Philippines/Terrorism: Seven people injured in grenade blast in Iligan

Philippine Police stated that seven people have been injured when a grenade exploded at a market in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte province, early on Friday.

Senior Superintendent Bernardo Reamon, the Police Chief in Iligan, stated that the hand grenade was lobbed around 3:45 a.m. (local time) near the Palao Market in the city and that the injured persons, who have yet to be identified, were immediately rushed to a hospital for treatment.

No information was released whether the attack was attributed to the members of the militant secessionist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front and no group has claimed responsibility for it so far.

Yemen/Insurgency: Al-Qaeda claims attacks

Media reported that Al-Qaeda's Yemen arm, the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said on Friday that it stands behind coordinated attacks on security offices in the Arabian Peninsula state and threatened more strikes on Yemeni targets.

On July 14, gunmen on motorcycles stormed police and intelligence offices in south Yemen and opened fire, killing for policemen in Abyan province.

The AQAP said two squads of the Jamil al-Ambari Martyr Brigades carried out attacks on the dens of oppression and aggression- the political and general security buildings in Abyan province. According to the terrorist group, the July attack was in response to the killing of a fighter in Abyan.

The claim of responsibility came after suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen killed five soldiers on Thursday in an ambush in south Yemen. However, the Al-Qaeda did no claim responsibility for the attack so far.

Somalia/Terrorism: Two AU peacekeepers killed in Mogadishu

A spokesman for the African Union (AU) Peacekeeping Force stated on Friday that a gun battle with suspected Somali terrorists in Bondere district in Mogadishu on Wednesday left two AU soldiers dead and about three others injured.

The nationalities of the deceased peacekeepers were not immediately known.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that members of Somalia’s Presidential Guard had defected to the Al-Shabaab, the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for the recent bombings in Uganda that killed more than 70 people.

Reportedly, the Al-Shabaab introduced three former members of the presidential guard at a news conference in Mogadishu, on Wednesday. The soldiers said they quit working for the government because it was being protected by AU peacekeepers, who they accused of killing Somali civilians with indiscriminate shelling.

Venezuela/Colombia/Security: Caracas breaks ties with Bogota putting troops on high alert

Media reported that Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with neighbouring Colombia and dispatched its troops along the border on alert Friday as the leaders of South America battled to solve the crisis.

Reportedly, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called an emergency meeting of Venezuela's Defence Council after formally breaking ties on Thursday with Bogota over accusations that Caracas has provided a safe haven to hundreds of leftist guerrillas.

Venezuela's Foreign Minister issued a 72-hour deadline for Colombia to withdraw its diplomats from Venezuela and shut its embassy. According to him, Venezuela will also close its embassy in Bogota.

Meanwhile, Colombian diplomats alleged before the Organization of American States that some 1,500 rebels fighting the Bogota government were operating in more than 80 camps in Venezuela and called for an international commission to investigate.

Mauritania/France/Terrorism: Six terrorists killed in raid on Al-Qaeda base

Mauritanian Officials stated on Friday that six suspected terrorists were killed and several others wounded when Mauritanian troops attacked an Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) group in a desert region in northern Mali. The French Defence Ministry also confirmed that it had taken part in the military operation.

According to French Officials, the group targeted by the Mauritanian army had executed a British hostage, Edwin Dwyer one year ago and is currently holding 78-year-old Michel Germaneau, a French aid worker kidnapped on April 19.

According to a Mauritanian source, the raid was aimed at freeing Germaneau, but following the failure of the operation, he might be now facing execution.

Mexico/Organised Crime: Eight suspects killed in clash with in Chihuahua

The Federal Public Safety Department stated on Thursday that eight suspected drug gang gunmen died in a battle with Mexican soldiers in the remote mountains of northern Chihuahua State.

Reportedly, the clash took place near the rural town of Madera, about 230 kilometers south of the U.S. border.

Federal Police Spokesman said a group of about 100 soldiers were on patrol in the mountainous area near Madera, northwest of Chihuahua when they were fired upon by a group of armed gunmen.

Police Spokesman confirmed that eight of drug gang gunmen were killed in the shootout. According to Salinas, the Mexican military did not suffer any casualties.

Iraq/Terrorism: Rocket attack kills three in Baghdad Green Zone

The U.S. Embassy announced on Thursday that rockets fired into the heavily fortified International Zone in central Baghdad killed three people and wounded 15, including two Americans, all of whom worked for Triple Canopy, a private Security Company contracted to the U.S. Government.

Reportedly, those killed were two Ugandan nationals and one Peruvian.

Triple Canopy is a firm based in Herndon, Virginia, founded by U.S. Special Forces veterans, that guards the security checkpoints for the embassy and the U.S. military facilities in Iraq.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Venezuela/Security: 21 police officers arrested for Mexican narco escape

Venezuelan Attorney General's office stated that authorities on Wednesday arrested 21 police officers accused of helping two alleged Mexican drug traffickers escape from prison.

According to investigators, the two escapees, Roberto Avila and Carlos Izabal Martinez, belonged to northern Mexico's Juarez cartel, which is engaged in a brutal turf war that has claimed thousands of lives near the U.S. border. They fled a jail in Cojedes in central Venezuela.

Reportedly, Avila and Izabal were arrested last year in central Venezuela after landing a plane at a clandestine runway. The 21 accused police officers were detained in the same jail they allegedly helped the two men flee.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Police instructor and two NATO soldiers killed in attacks

Afghan Interior Ministry stated that an Afghan police instructor was killed by unidentified gunmen in the Loy Wiyala area of Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Separately, two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed on Wednesday in a terrorist attack in southern Afghanistan.

According to the British Ministry of Defence the dead soldiers were members of its forces deployed to the southern province of Helmand. They were killed by small arms fire during a cordon operation in the provincial capital Lashkargah.

Earlier on Wednesday, suspected Taleban terrorists beheaded six Afghan Police Officers during an assault on government buildings in Baghlan province.

Colombia/Insurgency: Antioquia FARC attacks leave 3 dead

Colombian Media reported that three people have been killed and other nine wounded in two separate attacks against members of the armed forces in the central Colombian department of Antioquia.

Reportedly, the first incident took place in the north-west of the department when a patrol of soldiers and policemen were travelling to the rural area of Anori to deactivate a bus bomb, allegedly planted by the 36th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas. A solider was killed and other six injured when a landmine in the area was detonated.

The second attack occurred in the municipality of La Caucana de Taraza, in the Bajo Cauca region, when a group of coca crop eradicators were attacked by guerrillas believed to belong to the FARC's 18th Front. According to police officials, two people and four of the rebels were killed in the attack, while three others were injured.

Kyrgyzstan/Security:  Ousted Kyrgyz President's brother arrested In Jalal-Abad

Local Media reported that Kyrgyz Authorities have detained the younger brother of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Achmat Bakiyev, in the southern city of Jalal-Abad on Wednesday.

According to the police, Achmat was armed, but did not show resistance at the time of his arrest.

The current Kyrgyz government has accused the Bakiyev family of instigation to violence during the clashes that took place between the Kyrgyz majority and the Uzbek minority in the south of the ex-Soviet state in June, leaving nearly 2,000 people dead.

Yemen/Insurgency: Al-Qaeda attack kills five soldiers in Shabwa

Yemeni Security Officials stated that suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists killed five soldiers and left one another wounded in an ambush in Shabwa province in southern Yemen on Thursday.

According to Officials, the soldiers were on a routine patrol in the city al-Aatik, in Shabwa province when suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists ambushed their vehicle.

Meanwhile, a Tribal Official said on Thursday that fighting overnight between the Shiite rebels and army-backed tribes in Yemen's north killed 20 people on both sides, raising the death toll in five days of fighting to over 69.

On February 11, the government and the Shiite rebels struck another ceasefire agreement to end their conflict. However, both sides repeatedly accused each other over truce breach.

India/Terrorism: Top terrorist commander and paramilitary trooper killed in Kashmir

Indian Security Officials stated on Wednesday that two terrorists, including a top Harkat-ul-Mujahideen commander identified as Nouman, and one paramilitary trooper have been killed in a gun battle in the Indian-administered Kashmir.

According to officials, the gun-fighting broke out on Tuesday after terrorists opened fire on security forces that had surrounded the house in which they were hiding in the Hygam village of Sopore district.

The paramilitary trooper who was killed during the encounter was identified as Sanjay Kumar belonging to the Rashtriya Rifles.

Army officials said arms and ammunition, including two AK-47 rifles were seized at the scene.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Six police officers beheaded in Baghlan

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) reported on Wednesday that suspected Taleban fighters beheaded six Afghan Police Officers during an assault on government buildings in Baghlan province.

Reportedly, the officers were ambushed as the Taleban attacked government buildings in the Dahanah-ye Ghori district of the Baghlan province.

According to NATO, several terrorists were also killed as police fought off the attack on a school, clinic and the district governor's building.

Separately, a Danish soldier was killed and another injured by a roadside bomb in near Budwan in the restive Helmand province on Wednesday.

Government report says over 30 Danish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002.

Pakistan/Terrorism: Taleban commander killed in Bajur

Pakistani Government Officials announced that the local Taleban Commander Irshad Khan and his aide were killed when a bomb they were constructing in the terrorist chief's home in the Bajur tribal region, north-western Pakistan, exploded on Thursday.

According to officials, the blast also wounded several members of the commander’s family.

Reportedly, Khan was behind several attacks on troops in the region and had contacts with top Taleban leaders in nearby North and South Waziristan.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistani Security Forces killed at least 40 terrorists and wounded 30 others in a clash in Dabori Ali Khel area in Upper Orakzai. The forces lost three personnel in the clash, while other six officials were injured.

Russia/Terrorism: Two killed in Baksan hydropower plant attack

Russian Media reported that suspected terrorists on Wednesday attacked the Baksan hydropower plant in the village of Islamei in the Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria in northern Russia, killing two security guards.

Reportedly, a group of four gunmen burst into the hydro-electric station and shot two security guards. Then the terrorists made two explosions in the territory of the plant, including the blowing up of the generator.

According to Russian Federal Security Service, the attackers were apparently well-trained terrorists. Officials said the gang's leader had been identified. A source from the local law enforcement authorities stated that the blasts were equivalent to more than 10 kg of TNT (22 lbs) altogether.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Iraq/Terrorism: Car bomb kills at least 15 in Baquba

(Max Becherer/Polaris/Photo News)

Iraqi Police stated that at least 15 people have been killed and 26 others wounded when a car bomb went off in a crowded market in Abu Sayda about 10 km east of the city of Baquba in Iraq's northern Diyala province on Wednesday. Four houses were damaged and five cars were set ablaze as well in the blast.

In a separate incident, a U.S. Soldier was critically wounded in a roadside blast in Diyala on Wednesday. Reportedly, the soldier was treated at the scene before being evacuated to a U.S. military hospital in Balad.

Yemen/Insurgency: Rebel clashes leave 49 killed

Media reported on Thursday that clashes between Shiite rebels and pro-government tribes in past four days have left at least 49 people dead in northern Yemen.

Reportedly, the major clashes occurred in al-Amsheyah, in the northern Amran province, where the tribe of MP Sheikh Sagheer Aziz is allegedly besieged by the Huthi rebels.

The confrontations between the Huthi rebels and the supporters of MP Sheikh Sagheer Aziz have resulted in the death of 20 tribesmen and 10 Huthis.

According to Security Officials, Yemeni Tribal Chief Sheikh Zaidan al-Moqannay, his son and four of his bodyguards were killed in a rebel ambush in Saada late on Tuesday. But the rebels' spokesman, Mohammed Abdul Salam denied that the rebels ambushed Moqannay, claiming that he was killed in confrontations which also resulted in the death of three rebels.

On February 11, the government and the Shiite rebels struck another ceasefire agreement to end their conflict. However, both sides repeatedly accused each other over truce breach.

Philippines/Insurgency: Two troops killed in clash with communist rebels

Philippine Military Officials stated that two government militiamen were killed and several others were wounded in a clash between government troops and communist rebels in New Corella town in Davao Del Norte province on Tuesday.

Army Division Spokesman said the troops went to the area after villagers complained that a group of about 30 guerrillas were extorting cash from them. According to him, the rebels detonated three bombs as they fled the area, killing the two militiamen.

Commander of the Army's 103rd Infantry Brigade said several soldiers were wounded in the gun battle with suspected New People’s Army rebels.

Thailand/Security: Government lifts the emergency rule from more provinces

Media reported that Thai Government has lifted the state of emergency from three Northern provinces on Tuesday, but that in 16 others, including the capital Bangkok, it would still remain in force.

Deputy Government Spokesman Supachai Jaisamut mentioned that the decision was taken given the fact that there was no movement or any sign that could lead to unrest and because the security forces were capable of maintaining a peaceful situation.

The emergency rule was introduced in Bangkok during clashes that erupted between Thai Security Forces and anti-government Red Shirts in the months of April and May, leaving 90 people killed and almost 2,000 wounded.