Al-Qaida militants take over town in SE Yemen

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ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 15 -- Dozens of al-Qaida militants Sunday morning seized a town in Yemen's southeastern province of al-Bayda, a provincial security official told Xinhua.

"The al-Qaida members backed by armored vehicles stormed the al- Bayda province overnight, taking control over the Radda city from all surrounding entrances and directions," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"A small security barrack in the city was unable to confront the storming campaign of the well-armed groups and the police forces didn't show any kind of resistance," he said.

Al-Baydda province, bordering the restive province of Abyan, is considered to be another new stronghold of the al-Qaida terrorist group.

A local resident told Xinhua that "we were surprised that such armed groups defeated the security forces, it is another scenario like Abyan."

In al-Baydda's neighboring province of Abyan, the government forces backed by U.S. Marine troops and air force have been fighting militants of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for more than eight months after the terrorists took over Abyan's capital city of Zinjibar in late May 2011.

The AQAP group has seized several cities and towns across the restive southern provinces, as the Yemeni government forces engaged in fierce clashes with militants over past months, leaving hundreds of people killed.

from XINHUA

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2 Taliban killed, 26 detained in Afghanistan

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KABUL, Jan. 15 -- Security forces have killed two Taliban insurgents and detained 26 others over the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

"Afghan National Police (ANP), Afghan National Army and Coalition Forces have launched 10 joint operations in Nangarhar, Kandahar, Helmand, Wardak, Logar and Ghazni provinces over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a press release.

"As a result of these operations, two armed insurgents were killed, one wounded and 26 others were arrested by the ANP," it said.

The joint forces also seized a handful of weapons besides defusing 35 anti-vehicle mines in the above operations, it said.

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9 killed, 4 injured in police station attack in NW Pakistan

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ISLAMABAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people including two policemen and three suicide bombers were killed on Saturday when militants attacked the office of a senior police officer in northwestern Pakistani city of Dera Ismail Khan, reported local Urdu TV Samaa.

According to the report, the attack that lasted for more than one hour was launched on Saturday afternoon when about ten armed militants stormed the office of Khalid Sohail, District Police Officer of the city.

The attackers who were reportedly wearing police uniforms entered the building from the main entrance. One suicide bomber blasted himself soon after entering the main gate while his nine accomplices including two suicide bombers hurled hand grenades at the people inside the building.

After the explosion, fierce exchange of firing took place between militants and the police. The D.P.O was present inside his office with other police officers when the attack took place. Two of the attackers tried to enter inside his office but the police succeeded in stopping them from targeting senior police officers including D.P.O.

Another suicide bomber detonated his suicide vest during the shootout while the third suicide bomber was shot dead by the police.

There were an estimated 50 people inside the building when the attack happened. Six people including two policemen were killed at the spot.

Army and police stationed in nearby area were called in when the attack was reported.

Three militants were killed and three others were arrested in an injured state by the police while others escaped successfully.

Later, talking to media, Interior Minister Rehman Malik condemned the attack and said that during the last few months security forces remained the main target of militants. Militants are trying to demoralize them by repeated attacks on law enforcement agencies.

Malik also rejected the media reports that the Pakistani government is having peace talks with local Taliban leaders.

Following the attack, security was beefed up in Dera Ismail Khan and provincial capital Peshawar.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.

Saturday's attack is the third of its kind in Dera Ismail Khan. Earlier on Nov. 23 last year, three policemen were killed and four others injured when 14 militants attacked a police station in the same area.

On June 25 last year, ten policemen were killed while 12 others injured when a police station on the outskirts of the city was attacked by a group of Taliban militants.

Read more: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-01/14/c_131360514.htm

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Militants joint peace process in Baghlan Afghanistan

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Taliban leader in Tala Barfak district of Baghlan province, Mullah Hafiz and 4 of his men who were fighting against government forces put down their guns and joint peace process today.

General Assadullah, provincial police chief said, “These men were the key members of Taliban who had received trainings in Pakistan. Joining these militants to peace process will have a vital role in the security of Tala Barfak district of Baghlan province.”

Abdul Samad Stanikzai, Provincial Chief of Peace Council said, “Those who join peace process in this province, they are always threatened by powerful Taliban militants and this has resulted in reluctance of other militants to join the peace process.”

Mr. Stanikzai appeals from security officials in Baghlan province to take necessary security arrangements for those who newly join this process.

A number of the reconciled militants said Militants are still active in Tala o Barfak district and vowed to encourage the other militants to join the peace process.

This comes as 300 militants have joint peace process so for, over 100 of whom have been provided with the employment opportunities by provincial peace council in Baghlan province.

from KHAAMA

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Jan.14., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Evening Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan (Jan. 14) — An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation in search for a Taliban leader in Marah Warah district, Kunar province, Thursday. The targeted leader, Rostum, directed a group of insurgent fighters who planned and led attacks against Afghan forces throughout Kunar province. He was responsible for leading an attack against a school-opening ceremony in the Daridam village in June 2011.

During the operation, the security force assessed the situation, ensured no civilians were in the area and called for a precision airstrike which killed Rostum and his associate.

No civilians were injured during the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South
In Dand district, Kandahar province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation in search of a Taliban leader today. The leader is thought to be responsible for Wednesday’s suicide-bomb attack against an Afghan police official in Kandahar province. Two suspected insurgents were detained during the operation.

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Blast kills Iraqi Shia pilgrims in Basra

Suicide attack on worshipers on their way to a mosque leaves at least 53 dead in country's south, local police say.

A suicide attack has killed at least 53 Shia Muslim pilgrims and left another 137 wounded in Iraq's southern city of Basra, local police say.
The attacker, wearing a suicide vest, was said to have been disguised as a policeman when he targeted pilgrims who were passing through a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city on Saturday.
The pilgrims were heading towards a Shia mosque in the busy al-Zubair district, west of Basra city. The mosque is home to a seventh century shrine.
The attacks on Shia Muslim worshippers have been blamed on al-Qaeda linked forces.
Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghdad, said Iraqi security forces have "been on high alert for attacks of this kind" surrounding the Arbaeen rituals, commemorating the death of Imam al-Hussayn.
The attack is the lastest in a wave of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shia pilgrims on their way to Karbala for Arbaeen rituals, a religious rite that occurs 40 days after the day of Ashura.
The Arbaeen pilgrimage, one of the largest in the world, has drawn 12 million congregants to Karbala itself.
With the pilgrimage becoming a major focus of attacks, our correspondent said, some pilgrims "wrap themselves in white shrouds" - the traditional burial attire for Muslims - along the way.
Iraqi security forces have stationed 30,000 police and soldiers outside Karbala city and along the roads leading to it.
Iraq has experienced political tension along ethnic and sectarian lines after the Shia-dominated cabinet of Nouri al-Maliki issued an arrest warrant last month for Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, the country's highest-ranking Sunni politician.
Hashemi, who is currently living in Iraq's Kurdish north, was charged with terrorism as the final US troops were leaving the nation.
Basra was also the site a protest last week to denounce a decision by President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to shelter Hashemi.

from ALJAZEERA

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Roadside bomb kills 2 Afghan women in Helmand province

At least two Afghan women were killed following a roadside bomb explosion early Saturday in southern Helmand province.

According to a press release by Afghan interior affairs ministry, the incident took place in Nad-e-Ali district of southern Helmand province.

No group including the Taliban militants have so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

Local officials blamed Taliban militants for such incidents as they are frequently using improvised explosive device and roadside bombs to target Afghan and coalition forces which normally leads to Afghan civilian casualties.

from KHAAMA

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7 armed militants killed in Afghan operations

At least 7 armed insurgents were killed and 6 others were detained following military operations by Afghan security forces during the past 24 hours.

According to a press release by Afghan Interior Affairs Ministry,  the operations were conducted by Afghan police forces in conjunction with the Afghan National Army and NATO-led coalition forces in Faryab, Helmand, Zabul, Wardak, Paktika and Logar provinces.

Anti-government armed militant groups yet to comment regarding the reports.

In the meantime, officials in the ministry of defense of announced that at least 5 Afghan national army soldiers were killed and injured.

Afghan defense ministry officials following a statement said, at least 1 Afghan Army soldier was killed and four others were injured after a vehicle of the Afghan National Army soldiers crashed in Tang-e-Gharo.

Another Afghan Army soldier was also killed in Zherai district of southern Kandahar province, the officials said.

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British navy nabs 13 Somali pirates in Indian Ocean

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LONDON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The British Royal Navy captured 13 Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean on Friday, Defence Ministry said.

A British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) supply ship and a U.S. Navy vessel intercepted the pirates' boat, which refused to stop despite warning shots fired from a British helicopter.

The British navy then sent commandos to board the boat, capturing the 13 pirates and seizing their weapons.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the British troops, part of a NATO-led counter-piracy force, could be "proud" of the success.

Captain Gerry Northwood, who leads the operation, said the capture will "send a clear message to other Somali pirates that we will not tolerate their attacks on international shipping."

Earlier this week, the same British ship, RFA Fort Victoria, foiled an attempt by Somali pirates to attack cargo ships in the Indian Ocean, the Defence Ministry added.

In the operation on Tuesday, the British navy blocked the pirates' attempt to sail the hijacked tanker Liquid Velvet from the Somali coast into the Gulf of Aden where they would have used it as a mother ship to attack passing ships.

Fort Victoria "cut off Liquid Velvet's progress after she had sailed 90 miles (145km) from the coastline, forcing her to return to Somalia", the Defence Ministry said.

The Greek-owned chemical tanker Liquid Velvet had been held to ransom since last November.

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US killer spy drone controls switch to Linux

The control of US military spy drones appears to have shifted from Windows to Linux following an embarrassing malware infection.
Ground control systems at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, which commands the killer unmanned aircraft, became infected with a virus last September. In a statement at the time the Air Force dismissed the electronic nasty as a nuisance and said it posed no threat to the operation of Reaper drones, but the intrusion was nonetheless treated seriously.

all photos reduced to 640x480, available in hi-res without watermark, just leave a comment here

By John Leyden from theregister.co.uk
---

The control of US military spy drones appears to have shifted from Windows to Linux following an embarrassing malware infection.

Ground control systems at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, which commands the killer unmanned aircraft, became infected with a virus last September. In a statement at the time the Air Force dismissed the electronic nasty as a nuisance and said it posed no threat to the operation of Reaper drones, but the intrusion was nonetheless treated seriously.

"The ground system is separate from the flight control system Air Force pilots use to fly the aircraft remotely; the ability of the pilots to safely fly these aircraft remained secure throughout the incident," it said.

The discovery of the virus was nonetheless hugely embarrassing for the Air Force. The credential-stealing malware, first reported by Wired, made its way from a portable hard drive onto ground systems, which control the drones' weapons and surveillance functions. Portable disks are used to load map updates and transfer mission videos from one computer to another, Defense News added.

"The malware was detected on a standalone mission support network using a Windows-based operating system," a US Air Force statement at the time explained. "The malware in question is a credential stealer, not a keylogger, found routinely on computer networks and is considered more of a nuisance than an operational threat. It is not designed to transmit data or video, nor is it designed to corrupt data, files or programs on the infected computer. Our tools and processes detect this type of malware as soon as it appears on the system, preventing further reach."

Drone units were advised to stop using the removable drives to prevent another outbreak. Behind the scenes other changes appear to have been made: screenshots of drone control computers uploaded by security researcher Mikko Hypponen suggest that at least some of the consoles have been migrated from Microsoft Windows to open source Linux.

Photos of US drone control systems taken in 2009 (here):

and another one old from my collection:

 











and 2011 (here):

provide evidence of the change - in the earlier picture the Windows desktop GUI can be easily discerned whereas the latter slide indicates the new systems are Linux-based and have "improved displays".

The 2009 photo originally came from the air force base's website but the image has since been removed. A cropped copy can be found here. The 2010 slide came from an unclassified presentation on the US's unmanned drone operations.

Hypponen told The Reg: "If I would need to select between Windows XP and a Linux based system while building a military system, I wouldn't doubt a second which one I would take." 

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