Iraq's Kurdish north
Helicopter gunships slammed rebel positions in the southeast of Turkey yesterday, as 100,000 Turkish troops backed by tanks and aircraft mass along the border with Iraq in preparation to hunt down the suspected 3,000 Kurdish rebels hiding in northern Iraq.
The fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - against whom Turkey have launched an incursion into Iraq - are well-ensconced in northern Iraq, and play an important role in the region's politics. They will prove difficult to defeat militarily, as they occupy terrain akin to the rugged northwest of Pakistan, where pro-Taliban and pro-al-Qaida forces have dug in successfully.
Tens of thousands of Turks marched across the country over the weekend in protest against the "terrorism" of the PKK and in support of Ankara's military intervention in Iraq. Keep up to date with the latest developments and sharpest perspectives in a world of strife and struggle.
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In a phone conversation with Turkish president Abdullah Gul, Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that the current crisis was caused by the double-standards of the United States, who have allowed the "terrorist" PKK to act with impunity.
Brigadier General Jeffrey Dorko was wounded by a roadside bomb attack that struck his convoy in northern Baghdad. He is the highest-ranking American casualty during the war.
No ministerial exemption
Shahid Malik, the UK's first Muslim minister, was detained and searched for the second time at an American airport. The international development minister was on his way back to the UK after attending a conference on tackling terrorism and extremism in Washington. Muslims are subjected to particular scrutiny at US airports.
Militancy in the south Caucasus
Officials in Azerbaijan claim to have thwarted a "large-scale horrifying" terrorism attack by radical Islamists against government buildings in the capital Baku and the US embassy.
A court in the Uzbek city of Bukhara has jailed eight members of the Islamist political group Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT). HuT is banned across west Asia and by many central Asian governments.
UK weak on terrorism? Countries mentioned in today's security brief:
- Iraq
- Turkey
- Azerbaijan
- Uzbekistan
- Iran
- USA
- Israel
- China
- Japan
- India
- UK
- Saudi Arabia
- Nigeria
- Somalia
- Canada
- Afghanistan
Ahead of a state visit to London, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has accused Britain of not taking a tough enough stance on terrorism. Saudi officials allegedly relayed information to London that, if heeded, could have prevented the 7/7 bombings. Riyadh has suggested that the UK's "terrorism radar" is weak.
Foreign office minister Kim Howells has stressed that despite certain differences, Riyadh and London would rally around their "shared values" in the fight against terrorism.
Japan al-Qaida link
Kunio Hatoyama, Japan's information minister, defended plans to fingerprint foreigners by claiming that an al-Qaida militant had crept into the country. Oddly, Hatoyama initially described the militant as a "friend of a friend".
Somali PM resigns
Somali prime minister Mohamed Ali Gedi resigned from his position after abiding tensions between him and President Abdullahi Yusuf had brought politics in the war-torn country to a deadlock.
A Japanese tanker has been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates. Piracy has spiralled out of control since the toppling of the Islamic Courts Union in Mogadishu in January.
China to the rescue?
Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni has called on China to place greater pressure on Iran in acquiescing to western demands that Tehran suspend its nuclear enrichment program and halt further nuclear technology development.
Mohammed El-Baradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Association, has expressed incredulity at the hostile stance of western governments to Iran. El-Baradei has consistently argued that there is no evidence that Iran is building or planning to build a weapons program.
Kidnappings in Iraq
Ten Sunni and Shia tribal sheikhs were kidnapped in Baghdad as they were returning to their homes in Diyala province after meetings with government officials. The Iraqi and US strategy to co-opt such leaders has made local grandees the target of militant insurgent groups like al-Qaida in Iraq.
Indians abducted in Nigeria
The families of three Indian workers who were abducted from an off-shore oil installation in Nigeria by separatist militants have pleaded with the Indian government to secure their release. Abducting foreign oil workers has become a favoured tactic of the separatists in the oil-rich but restive Niger Delta region.
Canucks deny torture claims
Ottawa has dismissed allegations by captured Taliban fighters that their Canadian jailers tortured and abused them. Government officials claim that such allegations are to be expected from the Taliban.
