NATO-led troops launched a precision strike Sunday, killing a key Taliban commander near a southern Afghan town overrun by militants, a spokesman for the alliance said.
Col. Tom Collins said that the strike near the town of Musa Qala killed a "high level Taliban leader" and was conducted in "full coordination with the government." He did not identify the suspected leader. Musa Qala, the town where a peace deal between village elders and government was in place since last October, was overrun Thursday by Taliban fighters who disarmed local police, ransacked the district center and hoisted their trademark white flag.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like our HUMINT is getting better. We seem to have gotten a high number of high value targets over the past 6 months.
Not named, but it sounds like Mullah Gaffur who led the takeover of Musa Qala. ISAF just missed him one or two days ago.
Posted by: ed ||
02/05/2007 0:40 Comments ||
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#3
If we think that killing thier commander's this will end this, we are mistaken. The new ones will be meaner and less experienced at warefare as it is now. Will keep trying new things we have'nt thought of to hurt us. We need to kill as many of the foot soldiers as possible, as well.
#7
I agree anymouse. But it dose'nt seem to be working. It seems everyday we kill one or two. Don't seem to be lessing thier attacks. Don't mean to say don't kill the top. But at this pace, we are going to run out of bullet's or patience before they do. A million dollars to kill a leader they can replace in ten minutes (beacause he was'nt experienced anyway) seems costly. Like to see 50 go with the leaders at a time. Then I would be more impressed.
#8
Seems like you could do it again at another village. Except this time have UAV's monitoring, call in a batallion sized Blue Team to engage, and then massive air support to Arc Light the retreat.
A senior member of the al-Qaeda network - Fazul Abdullah Mohammed - is in hiding on the island of Madagascar off the coast of southern Africa, reports said Monday. Midi Madagasikara, the island's largest newspaper, quoted military "and other" sources as saying that Mohammed was directing al-Qaeda's activities in East Africa from a hideout in the harbour city of Majunga in the north-west of the country. Mohammed was reported to have come to Madagascar, where his lover partner is said to live, from the neighbouring Comoros Islands.
The government in Antananarivo did not confirm or deny the report. Mohammed is on the US list of 35 most-wanted terrorists over suspicion of his involvement in the bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, which killed 228 people and injured over 5,000. The US government is offering 5 million dollars for information leading to his capture.
A close relative of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, was shot dead in Madagascar in January according to unconfirmed reports.
(SomaliNet) The security forces in the Somalia capital Mogadishu, which are in extreme vigilant following several ambush attacks on their bases, Saturday night wounded a civilian man who they suspected of belonging to Islamist elements.
The policemen guarding the Ambassador Hotel in south of Mogadishu opened fire on a mini-bus after its driver refused to stop and obey the order. A Mogadishu police officer told Somalinet that this was an accident and the security forces were doing their duty.
Also two policemen were wounded in friendly fire after they suspected each other. The shooting came as high level of African Union delegates were in the hotel meeting with the interim government officials.
Elsewhere in Mogadishu, Somalia capital, the police wounded another man driving a small luxury car for suspicion and turned death ear to stop his car overnight. The latest incident happened in Wardhigley neighborhood. Farhan Abdulahi, in 20s got injured in the head and was taken to the hospital. Guhad Tarabi, among the relatives of Abdulahi, blamed militiamen loyal to deputy Mogadishu mayor Ibrahim Shaweye on the shooting.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
turned death ear, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/05/2007 8:41 Comments ||
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#2
*with icy self control runs screaming from the room*
The forces of the transitional federal government in southern Somalia have arrested on Sunday a number of local traditional elders after they failed to bring the armed militias to the government. Colonel Aden Mahamud Ibrahim, the chief commander of 1st army division of the interim government has ordered the arrest of ten local elders in Afmadow town of Lower Juba region in southern Somalia. The elders, including clan chiefs were taken into custody by the forces after they failed to comply with an order from the government 20 days before to bring in all the armed militiamen, Mohamed Aden Suqar, a local independent journalist told Somalinet tonight.
Earlier, reports from the southern port city of Kismayo in Somalia say that the transitional government began recruiting local militias to join the national forces after trainings. The army officials met some traditional and clan leaders in Lower Juba province in the presence of Ethiopian army officials over how they would convince the militias to join the forces in Kismayo, 500km south of the Somalia capital Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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LONDON (AP) - A letter bomb exploded at a London insurance office and injured one woman on Monday, fire officials said.
The package exploded at Capital Commercial Services, an insurance mediation company that represents such clients as the British Broadcasting Corp., the Criminal Records Bureau, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Work and Pensions.
Police said the injured woman suffered minor injuries and was hospitalized.
The office was near Scotland Yard and several other government offices but police said the target was a business.
Capita was formed in 1984 and has more than 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, Ireland and India.
#2
Plenty of people who'd like to take-out the 'Crapita' offices - certainly anyone who's been fined for dodging congestion zone payments... or who's worked with them on public infrastructure projects.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/05/2007 8:36 Comments ||
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#3
Capita arent very nice at all .
Ironically they owe me money , but I gave up on that long ago . Not worth the stress to pursue it , after 8 months I simply gave up . They would quite happily run me into the ground and ruin my credit rating if it was the other way round . Charming company , not .
#5
Do you have something like our "Small Claims court" in the UK? Or do they owe you a fairly large sum"? SUE THE BASTARDS.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/05/2007 14:28 Comments ||
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#6
For crying out loud, Mac, wish you hadn't given up there, sends a bad message that they can walk all over you, however small the damage. I have just screwed back nearly a Grand from the Halifax for extortionate charges from the last (up to) 6 years.
They rolled over like a puppy, (not that I like to hump puppies, however cute they look).
Crapita has been a feature in Private Eye for many years, says it all.
(Xinhua) -- Spanish police on Sunday arrested 18 members of three organizations linked to separatist group Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA) in the northern city of Bilbao in accordance with a court order, local media reported. The 18 detained were among a total of 23 suspects that the country's Supreme Court ordered to arrest as they belonged to three terrorist organizations -- Segi, Jarrai and Haika, all linked to ETA as ruled by the court on Jan. 19. Four had been detained by police earlier. Police made the latest arrest at a court in Bilbao after a Segimeeting, which was also attended by some senior leaders of Batasuna, an ETA political wing.
ETA, formed in 1959, has called for the establishment of an independent Basque state in the Basque region straddling the Spanish-French border. Over the past four decades, assassinations, kidnappings and explosions carried out by the group have claimed the lives of nearly 1,000 people. The European Union and the United States have listed ETA as a terrorist organization. ETA declared a permanent truce on March 22, 2006. Three months later, the Spanish government decided to start a dialogue with the group.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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The U.S. Marine Corps reputation for being enthusiastic about combat is not a myth. Recently, the commandant of the Marine Corps got complaints (at one of the "Town Hall" meetings he holds regularly) from marines who were not able to get an assignment in Iraq or Afghanistan. The commandant checked and discovered that 38 percent of marines had not yet been in Afghanistan or Iraq.
He ordered that any marine that requested assignment to a combat zone, be given one. For those that could not be transferred to a similar job in a unit headed over there, marines are directed to request an Individual Augment (IA) assignment. This program is similar to the one used by the navy, where sailors and marines are sent to do jobs the army needs done. The marines also allow their reservists to volunteer for IA assignments.
Marine training, and tradition, emphasizes that "every marine is a rifleman," and that all marines want to be in combat. Most marines apparently agree.
#2
I'm still recovering from the description one of you gave recently of the Marines' response to an ambush. I knew, but that's not the same as hearing the words said aloud.
Them Marines is a spunky bunch. Something that stuck in my head was a comment from a Marine to a reporter during the initial drive of the war against Saddam. The Iraqis had been, not surprsingly, attacking the long supply lines. The reporter made it sound like this was a novel, unexpected and disabling tactic. The Marine's response was "You don't understand. We're not just truckdrivers. We're truckdrivers with guns!"
#4
Kinda makes you wonder how "overstretched" we are if 1/3rd of our willing troops haven't been in combat.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/05/2007 18:26 Comments ||
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#5
TW, was that me the other day? Something about a target rich environment and attacking "through" the ambush?
As I recall, I was a little long-winded and the argument being made was against that idiot named Ware's apparent panic at some group of Marines or US Army having gotten themselves surrounded with no supply lines and dwindling ammunition.
#6
... that idiot named Ware's apparent panic at some group of Marines or US Army having gotten themselves surrounded with no supply lines and dwindling ammunition.
Nuts!
/I know that was the Army and this article's about the USMC, but it seems apropos.
#9
The thing that the average civvie doesn't understand is that we actually like to fight. We didn't join for the "great college money" (because compared to our sister services our college bonuses ain't that great). In my 10 yrs I've never heard one Marine say he joined for college cash - never. If he did he's a moron, should've went Army - because we can't match their money for college program.
#10
That's it, Pappy. I just recently came to hear the story behind that quote. Quite awe-inspiring. I'm not of a military background, but hats off to the boyz who are (and who are itching to get in the fight).
Posted by: BA ||
02/05/2007 22:21 Comments ||
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#11
My nephew conned talked his mother into allowing him to join so he could get into a heavy engine mechanic MOS and most likely serve stateside. After Parris Island he did what he really wanted to and went 0311.
After Legeune he got orders to a MEU and is thrilled. Just can't wait to be deployed and is worried the scrap in the sandbox will be over before he gets there.
PESHAWAR: Lakki Marwat police seized a bomb planted in a cylinder in the Faqeerano Market area on Sunday. Station House Officer (SHO) Faridullah Shah told Daily Times via telephone that a stopwatch was attached to the three-kilogramme locally made bomb, which was hidden in bushes. He said a local resident had informed the police of the bomb, planted to target a fair in the area every Sunday. There was no bomb disposal squad in Lakki Marwat, the SHO said, so the police had to call the Bannu bomb disposal squad to defuse it. A bomb blast on Saturday killed the man who was planting it in the Ghaznikhel Market of Lakki Marwat. The blast also destroyed four shops in the market.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
3 KG=6.6 pounds
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/05/2007 14:19 Comments ||
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Intelligence agencies have told the Interior Ministry 15 Taliban fighters arrived in Rawalpindi from Bannu and South Waziristan on January 25 with plans to target US and UN interests as well as imambargahs in Islamabad, Daily Times has learnt. Reports say they prayed at Markazi Jamia Masjid Raja Bazaar, Rawalpindi and five of them including Haji Mateen, Jawadullah, Abdul Jalil and Abdul Waseh later left for Islamabad where they stayed at Jamia Fareedia and Lal Masjid.
The Taliban fighters have coordinated their plans with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and some Jamia Fareedia students. The reports named Imambargah Fatimia Chittian Hattian, Imambargah Zainabia Mareer Chowk, Imambargah Colonel Maqbool, Jamia Ahl-e-Bait, F-7/4, Imamabargah Zainabia, G-6/4, Imambargah Bait-ul-Hazan Alipur Farash, Imambargah Bari Imam Kazmi and Imambargah Complex Baltistania as their possible targets.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#2
Interesting etymology - 'lunatic' (root is the word for 'moon') means 'people made crazy by the moon', and Muslims have the moon as their symbol and can be called 'worshippers of the moon god', or 'people made crazy by the moon.'
#5
Oh Please, Please bomb the UN, if you're that stupid getting the whole world against you just MIGHT get your asses in a sling. Ya Think?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/05/2007 14:33 Comments ||
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#6
RJ - if they did bomb the UN I guarantee it would hit the media as "because of the US...." and the LLL internet world as "US attack disguised as Taliban."
#7
That would be a very good excuse to have the FBI shut them down and jail the writers as trators. let them lie, it's their own doom. Remember "Truth is not Slander, but lies are Libel."
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/05/2007 16:56 Comments ||
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The Lahore police on Sunday announced that it had arrested five militants of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) including one carrying head money of Rs 1 million. Sadar SP Umar Virk said the police had arrested the five militants including Rizwan for whom the Punjab and Sindh governments had put a bounty of Rs 500,000 each from Sattukatla area. He said that Rizwan had taken charge of the LJ after Akram Lahoris arrest. The names of Rizwans accomplices are Ziauddin, Alam, Abdul Sattar alias Riaz and Amjad alias Kala, he added. Virk said the militants had confessed to committing several terrorism incidents in Sindh and Punjab and the police had seized a large number of weapons from their possession. Police sources told Daily Times that the militants had been arrested a day before Ashura (Monday).
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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I generally don't like this guy's opinion, but this is an interesting article. WaPo
Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new U.S. commander in Iraq, is assembling a small band of warrior-intellectuals -- including a quirky Australian anthropologist, a Princeton economist who is the son of a former U.S. attorney general and a military expert on the Vietnam War sharply critical of its top commanders -- in an eleventh-hour effort to reverse the downward trend in the Iraq war.
Army officers tend to refer to the group as "Petraeus guys." They are smart colonels who have been noticed by Petraeus, and who make up one of the most selective clubs in the world: military officers with doctorates from top-flight universities and combat experience in Iraq.
Essentially, the Army is turning the war over to its dissidents, who have criticized the way the service has operated there the past three years, and is letting them try to wage the war their way.
"Their role is crucial if we are to reverse the effects of four years of conventional mind-set fighting an unconventional war," said a Special Forces colonel who knows some of the officers.
#1
This just amazes me. This is "thinking out of the box" writ large. I am positively surprised at such nimble thinking. Perhaps it has taken too long to get to this point, but still, actions such as these reflect an open mind.
#2
If he can successfully redefine how to fight an insurgent war with a small force, I would expect his name to eventually be as well known as Colin Powell. Maybe even end up at the Joint Chiefs eventually as well.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
02/05/2007 18:15 Comments ||
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#3
So Kerry was right, if these PhD's had gotten a decent education they wouldn't ... OK, so Kerry is an idiot.
#7
Don't care how good his is, his principle enemy is in Congress and I don't think he can beat those guys. They will keep ankle biting thill he fails.
Posted by: kelly ||
02/05/2007 19:08 Comments ||
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#8
Mac's eggheads were corporate, not military.
My guess is if you make a really smart warrior scared, he'll kill all of you twice before he rests.
#9
Petraeus wrote the Army's new counter-insurgency manual. Significantly, his co-author was a Marine general. The Army-Marine joint ops from Fallujah seem to be drawing some of the best from both services.
IIRC Petraeus' dissertation was on mistakes the leadership made in Vietnam. He's given some thought to this whole business, but let's see what he can do given the mess over there and at home.
#12
Having a brain trust like that on hand would seem to be a tad overkill for Baghdad. However, it can have all sorts of uses.
They would be just perfect for a "field evaluation" of Iranian conflict plans. If that is the case, then it would be eerily reminiscent of the old German general staff.
#14
is assembling a small band of warrior-intellectuals, "Petraeus guys".
sigh. Nothing worse than a small group of eggoheads who are told to think outside the box and come up with a new and improved plan.
How about some good ol' common sense tried and true warriors willing to get their hands dirty to win the war rather than those who just want to sip brandy and talk a good game about what could happen if this were a board game.
Let's hope this group will be the exception instead of the rule.
More than 200 enemy insurgents were killed and 100 gunmen captured near An Najaf Jan. 28 with 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing providing close-air support in the joint, combined effort to route the enemy in battle.
After insurgents attacked ground forces with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, 332nd F-16 Fighting Falcons and A-10 Thunderbolt IIs answered the call for support dropping more than 3.5 tons of precision munitions and expending 2,300 rounds of 20mm and 30mm cannon fire in an area of about five square miles.
F-16 from the 510th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, 14th EFS and 332nd EFS, based here, as well as A-10 from the geographically separated 74th EFS at Al Asad Air Base, all participated.
The 36-hour action was the first time all the wing's fighter aircraft have simultaneously employed ordnance in a single operation. Two of the squadrons, the 14th and 74th, joined the wing's ranks just last month.
Talking directly to pilots during the mission was a Joint Terminal Attack Controller Airman embedded with Army ground forces, said Lt. Col. Bob Winkler, a 510th F-16 pilot. Army ground liaison officers routinely coordinate with JTAC Airmen for mission-specific details to better prepare pilots before missions.
"Initially, we weren't involved in Najaf since ground forces hadn't yet requested air support," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Levern Randall, 332nd AEW ground liaison noncommissioned officer. "Once airpower was requested, we supported the recovery operations of the downed helicopter."
Lt. Col. David Tenlen and his wingman, F-16 pilots assigned to the 332nd, were the first on scene to provide close-air-support.
"We're committed to providing coalition forces the combat airpower they need," Colonel Tenlen said.
74th A-10 pilots Capt. Jeffrey Lederhouse and wingman Maj. Clinton Eichelberger diverted from another mission and helped control the airspace. Captain Lederhouse helped manage the J-TAC's burden by directing aircraft to refuel and helping direct support to ground forces.
The mission was almost identical to a recent home-station training scenario, said Major Eichelberger, an A-10 instructor pilot. A-10s can traditionally stay in the target area for a longer period of time to drop their precision-guided weapons, he said.
Crew chiefs, aircraft maintainers responsible for inspecting the systems, engines, and motor before and after each flight, helped the pilots get off the ground to support the mission.
"I was proud to know my jet was doing what it was made to do," said Senior Airman Billy Butler, crew chief and tactical aircraft maintainer. "We knew we had to get those jets turned around and back in the air quickly, and safety is first in our minds when we're under surge operations."
Throughout the operation, the 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron sustained normal and surge operations simultaneously, and at one point, had jets quick-turned two hours ahead of schedule.
"It feels good knowing we're able to support the people who are directly involved," said Staff Sgt. Jared Bicker, weapons load crew chief. "Our team didn't know until later that day what was happening in [An] Najaf until we saw it on cable news."
The 332nd at Balad, located 40 miles north of Baghdad, launches a significant amount of Air Force combat airpower in Iraq.
"I'm pretty darn proud of the operations, maintenance and combat support efforts of our Tuskegee Airmen team," said Brig. Gen. Robin Rand, commander of the 332nd.
#5
Amusingly enough, some liberals are now using this battle as an example of how things are going badly in Iraq, *and* how we should have tried negotiating with these cultists.
Those Thughee obviously just had self-esteem problems, right?
#6
I still say a couple of ARCLIGHT strikes in the right place would change the entire tone of battle in the Mideast. Unfortunately, we don't have any ARCLIGHT-capable BUFFS left. All we have flying are a handful of late G- and H-models.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/05/2007 21:30 Comments ||
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#7
i've missed rantburg for a few months , but to see it's still the same
A JOINT US-Iraqi campaign to stabilise Baghdad will begin soon and the offensive against militants will be on a scale never seen during four years of war, US officers said yesterday.
Three American colonels who are senior advisers to the Iraqi army and police in Baghdad said yesterday a command centre overseeing the crackdown would be activated today.
"The expectation is the plan will be implemented soon thereafter," said Colonel Doug Heckman, senior adviser to the 9th Iraqi Army division in Baghdad.
But some analysts fear that as in previous crackdowns, militants will simply melt away and wait them out, or strike in areas where they are not deployed.
"It's going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen. It's a multiple order magnitude of difference, not just a 30 per cent, I mean a couple of hundred per cent," he said, referring to previous offensives that failed to stem bloodshed.
The plan will involve US and Iraqi forces sweeping the capital's neighbourhoods for militants and illegal weapons, and holding cleared areas.
But some analysts fear that as in previous crackdowns, militants will simply melt away and wait them out, or strike in areas where they are not deployed.
All three officers sought to talk up the ability of Iraq's forces to perform better than in previous crackdowns.
Their comments came a day after a suicide truck bomb killed 135 people in a mainly Shiite area of Baghdad, the single biggest bombing since the US-led invasion in 2003. The joint offensive is seen as a last-ditch effort to halt all-out civil war between minority Sunni Arabs and politically dominant majority Shiites.
US President George W. Bush is sending 21,500 reinforcements, mostly to be deployed in Baghdad.
The Baghdad command centre that will begin operations today will be headed by an Iraqi general. However, US troops will not take orders from Iraqi officers.
watch out Cols, the MSM has geared up a multiple order magnitude of pre-written hit pieces and reporters Liars to destroy your Nobel efforts and Sacrifices.
#3
"It's going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen. It's a multiple order magnitude of difference, not just a 30 per cent, I mean a couple of hundred per cent," he said,
I'd not be telegraphing my name or intentions too broadly. COL Heckman might not live to see narrative on his bronze star.
February 4, 2007 -- Question: When is a U.S. military victory not a victory?
Answer: When it's reported by The New York Times.
Read the account from Baghdad in the Jan. 30 Times about a battle the previous weekend in the city of Najaf - one of the biggest engagements of the war - and you'd think that U.S. and Iraqi forces had suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of what was described as "an obscure renegade militia."
"Iraqi forces were surprised and nearly overwhelmed by the ferocity" of the fighters arrayed against them, read the piece by correspondent Marc Santora, who added, "They needed far more help from American forces than previously disclosed."
Not until the article's sixth paragraph - 200 words into the 1,100-word piece - did this sentence appear: "The Iraqis and Americans eventually prevailed in the battle."
Continue reading about a NYT reported repremaned for this part:
The paper's chief military correspondent, Michael Gordon, went on PBS' "Charlie Rose Show" recently, and expressed qualified support for President Bush's troop surge - noting that "we've never really tried to win" in Iraq.
It could be disinformation, with the main blow to fall elsewhere. At least I hope it is, but in the past such tactical leaks have turned out to be all too accurate, giving terror cells plenty of time to flee the coming wrath and dig in their cannon-fodder and human shields for a media-friendly fight to the death.
Damn good thing these terrorists don't read Al Reuters.
Oh wait a minute.
It's really a Good Thing it wasn't like this in 1944:
"Allied amphibious forces will land on the coast of Europe within as little as 48 hours, according to three US officers who briefed reporters today. Preparations have reached a fever pitch as General Eisenhower's headquarters mulls the latest weather forecast. The landings will be accompanied by a mass parachute drop and will probably be along the coast of Normandy rather than at the Pas de Calais as long rumored."
YUSUFIYAH, Iraq - Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers uncovered more than 1,100 81mm high-explosive mortar rounds at a cache near the main highway, Route Tampa, leading into the Iraqi capital Feb. 3.
Troops from 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Troop B, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment "Wolverines," 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), made the discovery during Operation Wolverine Alesia near Yusufiyah, Iraq, just 10 miles southwest of the capital. 1,129 Acting on a tip from a local resident, the troops conducted an intentional search of the area which resulted in the largest cache find in 2nd "Commando" Brigade's history.
In all, 1,129 mortar rounds were uncovered. The cache, which was buried in the dirt, was larger than expected. As the Soldiers continued to unearth more mortar rounds, it became evident that this was a major find.
"These mortars rounds are in the configuration to use as improvised explosive devises," said Lt. Col. Mark Suich, the 1-89th's commander and native of Redding, Pa. "The mortar rounds in this state cannot be used for indirect fire; they are fabricated and stored to be used against the coalition and sectarian enemies as IEDs."
#1
Does anyone keep statistics of how much explosives we've found in Iraq? It seems there was enough to support an army of six or seven million men, far more than Hussein needed. What kind of nut was he, really?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/05/2007 12:48 Comments ||
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#2
It would be nice to annouce the original source of these 81 mm mortars (Russian or French or Chinese or what). I presume the large caliber ones (120 mm) are Russian.
#3
It would be nice to annouce the original source of these 81 mm mortars (Russian or French or Chinese or what). I presume the large caliber ones (120 mm) are Russian.
#4
The important datum here is that they were configured for IED use. If correct, this removes a massive amount of material that was intended almost certainly for use in the next few weeks.
#5
That's great, but unfortunately....there is untold amounts of Saddam's munitions floating around becuase we did not secure it after March 2003.
What we need to shut off is sophisticated triggers and electronics being brought across out of Syria and Iran. We need to institute a scorched Earth/ArcLight policy to stop that.
#6
BTW, the US military's description of the Roman battle is a little bit off. Julius almost lost that one as he allowed himself to become surrounded and trapped between the city and its relief force. Only some luck and lack of coordination between the two Gallic forces prevented a real disaster for the Romans.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. command has ordered changes in flight operations after four helicopters were shot down in the last two weeks, the chief military spokesman said, acknowledging for the first time that the aircraft were lost to hostile fire.
The crashes, which began Jan. 20, follow insurgent claims that they have received new stocks of anti-aircraft weapons - and a recent boast by Sunni militants that "God has granted new ways" to threaten U.S. aircraft. Al-Jazeera aired video late Sunday showing one of the U.S. helicopters being hit in central Iraq and said it came from an insurgent Web site.
All four helicopters were shot down during a recent increase in violence, which an Interior Ministry official said has claimed nearly 1,000 lives in the past week alone. At least 103 people were killed or found dead Sunday, most of them in Baghdad, police reported.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told reporters that the investigations into the crashes of three Army and one private helicopters were incomplete but "it does appear they were all the result of some kind of anti-Iraqi ground fire that did bring those helicopters down." It was the first time a senior figure in the U.S. Iraq command had said publicly that all four helicopters were shot down.
Despite the losses, Caldwell said it was premature to conclude that the threat to U.S. aircraft posed by Sunni insurgents and Shiite militiamen had increased dramatically. "There's been an ongoing effort since we've been here to target our helicopters," Caldwell said. "Based on what we have seen, we're already making adjustments in our tactics and techniques and procedures as to how we employ our helicopters."
#1
Flying low and fast and zig-zagging is one way to address the problem. Another is to fly high and slow in something larger doing a "carpet bombing" maneuver.
#3
Another way is to demolish as much of Iran as possible.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/05/2007 9:20 Comments ||
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#4
...Actually, this isn't good from another standpoint: the Apache and Blackhawk were designed to late Cold War standards - they were intended to be as survivable as technology and countermeasures could make them on a Central European battlefield where AAA on a nearly unimaginable level would be coming up at them. If we're losing choppers like this to SA-7s, we have a serious problem.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/05/2007 10:48 Comments ||
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#5
It's an issue of airspace management from the tactical perspective. Crews should relook their route discipline and management, and I'm sure they are. The old Ranger adage of never taking the same route twice and never go back the way you came is the rule to be applied here. Deconflicting airspace is tougher when you are using different routes every day but it will keep the ZSU moving and in the open trying to hunt helicopters. They need to go back and read the Mogadishu AARs and learn about being templated by the enemy.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/05/2007 13:07 Comments ||
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#6
Repetitive and predictable use of airspace was determined to be the cause for the -117 shootdown in Serbia. The bad guys simply waited outside the airfield and called the aircraft outbound, then their comrades just waited. Probably something similiar going on here.
Why must we relearn everything in blood?
#7
I read he also failed to retract doors leaving a sig.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/05/2007 14:17 Comments ||
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#8
Pan: can't speak to that, but leaving weapon bay doors open would be a foolish mistake. If they were landing gear doors, they are part of the retrction sequence.
Any-117 gurus out there? Do the doors cycle as part of weapons release sequence?
#9
Landing gear doors don't cycle during weapons release, I think what Pan meant was that the Nighthawk pilot was ingressing towards a target point and left the weapons bay doors open prior to overflight of target, hence leaving a big sig spot on a radar, course it also helped that the the missile was optically as well as radar tracked to target.
#11
Rumor has it USN Ret, he finished a run and forgot to close the bomb doors. Not sure if it is true but the signature is enough to get shot down with them open.
Sorry for the late reply.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/05/2007 20:40 Comments ||
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At least 37 people died in bombings and shootings in the Iraqi capital on Sunday a day after a massive blast tore through a Baghdad market, killing 135 people in the second worst attack since the March 2003 invasion. The US military, meanwhile, revealed that four helicopters, which crashed in the past two weeks, were shot down by rebels, killing 20 people in all.
The US military also said on Sunday that two of its soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol south of Baghdad. Their unit was conducting an assessment of battle positions in the area when the roadside bomb detonated, killing the two soldiers and wounding another, a statement said. The deaths bring to 3,093 the militarys losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. In addition to the 37 people killed in Baghdad attacks on Sunday, 33 corpses were found across the city and seven more people were reported killed elsewhere in Iraq.
Sundays attacks, which followed a week of bombings in the capital, came ahead of a massive security operation by a combined US-Iraqi force aimed at stabilising the violence-wracked city. In one incident a car bomb exploded near a bus station killing four people and wounding seven, and a roadside bomb left four policemen dead and four wounded. Towards nightfall a salvo of mortar shells slammed into Baghdads Adhamiyah district, killing 15 people and wounding 56, a medical source said.
The latest round of reprisals came after a massive truck bomb exploded on Saturday in the Sadiriya district of central Baghdad. Angry residents of Sadiriya on Sunday vented their fury on Iraqi leaders and security forces.
The government blamed militants infiltrating from neighbouring Syria, with which Iraq restored diplomatic relations only late last year. In Damascus, an official source slammed Dabbaghs comments as contrary to reality and aimed at harming relations between Iraq and Syria that Damascus wants to strengthen and develop.
The US military acknowledged, meanwhile, that four crashed helicopters had been shot down. Major General William Caldwell said it appeared as if the aircraft had taken some kind of anti-aircraft ground fire.
American officers said on Sunday a US-Iraqi campaign to stabilise Baghdad would begin soon and the offensive against militants would be on a scale never seen during four years of war. Briefing a small group of foreign reporters, three American colonels, who are senior advisers to the Iraqi army and police in Baghdad, said a command centre overseeing the crackdown would be activated on Monday. The expectation is the plan will be implemented soon thereafter, Colonel Doug Heckman, senior adviser to the 9th Iraqi Army division, said at a US military base in Baghdad. Its going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen. Its a multiple order magnitude of difference, not just a 30 percent, I mean a couple hundred percent, he added, referring to previous offensives that failed to stem bloodshed.
Asked if the Mehdi Armys stronghold in Sadr City would be cleaned out, Heckman acknowledged the political sensitivity but said all options were open. If we feel we need to clear Sadr City to bring stability, we will do that. Are there restrictions that will not allow us to do that? Right now there are not, Heckman said.
The Baghdad command centre that will begin operations on Monday will be headed by an Iraqi general. However, US troops will not take orders from Iraqi officers. But Major General William Caldwell, US military spokesman in Iraq, told reporters that the Iraqi security plan seen as a last-ditch attempt to halt violence in Baghdad would not produce results overnight. It is important to acknowledge that it will not turn the security situation overnight. People must be patient. Give the government and coalition forces a chance to fully implement it. It will take some time for additional Iraqi and US forces to be deployed. Iraqi officials angered by the truck bomb urged the government on Sunday to take swift action by launching a major security plan promised by the prime minister in January.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I heard John Bolton this week on Glenn Beck. He believes that we have no vested interest in insuring a unified Iraq. I am beginning to think the same thing.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S.-Iraqi campaign to stabilize Baghdad will begin soon and the offensive against militants will be on a scale never seen during four years of war, American officers said on Sunday.
Briefing a small group of foreign reporters, three American colonels who are senior advisers to the Iraqi army and police in Baghdad said a command center overseeing the crackdown would be activated on Monday.
"The expectation is the plan will be implemented soon thereafter," Colonel Doug Heckman, senior adviser to the 9th Iraqi Army division, said at a U.S. military base in Baghdad. "It's going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen. It's a multiple order magnitude of difference, not just a 30 percent, I mean a couple hundred percent," he added, referring to previous offensives that failed to stem bloodshed.
#1
Prediction: the south Tigris sectors of Baghdad will be under martial law within a week. Then comes the house to house search for al-Qaeda and the Mahdites. After phase 1 is complete, then troops head north. First surprise: the people are so conflict weary that they will support the operation.
#3
A good 1st rough estimate of the magnitude of increase, but let's not be so negative. Actually,
100% + 200% (couple hundred percent increase) =
3 units,
log10(3) = .47,
so 47% of a magnitude increase.
/nitpicking
Posted by: The Approximator ||
02/05/2007 9:39 Comments ||
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#4
"This time soldiers will get pay bonuses to come to Baghdad and will be given a finite tour of duty, so they know their deployment will not be open-ended, the American officers said."
"One, two, three, what are we kurds fighting for, dont know, want to get back to Irbil bad, but im heading for old Baghdad..."
#6
I have an idea. Ear bounties. Like were used to get control of various varmint and vermin populations in our rural areas. Maybe $1 per ear would work. For no more than $50 million we could clean up the whole country.
#7
LOL you guys; I guess because 100% has a couple of zeros in it he thought it must be a couple orders of magnitude. There's a future for this fellow in Washington.
A shaky ceasefire between warring Palestinian factions in Gaza teetered on Sunday but then appeared to take hold as the guns, mortars and grenades fell silent for the first time in days. As quiet returned to Gaza Citys streets, residents ventured tentatively out of their homes amid the first bout of calm since Thursday.
Officials from the ruling Hamas movement and President Mahmud Abbas rival Fatah faction sounded an optimistic note after meeting in Gaza City in a bid to bolster the fledgling ceasefire. There has been visible progress toward applying the truce agreement between the two movements, Fatah spokesman Abdel Hakim Awad said after the meeting. The streets are almost empty of gunmen and we hope the agreement will hold so that peace and security can return.
The rival factions also began releasing hostages, negotiators said, a key condition of the ceasefire which was agreed to Friday night by Abbas and exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. Despite those positive developments, however, the duelling factions remained perilously close to resuming hostilities.
Hamas accused security forces loyal to Fatah of violating the ceasefire by attempting to storm the home of a Hamas militant. It seems that there is a group of putschists who dont want a truce, Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan said. We hold Fatah responsible for all that is happening.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Quick, Mariam -- stock up on groceries and gasoline for the generator, we've only half an hour before the next round of fighting.
#3
Fatah and Hamas yesterday concluded their ninth cease-fire in two weeks, with partial success: Only nine people were wounded in the past day, compared to 25 deaths and about 240 injured in the two days preceding that.
See? Who says they aren't making progress?
I'm tellin ya, ninth time's the charm...
ONE of the Bali bombers on death row for the 2002 attacks has preached to Muslim militants by mobile phone, police chief General Sutanto said in a report to members of Parliament released today.
In the report on recent violence in the religiously divided town of Poso, on the island of Sulawesi, Gen Sutanto said one arrested militant identified as Sahal told police Bali bomber Mukhlas had continued to give sermons by phone to Muslim congregations in Poso.
"Sahal explained that Mukhlas, the death-row Bali bomber, often gave Islamic sermons from the Kerobokan jail in Bali by handphone to the congregation in Poso," he said in the report.
The report, in which Gen Sutanto tried to explain the links between Muslim militants in Poso and radical Muslim groups and individuals in Java, did not say when he preached.
Mukhlas, alias Ali Ghufron, is one of three men sentenced to death for their key roles in the 2002 nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
All three were moved to a high-security island jail off the southern coast of Java in October 2005.
A Philippine marine general said Sunday that he and 19 others were being "virtually held as hostages" by Muslim rebels demanding the full enforcement of a 1996 peace accord, but that they were set to be released within hours. Brig. Gen. Ben Dolorfino and his group had traveled to a remote hinterland camp of the Moro National Liberation Front on the southern island of Jolo on Friday for talks with rebel leader Habier Malik, but were not allowed to leave later that day as planned. "Yes, we were virtually held as hostages, but we were treated well," Dolorfino told The Associated Press by cell phone. "We were used as leverage."
Malik separately told The AP by phone that he had agreed to let Dolorfino's group leave his camp later Sunday after being assured that a meeting would be hosted by the Organization of Islamic Conference to discuss the full enforcement of the 1996 accord.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Heard they released Santos.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/05/2007 18:41 Comments ||
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Iran has installed two cascades of 164 centrifuges each in its underground nuclear plant, laying a basis for full-scale enrichment of uranium and upping the stakes in a standoff with the West, European diplomats said on Monday. Only "European diplomats" from Vienna could say it "ups the stakes" and not be a laughing-stock.
The cascades were to be test-run shortly, without uranium feedstock inside, and fuel material would then be added if the tests were successful, they said.
The 328 centrifuges would be the vanguard of 3,000 planned for installation in the coming months. "Let's get ready to RRRRUUUUUMMMMBBBBLLE!" said Mahmoud Ahmadinijad, Iran's "President".
Iran recently finished installing piping, electrical cables and other equipment needed to begin so-called "industrial-scale" enrichment in the vast subterranean complex, which is fortified and ringed by anti-aircraft guns in the central Iranian desert. Doom, gloom and sorrow for Rooters, eh?
Firing up the cascades would dramatically sharpen Iran's confrontation with Western powers that pushed through limited U.N. sanctions on Tehran six weeks ago to try to curb what they suspect is a disguised effort to assemble atomic bombs.
The Islamic Republic, the world's No. 4 oil producer, says it wants solely civilian atomic energy from uranium enrichment. "Yes, and to kill the Joooos, of course", added Mr. Ahmadinijad. That fact alone (#4 oil producer in the world) should "sway world opinion" that Iran's up to no good. The Nazi-heavy, Joooo killing rhetoric should be icing on the cake in taking down the MM's and hard. More at linky
Posted by: BA ||
02/05/2007 11:07 ||
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#1
No doubt the centrifuges are for G-force testing for their nascent space program.
Syrian customs officers have thwarted an attempt to smuggle arms to Lebanon through an Iraqi truck, Syria's official news agency, SANA, reported Sunday. The truck, carrying 95 9mm guns, a 9mm machine gun, a Russian rifle, 190 bullets and 290 clips, was seized as it was traveling through the Arida border crossing heading to the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli last week, SANA quoted a Syrian customs official as saying.
The news agency said the arms, concealed under the truck, were to be delivered to a restaurant owner in Tripoli. The smugglers, whose identities were not disclosed, have been arrested and handed over to Syrian authorities for investigation, SANA said. Lebanese officials were not immediately available for comment.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/05/2007 00:00 ||
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[13 views]
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#1
Horning in on the Syrian franchise is a no-no. It'll get you 'example' status.
#5
A note to the boys: Ranger Up.com now has a few tasteful photos of Grace and some of her friends.
Drop by.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
02/05/2007 14:50 Comments ||
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#6
Good advise Mark!! The one of her legs sticking out of the jeep is now my screen saver!! Good clean pin-up!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/05/2007 15:04 Comments ||
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#7
Pan, you're clearly a connoisseur of SFW pinups. I liked that photo, too, but I've always been a sucker for good gams in a pair of heels.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
02/05/2007 16:13 Comments ||
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#8
49 Pan, that picture makes me wonder where her head/mouth is.
Posted by: Tibor ||
02/05/2007 16:19 Comments ||
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#9
OK, the Rangerup site is delicious, but I did not see Grace, our original......
Now how come I have visions of candy canes dancing in my head????????
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.
NATO-led troops launched a precision strike Sunday, killing a key Taliban commander near a southern Afghan town overrun by militants, a spokesman for the alliance said. 
A senior member of the al-Qaeda network - 
The forces of the transitional federal government in southern Somalia have arrested on Sunday a number of local traditional elders after they failed to bring the armed militias to the government. Colonel Aden Mahamud Ibrahim, the chief commander of 1st army division of the interim government has ordered the arrest of ten local elders in Afmadow town of Lower Juba region in southern Somalia. The elders, including clan chiefs were taken into custody by the forces after they failed to comply with an order from the government 20 days before to bring in all the armed militiamen, Mohamed Aden Suqar, a local independent journalist told Somalinet tonight. 
(Xinhua) -- Spanish police on Sunday arrested 18 members of three organizations linked to separatist group Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA) in the northern city of Bilbao in accordance with a court order, local media reported. The 18 detained were among a total of 23 suspects that the country's Supreme Court ordered to arrest as they belonged to three terrorist organizations -- Segi, Jarrai and Haika, all linked to ETA as ruled by the court on Jan. 19. Four had been detained by police earlier. Police made the latest arrest at a court in Bilbao after a Segimeeting, which was also attended by some senior leaders of Batasuna, an ETA political wing. 
The Lahore police on Sunday announced that it had arrested five militants of the proscribed 
More than 200 enemy insurgents were killed and 100 gunmen captured near An Najaf Jan. 28 with 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing providing close-air support in the joint, combined effort to route the enemy in battle.
YUSUFIYAH, Iraq - Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers uncovered more than 1,100 81mm high-explosive mortar rounds at a cache near the main highway, Route Tampa, leading into the Iraqi capital Feb. 3.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. command has ordered changes in flight operations after four helicopters were shot down in the last two weeks, the chief military spokesman said, acknowledging for the first time that the aircraft were lost to hostile fire. 
At least 37 people died in bombings and shootings in the Iraqi capital on Sunday a day after a massive blast tore through a Baghdad market, killing 135 people in the second worst attack since the March 2003 invasion. The US military, meanwhile, revealed that four helicopters, which crashed in the past two weeks, were shot down by rebels, killing 20 people in all. 
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S.-Iraqi campaign to stabilize Baghdad will begin soon and the offensive against militants will be on a scale never seen during four years of war, American officers said on Sunday.
A shaky ceasefire between warring Palestinian factions in Gaza teetered on Sunday but then appeared to take hold as the guns, mortars and grenades fell silent for the first time in days. As quiet returned to Gaza Citys streets, residents ventured tentatively out of their homes amid the first bout of calm since Thursday. 
A Philippine marine general said Sunday that he and 19 others were being "virtually held as hostages" by Muslim rebels demanding the full enforcement of a 1996 peace accord, but that they were set to be released within hours. Brig. Gen. Ben Dolorfino and his group had traveled to a remote hinterland camp of the Moro National Liberation Front on the southern island of Jolo on Friday for talks with rebel leader Habier Malik, but were not allowed to leave later that day as planned. "Yes, we were virtually held as hostages, but we were treated well," Dolorfino told The Associated Press by cell phone. "We were used as leverage." 
