KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - A suicide attacker targetting a NATO convoy in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar killed seven civilians and wounded several people, including two foreign soldiers, on Friday. Police and a NATO spokesman said several civilians and two NATO soldiers were wounded in the attack near the turnoff to the Kandahar airport, a major military base.
The attack on Kabul highway just outside the city is the latest in an increasing number of suicide bombings that have killed about 200 people this year, already the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the Taleban government was toppled in 2001.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) claimed killing 25 Taliban fighters following a clash in southern Afghanistan on Thursday. Separately, a US soldier was killed as he fell out of a helicopter while it was landing at a military airfield in the same region the same day.
Ummm... That's actually a 0:25 kill ratio.
A press release issued here, said a group of insurgents attacked an ISAF convoy with small arms fire following a landmine blast near Tarin Kot, capital of Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province. In the ensuring fight, 25 Taliban were killed by the ISAF soldiers. Several Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were injured; however, ISAF soldiers remained unhurt, said the press release. One local national was also killed and seven others wounded in exchange of fire between the foreign troops and the militants. The injured villagers were shifted to an ISAF medical facility for treatment.
In a separate statement released from US' main Bagram base, north of Kabul, the military announced the death of a US soldier following an operation in Helmand province. The soldier fell out of a UH-60 helicopter whilst it was landing. He was immediately taken to Kandahar Airfield, where he subsequently died from his injuries, said the statement. Expressing grief over the death of the soldier, deputy commander of the US' Combined Joint Task Force - 76 Brigadier General James Terry said: "Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the brave soldier who gave his life in defence of freedom in Afghanistan,." The commander said sacrifice of the fallen soldier would not be forgotten as the US forces continue their fight against the 'extremists'. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
God bless him and his family.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/14/2006 13:16 Comments ||
Top||
Results from an initial air sampling after North Norea's announced nuclear test showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from
ĀThe US government remains uncertain of the nature of the underground explosion, although the result from air sampling tends to reinforce the indication that the test blast was not entirely successful.Ā
a successful nuclear detonation, a US government intelligence official said Friday. The test results do not necessarily mean the North Korean blast was not a nuclear explosion, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the sampling results.
The US government remains uncertain of the nature of the underground explosion, officials said, although the result from air sampling tends to reinforce the indication that the test blast was not entirely successful.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
We-l-l-l, local Asian news are reporting NORKIE personnel playing volleyball + other games right on the spot, besides Norkie Guards [male + female] on the DMZ giving our side the bird/finger. sneers and jeeers, and throwing stuff.
PARIS (Reuters) - A bronze monument near Paris commemorating the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turks has been destroyed just two days after France's parliament passed a bill that would make it a crime to deny the genocide.
A local member of the Armenian church in Chaville, a town near Paris, said the heavy bronze sculpture was wrenched off its pedestal late Friday night or early Saturday morning. "Police say it might have been stolen for the metal, but it seems too much of a coincidence that this should have happened just after parliament voted the Armenia bill," said Stephane Topalian, a member of the Armenian church council.
Ankara denies accusations that some 1.5 million Armenians perished in a systematic genocide during World War One, saying large numbers of both Christian Armenians and Muslim Turks died in a partisan conflict raging at that time. Turkey has protested against Thursday's lower house vote, which establishes a one year prison term and 45,000 euro (30,326 pound) fine for anyone denying the massacres. The bill still needs to be approved by the upper house Senate to become law.
Posted by: Steve ||
10/14/2006 09:33 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Well, we can certainly scrap any idea that the Armenian genocide ever happened.
#2
An interesting comparison can be made to the Armenian situation and the contemporary events in Mexico.
Armenia, by most accounts, was actively courting and siding with the Russians, encouraging them to invade the Ottoman empire. They were seen by the Turks as disloyal and treacherous.
In Mexico, the Yaqui indians in the South also were working against their government, but actively attempting to overthrow it in a civil war, which they came close to accomplishing.
As punishment, many Armenians were put on trains and relocated to camps in internal deportation, far away from where they could assist the Russians. After losing their civil war, the Yaquis were put on trains and internally deported to harsh northern Mexico, where they remained until the 1940s.
And while both events are cited as early examples of industrial genocide, what is interesting is how very differently they are seen by the western world, and America in particular.
Even a some years after the Armenian genocide, American charities were still collecting large amounts of donations "to feed the starving Armenians", though most of the money was siphoned off into the pockets of the charity organizers.
But there was no such effort of any kind for the Yaquis, even though they now lived right next to the border with the US, and many had even crossed over to create settlements in Arizona.
In fact, while the US had paid considerable attention to central America, it pointedly had given up on Mexico until Poncho Villa crossed the border and attacked a US city. But even then, it wasn't the Yaqui indians who were at issue.
#4
Leave it to Al-Reuters to quote Ankara claiming Mooslums were victims.
I have a feeling that if the coppers followed the trail of burning churches and Muhamhead cartoons...
Anonymoose try to stay on topic. The Armenians were Christians and the Muslims wanted their lands. The were slaughtered in mass just like Muhammad did to the Jews tribe in Medina.
No America wasn't responsible for the Yaquis. You may now go back to posting on KOS.
#5
Moose, thanks for the comment. I was unaware of the Yaqui situation and consider it the thing I learned today. I doing so, I did not see the word genocide, even at Wikipedia, and got the impression the treatment was comparable to U.S. treatment of the Indians and ended about a generation after hostilities ceased in the U.S. Not a period of pride but not genocide.
#6
Anonymoos your analogy to the purported issues with the indigenous people in Mexico, has no relevance... learn to post... focus on the topic!, I suspect that was not caused by a foggy mind, rahter you had ulterior motives. totaly uncool
#8
Nimble Spemble: Well, what stands out in my mind about the Yaqui Revolt was not only how the Mexican government just had an open season on killing as many as 100,000, even organizing hunting parties; but then sent another 10-15,000 into slavery where over half died in the first year.
But it still strikes me as odd that it is seen as such a non-event in the US, along with much of the horrific, bitter fighting in Mexico in the early part of the previous century. So close, yet so far away.
For its part, the Armenian genocide was the first really impressive industrial genocide of all of the the 20th Century's genocides. But as far away as it was from the US, knowledge of it was far more widespread.
I am a bit surprised by all the outrage. I see it as much like being angrily accused of being a Holocaust denier because I mention that the expression "concentration camp" was first used during the Boer War.
My "interesting comparison" was to the means, not the scale or particulars of the events. The use of trains to accelerate ethnic cleansing and mass murder in such far-flung places as Armenia and Mexico. And the oddity of how a horrific event right next door is unseen, while a different one on the other side of the planet elicits such reporting and response.
#11
For its part, the Armenian genocide was the first really impressive industrial genocide of all of the the 20th Century's genocides.
There's probably something about Hitler using it as a template that gives the Armenian genocide a bit more impact. That it finds resonance in the persistent but more strongly voiced calls of late by Muslims for a renewed Holocaust lends a certain distinct urgency as well.
But as far away as it was from the US, knowledge of it was far more widespread.
This is probably due to the fact that Americans of Armenian descent outnumber Americans of Yaqui lineage by over 1,000:1. There is also the likely element of how Yaqui repression comes across as just another legacy of conquista Spain being echoed in Mexican government and its similarly horrendous track record.
#12
Zenster: as an aside, not too long ago I visited a history museum in New Mexico, and the reoccuring theme was "Spanish, okay. Americans horrible!", as far as the indians were concerned.
The concerted effort to re-write history to make the Spanish look good and the Americans look bad was more than a little nauseating.
#13
'moose, I can't turn up a title or any references with an online search, but many years ago I bought a ~1918 original edition by some chap (Harry Franks?) who set out to walk the entire length of the Andes. Paul Theroux mentioned this figure in his book, "The Old Patagonian Express".
As a caucasian, Theroux's predecessor knew well enough not to go by horseback because he would be regarded as a caballero of the gentlemanly class and never have any chance to meet ordinary people. While reading the book, one particular conversation he outlined really stuck in my head.
He was spending an evening as the guest of a haciendero who remarked that North America was much more fortunate to have been colonized by the Northern Europeans as they tended to establish industries that made use of local natural resources. He contrasted this with how the Spaniards were essentially of a looting mentality that left in their wake corrupt governments and little to show for the enormous wealth taken.
If the Spanish conquistas are being romanticized it represents a bit of horrendous revisionism in keeping with the current trend of how bad all things American must be.
#15
Another thing Anonymoose, Americans didn't really care about native Indian welfare, let alone Indians in Mexico. They caused us trouble and we wanted to get rid of them. So, we couldn't really say much to the Mexicans when we'd done the same. The reason Armenian genocide is well known in US is because a large number, several millions, of Armenian survivors came to America and settled. They never forget the past and remind us of the genocide.They are not too fond of Turks or Muzzies either one. So, I think we can trust them. They've been good citizens. Hard workers. One became a governor of California..Deukmajian.
#16
If the Spanish conquistas are being romanticized it represents a bit of horrendous revisionism in keeping with the current trend of how bad all things American must be.
It may represent part of a debate about hwether to Anglicize and join the Anglosphere or to remain part of the Hispanosphere. Going Anglo creates tremendous stress and conflict. There are powerful forces in Mexico that will resist Anglicizing. They'd rather have those emigrate than change the culture. Expecially the ruling class.
#18
Well, the 40 families have been ruining Mexico for a long time. Look at all the retirement fund for the state oil company : looted of billions of US dollars, and no one goes to jail.
Turf conscious bloggers in Paris' rundown, mostly Muslim, suburban immigrant housing estates rival in violent messages that threaten to beat senseless and even kill any intruder caught in "our ghetto." Almost every word is misspelled, in both argot slang and pidgin French. And these are not empty threats. An average of 14 policemen a day are injured in bloody clashes with jobless youngsters.
France's Interior Ministry said 2,500 police officers had been "wounded" this year. The head of the hard-line trade union "Action Police" Michel Thooris wrote to Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy to describe conditions in housing developments turned slums as "intifada." Police cruisers are pelted daily with stones and "Molotov cocktails" (gasoline-filled bottles with burning wicks that explode on impact) and Thooris said cops assigned to what was rapidly degenerating into "free fire zones" should be protected in armored vehicles. Entire tall buildings empty into the streets to chase policemen and free an arrested comrade.
"We are in a state of civil war, orchestrated by radical Islamists," Thooris told journalists.
Sarkozy, the leading center-right candidate for next year's presidential election, responded by dispatching cops in body armor, equipped with automatic weapons and rubber bullets, stun and teargas grenades into several Paris suburbs with orders to "restore control" from "organized crime." In one recent clash 250 cops dispersed a 100-strong Muslim gang armed with baseball bats.
The chaotic conditions in suburbs like Clichy-sous-Bois, Montfermeil and St. Denis have grown progressively worse since the nationwide Muslim riots in November 2005 that torched 10,000 vehicles.
#4
Cut off the welfare? I was thinking flip to full auto. I mean no offense, JFM and A5089, but the French don't have a problem doing that in Sierra Leone or Cote d'Ivoire.
#5
Yes, but sierra leoneses and other africans are just n*ggers, y' know, just like the rwandeses were, or the people from darfur... those fine Youths are the Qui Pro quo of the Eurabia agreement. They're the future of France and Europe. Can't harm them. Nope, nope.
#7
I call for a two state solution. They could both fight over Paris as their capital. Israel could offer free one way travel packages to the beautiful suburbs of Paris for paleos who need a little R&R from jihad.
Chirac always wanted France to melt into a new super nation. I think he'll get his wish sort of. This will be more like France being eaten by flesh eating bacteria.
#8
Entire tall buildings empty into the streets to chase policemen and free an arrested comrade.
Perfect. Barricade the doors and begin arresting every male of fighting age who tries to re-enter.
The police really need to use water cannons loaded with a persistent ultra violet sensitive dye.
In 1997, pink dye was reportedly added to the water used by Indonesian police to disperse a riot. The implication is that they might use this mark to facilitate the arrest of rioters at a later time. The United Kingdom, who sold the water cannons to Indonesia, condemned this practice,(despite the fact that the Royal Ulster Constabulary had used water cannon with purple dye during The Troubles in Northern Ireland) but later approved the sale of more water cannons to them.
Cordon off the area, hose down the frontline of rioters and sort them out at the perimeter exits. However, if you really want to play dirty ...
There have been incidents of antiriot watercannons being loaded with sewage instead of clean water.
#9
I call for a two state solution.
This is actually pretty funny when you think about it : the whole anti-Israeli propaganda stemming from the Establishment, fueled by the Arab Policy (and by the quai d'Orsay) and the leftist stronghold on msm, had actually a very perverse boomerang effect.
The Youths can see themselves as the paleos fighting off the evil zionists, or as the iraqis resisting the US Hegemon, because this fits the Victimhood fantasy endlessly fed by the msm. And in that case, the occupier is the french State, and everything representing it (EMT, firefighters, cops,...). And as for the paleos, they do this all the while living off the welfare of their ennemy (like Israel providing power, water retreatment,... to the paleos).
This is so true, that the Establishment tools actually had an epiphany earlier in 2005, because they realized this policy had the backlash effect of encouraging attacks against french jews (which they don't want); in other words, they helped "import" this conflict right on french soil, where it was readily picked up by leftist, muslim or racist groups (like the Tribu Ka black supremascists).
#13
Another story the terrorist supporting MSM will not cover.
French surrendering isn't news.
Burn the getto to the ground. That being said, wonder were this one is going to go. One third of the French hate the Muslim(es) and their flood of pIslam on traditional French culture.
#14
Zen, I think you've got it. Bring in the military. Dose them with tear gas, then hit them with the water cannons with dye marker. If they don't drown they can easily be rounded up. The penalty for "youths" rioting should be immediate deportation to whichever shithole they came from. If they were born in France, exile to anyplace in the Sahara they can be dumped.
#19
This is just a preview of what will happen when the west finally gets serious and decides to win this war.
The mooks will rise up in every nation simultaneously at some perceived sleight and WW3 will be at hand.
#23
It's just happening in slo-mo, and through other means, for now at least.
Agreed, a5089. Islam has chosen war by any means and we dearly need to bring it to them on that same level. Hunter-killer teams to pot the jihadist imams, banning the burqa in all Western countries, deporting all foreign born radicals, expulsion of all Saudi financed Wahhabists and initiating measures to eventually ban Islam altogether if it refuses to allow freedom of religion in all Muslim-majority nations.
If you go to Corsica and you say they are Italians you will run in a lot of trouble. There are Corsicans who are French patriots (like Napoleon) and Corsicans who are Nationalists and reject Italians as well as French but what you will not find is "Italian Corsicans". BTW, when Corsica was in Genovese hands there was a resiatsnce movement). And Napoleon was born French.
#28
Maybe someone should propose the re-creation of the Garde Mobile. Sort of an military armed, middle class militia that can act as a para-military police reserves.
Of course, such a Garde Mobile would be under no typical restrictions when called out, other than to "stop the riot". This could result in many rioters becoming air-conditioned.
#29
The Youths can see themselves as the paleos fighting off the evil zionists, or as the iraqis resisting the US Hegemon, because this fits the Victimhood fantasy endlessly fed by the msm.
#32
the 5.th division allready has sharia laws in use in central and suburb Paris.
Here French law dont apply talk to the local Iman.
Import cheap labour from the mid-east and harvest the results europe.
Islam coming though the back door and the clutony of europes politicians who wont pay fair wages for the workers job but import slaves from the middle east.
#35
The French are starting to wake up. They weren't always ALL cowards. Their ME intel contributions are 4.0
Many Jews were spared thanks to the bravery of the unheralded French "Underground" during WW-II. The "few" in France need our prayers today.
#38
However antagonistic we might all feel about the eliteist French leadership, we'd all better hope like hell that nuclear armed France does not fall into Muslim hands. While it is easy to smirk at France's comeuppance, try to remember that Eurabia is largely a fabrication of their socialist intelligentsia and not the common folk. Read Fjordman's essays on Eurabia if any of this is unclear.
#1
A bit too wierd for my tastes, but as long as the concept tested strongly. Slogan does show the Army is aware of the pervasive use of TEXTING amongst Net/tech-saavy Amers + soldiers.
#2
I'm in my 50s, but I didn't find it wierd at all. The message is clear: being a soldier is a strong thing to be. This will appeal to a lot of young men and women who are tired of the baby boomer victim mentality and a school curriculum consisting mainly of pablum, I think.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/14/2006 7:16 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Interesting ad, through it's very american (IE heavy on sentimentalism through images); I agree armies should "sell" themselves on masculine values; by the way, nowadays the french army is professionalized too, and the latest ad campaing I can remember put the emphasis on... the various trades you can develop while enlisting, on a background of a rescue/humanitarian mission. Not really the same... and the previous one was a "Matrix" rip-off, enuff' said.
Note how earlier ads were aimed at soothing parents as much as inspiring the young men and women to join.
This one is unapologetic and it bypasses the parent thing entirely. It will be interesting to see the response, especially among minority men.
And yes, anon5089, this is an American ad for the American army, again unapologetically so. I think a lot of people will say "it's about damn time!". Backlash against the unremitting antiAmericanism and anti-military drumbeat of the last decade+.
#14
Great stuff, but at 2:30, isn't it too long for a commercial?
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/14/2006 8:27 Comments ||
Top||
#15
I'd like to see what the ROI is. there's no focus and requires too much reading. compare mand contrast, "the few, the proud. the marines" with "army strong", no contest.
#16
It is long, but look at where it's being seen: online, where the kids actually are -- they don't watch television as much anymore. And it can easily be trimmed to a series of 30 second clips. I hope the Army is going to buy time during the Superbowl.
#17
Interesting. I never did get the "Army of one" approach. Broadhead6 what say ye?
When in high school (late 60's) we had a recruitment day where the various service branches did their thing in the auditorium for all the boys. The Marine approach was VERY different from the Army's. The Army recruiter stood and expounded at length on the various skills and schools that could be attended. He was selling it like it was a regular job. The Marine Sgt. marched out to center stage in his dress blues, stood at attention and shouted "If the United States Marine Corps. chooses you, you will report to Parris Island, SC and WILL NOT LIKE IT!!!" and marched off the stage. That was it. It made quite an impact.
I don't recall how good his signup numbers were but I do know the girls mobbed him after the presentation. That fact was not lost on us guys. Maybe that was the whole point. . .
#18
I really like it, but you are right that it is too long for commerical use.
Suppose it is too much to ask for a Hollyweird produced movie of our brave fighting men and women.
Looks like cell phones are the next venue of distribution (which I personally don't like, but...).
Posted by: Captain America ||
10/14/2006 11:06 Comments ||
Top||
#19
This is much better than Army of One (Clinton Me Generation Redux). It's a wartime warrior pitch. It's a Schoomaker pitch.
This reflects that Rummy is starting to have an effect on the attitudes far into the command of the Army, even in areas like personnel. Attitude adjustment takes a lot of time to percolate from the top down. That's why I'm glad Rummy will serve his full 8 year hitch on active duty. (Best. Sec. Def. in. history. Hands down.).
The Army-Marine thing always makes me smile, as does the Army-Navy thing. I never served and I don't mean to injure the well deserved pride of the member of any service, but this is market segmentation. The Army is appealing to what motivates one kind of kid, the Marines another. From an external objective viewpoint, neither is superior, anymore than Chevrolet is better than Ford, though most have a preference there, too. Thank goodness we aren't all the same. But when the drums begin to roll, my lads, they all seem to do a pretty damn good job. And that's what counts.
#20
Great clip. Should be in the theaters mixed in the previews
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/14/2006 12:57 Comments ||
Top||
#21
I did 28 years in the Military, 6 in USMC and USMCR and 22 active in US Army, and Army Guard (AGR). This is good stuff and finally gives the Army a look as good as the Marines for recruiting. Somebody finally got it right. Way to go ARMY! Semper Fi!
Posted by: Just About Enough! ||
10/14/2006 14:41 Comments ||
Top||
Other than that a top ad. Sorry for being picky i like to see these things perfect
But it's a great ad. And you are totally right it is about time the armed forces appealed to those who want to FIGHT not those who want to learn a trade for their career.
They do that in Australia, too ... but Howard has just announced an 'encouragement' to school leavers to serve for 12 months.
actually it should be compulsory to get the s***heads off their bums.
ATLANTA - A US citizen has pleaded guilty in a federal court to providing material support to the militant Palestinian group Hamas, the US Justice Department said on Friday. Mohamed 'the Weasel' Shorbagi, 42, of Rome, Georgia, was charged in August with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
ĀShorbagi provided the support through donations to the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development knowing that some or all of the money was in fact destined for Hamas,Ā a Justice Department statement said. ĀThis case illustrates that people who illegally support foreign terrorist organizations may be found anywhere in the United States, even in quiet and pleasant places like Rome, Georgia,Ā said US Attorney David E. Nahmias in a statement.
Shorbagi entered the plea under an agreement on Aug. 26, which was sealed until Friday, the Justice Department said. Under the deal he agreed to the maximum sentence but the government could request it be reduced if it determines that his cooperation Āsubstantially assistsĀ in further investigations or prosecutions, it said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
That's 2 in 2 days.
Posted by: ed ||
10/14/2006 0:38 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Why are these scumbag imams allowed entry here ? And, in reply to a question from yesterday, a great deal of funding, probably in the hundreds of millions flows out of US mosks to Hamas for Guns for its Children. These donations are required, and the Moderate Muzzies pony up. Money earned here, transferred there.
KARACHI - A plot to stage a coup against Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf soon after his recent return from the US has been uncovered, resulting in the arrest of more than 40 people. Most of those arrested are middle-ranking Pakistani Air Force officers, while civilian arrests include a son of a serving brigadier in the army. All of those arrested are Islamists, contacts in Rawalpindi, where the military is based, divulged to Asia Times Online.
The conspiracy was discovered through the naivety of an air force officer who this month used a cell phone to activate a high-tech rocket aimed at the president's residence in Rawalpindi. The rocket was recovered, and its activating mechanism revealed the officer's telephone number. His arrest led to the other arrests.
Well, he's too stupid to be allowed to live.
Other rockets were then recovered from various high security zones, including the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in Islamabad. According to Asia Times Online sources, more arrests can be expected, both military and civilian.
In this case, the "usual suspects" are most likely guilty
#2
Again, I would use this to point out how very precarious is Musharraf's presidency. Every one of his actions with US help has had to have been calculated to also increase his power and rule of his country, and at the expense of his Islamist enemies.
But it must be very gradual, incremental. Or else Musharraf will be overthrown and most likely replaced with some Islamist radical.
Already his has purged his military and ISI of its worst offenders, now, it seems, he has an excuse to clean its second tier Islamists as well.
QUETTA: Thirty-four people, including a former official of the Afghan Ministry of Defence, a woman and a child, were arrested by law enforcement agencies in two separate incidents on Friday.
ĀAbdul Rehman, a former official of the Afghan Defence Ministry, was arrested in the area of Chaman for entering Pakistan illegally. Frontier Corps also found Rs 250,000, a similar amount in Afghan currency and documents of the Afghan Defence Ministry...Ā
Abdul Rehman, a former official of the Afghan Defence Ministry according to government sources, was arrested in the Pak-Afghan border area of Chaman for entering Pakistan illegally. Frontier Corps spokesman Mohammad Shahid said that Rehman had been arrested near Bab-e-Dosti. ĀThe FC also found Rs 250,000, a similar amount in Afghan currency and documents of the Afghan Defence Ministry from RehmanĀs possession,Ā Shahid said. Separately, security forces arrested 33 Afghan and Iranian nationals, including a woman and a child, in the Pak-Afghan border area of Noshaki. FC Commandant Officer Col Tanvir Hussain said the arrested people were being interrogated, adding that some of the arrested suspects were hiding their nationalities from the Pakistani authorities.
Meanwhile, Pakistani border guards on Friday deported 124 Afghans after holding them for two weeks for entering without travel documents, AP reported. The men, who were caught in various parts of Balochistan, were handed over to Afghan officials at Chaman, said Ali Mohammed, an official with the Frontier Corps. ĀThese people were not Taliban. They were arrested as they had sneaked into Pakistan without travel documents,Ā he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Police has arrested eight Al-Qaeda linked militants who had planted pairs of rockets in the heavily guarded capital of Pakistan, said a minister on Friday. Federal Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, talking to newsmen here said that the militants had planted a pair of Russian-made Anti-tank shells, having range of 7 to 8 miles, in the Ayub Park of Rawalpindi city and two near ISI headquarters and the parliament building in Islamabad.
He said the militants have links with Al-Qaeda network, adding that they had received training from Afghanistan. The Minister said that the aim of the terrorist activity was not to target the government rather to threaten the government. He added that the investigations are underway and more arrests are expected. Few days ago, one rocket of a pair exploded in Ayub Park in Rawalpindi near the official residence of President Pervez Musharraf. However, there was no life loss. The very next morning, two more rockets were found near the Parliament House, only two kilometers from the Convention building where the President was addressing a gathering. Tow days later, another pair of same kind of rockets was also found near the ISI headquarters.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) - A small bomb explosion near a bus stand in the capital of Pakistani North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) critically wounded an Afghan, said police on Friday. The bomb in a plastic bag had been planted near Daewoo Bus stand in Peshawar, 250 kilometers north of Islamabad, that went off on Thursday night, local senior police officer, Iftikhar Khan, told newsmen. He said the explosion critically wounded an Afghan national and left a crater in the ground. It was the fourth small explosion reported in the city in the last few weeks. Police has been unable to arrest the perpetrators.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
Eight Pakistanis, who have been released from Guantanamo Bay and a US detention centre in Bagram, Afghanistan, will reach Pakistan tomorrow (Sunday). Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told reporters in his office on Friday that only five Pakistanis were now in Guantanamo Bay and that the government was trying to bring them back. Daily Times has learnt that some Pakistanis, who were arrested in Afghanistan last month, have been shifted to Guantanamo Bay for investigation. Sources said the eight Pakistanis would be held in the Adiala Jail after arriving in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Probably be back among the Talibunnies next week, doing their best to kill Canucks and Brits.
Gosh. Looks like those Sunni Sheikhs aren't helping out all that much. It's the usual AP pot-luck article - edited to try to stick to the headline.(AP) - Gunmen attacked Shiite women picking vegetables in a field outside the capital Friday, killing six adults and two young girls and kidnapping two teenagers. It was one of the deadliest assaults specifically targeting women in Iraq's monthslong wave of sectarian violence.
Police said they suspected the gunmen were Sunnis seeking to intimidate Shiites into fleeing the area south of Baghdad. Previous major attacks in Iraq have killed many women and men together, and at times individual women have been shot or kidnapped. But rarely have large groups of women been attacked.
The attack on the farm field took place outside Saifiya, an ethnically mixed village south of Baghdad. Most residents already fled to escape violence, Sunnis going to the nearby town of Madain, Shiites to neighboring Suwayrah.
The women were gathering vegetables when gunmen pulled up in two cars around 8 a.m. and surrounded the field. They opened fire, killing six women and two girls about 4 or 5 years old, Lt. Mohammed al-Shammari said. The attackers forced two teenage girls into the cars and escaped, he said.
Al-Shammari said the gunmen may have come from the nearby Baghdad district of Dora, a mixed neighborhood long torn by bloodshed inflicted by both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen.
Baghdad has been the epicenter of violence for months. The city has averaged 36 attacks a day the past three weeks, an increase of nearly 30 percent over the preceding seven weeks and 60 percent higher than from mid-March to mid-June, according to U.S. military figures.
The U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, attributed the rise to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when he said attacks "historically" have increased. Some Islamic militants believe that dying in combat during Ramadan brings extra blessings in paradise. Happy Ramadan. Skip the veggies.
#1
They opened fire, killing six women and two girls about 4 or 5 years old,
Looks like they were the lucky ones. There seems to be no low that is too low for these "people" to sink. At some point, the liberal left in Europe and here at home is going to have to face the fact that no matter how many pearls they throw before these swine - that it just makes the swine stronger and more aggressive. The self-adoring liberal world has only two choices available: become servants of the swine, or acknowledge that their logic challenged belief system was always as stupid as the conservatives claimed it was. I'm guessing lots of them would rather prostrate themselves to these inhuman creatures than they would acknowledge that they were the fools we always knew they were.
Words fail. This man is a genuine hero. God bless him and his family.
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) - A Navy SEAL sacrificed his life to save his comrades by throwing himself on top of a grenade Iraqi insurgents tossed into their sniper hideout, fellow members of the elite force said.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor had been near the only door to the rooftop structure Sept. 29 when the grenade hit him in the chest and bounced to the floor, said four SEALs who spoke to The Associated Press this week on condition of anonymity because their work requires their identities to remain secret. ``He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was down toward it,'' said a 28-year-old lieutenant who sustained shrapnel wounds to both legs that day. ``He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEALs' lives, and we owe him.''
Monsoor, a 25-year-old gunner, was killed in the explosion in Ramadi, west of Baghdad. He was only the second SEAL to die in Iraq since the war began.
Two SEALs next to Monsoor were injured; another who was 10 to 15 feet from the blast was unhurt. The four had been working with Iraqi soldiers providing sniper security while U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted missions in the area.
In an interview at the SEALs' West Coast headquarters in Coronado, four members of the special force remembered ``Mikey'' as a loyal friend and a quiet, dedicated professional. ``He was just a fun-loving guy,'' said a 26-year-old petty officer 2nd class who went through the grueling 29-week SEAL training with Monsoor. ``Always got something funny to say, always got a little mischievous look on his face.''
Other SEALS described the Garden Grove, Calif., native as a modest and humble man who drew strength from his family and his faith. His father and brother are former Marines, said a 31-year-old petty officer 2nd class.
Prior to his death, Monsoor had already demonstrated courage under fire. He has been posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions May 9 in Ramadi, when he and another SEAL pulled a team member shot in the leg to safety while bullets pinged off the ground around them.
Monsoor's funeral was held Thursday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego. He has also been submitted for an award for his actions the day he died.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was down toward it ..."
There are few greater sacrifices anybody can make for their fellow soldiers or country. Rest In Eternal Peace Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor. A "second class" soldier you never were.
Here is the link to his guestbook. Please take a moment to express your personal sentiments.
Garden Grove resident and SEAL dies in combat
Garden Grove resident Michael Monsoor was proud of his service and accomplishments, friends say.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor was supposed to come back home from Iraq in about two weeks, in time for Halloween, his favorite holiday.
Friends were planning a Halloween and "welcome home" bash for the 25-year-old Navy SEAL, said Patrick Barnes, one of Monsoor's best friends.
Monsoor died Friday while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ramadi, Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday. He was assigned to a West Coast-based command.
Barnes said his friend was an adventurer who enjoyed traveling in Europe while he was deployed in Italy and loved snowboarding, fast cars and motorcycles.
He was also "honest, straightforward and a great friend."
"He was selective about the friends he made," Barnes said, fighting back tears. "But when you became his friend, you became his brother."
A family member who answered the door at Monsoor's home in Garden Grove said the family was too distraught to comment.
Monsoor enlisted in the U.S. Navy in March 2001 and became a SEAL in January 2002, said Lt. Taylor Clark, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Command.
Rear Admiral Joseph A. Maguire said in a statement that Monsoor "died conducting some of our military's most important missions."
"This sailor along with our two wounded teammates chose a life of significant meaning Ā to defend freedom and protect America and its allies from terrorism," he said.
"We hope that in time Michael's family is comforted in knowing that he died fighting for what he believed in and we will not forget his sacrifice."
Debbie Nelson, a neighbor and mother of one of Monsoor's friends, said Monsoor's was a "great boy, handsome and very polite."
"He was very proud of what he had achieved in the Navy," she said.
He grew up in Garden Grove, attended Dr. Walter C. Ralston Intermediate School and graduated from Garden Grove High School in 1999.
Monsoor was a strong, determined person who never gave up, his friend Danny Wright said.
"The first time he tried to become a SEAL, he didn't make it," he said.
Monsoor was crushed by his failure, Wright said.
"But he tried again and made it the second time," he said. "He was very proud of what he had accomplished."
Monsoor could be profound and serious at times and yet be funny around his friends, Barnes said.
"Last Halloween, he was one of the Super Mario Brothers," he said. "This year, we were supposed to dress up as sumo wrestlers."
Wright said Monsoor had sent him an e-mail two days before he died.
"He'd said he was proud of me," he recalled. "And he told me to continue pursuing my dreams. It was as if he was saying goodbye and wishing me luck with my life."
Monsoor is survived by his parents, two brothers, a sister, nieces and nephews. Services are pending.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/14/2006 8:18 Comments ||
Top||
#8
God bless him and his family.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/14/2006 9:47 Comments ||
Top||
#9
level Ramadi. Bastards
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/14/2006 9:57 Comments ||
Top||
#10
"When he shall die
Take him and cut him out in little stars
And he will make the face of heav'n so fine
That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun."
- Wm. Shakespeare
May Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor's light shine eternal.
#14
I once received pointed instruction from a Special Forces MSG that you should never, ever jump on a live hand grenade, because it is almost invariably futile. He said "baseball rules" apply.
Even if allowed to cook off before throwing, you usually still have a precious 1 or 2 seconds where it is best to pick it up and "grounder" toss it away. This applies if it is right next to you.
If everyone else is standing, they should turn and do a two-step "slide into home plate" away from the grenade. This is because when a grenade detonates on the ground, it has a very distinct 45 degree blast cone upwards. Even if you are just outside of that cone, the severity of your injuries drops considerably.
I say this not to disparage the Petty Officer, but out of a sense of great irony, because his SEAL training taught him exactly the opposite.
That is, explosions under water behave entirely differently from explosions on land. Because water does not compress, the force of an explosion carries a much greater distance. For this reason, part of SEAL demolitions training gives them an abject lesson.
They are told to set up a charge in some sunken ship, then when they set it to explode, to "go around the corner" to get away from the blast. But this does not work under water and they end up getting severely concussed by the blast shockwave in the water, to teach them a lesson.
So the end result was that he probably relied on what he had seen in a movie, because he had never been trained otherwise. I say this because it is an all too common error by those who haven't been taught the behavior of hand grenades.
There is even an instructional thought problem, entitled "Six Marines and a grenade", which is used to describe different "stupid" things that soldiers of all varieties do with fair frequency, that result in them and their friends getting injured and killed.
The first lesson is not to play with a live hand grenade. The second is not to jump on a hand grenade that has fallen on the ground. The third is not to take it apart to find out why it has not exploded. The fourth is to not give away a "dud" to someone ignorant of its status, as a collectible. The fifth is to not play with a dud because you assume it is harmless. And finally, the sixth rule is to "not be unlucky."
Granted, in this case, the Petty Officer may have done the only thing he could have done in the circumstances. It will be best to assume so, as we will never know otherwise.
#15
Your right moose, but the desire to protect a brother usually outweighs any training. At that split second he was not thinking of himself but only of his friends. You can't train that out of a hero.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
10/14/2006 11:51 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Froggy, a SEAL, attended the furneral. A must read at Blackfive:
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Authorities imposed a ban on vehicle traffic in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday following clashes between police and unidentified gunmen. Eight gunmen were killed and two others wounded, while four policemen were injured in the fighting in three districts of the city Thursday evening, police Col. Abdul-Karim Al Jubouri said. Police arrested 21 of the gunmen and seized 10 cars, including a truck loaded with weapons, he said.
MosulĀs usual ban on all vehicle and pedestrian traffic from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m was extended until 3:00 p.m. for vehicles over fears of car bombings, Al Jubouri said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Iraqi and coalition forces arrested 16 currency exchange employees in Tikrit on Friday on charges of financing terrorism, a US Army statement said Friday. The statement added that currency exchange outlets in Tikrit, the birth place of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, had implemented mechanisms for illegal foreign currency transactions to finance militant groups in Iraq. It added that the operation took place in daylight after citizens reported suspicious activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Is this like a local check cashing operation or an exchange bank. oops I take that back
(KUNA) -- An interior senior official and five of his assistants were killed as well as 10 others injured Friday in a bomb attack on an interior squad headquarters in Babylon province south of the capital. An interior source at Babylon police told KUNA that insurgents planted explosive devices at the office of Colonel Salam Al-Ma'amouri this morning. The bombing also resulted in serious damage to the headquarters located in Hillah city, added the source. A security barrier was set around the area and the police began to disperse crowds to prevent any other casualties from occurring.
Several interior officials mourned the late Colonel and his company and said that the bombing indicates a serious security breach in the Iraqi police. Colonel Al-Ma'amouri was head of the Scorpion squad a special operations unit responsible for protecting Babylon province and areas southern Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- A total of 13 Iraqi policemen and soldiers were killed on Thursday in a number of terrorist attacks. Speaking to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), a police source said a blast en route between Drouz and Tikrit took the lives of two Iraqi army soldiers and injured six others who were transferred to nearby medical centers. He added that a drive-by shooting killed police Lieutenant Basem Mohammad and injured four of Kirkuk's police force.
Meanwhile, the US army said one of its soldiers was killed and two others were injured by a terrorist attack on Wednesday. In a press release, the army explained that the soldiers belonged to Task Force Lightning that was conducting operations in Kirkuk province. The name of the soldier was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Two British security contractors were killed after an explosive device targeted the US military engineering team they were accompanying between the cities of Karbala and Najaf, said an Iraqi security source on Friday. The source said the attack took place yesterday and that the two British contractors has suffered serious injuries that caused their death, adding that the vehicle's driver also suffered wounds to the legs.
He added that the team was on its way to Karbala to work on a school construction project there, adding that team was also responsible for several water and electricity projects around the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- A number of 18 insurgents were arrested by the Iraqi military in different operations, said a statement for the Multi-National Force (MNF) Friday. Special Iraqi units began the missions on Thursday by arresting eight people when they stormed a location in south Baghdad, the statement noted. Two booby-trapped cars were found in the location and the unit managed to defuse them, added the statement.
In another mission, the Iraqi forces also arrested 10 people in an area south of the capital. The mission was a success with no casualties reported among civilians, Iraq forces, or MNF troops who supervised the missions.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The dead bodies of 14 workers, abducted on Thursday, were found in the town of Dhelo'yah, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad, said the Iraqi police on Friday.
Police sources said the workers were abducted by unknown gunmen on Thursday while on their way home from work, noting that the fate of three other workers remained unknown. A police source, who requested anonymity, said that all 14 bodies had been handcuffed and beheaded. Police had said earlier that it had found 50 dead bodies during the past 24 hours, 11 bodies of which were for employees of Shuaiba television channel killed in an armed attack on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Iraqi police and the Multi-National Force (MNF) said on Friday that clashes with terrorists in Mousl on Thursday led to killing 10 gunmen, injuring three others and arresting 54 of them. In press releases, the police and the MNF explained that the gunmen launched two wide-scale attacks with the intention of seizing the province's headquarters and police command.
As a result of the attacks, one Iraqi policeman and five Iraqi army soldiers were injured, while 12 members of the MNF, an Albanian soldier and 11 US troops, suffered injuries. The releases added that preliminary investigation with the apprehended showed that they have been conducting terrorist acts against policemen, Shiites and Kurds. Loads of equipment, such as vehicles and weapons, were also confiscated, noted the releases. The terrorist operation was the third of its type within the last three months.
As of October 11, the US Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed the death of 2,751 US soldiers in Iraq. As of October 30, the total of US non-mortal casualties reached 44,779.
I'm guessing that figure includes all injuries, including John F'in Kerry "Cut Myself Shaving Can I Have a Purple Heart" wounds. Just under 3000, from all theaters, have been wounded seriously enough to be evacuated.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Israeli Air Force aircraft fired missiles at Palestinian gunmen early Saturday, killing six and wounding 10, Palestinian security officials said.
Five of the dead were identified as members of the Islamic militant Hamas group, security officials said. Two of the wounded were in serious condition. A woman was also among those hurt. Witnesses said ambulances driving to the scene came under fire. The gunmen were targeted east of Gaza City, near the Gaza-Israel border.
More than a dozen Israeli tanks also moved in the area, and security officials reported exchanges of fire between the Israeli forces and Palestinian gunmen.
An Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson said the incident began when an anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli bulldozer. Troops responded with fire from the air and the ground. The IDF said it knew of at least one dead and several wounded gunmen.
Three Hamas gunnies killed in IAF strike in northern Gaza
An Israel Air Force aircraft struck a car in the northern Gaza Strip early Friday, killing a local Hamas commander and two other Hamas operatives, the group said. Palestinian sources said five pedestrians were hurt in the air strike, Israel Radio reported. The Israel Defense Forces, which has stepped up an offensive in Gaza in recent days, said it attacked the militants on their way to firing Qassam rockets at Israel and that the car was full of rockets. The militants were also responsible for firing Qassam rockets at the Negev on Thursday, the IDF said.
Southern Gaza incident
In southern Gaza on Friday, Gaza residents said IDF troops shot dead a Palestinian woman in a Gaza village where soldiers and militants clashed. Palestinian doctors said the woman was shot by an IDF sniper while she was standing outside her home in southern Gaza.
The IDF said troops in the area identified two gunmen east approaching the force east of Khan Yunis and opened fire, hitting both of them, but was not aware of a woman being hit. One of the gunmen was killed and the other was wounded, Israel Radio reported. "The soldiers were operating in the area in search of underground tunnels and other security threats," an army spokesman said.
Military sources said the IDF plans to continue its offensive because the Palestinian terror groups are continuing to arm themselves, Hamas is increasingly becoming involved in attacks on Israel, and talks aimed at securing the release of captive soldier Gilad Shalit have stalled. The IDF is operating in northern Gaza and east of Khan Yunis. Hamas vowed revenge Thursday, and the head of its political bureau, Khaled Meshal, called Israel a "cancer that must be pulled out by its roots."
#8
IDF completes 72-hour anti-terror offensive in Gaza
Following 72 hours of intense fighting, IDF troops pulled out of central Gaza Saturday night, leaving behind 21 dead Palestinians, killed during Operation Rain Man, launched on Thursday to weed out Hamas terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
One person was wounded moderately and two lightly as two Kassam rockets hit residential areas in Sderot Friday evening. Light damage was done to houses and vehicles. Earlier Friday, Sderot mayor Eli Moyal relayed a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz asking the government for help to ensure citizens' safety during Simhat Torah celebrations. On Thursday, Palestinians fired six Kassams at western Negev communities.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Palestinians fired an anti-tank missile at troops operating east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip Friday afternoon. Another missile was fired at a tank in the same sector Friday morning. No one was wounded and no damage was reported in either incident. The IDF was looking for tunnels and terror cells in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip reported Friday morning that three members of Hamas's military wing were killed when an IAF-fired missile struck their car in Beit Lahiya. Eight other Palestinians were wounded in the attack, they said. IDF sources confirmed that the IAF had attacked a terrorist target, but refused to give details.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Clashes between Fatah and Hamas members continued overnight Thursday in the northern Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported on Friday morning. Masked individuals set fire to a radio station affiliated with Fatah. The armed men threw a grenade into the building, wounding four Palestinians. The radio station sustained heavy damages.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
IDF forces arrested 18 terrorists in Judea and Samaria overnight Thursday. Nine Hamas members and five Fatah operatives were arrested in Ramallah. In Bethlehem, two Palestinians affiliated with Hamas, an Islamic Jihad operative and a Tanzim operative were arrested.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Army forces and Tamil Tigers exchanged artillery and mortar fire in northern Sri Lanka on Friday, the military said, days after hundreds of combatants were killed in some of the bloodiest battles since a 2002 cease-fire accord.
Tamil rebels fired artillery and mortars across the defence line in Muhamalai on Jaffna peninsula overnight, wounding four soldiers, said an officer at the Media Centre for National Security, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy. He said there was continuing sporadic artillery fire from both sides along the defence line.
In northern Vavuniya, the northernmost government-held garrison town before rebel-held territory, one soldier was killed and three wounded when rebels attacked an army patrol, said an officer attached to the Media Centre for National Security, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with policy. He said the soldiers repulsed the attack, but rebel casualties were not known immediately.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/14/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
A press release issued here, said a group of insurgents attacked an ISAF convoy with small arms fire following a landmine blast near Tarin Kot, capital of Afghanistan's southern Uruzgan province. In the ensuring fight, 25 Taliban were killed by the ISAF soldiers. Several Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were injured; however, ISAF soldiers remained unhurt, said the press release. One local national was also killed and seven others wounded in exchange of fire between the foreign troops and the militants. The injured villagers were shifted to an ISAF medical facility for treatment. 
In a separate statement released from US' main Bagram base, north of Kabul, the military announced the death of a US soldier following an operation in Helmand province. The soldier fell out of a UH-60 helicopter whilst it was landing. He was immediately taken to Kandahar Airfield, where he subsequently died from his injuries, said the statement. Expressing grief over the death of the soldier, deputy commander of the US' Combined Joint Task Force - 76 Brigadier General James Terry said: "Our deepest sympathies go out to the family of the brave soldier who gave his life in defence of freedom in Afghanistan,." The commander said sacrifice of the fallen soldier would not be forgotten as the US forces continue their fight against the 'extremists'. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Results from an initial air sampling after North Norea's announced nuclear test showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from 
Turf conscious bloggers in Paris' rundown, mostly Muslim, suburban immigrant housing estates rival in violent messages that threaten to beat senseless and even kill any intruder caught in "our ghetto." Almost every word is misspelled, in both argot slang and pidgin French. And these are not empty threats. An average of 14 policemen a day are injured in bloody clashes with jobless youngsters. 
ATLANTA - A US citizen has pleaded guilty in a federal court to providing material support to the militant Palestinian group Hamas, the US Justice Department said on Friday. 
(KUNA) -- Police has arrested eight Al-Qaeda linked militants who had planted pairs of rockets in the heavily guarded capital of Pakistan, said a minister on Friday. Federal Interior Minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, talking to newsmen here said that the militants had planted a pair of Russian-made Anti-tank shells, having range of 7 to 8 miles, in the Ayub Park of Rawalpindi city and two near ISI headquarters and the parliament building in Islamabad.
(KUNA) - A small bomb explosion near a bus stand in the capital of Pakistani North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) critically wounded an Afghan, said police on Friday. The bomb in a plastic bag had been planted near Daewoo Bus stand in Peshawar, 250 kilometers north of Islamabad, that went off on Thursday night, local senior police officer, Iftikhar Khan, told newsmen. He said the explosion critically wounded an Afghan national and left a crater in the ground. It was the fourth small explosion reported in the city in the last few weeks. Police has been unable to arrest the perpetrators.
Eight Pakistanis, who have been released from Guantanamo Bay and a US detention centre in Bagram, Afghanistan, will reach Pakistan tomorrow (Sunday). Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told reporters in his office on Friday that only five Pakistanis were now in Guantanamo Bay and that the government was trying to bring them back. Daily Times has learnt that some Pakistanis, who were arrested in Afghanistan last month, have been shifted to Guantanamo Bay for investigation. Sources said the eight Pakistanis would be held in the Adiala Jail after arriving in the country.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi and coalition forces arrested 16 currency exchange employees in Tikrit on Friday on charges of financing terrorism, a US Army statement said Friday. The statement added that currency exchange outlets in Tikrit, the birth place of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, had implemented mechanisms for illegal foreign currency transactions to finance militant groups in Iraq. It added that the operation took place in daylight after citizens reported suspicious activities.
(KUNA) -- An interior senior official and five of his assistants were killed as well as 10 others injured Friday in a bomb attack on an interior squad headquarters in Babylon province south of the capital. An interior source at Babylon police told KUNA that insurgents planted explosive devices at the office of Colonel Salam Al-Ma'amouri this morning. The bombing also resulted in serious damage to the headquarters located in Hillah city, added the source. A security barrier was set around the area and the police began to disperse crowds to prevent any other casualties from occurring.
(KUNA) -- Two British security contractors were killed after an explosive device targeted the US military engineering team they were accompanying between the cities of Karbala and Najaf, said an Iraqi security source on Friday. The source said the attack took place yesterday and that the two British contractors has suffered serious injuries that caused their death, adding that the vehicle's driver also suffered wounds to the legs.
(KUNA) -- A number of 18 insurgents were arrested by the Iraqi military in different operations, said a statement for the Multi-National Force (MNF) Friday. Special Iraqi units began the missions on Thursday by arresting eight people when they stormed a location in south Baghdad, the statement noted. Two booby-trapped cars were found in the location and the unit managed to defuse them, added the statement.
The dead bodies of 14 workers, abducted on Thursday, were found in the town of Dhelo'yah, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad, said the Iraqi police on Friday.
(KUNA) -- Iraqi police and the Multi-National Force (MNF) said on Friday that clashes with terrorists in Mousl on Thursday led to killing 10 gunmen, injuring three others and arresting 54 of them. In press releases, the police and the MNF explained that the gunmen launched two wide-scale attacks with the intention of seizing the province's headquarters and police command.
Israeli Air Force aircraft fired missiles at Palestinian gunmen early Saturday, killing six and wounding 10, Palestinian security officials said.
One person was wounded moderately and two lightly as two Kassam rockets hit residential areas in Sderot Friday evening. Light damage was done to houses and vehicles. Earlier Friday, Sderot mayor Eli Moyal relayed a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz asking the government for help to ensure citizens' safety during Simhat Torah celebrations. On Thursday, Palestinians fired six Kassams at western Negev communities.
Clashes between Fatah and Hamas members continued overnight Thursday in the northern Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported on Friday morning. Masked individuals set fire to a radio station affiliated with Fatah. The armed men threw a grenade into the building, wounding four Palestinians. The radio station sustained heavy damages.
