Battle of Algiers
Twin car bombings in Algiers have killed at least 47 people in the latest al-Qaida-linked strike in Algeria. One car struck a constitutional court building while the other targeted the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The attack is the deadliest since Algeria's civil war ended in 2002. In April, al-Qaida-linked militants struck Algiers in an attack that killed thirty people.
Over the weekend, police broke up demonstrations outside a jail holding men detained for terrorism-related reasons. The jailed suspects have gone on hunger strike. Algeria's notorious intelligence and security agencies have heavy-handedly combated terrorism and insurgent threats in recent decades.
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Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Husain Haqqani debate whether Islam is "compatible with democracy" in a discussion organised by Letras Libres magazine. Haqqani questions the premise of the debate: "I believe the question 'are Islam and democracy compatible?' is wrongly put, because it reduces everything to a question of theology. Better would be: 'why is there no democracy in much of the Islamic world?' This could be empirically investigated, it's a political and sociological question." Full transcript in Spanish
Musa Qala offensive
Kabul won a potentially major "symbolic" victory after most of the Taliban defenders of the city of Musa Qala withdrew overnight, allowing Afghan and allied forces to enter into the town. The strategic city in the southern province of Helmand was vacated by British troops last year as part of a deal brokered with tribal elders. Taliban forces later retook Musa Qala, which sits upon major drug smuggling routes.
US defence secretary Robert Gates has shot down the suggestion of leading military commanders such as the Marine Corps' Gen. James T. Conway that American troops in Iraq ought to be "redeployed" to Afghanistan. Gates insisted that US forces needed to remain in volatile Iraq.
Suspected Baluch insurgents arrested in London
Faiz Baluch and Hyrbyair Marri, two London residents, have been charged under the UK' Terrorism Act for "inciting another person to commit an act of terrorism wholly or partly outside the UK." Pakistan believes the two men to be active in abetting the militant insurgency in the restive province of Baluchistan.
Protests in Kashmir
Observing World Human Rights Day yesterday, Kashmiri dissidents held protests across Indian-administered Kashmir, calling for New Delhi to curb the increasing human rights violations in the disputed territory.
Oman to join club
Oman has proposed a $2 billion deal to Iran that would see the development of the oil-filed in the Persian Gulf island of Kish. Tehran recently signed a similar agreement for oil-field development with China, dealing a blow to American and European hopes of isolating Iran internationally.
Lawyerly approval for tape distraction
It has emerged that lawyers working within the "clandestine" branch of the CIA - that has been linked to ongoing controversy about the use of torture-like techniques by intelligence agencies - approved the destruction in 2005 of sensitive video footage of interrogations of terrorism suspects.
Blow to Abbas in Hamas hajj allowance
By dealing directly with Hamas in allowing 2,000 Gazans to cross into Egypt and then Saudi Arabia ahead of pilgrimage to Mecca, Cairo and Riyadh have dealt a smarting blow to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader of the West Bank who is recognised and supported by much of the international community.
In fighting that left three Palestinians dead, Israeli tanks pushed as deep into Gaza as they have in months.
Parallels between Turkish and French riots
The Counterterrorism blog compares the restive banlieues of Paris with some of the predominantly Kurdish slums of Istanbul, seeing the combustible ingredients for radicalisation and terrorism in both places.
Rebels take Chinese oil-field in Sudan
Spokesmen of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a rebel group from the western Sudanese province of Darfur, claim to have over-run a Chinese-run oil-field in the neighbouring province of Kordofan. JEM want China to cease supporting the Sudanese government.
Philippines capture militant
Adel Karmala, an alleged Abu Sayyaf militant involved in the kidnapping of 20 hostages from an upscale resort in 2001, has been arrested by Philippine security forces in the town of Zamboanga.
