United Nations Impose Sanctions on Members of Al-Qaeda and Organizations

Breaking News: In a new blacklist published by UN, sanctions have been imposed on 500 members and organizations belonging to Al-Qaeda and Taliban.

A UN sanctions list targeting Taliban and Al-Qaeda individuals and entities contains about 500 names, including 142 linked to the Afghan extremist group, according to Austria’s UN mission. This list has been prepared by UN Security Council panel chaired by Austria.

The UN blacklist was established under UN Security Council resolution 1267 adopted in October 1999 for the purpose of overseeing implementation of sanctions imposed on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan for its support of Osama bin Laden’s extremist network. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that Afghanistan’s renewed efforts to reconcile with the Taliban have the backing of its allies, including the United States and Europe.

The Afghan president’s words came ahead of a conference in London expected to agree a framework for the Afghan government to begin taking charge of security in line with a 2011 timetable set by President Barack Obama to start drawing down US troops.

Female Bombers Trained In Al Qaeda, US Officials

WASHINGTON: The women, who may have a “non Arab” appearance and be travelling on Western passports, have been prepared for their missions by the Yemeni group responsible for the operation to blow up an airliner over the United States on Christmas Day.

Details of the bombers emerged just hours after British spy chiefs raised the UK threat state to “severe” amid fears that al-Qaeda was planning a wave of attacks against western targets.

Terror experts within the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, a unit of MI5, now believe that an attack against the UK is “highly likely”.

US law enforcement agents have been told to be on the lookout for female suicide bombers who may attempt to enter the country.

At least two are believed to be connected to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula which dispatched underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who tried unsuccessfully to bring down a transatlantic airliner over Detroit.

Richard Clarke, a former chief White House counter terrorism adviser, said: “They have trained women.

“There are others who are still out there who have been trained and who are clean skins – that means people who we do not have a record of, people who may not look like al-Qaeda terrorists, who may not be Arabs, and may not be men.”

Security sources said that it was “inevitable” that al-Qaeda would eventually turn to using women with a western appearance to carry out suicide attacks.

Officials said that airliners and all forms of transport could be targeted as well as sports stadiums, ports and power stations.

Al-Qaeda Says CIA Attack Revenge for Drone Killings

KABUL News updates: Al-Qaeda claimed that the suicide bombing at a US base in Afghanistan that killed eight CIA agents was a revenge for the deaths of militant leaders in US drone strikes in Pakistan; where as US media has revealed that Blackwater is working in Pakistan and Afghanistan for the assistance of CIA and 2 members of Blackwater were also killed in this attack.

A Jordanian identified as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi who was said to be a triple agent blew himself up at the base in Khost on December 30 in the deadliest attack against the CIA since 1983.

The head of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan said the bomber wrote in his will that the attack was revenge for “our righteous martyrs” and named a number of top militants killed in US drone attacks. The attack also killed two contractors with XE, the controversial private security firm once known as Blackwater, US media reported.

The two apparently were among eight CIA operative and a Jordanian intelligence officer killed in the December 30 attack, reportedly by a Jordanian double agent who blew himself up inside Forward Operating Base Chapman. Hakim Ullah Mehsud has confirmed the responsibility of this attack in his e mail message.

Bin Laden is Key to Defeating Al-Qaeda: McChrysta

WASHINGTON news about: The general in charge of the war in Afghanistan says capturing Osama bin Laden is the ultimate key to defeating the al-Qaida terror network.

General Stanley McChrystal told Congress on Tuesday that bin Laden is an “iconic figure” whose very survival eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks serves as a recruiting tool for al-Qaida. U.S. intelligence officials believe bin Laden is in hiding in Pakistan, along that country’s rugged border with Afghanistan.

McChrystal says finding bin Laden isn’t the key to winning the war in Afghanistan. But he says he does not think that the United States will defeat the terror network outright until bin Laden is found and brought to justice.

Al Qaeda Has a Control Over Parts of Pakistan: India PM

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has claimed in an interview Al Qaeda and the terrorists have a grip over several parts of Pakistan.

Talking to American news channel Manmohan said India was concerned about the rise of terrorism in Pakistan. He said terrorism would have very serious consequences for Indian security.

Replying a question the Indian prime minister said India sincerely hope the United States and the global community will stay involved in Afghanistan. A victory for the Taliban in Afghanistan would have catastrophic consequences for the world, particularly for South Asia, for Central Asia, for the Middle East.

Tap Video of Osama Bin Laden Released with Pashto Translation

Tap Video of Osama Bin Laden Released with Pashto Translation: Al Qaeda has re-released a videotape of Osama bin Laden with Pashto translation.
Same video was released earlier on July 12, 2000. Intel Center US, which monitors terrorism activities, said this video was earlier released in Urdu and Arabic. Osama in the video had urged Pakistani people to play their role for brining change in country’s foreign policy.

Leaders of Al Qaeda in Pakistan: Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON : US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that al Qaeda leaders are present in Pakistan. She urged Pakistan to take on al Qaeda more aggressively for a lasting solution to root out terrorism.

The US secretary of state said that there is a trust deficit between Pakistan and America as trust has to go both ways. She praised the ongoing operation in Waziristan but demanded to act more aggressively towards al Qaeda. Hillary Clinton said that al Qaeda is not only a big threat to America but also to Pakistan and urged Government, Army and Pakistani people to completely root them out.

SWaziristan: Pakistan Has Forces, Equipment for Assault: U.S

WASHINGTON : Pakistan has mobilised enough forces and equipment to launch a long awaited ground offensive against Taliban militants in their South Waziristan stronghold near the Afghan border, US defence officials said on Sunday.
Washington sees a concerted push by Pakistan to eliminate Taliban and al Qaeda “sanctuaries” on its territory as the key to turning around a faltering US-led war in Afghanistan. Pakistan has cited in recent months shortages of helicopters, armoured vehicles and precision weapons in putting off a Waziristan assault, but US officials said they believed the army was sufficiently equipped to act. “We would assess that they have plenty of force to do the job right now,” said one of the officials, who has been closely monitoring Pakistani preparations for the offensive. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing Pakistani military planning.

Pakistan has amassed troops around Waziristan, imposing a blockade to try to choke off Taliban supplies. Ahead of an anticipated ground assault, the army has increased artillery fire and the CIA has stepped up attacks using drone aircraft armed with missiles. Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said two divisions, or up to 28,000 soldiers, were in place, enough to take on an estimated 10,000 hard-core Taliban. While declining to discuss force levels, a US defence official described the Waziristan deployment as “significant” and said he did not expect any additional reinforcements.

“You might see some troops moving but they would probably be rotating. I think they’re going to maintain about the same strength that they have there now,” the official said. Washington believes the Pakistanis will have to “clear and hold” the rugged, mountainous territory to crush militants loyal to the late Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

AL QAEDA SANCTUARY:

Appearing on CNN, White House National Security Adviser James Jones pointed to al Qaeda “sanctuaries” in Pakistan as “the problem, the next step” in the fight against the group, but said Pakistani government and army “has done much better than anybody thought” at dealing with the threat.

US officials see the Pakistani army’s offensive against the former Taliban bastion in Swat, 80 miles (120 km) north-west of Islamabad, as a sign that the country’s political and military leaders have learned from past missteps.

“I think they’re determined to not make the mistake of withdrawing (from Swat) before the government forces are able to come in and backfill, and do the hold and build functions of counter-insurgency,” the official said.

Jones said Washington was working closely with the Pakistani army “to try to help them get rid of the insurgency problem on their side of the border. If that happens, that’s a strategic shift in the region.”

US officials acknowledge Pakistani troops need more armoured vehicles and night-vision devises to protect themselves against improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the most lethal weapon used by the Taliban against US forces in Afghanistan.

“But the lack of that equipment does not mean they cannot conduct successful military operations. It might mean that it would be a little more difficult, that the logistics would be a little trickier. But it doesn’t mean they can’t pull the trigger if they want,” one of the defence officials said.

A US military official said an assault by ground forces in Waziristan “can still be effective” despite some shortages, adding that the Pentagon was trying to free up helicopters and other equipment for Pakistan “as soon as possible”. The Pentagon has sought permission from Congress to transfer used US military hardware from Iraq to the Pakistani army but US lawmakers have so far balked at the request, citing concerns Islamabad could use the equipment against India. Washington is also securing some equipment through third governments but the effort is moving slowly, officials said.

Al Qaeda Weakened by Attacks on His Leadership

LONDON : Recent targeted attacks that killed militants in Somalia, Indonesia and Pakistan have chipped away at al Qaeda’s power base, sapping the terror network of key leaders and experienced operatives who train recruits and wage attacks.
Intelligence officials said on Friday that the military strikes have reduced al Qaeda’s core leadership to only a handful of men and diminished its ability to train fighters. This, they said, has forced al Qaeda to turn to its global affiliates for survival.

The killings of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in Somalia, Noordin Muhammed Top in Indonesia and Baitullah Mehsud in Pakistan – all in recent weeks – have been the latest blow.

A US counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the deaths deal ‘a major near-term blow to their respective militant groups.’

Since the start of the year, American forces have stepped up strikes against militants in terrorist hubs, including Pakistan and Somalia. US National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair said this week that such strikes have been possible because of a greater understanding of al Qaeda.

British intelligence agents have joined the United States in stepping up counterterrorism measures and adding agents, leading to fewer fully developed terrorist plots being uncovered in Britain.

Still, al Qaeda’s top leaders – Osama bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri – remain free, and terrorist bombings continue to roil countries from Asia to Africa as al Qaeda and the Taliban establish links with satellite groups.

This week, suicide bombers in Somalia killed 21 people, including 17 peacekeepers, in twin attacks at an African Union base in Mogadishu.

The attacks were said to be in retaliation for the US commando raid Monday in southern Somalia that killed Nabhan – the leader of the powerful militant group Al-Shabab, which was using foreign fighters to help al Qaeda expand deeper into the Horn of Africa.

Nabhan was one of the founders of al-Shabab, a group that didn’t exist a decade ago.

Nabhan – a Kenyan with Yemeni roots who had years of strategic and weapons training – was being used to build alliances. He was also key in procuring weapons and funds, and training recruits, according to Rohan Gunaratna, author of ‘Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror.’

His death, along with the killing of reputed Shabaab commander Aden Hashi Ayro in Somalia last year, highlights al Qaeda’s challenge in expanding in Africa.

Mehsud’s death in Pakistan last month represented a similar blow. Mehsud was the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan.

Strikes against militant leaders in Pakistan have been particularly important for Britain. About 75 percent of the terrorist plots against the UK have roots in Pakistan.

A plot to down at least seven trans-Atlantic airliners in 2006 was thwarted partially because counterterrorism officials intercepted coded e-mails between a British terror cell and their handlers in Pakistan, prosecutors said during a trial where three men were convicted in the plot.

Mehsud, who underwent extensive training in Afghanistan before Sept. 11, 2001, acted as a unifying force among Taliban factions.

In addition to his death, Ilyas Kashmiri – an al Qaeda operations chief in northwest Pakistan – was also believed to have been killed in North Waziristan by missiles fired by US drones.

In Indonesia, there is no clear successor for Noordin Muhammed Top, who was killed this week during a gunfight with police seeking suspects in the July bombings of two Jakarta hotels.

Top was identified by authorities as the leader of al Qaeda in Southeast Asia. He had also been implicated in every major attack in Indonesia since 2002, including two bombings on the resort island of Bali that together killed 222 people, mostly foreigners.

Osama Tape Released, Warned the U.S. People

WASHINGTON: Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned the American people over their government’s close ties with Israel in an apparently new audio tape posted on an Islamist website on Monday.
“The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby,” Bin Laden’s latest tape said.

“The reason for our dispute with you is your support for your ally Israel, occupying our land in Palestine.”

The message, entitled “A statement to the American people,” was around 11 minutes long and was posted a few days after the eighth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify its authenticity but the website often is used by supporters of al Qaeda.

In the tape, the al Qaeda leader said there had been no real change in American policy because U.S. President Barack Obama had retained people like U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates from the administration of former President George W. Bush.

“If you think about your situation well, you will know that the White House is occupied by pressure groups,” Bin Laden said.

“Rather than fighting to liberate Iraq — as Bush claimed — it (the White House) should have been liberated.”

The website had said earlier this month it would soon carry a “present” to Muslims from bin Laden on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.

The leader of the group that mounted the September 11 attacks in the United States is thought to be in hiding in the mountainous terrain along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

The attacks carried out by al Qaeda operatives in 2001 killed nearly 3,000 people.

The tape made reference to Obama’s speech in Cairo in June, suggesting the message was recorded afterwards. The speaker also appeared to refer to criticisms former U.S. President Jimmy Carter made in June of Israel’s Gaza invasion earlier this year.

Bin Laden’s last apparent message was issued just before Obama’s speech, where the president talked of a “new beginning” between the United States and the Muslim world.

In the new message, bin Laden also referred to U.S. military actions in Afghanistan to support the Afghan government against the Taliban, allies of al Qaeda, and support for Pakistan, which faces militant violence.

“If you stop the war, then fine. Otherwise we will have no choice but to continue our war of attrition on every front… If you choose safety and stopping wars, as opinion polls show you do, then we are ready to respond to this.”

“You have only changed the faces in the White House,” he said, referring to Obama who took office this year. “Obama is a weakened man. He will not be able to stop the war.”

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