I've been more of a lurker, lately - long hours at work - so I may have missed this in last month's 'Burg. It came from my sister, whose step-son just finished Boot Camp, and it sounded like a story two years old. But it's only three weeks old. All we had was the headline. This is the full story.
In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it.
Shewan has historically been a safe haven for insurgents, who used to plan and stage attacks against Coalition Forces in the Bala Baluk district. The city is home to several major insurgent leaders. Reports indicate that more than 250 full time fighters reside in the city and in the surrounding villages.
Shewan had been a thorn in the side of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force Afghanistan throughout the Marines' deployment here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, because it controls an important supply route into the Bala Baluk district. Opening the route was key to continuing combat operations in the area.
"The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat," said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. "Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our 'humvees' was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast."
The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.
"The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they're given the opportunity to fight," the sniper said. "A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong."
During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn't miss any shots, despite the enemies' rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.
"I was in my own little world," the young corporal said. "I wasn't even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target."
After calling for close-air support, the small group of Marines pushed forward and broke the enemies' spirit as many of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield. At the end of the battle, the Marines had reduced an enemy stronghold, killed more than 50 insurgents and wounded several more.
"I didn't realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies' lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us," the corporal said. "It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured."
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/07/2008 07:19 ||
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And they had a well deserved supper afterward, I would guess.
Somali opposition fighters, Al-Shabaab set up a regional administration in a southern region increasing their footholds in the country.
Al-Shabaab appointed a regional governor to the Lower Shabelle region marking off their expanding territory from the areas held by the transitional government, the Press TV correspondent in Somalia reported.
The group's spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow reportedly said Sheikh Abdulrahman Siiro was inaugurated as the governor during a ceremony held in the regional capital Merka. The fighters had seized the capital from the government troops last month.
Siiro's inferiors such as the head of the Supreme Court and the region's security chief were also named.
The fighters have captured most parts of the country thanks to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG)'s declining power. They have been struggling for power since 2006 when their leadership, the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), were removed on the back of an Ethiopian intervention.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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MOGADISHU - The hardline Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab has taken control of a central Somali trading town after fighting that killed at least 13 people and wounded dozens of others, residents said on Saturday. The capture of Gurael, 370 km (230 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu, adds to the growing hold al Shabaab has gained across south and central Somalia in a two-year insurgency against the government and its Ethiopian military allies.
Locals said al Shabaab, which means youth in Arabic, took Gurael after three days of fighting with a government-allied moderate Sunni Islamist group in the area. The battle began after al Shabaab fighters arrested a local Koranic teacher of that group, they said.
I have counted 10 dead men myself, one local resident, Ali Aden, told Reuters by telephone from the area. Six died yesterday and four were lying in the paths of the deserted town this morning. It is now under control of al Shabaab.
Witnesses spoke of chaos in the area, with bullets being fired on vehicles full of fleeing residents. Three women were killed in one lorry, they said. More than 5,000 Gurael residents had fled to the protection of nearby woods, a local human rights group said.
Medical staff were overwhelmed. We received 15 injured people including civilians and fighters. And we hear many families fled with injuries to other towns, said Ismail Ali, a nurse at Guarel hospital.
In further violence, fighting between al Shabaab and local militiamen killed seven people near the southern town of Dobley on Saturday, local residents said. The militant group is strong in that area, near the border with Kenya.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Three suspected criminals were killed in 'crossfire' during separate incidents of shootout between their cohorts and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the capital and on its outskirts early yesterday.
The deceased are Abdus Salam Sikder, 37, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Italy, Selim Miah, 36, owner of a grocery shop, and Rafiqul Islam Sardar, 32. Rab sources said all the three are criminals and members of notorious 'Nasir Group', which is accused of drug trading and other illegal activities in the city's Sabujbagh and adjacent areas.
Now they're dead and no one other than their mothers (maybe) grieves for them.
Acting on a tip-off that a gang of criminals were holding a secret meeting, a team of Rab-10 conducted a raid at Kamalapur in Sabujbagh area at about 3:45am.
Must have had an earlier appointment with another unfortunate 'criminal' ...
Sensing the presence of the elite force, the criminals opened fire on them, forcing Rab personnel to fire back.
Spider-sense, aimless fire, and a cross-fire ...
Sources said the criminals finally retreated after a 20-minute gun battle.
In which no round of bullet left a mark on anything or anyone except our heroes ...
Rab members later found the bullet-riddled bodies of Abdus Salam and Selim Miah ...
... right where they left them ...
... on the spot of the fighting ...
"Which spot?"
"THAT spot!"
... but other criminals managed to flee, ...
... vanished into the night as if they'd never been there in the first place ...
... said a Rab press release.
They just xerox those of course ...
Rab members also retrieved two foreign-made pistols, a revolver and 126 rounds of bullet from the spot. Salam was wanted in twelve systems eight criminal cases while Selim in two cases.
Family members of the deceased claimed that Rab arrested Salam and his friend Selim from Maniknagar area in Sabujbagh on November 29, nine days after Salam returned from Italy. Salam was a citizen of Italy, they said.
Should have stayed there, too ...
Both Salam and Selim had connections with Nasir group in the past but the duo left the gang a couple of years ago, they claimed.
So that they could open the branch office in Naples ...
They also alleged that there is no criminal case against them and Nasir having a good link with Rab members used the force to kill both Salam and Selim.
Meanwhile, another team of Rab-10 raided Ainta in South Keraniganj at about 3:15am after receiving information that Rafiqul Islam, a business partner of Nasir, and his cohorts were holding a clandestine meeting there.
There's the earlier meeting we mentioned earlier ...
Sensing the presence of the elite force, the criminals fired bullets on them forcing Rab to fire back.
You'd think an elite force could sneak up on the criminals without being sensed ...
The body of Rafiqul was found on the spot following the gun battle.
Right where they had dumped him from the truck with one round of bullet behind each ear ...
Rab claimed that Rafiqul was a resident of RK Mission road in the capital. He was wanted in twelve systems too six criminal cases.
The force also recovered a pistol and 12 bullets from the scene.
None of these guys rated a shutter gun?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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A percussion bomb exploded in front of a bank in central Istanbul on Saturday, wounding three people, a local official said.
The area was cordoned off to keep traffic away in case of a second bomb attack, he said.
"The injured were able to go to the hospital themselves, and I wish them all the best. Hopefully we will have more details on what exactly happened later. For now the area where the bomb exploded has been closed to traffic in case there is a second bomb," the official said.
Percussion bombs make a loud noise but usually do little damage. The bomb had been placed in a rubbish bin, the official said.
Television images showed a heavy police presence where the bomb exploded in Istanbul's Fatih district.
Bombings are not uncommon in Turkey and past attacks have been carried out by ethnic separatists, Islamists and leftist militants.
In July a double bomb attack killed 17 people in a crowded area of Istanbul, the first blast caused by a loud percussion bomb and the second a more powerful explosion that ripped through the crowd.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistani security forces took over a camp used by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants in Pakistani Kashmir on Sunday, a witness and an official from a charity linked to Lashkar said.
"This happened this afternoon, security forces took over the camp," said an official with Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity.
A resident close to the camp on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad said he had seen security forces raid it. The charity official said there were fighters there from Lashkar, the prime suspect in the attacks on Mumbai last month that killed at least 171 people
Posted by: john frum ||
12/07/2008 16:01 ||
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Too bad. How long will it be before LeT is back? The Indians probably should have leveled the camp days ago.
Police said at least one person was killed as more than 250 gunmen attacked the terminal near the city of Peshawar using rockets and guns. Some of the lorries were laden with Humvee armoured vehicles. The road is a major supply route for US and Western forces battling against the Taleban in neighbouring Afghanistan. Hauliers say that over 350 trucks daily carry an average of 7,000 tonnes of goods over the Khyber Pass to Kabul.
The attack occurred around 0230 on Sunday (2130 GMT, Saturday) as up to 250 militants stormed the Portward Logistic Terminal. "They fired rockets, hurled hand grenades and then set ablaze 96 trucks," Reuters news agency quoted a police officer, Azeem Khan, as saying.
"They were shouting Allahu Akbar (God is Great) and Down With America," a security guard told Reuters. They broke into the terminals after snatching guns from us," Mohammad Rafiullah said.
Another report said 106 lorries had been set on fire - 62 laden with Humvees. Most supplies for US and Nato forces in Afghanistan go through Pakistan's Khyber Pass.
#7
Start having the trucks driven by Marines, with someone riding "shotgun" in each truck. Add a Bradley at the front and rear of the convoy, and between every ten trucks. Rules of engagement: drive from Karachi to Kabul. If fired upon, return fire with maximum effectiveness. If the rubes complain, tell them you'll stop using Marines when the route is totally secured.
Anybody remember the Red Ball Express? Hmmm?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/07/2008 12:24 Comments ||
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#8
"after snatching guns from us,"
Perhaps it is just a poor translation, but that sounds like a pathetic defense.
#11
This is a travesty. We "trust" Pakis for the conveyance of our supplies ? No US military, no Pak military, no so-called Police anywhere within miles. The first responders, who were local cops, arrived 40 minutes after the force made it's getaway. This wasn't a set-up ? A reprisal for our Predators ? Give me a break. If this is our level of competence there, get the hell out now. To see some chirper on the telly saying that this will not affect our military's operations is a joke. Those Hunvees were no doubt desperately needed to replace the ones blown to hell the previous fortnight. This is maddening.
One security official said they had struck as police were busy investigating Saturday's huge bomb blast in Peshawar that killed 34 people and wounded 120 others.
"It was also a weekend and security was relatively relaxed because of Eid vacations," the official said.
#14
Another graphic lesson on why one doesn't have supply lines controlled by the enemy (and paying a king's ransom to ship through it). Is anyone in D.C. paying attention?
Better to have minimal forces in Afghanistan and acknowledge terrorism is a two way street.
Posted by: ed ||
12/07/2008 16:40 Comments ||
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#15
Seems to me that if the PAKIwakis wanted to 'send a message' regarding our support of India, they would have stopped this attack from occurring, or at least given the pretext of counterattacking to minimize the damage.
I think our course of action needs to be the oft-wished ARCLIGHT plus whatever expired shelf life radioactive ordnance we just happen to have sitting around. Get a two fer: open roads and no added HAZMAT waste disposal costs.
But it will never happen; we will just send these savages some more $$ or airplanes, or both.
#19
The only viable military solution to a breakdown of Pakistan supply lines to Afghanistan is a 'Free Baluchistan'.
No amount of bombing (or nuking) is going to open supply lines through Pakistan proper, once closed.
Now AQ/the Pashtuns have figured out the Achilles Heel of the Afghan War, this problem will only get worse, with or without complicity from the ISI, etc.
#20
No amount of bombing (or nuking) is going to open supply lines through Pakistan proper, once closed.
I'm not sure you understand how enhanced radiation weapons work. And after the massacre I anticipate, I would not be surprised to find out that Bambi learns how to use them.
One security personnel and 13 Taliban were killed in two clashes in Swat district on Saturday, officials said.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) officials in Mingora said 11 Taliban were killed in shelling by helicopters in Nalkot area of Matta tehsil.
Matta: Two more Taliban were killed and four wounded in an exchange of fire in Sambat area of Matta. The officials also confirmed the killing of one security personnel in the same incident. Meanwhile, unidentified armed men killed three people in two separate attacks. Two were killed in Shah Darra area while the third was shot dead in the city, police said.
Camp: Separately, suspected Taliban attacked a Frontier Corps (FC) camp in Mahmatghat area of Safi tehsil of Mohmand Agency on Saturday.
The Taliban attacked the camp with rockets at around 7pm. The attack continued until the filing of the report. No casualties were reported. Meanwhile, security forces vacated a camp they have set up in Subhan Khawr High School building in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda district and went back to Ghalanai and Peshawar.
Meanwhile, Peshawar Police chief Safwat Ghayoor visited the Machni and Shabqadar areas of Charsadda.
The Tribal Areas became a stronghold for hundreds of extremists who fled Afghanistan after the Unites States-led invasion toppled the hardline Taliban regime in late 2001.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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The death toll from Friday's car bomb explosion outside an imambargah in Peshawar has risen to 34 as officials said police had launched an investigation into the attack.
Rescue workers retrieved nine more dead bodies from the debris on Saturday, SP Chaudary Asharf told Daily Times, but put the death toll at 29.
According to Lady Reading Hospital's records, 165 victims of the blast were taken to the hospital and 34 of them were dead, while 131 were injured. Around 90 people -- with 10 in critical condition -- are now being treated at the hospital, the remaining have been discharged. Twenty-one bodies have so far been identified, while 13 bodies burnt beyond recognition are being kept at the hospital's morgue.
Most of those who died or were injured were residents of Parachinar in Kurram Agency. The imambargah, Alamdar Karbala, is also known as 'the imambargah of Parachinar'.
Mohammad Asif, a resident of the area, told Daily Times his 12-year-old daughter died in the blast, and his house had been completely destroyed.
Meanwhile, a senior police official told Daily Times it was not yet clear whether a timed-device was placed in the car or a suicide bomber carried out the attack. He said that the police had collected severed parts of around 10 bodies, and it was therefore difficult to say with certainty what method had been employed by the attackers.
Police officials going through the debris found the engine of the car used in the attack, and said they were trying to locate the owner of the vehicle. A bomb disposal squad official told Daily Times that the vehicle was carrying more than 80 kilogrammes of explosives.
Teams from the Federal Investigation Agency's Special Investigation Group visited the site on Saturday to collect evidence.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD: United States Senator John McCain has said there is enough evidence of the involvement of former Inter-Services Intelligence officers in the planning and execution of the Mumbai attacks.
If Pakistan did not act swiftly to arrest the people involved, the Senator said, India would be left with no option but to conduct aerial operations against select targets in Pakistan.
At the very least ...
Senator McCain told a select group of Pakistanis at an informal lunch in Lahore on Saturday that this was conveyed to him by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
Ejaz Haider, a senior editor at the Daily Times, who was at the lunch said Mr. McCain told the group that Washington would not be able to do much to stop India, as the Mumbai attacks were its "9/11."
"The democratic government of India is under pressure and it will be a matter of days after they have given the evidence to Pakistan [that they decide] to use the option of force if Islamabad fails to act against the terrorists," Mr. Haider quoted the Senator as saying.
McCain is correct, and the Paks will be lucky if the Indians restrain themselves to selected air strikes ...
Mr. McCain, who arrived in Pakistan from New Delhi on Friday and met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad in the evening, told the group that Dr. Singh was "visibly angry and reeling from the shock of the attacks."
He said if Pakistan did not act to get the "bad guys," India would have no option but to use force. "We were angry after 9/11. This is India's 9/11. We cannot tell India not to act when that is what we did, asking the Taliban to hand over Osama Bin Laden to avoid a war and waging one when they refused to do so," Mr. McCain said.
An official statement of Mr. Gilani's meeting with the Senator said he had assured him that his government was determined to fight terrorism and had offered India all help in the Mumbai attacks. He reiterated that Pakistan wanted good relations with its neighbours.
Then again, Gilani isn't in charge of anything, so who cares what he says ...
A report quoting the Dawn newspaper said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was understood to have told Pakistan that there was "irrefutable evidence" of involvement of elements in the country in the Mumbai attacks and that it needed to act urgently and effectively to avert a strong international response.
Contrary to the formal statements issued by Pakistani authorities and her own statement at the Chaklala Airbase before her departure, sources said she "pushed the Pakistani leaders to take care of perpetrators, otherwise the U.S. will act."
Posted by: john frum ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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perhaps something will actually come from this? Actual consequences to the Paks and ISI? Boggles!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/07/2008 0:23 Comments ||
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Don't hold yer breath, Commodore Frank. However, I believe in hope and change, and, by gum, India just might take on the terrorists and give the hornets' nest a good smack.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/07/2008 0:27 Comments ||
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#3
Ummm...just a note, guys (IMO):
This is playing right into the hands of the terrorists, AlQaida or whatever they call themselves now. The 'prize' is a nuke. The 'nuke store' is open, and has a weak governing structure & is infiltrated.
Any destabilization that occurs, resulting in a conflict will DEFINITELY allow nukes to go 'missing'.
I guarantee that if war breaks out between India & Pakistan, a nuke will be used in a terrorist action within 12 months.
McCain is using the Bush tactic of 'if you don't cooperate, we can't stop 'em', while Condi's calming the Indians before war breaks out.
Smart moves.
While I believe Pakistan will ultimately be a smoking hole in the earth, a limited regional conflict now will have much worse long-term security consequences for the West & the US.
#8
This is playing right into the hands of the terrorists, AlQaida or whatever they call themselves now. The 'prize' is a nuke. The 'nuke store' is open
assuming that India trusts us enough to tell us they are going to do something, you can bet we have the nukes' location pretty well known. so we can either send in a team to hold or abscond with them, or destroy them with a B2 strike.
that assumes India trusts us. but i think i already said that.
Since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai 10 days ago, speculation has been rife about the birthplace of the lone surviving gunman, Ajmal Amir Kasab. India and Pakistan have clashed over reports that he came from the Punjab. Saeed Shah, after spending days travelling throughout the region, tracked down the killer's home - and his grandfather - and found conclusive proof of his identity
The little house was certainly that of a poor family, with a courtyard to one side and a small cart propped up in one corner. The old man and middle-aged woman who answered the door were not the owners. No, they insisted, the owners were away.
'They've gone to a wedding,' said the old man, identifying himself as Sultan. He was, he said, Amir's father-in-law. So, that would make him Ajmal's grandfather? At last, it seemed, this was the right place.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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THE 10 terrorist commandos who shot dead more than 160 people in Mumbai last month were among 500 trained to elite standards by Pakistan army and navy instructors, according to an Indian intelligence report seen by The Sunday Times.
Details were leaked as Indian officials accused Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) of directly supporting the attack. They claimed to have the names of the gunmen's ISI trainers and handlers and to have intercepted internet phone calls between them.
Last week Condoleezza Rice, the American secretary of state, and Admiral Michael Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, flew to Pakistan to intensify pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari and General Ashfaq Kayani, his army chief of staff, to appease Indian anger and stop tension between Delhi and Islamabad from escalating into war.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/07/2008 10:31 Comments ||
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#3
Well, not an official-based report, but Indian police are going door to door in some (if not all) provinces of Muslim homes insuring that those in residence there are registered. Those not registered are being returned to their proper registered homes and are being closely scrutinized/interrogated.
#4
Trained "to level of SEALs" - uh, don't think so. "Elite" by regional standards, sure. SEALs would've probably still been fighting it out with local authorities a week later, if their performance in Afghanistan is any indication.
Note the pitch-perfect mirror image b.s. spewed by this guy Khawaj. He takes the idiotic western apologist/defeatist premise - you must surrender to barbarism and extortion, otherwise it will only get worse if you resist - and offers it as "strategic analysis". The incredible/nauseating thing: this sort of idiocy has a wide following in the national security bureuacracies aside from DOD, and surely is familiar territory to a huge % of appointees of The One.
#5
Ok, time to ARCLIGHT Islamabad, followed up with napalm and cluster munitions. That speaks with "words" that the Pakistani ISI can understand. Do it again in 48 hours, and repeat as necessary until Pakistan as a nation either surrenders or is totally destroyed. There are NO ROGUE ELEMENTS in the ISI. Everything is controlled, and the ISI is the controller. The sooner Pakiwakiland becomes a smoldering desert, the sooner this crap will stop, whether against the US, Afghanistan, or India.
When you have a fire ant infestation, you don't kill individual worker-ants. You destroy the hive. The same principle applies to islamists, who are more like fire ants than cockroaches.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/07/2008 12:47 Comments ||
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#6
The Indian Home Ministry's NSG commandos reported that the fiyadeen terrorists were not up to their standards, far less the Indian Navy MARCOS who first fought them at the Oberoi hotel. The first MARCOS units were trained by the SEALs and the British.
But note that the US resumed training of Pakistan's SSG commandos last year. The SSG are based at Mangla dam. Guess where these terrorists were trained ... Mangla. They were then sent to the Pakistan's Navy commando school in Karachi.
So US military aid has been misused by Pakistan to produce a unit of fiyadeen tasked with assaulting major cities.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/07/2008 13:13 Comments ||
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#7
[Indian officials] claimed to have the names of the gunmen's ISI trainers and handlers and to have intercepted internet phone calls between them.
It sounds to me like the NSA is sharing info with India. Does anyone know whether India is offically a part of the Echelon agreement?
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/07/2008 14:22 Comments ||
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#8
They've taken the UK seat as the UK is more Muslim than India.
Bombers and gunmen targeted Iraqi police recruits and U.S.-allied Sunni guards in a series of attacks Saturday that killed at least six people and wounded dozens, officials said.
Iraqis, meanwhile, welcomed the U.S. indictments of five Blackwater Worldwide security guards in last year's shooting that killed 17 Iraqi civilians at a central Baghdad square.
The deadliest attack on Saturday was an ambush on a checkpoint manned by members of an armed Sunni group that has joined forces with the United States against al-Qaida in Iraq. Gunmen opened fire on the checkpoint in the village of Ousoud, northeast of the Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba, killing three of the Sunni guards and wounding four, according to police at the regional security headquarters.
A bomb also exploded inside a Baqouba cafe that is frequented by so-called Sons of Iraq, the name given to the Sunni groups working with the U.S., wounding eight of them and 11 civilians, police and hospital officials said.
In Baghdad, a bomb attached to a police truck exploded near a popular vegetable market in a southern neighborhood, killing a Sunni tribal leader who was a member of a group that has joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida, and his driver, police and hospital officials said.
The Sunni revolt in Iraq has been one of the key factors in a sharp decline in violence over the past year, and members of the group have frequently been targeted as insurgents try to derail the security gains.
A wave of violence also has targeted official Iraqi security forces following the approval of a security pact with the United States that allows American forces to remain in Iraq for three more years.
A suicide bomber targeted police recruits near a checkpoint in the northern oil town of Kirkuk, killing at least one and wounding 14 other people, police Brig. Gen. Burhan Tayeb Taha said.
The explosion occurred during a recruiting drive at the academy, another police official, Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir, said, adding that the aim was to recruit 1,000 people but only 150 were present when the explosion happened.
Ali Mahmoud, 24, a recruit, said the blast was so powerful that it threw him to the ground. "The explosion caused panic and chaos. Most of the recruits were very young men and they were shivering in fear," he said.
Iraqi police acting on tips also found the remains of 27 people in two mass graves Saturday in separate areas. A senior police official in Babil province said 18 were unearthed south of Baghdad near the former al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold of Arab Jabour. The victims included two women and a boy and were all apparently killed by hanging more than two years ago, the official said, adding that rope was found among the remains.
Nine other bodies were discovered near the northern city of Tal Afar after a detained Sunni insurgent confessed to helping murder nine Shiite civilians about two years ago and revealed the grave's location, according to police and hospital officials.
The U.S.-Iraqi security pact that was ratified by Iraq's presidential council this week would lift the blanket immunity currently granted to foreign private security contractors in Iraq.
That issue came to the fore after Blackwater guards opened fire in Nisoor Square on Sept. 16, 2007, killing 17 people in what witnesses said was an unprovoked attack. The shootings outraged Iraqis and embarrassed the United States, further straining relations between the two nations. Five of the guards have been indicted and the charges are expected to be unsealed on Monday. A sixth suspect was in negotiations to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for his cooperation against his former colleagues.
Qais Rahim, a 44-year-old engineer in Baghdad, said it was important to hold those responsible "accountable for their vicious crime" to prevent other private security contractors from mistreating innocent civilians.
Rasim Hussein, a 55-year-old retired army officer under Saddam Hussein, said that other private security companies should be held accountable for wrongdoing in Iraq. "This indictment is not enough because there are still dozens of criminal security company employees on the loose in Iraq," he said.
The Iraqi government has retained a law firm to pursue compensation for the families of the victims, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Just out of curiousity Fred, why is the Nisoor incident mentioned in this news article, when it was initially included - and then removed, from the article posted 11/29? http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=256211&D=2008-11-29&SO=&HC=1
It's still included in the Google cache.
http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:dazyt9dTQ2AJ:www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php%3FID%3D256211%26D%3D2008-11-29%26SO%3D%26HC%3D1+Nisoor+site:rantburg.com&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
Was it verboten then, and permissible now?
Aswat al-Iraq: Two policemen were wounded on Saturday when an improvised explosive device went off near their patrol in western Mosul, a security source in Ninewa said. "An IED blew up near a National Police patrol on Saturday near the area of Qabr al-Bint, western Mosul, leaving two patrolmen injured," the source told Aswat al-Iraq. "The two policemen were rushed to the al-Jumhuri hospital for treatment," the source added, not giving more details on the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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An Israeli journalist has been assaulted by troops after taking photos from a Palestinian family in the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron).
Tess Scheflan, a photographer on assignment for the Israeli daily Haaretz, was wounded lightly in her head and taken to hospital after being assaulted by an Israeli soldier in al-Khalil on Saturday, Haaretz reported.
"Tess and I were walking around in Hebron...we went into the home of a Palestinian family, taken over by soldiers at the scene. We interviewed the family, which was forced to stay in one room, spoke them, and then we left the house and walked down an alley to leave the area," Fadi Edayat, another journalist who accompanied Tess, told Yediot Ahronot.
According to Edayat, soldiers then tried to snatch their cameras. "He (the soldier) attempted to grab the camera of another photographer who was there with us; he walked up to him aggressively, and grabbed him by the neck. I asked Tess to photograph him so we can file a complaint, and then he punched her in the face. She fell down to the ground and he hit her again, this time with his gun butt," Edayat added.
Al-Khalil has been the scene of violence for the past week while security forces were evacuating a disputed house in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
In intifada I, we used to call such Israeli jeurnos "well poisoners".
#4
What the Israeli soldier needed was two dead journos and one carrying a drop gun that had been fired twice.
I remember the tale of a small US MP who was faced off against three large, drunk and aggressive black soldiers. They were going to charge him, so instead of drawing his gun, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a switchblade knife.
They started laughing at it, and asked him if he was going to cut them with his knife.
He replied that, "This isn't my knife. This is your knife", and threw it at their feet.
All three put their hands up fast, and became very peaceful, sober and cooperative.
A barrage of Qassam rockets and mortar shells was fired on Saturday from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, striking targets as far north as Ashkelon. No injuries were reported in the attacks.
Late Saturday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered Israel's border crossings with Gaza to remain closed Sunday in response to the rocket fire, his office said.
Also Saturday, an Israel Air Force aircraft targeted a rocket launcher in Gaza, apparently striking him, but Palestinian security officials said there were no casualties.
Gaza militants fired four Qassam rockets and at least ten mortar shells at the Negev region on Saturday, in addition to six Qassams that pelted area on Friday. One rocket hit the industrial zone in southern Ashkelon, while two others struck open areas in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. A mortar shell was also fired.
Earlier Saturday, a mortar shell exploded near the Gaza border town of Kerem Shalom while another landed in the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported. No one was injured by the projectiles.
On Friday, one rocket exploded in a residential area of the western Negev towno of Sderot, and another landed on the grounds of the Sha'ar Hanegev regional council.
Earlier Friday, a Qassam exploded near Sderot and a mortar round also landed in Sha'ar Hanegev. Two more rockets exploded near the Eshkol regional council. No injuries and damage were reported in any of these incidents.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Fatah's military wing, claimed responsibility for launching two Qassam rockets at Israel, Army Radio reported on Saturday morning. The group said the shooting was in response to Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Palestinians hurled two Molotov cocktails on Friday afternoon at Israeli motorists driving near the West Bank village of Azun east of Qalqilyah. No injuries were reported, although one car did sustain damage. Israel Defense Forces soldiers combed the area in search of the perpetrators.
The launching of Qassam rockets prompted Israel to maintain the closure of the Gaza Strip's border crossings for the entire week. Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday authorized the entry of 40 trucks carrying basic foodstuffs, 30 trucks filled with cereal, and industrial fuel for the power station.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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Dolohalem Tapu, 49, a headman of Dusongyoh village, died in hospital and became the sixth victim of Friday's bomb attack at a grocery store in Chanae district. He succumbed to his wounds on Friday night.
Police are searching the possible hideouts of suspects thought to be behind the attack which also left 11 people injured. They also have asked witnesses to come forward and are questioning the injured in hospital. Four victims are still in intensive care. Police hope the account of shop owner Wilawan Satigoragul, who is also injured, would be useful.
Four men posing as robbers made off with her gold necklace after planting a bomb outside the store. The bomb was detonated when the officers arrived at the scene. Ms Wilawan was asked to go through a photo file of suspected Muslim terrorists militants active in the South.
Authorities believe the same bombers were behind an attack outside Sungai Kolok police station in August and the November car and motorcycle bomb attacks against the Sukhirin district office.
TEHRAN - Iran will give a tooth-breaking response to a Sunni Muslim rebel group which has killed 16 policemen it abducted in June, a senior official said in comments broadcast on Saturday.
The official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday that all the seized police had been killed, after they were taken hostage six months ago from a checkpoint in the town of Saravan in Sistan-Baluchestan province bordering Pakistan.
The mad Balochis aren't just at war with the Sindhs and Punjabis ...
Shiite-dominated Iran says the rebel Jundollah (Gods Soldiers) group, which demanded that Iranian authorities release 200 of its jailed members, has links with al Qaeda.
I'm somehow feeling short of sympathy for the Mad Mullahs, seeing as they're getting a taste of their own medicine ...
We will give a firm and tooth-breaking response to armed rebels in border areas, Iranian Prosecutor-General Qorban-Ali Dori-Najafabadi was quoted as saying by state radio, without elaborating on what action the Islamic Republic would take.
A member of parliament from Sistan-Baluchestan, Abdulaziz Jamshid-Zehi, said the bodies of the policemen had been found, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported. But he said there were 14, not 16 as said by other officials quoted by Iranian media. Officials are trying to identify the bodies found and it is as yet not clear when they were martyred, Jamshid-Zehi said.
Jundollah, which reportedly transferred the hostages to Pakistan after their abduction, had said earlier it had killed four of them.
The rebels operate mainly in Sistan-Baluchestan, home to mostly Sunni ethnic Baluchis and notorious for clashes between security forces and drug smugglers. In August 2007, Iran accused Jundollah of kidnapping 30 people in the province. The hostages, who were taken to Pakistan, were freed later by Pakistani forces.
Jundollah earlier in 2007 claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus carrying Iranian Revolutionary Guards that killed 11 people. Iran says the groups head Abdolmalek Rigi is a leader of the al Qaeda network in Iran.
In an interview in August, Rigi told Al Arabiya television that he was thinking of expanding its operations to defend the rights of Sunni Muslims in the Islamic state. Iran denies Western allegations that it discriminates against minorities.
Iran has in the past accused the United States and Britain of trying to destabilize it by supporting ethnic minority rebels operating in sensitive border areas.
We wish ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/07/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
My uncle was with the 72nd Pursuit Squadron at Wheeler Field. That morning he was waiting for a bus to take him to Honolulu and heard this song playing on a radio in the barracks. He saw Japanese planes approaching the field & wondered why there had been no publicity for their visit. Then he saw a bomb drop from one of the planes.
The picture thar.... is a kinda good summation of Pearl Harbour... that's the destroy Shaw in what looker likes a cataclismik boiler explosion. It was..... not quiet....
she was too old for retention in the post-war fleet and was sent to the U.S. east coast for inactivation. Decommissioned in October 1945, USS Shaw was scrapped in July 1946.
Shoulda held on to that one... better lucky than good. And speaking of which.... Hai Lucky!
#5
When we were attacked 60 years ago the world was already at war. Nanking had been raped, Korea had been occupied for 40 years, Marshal Petain was governing his piece of La Belle France from Vichy and Dunkirk had been evacuated. Norway had been occupied the previous April.
Had Europe and most of Asia been at peace, they'd have tut-tutted and sent men with high silk hats to conferences as their response to Pearl Harbor.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/07/2008 14:05 Comments ||
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#7
I found a you tube video on The Niihau Incident, a work in progress and I can never get links to imbed so here it is : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FarIFRY5fqs
Seems the Zero pilot's plane was damaged by an American fighter. So this started as better plane vs better pilot.
Posted by: bruce ||
12/07/2008 17:17 Comments ||
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#12
Actually the American Spirit has not changed. In the 3rd year of WWII people were tired of the war as every town and city had lost sons and daughters. Many protest were going on and some in congress pushing for a deal with Japan. In many ways the raising of the flag by Marines at IWO sparked public awareness to continue the war. It was a secret that up to 1.5 Million casualties were expected in the invasion of Japan as the Military and Congress thought that the Americans at home would go nuts.
Then there was Korea - we used the Nuke threat to stop that one
Vietnam where we gave up to doing what was popular and not what was right - and lost.
Only G.W. could have kept the Iraq War against Terror going like it did. Everyone else wanted to fold and abandon the Iraqi people to their fate. I can just here faintly G.W. saying. "Not on My Watch !"
#13
The Japs attacked. Japan ended up looking like Charleston after Sherman got done with it, after someone else attacked America military installation. Come to think of it, someone attacked another military installation on 9/11 and seems to be living in as much luxury as the two aforementioned groups did towards the end as well. Seems to be a pattern there.
However, before the patron saint of the left can duck and cover, FDR himself would launch an unprovoked attack and invasion of French North Africa, while maintaining open diplomatic ties with neutral Vichy France, and no declaration of war or Congressional authorization. Lots of French died fighting defending their sovereign territory. Strategically necessary, most likely, but using the standards of today to adjudge the actions of people who lived in earlier times is a big lefty power game. That's why its sometimes entertaining to watch them twist and turn trying to rationalize their articulated 'standards'.
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.
Three suspected criminals were killed in 'crossfire' during separate incidents of shootout between their cohorts and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the capital and on its outskirts early yesterday.
One security personnel and 13 Taliban were killed in two clashes in Swat district on Saturday, officials said. 
