November 2008

Iraqi Soldier Kills Two U.S. Soldiers, Wounds Six Others

An Iraqi Army soldier opened fire on U.S. soldiers in the northern city of  Mosul Wednesday, killing two and wounding six, U.S. military and Iraqi officials said.

American soldiers returned fire and killed the Iraqi soldier, the officials added… Two Iraqi officials said the American soldiers were at an Iraqi Army installation before the shooting occurred. As they were leaving, an American soldier got into an argument with an Iraqi soldier, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. One of the officials said that an American soldier slapped the Iraqi soldier, which prompted the Iraqi to draw his weapon and start shooting…..(Washington Post, 12 Nov 08)

Afghan leader's brother escapes suicide blast unhurt

Six people were killed and at least 40 wounded in a suicide bomb attack on government buildings in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, officials said, but a brother of the Afghan president who was in one of the offices was unhurt.  The blast occurred on a road between the main intelligence office in the southern city of Kandahar and a compound used by the provincial government council. The council is led by Ahmad Wali Karzai, a brother of President Hamid Karzai…Violence in Afghanistan has reached its worst level this year since the Taliban were ousted by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001. A resurgent Taliban have stepped up attacks against Karzai's U.S.-backed government and foreign forces…..(Reuters, 12 Nov 08)

Car bombings in Iraqi capital kill 4, wound 22

A bomb exploded in a parked car in a bustling section of downtown Baghdad early Wednesday, killing four people and wounding 15 others, police said, the third consecutive day of morning rush hour blasts in the Iraqi capital.

A half-hour later, a roadside bomb blew up in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood in northern Baghdad, officials said. Seven people, including three policemen, were injured.   Also Wednesday, unidentified gunmen in the volatile northern city of Mosul killed two sisters from a Christian family as they were waiting in front of their house for a ride to work, police said. Their mother was injured in the attack……(AP, 12 Nov 08)

Suicide bomber hits Afghan gov't office, killing 6

A suicide bomber driving an oil tanker detonated his explosives outside an Afghan government office during a provincial council meeting Wednesday, killing at least six people and wounding 42, officials said.

The attack in this former Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan ripped through the council office, flattened five nearby homes and damaged the offices of the country's intelligence service. The bomb dug a crater some 15 feet into the ground.  Six people died and 42 were wounded in the blast…..(AP, 12 Nov 08)

Gunmen Kill American Aid Worker in NW Pakistan

An American aid worker and his driver were shot dead Wednesday in a neighborhood favored by diplomats in the city of Peshawar, the latest sign of deteriorating security in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border.

Pakistani and other sources identified the U.S. victim as Steve Vance, who worked on AID-funded economic development projects in the Peshawar area. The city borders a lawless tribal region that has fallen under the influence of local and al-Qaeda linked militant groups.  Provincial governor Owais Ghani said Vance was coming out of his home in the University Town neighborhood when attackers opened fire on him and the driver. The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad confirmed the deaths, but have not officially released the names of the victims.  Most employees of the U.S. consulate in Peshawar live in a compound at the consulate itself, but some choose the University Town neighborhood……(Washington Post, 12 Nov 08)

Pakistan militants seize Humvees

Militants in Pakistan have looted 12 trucks carrying supplies for Western forces in Afghanistan, officials say.  The trucks were carrying two Humvee armored vehicles and food supplies. They were hijacked on Monday as they traveled through the Khyber Pass. Later, the trucks were found abandoned in a valley. There is no word yet on the 26 people who were taken captive.  The road is a major supply route for US and Western forces battling against the Taleban in neighboring Afghanistan. Hauliers say that over 350 trucks daily carry an average of 7,000 tons of goods over the Khyber Pass to Kabul……(BBC, 11 Nov 08)

Somali Islamic insurgents take 2 strategic towns

An Islamic militia that the U.S. considers a terrorist organization took over two strategic towns in Somalia on Tuesday, the latest territory grab by a strengthening insurgency, officials said.

The militia, al-Shabab, seized El Dheer in central Somalia and Qoryoley in the south as part of a burgeoning campaign to take territory nominally held by the weak U.N.-backed government and its Ethiopian allies. The new seizures give the group a strategic base in central Somalia, where it controls Kismayo, the third-largest city.

Al-Shabab, which means "the youth," is the military wing of Union of Islamic Courts, an Islamic party that ruled much of the country in the second half of 2006 and aims to impose Islamic sharia law in Somalia. It launches daily attacks on Somali government forces and their Ethiopian allies.  The U.S. says many of its leaders are linked to al-Qaida……(AP, 11 Nov 08)

Pirates seize chemical tanker, 23 crew off Somalia

Pirates hijacked a Philippines chemical tanker with 23 crew near Somalia, bringing the total number of attacks in waters off the impoverished African nation this year to 83, a maritime official said Tuesday.  The tanker was heading to Asia when it was seized Monday in the Gulf of Aden by pirates armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.  In Manila, Foreign Ministry spokesman Claro Cristobal said the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi and the ship's operator identified the chemical tanker as the MT Stolt Strength.  All 23 seamen on board are Filipino and are "reportedly unharmed,"… As of Monday, there have been 83 attacks this year in Somali waters, with 33 ships hijacked. Twelve vessels remain in the hands of pirates along with more than 200 crew, Choong said, most notably a Ukrainian freighter loaded with tanks and weapons seized Sept. 25…..(AP, 11 Nov 08)

Suicide attack outside Pakistani stadium wounds seven

Police say a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a sports stadium in Pakistan's militant-plagued northwest, wounding seven people.  The blast occurred at the main gate of the Peshawar Sports Complex, which was hosting the Inter-Provincial Games, a sporting event that draws athletes from around the country.  Footage on Pakistan's Express News channel showed damaged vehicles, shattered glass and a string of lights sprawled on the ground.  Senior police official Mohammad Suleman said the attack occurred shortly after the concluding ceremony of the games……(AP, 11 Nov 08)

Afghanistan: American journalist kidnapped by Taliban

In what could prove to be the first step toward creating a joint RQ-4 Unmanned Aircraft System training unit here, pilots of the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron are teaching a class of Navy pilots the Global Hawk system.
The class, consisting of three active-duty P-3 Orion pilots and one civilian contractor, came about as a response to the secretary of defense’s call to maximize the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability in support of the war on terrorism.  Navy officials are looking to the Air Force to assist in expediting their pending RQ-4 Global Hawk deployment, one reason the normally five-month course is being condensed to four……(AKI, 11 Nov 08)

Nigeria militants threaten new "oil war" if attacked

Nigeria's most prominent militant group threatened on Monday to renew attacks on the oil sector if soldiers stormed its hideouts, but a military spokesman denied such plans.  The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it believed the military was planning to launch an assault on two of its camps in Delta and Bayelsa states in southern Nigeria.  "This will be a big mistake as it will lead to another oil war where we are sure of a landslide victory," it said in an e-mailed statement…..(Reuters, 10 Nov 08)

Militants attack U.S. supplies in northwest Pakistan

Militants in northwest Pakistan hijacked 13 trucks carrying supplies for Western forces in Afghanistan on Monday as they passed through the Khyber Pass, a government official said.  Most supplies, including fuel, for U.S. and other Western forces battling a Taliban insurgency in landlocked Afghanistan are trucked through neighboring Pakistan, which is also facing growing militant violence.  Security along the road leading to the border has deteriorated this year and soldiers carried out a sweep in part of the Khyber region in June to push militants back from the outskirts of Peshawar, the main city in the northwest.  The trucks were seized at four places along a 35 km (20 mile) stretch of the road, said a senior government administrator in the Khyber region…..(Reuters, 10 Nov 08)

Somali gunmen kidnap Western nuns on Kenya border

Somali gunmen kidnapped two Western nuns on Monday and seized several vehicles on the remote Kenyan border, a senior local government official said.  Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for aid workers, who are often abducted or killed in attacks usually blamed on Islamist insurgents or feuding clan militia.  "Well-armed men kidnapped two white nuns,"…..(Reuters, 10 Nov 08)

Triple Baghdad blasts kill dozens

At least 28 people have been killed by three bombs that exploded just moments apart in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.  The first two blasts were car bombs and then a suicide bomber detonated his charges in the crowd that had gathered to help, police say.  Another 68 people were injured in the blasts, which took place during morning rush hour in the Shia area of Kasra.  North of Baghdad, in Baquba, a female suicide car bomber attacked a US-allied militia checkpoint, killing six people.  The triple-bomb attack in Baghdad is one of the deadliest in Iraq in several months.  It is unclear how many people were killed and wounded in each of the explosions….(BBC, 10 Nov 08)

Suicide Blast in Emergency Room Near Fallujah Kills 3

A female suicide bomber detonated explosives in the emergency room of a hospital near Fallujah on Sunday in one of several violent incidents in Iraq that left at least 10 people dead over the weekend, Iraqi officials said.

The woman apparently targeted armed guards who were being treated for wounds suffered Sunday during another bombing, said Capt. Mohammed al-Dulaimy, a spokesman for the Fallujah police department. Two physicians, Harith al-Ani and his wife, Salwa al-Dulaimy, were among three people killed in the attack at Amriyah Hospital, south of Fallujah, Capt. Dulaimy said.  A day earlier, a suicide bomber killed five people and wounded nine at a checkpoint near Ramadi manned by police officers and female guards hired to search women…..(Washington Post, 10 Nov 08)

Militants in Pakistan kill 2 alleged US spies

Militants killed two people they claimed were spies for the United States and dumped their bodies with a warning in a Pakistani border region at the center of a campaign of suspected American missile strikes, an official said Saturday.  Fighting reported elsewhere in Pakistan's volatile northwest left 29 militants and three Pakistani soldiers dead.  Police found the bullet-ridden bodies of the two men on Saturday in the North Waziristan tribal region after a tip from residents, police official Gul Marjan said. "See the fate of this man. He was an American spy," was written on notes pinned to each of the bodies found in the village of Ghulam Khan…..(AP, 8 Nov 08)

Pirates seize Danish ship, 13 crew near Somalia

Pirates have hijacked a Danish cargo ship with 13 crew members near Somalia, a maritime official said Saturday.

The vessel was traveling from the Middle East to Asia in the Gulf of Aden when it was seized Friday, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.  Kjeld Fredriksen, duty commander at the Danish Admiral Fleet, said the ship was operated by CEC Clipper in Denmark, which has an ownership interest in the vessel. Choong said the ship flies a Bahamas flag.  Fredriksen said there were no Danes among the crew, which consisted of "Russians and Ukrainians as far as I know." He had no information on whether there were any casualties.  Choong said pirates are still attacking despite increased patrols and ships in the region being told to take extra precautions…..(AP, 8 Nov 08)

Gaza militants fire more rockets

Palestinian militants in Gaza have fired missiles into Israel for the third day running.

The Israeli army said three missiles had been fired. No injuries or damage have been reported. Islamic Jihad said it was behind the attack.  Despite the recent clashes, including Israeli army raids in which seven militants were killed, both sides say they are committed to a truce.  This has largely held since June, greatly reducing the level of violence…..(BBC, 7 Nov 08)

Suicide bombings, airstrikes leave over 35 dead

More than 35 people were killed Thursday in two suicide attacks by suspected Taliban militants, and airstrikes of army helicopter gunships in north-west Pakistan, officials said.A suicide bomber, in his early 30s blew himself up when around 200 people from the Salarzai tribe were holding a meeting in Batmale village, some 50 kilometres from Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district, to plan action against Taliban militants.  "According to the information we have received from the locals, 18 to 19 people have died in the blast and more than 40 are injured," said Akhonzada Chitan, a member of parliament from Bajaur. Chitan said among the dead was tribal elder Fazal Karim, who headed the Salarzai Lashkar, a traditional private army, which was raised against the Islamist militants two months ago and has since fought several battles against them…..(AFP, 6 Nov 08)

Bomb hits Pakistan tribal elders

A bomb has killed at least nine people and wounded nearly 40 at a gathering of tribal elders in the Pakistani tribal area of Bajaur, hospital staff say.  The bomb went off when the tribal elders were gathering to draw up a plan to drive militants out of their area as part of a government anti-Taleban plan.  Bajaur is a crucial hub for insurgents, with access routes to Afghanistan and the rest of Pakistan…Officials say that the bomb - detonated by remote control - targeted members of the Salarzai tribe as they were discussing ways to evict the Taleban from their area. They say that a senior tribal elder, Sazlal Karim, was among the dead……(BBC, 6 Nov 08)

Turkey-Iraq Oil Pipeline Disrupted by Explosion, Reuters Says

An explosion late yesterday stopped supplies through an oil pipeline connecting southern Turkey with Iraq, Reuters reported, citing state-run Anatolian news agency.  Botas, the state-run pipeline company, turned off valves on the pipeline after a loss of pressure following the blast in the province of Sanliurfa in southeastern Turkey, the report said. Botas officials were at the site of the explosion, which left a 4 meter (13 foot) crater, Reuters said. The cause isn't known.  The pipeline connects the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk with the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in Turkey…..(Bloomberg, 6 Nov 08)

Taliban release kidnapped Pakistani schoolboys

Pakistani Taliban militants have released unharmed a group of schoolboys they abducted on suspicion of spying for the security forces, police said on Thursday.  Police in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, had earlier said about a dozen children, aged 8 to 11, had been kidnapped from outside their school on Tuesday and authorities were negotiating with militants for their release.  But Swat police chief Dilawar Bangash told Reuters on Thursday seven schoolboys aged between 15 and 19, had been kidnapped and all had been released……(Reuters, 6 Nov 08)

Blast Kills 11 In Russia's North Ossetia Region

An explosion killed 11 people in the southern Russian region of North Ossetia on Thursday, law enforcement officials said.  The blast occurred as passengers were getting out of a minibus near the main market in the center of the region's biggest city, Vladikavkaz, the Prosecutor-General's main investigative unit said in a statement.

"Today in the center of Vladikavkaz an explosion occurred as a result of which 11 people were killed," the investigative unit said. It said a criminal case had been opened under murder and terrorism clauses.

Russian news agencies quoted law enforcement agencies as saying the cause of the blast was a bomb…..(Reuters, 6 Nov 08)

Anti-al-Qaeda members killed in Baghdad blasts

Four persons, including some members of a Sunni militia group opposed to al-Qaeda in Iraq, were killed and 13 others wounded in twin bomb attacks at a checkpoint in a Sunni area of Baghdad Thursday.  Iraq's capital city witnessed a string of bomb explosions in the rush hour of Thursday morning.  After a lull in violence in recent months, Iraq is experiencing a marked increase in violence this week. More than 30 persons were killed and scores of others wounded in daily bombings in Baghdad…..(RTT, 6 Nov 08)

Four bomb attacks strike Baghdad

A civilian was killed and four others were wounded in a bomb explosion in central Baghdad, the fourth of its kind on Thursday, a police source said.  “An explosive charge was detonated near Imam Abdul Qader al-Kilani shrine in central Baghdad, killing a civilian and injuring four,” the source told the news agency, Voices of Iraq……(AKI, 6 Nov 08)

9 U.S. Troops Died in Afghan Insurgent Raid

A deadly attack on a U.S. outpost in eastern Afghanistan in July was executed with the support of some local police and government leaders, as well as villagers, according to an internal U.S. military report.  The report, released yesterday, recommended that the district's Afghan police chief and governor be replaced, if not arrested and tried for committing crimes against the government. And it said that the incident underscores repeated problems in the volatile mountain region with the local population offering "passive and active support" to the enemy, which also has infiltrated the country's security forces.  Nine U.S. troops were killed in the attack, which was launched just before midnight July 12 by about 200 insurgents. Another 27 U.S. troops were wounded. Between 21 and 52 enemy fighters were killed and another 45 wounded, the report said.  The report was completed Aug. 13, but an unclassified version was not released until this week. It confirmed many of the details previously released to the public about the incident, including suspicions that villagers were complicit in the attack……(AP, 5 Nov 08)

French aid group: 6 workers kidnapped in Somalia

Six employees of the French aid group Action Against Hunger were kidnapped Wednesday in Somalia, the group said.  The Paris-based organization said four non-Somali workers and two chauffeurs were kidnapped Wednesday morning in the town of Dhusamareb, about 360 miles (580 km) north of the capital, Mogadishu.  The group did not specify the nationalities of any of those taken or provide any other details about the circumstances of the kidnapping.  Action Against Hunger has 14 foreign staffers and 219 local employees working for its mission in Somalia, according to its Web site. They mostly conduct projects aimed at promoting health and nutrition and access to clean water. The group has been present in the troubled east African nation since 1992, the Web site said.  Foreigners, journalists and humanitarian workers are frequently abducted for ransoms in Somalia. The country has not had an effective central government since 1991, leaving it in the grip of violence and anarchy…….(AP, 5 Nov 08)

Four more killed in Thailand's bomb-hit south: police

Suspected separatist militants killed four civilians in Thailand's troubled Yala province, hours after twin bomb blasts left killed one and wounded 70, police said Wednesday.  Police said gunmen broke into two homes late on Tuesday, killing a 16-year-old boy and a 42-year-old man in separate attacks around 8:00 pm (1300 GMT).  Later, the charred remains of an unidentified man were found in a burnt-out pick-up truck on a roadside.  A school janitor was also shot dead Wednesday morning in a drive-by shooting as he rode his motorcycle to work at 7:00 am in Yala's provincial town.  In nearby Narathiwat province, an elementary school was reported to have been burnt down in an arson attack overnight…..(AFP, 5 Nov 08)

Explosion kills three militants in northwest Pakistan

Three Taliban militants were killed on Wednesday when a roadside bomb they were planting exploded in a restive valley in northwestern Pakistan, police said.   The Swat valley, which was previously known as the "Switzerland" of Pakistan, has been rocked by a violent campaign to introduce Islamic law, an official said.   "An improvised explosive device went off as three Taliban militants tried to plant it alongside a road in Chamkanai area. The three militants were killed on the spot,"…..(AFP, 5 Nov 08)

British soldier killed in southern Afghanistan

A British soldier has been killed by enemy fire in southern Afghanistan, Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday.  The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, died from wounds sustained during an operation south of Musa Qala in the southern province of Helmand.  He is the 122nd British soldier killed in Afghanistan since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban government.  In recent months violence in Afghanistan has surged to its highest level since the Taliban were overthrown….(Reuters, 5 Nov 08)

Taliban group says it abducted 12 children in Pakistan

A Taliban group has claimed responsibility for kidnapping a dozen children from a high school in northwestern Pakistan, a Pakistani military source said Wednesday.  Armed militants stormed into the school on Tuesday and abducted 15 children, three of whom managed to escape, the source said.  Twelve children were missing after the kidnapping at the Nazarabad Government high school in Arkot Tehsil Matta, a village in the Swat region of the North West Frontier Province, the source said.  The militants rounded up the children, took them outside, put them in several cars and drove off……(CNN, 5 Nov 08)

Bombs Kill 15 as Violence Rises in Baghdad

Fifteen people were killed and dozens wounded by bombings in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to the police and hospital officials, part of an uptick in violence after a relatively quiet few weeks here. In Mashtal, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, an improvised explosive device hidden in a fishmonger’s stall killed seven and wounded 18 when it exploded early Tuesday afternoon.  A police colonel, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters, said the explosion had been caused by a “sticky I.E.D.,” a small bomb with an adhesive backing that can be unobtrusively attached to the underside of a car, or even a table……(New York Times, 5 Nov 08)

15 dead in Baghdad blasts, violence rising

Bombs exploded at a bus station and a small market in Baghdad, killing 15 people Tuesday in an increase in bloodshed in the Iraqi capital after a week of relative calm, police and hospital officials said.  U.S. officials say attacks in Baghdad average about four a day — down nearly 90 percent from levels of late 2006, when Shiite-Sunni fighting was at its high point and just before the U.S. troop surge that helped bring down violence in the capital.  Tuesday's blasts came a day after a series of bombings killed 10 people and wounded 40 more, underscoring the threat still posed by extremists.  Other attacks also took place in Mosul, where violence has spiked in recent months…..(AP, 4 Nov 08)

Baghdad rocked by fresh bombings

Police in Iraq say that at least 11 people have been killed in two separate explosions in the capital Baghdad.

Seven people died and a number of others were wounded in one blast, which occurred in a car park in east Baghdad.  The bomb was hidden under a car at a bus station. Police say four people were killed in a second attack, a roadside bomb in northern Baghdad……(BBC, 4 Nov 08)

62 hurt as bombers target Thai shopping area

Three bombs ripped through a tea stall and shopping area Tuesday in insurgency-wracked southern Thailand, wounding at least 62 people, police said.  It was the largest attack in months in Thailand's restive south, which has been gripped by a Muslim insurgency since 2004.  Two bombs exploded in the parking lot of a fruit market in Narathiwat province at about noon local time, followed minutes later by a third bomb outside a tea shop in the same province….(AP, 4 Nov 08)

Police: Bombings kill 9, wound at least 33 in Iraq

A string of bombings killed nine people and wounded at least 33 others on Monday, including a senior Oil Ministry official, authorities said.  Six people died when two bombs _ one of them hidden in a trash can _ exploded in Tahariyat square in central Baghdad during the morning rush hour. Police said 21 people were wounded, including 10 policemen and two women.  The explosions caused extensive damage to shops lining the square in the predominantly Shiite eastern side of Baghdad…..(AP, 3 Nov 08)

Gunmen kidnap French aid worker in Kabul

Gunmen today kidnapped a French aid worker from a street in Kabul in the latest of a series of attacks against westerners in the Afghan capital. A driver for the Afghan national intelligence agency who tried to intervene was shot dead, police said. Three assailants in a red Toyota saloon had tried to kidnap two French citizens in the west of the city, but one got away during a scuffle.  A local resident, identified by the interior ministry as the driver for the intelligence chief of Panjshir province, was killed when he stopped and tried to prevent the abduction…..(Guardian, 3 Nov 08)

Brother of Afghan minister kidnapped in Pakistan

Gunmen in Pakistan kidnapped the brother of Afghanistan's finance minister as he was returning to his mother's home from prayers, Afghan officials said Sunday.  He was at least the third person with ties to the Afghan government to be abducted in Pakistan's lawless border region, used by al-Qaida and Taliban militants as a base to attacks U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.  Zia ul-Haq Ahadi was visiting his sick mother in the Pakistani city of Peshawar and was abducted on Friday as he returned to her home from a neighborhood mosque, said Abdul Razaq, an assistant to the finance minister. The kidnapped man's brother is Finance Minister Anwar ul-Haq Ahadim…..(AP, 2 Nov 08)

Anti-Qaeda tribal chief and family killed in Iraq

An Iraqi Sunni tribal chief who led a US-financed militia battling Al-Qaeda militants was killed by a roadside bomb on Sunday along with his wife and their four children, police said.  The blast that killed Sheikh Abbas al-Tami and his family near Buhriz, in the southern part of the city of Baquba, the capital of the volatile province of Diyala, was the latest in a series of deadly attacks across Iraq.  Al-Tami was the head of the Majmaa tribe and led a Sahwa, or Awakening group, that is paid by American forces to battle Al-Qaeda jihadists.  He was driving the family car when the attack took place, police said.  Sahwa members are mostly former insurgents who fought US and Iraqi forces after dictator Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003, but later helped to curb violence after they sided with the Americans and government in late 2006…..(AFP, 2 Nov 08)

October 2008

Insurgents blow up Baghdad water pipeline: US

Insurgents have blown up a water pipeline in Baghdad's Sunni bastion of Adhamiyah, disrupting supply of potable water to hundreds of thousands of residents, the US military said Friday. The attack on the pipeline took place late Thursday, it said in a statement.

‘The powerful explosion created an 18-inch (45-centimetre) hole in the pipe’ which supplies water to residents of Adhamiyah, Rusafa and Karrada districts of Baghdad, the statement said.

The bomb comprised 20 pounds (nine kilograms) of homemade explosives.  An Iraqi security official said insurgents had arrived by car at the pipeline at around 11 pm (2000 GMT) Thursday.  ‘They parked the car near the pipeline, saying it had a mechanical failure and they were repairing it. It seems they planted the bomb around this time. Soon they left and later an explosion rocked the pipeline,’….(AFP, 31 Oct 08)

Five policemen, four civilians killed in Pakistan bombing

A suicide bomber blew himself up on Friday outside the office of a senior police officer, killing five policemen and four civilians in Pakistan's restive North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials said.  Deputy Inspector General of Police Akhtar Ali Shah said the attack against a vehicle of his security escort took place when he was about to leave his office in Mardan, some 50 kilometres north-east of provincial capital Peshawar.  ‘From evidence collected from the site it appears to be a suicide attack,’ he told English-language Dawn news channel. ‘The skull and limb of the suspected suicide bomber have been found.’….(DPA, 31 Oct 08)

Oil crew kidnapped off Cameroon

Armed gunmen in speedboats have kidnapped and threatened to kill 10 crew members from an oil vessel off the West African state of Cameroon.  The vessel's owners said those taken hostage were seven French nationals, two Cameroonians and a Tunisian.  The attack reportedly took place near the Bakassi peninsula, which Nigeria recently handed over to Cameroon.  A group called the Bakassi Freedom Fighters has claimed to have carried out the attack.  The group said it would kill the hostages within three days if Cameroon's government did not meet its demands……(BBC, 31 Oct 08)

61 Killed, 350 Hurt In Bombings Across India's Assam State

Eleven bomb blasts ripped through India's northeastern state of Assam on Thursday, killing at least 61 people and leaving more than 350 injured. The serial blasts took place before noon, within a span of 50 minutes.  State officials described the explosions as the worst in the violent and troubled history of Assam, where separatist insurgent groups have been active since the early 1980s. Recent bomb attacks have been blamed on Islamist fighters from neighboring Bangladesh…No group immediately asserted responsibility for the blasts, but officials indicated they could be the work of a local group called the United Front of Assam, known as ULFA, which has been fighting the Indian state for an independent homeland. Other officials said the explosions may have been a joint operation by several groups active in the area, including armed Islamist groups based in Bangladesh…….(Washington Post, 31 Oct 08)

Turkish ship hijacked off Somalia; 6 others escape

Pirates hijacked a Turkish ship with 20 crew off the coast of Somalia but at least six other ships have fended off pirate attacks in the last two days, officials said Thursday.  The M/V Yasa Neslihan freighter was boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the International Maritime Bureau in Malaysia said.  Noel Choong, a Maritime official, said an Italian-operated cargo ship with 26 crew managed to escape a pirate attack in the same area Tuesday with unspecified aggressive maneuvers……(AP, 30 Oct 08)

13 blasts tear through northeast India, killing 61

A series of coordinated blasts tore through northeast India on Thursday, killing at least 61 people and sending police scrambling to find any unexploded bombs in a province troubled by years of separatist violence and ethnic tensions.  At least 300 people were injured in the 13 blasts, most caused by bombs and at least one from a hand grenade, said Subhash Das, a senior official in Assam state's Home Ministry. Das said at least 31 people lost their lives in five explosions in the state capital, Gauhati.  The largest bomb exploded near the secretariat — the office of the Assam state's top government official — leaving bodies and mangled cars and motorcycles strewn across the road. Bystanders dragged the wounded and dead to cars that took them to hospitals. Police officers covered the burned remains of the dead with white sheets, leaving them in the street…..(AP, 30 Oct 08)

Five Dead In Afghan Ministry Bomb

At least five people have been killed by a suicide bomb aimed at "foreign experts" inside a meeting of an Afghan ministry.  The Taliban is reported to have claimed the attack which was said to be carried out by three men, two of whom escaped.  The bomb blew a hole in a wall of the meeting room but reports are unclear if the minister was in the building at the time.  Deputy Kabul police chief Alishah Ahmadzai said: "There was an explosion inside the press conference room of the ministry of information and culture……(Sky, 30 Oct 08)

Car bomb targets Spain University

A car bomb has exploded in a university car park in Pamplona, northern Spain.  Several people were slightly injured by the blast at 1110 (1010 GMT) and some cars were set ablaze, the Spanish news website El Pais reports.   The University of Navarra is near the Basque Country, where Eta separatists are continuing a violent campaign for independence from Spain.  The blast prompted an evacuation of the university, which has been targeted by Eta before, El Pais reports…..(BBC, 30 Oct 08)

Scores Killed in Blasts in Northeast India

Eleven deadly bomb blasts ripped through India's northeastern state of Assam Thursday, killing about 50 people and leaving more than 300 injured. The serial blasts took place before noon, within a span of 50 minutes.

State officials described the explosions as the worst ever in the violent and troubled history of Assam, where separatist insurgency groups have been active since the early 1980s and recent bomb attacks have been blamed on Islamist militants from neighboring Bangladesh…..(Washington Post, 30 Oct 08)

5 Suicide Bomb Attacks Hit Somalia

Five suicide car bombers attacked government and United Nations sites in northern Somalia on Wednesday, killing at least 21 people. The attacks shattered the rare sense of calm that had existed in a few corners of the country.  The suicide bombers struck within half an hour in Hargeisa, the capital of breakaway Somaliland, and Bosasso, in Puntland, said Faisal Hayle, a security official in Mogadishu for the transitional government of Somalia.

Several buildings were leveled by the attacks, which Somali officials quickly labeled the work of Islamist terrorists…..(New York Times, 30 Oct 08)

Explosion in Bangkok wounds 10 at protest site

A blast wounded 10 people in Thailand's capital Thursday when assailants hurled an explosive device at anti-government protesters who have camped out for the past two months to block access to the prime minister's office.  The pre-dawn attack occurred a few hours before protesters rallied in central Bangkok outside the British Embassy to demand the extradition of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is now a fugitive and living in London.  About 1,000 protesters sealed off the embassy's street, chanting "Send Thaksin back!" The former prime minister was convicted in absentia earlier this month of violating a conflict of interest law and sentenced to two years in prison.  Protesters then marched through a main Bangkok shopping district, disrupting traffic as they distributed anti-government leaflets to cars and pedestrians…..(AP, 30 Oct 08)

Diplomat: 4th Chinese worker killed in Sudan

China's ambassador to Sudan says a fourth kidnapped Chinese oil worker has been killed in southwestern Sudan.  Li Chengwen says the man's body was found and identified on Wednesday. He says he was apparently killed along with three other kidnapped workers on Monday but provided no other details.  Nine Chinese oil workers were kidnapped in Sudan on Oct. 18.  Three of the nine were found injured earlier this week. The fate of the other two is unknown.  Chinese officials blame a botched rescue effort for the deaths. Sudan says the kidnappers panicked when a helicopter hovered overhead…..(AP, 29 Oct 08)

19 dead in northern Somalia suicide bombings

…Ismail Adani says officials are still counting the bodies after Wednesday's attacks, so the death toll could rise.  A wave of suicide attacks hit targets in Somaliland's capital, Hargeisa, including a U.N. compound, the Ethiopian consulate and the presidential palace.  Also Wednesday, suicide bombers attacked two intelligence facilities in the northern Somali region of Puntland.  Muse Gelle Yusuf, governor of Somalia's northern port city of Bossaso, says a security official and he two suicide bombers and died in those attacks…..(AP, 29 Oct 08)

Rebels 'seize' Congo border town

Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo say they have taken the town of Rutshuru near the Ugandan border.  Fierce fighting is continuing for a third day around Kibumba, to the south…The 17,000-strong UN force in DR Congo has been accused of not doing enough to halt the rebel advance and its head has appealed for more troops.  The rebels led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda say they want to take the regional capital, Goma, 30km south of Kibumba, where thousands of civilians have fled.  Our reporter says after the seizure of Rutshuru, Gen Nkunda's men now control a long stretch of the road to Goma…..(BBC, 29 Oct 08)

Sri Lankan rebel planes bomb Colombo

The civil war in Sri Lanka took a deadly turn today as rebel planes dropped bombs on the country's southern capital and the army pushed ahead with its jungle offensive in the north of the island.  The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which has been fighting for a separate state in Sri Lanka fro 25 years, used light aircraft to attack a military camp in northern Mannar district of Colombo and a civilian power station just outside the city late yesterday. The bombing raids left one person dead.  The military confirmed that three bombs had been dropped by "LTTE aircraft over a military camp" while "two bombs" hit the state-run power station, damaging some turbines. The authorities blacked out the capital during the raid and the night sky lit up with anti-aircraft fire. The attack marked the first time rebel planes had bombed the capital in more than a year…….(Guardian, 29 Oct 08)

Japanese kidnap victim in Somalia pleads to go home

A Japanese doctor -- kidnapped last month by an armed Somali group while working in Ethiopia -- pleaded on Wednesday to be allowed to go home after losing sleep and weight.  "I have been having a hard time in the month since I came to Somalia," 32-year-old Keiko Akabane said in a telephone interview with Japan's TV Asahi.

"I am totally uncertain about whether I can go back," she told the network's correspondent in Cairo. "I am thinking about many things every day and spending sleepless days."  Asked what she wanted the most, she replied: "To be honest, I want to go back to Japan."  Akabane and a Dutch male nurse, working for French medical charity Medecins du Monde, were kidnapped on September 22 as they visited a drought-stricken village in Ethiopia….(AFP, 29 Oct 08)

At least nine killed in Iraq attacks

At least nine people were killed in attacks in Iraq on Wednesday, including four policemen and a leader of a group fighting Al-Qaeda, security officials said.  Gunmen shot dead two police intelligence officers in the central Shiite city of Hilla as they visited friends, police Lieutenant Kadhim al-Khafazi said. Two other officers were wounded.

In a separate attack, Khafazi said gunmen shot dead a policeman in front of his house in Hilla, the capital of the Shiite province of Babil, which was handed over by US forces to Iraqi troops a week ago.  In Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, three people were killed when armed men attacked the house of a leader of a group fighting Al-Qaeda….(AFP, 29 Oct 08)

Heavy fighting on northern fronts in Sri Lanka

Government forces and Tamil Tiger separatists fought pitched battles in the rain and mud in a ring of villages outside the rebel administrative capital in northern Sri Lanka, the military said Tuesday.  "Heavy clashes" broke out throughout the day Monday in the village of Pallawarayankatu near rebel headquarters in Kilinochchi, the military said in a statement. Separate fighting erupted in the villages of Akkrayankulam and Kokkavil……(AP, 28 Oct 08)

At least nine killed in Iraq attacks

Insurgents killed at least nine people in Iraq on Tuesday, including four policemen in the northern city of Mosul, security officials said.  Gunmen fired on a group of eight policemen as they were on their way to work in Mosul, said a local police officer who declined to give his name.  Four of them were killed and the others were wounded, he said, adding the attack took place in the city's western Al-Amil neighborhood.  Iraqi and US commanders say Mosul, where security forces are carrying out a series of military assaults targeting the jihadists, is the last urban bastion of Al-Qaeda.  In Baghdad, five people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb attack in the capital's Al-Jihad neighborhood…..(AFP, 28 Oct 08)

China condemns Sudan oil killings

China has condemned the killing of five of its citizens in Sudan, calling it as a terrorist act, but said it would continue to invest in the country.   Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu urged the Sudanese government to do all it could to protect Chinese residents and property.  The five were among nine Chinese oil workers seized in Kordofan, near the region of Darfur, more than a week ago.  Two others are thought to have escaped, and two are still being held captive.  China is a key purchaser of Sudanese oil and has been investing heavily in the country……(BBC, 28 Oct 08)

'Taliban' kidnap 14 road workers in Afghanistan: ministry

Taliban militants abducted 17 Afghans working for a private road construction company in eastern Afghanistan at the weekend and are still holding 14, the interior ministry said Monday.  The rebels attacked the local office of the Afghan company in the northeastern province of Kunar early Sunday and rounded up the workers, the ministry said in a statement.  "Three of the abducted were freed hours later but there is no news on the fate of the 14 others," it said.  The ministry blamed the abduction on a local Taliban commander named Mullah Nasrullah but no one has claimed responsibility…..(AFP, 27 Oct 08)

Briton and his colleague killed by their Afghan security guard

A British man and his South African colleague became the latest victims of deteriorating security in Kabul when they were shot dead outside their office by a security guard who then killed himself.  The shootings occurred on the eve of the funeral of Gayle Williams, the British charity worker killed last week, who was buried yesterday in the Afghan capital’s British cemetery.  The British Embassy named the dead Briton as David Giles, 42, the country director of the international courier DHL in Afghanistan. He died with Jason Bresler, the freight company’s South African deputy director, when an Afghan security guard at the DHL offices sprayed their car with automatic fire as they arrived for work on Saturday. The guard placed the gun under his chin and shot himself……(Times Online, 27 Oct 08)

Gunmen Kill Brother Of Pakistani Taliban Leader - Police

Gunmen shot dead the brother of Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in a northwestern town on Sunday, police said.  Yahya bin Haroon was abducted by armed men from his home town in Bannu district early this morning and his bullet ridden body was later found dumped in a roadside drain, senor police officer Mohammad Alam Shinwari told AFP.  He received five bullets to his head and back, the officer said.  Police later identified the slain man as the brother of Mehsud, who leads the country's umbrella Taliban organization, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Shinwari said.  The reason for the murder wasn't immediately clear…..(AFP, 27 Oct 08)

Somali insurgents reject UN-backed ceasefire deal

Somalia's radical insurgents on Monday vowed to fight on despite Addis Ababa's pledge to respect a UN-sponsored deal reached a day earlier that allows for a pullback of Ethiopian troops.  The Somali government and an Islamist opposition umbrella group on Sunday agreed to implement a dormant June ceasefire, paving the way for pro-government Ethiopian troops to pull back from the country.  "We have already rejected the (peace) conference and its agreements. We are now saying again that we will not accept them," said Mukhtar Robow, a spokesman for Shebab militants.  "We will continue fighting against the enemies of Allah,"….(AFP, 27 Oct 08)

Car bomb kills 2 outside Pakistan family park

A car bomb explosion in southwest Pakistan killed two people and wounded as many as 11 others outside a park popular with families Monday, police said.  The car, packed with 8 to 10 kilograms (17 to 22 pounds) of explosives, was parked outside the gate of Quetta's Liaqat Park, said Police Superintendent Qazi Abdul Wahid.

The impact destroyed several vehicles.  Quetta is the capital of resource-rich Balochistan province near the Afghan border where militants have been fighting a low-level battle for autonomy. The Afghan government believes key Taliban leaders may be hiding among them.  Pakistan has said the militants in Balochistan do not have links to Islamic hard-liners who have launched assaults in other parts of the country….(CNN, 27 Oct 08)

US suffers losses in Afghanistan

A US helicopter has been shot down in central Afghanistan while two US soldiers have reportedly been killed in a suicide attack in the north.   The 10-member crew of the helicopter escaped unhurt after it came under small arms fire in Wardak province, a US military spokesman said.  The Taleban have grown increasingly daring in Wardak in recent months.  The US troops died in Baghlan province when a man dressed as a policeman blew himself up, officials say.  It is not clear if he was a Taleban fighter disguised as a policeman or he was a genuine policeman.  Afghan officials in Baghlan say the two US soldiers were killed when they were taking part in a meeting in a police station in Pul-e-Khumri, the main town in the province……(BBC, 27 Oct 08)

Attackers gouge out Afghan man's eyes

Armed assailants attacked a man and gouged out his eyes in front of his family during a gruesome assault in southern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday.  Sayed Ghulam, 52, was recovering in a hospital in the country's largest southern city, Kandahar.  Ghulam said three armed men knocked on his door in the Sangin district of Helmand province late Thursday. When he opened the door, they punched him in the face, put the barrel of a Kalashnikov rifle in his mouth and gouged out his eyes with a knife in the presence of his wife and seven children…Ghulam, a farmer who said he raises wheat and popcorn, said he doesn't know why he was attacked. "I don't have any enemies. But they were not letting me talk. They put the AK-47 in my mouth and they were punching me."…..(AP, 26 Oct 08)

Two Turkish engineers kidnapped in Afghanistan

Two Turkish engineers have been kidnapped in southeastern Afghanistan, Afghan and Turkish officials said on Saturday.  Taliban insurgents as well as criminals and armed bands have kidnapped dozens of foreigners in Afghanistan in the last two years. Most have been freed unharmed, but a few have been killed.  Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, on a visit to the Afghan capital, said he had brought up the subject of the two missing engineers in a meeting with his Afghan counterpart Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.  "I expressed our worries over our citizens, who were kidnapped a few days ago and from whom we have not been able to get news, in my meeting today with Dr. Spanta and we are sure that Afghan officials will show all necessary efforts in this case," Babacan told a news conference.  "It is our strong desire and expectation as the Turkish Republic that our citizens should be returned to their homes and jobs in perfect health,"….(Reuters, 25 Oct 08)

6 soldiers killed, 2 others injured in clash with NPA rebels in Compostela Valley

Six government troopers, including a lieutenant, were killed and two other soldiers were wounded when they were waylaid on Friday afternoon by a group of New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents in New Bataan town in Compostela Valley… Cabangbang said the eight, along with six other fellow soldiers, were gathering information for an upcoming civic action program when they were ambushed by undetermined number of rebels at the village of Manurigao village around 2 p.m.  The soldiers are detailed with the Army’s 66th Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Manuel Sequitin……(Balita, 25 Oct 08)

3 U.S. coalition troops killed in Afghanistan

The U.S military says a roadside bomb in western Afghanistan killed three U.S. coalition troops, while 18 Taliban fighters died in clashes elsewhere in the country.  In a statement released Thursday, the military said the bomb that struck the U.S. coalition vehicle Wednesday also wounded another coalition member. It did not provide the exact location of the attack or the nationalities of the victims, but the majority of coalition troops in that area are American……(GEO TV, 24 Oct 08)

Small explosions wound 18 in Colombian capital

At least six small explosive devices left in trash cans detonated Thursday in the Colombian capital, wounding 18 people and frightening residents.  The explosives went off nearly simultaneously in several different neighborhoods just after noon, capital police commander Gen. Rodolfo Palomino said.  At least 18 people suffered minor cuts and hearing trauma, according to Clara Lopez, government secretary for the Bogota mayor's office. The explosives "were not high-powered, but definitely (caused) fear among the people,"…..(AP, 23 Oct 08)

Car bomb in Croatia kills two journalists

car bomb killed two journalists in central Zagreb on Thursday in the latest of a series of violent incidents that have hit the capital this year.  President Stjepan Mesic said the blast, which killed Nacional weekly editor Ivo Pukanic, 47, and a Nacional manager, meant "terrorism has become a fact on the streets of our capital."

Pukanic, the owner of the Nacional, which often exposed corruption and human rights abuses, earlier this year reported an assassination attempt against him.  "The state is faced with an unprecedented challenge from the criminal circles. Now it is them or us...rule of law and safety of citizens against criminals, terrorists and mafia," Mesic said in a statement, after calling an urgent session of the National Security Council for Friday……(Reuters, 23 Oct 08)

Bomber Kills 11 in Attack on Iraqi Official

A suicide car bomber drove into a government minister’s convoy in the Baghdad morning rush hour on Thursday, killing 11 people and wounding 22, according to Iraqi government and hospital officials. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the attack left its chief, a Shiite, unhurt but killed his nephew, who was in the minister’s security detail. The dead included a total of four bodyguards and three police officers, according to a police officer at the scene. The blast left a 12-foot-wide crater and damaged dozens of the photography shops that the area where the attack took place, Tahrir Square, is known for…The attack on the minister, Mahmoud Muhammad al-Radhi, was the second in four months against a member of the 40-person cabinet, underscoring the continued perils facing Iraqis despite a sharp reduction in overall violence……(New York Times, 23 Oct 08)

Suicide car bomber hits Iraq convoy, 11 killed

A suicide car bomber rammed into the convoy of Iraq's labor minister on Thursday, killing 11 people and wounding 22, police said.  A spokesman for the ministry said the minister, Mahmoud al-Sheikh Radhi, was unhurt. Three of his bodyguards were among the dead.

A Reuters television cameraman in the vicinity filmed the blast but an Iraqi soldier confiscated his videotape.  The cameraman, about 150 meters (yards) away at the time of the explosion, saw a car slam into a convoy of six or seven four-wheel-drive vehicles and explode in a ball of flame near Tahrir square in central Baghdad…..(Reuters, 23 Oct 08)

Afghan Bombing Kills 3 Coalition Troops

The United States military said on Thursday that a roadside bomb had killed three soldiers from the American-led coalition fighting militants…The governor of Farah Province in western Afghanistan, Ruhul Amin, said on Thursday that a roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying three coalition members on patrol at night, but he did not specify their nationality or indicate that there had been fatalities.  United States forces in Farah Province run a reconstruction team…..(New York Times, 23 Oct 08)

Bomb Kills 13 in Baghdad

The U.S. relinquished control of a southern province that includes Sunni areas once known as the "triangle of death," handing security responsibility to the Iraqi government on Thursday. In the capital, where insurgent attacks continue nearly daily, a car bomber targeted a government minister's convoy, killing at least 13 people.

Babil is the 12th of 18 Iraqi provinces to be handed over and a sign of the improving security. U.S. forces will remain in the area to assist the Iraqis when needed…With Babil's handover to the Iraqi government, the only province left under U.S. control in southern Iraq is Wasit, a rural desert region that borders Iran and has been a conduit for the smuggling of foreign fighters and weapons into Iraq.  Other provinces that remain to be handed over are north of the capital, where violence has been slower to decline after insurgents fled security crackdowns in Baghdad and surrounding areas……(AP, 23 Oct 08)

Grave of likely al Qaeda victims located - Believed to be army recruits missing 3 years

Iraqi officials Wednesday reported finding mass graves with remains of 34 people, most believed to have been Iraqi army recruits waylaid three years ago by al-Qaeda gunmen as they traveled to a training base near the Syrian border.  Farmers tipped off authorities last week about the graves, located in the Euphrates River valley near Syria about 200 miles northwest of Baghdad, according to a local mayor, Farhan Fitaghan…..(AP, 22 Oct 08)

15 Pakistani security personnel killed in clashes with Taliban

Fifteen Pakistani security personnel were killed when Taliban militants targeted their convoy with bomb and rockets in the restive northwestern Swat valley, reports said today.  The convoy of six vehicles carrying supplies was attacked late last night with a roadside remote-controlled bomb at Sarsenay, 30 km from Swat's main city Mingora, local residents said.  An exchange of fire erupted between security forces and militants after the blast. The Taliban used rockets and automatic weapons against the group of over 40 security personnel. 
Local residents said they saw 15 bodies of security personnel at the site of the attack this morning. Three vehicles were destroyed in the attack, they said. Officials claimed five Taliban militants were also killed……(PTI, 22 Oct 08)

Baghdad hit by three bomb attacks

Three separate bomb attacks killed at least one person and injured eight others in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Wednesday.  The first blast was believed to have been provoked by an improvised explosive device that exploded near Baghdad's Industry Ministry in the Bab al-Sharqi area.  One civilian and three others were injured in the attack, reported Iraqi news agency Voices of Iraq.  Another blast took place near Sahet al-Andalus in central Baghdad, injuring three civilians.  In a third blast, two more civilians were injured when an IED went off….(AKI, 22 Oct 08)

Bombs strike bus, taxi in Baghdad, killing 4

Bombs struck a double-decker bus and a taxi in eastern Baghdad on Monday, killing four people, authorities said.  Iraqi police and hospital officials said the bus was carrying employees of Iraq's Housing Ministry through the Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Mashtal when it was hit by a roadside bomb.  Two people died, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information. Seven people were wounded and brought to Baghdad's Kindi hospital.  The U.S. military confirmed that seven people were wounded, but said only one was killed. Conflicting casualty tolls are common in Iraq….(AP, 20 Oct 08)

British woman aid worker killed in Afghan capital

Two Taliban gunmen on a motorcycle killed a British woman aid worker in the Afghan capital on Monday, accusing her of spreading Christian propaganda.  Taliban insurgents have increasingly targeted aid workers this year in their campaign to spread an atmosphere of fear and undermine claims by the Afghan government and its Western backers that they are bringing security to the war-ravaged nation.  "She was walking to work this morning. There were two people on a motorcycle. They got off the motorcycle and shot her and then went away on the motorcycle. She was dead pretty soon afterwards," said Mark Lyth, the board chairman of SERVE Afghanistan, the aid agency which employed the woman…….(Reuters, 20 Oct 08)

Taliban Kills About 30 Riding on Afghan Bus

Taliban fighters stopped a bus traveling on Afghanistan's main highway through a dangerous part of the south, seized about 50 people on board and killed about 30 of them, officials said Sunday. A Taliban spokesman asserted responsibility for the attack but said fighters killed 27 Afghan soldiers. Afghan officials said that no soldiers were aboard and that the victims were civilians. Insurgents stopped the bus in a Taliban-controlled area about 40 miles west of Kandahar…..(AP, 20 Oct 08)

Bomb blast in Yangon, second device defused