Italy asks who to blame for deadly train inferno

(VIAREGGIO, ITALIAN, EXPLOSION, TRAIN, WHILE, CORRIERE)

By Antonella Cinelli
VIAREGGIO, Italy (Reuters) - Pressure was building on Italian authorities Wednesday to determine who was to blame for an explosion of a passing freight train that set fire to nearby homes and burned families alive while they slept.
The death toll from Monday night`s explosion in the seaside town of Viareggio rose to 16 after a girl aged three and a boy of two died from their burns at hospitals in Rome and Florence. Twenty seven people were injured, many of them seriously.
Italian newspapers demanded to know who was to blame, with La Repubblica asking "Who`s Guilty?" and Corriere della Sera warning "No Alibis." Some papers dedicated the first dozen pages or more to the disaster, one of Italy`s worst in living memory.
"The Inferno of the Innocent," was the headline of the Rome daily Il Messaggero.
"All of us were afraid. We just didn`t understand what was happening, we thought it was a terrorist attack," said Mirko Angelini, a resident of Viareggio, north of Rome.
Infrastructure Minister Altero Matteoli told parliament "checks are underway" into reports the axle on a rail car carrying liquefied petroleum gas appeared to have buckled, causing the derailment and subsequent explosion.
La Repubblica warned in an editorial there were "no small fry" among those possibly responsible.
The train was driven by an employee of Italian state railways, which says it is the country`s largest company, while the railcar whose axle may have given way was owned by a subsidiary of U.S.-based GATX Corp.
The conductor of the train, Roberto Fochesato, told Corriere della Sera "we didn`t make any mistakes. We found ourselves in an inferno, but it wasn`t my fault."
The GATX unit said the railcars were new and issued a statement saying "so far we do not see any connection between the cause of the accident and our wagons."
Rescuers Wednesday suspended the search for missing victims in the rubble of collapsed homes. One person was still unaccounted for but was presumed to be among the unidentified dead, a rescuer said.
Heart-wrenching stories about the victims dominated the airwaves and newsprint. Corriere told of a mother who rushed out of her home with her five-year-old son Luca, putting him in her car for safety while she ran back inside for her other two children.
The car caught fire while she was gone, and Luca died.
Cable news stations read aloud stories of families killed or in intensive care for severe burns at local hospitals.
"Ilaria and Michela, sisters and friends. The fireball burned them together," was a headline in La Repubblica.  Continued...
Original article

Bomb kills 32 in Iraq as U.S. troops leave

(BAGHDAD, SECURITY, KIRKUK, PEOPLE, IRAQIS, MILITARY)

By Tim Cocks and Muhanad Mohammed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Hours after U.S. troops handed over control of Iraq`s cities to its domestic security forces, a car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 32 people and wounded more than 100 on Tuesday, police said.
The blast tore through a busy market in a largely Kurdish part of the city, which is regarded as a potential flashpoint between ethnic Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen.
The U.S. pullback to rural bases from towns and cities is the first step toward a full U.S. withdrawal by 2012 agreed under a bilateral security pact.
Some Iraqis fear it leaves them open to attack by insurgent groups but many Iraqis celebrated what the government named "National Sovereignty Day," more than six years after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.
Citizens and Iraqi soldiers drove around the streets of the capital in vehicles draped in flowers and Iraqi flags. Signs were draped on Baghdad`s many concrete blast walls reading "Iraq: my nation, my glory, my honor."
"This day, which we consider a national celebration, is an achievement made by all Iraqis," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a televised address.
"Our incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops is the most serious legacy we have inherited (from Saddam). Those who think that Iraqis are unable to defend their country are committing a fatal mistake."
The day`s festivities included a parade in Baghdad`s heavily fortified Green Zone government and diplomatic district, viewed by Iraqis as the ultimate symbol of the foreign military presence until local forces took control of it in January.
In a display of the military muscle Iraq will use to combat a stubborn insurgency, thousands of soldiers and police paraded on foot or in U.S.-donated Humvees, armored cars and tanks in a compound where Saddam`s forces once staged elaborate displays.
U.S. and local officials said the pullback of U.S. troops showed how far the country had come since it was almost torn apart by tit-for-tat sectarian killing in 2006/2007.
But the Kirkuk bomb underscored the fragility of the security gains. Iraq is less violent that it has been for years, but militants still stage frequent attacks.
In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama lauded the U.S. troop withdrawal as an important milestone but warned of "difficult days" ahead.
Frantic relatives of those who had been in the area dug through the rubble in Kirkuk, searching for missing loved ones.
"I went to the market to get some bread and there was a huge explosion," said Taseen Azad, 21, who was lightly wounded. "I saw people falling on the ground, shops burning and dead people. Then someone took me to the hospital."
The U.S. military said four U.S. soldiers based in Baghdad had died of combat-related injuries on Monday.  Continued...
Original article

Related articles:
Bomb kills 25 in Iraq as U.S. troops leave
Blast in Baghdad marketplace kills 72, injures over 100
Life after U.S. pullout brings worries for Iraqis
Iraq PM says forces can handle security without U.S.
Roadside bomb kills five policemen in Iraq
Bomb kills at least 72 in Baghdad's Sadr City
Suicide truck bomber kills 67 in northern Iraq

Bomb kills 25 in Iraq as U.S. troops leave

(BAGHDAD, IRAQI, TUESDAY, TROOPS, SECURITY, GOVERNMENT)

By Tim Cocks and Muhanad Mohammed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed at least 25 people on Tuesday, just after U.S. troops handed over full control of Iraq`s cities to the domestic security forces six years after the invasion.
The bomb, which wounded at least 40 people, struck a busy market in a largely Kurdish part of Kirkuk, a city viewed as a potential flashpoint between the Shi`ite Arab-led central government and Kurds. Police said the death toll could rise.
Many Iraqis fear the U.S. pullback from towns and cities and into rural bases, the first step toward a full U.S. withdrawal by the end of 2011, leaves them open to attack.
But the government declared Tuesday a holiday, "National Sovereignty Day," and held a parade to show off the military muscle it will use against a stubborn insurgency.
"This day, which we consider a national celebration, is an achievement made by all Iraqis," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a televised address.
"Our incomplete sovereignty and the presence of foreign troops is the most serious legacy we have inherited (from Saddam Hussein). Those who think that Iraqis are unable to defend their country are committing a fatal mistake."
Citizens and Iraqi soldiers drove around the streets of Baghdad in vehicles draped in flowers and Iraqi flags to celebrate.
In another bloody reminder of the war unleashed by the 2003 U.S. invasion, the U.S. military said four U.S. soldiers based in Baghdad had died of combat-related injuries on Monday. It gave no further details.
By midnight on Tuesday, all U.S. combat units must have left Iraq`s urban centers and redeployed to rural bases, according to a bilateral security pact that requires all U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011.
(Additional reporting by Sherko Raouf; editing by Robert Woodward)
Original article

Related articles:
Iraqis rejoice as U.S. troops leave Baghdad
Life after U.S. pullout brings worries for Iraqis

Pakistan militant faction scraps pact, vows attacks

(PAKISTAN, GOVERNMENT, ATTACKS, OFFENSIVE, MEHSUD, WAZIRISTAN)

By Alamgir Bitani
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani militants in a northwestern region have scrapped a peace deal with the government and vowed to launch attacks, threatening to open a new front against the army already fighting in two areas.
The military says it is nearing the end of an offensive in the Swat region, northwest of Islamabad, and is set to launch an assault on Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan on the Afghan border.
The offensive in Swat was launched two months ago after Taliban fighters thrust toward the capital, raising alarm both at home and among allies who need nuclear-armed Pakistan`s help to fight al Qaeda and to tackle Afghanistan`s insurgency.
A militant faction allied with Mehsud in North Waziristan, another militant hotspot also on the Afghan border, said it was ending a pact with the government because of U.S. drone aircraft attacks and the presence of government forces in their area.
"Our leadership has decided that as long as U.S. drone attacks continue and security forces stay here, there will be no peace agreement," faction spokesman Ahmedullah Ahmedi said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
The United States has launched more than 40 attacks by pilotless drones in northwest Pakistan since the beginning of last year, many in North Waziristan.
Pakistan officially objects to the attacks, saying they drive the population into the arms of the militants. U.S. officials say the strikes ae carried out under an agreement that allows Pakistani leaders to decry them in public.
Meanwhile, the government has said Mehsud and his followers in South Waziristan will be attacked next and defeated.
Mehsud carries a U.S. reward of $5 million and a Pakistani reward of 50 million rupees ($615,000). Analysts say Mehsud has become increasingly close to al Qaeda and the military says he is behind 90 percent of "terrorist activity" in the country.
Mehsud was accused of the December 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
HEAVY SHELLING
Security forces have been closing in on his headquarters, using aircraft and artillery to attack his positions while soldiers secure main roads.
The military shelled Mehsud`s positions again on Monday evening and a stray shell hit the wall of the home of a Reuters reporter on the outskirts of the region`s main town of Wana. No one was hurt.
"There was heavy shelling for several hours and one shell hit my house. Thank God, everybody is safe," the reporter said.
North Waziristan has been relatively peaceful but Ahmedi, spokesman for the faction led by commander Gul Bahadur, said his men would go on the offensive.  Continued...
Original article

Related articles:
Pakistani jets hit militant compounds in Waziristan
Pakistan bombs Taliban in Waziristan, 5 shot in Karachi
Pakistani violence spreads to Kashmir
U.S. adviser hails Pakistani attack on militants
U.S. drone strike kills 45 in Pakistan
Guard kills rival to Pakistan Taliban leader Mehsud
Rival to Taliban commander Mehsud killed

North Korea trying to enrich uranium, South says

(NORTH, KOREA, URANIUM, NUCLEAR, SOUTH, PROGRAM)

By Jon Herskovitz
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea appears to be enriching uranium, potentially giving the state that tested a plutonium-based nuclear device in May another path for making atomic weapons, South Korea`s defense minister said on Tuesday.
"It is clear that they are moving forward with it," Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee told a parliamentary hearing, adding such a program is far easier to hide than the North`s current plutonium-based program.
North Korea earlier this month responded to U.N. punishment for its nuclear test by saying it would start enriching uranium for a light-water reactor.
Experts said destitute North Korea lacks the technology and resources to build such a costly civilian reactor but may use the program as a cover to enrich uranium for weapons.
North Korea, which has ample supplies of natural uranium, would be able to conduct an enrichment program in underground or undisclosed facilities and away from the prying eyes of U.S. spy satellites.
The North`s plutonium program uses an aging reactor and is centered at its Soviet-era Yongbyon nuclear plant, which has been watched by U.S. aerial reconnaissance for years.
Proliferation experts said the North has purchased equipment needed for uranium enrichment including centrifuges and high-strength aluminum tubes but they doubt that Pyongyang has seriously pursued the project.
"It seems unlikely that North Korea will succeed in establishing a substantial enrichment capability ... in the near term," nuclear expert Hui Zhang wrote in an article this month in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, adding outside help from the likes of Pyongyang`s ally Iran could speed up the process.
South Korean officials said the North`s recent military moves that also included missile tests and threats to attack the South were likely aimed at building internal support for leader Kim Jong-il, 67, as he prepares for succession in Asia`s only communist dynasty.
Investors used to the North`s military rumblings said the developments have not had any major impact on trading but have raised concern among market players.
North Korea is also preparing to test a long-range missile that could hit U.S. territory and mid-range missiles that could hit all of South Korea, which could further rattle regional security, a South Korean presidential Blue House official said last week.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz and Christine Kim; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Original article

Related articles:
Obama, Lee warn North Korea brinkmanship won't work

Iraq steps into precarious but sovereign unknown

(TROOPS, FORCES, MILITANT, SECURITY, THEIR, IRAQI)

By Michael Christie
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq takes a major step toward reasserting its sovereignty on Tuesday when U.S. combat troops hand urban areas over to its relatively untested police and soldiers.
Will the end of one aspect of the "surge" strategy -- the ramped-up deployment of U.S. forces in militant strongholds that helped drive al Qaeda and other fighters underground -- lead to a collapse in security?
WILL VIOLENCE SOAR?
It is highly likely that insurgents will increase their attacks following the departure of U.S. combat troops from city centers, both U.S. and Iraqi officials say.
Some militant groups may want to create the impression that they deserve the credit for driving out the occupation forces.
The fact that the partial withdrawal has been dictated by a bilateral security pact agreed last year between the United States and Iraq is immaterial to them.
Some of the insurgents may also think Iraq and its population will be more vulnerable once the Americans pull back to their bases, and that they have a better chance of reigniting widespread sectarian bloodshed through massive bombings.
There have been indications, however, that insurgent and militant groups have lost the capacity to keep up the momentum.
While the past month saw two of the deadliest bombings in more than a year, the overall number of incidents has plunged, and major attacks are followed by weeks of relative calm.
WHAT IS AT STAKE POLITICALLY?
If Iraqi security forces fail to protect the Iraqi people from escalating attacks, Shi`ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is likely to suffer politically.
He is staking his hopes for a second term after a parliamentary poll next January on his ability to claim credit for a sharp fall in violence over the past 18 months.
Maliki has called the withdrawal a great victory as Iraq tries to shake off stigma of occupation, and he has declared June 30, "National Sovereignty Day," a public holiday.
Analysts say he has essentially backed himself into a corner by exalting the occasion -- if violence soars it will be politically unpalatable to call on the U.S. military for help.
The prime minister`s stance may also dictate commanders` behavior on the ground. They may be loathe to call on U.S. troops or air cover, no matter how much it is needed, out of fear of being punished by their superiors for apparent weakness.  Continued...
Original article

Related articles:
Iraqis rejoice as U.S. troops leave Baghdad
Life after U.S. pullout brings worries for Iraqis
Iraq PM says forces can handle security without U.S.
Bomb kills at least 72 in Baghdad's Sadr City
Brown urges Iraq hostage takers to release Britons

Blast in Baghdad marketplace kills 72, injures over 100

(EXPLOSION, BAGHDAD, WEDNESDAY, LOCAL, CITIES, NUMBER)

Powerful explosion kills more than 70 in Baghdad
MOSCOW, June 25 (RIA Novosti) - Police have confirmed at least 72 people have died and more than 100 injured in a blast in a Baghdad marketplace, al Jazeera reported on Thursday.
The bomb was hidden in a motorcycle rickshaw loaded with fruit and vegetables which detonated on Wednesday evening at the Mraidi outdoor market in north Baghdad`s Sadr City. The bomber abandoned his vehicle and ran off prior to the detonation.
Many women and children are among the victims.
"I heard a boom and saw a ball of fire," Najim Ali, a 30-year-old local, who was shopping in the market, told al Jazeera. "I saw cars flying in the air because of the force of the explosion."
This latest attack comes as U.S. troops prepare to hand over control of several Iraqi cities to local authorities by June 30.
The number of explosions has dropped in recent months in Iraq with May having one of the lowest casualty figures since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country. However recent violence, including a blast in Kirkuk on Saturday which killed 73, has pushed the death toll this month to over 150.
Earlier on Wednesday, a U.S. military spokesman said only a small number of U.S. troops would remain in Iraqi cities after the June 30 deadline, but that the exact number was still being worked on.
Some U.S. soldiers will stay behind in urban centers at so-called Joint Security Stations to train and advise local security forces.
 
Original article

Iraqis rejoice as U.S. troops leave Baghdad

(BAGHDAD, IRAQIS, SECURITY, IRAQI, TROOPS, FORCES, ATTACKS)

By Tim Cocks and Muhanad Mohammed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops pulled out of Baghdad on Monday, triggering jubilation among Iraqis hopeful that foreign military occupation is ending six years after the invasion to depose Saddam Hussein.
Iraqi soldiers paraded through the streets in their American-made vehicles draped with Iraqi flags and flowers, chanting, dancing and calling the pullout a "victory."
One drove a motorcycle with party streamers on it; another, a Humvee with a garland of plastic roses on the grill.
U.S. combat troops must pull out of Iraq`s urban centers by midnight on Tuesday under a bilateral security pact that also requires all troops to leave the country by 2012.
All had left the capital by Monday afternoon, Major-General in Staff, Abboud Qanbar, head of Iraqi security forces in Baghdad, told Reuters.
Another Iraqi official who would not be named, said some units in cities outside Baghdad would leave at the last minute. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said 30 bases remained to be handed over. There are still some 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.
Addressing military leaders in Baghdad, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said: "Our sovereignty has started and ... we should move forward to build a modern state and enjoy security which has been achieved."
Many Iraqis were elated even though they feared militants might use the withdrawal as an opportunity to step up attacks.
"The American forces` withdrawal is something awaited by every Iraqi: male, female, young and old. I consider June 30 to be like a wedding," said Ahmed Hameed, 38, near an ice cream bar in Baghdad`s upmarket Karrada district.
"This is proof Iraqis are capable of controlling security inside Iraq," added the recent returnee from exile in Egypt.
The government has declared June 30 a national holiday, "National Sovereignty Day."
"BIG JOY"
A spate of bombings in recent days, including two of the deadliest for more than a year that killed 150 people between them, have raised fears militants will try to step up the pace of attacks.
Yet few Iraqis see that as reason for the Americans to stay.
"It is a big joy to see them leaving," said Abu Hassan, 60, a shop owner. "There might be some more attacks because of struggles between the different parties, but Iraqis are controlling security now. It`s up to our forces now."  Continued...
Original article

Related articles:
Life after U.S. pullout brings worries for Iraqis
Iraq PM says forces can handle security without U.S.
Bomb kills 13 in latest Baghdad bombing
Roadside bomb kills five policemen in Iraq
Bomb kills at least 72 in Baghdad's Sadr City
Bombings kill at least 27 in Iraq
Suicide truck bomber kills 67 in northern Iraq

Activists sail to Gaza with aid, defying Israel

(ISRAEL, US, ACTIVISTS, ISRAELI, AUTHORITIES, GROUP, MONDAY)

LARNACA, Cyprus (Reuters) - International activists sailed from Cyprus Monday in a bid to deliver aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, in defiance of a sea blockade by Israel.
A group of 21 activists from the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement left the Cypriot port of Larnaca early Monday morning for a 30-hour journey on a small ferry bedecked with brightly coloured flags including a rainbow flag for peace.
The group planned to deliver three tonnes of medical supplies, some tool kits and copper wiring to Gaza. On two previous occasions, activists were intercepted by Israeli authorities.
"We have informed the Israelis of our intent to enter Gaza, and the last thing they communicated to us through the U.S. embassy in Nicosia and port authorities is that Israel is not going to let us enter," Huwaida Arraf, one of the organisers of the mission, told Reuters.
"We are unarmed civilians. It is up to our respective governments to ensure that Israel doesn`t attack us," said Arraf, a U.S. citizen.
Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after the Islamist group Hamas took control of the enclave, a tiny sliver of territory which is home to some 1.5 million people.
Activists say a humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by the Israeli offensive on Gaza in December and January which had the stated aim of rooting out militants firing rockets into Israel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday said stringent import restrictions imposed by Israel were crippling reconstruction efforts by donors who have pledged $4.5 billion.
It urged Israel authorities to lift restrictions to allow spare parts, water pipes and building materials into the territory.
(Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Sophie Hares)
Original article

Nigerian militants say attack Shell despite amnesty

(DELTA, NIGER, MEND, SHELL, AMNESTY, MILITANT, ATTACKS)

By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria`s main militant group said its fighters had attacked an oil facility belonging to Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta on Monday, in the face of an amnesty offer from President Umaru Yar`Adua.
Shell said it had shut in some production as a precautionary measure while it investigated reports of attacks on two well clusters in its Estuary Field in the western Niger Delta, which feeds into its Forcados oil export terminal.
"Hurricane Piper Alpha has struck at the Shell Forcados platform in Delta state today ... at about 0330 hours," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in a statement emailed to media.
It said parts of the facility were on fire.
Forcados is one of Nigeria`s benchmark crude oil grades but production has been interrupted by militant attacks.
On June 17 Shell extended a force majeure on its Forcados oil shipments for the rest of June and all of July. The measure, which frees it from contractual obligations, was first imposed in March after an attack on its trans-Escravos pipeline.
Yar`Adua on Thursday offered a 60-day amnesty to gunmen in the Niger Delta who have been responsible for pipeline bombings, attacks on oil and gas installations and the kidnapping of industry workers over the past three years.
The unrest has prevented the world`s eighth biggest oil exporter from pumping much above two thirds of its installed capacity of 3 million barrels per day, costing it billions of dollars in lost revenue and pushing global energy prices higher.
MEND questioned the sincerity of the government and dismissed the amnesty offer as a program directed at "repentant criminals" rather than genuine "freedom fighters."
MILITANTS DIVIDED
Some militant leaders have said they want talks with Yar`Adua to work out the details of a deal, but MEND has publicly dismissed the amnesty offer, seeing it instead as an opportunity to distinguish itself from criminals.
"It will separate the wheat from the chaff and allow the government to focus on the root issues instead of tying militancy with criminality as an excuse for not addressing the grievances of the Niger Delta people," it said.
"MEND will negotiate as a group when the right time comes ... Only those who are willing to sell their birthright for a bowl of porridge will accept while the rest of us will continue the struggle until justice is achieved."
Representatives of Ateke Tom, Farah Dagogo, Soboma George and Boyloaf -- key leaders of armed gangs behind some of the most spectacular attacks -- issued a statement on Friday saying they wanted to meet with Yar`Adua.
MEND -- a loose coalition of various armed gangs in the delta -- denied Dagogo and Boyloaf would take part.  Continued...
Original article

Support for Pakistan`s anti-Taliban war seen solid

(THE, ON, TALIBAN, INVESTORS, PAKISTANI, OFFENSIVE, AMONG)

By Faisal Aziz
KARACHI (Reuters) - Two months into a Pakistani military offensive against Taliban militants, public opinion is firmly behind the civilian government and the military and it shows no sign of wavering.
The offensive was launched after defiant Taliban fighters thrust toward the capital, raising alarm both at home and among Western allies who need nuclear-armed Pakistan`s help to fight al Qaeda and to tackle a raging Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
Investors in Pakistani stocks have been unnerved by the violence, which has included a string of suicide bombs in cities and attacks on the military across the north.
But investors and the Pakistani people in general wanted to see the offensive prosecuted to the end, and only then would their confidence be restored, said a stock broker.
"It is absolutely necessary for the government to control and counter these terrorist elements and regain its writ to end the state of despondency among the people who had started to feel there was no one to protect them," said Asif Qureshi, director of Invisor Securities.
"Let alone foreign investors, the success of this operation is essential for the restoration of confidence among local investors as well," he said.
The KSE-100 index has gained 23 percent this year after losing 58.3 percent in 2008. But the index is trading about 10 percent lower than its peak of this year, partly because of security worries.
About 10,000 supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami religious party rallied in Karachi on Sunday to protest against U.S. involvement in the region.
"ON THE BACK FOOT"
But their opposition to the offensive and sympathy for the Taliban was well known and their protest did not signal a strengthening of the argument that Pakistan should not be fighting "America`s war," an analyst said.
"They`re finding it difficult to dominate the discourse as they have been doing for some time. They`re on the back foot," said Rashid Rehman, a former newspaper editor and analyst.
"The other voices, the dissident voices, the voices who have been arguing for the last 30, 40 years that we`re heading down a suicide path, I think they`re getting stronger," he said.
Pakistani leaders have for decades flirted with the religious right when they needed support.
In the 1980s, Pakistan began used Islamist guerrillas for foreign policy aims, first in Afghanistan to fight Soviet invaders and later in the disputed Kashmir region where Pakistan- backed Muslim fighters battled Indian rule.
That engendered considerable sympathy for the "jihadis."  Continued...
Original article

Life after U.S. pullout brings worries for Iraqis

By Daniel Wallis
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Sitting in his small room in northern Baghdad, a pistol nearby and assault rifles stacked under the bed, Khalil Ibrahim is worried over Iraq`s future.
Six years after the U.S. invasion, Iraqis are contemplating the reality of life after a major milestone -- Tuesday`s withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from urban centres.
Glancing at his seven-year-old son playing a war game on a computer in the corner, Ibrahim, a chain-smoking former military intelligence officer, said he has two main worries.
"Iran has good relations with our political parties. They run militias. If the U.S. troops complete their withdrawal, Iran will do whatever it wants in Iraq," he said, scowling.
Shi`ite-ruled Iran is often accused of arming and funding Shi`ite militias who have killed Sunnis, a charge Tehran denies.
"Also, if the Americans pull out, al Qaeda will return," Ibrahim said. He knows the Islamist militants better than most.
As leader of a U.S.-backed Sunni Arab guard unit made up of many former insurgents, some of his men fought with the rebels against the U.S. military, before switching sides and helping drive al Qaeda fighters out of much of Iraq.
But as U.S. forces increasingly hand control to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki`s Shi`ite Muslim-led government under a security pact that requires them to withdraw completely by 2012, tensions are rising.
Violence has dropped sharply across Iraq, but militants still launch devastating bombings. They are usually blamed on Sunni Arab insurgents like al Qaeda, and seem aimed at undermining Maliki`s administration and tipping the nation back into the sectarian slaughter of 2006/07.
WAVE OF BOMBINGS
The last few days have seen two of the worst attacks in more than a year. A suicide truck bomb killed at least 73 worshippers leaving a Shi`ite mosque near northern Kirkuk city on June 20. Four days later another blast tore through a market in Baghdad`s Sadr City, a Shi`ite slum, killing 72 people.
The government has warned that bloodshed is likely to intensify ahead of an even more important milestone for Iraq than this week`s -- a parliamentary election due in January.
With the U.S. withdrawal from cities, many Iraqis from Shi`ite and Sunni sects say they feel exposed to what they say is corruption and incompetence afflicting Iraqi security forces.
"We`re afraid of what will happen in the next few days," 40-year-old Shi`ite civil servant Salah Abd told Reuters by the wreckage of the Sadr City blast. "We could lose a lot of lives."
Others are more optimistic about the U.S. withdrawal, which will see almost all U.S. troops pull back to rural bases.  Continued...
Original article

Pakistani jets hit militant compounds in Waziristan

By Hafiz Wazir
WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani aircraft bombed Taliban on Sunday in their bastion of South Waziristan on the Afghan border after the militants attacked two military camps, killing two soldiers, officials and residents said.
The military, near the end of an offensive in the northwestern Swat Valley after two months of fighting, is preparing to launch a new drive in South Waziristan, where Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud is based.
The decision to go on the attack against the militants came after Taliban gains raised fears of the militants gradually taking over more of the country and even posing a risk to Pakistan`s nuclear arsenal.
The campaign has broad public support and has also won the praise of close ally the United States, which needs Pakistan to go after the militants as it tries to defeat al Qaeda and stabilize Afghanistan.
Sunday`s air strikes were on two villages in Laddah district, a Mehsud stronghold, and two militant compounds were destroyed, said a government official and residents.
"It was a heavy bombing. Two militant compounds and several houses have been completely destroyed," said the government official in South Waziristan`s main town of Wana, who declined to be identified.
The air strikes came after militants attacked an army and a paramilitary camp east of Wana on Saturday night, killing two soldiers and wounding four, said the government official.
Intelligence officials later said eight militants had been killed.
CIVILIANS FLEE
The government has said Mehsud, who carries a $5 million U.S. reward on his head, and his force of thousands of followers must be defeated.
The government posted in a newspaper on Sunday a reward of 50 million rupees ($615,000) for Mehsud, and 75 million ($920,000 ) in rewards for 10 of his top men.
Mehsud, who security analysts say has become increasingly close to al Qaeda, has been accused of a string of attacks in Pakistani towns and cities including the December 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Mehsud is allied with Afghan Taliban fighters but they concentrate on attacking U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and are not the focus of the Pakistani offensive.
With an increase in military attacks on Mehsud in South Waziristan, about 45,000 people have fled from the area, according to military estimates.
Nearly 2 million people have fled from fighting in Swat and other parts of the northwest since late last year but aid workers are not expecting a huge exodus from South Waziristan as the population there is relatively small.  Continued...
Original article

Pakistan bombs Taliban in Waziristan, 5 shot in Karachi

By Hafiz Wazir
WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani warplanes killed at least a dozen Taliban fighters on Saturday, in a strike on their stronghold near the Afghan border, while police in the southern city of Karachi shot dead five militants.
U.S. officials have issued a steady stream of praise for Pakistan since the government first took the decision to go on the offensive against the militants over two months ago.
Operations in Swat and Buner, two valleys north of the capital of Islamabad, are in their final stages and the focus has switched to the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan, a remote tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
The air raid on Saturday on Mehsud`s mountainous redoubt was the latest in a series over recent weeks, and the government has already given orders for the military to mount an all-out assault.
The army is still assembling its forces in South Waziristan, and some diplomats expect some of the troops fighting in Swat to be moved there soon.
Mehsud is accused of a wave of suicide and bomb attacks, and while the body of his force has been focused inwards against Pakistan, his men also cross into Afghanistan to join the insurgency led by Mullah Mohammad Omar.
U.S. President Barack Obama has put Afghanistan and Pakistan at the center of his foreign policy agenda and has launched a strategy aimed at defeating al Qaeda and stabilising Afghanistan, where thousands of extra U.S. soldiers are arriving.
The latest encouragement for Pakistan was delivered by Obama`s National Security Adviser Jim Jones, when he visited Islamabad this week on a trip that coincided with the Senate`s approval for the tripling of aid to Pakistan to about $1.5 billion a year for five years.
RISK OF MILITANT ATTACKS ELSEWHERE
A close ally of al Qaeda, Mehsud carries a $5 million U.S. reward on his head.
He is accused of being behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007, though there are several conspiracy theories over who was behind the former prime minister`s death.
Diplomats estimate that Mehsud has more than 20,000 men holed up with him, protected by a series of mountain ridges and dried out river beds, and gullies that provide excellent cover for the guerrilla fighters.
In Saturday`s air raid, fighter jets pounded a base run by a militant commander loyal to Mehsud in the Makeen area, around 70 km (44 miles) north of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.
"The planes heavily bombed bases of Commander Shameem in Makeen and we have reports that 12 to 15 militants were killed," an intelligence official in the region told Reuters by telephone.
The great worry is Mehsud`s ability to mobilize Taliban elsewhere in Pakistan in retaliation against any attack.  Continued...
Original article

Northern Ireland`s paramilitaries dump arsenal

By Anne Cadwallader
BELFAST (Reuters) - Pro-British paramilitary forces said on Saturday they had completed a major milestone in the Northern Ireland peace process by scrapping their weapons in front of independent witnesses.
"The leadership of the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando today confirms it has completed the process of rendering ordnance totally and irreversibly beyond use," said a statement read aloud to reporters in Belfast by a man who said he represented the UVF and the Red Hand Commando.
Military organizations that want to keep Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom have been under pressure for years to start getting rid of arms following the Irish Republican Army`s decision to dispose of its weapons in 2005.
"Across every operational area in Northern Ireland and in all regions of Great Britain in conjunction with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning in the presence of independent international witnesses .... the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando have now concluded that process," the statement said.
Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace since a 1998 deal ended the IRA`s 30-year military campaign to end British control of the province and unite the island of Ireland.
The Ulster Defense Association, which together with its allies the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) had fought against the IRA since the early 1970s, said it had also embarked on a process toward full decommissioning.
"The struggle has ended," the UDA said in a statement. "Peace and democracy have been secured and the need for armed resistance has gone. Consequently we are putting our arsenal of weaponry permanently beyond use."
Efforts to consolidate peace were challenged in March when Republican splinter groups the Real IRA and the Continuity IRA killed two British soldiers and a policeman.
But strong condemnation of the attacks from all sides of the political spectrum and on both sides of the border ended up uniting much of the province`s population in favor of expediting the peace process.
"In recent years loyalist organizations have been making effective progress toward conflict transformation, and today is an important landmark in this process," said Ireland`s Foreign Minister Micheal Martin.
(Writing by Andras Gergely in Dublin; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Original article

Iraq PM says forces can handle security without U.S.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq`s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said Saturday that the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraqi cities at the end of June showed Iraq can handle its own security, despite a wave of bombings this week.
The U.S. pullback from Iraq`s urban centers scheduled to be finished at the end of the month has been seen as a milestone on Iraq`s road to sovereignty after years of military occupation.
But a spate of bombings in the capital and in northern Iraq this week, including two of the bloodiest attacks in more than a year, have shaken the confidence of Iraqis in their own forces.
"We are on the threshold of a new phase that will bolster Iraq`s sovereignty," Maliki said. "It is a message to the world that we are now able to safeguard our security and administer our internal affairs."
Two big bombings in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk this week killed more than 150 people between them. On Friday, a bomb killed at least 13 people at a market in Baghdad. A spattering of other bombs has also fueled apprehension.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned they expect the number of attacks to rise as the U.S. troops pull back, and also in the run-up to parliamentary elections next January.
"We have high trust in our security forces to administer security and pursue al-Qaeda remnants and criminal gangs," Maliki said.
He added that Iraq had achieved comparatively good levels of security, not just through better policing but efforts at political reconciliation between Iraq`s divided factions -- something his critics often accuse him of dragging his feet on.
"If they (militants) want to bring down the political process, we say, it won`t collapse, unless national unity is shaken," Maliki said.
(Reporting by Khalid al-Ansary; Writing by Tim Cocks)
Original article

Bomb kills 13 in latest Baghdad bombing

By Abdul Rahman Dhaher
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A bomb killed at least 13 people at a Baghdad market selling motorbikes and furniture on Friday, the latest in a series of attacks that have intensified ahead of the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities.
One police source said as many as 19 people were killed after the bomb, planted on a motorcycle, exploded in the market in the industrial area of Bab al-Sheikh, a mixed but majority Shi`ite Muslim part of central Baghdad.
Forty-five people were wounded, police said.
Shredded shoes and bits of bloody clothing were scattered around the twisted frames of motorbikes. The blast site was swiftly sealed off by Iraqi soldiers and police.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned they expect the number of attacks to rise as U.S. combat troops leave Iraq`s urban centers by June 30, a milestone in a bilateral pact that sets a deadline for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops by 2012.
A spate of bombings in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq has raised doubts about whether the Iraqi security forces can take over the fight against a stubborn insurgency.
Despite Friday`s bombing and two others this week that killed 151 people, U.S. President Barack Obama said Iraq`s security had continued to "dramatically improve," but that he had concerns about the political climate.
"I haven`t seen as much political progress in Iraq -- negotiations between the Sunni, the Shia and the Kurds -- as I would like to see," Obama said in Washington. "So there ... will continue to be incidents of violence inside of Iraq for some time. They are at a much, much lower level than they were in the past."
He said if the government could settle differences on issues like boundaries and oil revenues, Iraq`s security situation would improve further.
IRAQIS QUESTION THEIR FORCES
Iraqi police and army have had to be completely rebuilt since U.S. administrators disbanded the Iraqi forces after the U.S. invasion in 2003, a decision that left thousands of trained fighters unemployed and angry and fueled an insurgency.
Despite assertions from the government the U.S. pullback represents a victory for Iraq as it regains its sovereignty, many Iraqis lack faith in their own forces.
On Wednesday, 78 people were killed in a bomb attack in Baghdad`s Sadr City slum, just days after a truck bomb killed 73 people near the northern city of Kirkuk.
The attacks have prompted angry responses from Iraqis who blame local security forces for failing to protect them.
"I ask, what is the Iraqi government doing about these explosions?" said firebrand anti-American Shi`ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, many of whose supporters live in Sadr City. "The government is powerless to protect its people."  Continued...
Original article

Israel plays down reports of imminent Gaza deal

By Alastair Macdonald and Adam Entous
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli officials played down reports on Friday that a deal was close with Hamas that would include the release of an Israeli soldier held captive in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Israeli and Palestinian political sources and Western diplomats confirmed, however, that Egyptian mediators were still working on a package of measures that could combine exchanges of prisoners, ceasefire agreements, an easing of Israel`s blockade on Gaza and rapprochement between rival Palestinian factions.
A July 7 deadline set by Egypt for Islamist Hamas and the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to ease a schism that has divided Gaza from the West Bank, as well as this week`s third anniversary of Hamas`s capture of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, has fueled speculation of a deal.
Responding to Israeli press reports citing European diplomats that Shalit was about to be sent to Egypt, Israeli officials and European diplomats in the region said on Friday they knew of no new concrete developments in negotiations.
Hamas officials have also played down earlier reports.
Nonetheless, diplomats said negotiations were in train.
The family of Shalit, who also has French citizenship, has stepped up pressure on new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a deal. The government has long baulked at Hamas`s price for Shalit`s release, notably the freeing of leading Hamas militants responsible for attacks on Israelis.
Netanyahu is also under pressure from the United States and its European allies to ease a blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza that has prevented billions of dollars in foreign reconstruction aid from reaching the enclave since Israel`s offensive in January.
Israel, which is also under U.S. pressure to renew peace talks with Abbas, has tied the blockade to the fate of Shalit.
An Israeli government official said Netanyahu wanted the international community to pressure Hamas, not Israel: "Hamas has held Gilad Shalit for some three years. He hasn`t even been given one visit by a representative of the Red Cross.
"The international community should be pushing for his release and should be pushing for such a visit."
"PACKAGE DEALS"
Hamas, which seized control of Gaza two years ago in fighting with Fatah-led forces, is keen to bolster its support among the 1.5 million Gazans by improving supplies.
Aziz Dweik, the speaker of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament elected in 2006, told Reuters on Thursday, two days after he was released himself from an Israeli prison: "The Egyptians are behind the package deal which is expected to speak about the truce, to speak about opening all the crossings to (the) Gaza Strip and to speak about Shalit."
"We would like (it) to be accomplished in the very few coming days because I left ... almost 11,000 prisoners in Israeli jails," Dweik added, speaking in English.  Continued...
Original article

Zimbabwe`s Mugabe attacks West on sanctions, aid

By MacDonald Dzirutwe
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe attacked Western countries Thursday for refusing to lift sanctions because he was still in power, but said his country would get aid from friends who would not impose conditions.
Mugabe and arch-foe Morgan Tsvangirai, now Prime Minister, formed a unity government in February in a bid to end a decade of heightened political hostility and an economic crisis.
For the past three weeks Tsvangirai has been on a tour of the United States and Europe to raise cash from donors. He has little money to show for it but has come under more pressure to persuade his partner to bolster democracy and human rights.
The southern African country says it needs $10 billion to rebuild dilapidated infrastructure and ease unemployment.
"Everywhere they were saying `no`, they will not remove sanctions. Why, why, because ... they wanted ZANU-PF and Robert Mugabe to be defeated," Mugabe was quoted by state TV telling a meeting of his ZANU-PF party in Harare late Thursday.
"Sir (Tsvangirai) you have seen them, these that you call your friends. Imperialists can never be friends of those countries and people that desire for freedom."
The 85-year-old leader said Zimbabwe would get aid from friends who would not impose conditions.
He did not name the countries but in the past five years Mugabe has been trying to strengthen ties with Asian countries especially China, and with Muslim nations like Iran, sometimes promising them the country`s vast mineral deposits.
"We will get friends who will assist us, friends who will not demand conditions, we have those friends and we will show the West that we also have friends," Mugabe said.
Tsvangirai has been telling Western leaders that although democratic reforms have been slow, they were irreversible and that he had a good working relationship with Mugabe.
Zimbabwe has started hearings on a new constitution that many hope will strengthen the role of parliament, whittle down the president`s powers and guarantee civil liberties and political and media reforms.
But Mugabe appeared headed for a clash with Tsvangirai`s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) when he said ZANU-PF wanted the hearings to focus on a draft charter, named "Kariba Draft," penned by his party and the MDC in 2007.
The charter, which until Wednesday had not been made public, is a "hybrid" draft between one rejected in a 2000 referendum and another written by civic society groups the same year.
"Which country have you seen where a constitution is written by the grassroots? You don`t do that," Mugabe said.
"Our party has to be very careful and not to be derailed away from the Kariba Draft."
(Editing by Michael Roddy)
Original article

Pakistani violence spreads to Kashmir

By Abu Arqam Naqash
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Two soldiers were killed on Friday in the first suicide bombing in Pakistani Kashmir while several people were hurt in a blast near the Afghan border as the army prepares to attack Taliban in that region.
Islamist militants have carried out a series of bomb attacks across Pakistan in recent weeks in retaliation for a military offensive in the northwest but there have been no such attacks in Pakistan`s part of the disputed Kashmir region.
The army launched its offensive after Taliban gains raised fears for U.S. ally Pakistan`s future and worry about the safety of its nuclear arsenal.
The blast in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, will raise concern that the militants are expanding their campaign to distract the military as it closes in on Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan on the Afghan border.
"The bomber blew himself up near a military vehicle. Two of our soldiers embraced martyrdom," a military spokesman told Reuters. Three soldiers were wounded in the attack.
Kashmir is at the core of a decades-old dispute between Pakistan and India and the cause of two of their three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947.
Separatist insurgents backed by Pakistan have been fighting Indian security forces in India`s part of the Himalayan region for the past 20 years. But Pakistani Kashmir had been peaceful.
The United States has hailed Pakistan`s action against the militants and on Wednesday the U.S. Senate approved tripling aid to Pakistan to about $1.5 billion a year for five years as part of a U.S. plan to fight extremism with economic development. U.S. President Barack Obama has put Afghanistan and Pakistan at the center of his foreign policy agenda and has launched a strategy aimed at defeating al Qaeda and stabilizing Afghanistan, where thousands of extra U.S. soldiers are arriving.
AL QAEDA ALLY
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani appealed on Thursday to visiting U.S. National Security Adviser Jim Jones for U.S. help to resolve the dispute with India over Muslim-majority Kashmir.
Gilani`s office cited Jones as saying the U.S. government wanted to help the nuclear-armed neighbors resolve "core issues."
Jones is in India on Friday.
India broke off talks with Pakistan after militant attacks on the city of Mumbai in November. India blamed the attacks on Pakistan-based militants and wants Pakistan to act against them.
The United States is pushing for an easing of tension between the rivals so Pakistan can focus on fighting the Taliban.
The military has been launching air strikes on Mehsud`s bases this month while soldiers have been securing main roads and sealing off his stronghold  Continued...
Original article