Iraq violence: Police killed in Anbar attacks

Security forces personnel have been targeted by militants linked to al-Qaeda

At least 19 police officers and three civilians have been killed in a series of attacks overnight in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, officials say.

The first saw a suicide bomber ram an explosives-filled car into a checkpoint in Rutba, 110km (70 miles) from the Syrian border, killing five policemen.

Another bomber blew up his vehicle near police deployed at a bypass, killing four officers and three lorry drivers.

Attacks by gunmen elsewhere in Anbar left seven other officers dead.

They opened fire on several checkpoints west of Ramadi, along the main road that links the capital Baghdad to Jordan and Syria.

Further attacks on Wednesday in and around Baghdad killed at least seven people and wounded about 20 others. Officials said two of those killed were policeman who were shot while going to work.

They said one bomb exploded during the morning rush hour in a commercial street in the city's Amariya district. Another bomb went off at an outdoor market in the Abu Ghraib area, to the west.

In the market town of Madain, south of Baghdad, a bomb killed at least four people and wounded at least nine others.

Elsewhere, a gunman shot dead six people people in the northern city of Mosul, according to the AFP news agency.

Surge in violence

There has been a surge in sectarian violence across Iraq this year not seen since 2008.

According to the monitoring group, Iraq Body Count, more than 6,000 people have been killed in acts of violence in the country this year.

Almost 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 wounded in September alone, the UN says, making it one of the highest monthly death tolls for years.

The UN says 979 people - including 127 police and 92 military personnel - were killed in violent attacks in September, bringing the number killed this year to 5,740.

The unrest was sparked by an army raid on a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp in April. The protesters were calling for the resignation of Shia Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and denouncing the authorities for allegedly targeting the minority Sunni community.

Iraq has also seen a spill-over of violence from the conflict in Syria, where jihadist rebels linked to the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda, have risen to prominence.

In the past two months, Iraqi security forces have reportedly arrested hundreds of alleged al-Qaeda members in and around Baghdad as part of a campaign the government is calling "Revenge for the Martyrs".

But the operations, which have taken place mostly in Sunni districts, have angered the Sunni community and failed to halt the violence.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24631099]

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IACTTS - an Approved HABC Centre

Thomas O'Sullivan, Director of Operations, is delighted to announce that IACTTS (International Anti & Counter Terrorism Training Specialists) has now become an approved HABC Centre by Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance UK.

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Russia bus bomb: Volgograd blast kills six

Footage shows the moment the bomb exploded, as Daniel Sandford reports

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A suspected female suicide bomber has set off explosives on a bus in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, killing at least six people.

Officials believe the woman was from Dagestan in the North Caucasus and was the partner of an Islamist militant.

The blast, which happened just after 14:00 (10:00 GMT), also injured more than 30 people, some of them seriously.

An Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus region has led to many attacks there in recent years.

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says the bombing has raised fears that militant groups may be planning to step up attacks in Russia in the run-up to the Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi next February.

Students

It is believed there were about 40 people on board the bus.

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Our correspondent says that all buses in Volgograd have been ordered back to their depots to be searched for any sign of explosives.

One man whose daughter survived the explosion told Moscow Echo radio: "It was a powerful explosion - a huge blast. There were lots of students on the bus."

Analysis

Daniel SandfordBBC News, Moscow

The last significant attack on Russia's transport system was the devastating bomb blast that killed 37 people at Moscow's Domodedovo airport almost three years ago.

The death toll from today's attack was much lower. But with just four months to go to the Sochi Winter Olympics, its significance will not have gone unnoticed in the Russian government or the international Olympic movement.

If indeed the explosion is linked to the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation and its troubled republics of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, it is a reminder of how easy it is for a single suicide bomber to cause multiple deaths in any part of Russia.

The speedy identification of a suspect will not reassure anyone that the situation is under control, and everyone will be hoping this was a one-off and not the start of a bombing campaign.

Another man, who was driving behind the bus, told Rossiya-24 television: "There was a blast - a bang - all the glass flew out of the windows. The cloud of smoke quickly dissipated and then I saw people start to fall out and run out to escape the bus. It was a horrible sight."

Earlier reports had suggested the blast might have been caused by an exploding gas canister.

Volgograd lies about 900km (560 miles) south of Moscow and 650km north of the North Caucasus.

Vladimir Markin, of the Investigative Committee - Russia's equivalent of the FBI - told the RIA Novosti news agency: "A criminal case has been opened under articles outlining terrorism, murder and the illegal use of firearms."

Mr Markin was later quoted by the Interfax agency as identifying the suspected suicide bomber as a woman from Dagestan.

He said: "According to preliminary information, the self-explosion was carried out by a 30-year-old Dagestani native, Naida Akhiyalova.

"According to investigators' information, the woman entered the bus at one of the bus stops and, almost right after that, the bomb went off. That is also confirmed by one of the passengers who survived."

'Black widows'

In recent years, Russia has seen a number of attacks by women suicide bombers known as black widows, who are often related to Islamist militants and carry out attacks to avenge their deaths.

Female suicide bombers struck at two underground railway stations in Moscow in 2010, killing more than 35 people.

They were also believed responsible for explosions on two passenger jets at a Moscow airport in 2004 that killed about 90 people.

Separatists in Chechnya have fought two wars with Russian forces over the past two decades.

But the violence has spread across the North Caucasus in recent years, including to mainly-Muslim Ingushetia and Dagestan.

Hundreds of people, including members of the government and security services, have been killed.

President Vladimir Putin has stepped up security in the North Caucasus ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics, which open in Sochi on 7 February.

Russian TV broadcast footage said to show the moment the bomb went off

Earlier reports had suggested the blast may have been caused by an exploding gas canister
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24608694]

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Egypt's prime minister denounces Coptic church attack

Mourners gathered outside a mortuary in Cairo before the victims' funerals

Egypt's prime minister has condemned an attack outside a Coptic church in Cairo on Sunday that killed four people, including an eight-year-old girl.

Hazem Beblawi said the security forces were searching for those responsible for the "callous and criminal act".

He also vowed that it would "not succeed in sowing divisions" between the Christian and Muslim communities.

Coptic activists have accused Mr Beblawi's interim government of failing to protect churches from attack.

Their community has been targeted by some Islamists who accuse it of backing the military's overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July.

'Terrible act'

Start Quote

What is happening is that all of Egypt is being targeted, not just the Christians”

Father DawoudChurch of the Virgin Mary

In the latest attack, two masked gunmen riding on motorbikes fired indiscriminately at people emerging from a wedding service at the Church of the Virgin Mary in the capital's Waraa district on Sunday evening.

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“

Health ministry and ambulance service officials said four people were killed, including the girl and a woman, and 17 others were wounded.

On Monday, mourners gathered at the church, whose walls were marked by bullets. Security personnel were also deployed on the street outside.

Father Dawoud, a priest at the Church of the Virgin Mary told the AFP news agency: "What is happening is that all of Egypt is being targeted, not just the Christians.

"Enough! People are getting sick and tired of this."

In a cabinet statement, Mr Beblawi said police were investigating the attack, which he called a "callous and criminal act".

"Such terrible acts will not succeed in dividing Muslims and Christians."

The grand imam of al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest religious authority, said the attack ran "contrary to both religion and morals".

Gunmen fired shots as people left the church

The National Coalition to Support Legitimacy, a Muslim Brotherhood-dominated alliance calling for the reinstatement of Mr Morsi, urged police to bring the perpetrators to justice quickly and stressed the sanctity of places of all places of worship.

The Association of Maspero Youth, a Coptic group formed in 2011 after more than 20 Christians were killed by soldiers outside the Maspero state television building, accused security forces of failing to protect churches.

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"If the Egyptian government does not care about the security and rights of Christians, then we must ask why we are paying taxes and why we are not arming ourselves if the police are not protecting us?'' it said.

About 40 Coptic churches were destroyed in a wave of attacks in August after hundreds of people were killed when security forces broke up two pro-Morsi protest camps in Cairo.

Islamist extremists have accused the Coptic Church of having conspired to oust the president.

When the head of the armed forces, Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, went on television to announce that the Islamist president had been deposed in the wake of mass opposition protests demanding his resignation, Pope Tawadros II appeared alongside him.

Pope Tawadros said that the general's "roadmap" had been devised by honourable people, who had Egypt's best interests at heart.

He has since received death threats, while several Christians have been killed. Christian shops, homes and businesses have also been targeted.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of Christianity's oldest, founded in Alexandria around 50 AD. Today, Christians make up about 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million.

Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church

• 6-11 million members in Egypt
• About 1 million members outside the country
• Copts believe their Church dates back to about 50 AD
• Led by the Pope of Alexandria, Tawadros II
• Services take place partly in ancient Coptic language (based on language used at the time of the Pharaohs)

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24610782]

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Westgate attack: Kenya CCTV 'shows soldiers looting'

In the footage, some Kenyan soldiers can be seen carrying white shopping bags, as Rebecca Donovan reports

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Security camera footage has emerged which appears to show Kenyan security forces looting goods during last month's siege of the Westgate mall.

In the footage, some Kenyan soldiers can be seen carrying white shopping bags, while others appear to take white boxes from a mobile phone store.

At least 67 people died when suspected al-Shabab militants stormed the Nairobi shopping centre on 21 September.

The Kenyan military says it is investigating the looting allegations.

News agencies say the CCTV footage is taken inside the entrance to the Westgate mall's Nakumatt supermarket, which sells everything from food to televisions.

In one section of footage, several soldiers are seen walking out of the supermarket, past a blood-spattered floor, carrying plastic carrier bags.

In another clip, Kenyan soldiers can be seen next to a mobile phone outlet.

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One reaches over the counter, and apparently removes a white item.

Then more soldiers remove white items, which the Reuters news agency describes as mobile phone boxes.

The Westgate attack sparked a four-day siege in which large parts of the shopping centre were destroyed.

Suspected attackers

• On 22 September Somali militant group al-Shabab says it carried out the attack
• Officials initially said 10 to 15 attackers were involved, but CCTV shows only four men
• Authorities have released the names or nicknames of four suspects they say were killed in the siege: Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr
• One is believed to be Somali-Norwegian Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow
• Bodies of at least three attackers recovered from the rubble
• Not clear if any attackers escaped

Fourth body found

The Kenyan military says it has launched an investigation into the looting allegations, which correspondents say will have angered many Kenyans.

At the weekend, Kenya's biggest-selling newspaper, The Nation, ran an article entitled "Shame of soldiers looting Westgate".

The footage of the alleged looting emerged as the Kenyan authorities announced they had recovered the body of what they consider to be a fourth attacker.

"Today, Sunday 20 October 2013, we recovered a fourth body, which we know from CCTV footage to be that of a terrorist," said the Kenyan interior minister, Joseph Ole Lenku.

"DNA and other investigations will confirm their identities. We have also recovered four AK47 assault rifles which we know were used by the terrorists in the assault. We also recovered 11 magazines of AK47 assault rifles."

Officials had initially said 10 to 15 gunmen were involved, but CCTV footage appears to show only four militants.

It is still not clear whether some of the attackers might have escaped.

The Somali militant group al-Shabab said its members staged the attack in response to Kenya's army carrying out operations on Somali territory.

Last week, the BBC's Newsnight programme revealed that one of the suspected attackers was believed to be a 23-year-old Somalia-born Norwegian national, Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow.

His family fled to Norway in the 1990s, but he returned to Somalia in 2009 and allegedly joined the Somali militant group.

Sources in al-Shabab have told the BBC Somali Service that Dhuhulow attended a training camp in El Bur in central Somalia, one of the militants' main bases.

The sources said Dhuhulow took part in many al-Shabab operations in Mogadishu and Kismayo and was well-known in jihadist circles.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24606152]

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South Sudan: Jonglei militia 'kills dozens'

Fighting in South Sudan has displaced tens of thousands of people

Some 78 people have been killed and scores wounded in an attack on villages in South Sudan's Jonglei state, the local MP has told the BBC.

The attackers were believed to be members of David Yau Yau's rebel group, said MP Deng Dau.

Jonglei is badly affected by ethnic rivalries and disputes over land and cattle ownership.

More than 1,500 people are estimated to have been killed in the area since South Sudan's independence in 2011.

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Tens of thousands have also been left homeless by the fighting.

'Abductions'

South Sudan Information Minister Micheal Makuie told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme that security forces have been deployed to capture the rebels.

Air surveillance is also being carried out to "detect their line of movement", he added.

Army spokesman Col Philip Aguer told the BBC at least two villages had been burned during Sunday's attack in Jonglei's Twic East County.

Mr Dau, who has just visited the scene, said the attackers wore green uniforms and had used heavy weapons including mortars.

The attack left 78 people dead and 88 wounded, he said, adding that 24 people, many of them children, had been abducted.

The UN mission in South Sudan said more than 30 people had been flown to the nearest towns for medical treatment.

Thousands of cattle were stolen during the attack, the acting governor of Jonglei, Hussein Maar, said, in comments carried by the Associated Press news agency.

South Sudan is awash with small arms after decades of conflict against Khartoum's rule.

Khartoum gave it independence in 2011 following talks brokered by the US and regional countries.

Cattle lie at the heart of life for many communities in the country which has hardly any banks - they are used as a form of wealth, to pay dowries and as a source of food in the lean season.

A single cow can be worth hundreds of dollars depending on its colouring.

Sudan: A country divided

Both Sudan and the South are reliant on their oil revenues, which account for 98% of South Sudan's budget. But the two countries cannot agree how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north. It is feared that disputes over oil could lead the two neighbours to return to war.

Analysis

James CopnallBBC News

Jonglei's underlying problems are underdevelopment, the lack of law and order, and a militarised and polarised society.

This has led to two types of fighting: inter-ethnic clashes, and a counter-insurgency against David Yau Yau's rebel movement.

The military believes this latest attack was carried out by men from the Murle ethnic group who were trained and armed by Yau Yau.

Yet the raid seems to have targeted cattle and civilians, suggesting it was part of a revenge cycle of inter-ethnic clashes.

Murle youth regularly clash with other groups, like the Lou Nuer and the Dinka Bor. Several South Sudanese sources have told me they believe the Lou Nuer, in particular, have been armed to fight the Murle.

Many Murle joined Yau Yau's rebellion because they believed the government was siding with the Lou Nuer, and because the army committed abuses during a civilian disarmament campaign which followed massive inter-ethnic clashes.

In Jonglei it has become difficult to disentangle rebel activity and inter-ethnic conflict.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24608897]

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Egypt gunmen open fire on Coptic Christian wedding in Cairo

Gunmen fired shots as people left the church

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Three people, including a girl aged eight, died when gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a wedding party outside a Coptic Christian church in Cairo.

Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church

• 6-11 million members in Egypt
• About 1 million members outside the country
• Copts believe their Church dates back to about 50 AD
• Led by the Pope of Alexandria, Tawadros II
• Services take place partly in ancient Coptic language (based on language used at the time of the Pharaohs)

At least nine others were wounded in the attack in Giza, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Egypt's Coptic Christian community has been targeted by some Islamists who accuse the Church of backing the army's overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi in July.

The unidentified attackers fired indiscriminately as people left the church.

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A man and a girl were killed outside the church and a woman died on her way to hospital.

"We heard a very loud sound as if something was collapsing," one eyewitness said.

"I found a woman seated in a chair with lots of bullet wounds, covered in blood. Many other people had fallen around her, including a child," he added.

Coptic priest Thomas Daoud Ibrahim said he was inside the church when the gunfire erupted.

"What happened is an insult to Egypt, and it's not only directed against Coptic Christians. We are destroying our own country," he said.

Another priest, Beshay Lotfi, told Egyptian media that the church had been left without a police guard since the end of June.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of Christianity's oldest, founded in Alexandria around 50 AD.

Christians make up about 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million, and have generally coexisted peacefully with majority Sunni Muslims for centuries.

A priest at the church said it had been left unguarded by police since June

However, the overthrow of Mr Morsi by the military has been followed by the worst attacks on churches and Christian properties in years.

When head of the armed forces, Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, went on television to announce that the Islamist president had been deposed in the wake of mass opposition protests demanding his resignation, Pope Tawadros II appeared alongside him.

Pope Tawadros said that the "roadmap" mentioned by the general had been devised by honourable people, who had Egypt's best interests at heart.

He has since received death threats, while several Christians have been killed. Christian shops, homes and businesses have also been targeted.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24605130]

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Syria conflict: Hama truck bomb 'kills at least 30'

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At least 30 people have been killed by a suicide truck bombing on the edge of the central Syrian city of Hama.

State news agency Sana said Syrian rebels had driven a truck laden with over a tonne of explosives into a government checkpoint on a busy road.

The explosion appears to have set ablaze a nearby petrol tanker, increasing the damage and casualties.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front carried out the attack.

"A man detonated a truck laden with explosives at a checkpoint near an agricultural vehicles company on the road linking Hama to Salamiya," the Observatory said.

It said the attack had targeted government soldiers, but that most of the dead were civilians.

Pictures on Syria TV showed firemen battling to contain fires as black smoke rose from charred trucks and cars.

A man who received leg injuries in the blast told Syrian state TV: "I was heading to a school in Salamiya and the blast started.

"These innocent people don't deserve this. The scene is inhumane. These terrorists shouldn't be in this country."

Hama saw some of the largest demonstrations against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad in the first months after the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.

But in late summer 2011, security forces stormed the city and have maintained control ever since.

Hama occupies a significant place in the history of modern Syria. In 1982, then-President Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar, sent in troops to quell an uprising by the Sunni opposition Muslim Brotherhood. Tens of thousands were killed and the town flattened.

Meanwhile, the head of the Arab League has said that a long-awaited conference on Syria will begin on 23 November, although this falls short of a formal announcement.

Nabil el-Arabi was speaking after meeting the international envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, who is on a tour of the Middle East to prepare for the conference.

Mr Brahimi did not himself publicly set a date, saying he would do so after his tour. Mr el-Arabi conceded that there were still many obstacles ahead.

Western and Arab government officials will meet Syrian opposition leaders on Tuesday to try to persuade them to attend.

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24600970]

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