Gunmen kill head of security in Yemen's Aden 

Security officials say gunmen on a motorcycle shot dead the head of security in Yemen’s port city of Aden.

The officials say Col. Abdelhakim al-Sanidi was killed on Sunday while driving on a busy street in al-Mansoura neighbourhood.

Last week, high-ranking police officials in Aden said hundreds of al-Qaida militants and Islamic extremists moved into the port city, exploiting a vacuum left by pro-government forces pushing north to fight Shiite rebels and their allies.

No group immediately claimed Sunday’s attack, but some officials say they suspect al-Qaida because hitting a moving target from a speeding motorcycle requires specialized training, and because the group has used motorcycles in previous assassinations.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to brief reporters.

 

Militants two engineers in Pakistan airport attack, destroy radar 

The militants attacked the airport, which has not been in use for the last 20 years, and destroyed the radar system

Heavily armed militants on Sunday stormed an airport and destroyed its radar system, killing two engineers in the restive Balochistan province.

A group of around 12 motorbike-borne militants launched the pre-dawn attack on the Jiwani airport in Gwadar district, the site of Pakistan’s upcoming port-city where China has made huge investments.

The militants attacked the airport, which has not been in use for the last 20 years, and destroyed the radar system.

They killed an electronics engineer identified only as Khalilullah, injured another one while kidnapping a third engineer, Mahmood Niazi.

“They spared four local people who were at the airport at that time indicating it was an attack by insurgents,” Gwadar Deputy Commissioner Abdul Hameed Abro said.

The airport is located strategically near the Pakistan-Iran coastal border.

Police officials admitted that there was little security at the airport when the attack took place catching authorities by surprise. An official said this was the reason that assailants faced no resistance and fled on their bikes after the attack.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Malik Baloch has condemned the attack.

“Those responsible for the attack will be traced and punished,” the Chief Minister said.

No group has taken responsibility for the attack suspected to be the handiwork of Baloch nationalists, who regularly attack Pakistani security forces and installations in the province.

Last year, armed men in security forces’ uniform attacked the international radar system in the coastal town of Pasni in Gwadar killing one security personnel and injuring another.

Militants had also attacked the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi in June last year in which 36 people were killed, including 10 militants.

 

Drone kills five Qaeda suspects in Yemen stronghold

ADEN: An apparent US drone strike killed five Al-Qaeda suspects in the extremist network's southeastern stronghold of Mukalla, a government official said on Thursday.

"A drone targeted a house where Al-Qaeda militants were gathered for a meeting, destroying it and killing all five inside" late on Wednesday, said the local official, who asked to remain anonymous.

The United States is the only country known to operate armed drones over Yemen, and strikes on militants have continued during months of fighting between pro-government forces and Iran-backed Shiite rebels.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), viewed by Washington as the network's most dangerous branch, has taken advantage of the chaos to seize Mukalla, capital of the vast desert province of Hadramawt.

Four other suspected Al-Qaeda militants were killed in a similar raid on Saturday in Mukalla.

The group said in June that its leader in Yemen, Nasir al-Wuhayshi, had been killed in a drone strike.

Officials said this week that the militants had deployed in force across Mukalla in anticipation of a possible operation by the Saudi-led military coalition to help government loyalists retake the provincial capital.

The coalition of Arab states has been carrying out air strikes against the pro-Iranian Huthi rebels in Yemen since March, but has so far not intervened against Al-Qaeda.  

Video shows Palestinian women, Israeli soldier scuffling 

The video sparked accusations from critics that Israel is too heavy-handed in its confrontations with Palestinian protesters, especially minors

A video showing an Israeli soldier scuffling with Palestinian women and youth at a West Bank protest has been viewed more than 2 million times on Facebook, shining a light on Israeli military policies in the territory.

In the edited video, the masked soldier is seen holding a 12-year-old boy, his arm in a cast, in a chokehold in an attempt to arrest him. The soldier is swarmed by the boy’s female relatives, including his mother and sister, who pull at his skin and uniform and slap him. The boy’s sister, a 15-year-old sporting a blonde braid, is seen biting the soldier’s hand. Bystanders yell, “He is a little boy. His arm is broken.”

The soldier struggles with the boy, and then the female crowd, which ripped the mask off his face, for about a minute before a commanding officer arrives to assist him. The soldier then frees himself and releases the boy, angrily throwing a small stun grenade at a group of people as he walks away.

The original video, which was provided to The Associated Press by its creator, local activist and the boy’s relative Bilal Tamimi, showed the same footage. Mr. Tamimi said Palestinians had hurled stones at the troops, but that he hadn’t seen the boy throw stones.

The skirmish took place on Friday at a weekly protest in the West Bank village of Nebi Saleh, where Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters often clash. Villagers claim a nearby Jewish settlement has restricted access to a nearby spring.

The Israeli military said on Sunday that a “violent riot” broke out at the protest and that it tried to detain the boy because he was hurling rocks. The military says the boy was released “to prevent an escalation of violence.”

The video sparked accusations from critics that Israel is too heavy-handed in its confrontations with Palestinian protesters, especially minors.

In Israel, the video was seen as capturing the antagonism Israel’s soldiers face from stone-throwing Palestinian protesters and raised concerns for the soldiers’ safety.

 

Turkish jets join US-led coalition in air strikes against IS

ANKARA, Turkey: Turkey announced on Saturday that its fighter jets have carried out their first air strikes as part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State group in Syria.

A foreign ministry statement said the jets began attacking IS targets late Friday across the border in Syria that were deemed to be threats to Turkey.

After months of hesitance, Turkey agreed last month to take on a more active role in the fight against IS. Turkish jets used smart bombs to attack IS positions in Syria, without crossing into Syrian airspace and later Turkey granted US jets access to a key air base close to the Syrian border.

The Turkish attacks that began Friday were the first launched as part of the US-led campaign and came after Turkish and US officials announced they had reached a technical agreement concerning their cooperation, which calls for Turkey to be fully integrated into the coalition air campaign.

"Our fighter aircraft together with warplanes belonging to the coalition began as of yesterday evening to jointly carry out air operations against Daesh targets that constitute a threat against the security of our country," the Foreign Ministry said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. ``The fight against the terrorist organization is a priority for Turkey."

The statement did not give more details on the targets.

On Thursday, IS militants seized five villages from rebel groups in northern Syria as they advanced toward the strategic town of Marea near the Turkish border. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other groups said IS carried out a suicide bombing on the outskirts of Marea amid fierce fighting in the area.

The IS advance was in the northern Aleppo province near where Turkey and the United States have agreed to establish an IS-free safe zone.

Qaida lashes 10 in Yemen for blasphemy, alcohol

AFP | Aug 28, 2015, 06.11 PM IST 

ADEN: Al-Qaida militants in southeastern Yemen have publicly flogged 10 men in a new sign of their growing control over the lawless region, witnesses and an official said on Friday.

The men were whipped in Al-Shihr, a coastal town in Hadramawt province, after being summarily convicted of insulting God and consuming alcohol and drugs, the official said.

Dozens of people attended the flogging, which is said to follow the Islamic sharia law.

Witnesses said each man received between 80 and 100 lashes and that both screamed in pain.

The official said al-Qaida militants have been harassing residents by interfering in all aspects of their daily lives.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula controls parts of Hadramawt, including provincial capital Mukalla, which they seized in April.

AQAP has exploited months of fighting in Yemen between Iran-backed rebels and the beleaguered Saudi-backed government to take advantage of the growing chaos.

The United States considers it to be the extremist group's deadliest global franchise and regularly targets its militants with drone strikes on Yemeni territory.

Pakistan can inflict ‘heavy losses’ in war with India: Minister 

Pakistan’s Defence Minister on Sunday warned India that it will suffer “heavy losses” which it would “remember for decades” if it tries to “impose” a war on his country.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said “Pakistan’s armed forces will defend every inch of their motherland at every cost”.

He was talking to media during his visit to village Kundunpur along the international border in Sialkot.

“If India tries to impose war on Pakistan, heavy losses will be inflicted on India which it will remember for decades,” the Minister said.

Mr. Asif said “cowardly acts” by Indian forces have strengthened the determination of the nation to defend the motherland, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

“India’s real face is exposed as it is supporting terrorism in Pakistan and creating tension on borders through unprovoked firing along the working boundary and line of control,” he said.

His comments came in the backdrop of heightened tensions along the border and LoC after Pakistan called off NSA-level talks set for August 23 when India made it clear that discussions on Kashmir and a meeting with separatists will not be acceptable.

Mr. Asif alleged India is diverting attention from its “internal failures” by creating tension on the borders.

He claimed that Pakistan has proof of India’s interference in the country which he said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would present at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in September and to the U.S. leadership during his visit there in October.