A wanted Kuwaiti on Sunday blamed the government for a wave of violence in the pro-Western, oil-rich country, saying police wanted to stop militant Islamists from joining the anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq.
"We're just on a holy mission, and dese guyz are trying to stop us!"
"If these young men were thinking of operating inside Kuwait, they would have done so a long time ago," Khaled al-Dosari told the London-based Islamic Media Centre in an interview, a copy of which was sent to Reuters. "The authorities wanted to arrest these young men after discovering they intended to go to Iraq for jihad (holy war). Now the authorities are liquidating them physically because there is no evidence against them to put them on trial."
The Kuwaiti coppers have been vigilant, haven't they? My how the pigs begin to squeal.
Kuwaiti officials have said al Qaeda-linked militants were involved in a series of shootouts with police in the Gulf Arab state since early January. Dosari is one of two main suspects still at large. Police say arrested militants confessed to planning suicide attacks against U.S. military and Western targets in Kuwait and say they have seized large weapons caches.
Dosari said Islamic militants had no intention of launching a campaign against Kuwait, but promised revenge for the death of Amer al-Enezi, a man described by police as the spiritual leader of Kuwait militants, who died in custody last week. "The blood of Amer and his brothers is not worthless and we will enter into a blood feud ... Amer and his companions wanted to go to Iraq but authorities killed them on America's orders."
"We will have Dire Revenge™!"
Dosari denied the group had links to al Qaeda other than "a relationship of religion and blood" and disowned a media designation of the group as the "Peninsula Lions", under whose name statements appeared on Islamist Web sites.
Except that "a relationship of religion and blood" is everything, isn't it.
This article starring:
AMER AL ENEZI
Peninsula Lions
KHALED AL DOSARI
Peninsula Lions
Islamic Media Centre
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/14/2005 12:08:25 AM ||
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#1
The authorities wanted to arrest these young men after discovering they intended to go to Iraq for jihad (holy war). Now the authorities are liquidating them physically because there is no evidence against them to put them on trial."
British police have charged a man with conspiracy to cause an explosion after arresting him Tuesday when he arrived at London's Heathrow Airport from Pakistan. Police officials say authorities filed the charges against 29-year-old Salahuddin Amin Saturday. They say the offenses, involving conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious damage, occurred between October 2003 and March 2004, but gave no details. The suspect is to appear at London's Central Criminal court Monday.
This article starring:
SALAHUDIN AMIN
al-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/14/2005 12:58:37 AM ||
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A man arrested at Heathrow airport on explosives charges has claimed he was tortured by British, American and Pakistan intelligence agents. 7/10. Where were The Mossad? Salahuddin Amin, 29, made a brief appearance at Bow Street Magistrates Court in London where he was charged with conspiring to cause an explosion. Afterwards his lawyer, Fariquain Shah, issued a statement on Amin's behalf in which he claimed mental and physical torture. In his statement Amin said:
"In the name of Allah God, the most merciful and gracious, I, Salahuddin Amin, was born in the UK and I am a British citizen with all my family resident in the UK. On April 2 2004 I surrendered myself to the authorities in Pakistan and was detained in the most despicable conditions for over 10 months. Throughout my detention I was tortured mentally and physically and subjected to interrogation by British, American and Pakistani intelligence authorities. On February 8 2005 I was finally released without any criminal charges.
But when I entered the UK, to my surprise, I was arrested and charged with conspiracy to cause explosions in the UK. I completely deny this charge. I have faith in God Almighty and I'm confident that the British judicial system will deal with my case in a just manner. My only crime is that I took it on myself to provide water and food and shelter to the widows and orphans of the Afghan war. I would never do anything that would cause harm or injury to people in the UK."
Amin was detained last Tuesday following his arrival in the UK from Pakistan. He was originally held under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. This refers to suspected involvement in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. But he was eventually charged under the Explosive Substances Act 1883. He will appear in court again on February 21.
This article starring:
SALAHUDIN AMIN
al-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Bulldog ||
02/14/2005 7:04:21 AM ||
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#1
Yawn. The line's over there. And it's a long one, so take a number and be prepared to wait.
Former Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamduh Habib has said he was routinely subjected to torture during his three years in US custody.
"Yeah! Once they cut both my legs off with a miter saw!"
"Really?"
"Well, I got better."
In a paid interview with Australia's Nine Network television station on Sunday, the Egyptian-born Australian national said he was subjected to electric shocks and beatings every day and even threatened with sexual abuse by a trained dog after he was taken to Egypt from Pakistan, where he was arrested in late 2001.
"They called him 'Bowser the Wowser.' Several of the prisoners became pregnant by him!"
While under torture, he said he made a series of false confessions, including that he trained people to hijack aircraft to fly them into the World Trade Centre in New York, and also that he had fought in Chechnya. Habib maintained: "I have been through a lot, I have been harmed for no reason. I am innocent."
This article starring:
MAMDUH HABIB
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2005 00:00:00 ||
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While under torture, he said he made a series of false confessions, including that he trained people to hijack aircraft to fly them into the World Trade Centre in New York, and also that he had fought in Chechnya.
The false charges of torture are a matching set with the false confessions.
#2
"...threatened with sexual abuse by a trained dog..."
That's one mutt who's going to find re-homing tricky when it comes to retirement.
"Affectionate. And intelligent, you say?"
"Very. One of the quickest learners we ever had at Guantanamo."
"But you say he needs 'special precautions'?"
"Er, that's right. I wouldn't advise bending over when he's around. And don't let him use the internet."
#6
What idiot inscribes his weapons with his group affiliation? I think somebody was set up to make the .gov look good . . . some intel guy taking one for the team.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/14/2005 22:50 Comments ||
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KINGSTON, N.Y. -- A 24-year-old man was arraigned early Monday on assault charges after he allegedly opened fire in a crowded shopping mall, wounding two people and sending shoppers scrambling for safety.
Robert Bonelli was arraigned shortly before 1 a.m. in Ulster Town Court on first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, according to Brian Woltman, a dispatcher for the Town of Ulster Police Department.
Bonelli, of nearby Saugerties, was being held in Ulster County Jail without bail pending a town court appearance on Wednesday, Woltman said.
Finally, a name! I wonder if we'll hear a motive anytime soon.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/14/2005 7:57:42 AM ||
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#1
Calm down, folks. He's just a nut. Show's over. Nothing to see here.
A man who opened fire in a crowded shopping mall with an assault weapon, wounding two, seemed to have a "lurid fascination" with the Columbine High School shooting, a prosecutor said Monday.
Desmond Dutcher, who lives below the Bonellis, said he saw the suspect just hours before the shooting and he appeared "completely fine." Dutcher described Bonelli as friendly but quiet. "I know he's upstairs a lot, doesn't go out too much, doesn't have a lot of friends," Dutcher said.
Yeah, that's always a good sign...
#2
The "assault rifle" aspect is going to send Hillary and Schumer into a fit. New "assault weapons" legislation will be coming out of the Senate soon.
At least six people have died and dozens have been injured after a trio of bombings in the Philippines. A bus is reported to have exploded in central Manila, shortly after two other blasts in the south of the country.
The separatist group Abu Sayyaf, which is currently fighting soldiers on the island of Jolo, said it was responsible for at least two of the blasts. A rebel spokesman reportedly told local radio the attacks were a "Valentine's gift" to President Gloria Arroyo.
One blast happened in General Santos City, when a bomb destroyed a parked motorcycle taxi outside a shopping mall, killing at least three people. "There was a loud explosion... The ground was shaking. People were screaming and running in all directions," a witness told Reuters news agency. National police chief Edgar Aglipay said the bomb was believed to have been stashed in a bag at a taxi stand near the entrance to the mall.
Almost simultaneously, a bomb exploded at a bus terminal in Davao City, injuring at least five people. Davao's mayor Rodrigo Duterte called it "the handiwork of terrorists", and vowed to "track the killers down". About half an hour later, a blast went off in the Makati business district of the capital, Manila, killing at least three people. One witness said smoke could be seen from below a nearby elevated-train station.
In a phone call to DZBB radio after the first two attacks, Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman said the group was responsible.
"Our latest operations - planned and executed with precision by the gallant warriors of Islam - is our continuing response to the Philippine government's atrocities committed against Muslims everywhere," Mr Solaiman said. "We will find more ways and means to inflict more harm to your people's lives and properties, and we will not stop unless we get justice for the countless Muslims lives and properties that you people have destroyed".
Regional police chief Antonio Billiones said he was still investigating the three incidents on Monday. "But, we can link the attacks to what is happening in the mountains of Jolo," he said.
Fighting has been going on for a week on Jolo island, between soldiers and rebels thought to be from both the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and a break-away faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
They're getting thumped in the country-side, so they boom a city bus to try and get Gloria to back off.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 9:13:17 AM ||
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Why that is the only way the brave islamic fighers can fight. By killing innocent unarmed women and children or using 10-year old children or the mentally handicapped for suicide bombers.
I hope Arroyo doesn't stop. But she has shown her willingness to bend over and grab her ankles before....
#2
UPDATE: National Police chief Director General Edgardo Aglipay announced Monday night that the police have arrested one suspect believed to be part of a group responsible for the separate bombings in General Santos City, Davao City and Makati City.
Aglipay said the suspect was caught while in possession of improvised bombs. He said there is a big possibility that the three separate bombings on Monday is a handiwork of one group and was executed to destabilize the government. The police are conducting intensive investigations and follow up operations to identify and arrest the suspects.
Abu Sayyaf Group spokesperson Abu Solaiman, hours after the bomb attacks, announced that their group is responsible for the series of bombings in General Santos City, Davao City and Makati City. Solaiman announced that the series of bombings is their group's gift to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 12:02 Comments ||
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Fresh fighting broke out between troops and Muslim rebels on the remote southern island of Jolo on Sunday, the seventh day of a military offensive against militants who have vowed to fight to the last man.
The military said three soldiers were killed and 13 were wounded when troops caught up with fleeing rebels in the island's interior on Sunday. It said the rebels suffered an undetermined number of casualties in air strikes and artillery fire.
"There's heavy fighting going on in Panamao and Luuk areas," Lieutenant-General Alberto Braganza, the most senior commander in the southern Philippines, told reporters. "They are taking a last stand in the mountains."
The military said on Friday about 60 rebels had been killed in clashes since Monday. It lost 30 soldiers, including a battalion commander hit by rebel mortar fire on an army base.
More than 15,000 civilians have poured into Jolo town, on the west coast of the island of the same name, to escape fighting in mountain villages.
Local officials renewed appeals for a ceasefire, saying food, medicines and blankets were running low despite government relief efforts.
"They do not like to surrender, they will fight to the death," said Absalom Cerveza, an ally of jailed separatist leader Nur Misuari and a member of the rebel panel that negotiated a peace deal with the government in September 1996.
He said he had talked to rebel leaders on Friday, telling reporters the fighters were "in high spirits and far from being crushed".
Braganza said an elite team of U.S.-trained counter-terrorist troops was flown to the frontlines on Sunday to reinforce nearly 4,000 soldiers fighting about 800 militants from the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and rogue members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) since a rebel ambush on Monday.
After the MNLF signed the peace deal brokered by Indonesia in 1996, some disaffected followers of Misuari formed alliances with Abu Sayyaf.
While the clashes on Jolo are the bloodiest since 2001, when 500 people were killed in a failed uprising led by Misuari, they are unlikely to affect peace talks with the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which broke from the MNLF in 1978.
Talks with the MILF, brokered by Malaysia, are due to resume next month in Kuala Lumpur.
No organised military campaign has ever been lastingly successful on Jolo island, dating back to the 16th century when Spain colonised the archipelago. The U.S. military also failed to contain local warriors on Jolo at the turn of the 20th century, at the start of the American occupation of the Philippines.
The Philippine military has also launched campaigns on Jolo after high-profile kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf, but has not achieved much.
The rebels have control of the terrain and wide support from the local population. It is also easy for them to disappear in the jungles or melt among people in towns, and re-emerge at a time and place of their choosing.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/14/2005 12:21:51 AM ||
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BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The suicide bomber who killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is a Palestinian member of an Islamic group linked to al-Qaida. A security (official), on condition of anonymity, identified the bomber as Ahmed Abu Adas, a Palestinian refugee who lived in the low-income Beirut neighborhood of Tarik Jadida. The source said the bomber's neighbors saw him leave his home a few hours before the attack that killed Hariri and eight other people. Security forces raided Abu Adas' house later in the day and seized a computer and documents, the source told UPI. Abu Adas is said to belong to a Muslim fundamentalist group linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network. A group called the Organization of Nasrat and Jihad in Bilad Sham claimed responsibility for the attack, accusing Hariri of being an agent of the Saudi regime. Hariri has dual Lebanese-Saudi citizenship and is a close friend of the Saudi royal family.
Gonna suck being a Palestinian in Lebanon. Now, where did I put that nano-violin?
Additional: DUBAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - An unknown Islamist group said it killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in a suicide attack on Monday, calling him a Saudi agent in a video tape aired on Al Jazeera television. "For the sake of our mujahideen brothers in Saudi Arabia ... we decided to implement the just execution of those who support this regime," a bearded man wearing a white turban and black robe said in excerpts aired from the tape. "This was a martyrdom operation we carried out ... This is the beginning of many martyrdom operations against the infidels and apostates in the Levant," the man said, reading from a statement that described Hariri as an "agent". He sat in front of a black flag carrying the name "Group for Advocacy and Holy War in the Levant". The Levant is the historical name of the region including today's Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian territories and Jordan.
The statement said the attack was also "in revenge for the pious martyrs killed by security forces of the Saudi regime" and used a religious term for Saudi Arabia often used by al Qaeda militants fighting Riyadh's U.S.-allied government since 2003. It was not possible to pinpoint the speaker's origin from his Arabic accent, though it seemed to be Levantine. Al Jazeera said the tape named the suicide bomber as Ahmed Abu Adas. The channel earlier said its Beirut bureau had received a phone call from a man speaking foreign-accented Arabic claiming the attack in the name of the same group. The authenticity of the tape could not be verified. Past attacks in Iraq and elsewhere in the region have been the subject of claims by many groups, some of which have turned out not to be true. Hariri was a regular visitor to Saudi Arabia where he spent 20 years building a fortune in the construction industry that Forbes estimated at $3.8 billion on its 2003 World's Richest People list.Saudi Arabia condemned the Beirut attack as "evil". Lebanese Information Minister Elie al-Firzli told reporters the video tape was being studied. "We cannot rule out anything," he said.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 2:52:06 PM ||
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#1
riiigghhhttt - where'd this pinhead get the boom materials? The tech training? State sponsorship.....
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/14/2005 15:25 Comments ||
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#2
Is there any way we could drop a jetload of "Baby Names for the 21st Century" books on pan-Arabia? It's absurd-you have a 50/50 shot of guessing a complete stranger's name correctly if you just shout out Ahmed or Mohammed.
Given the availability of it in the ME, I was under the impression that Arabs excrete it through their skin - perhaps as a result of all that seething.
#6
I read that there was something like 600lbs of explosive. Some ratbag group doesn't just scroung that up, even in the ME. Some state apparatus was behind this. The ID of the bomber is too quick for my taste.
#7
Actually, Hariri was trying to rebuilt Lebanon - almost single-handedly. Good man with vision - just the kind of person Lebanon cannot afford to lose. And I personally smell Baathist all over this hit - no way that much explosive is gathered in one spot in Beirut without Syrian participation and/or active non-interference.
#8
OK, I call the AQ connection bullshit. It has Syrian Military Spec Ops written all over it. They try to misdirect the attention, but no one in Lebanon seems to buy it.
#9
I just had a nasty thought: what if this really was AQ, and this was a way of striking at the Royal Family in Saudi Arabia?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/14/2005 17:44 Comments ||
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#10
Phil, think about it. How would be Soddies harmed by Hariri's assassination.
What is more significant, Hariri's 'friendship' with Soddy royals, or his drive for independent Lebanon?
Let's see what ol' Occam sez ... : "Chop, chop ... I pick the second."
#13
Typo typing fast.... btw...
being its the Mid-East and being that there are even Magic Kingdom angles....
The arabesque will never be understood by those of us outside the culture.
So in that case.... help all players take each other out....
#14
Sobiesky: I don't know. But consider that there are multiple factions of Saudi Royalty, rumored to be occasionally violently hostile to each other.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/14/2005 18:43 Comments ||
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#15
Bin Laden is a Saudi construction magnet. magnate... Unless you are talking about magnets distributed by advertisers for the 'fridge...
#16
Phil, ya're right. They are. However, why take out Hariri to hurt some Soddy? Magic Kingdom angles and such considered, it freakin does not make any sense. It would make a sense to take out a family member of the leader of a faction if the leader is not available or untouchable.
Lebanon--upcoming elections--strong tendency towards independence--Hariri its strong advocate with a chance to form a new government...
That makes sense. Very likely Syrians involved on planing level. Of course, there's a law of unintended consequences. Very likely it will backfire.
#17
YES !!!!!!
We're back to the pre Achille Lauro days of nameless micro grudges precipitating vendetta slayings by unknown and unknowable groups with obscure, undefinable, and hallucenogenic goals.
It's the salafi palawan command general front dervish brigade of the kharjarite regenerative legion !
1. Zawahiri's tape was released yesterday.
2. That was the signal to move ahead with the Beirut boom.
3. Was it a signal for the US to move up its terror alert?
#20
OK, had a phone call with a former SLA officer, living here in Canuckistan since 1986. Presented the theories (trade war conspiracy, AQ and Soddy royals connection) asking to comment on them after am done.
He seemed to be amused and responded with 3 words:
Pure unadulterated crapola
and then continued:
Ask any Lebanese and they will all tell you that they have no doubts about Syrian involvement. The AQ story is just a smokescreen for non-Lebanese consumption...Syrians hoping that it would be swallowed line, hook and sinker and absolving them of any wrongdoing outside Lebanon.
#21
Well, Sobiesky, please give your friend my regards (and condolances if he knew the deceased.) I know the Syrians are the obvious possibility, I just get paranoid sometimes.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/14/2005 23:55 Comments ||
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Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a billionaire who helped rebuild his country after decades of war but resigned last fall amid a sharp dispute with Syria and its Lebanese allies, was killed Monday in a massive bomb explosion that tore through his motorcade. At least nine other people were killed and 100 wounded, including a former economy minister, in the blast, which raised immediate fears that Lebanon — largely peaceful since the 1990 end of its civil war — was headed toward a new and bloody twist in the continuing and divisive dispute over Syria's role. The Lebanese National News Agency, quoting a statement from American University Hospital, said Hariri was pronounced dead on arrival, his body mutilated in the massive explosion.
Former Economy Minister Bassel Fleihan, a member of parliament in Hariri's bloc, was severely wounded and admitted to the intensive care unit of the American University Hospital, said another pro-Hariri legislator, Atef Majdalani. Hariri's own Future TV reported that Fleihan was in critical condition and the hospital was preparing to transfer him abroad.
An emergency Cabinet meeting was called and Lebanon's supreme defense council — security Cabinet ministers, top leaders and military officials — were in session at the presidential palace, a presidential spokesman said. Syrian President Bashar Assad said he "condemned this horrible criminal action," according to SANA, Syria's official news agency. Assad urged the Lebanese people to reject those who "(plant) schism among the people" during this "critical situation."
Hariri's assassination removes a main political buffer in a country divided among an opposition strongly opposed to Syria's role, and the pro-Syrian government camp. Hariri's supporters quickly took to the streets, chanting his praises outside the American University Hospital where he was declared dead. In his hometown of Sidon, supporters blocked roads and burned tires.
The explosion at 12:55 p.m. was so powerful that Hariri's motorcade of bullet-proof vehicles was left a burning wreck. It was not immediately known whether the explosives had been planted in a car or a building, but they blew a 10-meter-wide crater in the street and shattered windows of hotels and apartment buildings. At least 20 cars were set on fire in a blast that devastated the front of the famous St. George Hotel, blowing off balconies, and damaged a British bank and the Phoenicia Hotel. Bystanders and ambulance workers made crude stretchers to carry the wounded to vehicles to take them to nearby hospitals. TV footage showed several men dragging a slain victim partially covered by a brown blanket through the rubble-strewn street before letting go of his arms and letting him fall to the ground. Flames still licked from his body and his face appeared grossly disfigured by burns.
There was no credible claim of responsibility. The Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel said its Beirut office received a call from somebody who said a previously unknown group had killed Hariri. "This appears to be a very powerful car bomb that affected at least two city blocks in their entirety. Glass was broken in windows from skyscrapers about a mile away from the explosion," CBS Newsman Edward Yeranian reports. "Explosions have been fairly rare in Beirut over the last several years," said Yeranian. "There was a Lebanese politician that was targeted about 3 months ago, but there were very few victims, and it was a very limited area that was affected."
Hariri was a self-made billionaire who led Lebanon for 10 of the years since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. He was elected prime minister in 1992 and served until 1998, forming at least three Cabinets. He was elected again in 2000 and served until he resigned in October. Hariri moved toward the opposition camp after leaving office — in large part because of a dispute concerning Syria's controversial role in Lebanon. Hariri had rejected a Syrian-backed insistence that his old rival, President Emile Lahoud, remain in office as president for three more years. Pro-Syrian allies of Lahoud accused Hariri of being behind the U.N. Security Council resolution in September that demanded Syria withdraw its army from Lebanon and stop interfering in the country. The resolution was sponsored by the United States and France. Hariri was credited with rebuilding Lebanon from the destruction of the civil war, but he was faulted with shackling Lebanon with a debt of more than US$35 billion. His wide international business and political connections helped earn Lebanon wide recognition and attracted badly needed foreign investment.
TV footage showed dramatic scenes of one burning man struggling to get out of a car window, then falling on the ground. He was helped by a bystander who used his jacket to put out the flames, but it was not clear if he survived. Several young women were seen with blood running down their faces. Some had to be helped from the scene. Heavily armed security forces cordoned off the area with yellow tape as rescue workers and investigators combed the scene apparently looking for casualties or clues to what caused the huge explosion.
#5
Update: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has been assassinated in a car bombing in central Beirut, Tourism Minister Farid Khazen has confirmed. The blast, which reports say killed about nine people, caused widespread damage and left about 20 cars ablaze. The bombing occurred beside the derelict St Georges Hotel, near the city's harbour. It caused a huge crater in the street, and left vehicles smouldering and shop-fronts blown out and blackened. Mr Hariri was on his way back from parliament when his motorcade was attacked near the waterfront in west Beirut.
Mr Hariri has been the leading Lebanese politician since the end of the civil war in 1990, and prime minister for most of the last 15 years. He resigned in October amid differences with Lebanon's pro-Syrian President, Emile Lahoud.
"Nothing personel, Rafik. Just business"
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 9:10 Comments ||
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#6
One wonders what Islamic politics must have been like before the discovery of black powder.
#8
this is the kind of stuff Machiavelli, and the Borgias knew about, more than its got anything to do with Islam per se - if it turns out to be AQ id be very surprised. Could be Hezbollah, acting as front for Syria.
#9
One wonders what Islamic politics must have been like before the discovery of black powder.
They'd just wack his head off with a sword. Some things never change, do they?
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 10:43 Comments ||
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#10
Shalom, who was meeting with French President Jacques Chirac when he heard about the explosion,
#11
No question in my mind it was Syria. I smell pita bread and Bashir's been cooking. End game is to limit US influence in Syria's sphere. They lost Iraq all they have left is Lebanon.
#14
I wonder if Assad drafted his condemnation before or after the blast.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/14/2005 12:00 Comments ||
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#15
I dunno, BD, he may be looking at the Sadat treatment soon.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/14/2005 12:11 Comments ||
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#16
A self-made billionaire. Hariri went to Saudi as a math teacher, saw opportunity and embedded himself, somehow, with Fahd. The latter liked whatever Hariri was providing, set him up in the construction business, and had Hariri's firm gobble up palace-building contracts. Fahd even gave him Saudi citizenship. The guy went back to Beirut and the rest is history. I wonder if there's a good bio of the guy someplace.
Posted by: chicago mike ||
02/14/2005 13:25 Comments ||
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#17
Purported al Qaeda suicide bomber shown on video claiming assassination of Lebanese ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri was identified as Palestinian called Ahmed Abu Addis. Lebanese security agents raided his Beirut home hours after murder.
Muslim, Christian, Druse opposition leaders in Beirut join forces against pro-Syrian government in Beirut and vow not to rest until Syria is out of Lebanon. Rallies in Beirut and Sidon murdered politician’s home town born.
The Syrian Intel dude that came up with the idea will learn the law of unintended consequences in no time... I am no sure Assad OK-ed it, but if he did, he's an idiot.
I amnot sure how well would it be received by Lebanese that the assassin was one of Paleos. They (Paleos) may be experiencing some "difficulties" from lebanese for some time to come.
Enraged Lebanese Muslim, Christian, Druse opposition leaders in Beirut declare pro-Syrian government illegal, blame Damascus for Rafiq Hariri’s murder.
Lebanese army, security forces mobilized and deployed at key points in capital and across country. Syrian army ordered to stay in barracks.
#21
LH, he took credit for it: BEIRUT, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Lebanese security forces said on Monday they had stormed the Beirut home of a man they identified as a Palestinian who appeared in a video claiming responsibility for the killing of a former Lebanese prime minister.
A Lebanese security source said Ahmed Aboul Adef was not in the house. He had earlier appeared in a video aired by Al Jazeera claiming responsibility for the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri. Hariri was killed by a car bomb on Monday.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 15:15 Comments ||
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#22
Man, being a cop in the ME is, from the investigator POV, a phreakin' breeze! All the bad guys cut videos of themselves. Sheesh! Prosecutor Heaven - assuming they don't die in the act or arrest process, heh.
#25
So does the process of arresting this Palestinian involve the use of a squeegee?
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2005 15:24 Comments ||
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#26
The powerfully armed motorcade of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was no match for the car bomb that gouged a massive blackened crater into Beirut's gleaming Corniche.
A blast so huge it blew out windows more than one kilometre away ripped apart the Mercedes vehicles like toys and engulfed the car Hariri was driving in fierce flames.
It was a big freeking bomb, and it seems jarred loose a few brain cells....
So advanced was the bomb, security sources said, that it defeated jamming equipment so hi-tech that Hariri's passing convoy would interfere with cell phones and televisions.
Or, it was so low tech it couldn't care less about your jammers, like a guy sitting in the car with a button.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 15:26 Comments ||
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#27
Well that was fast, for the video to show up.
I reserve judgement. Its VERY convenient for the govt of Syria for such a video to show up. This guy Hairari was not particularly an enemy of AQ, and its hard to see what they gain by it (yeah i know he was a pal of KSA, but thats a thin motivation, I think) Whereas he was a major threat to Syria.
#28
Isn't much of the leadership of AQ known to be in Iran, such as the head of the miliary head as well as the bin Laden wives and children? Just doing a favor for their hosts.
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2005 16:14 Comments ||
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#29
I doubt it has anything to do with AQ, despite what may be on the tape. It simply does not make much sense. The justification would be a real streeeetch.
Most likely candidates that would be inclined to think they would gain:
1. Syria (Army and Security elements, I have doubts that Assad is really such an idiot)
2. Hizbollah pupeteered from Iran
#30
Of course this is a Syrian operation. What the Islamic fanatics of the Iranian linked Hizbollah or AQ can provide is the readily available pool of jihadis who will blow themselves up at their master's command. Don't see too many Baathists pressing the auto-hamburger switch. They want their rewards in this world.
Posted by: ed ||
02/14/2005 17:58 Comments ||
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#32
I agree with Ed for 3 reasons : 1) the amount of explosives involved - Syrians had to know; 2) extremely popular politician with appeal across religious lines saying "Syria out of Lebanon"; and 3) lots of money to spread around to different political factions and create "reality on the ground" for Syria
Highway men arrested
Five robbers were arrested by police while they were trying to loot a rice-laden truck at Sadardi in Bhanga upazila on Faridpur-Barisal highway early today (Sunday). Police said on information they seized the bus in which the robbers were chasing the truck and arrested them red handed at 2.45am. The bus driver, however, managed to flee. Police also recovered two Chinese axes and a big sharp weapon from their possession.
"What the hell is that?"
"I don't know, but it's big and sharp."
Crossfire #1
A listed criminal of the city was killed in 'crossfire' between the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-3) and gangsters at Sutrapur in the old part of the city on Saturday night. The dead was identified as Firoz Alam Pintu alias Kala Pintu (32), son of late Fayez Uddin and a resident of 16/2 Alamganj Lane under Sutrapur police station.
According to RAB sources, on a tip-off that a gang of armed miscreants assembled at Alamganj under Sutrapur police station a squad of RAB-3 went to the spot at around 9.30am yesterday.
9:30 AM? Night shift must be putting in some overtime.
As RAB personnel reached the spot the criminals opened fire on them. The RAB personnel returned the fire and in the encounter one of the criminals was injured and died on the spot. But the rest of the gangsters managed to flee.
Funny how that works
RAB sources said, they recovered two pistols, twelve rounds of bullet from the spot. Pintu was accused in 23 criminal cases including 8 murder cases, police sources said.
The body of Pintu was rushed to the morgue of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) for autopsy.
"He's dead, Jim"
Pintu is survived by a son and a daughter. Crossfire #2
A listed criminal was killed in 'crossfire' between Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and his accomplices in the early hours yesterday at Mirerkhil of Hathazari upazila. Hossain Ahmad alias Foyez Munna, who hailed from Panchlaish in Chittagong, was a cadre of ruling coalition partner Jamaat-e-Islami's student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir, said sources.
So he's a young islamic thug, or was..
With his death, the toll in crossfire rises to 231.
Earlier on Friday morning, a four-member team of Rab-7 with assistance of Rab-2 men arrested Munna at Motijheel Shapla Crossing area of Dhaka, sources said.
He was brought to Rab-7 headquarters at Patenga on Friday evening. He under interrogation said that Gittu Nasir, Sajjad Khan, Gias Hajarika, Taleban Sohel, and other Shibir cadres at different places of Chittagong possess a huge number of firearms. Besides, he confessed to having a few arms hidden at South Mirerkhil in Hathazari.
Those "hidden arms" will get ya every time
A Rab team took him to South Mirerkhil at around 4.30am yesterday.
O-Dark Four Thirty, check
But his gang already lying in wait there opened fire on Rab men to snatch him.
Gang lying in wait, check
Rab men returned fire, and at one stage, Munna got shot.
Shot trying to escape, check
He was rushed to the Hathazari Health Complex, where doctors declared him dead.
Dead, check
Rab men recovered a number of firearms from Munna's village hideout. The arms included five guns, 49 rounds of ammunition and eight cartridges.
Sources said Munna was accused in five cases including one for triple murder. He and his men were involved in the double murder of Awami League leader Faruk Mahmud Siddique and businessman Solaiman Chowdhury in 2003. Munna was reportedly second-in-command of the gang of notorious Gittu Nasir, who had been sentenced to death in the sensational principal Gopal Krishna Muhuri murder case. He had been absconding since the murder of Shibir cadre Chhota Saiful, his brother and sister last year. Another one bites the dust
In Kushtia, Mohidul Islam Shamim alias Mohit Malitha, 42, reportedly the second-in-command of Purba Banglar Communist Party (ML-Jonojuddha), died in a shootout between the police and his associates at village Lalongar under Daulatpur upazila early Saturday Imam rapes 8yr-old girl
N'ganj: An eight-year-old girl was raped by an Imam in Razapur in Fatullah yesterday. The victim, a grade-four student at Razapur Government Primary School, went to the house of Saiful Islam, pesh imam of Razapur Pashchimpara Mosque, for Arabic lessons at around 11:00am.
"Arabic lessons" - so that's what they're calling it these days
Hearing her cry, locals rushed to the house and held the imam, said witnesses. A mob beat up and handed him over to police.
Pity they didn't finish the job. Oh well, maybe he's got some hidden arms, he is a imam after all.
Saiful admitted to raping the girl at local police station in presence of reporters.
Just following in the footsteps of big Mo
.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/14/2005 8:28:13 AM ||
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#1
With his death, the toll in crossfire rises to 231.
I wonder if they've got a tote board in the background of the nightly news over there that just keeps rolling up like the Jerry Lewis Telethon. "What're we up to now, Achmed..."
#2
With his death, the toll in crossfire rises to 231.
It's great when you have so many forces you can set up a crossfire every time. And RB has reported them all. Any idea how many rounds of bullet they've found?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/14/2005 9:20 Comments ||
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#3
Saiful admitted to raping the girl at local police station in presence of reporters.
For those of us who jumped down to the last line of the article, I think there is a comma missing.
#4
Just poor placement; In the presence of reporters at a local police station Saiful admitted to doing the Big Mo on the little girl is unambiguous. Phrases need not be separated by commas; I went by the lake on my way to the store.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/14/2005 9:34 Comments ||
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#5
anyone who reads my posts knows that grammer's not my thing, but...but... in order to be correct, should we not be left wondering whether he admitted to just raping her...or if he admitted to raping her in front of reporters?
Responding to death threats against government ministers, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) ordered law enforcement agencies Sunday to crack down on Jewish extremists opposed to the planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip (news - web sites).
Cabinet ministers said the charged climate is reminiscent of the period before the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (news - web sites) who was in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. One minister warned Sharon himself could become a target. Extremists have put up posters across the country that say Rabin and the prime minister's deceased wife, Lily, are "waiting for Sharon."
Despite the concerns, Sharon's Cabinet approved a list of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released in coming days, and several hundred Palestinian workers were permitted to return to jobs in Israel in line with agreements reached at a Mideast summit last week.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, was to present a new Cabinet to his Fatah (news - web sites) movement for approval Tuesday. Abbas was expected to appoint new interior, foreign and information ministers but keep on many current government members, officials said.
Israeli officials have voiced concerns about Jewish extremist opposition to the pullout plan for months. But with this summer's planned withdrawal quickly approaching and a recent warming of ties with the Palestinians, the level of alarm has been raised.
Sharon instructed law enforcement agencies to report back to the Cabinet as soon as possible with steps that can be taken to "rein in the violent rampage" of extremists opposing his plan, a statement said.
Several Cabinet ministers said they have received threatening letters in recent days, and last week Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (news - web sites) had his tires slashed and slurs shouted at him while attending a wedding.
Netanyahu, a former prime minister, was targeted just days after Education Minister Limor Livnat was whisked away from an event where she was screamed at by hard-line Jews.
Meir Sheetrit, one of the ministers who received a threatening letter, said every step should be taken to punish those behind the threats.
"It sets off a warning light, and we should take tangible steps before there is another political murder," he said.
Cabinet minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer presented the ministers a copy of a letter he received. The letter described the Iraqi-born Ben-Eliezer as "the epitome of evil, a miserable Iraqi, a Nazi with Arab blood. You love Arabs more than Jews."
Ben-Eliezer then said to the ministers: "I am telling you: They will try to kill the prime minister," according to the Haaretz daily.
Sharon was outraged.
"I am shocked by this savagery. We need to take immediate practical steps," Sharon was quoted as saying before ordering police, legal authorities and security commanders to take action.
At Sunday's meeting, the Cabinet approved the release of 500 Palestinian prisoners in the near future, one of a series of agreements reached at last week's Mideast summit in Egypt.
Israel will also allow several dozen Palestinian militants who were expelled from the West Bank to return to their homes and gradually hand five West Bank towns to Palestinian control.
Senior commanders from both sides met late Sunday to coordinate the handover of Jericho, the first town to be turned over. Army Radio reported that the handover would take place in about 48 hours.
In line with the summit agreements, Israel will release another 400 Palestinian prisoners within three months.
"Prisoners, prisoners are our priority, and we told everyone about it," from the American secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites), to President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) of Egypt, Abbas told The New York Times. "The situation will be stabilized and will cool down in Gaza and the West Bank" to the degree that Sharon "helps us to release the prisoners."
The Palestinian prisoners to be freed constitute only a small fraction of the estimated 8,000 in Israeli jails. Palestinians are demanding that all be freed, while Israeli officials insist that with few exceptions, prisoners with "blood on their hands" cannot be considered.
Several hundred Palestinian workers from Gaza returned Sunday to jobs in Israel under the summit agreements. Before the outbreak of fighting more than four years ago, more than 100,000 Palestinians worked in Israel.
Also, the Israeli army said the bodies of 15 Palestinians killed last year during attacks on Israeli settlements and army bases in the Gaza Strip would be handed over Monday to Palestinian authorities in Gaza for burial.
Palestinian officials said on condition of anonymity that the new Cabinet would include Brig. Gen. Nasser Yousef, a military official who frequently fought with Yasser Arafat (news - web sites); Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan; and possibly Nasser al-Kidwa, the current Palestinian envoy to the United Nations (news - web sites) and Arafat's nephew, as the new foreign minister.
The current foreign minister, Nabil Shaath, would be shifted to another Cabinet position, the officials said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/14/2005 12:38:05 AM ||
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Gunmen assassinated an Iraqi general and two companions in a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad on Sunday, and election officials said an alliance of Shiites won the most votes in the Jan. 30 elections.
On the military front, three U.S. soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled into a canal Sunday, the military said. The men from Task Force Danger were on a combat patrol near the town of Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. command said in a statement.
In violence in the north, insurgents attacked a U.S. convoy and a government building near the city of Mosul, leaving at least four people dead, hospital workers said. Two Iraqi National Guard troops were also killed while trying to defuse a roadside bomb.
U.S. hopes for a larger NATO role in Iraq suffered a setback when German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Sunday rejected calls for the alliance to protect U.N. operations there. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also ruled out a U.N. security role.
In the Baghdad assassination on Sunday, the gunmen struck as Brig. Gen. Jadaan Farhan and his companions were traveling through Baghdad's Kazimiyah district, an Iraqi police officer said on condition of anonymity.
A claim of responsibility for the attack in the name of al-Qaida quickly surfaced on a Web site that often posts statements by Islamic militants. The claim described the brigadier general as a senior commander in the Iraqi National Guard and the guard commander at Taji camp, an American facility about 15 miles north of Baghdad.
There was no way to verify the claim's authenticity.
In the battle just north of Mosul, insurgents fired on the convoy in Al-Qahira district, leaving at least four people dead and two wounded, doctors at the Al-Jumhuri Teaching Hospital said.
Insurgents also fired a rocket at the governor's building in Mosul, killing one woman and one man, as well as injuring four others, officials at the hospital said. Two Iraqi National Guard troops were killed on Mosul's airport road while trying to diffuse a roadside bomb, police said.
NATO's role in Iraq has been limited to a small training mission in Baghdad and logistics support to a Polish-led force serving with the U.S. coalition. Iraq war opponents led by France and Germany have prevented the alliance developing a wider role, and have refused to send their own troops, even on the training mission.
Fischer, Germany's foreign minister, said his country would not veto a NATO decision to do more, if it was backed by the other 25 allies. But he insisted "we will not be sending soldiers to Iraq."
Fischer emphasized German efforts to help Iraq in other ways _ through military and police training outside the country, economic aid and debt relief.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/14/2005 12:15:30 AM ||
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Kidnappers have abducted the head of a Christian party in Iraq (news - web sites) and are demanding the withdrawal of U.S. troops, Al Arabiya television reported on Monday.
The television gave no further details. A staffer reached by telephone said the kidnapping apparently occurred as the unnamed victim was going to his party's headquarters in Baghdad.
Christians form up to 3 percent of Iraq's 27 million people. Several Christian churches have been attacked during the current insurgency against the U.S.-backed government.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/14/2005 12:55:00 AM ||
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Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Chaggan Bhujbal and two former police officers would appear as defence witnesses in a special court on February 18 in a case registered against alleged terrorist Mohammed Afroz for waging a war against the nation. Hearing a plea by Afroz, special judge A P Bhangale of designated Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court asked Bhujbal, former city police chief M N Singh and suspended Deputy Commissioer of Police Pradip Sawant, to appear as defence witnesses on February 18.
The court, on February four, had issued bailable warrant against Sawant, asking him to appear on February 18 as defence witness to tender evidence in Afroz's case. The warrant was issued as Sawant failed to appear on earlier two occasions. Afroz was arrested on October two, 2002, on the charge of waging a war against the nation. According to police, he was part of the Al Qaeda network, which had planned to blow up House of Commons in UK, the Indian Parliament and Rialto Tower in Australia. Initially, he was booked under POTA but the POTA charge was dropped later and he is now being tried under IPC. Afroz had urged the court to examine Bhujbal and others as witnesses as they had sanctioned his prosecution at the relevant time.
This article starring:
MOHAMED AFROZ
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/14/2005 12:04:26 AM ||
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The Association of Muslim Scholars has said the Iraq elections cannot be accepted as they were conducted while under occupation.
"Nope. Nope. Just won't do. Go back and start over again!"
A spokesman for the influential Iraqi group, Dr Muhammad Bashar al-Faydhi, told Aljazeera on Sunday: "We, from the beginning, have announced our position toward the election as a political process that does meet the interests of Iraqis since it lacks legitimacy. It was carried in the absence of international supervision and under occupation, only persons with vested interests were supervising the political process, a move that is not logically and scientifically accepted."
"And there ain't nobody more rigorous in the old scientific method than us Muslim Scholars!"
Election officials announced the results earlier in the day saying 47% of eligible voters took part in the 30 January vote. But many Iraqis, most notably Sunni Arabs, did not vote due to security concerns or after boycotting the elections all together. Officials said only 2% of Sunni Arabs from al-Anbar province voted whilst only 29% from Salahadin province voted. AMS officials said they will establish relations with the new government despite their belief that it lacks authority to govern. "For the sake of those people (Iraqis who voted), we respect their choice, and will deal with the new government. Yet we know it lacks authority, does not diplomatically represent Iraq, and does not have the right or legitimacy to draw up a permanent constitution and enter in or ratify agreements," al-Faydhi said.
This article starring:
MUHAMAD BASHAR AL FAIDHI
Association of Muslim Scholars
Association of Muslim Scholars
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
I guess that means that Germany, Italy, and Japan have never had valid elections.
I guess it is true, though, that the 60% turnout is some 40% lower than the last election, where the choices were:
#2
Some of these Sunni leaders need to get their heads examined (they also need a shave). If more Sunnis had voted, the Shiite list would have gotten way below 48%, and Sunni leaders would have a bigger say in the new constitution.
Twenty-five people including an Indian soldier were injured on Sunday when suspected militants hurled a hand grenade at an army patrol in held Kashmir, police said. The attack happened at Shopian 50 kilometres south of the state summer capital Srinagar. "The injured have been rushed to various hospitals," a police spokesman said, adding three seriously injured were being shifted to Srinagar's main hospital. Indian troops sealed off part of the town and launched a search. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Four Islamic militants were killed in two separate clashes with Indian troops in the southern districts of Doda and Poonch late on Saturday, police said. Four AK assault rifles and some radio sets were recovered from the two sites as well as a large quantity of ammunition. Mainly Muslim Kashmir is in the grip of a 15-year insurgency against Indian rule that has so far left tens of thousands dead. India and Pakistan each hold part of the scenic Himalayan region and each claim the territory in full.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
British police have charged a man with conspiracy to cause an explosion after arresting him Tuesday when he arrived at London's Heathrow Airport from Pakistan. Police officials say authorities filed the charges against 29-year-old 
Former Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee 
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The suicide bomber who killed former Lebanese Prime Minister 
Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Chaggan Bhujbal and two former police officers would appear as defence witnesses in a special court on February 18 in a case registered against alleged terrorist 
The 
