| Foreigners killed in Afghan attacks | |||
Five Canadians and eight Americans have been killed in two separate attacks in Afghanistan, with officials saying that the Americans were working for the CIA, the US intelligence agency. The Taliban on Thursday claimed responsibility for the attack on the Americans, carried out at a US base in the eastern province of Khost, saying that the attacker was an officer in the Afghan army. "This deadly attack was carried out by a valorous Afghan army member when the officials [Americans] were busy gaining information about the mujahideen," Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in an email. The Afghan defence ministry denied that the bomber was an Afghan army officer. The suicide bomber reportedly evaded security at the base and detonated an explosive belt in a room used as a fitness centre on Wednesday. A former senior CIA officer who was stationed at the base said a combination of agency officers and contractors operated out of the remote outpost with the military and other agencies. Initial reports suggested the men killed had been soldiers. 'Reconstruction staff' "There has been a great deal of confusion when the reports emerged yesterday," Hashem Ahelbarra, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from the Afghan capital, Kabul, said. "Then he came back to us in half an hour and said there had been a great deal of confusion and actually 'no, these are not US soldiers but civilians'. They are members of the PRT, which is the provincial reconstruction team." The PRT was established in Afghanistan in 2002 by the US to assist in reconstruction efforts at district and provincial levels. US media reports said the Americans killed were employed by the CIA. The Washington Post newspaper, citing US officials, said the eight killed were working for the CIA, while the Associated Press cited an unnamed US official as saying CIA employees were believed to be among the dead. According to The Washington Post report, the CIA has been bolstering its ranks in Afghanistan in recent weeks, mirroring the increase in troops. The CIA has not yet commented or confirmed the deaths. The base in Khost, known as Forward Operating Base Chapman, is a centre for personnel working on reconstruction projects in the country. The US has committed to send hundreds of civilians to support work on development projects that aim to undermine support for the Taliban and other fighters. But as the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, many of the civilians working outside Kabul have retreated to army bases. Several other people, none of them US or Nato troops, were wounded in the explosion, US defence officials said. Canadians killed The five Canadians were killed in a attack in the southern province of Kandahar just hours later. The group, made up of four Canadian soldiers and a journalist accompanying them, were visiting community reconstruction projects and were killed when their armoured vehicle was hit by a bomb, the Canadian defence ministry said. The journalist, Michelle Lang, was with The Calgary Herald. The paper said Lang had been in the country since December 11 and was the first Canadian journalist to die in Afghanistan since Canada joined the international mission there in 2002. The attack was the worst against Canada's military in the country in two years and brought its military deaths in Afghanistan to 138. Canada has 2,800 troops in Afghanistan, but the mission has become increasingly unpopular at home and it is scheduled to be withdrawn at the end of 2011. | |||
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Thursday, 31 December 2009
Foreigners killed in Afghan attacks
Yemen 'can handle al-Qaeda menace'
| Yemen 'can handle al-Qaeda menace' | |||||||
The Yemeni government has vowed to deal with the "menace of al-Qaeda in Yemen" after the group claimed responsibility for a plot to bring down an aircraft bound for the US city of Detroit on Christmas. Saying his government would not authorise or co-operate with any potential US strike on its soil, Abdullah Alsaidi, Yemen's permanent representative to the United Nations, told Al Jazeera that his country "is capable of taking care of its own problems". Alsaidi welcomed co-operation with and assistance from the US "with respect to intelligence information", saying it was necessary to Yemen's battle against al-Qaeda. But he added that "we are not encouraging US attacks, we are saying that Yemen will take care of this problem on its own". Hideout raided On Wednesday, Yemeni security forces raided an alleged al-Qaeda hideout in a western province, sparking a gun battle with fighters. A security official speaking on condition of anonymity said the target was a house owned by an al-Qaeda sympathiser. The official said the owner was arrested, a suspected al-Qaeda member was injured and several fighters who fled were being pursued.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian passenger, was arrested last Friday on suspicion of trying to bring down the Northwest Airlines aircraft carrying 289 people. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an offshoot of Osama bin Laden's group based in Yemen, claimed it was behind the attempt. US investigators said Abdulmutallab told them he received training and instructions from al-Qaeda operatives in Yemen. Yemen's government said Abdulmutallab spent two periods in the country, from 2004-2005 and from August to December this year, just before the attempted attack. And Alsaidi told Al Jazeera that Abdulmutallab "was probably in touch with terror cells" in Yemen, although the envoy denied that the explosives from the failed attack came from his country, saying Abdulmutallab "most likely picked them up somewhere else". "I have also heard from other governments that he picked them up in other African countries closer to Nigeria," he said. Abdulmutallab's Yemen connection has drawn attention to al-Qaeda's presence in the country. US role Before Wednesday's clashes, Yemeni forces backed by US intelligence carried out two major strikes against al-Qaeda hideouts this month, reportedly killing more than 60 fighters.
Bryan Whitman, a US defence department spokesman, said Yemen received $67m in training and support under the Pentagon's counterterrorism programme last year, second only to $112m spent in Pakistan. "We are going to work with allies and partners to seek out terrorist activity, al-Qaeda, wherever they operate, plan their operations, seek safe harbour," he said, adding that "this is an effort that is years old now". But US officials downplayed reports that retaliatory strikes in Yemen would be launched. "These reports are inflammatory and do not address the issue," Barbara Bodine, a former US ambassador to Yemen, told Al Jazeera, adding that "we need to understand the size, configuration of the al-Qaeda presence in Yemen". "Any moves would be better done by the Yemen military. Conducting air strikes would not help either, as you would end up with collateral damage. Actions such as these are merely reactionary, but not aimed at solving the problem," she said. Meanwhile, Barack Obama, the US president, has demanded a preliminary report by Thursday on the security lapses in the plane bomb plot. He said the intelligence community should have been able to piece together information that would have raised "red flags" and possibly prevented Abdulmutallab from boarding the airliner. Abdulmutallab had been placed in one broad database but never made it on to more restrictive lists, despite his father's warnings to US embassy officials in Nigeria last month. The failed attack in Detroit was launched almost a year after al-Qaeda's operations in Yemen and Saudi Arabia united to form al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, making Yemen its base. | |||||||
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Protests held against Gaza siege
| Protests held against Gaza siege | |||||||
Activists, both from Gaza and abroad, have held demonstrations on either side of an Israeli border crossing to the Palestinian territory, protesting against its continued siege by Israel. Hundreds of protesters gathered around the Erez crossing on Thursday, to denounce the blockade that has caused immense suffering to those living in Gaza. Nisreen el-Shamayleh, Al Jazeera's correspondent who was on the Israeli side of the crossing, estimated that about 600 protesters were present, many from mainly Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem. "They represent Israeli-Palestinians as well as other Arab civil society organisations inside Israel and also with the support of some Israeli groups," she said. "Their major demand is for Israel to stop the siege on Gaza and to stop the suffocation of Gazans living under this blockade. They're also calling on the international community to intervene." The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli blockade since 2007 when Hamas seized power in the territory. The Erez crossing is the main entry and exit point to and from Gaza used by medical patients, journalists, diplomats and aid groups. International support On the Gaza side of the border, the demonstration was slower to get started, but protesters there were joined by 86 activists from the Gaza Freedom March, an international group that has been trying to get into Gaza with food and supplies. Most of the Gaza Freedom March's 1,300-strong group were refused entry into Gaza by Egypt, which controls the Rafah crossing point, because of what Egyptian authorities said was the "sensitive situation" in the territory.
Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of the Electronic Intifada website, who was at the Cairo protest, told Al Jazeera the group had been surrounded by the police. "I've spoken to some people who were pushed or kicked by police and a few people have [had] their cameras taken away," he said. "I'd say there are about 200 people here. We had anticipated quite a few more, but earlier today police barricaded some of the hotels where we are staying ... I can't tell you how many people have been prevented from joining us." A separate aid convoy has also been trying to reach Gaza through Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba. Lorries from the Viva Palestina convoy began crossing from Jordan into Syria on Thursday. The events around Gaza coincide with the one-year anniversary of Israel's devastating 22-day war on Gaza which left about 1,300 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis also died in the conflict. | |||||||
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Iran faces nuclear deal deadline
| Iran faces nuclear deal deadline | |||
The deadline for Iran to agree to international demands that it ship its nuclear material abroad for enrichment is set to expire. Iran has until Thursday to agree to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposal, designed to calm the fears of the US and its allies that Iran might use its nuclear programme to make a nuclear weapon. Under the terms of the deal, Tehran would transfer its low-grade nuclear material abroad where it will be further enriched and returned to fuel a medical research reactor. Iran denies that is trying to make a weapon and says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. Kristen Saloomey, Al Jazeera's correspondent in New York, said efforts were under way to establish a multi-lateral approach to sanctions should Iran miss the deadline. "Diplomatic sources tell Al Jazeera that the United States is considering a menu of sanctions," she said. "Those could be imposed on Iran by the United Nations if they can get the entire five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council to agree to them, or could be imposed unilaterally by the United States and by its European allies. "As for what sanctions might be considered, the United States is reportedly looking at targeting the oil sector with an eye towards destabilising Iran's economy. "Of course, it must tread very carefully here - it doesn't want to be seen as hurting the Iranian people or interfering in any way in Iran's domestic affairs." 'Targeted sanctions' Several diplomats said the United States and at least some of its Western partners want to avoid hitting Iran's life blood - its energy sector - for fear it would trigger a broad-based Iranian nationalist reaction. They also doubt such sanctions would gain the support of China and Russia, which have been more reluctant than the Western powers to impose sanctions. Karim Sadjadpour, an analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Washington may target the Revolutionary Guard, which "are managing Iran's nuclear programme, liaising with extremist groups throughout the Middle East, and overseeing the brutal suppression of non-violent protesters." She told AFP that punishing the Guard "makes sense because it potentially kills several birds with one stone", without alienating the Iranian opposition. Aside from it nuclear disagreement with the West, Iran is facing unrest at home from opposition protesters following the country's disputed presidential polls in June. | |||
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Deaths in Finland mall shooting
| Deaths in Finland mall shooting | |||
Four people have been killed as a gunman opened fire at a shopping mall in Finland's second largest city, Espoo, the police have said. Witnesses said a man dressed in black had started shooting randomly inside the Sello mall on Thursday morning. "I can confirm that four people are dead," Jyrkky Kallio, the local police chief, said. "But we do not know yet whether there are other casualties and how many there are." A witness said an employee was seen lying on the floor covered in blood, Finland's national broadcaster YLE reported. Many ambulances were called to the scene. Police identified the shooter as 43-year-old Ibrahim Shkupolli. The shooter's nationality is unclear. Motives unclear Lisa Karvinen, a journalist at YLE, said the police have not released any details about possible motives for the shooting. "Police is searching for him ... They have searched some local trains which have passed the station [near the mall]", she told Al Jazeera. The director of the shopping centre said the mall had been evacuated and public transport services in the area were rerouted. The shooting is the country's third multiple shooting incident in as many years. In September 2008, a lone gunman killed nine fellow students and a teacher In November 2007, an 18-year-old student fatally shot eight people and himself at a high school in southern Finland. Finland, a nation of 5.3 million, has 1.6 million firearms in private hands and ranks among the top five nations in the world in civilian gun ownership. | |||
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Ex-Indonesia president laid to rest
| Ex-Indonesia president laid to rest | |||||
Indonesia's former president, Abdurrahman Wahid, has been given a state funeral and laid to rest at his birthplace in Jombang, East Java. Flags were at half mast as a sign of respect for Abdurrahman, who died in hospital on Wednesday aged 69, due to complications arising from diabetes and stroke. More commonly known as Gus Dur, Abdurrahman became Indonesia's fourth president after Suharto was ousted from power following a student-led uprising against the general's three-decade rule. Abdurrahman defeated Megawati Sukarnoputri to win the presidency in a parliamentary vote in 1999, even though her Democratic Party of Struggle put in the strongest showing in a general election earlier that year. She replaced him after he was sacked by the national assembly in 2001 amid unproven allegations of corruption and incompetence. A religious scholar, Abdurrahman was a critic of Suharto but was himself criticised for his erratic leadership style while he was in office. Still, he gained a reputation for religious tolerance and reformist policies. He rose to political prominence as leader of one of the country's biggest mass Islamic movements, the moderate Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and helped put the country on the path to democracy following Suharto's fall. 'Enormous service'
In a nationally-televised address on Thursday, Yudhoyono called on Indonesians to pay Abdurrahman their "highest respects". "I say this with prayers and hope that he is accepted at the side of God for his enormous service to the public, the nation and our beloved state," he said. | |||||
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Deadly blasts hit western Iraq city
| Deadly blasts hit western Iraq city | |||
At least 23 people have been killed in twin suicide bombings in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi. Another 57 people were injured in the blasts on Wednesday in Anbar province, including Qassim Mohammed Abid, the provincial governor. A suicide bomber in a car caused the first blast and a suicide bomber on foot caused the second, Lieutenant-Colonel Imad al-Fahdawi, a police official, said. The first attack was at about 9:30am local time (06:30 GMT) at a traffic junction in the centre of city close to the provincial administration buildings. A separate bombing 30 minutes later at the entrance to the nearby provincial council offices. It was in this bombing that Abid was injured as he came out of his office to inspect the damage, a source at a Ramadi hospital was reported as saying. "Some security people held him back, and he detonated himself." Governor wounded State television briefly reported that the governor had been killed in the blast, but those reports were quickly denied by Hikmet Khalaf, his deputy. The AFP news agency quoted a doctor at Ramadi General Hospital as saying: "The governor is wounded. American forces came and took him for more treatment." The US military did not immediately confirm that its troops took Abid to a US-run hospital. Ahmed Rushdi, an independent journalist in Baghdad, told Al Jazeera: "There is now a curfew inside Anbar - [the roads] are only for police cars and ambulances. All the members of the council and the governorate have mild injures." Anbar province was the heart of Iraq's Sunni uprising following the US-led invasion of Iraqi in 2003 but it became relatively secure after local tribal fighters accepted US-backing in 2006. But a spate of recent attacks has raised fears that violence will increase ahead of Iraq's general elections in March 2010. | |||
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