Al-Qaeda threatens suicide attacks in India over remarks on Prophet

 Intelligence agencies have asked all the states to be on high alert after terror outfit Al-Qaeda issued a letter threatening suicide attacks in India

The intelligence agencies have asked all the states to be on high alert after terror outfit Al-Qaeda in the Subcontinent (AQIS) in a letter threatened suicide attacks in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai and Delhi amid controversy over the remarks by BJP leaders on Prophet Mohammed.

Referring to controversial remarks made by BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, the letter, dated June 6, said, “A few days ago, the propagators and flag bearers of Hindutva – a system and philosophy hostile to the religion and Shariah of Allah – insulted and slandered the purest of beings, the most honourable after God himself, Muhammad al Mustafa, Ahmad al Mujtaba, and his noble and pure wife, the mother of the believers, Sayyidah Ayesha bint Abu Bakr as Siddeeq in the most vile and evil manner on an Indian TV channel. In response to this affront, the hearts of Muslim all over the world are bleeding and are filled with feelings of revenge and retribution.”..Read More

Taliban allows girls in Afghanistan to return to high schools from today

 The Taliban has allowed girls to return to high schools from Wednesday, ending the uncertainty over whether the Islamic group would allow full access to education for girls.

The Taliban has allowed girls to return to high schools from Wednesday, ending the uncertainty over whether the Islamic group would allow full access to education for girls. Teenage girls across will return to their classrooms after being banned after the Islamic outfit sized power last August. Since taking power, the Taliban have rolled back women’s rights in virtually every area, including crushing women’s freedom of movement.

The vast majority of girls’ secondary schools were closed. Universities recently reopened, with new gender segregation rules. But many women are unable to return, in part because the career they studied for is off limits now as the Taliban banned women from most jobs. “Critical period ahead for Afghanistan as school and colleges soon re-open after winter break. UNAMA conducted a discussion on Higher Education yesterday with Mawlawi Abdul Baqi Haqqani. Importance of equal access to quality education for all & guarantees for academic freedom was stressed,” the UN Mission in Afghanistan said in a tweet…

Over 6,400 Afghan journalists lost jobs since Taliban takeover: Survey

 More than 6,400 journalists in Afghanistan have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover of the country, according to a recent survey.

More than 6,400 journalists in Afghanistan have lost their jobs since the Taliban takeover of the country, according to a recent survey.The survey conducted by non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA) shows a radical change in the Afghan media landscape since the Taliban took power. As many as 231 media outlets have had to close.

The Taliban takeover’s impact on Afghanistan’s media has been dramatic, according to the survey by RSF and its local partner, the AIJA.More than four out of every ten media outlets have disappeared and 60 percent of journalists and media employees are no longer able to work.The hardest hit among all are women journalists as 80 percent of them have lost their jobs since Taliban took control of Kabul…

Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza, heir to Al-Qaeda leadership, killed: US media

In 2017 he was placed on the US terrorist blacklist, seen as a potent future figurehead for the group then led by Osama bin Laden’s former deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri

Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza, chosen heir to the leadership of Al-Qaeda, has been killed, US media reported Wednesday citing American officials. NBC News said three US officials had confirmed they had information of Hamza bin Laden’s death, but gave no details of the place or date. The New York Times subsequently cited two US officials saying they had confirmation that he was killed during the last two years in an operation that involved the United States.

Questioned by reporters in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump did not confirm or deny the NBC report. “I don’t want to comment on it,” he said. Both reports suggested that Osama bin Laden may have been killed well before the US State Department announced a $1 million bounty on his head in February 2019. The 15th of Osama bin Laden’s 20 children and a son of his third wife, Hamza, thought to be about 30 years old, was “emerging as a leader in the Al-Qaeda franchise,” the State Department said in announcing the reward.

Sometimes dubbed the “crown prince of jihad, he had put out audio and video messages calling for attacks on the United States and other countries, especially to avenge his father’s killing by US forces in Pakistan in May 2011, the department said.

‘Sandwiched’ Pak, two-front dilemma & Afghan-India ties: Imran’s worry list

‘We would do anything, I mean, if (there is) any role Pakistan can play in this. We have already suggested this to Iran’, said Imran Khan

International News: Forewarning the United States about any misfortune against Iran, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said any activity on the lines of Iraq could be much more awful and individuals would overlook al-Qaeda.

“My stress over Iran is…. I am uncertain about whether every one of the nations understand the gravity of the circumstance if there is a contention with Iran,” Khan said in light of an inquiry during his appearance at the US Institute of Peace, a research organization financed by the US Congress.

“You know, this won’t be equivalent to (the 2003 US attack of) Iraq. This could be a whole lot worse…. It could release fear based oppression, which – individuals would overlook al-Qaeda…. You know, the fight may be very short on the off chance that it proceeds, besieging runways, etc,” he said.

“Yet, the outcomes from that point forward, my stress is that very few individuals completely get it. Also, I would unequivocally ask that there ought not be…another military circumstance,” Khan said in the midst of an acceleration of strain among Iran and the US. “We would do anything, I mean, if (there is) any job Pakistan can play in this. We have just recommended this to Iran,” he said…

Al-Qaeda affiliate ‘inclined’ to carry out attacks in India: UN report

One Member State reports that some recent plots detected and prevented in Europe had originated from ISIL in Afghanistan

Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), the terror group’s newest affiliate, is “ideologically inclined” to carry out attacks inside India but its capability is believed to be low and is relatively isolated owing to increased security measures in the region, according to a UN report.

The 22nd report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team was submitted to the UN Security Council Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.

The report said that AQIS is “relatively isolated owing to increased security measures within the wider region, but the group continues to seek security gaps for opportunistic attacks.

Terrror attack in India

The group is “ideologically inclined to carry out attacks inside India but its capability is believed to be low, it said, adding that according to Member States, the strength of AQIS in Afghanistan is estimated at several hundred people, located in Laghman, Paktika, Kandahar, Ghazni and Zabul provinces.

Noting that Al-Qaeda still maintains a presence in South Asia, the report said the terror group adapts to the local environment, trying to embed itself into local struggles and communities and is closely allied with the Taliban.

According to one Member State, although the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS, poses an immediate threat, Al-Qaeda is the intellectually stronger group and remains a longer-term threat.

The report added that some members of the Al-Qaeda core, including Aiman al-Zawahiri and son of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Hamza bin Laden are reported to be in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas.

Article Source : BS