Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:57:50 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/ WorldAnalysis.net PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/images/wasmall.bmp http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/ casey_britton@yahoo.ca http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1674 Vikcy Nanjappa in Mumbai The Deccan Mujahideen which had claimed responsibility for the Mumbai terror attacks is at it again. A second e-mail threatening to blow up the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Delhi [Images] airport has been intercepted by the Gujarat police. Intelligence Bureau officials who are studying the mail say that there is a specific mention of the BSE and Delhi airport in the mail. IB sources say that the BSE has always been on the target of terrorists, who want to attack India's economic might. At least five terrorists arrested in connection with either the Delhi serial blasts or the attack on the CRPF camp at Rampur have confessed that extensive planning had taken place in Pakistan occupied Kashmir to strike at the BSE. The IB says that the initial plan was to strike both at the Taj and the BSE but there was a change in plan. The terrorists realised that they needed to enter Mumbai by night as security was lax at that time and an operation in the BSE would not have been successful if they had struck it in the night as it would have been closed. If at all an attack has to take place on the BSE it would be during working hours, the IB says. Security agencies been put on high alert, the IB sources say. The IB also says that it is studying the role played by Abdul Subhan aka Tauqueer, the brain behind the Indian Mujahideen [Images] who currently is hiding in Pakistan. Subhan had given security agencies the slip following the Delhi blasts. He was the man who was sending out mails to security agencies and news channels after every attack by hacking into WiFi networks. While in India, Subhan used Mumbai as his base to send out mails. The IB believes his expertise may have been used to send out the mail in the name of the Deccan Mujahideen. The IB says that the mail sent out immediately after the Mumbai attack was initially suspected to have come from Russia [Images]. However investigations have revealed that the mail was generated first from Pakistan before being sent out in the name of the Deccan Mujahideen. The IB says that it is trying to get information regarding the role played by Subhan and another accomplice, Bhatkal Riyaz. The name Deccan Mujahideen could have been created considering that both these operatives handled the South India operations for terror outfits. The IB says that there is no doubt that this outfit is the brain child of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and the cadres who finally carried out the attack on Mumbai were all trained in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:57:50 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1673 Thirteen terrorists believed to have been involved in the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) attacks last week were feared to be on the run on Monday, even as the city returned to life with shops raising the shutters and traffic clogging the streets. Damien McElroy in Mumbai Last Updated: 6:39PM GMT 01 Dec 2008 Officials in Mumbai have failed to account for the movement of the terrorists believed to have been part of the operation to attack multiple high profile targets in the commercial capital. Diplomats said the primary focus of the terrorists is likely to shift outside the city. The Intelligence Bureau was reported to have circulated a warning that four prominent targets in Delhi were under imminent threat from the Deccan Mujahideen, including Indira Ghandi International Airport and the city's main railway. An intercepted email from the group also revealed plans to use auto-rickshaws in a fast-moving blitz on the city. Police have stepped up spot checks on Delhi's tens of thousands of three-wheeled taxis. Eight men that were said to have paved the way for last week's attacks by infiltrating Mumbai, taking a flat and carrying out reconnaissance missions in the targeted hotels have not been traced. Officials also revealed that five more men, in addition to the 10 who carried out the attacks, are suspected to have arrived on the fast dinghies used by the attackers. A total of 15 life jackets were found when the dinghies were recovered. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:53:05 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1672 By David Bedein, Middle East Correspondent 12/01/2008 Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly Jeruslem - The devastating terror attacks in Mumbai, India are prompting Israel to re-evaluate its approach to terrorism and to look for the lessons that can be taken from them and from India's response. Only on Saturday morning, almost 60 hours after the beginning of the Mumbai attack, did the Indian commando troops kill the last four terrorists, who were holed up in the Taj Mahal Hotel.
 Ten terrorists, who, according to the findings of the investigation, arrived by rubber raft at the shore of Mumbai carrying machine guns, grenades and dry rations in their luggage, succeeded - almost inconceivably - in keeping almost 1,000 commando troops and counterterror units occupied for three days, in several areas.
 The battle at the Taj, which was the longest, ended only yesterday at noon, nearly twenty-four hours after the explosions died down at the Oberoi Hotel and at Chabad House. On Friday at noon, 143 hostages and guests at the Oberoi, whom the terrorists had not succeeded in reaching, were released. Isolated terrorists who were still alive exploded grenades or small bombs once every several hours, setting wings of the hotel ablaze to delay rescue activity. Toward midnight local time, the Indian commando activity ceased at Chabad House, where nine bodies were found. The long delay-the operation began only a day and a half after Chabad House had been seized - was very frustrating, particularly for the Israeli security personnel who stood on the sidelines, watching helplessly.
 Ehud Raz, a security officer at the Israeli Consulate in Mumbai, was the last person to speak with Rabbi Gabi Holtzberg on Wednesday night. Mr. Raz reached a distance of 230 feet from Chabad House, but the angry mob ran after him to the police station, and he and his people did not manage to reach the location and assist. "On Thursday morning, after the nanny, Sandra, was brought to the police station, she told me that she had left Chabad House and that the whole area was clear of police officers and no one was doing anything," he told Yedioth Ahronoth. "The Indians keep saying to me 'big operation,' and I was sure that they had taken charge and started an operation, but they simply stood around the alleyway and watched the building. There was no attempt to take control
and end the incident.
 "I protested loudly, and the police chief came and then I felt that the process was starting to go forward." But nothing happened until Friday morning. "The whole rescue operation took a long time," Mr. Raz, who stood on a side street and watched the rescue attempts, said. "There were three entrances. Commando teams, the street was crammed with troops, and they went in and left with gunfire and explosions. "I don't know-either they had a hard time getting the incident under control or they tried to go in through the door. It was horrible and upsetting to watch. A lot of grenades that the terrorists had thrown, and bombs that they had planted, exploded. At first it looked more like the operation was a surgical one, since maybe the Indians thought that the hostages inside were alive, but at the second stage they brought in heavy machine guns and started shooting in order to kill the terrorists, who were very determined. There were endless explosions. They were just crazed."
 On Saturday morning, the Indian security forces said the Taj Hotel, was clear. For two and a
half days, Indian commandos waged a particularly slow battle in the booby-trapped corridors of the hotel, which were thick with smoke. After the last pockets of resistance were eliminated
and all 565 hotel rooms had been combed, the police commander said that at least 40 more bodies had been found there.
 According to the accounts of local people and security forces, the ten terrorists split up into sub-groups when they arrived at the Mumbai beach, and seized motorcycles and other vehicles that they used to travel to the attack targets. After firing their guns and throwing grenades, they fled on foot, continuing to other nearby targets. In all, the terrorists attacked nine targets: the Taj Hotel, the Oberoi Hotel, Chabad House, the Leopold Café, the Victoria railway station, Cama Hospital, the Metro Cinema, the police station and a local airport.
 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:01:43 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1671 Hakim Sahab # # # make [the martyrdom of heroes .. And breach of rulers - Sheikh / Ayman al-Zawahri] -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ The name of God the Merciful Foundation-Sahab Media Production Progress [Martyred heroes. . And breach of governors] Hakeem Sheikh nation / Ayman al-Zawahri - God save (Arabic only no sub-titles) To view video online: http://www.worldanalysis.net/download/zawahiri12012008.htm للحكيم # السحاب # تقدم #[ استشهاد الأبطال .. وخيانة الحكام - الشيخ / أيمن الظواهري ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم مؤسسة السحاب للإنتاج الإعلامي تقدم [ استشهاد الأبطال . . وخيانة الحكام ] لحكيم الأمة الشيخ / أيمن الظواهري - حفظه الله Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:46:46 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1670 By Syed Saleem Shahzad MILAN - A plan by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) that had been in the pipelines for several months - even though official policy was to ditch it - saw what was to be a low-profile attack in Kashmir turn into the massive attacks on Mumbai last week. The original plan was highjacked by the Laskar-e-Taiba (LET), a Pakistani militant group that generally focussed on the Kashmir struggle, and al-Qaeda, resulting in the deaths of nearly 200 people in Mumbai as groups of militants sprayed bullets and hand grenades at hotels, restaurants and train stations, as well as a Jewish community center. The attack has sent shock waves across India and threatens to revive the intense periods of hostility the two countries have endured since their independence from British India in 1947. There is now the possibility that Pakistan will undergo another about-turn and rethink its support of the "war in terror"; until the end of 2001, it supported the Taliban administration in Afghanistan. It could now back off from its restive tribal areas, leaving the Taliban a free hand to consolidate their Afghan insurgency. A US State Department official categorically mentioned that Pakistan's "smoking gun" could turn the US's relations with Pakistan sour. The one militant captured - several were killed - is reported to have been a Pakistani trained by the LET. A plan goes wrong Asia Times Online investigations reveal that several things went wrong within the ISI, which resulted in the Mumbai attacks. Before the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the ISI had several operations areas as far as India was concerned. The major forward sections were in Muzzafarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which were used to launch proxy operations through Kashmir separatist groups in Indian-administered Kashmir. The next major areas were Nepal and Bangladesh, where both countries were used for smuggling arms and ammunition into India and for launching militants to carry out high-level guerrilla operations in Indian territory other than Kashmir. After 9/11, when Islamabad sided with the United States in the "war on terror" and the invasion of Afghanistan was launched to catch al-Qaeda members and militants, Pakistan was forced to abandon its Muzzafarabad operations under American pressure. The major recent turn in the political situation in Nepal with the victory of Maoists and the abolishment of the monarchy has reduced the ISI's operations. An identical situation has happened in Bangladesh, where governments have changed. The only active forward sections were left in the southern port city of Karachi, and the former Muzzafarabad sections were sent there. The PNS Iqbal (a naval commando unit) was the main outlet for militants to be given training and through deserted points they were launched into the Arabian sea and on into the Indian region of Gujarat. At the same time, Washington mediated a dialogue process between India and Pakistan, which resulted in some calm. Militants were advised by the ISI to sit tight at their homes to await orders. However, that never happened. The most important asset of the ISI, the Laskhar-e-Taiba (LET), was split after 9/11. Several of its top-ranking commanders and office bearers joined hands with al-Qaeda militants. A millionaire Karachi-based businessman, Arif Qasmani, who was a major donor for ISI-sponsored LET operations in India, was arrested for playing a double game - he was accused of working with the ISI while also sending money to Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal area for the purchase of arms and ammunition for al-Qaeda militants. The network of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, which was a major supporter of the ISI in the whole region, especially in Bangladesh, was shattered and fell into the hands of al-Qaeda when Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri, chief of Harkat, a hero of the armed struggle in Kashmir who had spent two years in an Indian jail, was arrested by Pakistani security forces in January 2004. He was suspected of having links to suicide bombers who rammed their vehicles into then-president General Pervez Musharraf's convoy on December 25, 2003. Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:32:26 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1669 Principality Taliban / martyrdom of Dr. spokesman Mohammad Hanif, former Principality 29/11/2008 -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ The name of God the Merciful Death of Dr. Mohammad Hanif said the former official of the Principality Zabihullah (Mujahid) - 29/11/2008 He died on Friday, former spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Abdul Haq get and also known as Dr. Mohammad Hanif::: acceptable to God::: In 2007, members of the Intelligence Department of the client, Dr. Hanif, arrested in the department of state Rodat Nangarhar He was released after serving 20 months in captivity. He cited last night::: acceptable to God::: with three of his relatives in the village of Alma, about 10 kilometers from the epicenter of the eastern state of Ningerhard. The 20 soldiers stormed the administration's client Brother house last night for the third brother, Dr. Hanif who was present there ostensibly to search the house and arrested with three of his relatives and the soldiers documenting their customers from behind them and opened fire Kalashnikovs and shot them dead on the spot::: acceptance of God: :: A few days ago reported in the media that Dr Hanif had begun work in the religious programs of the television, but Ningerhard::: acceptable to God::: denied those reports. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan expresses its profound grief by this incident and strongly condemns this cowardly act of terror carried out by the client management and false promises to provide security for the people of this work will not pass without a response from us. Dr. Hanif::: acceptable to God::: studied law and graduated from the University of Ningerhard worked spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan for more than three years. We call upon God Almighty to accept our brother is spent with him and receive high level and the ranking of friends and martyrs. I am God and to Him we return If they were told not spoil the land they are but Msalehon (The Cow 11) They are not corruptors, but do not feel (The Cow 12) Information: spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - Taliban Qari Mohammad Yousuf (Ahmadinejad) Of the South, West and North West of the country Tel: 008821621346341 Mobile: 0700886853 - 0707163424 Zabihullah (Mujahid) Of the South, East and the North East of the country Tel: 008821621360585 Mobile: 0799169794 - 0707010740 God is great pride and God, His Prophet and the believers Information Committee of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - Taliban -------------------------------------------------- ---- Source / page (Voice of Jihad) in 29/11/2008 Official site of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - Taliban Arabic » English Translate الإمارة طالبان / استشهاد الدكتور محمد حنيف الناطق الرسمي السابق للإمارة 29/11/2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم استشهاد الدكتور محمد حنيف الناطق الرسمي السابق للإمارة ذبيح الله (مجاهد) – 29/11/2008 استشهد يوم أمس الجمعة الناطق الرسمي السابق لإمارة أفغانستان الإسلامية عبد الحق حقيق والمعروف أيضا باسم الدكتور محمد حنيف :::تقبله الله::: في عام 2007، ألقت عناصر الاستخبارات التابعة للإدارة العميلة القبض على الدكتور حنيف في مديرية رودات بولاية ننجرهار وقد أطلق سراحه بعد أن قضى في الأسر 20 شهرا. وقد استشهد ليلة أمس :::تقبله الله::: مع ثلاثة من أقاربه في قرية لالما على بعد 10 كم من مركز المنطقة الشرقية بولاية ننجرهارد. لقد اقتحم 20 من جنود الإدارة العميلة ليلة أمس منزل الأخ الغير شقيق للدكتور حنيف الذي كان متواجدا هناك بزعم تفتيش المنزل والقوا القبض عليه مع ثلاثة من أقاربه وقام الجنود العملاء بتوثيق أيديهم من الخلف وفتحوا عليهم نيران الكلاشنكوف وأردوهم قتلى على الفور :::تقبلهم الله::: وقبل أيام قليلة تناقلت وسائل الإعلام أن الدكتور حنيف قد بدأ العمل في البرامج الدينية التابعة لتلفزيون ننجرهارد ولكن :::تقبله الله::: قد نفى تلك التقارير. إن إمارة أفغانستان الإسلامية تعبر عن حزنها العميق جراء هذه الحادثة وتدين بشدة هذا العمل الإرهابي الجبان الذي قامت به الإدارة العميلة ووعودها الكاذبة بتوفير الأمن للناس ولن يمر هذا العمل دون رد منا. الدكتور حنيف :::تقبله الله::: درس القانون وتخرج في جامعة ننجرهارد وعمل ناطقا رسميا لإمارة أفغانستان الإسلامية لمدة تزيد عن ثلاثة سنوات. ندعو الله سبحانه وتعالى أن يتقبل أخانا ومن قضوا معه وأن ينال الدرجة العالية والمنزلة الرفيعة للصديقين والشهداء. انا لله وانا إليه راجعون وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ (البقرة11) أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمْ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ (البقرة12) معلومات: الناطق الرسمي لإمارة أفغانستان الإسلامية - طالبان قاري محمد يوسف (احمدي) للمناطق الجنوب الغربية والشمال الغربية في البلاد هاتف : 008821621346341 خلوي : 0700886853 - 0707163424 ذبيح الله (مجاهد) للمناطق الجنوب الشرقية والشمال الشرقية في البلاد هاتف : 008821621360585 خلوي : 0799169794 - 0707010740 والله أكبر والعزة لله ولرسوله وللمؤمنين اللجنة الإعلامية لإمارة أفغانستان الإسلامية - طالبان ------------------------------------------------------ المصدر / صفحة (صوت الجهاد) في 29/11/2008 موقع رسمي لإمارة أفغانستان الإسلامية - طالبان Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:12:47 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1668 By Siddharth Ramana Contributor, Worldanalysis.net Many commentators have described the 3 night terror crises which had befallen on Mumbai, India to be India’s 9/11. It was alleged to be the most deadly attack on the Indian state, which has witnessed nearly 4,000 killed in terrorist violence in the last few years. More significantly, it severely undermines the credibility of the Indian security establishment, more so when Mumbai was specifically named as a target by a group which had previously taken credit for a number of attacks in the past. In my last paper on the Indian terrorist threat in August 2008, aptly titled “India: Terrorist’s favorite hunting ground”, I had written that in the aftermath of the Ahmedabad attacks; the security scenario reflected long standing ills. The same ills were magnified in this terror attack which effectively utilized the loopholes available in the interior security mechanism. According to reports, the Indian government was aware of a high risk to the targeted hotels and curiously yet did not review the status of the threat before it was reduced. Furthermore, in a shocking revelation the terrorists who carried out the attack arrived by sea. Flashback to 1993, when Mumbai (then called Bombay) was terrorized by serial bomb blasts ostensibly carried out by Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian gang lord in revenge for anti-Muslim riots in the city. The explosives for the blasts were said to have been smuggled via a sea route. The terrorists in the latest attack seem to have taken the very same route without encountering much/ or any resistance. With repeated threat perceptions being based on inputs of sea based smuggling and targets such as off shore oil rigs high on the terrorist hit list, the thought that the Indian security did not strengthen its naval monitoring of its waters is shocking. It is even more appalling that this attack occurred when Indian warships are monitoring Piracy activity off the Yemen coast, while India is not monitoring its own backyard. The attacks on the city’s elite hotels and a Jewish cultural center, and the shocking ease with which the terrorists went around the city to their targets reflect an in depth knowledge of the city’s streets and landmarks. It cannot be discounted that there is a local hand in the attack, which otherwise seems to carry signatures of a well trained outfit. An outfit which beyond reasonable doubt had training imparted on naval operations and hostage situations. Why did they attack? The attacks on the central train station of Mumbai were most likely a deflection to allow the top security brass to be tied up there while the hotel crises were being embarked upon. Indeed, media reports indicate that the senior police staff of Mumbai met their end at the encounters taking place at the terminus and its nearby buildings where the terrorists sought to take refuge. The apathy of the terrorists and their planning allowed them to swiftly shift to a nearby hospital which was likely to be used as a hostage point as well. Interrogations of one of the captured terrorists, who tried to flee, would shed further light on this. The terrorists were clearly focused on an international audience. The timing of the attack, the nature of the attack and the targets were all intended to garner as much international press coverage as possible. The attacks which started at 9.20 PM local time were intended for prime time news coverage. The demands from hostages to show their identity documents and the particular singling out of Israeli, British and American hostages was a strong departure from previous terrorist attacks which mainly targeted Indians. The terror attacks achieved the group’s interest of extensive coverage in the international media. Much more than space and time was devoted to the Indian attack than the previous attacks which occurred in the county. The terrorists did not make any demands which would have interested the western audiences in particular. In purported conversations with local news channels, the terrorists claimed they wished to see an end to the humiliation of Muslims in India. Even an email claiming responsibility from the “Deccan Mujahideen” reiterated this statement. The lack of negotiations and the systematic murder of the Jewish inhabitants in the first few hours of the siege indicate this to be a deflection tactic as well. The target was to ensure that India’s image as a tourist destination is eroded and investor confidence, already hard hit by the global economic meltdown, is lowered in India. More shockingly, the attack reiterates a chilling reminder sent in an earlier acknowledgement by nom de guerre -Indian Mujahideen which warned Indians that they could strike anywhere at anytime. It would be important to note that in the aftermath of the Delhi serial blasts, a number of arrests were undertaken all over the country. A number of suspected IM members were arrested and plots supposedly foiled. The relative quiet from Islamic terrorism in the country would have been attributed to the IM infrastructure having been broken. This inactivity would not have been liked by terrorist groups who wished to retaliate. Who are these terrorists? The scale and nature of these attacks have strong imprints of Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda groups are known to be operating in Pakistani territory and local militant groups such as the Jaish E Mohammad and Lashkar E Tayeeba are known to be affiliates of Al-Qaeda. According to the arrested terrorist, the attack was carried out by the Lashkar E Tayeeba and Indian officials have added that the group had received help from Dawood Ibrahim. It was reported by the media earlier, that Dawood had joined hands with the Lashkar which has been growing in international clout. Lashkar activities have not been limited to the troubled Indian state of Kashmir. Lashkar is believed to have been behind the 13 December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, an attack which has close resemblance to the weaponry and tactics carried out in Mumbai. Lashkar is also known to have organized fundraising for terrorist activities in Chechnya and its fighters have been arrested in Iraq as well. continued Sun, 30 Nov 2008 12:33:16 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1667 By Ian Gallagher Last updated at 1:02 AM on 30th November 2008 The only terrorist captured alive after the Mumbai massacre has given police the first full account of the extraordinary events that led to it – revealing he was ordered to ‘kill until the last breath’. Azam Amir Kasab, 21, from Pakistan, said the attacks were meticulously planned six months ago and were intended to kill 5,000 people. He revealed that the ten terrorists, who were highly trained in marine assault and crept into the city by boat, had planned to blow up the Taj Mahal Palace hotel after first executing British and American tourists and then taking hostages. Destroyed: The charred interior of the the Taj Mahal hotel after the terrorists were finally stopped Mercifully, the group, armed with plastic explosives, underestimated the strength of the 105-year-old building’s solid foundations. As it is, their deadly attacks have left close to 200 confirmed dead, with the toll expected to rise to nearly 300 once the hotel has been fully searched by security forces. Yesterday, Kasab chillingly went through details of Wednesday night’s killing spree across the city, which ended when he was cornered by police. He pretended to be dead, which probably saved his life. It was only when he was being transferred to hospital by ambulance that his accompanying officer noticed he was still breathing. Once inside Nair Hospital, Kasab, who suffered only minor injuries, told medical staff: ‘I do not want to die. Please put me on saline.’ And as Indian commandos ended the bloody 59-hour siege at the Taj yesterday by killing the last three Islamic gunmen, baby-faced Kasab was dispassionately detailing the background to the mayhem. He described how its mastermind briefed the group to ‘target whites, preferably Americans and British’. Some of the militants, including Kasab, posed as students during a visit to Mumbai a month ago, filming the ‘strike locations’ and familiarising themselves with the city’s roads. Devastation: Wrecked by explosions and fire, below is a picture of the Harbour Bar at the Taj Mahal Palace on Saturday. A few days ago it was one of India's finest venues, above. Now all that remains is a charred shell And Kasab described how he and an accomplice sprayed machine-gun fire around a busy railway station, killing dozens of people, before intending to move to the exclusive district of Malabar Hill, where they planned to ‘take VIPs hostage’. One police officer said: ‘That, thankfully, never happened because we managed to stop them.’ Police insist that Kasab confessed to being a member of the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has denied involvement in the carnage, and claimed he and the others were trained in the Muslim country. Intelligence analysts are keeping more of an open mind, however. And some political observers point out an unhelpful tendency by the Indian authorities continually to blame ‘Pakistan elements’ without solid evidence. Some speculative reports emerging from New Delhi even suggested Pakistan’s intelligence services had a hand in training the terrorists. Meanwhile, claims that up to seven of the terrorists could have been British men of Pakistani origin, who had connections to West Yorkshire, were being widely discounted. A top Indian official, Maharashtra state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, said there was ‘no authentic information’ to suggest that any British citizens were involved. The UK Foreign Office also said there was ‘no evidence’ that any of the terrorists were British. Killers: Two armed gunmen are seen at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai on Wednesday One report suggested that one of the terrorists had been working at the Taj hotel as a kitchen porter for up to eight months before the attacks and had produced a British passport during his job interview. But this was strongly denied by the hotel management. Scotland Yard detectives arrived in Mumbai yesterday, but only to lend their assistance and expertise to the investigation. According to the account of Kasab’s interrogation, given by police sources, the terrorists were trained over five months in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, then had a month off before the attacks. At some stage, they also received intensive instruction in ‘marine assault’ operations. Terrifying: One of the gunmen carrying an automatic rifle in the train station in Mumbai Kasab and the nine other terrorists, who communicated using BlackBerry mobiles, began their journey to Mumbai on November 21. Initially unarmed, they left an isolated beach near Karachi in a small boat, before being picked up the following day by a larger vessel. At this point they were each given eight hand grenades, an AK-47 rifle, an automatic pistol and ammunition. And in anticipation of a lengthy siege, they also carried dried fruit. Kasab told police that the group then hijacked a fishing trawler bearing the name Kuber near the maritime boundary between Pakistan and India. continued Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:56:48 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1666 source(AFP) 30 November 2008 NEW DELHI - Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil resigned Sunday, saying he felt obliged to take ‘moral responsibility’ for the brutal militant attacks in Mumbai, an official government source said. Patil, who has been widely criticised in the media for failing to ensure India’s domestic security, sent his resignation letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ‘owning moral responsibility’ for the attacks, the source in the home ministry told AFP. Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:28:12 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1665 100 officers make 12 raids following declarations made to Belgian police by Abdelkader Belliraj. BRUSSELS- Belgian police took 11 men into custody Thursday following a request by Moroccan authorities, amid an investigation into a suspected terrorist group in Belgium, federal prosecutors said. The 11 were picked up during 12 raids, involving around 100 officers, in Brussels, Tongres, in northeast Belgium, central Nivelle and Arlon in the southeast, spokeswoman Lieve Pellens said. The raids follow declarations made to police early this year by Abdelkader Belliraj, a Belgian and Moroccan national on trial in Morocco on suspicion of having led an Al Qaeda-linked group. Belliraj is alleged to have provided police with a list of potentially dangerous Belgian-Moroccans still living in the kingdom, Pellens said. Seven of the 11 -- six Moroccans and an Algerian national -- could be deported because they do not have Belgian nationality, she said, adding that such justice proceedings could yet take several weeks. The investigating judge was to decide later Thursday whether the other four should be detained. Police also seized computers and documents during the raids, but no weapons or explosives were found. Belgian media had reported that Belliraj, who has dual Moroccan and Belgian nationality, was a long-time paid informer for the Belgian intelligence services. But some say this collaboration was just a cover and that he was a die-hard jihadist who spent time in extremist camps in Afghanistan. Moroccan authorities have said he has confessed to several unsolved murders committed in Belgium in 1989. Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:24:00 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1664 DH News Service, Mumbai: Intelligence agencies have launched a massive manhunt for a Mumbai based businessman - suspected to be a henchman of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim - who allegedly arranged arms and explosives for the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists to conduct the terror attack in Mumbai. The information came from Ajmal Amir Kamal, the terrorist hailing from Faridkot, Pakistan, who was captured by the agencies during the operation. The businessman reportedly runs several custom clearing houses in Colaba, Mumbai. Kamal told investigating agencies that his group was trained in two separate camps by the LeT in Pakistan; one for handling weapons and explosives, and another for marine warfare. They were reportedly trained in marine commando techniques on Mangla Dam, a reservoir stretching between the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) to Punjab in Pakistan. The terrorists chose the sea route because crossing the Line of Control was dangerous, it was revealed during the interrogations. The terrorists were given code names and were put in a merchant vessel, which brought them about 10 nautical miles from the Indian coast off Gujarat. There, the group reportedly hijacked a fishing trawler Kuber and shot four out of its five or six sailors. Captain killed The captain of the trawler, identified as Balwant Tandel, was forced to take the vessel to the Mumbai coast. After reaching about four nautical miles away, they tied his hands behind his back and slit his throat. Another person, Amarsinh Solanki, was beheaded. The terrorists boarded into a motorised rubber dinghy, which brought them to the Mumbai shore at the Fishermen's Colony. The bodies of four fishermen suspected to be crew members of the ship have been found from high seas off Gujarat. Sun, 30 Nov 2008 00:06:11 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1663 30 Nov 2008, 0039 hrs IST, TNN NEW DELHI: Investigations into the source of the email purportedly sent by an outfit called Deccan Mujahideen to a TV channel claiming responsibility for the Mumbai attack have hit a dead end due to the jihadis' technical expertise and their knowledge of sophisticated software. It was found that the jihadis had used the anonymous "remailer" service - which is the most secure and least traceable way to send an email - instead of the normal Internet service availed on earlier occasions. Contrary to the normal Internet service which can easily trace the origin of an email through IP address of a particular computer, the remailer service not only deletes the IP address but also all details including the sources from where someone might have requested the secret service. An official said, "There are several software available for the remailer service that lets one send anonymous email through a web interface. Some other software allow send email messages that can only be viewed for a certain time and one can remain anonymous to boot." Though investigators found that the main server of Deccan Mujahideen's email was located in Russia, they have not been able to locate the place from where the email was sent. Use of the anonymous "remailer" service is a pointer to the meticulous planning of the terrorists and their technical expertise. Sources in the home ministry said that though cyber experts were still trying to trace the origin of the email using different software and they could even find it, India could contact Russia for help if it failed to trace it as the "remailer" service provider was traced to that country. Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:53:54 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1662 Lashkar-e-Taiba is a Pakistan-based movement which wants the removal of Indian forces from the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region. Set up in about 1990 with aid, it is claimed, from the Pakistan authorities, its overall objective is the establishment of an Islamic caliphate throughout India, China and much of southeast Asia. It is said to have been inspired by Osama Bin Laden and to have maintained close ties with Al-Qaeda to this day. Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives are understood to have been trained at Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan until the US invasion in 2001. Since that time Lashkar-e-Taiba training grounds in Pakistan have reciprocated by hosting Al-Qaeda militants, including, it is said, one of the London bombers, Shehzad Tanweer. Designated a terrorist group by the US in 2003, Lashkar-e-Taiba’s tactics include the use of suicide bombings, with attacks conducted on both military and civilian targets. Its emblem is a black AK-47 rifle balanced on an open Koran set against a background of a blue sky and a rising sun. Other than its activities in the disputed territories, Lashkar-e-Taiba has also carried out a number of atrocities in India. In December 2001 its members raided the Indian parliament, killing at least 14 people. Ten months later an attack on a Hindu temple in Gujarat left 28 dead and the following year a twin bombing in Mumbai killed 52 and wounded more than three times as many. One of its most recent confirmed attacks was in October 2005, when co-ordinated suicide bombings were staged in the capital, New Delhi, during the Diwali festival, killing more than 60 people and wounding more than 200. The group has also been linked to the 2006 train bombings, again in Mumbai, in which 209 died and more than 1,000 were injured. Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:46:58 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1661 I am writing this here as I have just spent 3 days with an annoying virus and multiple trojan horse's on my computer and there does not seem to be any information that I could find as to how to remove the "Browser Helper Object" (BHO) that appeared in my browser add-on list. In the add-on list the only information was "wezibalu.dll". Repeated searches of my system could not find this .dll, it appears to be hidden or non- existent. I believe the infection took place at a shockwave game site my son went to. As I am not certain, I refrain from naming the website. Microsoft Malicious File Removal Tool did not find any of the files mentioned below. Adaware seemed to be disabled by these trojans and repeatedly crashed midway through the scan. A fully updated AVG (Grisoft) did find and contain in the Virus Valt the following: (however re-infection continued until procedure mentioned further below was completed) Trojan horse Downloader.Generic_r.BI Once that was contained, from the Temporary Internet Files, I was then infected with a "Fake Alert" virus. This is what hijacked the browser sending it to "freescan" html pages. It would appear that each time the browser was redirected a new trojan was injected. Some of those are: Trojan Horse SHeu2.ELJ path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\bibeufu.dll once that was contained, re-infection: Trojan Horse SHeur2.ELJ path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\jogasubu.dll when AGV caught that, re-infection: Trojan Horse SHeur2.ELJ path C:\WINDOWS\system32\~.exe then Trojan Horse Fake Alert.CV from Temporary Internet Files Trojan horse BHO.GNG C:\WINDOWS\system32\tuvikeize.dll Trohan horse Proxy.AEPU C:\WINDOWS\system32\puvutabo.dll by now AVG was containing the above from System Restore however the infection remained. The information available on the web to clean this type of malware is to use most of the brand name malware cleaners. I did use a fully updated Adaware, it appeared to be useless as well against this infection. It repeatedly crashed at roughly 40% through the scan. It took many attempts to find all the components to this virus, it not only infects Internet Explorer v.7+ & v.8 beta 2, but Firefox v.2+ and Windows Explorer. This is the procedure I used for removal On a fresh reboot, go to Control Panel, Internet Options, delete browser history and Temporary Internet Files. (BTW, going into Browser Add-On's and disabling the "Browser Helper Object" (BHO) is useless, but you will be able to see it in your Add-On list.) Then go to Start Menu, Run, type msconfig. Click the startup tab. Several of the .dll's mentioned above will be in the first colum under "Start Up Item". Uncheck all of them from the above list that you see. Missing any of them will cause re-infection when you are finished. This took me several attempts to find them all. I repeatedly had to go back and uncheck these 2: puvutabo.dll tuvikeize.dll Leave the system configuration open or you will have to reboot and the removal is not complete, yet. Go to Start, Run, type in regedit From the Edit Menu, use Find: Copy Paste or type: {00A8E7EC-3D31-41F3-A358-55CBEC995629} hit find, then delete the entry. Then go back to the Find option and click Find Next. There are multiple registry entries for the above string, missing any of them will cause re-infection. Click OK to close Registry Editor, Close System Configuration, select Yes to restart computer, or reboot. It took several attempts to fully remove these trojans. Here is a quick list for removal, and it would appear, in this order. Reboot Clean browser history and temporary internet files from Control Panel Remove startup items, Run, msconfig Remove Registry entries, Run, regedit Reboot Note: Do not open any Explorer or Internet Browser windows while cleaning. Casey Britton WorldAnalysis.net 11.29.2008 Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:28:48 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1660 Dinesh Narayanan / Forbes-Network18 TimePublished on Sat, Nov 29, 2008 at 16:49, Updated on Sat, Nov 29, 2008 at 20:28 in World section THE AL-QAEDA TRAP: India and Pak need to see through the trap laid out by the al-Qaeda to destabilise the peace process. In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, the question that everyone is asking is 'Why'. India already claims it has evidence of Pakistani hand. On Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made a stern call to Pakistan and had asked them to send the head of its intelligence agency, the ISI, to India. However, Pakistan has refused to do the same. But is it a bit too soon to jump to conclusions? In an attempt to get some answers, we speak to Lahore-based journalist Ahmed Rashid, an expert on South and Central Asia who authored bestsellers such as Jihad, Taliban and Descent into Chaos. He tells Forbes Network 18's Dinesh Narayanan on phone from Rome that the attacks are a conspiracy to drive a wedge between the two neighbours. Excerpts from the interview: QUES: Do you think the attack on Mumbai was planned to de-stabilise the conciliatory efforts of the Indian and Pakistani governments? Ahmed Rashid: I think the attacks were strategically planned by al-Qaeda through the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants they train. It is trying to work out a space for itself in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). They have been hurting very badly in there because of pressure from the Pakistani army and US missile attacks. QUES: What is the objective? Ahmed Rashid: It is a military strategic objective to get the army out of Bajour and stop the US from stepping in. If tensions between India and Pakistan escalate, the army will be moved to the Indian border, as happened in 2002. After the attacks on the Parliament House in Delhi, India built up troops on the border. Pakistan responded by moving its army from the Afghanistan border to the Indian one. And al-Qaeda had a free run of FATA. They are looking to repeat the exercise. QUES: Do you think they are likely to succeed? Ahmed Rashid: The danger is the escalation of India-Pakistan accusations. They should not fall into the al-Qaeda trap. The Indian Government has already jumped the gun a bit. It is a weak government and is under pressure to do something. QUES: What would happen if the Indian and Pakistani governments see through the trap? Ahmed Rashid: Then there will be more attacks in Pakistan. This is a very critical period for al-Qaeda. It has only a few months. The US is preparing to send 20,000 troops into Afghanistan by April. The al-Qaeda is under tremendous pressure. They need to do something. QUES: Will the new government in Pakistan be able to genuinely change the relationship with India? Ahmed Rashid: It is a weak civilian government, just like the Indian Government. It is a Government that is besieged by a collapsing economy and tensions with the army. But it has its heart in the right place. The army needs to come under a democratic government for the outlook on national security to change. Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:36:32 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1659 BAGHDAD (AFP) — Two foreign UN contractors were killed and another 15 wounded when a mortar round slammed into Baghdad's heavily-guarded Green Zone on Saturday, a UN official said. The two killed in the dawn attack were foreign maintenance workers contracted by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), according to the official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. Of the 15 people wounded in the attack, seven were in serious condition, the official said, raising fears the death toll could rise further. The heavily-fortified Green Zone in the centre of Baghdad houses the Iraqi parliament and a number of government buildings and foreign embassies. The United Nations dramatically scaled down its presence in Iraq after a suicide truck bombing against its headquarters in 2003 killed 22 people, including its top Iraq envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:51:06 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1658 Posted: Nov 29, 2008 at 0952 hrs Sagnik Chowdhury & Ritu Sarin Mumbai Interrogation of the lone gunman nabbed alive by the Mumbai Police after Wednesday's terror attacks has left investigators in little doubt that the unprecedented raid on the country's financial capital was the work of Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Toiba. According to details of the interrogation accessed by 'The Indian Express', the man has been identified as Azam Ameer Qasab, a 21-year-old Pakistan national and is believed to have admitted that he is a Lashkar-e-Toiba operative. According to a statement recorded by the police following his arrest, Qasab is a resident of Faridkot in Chipalpura Taluka of Ukhad Zilla in Pakistan's Punjab. Qasam admitted that he was trained, along with several others, at two separate camps in Pakistan. The first camp lasted for close to three months and involved training in the use of firearms and explosives. After a short break of a few weeks, the second camp focused on marine drills which were used by the attackers to land on the city's shores. During his training, he was also shown CDs with footage of different spots in Mumbai including some of the locations targeted, Qasam is believed to have said. “During his preliminary interrogation, Qasam said that the instructions given to them were to fire on sight with orders that the maximum possible number of people should die at their hands,” said a police source who grilled Qasam. “He explained the way in which they had hijacked a trawler with a crew of five in them. He said they forced one crew member, Amar Singh Nazam, to travel with them till they were four nautical miles from Badhwar Park, and then killed him. He did not reveal the names of the other terrorists to us and said they were all assigned code names,” said the official. Qasab was nabbed by officers of the D B Marg Police Station late on Wednesday night after they intercepted a Skoda car in which he was travelling with another attacker, identified as Abu Dera Ismael Khan (25), also from Pakistan's Punjab, and was gunned down in the encounter at Girgaum Chowpatty. Qasab was later handed over to the state Anti-Terrorism Squad. The police also recovered two assault rifles, five magazines, two automatic pistols and a grenade from Qasam and Khan. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:48:07 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1657 New America Media, Commentary, Yoichi Shimatsu, Posted: Nov 28, 2008 The coordinated nighttime assault against seven major targets in Mumbai is reminiscent of the 1993 bombings that devastated the Bombay Stock Exchange. The recent attack bears the fingerprints of the same criminal mastermind – meticulous preparation, ruthless execution and the absence of claims or demands. The eerie silence that accompanied the blasts are the very signature of Ibrahim Dawood, now a multi-millionaire owner of a construction company in Karachi, Pakistan. His is hardly a household name around the world like Osama bin Laden. Across South Asia, however, Dawood is held in awe and, in a twist on morals, admired for his belated conversion from crime boss to self-styled avenger. His rise to the highest rungs of India's underworld began from the most unlikely position as the diligent son of a police constable in the populous commercial capital then known as Bombay. His childhood familiarity with police routine and inner workings of the justice system gave the ambitious teenager an unmatched ability to outwit the authorities with evermore clever criminal designs. Among the unschooled ranks of Bombay gangland, Ibrahim emerged as the coherent leader of a multi-religious mafia, not just due to his ability to organize extortion campaigns and meet payrolls, but also because of his merciless extermination of rivals. Dawood, always the professional problem-solver, gained the friendship of aspiring officers in India's intelligence service known as Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). He soon attracted the attention of American secret agents, then supporting the Islamic mujahideen in their battle against the Soviet occupiers of Afghanistan. Dawood personally assisted many a U.S. deep-cover operation funneling money to Afghan rebels via American-operated casinos in Kathmandu, Nepal. Eager to please all comers, Dawood occasionally got his wires crossed, providing travel documents and other amenities to Islamist airplane hijackers. In response, Washington spymasters tried to unofficially "impound" his investment in the Nepalese casinos. Dawood's fury is legendary among locals. An honorable businessman, he held to the strict belief that a deal is a deal and there can be no reneging for any reason. As Bombay moved into the league of Asia's premier cities – hotel rates and apartment rentals are the highest in the region – Dawood could have led a comfortable life as top dog. Instead he suffered a spasm of conscience, a newfound moral outrage, when rightwing Hindu nationalists destroyed a mosque in northern India in 1992, slaying 2000 Muslim worshippers, mostly women and children. One a day in the following May, his henchmen set off bombs across Bombay, killing more than 300 people. His personal convictions had – uncharacteristically - overcome his dispassionate business ethics. Reeling in shock, his top lieutenant, a Hindu, attempted to assassinate Dawood. A bloody intra-gang war followed, but as always Dawood triumphed, even while away in exile in Dubai and Karachi. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 19:54:58 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1656 www.chinaview.cn 2008-11-29 01:13:43 NAIROBI, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Three crew members on a chemical tanker hijacke off the coast ofescaped by jumping overboard, a regional maritime official confirmed on Friday. Andrew Mwangura, East Africa's Coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) could not confirm the nationalities of the crew members but reports said the three were Britons. The escape followed the seizure of the Liberian-flagged Biscaglia in the Gulf of Aden on Friday. "Three crew members escaped by jumping overboard and were rescued by a warship on patrol in the region which was send there to intervene in the attack," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone. Reports say the three Britons worked for Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions, a shipping protection firm headquartered in Poole. There was no further word on their condition. The seizure of the chemical tanker was the latest in a series of increasingly brazen attacks on commercial and private shipping passing through the strategically crucial Gulf of Aden, the key conduit for Arabian oil heading to Europe and North America. The Sirius Star, a Saudi supertanker carrying 100 million U.S. dollars worth of crude oil, was hijacked earlier this month and is still being held at anchor off the eastern Somali coast close to the pirate town of Eyl. A ransom of at least 15 million dollars has been demanded. There are 18 ships currently held by Somali gunmen. The latest hijacking also comes as pirates released the Maltese-flagged Greek ship MV Centauri, which was captured in September in the Indian Ocean with 26 Filipinos. The MV Genius was hijacked on the same day as MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship that was carrying a cargo of tanks and weapons, and it is still being held by pirates. NATO-led security operations in the Gulf have been stepped up this year in effort to protect the key maritime corridor leading to the Suez Canal. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:33:59 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1655 IN THE GULF OF ADEN (AFP) — Somali pirates dodged an increased foreign naval presence in the Gulf of Aden to seize another ship on Friday as the deadline ticked down for a Saudi tanker held to ransom. They also freed a Greek freighter held since September, leaving 17 ships still in their hands despite their shrinking room for manoeuvre as foreign warships stepped up their efforts to contain a scourge threatening world trade. Five pirates on fishing boats attacked the Biscaglia, a Liberia-flagged oil and chemical tanker, and boarded the vessel with a ladder, the commander of a nearby French frigate, Nivose, told AFP. Three crew were fished out by a German navy helicopter after they jumped overboard to escape the pirates, said Jean-Marc Le Quilliec. The three rescued crewmen were later brought on board the Nivose. The French frigate was escorting a Panamanian-flagged Norwegian bulk carrier and had attracted in its wake at least 17 other ships seeking protection but the Liberian tanker had stayed its course. On Thursday, pirates also freed the Maltese-flagged Greek ship MV Centauri hijacked two months ago in the Indian Ocean, Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers Association told AFP. The Centauri, with an all-Filipino crew, was seized on September 18 some 200 miles (320 kilometres) south of Somalia's lawless capital Mogadishu. "The ship was freed yesterday along with the crew. It is on its way to Mombasa," (Kenya's main port), said Mwangura, adding that it was unclear whether any ransom was paid. Manila confirmed that all 26 Filipino mariners on the ship were free and a spokesperson for the Navigation Maritime company in Athens said they were all in good health. Last week, pirates released another Greek ship captured a week after the Centauri, leaving one Greek vessel still in captivity, but Mwangura said talks were under way to free it. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:32:34 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1654 By Barry Newhouse Kabul 28 November 2008 Afghan President Hamid Karzai has spoken with India's Prime Minister to express his sympathy for victims of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Kabul where the president said there is a new need for a regional approach in combating terrorism. Afghan President Hamid Karzai (file photo) President Hamid Kazai called India's prime minister Friday to express sympathy to the Indian people in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. In a written statement released by his office, Mr. Karzai said Afghans can understand India's pain, because they themselves have been victims of terrorism for many years. The statement did not mention if Mr. Karzai discussed India's allegations that the attackers in Mumbai may have links to Pakistan. But a presidential spokesman contacted by VOA, Sayamak Herawie, said the president believes there are ties to militant groups in the region. He said the president linked this attack to those terrorists who have an active presence in the region and who work to continuously destabilize security. In the past year, Afghan, India and U.S. officials have accused Pakistani intelligence agents of links to attacks inside Afghanistan, including July's bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul. More recently, Afghan officials said relations with Pakistan's new government have improved, following the resignation of former President Pervez Musharraf. But officials also continue to blame elements of Pakistan's military and intelligence services of supporting Taliban militant groups. When asked about the allegations of Pakistani links in the latest attacks, Sayamak Herawie said there is good reason to be suspicious. He said this is a natural response when bases of terrorism exist along Afghanistan's borders. He said it is a fact that terrorists there receive funding and arms. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:30:06 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1653 By Vipin Nair, Chitra Somayaji and Anil Varma Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Five hostages and two terrorists died after Indian commandos stormed a Jewish center in Mumbai while commandos freed more than 200 people from the Indian city’s five- star Oberoi-Trident hotel, officials said. “There were two gunmen and five hostages” lying dead in Nariman House, site of the Chabad-Lubavitch Center, Motti Bukchin, a spokesman for the Israeli emergency-response organization Zaka, said today in a telephone interview from Jerusalem. A New York-raised orthodox rabbi and his wife were killed. Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, and his wife Rivka, 28, were confirmed dead in the attacks, the movement said on its Web site. The assault on the center began when at least eight soldiers slid down ropes from a helicopter above the building and started a long gunfight with the attackers. The siege entered its final phase when a controlled explosion breached a wall at the house, Times Now said. Today, two large explosions were heard at the luxury Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, where six hostages were freed while a fire broke out at the hotel after a further explosion. One member of the National Security Guard was killed at the hotel, which is the scene of the last remaining standoff with the terrorists. Six terrorists are still in the hotel, NDTV said. The Indian government said at least 124 people were killed and 370 were injured in almost 48 hours of violence as terrorists moved through India’s financial hub, targeting the Jewish center, the Oberoi-Trident hotel complex, the Taj in the center of the city, a railroad station and a restaurant. More than 150 people were killed since the attacks began, the Associated Press said. Deccan Mujahedeen A little-known Islamist group, the Deccan Mujahedeen, claimed responsibility for the coordinated shootings and explosions across the western coastal city, Home Ministry official M.L. Kumawat said. The targeting of Westerners marks a shift in tactics for Islamic militants in India who have attacked Hindu targets in the past, as they strike the international links that have helped the country’s economy grow at 9 percent or more for each of the past three years. Elements in neighboring Pakistan are responsible for the attacks, the Press Trust of Indian cited External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee as saying. Before the assault on the Jewish center, Nine terrorists had been killed and one, a Pakistani, was arrested, said R.R. Patil, deputy chief minister of the state of Maharashtra. The attackers arrived in Mumbai by sea, Patil told reporters. Highly Motivated Terrorists “We came up against highly motivated terrorists,” Vice- Admiral J.S. Bedi, whose commandos led the assault against the militants, said in televised comments. He showed pictures of recovered hand grenades, tear gas shells and AK47 ammunition. India will “go after” individuals and organizations behind the attacks, which were “well-planned with external linkages,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a televised address, without identifying nations. U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it is too early to tell whether Britons were involved. “I would not want to be drawn into early conclusions about this,” Brown said in an interview with Sky News. “When you have terrorists operating in one country they may be getting support from another country or coming from another country.” Americans in Delegation In the slaughter in which terrorists singled out westerners, three Germans, two Australians, two Americans, two Frenchmen, a Briton, a Japanese and an Italian were among the dead, authorities said. An American man and his teenage daughter died when a cafe was attacked. They were identified as Alan and Naomi Scherr, the Synchronicity Foundation of Virginia said. The two Americans were with a delegation from the foundation, according to the spiritual group’s Web site. A Canadian was also killed, Agence France-Presse reported. Twenty-two foreign nationals were among those injured in the attacks, according to Mumbai police. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:28:07 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1652 Mohammad Hanif spoke regularly for leaders like Mullah Omar A former high-profile spokesman for the Taleban has been shot dead in eastern Afghanistan, officials have said. Mohammad Hanif was killed at his home in the province of Nangarhar along with three other people who were believed to be his relatives. Some reports said the assailants were wearing Afghan army uniforms. Dr Hanif, as he was known, was arrested in January 2007, but freed from custody this year. It was thought he no longer had any contact with the Taleban. Convoy attack District official Sayed Mohammad told Associated Press news agency the attackers had used ladders to climb into Dr Hanif's home in Chaparhar. Another official said the others killed were Dr Hanif's cousin, brother-in-law and nephew and that the attack may have been linked to a family feud. Dr Hanif began speaking for Afghanistan's former rulers in October 2005. He was held in January 2007 in the border town of Towr Kham in Nangarhar soon after entering from Pakistan. Dr Hanif had been highly active, regularly e-mailing news organisations with the Taleban's version of events in the east of the country. He was appointed after the capture in Quetta, Pakistan, of former Taleban spokesman Latifullah Hakimi in October 2005. Afghanistan's intelligence agents released a video in which Dr Hanif alleged Taleban leader Mullah Omar was living inside Pakistan - a claim denied by Islamabad. Separately more than 200 Taleban militants attacked an Afghan army convoy in the north-western province of Badghis late on Thursday, killing at least 13 Afghan soldiers and policemen. Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:04:27 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1651 November 28th, 2008 - 5:26 pm ICT by ANI - Peshawar, Nov 28 (ANI): Rifts seem to be appearing in the ranks of the Pakistan unit of the Taliban, the Tehrek-e-Taliban (TTP), as one of the rival factions that the group led by Baitullah Mehsud was misusing Islam to prolong its terror reign. It branded the TTP chiefs activities as militancy. Commander Qari Zainuddin Mehsud, who is loyal to slain Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud, said this. In pamphlets written in Urdu and distributed in Tank city on Thursday, Zainuddin Mehsud, chief of the Abdullah Mehsud group, charged Baitullah with the killings of jihadi leaders. Qari Zainuddin parted ways with Baitullah following Abdullahs killing in July 2007 in Balochistans Zhob district, and both sides killed each others men, reported the Daily Times. Sources claimed that the TTP was suffering from internal bickering that had been made public by the distribution of the pamphlets. All that Baitullah is doing in the name of Islam is not Islamic this is militancy, the pamphlets read and also urged clerics to speak out Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:44:31 -0700 http://worldanalysis.net/postnuke/html/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1650 Published Date: 28 November 2008 By Emily Pykett UNCERTAINTY is a key weapon in the armoury of Islamic fundamentalist terror. As investigators, experts and analysts grope for the truth, someone somewhere is taking satisfaction from the horrified confusion the Mumbai attacks have caused. Analysts are divided over whether the hand of al-Qaeda can be detected. The only claim of responsibility comes from a group that may not even exist: an e-mail message claiming responsibility and sent to Indian media on Wednesday night said the attackers were from a group called Deccan Mujahideen. Deccan is a neighborhood of the Indian city of Hyderabad. The word also describes the central and southern region of India, which is dominated by the Deccan Plateau. Mujahideen is the commonly used Arabic word for holy warriors. But Sajjan Gohel, a security expert in London, called it a "front name" and said the group was "nonexistent." Alex Neill, head of the Royal United Services Institute's Asia security programme, believes the attacks were probably carried out by local jihadists linked to the radical Students Islamic Movement of India (Simi), a banned Islamic fundamentalist organisation which advocates the "liberation of India" by converting it to an Islamic state. One possible mastermind and Simi member is Abdul Subhan Qureshi, a 36-year-old computer engineer suspected of being behind multiple bombings in Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad earlier this year. Qureshi, also known as Tauqeer, is from Mumbai and his expertise with internet security could have played a vital part in pulling off such an ambitious plot, said Mr Neill. "He is an IT whizz-kid so it is quite possible he is the person investigators will be concentrating on. This is a great embarrassment to the Indian security services because it has been pulled off right under their noses." Simi has declared jihad on India, the aim of which is to establish Dar-ul-Islam (land of Islam) by forcefully converting everyone to Islam. Mr Neill said Deccan Muhajideen would be a militant offshoot of Simi which has carried out attacks across India. He added: "The perpetrators have obviously been highly trained and would have been sent to al-Qaeda training camps to prepare. I would be astonished if any of them are from Britain – they were probably recruited from the Mumbai region." He reckons up to 100 terrorists would have been involved in the planning and execution of the attack and said it was surprising they had managed to keep it a secret. Other analysts say that while it is not clear whether the Deccan Mujahideen claim is genuine, the attacks may have been carried out by a group called the Indian Mujahideen – also an offshoot of Simi and blamed by police for almost every major bomb attack in India, including explosions on commuter trains in Mumbai two years ago that killed 187 people. Police said the Indian Mujahideen may also include former members of Bangladeshi militant group, Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami. In an e-mail in September, the group denounced Mumbai's police anti-terrorist squad (ATS), accusing them of harassing Muslims. "If this is the degree your arrogance has reached, and if you think that by these stunts you can scare us, then let the Indian Mujahideen warn all the people of Mumbai that whatever deadly attacks Mumbaikars will face in future, their responsibility would lie with the Mumbai ATS and their guardians," it said. Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:26:45 -0700