Submariners World News SitRep

Syrian army repulses rebel attack on base

Twenty five rebels were reportedly killed on Wednesday after the Syrian army countered an attack on a military base outside of Aleppo, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The failed attack was part of a rebel offensive to pry control of northwestern Syria from Damascus.

Six dead after 3 bombs target 2 cities in Pakistan

Three soldiers and two civilians were killed after an explosive device targeted an army vehicle in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Wednesday, a police official said. Hours later, an apparent suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque in Karachi, killing one and injuring several more. A second bomb targeted security forces and rescue workers who rushed to the scene of the first attack, wounding several more.

Gunmen assassinate Benghazi security chief

Gunmen shot dead National Security Chief Col. Farag Dersi of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi overnight, the country’s deputy interior minister says. The minister said three men opened fire on Dersi and immediately fled the scene. Violence has spiraled out of control in the county’s second largest city in recent months. US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed during a brazen September assault on the US consulate in Benghazi.

At least 5 Pakistanis killed in bomb attack

­A bomb attack targeting an army vehicle escorting schoolchildren killed at least five people, including three soldiers and two civilians, and injured more than 20 others in the Pakistani city of Quetta, AFP reported. New Pakistan published a conflicting report that at least seven people, including three Frontier Corps personnel, were killed and 16 others were injured. The bomb was remote-controlled, and was planted on a motorbike, police reported. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing. The attack came on the eve of the Developing Eight summit in Islamabad. The summit coincides with the holy month of Muharram, during which there is usually a rise in sectarian attacks.

11 people dead in plane crash in Yemen

­An ‘Antonov’ Yemeni military transport airplane crashed 20 kilometers south of Sanaa International Airport on Wednesday after one of its engines failed. A conflicting report claimed that the plane crashed in an area north of Sanaa. The plane reportedly crashed and exploded after the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing. All 11 passengers on board died, a spokesperson at a local military base said.

India executes last Mumbai terrorist for 2008 attacks

­Mohammed Kasab, the only gunman arrested during a terrorist assault on Mumbai in 2008, was hanged in an Indian prison on the morning of November 21. The Mumbai terror attacks killed 166 people when armed militants attacked the Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi Trident hotels, a train station, a hospital and a Jewish religious center. Capital punishment sentences in India are usually deferred to life in prison, but not for Kasab, who was found guilty on numerous charges including terrorism and murder. The last time a prisoner was executed in India was in 2004.

Suicide attack near US Embassy in Kabul kills 2

A suicide bombing struck the area of Kabul that houses the US Embassy and the NATO-led coalition headquarters, killing two people. Two Afghan troops near the attack were injured by the blast. Some media reports claimed that the assailant was identified by security forces and shot before he could set off his explosives.

­Last surviving gunman of Mumbai attacks hanged

The last surviving gunman from the Mumbai 2008 terrorist attacks in has been hanged in India, Maharashtra Home Minister reported Tuesday. Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, a Pakistani, was convicted in 2010 of murder, conspiracy and waging war on India. In august, the country's supreme court has rejected his appeal case. Trained by an Al-Qaeda affiliate cell, Kasab was one of 10 men who was involved in Mumbai attacks in November 2008 which left more than 160 people dead.

­UN Security Council adopts resolution aimed at Congo's rebels

The UN Security Councial has unanimously adopted a resolution imposing sanctions on Congo's M23 rebel leadership, which earlier occupied the city of Goma as peacekeepers stood by without resisting. The council also demanded an immediate end to external support to the group and expressed readiness to take measures against those who aid it. Earlier, the UN confirmed that almost 1,500 of its peacekeepers were ordered to stay put as rebels occupied Goma, an eastern city home to over one million people.

Australian police make US$246-million drug bust

­Australian authorities have seized US$246 million worth of cocaine and methamphetamine shipped from China disguised in heavy machinery, police announced on Tuesday. An American and a Canadian were arrested in Sydney's sting operation. Both appeared before the court on the charges of drug smuggling and have been denied bail. The two-year investigation has produced  350 kilograms of narcotics after police conducted a series of raids on five locations. The bust is the second successful operation in a week, after police seized over 200 kilograms of cocaine from a yacht that washed up on a deserted island in the South Pacific, with a decomposing body on board.

Oman asks US for $96 million arms sale

­Oman has asked the US to sell $96 million worth of guided missiles, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said. The agency, which oversees foreign arms sales, passed on the request to Congress for approval of 400 Javelin Guided Missiles and associated equipment. Washington sees the sale as a means to “improve Oman’s capability to meet current and future threats and provide greater security for its critical oil and natural gas infrastructure.”

Former Croatian PM gets 10 years in prison for bribery

­Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on a bribery conviction. The court found Sanader guilty of accepting €10 million from Hungarian oil company MOL to grant it a controlling stake in Croatia’s state oil company INA. The fifty-nine year-old was also found guilty of receiving €545,000 from the Hypo Alpe Adria Group, which positioned itself as a the leader on the Croatian market. The high-profile trial is part of the country's pledge to rid itself of corruption ahead of its joining of the EU in July 2013.