An anti-terror squad raided an Islamic militant stronghold in central Indonesia, touching off a gunbattle that killed nine suspected fighters and one policeman.
The local police chief said security forces arrested 18 other alleged militants and seized a large haul of bombs and weapons in the three-hour exchange, a sharp escalation in the fight against terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Excerpted
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=178841
Tigers’ explosives-laden boat slams ship
COLOMBO, Jan 21
Tiger rebels rammed an explosives-laden boat against a private merchant vessel operated by foreign crew in Sri Lanka's northern waters on Sunday, sparking a land, sea and air battle, the navy said. The MV City of Liverpool, which is chartered by a Sri Lankan company, was taking in water after the attack and was being towed to the port of Kankesanthurai in the Jaffna peninsula, a navy spokesman said.
He said one Tiger suicide craft exploded against the ship, damaging the hull and one crew member was wounded. Two soldiers on board the ship for security fired at the rebels. The merchant vessel was unloading wheat flour for the half a million civilians living under virtual siege conditions since the only land access to the Jaffna peninsula was cut off due to fighting since August.
The navy deployed 12 Dvora-class fast attack craft to hit the flotilla of 20 rebel boats and two more suicide craft were blown out of the water before they could reach the merchant vessel, spokesman D. K. P. Dassanayake said.
Excerpted
http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/22/int2.htm
3 Pakistani soldiers die, 9 injured in suicide car bomb attack
Islamabad, Jan 22, 2007
At least three security men were killed and nine others injured when a suicide car bomb exploded near an army convoy in Pakistan's tribal region on Monday, the army said.
The bomber or bombers exploded a white car near the army's administrative convoy in North Waziristan tribal region at 10:30 am, director-general of the army's Inter-Services Public Relations, Major General Shaukat Sultan, said.
Excerpted
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0701227072133223.htm
GROZNY, January 21 - Police found two caches full of arms and ammunition in the Republic of Chechnya in Russia's troubled North Caucasus region, a source in the local law-enforcement bodies said Sunday.
Although the Kremlin has declared an end to the anti-terrorism campaign in Chechnya, sporadic fighting still occur in the North Caucasus republic, hampering efforts to revive the economy, create jobs and bring life in the republic to normal after a decade of warfare.
"One cache was found three kilometers (1.86 miles) away from the village of Braguny in the Gudermes district [in eastern Chechnya] during a search operation," the source said. The cache contained an RPG-18 grenade launcher, eight mortar mines, two F-1 grenades and a large amount of explosives, the source said.
The other cache was found on the edge of the village of Vinogradnoye in the Grozny district in central Chechnya, the source said. The cache included an RPG-18 grenade launcher, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, rounds for grenade launchers and 120 cartridges of various calibers, the source said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070121/59438722.html
Military gets ready for reprisal attacks (Philippines)
Jan.22.07
Military intelligence agents went on high alert yesterday to thwart revenge attacks by Muslim extremists after the government confirmed the death of the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group.
Security forces were monitoring urban centers, especially in southern Mindanao, where members of the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah network are known to operate, a military spokesman said. “Intelligence [are] monitoring to prevent any retaliatory attacks,” Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said over dzBB radio.
Excerpted
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news1_jan22_2007
Hafiz Saeed’s brother in US immigration trouble
Monday, January 22, 2007
WASHINGTON: A controversial imam at a Massachusetts mosque, with his visa status already in question, has been given notice to leave his residence on the grounds of the Sharon mosque, headquarters of the Islamic Centre of New England.
Imam Muhammad Masood is the brother of Hafiz Saeed, founder of the Pakistan-based Markaz Dawaatul Irshad and Jammatud Daawa. Attorney George Garfinkle has said that the Pakistani cleric has been asked to leave “sometime soon”, though not by a specific date. “The government is leaning on them, and they’re trying to do the right thing legally,” Garfinkle told the newspaper Patriot Ledger.
Garfinkle also confirmed that some former Islamic Centre board members have been called before a federal grand jury in Boston over the past month in connection with the investigation of Imam Masood’s alleged visa violations. He did not identify who was called. Board president Rashid Noor has declined comment about the grand jury appearances. Imam Masood is expected to have a visa hearing within the next few months. He could be deported at that time.
Imam Masood, his son, Hassan, and a Chelmsford imam were picked up by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents on November 15 as part of a multi-state sweep of 33 mostly Pakistani immigrants. Most of those in other states were charged with having fraudulent religious-worker visas.
Imam Masood has led the Sharon mosque since 1998. He and his family have continued to live on the mosque property since his release on bail, but he hasn’t led prayer services or performed other duties since then.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/01/22/story_22-1-2007_pg1_5