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Bulgaria to lodge formal charges in Bourgas terrorist bombings in early 2014 – Prosecutor-General

Photo: Interior Ministry Bulgaria knows the whereabouts of two of the suspected perpetrators of the terrorist bombing at Sarafovo Airport in Bourgas in July 2012, and by March 2014 will lodge formal charges in court, Prosecutor-General Sotir Tsatsarov told reporters on September 12 2013.

In the Bourgas bombing terrorist attack, which was directed against a group of Israeli tourists, five Israelis, a Bulgarian and the bearer of the bomb died.

A Bulgarian-led investigation established a trail back to members of the Hezbollah’s military wing, leading EU foreign ministers to declare the Lebanon-based group a terrorist organisation.

Tsatsarov said that the suspects were in a country from which extradition would be possible. “Whether the extradition request will be respected depends on the country where these people are.”
Tsatsarov said that the indictment regarding the terrorist attack could be lodged in court in the first three months of 2014.

He said that he was keeping head of state President Rossen Plevneliev informed on developments in the investigation, given the bearing on national security.

Tsatsarov said that if the suspects were handed to the Bulgarian authorities, they would be tried in Bulgaria. If they were not handed over, they would be tried in absentia.

He said that his office did not believe that there was a need to use the provision in the Penal Code for court proceedings to be suspended pending the accused being found.

“We should give a clear signal that this terrorism meets with zero tolerance in Bulgaria and eventually receives a punishment under the law,” Tsatsarov said.

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on August 8 2013 that it is seeking information on two suspects, Hassan El Hajj Hassan and Meliad Farah, who are wanted for questioning in connection with the bus bombing.

Gunmen Burn Down Police Station, Kill Three Officers

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 Police Headquarters
Tragedy struck Wednesday night in Yola as unknown men burnt down a police station and killed three officers in Yola, Adamawa State.
Police Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, DSP Ibrahim Mohammed,   who confirmed the incident said the gunmen  also  burnt  a police patrol van at Lale Town.
The incident occurred   in Gombi Local Government Area of the state.

10 Boko Haram Members Killed, Two Terrorist Camps Destroyed in Air Strike in Borno

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 Defence Headquarters
The Nigerian Army yesterday confirmed that 10 members of the outlawed terrorist group, Boko Haram, were killed in an air strike on two of their camps in Borno State.
The military, who revealed that the two camps of the terrorist group in Mada, within Konduga Local Government Area of the state were destroyed during the air strike, lamented that a soldier was injured in the onslaught.
The spokesman of the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, in a statement, said: "Following an air strike and subsequent destruction of two Boko Haram terrorist camps at Mada in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State, some troops of 231 battalion of the 7 Division on their way to Biu had an encounter with the fleeing Boko Haram terrorists on Maiduguri-Damboa road at about 10p.m. on Tuesday, September 10, 2013."
Musa revealed that 10 terrorists lost their lives and some ammunition, including four AK47 rifles, five AK 47 magazines and 250 rounds of assorted ammunition were recovered from them.
He equally revealed that 10 motorcycles belonging to the sect members were destroyed in the air and land raid.
In a related development, the Borno State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) yesterday said no church was marked for demolition in the state.
The umbrella body of christians in the state also said there was no tension brewing in the state as a direct fallout of any falsely reported demolition of churches in Maiduguri.
A few days ago, some media had reported that the state government was planning to demolish about 20 churches and some schools to make way for a planned housing estate.
But in a statement Wednesday, the Chairman of Borno CAN, Reverend Titus Pona, said: "The attention of CAN, Borno State chapter has been drawn to reports in some national dailies to the effect that tension was brewing in Maiduguri, following alleged plans to demolish churches and schools in and around the state capital, at the site of planned housing estate.
"We feel duty bound to correct the erroneous impressions created by the said media reports which was credited to CAN, and wish to disown it. We believe that the national CAN office acted in the interest of christian community in Borno State based on the information contained in a letter dated August 20, 2013 from the Ministry of Land and Survey to some churches around the area of the said estate."

In a post 9/11 world, the European Union needs a terrorism taskforce

The EU needs new and inventive procedures to detect, identify and unmask the ever-adapting organism of global terrorism

World Trade Centre attack
The remains of the World Trade Centre at ground zero following the terrorist attack of 11 September 2001. Photograph: Alex Fuchs/AFP
It is depressing how quickly human behaviour can change. When in 2001 two planes hit the twin towers in New York, the whole world remained glued to the TV screens for hours, eagerly gulping down every word uttered by the ground zero reporters. Yet when an Iraqi suicide bomber detonates his device these days, most of us switch channels to something "more juicy". Terrorism has become a part of our everyday lives. Unless, of course, the bomb goes off in our own backyard.
This summer, terrorists hit my country, Slovakia, twice: first in Pakistan, when a group of militants executed two of our mountaineers. Then, a couple of days later in Afghanistan, when a local army trainee named Lamber Khan shot one and seriously injured two other members of the Slovak contingent to the international security assistance force (Isaf) mission. We have been handed a hard lesson on how terrorism does not care for nationality, citizenship, religion or the colour of one's skin.
How did we respond? By calling on the authorities to catch the perpetrators; by appealing to the local powers to investigate the crimes; by trusting their assurances that justice will be served. And yet I keep wondering: when in 1988, the Scottish town of Lockerbie was devastated by the terrorist bombing of the Pan Am flight 103 that killed 270 people, it took 13 years for an ex-minister of the Libyan government to state that Muammar Gaddafi ordered the bombing. As for 9/11, even after 12 years, doubts still remain whether it was Osama bin Laden who ordered the strike, or whether it might have been someone else. If we accept this mathematical progression, how long will it take for the culprits of the two terrorist acts that have shaken my country to be brought to justice? Five years? 10? 20? And what can we do about it?
Since the Lockerbie tragedy, 25 years ago and since the terrorist attacks on New York in September 2001, the face of terrorism has undergone a dramatic change – a plastic surgery of sorts: hijacked aircraft went out of fashion and were replaced by kamikaze zealots wired with plastic explosives, and by shots fired from ambush.
The world community responds predictably: diplomacy, sanctions, supporting the internal dissent in the terrorist "safe haven" countries, eventually ordering special military units to deploy and retaliate. In other words: we do not, as yet, have an adequate response mechanism, an ability to eliminate the threat of terrorism the way decisive steps undertaken by the British SAS, the German GSG-9 and other units succeeded in reducing the number of cases involving hijacked aircraft to almost nil.
So here is what I propose: how about we create a terrorism taskforce (TTF) as an EU strategic thinktank/analytical centre – a tool similar to that used on a national level by the US or the UK? Its task, as opposed to the Europol "muscle" counter-terrorism force, would be in putting more thought behind the action, in enforcing the PPPR rule (prevention, protection, pursuit and response), in keeping pace with the ever-adapting organism of international terrorism networks, in employing new and inventive procedures to detect, identify and unmask hatching terrorism schemes, collecting relevant human source intelligence (Humint) and yes, taking maximum advantage of the so massively scandalised and criticised electronic intelligence (Elint).
Slovakia stands ready to deploy its experts to such a taskforce, should it become the order of the day. To put it plainly: I truly believe we need new tools to counter old threats. TTF could be such a tool.

3 soldiers among 7 killed in Iraq attacks

An Iraqi man inspects a burnt-out moped at the site of an explosion on September 12, 2013 that went off the previous day near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad's northern neighbourhood of Kasra. A suicide attacker staged a double bombing near a Shiite mosque in the capital as worshipers were leaving following evening prayers. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE
An Iraqi man inspects a burnt-out moped at the site of an explosion on September 12, 2013 that went off the previous day near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad's northern neighbourhood of Kasra. A suicide attacker staged a double bombing near a Shiite mosque in the capital as worshipers were leaving following evening prayers. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

BAGHDAD: A spate of attacks across Iraq killed seven people on Thursday, including three who died when a suicide car bomber struck as recruits were leaving a military base, officials said.
The attacks come amid Iraq's worst bloodshed since 2008, with more than 4,000 people killed already this year.
At least one soldier was among three people killed by the car bombing, in the parking lot of a military base in the northern city of Kirkuk, the medical and security officials said.
Another soldier died and two were hurt when a roadside bomb blasted their convoy near the oil town of Baiji, north of Baghdad, while an army captain was killed at a military post in the northern city of Mosul.
Also in Mosul, two civilians were killed in separate attacks on their homes during the night, officials said.
Late on Wednesday, a suicide bomber struck as worshippers streamed out of a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killing 30 people and wounding 55.
A second suspected suicide bomber spotted at the mosque in the north Baghdad neighbourhood of Waziriyah was shot dead by locals, who then set his body on fire, witnesses said.
The surge in bloodshed has sparked concerns that Iraq is slipping back into the all-out sectarian war that plagued the country in 2006 and 2007, leaving tens of thousands dead.
Experts say militant groups are exploiting political infighting in Iraq and regional sectarian tensions fuelled by Syria's civil war to recruit and to carry out attacks.
 

Obama Holds Fire on Syria, Waits on Russia Plan

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama told Americans Tuesday he would pursue a newly energized diplomatic course to try to resolve the standoff with Syria, but he insisted that the U.S. must conduct military strikes, if needed, in response to the Assad regime's alleged use of chemical weapons.
Mr. Obama said in a televised address that he asked Congress to postpone a vote on a resolution to authorize military force, which he looked likely to lose. Instead he said he would reserve the option of military strikes while pursuing a Russian proposal for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons under an international agreement.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Richard Murphy joins the News Hub to discusses Obama’s address to the nation on Syria and possible next steps. Photo: AP
"It's too early to tell whether this offer will succeed," Mr. Obama said, "and any agreement must verify that the Assad regime keeps its commitments."
Mr. Obama's address, which showed no immediate sign of changing minds in Congress, came on a day of fast-moving developments in which U.S. lawmakers and officials from France, Russia and other nations scrambled to develop proposals under which Syria would relinquish its chemical weapons.
Syria for the first time directly admitted that it possesses chemical weapons and said it would cease their production and disclose the locations of the stockpiles to the international community, including the United Nations and Russia, which is at the center of the negotiations.

While Mr. Obama agreed to explore the possibility of a Syrian chemical-weapons handover, his administration expressed skepticism that a deal could be reached, and a dispute emerged quickly among members of the U.N. Security Council over how such a measure could be enforced, with France seeking language that leaves military action on the table and Russia rejecting such a move.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who will meet Thursday with his Russian counterpart in Geneva to continue talks, told Congress Tuesday that reaching any agreement on details of a chemical-weapons plan would be "exceedingly difficult."
Mr. Obama made the possibility of a military strike a central element of his 15-minute address as he discussed the Syrian regime's alleged chemical-weapons attack on Aug. 21 that the U.S. says killed more than 1,400 of its own citizens, including children, outside Damascus.
"Let me make something clear: The United States military doesn't do pinpricks,'' he said. "Even a limited strike will send a message to Assad that no other nation can deliver." He said he had ordered the military "to maintain our current posture and to be in a position to respond if diplomacy fails."
At the same time, Mr. Obama acknowledged that the limits of U.S. power to resolve the Syrian civil war and that military action, "no matter how limited, is not going to be popular'' after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said any U.S. action would be constrained: "I will not put American boots on the ground in Syria,'' he said. "I will not pursue an open-ended action like Iraq or Afghanistan…This would be a targeted strike to achieve a clear objective: deterring the use of chemical weapons and degrading Assad's capabilities."
Initial reaction to Mr. Obama's speech suggested that he hadn't changed minds in Congress, where support for a resolution authorizing force had been eroding.
Rep. Trey Radel (R., Fla.) said the speech hadn't altered his stance that taking military action against Syria would be a mistake. "It still leaves me and the American people confused," Mr. Radel, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said after the speech, pointing to what he described as conflicting descriptions from the administration of how much force would be used in Syria. "Is this a slap on the wrist or is it an actual bombing campaign?"
Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.), who had opposed a Senate resolution authorizing military force in Syria, said his position hadn't shifted. "If you think military might and money will change the outcome in that part of the world, then we'd have done it by now," Mr. Manchin said in an interview after the speech. He said he was encouraged by the president's talk of diplomatic options.
Senate Armed Services Chairman Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.) said he supported the president's diplomatic efforts but that Congress should still vote to support a military strategy to keep up pressure on Syria.
After the diplomatic opening materialized Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) canceled an initial test vote in the Senate for Wednesday. On Tuesday, after meeting with the president and Senate Democrats at the Capitol, Mr. Reid said the vote has been put on hold indefinitely, pending the outcome of diplomatic efforts.
The timing of any Senate vote will be dictated by international "developments taking place, not some artificial timeline," Mr. Reid said.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) said the president asked senators to give him time to size up the diplomatic opportunity. "He needs a number of days," said Mr. Durbin. "The president was not overly optimistic about it."
U.S. military officials said Tuesday that the latest developments wouldn't prompt them to move any forces or take American ships off alert. "We aren't taking a deep breath," said a military official. "If we stand down, this whole thing evaporates."
Pentagon officials said they were aware of potential plans for a U.N. resolution, but they didn't know that it would materialize.
The reaction showed that Mr. Kerry's off-the-cuff comments Monday—which opened the door to the latest diplomatic scramble by saying the U.S. would be receptive to a plan under which Syria turned over its chemical weapons—wasn't coordinated across the government.
"It was an accident on one hand, and not an accident on the other," said a senior U.S. official.
Amid the move to delay votes in Congress, a bipartisan group of senior senators began reworking the language of a potential resolution on the use of force, reacting to eroding support among lawmakers and developments at the U.N.
They were drafting an amendment that would call for the U.N. to pass a measure declaring that Syria had used chemical weapons and to remove them by a certain date, which lawmakers were still negotiating, a person familiar with the effort said. If the weapons weren't removed by that deadline, the resolution would authorize the president to launch limited military action.
"This is a way of both keeping the pressure on Syria and on Russia to get rid of the chemical weapons, which is the goal of this whole effort. But, secondly, if they fail, then it would keep the authority to launch a strike," said Sen. Carl Levin (D., Mich.), one of the lawmakers working on the measure.
The bipartisan group included John McCain (R., Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.), Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), and Bob Menendez (D., N.J.).
Authors of the bill hoped that the changes would build support among lawmakers who were opposed to force, or on the fence, by putting more emphasis on diplomatic efforts. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D., N.D.), who had opposed the initial Senate resolution, said she was open to an alternative.
"While I'm still waiting to learn additional details about this new resolution, if it means we're closer to a diplomatic solution addressing the use of chemical weapons in Syria, that's a good thing," she said.
The rapid turn of events from Moscow to Damascus to Washington followed two weeks of remarkable twists in Mr. Obama's push to follow through on a red line he set last year against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons.
The U.S. was on the brink of unilateral military strikes against Syria when Mr. Obama made the surprise announcement on Aug. 31 that he would seek the backing of Congress.
Then, on Monday, the White House found itself inadvertently in negotiations with Russia over a diplomatic endgame after Mr. Kerry opened the door to the talks in unscripted comments.
U.S. lawmakers and administration officials remain skeptical any such proposal would work.
Mr. Kerry cautioned Tuesday that the U.S. wouldn't delay action indefinitely for Syria to meet the international community's conditions for giving up its chemical weapons. "We're waiting for that proposal, but we're not waiting for long," he said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said in a statement he read to a pro-regime Lebanese TV station, al-Mayadeen, that Damascus would cease production of chemical weapons and disclose the locations of its stockpiles to the United Nations, Russia and others.
France said it would submit a resolution to the U.N. Security Council aimed at forcing Syria to give international inspectors full access to its chemical stockpile and allow for its swift dismantlement.
Russia called the resolution "unacceptable," citing the French proposal's use of a U.N. measure that would potentially authorize the use of force, as well as language that laid blame for using chemical weapons on Syria's government. Russia said it would instead propose a draft declaration backing an initiative to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control.
The White House, although skeptical, embraced the overtures from Damascus and Moscow. Mr. Obama spoke separately with President François Hollande of France and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Tuesday.
All three agreed to work "closely together, and in consultation with Russia and China, to explore seriously the viability of the Russian proposal to put all Syrian chemical weapons and related materials fully under international control in order to ensure their verifiable and enforceable destruction," a White House official said.

I Want to Go Home and Study Engineering, Stowaway Boy Pleads

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Ricky Daniel Oikhena

Sixteen days after his arrest and detention, Ricky Daniel Oikhena, the stowaway teenager who hid in the wheel compartment of an Arik Air flight from Benin to Lagos is tired of staying in custody. He desperately wants to be reunited with members of his family, the same people he wanted to escape from.
Daniel told his unsolicited hosts, the State Security Service (SSS), when he was asked yesterday that he wants to go home and continue his education.
Daniel, since he was brought back from Lagos two weeks ago, has been detained in a building at the Government House, Benin City, in the company of security personnel. He has become lonely and somewhat depressed.
The boy who answered questions in mono syllabics in the lonely facility told newsmen that he was happy with the award of scholarship granted to him by the Edo State Government.
Daniel also said he did not know that he took a risk when he hid in an airplane’s wheel compartment saying, “I will not do it again.”
“I regret it,” he said with a solemn and helpless expression, adding, “I want to go home. I am tired. I will be happy to train as an Engineer.”
Daniel who also said he was terrified when he was arrested on arrival in Lagos from Benin said he was not mistreated but had been given good food where he was kept.
According to him, “Even on the return trip to Benin and at this present place, I am treated well with good food, but since school has resumed, I want to go home.”
Asked if he was questioned in Lagos and since he was brought back to Benin, the teenager answered in the affirmative, adding that he returned to Benin by road with three armed security men.
Fortunately, in a move aimed at facilitating his engineering dream, the Edo State Government has secured admission in one of the state’s top secondary schools for 13-year-old Daniel.   
The state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, made this disclosure during the visit of Mr. George Uriesi, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and members of his management team at the Government House  Wednesday.
The governor said: “Without meaning to encourage anyone else, we decided to support him by sending him to one of the top secondary schools in Edo State that is owned by the government.
“The reason for opting for a boarding school is that we think that they need to closely watch him which his parents could not do.
“He is an intelligent young man with uncommon challenges, but one that has a vision. We had him examined by people who should know and the result confirmed that he is normal.”
“This incident was probably the kind of trigger that we needed to improve the facilities at our airports. You are never going to have all the money you need to do all you have to do. You should start from somewhere,” he noted.
Oshiomhole added that the stowaway incident was a security issue that had exposed the fact that there are no runway security lights at the Benin Airport.
“It is a security issue because a plane can take off, is flying into Benin airspace, it has mechanical faults, but it cannot land.
“Politically, there could also be an emergency in Edo State and the president needs to visit and he cannot land at the airport at night. You cannot spend the kind of money you are spending on remodelling and the little one you have to do is to ice the cake and you have a complete project.  You should take this as something more urgent,” he informed the FAAN delegation.
Earlier, Uriesi said they were in Benin City to assess the stowaway incident, which had forced FAAN to review and improve on its security arrangements.
He said: “We are responding to the incident of the stowaway of that young boy a few weeks ago which was a big surprise to all of us.
“We want to inform you that we have taken strenuous measures to ensure that a similar incident does not happen. It was a serious and miraculous event, because prior to that day, I would have told you it was a suicidal mission.
“We are trying to create awareness that this is suicidal and young people should not attempt it at all. The likelihood of survival is slim.”
To check the recurrence of stowaways, Uriesi said FAAN planned to acquire security vehicles for the take-off and arrival of planes and that security teams made up of the Nigerian Air Force and airport security would now patrol the airports.
“We have a plan to fence the airport and it is an onerous task. The smallest airport perimeter fence in the country is 14 kilometres and the biggest one is about 33 kilometres. Altogether, it is about 500 kilometres. It is a huge capital outlay. But we need to secure the airports.
“We also wish to enlighten youths that they should not try it. This boy is a miracle,” he said.