W O R L D

Wary of air strikes, IS fighters change tactics
Baghdad, September 26
Islamic State militants are changing tactics in the face of US air strikes in northern Iraq, ditching conspicuous convoys in favour of motorcycles and planting their black flags on civilian homes, tribal sources and eyewitnesses say.

A pair of US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles fly over northern Iraq after conducting air strikes in Syria. Reuters

special to the tribune
Two Indian-Americans in race for top law officer job in US
Two Indian-Americans —one of whom recently caused considerable strain in the US-India relationship — are being mentioned in political circles as potential successors to US Attorney General Eric Holder who on Thursday announced his decision to resign after more than five years on the job.

Tragedy in China: A police officer tries to maintain order outside a school after a stampede at a primary school in Kunming on Friday. Six persons were killed and 26 others injured in the incident. Reuters

Afghan poll results reveal Ghani as clear winner
Kabul, September 26
Ashraf Ghani won Afghanistan's disputed presidential election decisively with 55 per cent of the vote, results revealed today, after the figure was kept secret for five days over concerns that fraud allegations could trigger violence.

Court admits plea for PM’s disqualification
The Supreme Court on Friday admitted a petition filed by the PTI calling for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification. A bench headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk would hear the petition and the hearing has been fixed for September 29.

Wary of air strikes, IS fighters change tactics
* Insurgents travel on two wheelers instead of four
* Hide in trenches in backyards of civilian houses

Baghdad, September 26
Islamic State militants are changing tactics in the face of US air strikes in northern Iraq, ditching conspicuous convoys in favour of motorcycles and planting their black flags on civilian homes, tribal sources and eyewitnesses say.

They reported fewer militant checkpoints to weed out "apostates" and less cell phone use since the air strikes intensified and more US allies pledged to join the campaign that began in August, saying the militants had also split up to limit casualties.

A tribal sheikh from a village south of Kirkuk said Islamic State elements "abandoned one of their biggest headquarters in the village" when they heard the air strike campaign was likely to target their area.

"They took all their furniture, vehicles and weapons. Then they planted roadside bombs and destroyed the headquarters," said the tribal sheikh who declined to be named. "They don't move in military convoys like before. Instead they use motorcycles, bicycles, and if necessary, they use camouflaged cars," he said.

The militants have also taken to erecting their notorious black flag on the rooftops of several mostly empty residential houses and buildings, to create confusion about their actual presence.

Civilian casualties are a major concern as US war planes venture deeper into the Tigris River valley and to Iraq's western desert in the name of breaking Islamic State's grip on mostly Sunni parts of Iraq, nearly one-third of the country. France has also taken part in the air campaign.

A US-led coalition has started bombing the militants in Syria as well, fearing the Sunni extremist group could threaten national security from a caliphate they have declared in territory seized there and through the border into Iraq. Arab allies have joined in and this week Denmark and Britain both pledged fighter jets to Iraq but not Syria.

In another village near Haweeja in northern Iraq, a source said the militants had ditched the use of long convoys of conspicuous vehicles with mounted machine guns and also noted their new preference for motor-bikes.

The insurgents have gone underground in their main Syrian stronghold since US President Barack Obama authorised air strikes on the group in Syria, which began earlier this week. They have disappeared from streets, redeployed weapons and fighters, and cut down their media exposure.

The air strikes have by no means crippled them. Their fighters edged towards a strategic town on northern Syria's border with Turkey on Friday, battling Kurdish forces, while air strikes hit their oilfields in Syria's east.

In Diyala, an eyewitness said the air strikes had forced the militants to cut back the number of checkpoints which inspected identity cards, looking for those they considered "apostates": Shi'ites, policemen, soldiers. — Reuters

IS tightens grip on Syrian town, shells hit Turkey

• Islamic State fighters tightened their siege of the strategic town of Kobani on Syria's border with Turkey on Friday, pushing back Kurdish forces and sending at least two shells into Turkish territory
• Islamic State launched its assault on Kobani more than a week ago, besieging it from three sides. More than 140,000 Kurds have fled the town and surrounding villages since last Friday, crossing into Turkey
• US-led air strikes have targeted Islamic State fighters elsewhere in Syria but some Kurdish military officials have said they have made the situation in Kobani more precarious, pushing the Sunni insurgents towards the Turkish border

Britain to join US-led airstrikes in Iraq

• Prime Minister David Cameron urged lawmakers on Friday to vote in favour of Britain joining US-led air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq, hours ahead of a crunch parliamentary vote he is expected to win
• Approval would mean Britain embarking on its first military campaign since it launched air strikes in 2011 against Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Libya, seeing it join a coalition that includes the United States, France and Middle Eastern allies.
• Cameron recalled Parliament from recess for a special session after the Iraqi government requested British intervention, and was careful to secure cross-party support for strikes against IS before putting forward a motion.

Denmark joins fight against IS

• Denmark became the latest country to join the US-led coalition that is launching airstrikes on Islamic State group militants in Iraq. Lawmakers in Britain and Belgium were also debating whether to commit warplanes to the struggle too. Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said her government would send four operational planes and three reserve jets along with 250 pilots and support staff in the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq. The deployment will last for 12 months.

special to the tribune
Two Indian-Americans in race for top law officer job in US
Ashish Kumar Sen in Washington DC

Preet Bharara (L), the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California, are among a handful of names making the rounds as a potential successor to US Attorney General Eric Holder.

Two Indian-Americans —one of whom recently caused considerable strain in the US-India relationship — are being mentioned in political circles as potential successors to US Attorney General Eric Holder who on Thursday announced his decision to resign after more than five years on the job.

The two Indian-Americans — Preet Bharara, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California — are among a handful of names making the rounds after Holder's surprise announcement.

Holder has agreed to stay on as Attorney General until US President Barack Obama nominates a successor. That nominee must then be confirmed by the US Senate.

Ferozepur-born Bharara is renowned for the zeal with which he has pursued many of the USA's most important cases in terrorism, organised crime, corruption and financial fraud.

Indians will remember him for the lawsuit against Devyani Khobragade, an Indian diplomat in New York, in which he accused her of visa fraud and paying her Indian maid less than the minimum wage. Khobragade's subsequent arrest and strip search in New York in December of 2013 sparked a diplomatic crisis that strained ties between New Delhi and Washington.

Bharara has made a name for himself prosecuting white-collar crime, so much so that in some circles he is known as the "sheriff of Wall Street." He famously brought down Rajat Gupta who was convicted on three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy.

Obama nominated Bharara to be the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2009. The Senate unanimously confirmed him for his present job. This is a good sign should he be picked for Holder's job.

Harris, whose late mother Shyamala Gopalan was an Indian-American breast cancer researcher and Jamaican-American father Donald Harris was an economics professor at Stanford University, has for long been mentioned as a likely future US senator or governor.

Now her name is being tossed around as a potential Attorney General of the US Like Bharara, Harris is known to have a warm relationship with Obama. The President caused a stir last year when he referred to Harris as "by far the best looking Attorney General."

If Harris is nominated and confirmed she would be the first non-white female to serve at the US Attorney General. Holder was the first African-American attorney general.

Afghan poll results reveal Ghani as clear winner

Afghan president-elect Ashraf Ghani holds up a certificate presented to him in Kabul. AFP

Kabul, September 26
Ashraf Ghani won Afghanistan's disputed presidential election decisively with 55 per cent of the vote, results revealed today, after the figure was kept secret for five days over concerns that fraud allegations could trigger violence.

Ghani and Abdullah both claimed victory in the June 14 run-off vote, tipping the country into a political crisis that the United Nations feared could descend into the ethnic unrest of the 1990s civil war. A "unity government" deal was finally agreed on Sunday, with Ghani serving as the next president and Abdullah taking up the new role of chief executive, similar to that of prime minister.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) had declared Ghani the winner, but did not reveal the margin of victory or the turnout to avoid stoking bitter resentment among Abdullah's supporters who believed he won fairly.

At an IEC ceremony today, Ghani was presented with a certificate that confirmed he had won 55.27 per cent of the ballot on a turnout of 7.12 million voters. Ghani will be inaugurated in Kabul on Monday in Afghanistan's first democratic transfer of power. — AFP

Court admits plea for PM’s disqualification
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

The Supreme Court on Friday admitted a petition filed by the PTI calling for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's disqualification. A bench headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk would hear the petition and the hearing has been fixed for September 29.

The plea requested the court to order Sharif's disqualification for falsely stating in the National Assembly that he had not asked Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to act as a mediator and guarantor between the government on one side and PTI Chairman Imran Khan and PAT chief Tahirul Qadri on the other for ending the political impasse.