Another suicide bombing attempt foiled in southern Afghanistan

According to local authorities in southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan, Afghan security forces thwarted a suicide bomb blast in this province.

Provincial governor spokesman Abdullah Hemat said a suicide bomber was shot dead in central Tarinkowt city of southern Uruzgan province before he detonate his explosives.

Mr. Hemat did not disclose further information regarding the incident and identity of the suicide bomber who was killed by Afghan police forces.

This comes as Afghan security forces during the first day of Eid on Friday managed to arrest a suicide bomber in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan who was willing to carry out a deadly suicide bomb blast in provincial security commandment.

Meanwhile a suicide bomber on Friday detonated his explosives among the participants of Eid prayers near a mosque in northern Maimana city of Faryab province killing at least 41 and injuring more than 50 others.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai on Sunday visited Maimana city and met with the family members of the victims of Faryab bombing.

President Karzai once again strongly condemned the bombing and vowed to assist the family members of the victims who lost their loved ones.

Afghan high peace council also condemned the bombing and called it a crime against the humanity.

from KHAAMA
By Sayed Jawad - Sun Oct 28, 7:59 pm

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Al Shabab Ambushes KDF in Southern Somalia

(www.polgeonow.com)

Kismayo — Al shabab fighters have laid an ambush Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) at a rural village between Afmadow and Kismayo towns in southern Somalia, reports said.

The attack occurred on Saturday night in the main road linking Afmadow to the southern port city of Kismayo and both sides exchanged heavy gunfire that lasted for several hours, according to the locals.

"The Kenyan convoy was en route to Kismayo when the attack happened. People are feared dead during the combat," a witness said, adding he could not confirm the casualties.

Al shabab was not available to reach for comments.

from allAfrica/Shabelle

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US drones kill 4 AQAP fighters in rare strike in northern Yemen

By Bill Roggio - October 28, 2012 - LWJ

US drones killed four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in the first strike recorded against the terror group in northern Yemen. A local al Qaeda commander was targeted, and two Saudis are thought to be among those killed.
The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired several missiles at two compounds in the Abu Jabara area of Saada province today, Yemeni security officials and tribesmen told Reuters, which reported that four "militants" were killed. A local AQAP commander known as Hadi al Tais was said to be the target of the airstrike; it is unclear if he was killed.
According to The Associated Press, three AQAP fighters, including two Saudis, were killed in the attack that targeted a compound of "a wanted al Qaeda militant from another Yemeni province."
The strike is the first recorded against AQAP in northern Yemen since the US began targeting the terror group in late 2009. All of the other strikes have targeted AQAP's network and fighters in the southern provinces.
Saada is a hotspot where local Salafist groups, backed by AQAP and the government, battle the Houthis, a Shia separatist group that is supported by Iran. The Houthis, who are based in Al Jawf and Saada, have been fighting the Sunni government for years. In 2010, the Houthis also clashed with Saudi security forces along the northern border. Hundreds of Houthi fighters and Saudi troops were killed in the fighting.
In early December 2011, AQAP officially declared war on the Houthis. Ibrahim Suleiman al Rubaish, al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula's Mufti, issued the announcement and called the Shia a "virus" on the Sunni people. Rubaish was held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility before he was released in 2006. AQAP has conducted several suicide attacks against the Houthis, including an attack in December 2011 that killed a military commander, and another that killed 17 people, including a top Houthi leader and his son.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/10/us_drones_kill_4_aqa_1.php#ixzz2AeB1mAsP

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Three policemen killed in gunmen attacks in Iraq

BAQUBA, Iraq, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen were killed and five people wounded in two attacks by insurgents against Iraqi security forces in the eastern province of Diyala on Sunday, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

On early Sunday, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint on Imam Wais area, 115 km northeast of Baghdad, killing three policemen and wounding three others, the source said on condition of anonymity.

In a separate incident, two civilians were injured when two mortar rounds landed outside an Iraqi army checkpoint at a village located north of the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source said.

Sunday's attacks came a day after a series of attacks that killed a total of 23 Iraqis and wounded over 70 others.

Such attacks cast a pall over the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha festival. The four-day festival is also known as the Feast of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of the spiritual peak of the annual pilgrimage or Hajj in Arabic, when pilgrims descend from the hill of Arafat to the nearby holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

from XINHUA
2012-10-28 19:59:54

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Two bomb planters killed by their own IED in Uruzgan

TIRINKOT (PAN): It was a fatal disaster for two bomb planters when their explosives went off prematurely, killing both in central Uruzgan province on Sunday, according to officials.

The blast occurred at around 5 am in Garmau Manda area, on the outskirts of Tirinkot, the provincial capital, when the suspects planted a bomb and were in the midst of fixing a second in a popular picnic area, police spokesman Farid Ail told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Hundreds of people had been gathering in the area during Eid holidays for picnics.  Ali said thatif the bombs had exploded, a massive carnage might have taken place.

Police managed to defuse the second bomb.

No further details were revealed about the dead bombers.

from Pajhwok
by Ajmal WisalonOct 28, 2012 - 11:46

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At least 4 killed, several injured in northern Nigeria church explosion

KADUNA, Nigeria, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- At least four persons have been killed and several others were injured in an early morning explosion which rocked St. Rita Catholic Church in Malaila area of northern Nigeria's Kaduna State during Sunday mass, a top Red cross official told Xinhua on Sunday.

Although the zonal coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the northwest region of Nigeria Musa Ilalah had told Xinhua on phone that casualty figures were yet to be established, a Red cross senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that four people have, so far, been confirmed dead.

"Three people, including the suicide bomber, died at the explosion site while one other person was confirmed dead in one of the hospitals where the victims were rushed to. Several people including the Reverend Fathers of the church were seriously injured and parts of the church were seriously damaged," said the Red Cross official.

The official casualty figures might increase before the end of the day as rescue officials have been shuttling between the explosion site and the health facilities were the victims are being treated, the official added.

"A number of casualties have been evacuated to hospitals in the state by our officials," said the national spokesperson of NEMA Yushau Shuaib who earlier confirmed the incident in a text message.

According to the NEMA official, the Sunday morning explosion occurred when a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into the church gate.

Security operatives have also been deployed to cordon-off the area, Shuaib added.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the Sunday morning bomb attack which occurred barely two days after Muslims in the country and worldwide celebrated the annual Eid-el-Kabir festival. However, similar attacks had been perpetrated by the Islamic Boko Haram sect which operates mainly in northern and central parts of Nigeria.

Over 1,500 people have been killed since 2009 when the sect launched its violent attacks in northern Nigeria, according to the latest report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW).


from XINHUA
Editor: Chen Zhi
2012-10-28 20:00:38

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Wave of Deadly Attacks Reported Across Iraq

A wave of deadly attacks has shattered the peace in Iraq, where Muslims are marking the second day of the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Officials say at least 15 people were killed in a series of explosions and shootings on Saturday, many of them Shi'ite pilgrims marking the holiday.

The violence includes a bombing north of Baghdad that killed at least five Shi'ite pilgrims who were in a minibus that was carrying them to a mosque.

Investigators say another explosion at a popular open-air market near the capital killed at least five people, including several children, while a series of attacks elsewhere in Iraq left at least five others dead.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks. Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida militants have previously targeted Shi'ites in a bid to stir up sectarian strife in Iraq.

Violence across Iraq is down sharply from its peak in 2006 and 2007. However, 365 people were killed in unrest in September, making it the country's deadliest month in two years.

from VOA News
October 27, 2012

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Three killed, 25 injured in Nowshera, Pakistan blast

(file photo)

PESHAWAR: Three people were killed and at least 25 injured when an explosion took place in the Ziarat Kaka Sahib area in Nowshera on Sunday.

According to the Nowshera police, a remote-controlled bomb had been planted on a bicycle in front of the main gate of the shrine of Kaka Sahib.

The shrine houses the grave of a famous Pashtun Sufi saint Kasteer Gul, who is known as Kaka Saheb. The shrine is often frequented by locals and a large number of people were also gathered there today on the occasion of Eid.

Security forces had cordoned off the area and the injured were shifted to local hospitals.

Among the 25 injured, five were reported to be in a critical condition.

SHO Nowshera Mumtaz Khan stated that the bomb weighed between 3-5kg and had been hidden inside a bag of fruits kept on the bicycle.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for the Khyber Pakhthunkhwa province where the attack occurred, also confirmed the incident and casualties.

He said: “According to our initial information it was a remote-controlled bomb but we are waiting for a final report from the bomb disposal officials.”

from DAWN
by Zahir Shah Sherazi , 10/28/2012.

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Indonesia Arrests 11 in Terror Plot to Bomb US Embassy

Indonesian police officers stand guard outside a building after a raid in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012.

Indonesian police say 11 people have been arrested in a suspected plot to attack the U.S. embassy in Jakarta and other domestic and foreign targets.

National police spokesman Suhardi Alius said Saturday the arrests by a special anti-terror unit took place in four provinces. 

Alius said the suspects, members of the newly-formed Harakah Sunni Movement for Indonesian Society, were preparing to launch a series of strikes.  He said targets also included a plaza near the Australian embassy in Jakarta, a local office of the American mining giant Freeport-McMoRan and the U.S. consulate in Surabaya.  A police facility in Central Java was also targeted.

Authorities say evidence from arrest sites include bombs, ammunition, detonators, bomb-making manuals and other explosives materials.

Neither the U.S. nor Australian embassies has commented on the arrests, and it was not immediately disclosed how far the attack plans had advanced.

Earlier this month, Indonesian police said they had uncovered evidence of a planned terrorist attack on dignitaries attending ceremonies on the resort island of Bali marking the 10th anniversary of bombings that killed 202 people.

The October 2002 attacks on two Bali nightclubs were carried out by militants from the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group.  The bombings were followed by a wave of terror attacks across Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

from VOA News
October 27, 2012

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British troops deaths in Afghanistan ‘not due to friendly fire’

An initial review into the deaths of a Royal Marine and an army medic in Afghanistan has revealed the killings were not caused by “friendly fire”, the Ministry of Defence has said.

Corporal Channing Day, 25, who served with the 3 Medical Regiment, and Corporal David O’Connor, 27, of 40 Commando, were fatally injured while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Wednesday.

An Afghan man, who is believed to have been a member of the Afghan Uniformed Police but who was not wearing uniform at the time, also died during the incident, an MOD spokesperson confirmed.

Cpl O’Connor, from Havant in Hampshire, and Cpl Day, from Comber in County Down, came under fire near the village of Char Kutsa, in the Nahr-e Saraj district.

The MoD says its analysis of the deaths is still continuing and “further investigation into the involvement or otherwise of the dead Afghan male is ongoing.”

British defense ministry officials said, “A joint incident assessment team, comprising specialists from International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), along with representatives from the government of Afghanistan, have conducted an initial review at the scene and have concluded that this was not a blue-on-blue ["friendly fire"] incident, and that the deaths of Corporal O’Connor and Corporal Day were caused by a third party or parties whose identities have yet to be established but who are not UK personnel.

“Further investigation into the involvement or otherwise of the dead Afghan male is ongoing”, the officials said adding that analysis of the event was “likely to take some time” while forensic examinations were carried out. A parallel Royal Military Police investigation was also being undertaken.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the deaths were “a terrible tragedy” and it was still unclear what exactly had happened.

“We know there were three people dead, one of them wearing civilian clothes,” he said.

Asked if it was another so-called green on blue attack – where Afghans turn on their Isaf partners – Mr Hammond said: “There is a possibility that that is what has happened but it is not clear at this stage who the shooter actually was.”

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - Sat Oct 27, 3:33 pm

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