CONFLICT & TERROR 01/04

Pakistani troops capture 52 militants: army
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 5:28am
Pakistani troops captured 52 suspected Islamist militants Thursday in the restive northwestern valley of Swat, the military said. Full Story

Israeli warplane hits Hamas base in Gaza
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 6:48am
An Israeli warplane attacked a Hamas training base in Gaza City on Thursday, sending a large plume of smoke into the air, witnesses said. Full Story

UK airport strikes are called off
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 8:15am
Unions have called off three strikes set for January that threatened to close the UK's busiest airports. Officials voted to halt the industrial action after airport operator BAA eased plans to alter workers' pensions right. The strikes would have hit all of BAA's seven UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh. Full Story

Indonesia hit by fresh floods
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 8:57am
Heavy rains have caused further havoc in Java as rising floodwaters inundated farmland and triggered landslides on the Indonesian island. At least 112 people have been killed in widespread flooding and landslides over the past week, crisis centre officials said on Wednesday, with more than a dozen still missing. Full Story

British tour operators cancel Kenya holidays
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:01am
British tour operators on Thursday cancelled holidays to Kenya for the rest of the week because of violence following disputed elections and government advice against all but essential travel there. "There was a meeting this morning of the federation of tour operators. They have two flights going out, one tomorrow and one on Saturday. Both will go out but they will fly empty to pick up holidaymakers due to come back," a spokesman said. Full Story

British police said ready to head to Pakistan
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:02am
A team of British police is preparing to leave for Pakistan to help investigate the killing of Benazir Bhutto and hopes to be ready in 24 hours, a Scotland Yard spokesman said Thursday. "A team of officers will be going out to Pakistan and are currently making travel arrangements," said the spokesman after the British government agreed this week to a Pakistani request for help. Full Story

Iraq Shiite politician criticizes gov't
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:03am
A suicide bomber blew himself up on the hood of a car driven by a member of Iraq's burgeoning Sunni-dominated security forces, the latest in a series of recent attacks against the U.S.-backed militiamen, according to U.S. military and Iraqi officials. The bomber struck in downtown Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, where Sunni insurgents began turning on one another last year.

These tensions have grown as some insurgent groups, particularly the 1920 Revolution Brigades, have allied themselves with U.S. soldiers against the group al-Qaeda in Iraq. Wednesday's blast killed four people and wounded 23, according to hospital and morgue officials. The U.S. military gave the same death toll but put the number of wounded at six. Full Story

Iran seeks 'to restore peace, security' in Lebanon
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:15am
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani said from Cairo on Tuesday that Tehran was seeking to restore peace and stability in Lebanon. Larijani expressed his country's willingness to "cooperate with Egypt and all Arab countries in order to restore peace and security in the Arab world, particularly in Iraq and Lebanon.

"He stressed that Iran "will recognize and welcome any president agreed on by the various Lebanese parties." He also pointed to the important role Egypt and the Arab League were playing in helping "the various parties in Lebanon to reach consensus."

Army puts down clashes in BastaPosted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:17amThe Lebanese Army opened fire into the air to disperse a clash which erupted in the Basta neighborhood of Beirut on Tuesday between supporters of the Sunni Future Movement and Shiite Hizbullah and Amal groups. Seven people were hurt in the clash. T

he clash started on Monday when unidentified individuals in the area tore down and burned a giant poster of slain former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Future Movement officials said they cordoned off the scene and took measures to prevent escalation.

Tension increased on Tuesday night, however, on Mamoun Street, when Future Movement supporters attempted to re-erect a picture of Hariri and his son MP Saad Hariri Saad-Hariri-Profile Sep-07. Clashes erupted between Future supporters and others, including Amal Movement and Hizbullah supporters, who refused to let the Hariri poster be erected "in their area." Full Story

Terrorists plan to strike before Republic Day
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:19am
Intelligence agencies have received "credible inputs" of terror attacks planned by militant outfits in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of Republic Day on Jan 26, especially in the state's summer capital Srinagar, officials said. "This has come to our attention through (conversation) intercepts," a senior intelligence department official told. Full Story

Netherlands terror arrest: Erasmus bridge party target of attack
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:26am
The three Rotterdam residents arrested on 31 December were planning to attack a new years party on the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam. The Telegraaf reports this on the basis of well-informed sources close to the investigation into the suspects.

The men aged 31, 32 and 39 were arrested on Monday because the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) could not rule out that they would commit a violent action. The public prosecution department did not disclose any details of what the three were reportedly planning. Full Story

Three Iraqis killed by US fire
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 10:11am
Three Iraqi civilians were killed by US military fire in two incidents on Thursday in the province of Diyala, one of the most dangerous regions in the country, Iraqi security officials said. Two people died in the town of Al-Ghalibiyah, just west of the provincial capital Baquba, when a US patrol shot up their vehicle as it entered the main street from a side road while the convoy was passing, Iraqi army major Ziad al-Ani told AFP.

"It was in coincidence. The passing US military convoy thought the car was a hostile target and opened fire, shooting dead two people," said Ani. Full Story

Iran Leader Suggests U.S. Ties Possible in Future
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 10:13am
Iran's supreme leader said on Thursday restoring ties with the United States now would harm the Islamic state, but he did not rule it out in the future. "Not having relations with America is one of our main policies but we have never said this relationship should be cut forever,"

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech in the central province of Yazd, state television reported. "Certainly, the day when having relations with America is useful for the nation I will be the first one to approve this relationship." Full Story

Heavy fighting grips Sri Lanka as truce ends
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 10:34am
Heavy fighting between government troops and Tamil Tigers broke out in northern Sri Lanka Thursday, hours after Colombo announced it was pulling out of a tattered ceasefire agreement with the rebels.

At least six Tiger rebels and a government soldier were killed in the latest clashes along the de facto border of the mini-state run by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defence ministry said. Full Story

Police disperse protesters in KenyaPosted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 11:02amRiot police fired tear gas and water cannons Thursday to beat back crowds heading for a banned rally to protest Kenya's disputed election, and the president said he is willing to talk to the opposition once calm has been restored. The attorney general called for an independent body to verify the vote tally. Full Story

Car bomb explodes in southeastern Turkey
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 11:02am
A car bomb exploded in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Thursday, wounding around 30 people, including military personnel, news reports said. A bus reportedly transporting military personnel was passing by a five-star hotel when the bomb exploded, the state-run Anatolia news agency said. Full Story

German conservative warns foreigners to adapt
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 11:03am
A top conservative from Chancellor Angela Merkel's party warned immigrants on Thursday they must adapt to the German way of life or face "consequences." Roland Koch, premier of the prosperous western state of Hesse, is focusing on law-and-order themes in a bid to win a third term in a regional vote this month. Full Story

Lebanon: No link between al-Qaeda and Hezbollah says Nasrallah
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 11:07am
The leader of Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah, has hit out against recent statements allegedly by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden criticising the militant Lebanese Shia movement for allowing "crusader" troops from the United Nations into Lebanon after the 34-day conflict with Israel in 2006. Full Story

Spain seeks better Morocco ties after enclave spat
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 2:17pm
Spain pushed for a return to normal relations with Morocco on Thursday, two months after a controversial visit by King Juan Carlos to two Spanish enclaves on Morocco's Mediterranean coast that Rabat claims as its own. Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos visited Morocco for talks with his opposite number and handed him a letter addressed to Morocco's King Mohammed. Full Story

Naples 'suffocated' by rubbish, again
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 2:23pm
The Naples region was grappling Thursday with a chronic rubbish disposal problem, with at least 2,000 tonnes of excess garbage piled up outside dumps and in the streets.

Overburdened waste treatment centres in the impoverished southern region have been unable to handle the surplus, in a scenario that has been repeated countless times over the past decade and a half. Full Story

No end in sight as south Thai rebellion enters fifth year
Posted on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 9:51pm
Brutal killings have reached unprecedented levels in Thailand's Muslim-majority south, experts say, as the region enters the fifth year of a separatist insurgency that is tearing communities apart. Full Story

Scotland Yard team expected in Pakistan
Posted on Friday, January 4, 2008 at 1:57am
A team of police from Britain's Scotland Yard is expected to arrive in Pakistan on Friday to help probe the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto as the controversy over her death rages on. Full Story

Israeli strikes kill 11 in Gaza
Posted on Friday, January 4, 2008 at 3:46am
Israeli troops on a night mission in the Gaza Strip killed two Hamas gunmen early Friday as Israel responded to Palestinian rocket fire with strikes against militants that left 11 dead in 24 hours. Full Story

Death toll from Turkey bombing rises to 5 as 110 hurt
Posted on Friday, January 4, 2008 at 3:48am
The death toll from a bomb explosion in southeast Turkey's largest city has risen to five, including three children, and the number of injured stands at 110, security sources said on Friday. Full Story

Philippines arrests Abu Sayyaf militants
Posted on Friday, January 4, 2008 at 3:49am
Two al-Qaida-linked Muslim militants, including one wanted for the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans and 17 other people from a resort island, were captured in separate raids in the southern Philippines, officials said Friday. Full Story

Police detain four over deadly Turkey bombing: prosecutor
Posted on Friday, January 4, 2008 at 4:24am
Police have detained four people over a powerful car bomb attack in Turkey's main Kurdish-populated city that killed five people, Diyarbakir's chief prosecutor said Friday. Full Story

Turkish police detain 40 in Hezbollah raid: agency
Posted on Friday, January 4, 2008 at 6:20am
Turkish police have detained more than 40 suspected members of the outlawed Turkish Islamist militant group Hezbollah, state news agency Anatolian said on Friday. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.