Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, has stepped up his denunciations of Iran in recent messages in part to depict al-Qaida as the Arabs' top defense against the Iranian nation's rising power in the Middle East. The increasing enmity toward Iran is a notable change of rhetoric from al-Zawahri, who in the past rarely mentioned the country - apparently hoping he would be able to forge some sort of understanding with Tehran based on their common rivalry with the United States. However, Iran has long sought to distance itself from al-Qaida. Al-Zawahri accused Hizbollah's Al-Manar television of starting the rumour that Israel was responsible for the 9/11 attacks in an attempt to downplay Sunni challenge to the west.
The toD verdict: This message reflects al-Qaida's attempt to reignite the schism between Shia and Sunni Islamists by attempting to tap into those sections of Arab and Muslim society who have anti-Shia, anti-Iran sentiments. Zawahiri appears intent on exploiting widespread worry in the Arab world over Iran's influence, particularly in Iraq, to garner support for al Qaida as the prime bastion against Iranian encroachment into the Sunni-dominated Gulf region. At the same time, he sought to denigrate Iranian-backed Hizbollah, which has gained some popularity even among Sunnis in the region for its fight against Israel. It seems that al-Qaida and Iran may continue their wrestling match for dominating the fight against America for a good number of rounds yet.
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Heavy fighting in Sri Lanka's far northern Jaffna peninsula left 52 Tamil Tiger rebels and 15 soldiers dead. "LTTE terrorists came and attacked our forward line this morning, we have retaliated and captured about 400 to 500 metres of LTTE area in Muhamalai," said military spokesman Brigadier Udayananayakkara. Tamil Tiger rebels said that heavy fighting erupted in the peninsula when the Sri Lankan Army launched a fresh offensive on Wednesday morning. Fighting between government forces and the LTTE has intensified since the government formally pulled out of a 6-year-old ceasefire pact in January, though a renewed civil war has been raging since 2006. President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has pledged to destroy the Tigers militarily. After driving the rebels from the east, the armed forces are focusing on Tiger-held areas in north, intensifying fighting in the civil war that has killed an estimated 70,000 people since 1983. The military has the upper hand in the latest phase of the war, given superior air power, strength of numbers and swathes of terrain captured in the island's east. But they see no clear final winner and say the rebels still retain the capability to strike back, despite high security and military gains.
Danish embassies in Algeria and Afghanistan on high alert
Denmark has moved staff from its embassies in Algeria and Afghanistan to secret safe locations because of an imminent threat. The Danish Security and Intelligence Service earlier this month warned of an aggravated terror threat level against Danish interests in north Africa, the middle east, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It said the threat level had sharpened since Danish newspapers reprinted earlier this year a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammad as a protest over a plot to murder the cartoonist. The cartoon depicts Mohammad wearing a bomb in his turban. It was one of 12 drawings of the prophet that sparked riots in the Muslim world in 2006 after originally being printed in a Danish newspaper in 2005.
British police foil 15 terrorist plots since 2007
Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, announced that British police officers have foiled 15 terrorist plots since 7 July 2005. Speaking in London, Blair said: "We appear to face the most radical and escalating threat of these countries [United States, France, Spain, German and Italy] in terms of the number of people involved and plots going on and that are happening now." Sir Ian said that the complexity of planned attacks and extensive use of computers by extremists meant that longer pre-charge limits were necessary.
Rebel leader denies UN breakthrough in talks
Abdel-Wahid al-Nur, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), denied on 22 April that the UN has achieved any breakthrough in brokering peace talks for the Darfur region, the Sudan Tribune reported. Al-Nur also warned that more violence could erupt if the new UN and African Union peacekeeping mission to Darfur fails. Speaking in Paris Al-Nur said: "Wrong negotiations will only complicate the matter and prolong the suffering of the people of Darfur." Darfur rebels have fractured into multiple groups. Al-Nur doesn't head the strongest armed faction, but he is viewed as enjoying tremendous support among refugees. His refusal to sign the 2005 peace agreement is viewed as one key reason why negotiations failed.
22 Nepali congress workers displaced by Maiosts
At least 22 Nepali Congress (NC) workers have been displaced from their villages in Rukum after the Constituent Assembly elections due to threats by Maoists in the district. Issuing a statement on April 21, the NC district committee said 22 of its supporters were forced to leave their villages after Maoists threatened them with strong action. The party further claimed that the Maoists extorted NR 10,000 each from Sam Bahadur Gharti, Pal Prasad Gharti and Daljit Pun of Hukam Village Development Committee as a penalty for supporting NC in the election. Meanwhile, the CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda declared on April 21 that "no residue of the monarchy would be held in reserve." He also said that there was no dilemma in removing the monarchy.
