A bright day in Afghanistan with the advance party of Polish Troops arriving. The first 120 of a 1200 man unit arrived to take over duties from the Infamous 82nd Airborne of the USA.
Their prime duty will be to maintain the Kabul - Kandahar corridor. Security and repair of same. They are a welcome addition to the NATO Family.
I had the pleasure of serving with Polish Troops in Egypt as part of the UN Force in 1973. Well trained and well equipped they are fine soldiers.
Our guys and gals are still hard at it with both security and reconstruction. They are responsible for a major part of the Afghan Mission. Keep up the good work. Someone once said that the world will only find lasting peace once every other country in the world has invaded Afghanistan.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - NATO-led forces killed 38 Taliban guerrillas in two separate attacks in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, a provincial police official said. Backed by air support, the attacks targeted insurgent hideouts in two areas in Helmand province, the main drug producing region of Afghanistan, the world's leading producer of heroin, the district police chief said. "Eleven Taliban were killed in one attack and 27 in another," the chief, Habibullah, said. "There were no casualties among NATO or our troops," he added. NATO and Taliban could not be reached immediately for comment.
Fighting has begun intensifying across the country after winter and analysts say this is the crunch year for both NATO and the Taliban.
NATO is the cruncher and the Taliban the crunchee
"O-o-o-o-ohhh, crunchy!"
Last year was the bloodiest since the hardline Islamists were ousted by U.S.-led forces in 2001. More than 4,000 people died, a quarter of them civilians, and suicide bombings jumped to 139 from 21 in 2005 and are expected to increase dramatically again this year.
The other three quarters were mostly bad guys, but the press tries not to mention that
NATO and the Afghan armed forces have launched their largest offensive ever in Helmand, targeting the Taliban and drug lords who are seeing record crops for the second year running.
Operation Achilles in northern Helmand involves 4,500 NATO troops and 1,000 Afghans.
The Dread Spring Offensive seems to be off to a good start
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 09:28 ||
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(SomaliNet) The death toll of todays deadly street violence in the Somalia capital Mogadishu rose up to 22 people with more than 80 injured, some of them seriously, medical sources say late Wednesday as fresh gun battle erupted in northern suburb of the capital. The clashes came as hundreds of Ethiopian forces left the capital after handing over the security of the presidential headquarter to the Ugandan troops of the African Union peacekeepers.
Medical officials in Medina hospital, south of Mogadishu confirmed that the number of wounded people has increased. The number of injured civilians being brought to the hospital reached to more than 80, mostly hit by stray bullets and shrapnel from artillery shells, one health official at the hospital said.
Masked men, presumably supporters of the ousted Islamists fought with the government troops backed by the Ethiopian forces in three locations of south and northern Mogadishu where the rival sides engaged in fierce clashes.
Todays gun battles which were the worst since the Ethiopian backed transitional government arrived in the capital forced many villagers to flee their homes in fear of mortar and rocket shells. Self organized local militia men could be seen in the streets of Mogadishu manning roadblocks and checking up all cars and ready to repel any government soldiers.
Meanwhile, fresh gun battle erupted northern outskirt of Mogadishu where the interim government forces clashed with local militants. There is no immediate casualty on both sides on the latest battle.
UPDATE: MOGADISHU - Ethiopian tanks guarding a Somali government base in Mogadishu opened fire on unidentified attackers on Thursday as clashes broke out in the capital for a second straight day. Witnesses said the cannons thundered repeatedly over a 10-minute period, followed by the chatter of machine guns around the base, situated in a former defense department headquarters.
A separate gun battle also raged in the northern Ramadhan neighborhood, witnesses said. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties, but hundreds of residents -- mainly women and children -- fled the fighting pushing their belongings on donkey carts. "The fighting is still going on. It is the remnants of the Islamists and the government fighting," said a Ramadhan resident who declined to be identified for fear of reprisal.
The defense department base has been a favorite target of gunmen who almost daily launch hit-and-run attacks on the government and its allies, including African Union (AU) peacekeepers from Uganda who arrived this month.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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The chaos in Somalia took an ugly turn on Wednesday when full-scale fighting broke out in Mogadishu and furious crowds mutilated the bodies of government soldiers, chanting, We will burn you alive! The scene was reminiscent of 1993, when Somalis turned on American peacekeepers and dragged their bodies through the streets. Those images and the loss of 18 American soldiers in a single battle, the infamous Black Hawk Down episode, led to a swift American withdrawal.
This time the targets were Ethiopian troops and the soldiers of Somalias transitional government, both reviled by many people in Mogadishu, Somalias chaotic capital. Residents are now beginning to fear that this transitional government is headed in the same direction as the 13 transitional governments that came before it into a vortex of clan violence and anarchy that has made Somalia an icon of an Islamic paradise a failed state.
The recent injection of a small force of African Union peacekeepers does not seem to have made a difference. At dawn on Wednesday, Ethiopian and government soldiers stormed into a neighborhood in southern Mogadishu to disarm gunmen there. Instead, witnesses said, they were greeted by dozens of masked insurgents who blasted them with rocket-propelled grenades. More than 15 people were killed, including several government soldiers and possibly two Ethiopians.
The neighborhood is home to several clans that feel alienated by the transitional government and was a stronghold of the Islamist movement that took over the city and much of south-central Somalia last year, before being defeated by Ethiopian and government soldiers in December. Witnesses to Wednesdays melee said a frenzied crowd seized the bodies, dragged them through the streets and set them on fire. Some residents said that when gasoline was poured over the bodies and matches struck, a few of the soldiers were still alive. It was disgusting, said Nura Maalin Mohammed, a shopkeeper who works near where the soldiers were burned. If these people are trying to say this was done in the name of Islam, its a fallacy. May God have mercy on them.
Somalia was not supposed to be like this anymore. Over the past several months, Ethiopia, the United States, the United Nations and the African Union have invested more hope and resources in the country than at any time since the failed peacekeeping mission of the early 1990s. It was only with Ethiopias military might that Somalias transitional government was able to overthrow the Islamist movement. The United States provided intelligence to the Ethiopians and sent in a small contingent of Special Forces ground troops after American officials labeled the Islamists a terrorist threat.
Since then, though, Mogadishu seems as unsafe as ever. The Islamists had managed during their short reign to stop the clan bloodletting and provide a modicum of security. But the transitional government has had a difficult time replicating this. In the past month, Somali hospital officials say, more than 100 civilians have been killed across the country in battles between insurgents and government forces. Assassinations are on the rise. In the capital, thousands of residents who have lived through years of mayhem are choosing to pack up their things and leave now. We cant live like this, said Rahmo Dahir, a mother of four. My children will be in shock.
Analysts say the problem is that despite all the talk of the transitional government being a multi-clan enterprise, it is dominated by the Darod clan, which hails from northeast Somalia, and it has marginalized many branches of the Hawiye clan, which traditionally controls Mogadishu. Elders on all sides agree that until there is genuine reconciliation, there will be no peace. We dont want to get consumed by these rivalries, said Ahmed Hussein Sheikh, an elder of the Galgel clan. We want a government.
The transitional government plans to hold a reconciliation conference in April and has said it wants to disarm Mogadishu before then. That was one reason why 1,500 Ugandan troops, working under African Union auspices, were airlifted into Somalia earlier this month. So far, though, the Ugandans have steered clear of the street fighting and have been reluctant to get between Somalias heavily armed clans. On Tuesday, African Union officials pleaded with member states to contribute more troops because only a handful of nations mostly American allies, like Ghana and Nigeria have answered the call.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They need to find just the right amount of khat to be provided. Too little or too much causes mass insanity.
Morocco's rumbling "war on terror" faces an important public test tomorrow in a mass trial of extreme Islamists accused of planning the violent overthrow of the most liberal regime in the Maghreb. Fifty members of the Ansar al-Mehdi group are charged with plotting terrorist acts aimed at replacing the pro-western monarchy with an Islamist state.
Morocco's security services said at the time of their arrest last August that the suspects were planning an even bigger attack than the bombings that killed 45 people in Casablanca in May 2003. More than 3,000 people have been arrested since then and hundreds convicted of terrorism charges. The round-up reportedly followed tip-offs from the British and German intelligence services. Terrorism is back on the agenda after a suicide bomber blew himself up in a cybercafe in the Sidi Moumen slum neighbourhood of Casablanca this month and a new wave of arrests last week. On Monday magistrates charged a man with leading the military wing of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group and taking part in both the Casablanca attacks and the Madrid train bombings of 2004.
The mass trial, in Rabat, will be closely watched for evidence of the true scale of the threat to the kingdom of 30 million, and for signs that the secular-minded government can balance its fight against terrorism with respect for human rights and political Islam - especially in an election year.
The Ansar al-Mehdi group, led by Hassan el-Khattab, known as Abu Osama, is said to have recruited members of the police and the armed forces, ringing alarm bells in a country with a long history of military coups. The group has been compared to the Algerian-based GSPC, which recently declared allegiance to al-Qaida, and there are suggestions the two may have plans to link up for regional activity. Alleged targets of planned suicide attacks included a military airfield, the US embassy in Rabat, and tourist destinations. Police seized explosives of a type similar to those used in the Casablanca attacks and detonators similar to those used in the Madrid bombings.
Human rights groups and lawyers claim the defendants have been mistreated and evidence obtained under duress. But foreign observers say the trial seems to have been carefully prepared. If convicted, the accused face up to 30 years in prison.
One consequence of the arrests was the cancellation of Morocco's system of compulsory military service to deprive jihadists of the experience of weapons training at the expense of the state. Another has been to focus attention on the role of social deprivation in a country with a fast-growing, liberalising economy but a huge gap between the elite and the poor. "This is about impoverishment, ignorance and discontent linking up to a wider cause," said Claire Spencer, a Maghreb expert at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.
This article starring:
ABU OSAMA
Ansar al-Mehdi
Claire Spencer
HASAN EL KHATTAB
Ansar al-Mehdi
Royal Institute of International Affairs in London
Ansar al-Mehdi
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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Angola is sending 2500 of its feared paramilitary police to Zimbabwe, raising concerns of an escalation in violence against President Robert Mugabe's opponents, it was reported today.
Zimbabwe's Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi confirmed the imminent arrival of the Angolans, Britain's The Times reported today. He said 1000 Angolans were expected on April 1, with the rest to follow in groups of 500. Angola is regarded as the most powerful military nation in Africa, after South Africa.
This makes it pretty clear that Bob can no longer trust his own security forces. He needs a separate Pretorian Guard and has to employ mercenaries. The Angolans will help Bob as long as it's in their interests. For the US/UK it opens another diplomatic front.
Mohadi said he had signed an agreement for the deployment of the Angolan paramilitaries with General Roberto Monteiro, the Interior Minister of Angola, last week, The Times reported. "We signed a memorandum of cooperation last Thursday and it is meant to ensure public order and security for both our peoples and the whole southern African region," he said.
The police would be on "an exchange program", he said. "We have done that in the past, and it is not something new."
But police sources who asked not to be named told The Times that previous training exchange programs with southern African countries had involved only small numbers of officers at a time. This was the first time there has been such a large group, one source said.
2,500 paramilitary troopers is more than a training program. That size force with Angolan arms would be the single strongest miliary unit in all of Bob-Land, and that would be the point.
The paramilitaries, notorious for their violence and dubbed ninjas for their all black uniforms, form part of the presidential guard of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in power in Angola since 1979. They will significantly reinforce Zimbabwe's police force, which used to have 25,000 officers but has been severely depleted in recent months by mass resignations due to discontent with low pay and poor conditions, The Times reported.
Western powers have been using increasingly alarming language to describe the situation in Zimbabwe. British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday said Mugabe's regime was "appalling, disgraceful and utterly tragic for the people of Zimbabwe" and damaging the whole region's reputation. "Let's be very clear: the solution to Zimbabwe ultimately will not come simply through the pressure applied by Britain. That pressure has got to be applied within Africa, in particular within the African Union," Blair said. "We will continue to do all we can to make sure that Africa realises this is the responsibility of Africa as well as the Zimbabwean government."
US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell said opposition to Mugabe had reached a tipping point because the people no longer feared the regime and believed they have nothing left to lose. Dell said growing numbers within the regime and the party also wanted Mugabe to step down.
And the violence directed against Zimbabweans by the government was causing a split in the security forces. Rank-and-file police officers increasingly were reluctant to carry out such attacks, Dell said.
Both Britain and the United States have called for more sanctions against Mugabe's government because of what they say is a violent crackdown on opposition leaders and the severe economic crisis they blame on state mismanagement.
KARACHI: Security at the American Consulate here was beefed up on Wednesday after an anonymous caller threatened to blow up the consulate. Sources said that the call had been recorded and investigations were underway.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"Beefed up"?
Geez, if that consulate isn't on maximum alert every second of every day, the Dip. Security bureau needs to investigate, and quick.
Clashes between foreign Al Qaeda militants and pro-government tribesmen in South Waziristan have left 110 people dead, Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told Daily Times on Wednesday.
Sherpao said that 84 Uzbek militants and 17 local tribesmen, including nine civilians, had been killed during three days of fighting. Another 83 Uzbeks have been captured by the tribal forces, he said, adding that the government has not intervened in the clashes. However, witnesses in Wana told Daily Times that the army had fired artillery rounds from the Zarinoor base at the Uzbek militants positions in Azam Warsak and Sheen Warsak and gunship helicopters were hovering over the area. My home is near the military base and I can hear the artillery being fired, Rasool Wazir, a businessman, told Daily Times by satellite phone. Army spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said he had no information that artillery was being used against the foreign militants.
Maulvi Nazir is leading the battle against foreign militants for the first time since they crossed over from Afghanistan after the US invasion. Rasool Wazir said the clashes were spreading from Azam Warsak and Kaloosha to areas like Karikot. Uzbek militants are being supported by key commanders of the late Taliban leader Nek Muhammad and they have taken control of a school in Karikot and all schools have been closed for an indefinite period, tribesmen arriving in Tank city from Wana told Daily Times.
Security officials said the clashes began with the killing of Saiful Adil, an Arab fighter whose body was found a few days ago. Maulvi Nazir supports the Arabs and suspected that the Uzbeks had murdered Adil, the officials said. They said that Nazirs men attacked two private jails operated by Uzbek militants in Azam Warsak early on Wednesday, adding that the tribesmen killed more than 20 Uzbeks and rescued four local prisoners. Residents of Wana arriving in Tank city claimed that they had seen Punjabi Taliban fighting alongside Nazirs men, but their claims could not be confirmed.
Former FATA security chief Brig (r) Mehmood Shah said the government should take advantage of the situation by covertly or overtly supporting the tribesmen. Meanwhile, a jirga led by MMA MNA Maulana Mirajuddin is heading towards Wana to negotiate a ceasefire between the warring factions.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm having trouble figuring out the good guys from the bad guys here. I'd think the Arab side would automatically be the Taliban side, but the Uzbeks are described as Taliban (Uzbecks are on both the Taliban and Northern Alliance)
#5
Uzbecks are on both the Taliban and Northern Alliance
Afghanistan has an Uzbek minority who was more or less with the Northern Alliance They are headed by Dostom, former support of the pro-Soviet Governemnt, a war criminal but he also has his good sides like liking alcohol, money and women (ie he has human sides contrarily to the ideal of Taliban).
But there are no native Uzbeks in Pakistan and no normal Uzbek would live between the Pashtoons of Waziristan who are the most racist and retrograde between Pahstoons. THe Uzbeks in Pakistan are jihadists who fled Afgahnistan when it was liberated.
#6
The news just keeps getting better: Foreign militants and local tribesmen in northern Pakistan resumed fighting near the Afghan border Thursday after a brief break to bury the latest of their 135 dead, security officials said. About 100 foreigners, mostly Uzbeks, and their supporters have died in the bloodshed that began Monday in the South Waziristan region, the three senior officials told The Associated Press.
About 25 tribesmen and 10 civilians caught in the crossfire have been killed, they said. The officials - one from the military and two intelligence agents - spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Interior Ministry Aftab Khan Sherpao said Wednesday that the clashes prove that the government's policy of enlisting tribesmen to expel foreign militants was working, and an army spokesman described the local militants as ``patriots.''
One of the intelligence officials said the killing had resumed after a brief truce on Wednesday to allow both sides to bury their latest casualties. He said the fighting has spread to six villages and towns in South Waziristan, which lies along the Afghan border.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 8:19 Comments ||
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#7
This underlines our need for a multi sided score card.
Six people, including an army captain were killed in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday during the course of a three-hour gun-battle between security forces and militants. Four militants entrenched in a house were also killed after they triggered the confrontation by opening fire on an army search party. Captain R. Harshan, hailing from Kerala, and his bodyguard were killed when security forces on a search operation came under fire.
Army troops and the Special Operations Group (SOG) launched the search operation in Kupwara district's Chontimarg village, 120km from Srinagar after receiving specific information about the presence of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) guerrillas in the village. "During the searches in the village, security forces came under fire from a group of militants hiding in a house. The house was surrounded," said a senior police official. "Reinforcements were rushed to the area and the hiding militants were engaged in a gunfight," the official said. All the four guerrillas inside were killed in the three-hour encounter. An injured soldier was evacuated to hospital. Four AK-47 rifles and some ammunition were recovered from the scene.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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The trial court sentenced an Iraqi man to death for violation of Iraqs terrorist law. The convicted man entered the al-Habaiyah police station disguised in an Iraqi police uniform August 6, 2006. During an entry search, he struggled with Iraqi police and shot an Iraqi police officer. After being shot in the leg by an Iraqi policeman, the convicted man was subdued and searched, and Iraqi police discovered he was wearing a vest full of explosives. The Iraqi police turned him over to Coalition Forces (CF) for detenation detention until his conviction at CCCI March 6.
Rest at link
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 18:03 ||
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#1
Wonder what tales he told in the 7 months between capture and conviction?
#5
The "Bell Curve" Moslems--ie the average. Aren't interested in blowing up Americans. Good way to represent the US. For all the oil dollars, it's amazing and terrible that the Iraqi people aren't as healthy as they could be. Bet we blow their minds.
#7
You can see it in their eyes. They KNOW the American Soldiers are good and honorable men who will help them better their lives. Now if we can just get them to fight to better their own lives, the battle will be over and we will have won.
#8
Murtha on Meet the Press June 2006: "Eighty percent of the (Iraqi) people want us out."
If you believe Murtha's 'scientific poll', you now know what the '20 percent' look like.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was unharmed as he ducked behind the podium after a rocket landed near the prime minister's office Thursday while the two men were holding a news conference. Security officials for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said it was a rocket attack.
Small chips of debris floated down from the ceiling above the U.N. chief after the explosion rattled the building. Ban looked frightened, casting his eyes right and left as he rose after ducking below the podium where he was standing and answering questions.
Al-Maliki said "Nothing's wrong," as one of his security men started to grab the prime minister, and both men resumed their news conference within minutes. They ended the question and answer session shortly thereafter.
The sound of a weapon being fired _ which sounded like a rocket launch _ could be heard not far from the AP office, which is across the Tigris River east of the Green Zone.
The last time a U.N. secretary-general was in Baghdad was in November 2005, when Ban's predecessor, Kofi Annan, visited the capital.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2007 12:09 ||
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#1
Hmmm. I'ma surprised that the nitwits can still touch off a rocket at the IZ, given the situation in town - esp. during the day.
Let's all hope that, due to this, a top down concern for terrorism manifests at the UN. America couldn't hope for better advertising with respect to its cause. I doubt Moon will be so ready to blame US interests for driving Islamic terror. Not after a lifetime of growing up in the shadow of North Korea's incipient threat.
#6
Iraqi television showed Mr Ban and Mr Maliki seated at a desk, as a reporter asked a question.
Suddenly there was a bang, at which moment the camera shook and juddered to the left.
Mr Ban flinched and momentarily half-ducked behind the table before recovering his composure. Mr Maliki did not react.
Posted by: John Frum ||
03/22/2007 18:59 Comments ||
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In late February and early March 2007, the London dailies Al-Hayat and Al-QudsAl-'Arabi reported on an escalation of the conflict in western Iraq between the local population and the Al-Qaeda in Iraq organization. Fierce battles were reported in Al-Amariyah and Al-Falluja between Al-Qaeda and the local Al-Anbar tribes, resulting in the death of dozens of Al-Qaeda fighters and in the weakening of Al-Qaeda in these areas.
Thus, for example, Al-Quds Al-'Arabi reported: "For the past five months or so, fierce battles have been raging in the cities of Al-Anbar province between tribal [forces] and Al-Qaeda in Iraq, with dozens of fatalities on both sides... [According to the tribes,] Al-Qaeda accuses anyone who tries to help the police force to maintain security and stability of being an agent of the occupation "
"On February 25, 2007, a truck-bomb exploded near a mosque in Al-Habbaniyah... killing over 50 people - most of them civilians - and wounding over 100... The local inhabitants said that the imam of the mosque... had criticized Al-Qaeda in his Friday sermon the day before the bombing... About two weeks earlier, a car bomb exploded in a market in the village of Al-Bu Alwan, killing 10 people and injuring 12... A leader of the Al-Bu 'Isa tribe said that his tribe has formed armed militias [in the region] between Al-Ramadi and Al-Falluja that keep strangers from entering the area out of fear that they may be suicide bombers."
Al-Hayat reported: "A leader of the Zuba' tribe, a lecturer at Al-Anbar University, said: 'Al-Qaeda's popularity began to wane as it increased its attacks on civilians, soldiers, and policemen, on Shi'ites and also on Sunnis who oppose Al-Qaeda's methods. In the second half of 2006, [people] began to take action against Al-Qaeda... The nationalist factions, like... Kata'ib Thawrat Al-'Ishrin and Al-Jaysh Al-Islami in Iraq, refused to join the so-called [Al-Qaeda-based] 'Islamic State in Iraq'... As a consequence, their men and commanders became targets for abduction and killing [by Al-Qaeda], which led to a wide-scale conflict in the region."
The papers also reported that a body called the Al-Anbar Rescue Council, headed by Sheikh Rishawi, has been established to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq. According to Rishawi, the council was formed by "25 tribes which have helped to recruit 6,000 men for the Al-Anbar police force, and have [also] formed an emergency force of 2,500 men under Rishawi's command... Rishawi added that, in the course of their activities, his men apprehended 80 armed fighters, some of them from Saudi Arabia and Syria, and placed them under arrest in Al-Ramadi prison."
#5
I also believe the Saudi's are exporting their whackos as they did during the war against Russia in Afghanistan. Sort of a gamble that the bulk will be killed and no longer be a threat to the Kingdom.
#6
Our single biggest mistake in this war was overestimating the intelligence of the Sunni Arabs. The second biggest was underestimating their viciousness. Live and learn.
#7
SA has always regarded this outside wars as ways to thin out the current crop of crazies from the country. Of course, when the population of a country is as inbred as the one in Saudi Arabia, the number of crazies tends to be rather high.
#8
Well said, ghostcat. However, it's an open question whether we've learned. Sure, the engagement and leverage approach will eventually pay off with some, as they split and turn on the foreigners and the most lunatic locals. But a much faster and long-run more effective result would probably have flowed from injecting some war into our warfare.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces have captured a senior aide to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the killing of five U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala in January, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
"Over the past several days, coalition forces in Basra and Hilla captured Qais Khazaali, his brother Laith Khazaali, and several other members of the Khazaali network, an organization directly connected to the kidnapping and murder in January of five American soldiers in Kerbala," the military said in a statement. Qais Khazaali is a former spokesman for Sadr and now a senior aide to the cleric.
Four U.S. soldiers were abducted from an Iraqi local government compound during an apparently complex assault by guerrillas posing as Americans in Kerbala on January 20. The military said at the time that three of the four were found dead by Iraqi police and one died on his way to hospital. In all, five soldiers were killed in what the U.S. military described as a sophisticated, well-rehearsed attack. The attackers spoke English, wore American-looking uniforms and carried U.S.-type weapons, which got them through Iraqi checkpoints to reach the provincial compound.
Hummmmm. Wasn't that "kidnapped" Iranian defector thought to have a role in this operation?
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 07:51 ||
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#1
Any connection with the release of another Mookie aide yesterday? A 'trade' brokered by Maliki?
#2
Different guy, that one had been in the slammer for two years. More on Qais Khazaali here: The violent Shiite militia known as the Mahdi Army is breaking into splinter groups, with up to 3,000 gunmen now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, adding a potentially even more deadly element to Iraq's violent mix.
The militia commanders and al-Maliki's reports identify the leader of the breakaway faction as Qais al-Khazaali, a young Iraqi cleric who was a close al-Sadr aide in 2003 and 2004. He was al-Sadr's chief spokesman for most of 2004, when he made nearly daily appearances on Arabic satellite news channels. He has not been seen in public since late that year.
Another U.S. official, who declined to be identified because of the information's sensitivity, said it was true that some gunmen had gone to Iran for training and that al-Khazaali has a following. However, the official could not confirm the number of his followers or whether Iran was financing them.
Sounds like a big catch
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 9:05 Comments ||
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#3
I know it's a different guy - just wondering if the guy that was released was let go in return for information to get these guys. I would probably make such a trade if the opportunity presented.
#4
Possibly. Might have pointed out that with Mookey hiding out in Iran, there was a oportunity to grab himself a bigger piece of the pie if the Khazaali klan was out of the way.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 12:27 Comments ||
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#5
the Mahdi Army is breaking into splinter groups, with up to 3,000 gunmen now financed directly by Iran and no longer loyal to the firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, adding a potentially even more deadly element
Q: If it consolidates what is it?
A: Potentially more deadly.
Q: If it spliters into 10,00 individuals how would the Mahdi Army best be described?
A: Potentially more deadly.
Q: What do you think will become of the Mahdi Army
A: Surging violence will recruit potentially more deadly recruits.
Q: If the Mahdi Army is killed to a man, what would happen.
A: It would breed more terror.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was headed to Baghdad on Thursday for talks with Iraq's prime minister just as his government disclosed that it has been indirectly talking to Sunni insurgent groups over the past three months to persuade them to lay down their arms. ...
Meanwhile, Saad Yousif al-Muttalibi of the Ministry of National Dialogue and Reconciliation said talks with Sunni insurgent groups were initiated at the request of the insurgents and have been taking place inside and outside Iraq over the past three months.
He refused to identify the groups, but said they did not include al-Qaida in Iraq or Saddam Hussein loyalists. Members of the former president's outlawed Baath party took part, he added.
Speaking to The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday, al-Muttalibi said the negotiations were deadlocked over the insurgent groups' insistence that they would lay down their arms only when a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition troops in Iraq is announced. The government's response was that such a move could only be taken when security is restored. Future rounds of negotiations are planned, he said, but did not elaborate.
Al-Muttalibi's comments came one day after he expressed optimism in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government was making progress in talks with insurgent groups, predicting some factions might be close to laying down their arms. "One of the aims is to join with them in the fight against al-Qaida (in Iraq)," he told the BBC.
Posted by: ed ||
03/22/2007 07:30 ||
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U.S. forces have released a senior aide to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on the orders of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Maliki's office said on Wednesday. Ahmed Shibani, who had been held for more than two years, is a senior aide to Sadr, a radical anti-American cleric who is also the leader of the Mehdi Army militia which Washington recently called the greatest threat to security in Iraq.
Shibani's release is likely to boost the standing of Maliki, a Shi'ite Islamist who relies on Sadr for political support. The Sadrist movement holds a quarter of parliamentary seats in the ruling Shi'ite Alliance. Sadr's political movement is an important part of the coalition government and holds several ministries."(Shibani) has been released this afternoon on the orders of Prime Minister Maliki," an official in the prime minister's office told Reuters.
Nassar al-Rubaei, head of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, said U.S. forces had been detaining Shibani without charge. "We know that today he will be released by the occupation forces and delivered to the prime minister today to be freed," he said. Another Sadr Movement official said Shibani was at the prime minister's headquarters in Baghdad. "This is a great victory for us," said Abdul Mahdi al-Matiri, a senior member in Sadr's political council. "We cannot deny that this happened with major efforts from the prime minister."
Shibani was arrested in Najaf with another 17 Sadr followers on accusations of carrying heavy weapons and was believed to be held at a U.S. base at the airport in Baghdad. Last year, an Iraqi court found no evidence against Shibani and his colleagues but U.S. forces kept him in detention. The U.S. military confirmed Shibani's release.
"Tonight, coalition forces released into the custody of the Prime Minster of Iraq Sheik Ahmed Abady al-Shibani who was detained two and a half years ago in Najaf," the military said in a statement. "In consultation with the prime minister, and following his request, coalition leaders determined that Sheik Shibani, who was detained since 2004, could play a potentially important role in helping to moderate extremism and foster reconciliation in Iraq."
Yewbetcha.
Shi'ite officials said Maliki and the Sadrists had a tense relationship in the past few months, particularly since the launch of a major security crackdown in which Maliki pledged to tackle both Shi'ite and Sunni militants. "The relationship was tense for some time, the Sadrists saw the Baghdad plan as against them. The release will put it back on track," a senior Shi'ite Alliance official told Reuters. "Maliki will be their favourite again."
Aieeee!
U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed or arrested hundreds of Sadr's followers since the crackdown started. In January, the U.S. military arrested Sadr's spokesman in Baghdad, Sheikh Abdul Hadi al- Darraji. U.S. and Iraqi forces recently extended the security crackdown into Sadr City, a stronghold of Sadr's Mehdi Army, but have met little resistance and U.S. commanders say senior militants appear to have left the capital. However, there has been concern over whether the Mehdi Army and Sadr himself, who Washington says is in Iran, have embraced the plan or are merely lying low until it is over.
#3
I always thought in these types of situations, to play upon their own superstitions, beliefs, and [mis]conceptions. When releasing such individuals, we should also announce that we've properly tagged 'em with nanochips for satellite tracking and eavesdropping. They'll go nuts trying to find such a device.
#4
he was held for two years, so this wasnt standard catch and release. Heck, Maliki could have asked for him back when he first took office. So Im guessing this is part of a larger political scheme - Either related to the tensions within the Mahdi army, or its a quid pro quo for something else.
The Queen of England presented the United Kingdoms Distinguished Flying Cross to Maj. William D. Chesarek Jr., during an Investiture Ceremony held at Buckingham Palace, here March 21.
Chesarek, an AH-1W Super Cobra helicopter pilot, was recognized for his service as an exchange officer serving with the U. K.'s 847th Naval Air Squadron, Commando Helicopter Force during combat operations in Iraq in 2006. The award is a level three award for gallantry in the air while on active operation against the enemy and according to the U. K.s Ministry of Defense office, this is first time this is being presented to an American service member since actions in World War II.
According to the U.K. award citation, during operations in the vicinity of Al Amarah on June 10-11, 2006, Chesarek, flying a Lynx AH7 helicopter, was providing communications relay support to the U.K.s ground forces during a company sized search operation when the unit encountered insurgents armed with small arms and Rocket Propelled Grenades.
To assist the unit, Chesarek flew in to spot enemy fire and due to being trained as an airborne forward air controller he was able to coordinate, designate and control fixed wing assets in conducting close air support which resulted in dispersing the insurgents.
Additionally the citations states, being the only rotary winged aircraft in the area, Chesarek landed his helicopter adjacent to the scene and extracted a U.K. troop with a life threatening injury. Chesarek then flew the casualty to Shaibah Logistics Base and is credited with saving the life of the wounded soldier in addition to aiding in the safe extraction of the company.
I am greatly honored and would like to accept this prestigious award for 847 NAS in memory of Lt. Cdr. Darren Chapman RN, Capt. David Dobson AAC, and Marine Paul Collins RM who were killed in action over Basrah in May 2006, said Chesarek. The awarded actions were only possible due to the combined effort of my combat crew; Lt. David Williams RN and Lance Cpl. Max Carter RM. My greatest sense of achievement that day is in knowing the ground troops all made it home.
G*d I hope the UK alters its trajectory and stays in the game, both physically and psychologically. The anglosphere needs the mother country for the long haul.
#2
My feeling is that the ABCA (America, Britain, Canada, Australia) countries will hang together when any single one of them is under some kind of existential threat (i.e. foreign invasion). Anything short of that is an open question. This means ABCA cooperation on things like Iraq and Afghanistan will come under increasing pressure, since neither presents an existential threat to any of ABCA's members.
#6
The intellectual difficulty our fellow citizens are having is down to nuclear weapons. Worse yet are End Times weapons like weaponized smallpox. People have yet to understand that problems cannot be left to far away people about whom we know nothing when those far away people can book a flight to Ronald Reagan international or send a shipping container to Baltimore and unleash hell. I would have thought September 11, 2001 would have demonstrated this point. Apparently it has not.
#7
HUK: I sure as hell view militant Islam as an existential threat - I think the powers that be realise it is too.
Let me suggest that they can inflict a great deal of pain on us, maybe even kill tens of millions of us. But we have the means to liquidate every Muslim country together with the majority of their inhabitants. Big difference.
#9
Yet, Zhang Fei. However, Iran is doing its best to present itself as an existential threat to Israel and the Gulf area states. And once the wackos in Iran get the bomb, it will be used against Israel, the US Navy carrier battle groups, or both. That will spell the effective end to human habitation of large sections of Iran due to the counterstrike attacks, but I am unfortunately convinced that the Iranian leadership will still use nuclear weapons against Israel and the US at the soonest possible moment they can.
BAGHDAD - US soldiers killed five suspected militants on Wednesday in a raid on a bomb-making factory north of Baghdad that was later destroyed in an air strike, the US military said. The military said the operation near Taji, 20 km (9 miles) north of Baghdad, uncovered a number of 50-gallon barrels of explosive material.
As ground forces entered the target buildings, they encountered several armed men. Coalition Forces used self- defence measures, killing five terrorists and detaining three suspected terrorists, the military said in a statement. Coalition Forces conducted an air strike to destroy the explosives factory, associated vehicles, ammunition and weapons.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD - Eleven people were killed and dozens wounded in separate attacks in and around the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Wednesday, security officials said. In the capital, two people were killed when a roadside bomb targeting a passing police patrol in Palestine street exploded. Three policemen were wounded.
Eight people were killed and 18 wounded in twin mortar attacks in Al-Madaen, a small town south of Baghdad, police said. One mortar landed in a residential area wounding several people, prompting crowds to gather. A second mortar then smashed into the crowd, causing most of the casualties.
Plus a different account of the bombing of the finance ministry:
In another incident, a bystander was killed and two guards of the finance ministry were wounded when US troops detonated a car bomb they discovered next to the ministry, a defence ministry official said. The controlled explosion rocked central Baghdad and shook windows in buildings as thick white smoke rose into the sky. The US military did not immediately confirm that it had carried out a controlled blast and said it was awaiting details of the finance ministry explosion.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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This one was close.
I was on my way home from downtown Baghdad and as usual I took the 'Mohammed al-Qasim' highway which is the fastest connection and most reliable road that runs across Baghdad from north to south.
Just before reaching my exit I found that the army had closed the highway and saw American soldiers nearby. First I thought it was a routine security operation or a new checkpoint.
I and the dozens of drivers around me were expecting traffic to reopen at any minute but then happened what we didn't expect; a massive explosion rocked the area and huge plumes of smoke rose high in the sky.
It took more than a few seconds to collect my thoughts realize what happened looks like we just had a controlled detonation.
The smoke obscured the scene that it took another minute till I could see where the smoke was coming from. It was the beautiful building of the finance ministry.
The damage as you can see is tragic and even worse the explosion caused part of the highway bridge on the other side to collapse to the ground.
This building is an icon of this city; I knew it for many years and I pass by it almost every day. I even wrote two years ago on how it was reconstructed after it was looted and set on fire in 2003.
Watching that building in ruins again is painfully sad, but we shall rebuild it again.
#1
Harsh as it sounds, Iraq can rebuild that structure on their own dime and on their own time. I'm sick of pissing more millions BILLIONS into this festering cesspit.
#2
wow ITM is a standard. Like Bill Roggio, M Yon, Dollard etc. all media should pull their game up to there reporting standards.
One wonders how the MSM will do this story LOL, Doom, Defeat, resilient terrorists, surge ain't working, get out now. well the media can take a long walk on a short pier.
Two bombs exploded in violence-plagued Narathiwat province, wounding a border patrol police officer on Thursday, but the defence minister insisted that the government's policies are beginning to give fruitful results.
Pol Sgt-Maj Akkadej Uabsam-ang was wounded when he and five other police officers were patrolling an area in Su-ngai Padi district. The second bomb exploded almost simultaneously in Aiyapong village in the same district as six soldiers were patrolling the area. No one was wounded in the second blast.
Islamic separatists in Thailand's restive south are adopting Al-Qaeda's tactics, a top Thai general said Wednesday after a wave of gruesome beheadings and seemingly random attacks on civilians. The increasingly bloody violence shows the growing Islamic influence on the separatists, General Watanachai Chaimuanwong told AFP in an interview at his office in the prime minister's Government House compound.
The Muslim-majority region along Thailand's southern border with Malaysia has suffered outbreaks of separatist violence ever since Bangkok annexed the area a century ago. But Watanachai, the top security adviser to army-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, said that while previous generations of rebels were mainly motivated by nationalism, today's militants showed a greater tendency toward religious extremism.
"This is a group of young turk militants who want to challenge the old groups. Their operations are more gruesome and more violent because they have imported those techniques from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, with the goal of creating a pure Islamic state," he told AFP. "They want to create a state called Pattani Darusalam" which would include Thailand's Muslim-majority south and two northern states in Malaysia, he said.
As a former deputy chief of the army -- who now wears dark business suits instead of military uniforms -- 63-year-old Watanachai has dealt with the insurgency since the latest unrest erupted in January 2004. The militants have never claimed responsibility for any of their attacks, and have never made any demands of the government.
Watanachai said security forces believed the militants had formed a new group called Rundi Kumpulan Kecil (RKK), which translates roughly as "Small Guerrilla Group," recruiting students from Islamic boarding schools as well as unemployed youths. "There are up to 20,000 of these militants active in the three southern provinces, but their recruitment is slower now because the government has imposed strict controls on the boarding schools," he said.
Watanachai said the government expected a surge in violence after Thailand and Malaysia agreed last month to step up cooperation to end unrest that has left more than 2,000 dead in the past three years.
The rebels have also struggled to recruit new members from outside of the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, the former army chief added. As a result, he said, the rebels had a hard time staging attacks outside the region.
However, he cautioned that authorities were now linking the insurgents -- but not their cause -- to deadly bombings in Bangkok on New Year's Eve which killed three people and wounded more than 40. He insisted the attacks were not linked to the southern unrest, saying someone connected to the political turmoil in Bangkok had hired the militants to stage the attacks to further their own interests. "The explosive devices were the kind commonly used in the south, and the people who made the bombs were militants who worked in the south, but they were hired to mount the attacks for another purpose," Watanachai said.
Militants in the south operate through a loose structure in which the actual attackers never see or interact with their commanders, he said. "They would be asked by telephone to kill or behead someone. When they leave their house, they are empty-handed, but they go to pick up weapons at a pre-arranged drop point, without knowing who their commander is," he said.
In some cases, the young fighters are provided with drugs or cash for conducting attacks, Watanachai added. New recruits spend up to 30 days in training in the deep jungle along the border, in caves, or even in abandoned buildings in towns, he said.
Watanachai warned the militants may be planning more spectacular attacks, including an assassination plot against a "prominent person" to draw attention to their cause.
At least 17 people have been killed after Tamil Tiger rebels attacked army camps in the north of the country on Wednesday. Dozens were also injured after the rebels hit five camps in the eastern Batticaloa district. In retaliation the army returned fire and Air Force jets bombed rebel-held jungle terrain.
Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said: "They have come and attacked five camps, firing mortars and artillery. We have retaliated and found eight bodies of dead cadres as well as munitions. He said five Tigers were also killed in a skirmish in the Toppigala district, while four government soldiers died in the attacks. The army also claims that around 30 Tamil Tigers were wounded, but this figure has not been confirmed by the rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2007 00:00 ||
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They rendezvoused with the USS John C. Stennis Wed. March 21, for missions in support of Operation Enduring, Freedom and International Security Assistance Forces ISAF for the global war on terror.
"Le monsieur, pouvez-vous nous passer une ligne pour une remorque?"
US and French carriers are sailing and operating in concert opposite Iranian shores for the first time. The Iranian Navy responded to the new arrival the following day by announcing a new series of military exercise in the Persian Gulf.
Excellent! More intel for our boys!
DEBKAfiles military sources disclose that the American-French rendezvous was timed to coincide with the UN Security Council session Wednesday to debate expanded sanctions against Iran for continuing its banned uranium enrichment program.
The Iranians were bowled over by the appearance of the Charles de Gaulle opposite their southern coast, having assumed that it wouldn't float Paris took issue with Washingtons tough stand on their nuclear activities and was seeking improved relations with Tehran.
However, Western military circles explain that the French president Jacques Chirac decided before he leaves office in May to repair the bad impression he left in early February when he urged the world - and Israel in particular - to learn to live with "an Iranian nuclear bomb or two."
Rafale fighter-bombers on the French carriers decks will fly missions over Afghanistan alongside US warplanes.
Its arrival raises to four the number of Western aircraft carriers cruising within striking distance of Iran, including the USS Eisenhower and USS Boxer.
The Boxer is not a carrier, she's an LHD, though the reporter is clueless as to the difference.
The Charles de Gaulle is accompanied by French Task Force 473, which consists of five warships: the FNS Cassard guided missile destroyer, the FNS Tourville anti-submarine frigate, the FNS Dupleix destroyer adapted for escorting oil tankers and the FNS Marne, a command and supply vessel.
Captain of the French task force is Rear Adm. Xavier Magne. Commander of the American flotilla is Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn. Now our fleet will have to watch out in two directions.
#4
And now that I think about it a bit more ... maybe there is a different reason why Russian nuclear technicians have been hightailing it out of Iran recently.
#14
Um...it's my understanding that there's a buttload of territory between the Arabian Sea and Afghanistan.
I do believe that includes Iran.
Thus, having Phreunch aircraft operating from the CdG from the Arabian Sea seems a wee bit "optimistic" if anyone wants to ask me (not that anyone does).
In addition, does anyone really expect the Phreunch to actually run actual combat missions anywhere off their precious carrier or anything else?
#16
As I understand, STENNIS, EISENHOWER and BOXER are in the neighborhood with their usual cohort of friends and companions. According to their webpages, REAGAN is over by Korea and ENTERPRISE got underway from Norfolk the other day.
My question is what are the French doing there? After 50 some years of charming Gallic intransigence and their weasely attempts to provide a 'counterweight' for anything we do, the suggestion that they are there to help is simply beyond belief. The idea that Chirac wants to make nice is equally laughable.
The only two possibilities I can think of are
a) they are going to attempt to interfere with whatever we plan
2) they are afraid they may be cut out of the spoils.
#17
SteveS, I believe you may have a point or two.
There's a third alternative, however, I believe, in that they may be there to insure their "business interests" are not damaged.
The phrase "Go ahead, make my day..." has a whole lot of implication here.
I'm not altogether certain the French have the balls (excuse me, ladies) to go up against the USN, but I'd bet my left nut (again, excuse me ladies) that they have the gall to attempt to bluff at it believing the Dems will somehow pull their asses out of the fire when the time to shoot really comes.
#22
CdG is going to Afghanistan. Rafale Goes to Afghanistan On A Marketing Mission March 21, 2007: France is trying to get its new jet fighter, the Rafale, some combat experience. So six are being sent to Afghanistan. Three French Air Force Rafale F2s were sent to a base in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. From there, the Rafales can fly down to Kabul, and make themselves useful. Three navy Rafale F2s arrived on the carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is operating off the Pakistani coast.
Unfortunately, Rafale still can't use its 30mm cannon for strafing ground targets, until a vibration problem is cleared up. The Rafale has not yet been fitted with a laser designator, so that function will have to be provided by Mirage 2000Ds, which are also based in Tajikistan.
Posted by: ed ||
03/22/2007 22:39 Comments ||
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#4
Story and picture of crater here: The bomb was placed underground, especially (since) the crater was so huge, said Hisham Jaber, a retired brigadier general and former professor at the Lebanese Military and Staff Command College. Even a car with 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of TNT wouldnt create such a crater.
Jaber, who inspected the assassination site but is not part of the investigation, said a suicide attack was the least likely cause of the explosion. He noted the crater was near the middle of the road, indicating the bomb was likely placed under the street and not in a parked car.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/22/2007 12:39 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
(SomaliNet) The death toll of todays deadly street violence in the Somalia capital Mogadishu rose up to 22 people with more than 80 injured, some of them seriously, medical sources say late Wednesday as fresh gun battle erupted in northern suburb of the capital. The clashes came as hundreds of Ethiopian forces left the capital after handing over the security of the presidential headquarter to the Ugandan troops of the African Union peacekeepers. 
The chaos in Somalia took an ugly turn on Wednesday when full-scale fighting broke out in Mogadishu and furious crowds mutilated the bodies of government soldiers, chanting, We will burn you alive! The scene was reminiscent of 1993, when Somalis turned on American peacekeepers and dragged their bodies through the streets. Those images and the loss of 18 American soldiers in a single battle, the infamous Black Hawk Down episode, led to a swift American withdrawal.
Morocco's rumbling "war on terror" faces an important public test tomorrow in a mass trial of extreme Islamists accused of planning the violent overthrow of the most liberal regime in the Maghreb. Fifty members of the 
Six people, including an army captain were killed in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday during the course of a three-hour gun-battle between security forces and militants. Four militants entrenched in a house were also killed after they triggered the confrontation by opening fire on an army search party. Captain R. Harshan, hailing from Kerala, and his bodyguard were killed when security forces on a search operation came under fire.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces have captured a senior aide to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the killing of five U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala in January, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
BAGHDAD - US soldiers killed five suspected militants on Wednesday in a raid on a bomb-making factory north of Baghdad that was later destroyed in an air strike, the US military said. The military said the operation near Taji, 20 km (9 miles) north of Baghdad, uncovered a number of 50-gallon barrels of explosive material.
