NATO leaders on Saturday agreed to deploy sophisticated surveillance aircraft to support the US-led fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said. 
 
Stoltenberg said a summit of the 28 NATO leaders in Warsaw had formally approved a plan for the alliance&#39;s AWACS planes to fly over international airspace and help the US-led coalition. 
 
&quot;We will provide AWACS support and the plan is to have them to flying over international airspace and Turkey and that will allow us to look into airspace in Iraq and Syria,&quot; Stoltenberg told a news conference. 
 
The planes are one of the few concrete assets that NATO has, with most of its military hardware belonging to individual member states. 
 
AWACS are aircraft with powerful radars that allow them to monitor airspace for hundreds of kilometres (miles) around. They can also be converted into command posts to coordinate bombing raids and other air operations. 
 
The Warsaw summit closing statement said that &quot;NATO AWACS aircraft will be made available to support the Counter-ISIL Coalition.&quot; 
 
In May, NATO said the planes would not be directly involved in monitoring jihadists, but would instead fill in for US and allied aircraft that would be re-tasked to gather intelligence over IS hotspots. 
 
Several European NATO members have been wary of becoming too involved in the bloody fight against IS but pressure has grown after deadly terror attacks in Paris and Brussels. 
 
In Warsaw, NATO also agreed to take further steps to boost counter-terorism efforts in countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Stoltenberg said. 
 
It would deploy a team to Baghdad to start a new training scheme in Iraq, which is battling IS jihadists. 
 
&quot;To the south we see failed and failing states. And millions left homeless and hopeless by terrorist groups like ISIL.&rdquo; Stoltenberg said. 
 
The alliance will also start providing support for Tunisian special forces and set up an intelligence &lsquo;Fusion Centre&rsquo; in Tunisia. 
 
NATO will further launch a maritime security operation in the Mediterranean to help deal with the migration crisis and the chaos in the waters off Libya. 
 
(AFP)

A plan for the alliance's AWACS planes to fly over international airspace and help the US-led coalition has been approved

NATO leaders on Saturday agreed to deploy sophisticated surveillance aircraft to support the US-led fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg said a summit of the 28 NATO leaders in Warsaw had formally approved a plan for the alliance's AWACS planes to fly over international airspace and help the US-led coalition. "We will provide AWACS support and the plan is to have them to flying over international airspace and Turkey and that will allow us to look into airspace in Iraq and Syria," Stoltenberg told a news conference. The planes are one of the few concrete assets that NATO has, with most of its military hardware belonging to individual member states. AWACS are aircraft with powerful radars that allow them to monitor airspace for hundreds of kilometres (miles) around. They can also be converted into command posts to coordinate bombing raids and other air operations. The Warsaw summit closing statement said that "NATO AWACS aircraft will be made available to support the Counter-ISIL Coalition." In May, NATO said the planes would not be directly involved in monitoring jihadists, but would instead fill in for US and allied aircraft that would be re-tasked to gather intelligence over IS hotspots. Several European NATO members have been wary of becoming too involved in the bloody fight against IS but pressure has grown after deadly terror attacks in Paris and Brussels. In Warsaw, NATO also agreed to take further steps to boost counter-terorism efforts in countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Stoltenberg said. It would deploy a team to Baghdad to start a new training scheme in Iraq, which is battling IS jihadists. "To the south we see failed and failing states. And millions left homeless and hopeless by terrorist groups like ISIL.” Stoltenberg said. The alliance will also start providing support for Tunisian special forces and set up an intelligence ‘Fusion Centre’ in Tunisia. NATO will further launch a maritime security operation in the Mediterranean to help deal with the migration crisis and the chaos in the waters off Libya. (AFP)

NATO to use surveillance planes against IS

President Barack Obama&#39;s decision to withdraw roughly 1,400 US troops from Afghanistan won&#39;t adversely impact America&#39;s mission there, a top general said before arriving in Kabul on Friday, adding that some jobs could be done from abroad. 
 
Obama on Wednesday shelved his plans to cut the US force nearly in half by year&#39;s end, from 9,800 to 5,500. He opted instead for a more limited withdrawal to roughly 8,400 troops, noting that Afghan forces still needed US support battling the Taliban insurgency after nearly 15 years of war. 
 
In his first comments since Obama&#39;s announcement, General Joseph Votel, the head of the US military&#39;s Central Command, played down any impact of the looming troop withdrawal even as he acknowledged Afghan forces were suffering heavy casualties. 
 
A recent Pentagon report to Congress said casualties among Afghan forces rose 27 per cent from January 1 to November 15 last year. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s difficult. They are taking a lot of casualties. That is a concern. We&#39;ll have to pay attention to that,&quot; Votel told a small group of reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;But I don&#39;t think the reductions that we are taking are going to impact the principal missions that we are doing, particularly with respect to the Afghan security forces,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
Taliban forces now hold more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the 2001 US-led invasion, according to recent UN estimates. 
 
The Islamic State group has also established a small presence in Afghanistan. 
 
Republican critics of Obama questioned why, given Afghanistan&#39;s security concerns, he was still intent on cutting the force at all. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain said it was difficult to discern &quot;any strategic rationale&quot; for the cut. 
 
Votel noted that Obama&#39;s decision to keep 8,400 troops in the country was welcomed by allies, who are expected to broadly reaffirm their commitments to Afghanistan at a NATO summit on Warsaw on Friday and Saturday. 
 
&quot;It sends a very hopeful message here for the coalition and I think it will encourage our partners to continue to contribute,&quot; Votel said. 
 
Votel suggested the drawdown might take place gradually over coming months, with some support for the US forces in Afghanistan being drawn from outside the country. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re going to achieve those reductions by moving some capabilities out that can be conducted over the horizon - that don&rsquo;t necessarily need to be done in Afghanistan - to support the force,&quot; he said, without elaborating.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

According to recent UN estimates, Taliban forces now hold more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the 2001 US-led invasion

President Barack Obama's decision to withdraw roughly 1,400 US troops from Afghanistan won't adversely impact America's mission there, a top general said before arriving in Kabul on Friday, adding that some jobs could be done from abroad. Obama on Wednesday shelved his plans to cut the US force nearly in half by year's end, from 9,800 to 5,500. He opted instead for a more limited withdrawal to roughly 8,400 troops, noting that Afghan forces still needed US support battling the Taliban insurgency after nearly 15 years of war. In his first comments since Obama's announcement, General Joseph Votel, the head of the US military's Central Command, played down any impact of the looming troop withdrawal even as he acknowledged Afghan forces were suffering heavy casualties. A recent Pentagon report to Congress said casualties among Afghan forces rose 27 per cent from January 1 to November 15 last year. "It's difficult. They are taking a lot of casualties. That is a concern. We'll have to pay attention to that," Votel told a small group of reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan. "But I don't think the reductions that we are taking are going to impact the principal missions that we are doing, particularly with respect to the Afghan security forces," he added. Taliban forces now hold more territory in Afghanistan than at any time since the 2001 US-led invasion, according to recent UN estimates. The Islamic State group has also established a small presence in Afghanistan. Republican critics of Obama questioned why, given Afghanistan's security concerns, he was still intent on cutting the force at all. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain said it was difficult to discern "any strategic rationale" for the cut. Votel noted that Obama's decision to keep 8,400 troops in the country was welcomed by allies, who are expected to broadly reaffirm their commitments to Afghanistan at a NATO summit on Warsaw on Friday and Saturday. "It sends a very hopeful message here for the coalition and I think it will encourage our partners to continue to contribute," Votel said. Votel suggested the drawdown might take place gradually over coming months, with some support for the US forces in Afghanistan being drawn from outside the country. "We're going to achieve those reductions by moving some capabilities out that can be conducted over the horizon - that don’t necessarily need to be done in Afghanistan - to support the force," he said, without elaborating. (Reuters)

'US troop cut won't impact principal missions in Afghanistan'

A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group killed at least 250 people, officials said, raising the toll of what was already one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq. 
 
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in Baghdad`s Karrada district early on Sunday as it teemed with shoppers ahead of the holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, sparking infernos in nearby buildings. 
 
Health Minister Adila Hamoud told AFP that the bombing killed 250 people and wounded 200. 
 
A police colonel and an interior ministry official both gave even higher death tolls for the attack. 
 
Hamoud said that DNA testing would be required to identify more than half of the bodies and that the process was expected to take from 15 to 45 days, meaning that relatives of the missing may have to wait weeks to learn the fates of their loved ones. 
 
The blast sparked widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of not doing enough to protect them. 
 
It has also overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday, instead turning it into a time of mourning and sadness. 
 
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant territory from the jihadists. 
 
In response to the battlefield setbacks, the group has hit back against civilians, and experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground. 
 
(AFP)

A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in Baghdad`s Karrada district early on Sunday

A Baghdad bombing claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group killed at least 250 people, officials said, raising the toll of what was already one of the deadliest attacks in Iraq. A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle in Baghdad`s Karrada district early on Sunday as it teemed with shoppers ahead of the holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, sparking infernos in nearby buildings. Health Minister Adila Hamoud told AFP that the bombing killed 250 people and wounded 200. A police colonel and an interior ministry official both gave even higher death tolls for the attack. Hamoud said that DNA testing would be required to identify more than half of the bodies and that the process was expected to take from 15 to 45 days, meaning that relatives of the missing may have to wait weeks to learn the fates of their loved ones. The blast sparked widespread anger among Iraqis, some of whom have accused the government of not doing enough to protect them. It has also overshadowed what would normally be a joyful holiday, instead turning it into a time of mourning and sadness. IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces have since regained significant territory from the jihadists. In response to the battlefield setbacks, the group has hit back against civilians, and experts have warned there may be more bombings as the jihadists continue to lose ground. (AFP)

Baghdad blast death toll rises to 250

The Syrian army today said it was observing a 72-hour ceasefire across the country coinciding with the festival marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. 
 
&quot;A &#39;regime of silence&#39; is applied across all territory of the Syrian Arab Republic for 72 hours from 1:00 am on July 6 to midnight on July 8,&quot; the army said in a statement republished by official media. 
 
The statement did not specify whether the ceasefire extended to military action against jihadists such as the Islamic State (IS) group or the al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front. 
 
A ceasefire between regime forces and non-jihadist rebel groups was announced by Russia and the United States in late February but has mostly collapsed amid repeated violations. 
 
There was no immediate indication whether rebel forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad&#39;s regime would abide by the new truce. 
 
The ceasefire coincides with the three-day Eid ul-Fitr festival marking the end of Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. 
 
Assad joined Eid prayers at a mosque in third city Homs today in a rare public appearance outside the capital Damascus. 
 
State television broadcast footage of the president joining worshippers at the Al-Safa mosque in Homs, which is mainly under government control except for a besieged rebel-held neighbourhood on the city&#39;s outskirts. 
 
Previous attempts to implement ceasefires in Syria have repeatedly failed, as have diplomatic efforts to end a five-year civil war that has killed more than 280,000 people and forced millions from their homes. 
 
Shelling reported in Aleppo 
 
Several temporary truces have been announced in recent months for second city Aleppo, scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the war, but have fallen apart. 
 
Aleppo, which was Syria&#39;s commercial and manufacturing hub before the civil war erupted, is divided between a rebel-held east and regime-controlled west. 
 
Eastern districts have faced heavy bombardment including air strikes from regime forces, while rebels regularly fire rockets into the west. 
 
Despite the ceasefire announcement, Aleppo&#39;s eastern areas came under fire today morning, according to residents and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. 
 
In the eastern Al-Mashad district a civilian was killed and several wounded when artillery fire fell near a mosque hosting Eid prayers, the Observatory said. 
 
&quot;Shells have been falling on the neighbourhood since early this morning,&quot; resident Ahmad Nassif told AFP. 
 
&quot;I had planned to visit family and friends, to bring my children out to play, but we decided to stay inside the house in case the shelling resumes,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;I hope things will calm down a bit during Eid, not for me but for my children.&quot; 
 
Syria&#39;s conflict began five years ago with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations and has evolved into a complex multi-front war. 
 
IS emerged from the chaos of the war, seizing control of large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, committing widespread atrocities in areas under its control, and organising and inspiring jihadist attacks across the Middle East and in Western cities. 
 
Washington has backed rebel forces in Syria and Moscow is supporting Assad, but the rise of IS has seen efforts focus on defeating the jihadists. 
 
Russia and the United States launched a major attempt last year to bring about peace talks between Assad and rebel forces, but the negotiations faltered as the partial truce announced in February fell apart. 
 
(AFP)

The truce coincides with the three-day Eid ul-Fitr festival marking the end of Ramzan

The Syrian army today said it was observing a 72-hour ceasefire across the country coinciding with the festival marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. "A 'regime of silence' is applied across all territory of the Syrian Arab Republic for 72 hours from 1:00 am on July 6 to midnight on July 8," the army said in a statement republished by official media. The statement did not specify whether the ceasefire extended to military action against jihadists such as the Islamic State (IS) group or the al Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front. A ceasefire between regime forces and non-jihadist rebel groups was announced by Russia and the United States in late February but has mostly collapsed amid repeated violations. There was no immediate indication whether rebel forces opposing President Bashar al-Assad's regime would abide by the new truce. The ceasefire coincides with the three-day Eid ul-Fitr festival marking the end of Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from dawn until dusk. Assad joined Eid prayers at a mosque in third city Homs today in a rare public appearance outside the capital Damascus. State television broadcast footage of the president joining worshippers at the Al-Safa mosque in Homs, which is mainly under government control except for a besieged rebel-held neighbourhood on the city's outskirts. Previous attempts to implement ceasefires in Syria have repeatedly failed, as have diplomatic efforts to end a five-year civil war that has killed more than 280,000 people and forced millions from their homes. Shelling reported in Aleppo Several temporary truces have been announced in recent months for second city Aleppo, scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the war, but have fallen apart. Aleppo, which was Syria's commercial and manufacturing hub before the civil war erupted, is divided between a rebel-held east and regime-controlled west. Eastern districts have faced heavy bombardment including air strikes from regime forces, while rebels regularly fire rockets into the west. Despite the ceasefire announcement, Aleppo's eastern areas came under fire today morning, according to residents and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group. In the eastern Al-Mashad district a civilian was killed and several wounded when artillery fire fell near a mosque hosting Eid prayers, the Observatory said. "Shells have been falling on the neighbourhood since early this morning," resident Ahmad Nassif told AFP. "I had planned to visit family and friends, to bring my children out to play, but we decided to stay inside the house in case the shelling resumes," he said. "I hope things will calm down a bit during Eid, not for me but for my children." Syria's conflict began five years ago with the brutal repression of anti-government demonstrations and has evolved into a complex multi-front war. IS emerged from the chaos of the war, seizing control of large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq, committing widespread atrocities in areas under its control, and organising and inspiring jihadist attacks across the Middle East and in Western cities. Washington has backed rebel forces in Syria and Moscow is supporting Assad, but the rise of IS has seen efforts focus on defeating the jihadists. Russia and the United States launched a major attempt last year to bring about peace talks between Assad and rebel forces, but the negotiations faltered as the partial truce announced in February fell apart. (AFP)

Syrian army declares 72-hour nationwide ceasefire

Iraq&#39;s interior minister resigned on Tuesday and said a deputy would take over his responsibilities, a few days after the deadliest of many car bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 US-led invasion.&nbsp; 
 
Mohammed Ghabban made the announcement at a news conference in Baghdad, a video of which was posted on his Facebook page. His resignation will be official only if Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi approves it. Abadi&#39;s office had no immediate comment. 
 
The death toll from a massive suicide bombing in Baghdad&#39;s central shopping district of Karrada on Saturday has reached 250, Iraq&#39;s health ministry said on Tuesday. 
 
It was the worst single car bomb attack in Iraq since US forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago and deepened the anger of many Iraqis over the weak performance of the security apparatus. 
 
Islamic State militants, who government forces are trying to eject from large swathes of northern and western territory seized in 2014, claimed responsibility for the bombing. 
 
The attack showed Islamic State (IS) remains capable of ad-hoc attacks causing major loss of life despite losing considerable ground on the battlefield, most recently the city of Falluja, an hour&#39;s drive west of the capital. 
 
The interior minister said that the explosive-packed vehicle came from the eastern province of Diyala, and blamed a lack of communication between multiple forces in charge of the capital&#39;s security. 
 
Ghabban said in an interview last month that a recent spate of IS bombings in Baghdad would not end unless &quot;disorder&quot; plaguing Iraq&#39;s security apparatus was rectified. 
 
He said then that security forces outside his control - including units reporting to two counter-terrorism agencies, two defence ministry directorates and regional security commands - overlap with his ministry&#39;s own counter-intelligence efforts. 
 
(Reuters)

The move comes after a suicide bombing killed 250, making it the deadliest of many car bombings since the 2003 US-led invasion

Iraq's interior minister resigned on Tuesday and said a deputy would take over his responsibilities, a few days after the deadliest of many car bombings in Baghdad since the 2003 US-led invasion. Mohammed Ghabban made the announcement at a news conference in Baghdad, a video of which was posted on his Facebook page. His resignation will be official only if Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi approves it. Abadi's office had no immediate comment. The death toll from a massive suicide bombing in Baghdad's central shopping district of Karrada on Saturday has reached 250, Iraq's health ministry said on Tuesday. It was the worst single car bomb attack in Iraq since US forces toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago and deepened the anger of many Iraqis over the weak performance of the security apparatus. Islamic State militants, who government forces are trying to eject from large swathes of northern and western territory seized in 2014, claimed responsibility for the bombing. The attack showed Islamic State (IS) remains capable of ad-hoc attacks causing major loss of life despite losing considerable ground on the battlefield, most recently the city of Falluja, an hour's drive west of the capital. The interior minister said that the explosive-packed vehicle came from the eastern province of Diyala, and blamed a lack of communication between multiple forces in charge of the capital's security. Ghabban said in an interview last month that a recent spate of IS bombings in Baghdad would not end unless "disorder" plaguing Iraq's security apparatus was rectified. He said then that security forces outside his control - including units reporting to two counter-terrorism agencies, two defence ministry directorates and regional security commands - overlap with his ministry's own counter-intelligence efforts. (Reuters)

Iraq's interior minister resigns after Baghdad bombing

A Turkish court jailed 17 suspects pending trial today in connection with last week&#39;s suicide bombing at Istanbul&#39;s main airport that killed 45 people and wounded hundreds, state media said. 
 
Eleven are foreigners among the arrested suspects, bringing the number of those remanded in custody over the attack to 30 after 13 were sent to jail on Sunday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. 
 
The latest 17 to be held were accused of &quot;membership of an armed terrorist organisation&quot;, the private Dogan news agency said. 
 
Officials believe last Tuesday&#39;s triple suicide bombing at Istanbul Ataturk airport, the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings this year in Turkey, was carried out by the Islamic State terror outfit. 
 
Three attackers opened fire to create panic outside the airport before two of them got inside and blew themselves up. The third militant detonated his explosives outside at the entrance to the international arrivals terminal. 
 
Russian nationals have been identified as two of the suspected bombers, Anadolu reported last week. Turkish officials have not commented on the report, although one official had said the attackers were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals. 
 
(Reuters)

The suspects have been accused of being members of an armed terrorist organisation. In total, 30 remanded in custody over the attack

A Turkish court jailed 17 suspects pending trial today in connection with last week's suicide bombing at Istanbul's main airport that killed 45 people and wounded hundreds, state media said. Eleven are foreigners among the arrested suspects, bringing the number of those remanded in custody over the attack to 30 after 13 were sent to jail on Sunday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The latest 17 to be held were accused of "membership of an armed terrorist organisation", the private Dogan news agency said. Officials believe last Tuesday's triple suicide bombing at Istanbul Ataturk airport, the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings this year in Turkey, was carried out by the Islamic State terror outfit. Three attackers opened fire to create panic outside the airport before two of them got inside and blew themselves up. The third militant detonated his explosives outside at the entrance to the international arrivals terminal. Russian nationals have been identified as two of the suspected bombers, Anadolu reported last week. Turkish officials have not commented on the report, although one official had said the attackers were Russian, Uzbek and Kyrgyz nationals. (Reuters)

17 jailed over triple suicide bombing at Istanbul's Ataturk airport

The Afghan Taliban today condemned a deadly suicide bombing at Islam`s second holiest site in the Saudi city of Medina, describing it as &quot;an act of enmity and hatred&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
Four people were killed in the bombing outside the Prophet`s Mosque on Monday, the same day as an attack outside a minority shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia, and another near the US consulate in the western city of Jeddah.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) &nbsp;which has been shocked by this gruesome act condemns this incident in the strongest of terms and considers it an act of enmity and hatred towards Islamic rituals,&quot; the militant group said in an emailed statement.&nbsp; 
 
There were no claims of responsibility for the bombings, but the Islamic State group had urged its supporters to carry out attacks during Ramzan. 
 
The Taliban, who were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in late 2001, have themselves been repeatedly blamed by the UN for deliberately targeting civilians in the war-torn country.&nbsp; 
 
As many as 600 civilians were killed and 1,343 were injured in the first three months of 2016, according to a UN report in April, with the Taliban responsible for six out of every 10 casualties.&nbsp; 
 
Monday`s suicide bombing received wide condemnation from across the Muslim world, with Shiite power Iran calling for Muslim unity following the attacks in its Sunni-dominated regional rival. 
 
Afghanistan`s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attacks in Saudi Arabia in a tweet today, expressing his sympathies to the people and government of Saudi Arabia. 
 
(AFP) 
 
&nbsp;

Four people were killed in the attack outside the Prophet`s Mosque on Monday

The Afghan Taliban today condemned a deadly suicide bombing at Islam`s second holiest site in the Saudi city of Medina, describing it as "an act of enmity and hatred". Four people were killed in the bombing outside the Prophet`s Mosque on Monday, the same day as an attack outside a minority shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia, and another near the US consulate in the western city of Jeddah. "The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) which has been shocked by this gruesome act condemns this incident in the strongest of terms and considers it an act of enmity and hatred towards Islamic rituals," the militant group said in an emailed statement. There were no claims of responsibility for the bombings, but the Islamic State group had urged its supporters to carry out attacks during Ramzan. The Taliban, who were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in late 2001, have themselves been repeatedly blamed by the UN for deliberately targeting civilians in the war-torn country. As many as 600 civilians were killed and 1,343 were injured in the first three months of 2016, according to a UN report in April, with the Taliban responsible for six out of every 10 casualties. Monday`s suicide bombing received wide condemnation from across the Muslim world, with Shiite power Iran calling for Muslim unity following the attacks in its Sunni-dominated regional rival. Afghanistan`s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attacks in Saudi Arabia in a tweet today, expressing his sympathies to the people and government of Saudi Arabia. (AFP)

Afghan Taliban condemn Medina bombing

Until late 2014, Nibras Islam appeared to acquaintances to be a typical student: fun-loving, in and out of love, and keen on sport, especially soccer. Women found him handsome. 
 
On a &quot;confessions&quot; Facebook page for Monash University students, one anonymous admirer gushed in a post on October 11, that year: &quot;Nibras Islam!! You are cute. But very hard to spot. Tell me when can I see you. Your smile just makes my day.&quot; 
 
On Friday night, police suspect Nibras was among at least six gunmen who attacked an upscale restaurant in his hometown Dhaka and brutally murdered 20 people, most of them foreigners. 
 
Police in Malaysia said that at least two of the militants had attended the Kuala Lumpur campus of Australia&#39;s prestigious Monash University, although they did not name them. 
 
They and four other gunmen were killed by security forces after a 12-hour siege, while a seventh suspected attacker is in police custody, Bangladesh police said. 
 
The attack, claimed by Islamic State, is an alarming development for a nation that, long used to gritty street violence fanned by political tension between secularists and Islamists, is suddenly facing a far more sophisticated threat. 
 
As investigators gather details about the militants, a profile is emerging of a band of educated youths from privileged backgrounds who had turned to radical Islamism only recently. 
 
One was the son of a mid-ranking leader of the country&#39;s ruling party, police said. 
 
It is testing the long-held belief that poverty and lack of education are the main causes for militancy taking hold in South Asia. 
 
&quot;Earlier the people who were radicalised used to be poorer and educated in quasi-madrassas,&quot; said Joyeeta Bhattacharjee, a Bangladesh expert at Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. &quot;These attackers are people from affluent backgrounds, liberal backgrounds.&quot; 
 
Masudur Rahman, a deputy police commissioner in Dhaka, said that the attackers were &quot;educated and rich&quot; and, somewhere along the way, &quot;brainwashed&quot;. 
 
It is still not clear when and how these young men - three of whom police said were younger than 22 - were radicalised. 
 
But interviews with friends and acquaintances of Nibras and some of the other suspected attackers, as well as a review of their social media activity, offer early glimpses into how they started to change. 
 
A student who knew Nibras from North South University, a private college in Dhaka where he went before moving to Malaysia, said he ran into him at a cafe in January and was surprised by the elaborate version of the &quot;Salaam&quot; greeting he used. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s usually just &ndash; &#39;hey, salaam, how you doing man?&#39; But Nibras said the full version ... His approach that day seemed totally different,&quot; said the student, who requested anonymity. 
 
&quot;I used to pray often in university, and I never saw him during prayer times at the prayer room.&quot; 
 
Privileged background 
 
The annual fee for a bachelor&#39;s course at Monash, a college with sprawling grounds and state-of-the-art sports facilities on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital, is nearly $9,000, at least six times the average income in Bangladesh. 
 
A person who knew Nibras at Monash said he was pursuing an undergraduate degree in business. This person, who did not want to be identified, described him as someone who would hang out with friends and do what they did. 
 
He loved taking photographs, especially of himself, the person said, so much so that his friends would tease him about it. 
 
A scan of social media shows Nibras was crazy about a Bollywood actress, supported Liverpool soccer club and took selfies in cafes with friends. 
 
He also had a girlfriend, whom he broke up with in 2014, the person who knew him at Monash said. On Twitter, where he put his age as 22, Nibras at one point tweeted mournfully about a broken relationship. 
 
&quot;You don&#39;t need me anymore. Be happy with him. Everyone is better then (sic) me. You know where to find me,&quot; he wrote. 
 
Then he vanished from the campus sometime last year. 
 
It is not clear why he left, but the person who knew him said his friends thought it was because he didn&#39;t enjoy his stay at Monash and decided to pursue his education closer to home and family. 
 
He started to withdraw from social media, stopping activity on sites such as Snapchat and Facebook. His Instagram account is still active. 
 
Nibras followed only ten Twitter accounts, one of which was @ShamiWitness, an influential handle run by Islamic State propagandist Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who was arrested in the Indian city of Bangalore last year. 
 
He liked a tweet by Anjem Choudary, one of Britain&#39;s most high-profile Islamist preachers, that was critical of France and its allies and was posted in January, 2015, shortly after the deadly militant attack on the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. 
 
Two months before that, he had tweeted: &quot;Goodbye for good&quot;. 
 
(Reuters )

Police suspected Nibras Islam, a student of Australia's Monash University in Kuala Lumpur, to be one of the six gunmen

Until late 2014, Nibras Islam appeared to acquaintances to be a typical student: fun-loving, in and out of love, and keen on sport, especially soccer. Women found him handsome. On a "confessions" Facebook page for Monash University students, one anonymous admirer gushed in a post on October 11, that year: "Nibras Islam!! You are cute. But very hard to spot. Tell me when can I see you. Your smile just makes my day." On Friday night, police suspect Nibras was among at least six gunmen who attacked an upscale restaurant in his hometown Dhaka and brutally murdered 20 people, most of them foreigners. Police in Malaysia said that at least two of the militants had attended the Kuala Lumpur campus of Australia's prestigious Monash University, although they did not name them. They and four other gunmen were killed by security forces after a 12-hour siege, while a seventh suspected attacker is in police custody, Bangladesh police said. The attack, claimed by Islamic State, is an alarming development for a nation that, long used to gritty street violence fanned by political tension between secularists and Islamists, is suddenly facing a far more sophisticated threat. As investigators gather details about the militants, a profile is emerging of a band of educated youths from privileged backgrounds who had turned to radical Islamism only recently. One was the son of a mid-ranking leader of the country's ruling party, police said. It is testing the long-held belief that poverty and lack of education are the main causes for militancy taking hold in South Asia. "Earlier the people who were radicalised used to be poorer and educated in quasi-madrassas," said Joyeeta Bhattacharjee, a Bangladesh expert at Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. "These attackers are people from affluent backgrounds, liberal backgrounds." Masudur Rahman, a deputy police commissioner in Dhaka, said that the attackers were "educated and rich" and, somewhere along the way, "brainwashed". It is still not clear when and how these young men - three of whom police said were younger than 22 - were radicalised. But interviews with friends and acquaintances of Nibras and some of the other suspected attackers, as well as a review of their social media activity, offer early glimpses into how they started to change. A student who knew Nibras from North South University, a private college in Dhaka where he went before moving to Malaysia, said he ran into him at a cafe in January and was surprised by the elaborate version of the "Salaam" greeting he used. "It's usually just – 'hey, salaam, how you doing man?' But Nibras said the full version ... His approach that day seemed totally different," said the student, who requested anonymity. "I used to pray often in university, and I never saw him during prayer times at the prayer room." Privileged background The annual fee for a bachelor's course at Monash, a college with sprawling grounds and state-of-the-art sports facilities on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital, is nearly $9,000, at least six times the average income in Bangladesh. A person who knew Nibras at Monash said he was pursuing an undergraduate degree in business. This person, who did not want to be identified, described him as someone who would hang out with friends and do what they did. He loved taking photographs, especially of himself, the person said, so much so that his friends would tease him about it. A scan of social media shows Nibras was crazy about a Bollywood actress, supported Liverpool soccer club and took selfies in cafes with friends. He also had a girlfriend, whom he broke up with in 2014, the person who knew him at Monash said. On Twitter, where he put his age as 22, Nibras at one point tweeted mournfully about a broken relationship. "You don't need me anymore. Be happy with him. Everyone is better then (sic) me. You know where to find me," he wrote. Then he vanished from the campus sometime last year. It is not clear why he left, but the person who knew him said his friends thought it was because he didn't enjoy his stay at Monash and decided to pursue his education closer to home and family. He started to withdraw from social media, stopping activity on sites such as Snapchat and Facebook. His Instagram account is still active. Nibras followed only ten Twitter accounts, one of which was @ShamiWitness, an influential handle run by Islamic State propagandist Mehdi Masroor Biswas, who was arrested in the Indian city of Bangalore last year. He liked a tweet by Anjem Choudary, one of Britain's most high-profile Islamist preachers, that was critical of France and its allies and was posted in January, 2015, shortly after the deadly militant attack on the offices of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. Two months before that, he had tweeted: "Goodbye for good". (Reuters )

Heartbreak, selfies and soccer: the life of a Dhaka cafe killer

Two suspected Islamic State jihadists have been detained at Istanbul&#39;s Ataturk airport days after it was hit by suicide bombers, as Turkish authorities move to boost security at sensitive sites. 
 
Dogan news agency said the two suspects held late Sunday were Kyrgyz nationals, identifying them only by their initials, KV and FMI, aged 25 and 35 respectively. 
 
Police found night-vision binoculars and military-style clothes in their suitcases, the agency said, along with two passports in different names. 
 
The pair were questioned by anti-terror police in Istanbul. It was not clear whether they had been leaving or arriving at the airport. 
 
Their detention came as 13 suspects, including three foreigners, were charged Sunday over the June 28 gun and suicide bomb assault at the airport that killed 45 people including 19 foreigners. 
 
Officials believe the Islamic State group was behind the attack, the worst in a series to hit Turkey&#39;s biggest city this year. 
 
In total police have detained 29 people &quot;including foreigners&quot; in connection with the airport assault, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. 
 
Yildirim said Monday that police were on high alert and had boosted their presence at the airport and other sensitive Istanbul sites including metro stations and the Marmaray rail tunnel. 
 
A team of 80 special forces troops have been patrolling Ataturk airport, one of Europe&#39;s busiest hubs, since Sunday. 
 
Last week&#39;s carnage &quot;followed a new model&quot; of attack in Turkey, Yildirim said, noting that the bombers had first sprayed passengers with bullets, allowing them to get inside the terminal before blowing themselves up. 
 
Of more than 200 people injured, 47 are still in hospital. 
 
Authorities believe the attackers were a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz national. 
 
State news agency Anadolu has named two of them as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov, without giving their nationalities. 
 
Central Asia&#39;s former Soviet republics have been a major source of foreign jihadists travelling to fight with IS and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. 
 
Turkish media have identified the strike&#39;s organiser as Akhmed Chatayev, the Chechen leader of an IS cell in Istanbul who allegedly masterminded two other deadly attacks that killed tourists in the city. 
 
Turkey has been rocked by a series of attacks over the past year, blamed on both IS jihadists and Kurdish rebels. 
 
(AFP)

Turkey has been rocked by a series of attacks over the past year, blamed on both IS jihadists and Kurdish rebels

Two suspected Islamic State jihadists have been detained at Istanbul's Ataturk airport days after it was hit by suicide bombers, as Turkish authorities move to boost security at sensitive sites. Dogan news agency said the two suspects held late Sunday were Kyrgyz nationals, identifying them only by their initials, KV and FMI, aged 25 and 35 respectively. Police found night-vision binoculars and military-style clothes in their suitcases, the agency said, along with two passports in different names. The pair were questioned by anti-terror police in Istanbul. It was not clear whether they had been leaving or arriving at the airport. Their detention came as 13 suspects, including three foreigners, were charged Sunday over the June 28 gun and suicide bomb assault at the airport that killed 45 people including 19 foreigners. Officials believe the Islamic State group was behind the attack, the worst in a series to hit Turkey's biggest city this year. In total police have detained 29 people "including foreigners" in connection with the airport assault, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. Yildirim said Monday that police were on high alert and had boosted their presence at the airport and other sensitive Istanbul sites including metro stations and the Marmaray rail tunnel. A team of 80 special forces troops have been patrolling Ataturk airport, one of Europe's busiest hubs, since Sunday. Last week's carnage "followed a new model" of attack in Turkey, Yildirim said, noting that the bombers had first sprayed passengers with bullets, allowing them to get inside the terminal before blowing themselves up. Of more than 200 people injured, 47 are still in hospital. Authorities believe the attackers were a Russian, an Uzbek and a Kyrgyz national. State news agency Anadolu has named two of them as Rakim Bulgarov and Vadim Osmanov, without giving their nationalities. Central Asia's former Soviet republics have been a major source of foreign jihadists travelling to fight with IS and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. Turkish media have identified the strike's organiser as Akhmed Chatayev, the Chechen leader of an IS cell in Istanbul who allegedly masterminded two other deadly attacks that killed tourists in the city. Turkey has been rocked by a series of attacks over the past year, blamed on both IS jihadists and Kurdish rebels. (AFP)

IS suspects held at Istanbul airport days after attack

The death toll from a suicide bombing in a Baghdad shopping district has risen to over 150, fueling calls for security forces to crack down on Islamic State sleeper cells blamed for one of the worst ever single bombings in Iraq. 
 
Numbers rose as bodies were recovered from the rubble in the Karrada area of Baghdad, where a refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up on Saturday night when people were out celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. 
 
The toll in Karrada stood at 151 killed and 200 wounded by midday on Monday, according to police and medical sources. Rescuers and families were still looking for 35 missing people. 
 
Islamic State claimed the attack, saying it was a suicide bombing. Another explosion struck in the same night, when a roadside bomb blew up in popular market of al-Shaab, a Shi&#39;ite district in north Baghdad, killing two people. 
 
The attacks cast a shadow over victory statements made last month by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi&#39;s government, after Iraqi forces dislodged Islamic State from Falluja, the stronghold of the ultra-hardline Sunni insurgents near Baghdad. 
 
Government officials ordered the offensive on Falluja in May after a series of deadly bombings in Shi&#39;ite areas of Baghdad that they said originated from Falluja, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital. 
 
&quot;Abadi has to have a meeting with the heads of national security, intelligence, the interior ministry and all sides responsible for security and ask them just one question: How can we infiltrate these groups?&quot; said Abdul Kareem Khalaf, a former police Major General who advises the Netherlands-based European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies think tank. 
 
In a sign of public outrage at the failure of the security services, Abadi was given an angry reception on Sunday when he toured Karrada, the district where he grew up, with residents throwing stones, empty buckets and even slippers at his convoy in gestures of contempt. 
 
He ordered new measures to protect Baghdad, starting with the withdrawal of fake bomb detectors that police have continued to use despite a scandal that broke out in 2011 about their sale to Iraq under his predecessor, Nuri al-Maliki. 
 
The hand-held devices were initially developed to find lost golf balls, and the British businessman who sold them to Iraq for $40 million was jailed in Britain in 2013. 
 
Abadi ordered that the fake devices be replaced by efficient detectors at the entrances to Baghdad and Iraq&#39;s provinces. 
 
Karrada, a largely Shi&#39;ite district with a small Christian community and a few Sunni mosques, was busy at the time of the blast as people were eating out and shopping late during Ramadan, which ends this week with the Eid al-Fitr festival. 
 
Falluja was the first Iraqi city to fall to Islamic State in January 2014. Abadi said the next target of the Iraqi forces is Mosul, the de facto capital of the militants and the largest city under their control in both Iraq and Syria. 
 
(Reuters)

Residents expressed outrage at the failure of the security services by throwing stones, empty buckets and even slippers at PM Abadi's convoy

The death toll from a suicide bombing in a Baghdad shopping district has risen to over 150, fueling calls for security forces to crack down on Islamic State sleeper cells blamed for one of the worst ever single bombings in Iraq. Numbers rose as bodies were recovered from the rubble in the Karrada area of Baghdad, where a refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up on Saturday night when people were out celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. The toll in Karrada stood at 151 killed and 200 wounded by midday on Monday, according to police and medical sources. Rescuers and families were still looking for 35 missing people. Islamic State claimed the attack, saying it was a suicide bombing. Another explosion struck in the same night, when a roadside bomb blew up in popular market of al-Shaab, a Shi'ite district in north Baghdad, killing two people. The attacks cast a shadow over victory statements made last month by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government, after Iraqi forces dislodged Islamic State from Falluja, the stronghold of the ultra-hardline Sunni insurgents near Baghdad. Government officials ordered the offensive on Falluja in May after a series of deadly bombings in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad that they said originated from Falluja, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital. "Abadi has to have a meeting with the heads of national security, intelligence, the interior ministry and all sides responsible for security and ask them just one question: How can we infiltrate these groups?" said Abdul Kareem Khalaf, a former police Major General who advises the Netherlands-based European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies think tank. In a sign of public outrage at the failure of the security services, Abadi was given an angry reception on Sunday when he toured Karrada, the district where he grew up, with residents throwing stones, empty buckets and even slippers at his convoy in gestures of contempt. He ordered new measures to protect Baghdad, starting with the withdrawal of fake bomb detectors that police have continued to use despite a scandal that broke out in 2011 about their sale to Iraq under his predecessor, Nuri al-Maliki. The hand-held devices were initially developed to find lost golf balls, and the British businessman who sold them to Iraq for $40 million was jailed in Britain in 2013. Abadi ordered that the fake devices be replaced by efficient detectors at the entrances to Baghdad and Iraq's provinces. Karrada, a largely Shi'ite district with a small Christian community and a few Sunni mosques, was busy at the time of the blast as people were eating out and shopping late during Ramadan, which ends this week with the Eid al-Fitr festival. Falluja was the first Iraqi city to fall to Islamic State in January 2014. Abadi said the next target of the Iraqi forces is Mosul, the de facto capital of the militants and the largest city under their control in both Iraq and Syria. (Reuters)

Iraqis want crackdown on 'sleeper cells' after suicide attack in Baghdad

Turkey has proposed cooperating with Moscow to combat Islamic State in Syria, suggesting it could open its Incirlik Air Base to Russia, comments that highlighted a revival in ties strained by Turkey&#39;s shooting down of a Russian warplane last year. 
 
Moscow pledged to rebuild relations after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last week expressed regret over the shooting down of the aircraft, with the loss of the pilot, near the Syrian frontier. Moscow had broken off virtually all economic ties and banned tourists from visiting Turkish resorts. 
 
&quot;We will cooperate with everyone who fights Daesh. We have been doing this for quite a while, and we opened Incirlik Air Base for those who want to join the active fight against Daesh,&quot; Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview on state broadcaster TRT Haber on Sunday, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. 
 
&quot;Why not cooperate with Russia as well on these terms? Daesh is our common enemy, and we need to fight this enemy.&quot; 
 
While both Turkey and Russia recognise the threat of Islamic State, they are on opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, raising questions about the viability of Russian use of Incirlik. 
 
Turkey has been one of the most steadfast opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran. 
 
Turkey&#39;s NATO partners may also be wary of Russian use of the base, which is located five miles north of the Turkish city of Adana near the Syrian border. 
 
Incirlik hosts aircraft of the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Qatar involved in the US-led air campaign against Islamic State. 
 
(Reuters)

While both Turkey and Russia recognise the threat of Islamic State, they are on opposite sides of the Syrian conflict

Turkey has proposed cooperating with Moscow to combat Islamic State in Syria, suggesting it could open its Incirlik Air Base to Russia, comments that highlighted a revival in ties strained by Turkey's shooting down of a Russian warplane last year. Moscow pledged to rebuild relations after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last week expressed regret over the shooting down of the aircraft, with the loss of the pilot, near the Syrian frontier. Moscow had broken off virtually all economic ties and banned tourists from visiting Turkish resorts. "We will cooperate with everyone who fights Daesh. We have been doing this for quite a while, and we opened Incirlik Air Base for those who want to join the active fight against Daesh," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview on state broadcaster TRT Haber on Sunday, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "Why not cooperate with Russia as well on these terms? Daesh is our common enemy, and we need to fight this enemy." While both Turkey and Russia recognise the threat of Islamic State, they are on opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, raising questions about the viability of Russian use of Incirlik. Turkey has been one of the most steadfast opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Russia and Iran. Turkey's NATO partners may also be wary of Russian use of the base, which is located five miles north of the Turkish city of Adana near the Syrian border. Incirlik hosts aircraft of the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Qatar involved in the US-led air campaign against Islamic State. (Reuters)

Turkey proposes cooperation with Russia in fighting IS: Foreign minister

Malaysian authorities on Monday confirmed that the Islamic State (IS) was responsible for a grenade attack on a nightspot last week, which is believed to be the first successful attempt in the country by the militant group. 
 
Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said two men have been arrested in connection with the attack, and that they received direct instructions from Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, a known Malaysian IS fighter. 
 
&quot;The two of those arrested had received instructions from Muhammad Wanndy, who had commanded them to carry out attacks in Malaysia, on our government leaders, top police officials and judges. These three groups are considered as threatening to IS activities,&quot; Khalid said at a news conference. 
 
Police are hunting for two more people believed to have been directly involved in the nightclub attack, Khalid added. 
 
Police had on June 28 ruled out terrorism as a motive for the pre-dawn attack, which took place as customers were watching a live screening of the Euro football tournament. 
 
Investigators initially said that a business rivalry, or a targeted attack on someone in the bar, were the more likely motives, but were forced to reassess their position a day later after an IS claim of responsibility was posted on Facebook. 
 
Khalid said police also arrested 13 others, including two low-ranking police officers, in a counter-terrorism crackdown in the aftermath of the grenade attack. 
 
Khalid said those detained during the crackdown had all received instructions to carry out attacks on top officials &quot;and also entertainment centres, which they consider un-Islamic&quot;. 
 
All those detained, including the two linked directly to the attack, are Malaysians. 
 
The IS recently released a video of its fighters from Southeast Asia calling on its supporters to stay home and unify under one umbrella group to launch attacks in the region. 
 
(Reuters)

Two have been arrested for last week's attack which is believed to be the first successful attempt in the country by IS

Malaysian authorities on Monday confirmed that the Islamic State (IS) was responsible for a grenade attack on a nightspot last week, which is believed to be the first successful attempt in the country by the militant group. Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said two men have been arrested in connection with the attack, and that they received direct instructions from Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi, a known Malaysian IS fighter. "The two of those arrested had received instructions from Muhammad Wanndy, who had commanded them to carry out attacks in Malaysia, on our government leaders, top police officials and judges. These three groups are considered as threatening to IS activities," Khalid said at a news conference. Police are hunting for two more people believed to have been directly involved in the nightclub attack, Khalid added. Police had on June 28 ruled out terrorism as a motive for the pre-dawn attack, which took place as customers were watching a live screening of the Euro football tournament. Investigators initially said that a business rivalry, or a targeted attack on someone in the bar, were the more likely motives, but were forced to reassess their position a day later after an IS claim of responsibility was posted on Facebook. Khalid said police also arrested 13 others, including two low-ranking police officers, in a counter-terrorism crackdown in the aftermath of the grenade attack. Khalid said those detained during the crackdown had all received instructions to carry out attacks on top officials "and also entertainment centres, which they consider un-Islamic". All those detained, including the two linked directly to the attack, are Malaysians. The IS recently released a video of its fighters from Southeast Asia calling on its supporters to stay home and unify under one umbrella group to launch attacks in the region. (Reuters)

Malaysian police confirm IS link to nightclub grenade attack

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the victims of the Gulshan attack at the Army Stadium in Banani on Monday morning. 
 
The 12-hour-long hostage crisis had ended on Saturday morning after a two hour assault by commandos, leading to the death of six gunmen and capturing one alive. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi American and two Bangladeshis were among the 20 killed in the terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan on Friday night. 
 
Two senior police officers, Banani Police Station officer-in-charge Salauddin Ahmed Khan and Detective Branch Assistant commissioner Robiul Islam also lost their lives while trying to rescue the hostages. 
 
While Salauddin was laid to rest at Banani Graveyard in Dhaka, Robiul was buried at her village home in Manikganj. Meanwhile, security continues to be tight at all sensitive points in the capital, with police checking all vehicles especially in the secured diplomatic area where the gruesome hostage killings took place. 
 
In the wake of the terror attack in Dhaka,&nbsp;US secretary of state John Kerry had also called the Bangladeshi Prime Minister and offered her assistance from American law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. State department spokesperson John Kirby said that the secretary on Sunday encouraged Bangladesh to conduct its investigation in accordance with the highest international standards and offered immediate US assistance in this regard.&nbsp; 
 
(ANI)&nbsp;

Security continues to be tight at all sensitive points in the capital in the wake of the terror attack

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid homage to the victims of the Gulshan attack at the Army Stadium in Banani on Monday morning. The 12-hour-long hostage crisis had ended on Saturday morning after a two hour assault by commandos, leading to the death of six gunmen and capturing one alive. Nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladeshi American and two Bangladeshis were among the 20 killed in the terror attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan on Friday night. Two senior police officers, Banani Police Station officer-in-charge Salauddin Ahmed Khan and Detective Branch Assistant commissioner Robiul Islam also lost their lives while trying to rescue the hostages. While Salauddin was laid to rest at Banani Graveyard in Dhaka, Robiul was buried at her village home in Manikganj. Meanwhile, security continues to be tight at all sensitive points in the capital, with police checking all vehicles especially in the secured diplomatic area where the gruesome hostage killings took place. In the wake of the terror attack in Dhaka, US secretary of state John Kerry had also called the Bangladeshi Prime Minister and offered her assistance from American law enforcement agencies, including the FBI. State department spokesperson John Kirby said that the secretary on Sunday encouraged Bangladesh to conduct its investigation in accordance with the highest international standards and offered immediate US assistance in this regard. (ANI)

Bangladesh PM pays tribute to victims of Dhaka cafe siege

Kuwaiti security authorities have broken up three Islamic State cells plotting &quot;terror&quot; attacks in the oil-rich Gulf state, the interior ministry said today. 
 
Five Kuwaiti nationals were arrested, including a policeman and a woman, who all confessed to plotting attacks against a Shiite mosque and an interior ministry target, the ministry said in a statement. 
 
All members of the three cells also confessed to being members of the Islamic State jihadist group. 
 
Kuwaiti police are still looking for a Gulf man and an Asian who assisted one of the cells, the ministry said. 
 
The action against the Islamist cells comes a year after an IS-linked Saudi suicide bomber blew himself up in a Shiite mosque, killing 26 worshippers in the worst attack in Kuwait. 
 
A court sentenced one man to death and jailed eight others for assisting the Saudi bomber. 
 
Among those arrested in the latest police action was 18-year old Talal Raja who confessed to have been plotting a suicide attack against a Shiite mosque and an interior ministry installation by the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan on Tuesday, the ministry said. 
 
The second cell consisted of a mother and son who were arrested in Syria in the IS-controlled Riga and brought back to Kuwait, the ministry said. It provided no details of how they were arrested. 
 
The 28-year old son had cut short his petroleum engineering study in Britain to join the IS after his younger brother was killed while fighting for the group in Iraq, the ministry said. 
 
The third cell comprised of two Kuwaitis, one of them a policeman, who were seized along with two Klashnikov rifles and ammunition. The pair confessed to plotting attacks in the country, the ministry said. 
 
In November last year, Kuwaiti police busted an international cell led by a Lebanese man that was sending air defence systems and funds to the Islamic State group. 
 
Several suspected IS members and sympathisers were tried in the Gulf emirate for a suicide bombing last month claimed by the group. 
 
(AFP)

Five Kuwaiti nationals, including a policeman and woman, were arrested after they apparently confessed to being members IS

Kuwaiti security authorities have broken up three Islamic State cells plotting "terror" attacks in the oil-rich Gulf state, the interior ministry said today. Five Kuwaiti nationals were arrested, including a policeman and a woman, who all confessed to plotting attacks against a Shiite mosque and an interior ministry target, the ministry said in a statement. All members of the three cells also confessed to being members of the Islamic State jihadist group. Kuwaiti police are still looking for a Gulf man and an Asian who assisted one of the cells, the ministry said. The action against the Islamist cells comes a year after an IS-linked Saudi suicide bomber blew himself up in a Shiite mosque, killing 26 worshippers in the worst attack in Kuwait. A court sentenced one man to death and jailed eight others for assisting the Saudi bomber. Among those arrested in the latest police action was 18-year old Talal Raja who confessed to have been plotting a suicide attack against a Shiite mosque and an interior ministry installation by the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan on Tuesday, the ministry said. The second cell consisted of a mother and son who were arrested in Syria in the IS-controlled Riga and brought back to Kuwait, the ministry said. It provided no details of how they were arrested. The 28-year old son had cut short his petroleum engineering study in Britain to join the IS after his younger brother was killed while fighting for the group in Iraq, the ministry said. The third cell comprised of two Kuwaitis, one of them a policeman, who were seized along with two Klashnikov rifles and ammunition. The pair confessed to plotting attacks in the country, the ministry said. In November last year, Kuwaiti police busted an international cell led by a Lebanese man that was sending air defence systems and funds to the Islamic State group. Several suspected IS members and sympathisers were tried in the Gulf emirate for a suicide bombing last month claimed by the group. (AFP)

Kuwait busts 3 IS cells plotting attacks

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said she was determined to eradicate terrorism in Bangladesh after security forces stormed into a cafe where Islamist extremists had taken dozens of diners hostage. 
 
&quot;It was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these people? They don&#39;t have any religion,&quot; she said in a televised speech. 
 
&quot;People must resist these terrorists. My government is determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh,&quot; she added.&nbsp; 
 
The Bangladesh cafe hostage siege finally ended on Saturday after a bloody fight between commandos and militants. 
 
&quot;We have been able to save 13 people, six gunmen have been killed,&quot; the PM said and added, &quot;All security agencies did a great job.&quot; 
 
Eight to nine gunmen had attacked the upscale cafe Holey Artisan in the diplomatic area of Dhaka late on Friday and had been holding about 20 hostages, including foreigners. 
 
The security forces launched an offensive to end the hostage crisis at the restaurant today morning, reports the Daily Star.The assailants, believed to be carrying assault rifles and grenades, exchanged sporadic gun fire with police outside for several hours after the attack, which began around 9 pm on Friday.&nbsp; 
 
(Agencies)&nbsp;

The Bangladeshi Prime Minister says she is determined to eradicate terrorism from her country

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said she was determined to eradicate terrorism in Bangladesh after security forces stormed into a cafe where Islamist extremists had taken dozens of diners hostage. "It was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these people? They don't have any religion," she said in a televised speech. "People must resist these terrorists. My government is determined to root out terrorism and militancy from Bangladesh," she added. The Bangladesh cafe hostage siege finally ended on Saturday after a bloody fight between commandos and militants. "We have been able to save 13 people, six gunmen have been killed," the PM said and added, "All security agencies did a great job." Eight to nine gunmen had attacked the upscale cafe Holey Artisan in the diplomatic area of Dhaka late on Friday and had been holding about 20 hostages, including foreigners. The security forces launched an offensive to end the hostage crisis at the restaurant today morning, reports the Daily Star.The assailants, believed to be carrying assault rifles and grenades, exchanged sporadic gun fire with police outside for several hours after the attack, which began around 9 pm on Friday. (Agencies)

'What kind of Muslims are these people?' asks Hasina

Early in June, a man walked into the Dhaka premises of the Ramakrishna Mission, a Hindu centre for spirituality and learning in the Bangladesh capital, and delivered a handwritten note warning of an attack by Islamic State. 
 
Days later, armed policemen were sitting inside the mission&#39;s compound among orange-robed monks, the gates outside were closed and fewer people than normal showed up at a medical clinic it runs for the neighbourhood. 
 
&quot;We are monks, we will live and die here, but people with families are worried,&quot; Swami Shivananda, a priest managing the administration of the mission, said of the country&#39;s Hindu community, which accounts for 10 per cent of the population. 
 
Islamic State and al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for the killings of more than 30 people since early last year, in an escalation of militant violence targeting liberals, atheists, foreigners, gays and religious minorities. 
 
They have shocked the largely moderate Muslim country of 160 million people and heightened fears that Bangladesh, once hailed as the next Asian tiger economy with its huge garment industry, could lose out to more stable competitors in the region. 
 
Unlike some security experts, Bangladesh authorities say the two international jihadi movements are not directly involved in the murders, many of which were carried out with machetes. 
 
But, as the police at the Hindu mission attest, the danger is real, and counter-terrorism officials warn it could get worse with one local militant group adopting al Qaeda&#39;s methods and calling on the expertise of a former army major implicated in a failed 2011 coup. 
 
Deadly rivalry&nbsp; 
 
Security officials say two local militant groups, Ansar-al-Islam and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, are behind the killings. 
 
Of the two, Ansar, which pledges allegiance to al Qaeda, has emerged as the most organised and dangerous, they say, while Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen is seen as a looser organisation that claims it represents Islamic State but has no proven links to it. 
 
&quot;By now we have a clear idea of the organisational structure, command and control and methods of operations of Ansar-al-Islam,&quot; Monirul Islam, chief of Bangladesh&#39;s counter-terrorism police, told Reuters in a recent interview. 
 
&quot;They follow the ideology of al Qaeda, their operational leaders are mostly educated men, (from a) middle class background. They declare their allegiance to al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and, through it, to Ayman al-Zawahri,&quot; he said, referring to al Qaeda&#39;s global leader. 
 
According to Thomas Joscelyn, senior editor at The Long War Journal that tracks jihadi groups worldwide, there was evidence of more direct links between Bangladesh and al Qaeda, and he warned the Islamist militant threat had been underestimated. 
 
&quot;We now have competition between al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Bangladesh, which means that the jihadist pool is deep enough for both organizations to operate in the country.&quot; 
 
In May, 2015, AQIS leader Asim Umar claimed responsibility for the murder of Avijit Roy, a US citizen and blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh that February. US officials said at the time they were unable to confirm the claim. 
 
Initially, Ansar struck bloggers and publishers critical of radical Islam, then university teachers, including one who asked a woman student to remove her veil in class. 
 
In April, it said it murdered two gay rights activists, saying they were promoting anti-Islamic activities, police said. 
 
Mysterious ex-officer 
 
Also worrying for authorities is the apparent rise within Ansar&#39;s ranks of former army Major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, who went into hiding after the military accused him of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government in 2011. 
 
&quot;We have a suspicion that the ex-major is one of their leaders,&quot; said counter-terrorism chief Islam. &quot;He is in hiding. We know his capability. If he is involved, it is a strength for Ansar-al-Islam.&quot; 
 
Zia, as intelligence agencies call him, was from the engineer corps and trained in special operations. 
 
His would be the first known case of a Bangladesh military officer switching sides to join a militant group, although it has happened elsewhere. 
 
A military spokesman said Zia had been dismissed from service five years ago, but added that he was not in a position to speak about Zia&#39;s activities since then. 
 
Zia&#39;s involvement with Ansar was first mentioned by the head of its predecessor group following his capture in 2013, two police officials said. 
 
Zia was helping in the training of the fighters, motivating them to carry out jihad against &quot;anti-Islam&quot; forces and also taught bomb-making skills, one official briefed on the interrogation report said. 
 
Reuters could not independently verify the police claims. 
 
At the same time, Islamic State has said it was behind the killings of Hindus, Buddhists and members of minority Muslim sects, which have accelerated in recent weeks. 
 
Security officials tie those deaths to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, a home grown group inspired by Islamic State&#39;s vision of a caliphate. 
 
Police official Islam said authorities had found computer evidence that Bangladesh-origin foreign fighters, some in Syria, were claiming attacks on behalf of Islamic State as soon as they occurred. 
 
But he said there was no evidence of operational ties with the Middle East-based movement. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

They follow the ideology of al Qaeda and their operational leaders are mostly educated men from the middle class

Early in June, a man walked into the Dhaka premises of the Ramakrishna Mission, a Hindu centre for spirituality and learning in the Bangladesh capital, and delivered a handwritten note warning of an attack by Islamic State. Days later, armed policemen were sitting inside the mission's compound among orange-robed monks, the gates outside were closed and fewer people than normal showed up at a medical clinic it runs for the neighbourhood. "We are monks, we will live and die here, but people with families are worried," Swami Shivananda, a priest managing the administration of the mission, said of the country's Hindu community, which accounts for 10 per cent of the population. Islamic State and al Qaeda have claimed responsibility for the killings of more than 30 people since early last year, in an escalation of militant violence targeting liberals, atheists, foreigners, gays and religious minorities. They have shocked the largely moderate Muslim country of 160 million people and heightened fears that Bangladesh, once hailed as the next Asian tiger economy with its huge garment industry, could lose out to more stable competitors in the region. Unlike some security experts, Bangladesh authorities say the two international jihadi movements are not directly involved in the murders, many of which were carried out with machetes. But, as the police at the Hindu mission attest, the danger is real, and counter-terrorism officials warn it could get worse with one local militant group adopting al Qaeda's methods and calling on the expertise of a former army major implicated in a failed 2011 coup. Deadly rivalry Security officials say two local militant groups, Ansar-al-Islam and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, are behind the killings. Of the two, Ansar, which pledges allegiance to al Qaeda, has emerged as the most organised and dangerous, they say, while Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen is seen as a looser organisation that claims it represents Islamic State but has no proven links to it. "By now we have a clear idea of the organisational structure, command and control and methods of operations of Ansar-al-Islam," Monirul Islam, chief of Bangladesh's counter-terrorism police, told Reuters in a recent interview. "They follow the ideology of al Qaeda, their operational leaders are mostly educated men, (from a) middle class background. They declare their allegiance to al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and, through it, to Ayman al-Zawahri," he said, referring to al Qaeda's global leader. According to Thomas Joscelyn, senior editor at The Long War Journal that tracks jihadi groups worldwide, there was evidence of more direct links between Bangladesh and al Qaeda, and he warned the Islamist militant threat had been underestimated. "We now have competition between al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Bangladesh, which means that the jihadist pool is deep enough for both organizations to operate in the country." In May, 2015, AQIS leader Asim Umar claimed responsibility for the murder of Avijit Roy, a US citizen and blogger hacked to death in Bangladesh that February. US officials said at the time they were unable to confirm the claim. Initially, Ansar struck bloggers and publishers critical of radical Islam, then university teachers, including one who asked a woman student to remove her veil in class. In April, it said it murdered two gay rights activists, saying they were promoting anti-Islamic activities, police said. Mysterious ex-officer Also worrying for authorities is the apparent rise within Ansar's ranks of former army Major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, who went into hiding after the military accused him of involvement in a plot to overthrow the government in 2011. "We have a suspicion that the ex-major is one of their leaders," said counter-terrorism chief Islam. "He is in hiding. We know his capability. If he is involved, it is a strength for Ansar-al-Islam." Zia, as intelligence agencies call him, was from the engineer corps and trained in special operations. His would be the first known case of a Bangladesh military officer switching sides to join a militant group, although it has happened elsewhere. A military spokesman said Zia had been dismissed from service five years ago, but added that he was not in a position to speak about Zia's activities since then. Zia's involvement with Ansar was first mentioned by the head of its predecessor group following his capture in 2013, two police officials said. Zia was helping in the training of the fighters, motivating them to carry out jihad against "anti-Islam" forces and also taught bomb-making skills, one official briefed on the interrogation report said. Reuters could not independently verify the police claims. At the same time, Islamic State has said it was behind the killings of Hindus, Buddhists and members of minority Muslim sects, which have accelerated in recent weeks. Security officials tie those deaths to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, a home grown group inspired by Islamic State's vision of a caliphate. Police official Islam said authorities had found computer evidence that Bangladesh-origin foreign fighters, some in Syria, were claiming attacks on behalf of Islamic State as soon as they occurred. But he said there was no evidence of operational ties with the Middle East-based movement. (Reuters)

Home-grown militants and former army officer behind attacks on Bangladeshi minorities, say police

Turkish police carried out raids against suspected Islamic State cells in Istanbul and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir today, the state-run Anadolu agency said, two days after a triple suicide bombing killed 42 people at Istanbul airport. 
 
Turkish authorities and US officials believe Islamic State was responsible for Tuesday night&#39;s gun and bomb attack on Europe&#39;s third-busiest airport, the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings in Turkey this year. 
 
Counter-terrorism police led by special forces officers carried out raids in several low-income neighbourhoods of Istanbul,&nbsp;including Pendik, Basaksehir and Sultanbeyli,&nbsp;&nbsp;Anadolu said, without citing its sources. 
 
It was not immediately clear if the raids were directly linked to the attack on Ataturk airport. 
 
Nine suspected militants, thought to have been in contact with Islamic State members in Syria, were meanwhile detained in the dawn raids in four districts of Izmir, the news agency said. It said they were accused of financing, recruiting and providing logistical support to the Sunni hard-line group. 
 
Three bombers opened fire to create panic outside Istanbul airport on Tuesday, before two of them got inside and blew themselves up. The third detonated his explosives at the entrance. Two hundred thirty-nine people were wounded. 
 
Turkey is part of a US-led military coalition against Islamic State and home to about 3 million refugees from the five-year civil war in neighbouring Syria. 
 
Islamic State has established a self-declared caliphate on swathes of both Syria and Iraq and declared war on all non-Muslims and all Muslims who do not accept its ultra-hardline vision of Sunni Islam. It has claimed responsibility for similar bombing and gun attacks in Belgium and France in the past year. 
 
(Reuters)

Nine suspected militants thought to have links with IS in Syria were detained in raids in four districts of Izmir, Anadolu agency reported

Turkish police carried out raids against suspected Islamic State cells in Istanbul and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir today, the state-run Anadolu agency said, two days after a triple suicide bombing killed 42 people at Istanbul airport. Turkish authorities and US officials believe Islamic State was responsible for Tuesday night's gun and bomb attack on Europe's third-busiest airport, the deadliest in a series of suicide bombings in Turkey this year. Counter-terrorism police led by special forces officers carried out raids in several low-income neighbourhoods of Istanbul, including Pendik, Basaksehir and Sultanbeyli, Anadolu said, without citing its sources. It was not immediately clear if the raids were directly linked to the attack on Ataturk airport. Nine suspected militants, thought to have been in contact with Islamic State members in Syria, were meanwhile detained in the dawn raids in four districts of Izmir, the news agency said. It said they were accused of financing, recruiting and providing logistical support to the Sunni hard-line group. Three bombers opened fire to create panic outside Istanbul airport on Tuesday, before two of them got inside and blew themselves up. The third detonated his explosives at the entrance. Two hundred thirty-nine people were wounded. Turkey is part of a US-led military coalition against Islamic State and home to about 3 million refugees from the five-year civil war in neighbouring Syria. Islamic State has established a self-declared caliphate on swathes of both Syria and Iraq and declared war on all non-Muslims and all Muslims who do not accept its ultra-hardline vision of Sunni Islam. It has claimed responsibility for similar bombing and gun attacks in Belgium and France in the past year. (Reuters)

Turkish police raid suspected Islamic State cells in Istanbul, Izmir

A Tunisian killed in the Istanbul airport attack blamed on the Islamic State group was in Turkey to secure the release of his son detained for joining the jihadists, diplomats said on Wednesday. 
 
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim quickly pointed the finger at IS over Tuesday&#39;s attack, which killed 43 and wounded 239, although no group has claimed responsibility. 
 
One of the dead was a Tunisian identified as Fathi Bayoudh, a doctor who had reportedly been in Turkey for several weeks in an attempt to repatriate his son. 
 
Bayoudh&#39;s son was accused of having joined IS in Syria, a foreign ministry source was quoted as saying by Tunisia&#39;s private Mosaique FM radio station. 
 
After months of travelling back and forth between Tunisia and Turkey, Bayoudh had finally managed to persuade his son to return home with him, an anonymous government source told AFP. 
 
A defence ministry source in Tunis said Bayoudh was at Ataturk airport to meet his wife when the triple suicide attack struck. 
 
The head of consular affairs at Tunis&#39; foreign ministry, Faycal Ben Mustapha, told AFP the Tunisian consulate in Istanbul had been in contact &quot;with the Bayoudh family since December&quot;. 
 
&quot;It was to do with their son. We don&#39;t know exactly what he did, but he went to Iraq and then Syria and ended up in detention in Turkey,&quot; he said. 
 
A defence ministry spokesman confirmed a Tunisian who was in Turkey on private business had been killed in Tuesday&#39;s attack. 
 
The Islamic State group has carried out a string of bomb attacks across Turkey since last year. 
 
Tunisia has also been the victim of attacks claimed by IS, and it is thought that thousands of Tunisians have travelled to join jihadist organisations in Syria, Iraq, and neighbouring Libya. 
 
(AFP)

After months of travelling back and forth, Dr Fatih Bayoudh had finally persuaded his son to return home with him

A Tunisian killed in the Istanbul airport attack blamed on the Islamic State group was in Turkey to secure the release of his son detained for joining the jihadists, diplomats said on Wednesday. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim quickly pointed the finger at IS over Tuesday's attack, which killed 43 and wounded 239, although no group has claimed responsibility. One of the dead was a Tunisian identified as Fathi Bayoudh, a doctor who had reportedly been in Turkey for several weeks in an attempt to repatriate his son. Bayoudh's son was accused of having joined IS in Syria, a foreign ministry source was quoted as saying by Tunisia's private Mosaique FM radio station. After months of travelling back and forth between Tunisia and Turkey, Bayoudh had finally managed to persuade his son to return home with him, an anonymous government source told AFP. A defence ministry source in Tunis said Bayoudh was at Ataturk airport to meet his wife when the triple suicide attack struck. The head of consular affairs at Tunis' foreign ministry, Faycal Ben Mustapha, told AFP the Tunisian consulate in Istanbul had been in contact "with the Bayoudh family since December". "It was to do with their son. We don't know exactly what he did, but he went to Iraq and then Syria and ended up in detention in Turkey," he said. A defence ministry spokesman confirmed a Tunisian who was in Turkey on private business had been killed in Tuesday's attack. The Islamic State group has carried out a string of bomb attacks across Turkey since last year. Tunisia has also been the victim of attacks claimed by IS, and it is thought that thousands of Tunisians have travelled to join jihadist organisations in Syria, Iraq, and neighbouring Libya. (AFP)

Tunisian man was in Turkey to free son held for joining IS, was killed in Istanbul airport attack

Passengers who had witnessed the multiple suicide bombs and gunshots that rocked Turkey&#39;s largest airport in Istanbul on Tuesday night recounted the deadly attack to China Central Television (CCTV). 
 
Ataturk airport partially opened early today morning. 
 
Several witnesses recalled what happened during the moments of chaos during a bombing attack that, according to Turkish officials, caused 36 deaths and wounded 150 others. 
 
&quot;I was waiting for my boarding pass at the counter of Turkish Airlines when I heard the first gunshot. And many passengers looked in the direction of the gunshot sound, and began to run for safety after the second gunshot. I threw all my belongings to the ground and lay down following the others. After arriving at a safe place, we found many people already there - the elderly, kids and passengers from different countries. Then we heard more gunshots and a blast, the only blast we heard. After about 10 minutes, the airport staff came and brought us to an emergency shelter or something like that. It was kind of like a dining room but drinking water and quilts were all transferred there for emergency use. We stayed there for about one-and-a half hour before getting out. We saw a lot of blood on the way out. There were shards of broken glass from the foreign currency exchange counter and bodies on the ground as well,&quot; said a witness from China. 
 
&quot;We were queuing up in the terminal when the first gunshot came. We didn&#39;t think much at first, but saw many people running towards our direction. We all lay down at once and saw someone entering the terminal, firing, and the police fired as well. Then the first blast occurred and the second blast was only three meters away from us,&quot; said another Chinese witness. 
 
A third witness corroborated the many accounts of two explosions along with gunshots, and said that after a few minutes, he was led to a basement, where he and others stayed for about an hour. 
 
Police manning a checkpoint at the airport&rsquo;s international terminal shot at two of the attackers as they approached, a Turkish official said, adding that a third bomber detonated explosives in the nearby parking lot. 
 
Turkey&rsquo;s Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, blamed the Islamic State group for the assault, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility. 
 
All three bombers were killed. 
 
(Reuters)

A Chinese passenger recounted seeing a 'lot of blood... shards of glass from the foreign currency exchange counter and bodies on the ground'

Passengers who had witnessed the multiple suicide bombs and gunshots that rocked Turkey's largest airport in Istanbul on Tuesday night recounted the deadly attack to China Central Television (CCTV). Ataturk airport partially opened early today morning. Several witnesses recalled what happened during the moments of chaos during a bombing attack that, according to Turkish officials, caused 36 deaths and wounded 150 others. "I was waiting for my boarding pass at the counter of Turkish Airlines when I heard the first gunshot. And many passengers looked in the direction of the gunshot sound, and began to run for safety after the second gunshot. I threw all my belongings to the ground and lay down following the others. After arriving at a safe place, we found many people already there - the elderly, kids and passengers from different countries. Then we heard more gunshots and a blast, the only blast we heard. After about 10 minutes, the airport staff came and brought us to an emergency shelter or something like that. It was kind of like a dining room but drinking water and quilts were all transferred there for emergency use. We stayed there for about one-and-a half hour before getting out. We saw a lot of blood on the way out. There were shards of broken glass from the foreign currency exchange counter and bodies on the ground as well," said a witness from China. "We were queuing up in the terminal when the first gunshot came. We didn't think much at first, but saw many people running towards our direction. We all lay down at once and saw someone entering the terminal, firing, and the police fired as well. Then the first blast occurred and the second blast was only three meters away from us," said another Chinese witness. A third witness corroborated the many accounts of two explosions along with gunshots, and said that after a few minutes, he was led to a basement, where he and others stayed for about an hour. Police manning a checkpoint at the airport’s international terminal shot at two of the attackers as they approached, a Turkish official said, adding that a third bomber detonated explosives in the nearby parking lot. Turkey’s Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, blamed the Islamic State group for the assault, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility. All three bombers were killed. (Reuters)

Second blast was just 3 metres from us: Chinese witnesses recount Ataturk airport attack in Istanbul

US-backed Syrian rebel forces were fighting street battles with Islamic State militants after entering their strategic stronghold along the border with Iraq, a rebel commander said today. 
 
A rebel commander confirmed the rapid advances by the New Syria Army alliance of Arab rebel groups who had announced on Tuesday they had begun an attack to &quot;liberate&quot; the town along the Euphrates river in the oil rich Deir Zor province of Syria. 
 
&quot;The clashes are in the town itself but the situation has not been decided yet,&quot; said the rebel commander from Asala wa-al-Tanmiya Front, a main group within the New Syria Army, told Reuters, asking not to be named. 
 
(Reuters)

New Syria Army alliance of Arab rebel groups engaged in a fight with IS after entering their strategic stronghold along the Euphrates river

US-backed Syrian rebel forces were fighting street battles with Islamic State militants after entering their strategic stronghold along the border with Iraq, a rebel commander said today. A rebel commander confirmed the rapid advances by the New Syria Army alliance of Arab rebel groups who had announced on Tuesday they had begun an attack to "liberate" the town along the Euphrates river in the oil rich Deir Zor province of Syria. "The clashes are in the town itself but the situation has not been decided yet," said the rebel commander from Asala wa-al-Tanmiya Front, a main group within the New Syria Army, told Reuters, asking not to be named. (Reuters)

US-backed Syrian rebel commander says clash on with IS fighters in border town

Passengers, who arrived to JFK airport in New York from Istanbul, said on Tuesday they were shocked to learn about an attack on the Turkish airport that killed 36 and injured 150 more, but they were lucky to have missed the incident. 
 
Three suicide bombers opened fire then blew themselves up at Istanbul international airport on Tuesday in what Turkey&#39;s Prime Minister said appeared to have been an attack by Islamic State militants. 
 
One attacker opened fire in the departure hall with an automatic rifle, sending passengers diving for cover and trying to flee, before all three blew themselves up in or around the arrival hall a floor below, witnesses and officials said. 
 
Passengers said they learned about the attacks in flight, a short time after they passed through the same areas of the airport. 
 
&quot;I can&#39;t believe it that, you know, I feel like, how are we alive? If the flight was delayed two hours, we would have been exactly on that spot. Looking at the pictures, we were right there. So, it&#39;s just horrific. It&#39;s just unbelievable, and, just speechless really. It keeps happening and happening. It just happened in Belgium. It just happened just now in Istanbul, so I can&#39;t even fly anymore. I&#39;m like so scared. Everybody in flight - the same way. I mean, it&#39;s just disbelief. I mean we&#39;re so lucky we got away with it, it looks like,&quot; a passenger named Adam told NBC. 
 
Three women, who were travelling together from Barcelona, said they could have been caught in the attacks had they missed their connection in Istanbul. 
 
&quot;We were running from Barcelona, got to Istanbul, got there pretty late, almost missed the flight, got a little nervous about almost missing the flight, and then saw the news on the plane, and you know it... we&#39;re really happy to be home,&quot; one of the women said. 
 
One of her travelling companions said she thought security in Istanbul&#39;s Ataturk airport was thorough. 
 
&quot;From a connecting flight on an international flight - we went through two additional checkpoints just to get to our gate,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;We went through metal detectors, our bags went through, then our passports were checked.... the security seemed good,&quot; she said. 
 
Turkish police fired shots to try to stop two of the attackers just before they reached a security checkpoint at the arrivals hall, but they detonated their explosives, a Turkish official said. 
 
Istanbul&#39;s Ataturk airport partially opened early today morning. 
 
Passengers traveling outbound from Istanbul are being allowed to enter the airport after undertaking security checks. However, the international arrivals section in the lower part of the airport remains closed, as several emergency vehicles maintain a security presence outside the terminal building. 
 
The information board inside the airport showed that about one third of scheduled flights have been canceled with a host of others delayed. 
 
(Reuters)

Istanbul's Ataturk airport partially opened today morning. However, the international arrivals section remained closed

Passengers, who arrived to JFK airport in New York from Istanbul, said on Tuesday they were shocked to learn about an attack on the Turkish airport that killed 36 and injured 150 more, but they were lucky to have missed the incident. Three suicide bombers opened fire then blew themselves up at Istanbul international airport on Tuesday in what Turkey's Prime Minister said appeared to have been an attack by Islamic State militants. One attacker opened fire in the departure hall with an automatic rifle, sending passengers diving for cover and trying to flee, before all three blew themselves up in or around the arrival hall a floor below, witnesses and officials said. Passengers said they learned about the attacks in flight, a short time after they passed through the same areas of the airport. "I can't believe it that, you know, I feel like, how are we alive? If the flight was delayed two hours, we would have been exactly on that spot. Looking at the pictures, we were right there. So, it's just horrific. It's just unbelievable, and, just speechless really. It keeps happening and happening. It just happened in Belgium. It just happened just now in Istanbul, so I can't even fly anymore. I'm like so scared. Everybody in flight - the same way. I mean, it's just disbelief. I mean we're so lucky we got away with it, it looks like," a passenger named Adam told NBC. Three women, who were travelling together from Barcelona, said they could have been caught in the attacks had they missed their connection in Istanbul. "We were running from Barcelona, got to Istanbul, got there pretty late, almost missed the flight, got a little nervous about almost missing the flight, and then saw the news on the plane, and you know it... we're really happy to be home," one of the women said. One of her travelling companions said she thought security in Istanbul's Ataturk airport was thorough. "From a connecting flight on an international flight - we went through two additional checkpoints just to get to our gate," she said. "We went through metal detectors, our bags went through, then our passports were checked.... the security seemed good," she said. Turkish police fired shots to try to stop two of the attackers just before they reached a security checkpoint at the arrivals hall, but they detonated their explosives, a Turkish official said. Istanbul's Ataturk airport partially opened early today morning. Passengers traveling outbound from Istanbul are being allowed to enter the airport after undertaking security checks. However, the international arrivals section in the lower part of the airport remains closed, as several emergency vehicles maintain a security presence outside the terminal building. The information board inside the airport showed that about one third of scheduled flights have been canceled with a host of others delayed. (Reuters)

Passengers arriving at JFK from Turkey horrified by suicide attack at airport

Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi&nbsp;woman from Iraq, endured a three-month nightmare as a sex slave of the Islamic State (IS) group. 
 
After her harrowing escape with the help of a fake religious ID nearly two years ago, Murad has a message for world leaders striving to crush the extremists: IS leaders must stand trial for genocide. 
 
&quot;Genocide must be recognised,&quot; Nadia Murad told AFP through a translator in Geneva, on the side of a human rights event held in the Swiss city. 
 
As Iraq wages an offensive against Islamic State, with government forces retaking full control of the jihadist bastion of Fallujah on Sunday, UN investigators are making a renewed push for justice for the jihadists&#39; victims. 
 
The Yazidis, neither Muslim nor Arab, are an ancient religious minority of more than half a million people concentrated near the Syrian border in northern Iraq. 
 
The Islamic State despises the Kurdish-speaking gropu because Yazidis are not &quot;people of the book&quot;, meaning their faith does not adhere to the theological tradition that begins with Abraham of the Old Testament and extends through the Koran. 
 
In 2014, IS jihadists massacred Yazidis in the Iraqi city of Sinjar, forcing tens of thousands of them to flee, and capturing thousands of girls and women as spoils of war. 
 
The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) for Syria earlier this month said it had compiled evidence proving that IS was perpetrating a genocide against the Yazidis. 
 
With Iraqi leaders hailing their recent victories over IS in Fallujah and weighing a new operation to flush them out of their northern strongholds like Mosul, Nadia Murad insisted that the need for accountability should not be forgotten. 
 
Forced Islam conversion 
 
She was taken by the Islamic State from her home village in August 2014 and brought to Mosul. 
 
&quot;The first thing they did was they forced us to convert to Islam,&quot; she said. &quot;After conversion, they did whatever they wanted to do.&quot; 
 
During a speech held in December 2015 at the UN Security Council, Murad recounted her so-called &#39;marriage&#39; to one IS captor, who subjected her to horrific abuse. 
 
&quot;I was not able to take any more rape and torture,&quot; she told. She decided to flee. 
 
On the run in Mosul, Murad said she was terrified that no one would help her, but she ultimately found shelter with a Muslim family in the city. 
 
&quot;They made me a fake Islamic ID,&quot; she said, which she used to cross the border into Iraqi Kurdistan. 
 
She lived in a camp for displaced people and, with the support of theYazidi&nbsp;welfare organisation Yazda, relocated to Germany, where she now lives with her sister. 
 
&#39;Roadmap for prosecutions&#39; 
 
The United Nations and several other Western institutions&nbsp;suggested last year that the IS assault on the Yazidis amounted to a premeditated, genocidal effort to exterminate an entire community. 
 
The evidence presented by the UN Commission of Inquiry earlier this month was more conclusive. 
 
COI member and former international prosecutor Carla del Ponte described the commission&#39;s report as &quot;a roadmap for prosecutions&quot;. 
 
Supported by witness testimony, the commission found that IS &quot;sought to erase the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment&quot;. 
 
Referring heinous, mass crimes to the International Criminal Court often meets obstacles in the UN Security Council for political reasons. 
 
But COI members expressed hope that the&nbsp;Yazidi&nbsp;case could be investigated by The Hague-based International Criminal Court. 
 
Nadia Murad, one of 376 people and organisations nominated for this year&#39;s Nobel Peace Prize, broke down in tears as she told a UN audience the extent to which her people felt abandoned by the international community. 
 
Speaking at a Human Rights Council event in Geneva last week, she said that anger would intensify if the IS attempt to exterminate the Yazidis did not lead to prosecutions. 
 
&quot;For you to regain the trust of the Yazidis will take a lot of work,&quot; she said. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Nadia Murad was held captive as a sex slave. She survived rapes and tortures, and now urges the world to trial IS for genocide

Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi woman from Iraq, endured a three-month nightmare as a sex slave of the Islamic State (IS) group. After her harrowing escape with the help of a fake religious ID nearly two years ago, Murad has a message for world leaders striving to crush the extremists: IS leaders must stand trial for genocide. "Genocide must be recognised," Nadia Murad told AFP through a translator in Geneva, on the side of a human rights event held in the Swiss city. As Iraq wages an offensive against Islamic State, with government forces retaking full control of the jihadist bastion of Fallujah on Sunday, UN investigators are making a renewed push for justice for the jihadists' victims. The Yazidis, neither Muslim nor Arab, are an ancient religious minority of more than half a million people concentrated near the Syrian border in northern Iraq. The Islamic State despises the Kurdish-speaking gropu because Yazidis are not "people of the book", meaning their faith does not adhere to the theological tradition that begins with Abraham of the Old Testament and extends through the Koran. In 2014, IS jihadists massacred Yazidis in the Iraqi city of Sinjar, forcing tens of thousands of them to flee, and capturing thousands of girls and women as spoils of war. The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) for Syria earlier this month said it had compiled evidence proving that IS was perpetrating a genocide against the Yazidis. With Iraqi leaders hailing their recent victories over IS in Fallujah and weighing a new operation to flush them out of their northern strongholds like Mosul, Nadia Murad insisted that the need for accountability should not be forgotten. Forced Islam conversion She was taken by the Islamic State from her home village in August 2014 and brought to Mosul. "The first thing they did was they forced us to convert to Islam," she said. "After conversion, they did whatever they wanted to do." During a speech held in December 2015 at the UN Security Council, Murad recounted her so-called 'marriage' to one IS captor, who subjected her to horrific abuse. "I was not able to take any more rape and torture," she told. She decided to flee. On the run in Mosul, Murad said she was terrified that no one would help her, but she ultimately found shelter with a Muslim family in the city. "They made me a fake Islamic ID," she said, which she used to cross the border into Iraqi Kurdistan. She lived in a camp for displaced people and, with the support of theYazidi welfare organisation Yazda, relocated to Germany, where she now lives with her sister. 'Roadmap for prosecutions' The United Nations and several other Western institutions suggested last year that the IS assault on the Yazidis amounted to a premeditated, genocidal effort to exterminate an entire community. The evidence presented by the UN Commission of Inquiry earlier this month was more conclusive. COI member and former international prosecutor Carla del Ponte described the commission's report as "a roadmap for prosecutions". Supported by witness testimony, the commission found that IS "sought to erase the Yazidis through killings, sexual slavery, enslavement, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment". Referring heinous, mass crimes to the International Criminal Court often meets obstacles in the UN Security Council for political reasons. But COI members expressed hope that the Yazidi case could be investigated by The Hague-based International Criminal Court. Nadia Murad, one of 376 people and organisations nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, broke down in tears as she told a UN audience the extent to which her people felt abandoned by the international community. Speaking at a Human Rights Council event in Geneva last week, she said that anger would intensify if the IS attempt to exterminate the Yazidis did not lead to prosecutions. "For you to regain the trust of the Yazidis will take a lot of work," she said. (AFP)

Islamic State must stand trial for genocide: Yazidi woman survivor

Twenty five children were reportedly killed in air strikes that hit heavily crowded areas in a town in eastern Syria, the United Nations children&#39;s agency (UNICEF) has said. 
 
Quoting reports from its local partners in Syria, UNICEF said health workers were reported to have pulled bodies of children from under rubble in the town of al-Quria in Deir al-Zor province, which is mostly under Islamic State control. 
 
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported on Saturday that air strikes carried out by Syrian or Russian warplanes killed dozens of people in al-Quria. 
 
Deir al-Zor province links Islamic State&#39;s de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa with territory it controls in Iraq. 
 
&quot;Three attacks reportedly hit heavily crowded areas including a mosque during prayer time,&quot; UNICEF said in a statement. &quot;UNICEF deplores these attacks and calls on all parties to the conflict to keep children out of harm&rsquo;s way.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

'Three attacks reportedly hit heavily crowded areas including a mosque during prayer time'

Twenty five children were reportedly killed in air strikes that hit heavily crowded areas in a town in eastern Syria, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) has said. Quoting reports from its local partners in Syria, UNICEF said health workers were reported to have pulled bodies of children from under rubble in the town of al-Quria in Deir al-Zor province, which is mostly under Islamic State control. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported on Saturday that air strikes carried out by Syrian or Russian warplanes killed dozens of people in al-Quria. Deir al-Zor province links Islamic State's de facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa with territory it controls in Iraq. "Three attacks reportedly hit heavily crowded areas including a mosque during prayer time," UNICEF said in a statement. "UNICEF deplores these attacks and calls on all parties to the conflict to keep children out of harm’s way." (Reuters)

25 children killed in air strikes in eastern Syria: UNICEF

The Islamic State group today published a video showing the execution-style killing of five Syrian citizen journalists they kidnapped eight months ago in the east of the war-torn country. 
 
The victims seen in the footage, which was posted on the blog of the group&#39;s Al-Bayan radio, were all from the city of Deir Ezzor, 60 per cent of which is controlled by IS.&nbsp; 
 
A Britain-based monitor that works with sources inside Syria to collect information on the five-year conflict said it recognised one of the victims as a citizen journalist it had worked with. 
 
The activists were kidnapped in Deir Ezzor in October and killed between November and December, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 
 
&quot;The video was only published now because IS, who are losing ground in Syria, want to send a message that they are still strong,&quot; Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. 
 
The jihadist group has come under pressure in Syria where a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance is pressing an offensive to retake its bastion of Manbij near the Turkish border. 
 
IS has previously claimed the killing of several citizen journalists working secretly in areas it controls in Syria, including the group`s stronghold of Raqa, and accused them of being spies. 
 
It has also claimed to have killed activists in Turkey. 
 
Last October, the decapitated bodies of two activists originally from Raqa were found in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa, 55 kilometres (35 miles) from the Syrian border. 
 
In late December, Syrian anti-IS filmmaker Naji Jerf was killed in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. 
 
And in April, Syrian journalist Mohammed Zaher al-Shurqat died in hospital after he was shot in the head by IS jihadists in the same city. 
 
(AFP)

Under pressure from a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance, IS now wants to send a message that they are still strong in the region

The Islamic State group today published a video showing the execution-style killing of five Syrian citizen journalists they kidnapped eight months ago in the east of the war-torn country. The victims seen in the footage, which was posted on the blog of the group's Al-Bayan radio, were all from the city of Deir Ezzor, 60 per cent of which is controlled by IS. A Britain-based monitor that works with sources inside Syria to collect information on the five-year conflict said it recognised one of the victims as a citizen journalist it had worked with. The activists were kidnapped in Deir Ezzor in October and killed between November and December, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "The video was only published now because IS, who are losing ground in Syria, want to send a message that they are still strong," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. The jihadist group has come under pressure in Syria where a US-backed Kurdish-Arab alliance is pressing an offensive to retake its bastion of Manbij near the Turkish border. IS has previously claimed the killing of several citizen journalists working secretly in areas it controls in Syria, including the group`s stronghold of Raqa, and accused them of being spies. It has also claimed to have killed activists in Turkey. Last October, the decapitated bodies of two activists originally from Raqa were found in the Turkish city of Sanliurfa, 55 kilometres (35 miles) from the Syrian border. In late December, Syrian anti-IS filmmaker Naji Jerf was killed in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. And in April, Syrian journalist Mohammed Zaher al-Shurqat died in hospital after he was shot in the head by IS jihadists in the same city. (AFP)

IS releases video showing 'execution-style' killing of 5 Syrian citizen journalists

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