CONFLICT & TERROR 01/21

Up to 90 militants killed in Pakistan tribal belt: army
Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 9:10am
Pakistani troops killed up to 90 Islamist militants on Friday after the rebels besieged a military base and ambushed a convoy near the Afghan border, the army said. Troops fought off a "large number" of insurgents who surrounded and attacked the Ladha fort in the troubled tribal region of South Waziristan, killing 50 to 60 of the attackers, the army said in a statement. Full Story

Belgians killed in Yemen attack
Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 11:35am
Two Belgian tourists have been killed after gunmen ambushed their convoy in eastern Yemen, security officials say. Four other Belgians were wounded in the attack, which happened in the province of Hadramut. The attackers are believed to be Islamic militants, the Associated Press quoted unnamed officials as saying. Full Story

Frattini admits threat of EU 'home-grown terrorists'
Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 11:47am
EU security commissioner Franco Frattini has said he shares concerns recently expressed in Washington that Europe could become a platform for terrorist threats against the United States. "We are in a war situation - as in the United States," Mr Frattini told the BBC on Wednesday (16 January), referring to the phenomenon of home-grown terrorism in Europe. "Day after day, we discover cells of terrorists," he added. Full Story

C.I.A. Says Tribal Leader Behind Bhutto's Death
Posted on Friday, January 18, 2008 at 2:50pm
The Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that the assassins who last month killed former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto were directed by Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani militant leader, and that some of them had ties to Al Qaeda. Full Story

US Embassy in Algiers receives terror alert
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 7:25am
The US Embassy in Algiers ordered its employees to tightly restrict their movements and urged other Americans in Algeria to do the same, citing indications of possible terrorist attacks. Full Story

Al Qaeda calls for fresh attacks on Pakistani forces, seize control of Islamabad
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 7:26am
Al Qaeda is learned to have called upon its followers to launch fresh attacks on Pakistani forces, saying that "holy war" was compulsory in Pakistan as it was in Afghanistan. Full Story

DHS to Unveil New Disaster Response Plan
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 7:26am
The Bush administration is set to announce an overhaul of the nation's emergency response blueprint Tuesday, streamlining a chain of command that failed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, sources familiar with the plan said yesterday. Full Story

Russia leaves door open for pre-emptive nukes
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 7:54am
Russia's military chief of staff said Saturday that Moscow could use nuclear weapons in preventive strikes in case of a major threat, the latest aggressive remarks from increasingly assertive Russian authorities. Full Story

Police find large explosives cache in southeast Moscow
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 8:07am
Police in southeast Moscow have discovered around 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of explosives stashed in a deserted building, a police spokesman said on Saturday. Full Story

Seven killed in north Iraq Ashura attack - police
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 8:58am
Seven Iraqis returning from a Shi'ite religious event were killed in a rocket attack in northwestern Iraq on Saturday, a senior police officer said. Full Story

Security forces thwart Jihad plan to bomb T.A.-Jerusalem railroad
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 10:18am
Security forces thwarted an Islamic Jihad cell's plan to place a bomb on the railroad tracks leading from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, according to information made public Thursday. Full Story

Hamas says it has foiled Fatah plot to kill leader
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 2:17pm
A senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip on Saturday accused rival Fatah of plotting to assassinate Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as he prayed and said the would-be suicide bomber had been arrested and had confessed. Full Story

The Great Moqtada Makeover
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 2:23pm
In the West Baghdad neighborhood of Hurriya, 25-year-old Saif Awad was known as "the Assassin." He didn't look like a killer. Handsome and well groomed, Awad made a show of attending prayers and Shiite religious celebrations. Full Story

Polish town leery of US missile defense
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 3:09pm
Among the people living around this disused Polish air base, there is little enthusiasm for the missile interceptor station likely to be built here as part of a U.S. missile defense system. Full Story

Rockets from Gaza plague an Israeli town
Posted on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 3:55pm
Worn down by thousands of rockets fired from the nearby Gaza Strip, an estimated one-seventh of the people of this Israeli town have fled. Many more say they would go if they could. The mayor says life here has become "impossible." Full Story

U.S. military: Fewer attacks from Iranian bombs
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 8:56am
The U.S. military said Sunday that attacks in Iraq linked to Iranian explosive devices have fallen off in recent days after a sharp increase earlier in the month, and that the overall flow of weaponry from Iran has dropped. Full Story

Quality of nuclear devices questioned
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 11:42am
Resting atop the Trident II missile, the W88 warhead is among the mainstays of the country's submarine-based nuclear arsenal. For years, however, testing the warhead's components to ensure the weapon produces the intended blast instead of a fizzle has been complicated by a lack of replacement plutonium triggers. Full Story

Pakistan attacks extremist stronghold near Afghanistan
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 11:44am
Pakistani artillery and helicopter gunships pounded militant positions today close to the Afghan border, an extremist stronghold where a rebel leader blamed for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is believed to be hiding, officials and witnesses said. Full Story

Troops launch assault on Tamil boats
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 11:45am
Sri Lankan soldiers launched an artillery assault on a flotilla of Tamil Tiger rebel boats off the northern coast, and infantry clashes elsewhere killed 36 insurgents and one government soldier, the military said Sunday. Full Story

Teen, 15, held in Bhutto murder
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 11:46am
A 15-year-old stopped near the Afghan border confessed to joining a team of assassins sent to kill Benazir Bhutto, officials said yesterday. The boy fingered an al-Qaeda leader with ties to the Taliban as the mastermind of the plot. Full Story

Suspected Terrorists Detained in Barcelona Were Learning to Make Bombs
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 11:49am
Details emerged Sunday of raids in which Spanish police say they arrested 12 Pakistanis and two Indians who were "learning to build bombs" when police burst into one apartment. Full Story

Yemen detains Qaeda suspects after tourist attack
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 11:51am
Yemen detained dozens of suspected al Qaeda supporters on Sunday, following the killing of two Belgian tourists and their Yemeni drivers in the east of the impoverished country, an official said. Full Story

Mortars fired as new Somali PM arrives in Mogadishu
Posted on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 4:00pm
Gunmen fired mortars at the Somali president's house on Sunday, hours after the country's new prime minister arrived in Mogadishu for the first time since he was sworn in last November, a presidential aide said. Full Story

Bomber kills Sunni allies of the U.S.
Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 12:01am
A teenager holding a box of candy strode into a gathering of Sunni Arab tribal members near Falluja and detonated an explosive belt, killing four people and wounding nine, members of the Issawi tribe said Sunday. It was the second major bomb attack to strike American allies in Anbar Province in two days. Full Story

British PM calls for radical world reforms to reflect rise of Asia
Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 12:02am
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Monday for the radical reform of world institutions to help meet the new challenges of the 21st century, in particular the rise of India and China. On a two-day visit to New Delhi, Brown told business leaders the changes should be inspired by the post-war "visionaries" who set up the United Nations and other bodies like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Full Story

Scores flee Australian floods: officials
Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 12:03am
Surging floodwaters forced scores of people to evacuate their homes in northeastern Australia on Monday, officials said, as farmers described heavy rains as a mixed blessing after years of drought. Worst-hit by the rising waters was the central Queensland town of Emerald, where people left their homes for higher ground as the swollen Nogoa River threatened to inundate parts of the town. Full Story

Hamas asks Egypt to reopen Rafah border
Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 12:04am
Hamas has requested that Egypt reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow the passage of much needed assistance and the evacuation of urgent medical cases in light of the Israeli closure of all crossings with Gaza last week. Hamas, which still rules Gaza and has resulted in its isolation, called on Egypt to open the border to allow victims of the current Israeli attacks to receive medical care. Full Story

Venezuelan ammunition reaching rebels
Posted on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 12:05am
Venezuelan-made ammunition is regularly reaching Colombia's FARC and ELN guerrillas, Colombian military intelligence officers have told El Nuevo Herald. One of the officers said the evidence available did not indicate whether the ammunition reaching the rebels is ``a consequence of the growing corruption that exists in the Venezuelan military and police forces, or the result of a policy by President Hugo Chavez.'' Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.