(Xinhua) -- Gun battle that erupted between police and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province in the wee hours of Tuesday left 12 insurgents dead, spokesman of the provincial administration Rohullah Samon said.
'It was almost after midnight when armed militants raided a police checkpoint in Syed Karam district and police returned fire killing 12 enemies,' Samon told Xinhua. Samon also added that three shops nearby were destroyed in the battle that lasted for a while.
The militants, he added, had used small arms and rocket-propelled grenades while the police called in air power and inflicted casualties on them. However, he did not say if there were any casualties on police or civilians.
Taliban operatives fighting Afghan and international troops have yet to make comments.
Too busy running away fleeing ...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
That's not fighting fair, when even Afghani policemen in isolated stations get to call in air power against the poor Taliban cannon fodder.
#2
Everything's fair in love and war, TW. What's going on in Afghanistan certainly isn't what I'd classify as "love", but the name WAR seems to fit just fine. Let the Afghanistanis learn the effectiveness of air power, and repair some of those old HIND helicopters of theirs. Life would get VERY "interesting" for the Taliban.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/25/2008 12:26 Comments ||
Top||
A British soldier was killed today during a fight with Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said. The soldier, from the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, was shot during operations in Helmand province, a volatile region in southern Afghanistan that has seen heavy fighting. An MoD spokesman said the soldier was fatally wounded during the operation.
The death brings to 107 the number of British troops killed since 2001. Ten British soldiers have died in the past two weeks, including the first female British soldier to be killed, because of an increase in attacks on foreign troops by the Taliban. The soldier's next of kin have been informed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
(Bloomberg) -- Four foreign tourists were kidnapped from a yacht by pirates near the coast of Somalia's northern Puntland region, Agence France-Presse said, citing officials.
The tourists, who include a woman and a child, were taking photographs when they were seized yesterday, Bile Mohamoud Qabowsade, a presidential adviser in the region, was cited as saying by AFP. He said they were taken into nearby mountains, and Somali forces were deployed to try to find the tourists, who hadn't been identified, AFP reported.
Anyone schtooopid enough to be taking photos of the Puntland coast deserves to be kidnapped ...
Piracy has increased off the eastern African nation, with 31 incidents reported last year, up from 10 the year before, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
SOMALI pirates kidnapped a German family of three and a French captain from a yacht off the Gulf of Aden, officials said yesterday. Somali security forces have launched a rescue mission. The captives were seized on Monday and taken to a mountainous area.
#2
Ya know, it is not hard to take care of this problem. Just requires the will to butt a few heads. Or we could talk it to death at the UN as a hobby and get nothing done.
Posted by: Alaska Paul at Copper Center, Alaska ||
06/25/2008 1:16 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Somali security forces have launched a rescue mission.
#4
find the port these pirates came from and kill it and everyone there
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/25/2008 8:10 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Dryden translation of Plutarch's Caesar - Captured by Pirates
After a short stay there [in Bithynia] with Nicomedes, the king, in his passage back he was taken near the island of Pharmacusa by some of the pirates, who, at that time, with large fleets of ships and innumerable smaller vessels, infested the seas everywhere.
When these men at first demanded of him twenty talents for his ransom, he laughed at them for not understanding the value of their prisoner, and voluntarily engaged to give them fifty. He presently despatched those about him to several places to raise the money, till at last he was left among a set of the most bloodthirsty people in the world, the Cilicians, only with one friend and two attendants. Yet he made so little of them, that when he had a mind to sleep, he would send to them, and order them to make no noise. For thirty-eight days, with all the freedom in the world, he amused himself with joining in their exercises and games, as if they had not been his keepers, but his guards. He wrote verses and speeches, and made them his auditors, and those who did not admire them, he called to their faces illiterate and barbarous, and would often, in raillery, threaten to hang them. They were greatly taken with this, and attributed his free talking to a kind of simplicity and boyish playfulness. As soon as his ransom was come from Miletus, he paid it, and was discharged, and proceeded at once to man some ships at the port of Miletus, and went in pursuit of the pirates, whom he surprised with their ships still stationed at the island, and took most of them. Their money he made his prize, and the men he secured in prison at Pergamus, and he made application to Junius, who was then governor of Asia, to whose office it belonged, as praetor, to determine their punishment. Junius, having his eye upon the money, for the sum was considerable, said he would think at his leisure what to do with the prisoners, upon which Caesar took his leave of him, and went off to Pergamus, where he ordered the pirates to be brought forth and crucified; the punishment he had often threatened them with whilst he was in their hands, and they little dreamt he was in earnest.
#7
#6: If we issue the pirates letters of marque we could have a whole collection of French captains. Posted by: Excalibur|| 2008-06-25 10:07
Yeah, Excalibur, but once you've got them, what do you do with them? It's not like there's a big market for French yacht captains.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/25/2008 15:02 Comments ||
Top||
#8
We need to start the Red Sea Peace Process which could compete with the 40 year old Middle East Peace Process.
#9
#8: We need to start the Red Sea Peace Process which could compete with the 40 year old Middle East Peace Process. Posted by: HammerHead|| 2008-06-25 15:29 |
I'd much rather see a Red Sea Piece Process, where pirates and other assorted pieces of trash are rended into tiny pieces, suitable for feeding sharks and other fishes.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/25/2008 18:08 Comments ||
Top||
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad A judge has upheld the extradition of three men charged with plotting to attack New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
An FBI plane was waiting on the tarmac. They're in FBI custody now.
Appeals Court Judge Roger Hamel Smith on Monday rejected a defense argument that the three suspects, who claim they cannot get a fair trial in the U.S. because of publicity, could not legally be extradited under Trinidad law.
The three men face conspiracy charges. A fourth suspect, who worked as a cargo handler at the airport until 1995, is in custody in New York.
The suspects have denied allegations of participating in a terror cell that planned to blow up a jet fuel artery feeding the airport. Their lawyers argue that a government informant entrapped the men into plotting the attack, but that there never was any real threat.
"No, no, certainly not!"
A U.S. indictment charges the suspects with conspiring to 'cause death, serious bodily injury and extensive destruction.'
Trinidadian suspect Kareem Ibrahim, a Muslim cleric, has been hospitalized since April after apparently suffering a mental breakdown. His lawyer said Ibrahim is in no shape to be extradited, and he plans to file another appeal.
We have psychiatrists and psychiatric hospitals in the U.S. Ship him.
Lawyers for the other two suspects, Abdel Nur and Abdul Kadir, both from Guyana, were not available for comment.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/25/2008 08:52 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The suspects have denied allegations of participating in a terror cell that planned to blow up a jet fuel artery feeding the airport. Their lawyers argue that a government informant entrapped the men into plotting the attack, but that there never was any real threat.
Good enough for us! Let 'em loose...now....or else...
Posted by: The ACLU ||
06/25/2008 16:24 Comments ||
Top||
#2
They have more faith in the MSM than I do. Best of luck getting that bunch interested in Islamic-inspired terrorism.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/25/2008 16:25 Comments ||
Top||
A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the conviction of a man who lied to a federal grand jury about his training with a Pakistani militant group.
A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also unanimously upheld Sabri Benkahla's 10-year prison term for lying to a grand jury, obstruction of justice and making a false statement.
Under normal sentencing guidelines, Benkahla would have received no more than three years in prison. But prosecutors successfully argued for a stiffer sentence last year, saying Benkahla's lies promoted terrorism by obstructing a wide-ranging investigation of the group.
Defense attorneys had argued that prosecutors, bitter because Benkahla had been acquitted of aiding the Taliban, set a perjury trap by hauling him in front of the grand jury. Prosecutors countered that Benkahla had pertinent information about people who attended training camps run by a group called Lashkar-e-Taiba, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.
Benkahla told the grand jury that he never engaged in combat training during a 1999 trip to Pakistan. The government contended that Lashkar trained him on how to use rocket-propelled grenades, automatic weapons and the like.
In his appeal, Benkahla argued that "sentence enhancement" for terrorism was not appropriate in his case. The appeals court disagreed.
"Here, the district court made extensive factual findings and the terrorism enhancement is doing just what it ought to do: Punishing more harshly than other criminals those whose wrongs served an end more terrible than other crimes," Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III wrote in the opinion, which was joined by Judges Diana Gribbon Motz and Allyson Duncan.
The court also rejected Benkahla's claims that his prosecution amounted to double jeopardy because he had already been acquitted for some of the activities he was questioned about, and that the trial court allowed prejudicial evidence about terrorism and violent jihad.
Benkahla's attorney, William Benjamin Moffitt, said he and his client may seek a rehearing before the full appeals court or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"I'm unhappy, and I'm disappointed in the ruling," Moffitt said. "A lot of what we raised in the brief was not addressed, and much of what we said seemed to be cast aside without a lot of reasoning."
Benkahla's case is one of about a dozen linked to what prosecutors called a "Virginia jihad network" of young U.S. Muslim men who played paintball as a means of training for holy war and who worshipped at the now-defunct Dar al-Arqam mosque in Falls Church. The group's spiritual leader, Ali al-Timimi, is serving a life sentence for soliciting treason by urging followers after the Sept. 11 attacks to fight alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
#2
Outstanding ! The candle flame of liberty burns on. These scumbag Muzz have decided to use our justice system against us. The thing that stops that tactic cold is level-headed judges who throw the shit out. Take their cash. Who paid the lawdog ? CAIR ? Some Charity for Children ? And piss in the lawdog's shoe as he exits the court room.
#1
This year, the government signed peace deals in Swat, Bajaur, Malakand, and Mohmand. Negotiations are under way in Kohat and Mardan. The Taliban have violated the terms of these agreements in every region where accords have been inked.
#2
It's hard to figure out what is really going on in Pakistan. For a group that has made so much supposed "progress", they seem to be taking a lot of casualties. And while there were a lot of "peace deals" signed, there has been a lot of fighting, too. And they lost practically all of their seats in the legislature. And there are now US special operations forces working in Pakistan with Pakistani forces.
I don't believe much of what I read concerning Pakistan. Fog of war.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Militants loyal to Pakistan's top Taliban leader killed 22 pro-government tribesmen after abducting them during battles to control a town near the Afghan border, officials said Wednesday. The bloodsoaked, trussed-up bodies were found dumped near the key garrison town of Jandola, where followers of shadowy Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud have been fighting rival tribesmen throughout the week. The killings underscore concerns among Islamabad's Western allies about the government's peace talks with Mehsud, who was blamed by the previous administration for the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto in December. Yeah, he sounds like a guy ya can deal with.
Does seem if the current gummint has forgiven him for whacking Benazir, doesn't it. Almost as if they didn't care ...
'According to our information 22 bodies of peace committee members have been found in Kiriwam village,' district official Barkatullah Marwat told AFP. A peace committee is a body of tribal elders who are helping the government to tackle militancy in the conservative regions near the Afghan frontier. Hmmmmmmm. Doesn't sound like like the peace committee is working out too well.
'Some of the dead were shot and some had their throats slit,' Marwat said, adding that they were among some 30 tribesmen kidnapped by the militants a day earlier. The men's hands were tied behind their backs and the corpses left in a drain by a roadside, security officials said. Sounds like a fair fight...
A spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the militant group that Mehsud heads, claimed responsibility for killing the 22 and said they would soon decide the fate of the other eight. 'The men we killed were involved in thefts and robbery and had unleashed a reign of terror on the people. They were being patronised by the government,' spokesman Maulvi Omar told AFP by telephone. Cuz...we say so.
'The government should not intervene in the current situation, otherwise peace talks would be seriously undermined.' So let us do our killing...or there'll be no peace talks.
Clashes broke out in Jandola on Monday between followers of pro-government tribal elder, Commander Turkistani, and militants belonging to Mehsud's tribe after rockets were fired at the home of a peace committee member. Tensions had been high between the groups for months. Yes, it sounds like it.
The army said the militants had withdrawn from Jandola after troops moved in late Tuesday. It put the death toll from all of the violence in the region over the past week at only nine. Just nine. Nuthin to see here...
Residents said the situation was tense in Jandola and armed militants were still in the town, although Pakistani troops were also in position in their forts. Where I'm sure they practice looking fearsome. And vigilant.
All shops were closed and roads were deserted. It's quiet out there.
Yeah. Too quiet...
Pakistan's government launched peace talks with Mehsud -- who is based in the South Waziristan tribal region, near Jandola -- after defeating allies of US-backed President Pervez Musharraf in elections in February. Can we have peace today, Mehsud?
No!
Okay, we'll come back tomorrow.
Mehsud, named along with Pakistan's army chief in Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people this year, Well, that figures...
vowed recently to continue attacks on NATO and US forces in Afghanistan. Well, his boys will. He'll stay back there in the Wazoo and remain 'shadowy', seeing how he's an 'idea man' and all...
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani held a meeting with top civil and military officials on the law and order situation in the country. Harrrumph harrruph harrrumph harrrumph. Hey, I didn't get a harrrumph outta him!
An official statement later said the meeting decided to fight 'terrorism and extremism' through a multi-pronged strategy. Duck. Dodge. Hide. Run away.
'The broad objective of this strategy will be to bring about peace, reconciliation and normalcy of life in the country and marginalise the hard core terrorists, militants and criminal elements,' it said. Ask the members of the 'peace committee' how that's working out.
The government, including the military, will ensure that 'all foreign fighters will be expelled' from Pakistan. Probably to Afghanistan.
#1
Its almost becoming "Monty Pythonish". I mean I can see John Cleese and Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin right now drinking scotch, smoking Camels and writing the script.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
06/25/2008 16:29 Comments ||
Top||
The banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) has once again rolled up its sleeves and started getting active across Pakistan, and especially in Karachi, but with a new name Ahle Sunnat wa Aljamaat Pakistan (ASWJP) which roughly translates into The Sunni Party.
It has started by requesting Sunni people to voluntarily shut down their businesses and offices on Youm-e-Shahdat (the day of martyrdom) of Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique (RA) on the 22nd of Jumadi-Uthani, June 27.
It has started by requesting Sunni people to voluntarily shut down their businesses and offices on Youm-e-Shahdat (the day of martyrdom) of Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique (RA) on the 22nd of Jumadi-Uthani, June 27. Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique (RA) was one of the closest companions of Prophet Mohammad (PTUI). He was also the first Caliph in Madina when the first Islamic government was established.
The central information secretary of the SSP and ASWJP, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem, told Daily Times on Tuesday that they had started work in the name of the ASWJP because of the ban on the SSP. The case against the ban is in court, he added.
The ASWJP has planned programs across the country, including Karachi city, on Youm-e-Siddique-e-Akbar (RA). Instructions have been given its activists.
Maulana Nadeem said that Sunni people should put up signs at their workplaces saying, The shop/office is closed on 22 Jumadi-Uthani (June 27) on Youm-e-Siddique-e-Akbar (RA). The party has started distributing handbills among people and letters to business communities and traders. They have, Maulana Nadeem added, assured us that the shops and offices would be closed on June 27.
A central Siddique-e-Akbar Conference would be organized on June 26 after Isha prayers at Qayumabad by the SSP and ASWJP where the chief of the ASWJP, Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi, and others would address the audience.
A Siddique-e-Akbar (RA) rally would be organized on June 27 after Jumma prayers from Lasbela to Numaish Chowrangi. The SSP was banned in 2002 by the government and most of its leaders were arrested. The leaders were released in 2003-04 and started limited work under ASWJP. It organized a rally in April 2008 in Karachi after surfacing after six years.
This article starring:
Ahle Sunnat wa Aljamaat Pakistan
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Nadeem
Ahle Sunnat wa Aljamaat Pakistan
Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi
Ahle Sunnat wa Aljamaat Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:48 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
#1
It has started by requesting Sunni people to voluntarily shut down their businesses and offices
Plus a small voluntary donation to the United Way.
Taliban militants began withdrawing from Jandola on Tuesday, a government and a security official said. The situation has improved. There has been no untoward incident today and theyre moving out, Barkatullah, the top government officer in the region, told Reuters. A security official said the militants were pulling out after a government threat to launch an offensive against them. Meanwhile, according to APP a representative jirga has been constituted to end the three-days standoff, Barkatullah said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:22 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Eight dead bodies of alleged criminals were found in the Aurakzai Agency, political administration said on Tuesday. The Taliban executed six alleged criminals in the agency and left their bodies in Ghalju Bazaar late on Monday, the sources said. The local Taliban had given out a warning that criminal activity be stopped in the area by June 1. Meanwhile, another two bodies of alleged kidnappers executed by the Taliban were found in the Sangra area of the agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:22 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Three terror suspects confessed on Tuesday to plotting suicide attacks at sensitive government buildings and to having links with militant leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate Chaudhry Taufeeq Ahmad recorded the confession statements of Abid Khan, Muhammad Ishaq and Qamaruz Zaman. The three were sent to Adiala Jail on judicial remand for 14 days and the case was adjourned until July 8.
Court sources told Daily Times that the accused had also confessed to planning a suicide attack targeting a high profile personality. They said the three were included in the nine people arrested in a large-scale raid in the city, and a massive quantity of explosives was also seized from them. Their remaining six accomplices were taken to the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC).
ATC No 2 sent Zafar Ali, Muhammad Zameer, Tauqeer Ahmad and Muhammad Sajjad on a 14-day judicial remand for further investigation. Muhammad Kabir and Intikhab Abbasi were remanded to the custody of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for seven days. Their case was adjourned until July 1.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:22 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Three Swat-based Taliban were killed and another four wounded during a clash with security forces on Tuesday in the Sambat area of the Swat valley, security officials told Daily Times.
Those killed have been identified as Ali Akbar, Shahzad and Khan Agha, alias Kabalay.
In-charge of the media centre in Mingora, Colonel Nadeem, said no security personnel were hurt in the incident.
The security forces claim to have taken control of the strategic Sambat Mountain, which was previously held by the Taliban.
The clash took place in the Sambat area of Kabal tehsil, Taliban sources confirmed to Daily Times, while adding that two Taliban were killed. Locals said dead bodies of the two Taliban killed, Ali Akbar and Khan Agha, were brought to the Shaur area of Matta tehsil for burial.
Separately, Taliban in Kalakot area of Matta tehsil killed one soldier and injured a police constable in an attack. Army sources confirmed the killing of the soldier.
Policemen: In another incident, Taliban attacked a police party from Shangla in the Charbagh area of the valley injuring seven policemen. The party was on its way from Alpuri police station to Swat for June 26 by-polls duty.
Taliban have accepted the responsibility for the two attacks and said it was in reaction to the killing of their men by security forces in Sambat.
Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan told Daily Times that the May 21 agreement with the provincial government was still intact, adding that the government contacted the Taliban after the Tuesdays clash to look into the matter. The NWFP government inked a 15-point peace accord with Swat-based militants on May 22. Under the agreement, the government was to release Taliban prisoners in the next two weeks while the Taliban agreed to relinquish control of Imam Dheri, headquarters of Mullah Fazlullah, where an Islamic university is planned.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
PESHAWAR: A bomb planted by unknown militants in a dilapidated house in Chowk Shahbaz area near Kochi bazaar exploded late on Monday night. No casualties were reported, said Station House Officer (SHO) Noor Muhammad. It was a low intensity bomb fixed under the ladder to create terror in the city, Muhammad said. He added that only the outer wall of the house was damaged and that investigation has started and criminals would soon be identified.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
(VOI)- Iraqi army forces arrested nine wanted men and found a weapons cache on Tuesday in separate areas in Ninewa, the official spokesman for the Ninewa operations command said. The 3rd division forces of the Iraqi army managed to arrest two wanted men in al-Rabiyea border region, Brigadier Khaled Abdul Sattar told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Rabiyea is located 120 km west of Mosul, the capital of Ninewa province, which lies 405 km north of Baghdad. Two more wanted men were arrested in al-Abbasiya village in Sinjar, northwest of Mosul, and three Kalashnikovs were found in their possession, he added.
Meanwhile, the brigadier said that a force from the 2nd division of the Iraqi army arrested five wanted men during an operation in al-Islah al-Zeraei neighborhood in western Mosul.
The force found a weapons depot in al-Maamoun neighborhood in western Mosul. The depot contains 2 Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG), 16 missiles, two bombs and a gun, he also said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
(VOI)- A group of gunmen on Tuesday killed the mayor of a village in southwest of Kirkuk, the city's districts police chief said. Unidentified gunmen opened fire at Ibrahim Hassan Ali, the mayor of Karhat Qazen village, in southwest of Kirkuk, killing him on the spot, Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). They fled to unknown place after the attack, he also said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
(VOI)-Iraqi security forces on Tuesday arrested 15 wanted persons and seized weapons in raid operations conducted in Basra, a police source said Interior Ministry forces working in Basra conducted raid-and-search operations in different parts of Basra, capturing 15 persons in a wanted list, a Basra security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq(VOI).
The source noted forces seized a Gluck pistol and an RPG launcher. Iraqi troops have carried out a search operation across Basra areas following clashes that erupted between government forces and militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr after PM Nouri al-Maliki announced a crackdown dubbed Saulat al-Fursan(The Knights Assault) on gunmen.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
(VOI)- Two leaders of armed groups were arrested on Tuesday in western Karbala, the chief of local police said. Security forces arrested two leaders of armed groups after receiving intelligence reports on their presence in a house in al-Ghadier neighborhood in western Karbala, General Raed Shaker Jawdat told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). The two are accused of being responsible for special groups for organized assassinations and smuggling weapons to some provinces in central Iraq, he explained. He did not give more details.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
(VOI)- Joint forces on Tuesday arrested the head of a municipality council in east of Amara city, the director of the Missan polices relations said. Joint police-army forces arrested Ali Mahawi, head of the municipality council in al-Majidiya region, east of Amara, Colonel Mahdi Muhsen al-Asadi told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). His did not add more details.
An official security source had aid earlier that three officers from Missan police were arrested on charges of collaboration with armed groups. Large divisions of Iraqi army and police personnel flocked into Missan in preparation for Bashaer al-Salam security plan, taking Batira airport, 10 km northwest of Amara, and the Missan sports playground as their headquarters.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
Ya dinna hear me say tha' an' I wudna' here. Hokay?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/25/2008 14:19 Comments ||
Top||
(VOI) Unknown gunmen shot down the chairman of Baghdad's Abu Dasheer municipal council in front of his house, local eyewitnesses said on Tuesday. "Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the council's chief, Mahdi Atwan, in front of his house in Abu Dasheer neighborhood, southern Baghdad, killing him on the spot," an eyewitness told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq- (VOI). Security forces sealed off the area immediately after the shooting, the eyewitness explained.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
TIKRIT, Iraq Coalition force helicopters flying in northern Iraq helped capture four suspected criminals involved with emplacing improvised explosive devices near Tikrit June 20.
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters attached to the Nightmares 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment spotted four suspicious persons south of Tikrit, and altered area ground forces. The four men were later detained by Coalition forces. Further investigation confirmed the individuals were involved in previous IED incidents near Tikrit.
The TF 3-1 AA Nightmares, along with the rest of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division are responsible for aerial coverage throughout Multi-National Division North.
The capture of these four individuals will have a significant impact on IED emplacement in the Tikrit area, said Maj. Enrique T. Vasquez, CAB, 1st ID public affairs officer.
Posted by: Bill ||
06/25/2008 8:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Kick their ass until they spill about where their little toys come from. Then, take them back up in the Hueys to show them how easily they are spotted from the air. Then at around 6000 feet mention that fuel is running low and they have to step out.
Looks like Trouble in Islamic Paradise...
The Hamas military wing, Iz al-Din al-Qassam, has split into two groups after an attempt to depose its military commander, Ahmed Al-Jabari. Palestinian sources say the attempt to replace Al-Jabari with Imad Akal failed, but has split the organization into two camps: one led by Al-Jabari and the other by Akal. Mohammed Deif, the former head of Iz al-Din al-Qassam, was behind the attempt, according to the sources. But I didn't know til this very day dat it wuz...Deif all along.
The crisis in the Hamas military wing started, among other reasons, because of the long-standing disagreements and tension between Al-Jabari and the political leadership of Hamas in Gaza. But the tension exploded into the public eye as a result of the Hamas police's attempt to arrest members of the military group who were suspected of criminal activities. The Hamas militants resisted arrest, and the police and Iz al-Din al-Qassam members exchanged fire. Ya boys wanna come along to the station house with us?
BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM...
I'll take that as a 'no'?
The head of the Hamas police in Gaza, Taufik Jabar, who is not a Hamas member, asked one of the heads of the Hamas political side, Said Siam, to intervene and ask Al-Jabari to hand over the militants - but Al-Jabari refused. The Al-Jabaris are killin us, Said! Lemme take them out!
After the refusal, Siam turned to Deif, who was considered Israel's most wanted man for years; he holds no official post, but Deif is still considered to be a symbol of the movement and one of the most respected activists by Hamas militants. For justice we must go to...Don Deif.
Siam asked him to arbitrate between the sides, examine the matter and make a decision. After a short time Deif announced that Akal would replace Al-Jabari, but he refused. Do you know who I am? I'm Al-Jabari! I made my bones when you were banging silky haired goats!
In recent weeks assassination attempts have been made against one of Al-Jabari's closest supporters, Ali Jundiyeh, and Gazans assume Akal is behind the attempts. Maybe it's Hyman Roth?
However, Hamas published an announcement that Jundiyeh was injured in a traffic accident. Car blow up? Riddled with bullets at a toll booth?
Pothole. Bomb blew a few seconds early and left a crater ...
Another of Al-Jabari's men had a bomb planted near his home. So how do we put it in the book, sarge?
'Ambiguous' explosion. No, make it 'mysterious' explosion. Ah, lemme think about it.
How about 'mystiguous' explosion?
Verrrry good, Mahmoud.
The military arm has suffered a number of splits and internal fights recently, which remind many of the earlier infighting among Fatah militias. According to the sources, Iz al-Din al-Qassam is divided, and there have been several attempts by commanders to kill their rivals to ensure they control an area or the organization's assets. Tell Said it was just business. I always liked him.
I thought you were trying to kill Ali?
Oh, sorry. Well, tell him then.
In Khan Yunis, for example, for over a year there have been three local commanders, each of whom considers himself the chief in the region. In addition, senior Iz al-Din commanders have become more and more involved in criminal activities recently, and in particular in smuggling, which they control exclusively. Now, right now, we control the smuggling, which is the thing to have...
However, the split has not yet had an impact on the cease-fire with Israel, and all members have been strictly keeping it, despite a debate among Hamas political leaders over the issue. Maybe the Israelis will just make popcorn and enjoy the show.
#10
BFD. One wing wants to kill only on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The other wing wants to kill only on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The latter wing is deemed more devout.
The Palestinian Authority has in recent days released at least three Hamas prisoners, as part of an agreement between Fatah and its rival faction to reconcile after a year of fighting.
The decision was made despite the Palestinian Authority's promise to Israel. The militants were imprisoned in the Authority on suspicion of attempting to attack within Israel and the West Bank. The rival factions had agreed that Hamas would free Fatah prisoners in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of its own detainees in West Bank.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Hilarious. Elsewhere, it is being suggested that Hamas is planning to use to hudna with Israel to attack Fatah on the West Bank.
Islamic Jihad in the West Bank is planning to carry out an attack on Israel to ruin the cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Authority security officials said on Monday
The officials told The Jerusalem Post that two senior members of the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, Fadi Kitani and Ala Abu al-Rub, have refused to surrender to the PA security forces in the West Bank despite repeated attempts to persuade them to stop their activities.
Kitani, who lives in Tulkarm, is a top member of the Al-Quds Battalion, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, which is responsible for a series of attacks on Israel over the past few years. The PA's Preventative Security Service tried several times to arrest him, but to no avail. Over the weekend, Kitani's wife was detained for several hours by Palestinian security agents who questioned her about her husband's activities.
According to the PA security officials, Kitani is suspected of heading an Islamic Jihad cell that is planning to carry out attacks on Israel to "sabotage" the cease-fire agreement. They pointed out that Islamic Jihad leaders had voiced reservations about the Egyptian-brokered agreement, although they also promised to abide by it in the Gaza Strip.
The other Islamic Jihad operative being pursued by the PA security forces is Abu al-Rub of Kabatiya, near Jenin, who is the commander of the Al-Quds Battalions in the northern West Bank. Two weeks ago, the PA security forces almost succeeded in capturing him after surrounding the house where he was hiding in Kabatiya. But Abu al-Rub managed to escape after firing shots into the air.
At least five Islamic Jihad members have been arrested by the PA security forces in the past two months on suspicion of planning to launch attacks on Israel, the officials said.
The sixth day of the Gaza truce saw the first violations when three Kassam rockets slammed into Israel in response to the IDF killing of top Islamic Jihad operative Tarek Abu Ghally in Nablus on Tuesday. There was no immediate military response from the IDF. The rockets struck in the western Negev without causing any casualties or damage. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
"We cannot keep our hands tied when this is happening to our brothers in the West Bank," the group said in a statement.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the rocket attack "came as result of Israeli provocation this morning." He added, however, that Hamas was "committed to the security calm."
The first violation of the cease-fire came earlier, close to midnight Monday, when a mortar shell fired from Gaza hit the Negev. No one was hurt, and no damage was reported, and the IDF decided not to retaliate. No group claimed responsibility for the mortar fire.
Olmert held consultations on the rocket fire when he returned from a meeting in Egypt with President Hosni Mubarak. One diplomatic source said it was now unlikely that Israel would increase the amount of goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, as the cease-fire plan entailed.
It was clear, a government source said, that the Palestinians were trying to link events in the West Bank to the situation in the Gaza Strip, even though the agreement with Hamas explicitly said that the cease-fire was in Gaza Strip only and that Egypt would consider whether it could also be applied to the West Bank in another six months.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said, "The IDF operates against terror in the West Bank in accordance with its authority and the necessary permits. The IDF does not conduct a dialogue with the political echelon via the media."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel termed the Gazan rocket attacks "a grave violation of the cease-fire."
#1
When does a crisis become just a chronic condition? Seems the Kassam rockets are becoming a fixture of the area, sort of becoming part of the ambiance, if you will, since Israel has lost the will to defend its citizens.
Posted by: Alaska Paul at Copper Center, Alaska ||
06/25/2008 1:19 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The cease fire will only be broken if Israel attacks Gaza. Gazans can fire rockets, mortars, grenades, heavy artillery, anything they want, and it won't break the ceasefire. If Israel so much as points an M-16 towards Gaza, the ceasefire will be over.
And it will be Israel's fault for breaking it.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/25/2008 2:07 Comments ||
Top||
(Bloomberg) -- A bomb attack targeting Sri Lankan police killed three officers in the eastern Batticaloa region as clashes in the north left 21 rebels dead, the government said.
One police officer was injured in the attack blamed on the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site. The explosion took place late yesterday near a lake where the officers went to bathe.
Ten Tamil Tigers were killed in gun battles with soldiers in the Welioya region yesterday while 24 rebels were injured, the Media Centre for National Security said in a statement posted on its Web site. Two soldiers died in the fighting. Another eight LTTE members were killed in Mannar and three others in Vavuniya region, the centre said.
The LTTE has been fighting for a separate homeland since 1983 in an insurgency that has killed more than 70,000 people. The group suffered one of its biggest defeats last July when it lost control of the eastern region to the army.
The government is seeking $1.8 billion in aid to rebuild Eastern Province and attract investment and tourists to the region that has a 426-kilometer (265-mile) coastline. Elections for the provincial council were held in May.
The rebels, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., the European Union and India are facing almost daily attacks on their bases in the Northern Province, their last strongholds in the South Asian island nation.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government ended a Norway- brokered 2002 cease-fire with the LTTE in January. The government has vowed to eradicate terrorism on the island while seeking a settlement with all Tamil groups.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/25/2008 07:23 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
(Xinhua) -- Gun battle that erupted between police and Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province in the wee hours of Tuesday left 12 insurgents dead, spokesman of the provincial administration Rohullah Samon said. 
(Bloomberg) -- Four foreign tourists were kidnapped from a yacht by pirates near the coast of Somalia's northern Puntland region, Agence France-Presse said, citing officials. 
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad A judge has upheld the extradition of three men charged with plotting to attack New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The banned 
TIKRIT, Iraq Coalition force helicopters flying in northern Iraq helped capture four suspected criminals involved with emplacing improvised explosive devices near Tikrit June 20. 
Islamic Jihad in the West Bank is planning to carry out an attack on Israel to ruin the cease-fire agreement in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Authority security officials said on Monday
