Spain/Terrorism: Suspected Basque terrorists arrested 

Security Officials stated on Tuesday that Spanish police had arrested two suspected terrorists of the Basque separatist organisation ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) in Hernani, near the city of San Sebastian in northern Spain late on Monday.

According to official sources, the man and woman are suspected of taking part in the killing of Police Officer Joseba Pagazaurtundua, 45, who was shot in the head at a bar in the nearby town of Andaoin on February 8, 2003.

Reportedly, the man, identified as Gurutz Aguirresarobe, was believed to be a member of the ETA, but the woman named Aitziber Ezkerra Segurajauregi was believed to have distanced herself from the group. 

India/Civil Unrest: Five more killed in Kashmir clashes

Media reported that five people were killed and several others wounded in clashes with the security forces in the Srinagar and Kulgam districts of Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday.

Reportedly, four of the protestors have been killed in separate locations from the Kulgam district, in Qamarwari, Idgah, Shalteng and Frisal respectively; while another person who had been previously wounded in firing in Khrew – a town near Srinagar - succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday.

With Tuesday's deaths, a total of 24 people have been killed in incidents of violence in the Valley since last Friday.

According to the police, curfew remained clamped in all of the ten districts of Kashmir as security forces maintained a close vigil to contain disturbances. Additional forces are being sent following a request for help made by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to the central authorities in order to tackle the situation in the Valley.

Yemen/Terrorism: Suicide bomber wounds eight in Dalea

Yemeni Security Officials stated that eight people, including six policemen have been wounded when a suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) suicide bomber blew himself up near a police station in the southern Yemeni town of Dalea on Tuesday.

According to witnesses, a man sped up on a motorcycle to the office in the southern city of Dalea before stopping suddenly and blowing himself up.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. However, a senior provincial government official said that the blast bears the hallmarks of an AQAP attack.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Taleban suicide bombers attack a NATO military base in Kandahar

NATO Spokeswoman Lieutenant Commander Katie Kendrick in Kabul stated that two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the foreign military base in the southern city of Kandahar on Tuesday, killing themselves and leaving one NATO soldier and two civilians injured.

Reportedly, the suicide bombers detonated their explosives after they had failed to gain access to the facilities. According to the statements of the Kandahar provincial spokesman Zalmai Ayobi, the two suicide bombers detonated explosives strapped to their bodies outside the base perimeter, aiming to clear the entrance for the rest of the group.

The Taleban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi later claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is worth mentioning that the Kandahar Air Field, 25 km outside of Kandahar city is the largest foreign military base in the country and hosting tens of thousands of troops and civilian workers.

Turkey/Terrorism: Four killed in PKK attack on Turkish police station

Turkey's Anatolia News Agency reported on Tuesday that a police officer was killed when suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attacked a police station with a rocket launcher and automatic weapons in the town of Eruh in Siirt province, southeast Turkey on Monday.

Three PKK militants were reportedly killed in the following exchange of fire and 15 others were detained  by police on Tuesday for the attack.

Yemen/Insurgency: Houthi rebels release 100 soldiers

Sheikh Hassan bin Abdullah Al-Ahmar, a pro-government prominent tribal chief and mediator in the prisoners' release, stated on Tuesday that Yemeni Shi’ite rebels (Houthi) set free on Sunday 100 soldiers captured in recent fighting, days after announcing the release of 200 other troops.

Reportedly, the latest batch of soldiers released had been held by the Huthi rebels in the region of Al-Amishiya in northern Amran province. According to Al-Ahmar, the rebels promised to free another 128 soldiers in the next days.

Meanwhile, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam said the releases came on the occasion of (the Muslim fasting month of) Ramadan, and as a proof for their “seriousness in bringing peace and in creating the conditions for a resumption of mediation by Qatar”.

United Kingdom/Terrorism: Car bomb explodes near Londonderry police station, no injuries reported

Media reported that a car bomb exploded outside a heavily fortified Police Station in Northern Ireland's second-largest city of Londonderry on Tuesday, but no one was injured.

According to the police, a taxi was seized by two armed men who loaded a bomb on board and ordered the driver to deliver it to the target in the centre of the city, where it exploded causing damage to the station and surrounding properties.

Reportedly, the taxi driver raised the alarm after abandoning the bomb and police said there was a short telephone warning made before the explosion. Police confirmed that no one was injured in the explosion.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities attributed it to dissidents backing the formerly terrorist Irish Republican Army (IRA).

Iraq/Terrorism: Gunmen kill five police officers at Baghdad checkpoint

Iraq's Interior Ministry reported that suspected terrorists with ties to Al-Qaeda attacked a checkpoint in the Mansour district of west-central Baghdad and killed five police officers early on Tuesday.

According to a Police Official, the gunmen used pistols equipped with silencers and, after the attack, left behind a black flag used to represent the Islamic State of Iraq - an umbrella group that includes a number of Sunni extremist organizations and has ties to Al-Qaeda.

According to the ministry, the attack took place just after three mortar rounds had hit the area, however not causing any casualties or injuries.

In a separate incident, a police officer was wounded after a bomb attached to his vehicle exploded in the Hurriya district in north-western Baghdad. Two bystanders were also injured.

Pakistan/Terrorism: Clashes in Karachi kill at least 35

Pakistani Police stated on Tuesday that at least 35 people have been killed and 90 others wounded in clashes in Karachi and in different parts of Hyderabad, following the killing of a legislator of the ruling Muthaida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Monday.

Reportedly, more than two dozen vehicles, shops, teashops and carts parked on roadsides were set ablaze by rampaging mobs to protest against the MP's assassination.

Raza Haider, member of the MQM and a partner in the Sindh provincial ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party, was gunned down along with his bodyguard by gunmen on motorcycles on Monday.

According to the police, Haider's killing was carried out by a banned sectarian organization, though further details were not made public.

Somalia/Piracy: Panama-flagged cargo ship hijacked
 
The European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) has declared on Monday that Somali pirates have hijacked the Panama-flagged MV Suez cargo ship, along with its 23 crew members on board.

Reportedly, the ship was carrying a cement consignment and came under attack while sailing in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) shipping lane in the Gulf of Aden.
 
The EUNAVFOR responded to a distress call from the 17,300-ton vessel, but the pirates were already on board by the time a naval helicopter reached for rescue. Meanwhile, a naval spokesman has confirmed that the hijacked vessel’s crew included Egyptians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and Indians.

It is worth mentioning that 11 Somali pirates were sentenced to 10 years in prison in the Seychelles earlier last week for attempting to seize a coastguard boat in December last year.

Iraq/Terrorism: Eight killed in separate terrorist attacks
 
Media reported the death of eight people in two separate bombing attacks and a drive-by shooting carried by suspected terrorists on Monday.

Suspected Al-Qaeda militants bombed the house of a Policeman in the Karmah district, killing the officer, his wife and a child. Reportedly, seven other family members were also injured in the blast.

Separately, a roadside bomb blast, apparently targeting a police patrol, claimed the lives of three civilians and wounded eight others in an area west of the capital Baghdad.

Agencies also reported a drive-by shooting at midnight on Monday in a cafe in Baghdad's Sadr City - a Shi'ite-dominated district - killing two people and wounding seven.

Peru/Civil Unrest: Government freezes Cusco for 60 days
 
Media reported that the Peruvian Government has declared a state of emergency for 60 days in the Echarate District of Cusco region on Sunday. The step was taken following the wave of violence reported there in recent days.
 
Demonstrators from the regions of Cusco, Apurimac, Arequipa and Tacna have been protesting since last week against the government’s decision to export gas to Mexico. They have been blocking highways, claiming that the internal market requirement for gas should be met first.
 
In an incident on Friday, some protesters in Echarate reportedly attempted to seize a pumping plant of the company Transportadora de Gas del Peru S.A.. However, police managed to thwart the attempt and detained 17 protesters.

In a separate incident, a group of protestors had also seized Echarate's Governor on Sunday, asking him to support their cause, but later on, he was rescued by police forces.

Russia/Terrorism: Armed assailants kill police investigator
 
Police Sources announced on Sunday that three armed terrorists had killed Senior Police Investigator Lt. Col. Yunus Khulatayev in the capital city of Makhachkala in the restive North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan. Reportedly, the assailants had barged into the officer’s home and executed him in at point-blank range.
 
In a separate incident, 12 elite police troops were injured during a gunfight with terrorists in a mountainous region in Dagestan on Saturday.

Another two police officers were killed in Chechnya’s capital city of Grozny early on Sunday when three unidentified men armed with Kalashnikovs ambushed a police station.
 
Meanwhile, media reported that Chechen rebel Doku Umarov has announced his retirement from his post as the leader of the North Caucasus insurgency. The 46-year-old leader was resigning on the grounds of his health conditions and has promised to help the new leadership.

Colombia/Insurgence: FARC guerrillas kill three soldiers
 
An Official Spokesman has declared on Monday that guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) killed three off-duty soldiers inside a club in the town of Chaparral on Sunday. Reportedly, the rebels managed to flee after the attack.

In a separate incident, two bombs were detonated by FARC early on Sunday, but there has been no report of casualties. This incident occurred despite the fact that, following reports from Intelligence Services regarding possible attacks from FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN), security has been beefed up across the country.

Meanwhile, President Uribe has turned down FARC leader Alfonso Cano’s offer to negotiate with the new president Juan Manuel Santos who is going to take office on August 7. It is worth mentioning that Alfonso made his proposal through a video footage broadcast by the Al-Jazeera news channel.

Mexico/Organized Crime: Police rescue kidnapped journalists
 
Media Agencies reported that Mexican Police have rescued two TV journalists, Javier Canales and Alejandro Hernandez who were held by the Sinaloa drug cartel since last Monday. Reportedly, the abductors were demanding all the media networks the journalists worked for to broadcast a series of videos accusing local officials of ties with a rival drug cartel.
 
Security Minister Genero Garcia Luna said police raided one of the gang’s hideouts in the northern state of Coahuila before dawn on Saturday, but the kidnappers managed to escape.
 
Earlier, another journalist had been released unharmed following negotiations with the abductors. However, Oscar Solis, a reporter for the newspaper El Vespertino, is still missing. All four journalists had been covering a prison scandal in the nearby state of Durango in which inmates are suspected of being hired to carry killings for a local cartel.

Turkey/Terrorism: Four people killed in roadside bomb blast
 
The state-run News Agency Anatolia reported on Monday the death of four people - including that of a former regional head of a human rights group - in a blast that occurred in the Batman province on Sunday. The roadside bomb that was detonated had been allegedly planted by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
 
Reportedly, all those killed were on their way to put out a fire set by the PKK on the Turkish Petroleum (TPAO)-owned oil production facilities when their vehicle struck the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) that took their lives.
 
Meanwhile, railway authorities said suspected Kurdish terrorists have blown up rail tracks between the Divrigi town and the Erzincan city on Monday, derailing eight carriages of a train carrying both passengers and cargo. However, no injuries have been reported.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Five children killed in suicide attack
 
Security Officials announced on Monday that a suicide car bomber, attempting to assassinate Governor Ahmadullah Nazick, killed five children in the Dand district near Kandahar. A statement from the Interior Ministry declared that the attack hit the security convoy, but Nazick escaped without any injuries.
 
Reportedly, a roadside bomb exploded near the attack site soon afterwards, injuring two policemen. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but it is likely the work of the Taleban who usually target government officials.
 
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Task Force Helmand has declared that two British servicemen have been killed in southern Afghanistan in separate incidents on Sunday. A soldier from the 1st Battalion Scots Guards was killed during a gun fight in the Lashkar Gah District, while another soldier from the Royal Marine died in an explosion in the Sangin District.

India/Civil Unrest: Nine people killed in violent protests
 
Media reported on Monday that nine people have been killed during anti-India protests that took place in India-administered Kashmir on Sunday. Reportedly, Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers fired at a mob of angry protesters in the Pampore area of Pulwama district, killing four people and injuring 35 others.
 
In a separate incident, five people were killed when the explosives store inside a police station near the same area exploded after violent protesters set the station on fire. A senior police official, who requested anonymity, has confirmed the death toll.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has urged all sections of the society to cooperate in restoring peace and normalcy in the valley.

It is worth mentioning that at least 27 people were killed during the wave of violent protests over the past six weeks.
 

Israel/Jordan/Terrorism: Five rockets rock Eilat, Aqaba
 
Security Sources have confirmed on Monday that suspected terrorists fired five short-range rockets into Israel’s Eilat city and Jordan's Red Sea ports, causing damages and casualties. However, no death reports have been reported so far.
 
A source from the Jordanian Interior Ministry has declared that four civilians were injured when a rocket hit the entrance of the InterContinental Hotel in Aqaba. It has been reported that two other rockets landed in the Red Sea.
 
According to accounts given by an Israeli Police Commander, it appears that the rockets were fired from the neighbouring Egypt, whose Sinai desert has witnessed sporadic violence caused by Islamist terrorists.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Three NATO troops killed in separate bombing attacks
 
A statement released on Friday by NATO said that three foreign soldiers have been killed in two separate bombing attacks in a southern part of Afghanistan. The nationality of the deceased soldiers has been kept withheld.

Meanwhile, a motorcycle bomb blast killed a woman and a child in the southern city of Kandahar .

It is worth mentioning that the incidents follow a series of terror attacks across the country on Thursday. According to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) 13 civilians were killed and four others were injured in unrelated different attacks.

Terrorists in the Ghazni province had shot dead six civilian workers, while three others had been killed and one injured when the vehicle in which the workers were travelling struck a roadside bomb. A similar Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in the Paktiya province reportedly claimed another life, while in the Kandahar province a roadside bomb killed another three people.