India/Insurgency: Two insurgent hideouts destroyed in Kashmir districts

Media reported on Friday that two hideouts of Kashmir insurgents were busted by the security forces in separate operations in the Doda and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the first operation carried in the Kalmat forest belt in Doda district, folowing an anonymous tip-off, members of the Territorial Army seized a grenade, five chargers, three detonators and other ammunition.

Separately, troops led by Rajouri Senior Superintendent of Police R. K. Jalla seized two AK rifles with 211 rounds, explosives and other ammunition in a hideout in the Kapper forest belt of Kalakote tehsil in Rajouri district.

Mexico/Organized Crime: Three beheaded bodies, including that of a police officer, found on a highway

Media reported on Friday that three beheaded bodies, including that of a police officer from the state of Morelos, were found dumped on a highway some 100 kilometers away from the capital Ciudad de Mexico.

According to sources from the local Prosecutor’s Office, a “narco-message” left behind at the scene seems to indicate a settlement of accounts between rival drug cartels.

It is worth mentioning that the state of Morelos is the scene of a constant fighting for succession between rival cells of the Beltran Leyva cartel, after its leader Arturo Beltran Leyva had been killed in December 2009 during a military operation in Cuernavaca.

Yemen/Terrorism: Two soldiers killed in Abyan

Media reported on Friday that two soldiers had been killed and two others wounded late on Thursday during clashes with armed men in the province of Abyan, southern Yemen.

Reportedly, clashes erupted when gunmen attacked two soldiers in a market in Loder and seized their weapons, triggering the intervention of the army.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, but authorities blame it on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terrorists.

Meanwhile, sources of the security forces announced that Commander Abdul Khaliq Chaeh, Chief of the Judicial Police in the southern province of Daleh, was injured over night by a bomb placed in his car.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: 12 Taleban terrorists killed in raid in Logar

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan announced on Thursday that Afghan and coalition troops had killed 12 Taleban terrorists, including the commander of the respective cell, during a raid carried in Logar province on Wednesday.

Reportedly, an operation was launched in order to hunt down Commander Qari Muir and an exchange of fire erupted when Taleban terrorists tried to attack the coalition forces.

It is worth mentioning that Muir has held several positions in the past under the Taleban rule, including that of military commander and chief of intelligence services in the province of Logar.

Democratic Republic of Congo/Insurgency: Two suspects arrested in the killings of three peacekeepers in North Kivu

Media reported on Thursday that the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) had arrested two rebels suspected of having killed the three Indian Blue Helmets on Wednesday in Kirumba, the eastern province of North Kivu.

Reportedly, Mumbere Tembea, one of the two suspects arrested, confessed to have been sent to track down and kill the members of MONUSCO (United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), but the masterminds of the attack have not been identified.

Moreover, the suspect stated to belong to the Mayi-Mayi PARECO (Coalition of Patriots in the Congolese Resistance) insurgent group that is operating in the Lubero sector in North Kivu and indicated as reason of the attack the fact that MONUSCO does not facilitate their integration into FARDC.

South Africa/Civil Unrest: Police disperse protesters by firing rubber bullets

Media reported on Thursday that police had to use force to disperse crowds of protesters that had been blocking traffic on a road and preventing patients from entering into a nearby hospital in Soweto, 15 kilometers south-west of Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province.

According to the statements of Captain Nondumiso Mpantsha, rubber bullets were fired and water cannons were also deployed to disperse the crowds.

It is worth mentioning that this incident occurred as more that 1 million civil servants had started an indefinite general strike on Wednesday to ask for higher wages.

China/Security: Seven killed in Xinjiang blast

Media reported on Thursday that seven people were killed in an explosion that occurred near the town of Aksu in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Province, as a member of the Uighur minority had driven an explosive-laden vehicle into a crowd.

Reportedly, police forces arrested the suspect, but no information has been released concerning the potential motives of the attack so far.

However, it is worth mentioning that this province has been marked by ethnic tensions between the Uighur minority and the Han majority population and that prior attacks have been blamed on violent separatist groups who want to establish an independent state of the East Turkestan.     
 
As a reminder, around 200 people were killed in July 2009 in the provincial capital Urumqi during ethnical violence that erupted between the two populations.

Colombia/Insurgency: Seven ELN rebels killed in Antioquia raid

Media reported on Thursday that seven ELN (National Liberation Army) rebels belonging to the “Heroes de Taraza” cell were killed during a raid operation carried by joint units of the police and air forces near the municipality of Taraza in the north-western department of Antioquia.

Reportedly, eight rifles, two pistols and six combat equipments were also seized at the scene. At this time, search and control operations are still carried in the area, in order to locate other members of the gang.

Meanwhile, a person suspected of involvement in the car bomb attack carried in front of the Caracol Radio Station in Bogotá last week and identified as Edilson Moreno was imprisoned and charged with terrorism, attempted murder and as well with illegal manufacture of weapons and damage of property.

It is worth mentioning that Moreno had been detained earlier on Tuesday in the southern part of the Colombian capital.

Yemen/Terrorism: Five police officers injured in grenade attack in Abyan

Media reported on Thursday that an attacker on a motorbike threw a hand grenade at a police station in Jaar, north of Zinjibar, in the southern province of Abyan, seriously injuring five officers late on Wednesday.

Reportedly, the attack followed gun battles between security forces and unidentified gunmen that erupted in the city, but during which no casualties have been reported.

This latest attack has not been claimed by any individual or group so far, but it is worth pointing out that most of the similar hostile actions targeting security and intelligence services personnel have been claimed in the past by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terrorists.

Meanwhile, a woman was killed and three soldiers were injured during an attempted arrest of Jamil Ali Seif, a southern separatist wanted for the killing of a Yemeni northerner.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: NATO soldier killed in roadside bomb explosion in the south

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan announced on Thursday that a soldier of the international forces had been killed in a roadside bomb explosion – the hallmark of the Taleban terrorists – in the southern part of the country.

The nationality of the victim had not been revealed so far.

Meanwhile, a suicide car bomb attack killed 15 people and wounded 26 others in the southern city of Kandahar.

Iraq/Terrorism: The last US combat troops leave the country

Media reported on Thursday that the last US combat troops stationed in Iraq were leaving the country early in the morning, heading towards neighboring Kuwait.

According to the statements of Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom, the 4th Stryker Brigade of the Second Infantry Division that had been stationed at Abu Ghraib, 25 kilometers west of Baghdad, crossed the border at around 6:00, local time.

However, there are still US troops that will remain in the country, but will focus on training local security forces and will no longer participate in law enforcement operations.

On the other hand, official sources announced late on Wednesday that three people had been killed by an Al-Qaeda-linked commando in north-east of Baghdad and that messages signed by “The Islamic State of Iraq” (Dawlat al-'Iraq al-Islamiyya) warning against any collaboration with Iraqi forces and American officials were left behind at the scene.

Mexico/Organized Crime: Santiago Mayor allegedly found dead

Media reported on Wednesday that the body of Edelmiro Cavazos Leal, Mayor of Santiago, Nuevo Leon state, has been allegedly found with hands tied and face covered on a road in the outskirts of Monterrey.

Sources of the Attorney General Office and of the Public Safety Department in Nuevo Leon announced the death of Cavazos, but no official confirmation of the identity of the victim has been issued so far by federal authorities.

As a reminder, the mayor was kidnapped from his home on Sunday by a group of 15 armed men disguised as police officers and claiming to belong to the Federal Judicial Police, a corporation that has not been operating for more than 9 years.

India/Civil Unrest: Curfew maintained in Kashmir as violent protests continue

Media report that curfew and restrictions were maintained in most parts of the Kasmir Valley on Wednesday, as separatist protesters and large crowds of citizens have been taking the streets and clashing on several occasions with security forces.

In one of the incidents, security forces fired after being encircled by a group of stone pelters in Hangal Gund village of Anantnag District late on Tuesday, causing critical injures to two people.

Separately, violence erupted in Anantnag and Pulwama towns following the news of a youth succumbing to his injures inflicted during previous clashes. According to statements of the police, the youth was injured during a stampede in Lazibal village, while locals claim that he had actually been severely beaten by members of the security forces.

Mexico/Organized Crime: Former police officer operating for the Familia Michoacana cartel arrested

The Mexican Daily El Universal reported on Wednesday that the Federal Police had detained on Tuesday Román Campos Flores alias “El Turco”, a former police officer of the Lázaro Cárdenas municipality, Michoacán state, along with two of his accomplices on charges of extortion and of having ties with the drug cartel La Familia Michoacana.

Reportedly, El Turco was the leader of this criminal cell of extortionists that has been operating in the municipalities of Guacamayas and La Mira. He was also involved in the actions of support that La Familia Michoacana provides to the Gulf cartel in its fight against the rival cartel Los Zetas that had been the armed wing of the respective criminal group and broke away in February 2010. 

At the moment of the arrest, security forces also seized a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), a rifle, three chargers and hundreds of cartridges of different caliber, a vehicle and drugs.

Democratic Republic of the Congo/Insurgency: Three peacekeepers killed in North Kivu

Media reported on Wednesday that three peacekeepers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) were killed and seven others were injured by suspected rebels who attacked their camp in Kirumba in the eastern Province of North Kivu over night.

Reportedly, the three victims were stabbed to death and were all of Indian nationality, belonging to the 19 Kumaon Regiment of the Army.

First reports on the incident indicated that between 50 and 60 suspected rebels of the insurgent group Mayi-Mayi carried the attack on the unit base and then fled in the surrounding jungle areas.

Sudan/Security: Tribal violence reemerges in Darfur

Media reported late on Tuesday that two Arab tribes from the Darfur region that had ceased hostilities at the end of June resumed their deadly clashes in recent days. 

Ezzedine al-Mandil, a senior representative of the Misseriya tribe stated that violence erupted on Monday when members of the rival tribe Rezeigat attacked one of their villages in the west of the Kass region, killing 27 people and wounding 13 others.

These new incidents come after the two tribes had signed on June 28 an agreement of reconciliation, following the fierce battles that caused hundreds of deaths in south and west Darfur between the months of March and June.

Iraq/Terrorism: Ministry of Commerce official killed in Baghdad

Media reported on Wednesday that Ehsan Latif, Director of the Financial Supervision Authority under the Ministry of Commerce was killed on Tuesday, when unknown gunmen opened fire against him while driving in his car in the Amiriyah area in western Baghdad.

Reportedly, the assailants managed to flee after the attack.

Meanwhile, a bomb was detonated near a police patrol in the center of the Abu Ghraib area, 25 kilometers west of the capital, killing one civilian and injuring one police officer. A patrol vehicle and nearby shops were also damaged in the explosion.

As a reminder, these incidents come after a deadly suicide bombing targeted an army recruitment center in Baghdad early on Tuesday. The latest death toll of the blast reached the threshold of 60, while some other 125 people were reported injured.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Provincial official and wife killed by Taleban terrorists in Zabul

Media reported on Wednesday that Atta Jan Kajrwal, the Zabul Province Director of Border and Tribal Affairs was killed along with his wife on Tuesday night in Shahjoy district, when Taleban terrorists broke into their home.

Reportedly, another person in the house was injured in this latest case of a series of attacks that often target those with links to the government or international forces.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people blocked a highway between Kabul and the city of Jalalabad as a protest against the death of two people during a night raid on Tuesday.

Reportedly, the protesters claim that the two victims were innocent civilians while NATO issued contradictory statements that its forces had killed two terrorists.

Iraq/Terrorism: Two judges killed in separate attacks in Baghdad and Diyala province

Sources of the Iraqi Ministry of Justice announced on Tuesday that, in separate incidents, terrorists had attacked with bombs and silenced weapons eight judges in Baghdad and Diyala province, killing two of them.

First reports on one of the incidents show that a roadside bomb hit a vehicle traveling in the Baladroz district, southeast of the city Baaquba in Diyala province, wounding the three judges and the police officer being inside at the moment of the attack. 

Reportedly, Iraqi security forces managed to arrest four suspects in the incident.

Mexico/Organized Crime: Santiago Mayor kidnapped by armed men

Media reported on Tuesday that Edelmiro Cavazos Leal, the Mayor of Santiago, in the Nuevo Leon state, had been kidnapped from his home by a group 15 armed men on Sunday night.

The motives that stay behind this kidnapping remain unclear so far.

It must however be mentioned that the area of Santiago and of the nearby city of Monterrey is the scene of a bloody turf war between the Gulf and the Zetas cartels and has witnessed in recent months an escalating wave of violence, in which at least five police officers have been killed.