The Islamic State group claimed responsibility today for its first attack in Germany, an axe and knife assault on a train carried out by a 17-year-old Afghan refugee. 
 
German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the asylum seeker, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage. The teenage assailant was killed as he tried to flee. 
 
&quot;The perpetrator of the stabbing attack in Germany was one of the fighters of the Islamic State,&quot; the IS-linked Amaq news agency said. 
 
The assault on a regional train near the southern city of Wuerzburg late Monday left two of the victims critically hurt, said Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state. 
 
&quot;We hope that those who were gravely injured make it,&quot; Herrmann told ZDF public television. 
 
Germany has thus far escaped the kind of large-scale jihadist attack seen in the southern French city of Nice last week, in which 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel used a truck to mow down 84 people. That attack was also claimed by IS. 
 
The terrifying assault in Bavaria is likely to revive a heated national debate about integrating migrants and refugees after a record influx last year. 
 
&#39;Like a slaughterhouse&#39; 
 
The assailant had arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Germany about two years ago and had been staying with a foster family in the region for the last two weeks, Herrmann said. 
 
&quot;It is quite probable that this was an Islamist attack,&quot; said a ministry spokesman hours after the attack, adding that the assailant was heard shouting &quot;Allahu akbar&quot; (God is greatest). 
 
However, he stressed that the investigation was ongoing and that the teenager appeared to have acted alone. 
 
&quot;We must determine what the motive was and to what extent he really belonged to the Islamist scene or self-radicalised very recently,&quot; Herrmann said, adding that the assailant had no criminal record in Germany. 
 
The assault happened around 9.15 pm (1915 GMT) on the train which runs between the town of Treuchtlingen and Wuerzburg in Bavaria. 
 
An eyewitness who lives next to the railway station told DPA news agency that the train, which had been carrying around 25 people, looked &quot;like a slaughterhouse&quot; with blood covering the floor. 
 
The man, who declined to give his name, said he saw people crawl from the carriage and ask for a first-aid kit as other victims lay on the floor inside. 
 
&quot;The perpetrator was able to leave the train, police left in pursuit and as part of this pursuit, they shot the attacker and killed him,&quot; a police spokesman said. 
 
Herrmann later said the teenager was shot when he attacked police while trying to escape the scene. 
 
Political tensions 
 
Germany has been spared major Islamist attacks but in May, a mentally unstable 27-year-old man wielding a knife killed one person and injured three others on another Bavarian regional train. 
 
Early reports had suggested he had yelled &quot;Allahu akbar&quot; but police later said there was no evidence pointing to a religious motive. He is being held in a psychiatric hospital. 
 
In February, a 15-year-old girl of Turkish origin stabbed a policeman in the neck with a kitchen knife at Hanover train station in what prosecutors later said was an IS-inspired attack. 
 
And police in April arrested two 16-year-olds over an explosion that wounded three people at a Sikh temple, in what was believed to be an Islamist-motivated attack against an Indian wedding party at a temple in the western city of Essen. 
 
Germany let in nearly 1.1 million asylum seekers last year, with Syrians the largest group followed by Afghans. 
 
However the number of refugees arriving in Germany has fallen sharply as a result of the closure of the Balkans migration route and an EU deal with Turkey to stem the flow. 
 
Bavaria is governed by the Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s conservative Christian Democrats, which has been loudly critical of Merkel&#39;s welcoming stance toward asylum seekers. 
 
The split threatened the unity of the ruling coalition in Berlin and sent the government&#39;s approval ratings plunging. 
 
It has also put wind in the sails of a right-wing populist party, Alternative for Germany, which was founded as a eurosceptic protest outfit in 2013 but now mainly rails against Islam and Germany&#39;s refugee influx. 
 
Merkel&#39;s popularity has rebounded recently but the Bavaria attack is likely to stoke political tensions. 
 
(AFP)

German authorities had found a hand-painted IS flag in the belongings of the teenage Afghan attacker. The assailant was killed while fleeing

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility today for its first attack in Germany, an axe and knife assault on a train carried out by a 17-year-old Afghan refugee. German authorities said they had found a hand-painted IS flag among the belongings of the asylum seeker, who seriously injured four members of a family of tourists from Hong Kong in his rampage. The teenage assailant was killed as he tried to flee. "The perpetrator of the stabbing attack in Germany was one of the fighters of the Islamic State," the IS-linked Amaq news agency said. The assault on a regional train near the southern city of Wuerzburg late Monday left two of the victims critically hurt, said Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of Bavaria state. "We hope that those who were gravely injured make it," Herrmann told ZDF public television. Germany has thus far escaped the kind of large-scale jihadist attack seen in the southern French city of Nice last week, in which 31-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel used a truck to mow down 84 people. That attack was also claimed by IS. The terrifying assault in Bavaria is likely to revive a heated national debate about integrating migrants and refugees after a record influx last year. 'Like a slaughterhouse' The assailant had arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Germany about two years ago and had been staying with a foster family in the region for the last two weeks, Herrmann said. "It is quite probable that this was an Islamist attack," said a ministry spokesman hours after the attack, adding that the assailant was heard shouting "Allahu akbar" (God is greatest). However, he stressed that the investigation was ongoing and that the teenager appeared to have acted alone. "We must determine what the motive was and to what extent he really belonged to the Islamist scene or self-radicalised very recently," Herrmann said, adding that the assailant had no criminal record in Germany. The assault happened around 9.15 pm (1915 GMT) on the train which runs between the town of Treuchtlingen and Wuerzburg in Bavaria. An eyewitness who lives next to the railway station told DPA news agency that the train, which had been carrying around 25 people, looked "like a slaughterhouse" with blood covering the floor. The man, who declined to give his name, said he saw people crawl from the carriage and ask for a first-aid kit as other victims lay on the floor inside. "The perpetrator was able to leave the train, police left in pursuit and as part of this pursuit, they shot the attacker and killed him," a police spokesman said. Herrmann later said the teenager was shot when he attacked police while trying to escape the scene. Political tensions Germany has been spared major Islamist attacks but in May, a mentally unstable 27-year-old man wielding a knife killed one person and injured three others on another Bavarian regional train. Early reports had suggested he had yelled "Allahu akbar" but police later said there was no evidence pointing to a religious motive. He is being held in a psychiatric hospital. In February, a 15-year-old girl of Turkish origin stabbed a policeman in the neck with a kitchen knife at Hanover train station in what prosecutors later said was an IS-inspired attack. And police in April arrested two 16-year-olds over an explosion that wounded three people at a Sikh temple, in what was believed to be an Islamist-motivated attack against an Indian wedding party at a temple in the western city of Essen. Germany let in nearly 1.1 million asylum seekers last year, with Syrians the largest group followed by Afghans. However the number of refugees arriving in Germany has fallen sharply as a result of the closure of the Balkans migration route and an EU deal with Turkey to stem the flow. Bavaria is governed by the Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, which has been loudly critical of Merkel's welcoming stance toward asylum seekers. The split threatened the unity of the ruling coalition in Berlin and sent the government's approval ratings plunging. It has also put wind in the sails of a right-wing populist party, Alternative for Germany, which was founded as a eurosceptic protest outfit in 2013 but now mainly rails against Islam and Germany's refugee influx. Merkel's popularity has rebounded recently but the Bavaria attack is likely to stoke political tensions. (AFP)

IS claims first German attack with train axe assault

At least 56 civilians were killed on Tuesday in air strikes north of the besieged Islamic State-held city of Manbij in northern Syria. Residents said they believed the attack was carried out by US-led warplanes, a monitoring group said. 
 
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead included 11 children, and that dozens more were wounded.&nbsp; 
 
The US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, launched an offensive at the end of May to seize the last territory held by Islamic State (IS) insurgents on Syria&#39;s frontier with Turkey. 
 
Supported by US coalition air strikes, the SDF have surrounded the city, but Islamic State attacks still occur in some areas of the surrounding countryside. 
 
On Monday, 21 were killed in raids also believed to have been conducted by US-led coalition aircraft on Manbij&#39;s northern Hazawneh quarter.&nbsp; 
 
But progress into Manbij city has been slow. The militants have deployed snipers, planted mines and prevented civilians from leaving, hampering efforts to bomb the city without causing heavy casualties, according to Kurdish sources. 
 
The Observatory said at least 104 civilians have died from air strikes since the start of the Manbij offensive in late May.&nbsp; 
 
Colonel Chris Garver, a spokesman for the US coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, said it was looking into reports of civilian deaths but was being &quot;extraordinarily careful to make sure&quot; air strikes were killing IS fighters. 
 
&quot;Around Manbij, the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC - Arab groups within the SDF), which is leading that fight, is being very slow and deliberate in that fight to protect civilians which we know are inside.&quot; 
 
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recently voiced concern for the roughly 70,000 civilians believed to be trapped between warring parties in Manbij. 
 
&quot;Civilians have...reportedly been killed if they leave their homes or attempt to flee. Families are unable to access local cemeteries to bury their relatives who have died or been killed, and are burying them in their gardens or keeping the corpses in bunkers,&quot; Zeid Ra&#39;ad Al Hussein said. 
 
&quot;The town has no electricity or water at present, and no medical facilities are known to be operating. As the SDF closes in on the city, (Islamic State) has not permitted civilians to leave the area.&quot; 
 
The coalition said it has conducted more than 450 strikes in the vicinity of Manbij. It routinely investigates civilian deaths and publishes the results of confirmed incidents. 
 
Between September 10, 2015 and February 2, 2016, coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria probably killed 20 civilians and injured 11 others, the US Central Command said in April.&nbsp; 
 
On Tuesday, the coalition said the SAC captured an IS command centre in western Manbij on Sunday that was concealed in a hospital and was also being used as a logistics hub. 
 
The SAC had also taken a significant area of the city during the operation, giving civilians an opportunity to flee, a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force said. 
 
(Reuters)

Residents say they believe the attack was carried out by US-led warplanes in strikes north of IS-held city, Manbij

At least 56 civilians were killed on Tuesday in air strikes north of the besieged Islamic State-held city of Manbij in northern Syria. Residents said they believed the attack was carried out by US-led warplanes, a monitoring group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead included 11 children, and that dozens more were wounded. The US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, launched an offensive at the end of May to seize the last territory held by Islamic State (IS) insurgents on Syria's frontier with Turkey. Supported by US coalition air strikes, the SDF have surrounded the city, but Islamic State attacks still occur in some areas of the surrounding countryside. On Monday, 21 were killed in raids also believed to have been conducted by US-led coalition aircraft on Manbij's northern Hazawneh quarter. But progress into Manbij city has been slow. The militants have deployed snipers, planted mines and prevented civilians from leaving, hampering efforts to bomb the city without causing heavy casualties, according to Kurdish sources. The Observatory said at least 104 civilians have died from air strikes since the start of the Manbij offensive in late May. Colonel Chris Garver, a spokesman for the US coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, said it was looking into reports of civilian deaths but was being "extraordinarily careful to make sure" air strikes were killing IS fighters. "Around Manbij, the Syrian Arab Coalition (SAC - Arab groups within the SDF), which is leading that fight, is being very slow and deliberate in that fight to protect civilians which we know are inside." The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recently voiced concern for the roughly 70,000 civilians believed to be trapped between warring parties in Manbij. "Civilians have...reportedly been killed if they leave their homes or attempt to flee. Families are unable to access local cemeteries to bury their relatives who have died or been killed, and are burying them in their gardens or keeping the corpses in bunkers," Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said. "The town has no electricity or water at present, and no medical facilities are known to be operating. As the SDF closes in on the city, (Islamic State) has not permitted civilians to leave the area." The coalition said it has conducted more than 450 strikes in the vicinity of Manbij. It routinely investigates civilian deaths and publishes the results of confirmed incidents. Between September 10, 2015 and February 2, 2016, coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria probably killed 20 civilians and injured 11 others, the US Central Command said in April. On Tuesday, the coalition said the SAC captured an IS command centre in western Manbij on Sunday that was concealed in a hospital and was also being used as a logistics hub. The SAC had also taken a significant area of the city during the operation, giving civilians an opportunity to flee, a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force said. (Reuters)

Air strikes kill 56 civilians in northern Syria

Bangladeshi investigators poring over CCTV footage believe they have spotted four new suspects, including a woman, involved in a bloody attack on a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, this month, a senior security official said today. 
 
Twenty&nbsp;two people were killed in the attack, most of them foreigners, after five young Bangladeshi men stormed into the restaurant in an upscale part of the capital in an assault claimed by Islamic State. 
 
The five men were all killed hours later when security forces battled their way into the cafe to end the siege. 
 
Authorities have detained at least two people for questioning in connection with the attack and an official from the elite, police-run Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said accomplices of the attackers might have been detected. 
 
&quot;We have detected four new suspects after assessing CCTV footage. We are now working to identify them,&rdquo; the RAB&rsquo;s Legal and Media wing chief Mufti Mahmud Khan told Reuters. 
 
The footage was taken outside the cafe popular with foreigners before the July 1 attack, he said. 
 
In the video, the suspects were seen walking on the pavement and road and a &quot;suspicious&quot; car was also seen on the road. 
 
The security force posted a video of the footage on its Facebook page&nbsp;and appealed for anyone with information about the people shown to come forward, Khan said. 
 
The attack was one of the deadliest militant attacks in Bangladesh, where Islamic State and al Qaeda have claimed a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year.&nbsp; 
 
Police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, played a significant role in organising the group of privileged, educated young men who carried out the attack.&nbsp; 
 
The attack marked a major escalation in violence aimed at forcing strict Islamic rule onto predominantly Muslim Bangladesh. 
 
Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among the dead. Two Bangladeshis were also murdered inside the restaurant while two police officers were killed outside during the standoff. 
 
(Reuters)

&nbsp;

'The footage was taken outside the cafe popular with foreigners before the July 1 attack'

Bangladeshi investigators poring over CCTV footage believe they have spotted four new suspects, including a woman, involved in a bloody attack on a cafe in the capital, Dhaka, this month, a senior security official said today. Twenty two people were killed in the attack, most of them foreigners, after five young Bangladeshi men stormed into the restaurant in an upscale part of the capital in an assault claimed by Islamic State. The five men were all killed hours later when security forces battled their way into the cafe to end the siege. Authorities have detained at least two people for questioning in connection with the attack and an official from the elite, police-run Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) said accomplices of the attackers might have been detected. "We have detected four new suspects after assessing CCTV footage. We are now working to identify them,” the RAB’s Legal and Media wing chief Mufti Mahmud Khan told Reuters. The footage was taken outside the cafe popular with foreigners before the July 1 attack, he said. In the video, the suspects were seen walking on the pavement and road and a "suspicious" car was also seen on the road. The security force posted a video of the footage on its Facebook page and appealed for anyone with information about the people shown to come forward, Khan said. The attack was one of the deadliest militant attacks in Bangladesh, where Islamic State and al Qaeda have claimed a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in the past year. Police believe that Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, an outlawed domestic group that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, played a significant role in organising the group of privileged, educated young men who carried out the attack. The attack marked a major escalation in violence aimed at forcing strict Islamic rule onto predominantly Muslim Bangladesh. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, an American and an Indian were among the dead. Two Bangladeshis were also murdered inside the restaurant while two police officers were killed outside during the standoff. (Reuters)

Dhaka cafe siege: New suspects spotted in CCTV footage

Links between the Nice truck attacker and &quot;terrorist networks&quot;, including the Islamic State group which has claimed the killings, &quot;have not yet been established by the investigation&quot;, France&#39;s interior minister said today.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;We cannot exclude that an unbalanced and very violent individual&quot; has been &quot;through a rapid radicalisation, committed to this absolutely despicable crime,&quot; which killed 84 people, Bernard Cazeneuve told Frances RTL radio. 
 
Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian, rammed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the seaside city of Nice on Thursday night, killing 84 people and injuring about 300. 
 
The Islamic State group said one of its &quot;soldiers&quot; carried out the attack in response to its calls to target countries from the US-led coalition engaged in airstrikes against the group. 
 
The attack was the third major terror strike on France in 18 months, and Cazeneuve hit out at opposition politicians who have fiercely criticised the government for not doing enough to stop the bloodshed. 
 
Former president and main opposition leader Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday that &quot;everything that should have been done the past 18 months was not done&quot;. 
 
Cazeneuve described the politicians as &quot;shameful&quot;. 
 
&quot;Certain members of the political class have not respected the mourning period. Arguments broke out right away which personally saddens and shocks me,&quot; he said. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

IS said its "soldier" carried out the attack in response to target countries from US-led coalition engaged in airstrikes against the group

Links between the Nice truck attacker and "terrorist networks", including the Islamic State group which has claimed the killings, "have not yet been established by the investigation", France's interior minister said today. "We cannot exclude that an unbalanced and very violent individual" has been "through a rapid radicalisation, committed to this absolutely despicable crime," which killed 84 people, Bernard Cazeneuve told Frances RTL radio. Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian, rammed a 19-tonne truck into a crowd leaving a fireworks display in the seaside city of Nice on Thursday night, killing 84 people and injuring about 300. The Islamic State group said one of its "soldiers" carried out the attack in response to its calls to target countries from the US-led coalition engaged in airstrikes against the group. The attack was the third major terror strike on France in 18 months, and Cazeneuve hit out at opposition politicians who have fiercely criticised the government for not doing enough to stop the bloodshed. Former president and main opposition leader Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday that "everything that should have been done the past 18 months was not done". Cazeneuve described the politicians as "shameful". "Certain members of the political class have not respected the mourning period. Arguments broke out right away which personally saddens and shocks me," he said. (AFP)

Links between Nice attacker, IS not yet established: French interior minister

&nbsp;A Kosovo court sent five people to prison for terms ranging from four to 13 years on terrorism charges for planning to pledge loyalty to the Islamic State and post a video of the event on the internet. 
 
&quot;Their aim was to read the oath of the terrorist organisation Islamic State and publish it on the internet to show the presence of IS in Kosovo,&quot; a judge said while reading the verdict in a Pristina court. 
 
He said an automatic rifle, masks, gloves and an IS flag were found when police arrested the defendants by an artificial lake near the capital last year. 
 
The defendants were initially suspected of contaminating the water in Lake Badovc, which supplies half of Pristina with drinking water, but those charges were dropped after authorities found the water was clean. 
 
Police say around 300 Kosovars have joined Islamic State and more than 50 have been killed. More than 100 people in Kosovo have been arrested or are under investigation for recruiting for Islamic State or fighting in Syria and Iraq.&nbsp;Authorities say that so far this year no one has gone to join Islamic State in Syria or Iraq. 
 
(Reuters)

Automatic rifle, masks, gloves and an IS flag were found when police arrested the defendants by an artificial lake near Pristina in 2015

A Kosovo court sent five people to prison for terms ranging from four to 13 years on terrorism charges for planning to pledge loyalty to the Islamic State and post a video of the event on the internet. "Their aim was to read the oath of the terrorist organisation Islamic State and publish it on the internet to show the presence of IS in Kosovo," a judge said while reading the verdict in a Pristina court. He said an automatic rifle, masks, gloves and an IS flag were found when police arrested the defendants by an artificial lake near the capital last year. The defendants were initially suspected of contaminating the water in Lake Badovc, which supplies half of Pristina with drinking water, but those charges were dropped after authorities found the water was clean. Police say around 300 Kosovars have joined Islamic State and more than 50 have been killed. More than 100 people in Kosovo have been arrested or are under investigation for recruiting for Islamic State or fighting in Syria and Iraq. Authorities say that so far this year no one has gone to join Islamic State in Syria or Iraq. (Reuters)

Kosovo arrests five for planning to pledge loyalty to IS

UNESCO has named Iraqi marshlands once ravaged by dictator Saddam Hussein as a World Heritage Site, a bright spot for a country where jihadists have repeatedly sought to wipe out history. 
 
The area named &quot;is made up of seven sites: three archaeological sites and four wetland marsh areas in southern Iraq,&quot; UNESCO said. 
&quot;The archaeological cities of Uruk and Ur and the Tell Eridu archaeological site form part of the remains of the Sumerian cities and settlements that developed in southern Mesopotamia between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BCE,&quot; it said. 
 
&quot;The Ahwar of Southern Iraq - also known as the Iraqi Marshlands - are unique, as one of the worlds largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment,&quot; UNESCO said. Iraq has been seeking World Heritage status for the marshes since 2003, and its government hailed the move. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the Iraqi people on UNESCOs decision, and thanked &quot;all those who contributed to this success&quot;. 
 
Abadi also said that culture in the country will continue &quot;despite the destruction and demolition of Iraqi heritage and antiquities by barbaric terrorist gangs&quot;. He was referring to Islamic State group&#39;s destruction of artefacts at the Mosul museum and the ancient cities of Nimrud and Hatra, the latter of which is a World Heritage Site. 
 
IS has sought to couch the destruction in religious terms, saying it was targeting idols, but that has not stopped it from selling artefacts to fund its operations. 
 
The marshlands once stretched across some 20,000 square kilometres, but they were devastated after Saddam ordered them drained in the 1990s to stop them being used as hideouts by Shiite guerrillas opposed to his regime.&nbsp;Many dams and canals ordered built by the dictator have now been demolished, allowing waters from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to flood back, fish and fowl to return and humans to settle once again. 
 
Dams farther upriver in Syria and Turkey still limit the flow of water into the marshes, and high levels of salinity have also been a problem in the south, killing fish and making the water undrinkable. 
 
(AFP)

The Ahwar of Southern Iraq are one of the world's largest inland delta systems. Iraq has been seeking World Heritage status since 2003

UNESCO has named Iraqi marshlands once ravaged by dictator Saddam Hussein as a World Heritage Site, a bright spot for a country where jihadists have repeatedly sought to wipe out history. The area named "is made up of seven sites: three archaeological sites and four wetland marsh areas in southern Iraq," UNESCO said. "The archaeological cities of Uruk and Ur and the Tell Eridu archaeological site form part of the remains of the Sumerian cities and settlements that developed in southern Mesopotamia between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BCE," it said. "The Ahwar of Southern Iraq - also known as the Iraqi Marshlands - are unique, as one of the worlds largest inland delta systems, in an extremely hot and arid environment," UNESCO said. Iraq has been seeking World Heritage status for the marshes since 2003, and its government hailed the move. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulated the Iraqi people on UNESCOs decision, and thanked "all those who contributed to this success". Abadi also said that culture in the country will continue "despite the destruction and demolition of Iraqi heritage and antiquities by barbaric terrorist gangs". He was referring to Islamic State group's destruction of artefacts at the Mosul museum and the ancient cities of Nimrud and Hatra, the latter of which is a World Heritage Site. IS has sought to couch the destruction in religious terms, saying it was targeting idols, but that has not stopped it from selling artefacts to fund its operations. The marshlands once stretched across some 20,000 square kilometres, but they were devastated after Saddam ordered them drained in the 1990s to stop them being used as hideouts by Shiite guerrillas opposed to his regime. Many dams and canals ordered built by the dictator have now been demolished, allowing waters from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to flood back, fish and fowl to return and humans to settle once again. Dams farther upriver in Syria and Turkey still limit the flow of water into the marshes, and high levels of salinity have also been a problem in the south, killing fish and making the water undrinkable. (AFP)

UNESCO names Iraq marshlands a World Heritage Site

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the truck attack on the French city of Nice today&nbsp;as French police arrested three people&nbsp;in connection with the carnage that claimed the lives of at least 84 people.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The person who carried out the operation in Nice&nbsp;to run down people was one of the soldiers of Islamic State,&quot; the news agency Amaq, which supports Islamic State, said via its Telegram account.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;He carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of states that are part of the coalition fighting Islamic State,&quot; the statement said. 
 
French authorities said they were checking the claim. 
 
The 31-year-old Tunisian driver of the truck drove at a Bastille day crowd on the waterfront of the French riveria city on Thursday night. Authorities had been working to find out whether his motives were indeed connected to radical Islam.&nbsp; 
 
He was not known to French intelligence sources for radicalisation. 
 
The arrests, which came on top of two on Friday including the attacker&#39;s wife, concerned the attacker&#39;s &quot;close entourage&quot;, the sources said. They were made in two different areas of Nice. 
 
A reporter saw about 40 elite police raid a small apartment near the central station, where one individual was arrested. 
 
Nice attack was third of its kind in France&nbsp; 
 
Thursday night&#39;s attack plunged France into new grief and fear just eight months after gunmen killed 130 people in Paris. 
 
The truck zigzagged along the city&#39;s seafront Promenade des Anglais as a fireworks display marking the French national day ended.&nbsp; 
 
It careered into families and friends listening to an orchestra or strolling above the Mediterranean beach towards the century-old grand Hotel Negresco. 
 
The attack is the third of its kind in France since the beginning of 2015, and a state of emergency in place since 130 people were killed in and around Paris last November is to be extended for another three months. 
 
The driver, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, was shot dead by officers at the scene. He was known to police for petty crimes but was not on a watch list of suspected militants. He had one criminal conviction for road rage, having been sentenced to probation three months ago for throwing a wooden pallet at another driver.&nbsp; 
 
Ahead of the claim by the Islamic State, the terrorist&nbsp;Islamist group which grabbed control of swathes of Iraq and Syria but which is now under military pressure from forces opposed to it, French officials had not disclosed any direct evidence linking Bouhlel with the jihadism.

French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve, asked on Friday if he could confirm the attacker&#39;s motives were linked to jihadism, said: &quot;No. ... We have an individual who was not known to intelligence services.&quot;

Relatives and neighbours in Bouhlel&#39;s home town of Msaken outside the coast city of Sousse said he was sporty and had shown no sign of being radicalised, including when he last returned for the wedding of a sister four years ago. 
 
(Reuters)

The arrests include the attacker's wife. French authorities said they were checking the claim of IS involvement in the attack

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the truck attack on the French city of Nice today as French police arrested three people in connection with the carnage that claimed the lives of at least 84 people. "The person who carried out the operation in Nice to run down people was one of the soldiers of Islamic State," the news agency Amaq, which supports Islamic State, said via its Telegram account. "He carried out the operation in response to calls to target nationals of states that are part of the coalition fighting Islamic State," the statement said. French authorities said they were checking the claim. The 31-year-old Tunisian driver of the truck drove at a Bastille day crowd on the waterfront of the French riveria city on Thursday night. Authorities had been working to find out whether his motives were indeed connected to radical Islam. He was not known to French intelligence sources for radicalisation. The arrests, which came on top of two on Friday including the attacker's wife, concerned the attacker's "close entourage", the sources said. They were made in two different areas of Nice. A reporter saw about 40 elite police raid a small apartment near the central station, where one individual was arrested. Nice attack was third of its kind in France Thursday night's attack plunged France into new grief and fear just eight months after gunmen killed 130 people in Paris. The truck zigzagged along the city's seafront Promenade des Anglais as a fireworks display marking the French national day ended. It careered into families and friends listening to an orchestra or strolling above the Mediterranean beach towards the century-old grand Hotel Negresco. The attack is the third of its kind in France since the beginning of 2015, and a state of emergency in place since 130 people were killed in and around Paris last November is to be extended for another three months. The driver, Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, was shot dead by officers at the scene. He was known to police for petty crimes but was not on a watch list of suspected militants. He had one criminal conviction for road rage, having been sentenced to probation three months ago for throwing a wooden pallet at another driver. Ahead of the claim by the Islamic State, the terrorist Islamist group which grabbed control of swathes of Iraq and Syria but which is now under military pressure from forces opposed to it, French officials had not disclosed any direct evidence linking Bouhlel with the jihadism. French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve, asked on Friday if he could confirm the attacker's motives were linked to jihadism, said: "No. ... We have an individual who was not known to intelligence services." Relatives and neighbours in Bouhlel's home town of Msaken outside the coast city of Sousse said he was sporty and had shown no sign of being radicalised, including when he last returned for the wedding of a sister four years ago. (Reuters)

Islamic State claims truck attack in Nice, 3 arrested

US secretary of state John Kerry said today that Washington had had no idea that a coup attempt was brewing in NATO ally Turkey before Friday&#39;s bloody events. 
 
But he added that the failed &#39;putsch&#39; had apparently been incompetently executed, and restated Washington&#39;s support for President Tayyip Erdogan&#39;s elected government. 
 
&quot;If you&#39;re planning a coup you don&#39;t exactly advertise it to your partners in NATO,&quot; Kerry told reporters who asked how US intelligence could have been surprised by events. 
 
&quot;It surprised everybody, including the people in Turkey,&quot; the top US diplomat added, speaking in Luxembourg during a diplomatic tour of European capitals.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I must say, it does not appear to have been a very brilliantly planned or executed event, but let&#39;s reserve all judgment until the facts are in,&quot; he asserted.&nbsp; 
 
The United States and Turkey are close military allies within NATO and US war planes targeting the Islamic State group fly out of the major Incirlik air base. 
 
(AFP)

If you're planning coup, you don't advertise it to your partners in NATO: John Kerry said when asked how US intelligence missed this

US secretary of state John Kerry said today that Washington had had no idea that a coup attempt was brewing in NATO ally Turkey before Friday's bloody events. But he added that the failed 'putsch' had apparently been incompetently executed, and restated Washington's support for President Tayyip Erdogan's elected government. "If you're planning a coup you don't exactly advertise it to your partners in NATO," Kerry told reporters who asked how US intelligence could have been surprised by events. "It surprised everybody, including the people in Turkey," the top US diplomat added, speaking in Luxembourg during a diplomatic tour of European capitals. "I must say, it does not appear to have been a very brilliantly planned or executed event, but let's reserve all judgment until the facts are in," he asserted. The United States and Turkey are close military allies within NATO and US war planes targeting the Islamic State group fly out of the major Incirlik air base. (AFP)

No one saw Turkey coup bid coming: US envoy

Thousands of Iraqis rallied in the heart of Baghdad on Friday, in defiance of warnings from the government to stay at home, to demand an end to sectarianism and corruption. 
 
The demonstrators massed in Tahrir Square despite a decree from the security forces late on Thursday that the rally called by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was &quot;unauthorised&quot; and would be treated as a &quot;terrorist threat&quot;. 
 
Sadr has led repeated protests, some of them breaching the central Green Zone government and diplomatic compound, calling for an end to what he says is a corrupt power-sharing system between the country&#39;s rival sectarian and political factions.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;Yes, yes to reform. No, no to sectarianism. No, no to corruption,&#39; read the placards brandished by protesters. The rally went ahead despite a warning from Iraqs Joint Operations Command that it would not be tolerated and concerns that divisions within Iraqs Shiite majority community might undermine the fight against the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group. Internet connections were cut.&nbsp; 
 
Sadr has called for a government of technocrats to replace the current party-affiliated ministers, a measure proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and has organised repeated demonstrations calling for that change.&nbsp; 
 
Abadi first called for a cabinet including technocrats in February, but has faced significant opposition from powerful political forces that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.&nbsp; 
 
Some of Abadis cabinet nominees were approved in April, but in a blow to the premier, a court later scrapped the session, from which some lawmakers who sought to disrupt it were barred from attending. 
 
(AFP)

Protesters rally in defiance of warnings from the government to demand for an end to sectarianism and corruption

Thousands of Iraqis rallied in the heart of Baghdad on Friday, in defiance of warnings from the government to stay at home, to demand an end to sectarianism and corruption. The demonstrators massed in Tahrir Square despite a decree from the security forces late on Thursday that the rally called by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was "unauthorised" and would be treated as a "terrorist threat". Sadr has led repeated protests, some of them breaching the central Green Zone government and diplomatic compound, calling for an end to what he says is a corrupt power-sharing system between the country's rival sectarian and political factions. 'Yes, yes to reform. No, no to sectarianism. No, no to corruption,' read the placards brandished by protesters. The rally went ahead despite a warning from Iraqs Joint Operations Command that it would not be tolerated and concerns that divisions within Iraqs Shiite majority community might undermine the fight against the Sunni extremists of the Islamic State group. Internet connections were cut. Sadr has called for a government of technocrats to replace the current party-affiliated ministers, a measure proposed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and has organised repeated demonstrations calling for that change. Abadi first called for a cabinet including technocrats in February, but has faced significant opposition from powerful political forces that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds. Some of Abadis cabinet nominees were approved in April, but in a blow to the premier, a court later scrapped the session, from which some lawmakers who sought to disrupt it were barred from attending. (AFP)

Tahrir Square erupts again, this time in Iraq

US secretary of state John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin about boosting military and intelligence cooperation against Islamic State and al-Qaeda in Syria and told him that without &quot;concrete, near-term steps&quot;, diplomatic efforts to end the war could not go on indefinitely. 
 
Kerry met Putin for three hours at the Kremlin and their talks lasted until 1am local time on Friday. 
 
The state department said Kerry expressed concern about repeated violations of a cessation of hostilities by the Moscow-backed Syrian government. It said the two also discussed the need to increase pressure on groups like Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda&#39;s affiliate in Syria. 
 
Kerry &quot;emphasized that absent concrete, near-term steps, diplomatic efforts could not continue indefinitely&quot;, a statement said, adding that discussions between Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday were expected to explore initiatives in more detail. 
 
On Thursday, the Washington Post published a leaked document it said Kerry would put forward in Moscow calling for intelligence sharing to identify leadership targets, training camps, supply lines and headquarters of the Nusra Front, al Qaeda&#39;s affiliate in Syria. 
 
It said strikes against those targets could be carried out by US or Russian jets and expanded coordination would be channelled through a Joint Implementation Group based in the vicinity of the Jordanian capital, Amman. 
 
The extent of cooperation proposed in the document would represent a major US shift after years of rivalry between Washington and Moscow, which support opposing sides in Syria&#39;s five-year civil war, but the idea has raised doubts among US defense and intelligence officials. 
 
Putin said at the start of his meeting with Kerry that his last conversation with US President Barack Obama had convinced him that both sides were sincere in their efforts to find a solution in Syria. 
 
&quot;I hope after today&#39;s consultations you&#39;ll be able to advise him of the progress made and possible headway for us to make,&quot; he told Kerry. 
 
A test of Russia 
 
US officials described the visit as a test of Moscow&#39;s willingness to use its influence on the Syrian government to help revive the country&#39;s peace process. 
 
Under the leaked plan, the US and Russia would establish separate headquarters and a shared coordination office, where they would deploy senior officials, intelligence personnel and experts in strike planning and targeting. 
 
They would decide on a date to simultaneously begin strikes against Al-Nusra Front targets and to stop all Syrian military air activities in designated areas, except for non-combat purposes and against areas where Nusra Front has acquired territory. 
 
The proposal also allows for Russia to use air power to defend Syrian forces from attack from AL-Nusra Front within a designated area, if agreed in advance with the United States. 
 
Washington sceptical 
 
The White House and Pentagon offered lukewarm support for the plan and demanded that Moscow show it was serious about fighting Islamic State, not just propping up President Bashar al-Assad. Kerry himself took a tough line after his meeting on Thursday with Putin, state department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Moscow. 
 
&quot;Secretary Kerry emphasized that absent concrete, near-term steps, diplomatic efforts could not continue indefinitely,&quot; Kirby said. 
 
A senior US official said before the talks that expectations were &quot;very low&quot;, but added: &quot;Either we find a way to do something about it or not. 
 
&quot;And if we don&rsquo;t, the entire thing breaks down. That would be an end of the cessation of hostilities and that would not be a good thing for Russia, or the United States, or the world, or, most importantly, for the Syrian people.&quot; 
 
Kerry faces some strong opposition to his efforts to woo Russia from US defense and intelligence officials who say Washington and Moscow have diametrically opposed objectives in Syria. 
 
(Reuters)

US secretary of state seeks concrete, near-term steps from Moscow

US secretary of state John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin about boosting military and intelligence cooperation against Islamic State and al-Qaeda in Syria and told him that without "concrete, near-term steps", diplomatic efforts to end the war could not go on indefinitely. Kerry met Putin for three hours at the Kremlin and their talks lasted until 1am local time on Friday. The state department said Kerry expressed concern about repeated violations of a cessation of hostilities by the Moscow-backed Syrian government. It said the two also discussed the need to increase pressure on groups like Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. Kerry "emphasized that absent concrete, near-term steps, diplomatic efforts could not continue indefinitely", a statement said, adding that discussions between Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday were expected to explore initiatives in more detail. On Thursday, the Washington Post published a leaked document it said Kerry would put forward in Moscow calling for intelligence sharing to identify leadership targets, training camps, supply lines and headquarters of the Nusra Front, al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. It said strikes against those targets could be carried out by US or Russian jets and expanded coordination would be channelled through a Joint Implementation Group based in the vicinity of the Jordanian capital, Amman. The extent of cooperation proposed in the document would represent a major US shift after years of rivalry between Washington and Moscow, which support opposing sides in Syria's five-year civil war, but the idea has raised doubts among US defense and intelligence officials. Putin said at the start of his meeting with Kerry that his last conversation with US President Barack Obama had convinced him that both sides were sincere in their efforts to find a solution in Syria. "I hope after today's consultations you'll be able to advise him of the progress made and possible headway for us to make," he told Kerry. A test of Russia US officials described the visit as a test of Moscow's willingness to use its influence on the Syrian government to help revive the country's peace process. Under the leaked plan, the US and Russia would establish separate headquarters and a shared coordination office, where they would deploy senior officials, intelligence personnel and experts in strike planning and targeting. They would decide on a date to simultaneously begin strikes against Al-Nusra Front targets and to stop all Syrian military air activities in designated areas, except for non-combat purposes and against areas where Nusra Front has acquired territory. The proposal also allows for Russia to use air power to defend Syrian forces from attack from AL-Nusra Front within a designated area, if agreed in advance with the United States. Washington sceptical The White House and Pentagon offered lukewarm support for the plan and demanded that Moscow show it was serious about fighting Islamic State, not just propping up President Bashar al-Assad. Kerry himself took a tough line after his meeting on Thursday with Putin, state department spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Moscow. "Secretary Kerry emphasized that absent concrete, near-term steps, diplomatic efforts could not continue indefinitely," Kirby said. A senior US official said before the talks that expectations were "very low", but added: "Either we find a way to do something about it or not. "And if we don’t, the entire thing breaks down. That would be an end of the cessation of hostilities and that would not be a good thing for Russia, or the United States, or the world, or, most importantly, for the Syrian people." Kerry faces some strong opposition to his efforts to woo Russia from US defense and intelligence officials who say Washington and Moscow have diametrically opposed objectives in Syria. (Reuters)

Kerry meets Putin about cooperating against Islamic State in Syria

The United States is to offer to cooperate with Russia in joint military action against the Al-Nusra Front and Islamic State extremist groups in Syria, the Washington Post reported today. 
 
US secretary of state John Kerry, who was on his way to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin, did not deny the report, but refused to discuss the proposal in detail until he had been to the Kremlin. 
 
According to the Post, which cited sections of what it said was a draft agreement, US and Russian commanders would set up a joint command and control centre to direct intensified air strikes against the jihadist groups. 
 
Currently, Russian forces in Syria are operating in support of President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s regime against a variety of rebel factions while a US-led coalition focuses its fire on the Islamic State group. 
 
Any deal between the great power rivals would be controversial, since for many - including critics of US President Barack Obama in Washington - it would amount to a tacit acceptance of Putin&#39;s efforts to shore up Assad&#39;s regime. 
 
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the report before Moscow had received Washington&#39;s proposal. 
 
He said the Kremlin has reiterated the need for &quot;the coordination of joint efforts&quot; in the fight against jihadist groups in Syria and regretted Washington&#39;s reluctance to cooperate with Russia militarily in the war-torn country. 
 
Kerry was due in Moscow later today and was to hold talks first with Putin at the Kremlin followed by a meeting with his opposite number foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday. 
 
Asked if he wanted to comment on the reported US offer of a military pact, Kerry said: &quot;I don&#39;t right now. I&#39;ll have comments. I&#39;m going to Moscow, meeting with President Putin tonight, and we&#39;ll have plenty of time to talk about it.&quot; 
 
&quot;I&#39;ll give you all a sense of where we are,&quot; he added. 
 
According to the Post, Kerry was to propose to Putin that Russia and the United States set up a &#39;Joint Implementation Group&#39; or JIG to &quot;enable extended coordination&quot; between their militaries on the Syrian battlefields. 
 
Both the Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front are defined as terrorist groups by the UN security council, and they are not party to the much-breached ceasefire in place between Assad&#39;s forces and more moderate rebel groups. 
 
But, while the Islamic State&#39;s so-called &#39;caliphate&#39; has global ambitions, al-Nusra which is an affiliate of al-Qaeda has concentrated on battling Assad, fighting alongside other rebel groups backed by US allies. 
 
Any deal between Russia and the United States to fight both groups would in effect strengthen Assad&#39;s position, and could undermine US efforts to press him to agree a negotiated political settlement to the civil war. 
 
( AFP)

John Kerry did not deny nor discuss the report. But critics say it would amount to acceptance of Putin's efforts to shore up Assad's regime

The United States is to offer to cooperate with Russia in joint military action against the Al-Nusra Front and Islamic State extremist groups in Syria, the Washington Post reported today. US secretary of state John Kerry, who was on his way to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin, did not deny the report, but refused to discuss the proposal in detail until he had been to the Kremlin. According to the Post, which cited sections of what it said was a draft agreement, US and Russian commanders would set up a joint command and control centre to direct intensified air strikes against the jihadist groups. Currently, Russian forces in Syria are operating in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime against a variety of rebel factions while a US-led coalition focuses its fire on the Islamic State group. Any deal between the great power rivals would be controversial, since for many - including critics of US President Barack Obama in Washington - it would amount to a tacit acceptance of Putin's efforts to shore up Assad's regime. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the report before Moscow had received Washington's proposal. He said the Kremlin has reiterated the need for "the coordination of joint efforts" in the fight against jihadist groups in Syria and regretted Washington's reluctance to cooperate with Russia militarily in the war-torn country. Kerry was due in Moscow later today and was to hold talks first with Putin at the Kremlin followed by a meeting with his opposite number foreign minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday. Asked if he wanted to comment on the reported US offer of a military pact, Kerry said: "I don't right now. I'll have comments. I'm going to Moscow, meeting with President Putin tonight, and we'll have plenty of time to talk about it." "I'll give you all a sense of where we are," he added. According to the Post, Kerry was to propose to Putin that Russia and the United States set up a 'Joint Implementation Group' or JIG to "enable extended coordination" between their militaries on the Syrian battlefields. Both the Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front are defined as terrorist groups by the UN security council, and they are not party to the much-breached ceasefire in place between Assad's forces and more moderate rebel groups. But, while the Islamic State's so-called 'caliphate' has global ambitions, al-Nusra which is an affiliate of al-Qaeda has concentrated on battling Assad, fighting alongside other rebel groups backed by US allies. Any deal between Russia and the United States to fight both groups would in effect strengthen Assad's position, and could undermine US efforts to press him to agree a negotiated political settlement to the civil war. ( AFP)

US to offer to cooperate with Russia in joint action on IS, Al-Nusra in Syria: Post

Iraqi security forces paraded through Baghdad today to celebrate victories over the Islamic State jihadist group, but an unannounced rehearsal two days earlier put a damper on the festivities. 
 
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reviewed the forces from a pavilion as they passed through central Tahrir Square, and military jets and helicopters overflew the city. 
 
The parade was held to mark &quot;the liberation of Fallujah and Ramadi and all the Iraqi territory that was liberated,&quot; defence ministry spokesman Brigadier General Tahseen Ibrahim told AFP, referring to two key cities recaptured from the jihadists. 
 
But an unannounced rehearsal for the parade held on Tuesday, in which many roads were closed and military vehicles drove through the city, inspired fear rather than celebration. 
 
Some speculated on social media that it was a message to protesters planning a demonstration on Friday that Abadi has called on them to delay, while others speculated that it could be a military coup. 
 
Iraq announced the full recapture of Fallujah, a city 50 kilometres west of Baghdad that had been outside government control for more than two and a half years, at the end of June. 
 
Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, was declared to have been recaptured at the end of December, but fighting in the area continued into this year. 
 
More recently, Baghdad`s forces seized a key military base south of Mosul from IS that the Pentagon has said will serve as a &quot;springboard&quot; for the push to retake the last IS-held city in Iraq. 
 
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and training have since regained significant ground. 
 
(AFP)

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reviewed the forces from a pavilion as they passed through central Tahrir Square

Iraqi security forces paraded through Baghdad today to celebrate victories over the Islamic State jihadist group, but an unannounced rehearsal two days earlier put a damper on the festivities. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reviewed the forces from a pavilion as they passed through central Tahrir Square, and military jets and helicopters overflew the city. The parade was held to mark "the liberation of Fallujah and Ramadi and all the Iraqi territory that was liberated," defence ministry spokesman Brigadier General Tahseen Ibrahim told AFP, referring to two key cities recaptured from the jihadists. But an unannounced rehearsal for the parade held on Tuesday, in which many roads were closed and military vehicles drove through the city, inspired fear rather than celebration. Some speculated on social media that it was a message to protesters planning a demonstration on Friday that Abadi has called on them to delay, while others speculated that it could be a military coup. Iraq announced the full recapture of Fallujah, a city 50 kilometres west of Baghdad that had been outside government control for more than two and a half years, at the end of June. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, was declared to have been recaptured at the end of December, but fighting in the area continued into this year. More recently, Baghdad`s forces seized a key military base south of Mosul from IS that the Pentagon has said will serve as a "springboard" for the push to retake the last IS-held city in Iraq. IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes and training have since regained significant ground. (AFP)

Iraq holds parade to celebrate victories over IS

It was early afternoon when we made a quiet exit from our hotel in Islamabad from the back door. 
 
We had an interview lined by with head of a Kashmiri terrorist group, Abdullah, whose real name is Ghulam Rasool. He had killed over a 100 people and was held in jail in Kashmir. But then he became unwell and was admitted in hospital from where he escaped. 
 
It was almost lunch time and we saw him finish his prayer. In the meanwhile, our equipment was checked and we were frisked into this small home in a poor neighbourhood. Lunch was served, a full chicken in each plate. I asked him what his ultimate goal was. When will he stop? He said that the day the whole world turned Islamic he would. I knew Ghulam Rasool was going to be doing what he is doing for the rest of his life, killing more people in what he believed was his work for his God. 
 
Impact of terrorism 
 
The sharp rise in terrorism around the globe has put the countries on edge, and it seems the more the governments are doing to tackle the menace the more the terrorists are getting bolder. Terrorism continues to remain unbeatable, at least for now. 
 
Terror claimed more than 32,600 lives in 2014, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2015. The index compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global think tank, also showed a staggering 80 per cent increase in deaths caused by terrorism over the previous year. In the past one year, there have been 1,195 terrorist attacks across the globe, with Bangladesh cafe violence being the most recent one. From Pakistan to Nigeria, seven countries are locked in dangerous conflicts or full&shy;scale wars involving terrorism. 
 
What drives people to terror? 
 
Terrorist organisations may receive massive fundings from vested interests but it is surprising how they are able to deploy human resources at such sustainable levels. A few reasons can be found in the social, economic and political factors. A country has been at war for so long that the people there know nothing but only war as a way of life. 
 
Some terrorists come from poor economic backgrounds or in certain cases the would&shy; be terrorists are subjected to class differences or social discrimination leading them to join extremist organisations. The poor and illiterate, it is said, are easy to radicalise. 
 
However, in the case of the Dhaka cafe attack, there were terrorists from affluent backgrounds with good education who had joined hands with terror organisations such as the ISIS. Closer home, Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Muzaffar Wani, who was killed by security forces in Kashmir on Friday, belonged to a relatively well&shy;-off family. His father is a retired school principal, and Wani himself was a good student who secured 90 per cent in his class X examination in 2010. 
 
Effects of radicalisation 
 
The impact of radicalisation is so deep that it sometimes blurs blood ties. Twin brothers in Saudi Arabia recently killed their mother after she tried to stop them from joining Islamic State in Syria. The twins were arrested trying to flee across the border to Yemen. 
 
Is education a factor? 
 
Many people around the world have been surprised by the trend of educated people getting into terrorism. The question is what drives such educated individuals to extremist organisations? Is their religion playing a role in all this? Education, per se, has nothing to do with it. There is nothing to get surprised by the fact that most of the attackers in Bangladesh massacre were educated men. In the Nazi Germany, the perpetrators of holocaust were decently educated. In India also, there is the Godmen culture, especially among the Hindus. A large chunk of the so &shy;called godmen&rsquo;s followers often comes from the upper middle class and educated families. They have complete faith in the godmen they follow. So much so that the followers of one of the godmen have preserved his body with the belief that one day he would come alive. 
 
A psychologist&rsquo;s perspective 
 
Psychologist Dr Harish Shetty says: &ldquo;Man&rsquo;s search for meaning has been a perennial quest since mankind evolved. Many found meaning in harakiri, martyrdom and other culturally sanctioned &lsquo;suicide homicide&rsquo; complex during the last few centuries. The terminologies change depending from which side one views the act. Freedom fighters or terrorists are the descriptive denominators. 
 
In an era where peace and technology have overwhelmed religious doctrines, certain sections feel threatened and are rebelling against this sweeping change in the garb of religion.&rdquo; Globalisation, Dr Shetty says, is viewed as a religious doctrine or an ideology that undermines the control of powerful religious heads. &ldquo;A small section of people falls prey to this indoctrination and finds a new meaning in life. Freedom fighters kill the oppressor and the so&shy;called terrorists today suffer from the same core belief &mdash; kill the perceived enemy or those who are the extensions. 
 
So hit out at those who are enemies and die for the cause. Martyrdom is not new and death in war is the new intoxication, going down fighting is a new high by the dominant ideologies.&rdquo; &ldquo;Dying for such a cause may be viewed with disgust in the dominant ideologies. Meaning in life is a psychosocial pursuit and an altruistic desire...as Freud described...such killings may suffer from similar intrinsic psychosocial needs,&rdquo; Dr Shetty adds. 
 
Government&rsquo;s role 
 
Maybe the governments should spend more in researching and understanding the factors that attract the common citizens towards terrorism. They should take steps to reduce the number of people being influenced by extremist thoughts. Use of force or fighting a war, for that matter, may be required to ensure a nation&rsquo;s security but it is also important to find ways to stop people from going astray. 
 
Terrorists are just terrorists 
 
Religion may not be the reason but could merely be an effective tool to turn individuals into terrorists. On another trip to Lahore, I met Syed Salahuddin, the head of Hizbul Mujahideen, a Kashmiri&shy; led terrorism outfit. He said he had become a terrorist after his family was killed after he challenged a political party in elections and the police did not protect him and his family. 
 
Religion seems to be a common thread in many of the global wars today but we need to go past the usual paradigm and see how some individuals may be using Islam to kill people. For us, terrorists are just terrorists. And they have to be stopped. 
&nbsp;

Combating terror : Countries need to identify factors behind terrorism to take on the scourge effectively

It was early afternoon when we made a quiet exit from our hotel in Islamabad from the back door. We had an interview lined by with head of a Kashmiri terrorist group, Abdullah, whose real name is Ghulam Rasool. He had killed over a 100 people and was held in jail in Kashmir. But then he became unwell and was admitted in hospital from where he escaped. It was almost lunch time and we saw him finish his prayer. In the meanwhile, our equipment was checked and we were frisked into this small home in a poor neighbourhood. Lunch was served, a full chicken in each plate. I asked him what his ultimate goal was. When will he stop? He said that the day the whole world turned Islamic he would. I knew Ghulam Rasool was going to be doing what he is doing for the rest of his life, killing more people in what he believed was his work for his God. Impact of terrorism The sharp rise in terrorism around the globe has put the countries on edge, and it seems the more the governments are doing to tackle the menace the more the terrorists are getting bolder. Terrorism continues to remain unbeatable, at least for now. Terror claimed more than 32,600 lives in 2014, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2015. The index compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace, a global think tank, also showed a staggering 80 per cent increase in deaths caused by terrorism over the previous year. In the past one year, there have been 1,195 terrorist attacks across the globe, with Bangladesh cafe violence being the most recent one. From Pakistan to Nigeria, seven countries are locked in dangerous conflicts or fullscale wars involving terrorism. What drives people to terror? Terrorist organisations may receive massive fundings from vested interests but it is surprising how they are able to deploy human resources at such sustainable levels. A few reasons can be found in the social, economic and political factors. A country has been at war for so long that the people there know nothing but only war as a way of life. Some terrorists come from poor economic backgrounds or in certain cases the would be terrorists are subjected to class differences or social discrimination leading them to join extremist organisations. The poor and illiterate, it is said, are easy to radicalise. However, in the case of the Dhaka cafe attack, there were terrorists from affluent backgrounds with good education who had joined hands with terror organisations such as the ISIS. Closer home, Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Muzaffar Wani, who was killed by security forces in Kashmir on Friday, belonged to a relatively well-off family. His father is a retired school principal, and Wani himself was a good student who secured 90 per cent in his class X examination in 2010. Effects of radicalisation The impact of radicalisation is so deep that it sometimes blurs blood ties. Twin brothers in Saudi Arabia recently killed their mother after she tried to stop them from joining Islamic State in Syria. The twins were arrested trying to flee across the border to Yemen. Is education a factor? Many people around the world have been surprised by the trend of educated people getting into terrorism. The question is what drives such educated individuals to extremist organisations? Is their religion playing a role in all this? Education, per se, has nothing to do with it. There is nothing to get surprised by the fact that most of the attackers in Bangladesh massacre were educated men. In the Nazi Germany, the perpetrators of holocaust were decently educated. In India also, there is the Godmen culture, especially among the Hindus. A large chunk of the so called godmen’s followers often comes from the upper middle class and educated families. They have complete faith in the godmen they follow. So much so that the followers of one of the godmen have preserved his body with the belief that one day he would come alive. A psychologist’s perspective Psychologist Dr Harish Shetty says: “Man’s search for meaning has been a perennial quest since mankind evolved. Many found meaning in harakiri, martyrdom and other culturally sanctioned ‘suicide homicide’ complex during the last few centuries. The terminologies change depending from which side one views the act. Freedom fighters or terrorists are the descriptive denominators. In an era where peace and technology have overwhelmed religious doctrines, certain sections feel threatened and are rebelling against this sweeping change in the garb of religion.” Globalisation, Dr Shetty says, is viewed as a religious doctrine or an ideology that undermines the control of powerful religious heads. “A small section of people falls prey to this indoctrination and finds a new meaning in life. Freedom fighters kill the oppressor and the socalled terrorists today suffer from the same core belief — kill the perceived enemy or those who are the extensions. So hit out at those who are enemies and die for the cause. Martyrdom is not new and death in war is the new intoxication, going down fighting is a new high by the dominant ideologies.” “Dying for such a cause may be viewed with disgust in the dominant ideologies. Meaning in life is a psychosocial pursuit and an altruistic desire...as Freud described...such killings may suffer from similar intrinsic psychosocial needs,” Dr Shetty adds. Government’s role Maybe the governments should spend more in researching and understanding the factors that attract the common citizens towards terrorism. They should take steps to reduce the number of people being influenced by extremist thoughts. Use of force or fighting a war, for that matter, may be required to ensure a nation’s security but it is also important to find ways to stop people from going astray. Terrorists are just terrorists Religion may not be the reason but could merely be an effective tool to turn individuals into terrorists. On another trip to Lahore, I met Syed Salahuddin, the head of Hizbul Mujahideen, a Kashmiri led terrorism outfit. He said he had become a terrorist after his family was killed after he challenged a political party in elections and the police did not protect him and his family. Religion seems to be a common thread in many of the global wars today but we need to go past the usual paradigm and see how some individuals may be using Islam to kill people. For us, terrorists are just terrorists. And they have to be stopped.

Factors that drive people to take up arms

A top Islamic State group commander, Omar al-Shishani, has been killed in Iraq, the jihadist-linked Amaq agency said on Wednesday. 
 
The Pentagon announced in March that Shishani, known as Omar the Chechen, was believed to have died of injuries received in an air raid targeting his convoy in northeastern Syria, details at odds with Amaq&#39;s account. 
 
Citing a &quot;military source&quot;, Amaq said Shishani was killed &quot;in the town of Sharqat as he took part in repelling the military campaign on the city of Mosul&quot;, referring to the last IS-held city in Iraq. 
 
Iraqi forces are conducting operations to set the stage for a final push to Mosul, the country&#39;s second city that fell to IS in June 2014. 
 
Sharqat lies on the road north to Mosul, but Iraqi forces recently bypassed the area to recapture a key military base in the Qayyarah area farther north that the Pentagon said will be a &quot;springboard&quot; for the push toward the city. 
 
Amaq did not specify when Shishani was killed, but the loss of the commander is a blow to the jihadist group, which has suffered a string of setbacks in Iraq this year.&nbsp;In addition to Shishani, the US announced that it had killed IS deputy leader Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli in March. 
 
Shishani, a fierce, battle-hardened warlord with roots in Georgia and a thick red beard, was one of the most notorious faces of IS.&nbsp;Shishani, whose nom de guerre means &quot;Omar the Chechen&quot;, was one of the IS leaders most wanted by Washington, which had put a $5 million bounty on his head. 
 
His exact rank was unclear, but a US official had branded him as &quot;equivalent of the secretary of defence&quot; for the jihadist group. 
Shishani came from the former Soviet state of Georgia&#39;s Pankisi Gorge region, which is populated mainly by ethnic Chechens. 
 
He fought as a Chechen rebel against Russian forces before joining the Georgian military in 2006, and fought Russian forces again in Georgia in 2008. 
 
He later resurfaced in northern Syria as the commander of a group of foreign fighters, and became a senior leader within IS. 
 
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014 but has since lost significant ground to Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes, training and other assistance. 
 
Baghdad declared victory in the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, at the end of last month, leaving Mosul as the sole Iraqi city held by IS. 
 
The Sunni extremist group has responded to the battlefield setbacks by striking civilians, particularly Shiites, and experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground. 
 
(AFP)

Omar al-Shishani was one of the IS leaders most wanted by Washington, which had a $5 million bounty on his head

A top Islamic State group commander, Omar al-Shishani, has been killed in Iraq, the jihadist-linked Amaq agency said on Wednesday. The Pentagon announced in March that Shishani, known as Omar the Chechen, was believed to have died of injuries received in an air raid targeting his convoy in northeastern Syria, details at odds with Amaq's account. Citing a "military source", Amaq said Shishani was killed "in the town of Sharqat as he took part in repelling the military campaign on the city of Mosul", referring to the last IS-held city in Iraq. Iraqi forces are conducting operations to set the stage for a final push to Mosul, the country's second city that fell to IS in June 2014. Sharqat lies on the road north to Mosul, but Iraqi forces recently bypassed the area to recapture a key military base in the Qayyarah area farther north that the Pentagon said will be a "springboard" for the push toward the city. Amaq did not specify when Shishani was killed, but the loss of the commander is a blow to the jihadist group, which has suffered a string of setbacks in Iraq this year. In addition to Shishani, the US announced that it had killed IS deputy leader Abd ar-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli in March. Shishani, a fierce, battle-hardened warlord with roots in Georgia and a thick red beard, was one of the most notorious faces of IS. Shishani, whose nom de guerre means "Omar the Chechen", was one of the IS leaders most wanted by Washington, which had put a $5 million bounty on his head. His exact rank was unclear, but a US official had branded him as "equivalent of the secretary of defence" for the jihadist group. Shishani came from the former Soviet state of Georgia's Pankisi Gorge region, which is populated mainly by ethnic Chechens. He fought as a Chechen rebel against Russian forces before joining the Georgian military in 2006, and fought Russian forces again in Georgia in 2008. He later resurfaced in northern Syria as the commander of a group of foreign fighters, and became a senior leader within IS. IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014 but has since lost significant ground to Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes, training and other assistance. Baghdad declared victory in the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, at the end of last month, leaving Mosul as the sole Iraqi city held by IS. The Sunni extremist group has responded to the battlefield setbacks by striking civilians, particularly Shiites, and experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground. (AFP)

Top Islamic State commander Shishani killed

At least seven were killed and 11 wounded north of Baghdad today when a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives at a checkpoint, security and medical sources said, the second bombing in the district in two days. 
 
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Rashidiya, but Islamic State has been regularly carrying out such bombings in the capital and other parts of Iraq, where it seized large swathes of territory in 2014. 
 
A similar attack in Rashidiya on Tuesday killed nine people. 
 
A blast in the central Karrada district on July 3 killed at least 292 people, making it one of the worst among the hundreds of suicide bombings carried out in Iraq since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago. 
 
The high death toll prompted a public outcry in Baghdad, with residents blaming the government for not sufficiently securing the capital. 
 
Islamic State has been turning increasingly to suicide bombings, which US and Iraqi officials have touted as proof that battlefield setbacks are weakening the jihadists. 
 
In a US-backed offensive, the Iraqi army retook the city of Ramadi from Islamic State this year, and more recently Fallujah, which the government said had been a launchpad for the group&#39;s Baghdad suicide bombings. 
 
But critics say a global uptick in suicide attacks attributed to the group suggests it may just be adapting and would survive. 
 
(Reuters)

The second bombing in the district in two days left 11 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives at a checkpoint

At least seven were killed and 11 wounded north of Baghdad today when a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives at a checkpoint, security and medical sources said, the second bombing in the district in two days. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Rashidiya, but Islamic State has been regularly carrying out such bombings in the capital and other parts of Iraq, where it seized large swathes of territory in 2014. A similar attack in Rashidiya on Tuesday killed nine people. A blast in the central Karrada district on July 3 killed at least 292 people, making it one of the worst among the hundreds of suicide bombings carried out in Iraq since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago. The high death toll prompted a public outcry in Baghdad, with residents blaming the government for not sufficiently securing the capital. Islamic State has been turning increasingly to suicide bombings, which US and Iraqi officials have touted as proof that battlefield setbacks are weakening the jihadists. In a US-backed offensive, the Iraqi army retook the city of Ramadi from Islamic State this year, and more recently Fallujah, which the government said had been a launchpad for the group's Baghdad suicide bombings. But critics say a global uptick in suicide attacks attributed to the group suggests it may just be adapting and would survive. (Reuters)

Car bomb kills seven in Baghdad

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today arrested two key members of the Hyderabad IS module which they had unearthed last month in India. 
 
&quot;Yasir Niamatullah, chief of Hyderabad module, and Athaullah Rehman, a motivator who raised funds, have been arrested by NIA from here,&quot; sources in Telangana Intelligence Department told PTI. 
 
&quot;They are being produced in court today,&quot; they said. 
 
The NIA on June 29 had arrested five Hyderabad-based persons on charges of their involvement in the terror module suspected to be linked to ISIS and conspiring to carry out bomb attacks. 
 
On July 1, they were remanded in police custody for 12 days. 
 
The five - Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani alias Ibbu, Habeeb Mohammed alias Sir, Mohammed Ilyas Yazdani, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi and Muzaffar Hussain Rizwan - were arrested following a series of searches conducted at 10 locations in Old City area in southern Hyderabad city, with the assistance of Hyderabad Police. 
 
In its remand report submitted to the court earlier, the agency had said that the five accused had acquired weapons and explosive material to carry out violent terrorist attacks and were in touch with ISIS. 
 
Following its prior investigation, on June 22 the NIA had lodged an FIR for &quot;criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India&quot; by collecting weapons and explosive materials by targeting public places, religious sites and sensitive government buildings in various parts of India. 
 
According to the agency, the gang was preparing improvised explosive devices for carrying out blasts, and was being guided by an online handler, suspected to be based in Iraq/Syria. 
 
Along with the explosive materials, the NIA had recovered two semi-automatic pistols with ammunition, an air gun with telescopic sight and shooting practice target boards, a large number of digital gadgets including six laptops, about 40 mobile phones, 32 SIM cards, and a large number of hard disks, memory cards, pen drives and tabs during its search. 
 
(PTI)

Yasir Niamatullah, chief of Hyderabad module, and Athaullah Rehman are being produced in court today

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today arrested two key members of the Hyderabad IS module which they had unearthed last month in India. "Yasir Niamatullah, chief of Hyderabad module, and Athaullah Rehman, a motivator who raised funds, have been arrested by NIA from here," sources in Telangana Intelligence Department told PTI. "They are being produced in court today," they said. The NIA on June 29 had arrested five Hyderabad-based persons on charges of their involvement in the terror module suspected to be linked to ISIS and conspiring to carry out bomb attacks. On July 1, they were remanded in police custody for 12 days. The five - Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani alias Ibbu, Habeeb Mohammed alias Sir, Mohammed Ilyas Yazdani, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi and Muzaffar Hussain Rizwan - were arrested following a series of searches conducted at 10 locations in Old City area in southern Hyderabad city, with the assistance of Hyderabad Police. In its remand report submitted to the court earlier, the agency had said that the five accused had acquired weapons and explosive material to carry out violent terrorist attacks and were in touch with ISIS. Following its prior investigation, on June 22 the NIA had lodged an FIR for "criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India" by collecting weapons and explosive materials by targeting public places, religious sites and sensitive government buildings in various parts of India. According to the agency, the gang was preparing improvised explosive devices for carrying out blasts, and was being guided by an online handler, suspected to be based in Iraq/Syria. Along with the explosive materials, the NIA had recovered two semi-automatic pistols with ammunition, an air gun with telescopic sight and shooting practice target boards, a large number of digital gadgets including six laptops, about 40 mobile phones, 32 SIM cards, and a large number of hard disks, memory cards, pen drives and tabs during its search. (PTI)

Indian sleuths arrest two key members of IS module from Hyderabad

An Australian court today convicted Sydney man Hamdi Al Qudsi of recruiting seven young men to travel overseas and fight alongside Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, a spokeswoman for the court said. 
 
Al Qudsi, 42, was found guilty by the New South Wales state Supreme Court in Sydney of aiding the men to fight with extremist groups in 2013, the spokeswoman told Reuters. 
 
&quot;The charges were give money/goods to promote/support foreign hostile acts,&quot; she said. Each of the seven charges carries a 10 year prison sentence. Al Qudsi is yet to be sentenced. 
 
Prosecutors alleged that Al Qudsi made arrangements for the men to travel to Syria in 2013 for the purpose of fighting alongside groups listed by the Australian government as terrorist organisations. 
 
Under tough new security powers passed in 2014, Australians face up to a decade in prison for overseas travel to areas declared off limits, which includes the province of Raqqa in Syria, a key strategic hub for Islamic State militants. 
 
A copy of the indictment provided to Reuters lists seven men that Al Qudsi recruited to fight in Syria. Two of those men - Tyler Casey and Caner Temel - were killed in Syria, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported. 
 
Two other men listed in the indictment, Muhammed Abdul-Karim Musleh and Mehmet Biber, have since returned, the ABC said. 
 
About 100 people have left Australia for Syria to fight alongside organisations such as Islamic State, Australia&#39;s Immigration Minister said earlier this year. 
 
Australia, a staunch US ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities say they have thwarted a number of plots. 
 
There have been several &quot;lone wolf&quot; assaults, including a 2014 cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead. Also in 2014, police shot dead a Melbourne teenager after he stabbed two counter-terrorism officers. 
 
In 2015, a 15-year-old boy fired on an accountant at a police headquarters in a Sydney suburb and was then killed in a gunfight with police. 
 
(Reuters)

Hamdi Al Qudsi made arrangements for seven young men to travel to Syria in 2013 to fight with IS, and gets 10 years in jail for each recruit

An Australian court today convicted Sydney man Hamdi Al Qudsi of recruiting seven young men to travel overseas and fight alongside Islamic State and al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria, a spokeswoman for the court said. Al Qudsi, 42, was found guilty by the New South Wales state Supreme Court in Sydney of aiding the men to fight with extremist groups in 2013, the spokeswoman told Reuters. "The charges were give money/goods to promote/support foreign hostile acts," she said. Each of the seven charges carries a 10 year prison sentence. Al Qudsi is yet to be sentenced. Prosecutors alleged that Al Qudsi made arrangements for the men to travel to Syria in 2013 for the purpose of fighting alongside groups listed by the Australian government as terrorist organisations. Under tough new security powers passed in 2014, Australians face up to a decade in prison for overseas travel to areas declared off limits, which includes the province of Raqqa in Syria, a key strategic hub for Islamic State militants. A copy of the indictment provided to Reuters lists seven men that Al Qudsi recruited to fight in Syria. Two of those men - Tyler Casey and Caner Temel - were killed in Syria, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported. Two other men listed in the indictment, Muhammed Abdul-Karim Musleh and Mehmet Biber, have since returned, the ABC said. About 100 people have left Australia for Syria to fight alongside organisations such as Islamic State, Australia's Immigration Minister said earlier this year. Australia, a staunch US ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown radicals since 2014 and authorities say they have thwarted a number of plots. There have been several "lone wolf" assaults, including a 2014 cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead. Also in 2014, police shot dead a Melbourne teenager after he stabbed two counter-terrorism officers. In 2015, a 15-year-old boy fired on an accountant at a police headquarters in a Sydney suburb and was then killed in a gunfight with police. (Reuters)

Australian convicted of recruiting foreign fighters for Islamic State

At least nine people were killed and 32 wounded on Tuesday when a car packed with explosives was detonated in a district just north of Baghdad, security and medical sources said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Rashidiya, but Islamic State regularly carries out such bombings in the capital and other parts of Iraq, where it seized large swathes of territory in 2014.

Baghdad is on high alert for attacks after a blast in the central Karrada district on July 3 killed at least 292 people, making it one of the deadliest bombings in Iraq since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago.

Islamic State has turned increasingly to ad hoc attacks, which US&nbsp;and Iraqi officials have touted as proof that battlefield setbacks are weakening the jihadists. But critics say a global uptick in suicide attacks attributed to the group suggests it may adapt and survive. 
 
(Reuters)

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast

At least nine people were killed and 32 wounded on Tuesday when a car packed with explosives was detonated in a district just north of Baghdad, security and medical sources said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in Rashidiya, but Islamic State regularly carries out such bombings in the capital and other parts of Iraq, where it seized large swathes of territory in 2014. Baghdad is on high alert for attacks after a blast in the central Karrada district on July 3 killed at least 292 people, making it one of the deadliest bombings in Iraq since US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago. Islamic State has turned increasingly to ad hoc attacks, which US and Iraqi officials have touted as proof that battlefield setbacks are weakening the jihadists. But critics say a global uptick in suicide attacks attributed to the group suggests it may adapt and survive. (Reuters)

Car bomb kills nine north of Baghdad, say sources

Pentagon chief Ashton Carter held taks in Baghdad today over the fight against the Islamic State group and the strategy to recapture Iraq&#39;s second city Mosul from the jihadists. 
 
Carter met with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi, two days after Iraq announced the recapture of a base south of Mosul seen as an important step toward the eventual battle for the city. 
 
Carter&#39;s unannounced visit is&nbsp;his fourth to Iraq since beginning his job in February 2015, which&nbsp;comes two days after Iraqi forces captured an airbase to the south of Mosul that is seen as an important step toward the eventual battle for the country&#39;s second city, which has been under IS control since June 2014. 
 
IS losing ground in Syria, Iraq; Carter wants to highlight successes&nbsp; 
 
IS also holds territory in neighbouring Syria, but has lost significant ground in both countries, and Carter wants to highlight successes, even as the jihadists have struck back with devastating attacks in Iraq and abroad. 
 
The Sunni extremists have carried out bloody attacks against civilians as they lose ground, including a bombing in Baghdad that killed 292 people this month, one of the deadliest to ever hit the country. 
 
&quot;Let me begin... by expressing the condolences of myself and the United States for the terrorist attacks against the people of Iraq in recent weeks,&quot; Carter told Abadi. 
 
&quot;You have our sympathy but also it further strengthens our resolve to help in the defeat of (IS), which all of our societies need because all of our societies are subject to attacks.&quot;&quot;I also want to congratulate you on the string of successes that the Iraqi security forces have had,&quot; said Carter. 
 
The Qayyarah airbase, which Abadi announced Saturday had been recaptured, is located 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul and can serve as a launchpad for future operations to recapture the city. 
 
&#39;Ultimate goal is recapture of Iraqi territory&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Ahead of his meetings, Carter told journalists that he would discuss the next moves in the war against the jihadists. 
 
&quot;What I&#39;ll be discussing with Prime Minister Abadi and our commanders there are the next plays in the campaign, which involve the collapse and control over Mosul,&quot; Carter said aboard a military plane. 
 
The ultimate goal, he added, was &quot;the recapture of all of Iraqi territory by the Iraqi security forces, but of course Mosul is the biggest part of that.&quot; 
 
US defence officials say the campaign`s first &quot;10 plays&quot; have been successfully completed in the US-led counter-IS campaign in Iraq and Syria. 
 
These steps include the recapture of several important areas across the two countries, including Ramadi in Iraq and Al-Shadadi, a town in northeastern Syria previously considered a strategic IS stronghold.&nbsp; 
 
Pentagon has announced a series a measures to speed up war&nbsp; 
 
Carter and President Barack Obama have been criticised for the pace of the campaign, which began in autumn 2014 and got off to a slow start, particularly in war-torn Syria, where the United States had few assets on the ground to provide targeting information.The Pentagon has announced a series of measures to speed up the war, including a revised mission to train anti-IS rebels in northern Syria and extra advisers for Iraqi forces. 
 
Coupled with coalition air support, the results have seen the IS group losing roughly half its territory in Iraq and about 20 percent of its Syria claim, the Pentagon said. 
 
But the jihadists have struck back against civilians as they lost ground. 
 
On July 3, IS carried out the devastating bombing targeting shoppers in Baghdad that killed 292, many of whom were burned alive, sparking widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of not doing enough to protect them. 
 
Four days later, the jihadists struck a Shiite shrine north the capital, leaving another 40 dead. 
 
Carter was also to meet with US troops, of whom there are now about 4,000 in Iraq, mainly to train local forces. 
 
The Pentagon chief will also phone Massud Barzani, the de facto president of Iraq`s Kurdistan region. 
 
The United States has pledged $415 million to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters as they join the fight for Mosul, moving in from the north. 
 
 
(AFP)

Ashton Carter's visit come 2 days after Iraq announced recapture of a base south of Mosul, seen as an important step

Pentagon chief Ashton Carter held taks in Baghdad today over the fight against the Islamic State group and the strategy to recapture Iraq's second city Mosul from the jihadists. Carter met with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Defence Minister Khalid al-Obeidi, two days after Iraq announced the recapture of a base south of Mosul seen as an important step toward the eventual battle for the city. Carter's unannounced visit is his fourth to Iraq since beginning his job in February 2015, which comes two days after Iraqi forces captured an airbase to the south of Mosul that is seen as an important step toward the eventual battle for the country's second city, which has been under IS control since June 2014. IS losing ground in Syria, Iraq; Carter wants to highlight successes IS also holds territory in neighbouring Syria, but has lost significant ground in both countries, and Carter wants to highlight successes, even as the jihadists have struck back with devastating attacks in Iraq and abroad. The Sunni extremists have carried out bloody attacks against civilians as they lose ground, including a bombing in Baghdad that killed 292 people this month, one of the deadliest to ever hit the country. "Let me begin... by expressing the condolences of myself and the United States for the terrorist attacks against the people of Iraq in recent weeks," Carter told Abadi. "You have our sympathy but also it further strengthens our resolve to help in the defeat of (IS), which all of our societies need because all of our societies are subject to attacks.""I also want to congratulate you on the string of successes that the Iraqi security forces have had," said Carter. The Qayyarah airbase, which Abadi announced Saturday had been recaptured, is located 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Mosul and can serve as a launchpad for future operations to recapture the city. 'Ultimate goal is recapture of Iraqi territory' Ahead of his meetings, Carter told journalists that he would discuss the next moves in the war against the jihadists. "What I'll be discussing with Prime Minister Abadi and our commanders there are the next plays in the campaign, which involve the collapse and control over Mosul," Carter said aboard a military plane. The ultimate goal, he added, was "the recapture of all of Iraqi territory by the Iraqi security forces, but of course Mosul is the biggest part of that." US defence officials say the campaign`s first "10 plays" have been successfully completed in the US-led counter-IS campaign in Iraq and Syria. These steps include the recapture of several important areas across the two countries, including Ramadi in Iraq and Al-Shadadi, a town in northeastern Syria previously considered a strategic IS stronghold. Pentagon has announced a series a measures to speed up war Carter and President Barack Obama have been criticised for the pace of the campaign, which began in autumn 2014 and got off to a slow start, particularly in war-torn Syria, where the United States had few assets on the ground to provide targeting information.The Pentagon has announced a series of measures to speed up the war, including a revised mission to train anti-IS rebels in northern Syria and extra advisers for Iraqi forces. Coupled with coalition air support, the results have seen the IS group losing roughly half its territory in Iraq and about 20 percent of its Syria claim, the Pentagon said. But the jihadists have struck back against civilians as they lost ground. On July 3, IS carried out the devastating bombing targeting shoppers in Baghdad that killed 292, many of whom were burned alive, sparking widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of not doing enough to protect them. Four days later, the jihadists struck a Shiite shrine north the capital, leaving another 40 dead. Carter was also to meet with US troops, of whom there are now about 4,000 in Iraq, mainly to train local forces. The Pentagon chief will also phone Massud Barzani, the de facto president of Iraq`s Kurdistan region. The United States has pledged $415 million to help Kurdish peshmerga fighters as they join the fight for Mosul, moving in from the north. (AFP)

Pentagon chief visits Baghdad to step up fight against Islamic State

Gunmen kidnapped three Indonesian tugboat crew off Malaysia&#39;s eastern state of Sabah, police said today, the latest in a string of abductions in a region noted for kidnappings by Islamist militants. 
 
It was not immediately clear whether the men were seized by Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to Islamic State (IS) that is responsible for recent beheadings of western hostages and notorious for the extortion of millions of dollars in ransoms. 
 
The tugboat, with a crew of seven, was in waters off the east coast of Sabah on Borneo island, about 8 nautical miles from shore, regional marine police said, when it was attacked by armed men in a white boat late on Saturday. 
 
&quot;The suspects inquired who had their passports with them, and the three who did were taken into their boat, while the four who did not were left behind,&quot; marine police said in a media statement. 
 
The five armed abductors spoke in Malay and the local Suluk dialect, the police added. Police in Sabah are expected to hold a news conference later on Sunday. 
 
In Jakarta, the Indonesian foreign ministry said it had no information yet on the abductions. 
 
The Abu Sayyaf militant group has beheaded two Canadian nationals recently after its ransom deadlines expired. It is still holding men from Japan, the Netherlands and Norway. 
 
(Reuters)

It was not immediately clear whether the men were seized by Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to Islamic State

Gunmen kidnapped three Indonesian tugboat crew off Malaysia's eastern state of Sabah, police said today, the latest in a string of abductions in a region noted for kidnappings by Islamist militants. It was not immediately clear whether the men were seized by Abu Sayyaf, a group linked to Islamic State (IS) that is responsible for recent beheadings of western hostages and notorious for the extortion of millions of dollars in ransoms. The tugboat, with a crew of seven, was in waters off the east coast of Sabah on Borneo island, about 8 nautical miles from shore, regional marine police said, when it was attacked by armed men in a white boat late on Saturday. "The suspects inquired who had their passports with them, and the three who did were taken into their boat, while the four who did not were left behind," marine police said in a media statement. The five armed abductors spoke in Malay and the local Suluk dialect, the police added. Police in Sabah are expected to hold a news conference later on Sunday. In Jakarta, the Indonesian foreign ministry said it had no information yet on the abductions. The Abu Sayyaf militant group has beheaded two Canadian nationals recently after its ransom deadlines expired. It is still holding men from Japan, the Netherlands and Norway. (Reuters)

Gunmen abduct 3 Indonesians off Malaysian state of Sabah

At least 15 men from India&#39;s southern state of Kerala are suspected to have joined the powerful Islamic State, fear their family members. 
 
The youths have been missing since July 8 from their home town Kasaragod. 
 
Family members said they were informed of their children&#39;s likely attachment with the militant organisation by one of their friends. 
 
They have written to state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan asking him to investigate the matter. 
 
&quot;We are ready to take him back after proper procedure and verification by the police, otherwise&hellip;going to some foreign land to join some militant organisation&hellip; we don&#39;t need him here,&quot; said the father of one of the missing youths, Hamlin. 
 
Two other missing youths have been identified as Hafesudheen Theke Koleth and Azees Hussain. 
 
Islamic State has struggled to win over recruits in India, which is home to the world&#39;s third-largest Muslim population. 
 
Indian police arrested 29 men last year for establishing bases to recruit men to the Islamist militant group. All the men were charged with conspiracy to wage war against the state. 
 
A handful of Indians are also suspected of having travelled to Iraq and Syria to join Islamic State, where the group is fighting to install an Islamic caliphate. 
 
(Reuters)

Family members said they were told their children might have joined the militant goup by one of their friends.

At least 15 men from India's southern state of Kerala are suspected to have joined the powerful Islamic State, fear their family members. The youths have been missing since July 8 from their home town Kasaragod. Family members said they were informed of their children's likely attachment with the militant organisation by one of their friends. They have written to state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan asking him to investigate the matter. "We are ready to take him back after proper procedure and verification by the police, otherwise…going to some foreign land to join some militant organisation… we don't need him here," said the father of one of the missing youths, Hamlin. Two other missing youths have been identified as Hafesudheen Theke Koleth and Azees Hussain. Islamic State has struggled to win over recruits in India, which is home to the world's third-largest Muslim population. Indian police arrested 29 men last year for establishing bases to recruit men to the Islamist militant group. All the men were charged with conspiracy to wage war against the state. A handful of Indians are also suspected of having travelled to Iraq and Syria to join Islamic State, where the group is fighting to install an Islamic caliphate. (Reuters)

Families fear 15 missing Indian youths might have joined IS

Air strikes by US-led coalition warplanes and artillery fire from Turkey killed eight Islamic State fighters in northern Syria, state-run Anadolu Agency cited the Turkish military as saying today. 
 
Ten Islamic State targets were hit in the strikes, which also destroyed one building used by the militants as a base, the agency said. 
 
It said Turkish army howitzers fired on the militants as they were preparing to open fire on Turkey on Saturday from the areas of Baragitah, Tel Ahmar and Shabaniye in northern Syria. 
 
Turkey and the coalition have carried out regular strikes against Islamic State in the area in recent months after rocket attacks by the militants on the Turkish border town of Kilis. 
 
Kilis, just across the frontier from an Islamic State-controlled region of Syria, has been hit by rockets more than 70 times this year. More than 20 people have been killed. 
 
(Reuters)

Ten IS targets were hit in the strikes, which also destroyed a building used by the militants as a base, Anadolu Agency reported

Air strikes by US-led coalition warplanes and artillery fire from Turkey killed eight Islamic State fighters in northern Syria, state-run Anadolu Agency cited the Turkish military as saying today. Ten Islamic State targets were hit in the strikes, which also destroyed one building used by the militants as a base, the agency said. It said Turkish army howitzers fired on the militants as they were preparing to open fire on Turkey on Saturday from the areas of Baragitah, Tel Ahmar and Shabaniye in northern Syria. Turkey and the coalition have carried out regular strikes against Islamic State in the area in recent months after rocket attacks by the militants on the Turkish border town of Kilis. Kilis, just across the frontier from an Islamic State-controlled region of Syria, has been hit by rockets more than 70 times this year. More than 20 people have been killed. (Reuters)

US-led coalition air strikes, Turkish artillery fire kill 8 Islamic State militants

French President Francois Hollande called on Saturday for international action against an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State group could embolden other jihadist groups. 
 
&quot;Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute,&quot; Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw. 
 
But, Hollande added, &quot;we must also avoid a situation whereby as Daesh becomes weaker, other groups become stronger.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group. 
 
Faced with a barrage of airstrikes and ground offensives by local forces, IS has lost territory in both Syria and Iraq in recent months. 
 
&quot;We must coordinate among ourselves to continue actions against Daesh but also take effective action against Al-Nusra,&quot; Hollande said, directing his appeal at Russia and the US. 
 
On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call to &quot;intensify&quot; military coordination between their two countries in Syria. 
 
Russia had in May proposed joint air strikes with the US against jihadist targets in Syria - a suggestion that was rebuffed by Washington. 
 
The White House reported that the two leaders, in their call this week, &quot;confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL (IS) and the Al-Nusra Front&quot;. 
 
The two groups are excluded from a broader truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)

'We must also avoid a situation whereby as IS becomes weaker, other groups become stronger,' says the French President

French President Francois Hollande called on Saturday for international action against an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, warning that the recent losses sustained by the Islamic State group could embolden other jihadist groups. "Daesh (the Arabic acronym for Islamic State) is in retreat, that is beyond dispute," Hollande said after a meeting with the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, Italy and Ukraine on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Warsaw. But, Hollande added, "we must also avoid a situation whereby as Daesh becomes weaker, other groups become stronger." Hollande singled out Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front as particularly standing to benefit from the US-led military campaign against its arch-rival the Islamic State group. Faced with a barrage of airstrikes and ground offensives by local forces, IS has lost territory in both Syria and Iraq in recent months. "We must coordinate among ourselves to continue actions against Daesh but also take effective action against Al-Nusra," Hollande said, directing his appeal at Russia and the US. On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed in a telephone call to "intensify" military coordination between their two countries in Syria. Russia had in May proposed joint air strikes with the US against jihadist targets in Syria - a suggestion that was rebuffed by Washington. The White House reported that the two leaders, in their call this week, "confirmed their commitment to defeating ISIL (IS) and the Al-Nusra Front". The two groups are excluded from a broader truce brokered by Moscow and Washington in February. (AFP)

Hollande calls for military action against Syrian Qaeda affiliate

Islamic State (IS) lost an area the size of Ireland,&nbsp;a quarter of its territory,&nbsp;to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, a leading research firm&nbsp;Information handling Services (IHS)&nbsp;said in a report today.

The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said.

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS stated.

&quot;As the Islamic State&#39;s caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritising insurgency,&quot; said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor.

&quot;As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe,&quot; &nbsp;he added.&nbsp; 
 
IS lost control of stronghold in&nbsp;Falluja, Ramadi&nbsp;

The Iraqi military&#39;s recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi&#39;ite Muslim targets.

Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date.

Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq&#39;s north and Islamic State&#39;s de facto capital.

In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance.

In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas.

An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of Islamic State&#39;s de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa. 
 
(Reuters)

This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe, according to a leading research firm

Islamic State (IS) lost an area the size of Ireland, a quarter of its territory, to hostile forces in the last 18 months in Iraq and Syria and is likely to further step up attacks on civilians in coming months, a leading research firm Information handling Services (IHS) said in a report today. The territory controlled by the ultra-hardline Sunni group shrank from 90,800 sq km (35,000 square miles) in January 2015, six months after it declared a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, to 68,300 sq km (26,370 square miles), the research firm said. This has led the group to step up attacks on civilian targets in the Middle East and in Europe and this is likely to intensify, IHS stated. "As the Islamic State's caliphate shrinks and it becomes increasingly clear that its governance project is failing, the group is re-prioritising insurgency," said Columb Strack, senior analyst at IHS and lead analyst for the IHS Conflict Monitor. "As a result, we unfortunately expect an increase in mass casualty attacks and sabotage of economic infrastructure, across Iraq and Syria, and further afield, including Europe," he added. IS lost control of stronghold in Falluja, Ramadi The Iraqi military's recapture of Falluja, an Islamic State stronghold just west of Baghdad, last month has led the insurgents to step up bombings on Shi'ite Muslim targets. Nearly 300 people died when an Islamic State suicide bomber struck in a busy shopping district in Baghdad a week ago, in one of the worst such attacks by the group to date. Islamic State lost control of the city of Ramadi at the end of last year, another key stronghold for the group which captured large swathes of Iraq in 2014. The army is now gearing up to retake Mosul, the largest city in Iraq's north and Islamic State's de facto capital. In Syria, the militants lost ground this year to both Russian and Iranian-backed forces supporting President Bashar al-Assad and to the US-backed Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance. In February the SDF captured the town of al Shadadi, a major logistics hub for the militants, and in March Syrian and allied forces backed by Russian air strikes drove Islamic State out of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and surrounding areas. An SDF advance is underway to retake areas north of Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa. (Reuters)

IS lost quarter of its territory in Syria, Iraq in 18 months, says research firm

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