Terrorists in Kabul Attack UN Guesthouses and Hotel

UPDATE: Insurgents Wednesday morning attacked two guesthouses and a hotel in downtown Kabul that housed United Nations and other international staff, in one of their most daring attacks on the Afghan capital.

According to the Associated Press, at least seven people were killed in the guesthouse attacks, including three United Nations staff.

There also were sounds of explosions elsewhere in the city, suggesting a large-scale, coordinated attack on the capital.

The assailants managed to take over one of the guesthouses, Bakhtar, but were repelled by security guards at another, the Imperial. According to a U.N. spokesman in Kabul, three U.N. staff members were killed in the Bakhtar attack, and an unknown number was injured.

By midmorning the hostage crisis appeared to be over and the building secured, with firemen trying to extinguish fire amid billowing smoke on the roof.

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UN staff killed in Kabul attack

The attack began at dawn on Wednesday

At least three UN employees have been killed in an attack in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul, the UN says.

Heavy gunfire and an explosion were heard at a guesthouse used by the UN, after militants entered the building.

An Afghan official later told the BBC that six foreigners and three gunmen were killed in the attack for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

There are also reports of rockets being fired at the Serena Hotel in the city, which is used by diplomats.

There is no information yet on whether anyone has been injured or killed at the hotel, but about 100 people inside at the time were taken to secure rooms.

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Afghan forces exchanged gunfire with a group of terrorists holed up inside an international guest house in the centre of Kabul on Wednesday, police said.

The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said it was possible some of its staff and other foreigners were inside.

Intense automatic weapons fire and an explosion resounded in the capital, and plumes of black smoke rose above buildings.

A Reuters witness said a number of streets had been cordoned off by the police as the gunfire continued, and sirens reverberated across the city.

“There are five or six terrorists inside,” said Waheed Sadiqi, a policeman at the scene.

An increasingly resurgent Taliban have vowed to stage attacks ahead of a second-round run-off in Afghanistan’s presidential election on Nov. 7.

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AFP reprts

Afghan police were locked in a stand-off with a “group of terrorists” holed up in an apartment building in central Kabul on Wednesday, a police officer at the scene said.

The police officer told AFP that one of the group detonated an explosives vest before the rest of the group fled into the apartment building in a crowded neighbourhood near Kabul’s Chicken Street.

“We don’t know how many of them there are,” he said.

An AFP reporter and photographer saw a number of wounded being taken from the area to a local hospital, including at least two foreigners.

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Japan Firm Says Nuke Shelter Sales Up

A retailer of nuclear fallout shelters in Japan said Monday that sales soared in the lead-up to North Korea’s rocket launch as jittery residents took their safety into their own hands.

Osaka-based Shelter Co said it received 12 orders in just two months ahead of Sunday’s launch — more than double the number it usually sells in an entire year.

Pyongyang said the rocket it launched over Japan on Sunday carried a satellite into orbit, but Washington, Tokyo and Seoul believe the launch was a cover for a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Most orders for the Swiss-made 2.8 million yen (28,000 dollar) “household nuclear shelters” came from northwestern Akita and Iwate prefectures, located under the rocket’s path, said company president Seiichiro Nishimoto.

“This is a record in the 30 years I’ve been in this business,” he told AFP, adding that he had also received about 150 enquiries.

“Japanese want to be prepared. I expect the number of orders to increase.”

Other retailers said they saw no dramatic rise in orders.

“Japanese people are not that worried about North Korea. They are watching the situation calmly,” said Nobuko Oribe, an executive of Oribe Seiki Seisakusho, a fallout shelter manufacturer based in Kobe city.

Japan, despite being the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, has very few nuclear shelters.

North Korea Launches Rocket Despite Protests

North Korea has launched a rocket, despite international appeals not to go ahead.

Officials from Japan, South Korea and the US confirmed lift-off at 0230 GMT. The rocket appeared to have passed over Japan to the Pacific, Tokyo said.

North Korea says it is sending a satellite into orbit, but its neighbours suspect the launch could be a cover for a long-range missile test.

The US called it “provocative”, while Japan said it was “regrettable”.

The South Korean government said it would “deal firmly and resolutely” with Pyongyang.

The rocket blasted off just before midday on Sunday from the Musudan-ri launch pad in the north-east of North Korea.

“The projectile launched from North Korea today appears to have passed over towards the Pacific,” the Japanese prime minister’s office said in a statement.

The US State Department and South Korea’s presidential office also confirmed the launch.

Japan said it did not try to intercept the rocket, as it had indicated that it would if its territory was threatened.

North Korea’s neighbours say the launch violates United Nations resolutions.

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Spy Agencies Believe North Korea Has Nuke Warheads

Intelligence agencies have information that North Korea has assembled several nuclear warheads for its medium-range Rodong missiles capable of targeting Japan, an analyst said Tuesday.

Daniel Pinkston, senior analyst with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, said the agencies believe that probably five to eight warheads have been assembled.

“Intelligence agencies believe the North Koreans have assembled nuclear warheads for Rodong missiles, which are stored at underground facilities near the Rodong missile bases,” Pinkston told AFP.

“It might be right, it might be wrong — but if others believe it is true, it has implications for the psychological aspects of deterrence,” he said, describing the assessment as “quite significant.”

Pinkston declined to identify his sources and said they had not shared their own sources with him.

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Charity Worker, Orphanage Owner Hunted in Bangladesh For Running Islamic Terror Training Camp

UPDATE: Faisal Mostafa, of Stockport, Greater Manchester, who was acquitted in 2002 of being part of an al-Qaeda bomb plot, was arrested on Wednesday night in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, an officer said.

Captain Shafiul Alam, of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), told The Times that Dr Mostafa, 45, who has a chemistry degree and a PhD in metals corrosion, was detained along with his “agent”, a Bangladeshi citizen. “They are charged with illegally keeping arms, explosive and ammunition, and with militancy and terrorism.”

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A British charity worker twice cleared of terror charges in this country is being hunted in Bangladesh after explosives were seized at an orphanage he founded.
Security forces there claimed last night that the orphanage set up by Dr Faisal Mostafa, from Stockport, was in fact an arms factory and terrorist training camp.
Mostafa ran Green Crescent, a charity that provided humanitarian aid to families in Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The Charity Commission, which awarded it charity status in 2004, last night launched an inquiry. Its chief executive, Andrew Hind, said: ‘The matter is of serious concern to us.’Mostafa, who has a PhD in chemistry from Manchester Polytechnic, was known to security forces in Britain, having been cleared of conspiracy to cause explosions with intent to endanger life at Birmingham Crown Court in 2002.

Six years earlier, he had been cleared at Manchester Crown Court of involvement in a bomb plot campaign.In July last year he was caught at Manchester Airport trying to board a plane to Bangladesh with a pistol and bullet parts in his luggage.The father-of-three was given a suspended sentence. On Monday Bangladeshi security forces raided the orphanage Mostafa set up and the attached Muslim school on the remote island of Bhola in South Bangladesh.

In July last year he was caught at Manchester Airport trying to board a plane to Bangladesh with a pistol and bullet parts in his luggage.

The father-of-three was given a suspended sentence. On Monday Bangladeshi security forces raided the orphanage Mostafa set up and the attached Muslim school on the remote island of Bhola in South Bangladesh.

Lieutenant Colonel Munir Haque, from the Rapid Action Battalion, said: ‘We found small arms about nine or 10 in total plus equipment to make small arms, about 3,000 rounds of ammunition, two walkie-talkies, two remote control devices and four sets of army uniforms.

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North Korea Moves Rocket To Launchpad

North Korea is loading a Taepodong rocket in anticipation of the launch of a communications satellite next month, US officials said.

Regional powers, however, worry that the claim is a cover for the launch of a long-range missile capable of reaching Alaska. In 1998 North Korea faked a satellite launch to cloak a missile development test.

The US National Intelligence Director, Dennis Blair, said this month that all the indications were that Pyongyang would, in fact, launch a satellite. South Korea, America and Japan have urged North Korea to refrain from going ahead with the launch, expected to take place between April 4 and 8, calling it a violation of a UN Security Council resolution barring the country from ballistic activity.

In 2006 North Korea launched a Taepodong2 long-range missile that blew up less than a minute into fl

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Taliban Threaten To Behead Canadian Hostage

A Canadian held hostage after she travelled to the lawless tribal belt of northern Pakistan says the Taliban will behead her by the end of the month if a ransom isn’t paid.

In a new video provided to The Globe and Mail, Beverly Giesbrecht expresses fear for her life if her captors aren’t paid.

“I have been advised and asked to make this video. We have very short time now and I am going to be killed, as you can see,” she says, gesturing at the dagger on the wall behind her, pointed at her head.

She alluded to Piotr Stanczak, a kidnapped Polish engineer who was executed by militants last month, the first killing of a Western hostage in Pakistan since U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

“I am going to be beheaded just like the Polish engineer, probably by the end of the month. The deadline is by the end of March, and that’s basically, I don’t know, 18 days or 16 days,” she says, closing her eyes.

“I’m not quite sure how long that is but the time is very short and my life is going to end,” she adds in a choked voice.

In the short video, Ms. Giesbrecht, 52, wearing a head scarf and sitting on a wooden chair, says that she is being held by the Taliban “near the Afghan border, either Pakistan or Afghanistan.”

The video opens with a voice reciting from the Koran. Abu Jindal, a moniker adopted by some jihadis, appears in Arabic and Urdu, superimposed over Ms. Giesbrecht’s face.

Ms. Giesbrecht, who is also known as Khadija Abdul Qahaar, has been a captive for four months.

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North Korea Holds US Reporters

North Korean soldiers have detained at least one Korean-American journalist near the North’s border with China, South Korean media say.

YTN TV channel quotes a South Korean official as saying two reporters were held after being asked to stop filming. Other reports say one female journalist was arrested. It is not yet clear who the journalists were working for. The reports come amid heightened tension between the US and North Korea.

The North has angered the US by planning a missile launch for April as part of its space communications programme. The US believes the launch is intended to test a rocket that could potentially carry a warhead as far as US territory.

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North Korea Warns Intercepting Satellite Will Prompt Retaliation

UPDATE: North Korea put its troops on alert and cut the last hot line to Seoul on Monday as the American and South Korean militaries began joint maneuvers. The communist regime warned that even the slightest provocation could trigger war.

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North Korea warned Monday that any move to intercept what it calls a satellite launch and what other countries suspect may be a missile test-firing would result in a counterstrike against the countries trying to stop it.

“We will retaliate (over) any act of intercepting our satellite for peaceful purposes with prompt counterstrikes by the most powerful military means,” the official Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesman of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army as saying.

If countries such as the United States, Japan or South Korea try to intercept the launch, the North Korean military will carry out “a just retaliatory strike operation not only against all the interceptor means involved but against the strongholds” of the countries, it said.

“Shooting our satellite for peaceful purposes will precisely mean a war,” it added.

North Korea earlier announced it is preparing to put a communications satellite into space, but outside observers suspect it may in fact be a test-firing of a long-range ballistic missile.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have said that even if Pyongyang calls the launch a missile test, it would violate existing U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The same North Korean statement said the country’s military will cut off communications with its South Korean counterparts during the U.S.- South Korean exercises for the duration of the exercises beginning Monday.

A separate, more rare statement by the KPA’s Supreme Command was quoted by the KCNA as saying that its soldiers are under orders to be “fully combat-ready” during U.S.-South Korean military exercises beginning Monday.

The North’s armed forces have been ordered to “deal merciless retaliatory blows” should there be any intrusion “into the sky and land and seas of the DPRK even an inch.”

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Sri Lankan Cricketers: Pakistan Ignored Terror Warning

Eight Pakistanis, mostly policemen, were killed when commando-style gunmen attacked the convoy with rocket-propelled grenades and AK47 machine guns.

The poor security for the visitors and the ease with which the terrorists were able to target the team, has further isolated both Pakistan as a global hub of terrorism and a venue for international cricket.

President Asif Zardari was forced to apologise to his Sri Lankan counterpart yesterday for the lack of protection, while the International Cricket Council officials said it was unlikely that international cricket matches could be played in Pakistan again until the security situation has dramatically improved.

The revelation that security warnings for such a sensitive match will fuel further criticism. Sri Lanka had stepped in to play Pakistan after India withdraw following last november’s attack on Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists. The Sri Lankans came under intense pressure to pull out from India amid concerns about the country’s poor security situation.

A leaked report from Punjab’s Crime Investigation Department CID, passed to Pakistani papers reveals that authorities were warned almost six weeks ago, of a plot and urged the all security agencies in the state and federal governments to take special precautions to protect the visitors.

The report identifies the Indian intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing RAW, as the force behind the plot – an accusation regularly traded between India and Pakistan – but specifically identified the drive between their hotel and the stadium as the scene of the attack.

Pakistani newspapers quoted the report, dated January 22nd 2009, warning:”It has reliably been learnt that RAW Indian intelligence agency has assigned its agents the task to target Sri Lankan cricket team during its current visit to Lahore, especially while travelling between the hotel and stadium or at hotel during their stay.

via Sri Lankan cricketers: Pakistan ‘ignored’ warnings about attack on team bus – Telegraph.

Washington D.C. Suburbs Fertile Ground For International Terrorist Financing

Dr. Nagaratnam Ranjithan has spent decades building a thriving medical practice in Maryland as a kidney specialist.

Federal authorities say he has also helped finance Asian death squads.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets of Ranjithan’s Tamil Foundation, alleging that the money he has raised for Sri Lanka has actually gone to help the Tamil Tigers, a group that the State Department says is a terrorist organization. The Tigers have been blamed for thousands of civilian deaths.

Ranjithan says his group is suffering from guilt by association.

“Even the federal government hasn’t accused me of directly supporting the Tigers,” Ranjithan said in an interview with The Examiner. “They say that because I work in the Tiger area, I support the Tigers.”

Case not isolated

Ranjithan’s case isn’t an isolated one in the Washington suburbs. D.C. officials are working hard to crack down on what they dub international terrorist financing.

They don’t have to look far, experts say. “It’s a very fertile ground for investigation,” said Joseph DiGenova, former U.S. attorney for the District. “There are plenty of opportunities.”

With its large diplomatic community, multinational character, vast network of nongovernmental and charitable groups and employees, and big-hearted, big-walleted residents, the D.C. area gives excellent cover, resources and opportunities for international terrorist fronts, some experts say.

“Washington fits the bill as a place where all kinds of information is exchanging hands. You have all sorts of nongovernmental organizations headquartered here … and all sorts of international groups are chartered here,” said Gary LaFree, director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland.

Philanthropist imprisoned

The government’s crackdown on terror financing has shown Washingtonians a new side of their neighbors.

via www.dcexaminer.com >> Local News.

Senior U.N. Official Kidnapped in Pakistan

A senior U.N. official was kidnapped in southwest Pakistan and his driver was shot dead, a U.N. information officer told CNN.

The official’s name has not been released because his family has not been officially informed, said Ishrat Rizvi, a U.N. information officer in Islamabad.

The official was kidnapped in the town of Chaman, near the city of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. The exact time of the incident is unknown. Law enforcement agencies are investigating.

Acid Bombs Dropped From Building Injure Shoppers In Hong Kong

Dozens of people in Hong Kong were hurt after two bottles containing an acidic liquid were dropped from a building into a busy commercial district.
The 750ml bottles containing an acidic and corrosive liquid exploded on impact causing injuries and burns to 46 people, some of whom had to be treated in hospital.

“After an initial investigation, we’ve determined two bottles containing a corrosive liquid were dropped from above,” said Leona Leung at the Hong Kong Police Department. “The matter is under investigation. So far nobody has been arrested.”

An unidentified man who witnessed the scene said people affected covered their eyes in pain. Other victims had holes in their clothing and backpacks, according to the South China Morning Post.

The incident happened on Saturday in a bustling shopping district on Kowloon, usually popular with tourists.

Smoke Bomb Goes Off in Phoenix Hotel – Weapons Found

This is an incident report and there is no information indicating that it is terrorism related. Additional details will be provided as they become available.

Update: Reports indicate the smoke bomb was military grade. Very little other information is being released.

Guests were evacuated Sunday night when a smoke bomb went off on the fourth floor of the Hilton Garden Inn, 1940 W. Pinnacle Peak Road in northwest Phoenix.

Officials found other weapons in the room where the bomb detonated, including guns and bullets, said Frank Salomon, deputy chief of public affairs for the Phoenix Fire Department.

Officials are still investigating who if anyone was in the room. The hotel evacuated about 35 rooms, containing roughly 60 people including guests and staff, said Salomon.

Phoenix Fire Department crews were on the scene. The call came in at about 7 p.m.

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