Afghanistan – At least 20 people - including 12 members of a landmine-clearing team - had been killed in a series of attacks blamed on the Taliban reports claimed on the 13 Dec 14
Other incidents include:
A suicide bomber targeted a bus in the capital, Kabul, killing seven soldiers. In a similar attack two days ago, a bomber travelling on foot detonated his explosives beside a bus full of soldiers, killing six of them.
Elsewhere in the city, a top court official was shot dead. Atiqullah Rawoofi, the head of the Afghan Supreme Court's secretariat, was shot dead by two men on a motorbike as he walked from his home to his car.
On the 12 Dec 14 two US soldiers died when insurgents attacked a convoy close to the main international base north of Kabul.
With this cascade of attacks the Taliban seem intent on humiliating, and trying to undermine, the NATO force that's about to scale down to just 13,000 - less than a tenth of what it was at its height. They are also demoralising Afghanistan's own security forces, who have taken on most frontline responsibilities. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30461971)
Australia – On the 15 Dec 14 reports through news networks reported a lone gunman holding numerous people hostage in a café inside a busy area of Sydney. There were numerous reports indicating or surmising that he was not working alone, there were bombs in the building and/or explosive devices had been left in other locations. No-one knew for sure but the outcome of the terrorist incident was one gunman was killed and two unfortunate Australians lost their lives in what would be deemed heroic circumstances. During the time of writing very little facts are currently known due to the Australian security services conducting their own investigation into the incident. 361 COMMENT: However, as in the case of the Mumbai and Kenya attacks, the case of Lee Rigby and a vehicle being used in the initial attack which was later copied by Palestinians against Israelis, this attack will show how vulnerable very soft targets such as a café, coffee shop, restaurant and many others are to this type of attack. With the amount of media coverage there was of this horrific event it will catch the attention of others who would want to bring harm to the civilian population of a country using a similar tactic. The media have reported that Man Haron Monis, the gunman, was not on a watch list and may have been prepared to commit himself to such an act due to his past criminal record. But why demand the black Muslim Shahada/Islamic State flag? This emblem was placed against the windows for people to see and as a backdrop for a video message with a list of demands? It is believed that Monis was an Iranian refugee and therefore presumably a Shia Muslim. The Shahada is being used by Sunni Muslims. A report in the online Time Magazine (http://time.com/3634388/man-haron-monis-sydney/) claims that “he jettisoned his birth name Manteghi Bourjerdi and rejected his religious upbringing as a Shi‘ite Muslim, favouring instead an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam, according to a post on his website in which he refers to Shi‘ites in a derogatory term”. It will not be for a few days more that all or the majority of the facts are known. Those who are below the radar or who have had their right to travel stopped may see this as a way of creating jihad in their own country and supporting the Islamic State without travelling. COMMENT ENDS
India – Maoist rebels have killed 13 police and injured another 12 in an ambush in a remote part of central India reports stated on the 1 Dec 14. The troops were carrying out an operation deep in a forest when the gunmen attacked, the head of Chhattisgarh state's anti-Maoist operations said. The victims were all with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), a paramilitary unit. Its local head of operations, Zulfikar Hasan, said the attackers had used villagers as human shields.
An attack on an army camp in Indian-administered Kashmir killed eight soldiers and three policemen, as the state voted in local elections. Six of the attackers also died during the attack on the 5 Dec 14 assault, described by officials as a suicide raid on the army camp in Uri, near the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed Himalayan region. The attack occurred ahead of a visit to the region on Monday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Uri is about 100km northwest of Srinagar, where Modi was due to campaign on the 8 Dec 14. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is holding provincial elections in phases, with results due on the 23 Dec 14. Other attacks were reported in the region from Sringar and in southern Kashmir. 361 COMMENT: These attacks are a clear indication that terrorists are attempting to upset the voting. COMMENT ENDS
Philippines – Nine people have been killed after a bomb exploded aboard a bus in the southern Philippines on the 9 Dec 14. The bus was travelling through the town of Maramag on the island of Mindanao when the bomb went off. The explosion is the latest in a series of attacks on vehicles owned by the Rural Transit company. Last month, a bomb exploded aboard a Rural Transit bus in Mindanao. Ten people were killed when a bomb exploded aboard a bus operated by the same company on Mindanao in 2010. Muslim rebels were blamed for carrying out the previous bombings as part of an extortion scheme.
Russia/Chechnya – Rebel gunmen reportedly shot their way into the heavily fortified Chechen capital, Grozny, in a night-time attack it was reported on the 4 Dec 14. Arriving at 0100 hrs (2200 hrs GMT 3 Dec 14) in cars, they fired on a traffic police checkpoint before attacking a media building and a school. An Islamist group said it had launched a suicide attack to avenge attacks by security forces on Muslim women. All those who were involved in the attack did not escape. This is the most serious violence in Grozny for some time and will be another worry for President Putin, amid a serious downturn in the Russian economy. Mr Putin prides himself on bringing stability to Chechnya after two bloody, separatist wars there since the break-up of the Soviet Union. 361 COMMENT: Although a bold attack it was well planned and thought out with a strike at night. However, this did not achieve any aim or goal other than make a headline in a newspaper. If the militants are serious they will not be pleased with this result and may plan another attack but with a greater emphasis on achieving greater world wide headlines. To say it was carried out because of the way Muslim women are treated is getting rather thin as other terrorist groups have also used this as a reason for carrying out an attack. COMMENT ENDS.
Other incidents include:
A suicide bomber targeted a bus in the capital, Kabul, killing seven soldiers. In a similar attack two days ago, a bomber travelling on foot detonated his explosives beside a bus full of soldiers, killing six of them.
Elsewhere in the city, a top court official was shot dead. Atiqullah Rawoofi, the head of the Afghan Supreme Court's secretariat, was shot dead by two men on a motorbike as he walked from his home to his car.
On the 12 Dec 14 two US soldiers died when insurgents attacked a convoy close to the main international base north of Kabul.
With this cascade of attacks the Taliban seem intent on humiliating, and trying to undermine, the NATO force that's about to scale down to just 13,000 - less than a tenth of what it was at its height. They are also demoralising Afghanistan's own security forces, who have taken on most frontline responsibilities. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30461971)
Australia – On the 15 Dec 14 reports through news networks reported a lone gunman holding numerous people hostage in a café inside a busy area of Sydney. There were numerous reports indicating or surmising that he was not working alone, there were bombs in the building and/or explosive devices had been left in other locations. No-one knew for sure but the outcome of the terrorist incident was one gunman was killed and two unfortunate Australians lost their lives in what would be deemed heroic circumstances. During the time of writing very little facts are currently known due to the Australian security services conducting their own investigation into the incident. 361 COMMENT: However, as in the case of the Mumbai and Kenya attacks, the case of Lee Rigby and a vehicle being used in the initial attack which was later copied by Palestinians against Israelis, this attack will show how vulnerable very soft targets such as a café, coffee shop, restaurant and many others are to this type of attack. With the amount of media coverage there was of this horrific event it will catch the attention of others who would want to bring harm to the civilian population of a country using a similar tactic. The media have reported that Man Haron Monis, the gunman, was not on a watch list and may have been prepared to commit himself to such an act due to his past criminal record. But why demand the black Muslim Shahada/Islamic State flag? This emblem was placed against the windows for people to see and as a backdrop for a video message with a list of demands? It is believed that Monis was an Iranian refugee and therefore presumably a Shia Muslim. The Shahada is being used by Sunni Muslims. A report in the online Time Magazine (http://time.com/3634388/man-haron-monis-sydney/) claims that “he jettisoned his birth name Manteghi Bourjerdi and rejected his religious upbringing as a Shi‘ite Muslim, favouring instead an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam, according to a post on his website in which he refers to Shi‘ites in a derogatory term”. It will not be for a few days more that all or the majority of the facts are known. Those who are below the radar or who have had their right to travel stopped may see this as a way of creating jihad in their own country and supporting the Islamic State without travelling. COMMENT ENDS
India – Maoist rebels have killed 13 police and injured another 12 in an ambush in a remote part of central India reports stated on the 1 Dec 14. The troops were carrying out an operation deep in a forest when the gunmen attacked, the head of Chhattisgarh state's anti-Maoist operations said. The victims were all with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), a paramilitary unit. Its local head of operations, Zulfikar Hasan, said the attackers had used villagers as human shields.
An attack on an army camp in Indian-administered Kashmir killed eight soldiers and three policemen, as the state voted in local elections. Six of the attackers also died during the attack on the 5 Dec 14 assault, described by officials as a suicide raid on the army camp in Uri, near the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed Himalayan region. The attack occurred ahead of a visit to the region on Monday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Uri is about 100km northwest of Srinagar, where Modi was due to campaign on the 8 Dec 14. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is holding provincial elections in phases, with results due on the 23 Dec 14. Other attacks were reported in the region from Sringar and in southern Kashmir. 361 COMMENT: These attacks are a clear indication that terrorists are attempting to upset the voting. COMMENT ENDS
Philippines – Nine people have been killed after a bomb exploded aboard a bus in the southern Philippines on the 9 Dec 14. The bus was travelling through the town of Maramag on the island of Mindanao when the bomb went off. The explosion is the latest in a series of attacks on vehicles owned by the Rural Transit company. Last month, a bomb exploded aboard a Rural Transit bus in Mindanao. Ten people were killed when a bomb exploded aboard a bus operated by the same company on Mindanao in 2010. Muslim rebels were blamed for carrying out the previous bombings as part of an extortion scheme.
Russia/Chechnya – Rebel gunmen reportedly shot their way into the heavily fortified Chechen capital, Grozny, in a night-time attack it was reported on the 4 Dec 14. Arriving at 0100 hrs (2200 hrs GMT 3 Dec 14) in cars, they fired on a traffic police checkpoint before attacking a media building and a school. An Islamist group said it had launched a suicide attack to avenge attacks by security forces on Muslim women. All those who were involved in the attack did not escape. This is the most serious violence in Grozny for some time and will be another worry for President Putin, amid a serious downturn in the Russian economy. Mr Putin prides himself on bringing stability to Chechnya after two bloody, separatist wars there since the break-up of the Soviet Union. 361 COMMENT: Although a bold attack it was well planned and thought out with a strike at night. However, this did not achieve any aim or goal other than make a headline in a newspaper. If the militants are serious they will not be pleased with this result and may plan another attack but with a greater emphasis on achieving greater world wide headlines. To say it was carried out because of the way Muslim women are treated is getting rather thin as other terrorist groups have also used this as a reason for carrying out an attack. COMMENT ENDS.
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