Remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are plotting an attack on the town of Gardez. About 300 fighters - both Taliban and members Al-Qaeda - are poised to launch an assault in the Shahi Koot region, said Abdul Wali, a member of the Gardez tribal council. "They have light and heavy weapons and have a plan to attack Gardez," he said, adding that Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani was massing forces and planning the "imminent" offensive. Wali said the Gardez tribal council had told U.S. special forces based in the town about the threat. "We are in contact with them about the matter. We are also talking among each other what to do." Hmmm. Yasss. Let's discuss the matter. Oooh! I have a better idea: Let's kill them all, and then discuss the matter. If you wait until they're all massed and have some sort of command structure set up, and they have all their fortifications in place, it's harder to kill them.
Up to 1,200 members of Al-Qaeda are reported to have regrouped in mountains near the village of Zurmat in eastern Afganistan. Padsha Khan, incoming governor of Paktia province said he was readying some 6,000 fighters to launch an attack on Zurmat but he first needed to gather more intelligence on the situation.
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01/30/2002 ||
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Two former ministers from the Taliban regime were detained near Quetta by Pakistani authorities. The two men were identified as the Taliban's former chief justice, Maulawi Noor Mohammad Saqib, and deputy foreign minister, Maulvi Abdul Rehman Zahid. We'll be waiting to hear them describe how moderate they were. Especially Mr. Chief Justice.
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01/30/2002 ||
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Heavy fighting erupted in Gardez as rival warlords battled for control of Paktia province. US warplanes were seen circling as mortar, rocket and small arms fire rocked the town of some 50,000 people and hundreds of panicked residents fled on foot and in trucks. The fighting appeared to be concentrated on the governor's mansion, where flashes of mortar explosions and flames lit up the sky as night fell. After dark, the mortar fire was replaced by the incessant staccato of anti-aircraft fire while the flash of exploding rockets lit up the town.
Fleeing residents said men loyal to rival ethnic Pashtun warlords Padsha Khan and Saif Ullah began fighting around midday. Khan was appointed recently to take up the governorship of Paktia province by Hamid Karzai. But Ullah had already taken control of Gardez following the withdrawal of the Taliban. Khan said around 8:00 pm local time that his forces had captured most of the town apart from the police headquarters and Balai Haisar, a fort set on a hillock in the town centre. He said he had sent 800 fighters to Gardez armed with machineguns, Kalshnikovs, rocket launchers and BM-12 multiple rocket launchers.
Shopkeeper Zahir Shah said as he fled the town that Khan's forces had arrived in the town around noon. "They went to the governor's house and attempted to raise the new flag (representing the interim government) but some of Saif Ullah's soldiers started firing on them from a hill." Oh, God. The temptation would be to kill them both and give the governor's position to the first left-handed man who walks by.
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01/30/2002 ||
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At the time clock: "G'morning, Mahmud." ... "G'morning Yossi." Sound of time clock being punched
Palestinian gunmen shot up the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo. No one was wounded and no damage was done. A bomb was found in Beit Sahur, next to Bethlehem. When troops went to neutralize it, gunnies began firing at them. The troops returned fire, and no one was wounded. Palestinians also threw several firebombs in Hebron around the same time. Sounds of indiscriminate firing, bombs exploding, screams, and ambulances for eight hours Sound of time clock being punched
At the time clock: "See ya tomorrow, Mahmud." ... "G'night, Yossi."
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Israel Defense Forces captured a wanted terrorist taking advantage of the relatively free passage granted to Palestinian Authority ambulances. He was disguised as a doctor, but soldiers at a roadblock detected and arrested him. The IDF Spokesman announced afterwards, "Claims are often raised against holding up ambulances at checkpoints for security checks. Cases such as this prove the evident need for these checks. Should have waited until after passing the checkpoint before lighting the fuse on his black bag.
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01/30/2002 ||
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Two Israelis who were wounded in the explosion near the Taiba Bridge are GSS agents. They were escorting a suicide terrorist - an Israeli informer who apparently served as a double agent - when he detonated the explosive he was wearing. The terrorist was killed on the spot, and the two agents were wounded with burns and shrapnel. They are listed in light-to-moderate condition. Both Islamic Jihad and Fatah said they were behind the attack. They identified the bomber as 22-year-old Morad Abu al-Asal, and said he had informed for the Israelis for three months before the attack. Islamic Jihad provided the snuffy, Fatah the dynamite.
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01/30/2002 ||
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In the American Center attack investigation, police arrested Jamiluddin Nasir, alleged to have provided the the motorbike to the attackers, from his hideout in the eastern outskirts of the city. Police say Nasir's arrest was likely to provide new clues since he is alleged to have a direct hand in the attack. Nasir has been charged with waging a conspiracy against the nation.
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01/30/2002 ||
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Two gunnies of Hizbul Mujahideen, including a self-styled battalion commander, were killed in an encounter with Indian troops in Kashmir. 'Battalion commander' Shamasuddin Ahmed alias Muzamil, a resident of Kralgund-Kupwara, and Inamul Haq, a resident of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were slain in a gunbattle after the troops were tipped off of their presence.
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01/30/2002 ||
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Five militants were killed in Jammu by while attempting to cross into Kashmir from Pakistan. The incident took place in Rajouri district. The Army spotted a group of about a dozen gunnies trying to cross into India. They were told to stop but instead opened fire. The Army retaliated and five were shot dead and later identified as being members of the Lashker-e-Taiba. The holy men in charge will no doubt send a nice bouquet of flowers to their survivors.
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01/30/2002 ||
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The kidnappers of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl threatened to kill the journalist within 24 hours in an e-mail message. The e-mail said other American journalists in Pakistan were targets and accused Pearl of being an Israeli intelligence agent. "We have seen the latest communication from the people claiming to hold Danny Pearl," the paper said in a statement. "Mr. Pearl, a US citizen born in the US, and a working journalist all of his adult life, is not an agent of any government or agency. He is a reporter for us - nothing more, nothing less." The e-mail letter threatening Pearl was received by Western and Pakistani news agencies. Killing Pearl could be a very stupid thing for the snuffies to do. This isn't the US embassy in Tehran. Even without government involvement, the Journal has the money to bring the kidnapers in. And the Bush administration is probably in the mood to be involved. To keep them from indulging that moodiness, Pakland will also probably be motivated to hunt very hard for the killers. Only by killing Pearl and then living a significant amount of time to brag about it will the kidnapers gain anything in the way of jihad points - and chances are against that happening.
Pakistan police have arrested a Muslim militant, Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani, wanted in connection with the disappearance of US journalist Daniel Pearl. Pearl disappeared after telling his wife he was going to interview Gilani, a leader of a little known militant Muslim group Tanzeem-ul-Fuqra based in Lahore. Gilani was found alone in a house in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. The deputy police inspector in Karachi, Tariq Jamil, said be believed security forces were close to arresting two other people linked to Pearl's disappearance. "Let's see what details come out of him (Gilani), then we will be in a position to know the whereabouts of the missing journalist." Toldja the Pak cops had an incentive not to be incompetent.
"It seems to be a fake organisation," said Brig Javed Cheema, Director-General of the Crisis Management Cell of the Interior Ministry, when asked about the group which calls itself the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty (NMRPS). Wow. Wotta surprise!
"Neither have we heard of any such organisation in the past nor has it ever been known to be active before this incident." He said the joint investigation teams, comprising officials of federal and provincial law enforcement agencies and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had found some important clues which might help in early recovery of the kidnapped journalist. Okay. It's a throw-away front, like a dummy corporation. Having the FBI looking over your shoulder will probably keep you diligent for a few days.
Sources said the Sindh inspector-general police have informed the federal government that investigation teams had found some important clues by tracking down the e-mail source of the kidnappers through the Internet Service Providers. Yup. That'd be the place to start. Good move.
Cheema said the authorities were probing the linkages and clues obtained from Al-Furqan organisation. If they're serious, they're hitting all the people they have in custody very many times. And they're looking for more people to bring into custody.
Sources said the search operation for the missing reporter was being monitored by the Chief Executive Secretariat and a number of government agencies were coordinating closely. Yeah, we'll bet they are, from the highest levels down.
If the poor guy's not dead already, he's got a real good chance of getting killed by nut cases, particularly when the Pak cops start to close in, stepping in buckets and knocking things over and generally making a racket. The incident's also got the potential to make the Pak government crack down viciously on its domestic nutbags - as it should. And the nutbags aren't smart enough to realize that they could end up getting breaded and fried like the Taliban was.
If they ever get back to amicable relations again, the Paks should invite the Indians to help retrain their police and domestic intelligence services. It looks like they really need the help.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/30/2002 ||
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French anti-terrorism officers suspect Britain may have allowed the alleged spiritual head of Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network in Europe escape an international dragnet. Le Figaro daily said French officers were sceptical about a Scotland Yard claim that Abu Qutada disappeared from his London address on the eve of the first of three police raids on Islamic terror suspects. "He was one of the most closely watched Islamists in all of London. He can't have escaped from right under the noses of the British, it's impossible," a French investigator said, according to the paper. "It's much more likely that he made a getaway with the agreement of the British authorities."
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01/30/2002 ||
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Yemeni forces have tracked down two key al-Qaida suspects wanted by the United States and will capture them by force if the pair fails to surrender, the country's foreign minister has said. Abubaker Al-Qirbi said yesterday the two men, Qaed Salim Sunia al-Harethi and Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, both Yemeni, were on a list of al-Qaida suspects that American investigators want to question for alleged links to Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in Sept 11 terror attacks in the US. A US source in Washington said al-Ahdal is a suspect in the Cole bombing and al-Harethi is believed to be a top al-Qaida operative in Yemen.
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01/30/2002 ||
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A 34-year-old woman is suing the state for suspending her Florida drivers license after she refused to have her photo taken without an Islamic veil. Sultaana Freeman, a former evangelist preacher who converted to Islam about five years ago and wears the traditional niqab, says her religion doesn't allow her to show her face to strangers. "I don't show my face to strangers or unrelated males," Freeman said in an interview at the office of her American Civil Liberties Union attorney. Only her emerald-green eyes and mascara showed through her veil. Ummm... Sez right here in the state driving regulations that you can't wear a mask when getting your license picture taken. Sez right here, in the Fundo Rule Book, that women aren't allowed to drive anyway. Now, if you don't drive, and you need your license only for identification, how the hell are they supposed to identify you if they can't tell what you look like? Further proof that no IQ test is required to convert.
Najat Tamim-Muhammad, 41, is battling the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles over the agency's requirement that she remove her head covering, a scarf called the "hijab," for her photograph on a state-issued identification card. State law, which also applies to driver's licenses, requires a full-face photograph. "To take it off would be the equivalent of some other woman being forced to remove her blouse," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Mr Hooper appears regularly on cable teevee news shows as a spokesman for US Muslims. Many of his statements make no sense at all. And he wears what looks like a brassiere cup on his head.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
01/30/2002 ||
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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.
