Troops patrol Port Harcourt after gang violence
Nigerian troops have been deployed on the streets of oil capital Port Harcourt, after four days of turf wars between rival gangs in the city left 15 dead.
Yemeni militants attack power station
Gunmen have attacked a power station and security patrols in the city of Mareb, east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. Yesterday, security forces clashed with militants, killing four alleged al-Qaida fighters accused of involvement in an attack on Spanish tourists last month.
After attacks against the two arms of the national economy - its oil and gas industry last September, and more recently the country's tourism industry - al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen have carried out their pledge to deal the country a "severe and bitter" blow. With the oil-refinery attacks merely "the first spark", Worldpress asks whether the country is set to follow on the heels of Afghanistan and Iraq as the third major venue in the war on terrorism.
Stability in Iraq dependent on US withdrawal
Iran has told Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki that restoring order in Iraq depends on the United States withdrawing its troops from the country.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims have gathered in Baghdad to honour an eighth-century Shia saint at the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim mosque, in the northern Kazimiyah neighbourhood. A citywide driving ban is in effect until Saturday to prevent suicide car bombings, while plainclothes Iraqi agents have been checking each individual at the mosque’s entrance.
United Nations (UN) Security Council members believe the body with approve a revised proposal for increasing the ceiling for international staff in Iraq, in an effort to expand the organisation’s role in the country. Meanwhile, however, the UN staff council has called for the withdrawal of its personnel from the beleaguered country amid security concerns.To receive our daily security briefings, click here
Roadside bombs against American troops in Iraq accounted for more than one third of all combat deaths last month - an all-time high.
Musharraf considers state of emergency
President Pervez Musharraf met with senior aides at his camp office in Rawalpindi on Thursday to discuss whether to declare a state of emergency in Pakistan. The country's information minister has said that, in Musharraf's view, however, "there is no need at present to impose an emergency".
Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been put on high alert, with heavy contingents of law enforcement agencies set up at all exit and entry points in the twin cities. All other security personnel have been put on standby, while state officials discussed the virtue of imposing a state of emergency.
Indian separatists kill migrant workers
Separatists in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam killed eight migrant workers on Wednesday, police say. The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), who are fighting for an independent homeland in the region, are suspected of the attack.
Indian Army Chief General J. J. Singh last week told national newspaper The Sunday Express that law and order forces could be scaled back in Jammu and Kashmir, after a reduction in the levels of violence there. Forces would still be required on the Line of Control - which demarcates the Indian and Pakistani-administered territories - until the border is delineated and defined, however. Singh also hastened that experience in the territories reveals that a "military application is only a part of the larger package that involves politics, societal changes and sound economics".
Friendly fire possibly behind Georgia-Russia dispute
Two Russian Su-24 fighter jets accused of entering Georgian airspace earlier this week, may have dumped a 640kg missile in an attempt to outmanoeuvre a shoulder-fired Strela missile mistakenly fired by pro-Moscow separatists in South Ossetia, the media in Georgia has reported.
Abu Sayyaf "reinforcements" support Moros
One of four alleged Abu Sayyaf rebels linked to the recent beheading of Philippine marines, has disclosed that some one hundred Abu Sayyaf gunmen served as "reinforcements" for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in fighting government troops in Basilan last month.
Nine military personnel were killed and two others wounded after suspected Abu Sayyaf militants - linked to al-Qaida - ambushed a Philippine army convoy on the island of Jolo on Friday. A further 10 soldiers were killed later in the day in the mountains near Maimbung.
