Sunday, January 22, 2012
More than 100 people have been killed in a series of attacks in northern Nigeria’s largest city, officials said Saturday, in what appears to be the deadliest strike yet by a radical Islamist group.
The attackers in Kano on Friday evening struck eight government security buildings, the national police said, including the regional police headquarters, two local police stations, the local headquarters of the State Security Service, the home of a police official and the state police command headquarters.
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Army deserters took the town of Duma just northeast of Damascus on Saturday after fierce fighting, activists said, a day before the Arab League decides on the future of its Syria observer mission.
Citing militants on the ground, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the mutineers had seized control of the entire town some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the capital.
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Saturday, January 21, 2012
Thirteen policemen including the officer-in-charge of Bhandaria police station were killed and two constables were injured in a landmine blast triggered by suspected CPI (Maoist) at Salho jungle in Jharkhand’s Garhwa district.
Confirming the casualties, Jharkhand police spokesman IG RK Mallik said that the blast was triggered by Maoists when the police team along with the block development officer (BDO) was returning after clearing a road blockade near Badgarh. The BDO who was travelling in his own vehicle is safe.
At the time of the blast, 15 policemen including the driver were in the anti-landmine vehicle.
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Some 1,000 soldiers backed up by 20 tanks captured three al-Shabaab bases, a senior security official said.
African Union forces backing the government say they have advanced outside the capital for the first time.
Al-Shabaab is under attack on several fronts, with troops from Kenya and Ethiopia also gaining ground recently.
Correspondents says this is the biggest joint offensive by the government and the AU force, Amisom, since August 2011.
Troops from Djibouti have recently arrived in Mogadishu to bolster Amisom’s 12,000 soldiers, while the AU is asking the UN to approve a further 50% increase in troop numbers.
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Mali’s army said Wednesday it had fought off attacks by Tuareg rebels, some of whom recently returned from fighting in Libya and have launched an offensive to seize several northern towns.
Fighting erupted in the towns of Aguelhok and Tessalit in the morning, keeping residents indoors as gunfire was exchanged, a day after the army said it had fought off an attack in the town of Menaka by bombing rebel positions.
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