On this day in history: April 14th
1828 Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
1846 The Donner Party of pioneers departs Springfield, Illinois, for California.
1865 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.
1912 The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg at 11.35pm in the North Atlantic.
1956 In Chicago, Illinois, videotape is first demonstrated.
1986 In retaliation for the April 5 bombing in West Berlin that killed two U.S. servicemen, U.S. president Ronald Reagan orders major bombing raids against Libya.
Check out the picture at the link
BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China's fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China's.
The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness befor the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while.
China initiated its three-ship escort task force on Dec. 26 last year after the United Nations Security Council called on countries to patrol gulf and waters off Somalia, one of the world's busiest marine routes, where surging piracy endangered intercontinental shipping.
China's first fleet has escorted 206 vessels, including 29 foreign merchant vessels, and successfully rescued three foreign merchant ships from pirate attacks.
About 20 percent of Chinese merchant ships passing through the waters off Somalia were attacked by pirates from January to November in 2008, before the task force was deployed.
A total of seven ships, either owned by China or carrying Chinese cargo and crew, were hijacked.
Tianyu No. 8, a Chinese fishing vessel with 16 Chinese and eight foreign sailors aboard, was captured by Somali pirates on Nov. 14 and released in early February.
The second fleet of Chinese escort ships arrived at the Gulf of Aden on Monday to replace the first fleet.
#9
Perhaps Apollo has awoken and, fresh from guiding the bows of SEALs, continues his protection. The sea-mohommatons should take heed in angering this God.
#10
But did they have lasers on their foreheads? ;-) I do seem to recall that the Navy has been working with dolphins and porpoises for quite some time.
Taliban publicly executed a man and girl on Monday for eloping when she was already engaged to marry someone else, an official said, in a sign of the grip the Taliban have over parts of Afghanistan. Hashim Noorzai, head of Khash Rud district in southwestern Nimruz province, said the two were executed by gunshots in front of a crowd of villagers. He said he had no details on how the Taliban had come to be involved in passing judgement on them but that much of the mainly desert district was under their control. Nimruz is a sparsely-populated area near the Iranian and Pakistani borders where foreign or government troops had little presence. Like much of the south of the country, it has become a stronghold for the Taliban. Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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ASADABAD, Afghanistan, April 13 (AFP): Afghan officials and victims levelled fresh accusations against foreign troops Monday, charging that air strikes killed six civilians and wounded 14, including women and children.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed there was an "event" in the northeastern province of Kunar late Sunday but could not immediately provide any details.
The air strikes hit civilian homes in Kunar's Watapour district about 15 kilometres northwest of the provincial capital Asadabad, district governor Zalmai Yousufzai told reporters. "Among the six dead were two children, a woman and three men," he said. Seven children, a woman and six men were wounded, all of them civilians, he said.
So the men were hiding behind skirts again ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Undeterred by U.S. and French hostage rescues that killed seven bandits, Somali pirates brazenly hijacked three more ships in the Gulf of Aden, the waterway that's become the focal point of the world's fight against piracy.
The latest trophy for the pirates was the M.V. Irene E.M., a Greek-managed bulk carrier sailing from the Middle East to South Asia, said Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.
The Irene was attacked and seized in the middle of the night Tuesday -- a rare tactic for the pirates.
U.S. Navy Lt. Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said the Irene was flagged in the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and carried 23 Filipino crew. Choong reported a crew of 21, and there was no immediate way to reconcile the figures.
A maritime security contractor, speaking on condition of anonymity because it is a sensitive security issue, said the ship put out a distress signal "to say they had a suspicious vessel approaching. That rapidly turned into an attack and then a hijacking."
"They tried to call in support on the emergency channels, but they never got any response," the contractor said.
On Monday, Somali pirates also seized two Egyptian fishing boats in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast, according to Egypt's Foreign Ministry, which said the boats carried 18 to 24 Egyptians total. Don't really care anymore as long as the Skinnies know to stay the fuck away from American ships and crew.
Posted by: ed ||
04/14/2009 07:58 ||
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#1
My feelings exactly Mr. Yellow-highlighted-text-who-I-could-look-up-on-the-main-page-and-assign-a-proper-name-but-I'm-much-too-lazy-this-morning.
Posted by: Scott R ||
04/14/2009 9:05 Comments ||
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#2
FYI - The yellow highlighted text is the person who posted the article - not necessarily a moderator.
#3
Forget the Pirates...our "beloved" Obama regime has identified the TRUE threat to America:
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/04/14/the-execrable-dhs-report-on-right-wing-extremism/
#4
Post-it Note yellow (pale yellow) denotes comments from our esteemed site owner. Bright yellow denotes comments from the person who posted the article. In this case, if one looks as the bottom of the article, one sees Posted by:ed; ed is a frequent poster here, generally with sensible and informative comments. :-)
#5
I'm with Ed. As long as they don't screw with Americans, I'm not sure we should do much about them. I realize a lot of this money may be making it to AQ, but I'm not sure this is one battle we shouldn't pick NOT to fight.
At least not militarily all by our lonesome. Maybe a naval protection operation that involves many other countries. Putting some resources into breaking up the gang might be better from a return on ivestment perspective than a military op on land. The burden for which most assuredly would be shouldered by US forces.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/14/2009 15:14 Comments ||
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#6
I'm suprised Blackwater or some other security organization hasn't offered to guard ships while they pass the pirate infested waters. Board the vessels (with automatic weapons, etc..) before they enter the area and then leave just before the vessel make port. Ask a fee of about 100K or so and perhaps offer to pay any ransom if the guards fail.
#7
Actually, 2 of the largest PMCs have offered Q-Ships but were refused because of the UN's concerns about using "mercenaries". Considering how many of the UN's membership is made up of 3rd world sh'tholes like Somalia, no one should be surprised that they declined the most effective option for dealing with the problem - it might come back to bite THEM when they move into the business.
#11
Okay, I'm clearly not undestanding the second story. Appearantly the Navy thwarted a hijack attempt, didn't sink the pirate ship and no word about whether or not they are following said pirate ship.
I believe we can consider this a developing story.
Or perhaps this is the Navy way of saying "We don't want to kill your ignorant asses, but you have to leave us alone."
Also, no way the just 'happened' to find another American ship two days after 3 of their buddies get smoked holding their first American hostage.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/14/2009 22:09 Comments ||
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#12
WORLD MIL FORUM > Article describes how a CHINA SHIPPING CO. vessel was swarmed by about 30-39, mostly fast-moving Pirate boats [avg crew = 3 ea. = 90-127 Pirates in tote], attempting to induce the ship to stop and be boarded. The Pirates were driven off by armed Crew + CHIN SPECFORS.
KHARTOUM - Sudanese authorities on Monday executed nine men found guilty in the 2006 murder of a Sudanese newspaper editor, state media and a police source said. Nine people guilty in this case were executed today, the source said.
The case has been sensitive for the government, which initially banned reporting of the trial other than by state media. The nine men are from Darfur, a region torn by a conflict between rebels and the government.
The state news agency SUNA later confirmed the men were hanged at Kober prison in Khartoum and named them. A Reuters reporter outside the prison saw groups of relatives and some women wailing.
The decapitated body of the editor, Mohamed Taha Mohamed Ahmed, was found on a dirt road in Khartoum in September 2006. His hands and legs were tied and his head lay next to his body. In November 2007 the nine men were found guilty of killing Ahmed, a journalist and the owner of the Arabic-language newspaper al-Wifaq.
During the trial the lead police investigator, Abdul Rahim Ahmed Abdul Rahim, said the defendants motives were political, ethnic and financial. Abdul Rahim said the defendants had been infuriated by an article in Ahmeds paper. A defence lawyer said the article played down reports about rape in Darfur and used unflattering language to describe Darfuri women.
Earlier this month local media said a constitutional court had upheld the death sentences, putting an end to the appeal process.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Lobby group Amnesty International has condemned as "outrageous" the hanging of nine Sudanese men convicted of beheading a newspaper editor in 2006.
"They were arbitrarily arrested, tortured and then subjected to an unfair trial," said the body's deputy Africa director Tawanda Hondora.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 12:02 Comments ||
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#2
For Amnesia International to actually condemn the blatant murders of black men by Arabs sparks a tiny bit of hope in me that they'll quit reflexively blaming the "West" for everything bad that happens in Africa and the Muddled East. We'll see if it carries over to any other outrageous acts by Arabs/Muslimbs.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/14/2009 13:26 Comments ||
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A cynical part of me thinks the only reason Amnesty Internation showed any interest is because a newspaper editor was the victim.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Egyptian police in Sinai have surrounded 10 Lebanese men wanted on suspicion of plotting attacks against Egypt, a security source said on Sunday. The men are part of a group sought by Cairo for their links to Lebanon's Hezbollah, the source said.
Tensions between Egypt, a predominantly Sunni country, and Hezbollah, a Shiite group backed by Iran, have been running high since Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in December accused Cairo of complicity with Israel in its siege of Gaza.
Cairo said on Wednesday it had detained 49 Egyptian, Palestinian and Lebanese men linked to Hezbollah, accusing them of planning attacks in Egypt. On Sunday a prosecution source said five Egyptians and one Palestinian had been charged with spying and possessing firearms without a licence.
Nasrallah said in response that one of those held was a Hezbollah member and that he and up to 10 others were trying to supply military equipment to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. He denied they had plans for attacks inside Egypt.
The six men admitted having links with Hezbollah but denied other charges, according to the prosecution source. A separate prosecution source said at least one Sudanese national was among the detained, and that police had found explosives and bomb-making material in their possession.
Egypt press slams Nasrallah
" Egypt must start proceedings to try him in an international court. He has admitted to the crime. He must be handed to the Lebanese government as a war criminal "
Karam Gabr, editor of the Egyptian Rose Al-Yussef
The Egyptian press on Sunday slammed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a war criminal who should be put on trial after he admitted that his militants in Cairo were helping Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Nasrallah said on Friday that a man Cairo is holding on suspicion of planning attacks is a member of his group and was providing logistical help to Hamas, but denied seeking to destabilize Egypt.
"A criminal who knows no mercy" cried the blood-red headline in the state-owned al-Gomhuria which reserved the whole of its front page for an editorial bashing Nasrallah, repeatedly referring to him as "Sheikh Monkey."
"Sheikh Monkey, we will not allow you to belittle our judicial symbols, for you are a highway robber, a pure criminal who has killed his own people but we will not allow you to threaten the peace and security of Egypt," editor Mohammed Ali Ibrahim wrote.
Al-Ahram newspaper, which is also state-owned, said Nasrallah's admission that Hezbollah is operating in Egypt provided grounds for prosecution. "The admission by (Nasrallah) of sending agents into Egypt... puts him at the forefront of accusations and requires dealing with him under Egyptian law, or international law and issuing an (Interpol) red notice for his arrest," said editorial writer Ahmed Mussa.
"Egypt must start proceedings to try him in an international court. He has admitted to the crime. He must be handed to the Lebanese government as a war criminal," Karam Gabr, editor of the pro-regime Rose al-Yussef, told Egyptian television.
Helping the Palestinians
" Nasrallah deserves death and I hope that those who know what to do with him will act and give him what he deserves "
Israeli Transport Minister Yisrael Katz
In his speech on Friday, Nasrallah confirmed that Sami Shihab, a Lebanese citizen among the detained, was a member of Hezbollah and was working to help Hamas against Israel. "If helping the Palestinians is a crime, I officially admit to my crime."
Hezbollah, which is backed by Egypt's regional rivals Iran and Syria, is a vocal supporter of Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza, and has lashed out at Egypt for closing its border crossing with the Palestinian enclave.
An Israeli cabinet minister said on Sunday that Nasrallah deserved to die. "Nasrallah deserves death and I hope that those who know what to do with him will act and give him what he deserves," said Transport Minister Yisrael Katz.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] An alleged mastermind of the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, on Bangabandhu Avenue was arrested at the eastern fringe of Kolkata Sunday.
Mufti Ibrahim, also nephew to detained Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) commander Mufti Hannan, was arrested at a flat in Ashwini Nagar of Baguihati of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, sources in the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) said.
Sources said Ibrahim crossed over to India five years ago and was running an umbrella shop in Baguihati area, our New Delhi correspondent reports.
Although there were reports that he had undergone plastic surgery on his face, the CID said it was yet to be verified.
"We have taken him in custody and are interrogating him," sources in the CID said.
Asked whether he was involved in any kind of anti-social activities in India, they said so far there is no such report but it can be ascertained with certainty only after his interrogation.
Mufti Ibrahim alias Munshi Ibrahim hails from Hiron in Kotalipara upazila of Gopalganj district, a correspondent in Gopalganj reports.
He was allegedly an accomplice of Mufti Hannan in his attempt to kill the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her entourage cabinet ministers and military and civil officials by planting two powerful bombs at Kotalipara on July 23, 2000. He is a fugitive in two cases filed in this connection.
Locals and police claimed Ibrahim studied in Deoband Madrasa in India. He went to Afghanistan via Pakistan and participated in the war in Afghanistan, they claimed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Rapid Action Battalion personnel arrested two central leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League from the city''s Maghbazar area early Monday, as a government-ordered hunt for suspects in campus troubles continued, reports UNB.
The members of RAB-2 and the intelligence wing of the elite force jointly raided a house in the area and held BCL central committee Organizing Secretary Ashraful Rahman and International Affairs Secretary Mithu at about 5am. The two leaders of the pro-Awami League student organization were run in on charge of trying to "disrupt educational activities and congenial environment at Dhaka University", RAB sources said.
Later, they were handed over to Ramna police in the evening. When contacted, Officer-in-Charge of Ramna police station Shibly Noman said Mithu was shown arrested in a case pending against him with the police station. "We are examining whether any case is pending against Ashraf," the OC added.
Law-enforcing agencies started arrest of BCL leaders and activists after the government''s recent order for a crackdown on those out to ''destabilize the campus in the name of student politics''.
BCL suffered the biggest shock when Prime Minister and ruling Awami League president Sheikh Hasina relinquished her position as Chhatra League''s supreme organizational leader on April 4, in the wake of series of clashes between rival groups of students in educational institutions. In a presidium meeting on the day, she also ordered a crackdown on campus unrest, directing the law-enforcing agencies to tackle with a strong hand the troublemakers in her party''s student wing, or any other student organizations for that matter, who are unleashing violence in educational institutions.
Country''s higher educational institutions across the country were being shut down one after another following clashes with involvement of Chhatra League (BCL) since the AL-led government came to power following a massive significant victory at the December 29 parliamentary polls.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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The body of another BDR sepoy was found hanging at its Pilkhana headquarters in the city Monday morning, reports UNB. The deceased was identified as Ashraful Alam, 26, son of Molla Mohammad Amir Hossain of Bhurimari village in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat. He served as a sepoy of 13 Rifles Battalion.
The poor lad... it was unrequited love that drove him to it
On information, police from New Market thana went to the BDR Headquarters and recovered the body of Ashraf from a toilet at the 13-Rifle Battalion building at about 8:05am. It was found hanging from a ventilator. The body was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
With the death of sepoy Ashraf, 11 BDR men, including the Pesh Imam of BDR headquarters central mosque, have died since the Feb 25-26 Pilkhana carnage.
It's an epidemic. Someone should call the WHO ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Police and Rab in a raid held seven members of Pakistan-based Islamic organisation Dawat-e-Islami from Patharghata area yesterday 'on suspicion of their link with militant activities.'
Acting on a tip-off, police and Rab men raided Najumia Lane of Patharghata at about 12:00 noon and detained them from a flat. Nine passports, four computers, one scanner and one printer, a number of CDs and VCDs, several booklets and leaflets on teaching of Islam and some documents were also seized during the raid. However, no document related to militancy was found in the seized items till examining of those items at 4pm, police said.
And no shutter gun ...
DC (North) of CMP Banaj Kumar Mazumdar said they were held 'on suspicion of their involvement in militant activities.'
Claiming the organisation truly religious-based organisation, arrestee Nurul Azim said the organisation started its activities in Bangladesh in 1985 and now covers 22 districts of the country and around 70 countries.
Locals said the members rented the flat 13 months back while they used to speak about Islam in a nearby mosque every Thursday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Kyodo: Korea] The U.N. Security Council on Monday adopted a nonbinding presidential statement on North KoreaŽs April 5 rocket launch, which unanimously ŽŽcondemnsŽŽ the action as a ŽŽcontraventionŽŽ of a resolution banning the country from all missile-related activities. The statement was approved with the backing of the councilŽs all 15 members -- the five veto-wielding members and the 10 nonpermement members and the text was read out a formal meeting of the United NationsŽ most powerful body by Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, the rotating council president for April.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Bullshit, read it to Kimmie, standing in front inside the UN building with handcufs and two pistols in his back.
THEN it'll be something besides waste paper.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 5:10 Comments ||
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#4
I think it's long past time for Yongbyon to have an "accident". Poor maintenance, lousy workmanship, and just too much juche, ya know...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/14/2009 13:34 Comments ||
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#5
If we could just "Nudge" some space rock just right, then tell the muslims that a "New sign" was coming, we could dispose of kimmie and get his "Starving Millions" Muslimified all at once, I doubt there'd be much change, they're starving and oppressed now, but it would split Islam in two.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/14/2009 19:17 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Jury selection began in New York on Monday in the trial of three men accused of helping set up a militant training camp in rural Oregon and operating websites showing how to assemble bombs. The three suspects are Oussama Abdullah Kassir, James Ujaama and Haroon Rashid Aswat.
Pleading guilty
Kassir, 43, who was extradited from the Czech Republic to New York in 2007, faces multiple charges, including supporting terrorism and al-Qaeda, by attempting to set up the camp in Bly, Oregon from 1999 to early 2000.
Prosecutors say Kassir and two others involved in the case were followers of Egyptian-born Abu Hamza al-Masri, a one-armed Muslim cleric who is serving a seven-year sentence in Britain for inciting his followers to murder nonbelievers.
Ujaama, a former community activist in Seattle, has pleaded guilty to trying to help al-Qaeda militants and may testify at the trial in Manhattan federal court as part of a plea agreement.
The other suspect in the case, Aswat, one of Masri's chief aides, is appealing against extradition to the United States.
A history of terrorist actvity
Prosecutors say in late 1999 Kassir and Aswat flew from London to New York and then traveled to Oregon to assess the suitability of a property for the camp.
Once there Kassir set up security patrols, helped distribute CD-ROMs with instructions on how to make bombs and poison, and offered instructions in hand-to-hand combat, including how to slit a person's throat with a knife, the indictment said. The camp was never established.
From December 2001 until 2005, Kassir operated at least three websites that contained manuals such as "The Mujahideen Explosives Handbook" and "The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook," according to the indictment.
Pleading not guilty
Kassir has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In a 2007 hearing he described the case as "unjust" and "unfair" and said he has "nothing to do with al-Qaeda."
Jury selection could take a week with opening arguments in the case likely next week.
Kassir, who was born in Lebanon but became a Swedish citizen in 1989, was arrested in Prague in 2005 during a layover while traveling from Stockholm to Beirut. Aswat, a British citizen, was arrested in Zambia.
Al-Masri, who also faces charges for helping plot the capture of 16 western hostages in Yemen in 1998, won an interim order in 2008 from the European Court of Human Rights blocking his extradition to the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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BUNER: Three police officials, two Lashkar (militia) men and sixteen militants were killed in overnight clash between Taliban and Qaumi Lashkar in Buner district, police and residents said on Tuesday.
The fierce fighting erupted on Monday night when the Qaumi Lashkar and local police force made efforts to enter the Gokand valley via Rajagaly Kandow from Pir Baba side to flush out Taliban militants who had sneaked in to the district on Saturday from neighbouring Swat.
The militants had earlier been asked to leave but had refused and took positions in the Gokand valley. The local jirga elders and district administration officials held several rounds of talks with the Taliban through a reconciliatory committee which included leaders of Tehrik Nefaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) in a bid to convince them to leave the area with an offer of safe passage. But the militant commander was of the view that Tehrik Taliban high command had ordered their Tashkeel (stay) in the area and they would leave after holding a peace march and visiting the families of six killed Taliban in Shalbandi.
Sources told Dawn that Taliban militants had dispatched sixteen bodies and shifted thirteen wounded colleagues to Swat via Kalil Kandow early on Tuesday morning after the shootout. However, militants and their local supporters were tightlipped about the casualties on their side.
Following the battle, the Taliban took possession of the bodies of two Lashkar men and three police constables and even opened fire on Lashkar men when they tried to rescue the bodies early on Tuesday morning.
Malakand commissioner Mohammad Javed Khan, Taliban commander Mehmood Khan, TNSM vice chief Maulana Mohammad Alam, district chief Maulana Salar and others visited Dara Gokand on Tuesday.
They held several rounds of talks with the Taliban commander Rizwan Bacha of Puechar Swat. The dialogue continued till Tuesday evening and the Taliban commander allowed the handover of the bodies of the Qaumi Lashkar men and police personnel to a third party.
The bodies of the police personnel were dispatched to their hometowns after funeral prayers at Police Line Buner.
Sources said the Taliban set on fire seven houses of an influential member of the Qaumi Lashkar in Barwazee area and a petrol pump in Barikot, Swat district, on Tuesday.
Tense calm prevailed in Gokand valley and rest of the district as influential people who have affiliation with Qaumi Lashkar have shifted their families from Sultanwas village to safer places in fear of Taliban reprisal.
Sources close to the Taliban said the militants were in no mood to leave the area. They have reportedly established their headquarters in Buner district and were bent on holding peace march in the district and to monitor the affairs in accordance with the Nizam-i Adl Regulation.
The reconciliatory committee has succeeded in cooling down the situation but both sides have taken positions and final showdown is expected any time as reinforcement and heavy weaponry have been shifted to Taliban from Swat on Monday night.
The Taliban have claimed consolidated their position in whole of Dara Gokand, advanced to Kalabat in Batai Dara and near occupying Bagra post, a few kilometers from Pir Baba Bazaar. Sources said Taliban have now kept their eyes on the Sultanwas area and it would be next target of militants if it consolidated its position in the area.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 13:02 ||
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#1
Hats off to the Pak Police in Buner. At least they are willing to fight where the Pak army is not.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 13:33 Comments ||
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LONDON: Pakistan is not likely to agree to the deportation of the 12 Pakistanis arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of being involved in plotting terrorist activities in the UK, if they are not charged of any crime.
Drop 'em at the territorial limit then ...
Sources close to the Pakistan High Commission here have said that Pakistan would like first to be informed on what charges these Pakistanis were arrested and then Islamabad would like to have consular access to these students and then alone they believe it would be appropriate to discuss how to handle the case.
They said if the British government did not have any actionable evidence against these youngsters they should be released honourably and allowed to pursue their studies here, 'otherwise it would destroy their careers and lives if they are deported without any rhyme or reason.
They further said that so far nothing had been conveyed by the UK government to the Pakistan High Commission about the antecedents of the arrested men and all that the High Commission here could obtain was six probable names of people taken into custody and that too from the medias highly sketchy accounts.
Names at the link.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 12:14 ||
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#2
The Brits canceled their visas. What is there not to accept? They are Pakistanis and are being sent back home.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 13:00 Comments ||
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#3
British Home Office: We have twelve Pakistani's we're sending home.
Pakistan: We won't accept them unless they are accused of a crime.
British Home Office: We're sending them home. You can either accept them as they are, or we'll ship them home by ship, in pieces.
(Do I ever wish!)
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/14/2009 13:39 Comments ||
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#4
Take 'em into Karachi port and toss 'em overboard.
At least seven soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir have been killed in an avalanche in the Shamsabari mountain range, the army says. Lt Col JS Brar told the BBC that the avalanche occurred in Kupwara district on Tuesday morning. He said the soldiers who died were manning a counter-insurgency post. Eight other soldiers were rescued.
Soldiers and militants recently fought a six-day-long battle in the inhospitable Shamsabari range. The eight [survivors] have been provided medical aid and their condition is stable," a military spokesman told the Associated Press news agency. Correspondents say that Kupwara is close to India's de facto border with Pakistan, 130km (80 miles) north of Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The area is notorious for its frequent rain and heavy snow. India says that soldiers posted there are preventing the entry of suspected Islamic insurgents from Pakistan. The Indian army said it killed 17 suspected rebels and lost eight of its own men last month in one of the major battles in recent years in the region.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 12:04 ||
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The Coldest War. Outside Magazine reports on the front lines atop the Siachen Glacier.
#2
They're now seeing jihadis with snow gear, ice axes, climbing equipment, night vision equipment, GPS etc.
That sort of training most probably comes from the Pakistani army itself.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 12:48 Comments ||
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#3
probably definitely comes from the Pakistani army itself... along with all the equipment.
DAMANJODI (KORAPUT): For 10 hours, a band of 22 CISF jawans battled more than 200 heavily armed Maoists, without back-up or reinforcements, and saved the lives of 150 Nalco staff who were held hostage by the guerrillas in Orissa's Damanjodi since Sunday night. The nightlong encounter took place in the largest bauxite mine in Asia.
The CISF lost 10 of their own and are believed to have inflicted heavy damage on the attackers. Bodies of four Maoists, including a woman, were recovered. Blood trails suggest the Maoists dragged many more bodies away. But the guerrillas did manage to get their hands on a cache of explosives. Two critically wounded jawans were air-lifted to Vizag, while seven others have been admitted to Damanjodi hospital.
When police finally reached the Panchapatmalli hilltop in the morning, they were in for a heart-rending sight. Bodies lay strewn. Some Nalco employees who had been held hostage were retching uncontrollably, while others were wailing. They all owed their lives to CISF men.
The survivors among the saviours the three that escaped unhurt and the nine injured had a dazed look but they still clutched their rifles, ready to fight.
Eyewitnesses said they had seen the extremists loitering in the area in batches during the day on Sunday, but suspected nothing. "We thought they were tribals going hunting in the forest since the Chaiti festival is on," said a Nalco official.
The Maoists launched their assault in the cover of darkness. A group of 50 attacked the fire station and took nearly 100 Nalco staff, including mine workers, hostage. They herded them into a canteen, snatched their mobile phones, and cut off power. Two CISF jawans were caught by surprise and gunned down without warning. As the first group set fire to some offices, a bigger unit headed for the 'magazine room' where explosives are stored. The 22 CISF jawans deployed there had sensed trouble and taken battle positions. The long night had begun.
Thousands of rounds were exchanged between the two sides which started around 9.30pm and continued till 6.30am. Eight CISF jawans were killed.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#3
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a paramilitary security force in India.
It was set up under an act of Parliament on March 10, 1969 with a strength of 2,800. CISF was subsequently made an armed force of the Union of India by another act of Parliament passed on June 15, 1983. Its current strength is 105,000. [1]
It is directly under the federal Ministry of Home Affairs and its headquarters are at New Delhi.
The CISF provides security cover to 269 industrial units located all over India. Industrial Sectors like Atomic Power Plants, Space Installations, Defence Production Units, Mints, Oil Fields and Refineries, Major Ports, Heavy Engineering, Steel Plants, Barrages, Fertilizer units, Airports and Hydro electric/thermal power plants are protected by CISF. Most of these installations are located in difficult terrains of the country with harsh climatic conditions.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/14/2009 9:22 Comments ||
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#4
Rorke's Drift in Damanjodi.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/14/2009 10:35 Comments ||
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#5
My deepest respect for 22 exceptional soldiers who acted above and beyond their normal duties. I hope they all get promotions and a guaranteed, well-endowed retirement. They deserve it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/14/2009 13:45 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Jimmy Carter sez the Maoists are good guys. Ya got his word on it. I'm sure this was probably just their attempt at "dialouge"...
A tribal jirga on Monday handed over three Jamrud mosque bombing suspects to political authorities. On March 27, a bomber had blown himself up during the Juma congregation at a crowded mosque in Begyari, Jamrud, killing 83 people.
Sources said the Khyber Agency's political administration had sought the custody of eight suspects from the Kokikhel Qaumi Jirga but only three -- Khaista Khan, Taj Wali and Muhammad Rafiq -- had been handed over to them. They said the jirga had promised remaining suspects' handover within the next few days. Meanwhile, Khyber Agency's Political Agent Tariq Hayat Khan distributed the Rs 300,000 cheques to the families of nine dead and one injured by terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Tribesmen in Mohmand Agency have killed a Taliban leader and injured two others, said the Frontier Corps in press release on Monday. The FC said that Taliban leader Dilbar Khan, accompanied by 17 to 18 other members of the group, went to Lundi Jawar village in Utmanzai to confront a local over opposition to the group's activities in the area. However, the villagers engaged the Taliban and killed Dilbar Khan and injured two others. The FC said that after the clash Taliban, a large number of Taliban surrendered in the same village.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik has said that investigations are still underway about the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, while another person, suspected to be the handler of Mumbai attackers, have been arrested. "The DNA reports of Ismail and Ajmal Kasab are similar," Malik told newsmen at a press briefing. "Why DNA reports of Ismail and Ajmal Kasab are similar if they are not twins," he questioned.
He said that the statement recorded by Kasab before a local judicial magistrate in India has too not been provided to Islamabad. Malik said Pakistan had asked India to provide more information about the attacks. In this regard, the foreign ministry has been asked to contact Indian government to get more evidence into the Mumbai mayhem.
The interior adviser said that the government would take strict action against those people involved in sending messages about terrorism. The service would be blocked if negative use of SMS was not stopped, he warned. To a question, Malik said that there was no threat to any of the schools located in the federal capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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The Taliban have stopped the polio vaccination campaign -- launched on Monday -- in Darsmand union council, Tal tehsil, of Hangu, threatening to kidnap health officials if they go ahead with the campaign. "What part about 'primitive' don't youse understand?"
Khan Meer, head of one of the polio teams working in Darsmand, told Daily Times that around 10am on Monday, armed Taliban came to the area and told his three-member team to stop vaccinating children. He said he stopped work in the area immediately after the Taliban warning, and "this is the reason the Taliban have not done anything so far". "No skin off my fore. They're not my kids."
Gul Rehman -- heading the polio drive in Hangu -- said that no health official had been kidnapped. He said the campaign had been stopped in only one union council, while work was underway in the rest of the areas. "I have given clear directives to the polio teams across the province to stop the drive in case the Taliban show up," said Rehman.
Health officials launched the three-day polio drive in Hangu and Orakzai Agency on Monday. The Orakzai Agency surgeon, Dr Mohammad Ishaq, told reporters that polio vaccine would be administered to 83,674 children in the agency and 92,418 children in Hangu.
Separately, officials said that unidentified men had kidnapped a renowned NWFP businessman, Meer Zaki Shah, from Shanawarai area. Police said the armed men kidnapped the businessman while he was taking his children home from school.
Hangu DSP Muhammad Farid Khattak told Daily Times that he had formed a special team and launched an operation to recover Zaki.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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The Taliban are imposing their rule in the mountain valley of Buner that they took over last week, spreading fear in the area only 100 kilometres from the capital, said police and residents on Monday. Police said authorities were negotiating with the Taliban to persuade them to withdraw, but the group had stayed put and appeared determined to take over the valley. "They are everywhere," Arsala Khan, a deputy superintendent of police, told Reuters overt the telephone from Buner. "They are visiting mosques, they are visiting bazaars asking people to help them enforce sharia," he said. "Buner is fast turning into Swat." Using loudspeakers installed at mosques, Taliban commanders on Monday called on young men in Buner to get jihadi training. Residents of Buner said they feared more bloodshed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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The Swat Taliban have renewed efforts to recruit fighters and supporters following delays in the implementation of their peace agreement with the government.
"As long as we were there enforcing peace, they were not recruiting," Rizwanullah Farooq, son of Sufi Muhammad, told Bloomberg on Monday. "Now recruitment is going on even in Buner because they don't see a chance for peace. The government must understand this."
The drive into Buner brings the Taliban closest to Islamabad in the five years since they began fighting the government for territorial control.
The Tehreek Nifaaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi, which signed the two-month-old peace accord with the government on behalf of the Taliban, abandoned the vigil last week by leaving Swat in protest and has threatened to pull out of the peace accord to protest delay by President Asif Ali Zardari in approving the system of Sufi's sharia courts in the area.
In Islamabad on Monday the federal government presented the peace accord to lawmakers for approval. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had said the deal would be presented in the National Assembly to reach a consensus on the subject.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/14/2009 00:00 ||
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A Coalition forces soldier died of injuries sustained during an explosively formed projectile attack on a convoy five kilometers south of Karbalah on Monday, according to a statement issued by the US Army in Iraq. The Soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense, it added.
Four Lebanese soldiers were killed Monday when they came under attack in the Bekaa region, security sources and local media said. They said the forces were patrolling between the towns of Zahle and Baalbek in the Bekaa region to the east of the capital, Beirut, when they came under attack which killed four of them. The Lebanese army has in the past few days launching a campaign to capture wanted people in the Bekaa.
I guess they'll need to add a few more names to the list...
... news emerged Monday news from something called Intelligence Online
that foreign intelligence services - including Israel's Mossad - provided Egyptian authorities with intelligence that contributed to the uncovering of a Hezbollah-run terrorist ring and led to the arrest of dozens of suspects.
Meanwhile, Egyptian sources upped the tone of the charges against Hezbollah Monday by claiming that the aim of the underground activity was not limited to plans for terrorist attacks against tourist areas frequented by foreigners, but also against targets in the Suez canal.
#2
yes seaf, Nasrallah did issue a public affairs announcement on this.
However, I do not think he did this in public (that is what I would mean by 'pop up'). IIRC, he has only appeared in public a half dozen times or so in the past year or two.
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.
ASADABAD, Afghanistan, April 13 (AFP): Afghan officials and victims levelled fresh accusations against foreign troops Monday, charging that air strikes killed six civilians and wounded 14, including women and children.
Undeterred by U.S. and French hostage rescues that killed seven bandits, Somali pirates brazenly hijacked three more ships in the Gulf of Aden, the waterway that's become the focal point of the world's fight against piracy.
KHARTOUM - Sudanese authorities on Monday executed nine men found guilty in the 2006 murder of a Sudanese newspaper editor, state media and a police source said. Nine people guilty in this case were executed today, the source said.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Egyptian police in Sinai have surrounded 10 Lebanese men wanted on suspicion of plotting attacks against Egypt, a security source said on Sunday. The men are part of a group sought by Cairo for their links to Lebanon's Hezbollah, the source said.
[Bangla Daily Star] An alleged mastermind of the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004, on Bangabandhu Avenue was arrested at the eastern fringe of Kolkata Sunday. 
Rapid Action Battalion personnel arrested two central leaders of Bangladesh Chhatra League from the city''s Maghbazar area early Monday, as a government-ordered hunt for suspects in campus troubles continued, reports UNB.
The body of another BDR sepoy was found hanging at its Pilkhana headquarters in the city Monday morning, reports UNB. The deceased was identified as Ashraful Alam, 26, son of Molla Mohammad Amir Hossain of Bhurimari village in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat. He served as a sepoy of 13 Rifles Battalion. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] Jury selection began in New York on Monday in the trial of three men accused of helping set up a militant training camp in rural Oregon and operating websites showing how to assemble bombs. The three suspects are Oussama Abdullah Kassir, James Ujaama and Haroon Rashid Aswat.
[Geo News] Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik has said that investigations are still underway about the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, while another person, suspected to be the handler of Mumbai attackers, have been arrested. "The DNA reports of Ismail and Ajmal Kasab are similar," Malik told newsmen at a press briefing. "Why DNA reports of Ismail and Ajmal Kasab are similar if they are not twins," he questioned. 
The Taliban have stopped the polio vaccination campaign -- launched on Monday -- in Darsmand union council, Tal tehsil, of Hangu, threatening to kidnap health officials if they go ahead with the campaign. 
A Coalition forces soldier died of injuries sustained during an explosively formed projectile attack on a convoy five kilometers south of Karbalah on Monday, according to a statement issued by the US Army in Iraq. The Soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense, it added.
Four Lebanese soldiers were killed Monday when they came under attack in the Bekaa region, security sources and local media said. They said the forces were patrolling between the towns of Zahle and Baalbek in the Bekaa region to the east of the capital, Beirut, when they came under attack which killed four of them. The Lebanese army has in the past few days launching a campaign to capture wanted people in the Bekaa.
