Saturday, February 23, 2013

Roadside bomb wounds 3 police in northern Afghan town

KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A roadside bomb struck police van in Kunduz province 250 km north of Kabul on Saturday, wounding three police personnel, provincial police chief Mohammad Khalil Andarabai said.

"A mine planted by anti-government militants struck a police vehicle at around 01:30 p.m. today injuring three policemen," Andarabi said to Xinhua.

The incident, he added took place on the road leading to Shir Khan Bandar border town.

Meantime, Zabihullah Mujahid who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit in talks with media via telephone from unknown location claimed of responsibility, saying eight police were killed in the blast, a claim rejected by the police official as groundless.

from XINHUA
2013-02-23 19:00:45

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In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 17 Armed Taliban Killed (Feb.23.2012.)



Publish Date: Feb 23, 2013
In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 17 Armed Taliban Killed

Counterterrorism:
During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched four joint clearance operations in Nangarhar, Laghman, Kandahar and Logar provinces.

As a result of these operations, 17 armed Taliban were killed and four others were arrested by Afghan National Security Forces.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated one AK-47 assault rifle, 16 different types of mines, 14 heavy rounds and 1000 kilos of ammonium nitrate.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused eight anti-vehicle mines in Balkh and Helmand provinces.
 
Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained two suspects accused of theft and drinking alcoholic beverages in the 5th and 16th Districts of Kabul-City.
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HIA commander shot dead in Wardak clash

Districts of Wardak.
Districts of Wardak. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
KABUL (PAN): A Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) commander was killed during a fierce gun-battle with rival militants in the Nirkh district of central Maidan Wardak province, an official said on Saturday. 

The firefight between the rival groups occurred in the Torak area late on Friday night, the governor’s spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, told Pajhwok Afghan News. Samiullah, the HIA commander, was killed by gunmen of an insurgent leader, Faizullah.

Resident Qudratullah said it was a fierce gun-battle that lasted several hours, with both sides suffering casualties. However, he had no exact figures.

from Pajhwok
By Hakeem Basharat Feb 23, 2013 - 14:22   

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Pakistan arrests Lashkar-e-Jhangvi leader Malik Ishaq


malik-ishaq-release-2011.jpg
Malik Ishaq, the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, waves to throngs of supporters after he is released from custody in 2011.

Pakistani police arrested Malik Ishaq, the leader of the al Qaeda-linked Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, at his home in Rahim Yar Khan, just one week after his terror group claimed credit for a bombing in Quetta that killed at least 90 people. Ishaq has been accused of direct involvement in numerous terrorist attacks but has never been convicted in a Pakistani court.

Pakistani police have not disclosed the reason for Ishaq's arrest, nor how long he will be in detention. "It was not immediately clear on what charges he was arrested," Dawn reported.

Last week, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed credit for the murder of more than 90 Pakistanis, mostly minority Shia, after detonating nearly one ton of "high-grade" explosives in the capital of Baluchistan province. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed credit for numerous terror attacks in Pakistan, and has released videos of executions of captured Shia prisoners.

Ishaq has been in the custody of the Pakistani government in the past. He was detained in 1997 after admitting to murdering more than 100 Pakistanis, but was subsequently released by Pakistan's Supreme Court in July 2011. Ishaq has dodged numerous convictions by murdering and intimidating witnesses, and even once told a judge that "dead men can't talk." [See Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and the "lack of evidence," from Dawn, for more information on Pakistan's inability to convict Ishaq and his intimidation of witnesses.]

Ishaq doesn't hide his disdain for the political system in Pakistan, and made it clear at the time of his release in 2011 that he intended to continue to wage jihad.

"We are ready to lay down lives for the honor of the companions of the Holy Prophet" Ishaq said after he was released from custody in 2011. He was met by "Kalashnikov-wielding supporters on a Land Cruiser motorcade," Dawn reported.

Ishaq has also been accused of plotting numerous terrorist attacks while in custody, including the March 3, 2009 assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/02/pakistan_arrests_las.php#ixzz2LjVHS7jb
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13 Chadian Troops, 65 Islamists Killed in Mali

The military command in the African country of Chad says 13 of its soldiers and 65 Islamist rebels have been killed in a fierce battle in a mountainous region of northern Mali.
A brief military statement late Friday from the Chadian capital said the Chadian force also destroyed five vehicles in the Ifoghas region, near Mali's border with Algeria. In addition, it said five Chadian troops were wounded.

Chad is part of an African force that is fighting with French and Malian troops against Islamist rebels who had taken over northern Mali.

Forces from former colonial power France entered Mali in January to push back militants moving toward the capital, Bamako.

France has since said it plans to begin withdrawing its ground forces, and hand over military operations to the Malian army and the emerging African force.

from VOA News
February 22, 2013

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Clashes between police, separatists erupt in Yemen's Aden, 5 injured

ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni police troops clashed with secessionist activists in the southern port city of Aden Saturday morning, leaving at least five people seriously injured, local security source and medics told Xinhua.

The police troops clashed with separatist activists who called for a general strike in Aden, injuring at least five people, a provincial security source said on condition of anonymity.

"Activists of the separatist movement launched a civil disobedience campaign against the government authorities in Aden. Shops, public offices and schools remain closed," the security source said.

"The clashes are still going on as police vehicles attempted to remove barricades and open closed streets and engaged in confrontations with secessionists in Aden's neighborhood of Mansoura," he added.

Meanwhile, local medics said that "a secessionist man was shot in the neck and seriously wounded."

A secessionist leader told Xinhua anonymously that "We called for an open-ended general strike in Aden and several southern regions until the regime pulls the army out of cities and releases our detainees."

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has called for separatist groups in the country's southern regions to take part in a planned reconciliation national dialogue to settle disputes and promised to compensate them.

Separatist sentiment escalated after northern troops overran southern regions following a four-month civil war in 1994. Southerners complain of being economically and politically marginalized and discriminated.

Hadi announced that the government will hold the national dialogue on March 18 to solve disputes among political factions and pave the way for amending the constitution and preparing for presidential elections in 2014.

from XINHUA
2013-02-23 19:12:48
Editor: Chen Zhi

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Feb. 23., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces cleared one improvised explosive device during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Feb. 22.

Additionally, Afghan National Security Forces cleared one IED during an operation in Khowst Province Feb. 21, according to late reports.

Khowst Province Afghan and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Bak District.

Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared one IED in Bak District Feb. 21, according to late reports.

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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