Israel Targets Top Hamas Leader, Gaza Death Toll Hits 203
New Age Islam News Bureau
16
Jul 2014
Images criticized for showing stereotypical image of ethnic Uighur militants from Xinjiang province. (Photo courtesy: Liuzhou Laowai/ BBC)
Mideast
• Israel targets top Hamas leader, Gaza death toll hits 203
• ISIL ‘Attacks Shiite Mosque’ In Istanbul
• 34 killed in northern Yemen clashes
• Killing of Palestinians should awaken Islamic countries: Leader
• Israel drops leaflets on Gazans to leave homes
'• May God help Erdoğan if I'm elected president': Demirtaş
• If ordered into Gaza, IDF Ground Forces ready for anti-tank missiles, urban combat
• Netanyahu: ‘If there is no ceasefire in Gaza, our answer is fire’
• Erdogan: 'Ayelet Shaked has same mindset as Hitler'
• First Israeli killed in rocket fire from Gaza: Army
Pakistan
• Pakistan jets, U.S. drones attacks kill 50 militants
• Zarb-i-Azb: Karachi operation sees tactical swing
• Mamond tribe vows to fight against extremists in Bajaur
• PM terms Israeli attacks on Gaza as “genocide”
• Musharraf assassination attempt: Key Taliban commander held
• Extremists Make Inroads in Pakistan’s Diverse South
• Key TTP Commander Adnan Rasheed arrested in S. Waziristan
• Imran’s ‘Azadi March’ termed drama: Veteran leader
South Asia
• 51 Taliban militants killed during counter-terrorism operations
• Chittagong Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ameer arrested again
• 61 rockets fired in Kunar in the latest wave of cross-border shelling
Arab World
• Canadian Convert Killed in Syria Lives On as Pitchman for Jihadis
• Jordan's Abu Qatada says caliphate declaration 'void'
• Israeli airstrike kills 18 in Syria
• Iraqi Kurds offer Turkey intel on Mosul hostages
• Iraq’s Sunni clerics suffer under insurgent rule
• Syria's Assad to be sworn in, set out plans for new term
• Iraq names moderate Sunni parliament speaker in move to break political deadlock
• The Islamic State raises support among the people of Mosul
• Hundreds of Kurds enter Syria to fight ISIL
• Ramadan traditions disappearing, scholars say
India
• Govt rejects demand for resolution against Israel
• BRICS echoes Modi’s concerns, says there can be no justification for any acts of terror
• ISIS clams up, blow to efforts for release of 39 Indian workers
Africa
• Suspected Boko Haram Militants Kidnap Cleric's Children
• Over 25 killed in militant attack, government air strike
• South Sudan: Fresh Fighting in Unity State Sparks Panic
• Boko Haram Violence Intensifies Regional Divides in Nigeria
• Nigeria receives extradited bomber from Sudan
• Surge in Libya violence raises spectre of civil war
Southeast Asia
• Court orders duo to stand trial for promoting terrorism in Syria
• Malaysians not ready for Hudud, survey finds
• Muslim NGO chief says Selangor Sultan’s anger also aimed at PAS
• SBY Says Indonesia Doesn’t Need Foreign Interference
Europe
• U.N. chief urges countries to enforce sanctions on ISIS
• Israel using banned weapons, claims Norwegian doctor
• BRICS: Zero tolerance towards terrorism
• Blackburn Islamic TV probe school 'cleared' by government inspectors
• HRW: Boko Haram Killed 2,000 Civilians in Six Months
• First aid convoy crosses into Syria after UN authorization
• 200 tons of Syrian chemicals in UK for destruction
North America
• Obama pledges to restore ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians
• ‘CAIR Connects’ Launched with Alert on Gaza Attacks
• US reviewing extension of Iran diplomacy after ‘tangible progress’
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/israel-targets-top-hamas-leader,/d/98137
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Mideast
Israel targets top Hamas leader, Gaza death toll hits 203
World Bulletin/News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
Israel resumed its air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday a day after holding its fire in deference to an Egyptian-proposed cease-fire deal that failed.
Attacks in the Gaza Strip killed at least seven Palestinians in the early hours of Wednesday, Gaza health officials said, and destroyed the house of Mahmoud Zahar - who is believed to be in hiding elsewhere - in the first apparent targeting of a top Hamas political leader.
The week-old conflict seemed to be at a turning point on Tuesday, with Hamas defying Arab and Western calls to cease fire and Israel threatening to step up an offensive that could include an invasion of the densely populated enclave.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday it had sent out warning messages to residents in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes by 0800 (0500 GMT) ahead of renewed attacks.
Palestinian officials said residents in two Gaza City neighbourhoods had received the warnings but Gaza Interior Ministry told people not to heed the Israeli messages and dismissed them as psychological warfare.
Gaza militants kept up rocket salvoes into Israel, firing more than 150 rockets at Israel since Tuesday, when the truce was to begin.
Under the blueprint announced by Egypt - Gaza's neighbour and whose military-backed government has been at odds with Hamas - a mutual "de-escalation" was to have begun at 9 a.m. (0600 GMT), with hostilities ceasing within 12 hours.
Hamas' armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, rejected the ceasefire deal, a proposal that addressed in only general terms some of its key demands, and said its battle with Israel would "increase in ferocity and intensity".
But Moussa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas political official who was in Cairo, said the movement, which is seeking a deal that would ease the Egyptian and Israeli border restrictions throttling Gaza's economy, had made no final decision on Cairo's proposal.
Israel, citing the persistent salvoes, resumed attacks in Gaza six hours after implementation of the truce was to have begun. The military said it targeted at least 20 of Hamas' hidden rocket launchers, tunnels and weapons storage facilities.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks late on Tuesday that Israel had no choice but to "expand and intensify" its campaign on Hamas, though he did not specifically mention the possibility of a ground incursion.
The Israeli security cabinet which met into the early hours of Wednesday had discussed a limited ground operation, an Israeli official said.
TRUCE TERMS
Gaza medical officials say 203 Palestinians, including at least 150 civilians, among them 31 children, have been killed.
One Israeli has been killed in the fighting. Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted 20 of the Hamas projectiles, including two over the Tel Aviv area, and the rest caused no damage or casualties.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack against Israel's commercial capital, which has been targeted frequently since the war began, as well as for the rocket that killed the Israeli man along the border.
Israel has mobilised tens of thousands of troops for a threatened invasion into the enclave, that is home to 1.8 million Palestinians, if the rocket volleys persisted.
Speaking in Vienna, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry supported Israel: "I cannot condemn strongly enough the actions of Hamas in so brazenly firing rockets, in multiple numbers, in the face of a goodwill effort (to secure) a cease-fire."
Netanyahu, whose security cabinet voted 6-2 earlier on Tuesday to accept the truce, had cautioned that Israel would respond strongly if rockets kept flying.
He expected the "full support from the responsible members of the international community" for any intensification of Israeli attacks in response to Hamas spurning a truce.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who reached an agreement with Hamas in April that led to the formation of a unity government last month, called for acceptance of the proposal, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.
Abbas was expected to arrive in Cairo on Wednesday for talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Palestinian leader's spokesman said. The Arab League, at a meeting on Monday, also welcomed the cease-fire plan.
Under the proposal announced by Egypt's Foreign Ministry, high-level delegations from Israel and the Palestinian factions would hold separate talks in Cairo within 48 hours to consolidate the cease-fire with "confidence-building measures".
Hamas leaders have said any deal must include an end to Israel's blockade of Gaza and a recommitment to a truce reached in an eight-day war there in 2012.
Hamas also wants Egypt to ease curbs at its Rafah crossing with Gaza, imposed after the military ousted President Mohamed Mursi a year ago.
The Egyptian proposal made no mention of Rafah or when restrictions might be eased.
Hamas has faced a cash crisis and Gaza's economic hardship has deepened as a result of Egypt's destruction of cross-border smuggling tunnels.
Hamas has said it also wants the release of hundreds of its activists arrested in the West Bank while Israel searched for the three missing teenagers.
The proposed truce also made no mention of the detainees.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/140764/israel-targets-top-hamas-leader-gaza-death-toll-hits-203
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ISIL ‘attacks Shiite mosque’ in Istanbul
Jul 16, 2014
Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked a Shiite mosque in Istanbul last week, a human rights association has claimed in report, refuting official statements about the incident.
On July 8, a fire caused significant material damage at the Muhammediye Mosque in the Esenyurt neighborhood of the city. Three Qurans and a 300-volume hadith collection were destroyed in the fire at the mosque, which belongs to the local community from the Ja’farite school of Shia Islam.
Turley’s Human Rights Association (İHD) prepared a report on the incident based on the testimonies of witnesses and official statements. The findings of the report were announced to the public on July 15 in a press conference at the İHD headquarters in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu neighborhood.
The report quoted Seçkin Çengeloğlu, a local police chief, who ruled out the possibility of arson. He described the fire as “a coincidence” that occurred during a burglary in which the clock of the mosque was stolen by a local drug user acting alone.
However, citing the testimonies of witnesses, including the imam of the mosque, İHD Istanbul head Abdulbaki Boğa said the report concluded that the fire was a “planned assault,” contradicting the official police statement.
Imam Hamza Aydın was quoted in the report as saying that an individual between the ages of 25 and 30 had visited the mosque with two teenagers 10 days before the fire, asking him which Islamic sect he belonged to. “You’re Shiite, you have no right to live, we will burn you,” the person reportedly told the imam after getting an answer.
The report concluded that ISIL was behind the fire, without presenting direct evidence linking the incident to the militant group.
“ISIL is in Istanbul now. We knew it, but this is their first attack against a belief group in Turkey,” claimed Hulusi Zeybel, a central executive board member of the İHD.
“The attack against Ja’faris is an attack with a political message,” Boğa added.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/isil-attacks-shiite-mosque-in-istanbul.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69200&NewsCatID=341
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34 killed in northern Yemen clashes
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
At least 34 people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between army troops and Shia Houthi militants in Yemen's northern Al-Jawf province on the border with Saudi Arabia.
"Army forces and local tribesmen repelled an attack by Houthi militants in the province's Al-Safraa district," a security source told Anadolu Agency.
Violence erupted when Houthi militants tried to regain control of a military site captured by army forces a few days earlier, the source said.
According to the source, nine soldiers and tribesmen and 25 Houthi militants were killed in the ensuing clashes.
Yemeni authorities have yet to comment.
The Shia Houthi group first appeared in 1992, taking Yemen's northern Saada province as its main base of operations.
Yemen has been dogged by turmoil since the ouster of autocratic president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012 after 33 years in power.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/140778/34-killed-in-northern-yemen-clashes
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Killing of Palestinians should awaken Islamic countries: Leader
Jul 16, 2014
TEHRAN – The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution has said that killing of the Palestinians by the Zionist regime should awaken the Islamic countries that they should put aside their differences and get united.
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet members late on Monday.
On July 8 the Israeli Air Force started a mass military assault on different parts of the Gaza Strip. So far 192 Palestinians, mostly women and children have been killed, Palestinian officials said on Tuesday. The Health Ministry in Gaza also said more than 1,000 people have been wounded.
The Leader stated that the events in Gaza are catastrophic, adding that the Zionist regime benefits from the Islamic world’s “ignorance” and commits such criminal acts.
Commenting on cultural issues, the Leader said making errors and mistakes in cultural spheres cannot be compensated easily.
It is necessary that policies of the system be applied to cultural areas properly, he added.
http://www.tehrantimes.com/component/content/article/117068
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Israel drops leaflets on Gazans to leave homes
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
The Israeli army on Wednesday dropped leaflets on the cities of Gaza and Beit Lahia, ordering Palestinians to evacuate their homes ahead of intensified airstrikes.
"The leaflets ask the residents of Shujaya and Zaitoun neighborhoods to head central Gaza City and not to return to their homes until further notice," Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli military, tweeted.
"The leaflets dropped on Beit Lahia warn whoever remains inside his house of putting their lives at risk because of intensified airstrikes," he added.
According to Palestinian official statistics, some 50,000 people live in the southern Gaza City neighborhood of Zaitoun while 100,000 reside in the eastern al-Shujaya neighborhood.
More than 75,000 Palestinians also live in the northern Gaza Strip city of Beit Lahia, according to the same statistics.
Thousands of Palestinians have already been forcibly displaced from their homes because of the ongoing Israeli military onslaught against the blockaded coastal enclave.
At least 205 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in unrelenting Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip since July 7.
More than 1530 people have also been injured, many seriously, in the Israeli aerial attacks, which reportedly aim to stop rocket firing from Gaza.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire hundreds of rockets into Israel, some of which have reached Tel Aviv, in response to the ongoing offensive.
One Israeli has been killed as a result of rocket firing from Gaza.
The ongoing military operation - dubbed "Operation Protective Edge" – is Israel's third wide-scale offensive against the blockaded Gaza Strip - home to some 1.8 million Palestinians - within the last six years.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/140783/israel-drops-leaflets-on-gazans-to-leave-homes
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'May God help Erdoğan if I'm elected president': Demirtaş
Jul 16, 2014
The Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) candidate for the upcoming presidential elections, Selahattin Demirtaş, revealed the roadmap of his campaign at an Istanbul meeting on July 15, along with a slogan declaring a “call for a new life.”
In the meeting, Demirtaş underlined his stance against all kinds of discrimination in Turkey while also boldly claiming that he will win the elections in the first round, scheduled for Aug. 10.
Responding jokily to a question from a reporter, he also added that the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) leader and candidate for the elections, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, would need God’s help if Demirtaş is elected president and Erdoğan remains prime minister.
“If I win and become president and Erdoğan remains prime minister, then may God help him. He will have to get used to democracy and plurality. He will not be able to tell [me], ‘come on, we’re leaving,’ in any meetings,” Demirtaş said. The latter was a clear reference to a notorious incident on May 10, when Erdoğan interrupted a speech in Ankara by Metin Feyzioglu, the chairman of the Union of Turkish Bar Associations, and called on incumbent President Abdullah Gül to leave with him as he stormed out of the meeting.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/may-god-help-erdogan-if-im-elected-president-demirtas.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69149&NewsCatID=338
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If ordered into Gaza, IDF Ground Forces ready for anti-tank missiles, urban combat
Jul 16, 2014
If ordered into the Gaza Strip, IDF Ground Forces expect to encounter Hamas cells with anti-tank missiles, heavy urban combat, subterranean warfare, and other challenges. "This is the combat that characterizes a terror organization," the source said. The IDF has maintained large numbers of Ground Forces on the Gaza border.
IDF Brigade commanders would have a high degree of independence if ordered to enter the Gaza Strip.
Hamas planned to employ bomb-filled tunnels to facilitate large-scale killing sprees and kidnapping attacks on the border, according to Israeli security officials.
Hamas will try to prove that an Israeli ground offensive will not have an impact on its ability to fire rockets, though its chances of achieving this remain decidedly low. Only a ground maneuver can truly deal with the growing threat of tunnels that straddle the border, officials believe.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/If-ordered-into-Gaza-IDF-Ground-Forces-ready-for-anti-tank-missiles-urban-combat-362978
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Netanyahu: ‘If there is no ceasefire in Gaza, our answer is fire’
Jul 16, 2014
Prime minster speaks before the second security cabinet meeting of day and after barrage of rockets from Gaza on Tel Aviv area.
The security cabinet met late on Tuesday night to determine the next steps in Operation Protective Edge, at the end of a topsy-turvy day that started with the prospect of a cease-fire and ended with dozens of Hamas rockets hitting Israel and intense retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Before convening the security cabinet, which some 12 hours earlier had approved a cease-fire brokered by Egypt that Hamas never accepted, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel would answer Hamas’s rejection of a truce with stepped-up attacks.
“If there is no cease-fire, our answer is fire,” Netanyahu said, adding that Hamas chose to continue the battle and “will pay the price for that decision.”
Earlier in the day, the prime minister recommended to the security cabinet that it accept a relatively vague Egyptian proposal that called for a 48-hour cease-fire, to be followed in Cairo by the Egyptian government acting as the middleman in negotiations between Israel and Hamas to secure a longer-term agreement.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Netanyahu-If-there-is-no-ceasefire-in-Gaza-out-answer-is-fire-362929
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Erdogan: 'Ayelet Shaked has same mindset as Hitler'
Jul 16, 2014
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared Bayit Yehudi faction chairwoman Ayelet Shaked to Hitler on Tuesday, in remarks criticizing Israel’s actions against terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Erdogan gave a fiery anti-Israel speech in which he said Ankara will not normalize ties with Israel as long as Israel continues to “kill innocent children and continue its operations in Gaza.”
The Turkish prime minister referred to a female MK who said “all Palestinians are our enemies.
“This mentality is no different to that of Hitler,” the Istanbul-based daily Hurriyet reported Erdogan as saying.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Erdogan-Ayelet-Shaked-has-same-mindset-as-Hitler-362877
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First Israeli killed in rocket fire from Gaza: Army
Jul 16, 2014
A rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli civilian on Tuesday, the army said, the first Israeli death in eight days of cross-border violence.
The man was fatally wounded near the Erez crossing into Gaza, the army said.
A spokesman for the Israeli emergency services told AFP the 38-year-old was delivering food to soldiers serving in the area.
Israeli bombs on Gaza killed close to 200 Palestinians so far.
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/106340/World/Region/First-Israeli-killed-in-rocket-fire-from-Gaza-Army.aspx
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Pakistan
Zarb-i-Azb: Karachi operation sees tactical swing
Jul 16, 2014
KARACHI: In an apparent alignment with the military offensive in North Waziristan, the Rangers-led operation launched in the city to alleviate the fears of the business community has shifted its focus from hit men and extortionists to the more demanding threat from militants.
Since the launch of Zarb-i-Azb, Karachi’s law enforcement agencies (LEAs) claim to have killed over 30 men allegedly affiliated with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in separate ‘encounters’ in Sohrab Goth, Mauripur, Musharraf Colony, Usmanabad, Steel Town, Sultanabad, Orangi Town and Manghopir.
In a conversation with Dawn, DIG-South Abdul Khaliq Shaikh acknowledged that the Karachi operation had been readjusted to tackle the militant threat.
“Obviously, the focus has shifted in a way — the biggest threat today is from the Taliban, especially in the aftermath of the Karachi airport attack,” he said. “We were targeting the Taliban earlier as well, but now there is an imminent threat. We are aware that there may be retaliatory attacks in Karachi due to the operation in North Waziristan.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1119531/zarb-i-azb-karachi-operation-sees-tactical-swing
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Pakistan jets, U.S. drones attacks kill 50 militants
World Bulletin/News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
The Pakistani military said its jets killed 35 suspected militants on Wednesday as part of an anti-Taliban offensive hours after U.S. drones attacked another area nearby and killed up to 20 people.
On Wednesday, Pakistani jets killed 35 suspected militants in the Shawal valley, a remote stronghold on the Pakistani side of the border opposite Afghanistan's Paktika, Pakistani military officials said.
The military said that the jets targeted members of the Pakistani Taliban and included Uzbeks, Chechens and Arab fighters, who had fled to the remote Shawal region from the military's offensive launched last month.
"These terrorists were earlier evicted from (the towns of) Mir Ali and Miranshah and they took refuge in the forests of the Shawal valley where jets have been targeting their positions," one Pakistani official said.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/140787/pakistan-jets-us-drones-attacks-kill-50-militants
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Mamond tribe vows to fight against extremists in Bajaur
Jul 16, 2014
PESHAWAR: The Mamond tribe in the Bajaur tribal region on Wednesday announced the formation a lashkar (militia) to fight against terrorists and added that large-scale preparations were under way in this regard.
Thousands of people from five border villages of Mamond tehsil have fled their homes after the expiry of an evacuation deadline set by the political administration of Bajaur because of the likelihood of a military operation in the region.
Sources in the administration had told Dawn that security forces and the administration had finalised arrangements to launch operation in the border areas of Mamond tehsil.
The political administration of Bajaur Agency on Monday asked people living in five villages of Mamond tehsil — Nakhtar, Ghakhi, Mula Killi, Gohati and Kitkoot — to evacuate their homes by Tuesday morning.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1119593/mamond-tribe-vows-to-fight-against-extremists-in-bajaur
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PM terms Israeli attacks on Gaza as “genocide”
July 16, 2014
ISLAMABAD- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that Israeli “atrocities” against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide, the PM office said today.
In a statement Nawaz Sharif said that these crimes against innocent civilian women children and elderly people are unparalleled in the recent history of the world. The Israeli army has resumed air strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip as rocket firing from the coastal enclave continues, Israeli and Palestinian media reported.
"I am saddened and disappointed to note the silence of international community against this injustice,” Nawaz Sharif said. The Prime Minister said the silence and ineffectiveness of Muslim nations has made Palestinians more vulnerable and made Israel more aggressive. “World must stop Israel from this naked and brutal aggression", said the Prime Minister.
Hamas has rejected an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire proposal, saying the cease fire agreement is a “surrender" agreement. In a statement posted in its website Hamas insisted that Israel should release 56 Palestinians affiliated with the organization, who were arrested in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank last month, following the kidnap and killing of three Israeli teens.
http://www.nation.com.pk/national/16-Jul-2014/pm-terms-israeli-attacks-on-gaza-as-genocide
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Musharraf assassination attempt: Key Taliban commander held
Jul 16, 2014
Two Pakistani intelligence officials said that security forces have arrested a key Taliban commander linked to a 2003 assassination attempt on former President Pervez Musharraf.
The officials said on Wednesday that Adnan Rashid was captured last Friday during a raid at a home in the town of Shakai in the South Waziristan region.
The officials said Rashid was hiding there after fleeing from North Waziristan, where Pakistan in June launched an operation against militants.
In 2003, a suicide bomber tried to ram Musharraf’s vehicle near Islamabad. Rashid was later convicted over the assassination attempt and imprisoned, but escaped during a jail break orchestrated by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/musharraf-assassination-attempt-key-taliban-commander-held/article6216365.ece
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Extremists Make Inroads in Pakistan’s Diverse South
Jul 16, 2014
MIRPURKHAS, Pakistan — In a country roiled by violent strife, the southern province of Sindh, celebrated as the “land of Sufis,” has long prized its reputation as a Pakistani bastion of tolerance and diversity.
Glittering Sufi shrines dot the banks of the river Indus as it wends through the province. The faithful sing and dance at exuberant religious festivals. Hindu traders, members of a sizable minority, thrive in the major towns.
But as Islamist groups have expanded across Pakistan in tandem with the growing strength of the Taliban insurgency, so, too, are they making deep inroads into Sindh. Although banned by the state, such groups are systematically exploiting weaknesses in Pakistan’s education system and legal code as part of a campaign to persecute minorities and spread their radical brand of Sunni Islam.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/world/asia/militants-in-pakistan-make-inroads-in-the-diverse-and-tolerant-south.html?_r=0
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Key TTP Commander Adnan Rasheed arrested in S. Waziristan
Jul 16, 2014
PESHAWAR: Taliban commander and former Pakistan Air Force engineer Adnan Rasheed was injured and arrested by security forces from Shakai, South Waziristan.
While the Taliban and official government sources have not confirmed Rasheed’s arrest; sources have stated that the TTP commander was arrested three days ago following a raid by security forces following a tip off.
It is said Rasheed was hiding out at a house in Shakai, South Waziristan.
Wanted Terrorist:
Adnan Rasheed a former engineer of the Pakistan Air Force was sentenced to death in 2005 for his involvement in an attack on then President Pervez Musharraf in 2003. He was freed from Bannu prison along with hundreds of other inmates during the 2012 jailbreak. It was later confirmed that the assault on the prison was carried out to free Adnan Rasheed.
Following his escape from Bannu prison a local news outlet released a mobile phone video showing Adnan Rasheed in the tribal areas. In 2012 the interior ministry named Adnan Rasheed as the possible mastermind behind the attack on the Kamra air base.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-153933-Key-TTP-Commander--Adnan-Rasheed-arrested-in-S.-Waziristan
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Imran’s ‘Azadi March’ termed drama: Veteran leade
Jul 16, 2014
PESHAWAR: Veteran leader of Awami National Party and MNA from Peshawar Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour on Tuesday termed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan’s Azadi March a drama, saying that the PTI’s agitation would not serve the democratic institutions and the nation.
Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, Mr Bilour said that Mr Khan had dreamt of becoming prime minister though his party’s government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had miserably failed to deliver.
The people would not let Mr Khan to derail democracy, which had been restored in the country after a lot of sacrifices by politicians, civil society and media persons, he said.
Bilour says PTI trying to divert attention from real issues
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1119480/imrans-azadi-march-termed-drama
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South Asia
51 Taliban militants killed during counter-terrorism operations
Jul 16, 2014
At least 51 Taliban militants were killed following counter-terrorism operations conducted by Afghan national security forces (ANSF) in the past 24 hours.
The interior ministry of Afghanistan following a statement said the operations were conducted by Afghan national police (ANP) forces in cooperation with the Afghan national army (ANA) forces and Afghan intelligence – national directorate of security (NDS) operatives.
The statement further added that the operations were conducted in Nangarhar, Kandhar, Zabul, Maidan Wardak and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan.
At least two Taliban militants were also injured and another militant was detained during the operations, interior ministry said, adding that a number of Taliban leaders were also among those killed or injured during the operations.
The statement also added that the Afghan security forces also confiscated various types of weapons, ammunition and explosives during the operations.
The Taliban militants group has not commented regarding the report so far.
http://www.khaama.com/51-taliban-militants-killed-during-counter-terrorism-operations-8323
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‘Beware bearded terrorists,’ Chinese posters warn
16 July 2014
All across southern China, posters have been seen warning its residents against helping bearded men in an attempt to deter the Chinese people from helping apparent "terrorists," the BBC has reported.
The posters depict various cartoon-like confrontations between supposed bearded terrorists and the Chinese public and include slogans such as "Terrorism is the enemy of all mankind" and "Helping terrorists flee the country is a crime".
An example of one of these posters shows the image of two bearded men brandishing swords and is a clear reference to the attacks on transport hubs. Another poster shows bearded men paying a disheveled man to help them flee the country and a distressed citizen calling the 110 emergency number.
These posters have mainly been seen in public places within Liuzhou in the south-central Guangxi region.
The posters were brought to the attention of the wider world after a local blogger, Liuzhou Laowai, described them as "crude" and "racist".
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2014/07/16/China-bearded-men.html
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Chittagong Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ameer arrested again
Jul 16, 2014
The police have arrested Chittagong Metropolitan Jamaat-e-Islami chief ANM Shamsul Islam from the jail gate on Wednesday morning, immediately after his release.
Chittagong district Police Super AKM Hafiz Akter said the metropolitan Jamaat chief has been arrested again immediately after he was released around 10:30am from the Chittagong Central Jail.
“Earlier, the High Court granted him bail in a vandalism case and the prison authorities freed him in the morning after receiving his bail documents.”
The SP further said Shamsul Islam was arrested in a case filed for attacking a police camp and setting fire to a filling station in Lohagarha area.
On May 12, Shamsul along with 20 others were arrested from a secret meeting from Dewanbazar.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/politics/2014/jul/16/chittagong-jamaat-ameer-arrested-again#sthash.uZLVLQ6n.dpuf
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61 rockets fired in Kunar in the latest wave of cross-border shelling
Jul 16 2014
At least 61 rockets have been fired in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan in the latest wave of cross-border shelling.
According to local government officials, the rockets landed in Dangam, Shegal and Marwara districts.
The officals further added that the shelling started on Tuesday and continued until early Wednesday.
Provincial security chief, Gen. Abdul Habib Syed Khel, confirmed the shelling and said no casualties were reported.
Cross-border shelling in eastern Kunar province had been halted during the recent weeks, with the last shelling reported earlier in June.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/61-rockets-fired-in-kunar-in-the-latest-wave-of-cross-border-shelling-8325
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Arab World
Canadian Convert Killed in Syria Lives On as Pitchman for Jihadis
July 16, 2014
WASHINGTON — Shortly after the video begins, a man in his 20s dressed in camouflage appears on screen and begins a recruitment speech.
His pitch is fairly straightforward: Come join the fight — you don’t need to be a radical to be a Jihadi.
He says he was just a normal teenager growing up in Canada, fishing and watching hockey, before he left it all for the battlefields of Syria.
“It’s not like I was some social outcast, wasn’t like I was some anarchist or somebody who just wants to destroy the world and kill everybody,” he said. “No, I was a regular person. And, mujahedeen are regular people, too.”
But while the young man in the video, Andre Poulin, cast himself as just a typical Canadian, the authorities there say he lived a far different life from the one he described. In his late teens and early 20s, according to a Canadian prosecutor, Mr. Poulin learned how to build explosives online and considered becoming an anarchist or a Communist, before converting to Islam.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/16/world/middleeast/isis-uses-andre-poulin-a-canadian-convert-to-islam-in-recruitment-video.html
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Jordan's Abu Qatada says caliphate declaration 'void'
16 July 2014
Radical cleric Abu Qatada, who is being tried on terror charges in Jordan, on Tuesday denounced as "void" the declaration of a caliphate by Sunni jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
"The announcement of a caliphate by the Islamic State (IS) is void and meaningless because it was not approved by jihadists in other parts of the world," Abu Qatada wrote in a 21-page document published on jihadist websites.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has been fighting in neighbouring Syria and Iraq, on June 29 proclaimed a "caliphate" straddling both countries and headed by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who now calls himself Caliph Ibrahim.
"This group does not have the authority to rule all Muslims and their declaration applies to no-one but themselves," said Abu Qatada.
"Its threats to kill opponents, sidelining of other groups and violent way of fighting opponents constitute a great sin, reflecting the reality of the group," wrote the Palestinian-born preacher.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/16/Jordan-s-Abu-Qatada-says-caliphate-declaration-void-.html
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Israeli airstrike kills 18 in Syria
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
At least 18 people have been killed in an Israeli air attack in Syria's Quneitra province.
Assad al-Jolani, a representative of a Syrian opposition media center in Golan and Quneitra, told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that an Israeli warplane bombed a governor's building and military stations leaving 18 people dead.
The dead includes eight civilians and 10 Assad-regime soldiers.
Several people were also wounded.
The Syrian regime did not resist the Israeli bomb raid and attacked opposition controlled areas with missiles, Jolani said.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/140769/israeli-airstrike-kills-18-in-syria
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Iraqi Kurds offer Turkey intel on Mosul hostages
Jul 16, 2014
Iraqi Kurds have offered Turkey cooperation on the ongoing hostage crisis, particularly sharing intelligence information regarding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official has said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iraqi-kurds-offer-turkey-intel-on-mosul-hostages.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69182&NewsCatID=510
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Iraq’s Sunni clerics suffer under insurgent rule
Jul 16, 2014
BAGHDAD – Early this year Sunni Arab worshippers in the Iraqi city of Falluja were surprised to see an armed man in sunglasses instead of the regular sheikh ascend the mosque pulpit.
The visibly agitated cleric stood aside, silenced by a militant preaching violence against Iraq’s security forces.
“The man was wearing a dishdasha (Arab robe) and on top of that, a shoulder holster containing a gun,” said one worshipper who asked not to be identified.
“The sheikh appeared extremely agitated. When the man delivered the sermon the sheikh kept staring at the floor like he didn’t want to hear it.”
The stifling of conciliatory voices among Iraq’s Sunni Arab religious leaders bodes ill for prospects of quelling an insurgency that has taken hold of swathes of the country.
The armed man preached that it was halal, or permitted by religious law, to rob or kill members of Iraq’s security forces, in a sermon meant as a slap in the face to the regular sheikh’s edict a week earlier forbidding such acts.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140716211757
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Syria's Assad to be sworn in, set out plans for new term
World Bulletin/News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
President Bashar al-Assad will be sworn in and set out his plans for a new seven-year term on Wednesday, state media reported, after his 'victory' in an election that affirmed his grip on power more than three years into Syria's civil war.
Dismissed as a sham by Assad's opponents, the vote was held in June in areas of central and northern Syria that remain under state control. Large areas of Syria have fallen to an insurgency dominated by the Islamic State group that has also seized swathes of Iraq.
Assad, supported by Russia and Iran, has defied calls by Western states for him to step aside during the conflict that started in 2011 with protests against his rule before descending into a war that has killed at least 170,000 people.
Assad is due to give a speech for the occasion that will set out his policy for the coming seven years, the Syrian presidency said in a statement on its official Facebook page.
"He's going to say: 'I am the state, I am Syria, and if the West wants access to Syrians, they have to come through me'," said Joshua Landis, an expert on Syria based at the University of Oklahoma in the United States.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/140786/syrias-assad-to-be-sworn-in-set-out-plans-for-new-term
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Iraq names moderate Sunni parliament speaker in move to break political deadlock
Jul 16, 2014
(Reuters) - Iraqi politicians named a moderate Sunni Islamist as speaker of parliament on Tuesday, a long-delayed first step towards a power-sharing government urgently needed to save the state from disintegration in the face of a Sunni uprising.
But after quickly picking Salim al-Jabouri as speaker, lawmakers argued bitterly for hours over his Shi'ite deputy, suggesting they are still far from a deal on a new government or a decision on the fate of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
Iraq's army and allied Shi'ite militia launched an assault to retake the executed former dictator Saddam Hussein's home city Tikrit from the al Qaeda offshoot known as the Islamic State and allied militants, who seized it in mid-June during a lightning assault through the north.
Full report at:
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/07/15/iraq-security-tikrit-idINKBN0FK0IF20140715
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The Islamic State raises support among the people of Mosul
Jul 16, 2014
The group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has changed its name for the third time now. After taking over Mosul, they changed their name to the Islamic State.
The Mongols, under the leadership of Hulagu Khan, carried out a massacre the like of which had never been witnessed before in Baghdad in 1258; at the time, one Mongolian soldier had a Baghdadi kneel down in preparation to chop off his head. But the Mongolian soldier suddenly realized that he had left his sword somewhere nearby and told the Baghdadi not to move until he came back with the sword. The Baghdadi, paralyzed by fear, remained still until the soldier returned.
A deep fear has spread across many Iraqis for perhaps the first time since the Mongolians laid waste to Baghdad. In the meantime though, the deep fear spread by ISIL has wound up bringing stability and security in Mosul, as the city has essentially bowed down in full and unquestioning acknowledgement of the members of ID as their current masters.
Full report at:
http://en.cihan.com.tr/news/The-Islamic-State-raises-support-among-the-people-of-Mosul_2216-CHMTUwMjIxNi81
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Hundreds of Kurds enter Syria to fight ISIL
Jul 16, 2014
Hundreds of Kurdish fighters have entered the predominantly Syrian Kurdish region known as Rojava in recent days to battle jihadists besieging the Kurdish city of Kobane, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdul Rahman said July 14, as the Turkish army beefed up its security on the border.
“At least 800 Kurdish fighters crossed the Turkish-Syrian border to help their comrades in Ain al-Arab [Kobane in Kurdish], which is under total siege by Islamic State jihadists,” Abdul Rahman told Agence France-Presse.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is in control of the Syrian districts of Tal Abyad and Jarablus west of Rojava, has been fighting for more than two weeks with Kurdish forces of the Democratic Union Party (PYD).
The clashes have prompted the Turkish army to increase the number of troops along its border with north-eastern Syria, as ISIL continues to attack villages close to the border in an attempt to capture Kobane.
Full report at:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/hundreds-of-kurds-enter-syria-to-fight-isil-as-turkey-increases-security-on-rojava-border-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=69143&NewsCatID=341
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Ramadan traditions disappearing, scholars say
Jul 16, 2014
Dubai: Islamic scholars believe economic developments, changes in lifestyle and technological advancements have resulted in Muslims straying from the spiritual essence of Ramadan.
Ramadan is a special month for Muslims, a month of prayer, worship and observance.
During Ramadan, Muslims around the world are supposed to take part in an individual and spiritual journey, as well as in a shared religious festivity that is meant to strengthen one’s inner bond with god.
However, in the last decade, many have noticed that Ramadan traditions and rituals have been replaced with new emerging trends that lack spirituality.
In the past, people used to welcome the approach of the month with special traditions and songs that created a unique atmosphere of joy and magic. Nowadays, people celebrate the holy month by visiting shisha cafes, going for iftar buffets and the mall for Ramadan sales and watching TV soap operas.
Full report at:
http://gulfnews.com/in-focus/ramadan/general/ramadan-traditions-disappearing-scholars-say-1.1359566
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India
Govt rejects demand for resolution against Israel
SMITA GUPTA
Jul 16, 2014
The BJP-led NDA government on Tuesday rejected the opposition’s plea in the Lok Sabha that Parliament pass a resolution condemning the Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that have left hundreds of Palestinians dead over the last few days. This was even though the demand came from a virtually united opposition, numbering over a fourth of the Lower House.
Union parliamentary affairs minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, responding on behalf of the government, ruled out a resolution, stressing nothing should be done that could have “implications” for India’s foreign policy. It was a “sensitive issue” and the government, he said, would not jeopardise its stated policy on Palestine and Israel; but he would convey the members’ views to the government.
Later, defending the Centre’s position, he told journalists that the government “could not be made a prisoner of domestic compulsions” or permit its actions to “be coloured by political considerations”. He said the government believed in the “peaceful coexistence” of Palestine and Israel and there was no need to reiterate that in a resolution. “We are not umpires”, he stressed.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-rejects-demand-for-resolution-against-israel/article6216233.ece
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BRICS echoes Modi’s concerns, says there can be no justification for any acts of terror
Press Trust of India | Fortaleza | July 16, 2014
In a strong endorsement of India, the five-nation BRICS summit has come out with a strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there can be no justification for any acts of terror based on ideological, political or religious issues.
“We call upon all entities to refrain from financing, encouraging, providing training for or otherwise supporting terrorist activities. We believe that the UN has a central role in coordinating international action against terrorism, which must be conducted in accordance with international law, including the UN charter, and with respect to human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said the 17-page Fortaleza Declaration at the end of the summit late last night.
In his remarks at the private session of the BRICS leaders, Modi had also sought collective action of the states in ensuring that no sanctuary is given to terrorists in what was seen as a veiled reference to India’s neighbourhood.
Full report at:
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/brics-echos-modis-concerns-on-terrorism-says-there-can-be-no-justification-for-any-acts-of-terror/99/
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ISIS clams up, blow to efforts for release of 39 Indian workers
Harinder Baweja, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, July 16, 2014
Iraq’s Sunni militants holding 39 Indians hostage for more than a month have slammed the doors shut on all negotiations in a big blow to efforts for securing their release.
This is the first time that there is no contact with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) militants after they snatched 40 construction workers, most of them from Punjab, in June from Mosul in northern Iraq. One of them managed to escape and is in Erbil in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan.
“We have been told to be patient. We continue to knock on doors but the clear indication is that ISIS does not want to negotiate their release right now,’’ a government official told HT. The Indian embassy officials were getting information about the captives through various channels, including aid agencies.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/iraqonthebrink/isis-clams-up-blow-to-efforts-for-release-of-39-indian-workers/article1-1240831.aspx#sthash.sSx9WYHP.dpuf
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Africa
Suspected Boko Haram Militants Kidnap Cleric's Children
Jul 16, 2014
YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Suspected Boko Haram militants have kidnapped two teenage children of one of Cameroon's most influential Muslim spiritual leaders.
The abduction occurred in the town of Limani, on the border with Nigeria's Borno state, which is the home base of the Islamist group.
Cameroon's State Radio announced that 10 heavily armed men crossed over from neighbouring Nigeria's Borno State, and ransacked the home of Bieshair Mohaman, the traditional ruler of Limani.
The Muslim spiritual leader was not home at the time of the attack. But the assailants left with two of the cleric's sons, Bieshair Hashimir and Bieshair Cavaye Yegue, both teenage students at the Government Bilingual High School in Limani.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants expressed displeasure with the cleric because he had refused to cooperate with them, and they accused him of giving information concerning their activities to Cameroon's military.
Full report at:
http://www.voanews.com/content/suspected-boko-haram-militants-kidnap-clerics-children/1957791.html
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Over 25 killed in militant attack, government air strike
Jul 16, 2014
At least 26 people were killed when suspected Islamist Boko Haram militants stormed a village in northeast Nigeria and a government warplane opened fire to repel the attackers, local residents and a security source said on Tuesday.
The warplane strafed Boko Haram fighters fleeing in pick-up trucks after raiding Dille, near Lassa in the south of Borno State, for several hours on Monday. The attackers fired on inhabitants and burned homes and churches.
“I counted 26 corpses yesterday evening,” one of the residents, Dauda Illiya, told Reuters.
Most of the deaths occurred during the raid but cannon fire from the government jet also killed at least six civilians – four women and two children, residents said.
“The pilot was just spraying bullets anywhere … People were running here and there. Many people were injured from the bullets,” said a local man, Suleiman Haruna.
Nigeria’s defence headquarters in Abuja did not respond to a request for comment on the incident, but a security source in Borno State confirmed the deployment of the military plane.
Full report at:
http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=72278
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South Sudan: Fresh Fighting in Unity State Sparks Panic
Jul 16, 2014
Kampala — Heavy fighting between rebels and government forces sparked widespread panic among civilians in South Sudan's Unity state. The rebels have charged the government with launching attacks on rebel positions in Kuergueyni, Guit, Nhialdiu and Wichok.
The latest claims come amid renewed fighting in the state which erupted over the weekend. Rebel spokesman Peter Riak Gew told Sudan Tribune by satellite phone interview that rebels had repulsed three separate attacks launched by government forces on Tuesday and were pursuing them towards the capital, Bentiu.
Gew claimed rebels had killed 100 soldiers in Nhialdiu and 26 in Kuergueyni, saying some had been captured alive, while others had managed to flee into the bush.
Gew maintained the rebel group's leadership remained committed to a cessation of hostilities agreement signed in the in Ethiopian capital, Addis-Ababa, in January, accusing the government of failing to abide by the terms of the deal.
"It is very clear that the government does not respect the peace initiative, but [is] only optioned for war," he said.
Full report at:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201407160478.html?aa_source=sptlgt-grid
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Boko Haram Violence Intensifies Regional Divides in Nigeria
Jul 16, 2014
ABUJA — Some Nigerian leaders say increasing Boko Haram violence is deepening the division between the mostly Muslim north and the mostly Christian south. Northerners, who live in the south, say that as the violence spreads, southerners are becoming suspicious of northerners in their midst.
Insurgents began attacking northern Nigeria five years ago but as recently as last year, southerners were saying "Boko Haram is a northern problem."
This year, however, thousands of people have been killed and Boko Haram has hit the centrally located capital three times. Two days ago, the group claimed responsibility for a bombing in the southern city of Lagos, the country’s financial capital and largest city.
Northerners that live in the south say their neighbors are getting anxious, paranoid that any northerner may be associated with Boko Haram.
Full report at:
http://www.voanews.com/content/boko-haram-violence-intensifies-regional-divides-in-nigeria/1957859.html
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Nigeria receives extradited bomber from Sudan
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
The alleged mastermind of a deadly bombing in Abuja that killed over 75 people in April was extradited to Nigeria from Sudan on Tuesday.
"[Aminu] Ogwuche, the Nyanya bombing mastermind, was received at the Abuja airport today. Now in Nigerian custody," Nigeria's defense headquarters announced via Twitter.
Ogwuche was arrested by Interpol in Sudan, where he had been studying for his Master's degree, before being extradited to Nigeria.
Ogwuche was sought by the Nigerian authorities for his alleged links to terrorist activities.
Nigeria says Ogwuche fled the country in May following the April 14 Nyanya car park bombing, in which over 75 people were killed.
Three weeks after the attack, Ogwuche was arrested in Sudan by Interpol. But his extradition to Nigeria was delayed owing to diplomatic bottlenecks that have since been resolved.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/140777/nigeria-receives-extradited-bomber-from-sudan
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Surge in Libya violence raises spectre of civil war
Jul 16, 2014
Libya's government said it was considering calling for international forces to help restore security, as fighting between rival militias around Tripoli airport pushed the country closer to civil war.
With liberal and Islamist militias locked in a brutal power struggle, the country's main international airport, which was shut down on Sunday for security reasons, came under renewed attack late Monday.
Shortly afterwards the government said it was "looking into the possibility of making an appeal for international forces on the ground to re-establish security and help the government impose its authority".
The statement from a spokesman added that the forces would help protect civilians, prevent anarchy and allow the government to build up the army and police.
NATO warplanes helped topple dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, sparking a power struggle between rival armed groups that has wracked the country ever since.
Full report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/106350/World/Region/Surge-in-Libya-violence-raises-spectre-of-civil-wa.aspx
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Southeast Asia
Court orders duo to stand trial for promoting terrorism in Syria
Jul 16, 2014
The Federal Court today dismissed appeals by two terror suspects who wanted the court to strike out their charges on grounds that they did not pose a threat to the country.
A five-man bench led by Chief Justice Tun Ariffin Zakaria said the charge brought against former Internal Security Act detainee Yazid Sufaat and Muhammad Hilmi Hasim was not defective.
The court ordered the case to be mentioned before High Court judge Datuk Azman Husin on July 22.
Yazid and Hilmi were charged on February 8 last year under Section 130G of the Penal Code with posing a security threat to the federation.
Yazid was charged with promoting an ideology intended to incite Syrians to use violence, while cafeteria helper Muhammad Hilmi was charged with abetting him.
They were charged with committing the offences at a house in Taman Bukit Ampang between August and October 20, 2012.
The charges each carry a jail term of up to 30 years, upon conviction.
Both had applied to the High Court to strike out the charges against them before their trial began.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/court-orders-duo-to-stand-trial-for-promoting-terrorism-in-syria#sthash.1pF0fuRG.dpuf
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Malaysians not ready for Hudud, survey finds
Jul 16, 2014
A majority of Malaysians are not ready for Islamic penal code, or Hudud, to be implemented in the country, a survey by Merdeka Center for Opinion Research has found.
The survey, carried out among Peninsula Malaysia voters, saw 58% of Malays, 59% Chinese and 61% Indians agreeing that Malaysia was not yet prepared for the law.
"The survey found that only 25% of the total respondents and 30% of Malay respondents believe that the country is ready for Hudud laws implementation at this time," Merdeka Center said in its release today.
The survey was conducted between April 12 and April 21, 2014, involving 1,009 registered voters comprising 60% Malay, 31% Chinese and 9% Indian respondents interviewed by telephone.
They were selected on the basis of random stratified sampling along ethnicity, gender and state of residence.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysians-not-ready-for-Hudud-survey-finds#sthash.nDPZ8FiX.dpuf
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Muslim NGO chief says Selangor Sultan’s anger also aimed at PAS
Jul 16, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR, July 16 — The Selangor Sultan’s censure of PAS MP Khalid Samad yesterday is also aimed at the wider party leadership for failing to act against the purported rudeness to the state ruler, Muslim NGO Jati chief Datuk Hasan Ali claimed today.
Hasan alleged that the Selangor ruler had kept his displeasure against Khalid under wraps for a long time before the rare reprimand emerged yesterday.
“To me, His Highness’ anger is not only directed towards Khalid Samad but towards the PAS leadership itself. Khalid Samad is so rude, but until now, no brave action from the PAS leadership can be seen,” he told reporters at his house.
Yesterday, the Selangor Sultan Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah censured Khalid Samad for his proposal last month to limit the powers of the state Islamic Religious Council (Mais), accusing the Shah Alam MP of questioning his position as the state’s head of religion.
“It is rude to make such a statement and questioning the powers of Mais, as it is also like questioning my powers as head of the religion.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/muslim-ngo-chief-says-selangor-sultans-anger-also-aimed-at-pas#sthash.i0L2J5bn.dpuf
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SBY Says Indonesia Doesn’t Need Foreign Interference
Jul 16, 2014
Jakarta. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono swore he would not let foreigners meddle with Indonesia’s presidential election dispute, ahead of a visit to the country by former US president Bill Clinton.
“I pray to God. I swear and I ask all Indonesian people, we will solve our own problems without foreigners coming here and playing referee or peacemaker to our conflict. We can solve it ourselves,” Yudhoyono said while breaking his fast at the house of Irman Gusman, speaker of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), in Jakarta on Monday.
Yudhoyono’s remarks are the latest warning against anti-foreign involvement in Indonesia’s election, one that has been a close and polarized race between former military general Prabowo Subianto and Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo.
Split decision
Both candidates claim to have won the election by a single-digit margin, and all eyes are now on the announcement of the official result from the General Elections Commission (KPU) on July 22.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/sby-says-indonesia-doesnt-need-foreign-interference/
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Europe
U.N. chief urges countries to enforce sanctions on ISIS
16 July 2014
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged countries to enforce an international arms embargo and economic sanctions on the Islamic State militant group in a bid to weaken the insurgency that has taken control of large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
In a report to the U.N. Security Council on the world body's political mission in Iraq, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday, Ban described the rapidly deteriorating security situation fueled by the Sunni militants as "deeply worrisome."
IS was previously called the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIL or ISIS).
"I strongly condemn the upsurge of violence at the hands of ISIS and its supporters and call on (U.N.) member states, including Iraq's neighbors, to come together and support Iraq in its fight against terrorism," Ban wrote.
"Member states must meet their obligation to implement and enforce the targeted financial sanctions, arms embargo and travel ban imposed on ISIS," Ban said. "Terrorism must not be allowed to succeed in steering Iraq away from its path towards stability and democracy."
Al Qaeda in Iraq was blacklisted by the Security Council a decade ago and that designation was amended last year to include the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant as alias. ISIL follows al Qaeda's hardline ideology, but alienated Osama bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahri and others with its extreme violence.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/16/U-N-chief-urges-countries-to-enforce-sanctions-on-ISIS.html
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Israel using banned weapons, claims Norwegian doctor
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
Renowned Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert on Tuesday accused Israel of using internationally proscribed weapons in its ongoing air offensive against the Gaza Strip.
"Israel is dropping Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) munitions on Gaza," Gilbert, who is helping to treat Palestinians injured by Israeli airstrikes, told Anadolu Agency.
"DIME explosives cause deep lacerations, which I have found on the bodies of killed and injured Palestinians," Gilbert said.
Over the past week, at least 203 Palestinians have been killed – and more than 1400 injured – in unrelenting Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip.
Fatalities include at least 36 children and 24 women, according to Palestinian health officials.
On July 7, the Israeli government launched its third wide-scale military operation on the blockaded Gaza Strip within the last six years.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/140772/israel-using-banned-weapons-claims-norwegian-doctor
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BRICS: Zero tolerance towards terrorism
Jul 16, 2014
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought collective action of the states in ensuring that no sanctuary is given to terrorists.
In a strong endorsement of India, the five-nation BRICS summit has come out with a strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stressed that there can be no justification for any acts of terror based on ideological, political or religious issues.
“We call upon all entities to refrain from financing, encouraging, providing training for or otherwise supporting terrorist activities. We believe that the UN has a central role in coordinating international action against terrorism, which must be conducted in accordance with international law, including the UN charter, and with respect to human rights and fundamental freedoms,” said the 17—page Fortaleza Declaration at the end of the summit on Tuesday.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/brics-zero-tolerance-towards-terrorism/article6216255.ece
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Blackburn Islamic TV probe school 'cleared' by government inspectors
Jul 16, 2014
GOVERNMENT inspectors have given Blackburn’s Muslim Olive Primary school a clean bill of health after an undercover TV documentary accused staff of preventing clapping and music in class.
In a report published today, regulator Ofsted said: “British values are promoted well and planning is clearly translated into practice.”
Film of staff members at the Tauheedul Trust telling an undercover reporter they believed clapping and music were discouraged at the Bicknell Street primary formed a key part in a Channel Four ‘Dispatches’ programme questioning the role of faith schools in Britain.
They are addressed by the emergency no-notice Ofsted report into the school ordered by the Department for Education.
It highlights, ‘spontaneous applause from a year two class after two pupils acted out a scene from Pinocchio’.
The report also said: “Plans show frequent reference to the use of music, television, video and technology to bring pupils learning to life.”
Full report at:
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/11342251.Blackburn_Islamic_TV_probe_school__cleared__by_government_inspectors/?ref=var_0
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HRW: Boko Haram Killed 2,000 Civilians in Six Months
Jul 16, 2014
A leading rights group says Boko Haram militants have killed more than 2,000 civilians in Nigeria this year, nearly three-fourths of them in the northern state of Borno.
Human Rights Watch says the militants carried out nearly 100 attacks during the first six months of the year, including bomb blasts that targeted marketplaces, a brothel, a technical college and two public viewings of soccer matches.
The rights group released its findings on Tuesday, a day after witnesses said suspected Boko Haram militants killed at least 26 people during a raid in the Borno state village of Dille.
Villagers say gunmen fired shots at civilians and burned homes and churches during the attack, late Sunday, in the mostly Christian village.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Nigerian government. But witnesses say military warplanes opened fire to repel the attackers.
Full report at:
http://www.voanews.com/content/hrw-boko-haram-killed-2000-civilians-in-six-months/1957929.html
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First aid convoy crosses into Syria after UN authorization
World Bulletin / News Desk
Jul 16, 2014
An aid convoy has crossed from Jordan into Syria without the consent of the Syrian regime for the first time since the U.N. authorized the measure.
A U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu Agency that a convoy of 20 trucks loaded with food and aid supplies had crossed Jordan's Al-Ramtha border crossing into Syria on Tuesday.
The aid convoy has been delivered to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in As-Suwayda, a mainly Druze city located in southwestern Syria.
More aid convoys are expected to cross into Syria through Al-Ramtha in the coming days.
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution that allows aid to cross the Syrian border without the concent of the Bashar al-Assad's regime.
The resolution, passed on Monday, outlines how humanitarian convoys can pass through Bab a-Salam and Bab al-Hawa border crossings with Turkey, Al-Yarubiyah crossing with Iraq and Jordan's Al-Ramtha.
Full report at:
http://www.worldbulletin.net/headlines/140761/first-aid-convoy-crosses-into-syria-after-un-authorization
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200 tons of Syrian chemicals in UK for destruction
16 July 2014
A 200-ton shipment of Syrian chemicals once stockpiled to make weapons has arrived in Britain where it will be destroyed.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman on Tuesday described the materials as no more dangerous than industrial chemicals and said they were in Britain after a long operation to disable Syria’s chemical weapons capability.
Syria finished handing over its 1,300 tons of chemical stockpiles in June in an effort to avoid U.S. airstrikes threatened after a chemical attack on a rebel-held suburb near Damascus was believed to have killed more than 1,000 people.
The chemicals are being disposed of at sites in various countries.
Britain’s Royal Navy played a role in escorting the shipments, part of an operation overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/07/16/200-tons-of-Syrian-chemicals-in-UK-for-destruction.html
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North America
Obama pledges to restore ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians
Jul 16, 2014
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has said that he would do “everything we can” to restore the 2012 ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.
At the annual White House Iftar dinner on Monday night, the President also welcomed Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, hoping that it could end the fighting that has already killed hundreds of civilians.
The crisis in the Middle East also cast its shadow on the White House event as an Arab advocacy group, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, called for a boycott of all government-hosted Iftar dinners.
The group said it had opted for the boycott because of continued US support to Israel and also over alleged government spying on American Muslims.
The first Muslim elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, however, told reporters that he shared the group’s concerns but disagreed with the boycott. He said he believed the American Muslims should stay engaged with the greater community and should attend such events.
Two other Muslim members of the US Congress also attended the Iftar.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1119491/obama-pledges-to-restore-ceasefire-between-israel-and-palestinians
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‘CAIR Connects’ Launched with Alert on Gaza Attacks
Jul 16, 2014
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today launched a new community service called "CAIR Connects" designed to enable American Muslims to share their concerns about important foreign policy issues with their elected representatives.
In its first "CAIR Connects" alert, the nation’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, wrote:
"This alert is provided to allow you an opportunity to communicate your concerns regarding the current crisis in Gaza to your elected officials. Please take a few moments to compose your e-mail and it will be delivered to congressional staff."
"We hope CAIR Connects, by providing a quick and easy way to contact elected officials on important issues, will enhance American Muslim civic participation and provide public officials with viewpoints on foreign policy they may not have heard previously,’ said CAIR Government Affairs Manager Robert McCaw. "While our first ‘CAIR Connects’ alert deals with Gaza, future alerts will deal with other international issues as they arise."
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
http://boston-massachusetts.us/cair-connects-launched-with-alert-on-gaza-attacks-tariq-khdeir-expected-to-return-home-to-tampa-wednesday/
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US reviewing extension of Iran diplomacy after ‘tangible progress’
Jul 16, 2014
VIENNA – The United States made “tangible progress” in direct negotiations with Iran, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday, before departing Vienna with no plans to return before next week’s deadline for the end of talks over Iran’s nuclear program.
The talks are likely to be extended beyond the July 20 deadline, which is allowed under an international agreement that jump-started the diplomatic effort.
But speaking to the press, Kerry alluded to a debate surely awaiting him in Washington: Over the merits of such an extension, based on what has thus far been achieved in the Austrian capital by diplomats from the world’s most powerful nations.
In an interview with The New York Times on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif suggested that Iran was still unwilling to dismantle any of the infrastructure in its nuclear program that had alarmed the international community.
The most Iran is willing to do, Zarif said, is cap the program and its production, for up to roughly seven years.
Full report at:
http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/US-reviewing-extension-of-Iran-diplomacy-after-tangible-progress-362957
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/israel-targets-top-hamas-leader,/d/98137