america Archives - Page 3 of 5

US base in Afghanistan attacked by Taliban Bombers

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

Taliban militants have attacked a US base in eastern Afghanistan, sparking a lengthy gun battle in which three insurgents were killed.

Reports say the attack on Torkham base in Nangarhar province unfolded after militants torched Nato supply trucks on the highway leading to the base.

Officials said that no Afghan or US soldiers died in the raid. The attackers did not enter the base.

But officials say the financial cost of the attack is likely to be immense.

Many Nato supply vehicles on the road to the base were left badly burned on the highway. Officials closed the Jalalabad-Torkham road – a key route for these vehicles – after the attack.

A Taliban spokesman told the BBC that the group was behind the raid.

Alberto Carrillo the Juarez cartel boss caught in Mexico

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The security forces in Mexico have arrested the alleged leader of the Juarez drug cartel, Alberto Carrillo Fuentes, also known as Ugly Betty.

He was detained in the western state of Nayarit without offering resistance.

Mr Carrillo Fuentes, 47, is the third alleged top cartel leader to be caught this year in Mexico, where the authorities have been waging an intense campaign against drug gangs.

He faces charges of drug trafficking and organised crime.

US intelligence agencies black budget detailed

September 2, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

A breakdown of US intelligence’s multi-billion dollar “black budget” has been revealed in files disclosed by leaker Edward Snowden to the Washington Post.

The CIA’s budget is the most expensive, $14.7bn (£9.5bn) out of $52.6bn in total for 16 intelligence agencies, according to the files.

Two of those agencies are also actively hacking into foreign computer networks, reports the Washington Post.

The US has not made public a breakdown of the total intelligence budget.

The newspaper published charts detailing the budget, but did not post all the documents, citing “sensitive details” after US officials expressed concerns about risks to methods and sources.

According to the Washington Post, the CIA’s budget has grown more than 50% since 2004.

Diplomats withdrawn from consulate in Pakistan by US

August 12, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

The US has ordered all non-essential government personnel to leave its consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

A senior State Department official said the move was in response to a “credible threat” to the consulate.

US personnel remaining in Lahore should limit non-essential travel within the country, the official said.

On Thursday, the US reiterated a travel warning advising all US citizens to defer non-essential travel to Pakistan.

“We are undertaking this drawdown due to concerns about credible threat information specific to the US Consulate in Lahore,” the official said.

“An updated travel warning has also been issued,” the official said, adding that “US citizens remaining in Lahore… should limit non-essential travel within the country, be aware of their surroundings whether in their residences or moving about, [and] make their own contingency emergency plans.”

Obama And Putin Meeting Cancelled Over Snowden’s Asylum

August 8, 2013 / By Armoured Cars / In security

US President Barack Obama has cancelled a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin after Russia’s decision to grant asylum to intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, the White House said.

But Mr Obama will still attend the G20 economic talks in St Petersburg.

A White House aide said Mr Snowden’s asylum had deepened the pre-existing tension between the two countries.

The Kremlin said it was disappointed by the move and that the invitation to bilateral talks remained in force.

Mr Snowden, a former intelligence contractor, has admitted leaking information about US surveillance programmes to the media.