KABUL, Afghanistan - Hundreds of Taliban militants overran a southern Afghan town that British troops left after a contentious peace agreement in October, destroying the government center and temporarily holding elders hostage, officials and residents said Friday.
The assault, days after a Taliban commander was killed outside the town of Musa Qala, raises doubts about the future of the peace deal, which has been criticized by some Western officials as a NATO retreat in hostile Taliban territory.
Two residents of Musa Qala estimated that between 200 and 300 Taliban fighters had overtaken the town. They said the fighters took weapons from the police on Wednesday and destroyed the town's government center late Thursday.
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Fears of terror mole in UK defence
03feb07
DEFENCE chiefs have launched an urgent investigation into how a gang of suspected Islamic terrorists obtained a list of names and addresses for 25 serving British Muslim soldiers as part of an alleged plot to kidnap and behead a serviceman.
Senior officers are alarmed that the hitlist includes home addresses as far apart as Glasgow and the West Country. A priority will be to ensure that no Ministry of Defence "mole" provided the suspected terror cell with such top-secret personal information.
All those on the hitlist are understood to be serving members of the regular army. The main targets identified by the gang are understood to have served a recent tour of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Police in the West Midlands were given seven more days yesterday to hold nine men arrested in Birmingham on Wednesday. The men are being held in connection with a suspected plan to abduct and murder a serving soldier, whose execution was to be broadcast on the internet.
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http://www.ntnews.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,7034,21163287%255E401,00.html
Freed Terrorist Arrested in Shechem (Israel)
Feb 02, '07
Army and security officers Thursday evening arrested two wanted terrorists near Shechem in central Samaria, who were involved in preparations for a suicide attack in Israel. One of them, Natzar Jubara, was freed last year by Israel and became one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad in Shechem.
Earlier in the day, security forces arrested a senior Tanzim operative in Tulkarm, east of Netanya. He was involved in rocket manufacturing and also tried to recruit a suicide bomber.
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf conceded that some border guards had turned a "blind eye" towards Taliban militants launching attacks in Afghanistan. But Musharraf, a key US ally, angrily rejected allegations that Pakistan's intelligence services or the army were fostering an increasingly deadly Islamist-led insurgency in the neighbouring country.
The president also said that Pakistan was starting to fence a stretch of its mountainous northwestern border with Afghanistan in an effort to stop infiltration by the rebels. "We had some incidents I know of that in some posts, a blind eye was being turned," Musharraf told a press conference when asked about criticism of Pakistan's cooperation in the US-led "war on terror."
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Kenya holding 2 Americans as suspects
Feb.2.2007
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Two Americans were among at least 10 foreigners caught by Kenyan police at the Somali border after allegedly fighting with Somalia's ousted Islamic movement, an official said Friday.
One of the Americans is wanted in the U.S. for links to radical movements, the Kenyan police official said. Kenya was preparing to deport the foreigners, seized after escaping advancing Ethiopian troops who helped oust the Islamists, to their home countries.
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Indonesia: Poso Residents Fear Alleged Arrival Of Militants
Poso, Central Sulawesi, 2 Feb. 2007 - Residents of the troubled Muslim town of Poso, in Central Sulawesi province, have expressed concern over allegations that jihadist paramilitary troops have left Java and are due in Poso, where another police raid led to the arrest of two suspected terrorists on Thursday. The latest raid followed two more in January that left 17 Islamic militants dead. Levi Bagu, resident of the Kapompa Village, Labuan, Poso, is worried that the arrival of militants could unsettle Poso even more. "I just want to live in peace," Bagu told Adnkronos International (AKI).
Sectarian violence has continued to erupt in Central Sulawesi, the battlefield for bloody 1999-2001 warfare between Christians and Muslim militias that left 1,000 dead.
In the last 24 hours, news reports have indicated that members of the officially disbanded Laskar Jihad militia have left the East Javanese city of Surabaya and are on their way to Poso.
In a previous interview with AKI, Laskar Jihad chief, Jaafar Umar Thalib, denied the allegation. “It is all a lie, maybe it is someone else using our name,” he said.
Adnan Arsal, one of Poso’s most influential Islamic leaders and the chairman of the Silahturrahim Forum and the Struggle for Poso Muslims, denied the news report. He also said that the Poso conflict was not connected with Al-Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiyah, as claimed by Indonesia-based experts in terrorism. "All that is simply untrue. I really do not know where the existence of Jemaah Islamiyah in Poso is,” he said.
Arsal’s son in law, Hasanuddin, is currently on trial in Jakarta for a string of vicious crimes, including the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls. Hasanuddin, who gained military training in the Philippines island of Mindanao, is considered the leader of Poso’s JI cell.
Also worried for the alleged arrival of the jihadi is Rev Rinaldy Damanik, Chairman of the Christian Central Sulawesi Council of the Church Synod, who stressed with AdnKronos International that the police must stop them. "I am worried that large scale violence may break out again. But I think this is the police's responsibility,” Rev Damanik told AKI.
In the meantime, local police officials have played down the allegation while however tightening the entry points to the town. “This matter is only a rumor,” spokesperson of Central Sulawesi Regional Police, Muhammad Kilat, said. “However we stay alert. Whether there is or not a real possibility of any jihadi arriving in Poso, we will keep a close check at several entry points,” he added.
It is understood that extra troops have been deployed at Palu airport, the Pantoloan Seaport and at several other entry points. Extra security has also been extended in several ports in South Sulawesi, where it is believed the jihadi should moor.
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.382590357&par=0
"freed terrorist arrested..."
I so totally not surprised.
I read the same thing about another suspect last week.
Slow learners or jihad -- another day.