Afghanistan – At least 33 people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack near a military base in Afghanistan's Khost province, where Afghan and foreign soldiers are stationed, authorities reported on the 13 Jul 15. The attack happened just before 1900 hrs when many people were breaking their Ramadan fast. All of the dead were believed to be Afghan. The bomber detonated the explosives at a military roadblock near the entrance to Camp Chapman, Faizullah Ghairat. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Taliban has often targeted Afghan and foreign troops. Foreign troops including US soldiers are stationed at Camp Champan alongside Afghan soldiers. In 2009, Camp Chapman was the target of a spectacular suicide attack claimed by al-Qaeda. Seven CIA officials were killed in the deadliest assault on the US agency since 1983, when eight officers died in an attack on a military base in Beirut. Camp Chapman is located less than four kilometres from the city of Khost, which is near the Pakistani border.
Thailand – Six people were killed and 11 injured in Thailand's three southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla in a string of bomb and arson attacks by suspected separatist militants, the army said on the 11 Jul 15. The violence was related to the holy month of Ramadan, said Colonel Pramote Prom-in, a regional security spokesman. Attacks often escalate during Ramadan. Three people were killed early on the 11 Jul in separate incidents in three shops in Sungai Kolok in southern Narathiwat province, after three were killed and three injured late on the 10 Jul by a motorcycle bomb in the town of Padang Besar in Songkhla. In a separate incident, eight were injured by a bomb in front of a hotel in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok.
Turkey – Turkey on reported on the 10 Jul 15 that it had detained 21 suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, including three foreigners, in a major operation in several cities including Istanbul. The suspects, who were arrested in pre-dawn raids, are suspected of helping the militant group recruit people from Europe, the official Anatolia news agency said.
An umbrella network of Kurdish organizations that includes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has announced a three-year-long cease-fire agreement with Ankara is now over, dealing a major blow to a protracted reconciliation process with Turkey's Kurds it was reported on the 13 Jul 15. The PKK-linked Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) declared an "end to the cease-fire" first agreed in 2012 and warned it would target 'all the dams" in the country's southeast. In the statement delivering a significant setback to the fragile off-and-on peace process, the KCK said Turkey's building of barracks, dams, and roads for military purposes had violated the truce. 'The Turkish State took advantage of the cease-fire conditions, not for a democratic political resolution, but to gain an advantageous position in preparation of war by building dozens of guard posts, roads for military purposes and dams in order for a cultural genocide,' the statement said.
Pakistan/India – The prime ministers of nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India agreed at a rare meeting on the 10 Jul 15 to cooperate on eliminating terrorism in South Asia, Pakistan's foreign ministry said. In a sign of easing relations, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also accepted his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif's invitation to attend a South Asian regional summit to be held in Islamabad next year. "Both sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate with each other to eliminate the menace of terrorism from South Asia," Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said in a statement. The hostility between Pakistan and India dates back seven decades, but strains have grown since nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office a year ago. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced "enormous" concern over heightened tensions between the two countries. Both sides have accused the other of fomenting terrorism. Pakistan alleges that India's spy agency is behind violence in the south-western Baluchistan province and north-western tribal regions. New Delhi denies the charge, saying Pakistan should present solid evidence to back up its claim. Meanwhile, India wants Pakistan to punish those who carried out deadly attacks in the heart of Mumbai in 2008 that left 166 people dead. Relations have deteriorated since April, when a Pakistani court freed Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the suspected mastermind of the attacks, on bail. Both sides agreed Friday to find ways to expedite the Mumbai case, Chaudhry said. "It is the first time Pakistan has accepted to combat terrorism in 'all its forms'," said M.J. Akbar, spokesman for India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party. "After years of unclear delays, it is the first time Pakistan has promised to expedite" the Mumbai attacks trials, he said. Pakistan's foreign ministry also said the countries' National Security Advisers will meet in New Delhi to discuss all issues relating to terrorism. Officials overseeing Pakistani and Indian border issues will also meet, although Chaudhry gave no dates. Sameer Patil, a security expert at Mumbai-based think-tank Gateway House, said the proposed meeting between the National Security Advisers was an important development. However, "both countries don't agree on the definition of terrorism or what constitutes terrorist groups," he said.
Thailand – Six people were killed and 11 injured in Thailand's three southern provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla in a string of bomb and arson attacks by suspected separatist militants, the army said on the 11 Jul 15. The violence was related to the holy month of Ramadan, said Colonel Pramote Prom-in, a regional security spokesman. Attacks often escalate during Ramadan. Three people were killed early on the 11 Jul in separate incidents in three shops in Sungai Kolok in southern Narathiwat province, after three were killed and three injured late on the 10 Jul by a motorcycle bomb in the town of Padang Besar in Songkhla. In a separate incident, eight were injured by a bomb in front of a hotel in Narathiwat's Sungai Kolok.
Turkey – Turkey on reported on the 10 Jul 15 that it had detained 21 suspected members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, including three foreigners, in a major operation in several cities including Istanbul. The suspects, who were arrested in pre-dawn raids, are suspected of helping the militant group recruit people from Europe, the official Anatolia news agency said.
An umbrella network of Kurdish organizations that includes the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has announced a three-year-long cease-fire agreement with Ankara is now over, dealing a major blow to a protracted reconciliation process with Turkey's Kurds it was reported on the 13 Jul 15. The PKK-linked Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) declared an "end to the cease-fire" first agreed in 2012 and warned it would target 'all the dams" in the country's southeast. In the statement delivering a significant setback to the fragile off-and-on peace process, the KCK said Turkey's building of barracks, dams, and roads for military purposes had violated the truce. 'The Turkish State took advantage of the cease-fire conditions, not for a democratic political resolution, but to gain an advantageous position in preparation of war by building dozens of guard posts, roads for military purposes and dams in order for a cultural genocide,' the statement said.
Pakistan/India – The prime ministers of nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India agreed at a rare meeting on the 10 Jul 15 to cooperate on eliminating terrorism in South Asia, Pakistan's foreign ministry said. In a sign of easing relations, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also accepted his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif's invitation to attend a South Asian regional summit to be held in Islamabad next year. "Both sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and agreed to cooperate with each other to eliminate the menace of terrorism from South Asia," Pakistani Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said in a statement. The hostility between Pakistan and India dates back seven decades, but strains have grown since nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office a year ago. Last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced "enormous" concern over heightened tensions between the two countries. Both sides have accused the other of fomenting terrorism. Pakistan alleges that India's spy agency is behind violence in the south-western Baluchistan province and north-western tribal regions. New Delhi denies the charge, saying Pakistan should present solid evidence to back up its claim. Meanwhile, India wants Pakistan to punish those who carried out deadly attacks in the heart of Mumbai in 2008 that left 166 people dead. Relations have deteriorated since April, when a Pakistani court freed Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the suspected mastermind of the attacks, on bail. Both sides agreed Friday to find ways to expedite the Mumbai case, Chaudhry said. "It is the first time Pakistan has accepted to combat terrorism in 'all its forms'," said M.J. Akbar, spokesman for India's governing Bharatiya Janata Party. "After years of unclear delays, it is the first time Pakistan has promised to expedite" the Mumbai attacks trials, he said. Pakistan's foreign ministry also said the countries' National Security Advisers will meet in New Delhi to discuss all issues relating to terrorism. Officials overseeing Pakistani and Indian border issues will also meet, although Chaudhry gave no dates. Sameer Patil, a security expert at Mumbai-based think-tank Gateway House, said the proposed meeting between the National Security Advisers was an important development. However, "both countries don't agree on the definition of terrorism or what constitutes terrorist groups," he said.
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