The attack happened on the outskirts of the provincial capital, also called Kunduz, Omar said, adding that both drivers were able to escape unharmed.

Noor Ahmad, one of the drivers, said the Taliban opened fire near the Aliabad district outside Kunduz City and shot out the trucks’ tyres.

He said he and his fellow driver then ran to a police station. When they returned, they found the trucks destroyed by rocket-propelled grenades and automatic gunfire, he said.

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The ambush occurred after a September 4 airstrike ordered by a German colonel on two Taliban-hijacked fuel trucks. It resulted in the deaths of up to 99 Afghans, including about 30 civilians, according to Afghan government reports, and provoked international criticism.

(Source: earthtimes.com, 02/10/09)

Republished by South Asia Times

Fazal-ur-Rehman, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, said in a press statement that helicopter gunships targeted various positions of Taliban fighters in Khyber district and inflicted heavy casulties on the rebels.

“Twenty-seven militants, including two commanders, died in an operation in Tirah valley of Khyber district,” Rehman said. “Two hideouts, three caves and 19 vehicles including an explosive-laden vehicle were destroyed.”

Pakistan has killed several dozens Islamist insurgents since September 1, when it launched a major offensive against them in Khyber, which lies on the main supply route for western troops into the landlocked Afghanistan.

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The operation largely focuses on insurgents linked with Lashkar-e-Islam militant group that has close ties with Pakistani Taliban.

The Lashkar-e-Islami is believed to have facilitated the Taliban rebels who have carried out dozens of attacks on NATO convoys, disrupting the supplies several times only this year.

(Source: monstersandcritics.com, 02/10/09)

Republished by South Asia Times

A total of 359 militants of the outlawed Jewel Garlosa faction of the Dima Haolam Daogah (DHD-J), more popularly known as the Black Widow, surrendered to authorities and deposited a huge cache of weapons and explosives at a public ceremony at Haflong, headquarters of the North Cachar Hills district in southern Assam, the IANS news agency reported, quoting a government spokesman.

“This is a historic occasion with the DHD-J surrendering en masse,” Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was quoted as saying during his speech at the surrender ceremony. “We hope this will pave the way for permanent peace in the region and an end to all forms of violence and bloodshed.”

The Black Widow militants have killed an estimated 100 people so far in 2009 in the North Cachar Hills district and have attacked trains several times, holding up rail traffic.

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The DHD-J was formed in March 2003 after a split in the original organization. While the faction led by Jewel Garlosa continued with its fight for an independent homeland for the region’s majority Dimasa tribe, the rival group concluded a ceasefire with the federal government.

“We hope the central government responds positively to our peace overtures as we have decided to abjure the path of violence,” Niranjan Hojai, self-styled commander-in-chief of the DHD-J, said in a speech after laying down an M-16 rifle.

The decision to surrender followed an ultimatum by federal Home Minister P Chidambaram that the group should lay down its arms by September 15 or face a stepped-up military offensive

The rebels have been surrendering in batches, but Friday’s was the largest group so far.

Hojai said a small faction of about 10 members of the group was still in the forest and there was no information about them.

Garlosa was arrested in the southern Indian city of Bangalore in June 2008.

The chief minister offered red roses to the rebels as they handed over an assortment of sophisticated weapons, including rocket launchers, rifles and small arms as well as explosives, the government spokesman said.

The ceremony had been arranged to coincide with the October 2 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s independence hero and an advocate of non-violent protest.

A total of seven militant groups in Assam now have ceasefire pacts with the government, including two factions of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.

However, some important factions of these two groups remain underground and are continuing with their war for separate homelands for various minority groups.

More than 10,000 people have lost their lives to insurgency in Assam during the past two decades.

(Source: monstersandcritics.com, 02/10/09)

Republished by South Asia Times