CONFLICT & TERROR 08/12

Two killed, 17 wounded in 3 Iraq blastsPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:22amTwo people were killed and 17 wounded in Baghdad Sunday in three separate bombing incidents, Iraq interior ministry officials said. The deadliest of the blasts happened outside a bank in a Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, where two people were killed and 10 were wounded, CNN reported. Around the same time, another blast nearby targeting an Iraqi Army patrol wounded two soldiers and two civilians. Full Story

Toronto propane blast prompts evacuationPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:30amTwo people were injured Sunday in a massive propane explosion that rocked a Toronto neighborhood, officials say. Residents within a one-mile radius of the Sunrise Propane depot in the city's northwest side were evacuated early Sunday, with buses brought in to take them away from the disaster zone, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Full Story

Oly tourist slaying appears isolated actPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:32amChinese officials say the knife slaying of a U.S. tourist attending the Beijing Olympic Games appears to be an isolated incident by an unemployed man. Investigators said the 47-year-old man who allegedly killed Todd Bachman, 62, and seriously injured his wife, Barbara Bachman, 62, before leaping to his own death had just quit his job, CNN reported Sunday. Full Story

'Dozens die' in Pakistan clashesPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:34amMore than 100 militants have been killed in four days of heavy fighting in a tribal area near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, officials say. Pakistan said nine of its soldiers were killed in the battles in Bajaur. Fighter jets, helicopter gunships and artillery were all reportedly used to pound the militants' positions in the strategically important area. Full Story

Iraq's Sadr launches unarmed wingPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:38amIraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has announced the creation of a cultural wing of his organisation, known for its Mehdi Army militia. In a statement read at Friday prayers, he said only a "resistance" group was to remain armed, AP reported. A spokesman told Western media Mr Sadr's militias would disarm if the US set and followed a timetable for withdrawing its troops from Iraq. The US and Iraq are negotiating the terms of a future US troop presence. Full Story

Activists start leaving eco-campPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:43amActivists have started leaving the Climate Camp near Kingsnorth power station in Kent. About 1,500 people have been stationed at the site, which is about two miles from the power plant on the Hoo peninsula, for the last week. They have been protesting against E.On's plans to build new coal-fired units. On Saturday they held a day of action which saw 50 activists arrested and 123 taken out of the River Medway. A handful of people breached a security fence. Full Story

Official says extremists planning German attacksPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:46amIslamic extremists who trained at terrorist camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan may be plotting attacks in Germany, the head of the country's federal crime office said, according to a newspaper interview released Sunday. Joerg Ziercke, head of the Bundeskriminalamt  Germany's FBI equivalent  told the daily Tagesspiegel that some 50 aspiring militants from Germany have been trained in camps run by al-Qaida, the Taliban or the Islamic Jihad Union. Full Story

Beijing to tighten security after fatal attackPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:49amOlympic organizers vowed to tighten security in central Beijing on Sunday after a U.S. tourist was killed in a stabbing attack. Police released new details of the Chinese man behind the seemingly random attack on Saturday in which Todd Bachman, father-in-law of the U.S. men's volleyball team coach, was killed and his wife was wounded. The man committed suicide afterwards. Full Story

5 Christian bikers accused of weapons and gang crimesPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:51amFive members of a Christian motorcycle gang were charged Friday with a variety of felony weapons and gang crimes after high-profile raids this week targeting the Anaheim-based group. The charges marked a retreat from Wednesday, when authorities arrested seven members of the Set Free Soldiers, including founder and pastor Phillip Aguilar, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder. An eighth member was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The charges were in connection with a double stabbing during a bar brawl with the Hells Angels late last month. Full Story

Underwater Anti-Terrorism Technology to Patrol San Francisco BayPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:54amCoda Octopus Group Inc.'s Underwater Inspection System (UIS), developed in cooperation with the U.S. Coast Guard, has been purchased by the Sheriff's Office of Contra Costa County, Calif. Contra Costa County will be the first on the West Coast to permanently deploy the UIS, developed after the 9/11 attacks to address the need for a new generation of port security technology to respond to underwater threats. Full Story

Police: Fugitive Italian mobster arrested in SpainPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 9:53pmOne of Italy's most-wanted mobsters was arrested while dining at a restaurant in northeastern Spain, officials said Sunday. Full Story

Bolivia's Morales claims recall vote victoryPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 9:55pmBolivian President Evo Morales on Sunday claimed victory in a recall vote that pitted him against right-wing opposition governors, vowing to push ahead with his nationalization program. Full Story

Qaeda deputy Zawahiri releases video in EnglishPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 10:51pmAyman al-Zawahiri, the second-in-command to Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, has released his first English-language video call for jihad in Pakistan, the US-based IntelCenter said Sunday. Full Story

Pakistan intelligence helping Taliban: NATO generalPosted on Sunday, August 10, 2008 at 11:18pmPakistan's intelligence agency is helping the Taliban to pursue an insurgency in Afghanistan that has seen a 50 percent hike in attacks in some areas this year, the NATO commander here told AFP. Full Story

Courtesy Terrorism Research Center, Inc.