Archive for the ‘Afghanistan’ Category

Istanbul nightclub attack: suspected gunman ‘had training in Afghanistan’ – The Guardian

Abdulgadir Masharipov, the main suspect in the Istanbul nightclub attack on New Years Eve, was arrested on Monday night. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

A man suspected of shooting dead 39 people in a New Years Eve attack on a nightclub in Istanbul is an Uzbek national who trained in Afghanistan, Turkish officials have said.

Abdulkadir Masharipov was captured late on Monday in a raid by security forces on a house in Esenyurt, a residential district of Istanbul, 25 miles from where the attack took place.

In the last two weeks dozens of people across Turkey have been detained and questioned in connection with the assault at the Reina nightclub, which was claimed by Islamic State in revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.

Istanbuls governor, Vasip ahin, said Masharipov was well educated, spoke four languages and had operated under the alias Ebu Muhammed Horasani. He said the suspect had trained in Afghanistan, entered Turkey in January 2016 and clearly carried out the attack in the name of Isis.

On the night of the attack the gunman arrived by taxi at the nightclub in the Ortaky district and shot dead a 21-year-old police officer, Burak Yldz, and Ayhan Ark, a 47-year-old travel agent who had been walking past the entrance.

He then went inside and started spraying the club with bullets. The attacker repeatedly reloaded his weapon to shoot the wounded as they lay on the ground. Citizens of Israel, France, Tunisia, Lebanon, India, Belgium, Jordan and Saudi Arabia were among the victims, and 70 people were injured.

A Turkish counter-terrorism official told the Guardian the security officers who located Masharipov had worked on finding individuals connected with the suspect after identifying him and confirming who he was thanks to a foreign intelligence agency.

Officers then worked to trace his movements in recent days, deploying all the resources at the disposal of the security services. There were raids or checks on about 150 addresses associated with Masharipov, detentions of a few dozen individuals possibly linked with him, and a review of approximately 7,200 hours of surveillance footage. They did a good job of connecting the dots, the official said.

The official said the investigation would now focus on Masharipovs accomplices who are other members of his cell, who gave him instructions and picked the target, who provided him with weapons, and are they are planning other attacks in the country.

This is obviously a network of people, and theyre trying to establish what that network is about, the official said, indicating that initial assessments favoured the theory that Masharipov had received instructions rather than acted alone. We havent fully assessed the target selection. Was he advised by someone? Who did the target selection? He didnt do it opportunistically.

The official said the fact that Masharipov, born in Fergana, Uzbekistan, was not on an Interpol watchlist and did not come from Syria highlighted the need for better intelligence sharing.

When you think about how did it happen, its a classic soft-target attack and the best prevention is intelligence, particularly since hes not a Turkish citizen, the official said. This guy, although he was known to have terrorist ties, wasnt on Interpol, and anybody who knew him didnt report him to us either.

The militant group he trained with in Afghanistan has yet to be identified.

Few Isis militants who have carried out attacks in the Europe or the US have been interrogated in the aftermath, most engaging in a suicidal effort, and there have been fewer still whose interrogations could yield information on attacks in the planning stages.

The official said another piece of the puzzle in Masharipovs case was identifying his motivation for staying alive. He had money and family. Hes not a suicide fighter so there are questions about motivation and ideology, the official said.

ahin said Masharipov had confessed to carrying out the massacre and that his fingerprints matched those of the attacker. He can be held for up to 30 days under Turkeys state of emergency, which was introduced after a failed coup attempt in July, before he is charged and formally arrested.

Four people were arrested with Masharipov, ahin said. An Iraqi man was detained as well as three women from various countries from Egypt and from Africa. There is a high chance that they may be connected [to Isis] because they were staying in the same house.

After fleeing the scene of the massacre, it is believed the gunman initially hid in a safehouse, where he was joined by his wife and children.

The newspaper Hrriyet said on Tuesday that the suspects wife and one-year-old daughter were caught in a police operation in Zeytinburnu, a working-class district of Istanbul, on 12 January.

The Turkish television channel NTV said the suspects son had been taken into protective custody. It said police had established the gunmans whereabouts four or five days ago but delayed the raid so they could monitor his movements and contacts.

The Turkish counter-terrorism official said Masharipov tried to resist his arrest during the raid, but didnt have the chance to fetch the weapons he had stashed in the house when he was captured, so officers were able to subdue him without a gunfight.

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Istanbul nightclub attack: suspected gunman 'had training in Afghanistan' - The Guardian

Metro military mom, wife who lost husband in Afghanistan to march in inaugural parade – fox4kc.com

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WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- Liberty often comes at a steep cost.

One military family from the metro wants to remind everyone of that, while taking to the streets of Washington during Friday's presidential inauguration.

Freedom isn't free. That's a lesson Linda Ambard wants the world to recognize. She's reminded of that day, April 27, 2011, when her husband, U.S. Air Force Maj. Phillip Ambard, was killed during a mass shooting at his military installation near Kabul, Afghanistan.

Ambard says she didn't ask for notoriety, pointing out she was a stay-at-home mother before her husband's untimely death. She now works in a civilian role at Whiteman Air Force Base. Ambard says when her husband was killed in that attack, she says her world fell apart, and she moved to Germany to escape an atmosphere that no longer claimed her.

"You lose where you lived, your support system, and your support network. People don't treat you the same. You become a visible reminder of what can happen to their husbands," Ambard told FOX 4 News on Wednesday.

Ambard's younger brother, U.S. Air Force Chap. Maj. David Leonard, helped conduct his brother-in-law's funeral. Services were held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, where Maj. Ambard served as a professor.

"I think it's important that we, as a nation, don't forget the cost of our freedom and that we support those who have had to pay those prices," Chap. Maj. Leonard said.

Linda Ambard says a non-profit group called TAPS helped her in a time of desperate need. TAPS provides counseling, retreats and educational options to those who are left behind.

"Very few people understand what a Gold Star Family is," Ambard said. "(TAPS) was a place for me to feel normal. You come together and you share your stories, your laugh or your tears."

This Friday, Ambard will march during the Presidential Inaugural Parade, bringing exposure to TAPS, an agency that she said helped her live again.

"I think it's important that we, as a nation, don't forget the cost of our freedom and that we support those who have had to pay those prices," Ambard said.

Ambard says she's thankful to her late husband for her life, for their 23-and-a-half year marriage, and for his sacrifice. She's hopeful her demonstration in D.C. will help every American feel that same gratitude.

Ambard will leave for Washington D.C. on Thursday morning. She's a mother of five children, four of whom have served in the United States Armed Forces.

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Metro military mom, wife who lost husband in Afghanistan to march in inaugural parade - fox4kc.com

Afghanistan’s first female orchestra set to take Davos by storm – The Hindu

In the face of death threats and accusations that they are dishonouring their families by daring to perform, the women of Afghanistans first all-female orchestra are charting a new destiny for themselves through music.

The group is set to be catapulted onto the world stage with a performance at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Some of them are poor/orphans

Zohra, an ensemble of 35 young musicians aged 13 to 20, some orphans or from poor families, will be performing before 3,000 CEOs and heads of state during a session on Thursday and at the closing concert on Friday.

Led by Negina Khpalwak, who will be celebrating her 20th birthday on the return flight from Europe, the girls have overcome death threats and discrimination in this deeply conservative war-torn country to play together.

With their hair hastily knotted, eyes focused on their instruments, the musicians performed in unison under Ms. Khpalwaks baton earlier this month at one of their last rehearsals in Kabul before the concert.

She is Afghanistans first female conductor, Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, the musicologist who founded Afghanistans National Institute of Music (Anim) and the Zohra orchestra, says proudly of Ms. Khpalwak.

Taliban danger

Dr. Sarmast understands the risk facing women in Afghanistan who pursue music, which was banned during the Talibans repressive 1996-2001 rule and is still frowned upon in the tightly gender-segregated conservative society.

Zohra, he says, is very symbolic for Afghanistan.

Its so hard for Afghan girls. Some fathers do not even let their daughters go to school, not to speak about music school, Ms. Khpalwak said. For them, women are to stay at home and clean up. Her parents, she said, stood against her entire family to allow her to attend music lessons. My grandmother told my dad: If you let Negina leave to music school, you wont be my son any more.

Since then, her family members have left their native Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan, and moved to Kabul.

This uncle vowed to kill niece

Life is hard in the capital city, jobs are scarce, but it is better than being dead, Ms. Khpalwak said, recalling what her uncle promised her: Wherever I see you, Ill kill you. You are a shame for us.

Ms. Khpalwaks goal is to win a scholarship to study outside of the country, and study, and study. Then, she says, she will return to her country and and become the conductor of the National Orchestra.

Fifteen years after the end of Taliban regime, gender parity remains a distant dream in Afghanistan despite claims of progress.

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Afghanistan's first female orchestra set to take Davos by storm - The Hindu

Afghanistan: US Marines headed back to Helmand

The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Neller, said Thursday that the troops have "no delusions about the difficulty and the challenges they're going to face."

The Marines will be tasked with training and advising Afghan soldiers and police in the volatile opium-rich province. Afghan security forces there have been locked in constant clashes with Taliban insurgents, who have managed to reestablish a significant presence.

Helmand sits in the country's southwest. While geographically large, it is very rural and contains only about 3% of the Afghan population.

"The enemy has fought hard for Helmand," Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon last month.

Nicholson said the Taliban "receive much of their funding from the narcotics trafficking that occurs out of Helmand," adding that "there's a nexus here between the insurgency and criminal networks that's occurring in Helmand that makes Helmand such a difficult fight."

"This is a mission we've always been ready for," Lt. Gen. William Beydler, who oversees Marines in the region, told reporters last week.

The contingent of Marines will replace US Army advisers currently carrying out the mission, forming "Task Force Southwest," to be commanded by Brig. Gen. Roger Turner Jr.

"They continue to need international support," Turner said of the Afghan troops, noting that US personnel would be focusing on intelligence and logistics advice.

Some of the troops will be operating in the vicinity of Camp Leatherneck, the one-time home of thousands of Marines in Afghanistan.

"The Marine Corps has a deep operational history in Afghanistan, particularly Helmand Province," Turner said, with Beydler noting that Marines first deployed to the province in 2001 and later fought battles against insurgents in Sangin and Marjah, where Marines took some of their heaviest casualties.

But the two officers were quick to downplay any symbolism in returning to a region that the Marines left after the end of formal combat operations in 2014.

"I wouldn't read into this from a symbolic standpoint," Beydler said. "It just so happened that it turned up now and we're ready and we're going."

Neller struck a similar tone, saying, "The simple reason why we're going back is because someone asked us if we could do this and I said, 'yes.' "

Turner noted that there would be some advantages to going back, particularly when it came to rekindling relationships with America's partners in the Afghan army.

"These are folks who we fought alongside and who we fought with and we bled with, and we think there'll be a real synergy in reestablishing relationships," Turner said.

"We have a lot of blood, sweat and tears invested in Helmand, and so I think a lot of the Marines are really excited about this opportunity to go back and work again with our Afghan partners," Turner added.

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Afghanistan: US Marines headed back to Helmand

Afghanistan Travel Warning

Travel to all areas of Afghanistan remains unsafe due to the ongoing risk of kidnapping, hostage taking, military combat operations, landmines, banditry, armed rivalry between political and tribal groups, militant attacks, direct and indirect fire, suicide bombings, and insurgent attacks, including attacks using vehicle-borne or other improvised explosive devices (IED). Attacks may also target official Afghan and U.S. government convoys and compounds, foreign embassies, military installations, commercial entities, non-governmental organization (NGO) offices, restaurants, hotels, airports, and educational centers.

Extremists associated with various Taliban networks, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Khorasan Province (ISKP), and members of other armed opposition groups are active throughout the country. ISKP has shown its operational capability, having attacked both Afghan and foreign government facilities. The Taliban and its affiliates routinely attack Afghan, Coalition and U.S. targets with little regard for civilian casualties. In April 2016, insurgents conducted a complex attack targeting the Afghan Department of High Protection headquarters in Kabul, killing 47 people and wounding over 200. In July 2016, two ISKP suicide bombers detonated explosives during a peaceful public march, killing 81 people. In August 2016 insurgents attacked the American University in Afghanistan (AUAF) in Kabul, killing 12 and trapping students, faculty, and staff on campus for hours. Also in August, an American and an Australian professor at AUAF were reported to be kidnapped at gunpoint. In September, Taliban insurgents killed over 40 people in a combined improvised explosive device (IED) and suicide bomber attack near the Afghan Ministry of Defense. That same day, Taliban insurgents later carried out a complex attack in the vicinity of NGO offices in Kabul.

There have been attacks on Coalition convoys in Kabul using vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED) targeting U.S. citizens, such as the May 25, 2016, attack on a NATO convoy and the kidnapping of an Australian NGO worker in Jalalabad in April. Additionally, a U.S citizen journalist working for National Public Radio and his translator were killed when the Afghan army unit they were traveling with came under attack in Helmand Province in June 2016, and in August 2016, insurgents fired a rocket at a bus reportedly carrying EU and U.S. citizen tourists in Herat Province, injuring 6 people.

Due to security concerns, unofficial travel to Afghanistan by U.S. government employees and their family members is restricted and requires prior approval from the Department of State. Furthermore, U.S. Embassy personnel are restricted from traveling to all locations in Kabul except the U.S. Embassy and other U.S. government facilities unless there is a compelling government interest in permitting such travel that outweighs the risk.

Due to risks to civil aviation operating within or in the vicinity of Afghanistan, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) and/or a Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR). For further background information regarding FAA flight advisories and prohibitions for U.S. civil aviation, U.S. citizens should consult Federal Aviation Administrations Prohibitions, Restrictions and Notices.

The U.S. Embassy's ability to provide emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan is severely limited, particularly outside of Kabul. U.S. citizens are encouraged to defer non-essential travel within Afghanistan and note that evacuation options from Afghanistan are extremely limited due to the lack of infrastructure, geographic constraints, and other security concerns.

For further information:

See the Department of States Consular Affairs website where the Worldwide Caution, Travel Alerts and Travel Warnings can be found for the latest security information.

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Afghanistan Travel Warning