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Special to the tribune
Seven Taliban dead in Kabul airport attack
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Bombs strike Iraqi markets, 21 dead
Special to the tribune
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Seven Taliban dead in Kabul airport attack
Kabul, June 10 Two suicide bombers blew themselves up and all five other attackers were killed when elite Afghan troops stormed two multi-storey buildings where the militants were holed up near the airport's perimeter fence. The security forces' response was widely praised as a sign of their growing professionalism as they take over responsibility from 100,000 US-led combat troops who will pull out by the end of next year. President Hamid Karzai, who is currently visiting Qatar, highlighted the effectiveness of the foreign-trained units after only two civilians suffered minor injuries in the attack. "Brave Afghan security forces have the ability to repel any enemy attack and can protect people and their country," Karzai said in a statement. Loud explosions from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and sporadic bursts of small-arms fire erupted for about four hours after the fighting awoke residents of the Afghan capital at 4:30 am (midnight GMT). "There were seven assailants -- two (suicide bombers) died detonating themselves and five others were killed," Kabul police chief Mohammad Ayoub Salangi told reporters. The heavily-guarded airport, which has both civilian and military terminals, contains a large base for the US-led NATO coalition deployed to help Afghan forces thwart the 12-year insurgency. "We can report that RPGs were fired in the direction of the airport but we don't have any news of damage," a NATO spokesman told AFP. Three suicide vests were found in the buildings where the insurgents had used RPGs and machine guns to fend off Afghan forces and to attack the airport on the northeast side of Kabul. The militants, who wore military and police uniform, did not manage to breach the airport grounds, though all flights were cancelled or re-routed for several hours. A Taliban spokesman said the group was responsible for the attack, adding that a large number of foreign and Afghan soldiers had been killed -- a claim dismissed by Afghanistan and NATO. A car laden with explosives at the scene was detonated deliberately by police using a RPG, a senior official said. — AFP
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Communal tensions on the rise in UK
Shyam Bhatia in London The London Police has decided to maintain a 24-hour guard outside key Islamic institutions following suspected overnight arson at a Muslim boarding school on the outskirts of London. According to school Principal Mustafa Musa, intruders started the fire in the teaching area. The decision to boost the police presence outside Islamic centres also comes after a dramatic spike in attacks against Muslim individuals and groups, which have gone up to some eight incidents a day. Communal tensions have been rising in London and other parts of the UK after the cold blooded murder in broad daylight of an off duty British soldier, Lee Rigby, who was killed by two Islamic converts of Nigerian origin. Justifying the attack, which was captured on video, one of the attackers was heard saying: “The only reason we have killed this man today is because Muslims are killed daily by British soldiers. And this British soldier is one … By Allah, we swear by the almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone.” Despite strong and immediate condemnation by Muslim leaders and others in the UK, random reprisals have been spreading against the UK’s Muslim community. Last week fire destroyed an Islamic centre in the upmarket London suburb of Muswell Hill. Muslim leaders are now sufficiently concerned about the rising tensions to consider installing transparent fences around mosques, window wire screens and thickened security doors. A few days earlier activists working for Faith Matters, an organisation that works to reduce extremism, said how there had been more than 100 incidents after Rigby’s murder. A spokesman for Faith matters told the BBC: “What’s really concerning is the spread of these incidents. They’re coming in from right across the country.” “Secondly, some of them are quite aggressive; very focused, very aggressive attacks. And thirdly, there also seems to be significant online activity… suggesting coordination of incidents and attacks against institutions or places where Muslims congregate. Senior London police commander Simon Letchford said in a radio interview: “Clearly this is a time for Londoners to come together after the tragic murder of Lee Rigby and we would encourage people to remain calm, to provide information to us on anybody who they believe is carrying out these criminal acts. “We will do everything we can both to protect premises but also to bring to justice those who break the law.” “We have had a number of attacks and assaults but on the whole it tends to be name calling, normally against individuals who are at a particular location or wearing a particular style of dress which draws attention to them. “We can’t allow these sorts of incidents to divide us. I would encourage people to report concerns to the police, to work with us, and collectively as Londoners we will defeat these individuals.” Earlier, Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe confirmed there would be an increased police presence around risky locations. “We will maintain a 24/7 guard of uniformed officers at sites we consider to be at greatest risk,” he said. The latest suspected arson attack, which has resulted in the arrest of four teenagers, was launched against the £250 per month (Rs 21,000+) Darul Uloom London boarding school, established in 1988 with the aim of producing “great scholars and Huffaz (people who have memorised the Koran) to preserve and transmit the eternal message of Allah”. The school says it tries to help children to explore and develop their Islamic identity “as a natural part of their mental, emotional and personal development.” Six Islamists sentenced for plotting to attack UK rightwingers London: Six Al-Qaida inspired British men were on Monday handed jail terms of nearly 20 years each for plotting a deadly attack on a rally by a rightwing party in June last year. The six men had earlier pleaded guilty to engaging in preparation for acts of terrorism and targeting an English Defence League demonstration in Dewsbury last year with homemade bombs, guns and knives. — PTI Random reprisals
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No place for dictators in today’s Pak: Zardari President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said there was no place for dictators in today’s Pakistan. In his address to the joint session of Parliament, Zardari said democracy has taken firm roots and he felt pleased in presiding over the transition from a democratic government to another through the General Election. It was his sixth address to the joint session that made him the first Pakistani President to address a joint session of Parliament for six times. “There is no place for dictators in today’s Pakistan. I am proud of this peaceful transfer of power,” said the President. “I salute the people for they have spoken through their vote.” Monday’s address was expected to be Zardari’s last address as the President as he runs out his five-year presidential term in September. Zardari congratulated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on his victory and expressed confidence that he (Sharif) would fulfill the expectations of the people. Zardari noted that all political parties, including his own party, had accepted the outcome despite reservations. He lauded the previous Parliament for passing historic amendments and laws, including the one that curtailed presidential powers and diverted resources to provinces.
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Bombs strike Iraqi markets, 21 dead
Baghdad, June 10 No group claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks, but officials blame most of the sectarian violence that has killed nearly 2,000 people since April on Sunni Islamist insurgents linked to al Qaeda's local wing. Officials said two car bombs exploded and a suicide bomber in another vehicle detonated his explosives in a food market in the mostly Shi'ite Muslim town of Jadidat al-Shatt in Diyala province, 40 km (25 miles) north of the capital. The triple blasts left 13 dead and more than 50 wounded among the wreckage of fruit and vegetable stalls, local officials and police said. "I was selling watermelon and suddenly I heard a powerful blast at the entrance to the market. I fled from the dust and smoke when a second blast turned the place into hell," said Hassan Hadi, a wounded farmer being treated in hospital. "I was hit in my leg and lay down in shock." Another car bomb hit a market in the religiously-mixed town of Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, killing at least eight more people, police and hospital sources said. The Iraqi police also defused bombs planted at two oil wells near the northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, and while exports to Turkey's Ceyhan port were not affected, militants have increased attacks on oil facilities on which Iraq's economy depends. Recent violence is the worst since the inter-communal bloodletting five years ago that killed tens of thousands and partitioned Baghdad into districts based on religious sect. Growing violence has tracked rising political tensions between Shi'ite majority leaders and minority Sunnis who feel their sect has been marginalised since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the 2003 US-led invasion. — Reuters
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300 activists to do the full monty for Sumatran tiger Shyam Bhatia in London The UK has the reputation of being one of the most delightfully conservative countries in the world. Men wear ties with their shirts at the slightest excuse, top hats on special occasions. Some women still curtsey to the Queen and other dignitaries, there is an emphasis on using the right type of knife and fork for the appropriate dish, bad language is frowned upon, etc. The list is endless. So it comes as somewhat of a surprise for Indians and other foreigners to discover that there exists across the length and breadth of the country a national predilection for stripping off. What the memsahibs of the Raj used to characterise as the “nanga panga” culture of India has long had its equivalent in the UK. On India’s Independence Day, August 15, around 300 backers of the increasingly rare Sumatran tiger will show off their support for this endangered species by stripping off streaking though the premises of London Zoo. Well not completely naked. Intending participants have been told that they are welcome to wear fake tiger ears and tiger masks, so that their true identities can be protected from the limited number of spectators who have been encouraged to pay a registration fee and pledge sponsorship for the event. “It’s time to show your wild side and show us your stripes in support of the ZSL Sumatran Tiger campaign,” says a spokesperson for the zoo. “Have you got what it takes to take on the ultimate challenge of streaking for tigers!? “With only 300 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, we hope this event will not only raise much needed funds… but will also highlight and raise the profile of the drastic work that needs to be done in order to save the Sumatran tiger. “We can guarantee that this will be the most fun and easiest fundraising you will ever do! The more outrageous the challenge, the more people will want to put their paws in their pocket for you.” Psychology professor Dominic Abrams from the University of Kent was quoted as commenting on the stripping off phenomenon: “It is very unBritish. For starters, we don’t live in a Mediterranean climate. It is very unusual to see nakedness in public, especially in a street. It is uncommon and takes you aback.” Such considerations did not stop more than 100 people taking off their clothes earlier this year when they jumped into the waters off the Welsh coast. Their reactions ranged from describing the experience as “amazing” to “exhilarating”. Earlier this month, another 1,000 protesters took off their clothes to ride naked through the streets of London. They were protesting against the popular reliance on the motor car as a means of transport. Exposing for
a cause
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Six killed in attack on NATO supply trucks in Pakistan
Mandela's condition unchanged Imran to take oath on June 13 Pak lawmaker warns of Hindu exodus ‘Malfunction’ hits Iran’s N-reactor
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Taliban insurgents today launched a grenade and gun attack on Kabul airport, firing on military facilities before being overwhelmed.
