One of the most heroic battles fought by British troops in Afghanistan was marred by confusion over rules of engagement and a lack of equipment, an inquest heard yesterday.
The night time mission behind Taliban lines near Garmsir, Helmand, led to the deaths of two servicemen from the 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters).
Under intense fire, the soldiers repeatedly returned to the killing zone during the seven-hour battle to retrieve wounded colleagues. Several received awards for bravery, including one Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC), three Military Crosses -- one awarded posthumously to Sergeant Craig Brelsford, 25 -- and five Mentions in Dispatches.
Yesterday the inquest into Sgt Brelsford's death heard that after initially spotting four militants in a trench, Major Jamie Nowell called in air support only to be told that they were only permitted to fire in self defence. "I could not understand how it had happened," said Major Nowell, adding that the aircraft was eventually told it could fire after a delay of an hour, during which time the British soldiers had lost the initiative.
A short time later the platoons came under heavy fire.
Yesterday David Masters, the Wiltshire coroner, questioned a shortage of night-vision goggles during the battle. Captain Simon Cupples, 25, who was awarded the CGC, described crawling in the darkness to pull two colleagues to safety.
Sgt Brelsford was fatally injured as he pushed forward to find Pte John Botha, 25. Pte Botha was also killed.
#1
"after initially spotting four militants in a trench, Major Jamie Nowell called in air support only to be told that they were only permitted to fire in self defence. "I could not understand how it had happened," said Major Nowell, adding that the aircraft was eventually told it could fire after a delay of an hour, during which time the British soldiers had lost the initiative.
"
You can't shoot at enemy scouts, in other words, who are calling in reinforcements to then knock the snot out of you.
Men died as a result. Stand the individual(s) who came up with that rule in front of a firing squad.
Posted by: Marilyn Phuger5471 ||
08/27/2008 21:13 Comments ||
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When the Taliban broke more than 750 prisoners out of jail this summer, in one of the most spectacular attacks in living memory, Nato's response was instant but invisible. Senior commanders scrambled every drone they could spare as prisoners poured out of Kandahar jail.
The closest Nato garrison had hunkered down inside their base, afraid of more attacks, as prisoners poured into the night.
But commanders at nearby Kandahar Airfield watched live pictures of the anarchy, from the comfort of their operations room, as wave after wave of escapees began marching east, to sanctuaries in Pakistan. A fleet of Predator drones criss-crossed the skies some 35,000 feet above Afghanistan's second city, flying throughout the night and long into the next morning, as rag-tag columns of men made good their escape.
Some of the prisoners went straight to Arghandab, just outside the city, where they fought with Nato troops a few days later. But most of the 400 Taliban, who were among the 750 inmates freed, fled back to Pakistan - beyond the reach of Nato's force. Or so they thought.
International troops are using drones to patrol Pakistani airspace in a bid to monitor insurgents on both sides of the border. "We wanted to see where the prisoners went," said one official in Kabul, hinting that the fugitives had betrayed their hideouts when they fled.
It is an open secret that armed Predator drones, operated by the CIA, are flying routine fire missions inside Pakistan against Al Qa'ida leaders. The most notable example of a drone attack came last January, when a missile from a Predator hit a terrorist safe house in Waziristan, killing Abu Laith al-Libi, the man accused of plotting an attack against Bagram airbase, when US vice president Dick Cheney was visiting. That attack,in the Pakistani tribal region of Bajaur, targeted and missed al-Qaida's number two leader, Ayman al-Zawahri.
At the end of last month, a drone operating in northwestern Pakistan pinpointed al Qa'ida's chemical engineer, Abu Khabab al-Masri, who was a key figure in the group's production of chemical weapons and conventional explosives. Al Qa'ida has confirmed the death of the operative who was killed by a missile, along with five other people. He had earlier been reported as having been killed in the attack last January and had a $5m reward on his head.
Nato sources continually blame Pakistan for a surge in Afghan violence this year, and growing frustration at Pakistan's failure to tackle the Taliban on their side of the border has prompted talk of Nato operations against the insurgents on both sides of the Durrand line.
"The CIA already conducts operations in partnership with the Pakistanis," said a senior Nato official in Kabul. "Nato would like to have the same relationship with Pakistan."
The drones watch and log the movements of senior Taliban commanders in Pakistan's lawless tribal areas. Unlike the presence of special forces, they carry far less political risk. Most of them are flown from an airbase in America, and if they crash - which has happened - they don't create "friendly" body bags.
The Taliban claim they can hear the tell tale buzz of unmanned aerial vehicles, of UAVs, before an attack. But most of the time they circle too high to be heard or seen, beaming back images of whatever's going on below. They only swoop lower when they want to fire, or take a closer look.
The army call drones their "unblinking eye," and they rely on them for almost all their major operations. One senior airborne officer told The Independent there was no doubt the aircraft had saved British lives. "They are so good," he said, "they are the first thing we ask for when we plan an operation. "The big thing is that they help us at the lowest tactical level. They find information, that which allows us to make decisions."
Moments before soldiers storm compounds or search houses, drones relay messages to their commanders warning them how many fighters to expect, and what weapons they have.
On a search operation in Helmand, against a suspected bomb factory, drones directed troops to return to a compound they had already searched, after it spotted bodies hiding in a nearby treeline.
Smaller versions of the predator are flown from Kandahar and Camp Bastion. The British hired a model plane enthusiast to help them take off and land, while even smaller drones - the size of remote controlled toy planes - are flown by artillery troops from the forward operating bases scattered across the provinces.
But the information is not always fool proof. America is once again investigating claims its warplanes killed 89 civilians in an airstrike in Herat last week. The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has fired two senior Afghan officers for their role in the attack. There's little doubt the US Special Forces who called in the airstrike were relying, in part, on information from a drone that was watching the Taliban commander they were hoping to arrest.
It's just possible that the "thorough battle damage assessment" that American officials said proved that they had only killed insurgents was also done by a drone. President Hamid Karzai disagrees, and the Americans have, reluctantly, launched an investigation.
Perhaps more telling, is that three months after the great jail break, not one of the fugitive prisoners has been arrested.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. Marine officer said on Wednesday he could reduce his 25,000-strong force in the former al Qaeda stronghold of Iraq's Anbar province to reinforce military operations against a growing Taliban threat in Afghanistan.
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway told reporters the once-restive province west of Baghdad could be turned over to Iraqi security control within days, thanks to the sharp decline in violence that occurred when Sunni tribal leaders switched allegiance from al Qaeda to the U.S. military. The Marine Corps Times said on its Web site that Anbar security would revert to Iraq next week. Marine officials declined to confirm a specific date due to security concerns.
"The requirement right now in Iraq is much more about nation-building than it is fighting," Conway said at a Pentagon briefing."It's our view that if there's a stiffer fight going on someplace else ... then that's where we need to be."
U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan face an intensifying insurgency marked by escalating attacks and military casualty rates that have helped make Afghanistan a deadlier place than Iraq for U.S. troops in recent months.
Conway said air power would continue to play a primary role despite the risk of civilian casualties that have angered Afghans and made U.S. and NATO forces more unpopular. He said it was unclear how many civilians died in an August 21 air strike in western Afghanistan, despite a U.N. finding of evidence that about 90 were killed, most of them children. But the general accused the Taliban of operating among civilians to reap a propaganda advantage from military attacks."This is a dirty game being played," Conway said.
"Air power is the premier asymmetric advantage that we hold over ... the Taliban. They have no like capability," he said. "We'll continue to drop bombs. We will also continue at every effort to preserve civilian lives who unfortunately are a part of the battlefield."
The German military suffered its first death in Afghanistan in 15 months. Three other soldiers were injured in the attack. Berlin is to decide in October on extending the army's mandate in the country.
A German soldier was killed Wednesday, Aug. 27, in a roadside bombing in northern Afghanistan while three others were injured. RIP and thank you for your service
Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung acknowledged a deteriorating security situation in northern Afghanistan, where German forces are leading reconstruction operations.
A remote-controlled bomb was used to attack an armored vehicle of the German army in the district of Chardara in Kunduz province, Governor Engineer Mohammed Omar said earlier.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
08/27/2008 15:03 ||
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Afghan police Wednesday found the bullet-scarred body of a Japanese aid worker, a day after he was kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan, a district governor said.
Kazuya Ito, 31, who had spent the past five years working in the war-ravaged country, was seized on his way to his daily inspection of an irrigation project being built by his employer.
"We found the abducted Japanese man minutes ago. He has been shot several times," Kuz Kunar district governor Malim Mashouq told AFP.
Ito's Afghan driver and translator, who was abducted together with him and freed after several hours, recognized the body, Mashouq said. ...
Posted by: ed ||
08/27/2008 06:33 ||
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#1
Hmm. Maybe he should have made his comings and goings a bit less predictable.
More than 30 Taliban fighters and four policemen were killed in a series of clashes, airstrikes and bombings in Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.
Taliban fighters attacked a police checkpoint in the Nad Ali district of southern Helmand province Tuesday, sparking a clash that killed 18 militants, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal said. The militants attacked the officers guarding a government compound in the district before being repelled by the police, Andiwal said. There were no casualties among Afghan troops, he said. The militants have attacked the same checkpoint many times in the past, and the authorities had reinforced their position, Andiwal said.
U.S.-led coalition troops, meanwhile, clashed and called in airstrikes on another group of militants in the same province killing over a dozen insurgents, the coalition said in a statement. Shortly before the battle, the coalition troops spotted armed militants in small groups preparing to attack their patrol in Sangin district, the statement said. There were no coalition casualties from the clash. ...
Posted by: ed ||
08/27/2008 06:24 ||
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#1
killing over a dozen insurgents
And soon, no doubt we will hear we killed 50 innocent women and children too - or even just innocent women and children.
A Sudanese passenger jet was hijacked on Tuesday shortly after takeoff from Nyala, the largest town in the country's war-torn Darfur region, and was heading for Libya, an airline employee said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The hijacking was just a cover story. They were really going for pizza, beer, and cigarettes. Oh, yes, and a parts run.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Tok, AK ||
08/27/2008 1:34 Comments ||
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LONDON: A gang operating out of Britain's mosques to sell fake passports to potential terrorists has been smashed by a popular UK tabloid. The crooks were confident that they won't be arrested since any police raids on mosques would inflame racial tension. But after a three-month undercover investigation by the News of The World, cops this week shut the scam down.
During the sting operation, the paper observed a Bangladeshi team of fixers tout for business, offering genuine Bulgarian passports doctored with fake IDs for £2,500 among worshippers at the East London Mosque in Whitechapel.
Across the city at the Central Mosque in Regent's Park another crew was peddling the same service. The News of The World crew then met the ringleader posing as zealots on the run from the police. The leader, a 29-year-old Bangladeshi, bragged that he had helped more than 50 illegal immigrants enter the United Kingdom this way, adding: "These are genuine documents. Nobody can challenge you. Just give me your photographs and choose a name, in four weeks you'll have a new identity."
"Because Bulgaria's in the European community you have full rights in this country. You can live here legally, take advantage of the free NHS, everything. And no one can stop you from travelling."
He claimed he had acquired the passports from an official of the Bulgarian ministry of interior.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
AFAIAC, this mosque is not and has not been a place of worship for some time. It should be leveled and replaced by a McDonald's franchise. Which is also not a place of worship, but far more useful to the community.
But, alas, I am not king. It's probably a good thing that I'm not, but at least the WoT would be over by now, probably having been replaced by the War on Obesity.
#2
First the Channel 4 undercover report on terrorists in the mosques, and now News of the World? It seems the less reputable English reporters are doing the work the police are forbidden. Clearly God continues to watch over England. ;-)
#6
Mmmm, mosques - is there anything they can't do?
Whether you need a weapons depot, firing platform, ammo dump, forged documents, seething at the infidel, jew-hatred or merely some spiritual comfort, Islam is there for you.
The DPRK announced on Tuesday it has halted disabling nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, the official KCNA news agency reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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KCNA's rants have turned to dust. Their Olympic propaganda gold medalist must have died from starvation years ago. In the good olde days, they would have had a page of fire and brimstone rants on a subject like this.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Tok, AK ||
08/27/2008 1:38 Comments ||
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#2
And the NORK's breaking an agreement; I'm shocked, I tell you...
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Tok, AK ||
08/27/2008 10:30 Comments ||
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#7
You do not have to have a cooling tower, just a nearby river will do nicely.
Not to mention it's much smaller and harder to find.
You CAN find such cooling by satlite thermogram,(The river is warmer here than upstream, so look inbetween for the nuke plant)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/27/2008 10:30 Comments ||
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#8
RJ, there are several other ways to spot the use of a river for cooling. I won't go into them here, but it's been done several times. Jack is probably right - they're playing US Election politics. I don't think it's going to work this time.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/27/2008 11:18 Comments ||
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#9
TOPIX > PRO-NORTH KOREA PAPER WARNS NUCLEAR TENSIONS COULD RISE + ANALYSTS: NORTH KOREA STILL HOLDS THE PLUTONIUM CARD. NEW NUCLEAR BOMB TESTS + SIX-MILYUHN DOLLAR MAN/NORTH KOREA = Can do it better, stronger, faster, and in any case already has nuke bombs; + ASIA IS GETTING READY TO KICK THE USA IN THE FANNY.
KOMMERSANT > KIM/NORTH KOREA OPENS UP A SECOND FRONT. Artic - NOKOR doesn't actually need Yongybon nucfac anymore. NK already has enuff processed nucmats for 12 nuclear bombs + can easily relocate any new nucfacs to its far north and deep inside impenetrable mountains.
Airport police evacuated a passenger plane that was grounded for hours Tuesday due to a telephone threat. Three passengers were detained in connection with the incident, a spokesman said.
Police spokesman Joost Wezemer said it was not certain whether the threat of a hostage-taking or hijacking aboard the Transavia flight to Bodrum, Turkey, was a hoax.
He said two men and a woman were detained for questioning. Their identities and nationalities were not yet known.
The plane sat on the tarmac at Rotterdam Airport for more than five hours with more than 110 passengers about before the passengers were taken off.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistani troops Wednesday killed up to 50 militants, including foreign fighters, near the troubled Afghan border amid an upsurge in Taliban-inspired bloodshed, security officials said.
More than 30 rebels died in the Bajaur tribal district, a hub of Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, where government forces have for three weeks been conducting an extensive operation to destroy their hideouts. "Security forces killed 25-30 militants, including some important commanders and foreigners in Bajaur's Raghan region," a security official told AFP.
These were the security forces, that is, the paramilitary Frontier Guard, not regular Pak army. Still I'm mildly surprised.
In another clash, Pakistani helicopter gunships pounded militant hideouts on Wednesday in a different part of Bajaur bordering Afghanistan, killing eight rebels and wounding 12 others, a separate security official said. Pakistani forces moved into Bajaur earlier this month.
Islamabad's fragile coalition government, which pushed US ally Pervez Musharraf to resign as president on August 18 in the face of impeachment charges, is under heavy international pressure to combat the rebels. But violence linked to the country's role in the "war on terror" has killed nearly 1,200 people in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan in the past year.
The army said in a statement Wednesday that 11 militants were killed in a gunbattle that broke out after a military checkpost came under rebel attack in the restive South Waziristan tribal region. "Around 75-100 militants attacked a checkpost on the night of August 26-27. Security forces effectively repulsed the attack. Reportedly 11 militants were killed and 15-20 others injured," the statement said.
#1
It Appears as if Paki Troops are finally getting after the Islamist and al-Qaeda!?
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/27/2008 13:00 Comments ||
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#2
I like my idea of providing the Pak military with helicopter fired weapons that are US controlled UAVs. The Pak pilot gets credit for the kill, but expert US UAV pilots stick it in exactly the right place.
And, of course, any "secondaries" from the hit, might just possibly be SDBs dropped by a US high altitude aircraft on the other side of the border in a TOT.
"This new rocket is amazing, Samir! I fired one at a mud hut and the whole hillside blew up!"
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/27/2008 13:34 Comments ||
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#4
why this sudden uptick
Possibilities
1. theres less than meets the eye - their exaggerating whats going on, to the point where its all smoke and mirrors
2. US pressure is quietly being stepped up, and with the situation in Iraq meaning more US troops for Afghan, our leverage is up (no I dont believe this is the case, but I cant rule it out)
3. The new army COS is more effective than Perv, for whatever reason
4. The PPP really does hate the jihadis, and is in a better position post election to press the military to act.
New Delhi: At least five people including an Army officer have been killed in the ongoing gun battle between terrorists and the security forces in Jammu's Bantalab area.
Two civilians have been injured and the terrorists - holed up in the Chinore residential locality in Bantalab - have taken six people, including four children hostage. One of the terrorists has been killed, police say. Jammu SSP Manohar Singh told CNN-IBN most residents have been safely evacuated but also confirmed the hostage situation.
Police say a group of three to four terrorists, traveling in an auto rickshaw, entered the Mishriwala area on Tuesday and opened fire at a police barrier. They then entered the Chinore residential area in Bantalab and are still holed up there.
The terrorists are believed to be from the same group that infiltrated into India from the International border at Kana Chak on Tuesday.
CNN-IBN spoke with Billuram, owner of the house where terrorists are holed up. His family is being held hostage "The militants have entered my house. My four children and wife are inside. A boy from the neighbourhood may also be inside," he said.
IANS reports: Police said the terrorists, dressed in battle fatigues and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, entered a house in Chinore and hid there. On their way to the house, they shot dead Shabit Hussain, a milkman, and the driver of the autorickshaw they were travelling in.
"A high alert has been sounded in Jammu due to the infiltration by three terrorists from across the international border," Inspector General of Police (Jammu Zone) K. Rajendra said.
The Border Security Force (BSF), along with police and army personnel, had launched a massive manhunt for the militants, who had entered the Indian territory at Kanachak, about 20 km north of here, after cutting the barbed wire fence. "This is a serious situation. The intruders sneaked into the Indian side under the cover of fire, which was most probably provided by the Pakistani Rangers," a BSF official said.
The exchange of fire had lasted for nearly two hours until 2 a.m. Tuesday.
Security agencies are worried in view of the situation in Jammu. People here have been holding rallies demanding the return of 40 hectares of government land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB). They plan a huge rally Wednesday at the Parade ground which can accommodate tens of thousands to give a momentum to their agitation, already in the 57th day on Tuesday.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/27/2008 06:51 ||
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#1
Five killed in Jammu encounter; 4 hostages released
Security forces have rescued three children and a woman, who were held hostage during a gunbattle in which three civilians, an army officer and a militant were killed on Wednesday in the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
The militants, holed up in a house in Chinore on the outskirts of this city, took six civilians hostage on Wednesday morning. The police said they were trying to rescue the two remaining hostages before launching an assault on the militants.
The police said three militants had crossed into Jammu and Kashmir from the Kanachak sector of the border with Pakistan on Tuesday morning. They were intercepted at the police check post of Chinore on Wednesday morning, around 20 km north from the centre of Jammu.
The militants, dressed in police uniforms and carrying AK-47 assault rifles, shot dead a junior commissioned officer and then hijacked a three-wheeler. They then fired indiscriminately killing Shabeet Hussain, a milkman, and motorcyclist Naseeb Singh before killing the three-wheeler driver, Vijay Kumar, said the police.
The guerrillas then entered a house in Chinore. Police and army personnel cordoned off the area and were engaged in a gunbattle with the militants.
Once the remaining hostages were rescued, there would be a "final onslaught", said an army officer, which in military terms means blowing up the building with rocket launchers or explosives.
"This (civilian hostages) is what is holding us up from launching final onslaught. We are ready for that," the army officer said.
Army personnel have taken positions on roof tops of adjoining houses in densely populated Chinore, located on a hillock.
Grenade explosions and gun shots were heard in the area as the one-storey building where the militants were hiding was perforated with bullet marks.
"This is a serious situation. The intruders sneaked into the Indian side under the cover of fire, which was most probably provided by the Pakistani Rangers," a BSF official said.
This is the second major gun battle in Jammu region in less than three and a half months.
Six people were killed in Samba town, 40 km south west of Jammu May 11. According to defence sources, militants had infiltrated May 8 from across the international border in Samba sector before they surfaced May 11 morning and killed civilians and soldiers. Three militants were killed in that battle.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/27/2008 7:11 Comments ||
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#2
Posted by: john frum ||
08/27/2008 17:11 Comments ||
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The Taliban, on Tuesday, banned journalists working with foreign newspapers and news agencies from entering the militancy-infested North Waziristan Agnecy.
Journalists working with national and international news organisations had planned to visit the agency for stories before the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.
Ahmadullah Ahmadi, spokesman for Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur, said in a statement that entry of all the journalists belonging to Western electronic and print media had been banned.
"Such people are harmful for Islam, Muslims and the country," he said. "At the same time, the Taliban highly regard those journalists who are patriotic and loyal to Islam and Muslims," Ahmadi added.
Punishment: He said journalists would be given exemplary punishments if it were proved that they were "working for intelligence agencies in the guise of journalists".
"Those who work for intelligence agencies will be punished," Ahmadi added.
The spokesman said the Taliban were investigating which journalists worked for intelligence agencies. "Do not come to North Waziristan, because local journalists are working here with full responsibility," he said.
The Taliban spokesman asked the local journalists to remain committed to their profession and "never become the agents of other countries or people."
The ban from the Taliban comes weeks after local militant commanders Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir formed an alliance in North Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
Finally a functional use for journalist. Like the canary in the mines, just send them out to identify the 'hot' areas of militancy infestation. If they return, its cleared. If they don't, we'll mark the map.
NEW DELHI: High alert declared in the Jammu, after three militants fired indiscriminately in the Mishriwala area near in the city on Wednesday, killing four civilians and one Junior Commissioned Officer. Reports suggest that the three militants were travelling in an autorickshaw, after killing the driver.
The militants are believed to be trapped in a house at Chinore, where they fled to with the help of the autorickshaw. Sources said that these three militants are the ones who entered the Indian side via Kanachak in the Akhnoor sector on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Pakistani troops opened firing at the International Border, as yet another ceasefire violation was reported, after the armed forces provided cover firing to facilitate the infiltration of militants to the Indian side.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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A key Taliban commander was killed in a clash with security forces in Swat on Tuesday, officials said. Security officials said Ikramuddin, a close associate of Baitullah Mehsud, was killed following a clash in Chota Kalam area of Kabal tehsil. However, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said Ikramuddin died accidentally when he fired his pistol.
Two children were killed as a mortar shell hit a house in Madina Colony area of Kanjoo tehsil in Swat on Tuesday.
In Shakardara area of Matta, militants blew up the houses of Awami National Party leader Muzaffar Ali Khan and his three brothers. The houses were empty at the time. Militants also blew up a girls' high school in Manglor in Bagh tehsil.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Militants also blew up a girls' high school in Manglor in Bagh tehsil.
I guess these guys didn't get the memo that the Taliban don't blow up girls' schools?
Eight people were killed and more than 20 hurt in a bomb explosion at a roadside restaurant in the Model Town area on the outskirts of Islamabad on Tuesday. About 3.5 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the device planted at the eatery situated near Yamaha Chowk in the Hummark area, officials from the Bomb Disposal Squad told Geo News. The blast, which initially appeared to be a gas cylinder explosion, created a one-foot-deep crater, the channel reported. Most of the victims were labourers and drivers. Police from the nearby Sihala Police Station dashed to the scene and shifted the wounded and the dead bodies to Polyclinic Hospital and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). Before the Bomb Disposal Squad filed its report, Superintendent of Police Kamran Adil, the local police in-charge, told reporters that evidence was being collected from the scene and that the police were not clear what had caused the explosion. He said any subsequent findings would be shared with the media. Hotel owner Raaz Wali had denied reports of it being a gas cylinder explosion saying he used kerosene stoves for cooking. Eyewitnesses said it was a terrorist act and claimed that they had seen a child placing a bag under a chair. Officials at PIMS confirmed receiving three bodies. Additional Commissioner Rana Akbar Hayat confirmed the death of four people.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI/DAWN) - At least 31 people were killed and 44 others injured in continuing clashes between Turi and Bangash tribes in Pakistan's Kurram Agency bordering Afghanistan. There were reports of fierce fighting in several areas in Kurram which
The tribesmen attacked each other's positions with mortar shells, missiles and rockets.
is part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
According to the Pakistani daily, Dawn, the tribesmen attacked each other's positions with mortar shells, missiles and rockets.
Sources said that the Turi tribesmen had repelled an attack by the rival tribe. A jirga or meeting of leaders from six Bangash tribes was held in central Kurram to discuss ceasefire proposals but failed to make any progress.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
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Islamabad, Pakistan - Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying the top US diplomat in the main city in Pakistan's volatile north-west on Tuesday morning, but no one was killed or wounded, officials said.
The attack in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, came a day after the government announced a ban on the Pakistani Taliban, the umbrella militant group said to be behind a recent string of suicide bombings and other attacks.
It also came hours after the government's ruling coalition collapsed, a fracture that could strengthen a party considered more in line with US goals in the war on terror.
Lynne Tracy, the principal officer for the US consulate in Peshawar, was "100 percent safe," police official Riaz Khan said.
Mohammad Nabi, another police official, said an unknown number of gunmen in a Land Cruiser fired from an open window before fleeing the scene. He said the US consulate driver managed to reverse the vehicle and reach the nearby residence of the American official.
The US Embassy provided few details, saying only that there was a "security incident" involving three consulate employees. It would not name or describe the employees. "There were no injuries and minimal damage to the vehicle," spokesperson Lou Fintor added. "We are co-ordinating with Pakistani authorities in investigating the incident."
Fintor declined to comment on US security procedures and said he did not know if Tracy's vehicle was armed or what type it was. Tracy lives in a part of Peshawar known as University Town, an upscale and heavily guarded part of the bustling, dusty city.
Militant activity is rampant in parts of north-west Pakistan, though mainly in tribal regions where US officials say insurgents have found safe havens from which to plan attacks on American and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.
Peshawar has not been immune to attacks, and concerns about militant activity in and around it prompted the government to stage a paramilitary offensive in the neighbouring Khyber tribal region earlier in 2008.
Such offensives - including continuing army operations in the Bajur tribal region and the Swat Valley - have angered the Pakistani Taliban, which has vowed retaliation. Last week, the militant group claimed to be behind a twin suicide bombing at a weapons manufacturing complex near the federal capital, Islamabad, that killed 67 people.
Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment runs deep, is considered a hardship posting for US diplomats, with most coming for one-year stints without family. However, while there are occasional attacks on Western targets, directly targeting US officials is still relatively unusual. Top diplomats in particular tend to have security and are often restricted in what places they are allowed to visit.
Along with its embassy, the US has three consulates in Pakistan - in Peshawar, the eastern city of Lahore and the southern city of Karachi. In 2006, a suicide attacker blew himself up outside the Karachi consulate, killing a US diplomat.
In 2002, five people, including two Americans, were killed when a militant hurled grenades into a Protestant church in Islamabad attended by members of the diplomatic community.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, in Pakistan's south-west Baluchistan province, a bomb rigged to a motorcycle parked near the stage of a political rally in the town of Jaaferabad wounded at least 20 people, some critically, police official Nazir Ahmad said.
Ahmad said the injured belonged to the political party of Nawab Akbar Bugti, who died in 2007 when a cave in which he was hiding collapsed during a military operation against him.
Bugti was a former Baluchistan governor and had led a violent campaign to pressure the central government to give his impoverished province a larger share of money for natural resources extracted from it.
The recent attacks indicate an escalation in militant activity just as the country's ruling coalition has crumbled.
Just a week before, the two main parties united to drive longtime US ally Pervez Musharraf from the presidency, but their partnership collapsed over disputes about his successor and how to restore judges he had ousted.
The main ruling Pakistan People's Party is expected to cobble together a new coalition now that its key junior partner has quit, avoiding the need for another general election. The Pakistan People's Party, long led by slain ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, moved almost immediately to calm US fears that the government is paying too little attention to extremism, banning the Taliban group and demanding they surrender their arms.
Bhutto's widower and political successor, Asif Ali Zardari, has announced he will run for president, and he is expected to win easily. The party submitted his nomination papers on Tuesday. - Sapa-AP
BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. military says it has captured a suspected senior Shiite militant believed to be behind a June bombing in Baghdad that killed four Americans and six Iraqis.
The military's statement says it detained the man Wednesday at the Baghdad airport. It says the man is believed to be a senior leader of Iranian-backed militiamen in Iraq known as "special groups."
It also says the man is thought to be responsible for the June 24 bombing in Baghdad's Sadr City district. Two U.S. soldiers and two American civilians were among those killed in the explosion at a district council building.
The military says the man, who was known to travel to Iran and Lebanon, was detained after his plane landed at the airport.
#3
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is drawing up a writ of release to free him as we comment here @ the 'BERG.
She states thats it's about time to expand American Law so it conforms with the World Court, the United Nations, the European Union and Native American Law.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/27/2008 20:25 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON (AFP) - US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops in the coming days, military officials said Wednesday, touting improved security in the region. "We believe the province could turn over to Iraqi control in just a few days," Marine General James Conway said.
"The change in the Al-Anbar province is real and perceptible," said Conway of the majority Sunni region, which is Iraq's largest. "Anbar remains a dangerous place but the ever growing ability of the Iraqi security forces continues to move us closer to seeing Iraqi control of the province."
"They are doing a very good job of this nation-building business" in Anbar Conway added.
Conway expressed the hope that the handover of the Anbar province to Iraqi control will allow the Pentagon to redeploy troops elsewhere. "It's our view that if there is a stiffer fight going some place else, in a much more expeditionary environment where the Marine air-ground task force really seems to have a true and enduring value, then that's where we need to be," Conway said.
Wednesday's announcement of the impending handover of Anbar was seen in the United States as a political boon to the administration of President George W. Bush and his hopeful Republican successor in November's election, John McCain. Success in Iraq was likely to be a major theme when the Republicans next week hold their convention to nominate McCain as the party's candidate for the White House.
Democrat Barack Obama, who has demanded an end to the war and a rapid pullback of US combat troops, could suffer politically if vehement anti-war sentiment diminishes, pundits say.
#1
Harry Reid, April 19,2007: "I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week"
Wonder if Dirty Sordid Harry still holds that view?
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Marine commandant says his forces in Iraq's once volatile western Anbar Province can be reduced, as the military moves to hand over control of the region to the Iraqis next week.
Gen. James Conway told Pentagon reporters Wednesday that the two Marine regimental combat teams currently in Anbar would not be needed to maintain security there once the Iraqis take over, because violence has continued to drop.
The transfer has been delayed since late June due largely to worries it could set off unrest as well.
Reducing forces in Iraq, Conway said, is necessary in order to move any additional Marines into Afghanistan, where violence is on the rise.
The U.S. military said American troops killed three suspected militants in Diyala on Wednesday, including two who had explosives strapped to their bodies.
The incident, near the town of Jalula, began when several men ran from a building as U.S. forces approached. Two were killed in by U.S. forces and a third blew himself up, the military said.
A day earlier, a suicide bomber killed 25 people in an attack on a police recruiting station in Jalula.
In other violence, three Iraqi motorists were killed Wednesday when a parked car exploded near them in eastern Baghdad, according to an Interior Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information.
The incident, near the town of Jalula, began when several men ran from a building as U.S. forces approached. Two were killed in by U.S. forces and a third blew himself up, the military said.
Damn that stoopid Splodeydope musta ran too fast for his mercury switch..
>:)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/27/2008 13:44 Comments ||
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#2
Unfair! They could have been reasoned with. Is killing the solution?
In March or April 2007, three noncommissioned U.S. Army officers, including a first sergeant, a platoon sergeant and a senior medic, killed four Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots to the head as the men stood handcuffed and blindfolded beside a Baghdad canal, two of the officers said in sworn statements.
After the killings, the first sergeant - the senior noncommissioned officer of his army company - told the other two to remove the men's bloody blindfolds and plastic handcuffs, according to the statements made to army investigators, which were obtained by The New York Times, whose global edition is the International Herald Tribune.
The statements and other court documents were provided by a person close to one of the soldiers in the unit who insisted on anonymity and who has an interest in the outcome of the legal proceedings.
After removing the blindfolds and handcuffs, the three soldiers shoved the four bodies into the canal, rejoined other members of their unit waiting in nearby vehicles and drove back to their combat outpost in southwest Baghdad, the statements said.
The officers, all from Company D, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 172nd Infantry Brigade, have not been charged with a crime. But lawyers representing other members of the platoon who said they witnessed or heard the killings, which were said to have occurred on a combat patrol west of Baghdad, said all three would probably be charged with murder.
The accounts of and confessions to the killings, by Sergeant First Class Joseph Mayo, the platoon sergeant, and Sergeant Michael Leahy Jr., Company D's senior medic and an acting squad leader, were made in January in signed statements to army investigators in Schweinfurt, Germany. In their statements, Mayo and Leahy each described killing at least one of the Iraqi detainees on instructions from First Sergeant John Hatley, who the soldiers said killed two of the detainees with pistol shots to the backs of their heads. Hatley's civilian lawyer in Germany, David Court, did not respond to phone calls and e-mail messages early Tuesday.
Last month, four other soldiers from Hatley's unit were charged with conspiracy for agreeing to go along with the plan to kill the four prisoners, in violation of military laws that forbid harming enemy combatants once they are disarmed and in custody.
In an army evidentiary hearing on Tuesday in Vilseck, Germany, two of those soldiers - Specialists Steven Ribordy and Belmor Ramos - invoked their right against self-incrimination. Reached by telephone, James Culp, a civilian lawyer for one of the other two soldiers charged, Staff Sergeant Jess Cunningham, declined to comment. A lawyer for the fourth soldier, Sergeant Charles Quigley, could not be reached.
In their sworn statements, Mayo and Leahy described the events that preceded the shooting of the Iraqi men, who apparently were Shiite fighters linked to the Mahdi army militia, which controlled the West Rashid area of southwest Baghdad.
After taking small-arms fire, the patrol chased some men into a building, arresting them and finding several automatic weapons, grenades and a sniper rifle, they said. On the way to their combat outpost, Hatley's convoy was informed by army superiors that the evidence to detain the Iraqis was insufficient, Leahy said in his statement. The unit was told to release the men, according to the statement.
"First Sergeant Hatley then made the call to take the detainees to a canal and kill them," Leahy said, as retribution for the deaths of two soldiers from the unit: Staff Sergeant Karl Soto-Pinedo, who died from a sniper's bullet, and Specialist Marieo Guerrero, who was killed by a roadside bomb.
"So the patrol went to the canal, and First Sergeant, Sergeant First Class Mayo and I took the detainees out of the back of the Bradley, lined them up and shot them," Leahy said, referring to a Bradley fighting vehicle. "We then pushed the bodies into the canal and left."
Mayo, in his statement, attributed his decision to kill the men to "anger," apparently at the recent deaths of his two comrades.
Leahy, in his statement, said, "I'm ashamed of what I've done," later adding: "When I did it, I thought I was doing it for my family. Now I realize that I'm hurting my family more now than if I wouldn't have done it."
#4
Isn't that what is usually done with irregulars?
I mean by every other army in the world, and us too before just a couple of years ago?
Maybe its time to revive the tradition, the exectution of irregulars, spies, saboteurs and criminals in a war zone don't really keep me up at night.
#5
The statements and other court documents were provided by a person close to one of the soldiers in the unit who insisted on anonymity and who has an interest in the outcome of the legal proceedings.
I think I'm going to wait until something official comes out. This reads like something that little idiot at the New Republic would write, less the heavy breathing adjectives.
#6
If the allegations are true then this is a serious breakdown in professionalism in that unit.
If true then these guys are going to do life.
Sad thing is, that if you go by the Geneva Conventions to which we are a signatory, these were illegal combatants and could have simply been summarily executed, as was done.
However the UCMJ says otherwise in this instance, due to orders and the lawyered up ROE.
#7
This is the JAG lawyer's fault. They had made a clean bust and were going to bring them back, but he told them to let them go--in the field. Serious no no.
Even a DA would *never* tell the police who had collared a dangerous and hated perp that they had to let him walk even before they had booked him, by phone.
That would be a great way for the perp to get killed "in an accident" by pissed off cops, right after they had hung up.
The JAG should have told them to bring them in, then a few hours later had somebody else take them away for release--a long way away. And tell them not to come back or the guys who captured them last time would kill them next time.
#10
We can be sure the NYT used the same precise vetting and fact checking methodology they employed in the Edwards affair, not relying upon 'hearsay'.
I'll let you click the link. A semi-revealing image or two of the teenager as they prepare to get the thing off her, but it's done out of necessity and part of the story and so it should be told to lend context.
Her story is self-conflicting, but it might be explained by her being drugged by the terrorists as part of the process. She looks pretty whacked/stressed/emotional/confused. Just like the terrorists like it.
There is a great shot of the suicide vest itself on display. Doesn't look like much, but it's been plenty effective. Does anyone know why there are so many granny knots in the wiring? And what's the story with the multi-colored explosive bricks?
#1
Interesting to see the transference of suicide bombers and vest wearers and using females and using even young people as an escalation of the extreme paleo and hezbollah type terrorist. It would be a demographic and geographic exercise to plot the spread of this disease and timeline of its movement from Israel to Iraq to Turkey to Afghanistan et.al. This is more than just Jihadi religious fever - this is something even more psychotic and genetically based.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
08/27/2008 9:12 Comments ||
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#2
Only the red ones have detonators?
Knots: a devilish Paleo invention: precise detonation sequencing.
It reminds me of the secretary who was scared of her new Selectric: "It's just too fast, the way that thing flies around when you press a key. The IBM technician tied a knot in the power cord to slow it down. "Oh, thank you, that's much better!"
#4
Are you sure that that those red cords are wires? It looks more like primacord to me. The granny knots could be splices, which would make sense. Lace the individual packets of explosive to one central detonation point with lengths of primacord explosive, then one detonator sets off the show on the end of the primacord string.
That is a lot of explosive on the vest.
Posted by: Alaska Paul in Tok, AK ||
08/27/2008 10:41 Comments ||
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#5
AP, Looks to me like her primer cord was spliced from short ends. Poor girl, did'nt even get good primer. It looks to be two pipe bombs between some home made plastic. cheap deal, only needs two detonators. But then my extensive background in explosives is relagated to duck and cover!! AP, got the tray!!! Way cool!!!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/27/2008 11:26 Comments ||
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#6
WOW GORB what a story and the pics are outstanding!!
And what a horrible fuxked up sick sub-culture to convince a family to destroy itself..
You know she'll never be right in the head...
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/27/2008 13:59 Comments ||
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#7
The IBM technician tied a knot in the power cord to slow it down. "Oh, thank you, that's much better!"
thats got some mighty SHAG all over it KBK! <>:)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/27/2008 14:03 Comments ||
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#8
Maybe blowing themselves up is Iraqis way of fun. Let's cut them some slack
A suicide bomber with explosives hidden beneath his traditional robe blew himself up Tuesday in a crowd of Iraqis trying to join the police force, killing at least 25 people in the second major bombing in Iraq this week.
The attack occurred in the town of Jalula, a remote, impoverished community about 80 miles northeast of Baghdad that lies in Diyala province, where a U.S.-Iraqi offensive is being waged against the last major insurgent stronghold near the capital.
The bomber mingled in the crowd of would-be police recruits and then detonated explosives hidden beneath his dishdasha robe, police said. The bomb was packed with nails and ball bearings to maximize casualties, police said.
Initial reports from police and the U.S. military said the bomber blew up an explosives-laden vehicle near the crowd, but authorities said later that officers first concluded erroneously that a parked car damaged by the blast had been used as a car bomb.
U.S. military officials said five policemen were among the dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq
#1
A suicide bomber with explosives hidden beneath his traditional robe
That's part of the problem. From now on, all Iraqis must wear spandex clothing, including women and children. Hard to hide explosives in spandex.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/27/2008 11:46 Comments ||
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A series of gunbattles between government forces and the Tamil Tigers killed 15 rebels and seven soldiers in war-torn northern Sri Lanka, the military said yesterday.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/27/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 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.
One of the most heroic battles fought by British troops in Afghanistan was marred by confusion over rules of engagement and a lack of equipment, an inquest heard yesterday.
When the Taliban broke more than 750 prisoners out of jail this summer, in one of the most spectacular attacks in living memory, Nato's response was instant but invisible. Senior commanders scrambled every drone they could spare as prisoners poured out of Kandahar jail. 
LONDON: A gang operating out of Britain's mosques to sell fake passports to potential terrorists has been smashed by a popular UK tabloid. The crooks were confident that they won't be arrested since any police raids on mosques would inflame racial tension. But after a three-month undercover investigation by the News of The World, cops this week shut the scam down.
The DPRK announced on Tuesday it has halted disabling nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, the official KCNA news agency reported.
A key Taliban commander was killed in a clash with security forces in Swat on Tuesday, officials said. Security officials said Ikramuddin, a close associate of Baitullah Mehsud, was killed following a clash in Chota Kalam area of Kabal tehsil. However, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said Ikramuddin died accidentally when he fired his pistol. 
Eight people were killed and more than 20 hurt in a bomb explosion at a roadside restaurant in the Model Town area on the outskirts of Islamabad on Tuesday. About 3.5 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the device planted at the eatery situated near Yamaha Chowk in the Hummark area, officials from the Bomb Disposal Squad told Geo News. The blast, which initially appeared to be a gas cylinder explosion, created a one-foot-deep crater, the channel reported. Most of the victims were labourers and drivers. Police from the nearby Sihala Police Station dashed to the scene and shifted the wounded and the dead bodies to Polyclinic Hospital and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). Before the Bomb Disposal Squad filed its report, Superintendent of Police Kamran Adil, the local police in-charge, told reporters that evidence was being collected from the scene and that the police were not clear what had caused the explosion. He said any subsequent findings would be shared with the media. Hotel owner Raaz Wali had denied reports of it being a gas cylinder explosion saying he used kerosene stoves for cooking. Eyewitnesses said it was a terrorist act and claimed that they had seen a child placing a bag under a chair. Officials at PIMS confirmed receiving three bodies. Additional Commissioner Rana Akbar Hayat confirmed the death of four people.
BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. military says it has captured a suspected senior Shiite militant believed to be behind a June bombing in Baghdad that killed four Americans and six Iraqis.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US forces will hand over control of Anbar province to Iraqi troops in the coming days, military officials said Wednesday, touting improved security in the region. "We believe the province could turn over to Iraqi control in just a few days," Marine General James Conway said.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. Marine commandant says his forces in Iraq's once volatile western Anbar Province can be reduced, as the military moves to hand over control of the region to the Iraqis next week.
The U.S. military said American troops killed three suspected militants in Diyala on Wednesday, including two who had explosives strapped to their bodies.
