TOP BARBER REVEALS HOW WEEKS BEFORE PAKISTANI ARMY ASSAULT HUNDREDS OF TALIBAN JIHADIS SHAVED OFF BEARDS AND TRIMMED THEIR LOCKS AND REVEALS THEIR LOVE FOR FOREIGN BRANDED GROOMING PRODUCTS

Hundreds of Taliban fighters rushed to disguise themselves with new haircuts in the weeks before a Pakistani army assault, it has emerged, as refugees revealed details of life under the militants — and their taste for imported luxuries.



Azam Khan was one of the top barbers in Miranshah — the main town of North Waziristan — until he, like nearly half a million others, fled the long-awaited offensive unleashed by the Pakistan military on the tribal area in June.



He said his business boomed in the month leading up to the army assault as the militants sought to shed their distinctive long-haired, bearded look.



“I have trimmed the hair and beards of more than 700 local and Uzbek militants ahead of the security forces’ operation,” he said while cutting hair in a shop in Bannu, the town where most civilians fled.



For years he cut Taliban commanders’ hair to match the flowing locks of former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud, killed by a US drone last November, but in May a change in style was called for.



“The same leaders came asking for trimming their beards and hair very short, saying that they were going to the Gulf and wanted to avoid problems at Pakistani airports,” Khan said.



Even Uzbeks and Tajiks with little knowledge of the local language came to him, he said.



“Knowing little Pashto, they used to utter four words: ‘mulgari (friend), machine, zero, Islamabad’,” said Khan — asking him to shave their beards to nothing so they could go to Islamabad.



The Pakistani military launched the offensive against militants in North Waziristan tribal area on June 15, vowing to wipe out the strongholds they have used to wreak countless deadly terror attacks across the nuclear-armed state.



The rugged, mountainous area on the Afghan border has been a hideout for years for militants of all stripes — including Al Qaida and the homegrown TTP as well as foreign fighters including Uzbeks and Uighurs.



For years people from North Waziristan remained tight-lipped about life in a Taliban fiefdom, scared of being kidnapped or even beheaded if they shared information about the militants.



But as the exodus of people has grown, some have found the confidence to tell their stories.



While the militants bombed and maimed thousands in their fight to install an austere Sharia regime in Pakistan and publicly professed contempt for the West, in North Waziristan they indulged themselves with fancy imported goods.



Hikmatullah Khan, a shopkeeper in Miranshah, said that at the same time as commanders were insisting he pay Rs300 (Dh11) a month “tax”, their fighters were stocking up on grooming products.



“They were very keen to buy foreign-branded shampoos, soaps and perfumed sprays,” Khan said.



“They had a lot of eagerness for French and Turkish perfumes, body sprays and soaps.”



Mohammad Zarif, a wholesale merchant in Datta Khel, near Miranshah, said fighters would buy large quantities of British detergent and American cooking oil, much of it smuggled from Dubai.



Pakistan’s allies, particularly the United States, have long called for an operation to flush out groups like the Haqqani network, which use the area to target Nato troops in neighbouring Afghanistan and are thought to have links to Pakistani intelligence services.



The Pakistani military has said it will target militants “of all hue and colour” but the scant resistance troops have encountered has led many to believe the insurgents fled before the offensive, limiting its effectiveness.



The army says the operation has killed nearly 400 militants and will rid North Waziristan of their bases, denying them the space to plan attacks and allowing investment to come to one of Pakistan’s poorest areas.



But it remains to be seen what the long-term impact of the offensive will be. Local intelligence and militant sources said that up to 80 per cent of fighters fled after rumours of an army assault emerged in early May, most over the porous border into Afghanistan.



These sources estimate the present number of militants as around 2,000, down from around 10,000 before the operation. The figures are uncertain and difficult to confirm.



The Pakistani army has asked Afghanistan to crack down on TTP refuges across the border and this week top brass from both sides met in Islamabad to discuss the issue.



“It is clear that militants were aware that the offensive was coming before it started. Lots of them fled,” a Western diplomat said.



“The big question is: after the offensive, will Pakistan allow the Haqqanis and others to come back?”



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BUDDHISTS MOURNERS RIOT BURNING DOWN ISLAMIC SCHOOL AND SEVERAL OTHER BUILDINGS (MYANMAR)

Muslims in Myanmar’s second-largest city accused police of standing by as a Buddhist mob went on a rampage, torching a school and other buildings.



Angry mourners, some carrying crude weapons, rioted in Mandalay after the funeral of a 36-year-old Buddhist victim of the country’s latest eruption of religious unrest, witnesses said.




A school and dormitory in the Muslim area of a cemetery on the outskirts of the city were seen charred and damaged on Saturday.



“More than 70 police were here but did nothing,” said Win Naing, a Muslim donor to the school, who watched the attack from his hiding place in the home of a Buddhist friend.



He said some of the rioters were armed with sticks, metal pipes and even saws.



No children were believed to be in the school at the time and nobody was thought to have been injured in the attack.

Several days of violence, sparked by an accusation of rape, have also left a Muslim dead and 14 other people injured.



“Police could have stopped the mob but they did not,” said Zaw Zaw Latt, a Muslim member of an interfaith group in the city.



There was no immediate comment from police.



At least 250 people have been killed across Myanmar since 2012 in Buddhist-Muslim clashes that have cast a shadow over the country’s political reforms.



Police have been accused of inaction in the past and the government has deployed soldiers in some cases to restore order.

A night-time curfew has been imposed in Mandalay and nine people have been arrested in connection with the recent violence.



Police said they were boosting security measures as a precaution in other cities, including the main city Yangon which has a diverse population of religious and ethnic minorities.



Social media users were unable to access Facebook for the second straight evening Friday, amid speculation that Myanmar had blocked the site to curb the spread of inflammatory comment online. The website was working normally on Saturday.



Radical monks have been accused of whipping up religious tensions, with fiery warnings that the country’s main religion is under threat from Islam.



A friend of the slain Buddhist man told AFP that a Muslim gang had used a “sword” in the attack.



The dead Muslim man, a popular local bicycle shop owner, was later killed while on his way to attend early morning prayers.


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"WORRYING EXAMPLE OF HOW SAUDI ARABIAN AUTHORITIES ARE ABUSING THE JUSTICE SYSTEM TO SILENCE PEACEFUL DISSENT" HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS IN JAIL AND FINED $54,000 FOR "DISRESPECTING AUTHORITIES"

Saudi Arabia on Sunday sentenced to 15 years in jail a prominent rights lawyer described by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience, relatives said in statement posted on Twitter.



The tweet said that Waleed Abu Al Khair, who has had many run-ins with the authorities over his activism and for allegedly insulting authorities, was also banned from travelling abroad for 15 years and fined 200,000 riyals (around $54,000).




Abu Al Khair, who has been under arrest since April 16, contested the verdict in court, according to the tweet.

On bail for having held unauthorised meetings of reformists, Abu Al Khair was ordered to be put under arrest as he attended a fifth hearing, accused of insulting authorities in the kingdom.



His wife Samar Badawi announced his arrest the next day and said the court did not give her a reason for detaining him.



Rights group Amnesty International at the time called for his immediate release, saying he was being clearly punished “for his work protecting and defending human rights”.



“He is a prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately and unconditionally,” said Amnesty’s Said Boumedouha.



He called the lawyer’s detention “a worrying example of how Saudi Arabian authorities are abusing the justice system to silence peaceful dissent.”



He is already facing other trials in cases linked to his activism.



In October, he was sentenced to three months in prison for “insulting the judiciary” and a petition he signed two years ago criticising the authorities.



That same month he was briefly held for setting up an “unauthorised” meeting place where pro-reform activists gathered, but was later freed on bail.



In June 2012, he was accused of “disrespecting the judiciary... contacting foreign organisations and signing a petition demanding the release of detainees,” some of whom were being held for suspected terror links, his wife said at the time.



Three months earlier, authorities banned him from travelling to the United States where he was due to attend a forum organised by the State Department.



And in February 2011, he signed two other petitions demanding political reform in the kingdom, where political parties are banned.



Abu Al Khair set up a group on Facebook - Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi - which has thousands of members.


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16 yr old twin girls flee UK to join Isis Jihadi fighters in Syria

British twin sisters are feared to have fled their home in the UK to join Isis jihadi fighters in Syria.



The 16-year-old girls from Manchester are believed to have crept out of their bedroom in the middle of the night and boarded a flight to Turkey.



The girls' parents found their beds empty at 8am last Thursday and called the police. Counter-terrorism forces were subsequently alerted when the girls contacted their family from Syria, where their elder brother is believed to be jihadi fighter.



A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: "The girls flew from Manchester International Airport to Istanbul. Since their departure, the girls have been in contact with their family.



"We are attempting to confirm their current location and secure the wellbeing of both girls."



The twins are of Somali origin and their family are believed to have moved to the UK 10 years ago. The girls are believed to be strict Muslims and have reportedly told their family that they will not return home.



A police spokesman told Sky News: "It's unlikely that two 16-year-old girls would be able to afford two expensive flights so we are looking at the possibility that they have a contact there.



"It's definitely a line of enquiry that their trip could have been bankrolled by a third party, that it was pre-planned."



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ISIS JIHADIS TWEET PROMISES A HOLOCAUST AGAINST THE JEWS

A Twitter post Thursday by supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), now calling itself the Islamic State (IS), has promised a Holocaust against the Jews.

"The Real Zionist Holocaust is Predicted in the Hadiths! The Hour [resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the tree will say: "Oh, Muslim, servant of God, there is a Jew behind me, kill him! THE PROMISED Holocaust," the terrorist group's Islamic State Media a graphic posted on its @ISIS_Conquests's Twitter account said.



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"CAN'T WAIT TO SEE A AUSTRALIAN SOLDIER CRYING" CONVICTED TERRORIST NOW WAGING JIHAD WITH ISIS ISSUE THREATS AGAINST AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS

Australia's most notorious jihadists fighting in Iraq have issued a macabre threat to Australian soldiers as their ranks received a boost from a prominent Melbourne-born preacher who has joined them in their new ''caliphate''.



Underscoring the deep concern the Abbott government has expressed in recent weeks about Australians involved with extremist groups, two prominent jihadists fighting with the al-Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State took to Twitter to issue fresh threats.



Mohamed Elomar, a former boxer from Sydney who has been implicated in executions of unarmed Iraqis, posted on the social media site a distressing picture of what appears to be a captured Iraqi soldier who has been beaten and is about to be executed.



The accompanying Twitter message states: ''Look at the end of these Iraqi maliki dogs bunch of girls can't wait to see a Australian soldier cyring [sic] saying bakia.''



''Bakia'' means ''he cries'' in Arabic and ''maliki'' refers to the Shiite-led Iraqi government of Nouri al-Maliki, the fervent enemy of the Sunni extremists who have swept through northern Iraq in recent weeks.



Convicted Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, who appeared in Facebook images recently brandishing a gun over executed Iraqis, replied on Twitter: ''Allah … says 'kill them where ever you find them' … terrorise the enemies of Allah.''



Sharrouf was convicted over the 2005 Pendennis terrorism plot and jailed for nearly four years, before slipping out of Australia in December on his brother's passport to join the fighting in Syria. He and Elomar are believed to have crossed the border in recent weeks with IS fighters as the group surged across northern Iraq seizing major towns and cities.



A small force of Australian troops, including elite members of the SAS, travelled to Baghdad just over a fortnight ago to help secure the Australian embassy, though it is regarded as unlikely that IS fighters could reach the Iraqi capital. The Abbott government has ruled out sending troops into combat in the country.



Meanwhile Melbourne-born extremist preacher Musa Cerantonio declared on Twitter that he had reached the ISIL-controlled territory in Syria and Iraq, reflecting the potentially dangerous gravitational effect of the group's caliphate declaration.



''Al-Hamdulillah [Thanks to God] I have arrived in the land of Khilafah [caliphate] in Ash-Sham [the Levant]!'' he wrote on Twitter. Sharrouf replied: ''Alhumdulihe [Thanks to God] on your arrival see u soon akhi [brother].''



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"THESE LETTER REPRESENT REGULAR,CONSIDERED,PERSISTENT GROOMING OF A CHILD" 39 YEAR OLD MARRIED,FATHER OF TWO MUSLIM BUSINESSMAN SENTENCED TO EIGHT YEARS FOR GROOMING AND SEXUALLY ABUSING 12 YEAR OLD GIRL (UK)

A BUSINESSMAN who groomed a 12-year-old girl and sexually abused her over a four-month period has been jailed.



Mohammed Sadiq, 39, was given an eight-year sentence after being found guilty of five offences against the youngster.



Leeds Crown Court heard Sadiq was caught after he wrote a series of letters to the girl which were discovered by her mother.



In the letters Sadiq, of Main Street, East Ardsley, told the girl how he wanted to spend time “cuddling and kissing” her. He also told her she was “sexy” and described how his wife was becoming suspicious. The court heard Sadiq also wrote that she should destroy the letters.



Katherine Silverton, prosecuting, said the girl deliberately left the notes in a place where she knew her mother would find them.



After committing the sex assaults upon her, Sadiq told the girl not to say anything or he would burn her home down.



Jailing the father-of-two, Recorder Robin Mairs described how Sadiq had deliberately used the language of a schoolgirl and how the offending may have been much worse had the letters not been discovered.



He said: “You are a man of the world. You are experienced. You are a professional businessman. You have tailored it to fit in with a 12 or 13-year-old girl.



“These letters represent regular, considered, persistent grooming of a child.” Recorder Mairs added: “What is evident is that there is not a shred of contrition or remorse.”



Sadiq was found guilty of two offences of sexual assault on a child, one of attempted sexual assault of a child, sexual activity with a child and inciting sexual activity with a child.



Zia Chaudry, mitigating, said hie client continued to deny the offences. Sadiq was told he must serve a five-year prison sentence followed by an extended licence period of three years.





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