[Al Ahram] Kenya's military spokesman confirmed the names of the four attackers implicated in the four-day-long siege at the Westgate Mall, which killed more than 60 people last month.
So we've got a Sudanite and a Kenyan and two of unknown origin.
He told The Associated Press: "I confirm those are the names of the terrorists."
Little is known about their identity.
Matt Bryden, the former head of the United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia, said via email that al-Kene and Umayr are known members of al-Hijra, a Kenyan extremist group affiliated with Al-Shabab. He added that Nabhan may be a relative of Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was the most-wanted al-Qaida operative in the region until he was killed in a 2009 strike led by Navy Seals.
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10/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Rivalry within top security agencies has intensified ahead of the naming of a commission of inquiry to investigate security lapses that may have resulted in the Westgate Shopping Mall terrorist attack three weeks ago.
Top government sources on Saturday told the Sunday Nation that the inquiry is expected to point out who failed Kenyans between the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), National Intelligence Service and the Kenya Police Service, since the three agencies seem to trade blame for being negligent in their duties to protect Kenyans.
The anxiety within the security agencies also comes ahead of investigations into the matter by a joint parliamentary team, scheduled to start Monday.
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#1
Oddly comforting to know the post-screwup game is played outside the USG.
#2
At one time, a KDF commander ordered some senior coppers, who were not in uniform, to leave the scene. But one of the police bosses intervened and they resisted the move.
Sounds like the Navy Yard.
[BUSINESSINSIDER] A small band of up to six attackers carried out the Nairobi terrorist siege, police have confirmed -- contradicting their earlier claims that 15 attackers were involved.
Kenyan police named four of the bully boyz on Saturday. None of them were Western, contrary to their initial reports, and they were all men.
Amid the confusion of the four-day siege, Amina Mohammed, Kenya 's foreign minister, said that a British woman "who has done this many times before" was among the attackers, as were "two or three" Americans.
[Al Ahram] Tunisia's ruling Islamist-led government on Saturday launched talks with the opposition aimed at implementing a roadmap to end a two-month political crisis.
The roadmap, drafted by mediators including the powerful UGTT trade union, calls for a one-month national dialogue to form a government of independents to replace a coalition led by the Ennahda movement.
[Al Ahram] An Egyptian military court has handed Sinai-based news hound Ahmed Abu Deraa a suspended sentence of six months in prison.
Abu Deraa is expected to be released from jail soon.
He was placed in durance vile Book 'im, Mahmoud! 5 September 2013 and accused of taking photographs in areas prohibited to civilians and of being present in a prohibited military area.
Abu Deraa is an award-winning journalist who reports from northern Sinai for leading private daily Al-Masry Al-Youm and private satellite channel OnTV, in addition to other media outlets.
Military trials have stirred public debate recently as amendments to the constitution, temporarily suspended, are being considered. Activists are calling for a law prohibiting civilians standing before military courts.
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10/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Bangladesh Rukhe Darao, a platform of progressive and pro-liberation forces, yesterday reiterated its demand that the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... be banned immediately under the Anti Terrorism Act, 2009 for "its criminal activities".
International Crimes Tribunal had identified Jamaat as a criminal organization that committed genocide, rape and atrocities in association with the Pak occupation forces in 1971, it said.
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[Ynet] In AP interview, US president expresses optimism about blossoming diplomacy between his administration and Iran's president, but stresses US won't accept 'bad deal' on Tehran's nuke program
So it is written, so it shall be. The One at whose ascension the climate stopped warming and the seas ceased to rise has spoken. (Do stop worrying about nuclear genocide, little Bibi!)
President Barack Obama Republicans can come along for the ride, but they've got to sit in the back... disclosed that US intelligence agencies believe Iran continues to be a year or more away from building a nuclear weapon, an assessment that is at odds with Israel, which contends Tehran is on a faster course toward a bomb.
Obama, in an interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named, expressed optimism about the blossoming diplomacy between his administration and Iran's new president, but said the US would not accept a "bad deal" on the Islamic republic's nuclear program.
The president spoke to the AP on Friday.
Obama has launched a diplomatic outreach to Iran, aimed at resolving the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program. Last week, he spoke by phone with President Hassan Rohani, marking the first direct exchange between US and Iranian leaders in more than 30 years.
"Rohani has staked his position on the idea that he can improve relations with the rest of the world," Obama said. "And so far he's been saying a lot of the right things. And the question now is, can he follow through?"
But Obama said Rohani is not Iran's only "decision-maker. He's not even the ultimate decision-maker," a reference to the control wielded by Iran's supreme leader, Ayotollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei said Saturday that some aspects of Rohani's trip to New York last month were "not appropriate," but reiterated his crucial support for the president's policy of outreach to the West.
The comments by Khamenei, summarized on his website, came after hard-liners criticized the 15-minute phone conversation between Rohani and Obama.
Hard-liners, including commanders in the powerful Revolutionary Guard, have said the president went too far with the phone call in reaching out to the US.
But Rohani's outreach has received broad support from Iranian politicians and it appears popular at a time when Iran is facing crippling economic sanctions due to the nuclear impasse.
Khamenei also said the US was "untrustworthy." He has previously said he's not opposed to direct talks with the US to resolve Iran's nuclear standoff with the West but is not optimistic.
"We are skeptical of Americans and have no trust in them at all. The American government is untrustworthy, arrogant, illogical and a promise-breaker. It's a government captured by the international Zionism network," said Khamenei, who has final say on all matters of state.
Given Khamenei's broad influence, some countries, most notably Israel, have questioned whether Rohani actually represents real change in Iran or just new packaging of old policies.
Obama also put distance between US and Israeli assessments of when Iran might have the capacity to build a nuclear weapon. Israeli officials have said Iran is just months away from being able to build a bomb, while Obama said Tehran was a year or more away.
But Obama said, "Our assessment continues to be a year or more away. And in fact, actually, our estimate is probably more conservative than the estimates of Israeli intelligence services."
The president used the same timetable in March, before traveling to Israel. The US and Israel contend that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at building a bomb, while Tehran says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes.
On the 12-year war in Afghanistan, Obama said he would consider keeping some American forces on the ground after the conflict formally ends next year, but acknowledged that doing so would require an agreement from the Afghan government. He suggested that if no agreement can be reached, he would be comfortable with a full pullout of US troops.
"If in fact we can get an agreement that makes sure that US troops are protected, makes sure that we can operate in a way that is good for our national security, then I'll certainly consider that," he said. "If we can't, we will continue to make sure that all the gains we've made in going after al-Qaeda we accomplish, even if we don't have any US military on Afghan soil."
All US forces left Iraq at the end of 2011 after no deal could be reached to keep some there longer.
#3
Seems reasonable, a win win situation. It gives the Juices 3 years to GTFO which is very humanitarian. Hell, I see a peace prize for the both of them.
#4
How would he know? Even assuming it's correct, is it sufficient? Either he's ok with them having it (this year or next) or he's not - if not, is there anything he can or will do to prevent it? Both we and Iran know the 'will' isn't there, so the Shiite nuclear bomb will be.
#5
"Either he's ok with them having it (this year or next) or he's not"
FTFY, Glenmore
And no matter what the Iranians say, Bambi, after they annihalate the Juices, they're coming after YOU.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/06/2013 10:41 Comments ||
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#6
but said the US would not accept a "bad deal" on the Islamic republic's nuclear program.
Now why would anyone believe that statement? Seriously, name one good deal the Obama Administration has cut on the foreign stage. Anything anything at all?
#11
Less than a year later, Tel Aviv goes up in a mushroom cloud.
O will say, "well, I am mistaken. I got bad data. Sorry about that.....not my fault."
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10/06/2013 22:21 Comments ||
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#12
E.G WAFF > AL-QAEDA INS SYRIA [aka "ISIL"] FIGHT TO DRIVE RIVALS OUT OF TURKEY, IRAQ BORDER ZONES.
Iff the Syria Crisis devols into one between baby Assad + Al-Qaeda, i.e. Foreign Jihadi/MilTerr Groups, then ironically the US may need BOTH BABY ASSAD, + SHIA IRAN = IRGC + HEZBOLLAH + QUDS FORCE, ETC. to counter the PRO-SUNNI QAEDA, FOREIGN GROUPS.
In lieu of the Debt, Sequester, + Shutdown? affected USA having to send in US ground troops, WHICH IN TURN MEANS THAT RUSSIA + IRAN [China?] WON'T SEND ANY OF THEIRS INTO SYRIA - THE PRICE, OBVIOUSLY, FOR THE US-ISRAEL-ALLIES IS THAT IRAN GETS TO KEEP MOST OR ALL OF ITS NUCPROG.
Iran is now our BFF - our "Pakistan/AFPAK II" in Syria + eastern Mediterranean.
That's sound you're hearing are anti-US OWG Globalists + aligned singing + skipping happily thru the tulips.
TO DETER OR PRECLUDE A MAINLY SUNNI-LED GLOBAL JIHAD, THE US-ALLIES MAY NOW WANT SHIA IRAN TO DEV INTO THE WORLD'S FIRST ISLAMIC SUPERPOWER, as consistent wid the Globalies' "Multi-Polar/
Polycentric" World precept + agendum.
[Dawn] Rampant violence has terrorised Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , Pakistain's biggest city and economic heartbeat, in recent years, but a recent security crackdown seems to have brought a lull in the bloodshed.
Kidnappings for ransom, sectarian attacks and gang warfare have spiralled since 2008, terrifying the city's 18 million inhabitants and prompting tens of thousands of businessmen to flee to the safety of Punjab province.
The city claimed a grisly record last year as 2,124 people were murdered on its streets, according to the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), the highest number since records began nearly 20 years ago.
"The merciless killings have turned this 'bride of cities' into a city of ghosts and darkness," said Tauseef Ahmed Khan, a political analyst, referring to Karachi's Persian nickname.
But an operation by police and paramilitary government Rangers in the city's tangled maze of teeming streets, launched early September on the orders of the central government, seems to be having some positive effect.
The CPLC said that in September 155 killings were reported -- down from 280 in August. With a total of 2,058 murders up to the end of September 2013 it is on course to beat last year's record, but the crackdown appears to have at least slowed the killings.
Aftab Chunar, the head of the autopsy department of the city's largest state-run Civil Hospital, told AFP that before the operation he was receiving 16 to 18 bodies a day. Now the figure has fallen to three or four.
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[Dawn] The stance of Pak Talibs regarding attacks on Christian churches was contrary to the teachings of Islam, leading Pak holy mans belonging to different schools of thought said on Saturday.
"Taliban's view point that attacks on churches is in line with the principles of Islam is totally wrong and against the teaching of Islam," said the holy mans in a joint-statement.
Taliban were depicting a negative picture of Islam just to defame the peaceful religion, they said.
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[Dawn] Pakistain has shared with India evidence of foreign interference in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... and has raised the issue at every relevant forum, foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani said Saturday.
Speaking to news hounds after a briefing of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Jilani on Saturday said that there was evidence of Indian interference in Balochistan, and that it was being raised at all forums.
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[Dawn] An eyewitness identified Muttahida man Kazim Abbas Rizvi as the killer of Advocate Naimat Ali Randhawa during an identification parade held at Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's City Court on Saturday.
The senior lawyer Randhawa, who was also a leader of the Pakistain Moslem League -- Nawaz's (PML-N) legal wing in Sindh, was rubbed out in an attack in the city's Nazimabad area on September 26 that also left his lawyer son injured.
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[Dawn] An all parties conference convened by Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) has asked federal government to announce names of the negotiating team to hold peace talks with the Taliban without further delay.
A joint declaration issued after the conference held here at Al Markaz-e-Islami on Friday also called upon central government to distance itself from the US-led war against terrorism in the region. The conference issued six points declaration.
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[Bangla Daily Star] Brought up under the shadows of Syed Abul A'la Maududi, preacher of Sharia-based state in the subcontinent against secular democracy, Syed Haider Farooq Maududi managed to rise above his father's fundamental ideology.
A strong critic of his father's Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , the Islamic revivalist party from which Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
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Many Iranian youths are disappointed in the Shiism professed by the regime and traditional clergy but wish to maintain their Islamic faith, leading them to convert to Salafism. The Muslim Brotherhood and other Salafi trends tend to focus on the unity of god and the desacralization of all human beings and worldly things -- a unique way of secularizing and rationalizing Islam in order to attract young students, especially those who study science. Unlike traditional Sunnis in Iran and Salafis elsewhere in the world, Iranian Salafis tend to question the Islamic Republic's religious legitimacy and purposefully exacerbate Sunni-Shiite tensions.
Well, sure. Salafists in the rest of the world are too busy exacerbating tensions with their less observant Sunni neighbors, sparing barely a thought for the occasional massacre of the few Shiites in their midst. Iranian Salafists are in the enviable position of being an unnoticed minority, completely surrounded by targets.
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[Al Ahram] The command council of the rebel Free Syrian Army called for unity on Saturday after several prominent rebel brigades rejected the opposition National Coalition umbrella group.
The Supreme Military Council said it had decided to "issue a call for closing ranks, renouncing division, and... rejecting all kinds of dissension caused by trying to separate the political wing from the military one."
The statement came after 13 rebel brigades, including prominent groups that work with the Military Council, rejected the authority of the National Coalition -- the opposition's most prominent political institution.
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TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's top leader hinted Saturday that he disapproved of the phone call between Presidents Hassan Rouhani and Barack Obama during the Iranian leader's trip to New York last month, but he reiterated his crucial support for the president's policy of outreach to the West.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments came after hard-liners criticized the 15-minute phone conversation between Rouhani and Obama, a gesture aimed at ending three decades of estrangement between the two countries.
Hard-liners, including commanders in the powerful Revolutionary Guard, have said the president went too far in reaching out to the U.S.
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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.
[BUSINESSINSIDER] A small band of up to six attackers carried out the Nairobi terrorist siege, police have confirmed -- contradicting their earlier claims that 15 attackers were involved.
[Bangla Daily Star] Bangladesh Rukhe Darao, a platform of progressive and pro-liberation forces, yesterday reiterated its demand that the 
[Dawn] Rampant violence has terrorised 
[Dawn] Pakistain has shared with India evidence of foreign interference in 
