World in Brief, Jan. 7, 2009

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. U.S. Marshals Service via Getty Images

Yemen

Plane Bomb Suspect Linked to Radical Muslim Cleric

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man charged with attempting to blow up a U.S.-bound airplane, had contact with radical American-Yemen Muslim cleric al-Awlaki in Yemen, a senior Yemeni official said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Abdulmutallab had visited Yemen to study Arabic and Islam, during which time it is believed he embraced militant views. Al-Awlaki has been linked to the alleged shooter at the Fort Hood base in November last year. Al-Awlaki was believed to have been present at a meeting of al-Qaeda operatives at the time of an air strike earlier this month. It is unclear if he was killed.

Pakistan

U.S. Embassy Staff in Pakistan Harassed

The U.S. embassy in Pakistan has raised concerns about staff members being harassed and detained in the country. “The U.S. Mission to Pakistan is concerned about the continued provocative actions and false allegations against U.S. personnel,” said a press release on the embassy’s Web site. On Jan. 6, a U.S. Consulate General vehicle with two Pakistani employees and their police escort were detained in the region of Gwadar. The harassment comes amid alleged Pakistani efforts to hinder U.S. plans to add hundreds more staff and more space to the embassy in Islamabad, AP reported.

Afghanistan – Iraq

Bomb Attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq

Seven people were killed and 24 wounded in a suicide attack at a bazaar in the city of Gardez in Eastern Afghanistan on Thursday. The suicide bomber, on foot, blew himself up in the market near a six-vehicle convoy of security workers, AP reported. The deaths include the commander of the Afghan security guards at a provincial reconstruction base in Logar Province.

In Iraq, six people were killed in a series of blasts in the Western province of Anbar on Thursday. The bombs appear to have targeted prominent policemen. One of the explosions took place at the house of the director of the anti-terrorism unit in the town of Hit, in central Iraq, AP reported.

Sudan

139 Killed in Tribal Attack

At least 139 people were killed in a tribal attack in Southern Sudan. Tribesman of the Nuer tribe attacked cattle herders of the Dinka tribe and seized around 5,000 animals. “They killed 139 people and wounded 54. Nobody knows how many attackers were killed. But it may be many, as a lot of people came to fight,” deputy governor of Warrap state Sabino Makana told Reuters. Aid groups have warned the country could return to civil war, speaking of an overall increase of violence in Southern Sudan, with 2,500 people killed last year.

Indonesia

Rare Sumatran Tiger Caught on Tape

Camera traps in the Indonesian jungle have captured rare footage of Sumatran tigers. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which placed the cameras, it’s the first time a female Sumatran tiger together with her cubs has been caught on tape. The video footage shows the cubs walking up to the camera and sniffing it. It took five years before the camera caught the Sumatran tigers on tape. The WWF says only 400 Sumatran tigers are left in the wild.