Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief

Al Qaeda announces India wing, renews loyalty to Taliban chief.

DUBAI | Msn News | 06 Sep 2014 : :  Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri on Wednesday announced the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group he said would spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the subcontinent.

In a 55-minute video posted online, Zawahri also renewed a longstanding vow of loyalty to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, in an apparent snub to the Islamic State armed group challenging al Qaeda for leadership of transnational Islamist militancy.

Zawahri described the formation of "Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent" as a glad tidings for Muslims "in Burma, Bangladesh, Assam, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, and Kashmir" and said the new wing would rescue Muslims there from injustice and oppression.

Counter-terrorism experts say al Qaeda's aging leaders are struggling to compete for recruits with Islamic State, which has galvanized young followers around the world by carving out tracts of territory across the Iraq-Syria border.

Islamic State leader Abu Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calls himself a "caliph" or head of state and has demanded the loyalty of all Muslims.

The group fell out with Zawahri in 2013 over its expansion into Syria, where Baghdadi's followers have carried out beheadings, crucifixions, and mass executions.

As well being an indirect repudiation of Islamic State, the announcement could pose a challenge to India's new prime minister, Narendra Modi. He has already faced criticism for remaining silent about several incidents deemed anti-Muslim, underscoring fears that his Hindu nationalist followers will upset religious relations in the majority Hindi nation.

However, while al Qaeda is very much at home in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, due to influential contacts and a long presence there, it is a minnow compared to local militant groups in terms of manpower and regional knowledge. (Courtesy : Retures, Msn News )

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 )

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 )

More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

More chaos as Kashmiris boycott India polls.

SRINAGAR | The Nation | 07 May 2014 : :  A bomb blast near a polling booth in Kashmir injured a policeman today, amid further stone-throwing protests and a widespread boycott of India's general election in the mainly Muslim region.

Separatists have called on voters to shun the election in India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, holding staggered voting in its six parliamentary seats to allow 700,000 army troops and police to mount a mobile security operation.

That has failed to prevent a string of killings of village elders, blamed by police on militants seeking to intimidate voters. In the most serious incident, three insurgents and one army officer were killed in a clash on April 27.

The bomb exploded outside a polling station at a village in the Baramulla constituency, one of two voting today in northern Kashmir, injuring a police reservist, police said.

There were numerous reports of protesters throwing stones at police and election officials in the valley. A bomb was also thrown at a police station the Baramulla district, but no one was injured.

Only a quarter of voters have turned out in Jammu and Kashmir so far in the five-week election, in a show of passive resistance to rule from New Delhi and concern over a likely victory by Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Kashmir has been a source of strife since British India was divided into independent India and Pakistan in 1947, with many Kashmiris, and Pakistan, saying the region should have been part of Muslim Pakistan, not Hindu-majority India.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over Kashmir. India says Pakistan supports the separatist militants. Pakistan denies this, saying it only offers moral support to the Kashmiri people.( Courtesy : The Nation )

Jammu: 3 terrorists killed in twin terror attack.

Jammu: 3 terrorists killed in twin terror attack.

Security personnel in Dayalachak (ANI Photo)

Jammu | Hindustan Times | 28 March 2014 : : Three terrorists dressed in army uniforms on Friday struck at two places in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir, killing a civilian and a soldier and injuring three others, not far from the spot where Lashkar-e-Taiba militants gunned down 10 security personnel last year.

A lesser-known militant outfit 'Al Shohada Brigade', believed to be a shadow outfit of Lashker-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the twin attacks.

A 'spokesperson' of the outfit called some news organisations in Srinagar and claimed the responsibility for the attack.

In the first attack at Dayalachak in Hiranagar, 60km from Jammu city, three terrorists stopped an SUV and asked the occupants to get down.

The passengers who survived the attack said the terrorists separated the driver and sprayed bullets over the rest of them, killing Ajit Ram, a Jammu resident. Three other passengers, followers of Radha Soami sect, on their way to Punjab after attending a religious function here, were injured in the firing. The body of driver was found in the evening.

The SUV, hijacked by the terrorists, was then intercepted 7km away near the camp of the army's 111 Rocket Regiment in Janglote area. In the first burst of fire, the terrorists killed a soldier, V Anthony, who was guarding the rear gate of the camp and injured another jawan.

In the gunfight that ensued and lasted about 12 hours, the three terrorists were killed.

"Three AK-47 rifles, three pistols and ammunitions were recovered from them. They were also carrying grenades and food items," said Jammu inspector general of police Rajesh Kumar.

The terrorists had probably crossed the nearby international border. Chief minister Omar Abdullah, expressing concern over infiltration, tweeted: "The ease with which militants exploited gaps in the fence to cross the international border is a matter of grave concern. The BSF needs to take a look at vulnerable areas and plug these gaps because these militants haven't given up and we can't let them succeed."

BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had addressed an election rally in Hiranagar on Wednesday. The state security agencies have warned of possible militant attacks during the elections.

In September last year, three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists stormed a police station and an army camp in Hiranagar, killing six soldiers, including a colonel and five others.( Courtesy : Hindustan Times )