CONFLICT & TERROR 01/02

Kenya pressured as 150 die in poll chaos
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 6:43am
Bodies and debris lay in Kenyan streets on Tuesday as Western powers exerted pressure on President Mwai Kibaki to investigate his disputed re-election that has triggered days of riots killing around 150 people. Full Story

Militants kidnap four Pakistani soldiers: military
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 8:58am
Militants abducted four Pakistani paramilitary soldiers in a tribal area on Tuesday in the first such incident since the d2eath of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, officials said. Militants, believed to be loyal to alleged Al-Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud, seized the soldiers as they descended from their observation post on a hill near Makeen in South Waziristan. Full Story

US official killed in Sudan shooting
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 8:59am
A US diplomat was killed in a pre-dawn shooting attack in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Tuesday which also left an embassy driver dead, officials said. "Early this morning, January 1, 2008, in Khartoum, Sudan, an American officer with the United States Agency for International Development was shot and wounded," the US embassy said in a statement. Full Story

UK defies Russia on British Council ban
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 9:00am
Britain on Tuesday defied a Russian order to close the regional offices of its cultural arm from New Year's day, but there was no evidence of Russian attempts to forcibly close British Council centers. Russia on December 12 ordered the British government's cultural arm to halt work from January 1 at all its regional offices, saying Britain had broken a host of international and domestic rules. Full Story

At least 16 Taliban killed in Afghanistan: officials
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 9:24am
At least 16 Taliban rebels including a suspected would-be suicide bomber were killed in US-led and Afghan operations across insurgency-plagued Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday. A man wearing a bomb-filled waistcoat was shot dead near a police checkpost in the eastern province of Khost on Tuesday, a police official said. Full Story

Parties urge end to state of emergency in Bangladesh
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 12:37pm
Major political parties called on Tuesday for the lifting of a state of emergency in Bangladesh after the army-backed interim government said it was committed to holding a parliamentary election at the end of the year. The interim authority imposed a state of emergency after it took over on January 11, 2007 after months of political violence and a series of strikes, and banned all political activities. Full Story

Israel: West Bank roadblocks will remain
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 4:32pm
Israel's network of roadblocks will remain in place across the West Bank, the defense minister said Tuesday, sparking an outcry from Palestinians who say they cannot rebuild their economy until people and goods move freely. Defense Minister Ehud Barak's comments soured an already tense atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinians just days before President Bush's first visit to the region as U.S. president. Full Story

Suicide bomb at Baghdad funeral kills 32
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 4:33pm
A suicide attacker killed at least 32 men gathered in eastern Baghdad Tuesday to mourn the death of a retired Iraqi army officer, a Shiite who was slain last week in a car bombing blamed on al-Qaida in Iraq. The attack was a reminder of the dangers that persist despite Baghdad's recent decline in violence and of the peril for any mass gathering in a country where the bereaved often find themselves targets. Full Story

Government seeks to help calm Kenyan crisis
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 4:35pm
Kenya's former colonial ruler Britain sought Tuesday to use its diplomatic muscle to help end deadly violence there, backing Commonwealth and African efforts to resolve a standoff over disputed elections. Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke to Ghanaian President John Kufuor, chair of the African Union, and the head of the Commonwealth's observer mission in Kenya about overseeing a process of reconciliation, his office said. Full Story

Kenya church fire kills 50 who fled mob
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 4:36pm
A mob torched a church sheltering hundreds of people fleeing election violence Tuesday, killing up to 50 people  including many children  as four days of rioting and ethnic clashes marked one of the darkest times in Kenya's history. President Mwai Kibaki, sworn in Sunday after a vote opponents said was rigged, said political parties should meet immediately and publicly call for calm. Full Story

Sri Lanka set for price increases as war escalates
Posted on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 4:37pm
Sri Lanka is set to raise the prices of basic foods such as potatoes and sugar as well as cooking gas, officials announced Tuesday, fanning fears of galloping inflation in the conflict-wracked island. Inflation is already running at 17.5 percent in the tropical country, whose economy has been slowing amid an escalating war between government forces and Tamil rebels fighting for an independent homeland. Full Story

Jihadis picking soft targets for eyeballsPosted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 3:50amBy hitting security camps as well as civilian targets like temples, trains, markets, courts and sufi shrines and specific mosques, jihadi groups are working to a plan to stir communal tensions, bleed the forces and win appreciation of handlers across the border for putting the focus on "home-grown" terror. Full Story

Gaza Is Tense as It Tallies Casualties
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 3:52am
Gaza remained tense on Tuesday after a night of clashes between Hamas and Fatah gunmen. Seven Palestinians were killed and 40 wounded in the clashes late Monday and early Tuesday, said Dr. Muawiya Hassanein, director of the emergency medical service in Gaza. He said 25 had been wounded by gunfire, and the rest had been beaten. Full Story

Bus blast kills four in Sri Lanka
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 3:54am
A bomb blast hit a Sri Lankan army bus Wednesday morning in Colombo's Slave Island district, killing at least four people, including at least two soldiers, and wounding 28 others, military sources said. According to the military, the bomb was placed inside a roadside hotel and exploded when the bus was passing. Army sources accused Tamil Tiger rebels of staging the attack. Full Story

Why terror thrives in UP
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 3:59am
The attack on the Central Reserve Police Force camp at Rampur marks a paradigm shift in strategy and tactics of jihadi groups, hellbent on making Uttar Pradesh their major theatre of operation  the four terrorists who escaped are believed to be part of a fidayeen squad. This is the second fidayeen attack after the failed attempt at Ayodhyas Ramjanmabhoomi complex on July 5, 2005. Five terrorists were killed then. Full Story

Security-funding cut feared
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 4:01amA new robot for the bomb squad. A $700,000 custom-built command van for major police incidents. Huge firetrucks with advanced extrication equipment for the Fire Department. Decontamination tents for use during a radiological attack. Mesa has received more than $5 million for sophisticated equipment and anti-terrorism training as a major player in Arizona's Homeland Security defenses since Congress started doling out money to states after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Full Story

Cyber criminals on the prowl
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 4:06am
Financial frauds in the cyber space may rise in 2008, warn online security vendors. The cyber security forecast for 2008 looks a tad gloomy. The $105 billion cyber crime market is set to grow this year as spammers increase attacks. The cyber criminals toolboxes will continue to expand as we enter 2008 and more file attachments and approaches are adopted. Full Story

Musharraf set to appeal for calm after vote delay
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 4:35am
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was to appeal for calm and national unity Wednesday after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, with a delay in elections due to be announced later in the day. Full Story

Boom times for hi-tech criminals
Posted on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 at 4:39am
Starting a career as a cyber criminal got much easier in 2007. So say security experts looking back on 12 months in which hi-tech gangs took control of the net's underground. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.