Kabul Hotel Attacked By Suicide Bombers

Nato helicopters killed three Taliban insurgents on the roof of an international hotel in Kabul after an attack by suicide bombers and gunmen that left 10 civilians dead.

Gun battles raged for hours between the attackers and security services during the raid at the Afghan capital's Intercontinental Hotel. The attack happened on the eve of a conference to discuss transferring responsibility for security from foreign to Afghan forces. The Taliban have claimed responsibility.

Coalition spokesman Major Tim James said: "Two International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) helicopters...engaged three individuals on the roof.
"The indications are that the three individuals on the roof have been killed."

The hotel is seen in the dark with tracer fire during the siege

Kabul police chief, General Mohammad Ayub Salangi, said 10 Afghan civilians - mostly hotel workers - died in the assault launched by up to eight suicide attackers.
One of the militants, who was reportedly injured in the clash, later blew himself up in a hotel room.
Police fought back with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades during the night-time raid.
The US State department has issued a statement confirming "all Chief of Mission personnel are accounted for".

Nato helicopters killed three Taliban insurgents on the hotel's roof

Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the attack "in the strongest terms" and said it "should not shake our joint resolve to build a safer Afghanistan".
He added: "Acts of terrorism such as this not only show contempt for human life but also seek to undermine public confidence in the progress that has been made in Afghanistan."
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid has claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Afghan army officer displays two machine guns used by militants

Times correspondent Jerome Starkey, who is near the hotel, told Sky News he heard short bursts of gunfire, but fighting appeared to have died down by 10pm UK time.
Several reports said wedding guests who were celebrating in the building at the time managed to flee the attack.

Local and provincial politicians, gathered for the security conference, were trapped inside but were not hurt.
Nazar Ali Wahedi, chief of intelligence for Helmand province in the south, called the assailants "the enemy of stability and peace".

Security around the hotel has been stepped up

"Our room was hit by several bullets," Mr Wahedi said. "We spent the whole night in our room."
Streets leading to the hotel were blocked and the building was left in darkness after power in the area was cut.

Police ordered bystanders to lay on the ground for safety as bursts of gunfire were heard.
Initial reports suggested as many six suicide bombers had entered the building, while police said at least four bombers were involved.

A satellite view of the Intercontinental hotel complex

A manager at ToloNews TV station in Afghanistan said on Twitter militants had shown "tough resistance" to security forces in a firefight.

Jawid, a guest at the hotel, said he jumped out of a one-storey window to flee the shooting.
He told reporters: "I was running with my family. There was shooting. The restaurant was full with guests."

Bette Dam, a journalist in Kabul, told Sky News she had heard loud explosions.
She said rocket-propelled grenades appeared to have been launched from the roof of the hotel towards the house of Afghanistan's first vice-president.

The hotel is popular with Westerners (Pic: Intercontinental)

The US-led military coalition said the Afghan Ministry of Interior had not requested any assistance from foreign forces. The venue is one of two hotels popular with westerners visiting Afghanistan's capital. It was busy with foreign journalists after the war in the country began in 2001. The hotel, which stands on a hill overlooking the city, is heavily guarded with "airport-style" security and checkpoints.
Attacks in Kabul have been relatively rare in recent times, although violence has increased since the killing of al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in early May.

Al-Qaida creates 'hitlist' of U.S. officials and business leaders

WASHINGTON - An al-Qaida linked website has posted a potential hit list of targets that include names and photos of several U.S. officials and business leaders, calling for terrorists to target these Americans in their own homes.

The FBI has sent out a new intelligence bulletin to law enforcement agencies, warning that this new web-based threat, while not a specific plot, is very detailed.
The bulletin said the list includes leaders "in government, industry and media."
The FBI has notified those individuals who are named.
The list includes Wall Street firms, political leaders, leaders with think tanks and contractors who do business with the military.

The websites contain 40 specific names, 26 of them with photos attached, and they call for posting home addresses.
One jihadist called for sending package bombs to any listed address as just one possibility.
An FBI spokesman declined to comment.

The FBI is calling the list of names the most detailed web-based al-Qaida-linked threat since Osama bin Laden was killed.
The list has also been discussed on another al-Qaida-linked Web forum.
The concern is a lone actor could try to use the specific information for a plot.
The FBI letter said the information on the overseas websites "is aspirational and it's unknown if the threat will progress beyond these discussion forums."
These specific postings follow calls by Adam Gadahn -- al-Qaida's American-born communication chief -- for individual attacks.

Officials are concerned the list has been shared on numerous jihadist sites.
"What's scary about this is how specific the individual information is," said former New York State Homeland Security Director Michael Balboni. "What you don't know is, when does aspirational become operational in cases like this, involving a possible lone actor here inspired by a website."
The FBI memo stresses al-Qaida and its supporters have a history of making web based threats with little result.

"Part of this is a necessary precaution. You don't want to scare people," Balboni said. "But there is much more specific, individual targeting than we've seen before."
Since bin Laden was killed, intelligence officials have been working to track terrorists and monitor possible plots.

Experts say fear of a homegrown or isolated actor remains a concern.

US: We'll hunt down new al-Qaida boss

 

WASHINGTON — The United States is just as determined to hunt down and kill al-Qaida's new chief as it did his predecessor, Osama bin Laden, Obama administration officials said on Thursday.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's longtime second-in-command and now its top leader, does not have the "peculiar charisma" and operational experience of bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. forces last month.

But Gates and other U.S. officials said al-Qaida remains a threat despite its loss of bin Laden, who was considered the driving force behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
"We should be mindful that ... al-Qaida seeks to perpetuate itself, seeks to find replacements to those that have been killed and remains committed to the agenda that bin Laden put before them," Gates told reporters.
"So I think he's (al-Zawahri's) got some challenges but I think it's a reminder that they are still out there and we still need to keep after them," he said.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made clear that al-Zawahri — an Egyptian-born ideologue — remains high on the U.S. list of hunted militants.
"He and his organization still threaten us. And as we did seek to capture and kill — and succeed in killing — bin Laden, we certainly will do the same thing with Zawahri," Mullen told reporters.

Al-Zawahri has taken over the leadership after the killing of bin Laden, the group announced online on Thursday.
"The general leadership of al-Qaida group, after the completion of consultation, announces that Sheikh Dr. Ayman Zawahri, may God give him success, has assumed responsibility for command of the group," the Islamist website Ansar al-Mujahedeen (Followers of the Holy Warriors) said in a statement.

MP advises govt to provide video on Balali`s burial

The government has been advised to provide video proof on the funeral and burial of former Governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), Daudi Balali, who died and buried in the US about four years ago.

Speaking during the House question and answer session yesterday, Masoud Salim (Mtambile, CUF) asked the government whether the former governor was dead or alive, and if it is true that he died, then it should furnish the video detailing his funeral and burial.

Salim said it was necessary for the government to provide the video on the late governor’s funeral as evidence so that people could refrain from relating the incident to that of Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda leader whom the American government claims it buried at sea. In a supplementary question, Salim had wanted to know when the government would seriously deal with the embezzlers of government funds.

In his response to the first question, Deputy Finance minister Gregory Teu said according to a report the government received from its embassy in the US, Balali died and he was buried in the States.

“What I am aware of and the information obtained from our embassy in the US, Balali died and everything concerning him had better be taken as bygone,” Teu said.

The Bank of Tanzania made an official announcement of Dr Balali’s death and burial in the US on May 2008.

However, the announcement has left suspicion among many Tanzanians, who have been questioning whether Dr Balali really died or not and have been asking for evidence on his burial. Dr Balali, who was former Governor of the Bank of Tanzania was seriously implicated in a massive corruption scandal involving embezzlement of more than USD116.5m (133bn/-) while in office during the third phase government.

Prior to his death however, a drama ensued that led to his resignation as he proceeded abroad allegedly for medical examination.

Pressured largely by the public, Dr Balali let it go, but in December 2007, a senior government official said he was not aware of the resignation.

“We have just read about the alleged resignation of the governor through the press” State House Director of Information Salva Rweyemanu said in a telephone interview.

He added: “If there is a letter to that effect, then its existence will be known later because the President is on leave.”

Leakage of Balali`s resignation became vivid when the resignation letter he submitted to President Kikwete detailing the reasons for his resignation surfaced.

In the letter, Dr Balali is alleged to have cited the reasons for resignation as having undergone a major operation at a Boston Hospital in the US where he had been admitted for “over three months.”

Some months later, it transpired that he was not going to come back to Tanzania. This was followed by the announcement that he died and had been buried in the US.

Answering the second question, the minister said the government has been taking serious measures to check theft and embezzlement of its funds, adding that between 1998 and 2010, it dismissed a total of 75 council directors besides taking action on 33 councils including filing cases against them in court.

In the basic question Salimu had wanted to know the loss the government has incurred in monetary terms due to negligence, theft and embezzlement in the period between January and October 2010.

In his answer, the minister said according to the Controller and Auditor General’s report 5.1bn/- was lost through theft, negligence and embezzlement in the 2009/ 2010 financial year.

He further said that after the ministry received the 2009/2010 CAG report, it took measures including informing the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau and the Directorate of Criminal Investigation for further action.

 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Al-Qaida 'appoints temporary leader'

Al Jazeera television has reported that Al-Qaida has a new leader. The terrorist group is understood to have appointed Egyptian militant Saif al-Adel as temporary leader. Mustafa al-Yemeni, whose nationality is not known, will direct operations, according to the Arabic news service.

Former leader Osama bin Laden was shot dead by US troops at a compound in Pakistan earlier this month. US prosecutors say interim leader al-Adel helped plan bomb attacks on American embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998.