A clash between police and the Taliban in a mountainous area of southern Afghanistan left eight militants dead and three officers wounded, a police chief said on Monday. The battle in Dihrawud district of Uruzgan province started on Saturday and carried over into Sunday, said Juma Gul Himat, a provincial police chief. The authorities recovered the bodies of the dead militants alongside their weapons, Himat said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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A roadside bomb killed two Somalis and two foreign aid workers working for the Dutch arm of Medecins Sans Frontieres near the southern Somali port of Kismayu on Monday, witnesses said.
A Somali driver, a Kenyan doctor and a French logistics officer were killed instantly by the blast while a Somali journalist nearby died from shrapnel wounds, Abdi Adan Duale, a nurse with MSF-Holland in Kismayu, told Reuters.
A Reuters reporter saw three bodies in the vehicle.
"All foreign workers have left Kismayu," said Mariam Hussein Mohamed, another MSF nurse in the southern port.
She said a second Kenyan MSF official was wounded. "We washed the bodies and wrapped them with white linen sheets. The plane carrying the dead and the other foreign staff is just about to leave for Nairobi," she told Reuters by telephone.
MSF-Holland confirmed in a statement that some of its aid workers were involved in an automobile incident in Kismayu. It said it had reports of fatalities but no other information.
Kismayu police chief Ibrahim Khalif Shanfool said two men were arrested after the blast. "We have two male suspects in our custody who were arrested at the site of the blast. Investigations are under way," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
A car bomb has exploded in the Algerian town of Thenia killing at least one person, security sources said.
Several others were hurt in the attack outside a police station in the town, east of Algiers, though police stopped the vehicle from reaching the building.
Police said the death toll was likely to rise as the blast caused major damage to the surrounding area.
It follows a string of similar attacks last year claimed by radical Islamist group al-Qaeda in the Maghreb.
At least 41 people, including 17 UN staff, died in two bomb attacks in Algiers in December.
#1
THENIA, Algeria (AP) - A car loaded with explosives and headed for a police station in northern Algeria exploded Tuesday after officers stopped the attack with bullets. At least two people were killed and 23 wounded, the Interior Ministry said.
Witnesses and security officials said at least three people were killed.
Officers opened fire on a vehicle that was speeding toward the local police station in the town of Thenia, some 40 miles east of Algiers. The vehicle exploded short of the building, leaving a 6 1/2-foot-wide crater.
The explosion was the latest in a wave of attacks signaling that Islamic fighters are regrouping in Algeria, where offensives by security forces and government amnesty offers had thinned the ranks of insurgents in recent years.
Meanwhile, a report Tuesday said police arrested four people allegedly involved in planning the most serious recent attack: twin suicide bombings Dec. 11 in the Algerian capital that killed at least 37 people, 17 of them U.N. workers.
The four reportedly were preparing a new attack in Algiers, the daily El Watan reported, quoting security sources. Two were scouts who allegedly guided the suicide bombers to their destinations; two were militants who filmed the bombings, according to the paper, usually reliable on the subject.
The Dec. 11 bombings, at U.N. offices and a government building, left little doubt that al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, an affiliate of the global terror network that claimed the December attacks, was intent on reviving the insurgency that has wracked Algeria since 1992.
The four were arrested in Boumerdes, east of Algiers, in a region known as a haunt for the al-Qaida-affiliated group, El Watan said. Three had no previous police record.
The paper, quoting security sources, said the arrests provided a partial picture of preparations for the Dec. 11 attacks, including the purchase of the two small trucks at a market in Tidjelabine that were loaded with explosive materials, El Watan reported.
The paper also said a man described as an emir, or leader, of the Algiers area was killed in an ambush near Souk El Had. Police were checking his identity.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attempted attack Tuesday in Thenia that stopped the clock on City Hall and damaged surrounding buildings.
The Interior Ministry said at least two were killed. Earlier, security officials said the bombing killed at least three people and wounded several others.
The al-Qaida affiliate said it was behind a similar attack earlier this month in Naciria, east of Algiers. Four people were killed when a vehicle rigged with explosives slammed into the police station there.
The groupwhich emerged from an alliance between Osama bin Laden's international terrorist network and an Algerian Islamist movement known as the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, or GSPCincreasingly has used suicide bombers to deliver its strikes.
Since the December attacks, police have been searching for 33 alleged Islamists ranging in age from 24 and 42, including a 26-year-old woman, El Watan said.
Algeria has been battling an Islamic insurgency since 1992 triggered when the army canceled the second round of the country's first multiparty elections to prevent a likely victory by a now-banned Muslim fundamentalist party. Up to 200,000 people are estimated to have died in violence since then.
A disparate group of tribal armed militant groups, some of them linked to al Qaida, announced the formation of an alliance last month called The Taliban Movement of Pakistan. The 40-man leadership is from seven tribal agencies and eight bordering districts, underscoring the movement's reach. The group is thought to have 5,000 to 10,000 fighters and is growing steadily as it gains momentum.
Islamic militants known as the Pakistani Taliban have extended their reach across all seven of Pakistan's frontier tribal regions and have infiltrated Peshawar, the provincial capital, heightening U.S. concerns that an insurrection may be broadening in the nuclear-armed nation.
Meet the new Taliban, pretty much the same as the old Taliban, with better grenade skillz.
Fighting over the weekend spilled into previously peaceful parts of the tribal belt that borders Afghanistan and intensified in South Waziristan, Bajour and Mohmand. In Bannu, southwest of Peshawar, gunmen fleeing police took dozens of schoolchildren hostage for several hours Monday before tribal elders brokered a deal offering them safe passage, state-run television reported.
A disparate group of tribal armed militant groups, some of them linked to al Qaida, announced the formation of an alliance last month called The Taliban Movement of Pakistan. The 40-man leadership is from seven tribal agencies and eight bordering districts, underscoring the movement's reach. The group is thought to have 5,000 to 10,000 fighters and is growing steadily as it gains momentum.
U.S. officials are deeply concerned that the insurgency is becoming bolder and expanding faster than had been anticipated, a State Department official said.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Give them an inch, and they'll keep taking. With these kinds of people, the only answer is to hit them every time and everywhere they raise their ugly heads. Unfortunately, that' not "acceptable" to a portion of our society that thinks we should only play 'nice'. Playing nice with terrorists gets you killed.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/29/2008 12:44 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The next president is going to be faced with a very bad situation here, and the only way to effectively deal with it is what OP indicates. These people are savages. They will drag any and all back to the stone age, an environment which they seem quite comfortable living in.
#3
Although this gives the jihadi consortium a place to train safely, thus far as soon as they leave to set up an incident, they get caught (eg the recent Barcelona captures), suggesting we're linked in to their communications. And, so long as their focus is on the Pakistani civil war, the invasions of Afghanistan will be fewer and less effective. The only thing I want from Pakistan is control of their nuclear program and all its bits and pieces.
I do hope Iran is dealt with before the next president is sworn in. We've been waiting a long time for that to be resolved.
Taliban gunmen have been allowed to walk free after they stormed a school in Pakistan and took at least 200 children hostage. Security forces made no attempt to detain the seven militants after negotiators resolved a stand-off lasting several hours.
This incident, combined with previous occasions in which hundreds of Pakistani soldiers have surrendered to Taliban fighters, raised new questions about the country's ability and willingness to fight Islamist militancy.
Posted by: ed ||
01/29/2008 00:58 ||
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#1
Muzzies, people, anyone that takes children hostage are beyond low. We can only hope these animals are hunted down and given their 72 raisins.
Indias intelligence services believe a Karnataka resident held earlier this month on car theft charges could help unravel a Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami network thought to be responsible for a string of terrorist bombings that claimed over a 100 lives across the country in 2005-2006.
Sources associated with the interrogation of Hyderabad-born Ziauddin Nasir said evidence has emerged that he trained with a Pakistan-based HuJI cell responsible for strikes in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan for six months, before returning to India through Bangladesh in August, 2007.
Among other things, investigators hope to establish whether the head of the cell, Mohammad Abdul Shahid, is still alive or whether unconfirmed rumours that he was eliminated in an August 2007 shootout in Karachi are correct. Operating under the alias Bilal, one-time Hyderabad resident Shahid is wanted by Interpol for several bombings, including a May attack on the citys Mecca Masjid. Investigators also hope to learn more about the whereabouts of Shahids Lahore-based second-in-command Mohammad Amjad, who like him is a one-time Hyderabad resident.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ASAD YAZDANI
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
BASHIR MIR
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
Haren Pandya
KANCHAN
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
Khaliq Rehman
MAULVI MOHAMAD NASIRUDIN
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
MOHAMAD ABDUL SHAHID
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
MOHAMAD AMJAD
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
MOHAMAD SHARIFUDIN
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
Rasool Khan Yakub Khan Pathan
ZIAUDIN NASIR
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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With the exception of scattered firing, and some civilian casualties, Darra Adam Khel remained calm on Monday, as militants retreated from key positions around the Kohat Tunnel.
ISPR Director General Major General Athar Abbas said the army was in control of the area, adding that the tunnel would be opened to traffic in the next two to three days. Abbas said the ammunition trucks seized by the militants on Thursday had not been recovered yet. He said security personnel had been instructed to avoid targeting suspected Taliban positions located close to civilian populations.
Almost all hardcore militants were now leaving Darra Adam Khel, Swat and Waziristan for Bajaur.
Sources said the militants were asking locals to stay in the trenches till they left the area. They said almost all hardcore militants were now leaving Darra Adam Khel, Swat and Waziristan for Bajaur. Also on Monday, four people were killed and eight others injured in separate incidents in the Mazeedkhel, Akakhel, Sherkai and Kohiwal areas. Separately, a local journalist said five unclaimed bodies, suspected to be those of militants, had been shifted to an army camp. Another local source said an Islamabad bomb disposal squad visited the Kohat Tunnel and declared it safe for use.
Journalists attacked: Three Peshawar-based journalists narrowly escaped a volley of bullets fired by Taliban militants and security personnel in Darra Adam Khel, as they tried to enter the Kohat Tunnel. The Khyber Union of Journalists condemned the incident.
This article starring:
Athar Abbas
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
leaving Swat, maybe. Leaving Waziristan? Im surprised and skeptical.
Two soldiers were killed and three others injured late on Sunday night when unidentifed assailants fired rockets at an army checkpost in the Nawazkot area, near Razmak in North Waziristan, sources said. The troops retaliated but no causalities were reported among militants, they added. Elsewhere, militants killed one soldier and wounded five in renewed fighting near Kot Kai, South Waziristan, AFP quoted the army as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Security forces took control of FC camps in Baidara, Bam Khela, Kuza Drush Khela, Bara Drush Khela and Chinyala while 15 local Taliban surrendered in Garh Bara Banda, in Swat valley on Monday. Residents hailed the security forces. Also, Matta policeman Habibullahs headless body was found from Maskhara. Drush Khela Fort was also captured by the security forces, APP reported. Four troops were injured late on Sunday, Online reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
wait, FC camps means "frontier corps" camps, right? So the security forces are just retaking places recently taken from them by Mahsud. Oh well, still good I guess.
Six militant outfits appear to be operating in Darra Adam Khel, with two having extended their sway to within 20 kilometres of Peshawar, officials and residents fleeing the area said on Monday.
Eight camps: Asking not to be named for fear of reprisal, the Mazeedkhel resident told Daily Times that the militants had set up around eight training camps in different parts of Darra Adam Khel, adding that foreign militants were imparting training to members of local Taliban there. In these training camps, basic military training is imparted, and they send potential suicide bombers to South Waziristan for a further four-months of training, said the resident who travelled to Peshawar to flee the military operation targeting militants.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
KHALID SHEIKH MUHAMAD
al-Qaeda
RAMZI AHMED YUSAF
Muslim United Army International
Harkatul Mujahideen
Jaish-e-Muhammad
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Lashkar-e-Taiaba
Muslim United Army International
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Mardan District Nazim Himayutullah Mayar said on Monday that Talibanisation had become a challenge for the Mardan district administration, which has sought additional force and logistic support from the provincial government to counter militancy. Talking to Daily Times, the mayor of the city said, The district administration has sought additional force and equipment to counter militant activities.
Threatening letters to girl schools, NGO offices and CD/video centres in the city and its suburbs have been a common practice of militants. But on January 24, they attacked a vehicle of Caretaker Health Minister Syed Kamal Shah at Bakhshali when he was returning to the city after visiting a basic heath unite in a village, Mayar added. The caretaker minister, belonging to Mardan, escaped unhurt, however, his guard Hazrat Mohammad suffered serious injuries.
Militants arriving via Kohi-Barmol Hills: Shamozai Union Council Nazim Mohammad Saeed Khan said militants were arriving in Mardan via Kohi-Barmol hills bordering the Swat valley and hiding in these hills, while police were unable to deal with them. Numerous DVD shops and several schools were bombed recently and principals of some girl schools have received threatening letters. The district administration has been asking for assistance to counter the Talibanisation but the provincial government is yet to take measures to this end, Saeed Khan
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Malik Ilyas Khan
Mohammad Saeed Khan
Nazim Himayutullah Mayar
Syed Kamal Shah
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
You see the JDAMS exploding in groups up to seven or eight. Consider what happened when a three-ship cell of B-52s dropped 318 500-lb bombs on a strip of territory three miles long and 3/4 of a mile wide, all in about 32 seconds. THAT, brothers, is SHOCK AND AWE. Failure to use it in Iraq and Afghanistan (because of the bleeding hearts crowd) has probably cost us 1000 casualties.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/29/2008 13:07 Comments ||
Top||
#3
OP In '66 or '67 my step father told me about small post raid damage assesesment teams that would find little more than a mangled piece of equiptment or two and/or little bits of VC/NVA flesh hanging from the roots of Giant Hardwood Trees trees which had been comepletely uprooted, snapped and strew about like toys from our arclight raids.
The rest of the enemy would be presumably buried..
yes, i'm sure there were complete misses
altogether but the sheer number of raids, each being lethal as hell, that the recognized vast numbers of the NVA missing
"On Monday, a US jeep was hit by a powerful roadside bomb while on patrol in an eastern suburb of Mosul, killing five troopers. The patrol was then sprayed with small arms fire by gunmen holed up in a nearby mosque, US commanders said."
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - A suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. patrol Tuesday in Mosul, killing at least one Iraqi and wounding as many as 15, the military and police said, a day after a roadside bomb killed five American soldiers in the increasingly lawless northern city.
At a U.S. base outside Mosul, scores of American troops and an honor guard stood at attention on the airfield tarmac as five coffins of their slain comrades were loaded onto a plane for the journey home. A cold wind blew as the bleak ceremony began. Five groups of eight pallbearers each took turns unloading a flag-draped coffin from the back of five Humvee ambulances, as about 75 members of the fallen soldiers' unit stood at attention.
At least 100 other soldiers stood erect and silent through the 30- minute ceremony. Even civilian workers at the airport of Forward Operating Base Marez on the outskirts of Mosul formed an honor line as the dead soldiers bodies' were loaded into a gray C-130 transport plane.
Continued on Page 49
Looks like Bradley hasn't had a chance to use his AP Bushitler Quagmire cliches in awhile.
Glad he used the opportunity to get them out of his system...all in one shot.
Coalition forces detained 18 suspected terrorists Sunday and today during operations to disrupt al-Qaeda networks operating in central Iraq.
During an operation east of Tikrit near the Hamrin Mountains Sunday, Coalition forces captured an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq associate who serves as an interrogator at a terrorist prison and training camp in the region. The suspected terrorist also reportedly facilitates the purchase of weapons and the movement of fighters in the area. The targeted individuals brother was killed during a Coalition forces operation Sep. 30 for his involvement in leading a terrorist cell responsible for running illegal checkpoints, emplacing improvised explosive devices, and kidnapping Iraq citizens in the Hamrin mountain region. During the operation, the wanted individual identified himself to the ground force and was subsequently detained, along with 12 suspected terrorists.
In Baqubah early this morning, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to be involved in an al-Qaeda in Iraq suicide IED network operating in the Diyala province. Reports indicate the suspected terrorist is associated with the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader killed Jan. 22 for his role in the same network. In addition to the wanted individual, the ground force detained three suspected terrorists on site.
Farther north near Mosul today, Coalition forces detained one suspected terrorist while targeting an alleged associate of an al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader formerly responsible for the networks in northern Iraq. The barbaric nature of al-Qaeda in Iraq continues to find new depths of depravity, said Cmdr. Scott Rye, MNF-I spokesman. We stand committed, along with the Iraqi Security Forces and the Iraqi population, to end their terror and create a safer country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers found two weapons caches during dismounted patrols in the Rashid District of the Iraqi capital Jan. 26.
Soldiers of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division attached to Task Force Dragon, were patrolling a palm grove in Doura, when they found a hidden cache. Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel removed and disposed of one 105mm artillery round, 15 blasting caps, three grenade fuses, two cans of 7.62mm rifle ammunition and a magazine of 9mm cartridges. After the initial find, Soldiers found another cache.
The second cache of 24 mortar initiators, three rocket-propelled grenades, four sticks of plastic explosives, seven blasting caps, detonator, 300 feet of copper wire, two rocket fins, eight feet of detonation cord and ten machine gun rounds were destroyed along with the first cache. This is part of the ongoing offensive operations in support of Operation Phantom Phoenix to kill or capture Al Qaeda and Shia/Sunni extremists; to deny them rest and sanctuary in Baghdad and the surrounding rural areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Ten machine gun rounds"?
Are they using the cartriges as initiators?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/29/2008 12:51 Comments ||
Top||
Egyptian security forces have been gradually reasserting their control over parts of the border with the Gaza Strip. Riot police deployed in large numbers along parts of the border in the town of Rafah, and security forces blocked one broken section of the border with barbed wire and chain-link fencing. They continued to allow people to freely cross the border on foot, but they have restricted vehicle traffic.
Hamas-affiliated militants on the Gaza side of the border have been keeping Palestinian cars from entering Egypt, but allowing trucks to pass. There is no confirmation that Hamas is working in concert with the Egyptian authorities, but their actions seem to indicate some coordination in their approach to the border traffic flow. But in Cairo, Egyptian officials and Arab League foreign ministers reaffirmed their opposition to working directly with Hamas.
Egyptian officials have made it clear that they do not intend to leave the border wide-open for much longer, but they have struggled to find ways of effectively closing it down. Clashes broke out on Friday when they tried to close it by force, so in recent days they have flung up scores of checkpoints around the border town of Rafah, trying to prevent Gazans from moving further into Egypt.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
After a while, soaring prices lead to more supply and lower prices. But let's focus on the few who "get rich".
That's not fair! Everybody shoud get rich or poor equally! You know, like, from each according to their ability; to each according to their needs.
Posted by: Karl Marx, Jr. ||
01/29/2008 6:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
He said before the border broke open, the Palestinians had nothing. "But now," he said, "we do not have anything. Their situation has been transferred to us. Now we go hungry, as they did."
(Xinhua) -- Egyptian security forces on Monday started to rebuild fences at the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip, the pan-Arab satellite television al-Jazeera reported. Barbed wire was erected by Egyptian security forces at two gaps blown up by Hamas on Jan. 23 along Rafah crossing, which allowed hundreds of thousands of Gazans to enter the Egyptian side to stock up foods, fuel and other basic needs. Hamas fighters stood by and did not interfere with Egyptian forces' efforts to patch up the frontier barrier, while hundreds of Palestinians managed to cross through other breaches under joint Hamas and Egyptian guard.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I guess they don't want gazillions of Gazanians pouring across their border either.
A police officer and a suspected terrorist insurgent were killed in a clash early Tuesday in Yala province, police said.
The clash took place as security forces surrounded a house in Bannang Sata district where terrorists insurgents believed to be members of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) group to be hiding. Terrorists Insurgents and security forces began shooting for about 5 minutes, before the terrorists militants fled the scene, leaving a dead terrorist insurgent behind. The terrorist militant was a 27-year-old Muslim wanted on an arrest warrant in relation to a raid on a police station two years ago.
Also in Yala, two terrorists insurgents shot a villager in Krong Pinang district on Tuesday morning.
#1
Thailand needs to get its act together. There should ALWAYS be more terrorists killed than non-terrorists. Forget the Bhuddist admonition against killing - your muslim adversaries don't have it. If you don't kill them, they will kill more, causing Bhudda greater pain and seriously lowering your chance to come back in the next life as a cat.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/29/2008 13:17 Comments ||
Top||
Tamil Tiger rebels Monday shelled Sri Lankas main northern military base, disrupting a vital air link to the troubled region as the military said it killed 82 guerrillas over the weekend.
An aircraft carrying top defence officials and military brass was turned away from the Jaffna military airfield as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) pounded the region with heavy artillery, officials said. They said the Palaly airfield at the northern edge of the Jaffna peninsula was shut for military and civilian aircraft as the artillery fire and retaliatory strikes continued for about two hours.
We heard heavy shelling for hours during the morning, a local resident in Jaffna, 410 km north of here, said when contacted by telephone on Monday afternoon. Telephone lines to the area were disrupted while the firing was going on in the morning, residents said. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The Jaffna peninsula is the northern tip of Sri Lanka and controlled by the government, but cut off from the rest of the country by Tiger rebels. It is reliant on supplies from planes and ships.
Retaliation: Aircraft pounded suspected artillery gun positions of the Tigers in the northern mainland, 25 kilometres away from the Palaly runway. About 15 shells had been fired, at the Palaly base, a defence official here said. Counter attacks are taking place. A military statement, meanwhile, said 39 suspected Tiger rebels had been killed in a string of separate clashes in the north of Sri Lanka on Sunday, on top of 43 killed on Saturday, pushing the weekend rebel toll to 82. Since the start of the month, the ministry has claimed government forces have killed 748 rebels against just 28 soldiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, either they're using up their last stocks, or they've found a new way to resupply. The SLN sank all of the Tigers' ammo storage ships a few months ago.
A prominent dissident and former MP, Riad Seif, has been arrested in Syria, local human rights groups say. He was reportedly detained for attending a meeting of supporters of democratic reform in Syria.
The arrest brings to 11 the number opposition activists detained since December, reports say. Syria does not usually comment on such arrests. Human rights groups say Syria holds hundreds of political prisoners, some without charge or trial.
Mr Seif, who suffers from prostate cancer, had already been banned from leaving Syria for medical treatment, a restriction he criticised as a "slow death sentence".
Mr Seif heads the secretariat of the Damascus Declaration group, which was formed in 2005 and which last met in December to form a national council, bringing together 163 opposition members.
The National Organisation for Human Rights in Syria said Mr Seif was taken into custody on Monday evening by the security authorities after a warrant was issued against him for participating in the meeting. A statement by the group described him as "one of the symbols of the Damascus Spring", the period of political dialogue after the death of strongman President Hafez al-Assad in 2000.
His successor, his son "pencil neck" Bashar, initially tolerated the discussion groups which came into being, but a tough clampdown began in 2001.
Mr Seif has spent time in jail for criticising the younger President Assad's government.
National Police Chief Brig. Gen. Ashraf Rifi uncovered that the vehicle used in the assassination of Maj. Wissam Eid, one of Lebanon's top terrorism investigators, was rigged with 75 kilograms of explosives. Rifi told the Jeddah-based Okaz newspaper that the amount used in Friday's bombing was the biggest to be used since the series of assassinations began in 2005 with the killing of former Premier Rafik Hariri.
He said investigators were able to determine the brand of the car and its chassis number. Rifi said three suspects were arrested at the crime scene in the Chevrolet neighborhood of Hazmieh east of Beirut driving a Ford.
Meanwhile investigators were trying to determine if the latest bombing was part of a string of attacks that have targeted leading anti-Syrian politicians in the past three years, a security official said.
Eid was one of the country's top terrorism investigators who was probing assassinations of prominent anti-Syrian figures and a series of other attacks in recent years, including Hariri's murder. Eid, 31, worked for the police intelligence agency which is closely tied to the government and had survived two previous assassination attempts. Friday's attack also killed his bodyguard and three passers-by and wounded around 40 people.
Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, whose government is locked in a fierce power struggle with the Hizbullah-led opposition, vowed to pursue "the criminals who planned and carried out this crime which is aimed at destroying the state security institutions." "The road to independence is fraught with dangers and filled with sacrifices," Saniora said.
Police investigators on Saturday collected fingerprints and bits of shrapnel and debris from the car at the explosion site in an effort to discover clues, including the vehicle owner.
Rifi also vowed to continue the fight against terrorist groups. "Our choice is to defend this country. Our decision is to continue our march to confront the empire of death and terror," Rifi.
As a senior officer in the intelligence department, Eid had handled "very important" files including "all those having to do with the terrorist bombings," Rifi said. His work in the technology field was believed to include sifting through millions of telecommunication tips and cellular phone contacts as part of those investigations.
The police intelligence department Eid worked for is close to the anti-Syrian majority that controls Lebanon's government and parliament and it and has been often criticized by the pro-Syrian opposition.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A clash between police and the Taliban in a mountainous area of southern Afghanistan left eight militants dead and three officers wounded, a police chief said on Monday. The battle in Dihrawud district of Uruzgan province started on Saturday and carried over into Sunday, said Juma Gul Himat, a provincial police chief. The authorities recovered the bodies of the dead militants alongside their weapons, Himat said.
A roadside bomb killed two Somalis and two foreign aid workers working for the Dutch arm of Medecins Sans Frontieres near the southern Somali port of Kismayu on Monday, witnesses said.
A car bomb has exploded in the Algerian town of Thenia killing at least one person, security sources said. 
With the exception of scattered firing, and some civilian casualties, Darra Adam Khel remained calm on Monday, as militants retreated from key positions around the Kohat Tunnel.
Six militant outfits appear to be operating in Darra Adam Khel, with two having extended their sway to within 20 kilometres of Peshawar, officials and residents fleeing the area said on Monday.
A prominent dissident and former MP, 
