Sudan/Insurgency: Two peacekeepers abducted in Darfur

Media reported on Sunday that two police advisers with the joint United Nations-African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Sudan's Darfur region (UNAMID) had been abducted in Nyala on Saturday.

Reportedly, the officers were blocked and seized by a group of three armed men in a SUV vehicle while walking towards an UNAMID transport dispatch point.

It is worth pointing out that with this latest incident, this is the third time when the UNAMID becomes the target of an abduction since last August.  

Pakistan/Insurgency: At least 16 people killed in two separate attacks in the Balochistan province

Media reported that at least 16 people, including five security personnel, had been killed in two separate attacks in the south-western province of Balochistan on Saturday.

In a first attack, passengers were pulled out of a bus heading to the city of Lahore. According to witnesses, after National Identification Cards were checked, residents of the Punjab province were allegedly lined up and their captors opened fire on them. Meanwhile, Baluch residents were spared and sent on their way.

In a separate incident that occurred several hours later, gunmen shot a group of laborers in the provincial capital Quetta.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks so far, but authorities blame them on Baluch rebels, who have been fighting security forces since 2000 and are demanding the complete autonomy of their province.

Mexico/Organized Crime: Two TV stations hit by blasts in northern states

Media reported on Sunday that two Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) went off in front of the Televisa TV Stations in the cities of Matamoros and Monterrey, in the northern states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon, respectively.

Reportedly, no one was injured in any of the attacks, but several damages were caused to the buildings.

Earlier on Saturday, members of the Zetas drug cartel blocked at least 13 major roads in Monterrey following a shootout that erupted between the Mexican Army and members of the cartel, in which four of the gunmen were killed.

The local leader of the Zetas in Monterrey, alias “El Sonrics” was allegedly among those killed in the gunfight.

Bahrain/Civil Unrest: Clashes erupt after the arrest of a Shi’ite activist

Media reported that protests erupted on Saturday night in at least two Shi’ite villages after Abduljalil Singace, one of the leaders of the Haq Movement was arrested on Friday.

Later on Sunday, three more Shi’ite activists - Abdulghani al-Kanjar, Mohammed al-Magdad and Saeed al-Nouri - were arrested, being accused of belonging to a network threatening “Bahrain's stability, civil peace and endangering the lives and property of the innocent (through) incitement to violence and terrorist acts”.

It is worth mentioning that these incidents occur while the Shi’ite oppositions demands more political participation ahead of the parliamentary elections set for October 23rd.

Iraq/Terrorism: One American soldier killed in Baqouba

Sources of the US Army announced on Monday that an American soldier had been killed in an attack that was carried against his patrol in Baqouba, the capital of the Diyala province, north-east of Baghdad on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, at least six policemen have been killed in separate attacks carried on police checkpoints in Baghdad.

In a first incident that ocurred in the eastern part of the capital, an unidentified attacker shot dead two officers, put their bodies in a police vehicle and then set it on fire.

Other two similar attacks were carried in the districts of Amil and Shaab, while a bomb attached to a policemen’s car exploded, killing the driver and wounding two other officers.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Al-Qaeda cell leader killed in the north

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) announced on Monday that two terrorists, including an Al-Qaeda cell leader, have been killed in an air strike carried in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz during the weekend.

Reportedly, the Al-Qaeda cell leader was identified as Abu Baqir and has been allegedly training suicide bombers for the Taleban in Afghanistan.

It is worth mentioning that the air strike that resulted in the killing of the two terrorists was launched after an attack was carried against a police station in the Aliabad district.

United Kingdom/Terrorism: Three children injured in bomb explosion in County Armagh

Media reported on Saturday that three children had been injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated in a garbage bin several hundred meters from a police squad that was cordoning of a school in Lurgan, in the Northern Ireland’s County Armagh.

It is worth mentioning that despite the fact that there had been earlier warnings that one or more bombs might be placed in schools in Northern Ireland, no warning was issued before this explosion.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, but authorities blame it on republican dissidents.

As a reminder, a bomb planted in a taxi exploded on August 3rd, outside a police station in Londonderry, while several thwarted bomb-attacks have been reported in the last two weeks in Bangor and Kilkeel, County Down and Cookstone, County Tyrone.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: Taleban terrorists kill seven soldiers in an ambush in Laghman province 

Official Sources announced on Friday that seven soldiers had been killed and 14 others were injured during a major confrontation between troops of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Taleban terrorists in a remote and mountainous area in the eastern province of Laghman.

Reportedly, the Afghan troops were ambushed by Taleban fighters while carrying a routine “mopping up” operation – initially run independently of NATO forces - in the Bad Pakh Valley, close to the border with Nuristan and Kunar provinces, an area known as being a Taleban and Al-Qaeda stronghold.

After the ambush, NATO troops and air support have joined the fighting and at least 12 of the terrorists have been killed, including the commander responsible for the attack and his deputy.

India/Civil unrest: Four protesters dead in Kashmir demonstrations

International Media reported that at least four protesters were killed in clashes between police and demonstrators in different towns in Indian-administered Kashmir on Friday.  The protesters say that the dead were unarmed but police said they were forced to open fire after they were pelted with stones.

A confrontation took place between security forces and a group of worshippers that were coming out of a mosque in Kupwara, northern Kashmir. The police stopped the group and claimed they had broken the security restrictions imposed in the area. Uproar occurred and police fired into the crown killing one man and injuring one woman.

Hundreds of protesters raising pro-freedom and anti-India slogans later came into the streets to protest the killing. 

Meanwhile, demonstrations were also taking place in the towns of Trehhgam, Pattan  and Sopore. Four have been reported killed and two of those were teenagers taking part in protests in the town of Sopore, north of Srinagar.

Mexico/Organized Crime: At least 12 gunmen killed and three soldiers injured in Durango

Media reported on Friday that at least 12 gunmen were killed and three soldiers were injured during a gun battle that erupted on Thursday in the municipality Santiago Papasquiaro, in the northern Mexican state of Durango.

According to sources from the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), the military forces were carrying a raid on a farm in the respective municipality, following an anonymous tip-off, when they were attacked with gunshots by suspected members of drug trafficking cartels.

No information has been released regarding to which of the cartels the killed men belonged, but it is worth mentioning that both the Sinaloa and Los Zetas cartels are known to be operating in the area.

Bolivia/Civil Unrest: 30 foreign tourists still trapped in Potosi as the general strike continues

Media reported on Friday that 30 foreign tourists, still trapped in Potosi, have tried without any success on Thursday to leave the Bolivian southern city that has been paralyzed by protests for 15 days already. 

According to Police and Consular Sources, the tourists - including a dozen French citizens, but also others of British, Spanish, Chilean and Peruvian nationalities - were turned back at a roadblock, despite the fact that they were traveling with a delegation from the local committee heading to the neighboring Sucre to negotiate with the central government.

Moreover, according to the statements of one French citizen from the group of tourists, they had been attacked with stones by the protesting miners.

Meanwhile, the Commander of the Potosi Police, Mario Espinoza, stated that despite the efforts of the local authorities, the bus transporting the tourists could not pass the roadblock and that he recommends no other attempts of leaving the city to be made before the end of the social conflict.

Spain/France/Terrorism: Leader of SEGI, a movement closely aligned with ETA, arrested in France

The Spanish Authorities said that one of the presumed leaders of SEGI, a radical youth Basque nationalist movement suspected to be closely connected to ETA, was arrested Thursday. The arrest occurred in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz in France and the perpetrator was later handed over to Spanish police.

A similar arrest was made in June when the alleged leader of SEGI, Jon Telleria, was arrested in the town Saint-Pée gala sur Nivelle, France. Telleria was arrested on a warrant made by Spanish police and the French Supreme Court later ruled that he would be deported to Spain where he will be prosecuted for urban violence.

The SEGI movement is banned in Spain but allowed in France.

Russia/Civil Unrest: Police break up protest against Moscow mayor

Russian Authorities said that 35 people have been detained after heated demonstrations near the mayor’s office in Moscow. The protesters were forcibly dispersed and dragged into waiting buses by police.

The protesters, several dozen opposition figures, rights activists and other critics called for mayor Yuri Luzhkov's resignation and pleaded for a return to popular elections for Russian regional leaders, abolished by Vladimir Putin during his 2000-2008 presidency.

In private and on the Internet, Muscovites have criticized Luzhkov for his absence last week, when the sweltering city was shrouded in toxic smoke from peat fires in the surrounding region and authorities reported death rates had doubled.

Mali/Terrorism: AQIM executes a customs guide in the north-eastern Governorate of Kidal

Sources from the Governorate of Kidal and of the Malian Security Forces announced that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has executed on Thursday Merzag Ag Al-Hassini, the customs guide who had been kidnapped on Tuesday together with a soldier of the National Guard.

Separately, a former senior rebel of Algerian nationality who had been arrested in 2006, issued statements concerning corrupted Mali officials and leaders of the local tribes that have forged alliances with members of the AQIM, sell weapons and help them evade capture.

No immediate official comments from Mali’s Government were available concerning this issue.

Greece/Insurgency: Bomb thrown at Turkish consulate, no one injured

Greek Authorities Stated unknown assailants had launched a pipe bomb at the Turkish Consulate in the Northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on Thursday. There were no reports of any damage or injuries.

According to the police, three men with crash helmets threw a Molotov cocktail towards the consulate, aiming for the police guards outside the building.

Greek government spokesman Giorgos Petalotis confirmed that the bomb was thrown at the outside fence of the consulate. Petalotis described the attack as inexcusable, adding that the culprits would be caught and brought to justice.

No individual or any group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Afghanistan/Terrorism: 20 Taleban fighters killed in NATO joint operation

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan announced on Thursday that at least 20 terrorists have been killed in the southeastern part of the country in an operation launched against the Haqqani network, a pro-Taleban group.

According to ISAF, air strikes were called in after Afghan and ISAF troops came under the attack of some 20 terrorists firing with Rocket-propelled Grenades (RPG) and small arms.

Reportedly, the NATO and Afghan troops had been deployed in the respective mountainous area of Zadran district in Paktia, not far from the Pakistan border, to check the insurgency mounted by the Haqqani network.

Colombia/Terrorism: Bomb blast hits Bogotá radio station, nine injured

As reported earlier, a car bomb exploded close to the Bogotá headquarters of national broadcaster Caracol Radio on Thursday. The latest reports indicated that nine people have been injured in the incident.

Reportedly, the blast went off at 5.30 am (local time) as Caracol journalist Dario Arizmendi began his daily broadcast, causing pieces of the seventh floor ceiling to collapse above the journalist and several of his colleagues.

Bogotá Police Commander Cesar Pinzon confirmed initial reports that it was a vehicle that exploded and said there was no immediate claim of responsibility and that police had not received any prior warnings.

Pinzon also mentioned that an anti-explosives unit will investigate the cause of the explosion.

India/Terrorism: Three terrorists killed in Kashmir

Military Officials stated that security forces gunned down at least three suspected terrorists in the northern district of Baramulla in Indian-administered Kashmir on Thursday.

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel JS Brar said that an exchange of fire took place after a joint patrol comprising army and police personnel spotted a group of terrorists in the district's Bandipora forests.

According to Brar, the terrorists shot at the patrol, triggering retaliatory fire. He said three terrorists were killed at the end of the gun battle.

Meanwhile, curfew was lifted from Srinagar and major towns in the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley amid a break in strikes and demonstrations that the separatist leaders made a call for.

Bangladesh/Civil Unrest: Over 50 injured in power outage protests

Bangladesh Police stated that clashes between security forces and thousands of people protesting frequent power outages left at least 50 people injured in a town outside the capital Dhaka on Wednesday.

Akhtar Hossain, a local police officer, said the violence broke out when about 5,000 protesters, irate over the electrical blackouts, attacked a power station in Narayanganj, a town outside Dhaka.

According to Hossain, the police used batons and tear gas to fight back protestors wielding iron rods and stones. Several police personnel were among the injured.

Reportedly, protesters also blocked traffic, smashed vehicles and threw stones at the power station, but caused no major damage to the facility.

Suspected car bomb explodes in Bogotá, four injured

Media reported on Thursday that at least four people were injured when a suspected car bomb exploded near the Caracol Radio Station in the financial district of the Colombian capital, Bogotá.

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack at this stage.