An explosion in central Istanbul killed eight people wounded 81; the authorities suspect the involvement of a woman

Istanbul police have arrested 46 people in connection with the explosion in the busy Istiklal Avenue of Turkey’s largest city. At least eight people died in the blast while 81 others suffered injuries. Interior minister Suleyman Soylu revealed that the suspects included the “person who left the bomb that caused the explosion.” The authorities suspect the involvement of a woman. She admitted being trained by Kurdish militants in Syria and had gained entry into Turkey through northwest Syria’s Afrin region. Security sources say two other Syrian nationals were involved in the attack. The police captured the woman, in her late 20s or early 30s, from the place where she was staying. Istanbul police checked the security cameras near the site of the explosion. They have also conducted raids at different addresses where the female suspect had links. Turkish police arrest 46 people over Istanbul explosion.

Kurdish separatists, ISIL (ISIS), and other groups have targeted Istanbul and other Turkish cities in the past. These included a series of attacks in 2015 and 2016. In December 2016, twin bombings outside an Istanbul football stadium killed 38 people and wounded 155. Countries like Azerbaijan, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Pakistan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States condemned the latest attack. Greece “unequivocally” denounced the blast and expressed condolences, while the US said it stood “shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO ally in countering terrorism.” French President Emmanuel Macron said - “We share your pain. We stand with you in the fight against terrorism.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine tweeted - “The pain of the friendly Turkish people is our pain.” European Council President Charles Michel tweeted - “My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

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A bomb blast in the Siddiquiya Mosque in the northern Kabul neighborhood of Khair Khanna killed many worshippers. It happened during evening prayers and the authorities have yet to confirm the exact number of deaths. Initial reports say the blast killed at least three people and left dozens of others wounded. Italian non-governmental organization NGO Emergency operates a hospital in the capital. It said it had 27 patients wounded in the blast. Three of them are dead and five of the wounded were children. A security official revealed to a section of the media that 20 people lost their lives in the blast and 40 others suffered injuries. A spokesman of the Taliban government confirmed people have died but did not specify the number of casualties. Several killed in explosion at mosque in Kabul. The official wrote on Twitter - “The murderers of civilians and perpetrators … will soon be punished for their crimes.”

A spokesman of the Kabul police confirmed - “A blast happened inside a mosque … the blast has casualties, but the numbers are not clear yet.” Witnesses revealed to the media about the blast that shattered windows in nearby buildings. Intelligence teams arrived at the site of the blast and the matter is under investigation. The Taliban took over in August last year after the withdrawal of United States-led NATO forces. The de-facto government of the Taliban has yet to be recognized by the world. The Taliban asserts that it has made the nation secure but Afghanistan continues to witness regular attacks by armed groups. Militant groups commit many of these. Last week, a bomb attack killed a prominent Taliban religious leader at a seminary in Kabul. The ISIL (ISIS) armed group claimed responsibility for the attack. Earlier, in June, there was an attack on a Sikh temple in Kabul in which two people were killed.

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Suicide bomber kills at least 15 in Mosul

The ISIS is striking back and using suicide bombers as Iraqi forces appear to be gaining ground in Mosul while the militants are losing hold. At least 15 people killed in the latest assaults and more than 20 are injured. The attacks reveal the intense violence that is still a matter of worry in the country and the perils that remain as the battle for Iraq's second largest city nears its end.
This has been reported in timesofndia.com dated 3 July 2017.

It seems a suicide bomber in the disguise of a woman killed 14 at a camp for displaced people in Iraq's western Anbar province . The incident happened in the al-Nuri Mosque and at least 20 were wounded in the explosion. Using women as suicide bombers is one of the latest tactic used by the militants. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.


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Six Afghanistan policemen killed in Taliban attack

The Taliban insurgents attacked an Afghan security post in the western Farah province and killed at least six policemen. Three more were left wounded. A pickup truck also hit a roadside bomb in a remote eastern district and killed seven villagers, the seven dead included two children and two women.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack but, the area has seen an increase in attacks by an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 30 June 2017.

The Taliban had attacked a security post in the north of the provincial capital and a gunbattle followed that lasted for nearly three hours. Nine Taliban fighters were also killed in the encounter. The attackers fled the scene, after seizing ammunition and guns from the police.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents are believed to have been involved. Earlier they attacked a security post in western Herat province and killed at least 10 policemen there.


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Terrror attacks in Pakistan kill at least 61

Pakistan faced a number of terror attacks on three Pakistani cities on Friday that left at least 61 people dead and many injured. A suicide bomber in the city of Quetta killed at least 12 people and injured about 20.
Subsequently, there were twin blasts in a congested market in the city of Parachinar. This is the main city in the Kurram tribal region and at least 45 people were killed in this blast. There was another attack by a gunmen in the port city of Karachi - this attack at a roadside restaurant killed four.
The attacks have taken place ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid, which ends the holy month of Ramadan.
This has been reported in latimes.com dated 24 June 2017.

After the Quetta attack, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility. Later, the Islamic State extremist group also said it was behind the attack. To prove its claim, it released a photograph of the alleged attacker and identified the individual as well.


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ISIS carries out its first attack on Iran - at least 12 dead

ISIS carries out its first attack on Iran - at least 12 dead

It was the first ever attack by ISIS on Iran and at least 12 persons were killed. They had targeted the parliament with two bands of killers when the parliament was in session. The Parliament House and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum are located in the heart of Tehran.
This has been reported in zeenews.com dated 7 June 2017.

The standoff lasted around five hours before all the gunmen who had holed up in parliamentary office buildings were killed. ISIS claimed responsibility even as the attack was still going on. According to an interior ministry official, the killers were dressed as women and entered through the visitors' entrance. One of them exploded a suicide vest while the others were killed by security forces.


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Suicide bomber kills 16 in Baghdad icecream parlour

A suicide bomber targeted an ice cream parlor in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, and killed at least 16 persons. It wass the Al-Faqma ice cream shop. The attacker detonated a parked vehicle laden with explosives outside the shop and responsibility has been accepted by ISIS. Another 75 people were injured in the blast.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 30 May 2017.

Subsequently, there was a second car bomb explosion near one of Baghdad's main bridges in which the death toll was 11. The blast happened just days into the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It is a time when Iraqis often stay out late after breaking their fast at sunset.


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Airstrikes kill at least 27 ISIS militants in Iraq

International coalition against IS posts in the IS-held areas in Iraq's western province of Anbar have killed at least 27 militants belonging to the ISIS. The strikes were carried out by the US-led coalition aircraft and the target was an internet cafe that was used by IS militants as a headquarters in the town of al-Qaim near the border with Syria.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 15 May 2017.

A second airstrike destroyed an IS post in the city of Aana and left another six militants dead. An international airstrike also bombed a booby-trapped vehicle in which its driver was killed. These actions are taken to drive out the ISIS militants their major stronghold in the western side of Mosul in northern Iraq.


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Gunmen disguised as doctors shoot dead 38 persons in a Kabul hospital

In an attack that lasted for six hours, gunmen disguised as doctors, stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital and shot dead at least 38 people - responsibility for the attack has been claimed by the Islamic State group and they have done it to make inroads into the war-battered country.
Another more than 70 people sustained injuries in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital located in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of Kabul with explosions and gunfire rattling the diplomatic district.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 8 March 2017.

There were three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats and they began to spray bullets after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the rear entrance which sparked chaos inside the 400-bed facility. A witness has revealed that one of the attackers was armed with an AK-47 and was dressed as a doctor and he shot patients and guards on the third floor.
The attackers were gunned down after special forces landed on the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter. This attack comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.


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ISIS carries out car bombing in Baghdad - kills at least 55

It was another ISIS attack on Baghdad - a car packed with explosives was blown up in southern Baghdad and at least 55 people have died with another more than 60 injured. This is believed to be the deadliest such attack in Iraq this year.
The vehicle which blew up was parked in a crowded street full of garages and used car dealers. The death toll is expected to go up because many of the wounded are in critical condition.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 17 February 2017.

Islamic State has, through an online statement, claimed responsibility for the bombing. Since it is being forced to surrender captured territories, it has increased strikes on government areas, especially in the capital Baghdad.
The bombing is the second to target car markets this week and has been chosen probably because the group finds it easier to leave vehicles laden with explosives in places where hundreds of other vehicles are parked.
Incidentally, a suicide bomber had detonated a pick-up truck one day earlier in the Sadr City suburb and killed at least 15 people. That was also in a street full of used car dealers.


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Suicide bomb attack kills at least 72 in a Sufi shrine in Pakistan

A suicide bomb attacked in the crowded Lal Shahbaz Qalandar Sufi shrine in southern Pakistan has killed at least 72 persons and wounded dozens more. The attack was carried out by the Islamic State and it is believed to have been the deadliest one on the wave of bombings across Pakistan this week.
The Islamic State militant group which has a small but increasingly prominent presence in Pakistan and has claimed responsibility for the attack.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 17 February 2017.

While the death toll was indicated as 72, with more than 150 injured, the death toll could rise.
The attack on the famous Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in the town of Sehwan Sharif has reveal that militants still pose a major threat to stability in the nuclear-armed country of 190 million people. In August last year, at least 74 people, mostly lawyers, were killed in a suicide bombing of a hospital in Quetta. Responsibility for that attack was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban - Jamaat-ur-Ahrar - and the IS.
Moreover, Jamaat also claimed responsibility for a bombing in Lahore in which 13 people died.


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Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has indicated that the terror threat from ISIS is reaching new highs and reducing the budget allocation of the police could cost lives. He has said that the danger of attacks in the capital had risen and ensuring the safety of the people was becoming 'increasingly difficult'.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 4 February 2017.

In his opinion, Donald Trump's travel ban will hand ISIS a powerful propaganda tool. The London Mayor made these comments against the backdrop of the latest apparent terror incident at the Louvre in Paris. He also brought out the point that twelve people were killed and 50 more were injured when a terrorist drove a heavy truck into a packed Christmas market in Berlin at 40mph. And, in July last, 86 people were killed and another 434 were hurt when a jihadi drove a 19-ton lorry into crowds that were celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice.
The Mayor added that the Islamic State is already believed to be having terror cells in the UK and could be plotting to carry out a massacre on the scale of the atrocities in Berlin and Nice.


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Militants in Indonesia looking for women terrorists

An online conversation between two women, who wanted to carry out suicide bombing on a government agency, was picked up last August by researchers who were studying the radicalization of women in Indonesia. Subsequently, after four months, Indonesian police arrested two women in connection with a plot to bomb the presidential palace in Jakarta.
The arrests marked a major strategy shift which indicated that militants in Indonesia, who were loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), were recruiting women terrorists to carry out attacks.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 4 February 2017.

The study by a Jakarta-based Institute has confirmed that ISIS has brought about a fundamental change in how extremists view the role of women in their cause. To them, the role of women as wives, mothers and teachers in militant groups continued to be a priority. Simultaneously, ISIS plan to deploy women on terrorist duties.
This is a major shift in the thinking of militant groups.
Earlier, leaders of the old Jemaah Islamiah militants did not promote the culture of allowing women to take an active role in terror causes. Exception would be made for emergency circumstances or for self-defence. However, today's Indonesian women, many of whom work overseas as domestic helpers have become interested in ISIS. The women are useful for terror operations because they do not attract suspicion easily.


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ISIS had plans to launch chemical warfare - evidence unearthed in Mosul

Iraqi special forces have unearthed evidence that tends to indicate that Islamic State were planning to launch a chemical warfare from western Mosul by using long and short-range missiles tipped with chemical or biological war heads. This assumption is based on analysis of material that have been taken by French special forces working with Iraqi units in the city.
It seems there is a warehouse and unloading area near the Tigris River where dozens of missiles were stored alongside makeshift launchers. These weapons had Russian markings and are thought to have come from Syria. Most of the missiles were designed to be fired by jets but one, a 10ft-long missile, is a type of Scud. Even if it was released from a makeshift launcher, it could carry its lethal payload quite far.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 28 January 2017.

Islamic State fighters had been working on the Scud and the area smelt strongly of chemicals. The French soldiers advised the Iraqi team to observe all precautions since the whole area was contaminated and necessary tests were being carried out to determine the nature of the chemicals.
There were large refrigerated cargo carriers and these were loaded with coking coal but, buried inside, there were containers with the unidentified substance. There have been allegations of the use of chemical weapons, particularly chlorine, in the Syrian conflict. However, the latest discovery of a substance probably more lethal than chlorine, is a new development.


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ISIS destroys portions of Roman amphitheatre in the ancient city of Palmyra

ISIS militants have destroyed part of the Roman amphitheatre in the ancient city of Palmyra. As indicated by Syria's antiquities chief, the tetrapylon - a group of four pillared structures which were mainly modern replicas - have also been ruined.
The jihadists had recaptured the UNESCO-listed archaeological site in December from government troops and had destroyed other monuments after it first seized Palmyra in May 2015. ISIS had held the site and nearby city known locally as Tadmur for 10 months.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 20 January 2017.

ISIS had been forced out by a Russian-backed government offensive in March 2016, but they regained control when the pro-government forces where focused on battling for the city of Aleppo late last year. Reports of the destruction had initially come out of Palmyra late in December, and subsequently, satellite images have confirmed the destruction.
It seems only two of the tetrapylon's columns remain, and from all appearances, the monument has been intentionally destroyed by the use of explosives. Only one of the structure's columns is original, the others had been rebuilt in 1963.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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A couple of blasts struck near the Afghan Parliament in Kabul and left at least 30 people dead with another 80 wounded.It was a rush-hour attack by the Taliban and it broke a relative lull in violence in the capital.
The bombings happened hours after a Taliban suicide bomber killed seven people in Lashkar Gah, the capital of the volatile southern province of Helmand, as the militants ramp up attacks.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 11 January 2017.

It seems a suicide bomber on foot carried out the first explosion, leaving a number of innocent workers killed and wounded. The second one was a car bomb in a vehicle that was parked on the other side of the road.
The blasts left 30 people dead and 80 wounded - some of the wounded are in serious condition and the death toll was expected to rise. The dead included at least four policemen - they were killed in the second explosion when they rushed to help the victims of the first blast.
This attack underscores the growing insecurity in Afghanistan, where there are around 10,000 U.S. troops who are helping the Afghan forces to combat a resilient Taliban insurgency as well as al-Qaeda and Islamic State militants.


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A car bomb has killed at least 43 people, most of them civilians, in the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz on the border with Turkey. Dozens more are wounded in the attack that happened in front of an Islamic courthouse near a market, s indicated by the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Azaz is a major stronghold of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA).
No agency has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 7 January 2017.

The toll was likely to rise in the attack. This was the latest in a string of bombings to hit Azaz that have previously been blamed on ISIS. As SOHR chief has added - identification of the dead was hampered by the fact that some of the bodies were completely burned in the blast.
Till now more than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria ever since the conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.


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ISIS claims responsibility of New Year Eve massacre in Istanbul, Turkey retaliates with airstrikes

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the New Year's Day mass shooting in a nightclub in Istanbul in which 39 people were killed and 69 wounded - the gunman is still at large. Turkey has retaliated by sending its fighter jets and tanks to strike 100 ISIS targets in Syria just hours after the terror group's attack.
Warplanes of Turkey used rockets to obliterate ISIS hideouts near the towns of al-Bab, Tadif and Bzagah in the north of the war-torn country - at least 22 extremists have been killed and many buildings destroyed.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 2 January 2017.

Turkish authorities are continuing their manhunt for the nightclub killer who had arrived in a taxi dressed as Santa Claus before slaughtering partygoers in the nightclub.
AS revealed by Turkey's state-run news agency, more than 100 ISIS targets in Syria were hit by Turkey and Russia in separate operations. Russian jets also attacked ISIS targets in Dayr Kak, eight five miles to the southwest of Al Bab.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Killer in Santa Claus costume kills 39 in New Year Eve party in Istanbul

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Killer in Santa Claus costume kills 39 in New Year Eve party in Istanbul

A killer dressed in Santa Claus costume kills 39 in New Year Eve party in an Istanbul club. There are at least 16 foreigners were among the people people killed in the gun attack during New Year festivities. The attack took place shortly after midnight in the club where an estimated 600 people were celebrating New Year’s eve.
21 of the victims have been identified so far and, 16 of them are foreigners and five are Turks. Another 69 people have been injured and are being treated in hospital for their wounds.
This has been reported in thehindu.com dated 1 January 2016.

The attacker managed to escape and is still at large. He opened fire in the nightclub during New Year’s celebrations and it has been described as a terror attack by the province’s governor. The attacker was armed with a long-barreled weapon and he killed a policeman and a civilian outside the club before entering and firing on people partying inside.
It was the Reina nightclub, in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district. Ankara and Istanbul have been targeted by several attacks in 2016 carried out by the Islamic State group or Kurdish rebels and these have killed more than 180 people.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Two suicide bombers kill at least 27 in Baghdad market

Two suicide bombers attacked a market in Baghdad and killed at least 27 people and left another 50 injured - many of the victims were shopkeepers who had gathered around a cart that was selling breakfast when the explosions took place.
The market is located in the al Sinek neighborhood on Rasheed Street, which is one of the main thoroughfares in the Iraqi capital. The area is packed with shops and markets and was targeted at a time when it was crowded.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 31 December 2016.

This attack is believed to be the deadliest attack on the city since mid-October when a man blew himself up at a funeral, killing more than 30 people. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for that attack.
It is known that the city of Baghdad has been on alert ever since the beginning of the offensive to re-take the city of Mosul in the north from IS. Prime Minister Haider al Abadi had indicated that the Mosul operation would take at least three months more - he had earlier promised that it would be completed before 2017.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Drone delivers hot food items and cold beverages to customers' homes in the US

18th rhino killed in Kaziranga - this exceeds the figures of last year

Christmas in Delhi - fancy Santa hats from China sell for Rs 400 a piece


Moody in silent mode over black money (satire)

Didi upbeat about Christmas tourism (satire)

Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga discuss swipe machines (satire)


London Police deputes anti-terrorism patrol units under Operation Servator

Australian police foil a IS terror plot targeting Melbourne during Christmas

12 persons killed as truck ploughs into Christmas shoppers in Berlin


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