps Commander of the problems that the local people face. Dua was offered for slain sol­diers who were killed in the ongoing military operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan.

Prominent among those who were present on occasion were Political Agent Mohmand Khushal Khan, Inspector General Frontier Corps Major General Tayyab Azam, Commandant Officer Engineering Corps Major General Jamil Akhtar Rao, Commandant Mohmand Rifles Colonel Haider Bukhari, govern­ment and army officers and a large number of tribal elders.

REGIONAL
Bangladesh – Internal Dynamics

City AL leader killed in Dhaka
An Awami League (AL) leader, Jahangir Kabir (45), was killed by assailants on his way back home at Shapla Housing in Agargaon area in Dhaka City on August 9, reports The Independent. Kabir was the presi­dent of Agargaon Taltola Mamota Bahumukhi Samabaya Samity.

PBCP -Red Flag ‘regional leader’ killed in Tangail District
A ‘regional leader’ of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP)­ Red Flag faction, identified as Abdul Haque alias Haque Sab (45) was stabbed to death at a char village in Sadar sub-District of Tangail District on August 10, reports The Daily Star. Police said that a rival gang stabbed Haque when he was going to a market in the village.

Separately, a ‘regional leader’ of Naxal Party, Muhamad Siddiqur Rahman was arrested at Padmabila village in Santhia sub-District of Pabna District on August 10, reports The Daily Star. Rahman is accused in six cases including four for murder Police also recovered a rifle and three bullets from Rahman.

After receiving terror threats ICT judges scared to go outside Dhaka city as they do not have necessary Police escorts
Fearing terror attacks after receiving threats from different quarters, the judges of the International Crimes Tribunals (ICTs) are scared to go outside Dhaka city, as they do not have the necessary Police escorts that can provide security to them, reports The Independent on August 11. Not only the judges, but the prosecutors and the witnesses of the ICTs are also living in dread of terror attacks. Four of the six judges of the ICTs have sought Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) escorts during their movements outside Dhaka, and have written letters to the Home Ministry. But the ministry is yet to take any step in this regard, the sources added.

PBCP -Red Flag ‘regional leader’ arrested along with arms in Rajbari District
Police arrested a ‘regional leader’ of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP)-Red Flag faction identified as Mobarak Hossain alias Bangla from Pangsha sub-District of Rajbari District on August 12, reports The Daily Star. Police also recovered one shutter gun and two bullets from his pos­session. Police said that Mobarak was accused in five murder and four extortion cases filed with Pangsha Police Station.

‘Channel i’ presenter Moulana Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi killed in Dhaka city
Unidentified armed assailants killed Moulana Shaikh Nurul Islam Faruqi, presenter of religious pro­grammes on Channel i, at his own residence in Dhaka city’s Pashchim Rajabazar area on August 27, reports Dhaka Tribune. Faruqi was also the Presidium member and International Affairs Secretary of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat – an organization known better for opposing the views of Jamaat-e-lslami (Jel). He also served as the Presidium member of Islamic Front Bangladesh – a platform of several lslamist groups. Apart from anchoring pro­grammes titled “Shantir Pothe” and “Kafela” on Channel i, he owned Faruque Tours and Travels Private Limited, a Hajj agency, and served as the imam of Supreme Court Mosque in Dhaka city.

Meanwhile, Syed Bahadur Shah Mojaddedi Al Abedi, chairman of Islamic Front Bangladesh and Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat on August 27 announced that a down-dusk coun­ trywide hartal (shut down) has been called for August 31 in protest against the killing of Moulana Faruqui, reports New Nation.

PBCP-Jonajuddha leader killed in Chuadanga District
Police recovered the body of an outlawed party leader of Purba Banglar Communist Party-Jonajuddha faction (PBCP­ Jonajuddha) from under a banyan tree at Botiya Para village of Chuadanga District on August 28, reports Daily Observer. The deceased was identified as Tokon (40). Police said Tokon was accused in several cases including murder and extortion cases.

6 persons arrested for preaching radical Islam
Police arrested one man and five women in Barisal city of Barisal District on August 27 on suspicion of preaching a radical version of Islam, reports The Daily Star. The arrestees were identified as Lokman Hossain, Jahanara Begum, Amena Begum, Mahinur Begum Nasima Begum and Mohaimena Begum. Police said the arrestees belong to Kalamaye Jamaat, a radi­cal lslamist organization led by Abdul Majid of Charfession sub­ District in Barisal District.

Meanwhile, on August 28, the family members of Sheikh Nurul Islam Faruqi, the chief imam of the Supreme Court Mosque who was murdered at his East Rajabazar house in Dhaka city on August 27, said that Faruqi received threats several times from Hefajat-e Islam (Hel) since May 5, 2013, reports The Daily Star. Faisal Faruqi, son of Faruqi said “My father had been getting threats for the last one and a half years since Hel men waged the movement. His vehicle came under attack in Tangail District while returning to Dhaka about six months ago.”

India – Internal Dynamics

Swiss national arrested for attending pro-Maoist meeting in Kerala

Kerala Police on July 28 arrest­ed a Swiss youth, identified as Jonathan Baud (24), after he addressed a meeting arranged by Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) sympathisers at Valapad in Thrissur District to con­dole the death of their comrade Sinoj who was killed in accident while making country bombs on June 16, 2014 in a forest, reports The Times of India.

Shiv Sena calls rape charges ‘a fashion’
Indian right-wing Hindu party Shiv Sena said on August 2 filing sexual assault charges has “become a fashion” in an article backing a police officer accused of rape. The hardline Hindu nationalist outfit, based in western Maharashtra state and a key ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, threw its support behind a senior state police officer accused of rape by a model and questioned the complainant’s inten­tions. “Cases of charging men with molestation and rape in high society to create hype is on a rise now. It has almost become a fashion,” the Shiv Sena wrote in its party mouth­piece, “Saamana” (To Confront).

“After he has served for so many years in the police force, one model now charges DIG (deputy inspector general) Sunil Paraskar with rape and in one night he becomes a villain. Such accusations have become good weapons to seek personal revenge.”

It added the Indian judicial sys­tem needed to “open its eyes” and protect the innocent because “all the laws in the country favour women so anyone can slap any charge against anyone”. India toughened sex assault laws follow­ing the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi in December 2012 which sparked nationwide protests, but the move has done little to stem sex attacks against women.

The model who filed the rape complaint,and who cannot be named for legal reasons, hit out at the Shiv Sena article later on Saturday.

“This matter is in court, no-one should be commenting in sensitive matters like this without knowing all the facts,” the woman told national news agency Press Trust of India.

Last month, the alleged rape of a six-year-old girl in a school trig­gered a series of street protests by angry parents and political activists over the lack of safety for women and children in the country. A 16- year-old girl in Delhi was also gang­ raped at gunpoint in June while a seven-year-old girl was found hanging from a tree in a village in West Bengal state. Locals suspect she was raped.

In May, two girls in Uttar Pradesh state found hanging from a tree had been gang-raped in a case that sparked waves of public revulsion. Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party promised a “zero tol­erance” approach to violence against women after it swept to power in May elections.

However two state BJP minis­ters appeared to trivialise rape in June when one said the attacks happened “accidentally” and another said they were “sometimes right, sometimes wrong”. Uttar Pradesh’s Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh was also the target of public anger in April when he told an election rally he opposed a recently introduced death penalty for gang-rapists, saying, “Boys make mistakes”.

The Shiv Sena, which has a his­tory of inciting violence, came under fire earlier this month after some of its MPs tried to force-feed a chapati – an Indian flatbread – to a Muslim restaurant manager fasting for Ramazan because they were unhappy about food at a govern­ment canteen.

Two CRPF troopers killed by Maoists in Chattisgarh

Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were killed by Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres while they were guarding road construction work under Basaguda Police Station limits in Bijapur District on August 10, reports The Pioneer. Inspector General of Police (IG), Bastar, SRP Kalluri said the troopers came under heavy gunfire from Maoists result­ing in their death.

Two civilians killed in firing by miscreants in Assam-Nagaland Border

Two individuals identified as Fosoi Gaur and Chintamoni Barhoi was killed in firing by miscreants from Nagaland on August 12 at Chetia Gaon in Golaghat District along Assam-Nagaland border, reports The Telegraph. They were protesting at the camp of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who have been posted to look in to the law and order situation, against the alleged abduction of two school­ boys identified as Ajay Gar and Philson Kujur who have been miss­ing since July 26 when they went to adjacent Chandla Chung village in Nagaland side. It has been alleged that they were abducted by miscre­ants in Chandla Chung. All Adivasi Students’ Association of Assam (AASAA) has called a 12-hour Golaghat bandh (shut down strike) on August 13 (today) in protest against the killings. The Sentinel further adds that source in Golaghat Police stated that Chetia Gaon is infested by the Communist Party of India-Maoist and All Adivasi National Liberation Army. However according to the source all skirmish­ es along the Nagaland border have been so far allegedly spurred by the Isak-Muivah faction of National Socialist Council of Nagaland.

Maoists still have presence in Agency areas of Visakhapatnam, says SP Koya Praveen
The Communist Party of India- Maoist (CPI-Maoist) influence in the Agency areas of Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh is not as weak as it is thought to be and things are not that rosy and they have consider­able presence in the two areas of Galikonda and Korukonda, says Superintendent of Police (SP) Koya Praveen, reports The Hindu on August 13.

Death toll rises to tento as armed Naga assailants continue their raids in Assam villages
The Sentinel reports that armed Naga assailants continued their raids in Assam villages relat­ed to land issue for the second consecutive day on August 13, killing a village headman, identi­fied as Africa Toppa and setting on fire nearly 200 houses in the B Sector of Golaghat District. The Naga miscreants reportedly trooped down at the Jahajigaon village of Dhansiri subdivision, lobbed bombs, fired and torched houses. Attacks were reported from over ten villages – Jahaji Bosti, Roman Bosti, Kampur, Majgaon, Santipur, Chetiagaon, Xukanjan, Sainpur, Ratanpur, Kemphur and Kamalpur. Thousands of terrified villagers were abandoning their villages and fleeing to safer places with some of their belongings even as eight relief camps have been opened at Uriamghat which are housing some 5,000 villagers.

The State Government accused the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah of inciting the ongoing flare up on the disputed Assam-Nagaland border in Assam’s Golaghat District that started on August 12, resulting in the death of three Adivasi villagers of the State, reports The Times of India.

Meanwhile, Security Forces (SFs) recovered three grenades from Sukhanjuli in Baksa District on August 12, reports The Telegraph.

BSF troopers escape Maoists’ IED blast in Odisha
A group of Border Security Force (BSF) troopers and Odisha Police personnel escaped a blast of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres in near Telarai square on Kalimela-Motu road of Malkangiri District on August 14, reports The Hindu.

CPI-Maoist cadres kill SPO
Communist Party of India­ Maoist cadres killed a Special Police Officer (SPO), identified as N Munda, at Bandhagaon near Rourkela in Sundergarh District, reports orissadiary.com on August 16. They also left a black flag near his body.

Maoists put up posters against Independence Day celebrations in Telangana
Suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist cadres hung a black banner on the compound wall of the Unjapalli Tribal Welfare Ashram High School for boys in Charla mandal (administrative divi­sion) in Khammam District on August 15, against Independence Day celebrations and the Polavaram project, reports The Hindu. However, the Independence Day ceremony was held as per schedule after the removal of the banner. Black banners and posters, in the name of Maoist district com­mittee, also surfaced at Devarapalli, Mamidi gudem and a few other interior villages in the far­ flung tribal pockets of Bhadrachalam division in the small hours of the day.

Hindu Munnani headquarters in Chennai receives threat letter

Hindu Munnani’s headquarters at Chintadripet in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) received a letter on July 29, which threatened to kill Hindu lead­ers who make inflammatory speeches against Prophet Muhammad, reports The Times of India. The letter, written in Tamil, mentioned the first letters of Hindu leaders in Districts of Chennai, Sivaganga, Coimbatore, Trichy (Tiruchirappalli), Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli and threatened to kill them. Police said the letter had been posted from Palakkad in Kerala and they were trying to trace the sender.

Civilian killed in IED blast in Odisha
A tribal village head, identified as Bira Padiami, was killed and his wife critically injured when they accidentally stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), planted allegedly by the Communist Party of India-Maoist, inside the for­est near Darbhaguda village under Kalimela Police Station area in Malkangiri District on July 29, reports The Hindu. The incident happened on the second day of ‘Martyrs’ week’ (July 28-August 3) being observed by Maoists, and the pressure activated IED was planted to target Security Forces (SFs) who have intensified their anti-Maoist operations during the week.

Armed cadre strength of the Left Wing Extremist groups is around 8,500, informs Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju
The Armed cadre strength of the Left Wing Extremist (LWE) groups is around 8,500 and they have forged tactical understanding with some insurgent groups in the Northeast for procuring arms and ammunition, informed the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Indian Parliament) on July 30, reports The Indian Express. The Minister said, “As per available reports. the estimated armed cadre strength of the Left Wing Extremist groups is around 8,500. However, their support base is in larger number.” He further said the LWEs are using sophisticated weapons like Light Machine Gun (LMG), AK-47 etc. for attacks on Security Forces (SFs) and notwith­standing some setbacks in the recent times, the Communist Party of India-Maoist retains its core armed strength and the capacity to launch spectacular attacks. He added in 2013 these groups recruited around 433 cadres from the LWE affected States.

Two persons killed by Maoists in Jharkhand
The Communist Party of India­ Maoist cadres killed two persons at Barang village under Ghaghra Police Station in Gumla District on July 31, reports The Times of India. According to reports. Phulchand Oraon had arrived at his village Barang along with two unknown persons late on July 30. Oraon had been absconding after being accused of killing four vil­lagers of Barang over a land dis­pute on February 28, this year. Maoists too came to know that Phulchand had come to the vil­lage. More than 15 Maoists land­ed at Phulchand’s house on get­ting the news of his arrival. Though Phulchand managed to escape from the site, Maoists caught the two other men who had come along with him, took them to an adjacent forest area where their hands were tied and they were shot.

Civilian killed by PLFI cadres
A round 15 armed cadres of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist killed a rural businessman, identi­fied as Sindhu Sagar Das (26), at Majhapada village under Raiboga Police Station limits in Sundargarh District on July 31, reports New Indian Express. Through posters left behind, one Barud Gape identifying himself as ‘area commander’ of PLFI along with Theteitanger unit leader Sanjeet Singh claimed responsi­bility for the killing. Branding Sindhu as a Police informer, the PLFI cadres threatened other Police informers of similar fate.

Explosives seized in Bihar
Bihar Police seized about five kilograms of explosives, 3550 det­onators and 1811 gelatin sticks from Barahiya Bag village in Rohtas District on August 1, reports The Times of India. Rohtas Superintendent of Police (SP) Chandan Kumar Kushwaha said three persons, identified as Anish Pasi, Arun Kumar and Dharmendra Kumar, were arrest­ed in this connection. However, Police officials were probing whether the arrested people had any links with the Communist Party of India-Maoist.

Maoists kill 14 TPC cadres in Jharkhand
At least 14 cadres of the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist were killed by the Maoists at Choti Kauriya village under Bishrampur Police Station limits in Palamu District early on August 9, reports The Telegraph. Around 18 TPC cadres had taken shelter in the house of a fellow villager, Bairam Sahu, when a huge squad of over 250 Maoists swooped down on Choti Kauriya village and killed some 14 of them while four of the cadres managed to flee. After the mass killing, the Maoists took away all the bodies before Police could reach the spot and Maoist ‘spokesperson’ Manoj Ji later claimed responsibility for the killings, saying it was a revenge for the Chatra attack on March 27, 2013, when the TPC had killed 10 of their aides. Inspector General (IG, provisions) and State Police spokesperson Anurag Gupta con­firmed the incident.

CRPF personnel killed in encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh
One Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel was killed in an exchange of fire with the Communist Party of India-Maoist at Murdanda village under Awapalli Police Station limits in Bijapur District on August 9, reports The Pioneer. The incident took place when a road opening party (ROP) of 160^th battalion of the CRPF were scanning roads for explosives near the forests of Murdanda village and came under indiscriminate firing by the Maoists. During the gun fight, CRPF personnel Jignesh Patel, was killed, Superintendent of Police (SP) KL Kashyap said.

Meanwhile, in another incident, during a search operation, a trooper of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) battalion of the CRPF, was injured in an encounter with the Maoists in a forested patch near Reddy village in Mirtur area under Gangaloor Police Station in Bijapur District on August 9, reports The Pioneer. Tiffin bombs, detonator, gunpowder and materials used in making explosives were seized from the Maoists after a brief gun battle.

PLFI cadres kill woman and daughter in Jharkhand
People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist, cadres have allegedly killed a 45-year-old woman and her teenage daughter at Silda Budhudih village under Khunti Police Station limits of Khunti District on August 25, reports The Business Standard. The victims have been identified as Gangi Devi and Phoolmani Kumari.

One person injured in Low-intensity blast in Maharashtra
A roadside vendor suffered minor injuries in a low-intensity blast in the limits of Gokul Shirgaon Police Station on Kolhapur-Kagal Road in the outskirts of Kolhapur town in Kolhapur District on August 24, reports The Times of India. The explosion occurred near a food cart close to Shahu toll plaza, a senior police officer said in Mumbai. As per preliminary information, the bomb­ like device was apparently placed inside a cardboard box near the food cart and when the vendor tried to open it, it blew up.

Assam trooper injured in Assam
The Sangai Express reports that one Assam Rifles (AR) person­ nel, Havildar Jagdish Chander was injured in an IED blast close to Assam Rifles post at Old Somtal (Samat), Chandel District located along Myanmar-Manipur border area in the morning of August 26. Meanwhile, the proscribed United Liberation Front of Assam (UNLF) has claimed its hand in the attack. A spokesperson of the outfit claimed that the attack was carried out by its armed wing Manipur People’s Army (MPA). The attack killed two AR personnel of 28 Sector and left few others injured, claimed the spokesperson.

School teacher joins HNLC in Meghalaya
The Shillong Times reports that a school teacher, identified as Sromwell Mawdoh, a former head­master of Laishnong Secondary School at Mawlangsu under Mawthadraishan block in West Khasi Hills has joined the pro­scribed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council. “I have taken this decision after studying the ide­ologies and principles of the outfit thoroughly. I took this decision after the former Khasi Students’ Union­ KSU vice president Frederick Kharmawphlang joined the militant outfit,” Mawdoh said in a statement issued on August 25. Kharmawphlang had left the KSU in February to join the HNLC. He hoped that being part of the outfit he would be able to contribute towards development of education in remote areas. “I want to remove all the mis­leading informations which are being taught in the schools relating to the history, culture of the Khasi tribe,” Mawdoh said.

Meanwhile, the HNLC, on August 26, sent an open invitation to Government employees to join the outfit as “part-time workers” while throwing the ball back at the Mukul Sangma Government to “give peace a chance”, reports The Telegraph. Welcoming Sromwell Mawdoh, into its fold, the militant outfit said government employees are “also free to join” its ranks.

ISIS uses IM to recruit poor Muslims in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and J&K, says reports
Even as the whole of Iraq and Syria cover under Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) threat, several central security agencies in India have revealed reports that indicate that the ISIS might be spreading its tentacles in India, reports The Indian Republic on August 26. Sources said that the terror outfit, which has already killed thousands in Iraq and Syria in a deadly pursuit to establish an Islamic Caliphate, is recruiting poor Muslims in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The several security agencies including Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and National Investigation Agency (NIA) have said that more than 100 Indian men could have already joined the ISIS in Iraq and these ISIS recruits could be used to strike terror in India once the war in Iraq and Syria ends. Sources have further said that an Indian Mujahideen (IM) man who is declared as wanted by the NIA could be recruiting for the ISIS. Reports indicate that the NIA is at present preparing a dossier on the several ISIS activities in India.

ANCA using minors to smuggle arms in Meghalaya
Meghalaya Police have come across a ‘new modus operandi’ of Achik National Cooperation Army (ANCA), where in minors are being used for smuggling of arms from Dimapur in Nagaland to carry out abduction and extortion, The Telegraph reports on August 26. This has been uncovered with the arrest of five ANCA militants on August 24. Meghalaya Inspector General (IG) of Police G.H.P. Raju stated that one of the arrested mili­tant identified as Amar revealed that William A Sangma, the leader of ANCA had sent two cadres to Dimapur for bringing weapons. He also disclosed that William was using young boys for arms smug­gling from Dimapur. Recently William had sent one 14-year-old along with an ANCA member, Elwart
M. Sangma, to Dimapur for weapons,” The Shillong Times fur­ther adds that the 14 year old iden­tified as Mankanson W Sangma and Elwart M. Sangma were arrested from Guwahati Railway Station on an unspecified date.

Monthly Fatalities

The following deaths related to ongoing insurgencies and acts of terrorism occurred during the period July 26, 2014 to August 25, 2014:

	Civilian	Indian Security Personnel	Militant	Total
Assam	04	02	08	14
Manipur	03	01	02	06
Meghalaya	02	00	02	04
Left-wing	11	04	06	21
Total	21	07	19	47

Nepal – Internal Dynamics
Political parties not to hinder constitution making process
Key leaders from various Political parties at the Constitutional Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (CPDCC) of the Constituent Assembly (CA) have agreed to reg­ister official views of their respec­tive parties and allow the constitu­tion drafting process to move ahead without any hindrance, reports Republica on August 1. CPDCC Chairman Baburam Bhattarai described the political understanding as a major progress with regard to laying ground for producing a new constitution within given time. “This is very important achievement in connection of expediting the task of constitution making,” Bhattarai said. Stating that the committee brought down the list of 78 contentious points related to state restructuring to 25, Bhattarai said CPDCC will settle all the contentious issues within next one month.

Five armed groups to to join constitution making

Five armed outfits active in Tarai have pledged to give up their armed struggle to join the constitution making process and peaceful politics in a meeting held in Janakpur in Dhanusa District on August 10-11, reports Ekantipur.com. The meet­ings were held at the initiation of the Constitutional Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (CPDCC) in a bid to bring political forces and armed outfits outside of the Constituent Assembly (CA) to mainstream pol­itics and accommodate them in the constitution-drafting process. The government reached a five­ point agreement with Sanjaya Kumar Gupta-led Samyukta Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha during the meeting on August 10. Likewise, the government sat for talks with Bijaya Yadav-led Madhesi Virus Killers, Ajaya Kumar-led Akhil Terai Mukti Morcha, Maharaj Yadav-led Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha and Rambabu Yadav-led Madhes Rashtriya Jantantrik Party (Revolutionary) on August 11.

CPN-Maoist to struggle for ‘people’s govt’ in Nepal
Mohan Baidya led Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN­ Maoist) has formed United People’s Committee (UPC) aim­ing to launch a struggle for the establishment of “peoples’ gov­ernment”, reports Republica on August 12. UPC will launch protests for people’s constitution and nationalism after mid-March. A meeting of sister wings held at the party headquarters in Buddhanagar on Aug 12 appoint­ed party secretary Dev Gurung as the ·coordinator of the committee. The committee comprises nearly 150 members including head of the party’s sister wings, party politburo member and head of ethnic, gender and other fronts of the party. “The committee will prepare a protest program for people’s constitution and anti- nationalist agreements on resources,” Gurung told Republica. The party will soon call a central committee meeting to finalize the protest program and the date for the party’s national convention. The party has also decided to cele­brate “people’s war” day on February 13. The party would announce its protest programs at the people’s war celebrations.

Five UCPN-M cadres sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering CPN-UML leader Chhabi Lal Karki
The Okhaldhunga District Court on August 17 sentenced five Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist cadres to life imprisonment for the murder of Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) leader Chhabi Lal Karki at the Tara Hotel of Okhaldhunga District three years ago, reports Nepal News. Those found guilty of the murder are UCPN-M cadres Yadunath Ghimire, Tikaram Bhujel, Bimarsha Raj Ghimire, Nawaraj Basnet and Karki’s elder brother Ohan Bahadur Karki.

Separatist movement, religious and ethnic tension, general strikes and terrorist activities in the region has caused threats to national security, says CoAS Gaurav SJB Rana
Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), Gaurav SJB Rana on August 20 said that separatist movement, religious and ethnic tension , general strikes and terrorist activities in the region has caused threats to national securi­ty, reports Republica. Rana said,”It is equally important to have coopera­tion from all sectors to face growing security threats, and traditional mech­anisms have to be replaced by prac­tical, dynamic and effective ones.” Emphasizing on the timely improve­ments in the National Security Strategy, he added, “Only the full­ fledged constitution can be expected to describe the national security strat­egy without any ambiguity.”

Meanwhile, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) after a standing com­mittee meeting on February 20 reit­erated its previous stance of not Joining the Nepali Congress (NC)­ led Government until it gets the Home Ministry portfolio, reports Nepal News. The CPN-UML leaders participating in the meeting said the party’s priority at the moment is timely constitution draft­ ing rather than Joining the Government. CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal said that his party remains adamant on its pre­ condition for joining the NC-led Government. He further said that the party is currently focused on the task of making the constitution draft­ing process “effective”.

Sri Lanka – Internal Dynamics

Norway is not so keen on Sri Lanka
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Northern Provincial Councilor Dharmalingam Sitharthan on July 29 said that Norway, which facilitated the peace process between the then Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is now giving less emphasis to the peace building process in Sri Lanka, reports Daily Mirror. Sitharthan, during his European visit, said that “I under­stand that Norway is less interested in Sri Lanka’s issue. Instead, they have shifted their focus more on the situation in Ukraine which is in their neighbourhood. However, they said they continued to observe the devel­opments in Sri Lanka.” However, he added Switzerland keenly looking at Sri Lanka’s situation.

West favouring Tamils: SL
Sri Lanka on Wednesday, August 6 accused Western diplo­mats of favouring the Tamil minority as tensions mounted over a meet­ing in Colombo between envoys and families who lost loved ones in the country’s war.

US and other Western diplomats met on Monday with ethnic Tamil families whose relatives disap­peared or were killed during the decades-long separatist conflict that ended in 2009.

Four arrested in connection with a LTTE plot to assassinate two VIPs of Sri Lankan Government, says report

According to a local Sinhala news paper from Malaysia, International intelligence services have arrested four individuals who had allegedly attempted to carry out a plot to assassinate two very impor­tant persons (VIPs) of the Sri Lankan Government reports Colombo Page on August The report said that the four, who were arrested in a foreign coun­try, includes a former Sri Lanka Army (SLA) captain and three activists of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam terrorist group. The suspects have requested money from LTTE diaspora to carry out the plot. According to the high level intel­ligence sources the Army Captain is known by the nickname ‘Yanji’. They have planned to arrive in the country to set their plan in motion when they were arrested in a foreign country. The report also added that the International Security Forces (SFs) have arrested the four suspects and taken steps to send them immedi­ately to Sri Lanka.

Human Rights Commission of SL rejects US statement on human rights issues

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on August 3 rejected the statements made by United States (US) Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, Nisha Desai Biswal, on human rights issues in Sri Lanka during her visit to the country, reports Colombo Page. Human Rights Commissioner Prathiba Mahanamahewa said that he could not agree with the statements made by the US Government. He pointed out that the Government has set up a Presidential Commission on Disappearances, another Commission to probe the loss of lives and property due to the war since 1982, both of which were rec­ommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister of India P. Chidambaram on February 3 said that India assisted housing project to construct 50,000 houses for Sri Lanka’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) has com­pleted 10,250 houses in 2013, reports Colombo Page. According to the information received from the India’s Ministry of External Affairs 10,250 houses were completed by December 31, 2013 and another 27,750 houses will be constructed under the same scheme.

President asks public not to be misled by international conspiracies against the country
President Mahinda Rajapaksa on August 10 said that internation­al conspiracies against the Government and the country are being formed in Geneva to build negative views among the people in the country and urged the pub­lic not to allow themselves to be misled by those conspiracies, reports Colombo Page. The President said the Government will discharge the duties and responsibilities on behalf of the country and the people diligently in future, just as they were fulfilled in the past and present.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU) at its meeting held in Brussels, cap­ital of Belgium on February 10 adopted the conclusion to actively support the accountability and rec­onciliation process in Sri Lanka and address the current human rights situation in the country, reports Colombo Page. The Council also decided to support a credible and independent investigation into the alleged war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorists.

Separately, China on February 11 lent its support to Sri Lanka and said it opposed “interference” in the country’s domestic affairs. ahead of next month’s (March) meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) where the United States (US) is expected to put for­ward a resolution criticising the island nation’s post-war rights record, reports The Hindu. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, on an official visit to Beijing that China opposes some countries interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka under the pretext of human rights issues.

‘LTTE runs Madrassa type Indoctrination Schools in Europe’, says Sri Lankan Diplomat
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Ravinatha Aryasinha, revealed that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are running “Madrassa type” indoc­trination schools in European Union (EU) countries in which there is a substantial population of Tamils from Sri Lanka, reports The New Indian Express on August 23. Speaking at the Ministry of Defense conclave in Colombo, he said that the LTTE has established “Madrassa-type” schools called “Tamil Cholai” to “ferment the radi­calisation of Tamil youth, and glorify terrorism and martyrdom.” He added that students of these schools are forced to participate in propaganda events organised by the LTTE and its front organisations. He also said that an estimated 20,000 Tamil students between the ages of 4 and 21 years are studying in more than 300 “Tamil Cholai” schools functioning in Europe under different names. They receive host government funding in some cases, but in actuality, are directly or indi­rectly administered by the LTTE, and generate their own funds. However, the law enforcement agencies in the EU are vigilant and have taken action against the LTTE, the Lankan diplomat said.

‘Some members of Tamil Diaspora pump in money in Jaffna’, says Jaffna Commander
Commander Security Force Jaffna Major General Udaya Perera said that tense situation in Jaffna helps some factions of Tamil Diaspora to survive in those coun­tries and they are spending plenty of money through extremist local polit­ical elements to create mayhem in Jaffna, reports News.lk on August Major General Perera also said that whilst all those projects are car­ried out aiming at National Reconciliation, his troops are always alert on National Security.

Two Indians arrested for carrying sensitive pictures

Sri Lankan Police on August 26 arrested two Indian citizens for allegedly recording and possess­ ing photographs and video footage of Parliament and the Prime Minister (PM)’s residence, reports Colombo Page. Police spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajith Rohana said that acting on a tip off, they were arrested by the Police while travelling in a three wheeler taxi in Colombo. According to the Sri Lankan news paper, News First, Rohana added that the two men were from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Police are are conducting further investigations in this regard.

INTERNATIONAL
Fighting rages in Ukraine
Dutch authorities probing the downing of Malaysian flight MH17 said on Sunday, July 27 it was “unrealistic” to send armed troops to secure the crash site, after 13 people including two children were killed in fierce fighting in insurgent- held east Ukraine.

The Netherlands and Australia had planned to send armed officers to ensure that investigators are able to carry out their work at the vast crash site. But Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte now said this is no longer viable. Even an unarmed team of Dutch and Australian officers was forced to drop their plans to visit the site Sunday as heavy bombardments rocked towns close to the site, where some remains of the 298 victims from the plane still lie decomposing under the summer sun.

An AFP photographer heard artillery bombardments just a kilometre (half a mile) from the rebel-held town of Grabove, next to the crash site, and saw black smoke billowing into the sky. Terrified local residents were fleeing and checkpoints controlled by separatist fighters were abandoned.

Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had said 49 officers from the Netherlands and Australia – which together lost some 221 citizens in the crash were due at the scene on Sunday and that there would be “considerably more on site in coming days”.

That came after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said he had reached an agreement with the pro-Russian insurgents controlling the site to allow the police deployment.

So far investigators have visited the site only sporadically because of security concerns, even though a truce had been called in the immediate area around the site by both the Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin claimed on Twitter that rebels were responsible for any violence close to the crash site. Kiev is “committed to its unilateral cease-fire with- in 40km zone of MH17 site”, and “terrorists are destroying evidence of the crime”, the minister insisted.

Fighting was raging elsewhere as the Ukrainian army pushes on with its offensive to retake the industrial east. Local authorities reported at least 13 people including two children aged one and five killed on Sunday in fierce combat in rebel holdout Horlivka, about 45 kilometres to the north of Donetsk, and which has a population of about a quarter of a million.

After Iraqi army crumbles, Maliki turns to state TV for help
State television is working overtime to persuade Iraqis to help Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki confront an al-Qaeda offshoot that has seized wide tracts of the country, but its unifying call has been blunted by his sectarian reputation. Since the humiliating loss of much of Iraq’s north to Islamic State insurgents, the official Iraqiya channel has been churning out patriotic videos of marching soldiers, heavily-armed commandos and even singers and actors to rally the public behind the government.

The theatrics are reminiscent of life under Saddam Hussein, whose propaganda machine put a positive spin on disasters like his 1990 invasion of Kuwait or 1980-88 war with Iran. Instead of increasing confidence in Maliki, the campaign has highlighted what critics say is the Muslim premier’s failure to unite Iraq against Islamist insurgents who have put the country’s survival as a unified state in jeopardy.

Mohammed Abdul Jabar al-Shaboot, head of the Iraqi Media Network that broadcasts Iraqiya, said feedback on the videos had been generally good across Iraq’s communal spectrum.

His marginalisation of Muslims has caused some to find common cause with the Islamic State, which aims to reshape the Middle East and impose its radical ideology.

Maliki, who has served in a caretaker capacity since an election in April, has defied calls by Muslims to step aside in favour of a less polarising leader needed to lead a unified response to the insurgency. The man who spent years in exile plotting against Saddam seems content to use the same tactics the dictator employed to create the impression of invincibility.

For many, the television clips are a reminder that Iraq’s turmoil never seems to let up: war and misadventure under Saddam and now a repeat of the sectarian bloodshed that brought the country. to civil war during the US occupation that ousted him.

DPRK threatens N-strike on WH
A top-ranking North Korean military official has threatened a nuclear strike on the White House and Pentagon after accusing Washington of raising military tensions on the Korean peninsula. The threat came from Hwang Pyong-So, director of the military’s General Political Bureau. during a speech to a large military rally in Pyongyang on July 27 on the anniversary of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

Hwang, who holds the rank of vice marshal in the Korean People’s Army, said a recent series of South Korea-US military drills. one of which included the deployment of a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier, had ramped up tensions.

“If the US imperialists threaten our sovereignty and survival .. our troops will fire our nuclear-armed rockets at the White House and the Pentagon – the sources of all evil,” Hwang said in his speech broadcast on Monday on state television.
It is not the first time that North Korea’s bellicose rhetoric has included threats of nuclear strikes on the continental United States and US bases in the Pacific.

But most experts believe it is still a long way from developing a viable intercontinental ballistic missile with the required range.

The North has conducted three nuclear tests, but is not thought to have mastered the miniaturisation techniques necessary for mounting a warhead on a missile. It does pos­sess a range of short-and mid­ range missiles capable of striking South Korea and Japan, and has conducted a series of test firings into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) in recent weeks. The latest test on Saturday – guided by the leader Kim Jong-Un – simulated a short­ range missile strike on South Korea where 28,500 US troops are sta­tioned, the North’s state media said.

300 children killed so far in Gaza : UN
Israel carried out fresh attacks on southern Gaza Strip amidst a hunt for one of its missing soldiers believed to be captured by Hamas,as the new wave of violence raised the Palestinians toll to 1669.

Israel also threw cold water over efforts to reach a solution to the cri­sis when it announced that it would not attend Egyptian-hosted negotia­tions for a new truce.

A Palestinian delegation was to fly to Cairo for negotiations, which would include Hamas’s demand that Egypt ease movement across its border with blockaded Gaza. But Israel said it would not send its envoys as scheduled.

The United Nations, meanwhile, came out with a stunning statistics that at least 296 Palestinian children and adolescents have been killed since Israel launched its current offensive on July 8.

“Children make up for 30 percent of the civilian casualties,” said the UN children’s agency Unicef, adding that the toll was based on deaths which it was able to verify and was likely to rise “The number of child casualties during the last 48 hours may rise as a number of inci­dents are pending verification,” it said in a statement.

Unicef stressed that its figures are “cross-checked to the best extent possible in the current situa­tion… subject to change based on further verifications.”

“Between 8 July and 2 August 2014, at least 296 Palestinian chil­dren were reported killed as a result of airstrikes and shelling by Israel aerial, naval and ground forces,” it said. The toll breaks down to 187 boys and 109 girls, with at least 203 of them under the age of 12.

Lebanon troops battle Jihadists as Syria conflict spills over
Lebanese troops battled Jihadists on the Synan border on Monday, August 4 in a third day of clashes, further engulfing the divid­ed country in the conflict next door.

Analysts said the violence could be contained in the short-term, but warned that an aggressive military response could stoke tensions in the area and elsewhere in Lebanon.

Soldiers fired mortar shells at militant positions in the mountains around the border town of Arsal, in eastern Lebanon, and the sound of heavy machine-gun fire could be heard, an AFP photographer said. A military source said the fighting had killed at least 16 soldiers, two of them officers, as well as “dozens” of militants. At least three civilians have also been killed in the fighting, according to security sources.

Lebanon has officially sought to distance itself from the conflict in neighbouring Syria that began in March 2011, espousing a policy of “dissociation”. But the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al­ Assad has crept continually across the border, inflaming existing sectar­ian and political tensions.

There are more than one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, testing the limited resources of the country, as well as the patience of its four million citizens. And the country’s powerful Hizbullah movement has openly intervened in the Syrian con­flict, dispatching fighters to bolster regime troops against the uprising. Arsal is broadly sympathetic to the uprising against Assad’s regime, and has regularly been bombed by Syrian regime troops who say that are targeting opposition fighters holed up in the area.

The violence in the eastern Lebanese region began on Saturday afternoon, after soldiers detained a Syrian man, Imad Ahmed Jumaa, who the army said confessed belonging to al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate, Al-Nusra Front. Jihadists angered by the arrest sur­ rounded army checkpoints and opened fire, prompting fierce clash­es as well as the storming of a police station, during which two civilians were killed.

A third civilian was shot dead by a sniper on Sunday, and a number of soldiers and police have been listed as missing in the wake of the fighting.

Army chief General Jean Kahwaji said on Sunday that at least 13 soldiers were missing and might have been taken hostage.The fight­ing has raised new concerns about the effects of the Syrian conflict on fragile Lebanon, which fought a bru­tal civil war between 1975 and 1990. Many back the uprising against Assad, whose regime is closely allied with Hizbullah, a pow­erful political force in Lebanon.

Ukrainians flee besieged Donetsk
The once-bustling leafy boule­vards of central Donetsk are now deserted but one place where there is almost certain to be a crowd is the rebel-held city’s ornate Stalin-era railway station. As the boom of mor­tar fire rocks the mining hub of one million daily, ever more residents are packing up and fleeing a tight­ening government blockade.

Nearby families huddled around piles of bags and even a canary in a cage as they waited anxiously to make their escape. Once a favoured spot for teenage lovers or family strolls, the manicured avenues in the city centre are now eerily quiet despite the baking hot summer weather. Many shops and flats have “X”s of tape on the windows to pre­vent the glass from shattering in case of an explosion, and notices hang on the doors of apartment buildings with instructions on how to reach the nearest bomb shelter.

Stores, shopping malls and libraries are almost all closed and shuttered. A rebel in a stripy army vest scarf swaggered down the deserted main boulevard, pointing his Kalashnikov from side to side.

Oleg was out on a bike ride with his 12-year-old son, Ivan, since his factory has closed due to a lack of deliveries. For some people from nearby towns and villages, Donetsk was the only refuge they had.

On the outskirts of the city, more than a thousand people who had fled from the frontline towns of Shakhtarsk and Horlivka, milled around in a concrete Soviet-era stu­dent hostel now run by rebels.

Children ran along the dark corri­dors playing football while women sorted donated clothes. There were almost no able-bodied men. Many women wore just cotton house coats and flip-flops. Many said they had fled straight from the vegetable patch and had no time to change clothes.

The hostel was a dubious refuge, as the rebels who ran it had a mili­tary base nearby and had put con­crete blocks across the road outside, marking it as a target. But refugees said they were glad to be living in better conditions after days of hiding from heavy bouts of fighting.

Syrians held hostage: HRW
Syrian fighters have held 54 women and children hostage for an entire year, a rights group said on Wednesday, August 6 urging they be freed and warning that holding civilians can amount to a war crime.

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the group was captured in the coastal province of Latakia during an opposition offen­sive a year ago.

Boko Haram gathers new recruits to gain foothold in Cameroon
The Nigerian lslamist movement Boko Haram has recruited and trained hundreds of young Cameroonians to carry out attacks in their own country, according to the police and civilians. As the militant group seeks to gain a foothold in the poor, rural north of Cameroon, experts warn that violence may spread beyond border areas to other parts of the central African country.

“Boko Haram has recruited many young people” from Cameroon’s Far North region, a police officer from the area told AFP on condition of anonymity. The hardline movement, whose loosely translated name means “Western education is forbidden”, has for years sown terror throughout Nigeria’s northeast, then trained youths “to attack Cameroon”, the officer said. “They are now asking them to prove themselves on home ground,” he said.

On August 6, the group mur­dered nine passengers on a bus and a soldier in a separate vehicle in a remote northern town, accord­ing to Cameroon’s state radio and local paramilitary police. Precise fig­ures are unavailable on how many young Cameroonians have been recruited by Boko Haram, but secu­rity sources estimate the number to be in the hundreds.

In April, a local police inspector said that close to 200 young people -aged 15-19 years -were recruit­ed in just two months in Kolofata, a small border town in the Far North.

Now, the same inspector says the recruits have completed their training. “Some have recently returned to their villages before going to the front.”

The Jihadist recruitment drive coincides with an increase in attacks within Cameroon including one particularly brazen operation that targeted the coun­try’s deputy prime minister, Amadou Ali. “At a recent meeting, Amadou Ali said he had ‘a list of 450 young people from Kolofata (his hometown) who were recruited by Boko Haram according to the police officer.

The warning from Ali, a promi­nent figure in Cameroon’s fight against Boko Haram, proved to be a prescient one when militants attacked his home and a number of others in Kolofata on July 27. Ali was absent at the time, but his wife was abducted along with a dozen other people. The sultan of Kolofata, Seiny Boukar Lamine, his wife and their five children were also among the hostages.

At least 15 people, including sol­diers and police, were killed. Witnesses said around 200 militants were involved in the raids. “Children from the village of Kolofata and the region were among the attackers,” said an anonymous source close to the deputy prime minister.

The police officer warned that the group has “many supporters” in the Far North region – one of the country’s poorest and least educat­ed areas. Analysts believe attacks could spread beyond the Far North.

Boko Haram has long consid­ered the Kolofata region, close to the Nigerian border, as a haven for its activities, and as a route for smuggling weapons.

In 2012, the group started to launch raids inside northern Cameroon, mainly at Fotokol, Makary and Kousseri Dabanga, but these remained isolated incidents.

After the kidnapping of a French family in February 2013, Boko Haram stepped up attacks on Cameroonian soil, turning the area into a combat zone, though the family was freed two months later. In response to mounting violence, Cameroon’s President Paul Biya sent his army chief north to beef up the forces.

‘US strikes have destroyed Iraq militants’ arms, equipment’
US President Barack Obama said on Saturday, August 9 US air strikes have destroyed arms and equipment that Islamic State insur­gents could have used to attack Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital, but warned the current operation in Iraq could take some time.

Obama said the United States would continue to provide military assistance and advice to the Baghdad government and Kurdish forces, but stressed repeatedly the importance of Iraq forming its own inclusive government.

Obama on Thursday authorized the US military to make airdrops of humanitarian assistance to pre­vent what he called a potential “genocide” of the ancient Yazidi religious sect in Iraq and conduct targeted strikes on Islamic State fighters in northern Iraq, a limited operation to protect American offi­cials working in the country.

In Saturday’s remarks, Obama described next steps, including cre­ating a safe corridor for the Yazidis to leave the mountain. He also said longer-term operations must include counter-terrorism.

Obama said he had received “strong support” from British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande, who had both agreed to provide humanitarian assistance. Amid reports that the children and elderly among them were already dying, Obama justified the decision to intervene on Thursday with the risk of an impending genocide against the Yazidis.

Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil, whose poignant appeal in parliament this week made her the public voice of her community, said time was running out.

After a first day of US air raids on fighters who had moved within strik­ing distance of Kurdistan, a top offi­cial in the autonomous region said the time had come for a fight back. The first US bombings struck IS posi­tions and at least one convoy of vehi­cles carrying militants west of Arbil.

Obama said he had authorised the strikes in Iraq to protect US per­sonnel serving there.”And, if neces­sary, that’s what we will continue to do,” he said on Saturday.

Federal and Kurdish officials, who had been at loggerheads since IS fighters launched their an offen­sive exactly two months ago that has brought Iraq to the brink of partition, have said they were now working together and with US advisers.

But it remained unclear how much longer and deeper inside Iraq US warplanes would inter­vene and Obama stressed the real game-changer would be the much-delayed formation of an inclusive government.

Somali Shabab says clashes leave 18 dead on both sides
Somalia’s hardline Islamists said they fought intense battles on Saturday, August 9 with government and African Union troops in the cen­tral Hiran region that left 18 people dead on both sides.

Shabab spokesman Abdul aziz Abu Musab told AFP the deaths occurred after the group’s fighters attacked a base of the AU force in Buloburde town, some 200-km north of the capital Mogadishu. The casualties could not be immediately confirmed, but the al-Qaeda-linked extremists said the dead included five of their own men.

The government said six Shabab had been killed, but gave no figures of any casualties on their side.”Nine soldiers with the African Union, four of their Somali counterparts, and five Mujahedeen from our Shabab were killed in the fight,” Musab said.

Fighting began around midnight on Friday, lasting about four hours into Saturday morning, he said. “Our fighters went into the camp, that is where the killing took place,” Musab added. Troops from the 22,000-strong AU force captured Buloburde from the Shabab earlier in the year, but the lslamists control large parts of the rural area sur­rounding the town.

Somalia’s Information Minister Mustafa Duhulow praised the secu­rity forces for repelling waves of attacks by Shabab fighters. “Al­ Shabab tried to come back several times in order to take their dead bodies, but they were defeated on all attempts,” he said.

The Shabab continue to launch attacks in the heart of Mogadishu – including recent brazen commando raids on the presidential palace and parliament – in a bid to topple the internationally backed government.

The latest fighting comes amid growing warnings of a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, three years after more than 250,000 peo­ple, half of them children, died in a devastating famine.

The United Nations has warned that Somalia is sliding back into an acute hunger crisis, with more than 350,000 people in Mogadishu in need of food aid and parts of the city facing emergency levels just short of famine.

32 killed in Daraa, Aleppo

At least 26 people were killed on Friday, August 15 when a car bomb exploded in front of a mosque in Daraa province of southern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based monitoring group said the death toll for the bombing in the rebel-controlled town of Namar was likely to rise because of the high number of serious injuries. Among the dead were a woman and a child, the group said.

In northern Syria,the group report­ ed 10 people killed when regime heli­copters dropped explosive-packed “barrel bombs” on Aleppo city. The attacks targeted the Bab al-Nairab district of the Old City and the south­ ern Salahin neighbourhood.

North of Aleppo city, the Observatory said Jihadists from the Islamic State group extended their advances, seizing Baghaydin vil­lage near the border with Turkey.

On Wednesday, IS fighters cap­tured eight villages in the area between Aleppo and the border from rival rebel groups. Those advances came after clashes that killed at least 40 fighters from rebel groups, as well as 12 IS fighters, according to the Observatory.

The successes open the way for IS to move towards two strategic prizes-Azaz and Marea. Marea is a stronghold of the Islamic Front, a coalition of lslamist groups that is among those fighting against IS.

Azaz sits next to a border cross­ing with Turkey, which would be a valuable asset as IS seeks to expand its self-declared “caliphate” in the territory it holds in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

IS emerged from al-Qaeda’s one-time branch in Iraq, and initially fought alongside Syria’s opposition, including more moderate rebels and Al-Nusra fighters.

Iraq Yazidis fear for thousands kidnapped by Jihadists
In a dusty, ill-equipped camp in northern Iraq, Yazidis fleeing a Jihadist offensive say members of their families-men, women and even babies-have been abducted by militants. The mass kidnappings by the Islamic State (IS) Jihadist group targeted those who either refused or simply could not flee a string of villages around Mount Sinjar, one of the minority’s main ancestral homes in northern Iraq.

The refugees say the women and children are being held in IS­ controlled prisons in Nineveh province, where a sweeping Jihadist-led offensive was launched in June, and that many of the men are feared to have been executed.

Khodaida Jarda, a man in his 60s wearing a light brown robe, plastic flip-flops and a dusty white turban, listed the names of his nine missing relatives.

His voice shook as he told AFP: “Please write down their names. My son, 26-year-old Haidar, is among the missing.”

Other Yazidis, just as distraught, gave similar accounts.

Amnesty International, which has been documenting the mass abductions, says thousands of Yazidis have been kidnapped by IS since an August 3 onslaught on their villages began.

The attack pushed the Yazidis out of their villages near the Iraq­ Syria border. Survivors fled onto Mount Sinjar, where they were besieged by IS for days with little food or water.

Some 200,000 people escaped to safety in Iraq’s Kurdish region, but others remain on the mountain, and Amnesty international’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser Donatella Rovera said the fate of “thousands” of abductees remains uncertain.

“The victims are of all ages, from babies to elderly men and women,” she told AFP. She also said the kid­nappings all appear to have hap­pened in villages where residents dared to take up arms against the Jihadists.

While IS has a track record of kid­napping in Syria, the group has not previously rounded up women and children en masse. Among the abductees are some 3,000 women and girls, who are being held separately from the men in IS-controlled Tal Afar east of Mount Sinjar, She said.

Two women – Leila Khalaf and Wadhan Khalaf – were among those kidnapped from Mujamma Jazira village, said their relative Dakhil Atto Solo, adding that the abductions happened after resi­dents tried to resist the IS attack.

IS worse than Saddam: Iraqi Kurds
Jihadists targeting minorities are “worse than Saddam”, a Kurdish commander says, standing near a sand barrier at a front line in north Iraq, the militants’ black flag flutter­ing in the distance The desert area was until recently under control of the Islamic State (IS) Jihadist group, which launched a renewed push in Iraq’s north earlier this month, taking ground from Kurdish forces, attack­ ing minority groups and forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.

IS is “worse than Saddam. They use terror and chaos to force the population to flee. Then they take over,” says Major General Abdulrahman Kawin, an officer in the Kurdish peshmerga forces , puff­ing on a cigarette as the sun slips below the horizon.

It is an emotive assertion for a member of Iraq’s Kurdish community, which was targeted in a genocidal campaign in the 1980s by executed dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime that killed tens of thousands of people.

Kawiri’s deputy, Major General Sardar Kamal, says the Kurds’ experience under Saddam is part of the reason they are so keen to join the fight against IS.

In the distance, columns of smoke rise from the sites of American airstrikes carried out in support of the Kurdish and federal security forces fighting IS.

Kawin says the strikes have been “very, very helpful”.

His forces also have strong Kurdish nationalist sentiment on their side.

“We are fighting a war in self­ defence, and we believe in our cause,” he says.

Current Threat Levels:

City/Region	Threat	Level
Islamabad	Level 2	**
Karachi	Level 2	**
Lahore	Level 2	**
Punjab	Level 2	**
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Level 3	***
Peshawar	Level 2	**
Quetta	Level 2	**
Upper Balochistan	Level 3	***
Lower Balochistan	Level 2	**
Upper / Rural Sindh	Level 2	**
Gilgit and Northern areas	Level 2	**
Tribal areas, close to Afghan border	Level 2	**

Index to Threat Level Perceptions
Threat Level 1 *
Indicates there is no threat to foreigners although there may be isolated incidents involving petty crime. No security precautions are required

Threat Level 2 **
Indicates there is no specific threat to foreigners; however because of the overall general law & order situation, some security precautions are advised if traveling.

Threat Level 3 ***
Indicates that law and order situation is cause for concern and travel should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Level dictates that foreigners should rehearse plans for evacuation.

Threat Level 4 ****
Indicates complete breakdown of civil administration and law & order leading to anarchy. All foreigners advised to remain indoors and confined to their own city. Families and staff not required to be evacuated retaining only a skeleton staff.

Threat Level 5 ****
Indicates complete breakdown of law and order, enemy action/hostilities, invasion /occupation by enemy.