India’s 26/11 Claims Fully Backed by Pak’s Head of Investigation
New Age Islam News Bureau
5 Aug 2015
In Malaysia And Turkey, Are We Witnessing The End Of Moderate Islam?
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India
• India’s 26/11 Claims Fully Backed by Pak’s Head of Investigation
• 2002 Gujarat Riots: State’s Job to Repair Masjids, Centre Tells Supreme Court
• Kerala Youth Who Worked With Daily Now With Islamic State: Intelligence Agencies
• Releasing You Because You Taught Our Students; Go To India and Follow Islam: Islamic State to Abducted Teachers
• Kolkata: Muslim Group Protests Detention of 63 Madrasa Children by Railway Police
• Karnataka: How a Muslim journalist fights the Mullahs' fatwa
• Bangalore Muslim Boy Asked To Recite Hindu Prayer, 'Humiliated'
• Kashmir terror attack: 2 BSF Jawans killed
• One civilian killed in 8th ceasefire violation by Pak in Aug
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South Asia
• Drone Strikes Leave 56 Taliban, Daesh Fighters Killed In Nangarhar
• The Implication of Mullah Omar’s Death on Peace Talks and Taliban’s Future
• UN reports 5,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan over 6 months
• Taliban’s military commander for Baghlan detained in Kabul
• Sher Abbas Stanekzai appointed to head Taliban’s Qatar office
• UN says civilian casualties remain at record high in Afghan war
• Govt urged to withdraw VAT on private education
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Southeast Asia
• China Asks US to Help Fight Muslim Militants in Xinjiang Region
• In Malaysia And Turkey, Are We Witnessing The End Of Moderate Islam?
• Ahmad Maslan says more rich Muslims must donate
• Now Muslims urged to make more donations
• Unite to save Malaysia with 100,000-strong rally, Zaid tells opposition, Dr M and Muhyiddin
• Malaysia tops Global Muslim Travel Index
• ‘Enemy of Islam’ John Kerry and Najib condemned
• Indonesia arrests former US policeman over alleged murder
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Arab World
• ‘Price List’ For ISIS Child Slaves Is Real, U.N. Official Says
• Al-Nusra Front Captures Five More U.S.-Trained Rebels
• Political Analyst: Israel behind Siege Of Shiite-Populated Areas In Syria
• Ansarullah Thwarts Pro-Hadi Militants' Attack on Lahij's Airbase
• Fewer Germans going to Syria, Iraq to fight for ISIS
• Syria army retakes several areas in Hama from terrorists
• U.N. reveals magnitude of Iraq funding crisis
• Egypt militant attack on Sinai house kills five civilians
• Saudi Military Base Comes under Yemen's Heavy Artillery Fire
• Iraqi PM: ISIL Threatening All Regional Countries
• Crown Prince receives princes, Ulema, ministers
• Life under 2 masters in Syrian city of Hasakeh
• KSA, Jordan focus on fight against terror
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Mideast
• 16 al-Qaeda, Pro-Hadi Militants Slain In Southern Yemen
• Turkey to Start Fight against ISIS In Syria ‘Soon’
• Yemen Air Defence Downs Saudi Apache Copter: Local Media
• U.N. warns school may be delayed for Palestinian refugees
• Netanyahu, Obama make duelling appeals on Iran
• Yemen loyalist forces advance in Taez
• U.S. ‘to intervene’ in Palestinian terror case
• IRGC Quds Commander Meets Leaders of Iraq's Kurdistan Region
• Deputy FM: No Change in Russia's Position on Syria
• Iran vows to use full potential to promote regional peace
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Pakistan
• SC Decision Has Strengthened War against Terrorism, PM Tells NA
• Military Courts Get Supreme Court Nod
• Additional Sessions Judge Killed In Rawalpindi
• Rangers ask MQM to hand over 187 murder suspects
• Army all prepared to meet aggression, says Gen Raheel
• Four hanged in Gujranwala, Mianwali jails
• Pakistan reaffirms commitment to Afghan peace process
• PTI, PAT sit-ins cost the country billions of rupees, claims Dar
• Pakistan reaffirms commitment to Afghan peace process
• Two terrorists killed in Noushki
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Africa
• Cameroon Expels 3,000 Nigerians As Part Of Boko Haram Battle
• Suspected Boko Haram Militants Kidnap 100 in Cameroon
• Boko Haram: Borno Elders Accuse Jonathan, Former Service Chiefs of Genocide
• Muslim Artists Fined For Abusing Name of Allah
• Ethiopia Jails Muslims over "Terror" Charges
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North America
• This Bill Could Save America from the Next Muslim Terrorist Attack
• ISIS' Last Words before releasing me were 'Follow Islam', Says Libya Detainee
• Obama presses on dangers to Israel if Iran deal blocked
• US gun shop owner sued for banning Muslims
• San Diego man pleads guilty to leaving threatening voice mails to Muslim group
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Europe
• Russia Seeks Coalition on Islamic State While It Backs Assad
• Russia will not send forces to Syria to fight ISIL: Official
• Crimean Muslims to Establish Battalion
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/india’s-26-11-claims-fully/d/104176
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India
India’s 26/11 Claims Fully Backed by Pak’s Head of Investigation
Aug 5, 2015
NEW DELHI: Pakistan's constant refrain that India had not provided enough evidence to prosecute the perpetrators of 26/11 has been torn asunder by its own key investigator who has stated that the Mumbai mayhem was planned and launched from its soil.
In an article in Dawn newspaper, former DG of Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) Tariq Khosa has backed all assertions made by India about the involvement of Pakistani nationals in the 2008 attacks which left 164 people dead. Khosa said that to be able to deal with the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan was required to "face the truth and admit mistakes". He said dilatory tactics by the defendants, frequent change of trial judges and witnesses turning hostile were serious setbacks for the prosecutors.
Khosa was made the DG of FIA a couple of months after 26/11 and in that capacity headed the probe into the terror strike. He was transferred out of FIA in December 2009.
Known for his integrity, Khosa had also probed the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. He was also asked by Pakistan's Supreme Court to probe high profile corruption cases.
Ex-Pak official's 26/11 stand vindicates us: India
Reacting to Khosa's article, official sources here said the Indian government stood vindicated in its position that the entire conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan, the gunmen trained there and that even the financing of the attacks took place in the neighbouring country.
Khosa listed 7 facts as pertinent to the case. First, he said that Ajmal Kasab, the gunman who was hanged by India last year, was a Pakistani national whose antecedents such as his residence, schooling and joining of a militant outfit had been verified by Pakistani investigators.
Second, he said the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists were trained near Thatta in Sindh, from where they were launched by sea, and that even the training camp had been identified and secured by the investigators. "The casings of the explosive devices used in Mumbai were recovered from this training camp and duly matched,'' he said.
Watch: 26/11 launched from Pak soil: Former DG, FIA
Third, Khosa said the fishing trawler used by the terrorists for hijacking an Indian trawler in which they sailed to Mumbai, was brought back to harbour, then painted and concealed. It was recovered by the investigators and connected to the accused.
"Fourth, the engine of the dinghy abandoned by the terrorists near Mumbai harbour contained a patent number through which the investigators traced its import from Japan to Lahore and then to a Karachi sports shop from where an LeT-linked militant purchased it along with the dinghy. The money trail was followed and linked to the accused who was arrested,'' he wrote in the article.
"Fifth, the ops room in Karachi, from where the operation was directed, was also identified and secured by the investigators. The communications through Voice over Internet Protocol were unearthed,'' he wrote.
Sixth, he said, the alleged commander and his deputies were identified and arrested. Seventh, Khosa added, a couple of foreign-based financiers and facilitators were arrested and brought to face trial.
Khosa said the investigators had even submitted a plea in court to obtain the voice samples of the accused, including the commander (Lakhvi), forcibly, but there was no provision in law which allowed them to do so. He said the investigators have now approached the high court and that the appeal was pending.
When he met his counterpart Narendra Modi recently in Ufa, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif had committed to expediting the Mumbai trial. Welcoming the decision to have NSA-level dialogue on terrorism, Khosa also said that the "botched'' investigations into Samjhauta blasts and India's alleged role in Baloch insurgency also needed to be highlighted. Khosa had also served as the chief of police in Balochistan earlier.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indias-26/11-claims-fully-backed-by-Paks-head-of-investigation/articleshow/48353348.cms
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2002 Gujarat Riots: State’s Job to Repair Masjids, Centre Tells Supreme Court
By Utkarsh Anand
Aug 5, 2015
When Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, the state government had appealed against a high court order, directing it to repair and restore mosques, Dargahs and other religious sites damaged in the 2002 post-Godhra riots. Now, when he is the Prime Minister, the central government has told the Supreme Court that it has no obligation regarding restoration of religious places damaged in the communal riots and that the accountability has to be fixed with the state government. In its first affidavit into the matter, the Centre has said: “It is primarily the responsibility of the state government to maintain law and order in the state and to provide security, relief, rehabilitation and to compensate riot victims.” Putting the onus on the Gujarat government, the Ministry of Home Affairs has said that the ‘public order’ and ‘police’ are state subjects and hence the state government was answerable to the queries of the top court regarding repairs and restoration of mosques, Dargahs, graveyards, Khanqahs and other religious sites. “The central government, however, has provided ex-gratia to the victims of Gujarat riots in cases of death, injury and damages to residential and uninsured commercial properties, on the pattern of the package announced for the victims of anti-Sikh riots of 1984,” it stated. The Home Ministry added that the report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the post-Godhra riots was forwarded to the Gujarat Chief Secretary for taking necessary action after placing it in the state legislature. “Hence, the main contesting respondent is the state of Gujarat,” it said. The affidavit has been filed by the Ministry in the appeal by Gujarat government against the 2012 High Court order, directing it to repair religious places damaged in the post-Godhra riots. While pulling up the state government for its “inaction and negligence” during the riots, the high court had also ordered compensation for over 500 places of worships in the state on a PIL by Islamic Relief Committee of Gujarat, an NGO. After the high court had criticised the state government for not tabling the NHRC report within six months of it being prepared, the 2002-03 report was tabled in Gujarat assembly in March 2012, nearly 10 years after the subsequent riots. In its report, the NHRC had censured the state. In its earlier hearings, the apex court gave an option to the Gujarat government for formulating a scheme for repairing religious places damaged during the riots on the lines of its earlier order where it had asked the Odisha government to formulate a scheme for repairing churches damaged during the 2009 Kandhamal riots. The case will be heard next on August 19. - See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/2002-gujarat-riots-states-job-to-repair-masjids-centre-to-sc/#sthash.RLKcyzT3.dpuf
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/2002-gujarat-riots-states-job-to-repair-masjids-centre-to-sc/
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Kerala youth who worked with daily now with Islamic State: Intelligence agencies
by Shaju Philip
Aug 5, 2015
Intelligence agencies have confirmed that a Muslim youth from Palakkad in Kerala, who had gone to Qatar two years ago, has joined the Islamic State (IS) in Syria. He had briefly worked with a newspaper run by a right-wing Muslim group in Kerala before moving to Qatar where he got the job of an accountant. “He disappeared since then and is believed to be in Syria,” said sources.
Sources said they didn’t want to reveal his name to protect the identity of his family, who had tried to dissuade him from joining IS.
Sources at the newspaper said the youth had worked with them for a short period as a DTP operator. “A graduate, he sometimes contributed local news for the daily. But after nearly four months, he left for Doha. He was not directly associated with the daily but he may have sent some local news while working in Doha too. We tried to contact him later, but couldn’t do so,” said a source at the newspaper.
Intelligence sources said several youths from Kerala supported the IS on social media platforms. “Most of the pro-IS Facebook accounts of Malayalees are operated from Gulf countries. The Gulf countries are dealing with those who support IS on social media. We have inputs that Saudi Arabia and UAE acted tough against a few persons from Kerala who had supported the IS on social media,’’ said sources.
indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/kerala-youth-who-worked-with-daily-now-with-is-intelligence-agencies/
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Releasing you because you taught our students; go to India and follow Islam: Islamic State to abducted teachers
5 August 2015
"They asked whether we are Muslim or non Muslim... as they came to know we were non-Muslims they detained us...they did not do any thing, they did not harm, even they did not touch me or any of us," Vijay Kumar on landing at Bengaluru International Airport told reporters.
Two Indian teachers from Karnataka, kidnapped in Libya allegedly by Islamic State (IS) terror group and released subsequently, were reunited with their families as they arrived home on Tuesday.
The two said they were treated with respect by the abductors and not tortured in captivity.
"They asked whether we are Muslim or non Muslim... as they came to know we were non-Muslims they detained us...they did not do any thing, they did not harm, even they did not touch me or any of us," Vijay Kumar on landing at Bengaluru International Airport told reporters.
"They respected us, they told us if you were teachers of the University...you have taught our students, so we are releasing you. You can go to India and follow Islam," he said.
Thanking the Indian government, people and the media for their help and good wishes, he said, "Only sad thing is that two of our friends are still there. If they also come I will be happy."
Four Indian teachers working at University of Sirte in Libya, including two from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, were kidnapped in Libya allegedly by the ISIS while returning to India from Tripoli on July 29.
The Indian government had on July 31 said it had secured the release of two of them - Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar.
Efforts were underway to get the other two freed.
Lakshmikant, from Raichur district in Karnataka, on his arrival at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad said, "...Nobody tortured us...they did not harm...they gave respect."
"Four of us were together (during captivity). They released me and Vijay Kumar. I have been told that Gopikrishna and Balram are safe. I am requesting them that they too are released," he said.
Both Lakshmikant and Vijay Kumar were received by their family members at the airport.
Lakshmikant's wife Prathiba, who was among the family members who received him at the airport, said, "We are very happy and proud of the Indian government. We thank each and everybody, media and family friends."
Vijay Kumar's family hails from Kolar district in Karnataka.
Gopikrishna, an assistant professor at University of Sirte in Libya, is a native of Tekkali in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, while Balram, an English Professor, also works at the same University and hails from Karimnagar district of Telangana.
Lakshmikant further said one Shaikh, who was among the abductors, had asked him to send him message once he reached India and not to worry about his friends (Gopikrishna and Balram).
Accordingly, Lakshmikant spoke in Arabic to media here to convey the message and requested for release of Gopikrishna and Balram.
Meanwhile, Balram's wife Sridevi said, "It is a good news. I met Lakshmikant. It seems Shaikh had asked him to message or give a phone call as soon as he lands in Hyderabad, so that accordingly these two people (Gopikrishna and Balram) will be released. That's the information Lakshmikant gave me."
She said they (abductors) told Lakshmikant that "we are going to release these two people also."
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-releasing-you-because-you-taught-our-students-go-to-india-and-follow-islam-islamic-state-to-abducted-teachers-2111217
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Kolkata: Muslim Group Protests Detention of 63 Madrasa Children by Railway Police
By Arshad Ali
Aug 4, 2015
Members of Muslim community put up roadblocks at different parts of the city from about 3 pm on Monday till late in to the night demanding the release of 63 children who had been intercepted from Sealdah station by officials of the Government Railway Police (GRP) on August 2. The children reportedly arrived from different parts of Bihar, particularly from Purnea-Kishengunj belt and were headed to Pune for training in madrasa.
“We had been informed by the GRP about the children and we took custody of them and arranged for their stay on Sunday while informing officials of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Purnea. Late last night, the children were sent back to Purnea with police escort and the CWC there had been asked to verify their addresses and the claims that they were being taken to Maharashtra for higher studies. We could not take any risk,” said Ashokendu Sengupta, chairman, State Commission for Protection of Child rights. He also said that next time when they travel, there should be a written certification of the identity of the children and their purpose of travel, issued by either the Panchayat or the local CWC. The blockades, late last evening at one stage seemed to be running out of control. The Kolkata police however, deployed RAF in different parts of the city as tension mounted and traffic came to a standstill for hours. The situation was finally diffused in the early hours of Tuesday. The 63 children – all boys except one – aged between 6 and 17 years had been intercepted by officials of the GRP as they were boarding a train to Maharashtra at Sealdah Station. They were being accompanied by one madrasa teacher and his wife. It was found out that the police were tipped off by officials of CINI Asha Child Welfare Society. The Agitators however, blamed the police. “It is unfair on their part. Only because there are so many Muslims travelling, they think they are going to be trained as terrorists. Do we now need passports to travel within our own country? They were little children who were going to study,” said Sharafat Abrar, one of the lead protestors. Yesterday, members of Minority Youth Federation met Pratik Ghosh, superintendent of the government run Barasat social welfare home where the children were kept, demanding their release.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/kolkata-muslim-community-protest-detention-of-63-children-by-railway-police/
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Karnataka: How a Muslim journalist fights the Mullahs' fatwa
Sudipto Mondal
Aug 05, 2015
Television journalist Irshad Uppinangady is a harried man nowadays. For he has dared to question his religion by making a documentary film which exposes the growth of Islamic fundamentalism in coastal Karnataka.
Uppinangady, who screened Swargada Hadialli Kamaruthiruva Kanasagalu (Dreams Crushed On The Path To Heaven) before a private audience last week in Bengaluru, in the documentary talks about the fatwa imposed by Muslim clerics on Muslim schoolgirls, as young as five and six, forbidding them from dancing.
Dozens of little girls interviewed in the film, however, say they want to dance at school events but are afraid of their Quran teachers and mullahs. Many parents too say they are helpless because they are scared they will be excommunicated if they let their little daughters go on stage.
"I am being called an RSS agent, communist and kafir," says Uppinangady.
"The attainment of heaven in the afterlife is a resident obsession of the Muslim community. And these clerics behave like they are heaven's gatekeepers. They are constantly scaring people by saying things like 'if you do this you will go to hell' or 'if you do that you will go to heaven'. This is what inspired the film's title."
He thinks his film has made Muslim fundamentalists uncomfortable because it features voices that dare to speak out against the clerics.
"They are angry because my film establishes that they are trying to threaten ordinary Muslims into submission," he says.
ppinangady has received a stream of abuses and threats after just a few private screenings. Some Muslim leaders have started demanding that the film should not be made available for public viewing.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/a-muslim-journalist-irshad-uppinangady-s-battle-against-the-mullahs-fatwa/article1-1376573.aspx
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Bangalore Muslim boy asked to recite Hindu prayer, 'humiliated'
Sudipto Mondal
Aug 05, 2015
A 15-year-old Muslim boy studying in a south Bengaluru school has retreated into a shell and needs counselling. And it is all because of a prayer.
Naushad Kashimji's (name changed) school adopted a few Sanskrit shlokas as its official prayer for the morning assembly this academic year. Last week, when Kashimji's principal caught him and a few other Muslim students for not singing the prayer, they were punished for it.
"I was humiliated in front of 1,200 students and my constitutional right was violated. She made us go on stage and forced us to sing the prayer in front of everybody. She scolded me in front of everyone on the mike when I mispronounced a few Sanskrit words," said the remarkably articulate Kashimji.
Outraged by the incident, his mother along with activists of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) approached the school and tried to lodge a complaint with the principal.
"The principal acted like she didn't understand what the fuss was all about. She kept saying that prayer was important to instil values and discipline in students. She just didn't understand when we tried to explain that we belong to a different faith," Kashimji's mother told the Hindustan Times.
"What disturbed us most is that the principal suggested that the boy was turning into a fundamentalist Muslim. She also made snide remarks about the fact he was from Bhatkal (a Muslim dominated town in coastal Karnataka)," said R Khaleemullah of the APCR. The only thing they managed to achieve was an exemption for Kashimji who can now sit in his class while the assembly is on.
But that is not good enough. Why can't they go back to the old prayer which had no religion in it? Fourteen of the 32 students in my class are Muslims. There are people from other religions too. At least 30% of the school is Muslim. Why should I sit separately?" he asked.
Kashimji, who is also the head boy of his school, said the incident has "hurt his pride".
"I am on the school debate team and was elected as the head boy unanimously. I have studied here since I was in kindergarten. The teachers love me and my classmates respect me. I felt like all that was lost when I refused to sing the prayer that day," he said.
"I feel a little awkward now to discipline other students. They look at me as though I don't have the right anymore. Being the head boy makes me uncomfortable now."
He, however, added that he is happy with the fact that many of his Hindu friends have been by his side since the July 27 incident.
Kashimji's parents say he has started keeping to himself after the incident and instead of staying back for games in the school grounds, he comes home and sits by himself on his computer. His parents are now planning to take him for counselling for depression.
One of the prayers is a selection from Guru Gita from Skanda Purana's Uttarakhand section and the other is an invocation to Hindu god Ganesha, who is considered the remover of obstructions.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/indiatemplate/bangalore-muslim-boy-asked-to-recite-hindu-prayer-humiliated/article1-1376426.aspx
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Kashmir terror attack: 2 BSF Jawans killed
Aug 5, 2015
JAMMU: At least two BSF Jawans have been killed and eight others injured in a terror attack in Jammu & Kashmir's Udhampur district on Wednesday.
One militant is also reported to be killed in the return fire by BSF Jawans. The firing is under way.
"Militants fired at a BSF convoy at Narsu Nallah on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway today (Wednesday)," a senior police officer said.
"Injured personnel have been shifted to hospital for treatment," the official said.
The officer also said senior BSF troopers and police officers have rushed to the spot, which is 65 kilometres away from here in Udhampur district.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kashmir-terror-attack-2-BSF-jawans-killed/articleshow/48354212.cms
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One civilian killed in 8th ceasefire violation by Pak in Aug
Aug 5, 2015
JAMMU / NEW DELHI: One civilian was killed in Hamirpur Kona in Pargwal sector in Jammu district on Tuesday in what was the eighth ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the International Border in August alone.
"Pakistan Rangers resorted to firing of small arms and mortar shells on border outposts along the IB in Kanachak and Pargwal sectors of Jammu district from 0540 hours. The Pak firing affected approximately a dozen BoPs along IB in these sectors," a spokesperson of the Border Security Force said.
The BSF retaliated by returning fire. The exchange of fire was on till the last reports came. The BSF also claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid by two armed terrorists in Kanachak sub sector in Jammu district.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/One-civilian-killed-in-8th-ceasefire-violation-by-Pak-in-Aug/articleshow/48353330.cms
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South Asia
Drone strikes leave 56 Taliban, Daesh fighters killed in Nangarhar
By KHAAMA PRESS - Wed Aug 05 2015
56 fighters from the militant groups of Taliban and Daesh have been killed in fresh US drone strikes in eastern Nangarhar province.
Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar province told reporters on Wednesday that the airstrikes were carried out on militants in Gorgore area of Haska Mina District late yesterday.
He said six strikes were carried out on insurgent hideouts in the area.
40 of those killed belonged to Taliban and 16 others were members of Daesh group.
The airstrikes took place after heavy clashes between the two groups in the same area but no report was released about the possible casualties.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/drone-strikes-leave-56-taliban-daesh-fighters-killed-in-nangarhar-3708
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The implication of Mullah Omar’s death on peace talks and Taliban’s future
By AHMAD HASIB FARHAN - Wed Aug 05 2015
The confirmation of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar’s death, reveals fractures inside the Taliban movement. Omar’s death has intensified existing divisions among the Taliban over whether to keep fighting or negotiate a peace process with the National Unity Government. Taliban now faces serious crisis that could lead them to a permanent division, with some factions deciding to negotiate with the government and others continue the fight. At the moment there are three groups of Taliban that Afghan government is dealing with.
The first group is the Taliban who wanted to negotiate a peace deal with the Afghan government during Hamid Karzai’s leadership without consulting or taking permission from their godfather, the Pakistani military establishment. This group was led first, by Mullah Ghani Beradar, the former first deputy of Mullah Omar and second, by Mullah Mutasim Agha Jan, the Taliban Finance Minister. All the attempts for peace of this group were foiled by the Pakistan military establishment, they arrested Mullah Beradar and tried to assassinate Mutasim Agha Jan. Agha Jan was shot and critically injured in an attack (Masterminded by ISI) in Karachi in 2010, apparently because of his quest for a peaceful solution to the Afghan problem.Agha Jan managed to escape to Turkey, while Mullah Beradar landedin the ISI prison. In the meantime the Pakistani military establishment continuously hunted all those med and senior level Taliban commanders who wanted to negotiate with the Afghan government and follow the path of Beradar and Agha Jan. It was clear that Pakistan’s military establishment did not like the group to talk to the Afghan government, bypassing Islamabad.
The second group is the Taliban that accepted to negotiate with the Afghan government under direct pressure from Pakistan. This group was led by Mullah Abbas Akhund, the Taliban’s health minister from 1996 to 2001 and also included its interior affairs committee chief, Mullah Jalil, both are considered important Afghan Taliban leaders.This group also has the support of the Qatar delegation. This group had its first direct talks with the Afghan government on July 7, brokered and facilitated by Pakistan in the town of Murree, a hill resort on the outskirts of Islamabad.
The third group is led by recently appointed Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor, who replaced Mullah Omar. New Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor rejected peace talks amid reports of fractures in their ranks following the announcement of the death of Mullah Omar. He called upon Taliban for unity in his first audio message.“We will continue our jihad until the creation of an Islamic system. The enemy with their talk of peace is trying by this propaganda to weaken the jihad,” a voice introduced as Akhtar Mohammad Mansour said in a speech on the Taliban Web site.
“We should all work to preserve unity, division in our ranks will only please our enemies, and cause further problems for us,” he said in the recording released by the group.
The conundrum of new Taliban leadership
Jalaluddin Haqqani, was the only senior Taliban commander who backed Mullah Mansoor’s ascendency. The Haqqani network posted a statement on Taliban’s website quoting its founder, backing the appointment of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour whose legitimacy has been challenged by many other senior Taliban leaders.
“We are sure that the new leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour is appointed with complete legitimacy and after due consultation and he is the most suitable successor of … the late Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid,” the statement from the Haqqani group, which is allied to the Taliban, said.
However, many other senior Taliban leaders including Mullah Omar’s family refused theelection of Mullah Masoor as their new leader. According to Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper, Mullah Abdul Manan, brother of late Taliban leader Mullah Omar, representing his family, rejected the selection of Mullah Mansoor as the new chief of the Taliban and refused to pledge allegiance to him.
Other Senior Taliban members also opposed Mullah Mansoor selection, launched a parallel Shura and declared themselves as ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’.
“A few people announced Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as the new leader at a meeting where neither majority of the Shura members nor Ulema were invited”, the council said in a statement. “They imposed Mullah Mansoor’s leadership on the Islamic Emirate for vested interests”.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/the-implication-of-mullah-omars-death-on-peace-talks-and-talibans-future-9568
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UN reports 5,000 civilian casualties in Afghanistan over 6 months
August 05, 2015
Kabul: Civilian deaths and injuries from the Afghan conflict remained at “record high levels” during the first half of this year, a new United Nations report has found. The report, released here Wednesday, said 1,592 civilians had been killed and 3,329 injured between January and June.
The casualty figures were slightly higher than the first half of last year and higher than any similar period since 2009, the U.N. report said. While about 70 percent of the deaths and injuries were caused by anti-government forces, mainly the Taliban, the report noted “with concern” that there had been a 60 percent increase in casualties caused by pro-government forces.
The report came after a period of especially aggressive and deadly attacks by Taliban fighters, both in their traditional southern strongholds such as Helmand Province and in new northern regions. Kunduz Province in the north, where the Taliban launched two offensives, saw the highest number of civilian casualties from ground combat of any province.
“Afghan civilians have suffered far too long from this destructive conflict. The devastating consequences of this violence against civilians as documented in this report should serve to strengthen the broad conviction that peace is urgently needed,” said Nicholas Haysom, head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/05-Aug-2015/un-reports-5-000-civilian-casualties-in-afghanistan-over-6-months
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Taliban’s military commander for Baghlan detained in Kabul
By KHAAMA PRESS - Wed Aug 05 2015
The National Directorate of Afghanistan (NDS) – Afghanistan’s intelligence agency has detained the military commander of Taliban militant group in northern Baghlan province.
A statement issued by the NDS on Wednesday states that Mohammad Yaseen S/O Amin Rahman was sent from Peshawar city of Pakistan to assign so-called district governors and police chiefs in Baghalan province.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/talibans-military-commander-for-baghlan-detained-in-kabul-3707
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Sher Abbas Stanekzai appointed to head Taliban’s Qatar office
By KHAAMA PRESS - Wed Aug 05 2015
After the resignation of Sayed Tayyeb Agha, Sher Abbas Stanekzai appointed by the Taliban as the acting chief of the groups political office in Qatar.
In a statement sent to media, Stanekzai has also announced his support for the newly elected Emir Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor.
“We assure our full support to the new chief,” the press release states, “I and other members of the Political Office of the Islamic Emirate declare allegiance to the honourable Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. We consider this decision in accordance with Islamic Sharia and will follow his instructions.”
Sher Abbas Stanekzai, who ages between 55 and 60 years, was the deputy health minister during Taliban regime and one of the founders of the Qatar political office.
Holding a masters’ degree in political science, Stanekzai was serving as a deputy to Sayed Tayyeb Agha in the same office.
He is a former member of Harakat-e-Inqilab-e-Islami under the leadership of Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/sher-abbas-stanekzai-appointed-as-the-acting-chief-of-talibans-qatar-office-3705
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UN says civilian casualties remain at record high in Afghan war
By ZABIHULLAH MOOSAKHAIL - Wed Aug 05 2015
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has released a report indicating that the civilian casualties remain at record in the Afghan war in the first half of 2015.
According to the 2015 Midyear Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, there were 4,921 civilian casualties from January to June in Afghanistan.
The report is documenting 1,592 deaths and 3,329 injured that shows a one per cent increase compared to the civilian casualties recorded in the first six months of last year.
The report which UNAMA has prepared with coordination from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights suggests that about 90 % of these casualties were caused by ground engagements, improvised explosive devices, complex and suicide attacks and targeted killings.
Nicholas Haysom UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan says that looking at the destructive conflict, peace is an urgent need.
“Afghan civilians have suffered far too long from this destructive conflict. The devastating consequences of this violence against civilians as documented in this report should serve to strengthen the broad conviction that peace is urgently needed,” he said, “Until peace is achieved, all parties to the conflict must fulfill their obligations under international humanitarian law to minimize the impact of the conflict on civilians and match their public statements on the protection of civilians with concrete actions.”
According to UNAMA, 70 per cent of these casualties were caused by the militant activities, 16 % by the Pro-Government Forces and Pro-Government Militia and one % attributed to the International Forces.
UNAMA further adds that a specific party could not be held responsible for the remaining 14 % of the civilian casualties.
UNAMA has once again called on all parties to reduce civilian casualties. It outlines the following steps to the conflicting-parties in order to mitigate casualties and protect civilians from harm.
Full report at:
http://www.khaama.com/un-says-civilian-casualties-remain-at-record-high-in-afghan-war-3704
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Govt urged to withdraw VAT on private education
Aug 5, 2015
Leaders of private universities’ association yesterday called upon the government to review the decision of imposing 7.5% VAT on private education, saying it will hamper the expansion of private tertiary education.
The government, in one hand, has been working on the expansion of education to ensure that it reached everyone, but on the other hand, it was imposing VAT on private universities, they said adding that it was not expected.
“Ultimately the VAT has to be paid by the students which will be a burden for their parents,” said Sheikh Kabir Hossain, president of Association of Private Universities’ of Bangladesh.
He also said the imposition of the VAT will impede higher education of the country.
Kabir made the observation to Dhaka Tribune after a meeting with the association’s executive committee members. Around 35 chairman of board of trustees of different private universities attended the meeting.
Full report at:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2015/aug/05/govt-urged-withdraw-vat-private-education
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Southeast Asia
China asks US to help fight Muslim militants in Xinjiang region
Aug 5, 2015
BEIJING: China has appealed for United States support in fighting Islamist militants in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, saying they are also a threat to the US.
Chinese officials say the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) recruits Uighurs, a largely Muslim ethnic minority from Xinjiang, and trains them with extremists in Syria and Iraq, with the intent of returning to China to wage holy war.
Also read: China says fleeing Uighurs want to bring holy war home
Many foreign experts, however, have questioned whether ETIM exists as the coherent group China claims it is.
The threat of terror grows “more complicated and severe by the day,” China's Foreign Ministry said late on Tuesday, following a meeting between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping and Tina Kaidanow, Ambassador-At-Large for the US State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism.
“China stressed the serious threat of ETIM and other East Turkestan terror organisations to China, the United States and the international community, and requested that the United States vigorously support and coordinate with China in combating the efforts of East Turkestan terrorism forces,” the ministry said.
Also read: Repatriated Uighurs ‘were on way to join jihad’, says China
Both sides agreed to combat cyber terrorism and violent extremism, and strengthen anti-terrorism intelligence, it added.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Uighurs, have illegally crossed the Chinese border in recent years, travelling to Turkey via Southeast Asia.
Rights groups say such migrants are fleeing ethnic violence in Xinjiang and Chinese controls on their religion and culture, allegations Beijing denies.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198535/china-asks-us-to-help-fight-muslim-militants-in-xinjiang-region
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In Malaysia and Turkey, are we witnessing the end of moderate Islam?
5 August 2015
At opposite ends of the Islamic world, two traditional examples of moderate Islam in a modern state are slipping fast. In their desperate quest for personal power, President Erdogan of Turkey and Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia appear to be not only destroying their personal reputations but also dragging their countries towards religious extremism and confrontation between national minorities.
Let's first recall the main facts leading to the present inflection points in both countries.
In the recent parliamentary elections in Turkey, Erdogan led a highly personalised campaign by his AKP party designed to cement his position as unassailable father of the nation. Yet the election produced an unlikely winner in the person of the moderate Kurdish politician Selahettin Demirtash and his HDP party, who went beyond ethnic allegiance to attract a sufficient part of the anti-Erdogan, leftist and urban vote to block the President's march to absolute (albeit democratically sanctioned) power.
In coalition talks since, AKP has appeared unready to make concessions, leading many commentators to suspect Erdogan is aiming for a new ballot, a move constitutionally required if no agreement for a parliamentary majority can be found by the end of August. However, to win the desired absolute majority at these elections, Erdogan will need to create a popular nationalist and Islamic backlash — or, to be precise, we might well replace 'Islamic' with 'Sunni', as Turkey's Shia minority traditionally votes for the Kemalist opposition to the AKP. This explains at least in part why Erdogan's government has, since the beginning of the civil war next door, turned a blind eye to activities on Turkish soil by Syrian-based Sunni extremists.
Surprising parallels to Erdogan's power games can be found in Malaysian politics. Cornered by what appears to be a case of personal corruption around a state development fund, PM Najib is flailing wildly at anybody, including his own deputy as well as independent media outlets which try to report what really happened.
The opposition coalition in Malaysia, a misfit group of Islamic conservatives and non-Muslim Chinese held together solely by their dislike of the government, is finally coming apart. The immediate issue is the creeping advance of hudud (the Islamic criminal code), fiercely supported by the conservative wing of the opposition and equally strongly rejected by secular opposition parties. Najib might well speculate that by moving his ruling party UMNO to the religious right he can save his neck by gaining support from religious conservatives while condemning secularists to perpetual minority status.
Full report at:
http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2015/08/05/In-Malaysia-and-Turkey-the-end-of-moderate-Islam.aspx
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Ahmad Maslan says more rich Muslims must donate
August 5, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — Amid controversy over a RM2.6 billion donation into the prime minister’s personal accounts, Datuk Ahmad Maslan has urged “rich Muslims” to contribute funds for charitable purposes.
In a Twitter post last night, the international trade and industry deputy minister appended a screen capture of articles reporting an Arab prince’s plan on donating RM120 billion to the poor.
“We need many more Muslim individuals who grew rich from land/business and can donate for noble purposes,” he wrote on Twitter.
The reports are of Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who reportedly pledge to give away his entire US$32 billion (RM124 billion) fortune to the needy.
Malaysia has been rocked by a recent controversy after it was claimed that US$700 million was deposited into Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal accounts.
This was initially alleged to be funds channelled from state-owned 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/ahmad-maslan-says-more-rich-muslims-must-donate
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Now Muslims urged to make more donations
August 5, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR: Muslims have been urged to make greater efforts at philanthropy by making donations to charities, at a time when “donations” have become the theme of online satire and parodies among Malaysians.
Two competing appeals, one apparently serious, another clearly satirical, came amidst controversy over RM2.6 billion revealed in news reports to have been deposited in Najib Razak’s personal banking accounts, which have now been said to have been “donations”.
Umno’s information chief Ahmad Maslan was apparently making an appeal in all seriousness to rich Muslims to become philanthropists. However former Umno and PAS leader Mohd Nakhaie Ahmad used the “donation” theme to mock the deposits founds in Najib’s account.
Mohd Nahkaie said the zakat boards across the country should make greater efforts to erase their shame, as the Muslimohd-nakhaiem community’s contributions had hardly more than RM1 billion. However, “others have managed to collect donations of RM2.6 billion”, adding: “Aren’t you ashamed?”
Ahmad Maslan, also calling for greater charitable donations, said in an online posting that more “rich Muslims” should contribute to charity, accompanying his remark with a screenshot of news reports about Saudi prince Alwaleed Talal announcing he was giving away his entire US$32 billion (RM124 billion) fortune to the needy.
Ahmad said: “We need many more Muslim individuals, who grew rich from land or business, who can donate for noble purposes.”
He made no reference to the money in Umno president Najib’s accounts, which was initially believed to have been linked to the troubled government investment arm 1Malaysia Development Bhd. The anti-corruption agency MACC, however, said the money were “donations’ and not money from 1MDB.
Full report at:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/08/05/now-muslims-urged-to-make-more-donations/
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Unite to save Malaysia with 100,000-strong rally, Zaid tells opposition, Dr M and Muhyiddin
August 5, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 — Datuk Zaid Ibrahim suggested today that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the opposition join forces to hold a mammoth rally with at least 100,000 participants to protest against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak amid the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) controversy.
The former de facto law minister said former prime minister Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin, who was recently removed as deputy prime minister, together with PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali and Harapan Baru chief Mohamad Sabu, should stand together at the rally to declare that, despite their political differences, they will unite to “save” Malaysia.
“Nothing is more urgent than the ‘rakyat’ showing the courage to assemble the way Philippine people power brought Ferdinand Marcos to book and how everyday Indonesians rallied against Suharto,” Zaid wrote on his blog, referring to the former Philippine and Indonesian presidents who were overthrown over their dictatorial rule.
“These leaders should not allow those who steal and plunder the nation’s wealth to get away,” he added, referring to Dr Mahathir, Muhyiddin and opposition leaders.
“They must show the people the power of solidarity against corruption and the abuse of power. They must restore our faith in our police and our Attorney-General’s Chambers,” said Zaid.
Amid the controversy over corruption allegations involving 1MDB, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) came out Tuesday to say that the RM2.6 billion in Najib’s personal bank account did not come from the state-owned fund, but was a donation instead. The identities of the donors were not specified.
Najib also dropped his deputy Muhyiddin and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal from Cabinet last week, both of whom had been publicly critical of the government’s handling of the 1MDB controversy.
Tan Sri Gani Patail, who had been leading an inter-agency task force investigating 1MDB, was also suddenly dropped as Attorney-General, while four BN members of the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) were appointed to the Cabinet, causing its own 1MDB probe to be suspended and interviews with 1MDB executives delayed.
“Now, it seems that Bank Negara Governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz and her officers might be next on the hit list,” said Zaid.
Full report at:
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/unite-to-save-malaysia-with-100000-strong-rally-zaid-tells-opposition-dr-m
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Malaysia tops Global Muslim Travel Index
Aug 5, 2015
THE world is opening up to Muslim travellers, thanks to the economic success of certain Islamic countries.
Thomson Reuters’ the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2014/2015 report states that Halal Travel industry represents 11.5% of global expenditure.
The Global Muslim Travel Index 2015 indicates that Malaysia is the most preferred destination, followed by Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
In an interview with Arabian Gazette, Eyup Celik, co-founder of MuslimBreak.com, quotes the DinarStandard, which states that Muslim tourists spent $137 billion or RM527 billion (excluding pilgrims in Saudi Arabia) in 2012. By 2020, this figure is expected to exceed $180 billion (RM693 billion).
He attributes this growth to businesses identifying a gap in the market and capitalising on it.
While the halal tourism sector started growing in Malaysia and Turkey, where tourism is a highly developed and successful industry, other countries are seeing a rise in this as well.
Among the concerns of Muslim travellers are the availability of halal food, separate spaces for men and women as well as praying facilities.
Full report at:
http://www.therakyatpost.com/life/tourism-life/2015/08/04/malaysia-tops-global-muslim-travel-index/
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‘Enemy of Islam’ John Kerry and Najib condemned
August 5, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR: The Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia carried out a protest march outside Putra World Trade Centre today, condemning the prime minister, Najib Razak, for the presence of US Secretary of State John Kerry at an Asean meeting being held here.
Ustad Umar, a member of the group, said Najib’s political weakness was now obvious in his willingness to show respect towards “enemies of Islam”.
Full report at:
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/08/05/enemy-of-islam-john-kerry-and-najib-condemned/
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Indonesia arrests former US policeman over alleged murder
August 05 2015
A former US policeman has been arrested on the Indonesian resort island of Bali over alleged links to the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, officials said Wednesday.
Vontrey Clark was detained on Friday after Interpol, acting on a request from the FBI, issued a red notice for his arrest.
"He was arrested last Friday by investigators in Bali," the secretary of Interpol's national central bureau for Indonesia, Brigadier-General Amhar Azeth, told AFP.
"He is wanted for murder."
US media reported that the former Austin policeman was being investigated for possible involvement in the death of police counsellor Samantha Dean in February. He has not been charged.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/05/indonesia-arrests-former-us-policeman-over-alleged-murder.html
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Arab World
‘Price list’ for ISIS child slaves is real, U.N. official says
5 August 2015
A U.N. official described a “price list” for child slaves - circulated among Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants - as genuine and reflect real transactions after its authenticity came under question, she told a news agency in an interview published Tuesday.
Zainab Bangura, the U.N.’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflict, told Bloomberg that she was given a copy of the list during a trip to Iraq in April.
Zainab Bangura, the U.N.’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Sexual Violence in Conflict. (File photo: AP)
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/-Price-list-for-ISIS-child-slaves-is-real-U-N-official-says-.html
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Al-Nusra Front captures five more U.S.-trained rebels
4 August 2015
Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate captured at least five more U.S.-trained rebel fighters in overnight raids on a village in northwestern Syria, a monitoring group said on Tuesday.
"Between Monday and Tuesday, Al-Nusra Front seized at least five rebels from Division 30 in the village of Qah, near the Turkish border," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The jihadists already captured at least eight rebels from the same U.S.-backed unit last week, the Observatory reported.
According to Abdel Rahman, late on Monday, Al-Nusra stormed a camp for internally displaced people in Qah, where the rebel fighters had taken refuge.
"Five fighters were seen captured but there may be more."
The Observatory chief said Al-Nusra was "hunting down" U.S.-backed rebels in both Idlib province, where Qah is located, and neighboring Aleppo province.
A 54-strong rebel unit, trained and equipped by the Pentagon, was inserted into Aleppo province in mid-July as part of U.S. plans to forge a moderate force for the campaign against ISIS.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/04/Al-Nusra-Front-captures-five-more-U-S-trained-rebels.html
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Political Analyst: Israel behind Siege of Shiite-Populated Areas in Syria
Aug 04, 2015
"The Takfiri groups supported by Saudi Arabia and Qatar with their prolonged siege of al-Foa and Kafria proved that they are dirty tools for implementing the plots by the US and Israel to disintegrate the region," Al-Zala told FNA on Tuesday.
He noted that the attempts by the Al-Nusra Front and Jeish al-Fath terrorists to enter Kafria and al-Foa and committing horrendous crimes there proves that these groups have not learned anything about Islam.
On Saturday, Syria's popular defense forces of the Shiite-populated town of Foa killed nearly two dozen Takfiri terrorists and injured many more.
At least 23 Al-Nusra Front terrorists were killed in Foa town.
The Syrian popular defense forces also seized the nearby town of Kafria.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940513000620
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Ansarullah Thwarts Pro-Hadi Militants' Attack on Lahij's Airbase
Aug 04, 2015
he al-Anad airbase was attacked by the Saudi-backed militants after being extensively bombed by Saudi warplanes, reports said on Monday.
Ansarullah fighters repelled the pro-Hadi militants' attack, killing scores of them.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni army and popular committees managed on Monday to capture 11 of al-Qaeda terrorists who were attempting to advance towards al-Husseini area in Lahij province.
The clashes between the Ansarullah fighters and the Saudi-backed Al-Qaeda terrorists as well as the pro-Hadi militias continue in the Southern parts of the country as Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for 132 days now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 5,333 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940513000434
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Fewer Germans going to Syria, Iraq to fight for ISIS
5 August 2015
Fewer Germans have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight with ISIS in the past few months than during last year's surge following the militants' declaration of an Islamic caliphate, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence said.
Hans-Georg Maassen from the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) told Reuters in an interview that 720 Germans had joined the jihadists so far.
"This is the official count, but we have to assume that the real number is probably higher," he said.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/Fewer-Germans-going-to-Syria-Iraq-to-fight-for-ISIS.html
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Syria army retakes several areas in Hama from terrorists
Aug 5, 2015
Syrian government forces have managed to retake control of several areas in Syria’s western province of Hama, Press TV reports.
The areas retaken include the town of Qastoun and a number of nearby hilltops. Heavy clashes with Takfiri militants from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front terrorist group preceded the retaking of the areas.
The clashes started last week when Syrian army troops backed by fighters from Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah started pushing back the militants who had seized over a dozen strategic hilltops and other positions, including a power station.
“We will press ahead to retake all areas we lost this week. We have reinforcements now and we don’t stop here,” a Syrian soldier told Press TV.
Intense clashes have been taking place between the militants and the army units with heavy rocket and missile fire from both sides.
“We started the attack very quickly well before the terrorists get the chance to fortify their positions,” the Syrian soldier added.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/08/05/423326/Syria-army-Hama-Nusra-Front-Qastoun
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U.N. reveals magnitude of Iraq funding crisis
5 August 2015
The U.N. says a funding crisis has led to the closure of a majority of health programs in Iraq.
The World Health Organization said the U.N. appeal for health services received only $5.1 million — just 8 percent of the $60.9 million required, which has forced more than 184 front line health services in 10 governorates to suspend operation. It said 84 percent of health programs in Iraq have been shuttered.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/U-N-reveals-magnitude-of-Iraq-funding-crisis.html
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Egypt militant attack on Sinai house kills five civilians
4 August 2015
Egyptians security officials say militants in northern Sinai have shelled a house near a security checkpoint, killing an entire family of five members inside it and wounding nine of their neighbors.
The officials say the Tuesday morning attack happened in the restive town of Sheikh Zuweid in the Sinai Peninsula. They say the security checkpoint appeared to be the intended target.
Medical officials said three children were among those killed. The wounded were taken to the town hospital for treatment. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to reporters.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/04/Egypt-militant-attack-on-Sinai-house-kills-five-civilians.html
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Saudi Military Base Comes under Yemen's Heavy Artillery Fire
Aug 04, 2015
The Yemeni forces pounded Alib military base in Southern Saudi Arabia with artillery shells, inflicting heavy damages and killing several Saudi soldiers.
On Monday, the Yemeni forces hit a government building in Dhahran with 6 missiles.
The army and Ansarullah fighters also hit al-Hasira military base in Jizan.
The Yemeni forces' retaliatory attacks on Saudi positions have intensified since last week after 100 Yemeni civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in Riyadh's airstrikes on residential areas in Taiz province.
On Saturday, the Yemeni army and popular forces destroyed two strategic military bases of Southern Saudi Arabia.
The Yemeni forces targeted and destroyed Alib military base in Saudi Arabia's Asir province with 20 missiles.
The Yemeni popular forces also destroyed Tawila military base in Dhahran region with two Grad missiles.
Also on Saturday, the Yemeni army and popular forces targeted Saudi Arabia's border regions, including al-Khoba, with missiles and artillery shells and took control of a strategic military base.
On Sunday, the Yemeni army and popular forces seized a strategic military base in Jizan province.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940513000301
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Iraqi PM: ISIL Threatening All Regional Countries
Aug 04, 2015
"Unfortunately the supporters of the ISIL are present in some regional countries which threaten the entire region," the Iraqi prime minister said in a meeting with Head of Iran's Endowment and Charity Affairs Organization Ali Mohammadi in Baghdad on Tuesday.
The Iraqi prime minister underlined that the ISIL is trying to wage a tribal war in Iraq.
Al-Abadi pointed to the friendly and strong relations between Baghdad and Tehran, and said, "Iran and Iraq have strategic cooperation and interactions."
The Iraqi prime minister called for further cooperation between the two countries, and said, "Despite the problems caused by the former Ba'athist regime of (Iraq's executed dictator) Saddam Hussein for both countries, today the Islamic Republic of Iran is standing beside the Iraqi nation and government in the ongoing fight against the ISIL and the Takfiri terrorists, and we are thankful to Iran for such helps."
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940513000909
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Crown Prince receives princes, Ulema, ministers
August 04, 2015
Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, receives princes, scholars, ministers, senior officials and a group of citizens in Jeddah, Tuesday.
The audience was attended by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Emir of Makkah region, and several other princes. — SPA
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150805252516
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Life under 2 masters in Syrian city of Hasakeh
August 04, 2015
HASAKEH — Life in the Syrian city of Hasakeh, divided between allied Kurdish and regime forces, comes at a price: two lots of military service and double the taxes.
Raed, a Syrian Arab living in the northeastern city, avoids passing through checkpoints run by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
“I finished my compulsory military service in the government army four years ago. The YPG are demanding that I complete their six-month compulsory service,” the 28-year old told AFP.
“But I have a wife and children, and I can't be away from them for that long.” Control of Hasakeh city — and other parts of the province by the same name — is divided between Kurdish militia and forces loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad.
Separate government and Kurdish-run institutions create a labyrinth of administrative processes, where residents living under one authority are afraid of crossing into the other's territory.
And where the two authorities overlap, civilians are forced to submit to both to stay out of trouble.
In the majority-Kurdish town of Amuda, 85 km north of Hasakeh, Aziz has not seen his mother — who lives in a regime-controlled zone of Hasakeh — in two years.
“I’m too scared to visit because I have to pass through a regime checkpoint, and they would force me to do the compulsory military service,” Aziz, who has completed his YPG service, tells AFP.
“Why do we, the residents of Hasakeh, have to spend our lives on the front lines and submit to double the military service?”
After government troops withdrew from Kurdish-majority areas in 2012, a year after Syria's civil war broke out, local forces, including the YPG and its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), stepped in to fill the void.
Damascus continues to pay the salaries of government employees and to provide province-wide electricity and water, and it has left government troops deployed in some areas.
In 2013, the PYD announced autonomous Kurdish areas in three areas: Hasakeh province, which the Kurds call Jazire, and Kobane and Afrin in Aleppo province.
“Every resident under Kurdish control, whether Arab or Kurd or Assyrian, between the ages of 18 and 30, must come to us to get their papers in order to serve in the YPG's ranks,” said Redwan Mohammad Sharif, head of the YPG's Military Service Unit.
Military identification papers for the YPG force were piled on his desk. “People who served in the government's army are not exempt from the compulsory service in the autonomous administration,” Sharif said.
Less than a kilometer away, posters of Assad and flags of his ruling Baath party adorned the government's imposing recruitment building.
Bilal, an administrative assistant reclining under an umbrella to avoid the beating sun, also said the regime does not recognize military service completed with the YPG.
Khalil Khalil, a university student in his 20s, completed both service requirements to have more freedom of movement.
“I finished the army's military service in 2004, and I didn't think that one day I would pick up a gun or wear military gear again, but I didn't have a choice,” Khalil said.
Mansur Usi, 56, also holds two military IDs, as well as two driver's licenses and two license plates for his car — a white government plate, and another green one for the YPG.
The Kurdish taxi driver and former government employee moves freely between Hasakeh city and Qamishli, a Kurdish-majority city to the northeast.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150805252449
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KSA, Jordan focus on fight against terror
August 05, 2015
AMMAN — Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the second deputy prime minister and minister of minister, and Jordan’s King Abdallah, agreed to strengthen the political, economic, military and security strategic cooperation between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Prince Mohammed is visiting Jordan at the kind invitation of King Abdallah. On Tuesday, the Deputy Crown Prince and King Abdallah said in a joint statement following the meeting, that both the kingdoms agreed to boost the existing close ties, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Full report at:
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20150805252533
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Mideast
16 al-Qaeda, pro-Hadi militants slain in southern Yemen
Aug 5, 2015
More than a dozen al-Qaeda-linked terrorists and militants loyal to fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi have been killed in a powerful blast in the country’s strategic southern province of Aden.
A Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the 16 were killed on Tuesday, when a landmine explosion occurred in the Dar Saad district of the provincial capital city of Aden, Yemen’s official and Arabic-language Saba news agency reported.
The source added that the blast took place as the militants were attempting to infiltrate into the region.
Separately, eight al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists and pro-Hadi militants were killed and more than 20 others injured when Yemeni army forces backed by fighters from allied Popular Committees carried out an ambush against them in the Sabar region of Yemen’s southwestern province of Lahij.
Yemeni soldiers also managed to destroy 17 armored vehicles belonging to militants in the al-Anad area.
Yemeni men stand amid the ruins of buildings destroyed in a Saudi airstrike on the capital, Sana’a, July 16, 2015. (© AFP)
Meanwhile, Yemeni forces and fighters of the Popular Committees fired a barrage of mortar shells at a number of Saudi military bases, including Alib, Jahfa and Raqaba, in the kingdom’s Dhahran Asir and Jizan regions. There were no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage inflicted.
An al-Qaeda militant commander, identified as Ahmed Nasir al-Sili, was also killed when Yemeni soldiers and allied forces launched an offensive in Lahij Province.
Additionally, unidentified armed men fatally shot a Muslim cleric, identified as Ahmed al-Mahdi, and his two companions in the western Yemeni province of Mahwit on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Saudi warplanes conducted a series of airstrikes against Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib, Hajjah Province in the northwest as well as the southern province of Bayda.
Early on Wednesday, at least six civilians lost their lives and two others sustained injuries when Saudi jets fired a missile into a residential building in the Hawd al-Ashraf district of Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz. Local residents said five of the victims were members of one family.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/08/05/423363/Yemen-militants-army-popular-committees-Aden
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Turkey to start fight against ISIS in Syria ‘soon’
5 August 2015
Turkey will soon start combating Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group militants inside northern Syria, its foreign minister vowed Wednesday as he met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Malaysia.
“Now we are training and equipping the moderate (Syrian) opposition together with the United States, and we will also start our fight against Daesh very effectively soon,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters at the start of the meeting with Kerry, using the Arab acronym for the militant group.
“Then the ground will be safer for the moderate opposition that are fighting Daesh on the ground,” he added.
The two envoys met at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on the sidelines of a regional security gathering hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Washington has long been pushing its long-time ally Turkey to step up the fight against the so-called ISIS, something Ankara had until recently been reluctant to do.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/Turkey-to-start-fight-against-ISIS-in-Syria-soon-.html
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Yemen Air Defence Downs Saudi Apache Copter: Local Media
Aug 5, 2015
An Apache helicopter gunship operated by Saudi military forces has been downed by the Yemeni air defense forces in western Yemen, local media say.
Yemeni media outlets said on Wednesday that the Yemeni army’s air defense forces downed the helicopter with a surface-to-air missile in the district of Harad in the western province of Hajjah.
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/08/05/423343/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-Apache-helicopter-Hajjah
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U.N. warns school may be delayed for Palestinian refugees
5 August 2015
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees is warning that unless it receives $101 million by mid-August it may be forced to delay the start of the school year for 500,000 students.
In a report to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon circulated Tuesday, the agency known as UNRWA said with stringent austerity it should just be able to protect the most vulnerable refugees from extreme hardship and maintain public health and safety until the end of the year.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/U-N-warns-school-may-be-delayed-for-Palestinian-refugees.html
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Netanyahu, Obama make dueling appeals on Iran
5 August 2015
U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made dueling appeals to the American Jewish community Tuesday as they sought to rally support for their opposing positions on the Iranian nuclear deal.
Obama met privately for more two hours with Jewish leaders at the White House, making a detailed case for the nuclear accord and urging opponents - including some in the room - to stick to the facts in making their own arguments, according to participants.
He singled out the tens of millions of dollars being spent by critics, most notably the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
The president’s meeting came hours after Netanyahu participated in a live webcast aimed at Americans Jews.
The prime minister railed against the agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, calling it a “bad deal” that leaves Tehran on the brink of a bomb.
“The nuclear deal with Iran doesn’t block Iran’s path to the bomb. It actually paves Iran’s path to the bomb,” Netanyahu said in his remarks. Organizers said about 10,000 people participated in the meeting.
Netanyahu, one of the fiercest critics of the nuclear accord, also disputed Obama’s assertion that opponents of the diplomatic deal favor war. He called that assertion “utterly false,” saying Israel wants peace, not war.
Participants in Obama’s meeting with Jewish leaders said attendees who oppose the deal raised with the president their concern over being painted as eager for war.
They said while Obama appeared sympathetic to their concerns, he continued to argue that if Congress rejects the agreement, he or the next president would quickly face a decision on taking military action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The back-to-back sales pitches from the leaders came on the eve of a foreign policy address Obama was to deliver as he seeks to bolster support for the deal in Congress. A White House official said Obama would frame lawmakers’ decision to approve or disapprove of the deal as the most consequential foreign policy debate since the decision to go to war in Iraq.
The official said Obama would also argue that those who backed the Iraq war, which is now widely seen as a mistake, are the same ones who oppose the Iran deal.
The official insisted on anonymity because the official was not authorized to preview the president’s address by name. Participants in the meeting were also granted anonymity in order to comment on their private discussions with the president.
The White House is preparing for the likelihood that lawmakers will vote against the deal next month and is focusing its lobbying efforts on getting enough Democrats to sustain a veto. Only one chamber of Congress is needed to sustain a veto.
Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that the White House is confident it can sustain a veto “at least in the House.”
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/Obama-Netanyahu-make-dueling-appeals-on-Iran-.html
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Yemen loyalist forces advance in Taez
5 August 2015
Yemen’s interior minister said on Tuesday that forces loyal to President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi were in control of 75 percent of the country’s third largest city of Taez, according to Al Arabiya News Channel.
Brig. General Abdo Mohammed al-Hazifi said that forces from the Popular Resistance took control of most of the city where Iranian-backed Houthi militias have been targeting civilians.
Also in Taez, five Houthis were killed and 70 others were wounded during clashes with pro-Hadi forces, according to local sources.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/Pro-Hadi-forces-in-control-of-75-percent-of-Yemen-s-Taez.html
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U.S. ‘to intervene’ in Palestinian terror case
5 August 2015
A lawyer for Americans who were awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in a lawsuit over Palestinian terror attacks condemned the U.S. government on Tuesday for moving to intervene in the case.
The government took a step closer to wading into the high-stakes civil case as representatives from the Justice and State departments met with relatives of the victims to discuss a jury verdict that American officials fear could weaken the stability of the Palestinian government.
At issue is $218.5 million in damages awarded by a New York jury in February for attacks that killed 33 people and wounded hundreds more - a penalty lawyers say would be automatically tripled under the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act.
The case has represented one of the most notable efforts by American victims of the Israel-Palestinian conflict to seek damages in U.S. courts.
U.S. victims and their relatives have filed suit in federal court in New York against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
The six attacks took place between 2001 and 2004, killing 33 people and injuring more than 390 others, including members of the 11 plaintiff families.
But the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which were held liable for the bloodshed, have indicated that they are unable to pay the damages and won't provide money while their appeal is pending.
American officials are concerned that monthly bond payments sought by the victims would put the cash-squeezed Palestinian Authority on shaky financial ground and weaken the group's ability to govern.
The Justice Department is likely to file a statement of interest in the case soon urging a judge to keep in mind those potential economic ramifications.
“While we cannot comment on the substance of any possible filing, any filing would be a statement of the interests of the United States and not on behalf of the PA or any other party,” according to a joint statement issued by the Justice and State departments.
Kent Yalowitz, a lawyer for the victims, condemned the Justice Department for its position, saying the government was “considering putting a thumb on the scale because the Palestinians don't like the results now that the jury has spoken.”
“The Palestinians got a fair trial. The judgment was foreseeable, and they can afford to pay it over time,” he added.
Full report at:
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/08/05/U-S-likely-to-intervene-in-Palestinian-terror-case.html
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IRGC Quds Commander Meets Leaders of Iraq's Kurdistan Region
Aug 04, 2015
According to a report by Rudaw news website, during his meetings with Hêro Ahmed, the spouse of the Leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, Kusrat Rasoul, Barham Salih and other leaders of the party as well as leader of the Movement for Change Nawshirwan Mustafa, General Soleimani elaborated on Tehran's position on the disputes over the leadership of Iraq's Kurdistan region.
An informed source at the political office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party who called for anonymity said that General Soleimani has emphasized during his meetings that the time is not ripe now for stirring crisis in Kurdistan region with leadership debates.
All efforts should focuse on war on the ISIL terrorist group and other challenges since the region needs stability and security and Tehran is also in favor of stability, the source quoted General Soleimani as saying.
General Soleimani has been praised by different classes of the Iranian society as well as the regional figures for his brave commandership of the IRGC's Quds Force and for his strategic thoughts and major wins in the war on terrorist groups in the region. The Iranian legislators in a statement issued in January lauded Major General Qassem Soleimani for his effective efforts in pushing back the threat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
"We appreciate the powerful, committed and mighty IRGC Quds forces and their smart, powerful and hero Commander Major General Soleimani," the statement said.
"We also appreciate the Quds Force's determining role as the mighty arm of the Islamic Revolution and the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in defending the Muslim nations and regional security and also in conducting powerful and successful campaign against the terrorist grouplets, specially the criminal and evil ISIL terrorist group which is a hireling of the world arrogance and Zionism," it added.
In a similar letter to General Soleimani in December, Iranian university professors appreciated him for his successful and positive role in the regional developments and against the hegemonic policies of the western governments in the region.
"In the current sensitive conditions that the hegemonic US government seeks to make geopolitical changes and do some new engineering in the region and the Muslim world and dreams of creating a larger Middle-East in the old Asian continent to safeguard its political-economic interests and provide long-term security for the illegitimate Zionist regime… the IRGC Quds Force has been the main obstacle to the materialization of those hegemonic geopolitical objectives," the letter said.
The Iranian university professors praised Major General Soleimani for his and his colleagues' non-stop efforts in the region, reminding that the anger felt by the US, its western allies and the regional reactionary governments at his presence and efforts vindicate the efficiency and efficacy of his actions.
In relevant remarks early November, senior military officials in Baghdad said Major General Soleimani planned the liberation operations of Jurf al-Sakher from the ISIL terrorist group's occupation some three months earlier.
After the ISIL fled from the embattled town of Jurf al-Sakher late October, the Iraqi military gained a victory against the extremist group, with state television showing tanks and Humvees parading through the town and soldiers touring government buildings that had been occupied by the militants since August.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940513000543
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Deputy FM: No Change in Russia's Position on Syria
Aug 04, 2015
"Russia's position is not something that changes based on conditions and we are committed to the agreements and statements, including the Geneva and June 30 statements," Bogdanov told reporters in Tehran after holding a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian on Tuesday.
"Our position has not changed on Syria and we believe that the Syrian people, government and opposition should sit to the negotiating table and decide for Syria's future in a way that their independence will be safeguarded and interests of all groups and tribes will be met," he added.
In what seems to be a bid to create the impression of growing support for his campaign against the Syrian president, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that Russia is rethinking its wholehearted support for Bashar al-Assad.
Erdogan said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is no longer of the opinion that he will support Assad to the end.
“Putin's current attitude towards Syria is more encouraging than before,” Erdogan told reporters onboard his presidential jet as he returned from a trip to Asian countries.
Erdogan cited as a proof his face-to-face meeting with Putin in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku in June and the following phone calls, saying Putin has become "more positive" toward the developments in Syria.
"I believe he can give up Assad,” Erdogan said, adding, "Putin's current attitude toward Syria is more encouraging than before."
Bogdanov referred to his recent meetings with the Syrian leaders and opposition, and said, "We had a meeting with former Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib (who led the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces) in Doha and also we had some consultations with the regional and international actors, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and today I have come to Iran to listen to Iran's views to decide about future actions."
He said that also the Syrian officials, including the country's deputy foreign minister, visited Moscow recently and held meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Asked about the meetings among the US, Russian and Saudi foreign ministers, Bogdanov said that trilateral meetings were held on Syria.
"We pursue the political actions, including meetings among the US, Russian, Iranian, Saudi and Turkish officials to help the Syrians," he added.
Also asked by reporters about his meeting with Amir Abdollahian, Bogdanov said that there are good interactions and cooperation between Iran and Russia in fighting terrorism and extremism.
Full report at:
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940513001220
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Iran vows to use full potential to promote regional peace
Aug 5, 2015
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says the country will use whatever is in its power to establish peace and stability in the Middle East, urging collective cooperation to uproot terrorism.
“The issue of terrorism and insecurity is a contagious disease that is not specific to a given region,” Rouhani said in a meeting with Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni and Economic Development Minister Frederica Guidi in Tehran on Wednesday.
The president added that efforts should be made to fight extremism and violence, saying that terrorist groups should not be allowed to victimize innocent people regardless of the latter’s nationality and religion.
Rouhani further pointed to the great potential of European Union (EU) member states, particularly Italy, for cooperation with Iran and said, “The transfer of capital and technology to Iran and then joint export to regional markets are Iran’s priorities for the expansion of economic relations with European countries.”
The Iranian president has previously said that the country does not welcome an influx of foreign good into the Iranian market as a result of the removal of sanctions against Iran following an agreement with the P5+1. Instead, he has clarified, Iran expects foreign investment and technology.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/08/05/423335/Iran-Italy-Hassan-Rouhani-Paolo-Gentiloni-Frederica-Guidi
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Pakistan
SC decision has strengthened war against terrorism, PM tells NA
Aug 5, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday while addressing the National Assembly session said that the Supreme Court's decision regarding the establishment of military courts has strengthened the war against terrorism.
"With this decision, the war against terrorism will be strengthened and terrorists will be discouraged," PM Nawaz said.
He added that the Parliament's decision has been validated by the court and the acceptance of the extraordinary steps is commendable.
"For extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary steps are required," the premier reiterated.
He further added that all political parties had reservations about the establishment of military courts, but to eradicate terrorism from the country, and to save people from unmerciful elements who play with human lives, this step was believed to be necessary.
"The Supreme Court's respected judge's historical decision will reap positive effects," PM Nawaz added.
Read: Military courts get Supreme Court nod
The Supreme Court on Wednesday in a majority ruling upheld the establishment of military courts in Pakistan.
Petitions challenging the 21st amendment were dismissed in a majority 11-6 vote of the 17-member SC bench. Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Dost Muhammad announced the verdict. In a 14-3 majority vote, petitions challenging the 18th amendment were also dismissed by the bench.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198544/sc-decision-has-strengthened-war-against-terrorism-pm-tells-na
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Military courts get Supreme Court nod
NASIR IQBAL
Aug 5, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday in a majority ruling upheld the establishment of military courts in Pakistan.
Petitions challenging the 21st amendment were dismissed in a majority 11-6 vote of the 17-member SC bench. Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Dost Muhammad announced the verdict.
In a 14-3 majority vote, petitions challenging the 18th amendment were also dismissed by the bench. Judges provided seven opinions and two additional notes on the ruling.
The judgement was to be announced by the full court bench headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk in Courtroom No 1 of the SC building. The SC office had issued a supplementary cause list heralding the announcement of the judgement.
"Disappointing verdict"
Former Supreme Court Bar Association President Kamran Murtaza said "It's a very disappointing verdict by the apex court. The court just upheld the doctrine of necessity. We are going to file a review petition against this judgement."
Kamran Murtaza and Asma Jehangir had earlier this year petitioned against the establishment of military courts on behalf of the SCBA.
"Success for the nation"
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Special Assistant for Law Ashtar Ausaf Ali called the decision "another strike against terror", adding, "it's a success for the nation."
He said that the apex court stated that amendments which can change the country for the better can be made to the Constitution and added that military courts have been set up in order to "crush terrorists".
Ausaf said that within the next two years of operation of military courts, remaining institutions will be strengthened. "Prosecution will be improved, evidence collection will be better ... Circumstances will have improved."
He also said it is possible these circumstances have not arisen before and do not exist in any other country. "The European Union, the United States and other democracies need to understand that we need to make decisions according to our circumstances ... And we know best how to rid ourselves of terrorists."
Also read: SC stays military courts executions
The Parliament passed the 21st Amendment and the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, to establish the special courts after the massacre in the Army Public School, Peshawar, last year.
On April 16 the apex court had suspended executions of six militants who were awarded death sentence by these military courts.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198533/military-courts-get-supreme-court-nod
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Additional sessions judge killed in Rawalpindi
Aug 5, 2015
RAWALPINDI: An additional district and sessions judge was targeted on Wednesday by unknown armed men in Rawalpindi's Satellite Town area.
Motorcycle-riding gunmen opened fire on the vehicle of the judge and managed to escape from the scene after the attack.
The judge, who was identied as Tahir Khan Niazi, was shifted to the Benazir Bhutto Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds during treatment. Hospital sources said that the judge had died due to excessive bleeding.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198550/additional-sessions-judge-killed-in-rawalpindi
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Rangers ask MQM to hand over 187 murder suspects
IMRAN AYUB
Aug 5, 2015
KARACHI: The Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, have approached Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Farooq Sattar to get the custody of more than 180 suspects of targeted killings allegedly associated with the party’s ‘militant wing’ and involved in the murder of policemen who took part in the 1990s Karachi operation, it emerged on Tuesday.
A letter sent by the Rangers carried the names of 187 targeted killing suspects nominated in dozens of FIRs registered against them for killing policemen.
Copies of the letter were also sent to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the inspector general of police and the home secretary.
In the letter, the Pakistan Rangers stated: “During the period of early 1990s, the operation of law-enforcement agencies were undertaken to apprehend the criminals involved in violence.
“The police officials who took part in the operation were later targeted and killed. It has been learnt that 187 individuals of the militant wing of the MQM were nominated in the FIRs of those killed police officials.”
The letter also recalled Karachi’s violent history, calling it victim of politico-ethnic violence in the past. The Rangers said the precarious law and order situation was not a new phenomenon for the metropolis.
“Please hand over the nominated suspects to the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, in order to [facilitate the] investigation of murder of police officials,” said the letter without explaining the reasons for making such a request to the party leader for their arrest instead of making their arrest by exercising the powers the Rangers have been enjoying for the past several months.
Attached with the letter is the list carrying the names of the suspects and the details of targeted killing cases they were wanted in. Some of the suspects, according to the Rangers list, are wanted in four cases of policemen’s targeted killing.
There is no word from the MQM over the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, letter. Senior MQM leader Dr Sattar denied having received any such document from the paramilitary force.
Talking in a private news channel talk show, member of the national assembly Dr Sattar said he was not even aware of any such communication between the two sides in recent days.
Rangers warn of ‘militants in garb of political parties’
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198436/rangers-ask-mqm-to-hand-over-187-murder-suspects
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Army all prepared to meet aggression, says Gen Raheel
BAQIR SAJJAD SYED
Aug 5, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The army has reviewed its operational plans and is ready to meet any aggression from India.
“We are fully prepared to respond to entire spectrum of threat,” Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif said while chairing a corps commanders’ conference at the General Headquarters on Tuesday.
The aggravating situation on the Line of Control and Working Boundary was high on the commanders’ agenda.
Also read: Three killed in cross-border firing along Indo-Pak Working Boundary
The statement came as three civilians were killed and 22 injured in unprovoked Indian shelling on villages along the Working Boundary (WB).
So far, there had been a total of 122 ceasefire violations by India both on the LoC and WB. Most of the casualty took place on the LoC where 14 people were killed.
“India is escalating the situation. There is a pattern to these violations that are on the rise. Civilians are being killed and private properties being damaged,” an official observed while briefing this reporter about the meeting.
Corps commanders warn ‘detractors and spoilers’ against sabotaging the Afghanistan peace talks being held in Pakistan
The army chief’s reference to thwarting Indian aggression across the threat spectrum, the military official explained, meant that the army was ready to dealing with the situation on the LoC and WB, as well as India’s alleged support to militant groups inside the country.
The army had been accusing India of fomenting unrest in Balochistan, Fata and Karachi.
DOMESTIC SECURITY: The meeting also reviewed the domestic security situation taking stock of the ongoing intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country and military operation, Zarb-i-Azb, in North Waziristan.
Military with the support of intelligence agencies and civilian law enforcement agencies had since last year conducted over 9100 IBOs in which 232 hard core terrorists were reportedly killed.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198509/army-all-prepared-to-meet-aggression-says-gen-raheel
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Four hanged in Gujranwala, Mianwali jails
KHURSHID ANWAR KHAN | IQBAL MIRZA
Aug 5, 2015
GUJRANWALA/MIANWALI: Four death row prisoners were hanged in Gujranwala and Mianwali on Wednesday morning.
Condemned prisoner, Waqar, was hanged in Central Jail Gujranwala. He was convicted for the 2002 murder of five people, including three children and a woman.
The execution of another death row prisoner, Anwar Ali, was suspended in Gujranwala after an agreement was reached with the complainant party. He was found guilty of a dual murder that took place in 2002.
Three death row prisoners were hanged in Central Jail Mianwali. Relatives Amaanullah Khan, Muhammad Riaz Khan and Muhammad Mumtaz Khan were convicted for a triple murder that took place in 2006.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198538/four-hanged-in-gujranwala-mianwali-jails
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Pakistan reaffirms commitment to Afghan peace process
MATEEN HAIDER
Aug 5, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reaffirmed on Wednesday its commitment to the Afghan peace process emphasising the need for continuous regional and international engagement with the neighbouring country in meeting the challenges of peace, security and economic development.
Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto, who is on first visit to Pakistan since his appointment in October 2014, held a meeting with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatimi in Islamabad today.
During the meeting, the situation in Afghanistan, as well as the ongoing regional and international efforts for Afghanistan’s stability, were discussed.
Mr Fatemi said that Pak-Afghan relations were moving along a positive trajectory and the successful holding of the first round of peace talks was an important milestone.
Also read: First round of Afghan govt, Taliban dialogue concludes in Murree
He expressed confidence that the talks would resume soon and help in paving way for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Also read: UN reports rise in women, children casualties in Afghan war
The prime minister's special assistant on foreign affairs appreciated the role played by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reiterated Pakistan’s continued support for the Mission.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198539/pakistan-reaffirms-commitment-to-afghan-peace-process
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PTI, PAT sit-ins cost the country billions of rupees, claims Dar
KHAWAR GHUMMAN
Aug 5, 2015
ISLAMABAD: After securing a clean chit from the judicial inquiry commission into rigging in the 2013 elections, the government has released details of the losses it claims Pakistan suffered due to the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) demonstrations last year.
The detailed information gathered from various sectors under the guidance of Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar claims that the country was deprived of billions of rupees thanks to the political unrest caused by the two protesting parties.
The information has been placed before the National Assembly during its ongoing session.
In Senator Dar’s words, the extended sit-ins staged by the PTI and PAT cost the government implicit and explicit losses.
The list of losses included expenses incurred by the government.
For instance, the supplementary grants amounting to Rs760.5 million, which the government had to release to the ministry of interior to make elaborate security arrangements in the capital during the protests were also mentioned in the information.
“It was a burden on the national exchequer,” noted the finance minister.
Senator Dar, who is an accountant by training, also presented a detailed comparison of international money exchange rates which adversely affected the national currency, while the two parties were on the roads against the government.
“The exchange rate which was Rs98.82 on Aug 5, 2014 depreciated to Rs103.19 on Aug 25, 2014, a depreciation of 4.4 per cent which adversely affected the import bill as well as capital loss on foreign liabilities due to rupee depreciation.”
Explaining further, Senator Dar told the lower house of the parliament that foreign exchange reserves, which the government was hoping would reach $15 billion by end September 2014, did not meet the target. This delay, he said, was because of delayed inflows of $ 2.4 billion.
The minister also argued that the external public debt, which was Rs5,076 billion at the end of financial year of 2014, increased to Rs5,304 billion due to the currency depreciation – he said that this was a loss of almost Rs228 billion.
The capital market also was affected by the protests, said Mr Dar.
“The market was performing well at 29000 KSE index with market capitalization of Rs7.2 trillion. Due to the sit in, the capital market loss occurred and it crashed down to 27,000 level KSE Index with market capitalisation of Rs6.7 trillion.”
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as per the calculations of Senator Dar’s ministry, also received a hit as inflows declined from $113.6 million in July 2014 to $92 million in August 2014.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198491/pti-pat-sit-ins-cost-the-country-billions-of-rupees-claims-dar
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Pakistan reaffirms commitment to Afghan peace process
MATEEN HAIDER
Aug 5, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reaffirmed on Wednesday its commitment to the Afghan peace process emphasising the need for continuous regional and international engagement with the neighbouring country in meeting the challenges of peace, security and economic development.
Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto, who is on first visit to Pakistan since his appointment in October 2014, held a meeting with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatimi in Islamabad today.
During the meeting, the situation in Afghanistan, as well as the ongoing regional and international efforts for Afghanistan’s stability, were discussed.
Mr Fatemi said that Pak-Afghan relations were moving along a positive trajectory and the successful holding of the first round of peace talks was an important milestone.
He expressed confidence that the talks would resume soon and help in paving way for peace and stability in Afghanistan.
The prime minister's special assistant on foreign affairs appreciated the role played by United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reiterated Pakistan’s continued support for the Mission.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198539/pakistan-reaffirms-commitment-to-afghan-peace-process
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PTI, PAT sit-ins cost the country billions of rupees, claims Dar
August 5th, 2015
ISLAMABAD: After securing a clean chit from the judicial inquiry commission into rigging in the 2013 elections, the government has released details of the losses it claims Pakistan suffered due to the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) demonstrations last year.
The detailed information gathered from various sectors under the guidance of Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar claims that the country was deprived of billions of rupees thanks to the political unrest caused by the two protesting parties.
The information has been placed before the National Assembly during its ongoing session.
In Senator Dar’s words, the extended sit-ins staged by the PTI and PAT cost the government implicit and explicit losses.
The list of losses included expenses incurred by the government.
For instance, the supplementary grants amounting to Rs760.5 million, which the government had to release to the ministry of interior to make elaborate security arrangements in the capital during the protests were also mentioned in the information.
“It was a burden on the national exchequer,” noted the finance minister.
Senator Dar, who is an accountant by training, also presented a detailed comparison of international money exchange rates which adversely affected the national currency, while the two parties were on the roads against the government.
“The exchange rate which was Rs98.82 on Aug 5, 2014 depreciated to Rs103.19 on Aug 25, 2014, a depreciation of 4.4 per cent which adversely affected the import bill as well as capital loss on foreign liabilities due to rupee depreciation.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1198491
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Pakistan reaffirms commitment to Afghan peace process
August 5, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reaffirmed on Wednesday its commitment to an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process, days after Mullah Omar’s successor cast doubts on a fledgling peace process.
During a meeting with Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi expressed confidence that talks with Taliban would soon resume, a Foreign Office statement said.
“Fatemi expressed confidence that the talks would resume soon and help in paving way for peace and stability in Afghanistan,” the statement read.
Read: Pakistan to coax Afghan Taliban back into talks
The second round of face-to-face talks between Afghan government officials and Taliban representatives, brokered by Pakistan, were postponed following confirmation of Mullah Omar’s death.
Further, Fatemi emphasised the need for continuous regional and international engagement with Afghanistan in meeting the challenges of peace and security, as well as economic development.
Full report at:
https://www.google.co.in/search?q=Pakistan+reaffirms+commitment+to+Afghan+peace+process&oq=Pakistan+reaffirms+commitment+to+Afghan+peace+process&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60.675j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8
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Two terrorists killed in Noushki
August 05, 2015
QUETTA - At least two terrorists were killed in a joint operation of Frontier Corps (FC) and intelligence agencies in Noushki on Tuesday. Khan Wasey, the spokesperson for Frontier Corps, said a search operation was conducted in the district after a tip off regarding the presence of miscreants in the area was received. "Two miscreants were killed during the search operation," he said. Security forces also claimed to have recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition during the operation.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/islamabad/05-Aug-2015/two-terrorists-killed-in-noushki
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Africa
Cameroon expels 3,000 Nigerians as part of Boko Haram battle
Aug 4, 2015
Cameroon has expelled over 3,000 Nigerians as part of its battle against Takfiri Boko Haram militants in neighboring Nigeria.
On Tuesday, the governor of Cameroon’s Far North, Midjiyawa Bakary, said authorities had also detained hundreds of Cameroonians and Nigerians for collaborating with the militants.
"We noticed that in the different villages there is a certain population of foreigners and they are hiding behind some Cameroonians and hiding those Boko Haram suspects," Bakary said.
The announcement comes hours after at least seven people were killed and about 20 others abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists near the border village of Tchakarmari in Cameroon.
The United Nations refugee agency says a camp in Cameroon's Far North Region currently hosts about 44,000 people and estimates there are some 12,000 unregistered refugees in the region.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/08/04/423281/Nigeria-Cameroon-Boko-Haram-suspects
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Suspected Boko Haram Militants Kidnap 100 In Cameroon
08/04/2015
YAOUNDE, Aug 4 (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed and about 100 others were kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram militants in an overnight raid on a village near Cameroon's northern border, a local government and a military source said.
Tchakarmari, the village targeted early on Tuesday, lies north of Maroua, where dozens of people were killed in a series of suicide bombings by the Nigerian Islamist group last month.
"Residents said the attackers headed back to Nigeria where Cameroon is not allowed to pursue them," the local government source in the Far North region said.
A senior military officer deployed as part of a Cameroonian military operation aimed at curbing the spillover of violence from Boko Haram's stronghold in northeastern Nigeria said the attackers had crossed over from Nigeria shortly after midnight.
After the spate of suicide bombings in July, Cameroon's government announced plans to send an additional 2,000 troops to boost security in the Far North region.
Full report at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/boko-haram-kidnapping-cameroon_55c10ad8e4b0e716be075626
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Boko Haram: Borno Elders Accuse Jonathan,Former Service Chiefs of Genocide
Aug 5, 2015
Borno state citizens under the aegis of Borno Elders Forum, led by Gaji Galtimari, a retired ambassador, have accused the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan of deliberately allowing Boko Haram to massacre the people of Northeast Nigeria.
They therefore want Mr. Jonathan and his service chiefs tried for genocide. The elders said the confession by the immediate Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh, a retired Air Vice Marshall, that he presided over an ill-equipped military during his tenure, has exposed the wicked motives of the federal government of Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan to annihilate the northeast region by pushing soldiers to fight Boko Haram with faulty weapons.
Full report at:
http://www.nigerianbulletin.com/threads/boko-haram-borno-elders-accuse-jonathan-former-service-chiefs-of-genocide.115516/
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Ethiopia Jails Muslims Over "Terror" Charges
04 August 2015
ADDIS ABABA – An Ethiopian court has handed 18 Muslims jail terms up to 20 years over claimed "terror" charges and attempts to "establish an Islamic State" in the African country.
According to a court in the capital, the convicted Muslims were involved in terror activities including conspiring to create a religious government, Reuters reported on Monday, August 3.
Arrested three years ago, the Muslims have been convicted in July, despite denying the charges.
The arrest of the 18 Muslims, including a scholar and a journalist, has sparked nationwide demonstrations demanding the release of the detainees.
It followed months of protests by Muslims accusing the government of interfering in religious affairs.
Four of the defendants, Abubakar Ahmed, Ahmedin Jebel, Yasin Nuru and Kemal Shmsu, were sentenced to 22 years each in prison, according to Addis Standard publication.
Five of them were sentenced to 18 years, another five to 15 years and four defendants to seven years behind bars.
Muslims accused the government of spearheading a campaign in collaboration with the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs to indoctrinate their community with the ideology of a sect called "Ahbash".
Full report at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/491147-ethiopia-jails-muslims-over-qterrorq-charges.html
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North America
This Bill Could Save America From The Next Muslim Terrorist Attack
8/4/2015
There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of first term Representative Brian Babin of Woodville, Texas, who represents Texas District 36 in the U.S. House of Representatives. And there’s an even better chance that you’ve never heard of Rep. Babin’s H.R. 3314, the Resettlement Accountability National Security Act that places an immediate moratorium on Obama’s “refugee” resettlement program until Congress reauthorizes it.
But H.R. 3314 could just save America from the next Muslim terrorist attack.
According to the U.S. refugee admissions database, nearly 500,000 new immigrants have come to the U.S. under the resettlement program since President Obama first took office – with the state of Texas and its taxpayers being asked to take in more than any other state according to Rep. Babin’s office.
Imagine how school taxes and local welfare expenses in Texas could be reduced if that number were cut back. The current rate of “refugee resettlement,” has a vast, and largely negative, effect on the communities in which the “refugees” are “resettled,” right down to the size of the classes in neighborhood elementary schools.
We at conservativehq.com have written extensively on the economic, political and national security effects of the de facto open borders policies of Barack Obama and George W. Bush that have allowed in over 2.3 million immigrants from Muslim countries since 2000 – many of them as so-called “refugees.”
Among the top home countries of these “refugees” are the terrorist hotspots of Somalia and Iraq. Many, if not most of these recent Muslim immigrants come from Islamist terrorist hotspots and have been allowed in to this country with little or no vetting of their political beliefs or willingness to support and abide by our form of constitutional government.
And the regular arrest of Somali “refugees” in particular for plotting to support or attempting to join terrorist organizations shows what a truly abysmal job of assimilating these “refugees” the Obama and Bush administrations have done.
But some of the blame for this “refugee” crisis lies with the cynical organizations that “resettle” the “refugees” in an operation that would shame the brokers who brought Japanese and Chinese laborers to America in the Nineteenth Century.
And as our friend Daniel Horowitz of Conservative Review recently observed, “As if Americans aren’t struggling enough under this economy, in recent years, refugees have increasingly become more of a fiscal burden. According to a memorandum from the Congressional Research Service to the Senate Judiciary Committee, 74.2% of all refugees in 2013 were receiving Food Stamps – up from 50% in 2008. Fifty-six percent received some sort of medical assistance. And according to a 2013 report to Congress from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, an even larger percentage of refugees from Africa and the Middle East were on welfare. Among refugees from the Middle East, 91.3% received Food Stamps and 73.1% received Medicaid.”
Full report at:
http://www.conservativehq.com/article/20797-bill-could-save-america-next-muslim-terrorist-attack
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ISIS' Last Words Before Releasing me Were 'Follow Islam', Says Libya Detainee
04th August 2015
BENGALURU: One of the four Indians detained in ISIS-controlled territory in Libya, Vijay Kumar, on Tuesday said that although he was not harmed during his detention, the last statement made by ISIS before releasing him was a request to ‘follow Islam’.
“The IS people who took us just asked us if we were Muslims or non-Muslims. Since we were non-Muslims they detained us in camps and they did not do anything. They did not harm me; they did not even touch me or any of the four people,” Kumar said.
“They told us since we taught their students they released us but asked us to follow Islam. This was their last statement. I am not going back, this is my final exit. The other two are still under detention,” he added.
Full report at:
http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/ISIS-Last-Words-Before-Releasing-me-Were-Follow-Islam-Says-Libya-Detainee/2015/08/04/article2957547.ece
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Obama presses on dangers to Israel if Iran deal blocked
August 05, 2015
Jerusalem: President Barack Obama told U.S. Jewish leaders it was likely rockets would fall on Tel Aviv if a nuclear deal with Iran was blocked and military action ensued, one of them said on Wednesday.
In a separate appeal to American Jews, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a fierce opponent of the July 14 accord, pushed back in a webcast on Tuesday against the Obama administration's argument that the agreement was the only way to avoid eventual war with Iran.
The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives will vote on whether to reject the agreement when lawmakers return to Washington in September, party leaders said on Tuesday, setting up a showdown with the president.
Greg Rosenbaum, one of 20 Jewish leaders who met Obama at the White House on Tuesday, said on Israel Radio that the president spelled out what exercising a U.S. military option to strike Iran's nuclear facilities would mean if the deal between world powers and Tehran was scrapped.
"He said military action by the United States against Iran's nuclear facilities is not going to result in Iran deciding to have a full-fledged war with the United States," Rosenbaum, of the National Jewish Democratic Council, quoted Obama as telling the forum.
"'You'll see more support for terrorism. You'll see Hezbollah rockets falling on Tel Aviv.' This is what he said would happen if the U.S. had a military strike on Iran," Rosenbaum said, referring to the Iranian-backed Lebanese guerrilla group and its long-range missile arsenal.
Netanyahu, in the webcast organised by Jewish groups in North America, reiterated Israel's arguments that the nuclear deal was not enough to curb Iranian nuclear projects with bomb-making potential.
Full report at:
http://nation.com.pk/international/05-Aug-2015/obama-presses-on-dangers-to-israel-if-iran-deal-blocked
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US gun shop owner sued for banning Muslims
4 August 2015
A Florida gun shop owner is being sued for banning Muslims from his store, according to US media.
Andy Hallinan, the owner of Florida Gun Supply, announced the ban on July 17 after five soldiers were killed by a Muslim in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The lobby group Gun Owners of America supports the self-imposed policy, insisting private businesses can be run how their owners want them to be.
However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has taken Hallinan to court on the basis that the ban breaches the 1964 Civil Rights Act that prohibits discrimination in a public place, which it contends includes shops.
Full report at:
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/us-gun-shop-owner-sued-for-banning-muslims-601396.html
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San Diego man pleads guilty to leaving threatening voice mails to Muslim group
August 04, 2015
SAN DIEGO – A San Diego man accused of leaving a threatening voice mail at the office of a Muslim civil rights organization pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony charges.
John Weissinger entered his guilty plea in San Diego Superior Court to felony charges of making a criminal threat and illegal possession of an assault rifle, and a misdemeanor hate crime charge.
Weissinger, 53, left a threatening voice mail at the office of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, known as CAIR-San Diego, prosecutors said.
According to the prosecution, Weissinger said in his voice mail that he had a lot of firepower and that the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris could occur again. Weissinger also was accused of sending a threatening email on Jan. 15 to CAIR's office in Washington. Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/04/san-diego-man-pleads-guilty-to-leaving-threatening-voice-mails-to-muslim-group/
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Europe
Russia Seeks Coalition on Islamic State While It Backs Assad
August 4, 2015
Russia is pushing for a broad coalition to fight Islamic State, including Iraqi and Syrian government forces, rejecting continuing pressure from the U.S. and its allies for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said air strikes conducted by a U.S.-led coalition aren’t sufficient to defeat the Sunni Muslim extremist group, which controls swathes of Syria and Iraq. An “anti-terrorist front” with Iraqi, Syrian and Kurdish ground forces is needed, Lavrov said Monday after meeting his U.S. and Saudi counterparts in Doha, Qatar.
Lavrov criticized a U.S. decision to authorize the use of air strikes to defend American-trained Syrian rebels against Assad’s forces as “counterproductive” because it sabotages efforts to combat Islamic State, according to a ministry transcript.
Russia’s push underscores conflicting strategies among global powers trying to confront Islamic State, whose expansion has worsened a conflict that’s killed 220,000 people and forced millions from their homes. Russia, which brokered a 2013 deal disarming Syria’s chemical arsenal to forestall American air strikes against Assad, wants to shore up its Middle Eastern ally. The U.S. has sought to cut off outside financial and other resources to Assad and supports rebels who are trying to overthrow him.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem arrived in Tehran Tuesday for talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iranian officials, Russian state news service Sputnik reported, citing Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
Iran has a new proposal for resolving the four-year conflict and plans to discuss it with Russia and Syria, Sputnik cited Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi as saying.
Approaching Assad
“The danger now is that Islamic State may seize the whole of Syria,” Fyodor Lukyanov, head of the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, a research group which advises the Russian government, said by phone. “We need to find a way to forge a common front against Islamic State, but the main problem remains disagreement over Assad.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said ahead of the meeting with Lavrov and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir that his country’s policy of seeking the Syrian leader’s removal hasn’t changed.
Full report at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-04/russia-seeks-coalition-against-islamic-state-while-backing-assad
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Russia will not send forces to Syria to fight ISIL: Official
Aug 5, 2015
A high-ranking Russian official says his country will not dispatch any military forces to Syria to fight the Takfiri ISIL terrorists in the Arab country.
“This (deployment of troops) isn’t being discussed in any way. This issue isn’t on the agenda,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday.
He added that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has never asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to send troops to Syria to battle ISIL.
Earlier on Tuesday, Colonel General Vladimir Shamanov, the commander of Russian airborne troops, had said that his forces were eager to help Syria in countering terrorism.
“Of course, we will execute the decisions set forth by the country’s leadership if there is a task at hand,” he had said.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.in/Detail/2015/08/05/423316/Russia-troops-Syrdeployment-ISIL-Dmitry-Peskov
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Crimean Muslims to Establish Battalion
04 August 2015
CAIRO – Coping with the plight of Russian annexation since early 2014, Crimean Muslims revealed plans to establish a military unit to monitor transportation of goods and people across the border.
"Unfortunately, throughout history, the right of the Crimean Tatar people to live in dignity in their own homeland was undermined with collective deportations and repression. Today we are witnessing the illegal annexation of the Crimea and other regrettable events," Turkish President Recep Erdogan said after meeting with Crimean leaders, International Business Times reported Monday, August 3.
The announcement of the formation of the Muslim troops came a day after the second annual World Congress of Crimean Tatars which was held July 31 and August 2 in Ankara.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the conference that witnessed the participation of 180 civil society organizations from 12 countries, along with politicians.
Announcing intentions to form an autonomous Crimean Tatar Republic, Kırımoğlu urged the Crimean people to take an active role in Ukrainian politics.
Deployed in the Kherson region on the Crimean border, the Muslim troops aim at monitoring transportation of goods and people between Ukraine and the peninsula, leader of Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Abdülcemil Kırımoğlu, said.
Kazan Tatars, Uzbeks, Chechens, Azeris, Meskhetian Turks and other Muslim groups will join the Crimean Tatars to form the troops.
The final declaration of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars called for "all necessary measures" to be taken to return Crimea to Ukraine and bring an "immediate” ended to Russia’s takeover of the peninsula.
The 300,000-strong Muslim minority makes up less than 15% of Crimea's population of 2 million and has so far been overwhelmingly opposed to Russia's annexation of the peninsula.
The Russian move to annex Crimea followed an earlier vote in March on the peninsula’s future.
Full report at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/491145-crimean-muslims-to-establish-battalion.html
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/india’s-26-11-claims-fully/d/104176