Prosecutors have dropped charges against two Kuwaiti soldiers accused of plotting attacks against US forces.
According to their lawyer, Muhammad al-Mutairi, on Tuesday, no evidence of any crime has been found and the court has dismissed the charges against the men.
"The case has been closed because there was no crime," he said. "The accusations were without evidence. The case is over."
Kuwait's military did not specify the number of soldiers involved in the plot when the arrests were made public in January. Other soldiers were detained were later released, and the details of the alleged plot were never publicised.
In an unrelated development, Kuwait's parliamentary human rights panel on Tuesday called for improving the detention conditions of suspected Islamist militants held in an American-style prison dubbed a "Kuwaiti Guantanamo."
"We want conditions improved in the new prison which is branded as the Kuwaiti Guantanamo," head of the panel MP Walid al-Tabtabai said, referring to the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of suspects are held.
The prison is built like American-style jails with heavily-fortified solitary cells, and detainees are not allowed to go out or read books and newspapers, the Islamist lawmaker said.
Parliamentary sources said that 23 inmates, all of them suspected Islamist fighters arrested following bloody clashes with security forces in January, are held in the new prison.
The panel also demanded that relatives and lawyers of the inmates should be allowed to visit them, Tabtabai said after a meeting with senior interior ministry officials to discuss claims of torture and mistreatment of detainees.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/30/2005 12:06:51 AM ||
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He prolly wants one of those prisons with a well-oiled revolving door. They're all the rage in Islamic countries pretending to participate in the WoT.
Yemeni security forces and supporters of a slain rebel preacher were again involved in deadly clashes yesterday in a resurgence of violence that has claimed 33 lives in the space of 24 hours. As troops sealed off villages in the Saada province, clashes for the first time extended southward to the region of Amran where fighters ambushed an army convoy, killing three soldiers. Army soldiers cordoned off villages in Saada on the lookout for followers of Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi, who was killed by Yemeni armed forces in September last year.
A total of 23 rebels and 10 members of the army and security forces have been killed since the violence erupted early Monday, in the most serious confrontations since Al-Houthi was declared dead, tribal sources told reporters. They also said 51 rebel fighters were detained by the authorities. There was no official confirmation of the casualties or the arrests. The official news agency SABA reported late Monday that the army clashes with "subversive elements affiliated" to Al-Houthi's movement killed at least 15 people, including seven members of the army and security forces. Early yesterday, shots and artillery could be heard from the northwestern mountains where soldiers backed by tanks and armored vehicles cordoned off villages where rebels are suspected to be holed up and raided suspect houses. Army soldiers sealed the villages of Kutaf, Dahyan and Nushur in Saada province where they were also carrying out raids on suspected houses, said the tribal sources.
In Amran province, south of Saada, Al-Houthi followers ambushed a convoy of Yemeni regular army forces, they said. Three soldiers were killed in the clash in Amran, about 80 km north Sanaa, according to the sources, which could not confirm casualties among the rebels. On March 19, three prominent members of Al-Houthi's Faithful Youth movement were killed and two others wounded by police which suffered three wounded in the first clash since authorities announced Al-Houthi's death on Sept. 10, 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2005 10:39:39 PM ||
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ya know--the yemenis don't play--methinks the company station in sana is earning its money
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
03/30/2005 0:55 Comments ||
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BELFAST: The Irish Republican Army has laundered money stolen in a massive bank robbery in Belfast last December by buying properties in Britain, a newspaper reported yesterday, citing an Irish government source. The £26.5 million (BD19m) seized from the Northern Bank in the heist was quickly separated into "five or six parcels", according to the Irish Times. Immediately after the robbery, the militant group started exploring the housing market across Britain, the daily said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Mmmm! I recall the notes were the Northern bank's own issue (Each Northern Irish bank issues its own currency). No one in England will take these notes and most english people are convinced they are fakes.
#2
Most of the stolen money consisted of notes issued by N Irish banks, but not all. One or two of those parcels could have been Bank of England issue.
#3
Maybe they should invest in a decent PR man too.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
03/30/2005 4:04 Comments ||
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I still have a collection of Northerin Ireland bank notes. So many ways to express the Pound Sterling.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/30/2005 10:41 Comments ||
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No one in England will take these notes and most english people are convinced they are fakes.
I dunno. The clincher here is the 'most english' part; not all of the rest are necessarily English. Offer them at 2:1 to the right people and many things can happen.
A member of a group led by prominent guerilla leader Shamil Basayev has been detained in Chechnya, a spokesman for the federal forces in the North Caucasus told Interfax. The detainee, whose name has not been disclosed, is a resident of Shali, he said. The spokesman said the guerilla was involved in a series of terrorist attacks committed in the Shali district in 2003-2004.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/30/2005 9:37:37 AM ||
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A car with servicemen of the Russian Interior Ministry hit a mine planted on the motor road between the villages of Germenchuk and Mesker-Yurt in Chechnya's Shalinsky region. As Itar-Tass learnt at the Chechen Interior Ministry, a battalion deputy commander and two servicemen under his command got different injuries in the explosion. All of them were hospitalised. Criminal proceedings were instituted. Investigation of the incident is in progress.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/30/2005 12:15:56 AM ||
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MADRID- Spanish police said they had arrested a bomb disposal expert after he was found to be in possession of 755 kilos (1,660 pounds) of Goma 2 ECO explosive of the type used in last year's Madrid train bombings along with thousands of detonators.
That's a lot of boom material
According to police sources the man, aged 50, was detained near Barcelona following inquiries made as part of an interior ministry crackdown on industrial stocks of explosive since the train bombings which killed 191 people. The blasts, allegedly carried out by mainly Moroccan Islamic extremists, followed the transportation of explosives from a disused mineshaft in northern Spain to Madrid. According to media reports police believed the man may have had access to the nitroglycerine-based explosive during the course of his work and stowed away what was left after each job.
Sign out 20 kilos, use only 18, slip the rest in your tool box, who's gonna know.
Police detained the officer on Tuesday in possession of 33 sticks of Goma 2 ECO in a plastic bag, and a subsequent search of his property uncovered some four times as much explosive as was used in the Madrid bombings, Spain's worst ever terrorist attack.
Talk about bring your work home with you
They also found 5,312 electrical detonators and 75 litres of oil.
Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said that the find "does not appear to be in any way related to terrorist activity.
After which a search was conducted to find his lips.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2005 11:35:29 AM ||
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Wow! 48 hour rule in effect. Something's definitely not right here!
PARIS-An Egyptian national has been detained in the Paris suburbs in connection with last year's deadly train bombings in Madrid, police sources said. The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Ahmed E., was placed in preventive detention and was to be interrogated by French counterespionage agents about his ties with a prime suspect in the attacks. That suspect -- Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed, nicknamed "Mohamed the Egyptian" - was arrested in Italy last year and later extradited to Spain. Sources close to the French probe said Ahmed E. might have given his countryman a place to stay outside Paris, and investigators are trying to determine the exact nature of the ties between the two men.
This article starring:
MOHAMED THE EGYPTIAN
al-Qaeda in Europe
RABEI OSMAN SAIED AHMED
al-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2005 11:33:21 AM ||
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A former Edmonton-area cinema owner has been charged in the United States with raising cash and recruiting Muslim extremists in North America throughout the 1990s to help wage a worldwide Islamic jihad.
Kassem Daher, linked by CSIS to al-Qaeda, is a Lebanese native who came to Canada in the 1980s as a business immigrant. Daher, who once ran movie theatres in Leduc and Ponoka, left Canada in 1998.
In 2000, he was arrested in Lebanon after a shootout between police and alleged terrorists. After his arrest, Daher's relatives denied he was ever involved in terrorism and urged the Canadian government to intervene on his behalf. He was never formally charged with a crime in Lebanon or Canada and has been free on bail for the past year, Barbara Campion, a spokeswoman for CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) told CanWest News Service on Tuesday.
But a criminal complaint unsealed this week in Florida named Daher -- along with three other men, including a former Detroit public school administrator -- as co-conspirators in a network aimed at supporting terrorist activities around the globe.
The alleged network came to light on Monday following the arrest of Kifah Wael Jayyousi, a former assistant superintendent in Detroit's school system. Authorities told the Detroit Free Press that Jayyousi was arrested around 12:30 p.m. Sunday at the Detroit airport after arriving from Qatar via Amsterdam. U.S. customs agents detained Jayyousi after a computer check showed he was wanted on a federal terrorism warrant issued in Miami, along with two other men: Adham Amin Hassoun and Daher. Jayyousi and Daher are charged with conspiring to provide material support and resources for terrorism and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure people or damage property in a foreign country.
The first charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The second carries a maximum penalty of 35 years to life in prison. Jayyousi is to appear in court in Detroit today. Earlier this week, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami released a 14-page affidavit sworn out by FBI agent John T. Kavanaugh detailing what he described as the "Jayyousi-Daher-Hassoun North American Support Network" for Islamic terror.
"The investigation of Jayyousi, Daher (and) Hassoun began in late 1993 and revealed that they had formed a network across North America to fundraise for and recruit mujahedeen to train and fight in various jihad areas including but not limited to Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, and Somalia," the affidavit states. "During the times relevant to this investigation, Daher resided in Leduc, Canada."
FBI surveillance teams recorded numerous conversations between the three men and others involved in the network, including onetime leader Mohamed Zaky, who died in 1995 fighting in Chechnya. In one February 1995 conversation, Jayyousi, Daher and Zaky allegedly discussed how the network was moving jihadist soldiers between Algeria, Egypt, Somalia, and Eritrea. Daher said "we are in charge of it in Canada," according to the affidavit, and added that "we have brothers in Lebanon who are ready to go to Chechnya but there's no money."
"Daher and Jayyousi also discussed setting up a for-profit business in order to fund jihad," the affidavit states. "Daher then mentioned his organization, the Canadian Islamic Association, which he described as a 'cover, I mean it's very good.' "
In January 2000, several Lebanese soldiers were killed in clashes with suspected members of a terrorist group called Takfir wal-Hijra. On Feb. 2, Lebanese troops descended on suspects in the city of Karaoun and a shootout ensued, described by local media as a "spectacular gunfight." Government authorities arrested Daher and eight other suspected Takfir wal-Hijra members, and seized a stockpile of weapons that included rocket launchers and mortars.
Campion said Tuesday that CSIS believes Daher is still in Lebanon. "We believe him to be implicated in terrorist activity," she added, but would not comment further except to say that "he hasn't been in this country for seven years."
Daher was named last month by CSIS director Jim Judd when he appeared before a House of Commons committee and described the network of suspected Islamic terrorists that has operated in Canada.
Relatives of Daher say he is innocent. "It's outrageous but what are you going to do?" his brother-in-law, Jim, said from Hobbema on Tuesday. "People can just say whatever the hell they want and people believe it," Jim said. "As far as I know, he's a nice guy. The allegations ... are a bunch of bull as far as I'm concerned."
This article starring:
ADHAM AMIN HASUN
al-Qaeda
Barbara Campion, a spokeswoman for CSIS
CSIS director Jim Judd
FBI agent John T. Kavanaugh
KASEM DAHER
al-Qaeda
KIFAH WAEL JAIYUSI
al-Qaeda
MOHAMED ZAKY
al-Qaeda
Canadian Islamic Association
Takfir wal-Hijra
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/30/2005 9:34:43 AM ||
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"People can just say whatever the hell they want and people believe it," Jim said.
You're soooo right there, Jim.
"He was a nice boy." - Third Grade teacher.
"He mowed my lawn." - former neighbor.
"He liked my cookies." - Grandmother.
March 30, 2005: The war on terror grinds on, with no agreement on who is winning. Actually, the terrorists are losing, but that's not news. The reason there's no agreement on this has a lot to do with how the media business operates, and how politicians react to uncertain threats. To succeed in the news business, you have to get out there with exciting news. If you cover terrorism, that means lots of stories about impending, or potential, terrorist, attacks. Terrorism makes for great news. By definition, terrorism is scary. If you have some active terrorist groups out there, all you need is a few real, or suspected threats from them to provide an ample supply of scary stories.
Politicians know how to play into this, as they spend a great deal of their time responding to news stories. Knowing that declaring victory over terrorism is a story that won't get covered much, an astute politician will play along with the news stories. Thus, even if the terrorists are losing their war, it will be a long time before the media, and politicians, will be admitting it.
So how do you keep score? There are two ways. First, by the number of terrorist attacks being inflicted on your people. Second, by keeping track of how well the terrorists are doing in achieving their stated objectives.
The current terror war began in the 1990s, when Islamic terrorists carried out some small attacks in Europe, while attacking Americans in other countries (the bombings in Africa, the USS Cole attack and so on. But overall, there were few deaths from terrorism in North America (187, to be exact, between 1991 and September 10, 2001). During the same period, there were 1,030 deaths in the Middle East and Persian Gulf, and 215 in Western Europe. During this period, most of the terrorism deaths (1,980) were in South Asia (India and Pakistan).
Things changed on September 11, 2001, when nearly 3,000 American were killed in one day of al Qaeda attacks. But from September 12, 2001 to March, 2003, there were only eight deaths from terrorism in North America.I count 5 by anthrax, what are the other 3? There were only 27 in Western Europe. Even the Middle East was relatively quiet, with 667 terrorist deaths. Terrorism Central continued to be South Asia, with 1,355 deaths. There were 411 terrorist deaths in Southeast Asia, up from 284 between 1991 and September 10, 2001.
Then came the invasion of Iraq, intended as an effort to carry the war to the region from which most Islamic terrorists were coming from. From March 2003 to the present, there have been zero terrorist deaths in North America, 198 in Western Europe and 292 in Southeast Asia. The Middle East and Persian Gulf exploded, with 3,951 terrorist related deaths. South Asia was up a bit as well, to 1,486.
The United States had, in effect, defended itself for 18 months after September 11, 2001, then went on the offensive, carrying the war on terrorism to the homeland of most Islamic terrorists. The terrorists responded by killing a lot of fellow Moslems. The Middle Eastern nations responded by going after the terrorists. The result has been greater efforts to root out Islamic terrorism at the source. This has created something of a civil war in many Islamic nations as they finally confront the growing threat of Islamic radicalism.
Meanwhile, the Islamic radicals have seen themselves beaten at every turn. The original goal of the Islamic terrorists was the expulsion of all infidels (non-Moslems) from the Middle East. Beyond that, they wanted to revive the "caliphate" (all Moslem nations united in one large entity governed by Islamic law) and convert the entire planet to Islam. Before September 11, 2001, the United States and Europeans treated the growing Islamic radicalism as a police matter. On September 11, 2001, it became clear that the police approach wasn't working. Within three months, the United States had invaded Afghanistan and removed the Taliban from power, and al Qaeda from their bases. Al Qaeda members in North America and Europe were hunted down and arrested in large numbers. All this just made the Islamic radicals in the Middle East angrier, and eager for revenge. Then came the invasion of Iraq. Al Qaeda members, and supporters, from all over the Middle East went to Iraq to join the fight. Most of them died. Now there were more infidels than ever in the Middle East. Terrorist attacks against the infidels in their homelands were declining. Local governments in the Middle East were attacking al Qaeda wherever it could be found. Al Qaeda condemned democracy as "un-Islamic," but free elections were held in Iraq and Afghanistan for the first time in decades.
Most Europeans, and many Americans, disagreed with the Iraq invasion, and continued to believe that more of a police approach was the way to go. We'll never know if that strategy would have worked, although it certainly failed in the 1990s. What we do know is that the Islamic terrorists are losing. But as long as Islamic radicalism continues to be so popular in the Moslem world, the threat of massive casualties from terrorist attacks remains. It's going to be a long war.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2005 9:03:16 AM ||
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I count 5 by anthrax, what are the other 3?
The attack at the El Al ticket counter at LAX on July 4, 2002.
Philippine communist guerrillas threatened to step up attacks on government targets including military supply lines and fuel depots to mark the 36th founding anniversary of the rebel group today. The 8,000-member New People's Army (NPA) has been waging an insurgency since the late 1960s, which has killed more than 40,000 people, deterred investment and slowed rural development in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries. "We must seize the initiative," said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), in a statement released to news organisations yesterday, urging its armed wing to expand its influence to at least a quarter of the country's 42,000 villages. "We can raise the level of fighting tactics and technique by gaining further experience through fighting and seizing weapons from the enemy," the statement added. It also vowed to attack US troops involved in training Filipino soldiers in anti-terror tactics, an activity described by the rebels as "acts of military intervention".
"We have repeatedly told the US imperialists to respect the national sovereignty and territory of the Filipino people, to withdraw their troops from the Philippines and to stop their acts of military intervention," said the rebel statement. Despite threats, the Maoist-led forces failed to carry out attacks on hundreds of US soldiers who took part in a two-week health and engineering mission in disaster-affected areas of the main island of Luzon last month. Lieutenant-Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, a spokesman for the Philippine military, dismissed the rebels' statement as "mere propaganda" to rally a demoralised ragtag guerrilla force. "The military is ready to face whatever armed attacks the CPP-NPA may undertake resulting from the rebels' latest agitation against the government," Pascual said. "The threat as far as Holy Week has passed, but we must not let up on strict law enforcement and public vigilance," Ignacio Bunye, a spokesman for President Gloria Arroyo, said in a statement. "We must not let our guard down."
Meanwhile, four members of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group were killed and a Marine was wounded in a clash in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, the military said yesterday. Fighting broke out on Friday when the Marines encountered about 20 Abu Sayyaf members who were believed attempting to disrupt Good Friday Christian ceremonies in the island's capital town, the military said in its report. The gunbattle lasted 15 minutes before the Abu Sayyaf withdrew dragging four of their dead, the military's southern command said.
The arrest of a Muslim convert and the seizure of his explosives cache prevented a car bombing in the Philippine capital, a military spokesman said yesterday. "Their plans are a car bombing... but this was aborted because of the arrest and the capture of their explosives," said Captain Ramon Zagala, referring to the arrest last week of Tyrone David Santos, who goes by the Muslim name Daud Santos. The bombing was scheduled for the just-concluded Christian Lent season but Santos's arrest prevented this, said Zagala, spokesman for the military forces in Manila. About 10 sacks of explosives were seized from Santos in a raid in a suburb of Manila on March 22. The military said the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf intended to use it in bombings in the capital.
Zagala said the military believed the extremists were planning a car bombing due to information gathered from computer files, documents, a videotape and the interrogation of Santos. He would not elaborate. Following the arrest of Santos and the seizure of the explosives, the military had downgraded its alert over possible terror attacks in Manila, Zagala said. Zagala said Santos was still being interrogated and they hoped to get more details from him on the possible involvement of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network in the alleged plot.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/30/2005 12:26:02 AM ||
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Placed on Pg 1 because I consider Iran's nuke program a terrorist operation. Move to 2 if you want....
Journalists have been allowed to accompany Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on his first official visit to the Natanz nuclear facility.
Natanz, some 250km (150 miles) south of Tehran, was a closely-guarded secret until late 2002 when its existence was revealed by an Iranian exile group.
The site holds uranium enrichment facilities which, the US says, could be aimed at producing nuclear weapons.
But Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. Yeah! A country swimming in oil needs nuclear energy!
In an unusual gesture, Tehran allowed more than 30 local and foreign journalists to accompany President Khatami on a tour of Natanz.
They were taken deep inside a building to a vast empty hall designed to house 50,000 enrichment centrifuges, a Reuters news agency report said.
The enrichment facility was built more than 18m (54ft) below ground because of "security problems", Iranian officials were quoted as saying.
'Frustrated staff'
But defence experts say it could be a precaution against possible aerial attacks from the US and Israel.
Dozens of anti-aircraft placements were also spotted by journalists on the approach to Natanz. Gee... I wonder why...
Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, said the site was being inspected by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.
"IAEA inspectors visit this facility at least once a month and also use a monitoring system to check the suspension," he said. A 'guided' tour no doubt which doesn't include the other really secret sites....
But he said staff were keen to resume enriching uranium, which was frozen while Iran negotiates with the EU over its nuclear programme. YEAH! We want to get on with killing those Jooooos!
"The people involved in the project are frustrated by the suspension," he said. "They hope there is an agreement with the Europeans so that all activities can be resumed. Enrichment is Iran's right."
NATANZ, Iran (Reuters) - Iran took a group of journalists deep underground Wednesday into the heart of a key nuclear plant which Washington wants permanently closed and whose existence was a secret until 2002. About 30 local and foreign journalists visited Natanz uranium enrichment facility, 150 miles south of Tehran, the centerpiece of Iran's disputed atomic fuel drive. The unprecedented visit was an unusual gesture of openness by Iran. Reporters, allowed to photograph and film the plant, were later taken to another atomic facility in the central city of Isfahan. Iran says its nuclear program is nothing for the world to fear and will only be used to generate much-needed electricity. But Washington and the European Union fear Iran could use its nuclear plants to produce bombs.
The journalists, invited to accompany President Mohammad Khatami on an inspection of the 450-hectare (1,110-acre) site, were taken deep inside a building where, two levels below ground, they were shown a vast empty hall designed to house 50,000 enrichment centrifuges. Centrifuges purify uranium fluoride gas into reactor or bomb fuel by spinning at high speeds. Low-grade enriched uranium is used in atomic power plants but highly enriched uranium can be used in the core of a bomb.
Iranian officials said the enrichment facility had been built more than 18 meters (54 feet) below ground due to "security problems." Defense experts say this is a precaution against possible aerial attack by the United States or Israel, which have vowed to stop Iran acquiring nuclear arms. Approaching the complex, ringed by arid mountains, journalists counted at least 10 anti-aircraft batteries. At the heavily guarded main gate there were no signs to indicate the nature of the sprawling site whose existence was first revealed by an Iranian exile group in late 2002, prompting international concern about Iran's atomic ambitions.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors first visited Natanz in early 2003. In October, 2003 the U.N. watchdog sealed Natanz's pilot enrichment facility, containing dozens of centrifuges, as part of an agreement between Iran and the EU. The EU wants Iran to permanently scrap Natanz and other nuclear fuel work in return for assistance with developing nuclear energy and other economic and security cooperation.
Iran says the suspension of nuclear fuel work is merely a temporary confidence-building measure. "IAEA inspectors visit this facility at least once a month and also use a monitoring system to check the suspension," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told reporters. "We can start test enrichment at any time," said Ehsan Monajemi, construction project manager at Natanz. "The sealing of the facilities has affected the morale of our people. It would be sad if it continued."
Sensitive fuel work has also been frozen at the Uranium Conversion Facility in Isfahan, which the journalists visited and which is designed to prepare the uranium gas for Natanz. European diplomats say Iran has offered to limit Natanz to a small pilot facility of around 500 centrifuges. While the pilot facility would be too small to produce usable quantities of weapons-grade material, it would allow Iran to master the technical know-how to do so in future and is therefore unlikely to be acceptable to Washington, which wants Iran's case sent to the U.N. Security Council.
But a senior Iranian official denied any such proposal was on the table. "Iran has not offered any limitations on its enrichment facilities and will not accept this in the future," Ali Aghamohammadi, head of the Propaganda Office at the Supreme National Security Council, told Reuters.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2005 9:35:59 AM ||
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Lol! The comic book version:
These "journalists" will be "interviewed" by "officials" of an "unnamed Govt" methinks... I'm thinking hypnosis and giggle juice for the lot of 'em. They'll wake up a coupla days later in Tiajauna (or similar) with a killer hangover... Coyote Ugly, lol!
#2
And why exactly is it underground? We're not building weapons, no sir, nothing to see here.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
03/30/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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18m is not nearly enough to stop a bunker-buster, and I think the Iranians know it... which indicates that isn't the reason they built it underground. It is enough to stop certain surveillance techniques, though.
Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Omar Karami said he will step down after failing to form a government including opposition and loyalists. It is widely expected he will formally submit his resignation to President Emile Lahoud this Thursday after a formal meeting of the pro-Syrian Ain al-Tineh grouping which Karami is a leading member of. The delay in the official announcement has increased speculation that the president will attempt to postpone May's scheduled parliamentary elections while it attempts to form a new Cabinet.
Following a meeting with Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, Karami said: "I am not willing to form a government similar to the one we had before and I came to put the speaker in picture." He added: "I will visit President Emile Lahoud on Wednesday to inform him of my decision but I will not formally announce my resignation until I book my flight meet with the Ain al-Tineh gathering again, which should occur soon."
Karami fired a parting shot at the country's political opposition and blamed them for his resignation and the continuing political deadlock which leaves Lebanon without an effective government. He said: "They are the ones who rejected my invitations to join me in a national unity government. Of course they are responsible. Our hands were open to them and we were ready to discuss any issue. Any issue." Sources close to the Cabinet said Lahoud will launch a last-ditch attempt later today to convince the prime minister-designate not to step down. It is understood that Lahoud will instead ask Karami to form a transitional Cabinet composed of figures that will not run for the next parliamentary elections as The Daily Star called for on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Darn, he does not quit does he? Apparently, he likes resigning too much. ;-)
Lebanon's military intelligence chief has taken what officials called "a one month leave of absence," amid growing demands from the country's political opposition that pro-Syrian security chiefs resign. Brigadier Raymond Azar began his leave yesterday afternoon. A security insider said: "A long-term leave of absence, in military terms, can be perceived as a near-resignation."
Debka sez he's taking his "leave of absence" in La Belle France...
Ah, Springtime in Paris, the food, the wine, the lack of people with ropes
It is understood that Lieutenant General Georges Khoury, head of military intelligence in Mount Lebanon, has been appointed interim chief of military intelligence following Azar's departure. Khoury's promotion comes ahead of two of his more senior colleagues, Lieutenant Generals Ali Jaber and Ali Smeili. Jaber and Smeili, both Shiites, are understood to have been overlooked because the post of military intelligence chief is traditionally granted to a Maronite Christian. Pointedly, Khoury is also understood to be "in good favor" with the opposition, because he enjoys the trust of Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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"leave of absence" before "leave of senses"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2005 9:33 Comments ||
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Or possibly even an out of body experience thingy. I hear that's a one-way trip, though, heh.
Salt to taste.
DEBKAfile exclusive military sources report complete collapse of pro-Syrian political and intelligence structure in Lebanon and abrupt withdrawal of all Syrian commands including key figure military intelligence chief General Ghazaleh. Pro-Syrian Lebanese PM Karame backs out of forming new government in Beirut. Lebanese secret service chief Gen. Raymond Azar has fled to Paris. Internal Security Forces head Gen. Ali al-Hajj about to quit.
Looks like Debka's got it at least partially right on this one. We've got the article on Azar, from Beirut Daily Star, and the Karami story from several sources. Al-Jizzles is leading with it. Haven't seen the one on al-Hajj, but I'll take their word for it. Ghazaleh, I don't know about, but it looks like the tipping point's coming. Lahoud's hanging tough, though...
Posted by: Sobiesky ||
03/30/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Posted by: Rex Rufus ||
03/30/2005 2:42 Comments ||
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OK, so Syria was shown the door. What about Hizb'Allah? Won't they take over the racket? They need to go next, but I am sure that they won't go without a fight or a mass leave of absence of their leadership (hint, hint).
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/30/2005 11:03 Comments ||
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#3
This goes against my bets on the Prediction Market at StrategyPage.com. Of course that bet said ALL soldiers and intel out of Syria. ALL being that key word...
WASHINGTON, March 29 - Sgt. First Class Paul R. Smith, killed nearly two years ago defending his vastly outnumbered Army unit in a fierce battle with elite Iraqi troops for control of Baghdad's airport, will receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award, administration officials said Tuesday. No soldier who served in Afghanistan or Iraq after the Sept. 11 attacks has yet received the medal. The last conflict to produce a Medal of Honor recipient was in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993; two soldiers were awarded the medal posthumously for actions there, later depicted in the movie "Black Hawk Down."
Sergeant Smith led a defense of a compound next to the airport against a much larger force of Special Republican Guard troops, manning a heavy machine gun, repeatedly firing and reloading three times before he was mortally wounded. Fellow soldiers said his actions killed 20 to 50 Iraqis, allowed wounded American soldiers to be evacuated, and saved an aid station and perhaps 100 lives. Sergeant Smith's "extraordinary heroism and uncommon valor without regard to his own life in order to save others are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service," a draft of the medal citation says.
President Bush will present the award to Sergeant Smith's widow and children at a White House ceremony on Monday, the second anniversary of the airport battle and the soldier's death.
The story of Paul Ray Smith is that of an ordinary recruit from Tampa, Fla., who fresh out of high school joined the Army not out of patriotism but for a steady paying job, and who 15 years later, as a battle-hardened platoon sergeant, was hurled into an extraordinary test, for which he paid the ultimate price. More than one million military men and women have served in Afghanistan or Iraq since 2001. But Sergeant Smith is the only one whose actions earned an award nomination that has reached this point after wending its way through more than 12 levels of military and presidential reviews over the last two years.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2005 11:43:55 AM ||
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#1
Rest in peace, Sgt, and thank you from a grateful nation. Thank you for saving so many others. You will be remembered and honored for as long as the republic stands - which will be as long as we produce men and women with your selflessness and courage.
what about this statement, though? More than one million military men and women have served in Afghanistan or Iraq since 2001
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2005 12:14 Comments ||
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#3
NYT: The story of Paul Ray Smith is that of an ordinary recruit from Tampa, Fla., who fresh out of high school joined the Army not out of patriotism but for a steady paying job
No times article is complete without a snarky remark. Not one.
#4
Thanks for SFC Smith's courage and sacrifice. But let's not make the MOH a posthumous only award. There are plenty who probably merit it and are still alive.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
03/30/2005 12:22 Comments ||
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#5
Fellow soldiers said his actions killed 20 to 50 Iraqis
At this rate, heaven is gonna run out of virgins. Good shooting, soldier. Thank you.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
03/30/2005 12:42 Comments ||
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#6
Zhang, you could re-write that snarky statement to apply more generally to the high-school-graduate-who-does-not-go-to-college population, to show how gratuitous and ridiculous it is:
"he joined the Acme Company not out of commitment to the Acme team and core company values but for a steady paying job."
NYT wankers.
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
03/30/2005 12:45 Comments ||
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#7
Carl - Unlike NYT "journalists" and "editors" who are true social crusaders, of course, striving to sell, er, inform us.
Mrs D - spot-on. I have no doubt there are deserving living soldiers, as well. I can think of many fierce engagements (such as the headstone to headstone firefights clearing the huge Najaf graveyard) which undoubtedly elicited heroic action.
The word "hero" is tossed around so casually these days that it has almost lost its meaning. Then comes the story of Army Sgt. Paul Smith, who reminds us what a real hero is. The 33-year-old soldier from Tampa was killed April 4 after valiantly fending off an Iraqi assault on his command post.
Smith's bravery in saving his troops is a story worth repeating. He was leading two dozen engineers building a prison at Baghdad International Airport when the contingent was attacked by 100 elite Republican Guards. As his soldiers fell around him, outmanned and outgunned, Smith dodged snipers and rocket grenades to tend to the wounded. He ran to a Humvee, grabbed a grenade and blew back the charging Iraqis. Then Smith climbed atop his armored vehicle and manned the .50-caliber machine gun, emptying four boxes of ammo over 90-minutes.
Witnesses said he killed 30 to 50 Iraqis and stopped the enemy from overrunning his post. When the firing stopped and the Americans regrouped, his men found Smith shot in the head. He was the only American to die in the fight.
#10
If I am not mistaken, he also was the owner of a prized Harley Davidson that was auctioned off in 2003 to raise some money for his young family. The raffle brought tears to my eyes and I am sure his legacy rumbles on every time that bike is kicked over...
#11
If anyone cares, Sergeant Smith's heroism and self-sacrifice earned him a spot on page A13 of the NYT print edition, right under an article titled "Boy Scout Executive... Surrenders on Child Pornography Charge." Bastards.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/30/2005 13:20 Comments ||
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#12
Tales like that of this gentleman and other MOH honorees (don't say "winners"), really puts into perspective how precious these medals are. In this conflict, I have been astounded with the incredible and extraordinary performance of so many soldiers--men who just seem unstoppable on the battlefield; yet these heroes only merit the bronze or a silver star. But a time or two a single soldier has done something so impossible for a normal person to do, that they must be recognized as being in a select class, for performance at a super-human level. Case in point: SFC Smith killed 20 to 50 enemy, himself; but he also saved the lives of over a hundred of his comrades; and he did so with the knowledge that his life was very probably forfeit. His was not a reckless waste of his life, he surrendered it dearly, and did so in a noble and honorable way. By his actions, he saved the lives of an entire Company of soldiers.
#13
Matt: Tales of heroism and selfless sacrifice don't sell newspapers to the annointed elite. On the other hand, MoDo's post-menopausal, narcissitic, barely coherent, man-hating snarkfests seem to sell bundles.
#14
Most thinking people don't read the NYT anymore. The Jason Blair fictions and the relentless political hectoring by Krugman, Dowd, et. al. have rendered it a waste of time(s).
#16
I've been hoping Sgt. Smith would be awarded the MOH. He certainly earned it. I don't have words to express my thanks - just silent, prayerful gratitude.
#17
CBS (!) actually had a good piece on Smith this morning. They might repeat it tonight on the See BS News. Everyone said Smith loved the Army first, and wanted to do all he could for "his boys". Quotes from his last letter to his family will bring tears to your eyes for sure.
Posted by: Phil ||
03/30/2005 19:57 Comments ||
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#23
(calls roll)
Sgt. Smith.....
Sgt. Smith.....
Sgt. First Class Paul R. Smith.....
Salutes.
God bless you.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
03/30/2005 20:15 Comments ||
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#24
In my mind, the crucial test for the MOH is "above and beyond" the call of duty. Any action that falls within the realm of duty will not qualify, no matter how extraordinary or heroic.
This is a matter of some interest to me because of an incident many years ago in Vietnam. A Huey from my unit was hit by 12.7 mm fire during a dust-off (casualty evacuation flight). The pilot was killed and the co-pilot severely wounded in the leg (punctured femoral artery). A medic on the flight, a SPC4 from Kansas City, was also wounded. In spite of this, the medic held a compress on the co-pilot's leg, and kept him from bleeding to death or losing conciousness long enough for the co-pilot to fly to an ARVN firebase. Both recovered.
The co-pilot received the DFC and the medic the Siver Star, but neither man was even considered for the MOH.
The reason: All of this was within the range of their required duties. They could not have done otherwise as long as it was within their power to save themselves and their other passengers (7 wounded ARVN grunts).
Task Force Liberty Soldiers detained seven people suspected of a rocket attack near a Coalition Forces base near Hawija about 3:30 p.m., March 29. The TF Liberty combat patrol was investigating the suspected point of origin of the attack when it detained five people in a vehicle. They were in possession of a video camera containing footage of terrorists firing mortars, a pamphlet on firing mortars, and mortar and rocket firing data. Two others were detained near the Coalition Forces base and are suspected of observing the impact of the rocket attack.
#2
You gotta love it when the idiots give you all the evidence you need. Kinda like those moronic teens who were filming their drive-by paintball shootings--thanks for fully documenting your crimes for us!
Posted by: Dar ||
03/30/2005 10:59 Comments ||
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#3
Yeah, but with the lawyers Michael Moore has they won't be able to hold him long!
Still, it'll be good to see the fat slob locked up for a while anyway.
Coalition Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), conducted an operation in northern Iraq March 29. Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment engaged the vehicle of a known terrorist with small-arms fire killing a terrorist and injuring another in Tal Afar. The 2-14th also seized a number of weapons found in the vehicle to include a machine gun, two AK-47s, two hand grenades and six rocket propelled grenade rounds. The injured terrorist was taken to a hospital and will be detained after being treated. No injuries to Coalition Forces were reported during the operation.
Iraqi Security Forces discovered a large terrorist's base March 28 in Salman Pak, south of Baghdad. The Iraqi forces stormed the base, overcame light resistance and disabled several improvised explosive devices. Several weapons, munitions and two IEDs were found on the scene. More than 90 suspected terrorists were captured and are being questioned.
The Soldiers were acting on tips from concerned citizens. The Iraqi Security Forces, led by the Iraqi Special Operations Forces Brigade, planned and executed multiple raids into Salman Park, which was used by anti-Iraqi force networks for planning and staging attacks.
"This operation was the first major joint operation between the ISOF Brigade, Iraqi Police forces and conventional coalition forces," said Brig. Gen. Karl Horst, assistant commander to Task Force Baghdad. "This operation represents the significant progress that Iraqi Security Forces are making to make all of Iraq a safer place for it's citizens."
Task Force Baghdad Soldiers discovered eight weapons caches in close proximity to a U.S. military supply route south of Baghdad March 27.
Soldiers used metal detectors to find the hidden weapons, which included 58 assorted artillery and mortar rounds, 11 rocket-propelled grenade heat rounds and three RPG launchers. The Soldiers also uncovered six RPG anti-personnel rounds, 1,000 6.3 mm primers, a machine gun, an AK-47 rifle, and more than 400 rounds of ammunition. Other munitions found include 100 time fuses, 39 booster charges of various sizes, 10 blasting caps, five mortar fuses, two armored vests, detonation cord and a wide assortment of electronic equipment.
Also March 27, Soldiers with the 1st Iraqi Army Brigade, 6th Division, arrested an Iraqi Police master sergeant, who has been accused of being the leader of a terror cell. The suspect is also believed to be responsible for the bombing of the Al-Baratha Mosque.
While on patrol IA Soldiers found three RPGs. The Soldiers arrested an individual who fired one of the RPGs.
In central Baghdad, Soldiers with 1/69 Armor found an IED in a shoe box. A Navy explosive ordnance detachment was on the scene and safely detonated the IED.
Soldiers with 1/13 Armor reported an IED on a military service route. The device was made from a 130 mm projectile. EOD arrived on the scene and conducted a controlled detonation.
"On the average we find 50 percent of the IEDs. In a given 24-hour period, we have found 60 percent. In IED attacks initiated against Multi-National Division Baghdad, 70 percent have been ineffective at producing a casualty," said Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, Task Force Baghdad spokesperson.
"This can be attributed to the technological advances in equipment, armor protection and the fact that we are capturing or killing experienced anti-Iraqi forces."
Iraqi Police took control of a situation around 11:30 p.m. March 27 in south central Baghdad when Soldiers with 3/7 Infantry came under small-arms fire. IPs pursued the suspect down the street. The IPs and 3/7 Infantry Soldiers secured the area and searched for the suspect, who was on foot. About 10 minutes later, the IPs caught the suspect and took him in custody.
Iraqi Army Soldiers arrested a Pakistani father and two of his sons after receiving a tip. The men were found with cell phones, false passports, passport-making equipment and anti-coalition proproganda.
#6
Did those fake Pakistani passports have a "religion column."
I am glad to read about Iraqi forces successfully taking charge. The better they get means less of our women and men are exposed to risk. More and faster please.
#7
the MSM has alot of angles to play. NPR this AM was focusing on "things go down, they go up" which happens to be true (though NPR wouldnt have said it in a month where things look BAD) we need THREE monthts of good news, to even begin to think of tipping points and corners turned IMHO. Hope for a good April. They can also play it as best since Feb 04 - but everything was SUPPOSED to be hunky dory by Feb '04 - cue up stock footage of Cheney talking about Iraqis with flowers.
Basically at this point I wouldnt worry about what the MSM says on success in Iraq. Theres no ferment in the country to leave Iraq now - as long as the Bush Admin is firm (and you guys will assure me they are, im sure) theres more than enough time to get to a more solid turning point.
#8
LH in three months the MSM will be bitching that summer's here it's too damn hot and the Iraqi babies arent' getting enough AC. Unless of course they are in which case it will be the dreaded AC filtre conspiracy to kill Iraqi babies and siphon the money off to buy chocolate covered cotton on the Egypitan spot market. Here's one I'll bet on when US KIA fall to under hmmmmm.... 10 a month, the meme will be: US forces are taking pains not to expose themselves to the anger of the populace.
#9
Ah, but the US forces arent exposing themselves is an inside the beltway meme - Joe and Jane War Weary will hear that and say good, its about time. As long as there arent insurgents seizing buildings in the green zone, or idiocies like Abu Graib, a declining US casualty rate gives the Admin a free hand. the only question is how they use it.
The death toll from the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan has been grossly underestimated, a British parliamentary committee said Wednesday. The House of Commons International Development Committee said the number of dead was likely around 300,000, more than four times the World Health Organization's estimate of 70,000. The cross-party committee also criticized the international community's response as "scandalously ineffective." They said the WHO's figure was inaccurate as it only included violent deaths in internal camps for displaced Sudanese and not those killed in settlement attacks.
Now there's a clever piece of math.
The committee said the international community and U.N. Security Council had to take some of the blame for the situation, partly because early warnings about the crisis were ignored and response was slow.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/30/2005 8:33:49 AM ||
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Few things make me really angry but this does. Its been obvious for at least six months the UN+NGOs have been downplaying the Darfur death toll. This is the biggest human tradegy since the UN brought you Rwanda.
A Filipino militant, believed trained by the Indonesian terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), was reportedly captured by Iraqi forces at a rebel training camp in central Iraq.
A diplomatic source who asked not to be named said the Filipino, whose identity was withheld, admitted during interrogation that there are a number of Filipinos training alongside Iraqi and other foreign militants in Iraq.
Philippine authorities, the source said, are still debating whether the Filipino should be repatriated as he may pose a serious threat to the country's security.
Army Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the US Central Command, admitted that an increase in the number of foreign insurgents training in Iraq had been noted in the past few months.
Abizaid said in an interview with CNN that though most of the insurgents are Iraqis, foreign insurgents training in Iraq are on the rise and they enter Iraq through Syria, a well-established route.
The US official stressed that terrorist groups led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi continue to pose great danger. Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for the most horrendous attacks in the country, is affiliated with al-Qaeda, which have links with the JI.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), however, denied reports that Filipinos have joined the ranks of Islamic insurgents in Iraq.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Gilberto Asuque said in a press briefing yesterday that General Zihad of the Iraqi Interior Ministry had informed Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael Seguis that there was no Filipino found at the lakeside training camp in central Iraq that was the target of a military operation by Iraqi and US forces last Tuesday.
"General Zihad said that a foreign insurgent with a Philippine-sounding name who was captured during the operation was mistakenly identified by the field commander as Filipino," the DFA said in a statement.
Asuque said the Iraqi soldiers did not find any passport or identification documents pertaining to a Filipino in the training camp.
The insurgents training in the rebel camp reportedly included Iraqis, Filipinos, Algerians, Moroccans, Afghans and Arabs from neighboring countries.
As this developed, Special Envoy to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ambassador Amable Aguiluz arrived in the Middle East yesterday to help secure the release of Roberto Tarongoy who is held captive by Iraqi abductors.
Malacañang said Aguiluz will exert parallel efforts with the Philippine negotiating team in Baghdad headed by Seguis to secure Tarongoy's freedom.
Through diplomatic means, Aguiluz said his team will enlist the help of influential ruling families in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/30/2005 12:12:48 AM ||
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Maybe they can ransom him to the Flips. It worked really well for the terrorists.
Algerian security forces have killed a top leader of the armed Islamic Salafi group, the country's main militant organization, reports said Tuesday. The French-language daily Le Soir D'Algerie quoted a security source as saying that Malek Nasser, also known as Abu Ayoub, was killed Sunday in the province of Boumedras, 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Algiers. The source said Nasser was in charge of foreign contacts for the feared and violent Salafi Group for Call and Combat, and that he coordinated military operations carried out by the Muslim extremists against government forces.
This article starring:
ABU AIUB
Salafist Group for Preaching and Fighting
MALEK NASER
Salafist Group for Preaching and Fighting
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/30/2005 12:30:40 AM ||
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Three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Baghdad managed to send desperate text messages to relatives and colleagues just before they went missing on Monday. "We're kidnapped. This is not a joke. Help!!!!," one of the three, Prima TV reporter Marie Jeanne Ion, managed to message her mother from her mobile phone, her mother Magdalena Ion told Realitatea TV yesterday. Ion's cameraman Sorin Miscoci and journalist Ovidiu Ohanesian of the Romania Libera daily newspaper, were also missing. Meanwhile, a video surfaced yesterday showing three drivers employed by a Jordanian trucking company being shot dead execution style by a militant group in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Someone mistook Romanian lingo for Italian. Ransom payed twice, why not try a hat trick? Unfortunately, for the Romanian crew, their goverment is not sitting on piles of cash.
If I were near him, I would hit Berlusconi hard with a clue bat. Even that it wouldn't help any in this case.
The Egyptian government's crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood shows no sign of abating with this week's arrest of some 250 members of the group, including several senior figures. Sunday's dawn raids in seven governorates, including Cairo, Sharqiya, Gharbiya, and Giza, came before and during an attempt to protest before the parliament, calling for political reform. The Muslim Brotherhood condemned Sunday's operation in a statement, saying it was the most intensive since 1995 and came "amid aggravating incidents against the Arab and Islamic nation." They added that the government has already released 60 members including senior member Abdel Monem Abdel Fotouh who is also the chairman of the Arab Doctors' Union.
Prosecutor General Maher Abdel Wahed ordered that 33 members of the banned-but-tolerated group be remanded into custody for 15 days pending investigation of the charges against them. "They were recruiting and training new Brotherhood members so that they would be prepared to face the Egyptian authorities and disturb the security of the country," the document said. The group's lawyer, Abdel Moneim Abdel Maqsoud, said "Many houses were raided and searched without justification." According to Maqsoud, around 170 members of the Islamist movement who were picked up from the streets on Sunday are still detained at police stations without any clear accusation and have not be interrogated yet. "I'm afraid that many of those people will be charged of belonging to a banned group and now they are facing the very real possibility of a military trial," he told Arab News. Among the detainees are senior members from the second generation of the Muslim Brothers and also the editor in chief of Islam Online website. Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Mahdi Akef told Arab News: "We are the largest opposition group in Egypt and it is impossible that we would have stayed silent without expressing our opinion and view about the recent amendment to the constitution to allow multi-candidate elections."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
fu-uk the ikhwahn--let 'em all move to switzerland with tariq ramadan or teach in saudia arabia with muhammid qubt--maybe they can get their own canton or sand dune or something
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
03/30/2005 0:45 Comments ||
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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.
Yemeni security forces and supporters of a slain rebel preacher were again involved in deadly clashes yesterday in a resurgence of violence that has claimed 33 lives in the space of 24 hours. As troops sealed off villages in the Saada province, clashes for the first time extended southward to the region of Amran where fighters ambushed an army convoy, killing three soldiers. Army soldiers cordoned off villages in Saada on the lookout for followers of 
BELFAST: The Irish Republican Army has laundered money stolen in a massive bank robbery in Belfast last December by buying properties in Britain, a newspaper reported yesterday, citing an Irish government source. The £26.5 million (BD19m) seized from the Northern Bank in the heist was quickly separated into "five or six parcels", according to the Irish Times. Immediately after the robbery, the militant group started exploring the housing market across Britain, the daily said.
A member of a group led by prominent guerilla leader Shamil Basayev has been detained in Chechnya, a spokesman for the federal forces in the North Caucasus told Interfax. The detainee, whose name has not been disclosed, is a resident of Shali, he said. The spokesman said the guerilla was involved in a series of terrorist attacks committed in the Shali district in 2003-2004.
with servicemen of the Russian Interior Ministry hit a mine planted on the motor road between the villages of Germenchuk and Mesker-Yurt in Chechnya's Shalinsky region. As Itar-Tass learnt at the Chechen Interior Ministry, a battalion deputy commander and two servicemen under his command got different injuries in the explosion. All of them were hospitalised. Criminal proceedings were instituted. Investigation of the incident is in progress.
PARIS-An Egyptian national has been detained in the Paris suburbs in connection with last year's deadly train bombings in Madrid, police sources said. The suspect, identified as 33-year-old 
Philippine communist guerrillas threatened to step up attacks on government targets including military supply lines and fuel depots to mark the 36th founding anniversary of the rebel group today. The 8,000-member New People's Army (NPA) has been waging an insurgency since the late 1960s, which has killed more than 40,000 people, deterred investment and slowed rural development in one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries. "We must seize the initiative," said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), in a statement released to news organisations yesterday, urging its armed wing to expand its influence to at least a quarter of the country's 42,000 villages. "We can raise the level of fighting tactics and technique by gaining further experience through fighting and seizing weapons from the enemy," the statement added. It also vowed to attack US troops involved in training Filipino soldiers in anti-terror tactics, an activity described by the rebels as "acts of military intervention".
Meanwhile, four members of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group were killed and a Marine was wounded in a clash in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, the military said yesterday. Fighting broke out on Friday when the Marines encountered about 20 Abu Sayyaf members who were believed attempting to disrupt Good Friday Christian ceremonies in the island's capital town, the military said in its report. The gunbattle lasted 15 minutes before the Abu Sayyaf withdrew dragging four of their dead, the military's southern command said.
Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate 
Lebanon's military intelligence chief has taken what officials called "a one month leave of absence," amid growing demands from the country's political opposition that pro-Syrian security chiefs resign. Brigadier 
WASHINGTON, March 29 - 
Task Force Liberty Soldiers detained seven people suspected of a rocket attack near a Coalition Forces base near Hawija about 3:30 p.m., March 29. The TF Liberty combat patrol was investigating the suspected point of origin of the attack when it detained five people in a vehicle. They were in possession of a video camera containing footage of terrorists firing mortars, a pamphlet on firing mortars, and mortar and rocket firing data. Two others were detained near the Coalition Forces base and are suspected of observing the impact of the rocket attack.
Coalition Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), conducted an operation in northern Iraq March 29. Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment engaged the vehicle of a known terrorist with small-arms fire killing a terrorist and injuring another in Tal Afar. The 2-14th also seized a number of weapons found in the vehicle to include a machine gun, two AK-47s, two hand grenades and six rocket propelled grenade rounds. The injured terrorist was taken to a hospital and will be detained after being treated. No injuries to Coalition Forces were reported during the operation.
The death toll from the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan has been grossly underestimated, a British parliamentary committee said Wednesday. The House of Commons International Development Committee said the number of dead was likely around 300,000, more than four times the World Health Organization's estimate of 70,000. The cross-party committee also criticized the international community's response as "scandalously ineffective." They said the WHO's figure was inaccurate as it only included violent deaths in internal camps for displaced Sudanese and not those killed in settlement attacks.
Algerian security forces have killed a top leader of the armed Islamic Salafi group, the country's main militant organization, reports said Tuesday. The French-language daily Le Soir D'Algerie quoted a security source as saying that 
Three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Baghdad managed to send desperate text messages to relatives and colleagues just before they went missing on Monday. "We're kidnapped. This is not a joke. Help!!!!," one of the three, Prima TV reporter Marie Jeanne Ion, managed to message her mother from her mobile phone, her mother Magdalena Ion told Realitatea TV yesterday. Ion's cameraman Sorin Miscoci and journalist Ovidiu Ohanesian of the Romania Libera daily newspaper, were also missing. Meanwhile, a video surfaced yesterday showing three drivers employed by a Jordanian trucking company being shot dead execution style by a militant group in Iraq.
The Egyptian government's crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood shows no sign of abating with this week's arrest of some 250 members of the group, including several senior figures. Sunday's dawn raids in seven governorates, including Cairo, Sharqiya, Gharbiya, and Giza, came before and during an attempt to protest before the parliament, calling for political reform. The Muslim Brotherhood condemned Sunday's operation in a statement, saying it was the most intensive since 1995 and came "amid aggravating incidents against the Arab and Islamic nation." They added that the government has already released 60 members including senior member Abdel Monem Abdel Fotouh who is also the chairman of the Arab Doctors' Union.
