Global News Post: Terrorism

Islamabad Market Bomb Kills at Least 21

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By
VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pakistani
authorities say at least 21 people were killed and 70 wounded in a bomb blast
at a crowded market in Islamabad Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Police
said the bomb was hidden in a crate of fruit and set off by remote control
while the market was packed with shoppers and dealers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pools
of blood and body parts were scattered across the scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No
one has claimed responsibility for the blast. The Pakistani Taliban issued a
statement to reporters denying it was behind the attack. It came a day after a
passenger train was bombed in Baluchistan province, in southwestern Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">At
least 14 were killed and 40 wounded in that incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Police
said a bomb was hidden inside a suitcase and also set off by remote control.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
spokesman for the United Baluch Army rebel group telephoned VOA to claim
responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif's government has engaged the Taliban in peace talks to
end years of extremist violence in the country. Wednesday's blast occurred two
days before a Taliban ceasefire is set to expire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Islamabad Market Bomb Kills at Least 21

By VOA News Pakistani authorities say at least 21 people were killed and 70 wounded in a bomb blast at a crowded market in Islamaba...

Mali Fighters Destroy More Timbuktu Tombs

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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NNN--- Armed groups occupying <st1:city w:st="on">Timbuktu</st1:city>
in northern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mali</st1:place></st1:country-region>
used pickaxes to smash up any remaining mausoleums in the ancient city, an
Islamist leader said on Dec 27, 2012. The rebels' ruthless implementation of
their version of Islamic law comes just days after the United Nations approved
a military force to wrest back control of the conflict-ridden area. "Not a
single mausoleum will remain in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Timbuktu</st1:place></st1:city>,
Allah doesn't like it," Ansar Dine leader Abou Dardar said". Photo
courtesy agencies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Mali Fighters Destroy More Timbuktu Tombs

NNN--- Armed groups occupying Timbuktu in northern Mali used pickaxes to smash up any remaining mausoleums in the ancient city, an ...

Pakistan Taliban Threaten to Target Indians to Avenge Kasab's Hanging

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">ISLAMABAD</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">  (NNN-PTI) -- The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday
threatened to target Indians "anywhere" in retaliation for the execution
of Ajmal Kasab and demanded that <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> should return the body of the
LeT militant involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks to his family.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In calls made to journalists in northwest <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>, Tehrik-e-Taliban <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region>
spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said his group would target Indians and Indian
interests "anywhere" to avenge the hanging of Kasab.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ihsan further said Indian authorities should hand over Kasab's
body to his family or to the Taliban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He warned the Taliban would "capture Indians" and
"not return their bodies" if Kasab's body was not handed over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">25-year-old Kasab, who belonged to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>'s
most populous <st1:placetype w:st="on">province</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Punjab</st1:placename>, was executed in a Pune jail in the western
Indian state of <st1:place w:st="on">Maharashtra</st1:place> on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">His body was buried within the prison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>
government reacted cautiously to the hanging, with the Foreign Office spokesman
saying <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Islamabad</st1:place></st1:city>
was against all forms of terrorism and would cooperate with countries in the
region to tackle the menace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kasab was the only surviving member of a 10-member team of
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists who killed 166 people during a three-day
rampage in Mumbai nearly four years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Diplomatic sources said security measures at the Indian High
Commission, which are already very extensive, had been further tightened after
the Taliban threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Indian diplomats in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:place></st1:country-region> have faced threats in the
past too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In 2010, two deserters from a paramilitary force arrested for
terror links had revealed that militants aligned with the Pakistani Taliban had
plans to abduct Indian diplomats and target foreign missions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The men had revealed that militant groups had plans to kidnap
Indian diplomats, including the High Commissioner, to exchange them for militant
commanders being held by Pakistani authorities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At that time too, security had been tightened for Indian
diplomats and their families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Wednesday, an unnamed LeT commander was quoted by media as
saying that the group regarded Kasab as a hero who would inspire more terror
attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ihsan was quoted by the Pakistani media on Wednesday as saying
that the Taliban were shocked by Kasab's hanging. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Pakistan Taliban Threaten to Target Indians to Avenge Kasab's Hanging

ISLAMABAD (NNN-PTI) -- The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday threatened to target Indians "anywhere" in retaliation for the execu...

INDIA: Mumbai Terror Attack Convict Kasab Executed

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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Ajmal Kasab, the only
terrorist caught alive in 2008 Mumbai attack, was executed Wednesday morning in
the western Indian city of Pune, Indian Interior Minister Sushikumar Shinde
confirmed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According to local TV CNN-IBN, Kasab was asked if he had any
last word or wish, he replied "No". <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He was hanged at the Yerawada Jail in Pune at 07:30 a.m. local
time after Indian President Pranab Mukherjee rejected his mercy plea on Nov 8, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s Xinhua
news agency reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:place w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Maharashtra</span></st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> state home minister R R Patil told media
that the execution was carried out secretly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kasab was shifted from Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail to Pune's
Yerawada Jail earlier this month. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kasab was the only survivor of 10 Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists
who went on the rampage in Mumbai on Nov 26-29, 2008, killing 166 people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The opposition party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said the
execution was a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attack in 2008. --
NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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INDIA: Mumbai Terror Attack Convict Kasab Executed

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist caught alive in 2008 Mumbai attack, was executed Wednesday morning ...

16 Taliban Militants Killed

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<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kabul</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (BNA): The Afghan security forces carried
out 9 combined operations in the provinces of the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Interior
ministry spokesman said to BNA, these operations conducted in the vicinities of
Kabul, Kandahar, Zabul, Maidan-Wardak, Logar, Ghazni, Pakktia, Farah and
Helmand provinces in which 16 members of Taliban rebels were killed and 26
others of them were detained. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
these operations, quantity of light and heavy arms consists of a PK machine
gun, 6 different types of arms, 4 warheads, 35 mines, 1300 kg of explosive
devices and 3 motorbikes of enemies were seized by national police forces. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">It
should be said the national police personnel discovered and neutralized 7
warheads which were placed by Taliban for terrorist and destructive actions in
the outskirts of Qosh Tepa district of Badakhshan province.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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16 Taliban Militants Killed

Kabul (BNA): The Afghan security forces carried out 9 combined operations in the provinces of the country. Interior ministry spokesm...

PAKISTAN: 8 Killed as Gunmen Attack Fuel Station

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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">ISLAMABAD</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-Xinhua) -- At least eight people were
killed and a dozen others injured when gunmen opened fire at a petrol station
in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Pakistan</st1:country-region>'s southwest <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">province</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Balochistan</st1:placename></st1:place> on Friday afternoon, local
media reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Dunya
TV reported that the incident happened at about 2:20 p.m. local time when an
unknown number of gunmen targeted the fuel station as soon as a passenger van
carrying 16 people stopped at the station for refueling in Khuzdar area, a main
town located in the eastern part of the province.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Eyewitnesses
said that the unknown gunmen were driving a car when they targeted the fuel
station.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">District
Police Officer of Khuzdar said that following the firing incident, fire
engulfed the whole petrol station and the passenger van. He said that a
rickshaw and two motorbikes were also destroyed in the incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">All
the dead people were the van passengers; however, the injured include fuel
station staff, passersby and passengers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
injured have been shifted to nearby hospital where nine of them were in
critical condition as they got serious burnt injuries all over their bodies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
attackers fled from the scene after the incident.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">No
group claimed responsibility for the attack yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Police
and paramilitary troops cordoned off the area following the attack and a search
operation for the escaped gunmen has been kicked off. -- NNN-XINHUA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PAKISTAN: 8 Killed as Gunmen Attack Fuel Station

ISLAMABAD (NNN-Xinhua) -- At least eight people were killed and a dozen others injured when gunmen opened fire at a petrol sta...

At Least 30 Dead in Afghan Suicide Blast

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) --- Dozens of civilians and
security men are feared dead after a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in
Maimana, capital of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country></st1:place>'s
northern Faryab province on Friday, Pahjwok agency reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A
suicide attacker detonated his explosive vest while worshippers were leaving
the mosque after Eid prayers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Officials
said at least 30 people had died in the attack, the agency reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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At Least 30 Dead in Afghan Suicide Blast

Photo © BNA MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) --- Dozens of civilians and security men are feared dead after a suicide bomber attacked a mosq...

INDIA: Kasab's Plead to Spare Life Rejected, Supreme Court Says Deserve Death Sentence

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI (NNN-AGENCIES) -- Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab's legal battle for life in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Wednesday came to an end with the Supreme Court upholding his death sentence, while observing that the conspiracy for the attack was hatched in Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The apex court held him guilty of waging war against the country in the Mumbai terror attack case in which 166 people were killed and said it was left with no option but to uphold the death sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and C K Prasad dismissed 25-year-old Ajmal Kasab's plea against his conviction and death sentence confirmed by the Bombay High Court, saying he was given free and fair trial in the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Kasab's confessional statement was very much voluntary except a very small portion," the bench held.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It also dismissed Ajmal Kasab's contention that the trial was not fair because the government did not provide him advocate during the time when he was arrested and put on trial.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"If lawyers are not provided at the commencement of trial, then the trial is vitiated. But the trial is not vitiated if a lawyer is not provided at pre-trial stage," the bench said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Bench also observed that going by the evidence, it was clear that the conspiracy and planning of the 26/11 attack was hatched in Pakistan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We are more than certain that conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan," the bench said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, who defended Kasab in the apex court as amicus curiae, said he "bows down" to the apex court verdict, which upheld his death sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I bow to the verdict of the court.... I took it (the opportunity to defend Kasab) as a sacred duty and I performed it to the best of my ability," said Ramachandran, who was appointed amicus by the apex court.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, who had appeared for the Maharashtra government, also welcomed the verdict saying it is "a victory of justice and the Constitution of the country."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After the Supreme Court's verdict, Kasab is left with an option of filing review petition in the apex court.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kasab along with nine other Pakistani terrorists had landed in south Mumbai on November 26, 2008 night after travelling from Karachi by sea and had gone on a shooting spree at various city landmarks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While Kasab was the lone terrorist captured alive, the other terrorists in his group were killed by security forces during the counter-terror operations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The apex court also upheld the acquittal of Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, the two alleged Indian conspirators in the Mumbai terror attack case.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The trial court and the Bombay High Court had also given clean chit to both of them in the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The bench had reserved its verdict on April 25 after a marathon hearing, spanning over two-and-a-half months of arguments by the prosecution and defence counsel in the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kasab, during arguments in the apex court, had contended that he was not given a free and fair trial and that he was not part of any larger conspiracy for waging war against India.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He had said his right against self-incrimination as well as that to get himself adequately represented by a counsel to defend himself in the case had been violated during the trial.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The apex court had stayed Kasab's death sentence on October 10, last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kasab, in his special leave petition (SLP) filed through the jail authorities against the Bombay High Court's February 21, 2011 judgement, which had confirmed his death sentence, had claimed he was brainwashed like a "robot" into committing the crime in the name of "God" and pleaded that he did not deserve the death penalty keeping in view his young age.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kasab, who is lodged in Arthur Road Prison in Mumbai, was sentenced to death by a special anti-terror court on May 6, 2010. Kasab's death penalty was upheld on charges of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the nation and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law – Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">India on Wednesday said it was sure that Pakistan would not fail to take note of the Supreme Court verdict upholding the death sentence of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the 26/11 attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Asserting that the issue of terrorism was of concern to the international community, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said in TEHRAN, IRAN that the entire gamut of bilateral ties will be discussed during the Indo-Pak talks, implying that terror will be the prime focus during the parleys. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in India and when it announces something it becomes law of the land. Other things will follow," he said of the apex court verdict upholding the death sentence of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Kasab. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I am sure Pakistan will not fail to take note of it," Krishna said and quickly added that the Pakistani judiciary is also proactive. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Krishna, who is in Tehran for the Non-Aligned Movement's ministerial conference, made the remarks ahead of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with Pakistani Pres Zardari Thursday evening on the sidelines of the NAM Summit. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Singh arrived here Tuesday on a four-day visit to attend the Summit and hold crucial bilateral meetings with the Iranian leadership, apart from holding parleys with the leaders of other countries like Bangladesh and Nepal. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">India has already made a clear distinction between the Mumbai terror attacks and Samjhauta train blasts, saying the two were "very different" and at some stage Islamabad needs to "come clean" on this. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Asserting that India has provided enough evidence to show involvement of not only non-state actors but also of official hierarchy in 26/11 attacks, government sources said Singh will raise the issue of terrorism, which is of prime concern to the country, with Zardari, who is arriving here Thursday to participate in the 16th NAM summit. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The government sources said other bilateral issues will also be discussed during the Singh-Zardari meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Asked about Pakistan equating the Mumbai attacks, in which 166 people were killed, with Samjhauta Express blasts in which 67 Pakistani nationals died, sources said, "... There is no comparison. We have shown the will to take action, not chosen to make statements of convenience". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The sources also noted that India had managed to convict some of those involved in the Mumbai attacks through the same set of evidence which was provided to Islamabad in a trial which was not a "show trial". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pakistan keeps switching judges, and people inside the jails are using mobile phones to run their network, the sources said, clearly expressing India's unhappiness over the slow progress of the 26/11 trial in that country. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The remarks, which were made in the backdrop of Pakistan equating the two incidents to project that it is also a victim of terrorism, also assume significance given that they come before the structured Indo-Pak talks between their Foreign Ministers in Islamabad next week. -- NNN-AGENCIES<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

INDIA: Kasab's Plead to Spare Life Rejected, Supreme Court Says Deserve Death Sentence

NEW DELHI (NNN-AGENCIES) -- Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab's legal battle for life in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Wednesday came t...

Breivik Sentenced to 21 Years For Norway Terror Attacks

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">OSLO (RIA Novosti) ---A court in Oslo sentenced Anders Breivik to the maximum 21 years prison on Friday for terrorism and the murder of 77 people, after declaring him sane.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prosecutors had asked the Oslo district court judges to sentence the confessed killer to the maximum penalty of 21 years in prison, which can be extended for as long as he is considered a danger to society.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On 22 July 2011, Breivik bombed government buildings in Oslo, which resulted in eight deaths. He then opened fire at a youth camp of the ruling Labour party on Uteyya Island, killing 69 people. Breivik has admitted carrying out the killings, but the judges only pronounced him sane on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Breivik, who was charged with "acts of terror," has told the court what he did was "cruel but necessary" to protect Norway from a wave of multiculturalism and a "Muslim invasion." Norwegians calmly sat through his trial, which finished in June, and many took to the streets to condemn his crimes, while celebrating the open society he said he was trying to destroy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, Norway’s Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, came under pressure to resign earlier this month after a report criticized police for failing to prevent or interrupt Breivik’s killing spree. Lawyers for victims of the massacre have also directed their anger at the police, calling for heads to roll. Mette Yvonne Larsen, one of the lawyers representing Breivik' victims, said lives were lost because of police incompetence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prosecutors had called for him to be declared insane, but public opinion overwhelmingly favors that he be deemed sane. During his trial, Breivik has fought to avoid psychiatric incarceration, which he has called "a fate worse than death." His intent on being found sane is to ensure his Islamophobic ideology is not written off as crazy raving, Al Jazeera reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A member of his defense team told a Norwegian Verdens Gang newspaper last week that the acclaimed mass murderer is planning to write an autobiography, in which he would talk about two Norwegian cell organizations to which he belonged, a claim prosecutors say is a proof of his insanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In court, Breivik claims to be part of a militant anti-Islamist network founded in London in 2002 called Knights Templar. He further claimed that he went to Liberia and London in 2002 to meet three other "militant nationalists" to form the network, which borrowed the methodology of al-Qaida. Breivik said he intends to say more about those trips in his books. Investigators said however that there was "overwhelming evidence" that the far-right nationalist network, the Knights Templar, did not exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Breivik Sentenced to 21 Years For Norway Terror Attacks

OSLO (RIA Novosti) ---A court in Oslo sentenced Anders Breivik to the maximum 21 years prison on Friday for terrorism and the murder of 77 ...

Suicide Attack in Yemen ‘Kills 20’

Suicide Attack in Yemen ‘Kills 20’

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) --- At least 20 people have been killed and another two dozen have been wounded in a suicide attack in southern Yeme...

Indian Cops Ready With Sketches of Two Pune Blast Suspects

Indian Cops Ready With Sketches of Two Pune Blast Suspects

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- Maharashtra Police has prepared sketches of two persons who may have planted explosives in Pune as investigators su...

Al-Qaeda Supporter Admits Plot to Blow Up Pentagon, U.S. Congress

Al-Qaeda Supporter Admits Plot to Blow Up Pentagon, U.S. Congress

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)--- A U.S. citizen of Bangladeshi descent has pleaded guilty to plotting to attack the U.S. Pentagon and the Congress ...

Syrian Defense Minister Killed In Damascus Bomb Attack

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) --- The Syrian defense minister was killed on Wednesday in a suicide bombing in Damascus, just hours before a crucial UN vote on the violence-plagued Middle Eastern country, state television said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The blast occurred during a meeting of ministers and security officials at national security headquarters, state television said. The bomber was employed at President Bashar al-Assad’s personal bodyguard unit.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Defense Minister Daoud Rajha and President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law, Deputy Defense Minister Assef Shawkat were fatally injured in the attack, Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Media reported that Syrian Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar succumbed to his injuries in hospital, but the Interior Ministry later denied the reports. A statement on the national TV says al-Shaar is in "normal and stable condition."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The blast also claimed the life of Hafez Makhlouf, al-Assad's cousin and head of the investigations at the Syrian Intelligence Agency.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Al-Arabiya said the Syrian intelligence chief, Hisham Bekhtyar, who was also injured in the blast, is currently being operated on.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The attack came as heavy fighting raged in the capital. The rebel Free Syria Army said earlier this week it had launched the final battle for Damascus, which had so far seen little of the violence that has claimed thousands of lives across Syria.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Russia said it hoped the masterminds behind the bomb attacks will be found and punished.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Moscow strongly condemns terrorism in all of its forms and manifestations. We hope that the organizers of the Damascus terrorist act will be found and punished,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The 15-strong UN Security Council will vote later today on a new Western-backed resolution on Syria which could lead to tough new sanctions against al-Assad’s regime.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Russia has said it will block the resolution and has called for all sides in the conflict to implement UN special envoy Kofi Annan's floundering peace plan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Syrian Defense Minister Killed In Damascus Bomb Attack

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) --- The Syrian defense minister was killed on Wednesday in a suicide bombing in Damascus, just hours before a crucia...

British Police Arrest Seven Terror Suspects

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">British authorities have arrested seven people this week after finding a cache of firearms and other weapons in the trunk of a car impounded earlier this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Police said they arrested three of the men Tuesday, three on Wednesday, and one on Thursday. The car had been stopped on a major highway earlier this week and impounded for not carrying insurance. The detainees are being held on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Police said the seven arrests are not connected to the Thursday arrest of six people who were also suspected of planning attacks. Authorities say neither group had plans to attack the upcoming Olympic Games, which begin in London later this month.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The terror alert in Britain is currently set at “substantial,” meaning there is a strong possibility of a terrorist attack as London prepares to host the Olympics. Security officials say they have no specific intelligence saying the Olympics will be targeted. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">---VOA News</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

British Police Arrest Seven Terror Suspects

British authorities have arrested seven people this week after finding a cache of firearms and other weapons in the trunk of a car impoun...

India: Govt. Taking Steps to Bring Back Terror Suspect in Saudi Arabia

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- Government will take all possible steps to bring back Fasih Mohammed, an accused in Bangalore and Delhi blasts and currently detained in Saudi Arabia, to India.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“He is in Saudi Arabia. He was detained there. Steps will be taken to extradite him to India,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">An engineer by profession, 28-year old Fasih is alleged to have been involved in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore and a shooting incident near Jama Masjid (Delhi) in 2010 and is wanted by both Delhi and Karnataka Police.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“A Red Corner Notice has already been issued. He was wanted in several cases,” Mr. Chidambaram said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the request of Karnataka and Delhi Police, the CBI had asked the Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice against Fasih after which Saudi authorities have conveyed that he has been apprehended by them.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fasih had reportedly been missing and his wife Nikhat Parveen approached the Supreme Court claiming her husband was in the custody of central security agencies.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She moved the Supreme Court alleging her husband was picked up by a joint team of Indian and Saudi officials on May 13 for his alleged terror links. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Govt. Taking Steps to Bring Back Terror Suspect in Saudi Arabia

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- Government will take all possible steps to bring back Fasih Mohammed, an accused in Bangalore and Delhi blasts a...

Iraq Attacks Kill 36

Iraq Attacks Kill 36

By VOA News Bombings in several Iraqi cities have killed at least 36 people and wounded nearly 100 others. The bloodiest attack Tuesday...

No Let-Up in Fight Against Terrorism Despute Upsure in Terror Attacks in Kenya

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NAIROBI (NNN-KBC) -- Despite a recent spate of terror attacks in the country, the Kenyan government will not pull out its troops from Somalia, where they have joined an African Union (AU) peace keeping force fighting the al-Shabaab Islamist militia, says Prime Minister Raila Odinga. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Recalling the troops would be equivalent to surrendering to the terrorists, he said Monday in Garissa in North Eastern Province, where he led a government delegation on a visit following Sunday's twin attacks on churches there. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">calling on Kenyans to join the security forces in fighting terrorism by volunteering any information they might have, he made it clear that Kenyan troops would not leave Somalia until the neighbouring country was liberated and pacified. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kenya would not be at peace until Somalia, which has not known peace for two decades, also realized peace, the prime minister said. "We want Somalia to be peaceful so that the 500,000 Somali refugees being hosted in Dadaab refugee camp (in Kenya) can go back to their country to relieve Kenya of the burden of hosting them," he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Surrender is therefore not an option for us because if we leave Somalia, anarchy will set in, which will spill over the borders." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Noting that terrorism transcended religious, political or racial boundaries, Odinga asked Kenyans to rise up and join the security forces in fighting this vice, which, he added, would snowball into a huge conflagration which could consume the entire region, if not checked now. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"It is known that al- Shabab recently joined al-Qaeda, and there is danger that the terrorist organizations could link up with other terrorist groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria to destabilize the whole African continent," said Odinga. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He extended his condolences to the bereaved families and assured them and Kenyans at large that the terrorists would be tracked down, arrested and punished. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Terming the terrorist attacks on churches as cowardly, he cautioned Kenyans against falling prey to the machinations of the terrorists who, he said, wanted to incite religious animosity between Christians and Muslims in this country. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Odinga appealed for sobriety in the wake of the attacks, saying it was improper to apportion blame to any religious sect as that would only be playing in the hands of the terrorists. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At the same function. Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, while underscoring the government's commitment to combating terrorism, lauded Muslim leaders in Kenya for denouncing acts of terrorism. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Defence Minister Yusuf Haji assured Kenyans that all efforts were being made to apprehend the attackers and urged Kenyans to remain calm as security had been beefed up across the country. -- NNN-KBC<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

No Let-Up in Fight Against Terrorism Despute Upsure in Terror Attacks in Kenya

NAIROBI (NNN-KBC) -- Despite a recent spate of terror attacks in the country, the Kenyan government will not pull out its troops from Soma...

OIC Denounces Demolition of Historical Sites in Mali

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JEDDAH  (NNN-SPA) -- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has denounced the demolition of historical sites in Timbuktu, Mali by religious extremist groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The OIC spokesperson said in a statement Monday that the sites were part of rich Islamic heritage of Mali and should not be allowed to be destroyed by bigoted extremist elements. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The spokesperson expressed the OIC's satisfaction over the actions taken by the government of the Republic of Mali against the perpetrators. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It called for necessary measures and appropriate steps be taken for the protection and preservation of the historical sites.  -- NNN--SPA <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

OIC Denounces Demolition of Historical Sites in Mali

JEDDAH (NNN-SPA) -- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has denounced the demolition of historical sites in Timbuktu, Mali by ...

Mali Islamists Destroy Ancient Timbuktu Sites

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Islamist militants in Mali's historic city Timbuktu destroyed and damaged ancient sites for a third straight day, defying international threats of prosecution.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Witnesses say the al-Qaida-linked group Ansar Dine targeted the 15th-century Sidi Yahya mosque on Monday, tearing off the entrance door. The door is considered sacred and was to remain closed until the end of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Timbuktu is home to 16 ancient mausoleums said to contain the remains of Muslim saints. The militants say Muslims should revere Allah, not saints, and are attacking the mausoleums with pickaxes and shovels.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United Nations last week declared Timbuktu a World Heritage site in need of protection.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hamadoune Toure, a spokesman for Mali's interim government, told VOA that the government is investigating whether it can file war crimes charges with the International Criminal Court.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“We know it is something unacceptable; it has nothing to do with religion. It's a violation of our culture, but they can do whatever they want. They cannot destroy the links we have with our people who are resting there in peace.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United States also denounced the attacks on the sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“The United States strongly condemns the destruction of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Timbuktu by Islamist mlitants, including Ansar Dine. We call on all parties to protect Mali's cultural heritage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland also called for a cease-fire among the warring parties in northern Mali, and said all armed groups should cooperate with regional bloc ECOWAS to resolve the situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Timbuktu served as a center of Islam in Africa during the 15th and 16th centuries. It is also home to thousands of ancient manuscripts stored in libraries and homes under the care of religious scholars.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hardline Islamists seized control of northern Mali with Tuareg separatists earlier this year. But since then, the Islamist groups gained full control of the north's major cities, including Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">-<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After a brief alliance, the Tuareg separatists and Islamist group split over what level of Sharia to impose. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Mali Islamists Destroy Ancient Timbuktu Sites

Islamist militants in Mali's historic city Timbuktu destroyed and damaged ancient sites for a third straight day, defying internation...

Militants Destroy Timbuktu Islamic Shrines

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Nancy Palus<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">DAKAR -- In northern Mali, members of the Islamic militant group Ansar Dine are systematically destroying mausoleums and revered Muslim tombs in Timbuktu. UNESCO has listed the historic city as a World Heritage site for its ancient mosques and shrines.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Residents of Timbuktu told VOA that armed men from Ansar Dine began leveling the tombs early Saturday morning. The sites, including the tomb of 15th-century Muslim scholar Sidi Mahmoud, are considered sacred by the local population. Hardline Islamist groups like Ansar Dine regard such shrines as sacrilegious, but the sites are an important part of worship for Muslims around the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Anthadi Oumar Ascofaré was born in Timbuktu 64 years ago, and he talked to VOA from there. “Armed men encircled shrines and cemeteries in the city, while others destroyed tombs with axes, shovels and machetes,” he said. “It is painful for us to witness this destruction, but since we are unarmed we cannot react.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Assoumane Maïga is a native of Timbuktu currently based in the capital, Bamako. He said he received calls throughout Saturday morning from people in Timbuktu who wanted to organize to stop the destruction. However, Maïga said, he was told that Ansar Dine's fighters threatened physical beatings for anyone gathering in a group of more than three or four people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The shrines are an integral part of Timbuktu's Muslim culture, Maïga says: “Every Friday all the people from Timbuktu usually go to the cemeteries in the early morning to pray. Today it’s like you are taking a part of the soul of every single individual in Timbuktu."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mali’s interim government condemned the “destructive rage” on display in Timbuktu. In a statement Saturday afternoon, authorities in Bamako said the desecration and destruction of shrines amounts to war crimes, and vowed to go after the perpetrators, possibly in the International Criminal Court. The communique said the violence in Timbuktu had nothing to do with Islam, and added, “The Malian people will continue to fight these reactionary practices that fly in the face of morality and cultural values.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The attack on the ancient mausoleums comes just days after the United Nations cultural agency put Timbuktu on its list of sites that are in danger. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee urged the African Union and the international community to help protect Timbuktu and its 16 ancient mausoleums.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During the past week Ansar Dine and other Islamic groups in northern Mali fought with separatist Tuareg rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, or MNLA. The Islamists succeeded in pushing the MNLA out of the main northern cities of Gao and Timbuktu.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ansar Dine swept into northern Mali three months ago, fighting alongside Tuaregs campaigning for an independent state. Ansar Dine has said its objective is not a separate state in northern Mali, but the application of strict Islamic law throughout the western African nation. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Militants Destroy Timbuktu Islamic Shrines

By Nancy Palus DAKAR -- In northern Mali, members of the Islamic militant group Ansar Dine are systematically destroying mausoleums and re...