Qaeda militants killed in Yemen air strike: residents

ADEN: At least 11 al Qaeda militants, including a number of local leaders, were killed in an overnight air strike in southern Yemen, local residents said on Tuesday.

They said an unidentified drone attacked the militants while they were travelling in two vehicles east of the city of Lawdar in Abyan provice in southern Yemen.

A tribal leader said at least four of those killed were local al Qaeda leaders.

Residents said no civilians were hurt in the air strike.

The United States has used drones repeatedly to attack al Qaeda militants in Yemen.

Last September, a US drone killed US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, described by the US officials as “chief of external operations” for al Qaeda in Yemen.

The latest attack could deal a blow to al Qaeda which has exploited unrest and protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to strengthen its hold on remote areas in southern Yemen in recent months.

An opposition-led government has been set up in Yemen after Saleh agreed in November to transfer authority to his deputy ahead of presidential elections in February.

But protests have continued and activists are pressing on with demands that Saleh be tried for alleged killings of demonstrators and that the government is purged of members of his family.

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Posted in: INTERNATIONAL

Kasab’s death penalty appeal adjourned

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court adjourned an appeal hearing on Tuesday into the death sentence handed down to the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Mohammed Kasab, one of 10 gunmen who laid siege to Mumbai in attacks which lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people, has appealed for his sentence to be overturned after he was convicted in May 2010.

The 24-year-old Pakistani was found guilty of a series of crimes, including waging war against India, murder and terror acts.

The November 2008 attacks saw 10 heavily-armed gunmen storm targets including luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and a train station.

One of the two Supreme Court judges due to hear the appeal was unavailable on Tuesday, forcing the adjournment, officials said. No date was immediately set for the next hearing.

Kasab’s court-appointed lawyer Raju Ramachandran told AFP that his job was “a call of duty”, but declined to talk further about the case.

India blames Lashkar-i-Taiba (LT) militant outfit for training, equipping and financing the attack with support from “elements” in the Pakistan military.

Kasab’s death sentence was confirmed by a state high court in Mumbai last year. If he loses his Supreme Court appeal, he will be able to appeal for clemency from the president.

Ujjwal Nikam, who prosecuted the case in Mumbai on behalf of the Maharashtra state, is seeking to push through the death sentence.

“This is the rarest of rare cases,” Nikam told AFP. “He should not be entitled to any mercy.”

At the trial, the prosecution produced fingerprint, DNA, eyewitness and television evidence showing him opening fire and throwing grenades at Mumbai’s main railway station in the bloodiest episode of the attacks.

Kasab — who is in jail in Mumbai — initially pleaded not guilty but later made a confession, admitting to being one of the gunmen sent by the banned militant group.

He then reverted back to his initial denial and said he was framed by the police.

Pakistan has indicted seven alleged perpetrators over the attacks but they have not been brought to trial, triggering Indian accusations that the process is a sham.

Pakistani investigators and lawyers will visit India next month to gather more evidence ahead of any trial in Islamabad.

Most death sentences in India are commuted to life imprisonment, and convicts can sit on death row for years awaiting a final decision.

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Posted in: INTERNATIONAL