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Paks demonstrate against mullahs
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Afghanistan
Pakistani, Afghan troops clash
Afghan troops tore down a new anti-Taliban fence erected by Pakistani soldiers on the border between the two countries on Thursday, sparking a gun battle which caused no casualties, officials said. The clash was the first since Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf announced plans earlier this year to fence 35 kilometres of his country’s northwestern frontier to stop the movement of militants. The Afghan Defence Ministry said in a statement that the fighting happened between the Afghan border town of Shkin and Angoor Adda in Pakistan’s troubled tribal belt. A Pakistani military spokesman quoted by domestic ARY channel said Afghan forces “indulged in unprovoked firing” across the border into Pakistani territory. Pakistani forces returned fire after which the Afghan troops retreated, Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said, adding that Pakistan had reported the incident to the tripartite commission made up of senior military officials from Pakistan, NATO-led and Afghan forces. The Afghan statement said that Afghan forces first reached the area on Tuesday, after which Pakistani troops immediately stopped work on the barbed wire fence and pulled back. “But unfortunately, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, the Pakistani forces again erected fences overnight Wednesday,” the statement said. The statement said the Afghan government had begun diplomatic efforts to stop Pakistan fencing the border.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There is no "border" here.

The Durand line treaty which demarcated the border between Afghanistan and the British Raj expired years ago.

And the Raj is long gone. Afghanistan considers Pakistan to be in occupation of its territory.
They won't let Pak fence it off.


Posted by: John Frum || 04/20/2007 6:21 Comments || Top||

#2  so the barb-wire fence doesn't stop Taliban infiltration, but establishes a status quo border that the Afghans disagree with? Ima surprised our Pak allies would do such a thing!
Posted by: Frank G || 04/20/2007 11:42 Comments || Top||


Real shootout at fake checkpoint in Shindand
In western Herat province, US special forces and Afghan troops clashed with fighters disguised as police officers manning a checkpoint, leaving three suspected militants dead, the coalition said on Thursday. The men, wearing fake police uniforms, opened fire on the troops as they approached the illegal checkpoint in Shindand district on Wednesday, the coalition said in a statement. The patrol returned fire, killing three and wounding another three, it said.

Troops have confiscated more than 100 fake uniforms and more than a dozen false identification documents in Herat province since Tuesday, the coalition said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  How many of those manning the illegal checkpoint were FROM IRAN?
Posted by: 3dc || 04/20/2007 1:17 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Somalia Violence Intensifies
Somalia's deputy defense minister has blamed al Qaeda elements for a suicide car bombing at an Ethiopian army base on the outskirts of Mogadishu. A witness said earlier that a car bomb had exploded at a base of hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers on the outskirts of the Somali capital. Ahmed Mohamed Shardi, who was driving a minibus, saw a car behind his vehicle pull into the Ethiopian army base, about 30 miles south of Mogadishu, and then explode. "Big smoke has covered the area," Shardi told The Associated Press by phone. "I and all the passengers have panicked. We did not know where to go."

The base is surrounded by a low wall and its entrance is ungated. A large building inside used to serve the Somali military before the country spiraled into 15 years of anarchy. Ten pickups mounted with machine-guns are usually parked inside, and the base is equipped with artillery.

Meanwhile, fighting between Ethiopian troops and insurgents left at least 12 people dead in Somalia's capital Thursday, while an Ethiopian military truck exploded on the outskirts of the city, possibly killing the soldiers on board, witnesses said. Businessman Ahmed Warsame said he heard mortar shells hit in his southwestern Mogadishu neighborhood and went out to see if anyone needed help, finding eight bodies lying in the street. Their belongings were strewn about, suggesting they had been trying to flee the capital, he told The Associated Press by phone.

Abdillahi Hassan Ali, a university student, said mortar shells struck houses near his northern Mogadishu neighborhood. He said he found four bodies in one house. Another resident of the neighborhood, Safya Muse, said Ethiopian soldiers set up a base Thursday at a street junction near her home. The area, called Kungal, is a known insurgent base.

Also on Thursday, a witness said he heard an Ethiopian truck explode after it passed his small pharmacy about 12 miles from the capital. The truck was one of two carrying Ethiopian soldiers traveling on the main road to towns in southern Somalia, he said. Yusuf Osman said on the phone that he saw the trucks leaving and "within minutes we heard a blast and saw one of the cars burning ... I think all the soldiers were killed as the whole car was on fire."

Ali Hussein Mohamed, a street vendor, told The Associated Press by phone that he saw 10 injured Ethiopian soldiers lying on the ground. Osman said soldiers in the second truck opened fire on a nearby minibus after the blast. He saw two injured people, but did not know if anyone was killed. Policemen from a nearby station then cordoned off the area, Osman said. It was not clear what caused the explosion. Neither government nor police officials were immediately available for comment.

Thursday's fighting in Mogadishu broke a one-day lull that had followed two days of street battles described by some residents as the most intense in years. Ethiopian troops and insurgents fired tanks, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, leaving at least 14 people dead. Diplomats have said that clan militias, not necessarily linked to the Islamic insurgents, have also been involved in Mogadishu's fighting.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The base is surrounded by a low wall and its entrance is ungated

WTF? Nice security....
Posted by: Frank G || 04/20/2007 7:43 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudis Arrest 8 in Frenchmen's Deaths
Saudi security officials have arrested eight Saudi men suspected of involvement in the February killing of four French nationals, an Interior Ministry statement said Wednesday. The French, three men and one teenage boy, lived in Saudi Arabia and were reported to have lost their way while on a road leading to the holy city of Medina on the day of the shooting. "The eight suspects were proven to be directly involved with the killers and to have cooperated with them," the Saudi statement said. They were arrested in Medina, it added, but did not give the date of the arrests.

The statement also said an investigation revealed that Waleed bin Mutlaq al-Radadi — among the kingdom's most wanted terrorists — was the mastermind and one of the triggermen in the shooting. Al-Radadi was killed on April 6 in a gunbattle with Saudi forces. The investigation, the statement said, showed Al-Radadi was linked to a "deviant group," a term used by Saudi officials in reference to the al-Qaeda network, and "took part in their activities and moved between their hideouts."

The statement said al-Radadi was with a second suspect, identified as Majid bin Rashid al-Harbi, when they first saw the French asking for directions by the roadside. Al-Radadi then invited a third suspect, Abdullah bin Sayer al-Mohammadi, to join in the shooting. A fourth, Nasser al-Balawi, joined them later. Al-Harbi, al-Mohammadi and al-Balawi are still at large.

Since the Frenchmen's murders, police have said they have arrested several suspects linked to the case. It was unclear how many suspects in all are now in detention.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They arrested eight people, but did any of them have anything to do with the killing? I don't have any trust at all in the Saudi "justice" system.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 04/20/2007 14:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Wow ... I guess "Weekend In Riyadh" may take on a whole new meaning.
Posted by: doc || 04/20/2007 15:00 Comments || Top||

#3  They were the usual suspects, OP.
Posted by: Captain Renault || 04/20/2007 21:29 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Uighur-Canadian jailed in China on terrorism charge
China jailed a Uighur-Canadian for life on Thursday for separatism and terrorism and warned Canada not to get involved. The Intermediate People’s Court in Urumqi, capital of the tense northwestern region of Xinjiang, convicted Huseyin Celil, 37, of “terrorist activities and plotting to split the country”, Xinhua news agency reported, the second ethnic Uighur activist jailed in China this week. China accuses Uighur militants of using violence in their struggle to set up an independent East Turkestan state in predominantly Muslim Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and restive Central Asian states.

Described by Xinhua as a prominent member of pro-East Turkestan “terrorist organisations”, Celil was also deprived of his political rights for life. Celil fled China in the mid-1990s and sought asylum through the UN refugee office in Turkey, according to human rights watchdog Amnesty International.

Canada accepted him as a refugee and he obtained citizenship there in November 2005, Amnesty said. But China considers Celil a Chinese citizen and has refused Canadian officials access to him. On Thursday it again warned Canada not to press his case. “We hope that Canada won’t use this to interfere in China’s domestic affairs and also hope that Chinese-Canadian relations won’t be affected,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told a regular news conference in Beijing. “Canada should be extremely clear on China’s position that the case of Celil is entirely China’s domestic matter.”
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Uighur terrorist receives citizenship in Canada...why am I not surprised...
Posted by: gromky || 04/20/2007 2:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Looks like the Uzbeks handed him over:

Canadians have become familiar with the names of a number of Muslim men -- Maher Arar, Ahmed El-Maati, Muayyad Nureddin, Abdullah Almalki, among others -- who have faced being detained and tortured while overseas. Huseyin Celil, a father of six and a resident of Burlington, Ontario, currently faces torture and possible execution unless the Canadian government speaks up strongly and calls for his release.

Born in China in 1969, Mr. Celil advocated for the rights of the minority Uygur people, for which he was arrested and tortured by Chinese authorities. He escaped from prison and received asylum through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. While he settled in Canada and became a citizen, he was unable to be reunited with three of his children, left behind in China.

He recently travelled back to Uzbekistan in the hope that relatives there might be able to facilitate reunification with his three older children (he also has three Canadian children). But on his arrival in that country March 26, he was detained. It appears that Uzbekistan is prepared to hand him over to Chinese authorities, where he faces likely execution for his past support of human rights (an all-too common occurrence in China).

This story is becoming painfully familiar, especially for members of Canada's Muslim community. The government of Canada needs to speak up strongly and demand that Mr. Celil be released and returned home. We certainly hope that Canada's interest in maintaining huge investments in the Chinese economy will not prevent officials in Ottawa from speaking out on behalf of one of their citizens.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 04/20/2007 2:40 Comments || Top||

#3  g: Uighur terrorist receives citizenship in Canada...why am I not surprised...

It has been the Chinese practice, since 9/11, to call separatists terrorists. I think all of the Uighurs in American custody at Guantanamo have been released as not being terrorist threats. Unlike many released detainees, no Uighur inmate has been apprehended or killed taking up arms again against US forces.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 04/20/2007 2:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Sure, they don't take up arms against the U.S. But I thought it was a global war on terrorism. Stomp it out wherever it appears.

The mushy-soft statement above is about what I expected from the Canadians.
Posted by: gromky || 04/20/2007 4:32 Comments || Top||

#5  Well said G.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/20/2007 5:50 Comments || Top||

#6  It is not at all clear that all or even most of what is going on in East Turkestan is terrorism, never mind Islamofascism.
From CFR:
"while some Uighurs want full independence, others simply want greater autonomy and better protection from human rights abuses and discrimination. Many Uighurs, most of whom practice a moderate, Sufi form of Islam, complain of harassment by Chinese authorities, who have reportedly closed mosques in Xinjiang. Experts say that unrest among Uighurs has grown in recent years, but many do not buy China ’s claims that Xinjiang separatist groups, including the ETIM, really threaten Chinese control of the region; they say that the groups are just too small and dispersed to wage an organized campaign, let alone a violent one."
This is consistent with what limited information I know personally.
I don't have any solid information on Celil, but Rebiya Kadeer, who is most certainly not a terrorist, has come to his defense. China is not known for its honesty in dealing with human rights nor its gentleness in dealing with separatists - from our perspective this case would look the same whether Celil was like Zarkawi or like George Washington. He was convicted for an attack on a Chinese 'delegation' to Xinjiang, which may meet some definitions of terrorism but was actually aimed at a target and not intended simply to create fear through violence. Even if he committed the crime, it was more like assassinating an enemy government official than blowing up a marketplace.
But that would still be treason, to the Chinese, and of no significant difference from terrrorism.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/20/2007 9:51 Comments || Top||

#7  He's a ROPer for crying out loud!
Posted by: gromgoru || 04/20/2007 11:30 Comments || Top||

#8  Close attention should be paid to this situation. What we have is a rare intersection of two major threats to this world, communism and Islam. In this particular instance, the Islamic factor of this equation seems relatively benign by comparison to the larger communist threat. However, both sides are prone to use distortion for their own purposes. Much as Pakistani or Afghan Muslims frequently settle disputes by claiming their for is a "US spy", China will cheerfully claim the Uighurs are "terrorists" in order to obtain blanket condemnation of them.

Like I said, this is a rare intersection of two unscrupulous players. In the historical long run, China will prove the much larger threat to this globe. Therefore its actions, at least in this particular case, must be viewed with greater skepticism.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 12:13 Comments || Top||

#9  Correction: claiming their foe is a "US spy"
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 12:16 Comments || Top||

#10  Zenster, even if you were right about China---which is not now, and probably never was communist---why'd you think FDR and Churchill allied with Stalin?
Posted by: gromgoru || 04/20/2007 17:39 Comments || Top||

#11  "If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons."
Winston Churchill
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/20/2007 17:54 Comments || Top||


Europe
Slain evangelists were tortured, says Turkish doctor

MALATYA, Turkey -- Three Protestants murdered at a Christian publishing house in Malatya, Turkey, were tortured for three hours before their assailants slit their throats, a press report said Friday, quoting one of the doctors involved in the grisly case.

Dr. Murat Ugras, a spokesman for the Turgut Ozal Medical center, told the daily Hurriyet of hospital surgeons' fruitless efforts to save Ugur Yuksel, one of the three victims of the massacre at the Zirve (summit) publishing house, which distributed Christian literature. "He had scores of knife cuts on his thighs, his testicles, his rectum, and his back," Ugras said. "His fingers were sliced to the bone. It is obvious that these wounds had been inflicted to torture him," he said.

The two others who were killed, Necati Aydin, pastor of Malatya's tiny Protestant community, and German Tilmann Geske, a Malatya resident with his wife and three children since 2003, were also tortured, press reports said. The abuse lasted for three hours as the five men detained at the crime scene interrogated the three on their missionary activities, they said. "We tied their hands and feet and later gagged them," the mass daily Sabah quoted one of the suspects as telling police. "Emre slit their throats," said the youth, who was not named, referring to Emre Gunaydin, the alleged leader of the gang, who is at the same hospital in serious condition after jumping out of the publishers' third floor office in a bid to flee police. Gunaydin, 19, had reportedly made several visits beforehand to the publishing house to gain the confidence of the people working there, newspapers said.

The daily Radikal said that the German was the first to die and the two Turks were slaughtered only when police arrived at the door after receiving a call from a member of the Protestant community who grew suspicious when he found the office door locked.

Proselytizing is not banned in Muslim, secular Turkey, but is generally viewed with suspicion. Newspapers linked the Malatya massacre to other recent attacks against minorities in Turkey, including the murder last year in Trabzon of Italian Catholic priest Andrea Santoro and the assassination in Istanbul in January of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

The reports said that the killers were believed to be members of a cell of nationalist-Islamist fanatics recently set up in Malatya and similar to one based in Trabzon that has been blamed for the Dink murder. Newspapers also said that three of the five main suspects - police have detained 10 people in all - were taken into custody two days before the killings for shooting air guns in an empty lot, but were released after paying a fine.

Geske's wife Suzanna, meanwhile, told a television channel that she "forgives" her husband's killers and that she intends to stay on in Malatya, where her husband will be buried.
Interesting the writer had to put scare quotes on forgives.
The killings shocked Turkey and were strongly condemned by the international community, prompting Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union Turkey is seeking to join, to call on Ankara to take greater measures to protect religious freedoms.
This article starring:
Andrea Santoro
Hrant Dink
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 04/20/2007 16:33 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I am not sure quite what to say. Especially they truly do not believe they have done anything wrong. Even the VaTech mass murderer apparently knew what he was going to do was wrong.
Posted by: anymouse || 04/20/2007 16:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Christians may soon have to consider financing mercenaries to begin killing off Islamic leaders. If our governments refuse to do anything about it, other world religions that are at risk may need to consider such measures out of sheer self-preservation. Even though I am an agnostic, I'd contribute cheerfully to such a fund.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 16:55 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm sure it was all done in a peaceful, Islamic fashion.
Posted by: gorb || 04/20/2007 17:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Zenster: There are highly illegal assassination "death" pools, in which fixed bets are made that certain individuals will die, and the bet closest to the date of death wins 90% of the pool, and is paid off anonymously to whoever has the right code number.

The idea is that people can anonymously pay an assassin for a particular target. Just make a whole bunch of bets on improbable days. The assassin just buys the day when they actually kill the target.

Things don't get interesting until someone has a pool of over $10,000 on his head, which seems to be the magic number.

All you need to get started is an URL with a list of names, pool amounts, and taken dates on it.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/20/2007 18:27 Comments || Top||

#5  Really? Do tell....
Posted by: Shipman || 04/20/2007 18:45 Comments || Top||

#6  this is just hrorrible
Posted by: GA bulldawgs || 04/20/2007 20:14 Comments || Top||

#7  'moose, you never cease to amaze me with your breadth of knowledge (and I'm not easily amazed, jaded bastard that I am). When I am much more rich, I'll have to chase down some of those URL's and begin "betting".
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 20:22 Comments || Top||


Turkey Detains 5 In Bible Shootings
Police detained five more people Thursday in connection with an attack on a Christian publishing house that killed three employees, doubling the number of suspects in custody, a Turkish official said.
One group of suspects detained in the slayings Wednesday at a publishing house that distributes Bibles told investigators they carried out the killings to protect Islam.
One group of suspects detained in the slayings Wednesday at a publishing house that distributes Bibles told investigators they carried out the killings to protect Islam, a Turkish newspaper reported.

The attack added to concerns in Europe about whether this predominantly Muslim country — which is bidding for EU membership — can protect its religious minorities. It also underlined concerns about rising Turkish nationalism and hostility toward non-Muslims. "We didn't do this for ourselves, but for our religion," Hurriyet newspaper quoted a suspect as saying. "Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."

"Our religion is being destroyed. Let this be a lesson to enemies of our religion."
The paper did not name the suspect. Local media said the suspects were students, and that the residence where they were staying belongs to an Islamic foundation. On Wednesday, police detained four youths, aged 19-20, as well as a fifth who underwent surgery for head injuries after he apparently tried to escape by jumping from a window at the Zirve publishing house in the central city of Malatya.

Local media said the suspects were students, and that the residence where they were staying belongs to an Islamic foundation.
Malatya Gov. Halil Ibrahim Dasoz said another five suspects, detained Thursday, were of the same age as those taken into custody on the day of the attack. He did not say whether the group detained on Thursday had been at the scene of the attack, saying only that they had been picked up at "various locations."
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the EU wants this bunch of loons to join the club? Include me out.
Posted by: Sonar || 04/20/2007 9:21 Comments || Top||

#2  "Our religion is being destroyed."

Faster please.
Posted by: remoteman || 04/20/2007 10:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Sonar...the majority of Turks are secular, or nominal muslims. The islamists are now starting the same stuff in Turkey, and will intimidate everyone into submission unless they are eradicated.
Posted by: anymouse || 04/20/2007 12:23 Comments || Top||

#4  anymouse, there are enough Muslims in Turkey to vote an Islamist party into power (the AKP). And you have to watch out for those "nominal Muslims" too - you can never tell when they'll suddenly decide to go back to their roots, like Mohammed Boyeri.
Posted by: Sonar || 04/20/2007 16:08 Comments || Top||

#5  Sonar...agreed. But the history of Turkey is relative secularism and inter-religion toleration. But that does not take into account the murderous cancer of the islamist that is ripling through all of islam.
Posted by: anymouse || 04/20/2007 16:50 Comments || Top||


10 suspects linked to attack on Turkish publishing house arrested
Ten people were arrested Thursday following an attack on a publishing house in Malatya province, east of Turkey. Malatya governor Halil Ibrahim Dasoz told Anadolu News Agency that five of the suspects attacking "Zirve" publications for books and leaflets on Christianity were put under arrest while the others were still interrogated.
Old school.
Dasoz revealed the investigations were still ongoing, adding that whether the attack was terror motivated still remained to be seen. The governor revealed that the status of one of the suspects who jumped from the building's third floor prevented the police from holding investigations. Yesterday's attack resulted in the death of three people, one of them was a German national, while one person was injured. According to media here, the publishing house received threats in the past but the owners did not seek security assistance.
Posted by: Seafarious || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yesterday's attack resulted in the death of three people, one of them was a German national...

IIRC, the Germans currently hold the EU presidency. That would make for "vigorous" interrogations, I'd think.
Posted by: mrp || 04/20/2007 7:25 Comments || Top||

#2  The victims were apparently tortured, as well.

So, y'know, make with the pliers, Achmed...
Posted by: mojo || 04/20/2007 14:38 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
12 arrested in Sui and Bolan
The law enforcement agencies have arrested another 12 people suspected of abducting government officials during raids in Bolan and Sui besides seizing explosive material buried in the ground in Sui. The suspects were arrested from various areas of Bolan, Punier, Mach and Abgum. The police have not yet disclosed their names. In another incident, the Levies dug out six kilogrammes of explosive material from RD 238 in Sui.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Baghdad Mosque No Safe Haven
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers came under small arms from a mosque in a southwestern Baghdad neighborhood April 20. Two insurgents were killed in the firefight. An element from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division came under attack from small arms fire at approximately 9:45 a.m. The gunshots came from the site of the Husayniayh al-Bayaa Mosque. Additional Soldiers arrived to assist, cordoning off access roads and securing the area. Aviation support also arrived at the scene of the fighting, but did not engage any targets.
Why not? Out of bombs?
After two insurgents were killed in the incident, soldiers searched nearby buildings and found chemicals in a house believed to be bomb-making materials. One suspect was detained from the search. Iraqi Army troops from the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment, 2nd Iraqi Army Division entered the mosque at approximately 2:30 p.m. No other suspects or weaponry was uncovered from this search. No U.S. troops entered the mosque. There were no U.S. or coalition casualties taken from this
engagement.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/20/2007 12:20 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A major reason this war has not yet been won centers on the fact that the Husayniayh al-Bayaa Mosque (amongst others) is not smoking rubble.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 12:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, put the word out. You hide in it, you die under it.
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/20/2007 12:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, lefties love "zero tolerance" when it applies to anyone but a terrorist. Then, anything goes...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/20/2007 12:52 Comments || Top||

#4  If the US is ever invaded, I hope they think our 7-11s and Starbucks are holy sites, too.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/20/2007 14:09 Comments || Top||

#5  They will, and they'll blow 'em up.
Posted by: Perfesser || 04/20/2007 14:38 Comments || Top||

#6  Muslims are expected to pay a tithe to their mosque. Sometimes this money goes to funding insurgents. If the Iraqi government were to decide that any mosque used as a fighting position or weapons storage facility was eligible for destruction, we might see a ramping down of this activity. The idea would be to raze any mosque that is used for that activity. The community would be allowed to rebuild the mosque but if the activity is repeated, the mosque would again be razed. This would result in a situation where the funds collected by the mosque would be needed more for reconstruction than for funding insurgents.

There is some competition among the imams for congreation membership because larger congregations mean more money. If the mosque isn't engaged in worship services, the membership is more likely to join other nearby congregations and pay their tithe there. The result over time would be a diminishing of the financial strength of the mosques which engage in violence and an increase in the wealth of the more peaceful congregations.
Posted by: Unolugum Black8184 || 04/20/2007 14:55 Comments || Top||

#7  Donor fatigue would be nice, but I just want the personal satisfaction of seeing these terrorist shitholes turned into bouncing rubble. Imams are predators in the Islamic food chain. They finance and program the terrorists. Their shelter and sustenance must be eliminated. Islam's clerical ranks must become one of our primary targets. The actual fighters are merely cannon fodder wooden soldiers of which there is an endless supply. The imams are well-connected, persuasive orators who wield substantial power in such high context communities. When the imams start getting killed, much less radical doctrine will trickle down to the masses.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 15:22 Comments || Top||

#8  "By their fruits ye shall know them."
Matt 7:20
Posted by: doc || 04/20/2007 16:02 Comments || Top||

#9  I wouldn't call it donor fatigue so much as "priority adjustment".
Posted by: Unolugum Black8184 || 04/20/2007 16:09 Comments || Top||


Coalition Actions in Iraq
BAGHDAD - Coalition Forces further disrupted terrorist cells using improvised explosive devices Friday morning when eight terrorists were killed and 41 suspected terrorists were detained during operations around Iraq.

Near Mahmudiyah, Coalition Forces detained eight suspected terrorists. Another raid uncovered a building containing seven tanks of chlorine, which Coalition Forces destroyed. Seven armed terrorists were killed after they fired upon Coalition Forces entering a building. Forces on the scene detained 15 suspected terrorists who are allegedly tied to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

One armed terrorist was killed when Coalition Forces entered a building in Baghdad to conduct an operation to disrupt the Baghdad vehicle-borne IED network. Six suspected terrorists were detained, and Coalition Forces found VBIED components in the building.

Another operation in Baghdad netted two individuals with suspected ties to the Baghdad IED network. Near Mosul, Coalition Forces detained 10 suspected terrorists in two separate operations to disrupt the al-Qaeda network in northern Iraq.

"Terrorists continue to endanger the Iraqi people and security forces by using explosives, and we will continue to disrupt their networks across the country," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/20/2007 12:20 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So Allan frowns upon these guys, too. Hmm. I'm noticing a pattern here.
Posted by: gorb || 04/20/2007 13:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Does Harry Reid know any of this ? I think not.
I expect a picture from our troops to Senator Reid expressing their disappointment at his loss.
Posted by: wxjames || 04/20/2007 15:48 Comments || Top||


Weekly Report
Highlights

1. Defeat the Terrorists and Neutralize the Insurgents
A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Iraqi Council of Representatives inside Baghdad’s Green Zone April 12, killing Mohammed Awadh, a member of the National Dialogue Front. In an Internet statement posted April 13, Al-Qaidain Iraq (AQI) “the Islamic State of Iraq” claimed responsibility for the attack. Iraqi officials said the bomber was believed to have been a bodyguard for a Sunni lawmaker.

2. Transition Iraq to Security Self-Reliance
British forces handed over security of the southern Iraq province of MaysanApril 18. With the handover of Maysan, the third of the four provinces that Britain took charge of after the 2003 invasion, three of the four provinces in the British area are now under Provincial Iraqi control.

3. Help Iraqis to Forge a National Compact for Democratic Government
After the April 12 bombing of the CoR cafeteria, Iraq’s parliament met in an extraordinary session April 13, the Muslim day of prayer, and declared it would not bow to terrorism. Parliamentarians and other top Iraqi officials attended.

4. Help Iraq Build Government Capacity and Provide Essential Services
The U.S. Army-funded construction of the ED-603 Samarra power distribution lay-down yard in Salah al-Din province has been completed, providing convenient, safe, storage and control of electrical equipment that will be used on projects in the city of Samarra.

5. Help Iraq Strengthen Its Economy
The Department of Defense (DoD) received authorization to enter into “607 agreements”with the Government of Iraq (GOI). DoD is authorized to furnishcommodities and services to be reimbursed with Iraqi government funds for the benefit of GOI ministries, as provided by the authority of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act,Section 607.

6. Help Iraq Strengthen the Rule of Law
In the past month, U.S. and Iraqi forces have detained 1,000 suspects as a result of Operation Fardh al-Qanun, bringing the number of detainees jailed in U.S.-run facilities to 18,000. Of the estimated 2,000 formerly U.S.-held Iraqi detainees turned over to the Iraqi Central Criminal Court, 1,747 have been convicted, 80% of whom received sentences ranging from upwards of five years to the death penalty.

7. International Support for Iraq
Media reports said that Saudi Arabia has agreed to forgive 80% of the more than $15 billion that Iraq owes the kingdom. Iraqi Foreign Minister Bayan Jabr, who was in Washington for World Bank meetings, said in an interview that Russia was holding out on debt forgiveness until talks begin on concessions that Russian oil and gas companies had under Saddam Hussein.

8.Strengthen Public Understanding of Coalition Efforts and Public Isolation of the Insurgents
In a statement from Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki’s office, the Prime Minister welcomed the decision of Muqtada al-Sadr to have ministers from his party resign from the government, saying it freed up seats at the cabinet table for technocratic ministers.

More details at link, and check out the oil production chart on slide 18!
Posted by: Bobby || 04/20/2007 06:32 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "inside Baghdad’s Green Zone April 12, killing Mohammed Awadh". I know that technically this was really not in the Green zone. But could'nt we have used it to show what Al Qeda is like. They break the security of the Green Zone and kill Muslim's and not Americans. They dont' care about Irag, nor it's people.
Posted by: plainslow || 04/20/2007 11:10 Comments || Top||


Orc Gets By Baghdad Security; 12 Dead
A suicide bomber breached Baghdad's heavy security presence again Thursday, killing a dozen people in a mostly Shiite district a day after more than 230 people died in one of the war's deadliest episodes of violence.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the violence in Baghdad an "open battle" -- nine weeks into a U.S.-led effort began to pacify the capital's streets. Despite new barricades and checkpoints erected as part of the security crackdown, a fraction of the cars in Baghdad -- a city of six million residents -- are searched at all. Many suicide car bombs explode at checkpoints, either targeting Iraqi troops or detonating a moment before they are discovered.

Some residents have suggested that Sunni insurgents have secretly stockpiled explosives in Shiite areas, and are now rigging their cars with bombs very close to their targets, to avoid driving long distances and risking security checks. Thursday's bomber struck within half a mile of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's home in the mostly Shiite Karradah district where one of Wednesday's bombs exploded. Talabani was not believed to have been the target.

The bombing killed at least 12 people and wounded 34, police said. Two Iraqi soldiers were among the fatalities. "It is an open battle and will not be the last in the war we are fighting for the sake of the nation, dignity, honor and the people," al-Maliki said in a speech at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the founding his Islamic Dawa Party. "They (attackers) have proven their spite by targeting humanity."
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "I'm sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face," Gates said of the Iraqis. But, he said, "the clock is ticking."

Gates added, "Frankly I would like to see faster progress."


damn, did anyone ever hear Dwight D Eisenhower being so offhanded like this in front of the press during WWII? What's the fucking purpose? To light a bigger fire under Maliki?

or perhaps a reverse-morale kick in the arm ass for our folks? I don't get it.
Posted by: RD || 04/20/2007 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Meanwhile Al Qaeda names its government in waiting. Who holds the clock, Gates?
Posted by: Captain America || 04/20/2007 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  My own suspicion is that this is the Iranians killing their fellow Shia. They are already in these neighborhoods and would like nothing more than senseless killing.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 04/20/2007 13:32 Comments || Top||


Insurgents unveil Islamic cabinet and war minister for Iraq
An insurgent coalition yesterday announced an "Islamic Cabinet" for Iraqi as it attempted to provide an alternative to the country's
democratically-elected
US-backed administration. The Islamic State of Iraq group named the head of al-Qaeda in Iraq as its "minister of war". The coalition of eight insurgent groups was first announced in October, claiming to hold territory in the Sunni-dominated areas of western and central Iraq.

In a online video released yesterday, a spokesman - whose face was obscured - denounced Iraq's rulers for the past decades including Saddam Hussein's Baath Party and the present government. He said they had "spread corruption and ruined the country and its people, until God helped the mujahideen (holy warriors) bring torture upon them. He added: "Now the Islamic State emerges as a state for Islam and the mujahideen." He then listed a 10-member "Cabinet," including Abu Hamza al-Muhajer as "war minister."

The US military and Iraqi government have identified him by another pseudonym, Abu Ayyub al-Masri. The Islamic state is led by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who holds the title of "Mayor of Mordor emir (prince) of the faithful." Other positions included ministers of information, "prisoners and martyrs," agriculture and health.

Rita Katz, director of the US-based SITE Institute which monitors militant postings, said the Cabinet announcement meant to enforce the message that the group was "serious about going forward and establishing the state they've announced as their plan."
Posted by: Seafarious || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds like a target list to me.
Posted by: Mitch H. || 04/20/2007 8:48 Comments || Top||

#2  What timing! Just in time for This. Perhaps, they can play D&D for real.
Posted by: doc || 04/20/2007 9:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Let me get this straight. Now even cabinets have to wear veils? Next it'll be cupboards.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 04/20/2007 13:08 Comments || Top||

#4  One of the points of this insurgency has been, there is no gaining or claiming of property, and there is no group with a claim of a "new" government wanting to overthrown the "old" government.

Seems these guys do indeed, read all that is said and written by the West. They ain't dumb!
Posted by: Sherry || 04/20/2007 13:18 Comments || Top||

#5  We are fearless Jihadi's!
That's why we wear masks...
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/20/2007 13:26 Comments || Top||


Gates says 'clock is ticking' on Iraq
Defense Secretary Robert Gates slipped into Iraq Thursday to warn Iraqi leaders that the U.S. commitment to a military buildup there is not open-ended.
We'll probably meet our minimum objectives, anyhow - but signalling limited commitment to what is a ruthless test of wills is not a stroke of genius.
Gates said the political tumult in Washington over financing the military presence in Iraq shows that both the American public and the Bush administration are running out of patience with the war. "I'm sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face," Gates said of the Iraqis during his surprise visit. But, he said, "the clock is ticking."

Gates added, "Frankly I would like to see faster progress."
Well who wouldn't? But this jawboning is very likely a disastrously wrong way to proceed. It rests on one key, and erroneous, premise: that the Iraqi govt.'s inability to make much faster progress towards taking the lead in establishing security is the result of unwillingness, not incapacity. Meanwhile, our body English indicating a desperate desire to disengage, which has been there for over two years now, is more likely to have perverse effects on both our allies and enemies than it is to spur our allies to faster progress. This lack of demonstrated resolve has been a fundamental error - perhaps the most important one - since the get-go. This stuff is harder than it looks, and there's no perfect strategy, but a judicious mix of jawboning our friends and hurting our enemies is not what we're seeing, or have seen. Can't anybody here play this game?
He said that the Iraqis need to push through legislation on political reconciliation and sharing oil revenues. "It's not that these laws are going to change the situation immediately, but I think ... the ability to get them done communicates a willingness to work together."
Still - the fantasy of conflict resolution without winners and losers. Whatever portion of the Sunni populace or fighting spirit could be co-opted, rented, or converted - has long since been taken care of. No hycrocarbons law or reshuffled cabinet or elevated Sunni military officers will affect the basis of enemy activity: irreconcilable hostility and reasonable fear for their future combined with an utterly ruthless approach to resisting the new order, to include cooperation with insane foreign killers whom they generally loathe (current hiatus of convenience in the west is probably a temporary change - see below).
He said that, in turn, would create an environment in which violence could be reduced.
Oh, horseshit, Bob. The "environment in which violence could be reduced" is one in which the Sunni rejectionists and their foreign allies have been routed through a combo of direct attrition and coercion on the surrounding communities sufficient to negate the intimidation and/or sympathy on which they rely. For southern or Shi'a areas, the issues are really quite different, more akin to warlordism and lawlessness, and will over time succumb to less military-centered responses.
"It is very important they make every effort to get this done as soon as possible," Gates said, noting that an attack last week by a suicide bomber on a cafeteria at the Iraqi parliament inside the U.S.-guarded Green Zone made people particularly nervous.
There is not the slightest chance that any so-called political reconciliation, however dramatic, would have the slightest effect on operations such as the parliament bombing in the foreseeable future. This sort of terrorism will be feasible in Iraq for years to come, regardless of how and whether Sunni rejectionism is crushed. Meanwhile, saying that things are more urgent because the enemy is hitting you hard is, um, not a very savvy approach to what is of course a test of wills.
After landing in Baghdad, Gates flew by helicopter to Camp Fallujah, for a briefing by Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, and Gen. Peter Pace, the Joint Chiefs chairman. Fallujah, where U.S. Marines make up the bulk of the U.S. force, is a stronghold for Sunni insurgents. But commanders there have been saying violence has dipped and they are optimistic about progress in western Iraq.
Where AQI's barbarism and arrogance - and surely no small volume of taxpayer's money delivered to local big shots - have TEMPORARILY made us the lesser evil. I could be wrong, but my impression is that in the west, as elsewhere, we have fallen far short of making real the "worst enemy" portion of the Marines' excellent "worst enemy, best friend" formula.
Posted by: Verlaine || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Considering his involvement (more specifically, his lack thereof) when Saddam Hussein's government massacred revolting Shiites and Kurds post GWI, Gates is no ally of the Iraqi people.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/20/2007 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  "I'm sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face," Gates said of the Iraqis. But, he said, "the clock is ticking."

Gates added, "Frankly I would like to see faster progress."


damn, did anyone ever hear Dwight D Eisenhower being so offhanded like this in front of the press during WWII? What's the fucking purpose? To light a bigger fire under Maliki?

or perhaps a reverse-morale kick in the arm ass for our folks? I don't get it.
Posted by: RD || 04/20/2007 0:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Gates is fast becoming a 'lame chick' to the 'lame duck'! The easiest money one could make for the next 21 months.
Posted by: smn || 04/20/2007 2:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Gates added, "Frankly I would like to see faster progress."

Progress? Yeah, right-out-the-door progress! We gotta get outtah there quick! My real estate deals are teetering in the balnace!
Posted by: Harry Reid || 04/20/2007 6:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Gates added, "Frankly I would like to see faster progress."
Frankly I'd love to see an E-type Jag in my garage, but you know what, Bob? I know that if I want that, I'll need to DO SOMETHING to make that happen.

How 'bout you, Mr. Secretary?
Posted by: eLarson || 04/20/2007 10:46 Comments || Top||

#6  This could be a sop to the dems, basically giving them a media bone that they can chew on that says they matter and are effective. Meanwhile the firm run away dates are removed from the supplemental spending bills.

Maliki needs a kick in the ass too. It is idiotic for our guys to keep getting killed in drips and drabs if the locals aren't going to stand up and give a shit. I know logic doesn't work with these folks, but threat to survival might. The downside is if a threatened Maliki runs to another "strong man" (Iran) rather than leading his own countrymen to control their destiny.
Posted by: remoteman || 04/20/2007 10:51 Comments || Top||

#7  "To light a bigger fire under Maliki? "

Yes, obviously.

With all due respect to Verlaine, who is there, while Im not, Gates has access to alot more info than either of us, including reports from Petraeus and other commanders on the ground, as well as from Khalilzad, etc.

and from defense intell, and from CIA.

Evidently some folks think there ARE Sunnis who can be won over who havent been.

I cant judge from here.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 04/20/2007 15:17 Comments || Top||

#8  IIRC - Verlaine is back in San Diego, safely, thank God
Posted by: Frank G || 04/20/2007 16:18 Comments || Top||

#9  Allow me to cheer your well-bespoke sentiment, Frank.

Gates added, "Frankly I would like to see faster progress."

So, why not begin destroying the barracks mosques that harbor insurgents terrorists? That'll get you some real "progress".

This lack of demonstrated resolve has been a fundamental error - perhaps the most important one - since the get-go.

I am unable to think so, Verlaine. The consistent conflict of interests that manifest in the Iraqi legislature are a Root Cause of the problem. Support for fractious assholes like Moqtada Sadr do far more to exacerbate the problem than our own lack of resolve. It's a given that our firepower coupled with greater determination could bring some substantial change, but lasting alteration to Iraq's political landscape will demand some true commitment from their politicians and that is still forthcoming.

Still - the fantasy of conflict resolution without winners and losers.

Agreed, this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks of all. It is impossible to imagine an outcome whereby all Iraqi parties come out ahead. The Baathist and Sunni factions have poisoned the well and simply cannot expect much more than lip service in their favor.

The "environment in which violence could be reduced" is one in which the Sunni rejectionists and their foreign allies have been routed through a combo of direct attrition and coercion on the surrounding communities sufficient to negate the intimidation and/or sympathy on which they rely. For southern or Shi'a areas, the issues are really quite different, more akin to warlordism and lawlessness, and will over time succumb to less military-centered responses.

Spot on, Verlaine! Finally, we are agreed upon the notion that we must become the insurgency's "worst enemy". Blasting hostile mosques and killing radical imams would be a great place to start.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 21:17 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Militants boom Beit Hanoun barbershop
Unknown militants blasted late Wednesday a barber shop in the village of Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza. Palestinian military source said the militants placed an explosive device at the barbershop's entrance, adding that the explosion caused material damage but no causalities were reported. The incident is currently under investigation, the source said. A number of bombings have recently targeted internet cafes and music shops in Gaza, and Palestinian security forces have been unable to determine who the perpetrators were.
Posted by: Seafarious || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  DRUDGE/BREITBART > JOHN EDWARDS > TRUST THE GOVERNMENT TO DO YOUR TAXES [and maybe food stamps, etal. for illegals?]. TAXES = HAIR???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/20/2007 2:15 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't advise a haircut, man. All hairdressers are in the employment of the government. Hair are your aerials. They pick up signals from the cosmos and transmit them directly into the brain. This is the reason bald-headed men are uptight.

Danny - Withnail and I

I imagine Paleo Security forces are searching for someone in a Kaftan carrying a bong.
Posted by: Howard UK || 04/20/2007 5:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Let's get USA, Russian, UN and EU forces to create a coalition dedicated to eradicating this threat. We'll call it "The Barbershop Quartet".

Thank you. No applause, just throw money. Please be sure to try the veal.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 14:54 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
2 Buddhist women shot dead in southern Thailand
Suspected Islamic rebels shot dead two Buddhist women in Thailand's restive Muslim-majority south as the country's army-installed premier began a one-day visit to the region Friday. The victims, aged 17 and 20, were gunned down late Thursday in a drive-by shooting while riding a motorcycle in Narathiwat, one of three violence-torn southern provinces bordering Malaysia, police said.
Posted by: ryuge || 04/20/2007 08:03 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is just getting way too sad.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 04/20/2007 11:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Until the world finally comes to grips with the fact that the islamists are a cancer, this will continue to increase. The only way to cure a cancer is to kill it.
Posted by: anymouse || 04/20/2007 12:17 Comments || Top||

#3  2 Buddhist women shot dead = 2 imams shot dead. End of story.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 22:20 Comments || Top||


Thai jihadis use new bombing strategy
Muslim insurgents in Thailand's restive south have developed a new strategy for targeting authorities and civilians with bomb blasts, a technique that maimed its first victim earlier this week, the army spokesman said Friday. A high-ranking police official lost an arm and leg Wednesday after stepping on a bomb buried in the dirt as he inspected the site of an earlier bombing in Narathiwat province.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont visited the officer in the hospital Friday, as part of a mission to boost morale among police stationed in Thailand's three Muslim-dominated southern provinces where an insurgency has killed more than 2,000 people.

Until now, suspected insurgents have triggered the explosives by mobile phones, clocks or electrical wires but Wednesday's explosion used a different type of trigger that was activated when the officer stepped on it, said army spokesman Col. Akara Thiprot, the army spokesman. "The insurgents have developed a new tactic for triggering bombs to escape the authorities' control," Akara said, noting that the new technique allows insurgents to circumvent attempts by authorities to block mobile phone signals.

Akara said that the authorities had defused two other similar devices in recent months. He said the military would begin using mine detectors when inspecting bomb sites in the future.

In the latest violence, a 76-year-old Buddhist man was severely injured early Friday in a drive-by shooting in Narathiwat's Rue So district and a public school was burnt down in the same district. A bomb blast Thursday night in Yala's Muang district injured four paramilitary rangers
Posted by: ryuge || 04/20/2007 08:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Philippines: Abu Sayyaf Beheads Seven Christians
Manila, 20 April (AKI) - The al-Qaeda-linked Muslim Abu Sayyaf rebels have decapitated seven hostages and sent their heads to the army in Jolo, in the southern Philippines archipelago of Sulu, the local press said on Friday quoting the military. The severed heads of six road project workers and one factory worker were delivered to two army outposts in Parang town on Jolo island, 1,000 kilometres south of Manila, Thursday. The victims, all Christians, were working on a government road construction project in the city of Parang, Jolo, when they were abducted Tuesday by rebels led by commander Albader Parad. The Philiippine army said on Friday it will intensify its efforts to wipe out Abu Sayyaf.

Two were reportedly teenagers, aged 16 and 17, who were working to pay for their college education and help their impoverished parents in nearby Zamboanga City.

Militants had asked a ransom of 5 million pesos, approximately 105,000 dollars for them.

Military sources say the beheadings are Aby Sayyaf's response to the army's offensive against the rebel group which started last August. Over 70 alleged terrorists, including Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffi Janjalani who died in a firefight in September 2006, have been killed in the offensive.
Posted by: mrp || 04/20/2007 07:36 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Damn! Time to get ugly with them again.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 04/20/2007 10:26 Comments || Top||

#2  The only thing a wild dog understands is power. Until we exert power over the islamist wild dog, this will continue to increase.
Posted by: anymouse || 04/20/2007 12:20 Comments || Top||


Work accident in the Philippines
Two motorcycle-riding men, suspected to be the bombers, were killed when a homemade bomb they were carrying exploded at around 6:15 p.m., along Yapsay corner Jarabillo streets, some 100 meters from Sinsuat Avenue in Cotabato City.
Sr. Insp. Willy Casuyo, spokesperson of the Cotabato City PNP, said they are still clueless as to the motive behind the bombing. Casuyo theorized that the bomb exploded when it was still in the hands of one of the victims. “Because of the impact of the explosion, the bodies of two persons were cut into parts and the vehicle that carried them was also torn into pieces,” he said. The police said they have not received any warning or bomb threat the past days.


Posted by: Seafarious || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Awwww, Thingy go Boom, Tough shit.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 04/20/2007 6:06 Comments || Top||

#2  "Hay, I just wanted to test the cel phone one more time before we get there". Dumb and Dumber
Posted by: 49 Pan || 04/20/2007 10:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Time for new shocks on the bike, Abu?
Ooooops...nevermind.
Posted by: tu3031 || 04/20/2007 10:59 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
Tamil rebel kills himself by taking cyanide
A Tamil rebel killed himself by swallowing a cyanide capsule as he was questioned by army interrogators after being detained at a checkpoint in northwestern Sri Lanka, the military said Thursday.

The guerrilla, whose name was not disclosed, was taken in for questioning at Bakthipura checkpoint in Mannar district on Wednesday, said Brig Prasad Samarasinghe, a military spokesman. “When the officers were questioning him, he swallowed the cyanide capsule,” Samarasinghe said. The man died soon after.

Samarasinghe said the man was giving conflicting answers to questions about his identity and when he was told that he may be detained for further investigation, he swallowed the capsule. The rebels, who are fighting for a separate homeland in the country’s north and the east, typically wear a cyanide capsule around their neck to be used in case they are captured by Sri Lankan forces.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  good, leave his dead body on the spot for everyone to see
Posted by: Frank G || 04/20/2007 6:08 Comments || Top||

#2  The man died soon after.

In great pain I sincerely hope.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 04/20/2007 6:15 Comments || Top||

#3  and slow....
Posted by: Frank G || 04/20/2007 6:42 Comments || Top||

#4  If we could just get them all to take one for the team...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/20/2007 12:53 Comments || Top||


Sri Lankan war planes bomb Tiger gun positions
Sri Lankan war planes bombed suspected Tamil Tiger gun positions in the island’s north for a third straight day Thursday, the defence ministry said.

Two attacks were carried out against the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Jaffna peninsula and at Puthukkudiriruppu, the ministry said, adding that they hit Tiger gun positions. “The air force claims both locations were completely destroyed in the attacks, resulting in heavy damage to the LTTE,” the ministry said.

It did not detail what damage was caused. There was no immediate word from the Tigers about the aerial strikes. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s top defence official summoned Britain’s envoy Thursday after he expressed solidarity with an editor facing death threats, diplomats said. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse “invited” British high commissioner Dominick Chilcott to his tightly-guarded office at short notice Thursday, a high commission spokesman said. “They talked about the role of the media,” the spokesman said. “The high commissioner and the defence secretary agreed that the confidentiality of the meeting would be preserved.”

The summons came after Chilcott visited the editor of Colombo’s Daily Mirror, Champika Liyanaarachchi Wednesday, a day after she said she received a death threat from Rajapakse. Chilcott’s unexpected visit was seen by diplomats as a signal of Britain’s deep concern over recent attacks against the freedom of expression in this former British colony.

His gesture of support came hours after the Sri Lankan government accused unnamed diplomats of interfering in the island’s internal affairs and warned that those meddling would be kicked out. Rajapakse denied issuing a death threat, in remarks posted on the defence ministry web site.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Reading the headline, my first thought was, "wow, that's some antique surplus they're fighting." Then I remembered the Tamil Tigers.
Posted by: Robert Crawford || 04/20/2007 6:52 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IAEA: Iran Enriching Uranium Gas
Iran has started enriching small amounts of uranium gas at its underground plant and is already running more than 1,300 of the machines used in the enrichment process, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency document obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.

The confidential document — a letter to Iranian officials from a senior IAEA staff member — also protests an Iranian decision to prevent agency inspectors to visit the country's heavy water facility that, when built, will produce plutonium. Enriched uranium and plutonium can both be used for the fissile core of nuclear warheads.

Last week, Iran said it had begun operating 3,000 centrifuges at its Natanz facility, nearly 10 times the previously known number. The United States, Britain, France and others criticized the announcement, but experts, and several world powers, expressed skepticism that Iran's claims were true and diplomats in Vienna familiar with the state of the program told the AP they were greatly exaggerated. Still, the one-page letter reflected a swift advance in the program. A little more than two weeks ago, those diplomats had said Tehran was running only a little more than 600 centrifuges, and had not introduced any uranium gas into them.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Are we too afraid to assume the worst?
Posted by: Thrush B. Hayes7260 || 04/20/2007 0:39 Comments || Top||

#2  That's okay, let's redeploy the troops in Iraq to Candyland. Name Murtha governor of Candyland.
Posted by: Captain America || 04/20/2007 0:50 Comments || Top||

#3  Lest we fergit, KUCINICH.US [Feb 2007] > claims vv Russ mil analysts that Putin has ordered elite Russian special forces and other units to enter Iran and militarily protect-secure Russia's
"vital interests" in that country, AGAINST ANYONE INCLUDING US/US-LED FORCES, espec as per nuclear power plant [but not limited to].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/20/2007 2:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Time to loose the Israeli's.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/20/2007 5:58 Comments || Top||

#5  Let them play and go ahead and smoke a US city. Maybe then the sheeple of this once great country will wake up.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/20/2007 11:57 Comments || Top||

#6  Maybe then the sheeple of this once great country will wake up.

What's this "once great country" horseshit? America is still the greatest nation on earth and I challenge you to deny it, USN, Ret..

This country doesn't need a terrorist nuclear attack to wake it up, it needs coherent leadership capable of articulating the danger that confronts us. No-fucking-one seems to have the testicular endowment to step up to the plate on this subject and the political legacy of our current leadership — republican and democratic alike — will go down as among the very worst in our nation's history.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 17:04 Comments || Top||

#7  i respectufully disagree with you zenster. 40 percent of this country will actively assist work against ANY american interests as they are sore that the ussr fell apart before they could live in their peoples utopia.

they are still seething in anger of all things american and will until there is a severe enough shock to show them the nature of this enemy beyond their ability to rationalize away.
Posted by: Abu do you love || 04/20/2007 22:12 Comments || Top||

#8  Zenster: Perhaps I used the wrong choice of words, but the fact remains that we are having our asses handed to us in any number of forums. Far too many of our armed forces are dying due to the testicular atrophy you refer to and that is where I was placing the focus of my comments; the lack of leadership in Washington by members of both sides of the aisle. Yes I will agree that at the grass roots level this is the greatest country and I do see that every day in the faces and labors of all those I work with and pass by on the roads; but these same folks have to a large degree lost their political compass, it is reduced to being influenced by 30 second sound bites and the rantings on lunatics that the MSM is only far too happy to render homage (and air time) to. I stand by my statement; until we have a smoking hole where there was once a US ZIP Code, you are going to nothing of substance come from the general population. One example: Why hasn't Nevada started a recall against Reid for not only his latest sleazeball remarks but for his borderline criminal real estate deals? Maybe when I see evidence that folks are trying to take back their part of the country then I will defer to your point of view, but until then, I must respectfully disagree.
Posted by: USN, ret. || 04/20/2007 22:57 Comments || Top||


Good morning
Top Chinese Commie sacked for affair with Russian girlReid sez war is lostTurkey Detains 5 In Bible Shootings Civil society rallies against extremism Malaysia parts Muslim wives and kids from Hindu men http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?D=2007-04-20&ID=186230&TINDEX=3Saudis Arrest 8 in Frenchmen's Deaths US gunman's video yields little for police
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  People who watch my wolf-dog kick in his sleep always speculate that he's chasing rabbits when, in reality, he's really dancing the Spanish fandango with Carmen Miranda.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/20/2007 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Is that true about the underwear?!
Posted by: Howard UK || 04/20/2007 5:19 Comments || Top||

#3  What underwear?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 04/20/2007 6:01 Comments || Top||

#4  Is "freedom from underwear" one of those "Miranda rights" I keep hearing about?
Posted by: Mike || 04/20/2007 6:11 Comments || Top||

#5  I've got a picture somewhere... But it's NSFW, so don't mouseover it...



Don't even mouseover.
Posted by: Fred || 04/20/2007 7:47 Comments || Top||

#6  WTF?
Posted by: DragonFly || 04/20/2007 8:55 Comments || Top||

#7  Now that I've spilled my coffee on myself...
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/20/2007 9:09 Comments || Top||

#8  Crikey!
Posted by: Howard UK || 04/20/2007 9:28 Comments || Top||

#9  Oh, they don't dance like Carmen no more.
Posted by: Jimmy Buffet || 04/20/2007 9:39 Comments || Top||

#10  It's a fruitopia.
Posted by: Excalibur || 04/20/2007 10:10 Comments || Top||

#11  On the positive side, at least it isn'r Rosie doing the Carmen impersonation.....
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/20/2007 11:59 Comments || Top||

#12  The elusive bearded fruit!
Posted by: Unique Battle || 04/20/2007 12:16 Comments || Top||

#13  re: arse over tea-kettle picturesque

where's the whistle?
Posted by: RD || 04/20/2007 12:26 Comments || Top||

#14  Tes with your biscuit?
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/20/2007 13:55 Comments || Top||

#15  So I'm standing on a street corner in London waiting to cross when a beautiful young lady walks up and stands next to me. It was a very windy day and a sudden gust blew her dress up over her head which exposed her lack of knickers.

She fought to gain control of the dress and eventually brought it down to it's proper place. She looked at me and, not knowing what to say, I blurted out "A bit 'airy isn't it?"

"What were you expecting? she said, feathers?!"

Rimshot!!
Posted by: GORT || 04/20/2007 14:44 Comments || Top||



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Fri 2007-04-20
  Paks demonstrate against mullahs
Thu 2007-04-19
  Harry Reid: "War Is Lost"
Wed 2007-04-18
  Sadr pulls out of govt
Tue 2007-04-17
  Iranian Weapons Intended for Taliban Intercepted
Mon 2007-04-16
  Bombs hit Christian bookstore, two Internet cafes in Gaza City
Sun 2007-04-15
  Car bomb kills scores near shrine in Kerbala
Sat 2007-04-14
  Islamic State of Iraq claims Iraq parliament attack
Fri 2007-04-13
  Renewed gun battle rages in Mog
Thu 2007-04-12
  Algiers booms kill 30
Wed 2007-04-11
  Morocco boomers blow themselves up
Tue 2007-04-10
  Lashkar chases Uzbeks out of S Waziristan
Mon 2007-04-09
  MNF arrests 12 bodyguards of Iraqi Parliament member
Sun 2007-04-08
  40 die in Parachinar sectarian festivities
Sat 2007-04-07
  Pakistan: Curb 'vice' Or Face Suicide Attacks, Mosque Warns
Fri 2007-04-06
  12 killed in Iraq Qaeda chlorine attack

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