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Saturday, March 06, 2010 BAGHDAD: Al-Qaeda in Iraq on Friday threatened to kill people who vote in the war-torn nation's election and imposed a self-declared curfew during polling hours when millions are to cast ballots. The Islamic state of Iraq (ISI), the Qaeda front in the country, in a statement two days ahead of Sunday's vote said anyone who defies the curfew would "expose himself to the anger of Allah and then to all kinds of weapons of the mujahedeen." The group, which has previously threatened to sabotage the elections and claimed responsibility for attacks that have killed hundreds in Iraq, delivered its warning after a series of suicide bombings left dozens dead. The ISI statement came as Iraq's religious leaders ordered citizens to vote and safeguard democracy in the second parliamentary election since the ouster of dictator Saddam Hussein in a US-led invasion in 2003. "The Islamic state declares for the time a curfew on election day... f...

Thursday, March 04, 2010 SANAA: Yemeni security forces arrested 11 Al-Qaeda suspects in the capital Sanaa, killing one man during the operation, defence ministry's news website reported on Thursday. The man killed was the father of one of the suspects and opened fire on security forces, wounding one of them, before being shot dead, the website said. One of the suspects also tried to resist but "all members of the cell were arrested," the website said.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 BAMAKO: An Al-Qaeda offshoot in north Africa on Tuesday freed Frenchman Pierre Camatte after almost three months following the release of four foreign Islamic militants by Mali, a negotiator told media. "Pierre has been freed. He's well, that's the most important," the Malian source said, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that he was freed in northern Mali's Kidal region. French President Nicolas Sarkosy called his Malian counterpart Amadou Toumani Toure to thank him and "assured him of France's backing to fight terrorism," the Elysee said in a statement. Camatte, 61, was kidnapped on the night of November 26 from a hotel by Malians who then passed him on to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). His release comes after Mali freed four militants, as demanded by AQIM: two from Algeria, one from Burkina Faso and one from Mauritania.

MIRAMSHAH: Sheikh Mansoor, a key al-Qaeda commander has been killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan, sources told Geo News Saturday. A US drone had launched a strike targeting a spot in Tolkhel area of North Waziristan on February 17, killing Sheikh Mansoor, an operational commander of al-Qaeda, sources said. Local and intelligence sources have confirmed the death of Sheikh Mansoor, son of a significant al-Qaeda leader Seikh Abdur Rehman Kennedy who was killed in Baghar area in a military offensive in 2003. Sheikh Mansoor had taken charge of North Waziristan as al-Qaeda commander after his father’s death. Later, Muhammad Haqqani, son of Jihadi commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, was killed in another drone strike when he was on his way to perform fateha of Sheikh Mansoor.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 WASHINGTON: The United States has not done enough to protect the country against the threat of weapons of mass destruction even as Al-Qaeda appears intent on staging a large-scale attack, reports said. A bipartisan panel warned that the government had failed to adopt measures to counter the danger posed by extremists using WMD, saying the administration lacked plans for a rapid response to a possible biological attack. "Nearly a decade after September 11, 2001, one year after our original report, and one month after the Christmas Day bombing attempt, the United States is failing to address several urgent threats, especially bioterrorism," said former senator Bob Graham, chair of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. He said that Washington no longer had "the luxury of a slow learning curve, when we know Al-Qaeda is interested in bioweapons." In its "report card," t...