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Turkish Army Sends Soldiers Into Iraq
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Dawn raid kills 41 Taliban
The dawn raid of a Taliban compound southwest of Kandahar City was heralded as a major success for the Canadian Forces after 41 Taliban fighters were killed and four others captured.

The NATO coalition of Canadian soldiers, Afghan National Army troops and soldiers with the British army's Royal Gurkha Regiment surprised sleeping insurgents as the early-morning call to prayer from the mosque at Siah Choy rang out over the cluster of farming villages with mud-walled compounds. The Taliban fled into an open space where they were bombed by NATO aircraft.

"All the strikes that happened were in open terrain," Major Richard Moffet, deputy commanding officer of the Canadian battle group, told reporters yesterday. "We kick them out, we follow them and we strike them."

The Sunday battle, dubbed Operation Sharp Sword, was designed to disrupt insurgent activities, such as planting improvised explosive devices -- or roadside bombs -- and ambushes on key roads travelled by military convoys in the volatile Zhari and Panjwaii districts of Kandahar province.

When the fighting was over, coalition forces walked away without a single casualty, Maj. Moffet said. A large Taliban weapons cache, including small arms, was also uncovered.

NATO has been fighting for control of the densely populated region, favoured by the Taliban because of their ability to blend into the background, since the summer of 2006.

Canadian soldiers claimed victory about a year ago in another military offensive that hemmed insurgents into a nearby area, about 40 kilo-metres southwest of Kandahar City.

This time around, Maj. Moffet praised the Gurkhas, a decorated regiment of Nepalese soldiers that worked closely with Afghan soldiers, for bearing the "brunt of the battle."

Three Gurkha soldiers described the insurgents' initial surprise at seeing them on Sunday. "They knew we weren't Afghan soldiers, or Canadian soldiers; they couldn't figure out who we were," one said.
...
Posted by: ed || 12/18/2007 13:43 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "...they couldn't figure out who we were..."

Who are those guys?
/al-Butch & al-Sundance
Posted by: PBMcL || 12/18/2007 13:57 Comments || Top||

#2  WTF? OMG! ARG! rosebud....
Posted by: KBK || 12/18/2007 14:27 Comments || Top||

#3  (G)O Canada! ;-) And hurrah for the Ghurkas!

/no I'm not sorry. :-D
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2007 14:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Sounds like Custer's famous last words " Where'd all those %@*^$)! Indians come from?"
Posted by: Ulomomp Tojo9807 || 12/18/2007 15:14 Comments || Top||

#5  Allahu akbar!
Posted by: gorb || 12/18/2007 15:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Aloha Snackbar!
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 12/18/2007 16:15 Comments || Top||

#7  Three Gurkha soldiers described the insurgents' initial surprise at seeing them on Sunday. "They knew we weren't Afghan soldiers, or Canadian soldiers; they couldn't figure out who we were," one said.

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, Guess I'll go eat worms, Long, thin, slimy ones; Short, fat, juicy ones, Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms.

Posted by: Canuckistan || 12/18/2007 16:38 Comments || Top||

#8  The Taliban fled into an open space where they were bombed by NATO aircraft.

Smooth Move Gomers!!

/*laughing uncontrollably*

Posted by: RD || 12/18/2007 17:41 Comments || Top||

#9  Operation Sharp Sword

Our sword is sharper than yours, eh?!

Way to go!
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/18/2007 22:48 Comments || Top||

#10  Open space is not a good space ...
Posted by: Steve White || 12/18/2007 23:01 Comments || Top||

#11  Yes it is! [wink]
Posted by: twobyfour || 12/18/2007 23:13 Comments || Top||


15 Afghan guards killed in attack
Taliban fighters killed 15 Afghan guards working for a private security company who were guarding a convoy of fuel tankers in western Afghanistan, an official said Tuesday. Six Taliban were killed in the ensuing fight.

Several militants also were killed in airstrikes and a subsequent operation by U.S.-led coalition troops in the country's south on Monday, the coalition said.

Between six and eight vehicles of a private security company were guarding a convoy of fuel tankers when the Taliban attacked early Tuesday, said Farah province Gov. Muhaidin Baluch. Fifteen guards were killed and five were wounded, Baluch said. One fuel tanker was set on fire, he said.

Baluch said the guards worked for USPI — Houston-based US Protection and Investigations. USPI officials did not immediately return telephone messages seeking comment left at the company's Houston headquarters. They could not be reached for comment at its offices in Kabul.

However, two USPI employees contacted by The Associated Press, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said the company's guards were not involved. One employee said Afghan officials in the south tend to identify all security companies as USPI, even when they are not.

Gen. Khail Buz Sherzai, the provincial police chief, said officials were not sure of the name of the security company.

Baluch said the tankers were traveling from the western city of Herat to a military outpost in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province, the region that has seen the heaviest fighting in Afghanistan this year.

Elsewhere in Farah, fighting between police and militants left two of the militants dead, said Gen. Khail Buz Sherzai, the provincial police chief.

In southern Afghanistan, a U.S.-led coalition airstrike on a Taliban commander and subsequent operation in Helmand province killed several militants Monday, the coalition said. The strike targeted a Taliban commander involved in the movement of foreign fighters and suicide bombers, it said.
Posted by: ed || 12/18/2007 13:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Good Tali-bunny Hunting in Helmand
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Several militants were killed during a precision-guided munitions strike Monday in Helmand Province targeting a Taliban command and control network.
'Several' killed by PGM.
Coalition forces conducted a precision-guided munitions strike in the Kajaki District of Helmand Province targeting a Taliban commander believed to be facilitating the movement of foreign fighters and suicide bombers throughout the area. During the course of operations, Coalition forces targeted several militants outside a compound and employed precision-guided munitions, which killed the militants, including one militant reported to be a Taliban commander.

In a follow-on operation, Afghan and Coalition forces conducted a search of compounds in the Kajaki District of Helmand Province for individuals reported to be associated with the militants targeted during the strike.

While conducting the operation, Afghan and Coalition forces, using small-arms, killed several armed militants who posed a credible threat to the combined force.
'Several' killed by small arms.
During a subsequent engagement on the compound, the combined force was fired upon by a group of militants barricaded in a building. The combined force employed grenades, killing the militants barricaded inside.
Militants - plural - killed by grenades.
There were no immediate indications of injuries or deaths to civilians not taking part in hostilities.
But many innocent women, children and baby ducks will soon be reported killed by Islamofascist propagandists and their MSM mouthpieces.
Continuing their search of the compounds, the combined force recovered several weapons and explosives, which were destroyed in-place to prevent further use by extremist forces. “Afghan and Coalition forces are having significant success in degrading the Taliban’s ability to conduct militant operations,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/18/2007 11:52 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nice, "several" + "several" = "a passel"

Posted by: Carl Williams || 12/18/2007 16:38 Comments || Top||


25 killed in Afghan violence
A roadside bomb blast killed a family of five in southern Afghanistan Monday, a police official said, while 20 Taliban fighters were killed in a clash.

A husband and wife and their three young children were heading toward Uruzgan province's capital of Tirin Kot on a motorbike to buy new clothes for the coming Eid when they were killed, said Provincial Police Chief Juma Gul Himat.
Mom, Pop, all three boys, and their plunder, on a single motorbike?
"Nato troops frequently patrol the road they were on," Himat said. He blamed Taliban insurgents for the deaths. Separately, 20 Taliban fighters were killed and nine others were arrested Sunday in a five-hour battle in Kandahar province's Zhari district, a statement from the interior ministry said. The clash began after insurgents attacked a police and Nato convoy, the statement said. There were no casualties among Nato or Afghan troops, said Sayed Agha Saqib, the provincial police chief.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


German couple kidnapped
(KUNA) — A German couple was kidnapped in western Afghanistan on Monday, Afghan police officials said. Without revealing names of the two people, an Afghan police officer said they were seized in Golran district of the western Herat province. The man was a German national, converted to Islam, while his wife was an Afghan. They were working with a welfare organisation and were kidnapped while on way to oversee a project in Tochi village, said police chief of Herat province Juma Aziz.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. However, Taliban militants are usually blamed for such acts. During the current especially, especially after the kidnapping and release of an Italian journalist and 23 Koreans, some criminal groups have also started kidnapping foreigners for ransom.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  The man was a German national, converted to Islam

Femto violins?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/18/2007 2:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Didn't help him any, did it?
Posted by: Pappy || 12/18/2007 16:27 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Shelling Kills 12 in Mog
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Mortar shells slammed into the Somali capital late Monday, killing at least 12 people - including a mother and her three children - and wounding dozens in an increasingly ferocious Islamic insurgency, witnesses said.
'Increasingly'?
The shelling killed two people in the city's crowded Bakara Market, where residents can buy everything from sugar to assault rifles, and 10 in northern Mogadishu. ``I saw the dead bodies of at least 10 people, including three children and their mother who lives in a house next to mine,'' said resident Abdullahi Dhegey.

Medina Hospital officials said at least 50 people were wounded.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


Arabia
Yemeni security authorities arrest two members of al-Qaeda in Yemen
(KUNA) -- Two al-Qaeda elements have been arrested by the Yemeni security authorities, according to security sources. The two are identified as Ahmad Ali Hamran and Abdelatheem Al-Hattar. They two are dangerous elements in the al-Qaeda network. According to sources, the two were accused of concealing a runaway fugitive. In a statement to KUNA, the sources denied news reports circulated by some electronic sites which indicated that the arrested were preparing to carry out a suicide operation.
This article starring:
ABDELATHIM AL HATTARal=Qaeda in Yemen
AHMED ALI HAMRANal=Qaeda in Yemen
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Yemen


Bangladesh
Convict of Aug 17 serial blasts held
A fugitive convict of August 17 serial bombings was arrested in the district bus terminal area yesterday morning. Acting on a tip-off, members of Rab-5 arrested Mansur Rahman, acting regional commander of outlawed Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), when he was trying to flee from the district by a bus at about 6.30am.

Rab sources said Mansur was made JMB regional commander after the arrest of regional commander Montezar Rahman. He was trying to organise the JMB militants in the district, they added. Son of Abdul Karim of Palikadoa village under Joypurhat Sadar upazila, Mansur was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in the serial bombings case in the district. He was also wanted in a case filed after a clash between police and JMB activists at the house of Montezar Rahman at Uttar Moheshpur village in Khetlal upazila of the district on August 14, 2003.
This article starring:
MANSUR RAHMANJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
MONTEZAR RAHMANJamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh


'Huji' man killed in city gunfight
A suspected Islamist militant was killed while two Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) personnel suffered bullet wounds in over an hour-long encounter between the elite crime fighting force and the suspects at Maddhya Badda in the capital early yesterday.

After trading over 100 rounds of bullets with the suspects, Rab arrested one of them. The arrestee, Al Beruni alias Sabuj alias Rony, 22, claimed himself as an organiser of a quite unknown Islamist group, Islamic Dal, sources said.

Siddiqur Rahman, owner of the house where the gun battle took place, told The Daily Star that he heard Rony telling Rab members after being caught that they were members of a banned Islamist militant outfit Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (Huji), but now he is working to form another Islamist outfit, Islamic Dal.

Rab however had yet to officially declare the suspects as Islamist militants at the time of filing this report last night, although various sources said that had actually been the suspicion which led to the operation.

The dead suspect was identified as Kamal, 24, of Jamalpur, from where Abdur Rahman, the executed kingpin of another banned Islamist terrorist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), had hailed.

The injured Rab personnel -- Lieutenant Farhad Sarkar from Bangladesh Navy, and Shainik Kabul Hossain, were undergoing treatment at Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka. Farhad was hit in the thigh and the waist while Kabul was hit in the thighs and a hand.

Rab officials said a vein of Farhad's leg had been severed by the bullet hit and he was operated upon. Rab also said both of its wounded personnel are now out of danger.

Rab recovered four bullets, a sawn-off rifle, a revolver, two pistols, and seven bullets from the suspects' possession.

Tipped off, an eight-member team of Rab-2 led by Farhad raided a tin-shed mess at Comilla Para in Maddhya Badda around 1:30am. "As the Rab members knocked on the door of a room, the three criminals opened the door and fired at least eight bullets, leaving the two Rab members wounded," said Siddiqur Rahman.

He said as the Rab members got wounded, the crime fighting force retreated for cover and started firing back. During the gun battle that ensued, over 100 bullets were fired. At one stage of the gunfight the three young suspects came out of the tin-shed mess and tried to run away.

But the elite force members arrested Rony unhurt with a firearm in his possession after chasing the fleeing group for a few hundred metres. Rab also found wounded Kamal near Gulshan Lake and took him to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him dead. "We have arrested a criminal and interrogating him to know whether they have any other identities," Rab Legal and Media Wing Director Commander SMAK Azad told The Daily Star.

Siddiqur Rahman said two young suspects rented a room of the mess on December 3 for Tk 1,900 a month, one of whom identified himself as an employee of Destiny Group while the other gave his identity as a quality controller in a buying house. He said later another young man joined them as a lodger in the mess.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: HUJI

#1  Huji man now Muji man.
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/18/2007 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Interesting Hospital Triage SOP:
RAB guys, fixed and back in action.
Bad guys' "He's dead, Jim."
Looks like a good use of scarce resources t'me....
(personal note: Been Jonesin' for Crossfire updates. Thank you Fred)
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 12/18/2007 13:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Dittos... was just commenting to the wife that there hadnt been a RAB lately.

thanks fred. not just for the RAB but for the whole burg.
Posted by: Abu do you love || 12/18/2007 22:33 Comments || Top||


Britain
Alleged Terrorist: ‘We Were Hunting Nessie’
An east London electrician accused of having terror ties claimed he was not attending training camps but hunting for the Loch Ness Monster during a trip to Scotland with other terror suspects, the Scottish Daily Record reported Saturday. Kader Ahmed, 20, who faces three counts of attending a place used for terrorist training, told a U.K. court that he visited Inverness and Loch Ness three years ago with a group organized by preacher Mohammed Hamid, the Daily Record reported.
"And we seen him, too! We'd have pictures, but the camera jammed!"
Four members of this group have been convicted in the July 21, 2005 London bomb plot. Ahmed, who went on paintball and other camping excursions with Hamid’s group, said he believed it was harmless fun “like Scouts or Cadets,” and that he did not believe the group was breaking the law. In fact, Ahmed claimed, Hamid asked a senior cop “a number of times” if the group’s activities were legal in the aftermath of the July 2005 attacks and was told they were not breaking the law, the Daily Record reported.
"Is it against the law to go Nessie watching, oh Infidel Policeman?"
"Dinna fash yersel', laddie! Tis nae unco brae o' ye t'be Nessie watchin'!"
"What'd he say?"
"I think he said 'no.' In fact, I'm sure he did."
Ahmed stands trial with Hamid, Kibley Da Costa, Mohammed Al Figari and Mousa Brown, who all deny they are linked to terrorists, the Daily Record reported.
"Who? Us? Linked to terrorism? Pshaw!"

This article starring:
Kader Ahmedal-Qaeda in Britain
Kibley Da Costaal-Qaeda in Britain
Mohammed Al Figarial-Qaeda in Britain
Mohammed Hamidal-Qaeda in Britain
Mousa Brownal-Qaeda in Britain
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Britain

#1  Yes we were hunting Nessie... and bigfoot... and I want to call my wife, Morgan Fairchild, yeah thats the ticket!
Posted by: OldSpook || 12/18/2007 2:02 Comments || Top||

#2  I called my wife Morgan Fairchild once and she didn't speak to me for a week.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/18/2007 2:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Everyone in the village had already been with all the goats, so they figured being the first to nail Nesse would be major bragging rights.
Posted by: Mike N. || 12/18/2007 2:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Nessie generally stays on the bottom of the Loch. Send him and his lads down there to find her.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/18/2007 3:02 Comments || Top||

#5  No problem, Besoeker. Are we supposed to give them full SCUBA equipment? Or just the weights?
Posted by: Rambler || 12/18/2007 11:50 Comments || Top||

#6  Cinder blocks...
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/18/2007 11:55 Comments || Top||

#7  Remember, Abdominal Snowman repeatedly warned us about those cryptozoologist types. Turns out he was right, they're up to no good.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 12/18/2007 12:49 Comments || Top||

#8  You could neutralize them and then see how buoyant thay are...
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/18/2007 12:54 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Troops take control of TNSM hospital, detain owners
Security forces took control of a private hospital that treated wounded Taliban and their supporters in Swat on Monday and used gunship helicopters to destroy houses of two wanted militants. Gul Mohammad, the owner of the property used as a hospital in Ningwalai village, and his son were taken into custody. Sources said the security forces took control of the property and shifted the medical equipment and medicines to an unknown place.

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the media centre run by Pakistan Army's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in Swat's headquarters, Mingora, said gunship helicopters pounded the hideouts of militants in Manja in Kabal tehsil and destroyed the houses of two wanted militants, Younis and Salim.

It claimed the two houses were being used for providing information, transportation and logistics support to rebel cleric Maulana Fazlullah. The press release cited unspecified reports that the houses were used as communication base for militants' operations. It added that "wireless equipment and communication material and towers" were recovered from the place and destroyed.

Security forces also took into custody six men at roadside checkpoints in different areas of Swat on the basis of suspicion and transferred them to unknown places for interrogation. The authorities until now have arrested hundreds of men and shifted them mostly to Peshawar for investigation. Some of the arrested persons were later freed.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TNSM

#1  Property values in the area will rise rapidly after this -- those that aren't rubble, anyway.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2007 7:59 Comments || Top||


Clue found to Rashid's escape
Investigative agencies have found a clue to the high-profile escape of Rashid Rauf, linking Tufail, one of the two head constables escorting Rashid Rauf to court, and his uncle Muhammad Rafiq, reliable sources told The News on Monday.

Call records of Head Constable Tufail showed that he was in touch with Rafiq, sources disclosed, adding they had contacted each other before Rashid Rauf fled from police custody. Investigations revealed that two of Rashid’s relatives ñ- Rafiq and Zahoor — were present in the court at the time of hearing. Zahoor left the court premises around 1230 hrs, while Rafiq stayed on till the end of hearing. Sources said Rashid Rauf was being taken back to Adiala jail by head constables Tufail and Nawabzada in a private vehicle of Rafiq (Mitsubishi Station Wagon silver colour) bearing registration No: JM-2071, instead of a prison van.

Guards reportedly unlocked his handcuffs and had lunch at McDonald’s at Jinnah Park, Rawalpindi near district courts. On way to Adiala jail, Rashid Rauf asked his guards to let him say afternoon prayers at a mosque located at Gulshan-e-Abad, ultimately giving him an opportunity to escape.

Rashid Rauf was booked under 3-MPO and kept in Adiala jail, awaiting a decision on a British extradition request. He left the UK in 2002 after allegedly stabbing his uncle to death and was wanted by British authorities in the murder case.

Both head constables started a search for him on their own without reporting to the authorities about the incident. At 1630 hours, Adiala jail, including Hawalat, gave a clear report, without mentioning the disappearance of Rashid Rauf. At 1800 hours, both head constables after failing to find whereabouts of Rashid Rauf reported to the Margalla police station that a person namely Rashid Rauf had fled from their custody.

At 2100 hrs, the SSP received a call from the Adiyala jail superintendent, who informed him about the escape of Rashid Rauf. Sources said the Rawalpindi district jail superintendent had asked police authorities in categorical terms through a “Most Urgent Fax’ No: 39212, dated Dec 10 and endorsement No: 39213-15, cautioning and asking for enhanced security for Rashid Rauf during his hearing on Dec 15 with the Subject ‘Provision of Special Police Guard for the production of detenue Rashid Rauf, son of Abdul Rauf on Dec 15”.

ASI Junaid, who had taken Rauf to courts earlier, was also taken into custody along with Zahoor for investigation. “This was a clear violation of Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) of Handling Prisoners,” intelligence agency sources averred. Agencies add: Meanwhile, taking strict notice of escape of Rashid Rauf, President Pervez Musharraf has ordered the interior ministry to present him a report of the incident immediately and take all-out measures for his re-arrest.

Caretaker Information Minister Nisar A Memon, while addressing a group of journalists, on Monday termed the escape of terror suspect Rashid Rauf from police custody “human failure”, stressing that this incident should not be dubbed as a government failure.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Meanwhile, the Pak Police continue their fine tradition of professional law enforcement...



Quelling voices of protest... Police officers charge a woman protester during a rally on Monday, in Islamabad.
Posted by: john frum || 12/18/2007 6:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Rashid Rauf knows too much about ISI involvement in terrorism worldwide to be releashed into UK/US arms!!!!!!!!!

Perv's policy of encouraging extremism/terrorism to keep him in power will come home to roost one day with his assasination!
Posted by: Paul || 12/18/2007 8:06 Comments || Top||

#3  She looks like a feisty one there, John. They better bring in some armor!

Brave, brave Lions of Islam™!
Posted by: Dar || 12/18/2007 12:19 Comments || Top||

#4  A bizarre twist in a very bizarre story. Consider the bomb-making angle.

The Guardian said the plotters were planning to make TATP. The NY Times said HMTD. Others have suggested MEKP. All these explosives can indeed be made from household liquids.

But in all three cases:

-- the chemical reaction gives off a great deal of heat and must be kept cool.

-- the reaction takes at least 6-8 hours (some sources say 24 hours, others say 2-3 days).

-- the resulting explosive must be removed from the liquid before it can be used.

With a properly shaped charge, the terrorists would need about 250 grams of TATP to knock down a plane. This would only require about 60 litres of liquid ingredients.

How many terrorists would it take to smuggle 60 litres of ingredients aboard a plane? Where would they mix it? How would they keep it cold? Would the flight crew really leave them alone for 6 or 8 hours???

Posted by: Pat Hiver || 12/18/2007 15:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Why would terrorists set up a chemistry laboratory in and airliner lavatory? Why not make it in the bathtub beforehand and smuggle it in their anus? It may require 60 liters of 3% H2O2, but another British plot used something like 20-40% solution acquired from beauty supply shops. A bottle here, a bottle there and nobody notices. The doofuses raised suspicions because they were stocking up on 100 gallons of it.
Posted by: ed || 12/18/2007 15:53 Comments || Top||

#6  Pat..

you only need to keep it cool if you dont want your lab to go up.. not keeping it cold would result in a sudden flash up of the ingredients which might not be a problem for the aspiring chemists in this instance.

Posted by: Abu do you love || 12/18/2007 22:41 Comments || Top||


12 soldiers die in Kohat suicide attack
Twelve soldiers of an Army football team were killed and another five sustained injuries when a suicide bomber attacked them near the House of Signals of Pakistan Army in Kohat Cantonment on Monday.

Initially, police sources said 10 soldiers died in the suicide bombing while six others sustained injuries. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad, who is Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), immediately confirmed the death of nine soldiers in the attack. He said four troops were wounded. Later the ISPR put the death toll at 12 late in the evening.

Sources in Kohat told The News that the soldiers were attacked while returning to their barracks after playing a soccer match in the nearby playground. The suicide bomber, wrapped in a woollen chaddar, struck when the soldiers reached the Army Public School and College ten minutes past noon.

The site of attack is a maximum-security area close to the Army’s House of Signals, which has its centre in Kohat. The second battalion of the Signals is based in this area. Official and local sources in Kohat identified some of the slain soldiers as Mohammad Nawaz, Rashid Khan, Irfan Khan, Rafiq, Shahid, Adnan, Mushtaq and Ghulam Mohammad. Other soldiers killed in the attack couldn’t be identified immediately. The sources named two injured soldiers as Amjad Khan and Shaukat while the remaining three remained unidentified till filing of this report. The injured soldiers were admitted to the Combined Military Hospital, Kohat.

It was learnt the military authorities made immediate arrangements to send the bodies, mostly mutilated, of the slain soldiers to their hometowns for burial. The entire cantonment was cordoned off by deploying more troops to check the movement of suspicious people.

Police officials avoided comment on the incident as it concerned the Army. A number of efforts to reach them proved futile. Subsequently, police officials requesting anonymity said 10 soldiers were confirmed killed in the explosion initially.

Sources told this scribe that around six kg of explosive was used in the blast, which was supported by bolts and ball bearings to cause more casualties. It was also suspected that the explosive was Russian-made. The age of the bomber was stated to be around 20.

The blast is second of its kind in Kohat during the past five months. On July 19, at least 16 persons — including 11 soldiers, a prayer leader and two minors — were killed and same number injured in suicide blast inside a mosque near Pathan Lines, Kohat Garrison during Ish’a prayers. The same day, seven other security personnel were killed in another suicide blast outside the Police Training Centre in adjoining Hangu district.

It merits a mention here that seven persons were killed and several injured in a similar attack on ASC Centre in Nowshera on Sunday.

The Peshawar airbase was also attacked with four rockets a few days back while a woman was killed when the explosives she was carrying exploded near an Army check-post in Peshawar Cantonment last week. Another suicide attack, targeting law enforcers, took place in Swat a few days back in which several persons were killed and injured.

A late evening press release of the ISPR said in Rawalpindi that 12 security forces personnel embraced Shahadat and two others were injured in the Kohat suicide attack. At approximately 1210 hrs, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Signals Training Centre Sports Ground. Nine security forces personnel embraced Shahadat on the spot while five were injured including three critically. Later the three critically injured also succumbed to their injuries. The suicide bomber was also killed in the incident.

Online adds: Terming the Kohat bomb blast a highly gruesome, President Musharraf on Monday expressed his deep grief and sorrow over the loss of innocent lives of security forces. “We will not let terrorists disturb the stability and integrity of the country at any cost, President Musharraf said in a statement when he received news of the incident in Vehari.

The government is taking down to earth steps to expose the culprits of humanity (terrorists), he said. He said that blood of security forces would not go waste. He directed the concerned authorities to take good care of the injured and provide them with optimum medical facilities.

He said that the mastermind involved in the blast would not be spared as such culprits are not humans. He further said that such elements were trying to create lawlessness for their own motives adding strict action would be taken against such culprits.

While expressing condolence with the bereaved families, the president prayed to Almighty Allah to rest the departed souls in eternal peace and give courage to the family members to bear the irremediable losses.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  "The suicide bomber, wrapped in a woollen chaddar"

Is 'chaddar' the same as 'chador', and isn't that another burka-like garment? Was this bomber a woman, or dressed as a woman?
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/18/2007 2:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Twelve soldiers of an Army football team were killed and another five sustained injuries when a suicide bomber attacked them

Obviously a cricket enthusiast.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/18/2007 2:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Looks like I'm taking Navy and the points...
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/18/2007 9:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Interesting that the murdered soldiers are named as embracing shahadat (martyrdom) and not the suicide bomber. A verbal signal of the growing War Between the Purees in Pakistan. May they all do what it takes to resolve it properly.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2007 14:57 Comments || Top||


One killed, 10 injured in Quetta bomb, mine blasts
A boy was killed while nine other persons including a police constable were injured in a bomb blast on the main Abdul Sattar Road here Monday evening. Separately a man was injured in a mine blast while another landmine was detonated by police.

DSP City Raja Ishtiaq told this news agency that unknown miscreants planted a bomb in front of Malik Plaza, which exploded when the bazaar was packed with people busy in Eid shopping. As a result, at least 10 people were injured who were rushed to nearby National Hospital and Civil Hospital. The boy identified as Rehmatullah succumbed to his injuries in National Hospital while the injured traffic police constable Mohammad Ali Durrani, Mohammad Musa, Nasrullah, Ahmed Ali, Tayyab, Abdul Qayyum, Rafiq, Ateeq and Mohammad Naeem were shifted to Civil Hospital for treatment. Their condition is stated to be out of danger.

In another incident, a man was seriously injured after stepping on a landmine apparently planted by unknown miscreants in a graveyard on western bypass. Police also recovered another mine after search.The injured was admitted to Bolan Medical Complex and a case was registered against unknown saboteurs.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Rashid Rauf fled from mosque
A BRITON accused of plotting to blow up trans-Atlantic airliners escaped from a Pakistan mosque after police taking him to jail in a taxi stopped so he could say his prayers.
This may be the richest story we've seen come out of Pakistain yet, with the exception of the mysterious fire on the 16th floor of ISI headquarters in 2002 that destroyed all the terrorism records.
Police have revealed new details about the escape of Rashid Rauf following a court appearance in Islamabad on Saturday. The incident is a serious embarrassment for Pervez Musharraf's Government.
They don't feel egg on the face like we do. They just ignore it and go on, pretending it's not there. Eventually it erodes.
Police said at the weekend that Rauf had broken free from his guards and handcuffs as he was being escorted from court to a prison van.
One of those daring daylight escapes™, y'know? Kinda like Riaz Basra used to have, even the first time or two he was dead.
But a police official, speaking yesterday on condition of anonymity, said Rauf was being taken back to Adiala Jail - a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi - when he asked his guards to let him say afternoon prayers at a roadside mosque. "The policemen accepted his request," the official said. "Rashid Rasuf went inside the mosque with handcuffs on, but he slipped out from a rear door." The official said the two police officers had admitted they were waiting in a car outside the mosque as Rauf went inside and did not check on him for 20 minutes. They are under investigation over the escape.
Absolutely brilliant. We can picture it now: Rather than transporting Rashid from the calaboose to the courthouse in a paddy wagon, cuffed and leg-ironed, two policemen with enormous flat feet pop him in a taxi. When he wants to stop off and be devout, both of the coppers remain in the cab on their enormous behinds, whilst their high-profile prisoner saunters in the front door of the mosque wearing his cuffs and out the back.
Rauf's lawyer, Hashmat Habib, said yesterday that "in my opinion it is not escape, but a case of mysterious disappearance".
Doesn't sound that mysterious to me, and I never even finished law school.
He said that on occasions, his client had been brought from prison to court hearings in armoured vehicles - a claim that contrasts with newspaper reports yesterday that he was conveyed in a taxi and idly left to wander into a mosque to say his prayers.
Y'see, he was only conveyed in armored vehicles when he wasn't set up to escape, with no doubt an evil minion waiting inside the mosque with a change of clothes and a fresh turban for him, and a getaway rickshaw parked at the back door with its 2-cycle motor running.
Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz had assured British Ambassador Robert Brinkely that the suspect's capture was a "priority", British High Commission spokeswoman Laura Davies said yesterday.
Right. And stretching Omar Saeed Sheikh's neck is a priority, too.
Interior Secretary Kamal Shah said security teams were searching the country and would report back within three days.
"Duh! We asked around an' everything, boss! Nobody's seen 'im!"
Rauf, who is of Pakistani origin, was arrested in Pakistan in August last year on a tip-off from British investigators.
He wasn't extradited, though.
Pakistan described him as a key suspect in a purported al-Qaeda plot to blow up passenger planes flying from Britain to the US, prompting a major security alert at airports worldwide and increased restrictions on carry-on items.
Not that plotting to blow up passenger planes flying from Britain to the US is against the law in Pakistain, mind you...
He was charged with possessing chemicals that could be used in making explosives and with carrying forged travel documents.
The former is mildly against the law, but not extraditable, whilst the second is common enough to cause consternation when the documents aren't forged.
Rauf denied involvement in the plot and prosecutors later withdrew the case against him, though he remained in jail awaiting a decision on a British extradition request.
This article starring:
Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz
Interior Secretary Kamal Shah
Laura Davies
Rashid Raufal-Qaeda
Rauf's lawyer, Hashmat Habib
Riaz Basra
Robert Brinkely
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Britain

#1  Ah, the old "roadside mosque" escape!
Posted by: Spot || 12/18/2007 7:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Benny Hill isn't dead. He moved to Pakistan.
Posted by: ed || 12/18/2007 8:27 Comments || Top||

#3  He knows too much to fall into UK hands!

Perv and the ISI is the problem in Pakistan.No Alq before Perv came in charge!!!

He uses them to keep him in power!
Posted by: Paul || 12/18/2007 9:12 Comments || Top||

#4  British High Commission spokeswoman Laura Davies

He would have never escaped from her!
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/18/2007 16:24 Comments || Top||


Pakistani forces arrest 17 militants in Swat
(KUNA) -- Pakistani security forces have arrested 17 Taliban-linked militants, including close associates of wanted radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah as the part of ongoing operation against militants in northern Sawat valley. Forces arrested 17 militants on Sunday from different parts of Sawat valley, said military spokesman Waheed Arshad. He said all arrested militants were close allies of Maulana Fazlullah, also known as "Mullah Radio." Police sources said the arrestees includes brother and uncle of Fazlullah, as well as five foreigners of Afghan and Uzbek origins.

The spokesman said that since the military took command of the operation in Sawat, more than 330 militants had been killed and near 200 arrested. Maulana Fazlullah, known as "Mullah Radio" for broadcasting fiery speeches over his illegal private FM radio station, has called for a holy war against the Pakistani government and security forces.

President Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in the country on November 3 because of judiciary interference into executive affairs and also deteriorating security situation in Sawat. The president, while lifting the state of emergency, said that the valley had been cleared of militants and all objectives of emergency had been achieved.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TNSM


Seven killed in rebel attack in Northeast India
(KUNA) -- At least seven persons have been killed in a powerful bomb explosion triggered by suspected insurgents in Imphal East district in India's Northeastern state of Manipur. A powerful bomb exploded at Pourabi in Imphal East district late Sunday night when a bus was passing through the area in which seven persons were killed, news agency Press Trust of India reported Monday. Following the blast, security has been tightened across Manipur, which borders Myanmar. No rebel group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

This is the second such blast in the past one month in Manipur. On November 16, insurgents exploded a powerful bomb at a shop in the crowded Paona market complex in Manipur's Imphal town, killing one civilian and injuring four others. Meanwhile, Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil in a statement at Delhi today said: "I strongly condemn the bomb blast which took place in Manipur. I convey my sympathies to the kins of those killed. Such desperate acts by anti-national elements will not help them in any manner and will only isolate them further. I am confident that the Manipur Government will take all steps to avoid recurrence of such incidents and bring the culprits to book." Manipur is home to more than 20 insurgent groups whose demand ranges from secessionism to greater autonomy.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Terrorist Tunnel Network Discovered, Destroyed near Iskandariyah
BAGHDAD – A network of underground tunnels used by al-Qaeda in Iraq to store weapons, hide fighters and launch attacks against U.S. forces was discovered and subsequently destroyed by Coalition Forces Dec. 16. It was the first known find of a tunnel system in the Multi-National Division – Center area.
Sounds like they were unoccupied when discovered. I hope this is a rare terrorist tactic - I hate to think of sending our guys down into defended tunnels.
Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, found the tunnels as they were searching an area northwest of Iskandariyah, along the Euphrates River. Immediately prior, they discovered a cache of improvised explosive device components and were investigating when the tunnels were unearthed.

The tunnels provided access to numerous al-Qaeda fighting positions. Inside the tunnels were several DSHKA rounds, leading troops to speculate the tunnels may have served as enemy firing positions for anti-aircraft guns, as well as hiding places for AQI fighters after they launched attacks.

Soldiers called in Coalition air teams to destroy the tunnels. After an initial engagement with one Hellfire missile and three rockets, heavier air support was called in, and dropped two bombs on the target, completely collapsing the network.
Heavy air support - definitely the way to go.

U.S. and Iraqi Soldiers are in the area as part of Operation Marne Roundup, the latest Coalition offensive to target extremists in MND-C. The operation launched the morning of Dec. 15. As soon as the area is secured, U.S. troops will begin construction of a new security outpost, Patrol Base Khidr.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/18/2007 12:35 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The tunnels may be left over from Saddam Hussein's reign as well -- he was awfully keen on burrowing. I hope someone is checking for others in the area.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2007 15:00 Comments || Top||

#2  What is this obsession with tunnels? I feel like I'm watching Invasion of the Mole People.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/18/2007 20:51 Comments || Top||


Corrupt Iraqi Police Captain Arrested
BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Forces, advised by U.S. Special Forces, detained an extremist criminal leader and a corrupt Iraqi Police official believed to support terrorist activities in two separate raids Dec. 13.

In Baghdad, Iraqi and U.S. Special Forces detained a suspected extremist believed to be responsible for improvised explosive device and explosively formed penetrator attacks against Iraqi and Coalition Forces. He is also thought to be involved in the targeting of Coalition informants for attack.

In As Sadiyah, Iraqi Security Forces and U.S. Special Forces detained an Iraqi Police Captain suspected of corruption. The detainee is believed to support al-Qaeda in Iraq activities by facilitating early warning and intelligence operations for the terrorist organization.
One corrupt official down, 1 million to go.
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/18/2007 12:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


ANOTHER Special Groups Leader Caught
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces captured a suspected Special Groups leader and detained 11 other suspects during operations early today in the Aziziyah area, southeast of Baghdad.

The targeted individual reportedly received special weapons training in order to train Special Group criminal element members for attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces. He is believed to have specialized in mortar and rocket attacks. The wanted suspect was also reportedly an associate of several other senior-level criminal element leaders who were involved in attacks on Coalition forces.

Intelligence led ground forces to the target area where they captured the targeted individual and detained the 11 other suspected criminals without incident.

“Al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr’s cease-fire pledge has had a positive impact, but there are criminal elements who are not honoring his pledge,” said Navy Capt. Vic Beck, MNF-I spokesperson. “We will continue to pursue those who dishonor Sadr’s pledge and commit criminal acts against the Iraqi people."
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/18/2007 12:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Surely the Iranian Special Groups have never been subject to Mr. al Sadr's authority, such as it ever was? One would think it was the other way round.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2007 15:02 Comments || Top||

#2  IIRC, Alija Izetbegovic got some help from a “Special Group” right before Operation Storm. And I ain’t talkin’ bout MPRI.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 12/18/2007 15:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Depot Guy:
IIRC, Alija Izetbegovic got some help from a “Special Group” right before Operation Storm. And I ain’t talkin’ bout MPRI.


Operation Desert Storm.
Alija Izetbegovic

Depot guy that waz a bit cryptic, would you fill us in..por favor.

Posted by: RD || 12/18/2007 18:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Look a little farther down in that reference, RD.

For the next three years, Izetbegoviæ lived precariously in a besieged Sarajevo surrounded by Serb forces. He denounced the failure of Western countries to reverse Serbian aggression and turned instead to the Muslim world, with which he had already established relations during his days as a dissident. The Bosnian government received money and arms. There was also a squad consisted of Arab volunteers from Muslim countries (the El-Mudžahid). The number of the El-Mudžahid volunteers is still disputed, from around 300 to 1,500... Although Izetbegoviæ regarded them as symbolically valuable as a sign of the Muslim world's support for Bosnia, they appear to have made little military difference and became a major political liability. The entity defence minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hasan Èengiæ, was closely associated with Iran and his dismissal in 1996 was a major US demand/condition for the funding and equipping of the Bosnian Federation Army.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/18/2007 18:30 Comments || Top||

#5  Thank you Pappy.. I gather then that Depot's main observation is that Iran played a hand in both areans.

Iraq: Al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr, *Another* Special Groups Leader Caught and 11 other suspects [Iranian origin]

Balkins: Alija Izetbegovic, the El-Mudžahid volunteers and Hasan Èengiæ, Iranian errand boy

*************************************

This bit is rich, in fact Navy Capt. Vic Beck's statement is f*cking brilliant.

“Al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr’s cease-fire pledge has had a positive impact, but there are criminal elements who are not honoring his pledge,” said Navy Capt. Vic Beck, MNF-I spokesperson. “We will continue to pursue those who dishonor Sadr’s pledge and commit criminal acts against the Iraqi people."

~:)
Posted by: RD || 12/18/2007 19:55 Comments || Top||


Turkish Army Sends Soldiers Into Iraq
The Turkish army sent soldiers about 1.5 miles into northern Iraq in an overnight operation on Tuesday, Kurdish officials said. A Turkish official said the troops seeking Kurdish rebels were still in Iraq by midmorning. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Kirkuk, the hub of Iraq's northern oil fields. The troops crossed into an area near the border with Iran, about 75 miles north of the city of Irbil, said Jabar Yawar, a spokesman for Kurdistan's Peshmerga security forces.

About 300 Turkish troops crossed the border at 3 a.m., said Jamal Abdullah, a spokesman for the regional Kurdistan government. He said the region was a deserted mountainous frontier area. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad declined to comment on reports of the Turkish operation.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 09:39 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Task Force Band of Brothers augmentees? Welcome to the fight, have an MRE!
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/18/2007 10:52 Comments || Top||

#2  all gone now.

another article says the US has been giving the Turks targeting info since Iraq won't control the PPK.
Posted by: Daffy Omeack6458 || 12/18/2007 16:30 Comments || Top||

#3  TOPIX > OVER 300 TURKISH SOLDIERS STILL OPERATING IN IRAQ, agz Kurdish targets since Tuesday; + CHIN MIL FORUM > IRAQI KURDISH LEADER SHUNS RICE, over US assistance-accomo to Turkey prior to Turkish invasion; + IRAQ: TURKISH ATTACK A VIOLATION OF SOVEREIGNTY.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/18/2007 21:14 Comments || Top||

#4  sigh. I hope the Iraqi government takes action to drive the Turks from their borders. This is unacceptable. 100,000 troops on the borders is not about the PKK it is about oil.
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611 || 12/18/2007 23:36 Comments || Top||


Vid: 155 Howitzers vs. a sniper - You know how it ends
Posted by: Frank G || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thanks Frank, I've seen versions of this one where the first "weapon" waz a 120MM from a M1A1/2 and the second was a J-DAM. Whatever the ammo waz, the GOOD RESULT waz the same.. Dead Terrorist, sniper team , and maybe more!!

BTW Merry Christmas to you and yours Frank. And a special thanks to your son serving Over There.

You have so much to be Proud of and in a 'good way' I am jealous Frank, from my entire family then, God Bless.

RD
Posted by: RD || 12/18/2007 1:04 Comments || Top||

#2  The 155 seems most likely to me, too. In any case, another jihadi gets his 72 Helen Thomases raisins.
Posted by: Dick Arbusto, CEO of Hallibushwater || 12/18/2007 2:23 Comments || Top||

#3  thanks RD :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 12/18/2007 7:05 Comments || Top||

#4  the Good Lt., at My Pet Jawa, has a couple more: Got Roaches? Call USAF
Posted by: Frank G || 12/18/2007 8:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Vid has been out a while, before the Excalibur shell was sent to Iraq. Credited to Guided MLRS.
Posted by: ed || 12/18/2007 14:31 Comments || Top||

#6  OOH! The Excalibur shell is out there now! I can't wait to see how well it works. I supect that it won't eclipse the MLRS, but I hope it has a good niche to fill.
Posted by: gorb || 12/18/2007 22:38 Comments || Top||


Booby-trapped truck explosion kills one soldier, wounds another in Mosul
(KUNA) — One Iraqi soldier was killed and another was wounded when a booby-trapped truck targeted a bridge near Mosul Dam on Monday. A source in the Iraqi police in Mosul told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that a booby-trapped truck targeting a bridge exploded on the Tigris River near Mosul Dam which resulted in the death of one element of the installations protection force. Another soldier was wounded. The blast also caused minimal damage to the bridge, the source added.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency

#1  They gave their all, and did their job protecting the bridge. Thank you, Iraqi soldiers, for choosing to make a difference.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2007 15:04 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
PIJ head cheese, master rocket maker, 6 other beggars helizapped
Israeli aircraft launched an assault on the radical Islamic Jihad organization from the skies over Gaza, killing eight of the organization's men in three fiery strikes overnight. Early Tuesday, an Israeli air-to-ground missile killed three Islamic Jihad gunmen, including a senior commander, as they emerged from morning prayers at a northern Gaza mosque. That attack came on the heels of a pair of airstrikes after nightfall Monday. Israeli aircraft blasted two cars in Gaza City, killing five Islamic Jihad militants, including the group's overall commander in Gaza and the West Bank and a master rocket maker.

Early Tuesday, the group also announced that its commander in the northern West Bank had been killed by an undercover Israeli unit. But the Israeli military, which usually takes responsibility for such operations, said it had no knowledge of the incident.

The target of the first Israeli airstrike in Gaza City late Monday was Majed Harazin, a senior Islamic Jihad militant in charge of rocket squads that have been firing at Israel, the military said.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Khaled el-Batch confirmed that Harazin was killed in the first attack. He was the top Islamic Jihad commander for both the West Bank and Gaza, the group said, and he presciently rarely traveled in vehicles for fear of an Israeli airstrike. Another militant was killed and a third critically wounded in the airstrike, hospital officials said.

Gun sex fire erupted throughout Gaza after Harazin's death was announced by Islamic Jihad over mosque loudspeakers. An Islamic Jihad official called his death a serious blow to the militant group. Islamic Jihad supporters gathered around the morgue and pledged Revengeᅵ. "The blood of our comrades will be the fuel for the rockets that will bring death and destruction to the Zionists," another Islamic Jihad spokesman, Abu Hamza, told The Associated Press.

In the second airstrike, shortly before midnight, the military said its aircraft targeted a cell that was about to fire rockets at Israel. Undercover agents took part in the attack, the military said, and the leader of the cell was killed. Two other militants also died.

Both Israel and Islamic Jihad identified him as Karim al-Dahdouh, known as a master rocket maker. The Israeli missiles obliterated a car on a narrow road, and rescue teams searched for body parts in a nearby grove.

Hamas radio said the car was filled with explosives and warned people to stay away, but people crowded around the burning vehicle. Witnesses said the initial blast was followed by smaller explosions after the car was hit while slowing down near a mosque.

The third strike, early Tuesday, killed three more of the group's men and critically wounded a fourth. Four civilians also were wounded, medical officials said.

In an e-mail sent to reporters, Islamic Jihad said it would retaliate for its losses with suicide attacks inside Israel, threatening "a wave of martyrdom operations."
Posted by: Seafarious || 12/18/2007 01:32 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad

#1  Hamas radio said the car was filled with explosives and warned people to stay away, but people crowded around the burning vehicle.

That's our Palis.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/18/2007 2:33 Comments || Top||

#2  the fact that the IDF is confident enough to admit that they not only have undercover agents in Gaza but that these agents act openly against IJihad types.

this seems evident that Hamas gave the IDF a green light for this operation
Posted by: mhw || 12/18/2007 5:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, mhw, if you can't keep your own folks in line, it's nice to have some contractors clean up for you. Plus you get plausible deniability!
Posted by: Bobby || 12/18/2007 6:31 Comments || Top||

#4  the fact that the IDF is confident enough to admit that they not only have undercover agents in Gaza

Nah, it's technical, but paranioa is a very potent weapon.
Posted by: phil_b || 12/18/2007 6:53 Comments || Top||

#5  as of near dusk local time the tally of dead jihadis was up to 13 (per haaratz)
Posted by: mhw || 12/18/2007 11:29 Comments || Top||


Palestinian security forces seize three Hamas supporters
Ma'an – Fatah-allied Palestinian security forces detained three Hamas supporters in the West Bank on Monday, a Hamas press statement said. Security forces allegedly seized one Hamas member in Ramallah, and abducted the other two in Hebron.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Palestinian intelligence arrest two on charges of attacking security patrol in Nablus
Ma'an – Palestinian security forces detained two men on Monday suspected of throwing a homemade explosive device at a Palestinian patrol last week.

The Palestinian Intelligence Director for the northern West Bank city of Nablus Abdullah Kumeil said the suspects admitted to the charges. According to Kumeil, the attack was not politically motivated, but was rather an act of vandalism. He added that the men also turned in a homemade rifle to the Palestinian security. Both men were from Askar refugee camp east of Nablus.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ... the attack was not politically motivated, but was rather an act of vandalism.

That describes almost everything Paleos do.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/18/2007 2:44 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Terrorists kill four, beheading one of them, in southern Thailand
Four Muslims were killed -- and one of them beheaded -- and two soldiers were wounded seriously in two attacks in Thailand's rebellious Muslim-majority far south, police said on Tuesday.

Three village security guards and a village headman were ambushed and shot dead in Yala, one of the three southern provinces caught up in nearly four years of terrorist separatist insurgency in which more than 2,100 people have been killed. "Their bodies were left near a pick-up truck and the village headman was beheaded, with his head left on the road," one said. A fifth man was shot in the arm but escaped, they said.

The identity of the gunmen was unknown, but police said they presumed they were members of a militant group called RKK -- Runda Kumpalan Kecil, which means Small Patrol Group in Malay.

In a separate incident, a bomb wounded two soldiers seriously as they stopped at a grocery store in another Yala town, police said. The bomb, hidden in front of the store, was detonated by a remote control when the soldiers went in, police said.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/18/2007 06:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Such lovely people, these terrorists. Truly, Islam is a religion of peace.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2007 15:05 Comments || Top||


Good morning.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Let me tie your shoes for you, Grace.
Posted by: gorb || 12/18/2007 6:33 Comments || Top||

#2  That's not a rocket in my pocket, and I'm very glad to see ya...
Posted by: Spot || 12/18/2007 7:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Knees and elbows -- why do they hate us?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 12/18/2007 8:16 Comments || Top||

#4  I was watching on live TV as the Beast's motorcade drive into Havana, after Batista bailed. I would like to watch as a mortal missile slammed into his latest motorcade.
Posted by: Elminetle Poodle5254 || 12/18/2007 13:25 Comments || Top||

#5  It's mine and I'll wash it as fast as I want to.
Posted by: Mike N. || 12/18/2007 14:44 Comments || Top||

#6  Dig the blog a LOT!
Nice style and I like the way you discuss the problems . I’m going to book mark it.
;)
Posted by: "Joe Weber" || 12/18/2007 15:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Glad you like it, Joe. C'mon by later when we barbeque up and eat a spammer....
Posted by: tu3031 || 12/18/2007 15:08 Comments || Top||

#8  BBQ damn!
i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry, i'm not hungry..
Posted by: RD || 12/18/2007 17:48 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
57[untagged]
4Taliban
3Govt of Syria
2TNSM
2al-Qaeda in Britain
2Govt of Iran
1Hamas
1HUJI
1Iraqi Insurgency
1Islamic Courts
1Islamic Jihad
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1al-Qaeda in Yemen
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On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2007-12-18
  Turkish Army Sends Soldiers Into Iraq
Mon 2007-12-17
  Paks form team to rearrest Rashid Rauf
Sun 2007-12-16
  Kabul cop shoppe boomed, 5 dead
Sat 2007-12-15
  Mehsud to head Taliban Movement of Pakistan
Fri 2007-12-14
  Khamenei appoints Qassem as Hezbollah military commander
Thu 2007-12-13
  Leb car boom murders top general
Wed 2007-12-12
  Qaeda in North Africa claims Algiers blasts
Tue 2007-12-11
  Taliban abandons Musa Qala
Mon 2007-12-10
  al-Abssi is in Syria and Fatah al-Isalm is in Gaza
Sun 2007-12-09
  Fierce battle rages for Taliban stronghold
Sat 2007-12-08
  Berri postpones Lebanon presidential election to Tuesday
Fri 2007-12-07
  Pak troops capture Mullah Fazlullah's base
Thu 2007-12-06
  Suicide attack on army bus in Kabul kills 16
Wed 2007-12-05
  Somali leader taken to hospital
Tue 2007-12-04
  Abu Maysara Positively Deader Than a Rock

Better than the average link...



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