APHC calls for strike on Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir.

APHC calls for strike on Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir.

All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman Mirwaiz
 Umar Farooq. — File photo

ISLAMABAD | APP | 02 July 2014 : :  Following Narendra Modi's visit to India-held Kashmir on Friday, All Parties Hurriyet Conference (APHC) has called on Kashmiris to observe a complete shutdown.

According to the Kashmir Media Service, APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has said that issues surrounding Kashmir were not economic but political and no economic packages would serve until the dispute was resolved.

Future of one billion people was associated with the issue and it should be resolved as per the aspirations of the people, Farooq said.

The APHC Chairman alleged that India had turned Kashmir into a military garrison where human rights violations were taking place every now and then.

“This shutdown will be a protest against Narendra Modi's visit to Kashmir as Prime Minister. India claims to be the largest democracy in the world, but its democratic credentials become questionable when it comes to the present situation of Kashmir,” Farooq said adding that in this freedom struggle, tens of thousands of people have been martyred and thousands subjected to enforced disappearance.

“By observing shutdown on Modi's visit, the Kashmiris will reiterate the pledge that the sublime cause for which people have sacrificed their lives and property cannot be compromised with economical and financial grants,” Farooq maintained.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples' Movement, a constituent of the All Parties Hurriyet Conference, has also extended their support for the strike call. ( Courtesy: Dawn )

Militants capture northern Iraqi town.

A man checks a weapon as Iraqis volunteer to fight
 along side the Iraqi security forces against Jihadist
 militants who have taken over several northern
 Iraqi cities,on June 15 2014. — Photo by AFP

Militants capture northern Iraqi town.

BAGHDAD | AP | 18 june 2014 : : Militants captured the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar early on Monday, its mayor and residents said, the latest blow to the nation's Shia-led government a week after it lost a vast swath of territory in the country's north.

The town, with a population of some 200,000 people, mostly ethnic Shia and Sunni Turkomen, was taken just before dawn, Mayor Abdulal Abdoul told The Associated Press.

The ethnic mix of Tal Afar, 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, raises the grim specter of large-scale atrocities by Sunni militants of the Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, who already claim to have killed hundreds of Shias in areas they captured last week.

A Tal Afar resident reached by phone confirmed the town's fall and said militants in pick-up trucks mounted with machine-guns and flying black jihadi banners were roaming the streets as gunfire rang out.

The local security force left the town before dawn, said Hadeer al-Abadi, who spoke to the AP as he prepared to head out of town with his family.

Local tribesmen who continued to fight later surrendered to the militants, he said. “Residents are gripped by fear and most of them have already left the town to areas held by Kurdish security forces,” said al-Abadi.

The fall of Tal Afar comes a week after militants captured Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, and Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit in a lightening offensive. The town is some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from the border with Syria, where ISIL is fighting against President Bashar Assad's government and controls territory abutting the Iraqi border.

The capture of Tal Afar came just hours after Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, addressing volunteers joining the security forces, vowed to recapture every inch of territory taken by the militants. “We will march and liberate every inch they defaced, from the country's northernmost point to the southernmost point,” al-Maliki said.

The volunteers responded with Shia chants. Fighting in Tal Afar began on Sunday, with Iraqi government officials saying that ISIL fighters were firing rockets seized from military arms depots in the Mosul area. They said the local garrison suffered heavy casualties and the main hospital was unable to cope with the wounded, without providing exact numbers.

Over the weekend, militants posted graphic photos that appeared to show their gunmen massacring scores of captured Iraqi soldiers. Iraq's chief military spokesman Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi confirmed the photos' authenticity and said he was aware of cases of mass murder of captured Iraqi soldiers in areas held by ISIL.

He told the AP that an examination of the images by military experts showed that about 170 soldiers were shot to death by the militants after their capture. Captions on the photos showing the soldiers after they were shot say “hundreds have been liquidated,” but the total numbers could not be verified.

US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the militants' claim of killing the Iraqi troops “is horrifying and a true depiction of the bloodlust that those terrorists represent. “ She added that an ISIL claim that 1,700 were killed could not be confirmed by the US

The grisly images could sap the morale of Iraq's security forces, but they could also heighten sectarian tensions.

Thousands of Shias are already heeding a call from their most revered spiritual leader to take up arms against the Sunni militants who have swept across the north in the worst instability in Iraq since the US withdrawal in 2011.

ISIL has vowed to take the battle to Baghdad and cities farther south housing revered Shia shrines.

( Courtesy : Dawn )

Terrorists Attack Airport in Pakistan, Killing 13.

Terrorists Attack Karachi Airport in Pakistan, Killing 23.

KARACHI | Pakistan | 9 June 2014 : : In a ferocious terrorist assault that stretched into Monday morning, suspected Islamist militants infiltrated Pakistan’s largest international airport in Karachi, waging an extended firefight against security forces that resulted in 23 deaths and shook the country’s already fragile sense of security.

Explosions and gunfire rang out across the airport through the night as police and security forces battled with attackers, and passengers waited anxiously in a nearby terminal and in airplanes stranded on the tarmac. Just before 5 a.m., after five hours of siege, the military reported that the last of 10 attackers had been killed.

The chief minister of Sindh Province, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, told reporters that in addition to the 10 attackers, 13 other people had died, including 10 members of the Airport Security Forces and a flight engineer with Pakistan International Airlines, the state airline. “They were well trained,” he said of the assailants. “Their plan was very well thought out.”

There was no claim of responsibility for the assault, which was the most ambitious of its kind in Pakistan since Islamist militants attacked a navy air base in central Karachi in 2011. Initial suspicions fell on the Pakistani Taliban and related Islamist groups that have become increasingly strong in the past two years in the city, a sprawling megalopolis of 20 million people and a major commercial hub.

Although elite commandos moved quickly to counter the assault, many Pakistanis expressed shock that militants could penetrate such a prominent target so thoroughly and raised questions about why the attack had not been prevented by the military’s powerful spy service, the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate.

The attack began late Sunday night, when the gunmen made it past security checkpoints near the airport’s old terminal, which is mostly used for cargo or private flights for senior government officials and business leaders. Some news reports said the men wore identification saying they were members of the Airport Security Force.

Hurling grenades and unleashing automatic weapons fire, the attackers at least initially moved toward the nearby web of runways as they fought, according to news and witness reports.

News images showed a major fire blazing in the airport complex that filled the night sky with an orange glow and appeared to be near parked jets. But a senior spokesman for the Pakistani military, Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, denied news media reports that two planes had caught fire. He also denied reports that the gunmen had been trying to hijack an airliner.

All flights to Karachi were diverted to other airports. Television pictures showed ambulances racing from the airport, which is named after Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, ferrying casualties to the hospital.

Some of the attackers were wearing suicide vests, and at least one blew himself up when police officers approached, senior police officials told reporters at the scene.

Although the fighting took place away from the main terminal that is used by commercial airlines, some passengers were stranded on airplanes that had been about to take off when the assault started. Among them was Farooq Sattar, a senior leader with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement political party, which has dominated Karachi politics for almost three decades. Others posted updates on Twitter and other social media.

At one point, Syed Saim A. Rizvi, a Twitter user who said he was on a flight, reported that commandos from the army’s elite Special Services Group had taken control of his plane. Moments later, he reported a “huge blast” and heavy firing outside and said there was a “full panic” on the flight.

Two hours later, he said that the Pakistani military had safely evacuated all passengers from the plane. ( Courtesy : The New york Times )

China launches crackdown after bombing kills 43.

China launches crackdown after bombing kills 43.

Armed paramilitary policemen stand guard next to their armoured
 personnel carrier parked near the People's Square in Urumqi,
 China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, May 23, 2014. — AP

URUMQI | AP | China | 24 May 2014 : :  Chinese authorities launched a yearlong anti-terrorism crackdown Saturday in China's Muslim northwest after a bombing in the region killed at least 43 people, while also announcing the first arrest in the attack.

Police announced names of five people blamed for Thursday's attack in a vegetable market in the city of Urumqi, and accused them of forming a ''terrorist gang'' at the end of 2013, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Four of the suspects were killed and the fifth was captured Thursday night in an area about 250 kilometres south of Urumqi, Xinhua said.

The group ''took part in illegal religious activities, watched and listened to terrorist violence video and audio materials'', according to the news agency.

It said an anti-terrorism campaign with Xinjiang ''as the major battlefield'' started Friday. Authorities would target religious extremist groups, gun and ''explosive manufacturing dens and terrorist training camps''.

''Terrorists and extremists will be hunted down and punished,'' Xinhua said.

In Beijing, the national capital, police announced they were cancelling vacations for officers and would step up patrols at railway stations, schools, hospitals and markets.

A measure under which passengers at stations in central Beijing are required to undergo security checks will be extended to three additional stations, the city government said.

Passengers at all stations already are required to submit handbags and parcels for X-ray examination under measures imposed ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Chinese authorities have blamed most recent attacks on radical separatists from the country's Muslim Uighur minority.

Xinjiang is home to the native Turkic-speaking Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurs) but has seen large inflows from China's ethnic Han majority in recent decades.

Uighur activists contend that restrictive and discriminatory policies favoring the Chinese migrants are fueling the bloodshed. The knowledge that Muslims elsewhere are rising up against their governments also seems to be contributing to the increased militancy.

Urumqi was relatively calm Friday, with heightened security around the scene of the attack. The market itself was closed and dozens of police armed with automatic rifles and wearing body armour guarded access points.

Police banned parking within 100 metres of schools in Urumqi and said drivers can stop only briefly outside hospitals and bus and train stations.

The violence was the deadliest in Xinjiang since riots in Urumqi in 2009 between Uighurs and Hans left almost 200 people dead, according to an official death toll.

Thursday's attack also was the bloodiest single act of violence in Xinjiang in recent history.

Recent attacks show an audaciousness and deliberateness that wasn't present before. Attackers increasingly target civilians rather than police and government targets.

A bomb attack at an Urumqi train station as President Xi Jinping was visiting the region last month killed three people, including two attackers, and injured 79. Security has been tightened since then.

In response to Thursday's attack, Xi pledged to ''severely punish terrorists and spare no efforts in maintaining stability'', Xinhua reported.

China's top police official, Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun, was dispatched to Urumqi as the head of a team to investigate the attack.

Prior to last month's train station attack, Urumqi had been relatively quiet since the 2009 ethnic riots amid a smothering police presence. The sprawling metropolis' population of more than three million people is about three-fourths Han Chinese.

In March, 29 people were slashed and stabbed to death at a train station in the southern city of Yunnan. The attack was blamed on Uighur extremists. ( Courtesy : Dawn )

Indian Consulate in Afghanistan attacked, 4 gunmen killed.

Afghanistan's National Army soldiers walk out of the Indian
 Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, after a clash between
 insurgents and security forces on Friday that
killed four militants.

Indian Consulate in Afghanistan attacked, 4 gunmen killed.

The Hindu | AP |24 May 2014 : : The Indian consulate in Herat in Afghanistan was attacked on Friday by four heavily armed gunmen who tried to enter the complex. All four attackers were killed, officials said, adding that the Consulate staff were safe.

The attack began at 3.15 a.m. when the four gunmen tried to break into the consulate, located 600 km from Kabul. Earlier reports had indicated the involvement of three gunmen.

The audacious attack comes ahead of the May 26 swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as India’s next prime minister. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has confirmed that he will attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Modi tweeted: “I condemn the attack on our consulate in Herat, Afghanistan. Closely monitoring the situation. I have spoken to the Ambassador as well.”

Syed Akbaruddin, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, told IANS in New Delhi: “All the staff of the Indian consulate are safe.”

“The attempt was thwarted by the staff of the (ITBP) Indo-Tibetan Border Police, who were joined by the Afghan security forces,” said Mr. Akbaruddin providing the latest update on the situation.

He said that Mr. Modi had spoken with Indian Ambassador Amar Sinha and bolstered the morale of the Indian staff there.

Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh is monitoring the situation and is in touch with her counterpart in Afghanistan, said Mr. Akbaruddin.

Mr. Akbaruddin tweeted: “Firing continuing. Situation remains uncertain. But staff at our consulate safe. India monitoring situation.”

“We are glad to tell that all Indian personnel remain safe. We have rechecked that while the situation remains uncertain, there is no threat to the Indian staff,” he added.

Shaida M. Abdali, the Afghan Ambassador to India, told TIMES NOW TV channel in New Delhi that all four gunmen had been killed.

Mr. Abdali described it as a terror attack.

Asked if the Taliban were behind the attack, Mr. Abdali said: “There is no doubt that it is a terror attack, an attack on the friendship of India and Afghanistan.”

“This attack can only embolden our determination that we will keep this friendship at all costs,” he said.

An ITBP official told IANS in New Delhi: “One of the attackers was killed at the entry point only, while three others managed to flee and enter the adjoining building.”

“But in the meantime, Afghan forces joined the operation and gunned down the other three attackers,” the official added. The area has been cordoned off.

The attack in Herat has surprised many as the city, which lies near Afghanistan’s border with Iran, is considered one of the safest in the country. ( Courtesy : The Hindu )

New attacks in Iraq kill 5 Sunni militiamen.

New attacks in Iraq kill 5 Sunni militiamen.

Iraqi boys look inside of a destroyed vehicle the day after a car bomb
attack near an outdoor market in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, Iraq, Friday, May 16, 2014. Bombings and shootings

BAGHDAD | AP | 16 may 2014 : :  Separate attacks in Iraq killed five members of an anti-militant Sunni militia on Friday as an al-Qaida splinter group claimed responsibility for a spate of Baghdad bombings that killed at least 19 people the day before.

Insurgents frequently attack members of the Sunni militia, also known as Sahwa, which joined forces with U.S. troops at the height of the Iraq war to fight al-Qaida.

In one of Friday's attacks, gunmen opened fire from a speeding car, targeting a security checkpoint manned by anti-al-Qaida Sunni fighters near the town of Balad, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Three Sunni fighters were killed and four were wounded in that attack, police officials said.

Hours later, a roadside bomb targeted a patrol of Sunni militiamen just north of Baghdad, killing two fighters and wounding four.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.

Also Friday, in a statement posted on a militant website, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant said it had carried out attacks in the Iraqi capital the day before in retaliation for the military operations against the city of Fallujah in western Anbar province. Fallujah has been in the hands of the Islamic State and other Sunni insurgents since last December.

Thursday's violence included bombings near several government offices and an outdoor market in Baghdad.

The statement's authenticity could not be independently verified but it appeared on websites commonly used by the group.

"We tell the spiteful Shiites and their government... that our lions are craving the taste of your flesh and blood," it said.

Iraq has seen a spike in violence since April 2013, with the death toll climbing to its highest levels since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting in 2006-2008. The United Nations says violence killed 8,868 people in 2013. ( Courtesy : Yahoo News ) 

Four Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi attacks.

AFP/AFP/File - Libyan security forces are seen advancing during clashes with anti-government forces following an attack on a Benghazi police station, early on May 2, 2014

Four Libyan soldiers killed in Benghazi attacks.

Yahoo News |AFP | 16 May 2014 : : Four Libyan soldiers were shot dead on Sunday in separate incidents in the restive eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 uprising, security and medical sources said.

"Unidentified gunmen killed four soldiers and wounded another in Benghazi, while another was wounded in an assassination attempt," a security official told AFP.

A spokeswoman at the city's Al-Jala hospital, Fadia al-Barghathi, confirmed the soldiers' deaths. The security official said they had been killed in separate attacks.

An officer died in a hail of bullets in the city centre district of Al-Hadaek. His son, who was with him in his car at the time, escaped unscathed.

The same source said three more soldiers were killed and one wounded in two attacks in the Assalem neighbourhood.

It was in Benghazi that the 2011 uprising which ended dictator Moamer Kadhafi's four-decade rule began.

The city has since been plagued by violence that has killed dozens of members of the security forces, judges and foreigners.

A suicide bombing targeting a security post near the city in December killed 13, and on May 2 five soldiers and a policeman died in clashes between jihadists and army special forces.

Libya's central authorities have struggled to assert their control over the vast, mostly desert country, which is effectively ruled by a patchwork of local militias and awash with heavy weapons.

In March, the authorities acknowledged for the first time the existence of "terrorist groups" in v, particularly in Benghazi and in Derna, an eastern city with a history of Islamist militancy. ( Courtesy : Yahoo News )