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Taliban hold Buner town people hostage
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday: May 1st.

Calamity Jane - died 1903 (51) "Martha Jane Cannary "

Gen. Mark Wayne Clark - died 1984 (97) "Monte Cassino - Capture of Rome"

Kate Smith - died 1986 (79) "God Bless America"

Glenn Ford - died 2006 (90) "Marine WWII - USNR 50s - Westerns"

Danielle Darrieux - 92 "One of France's great movie stars, spanning 8 decades" (Now)

Scott Carpenter - 84 "Mercury Seven astronaut" (Now)

Judy Collins - 70 "Both Sides Now" (Now)

Joanna Lumley - 63 "The New Avengers - Bond Girl - Absolutely Fabulous " (Now)

On this day in history: May 1st.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
1869 – The Folies Bergère opens in Paris.
1898 – The Battle of Manila Bay – the United States Navy destroys the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first battle of the war.
1927 – The first cooked meals on a scheduled flight are introduced on an Imperial Airways flight from London to Paris.
1930 – The dwarf planet Pluto is officially named.
1941 – German forces launch Operation Mercury the largest airborne invasion to date in their bid to capture Crete.
1948 – The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) is established, with Kim Il-sung as president.
1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
1960 – Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
1961 – The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
1971 – Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) is formed to take over U.S. passenger rail service.


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 05/01/2009 0:35 Comments || Top||


#3  Hello, my dear friends! I want to get software pack XRUMER 5.07 Palladium for FREE. Any link???
I'm so need this magic program! It's can break captchas automatically! Activate accounts via email automatically too! Absolutely great software! Help me!
And did you hear news - price for XRumer 5.0 Palladium will grow up to $540 after 15 may 2009... And XRumer 2.9 and 3.0 - too old versions, it's cant break modern catpchas and cant break modern anti-bot protections. But XRumer 5.0 Palladium CAN!!!!
So help me for download this great program for free! Thanks!
Posted by: MagicOPromotion || 05/01/2009 4:10 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm not sure how you got from 'Sennett' to 'Senate' (and I'm not sure I want to know) but that's funny ...
Posted by: Steve White || 05/01/2009 9:03 Comments || Top||

#5  My computer won't display the pictures. Saya I'm notauthorized to view the page.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 05/01/2009 9:39 Comments || Top||

#6  Same here, no pics but one.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/01/2009 11:58 Comments || Top||

#7  gettyimages doesn't like to be linked from outside. You can copy/paste the url.
Posted by: ed || 05/01/2009 12:12 Comments || Top||

#8  They always work fine on my computers. Must be something in the pop-up or virus filter settings I'm using that's different. I have ok'ed Rantburg Pop-ups.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 05/01/2009 12:25 Comments || Top||

#9  I can see all the pix....
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 05/01/2009 16:07 Comments || Top||

#10  Gen Clark was Dad's favorite general. Apparently he served under him either in North Africa or Sicily.

I had my first Salk vaccine in 1953, as part of the school test group in Louisiana. That was a good place to test, since polio usually crippled a hundred or more kids every year there. We had two polio victims in our graduating class, and several others before that. Polio is so rare today that 99% of school-age children have never seen anyone who had polio, even among adults.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 05/01/2009 17:08 Comments || Top||

#11  That's the same year I had my first polio vaccine, OP. In Enid, Oklahoma.
Weird, I can see all the pictures now.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 05/01/2009 17:43 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
42 killed in Afghanistan
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] US-led troops battled militants in Afghanistan on Wednesday announced that they killed 42 suspected militants, while a Taliban suicide bomber wounded five German soldiers.

The deadliest battle was in the southern province of Uruzgan where the US military said nearly two dozen militants were killed after ambushing a patrol of coalition troops and the police. "Afghan and coalition forces returned the fire and called for close air support, killing 23 militants," it said in a statement.

Nine more were killed in the Helmand province in fighting that erupted when troops "positively identified armed militants preparing an attack from inside a wooded area," the statement added.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Dead innocent civilian and fluffy bunny count to be released soon.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/01/2009 8:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't forget renewed calls for Germany to withdraw troops from immoral war against indigenous innocents.
Posted by: Highlander || 05/01/2009 10:12 Comments || Top||

#3  An auspicious start to another Great Taliban Spring Offensive...
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/01/2009 11:23 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Pirates attack Italian ship for second day running
[Mail and Globe] Somali pirates attacked the Italian merchant ship, the Jolly Smeraldo, on Thursday for a second day in a row but it managed to escape, the Italian coastguard said.

"The ship was attacked twice, first at around 6am in the morning [local time], and then again around two hours later," a media spokesperson told AFP.

"Several gunshots were fired both times, but without causing any damage, thanks mainly to the skill of the ship's crew," he added.

The first attack on the ship en route to Saudi Arabia occurred some 270 nautical miles from the coast of Somalia.

The Jolly Smeraldo also survived a pirate attack on Wednesday.

The attack came days after pirates attacked an Italian cruise ship, the Melody, carrying more than 1 500 people. Israeli security guards on board ship fought them off in a shootout. After the attack on the Melody nine suspected pirates were detained by a Spanish warship on Monday, and on Tuesday a Russian destroyer seized a boat with 29 Somali suspects.

All together, Somali pirates are holding 16 ships and more than 250 seaman for ransom including the Italian tugboat the Buccaneer, captured three weeks ago.

Attacks surged this month as calm seas allowed them to approach their prey more easily and dodge a growing naval presence in the region.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Pirates

#1  So the pirates capture an Italian tug named 'Bucanner' then attack an Italian ship named 'Jolly Smeraldo' - is Smeraldo Italian for Roger?
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/01/2009 8:51 Comments || Top||

#2  this is why all cruise lines and shipping vessels need merc type security on board. the cost of these security men could not cost anymore than the insurance rates are probably skyrockets because of these attack and pp not cruising being afraid they will be attacked.
Posted by: rabid whitetail || 05/01/2009 14:05 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Hunt on for 25 directly involved BDR men
[Bangla Daily Star] The investigators are yet to track down 25 directly involved BDR mutineers out of at least 45, said a senior law enforcer assigned for investigation into the Pilkhana carnage.

The investigator seeking anonymity said they had identified the suspected killers through video footages, grilling the arrested jawans, identifications made by the carnage survivors and their families and other sources.

Investigators said few of the absconding murderers might have blended into around 11,000 BDR members and later reported at Pilkhana and other BDR units.

Sources in the law enforcement agencies said 57 BDR mutineers are still absconding and Operation Rebel Hunt is still underway. However, government on April 7 announced Tk 50,000 bounty for handing each fugitive BDR members over to the authorities.

Another investigator said quizzing of around 11,000 BDR jawans at Pilkhana headquarters and different sectors and battalion headquarters is going on. He said each day 50 new jawans are being questioned and screened by a good number of army officers six days a week.

Asked how much time it may take to complete the interrogation the official said, " If the screening goes on at this pace, it may take around 7 months from the day the probe started."

He said there were around 7,500 jawans inside Pilkhana during the mutiny. "Can you imagine how much time it will take if you listen to 36-hour mutiny story from each jawan?" he added.

Meanwhile, a Dhaka court yesterday placed 36 border guards and a civilian on seven-day remand each after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) produced them before the court with a prayer for remand.

In addition to that CID arrested 10 more suspected BDR mutineers from Pilkhana yesterday.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder if their Cause of Death certificates are already written up?
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/01/2009 11:25 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Azerbaijan: Gunman kills students in suicide attack
[ADN Kronos] At least eight people were killed in a shooting attack on a state oil academy in Baku, capital of the Caspian state of Azerbaijan on Thursday. Trend news agency said an armed man opened fire on students at the Azerbaijan Oil Academy on before committing suicide.

While the death toll was still to be confirmed, Trend said bodies had been recovered from the scene of the attack and at least 10 of the wounded were taken to the city's Central Clinical Hospital.

Deputy internal minister Vilayat Eyvazov confirmed the attack.

Several bodies were removed from the academy building and police sealed off the area.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Red Storm Rising?
Posted by: gromky || 05/01/2009 5:38 Comments || Top||


Europe
Former Turk arbitrator escapes assassination
[Iran Press TV Latest] A former Turkish justice minister has escaped unharmed from a blast at an Ankara university after a woman approached him and detonated a bomb.

The incident happened on Wednesday as former Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk was about to enter a Bilkent University hall to give a lecture when a woman, identified as Didem Akman, came up to him and ignited the fuse of a bomb that did not go off, Today's Zaman daily reported.

Police also detained another suspect, identified as Serkan Onur Yilmaz, at a bus terminal in Ankara who was allegedly keeping watch for Akman. "A woman approached and detonated a bomb. She was lying on the floor one meter away from me. I think she was injured," Turk said.

The expert in constitutional law added that he had been receiving death threats since a prison uprising in December 2000. Several inmates and prison guards were then killed in the rebellion.

Turk escaped an assassination attempt unscathed in 2002 when an assailant under the guise of a reporter attacked him at Kartal Prison, Istanbul. Turk was offering a tour for journalists at that time.

According to police records, Akman has been arrested three times in her life -- the first time was in 2005.

Last year, she was jailed for eight months over membership in the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), classified as a terrorist organization.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pak nuclear programme faces 35 pc cut
Pakistanís nuclear programme is facing severe financial cuts, badly hampering some core classified projects, it is learnt.

A source told The News that several development programmes of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, including some classified ones, have been slowed down and some even halted as the government has imposed an unprecedented squeeze.

The classified side of the PAEC development budget saw a cut of almost 35 per cent while for the open development programmes only 15 per cent of the budget has been released, thus affecting more than 30 projects. The source said that senior nuclear scientists and those holding key positions in the countryís nuclear programme apparatus were extremely upset with the situation and fear that the cut would badly damage the nuclear programme and would tantamount to a quiet unannounced rollback.

The PAEC member administration, however, denied this but conceded that there had been belt-tightening because of the global recession. Major-General Khalid Mushtaq, while talking to this correspondent on phone from his office, said that the global recession had led to the belt-tightening and the emphasis was on the judicious utilisation of the available resources.

He denied any compromise on the countryís nuclear programme and its development. The resource crunch, he said, should not be interpreted in a manner that may show that there was any compromise on the programme.

General Mushtaq said that he did not know the details of the spending as he was on the administration side of the PAEC. But he insisted that any impression of funds stoppage or slowing down of development programmes would not be true.

He said that there could be prioritisation of different development programmes but the funds had not been stopped. ìNo, no there is no such thing,î the general said.

A source also disclosed that the financing system for the nuclear programme had also been changed, and insisted that it had been done to the disadvantage of the nuclear programme. The source explained that a new system called Assignment Account System (AAS) had been introduced despite the opposition of the PAEC and the SPD.

The new system, it is said, would not only expose the classified purchases of the PAEC but would also not allow these strategic organisations to keep their allocated money in their respective bank accounts.

General Mushtaq, however, said that there might be a change in the accounting system but not in the funding resource, which remains the government of Pakistan. When asked to refer this correspondent to an official who could share the details, he said he had enough information to respond to The News queries. Spending on the countryís nuclear programme remains confidential, he added.

According to the source, while the government has allocated tens of billions of rupees for projects like the Green Karachi and the Benazir Income Support Programme, the countryís nuclear programmeís core classified development projects are still not being provided the badly needed amount, which is not more than Rs 10 billion.

The strategic organisations of the country should be the top most priority of the government but still they got less than 0.5 per cent of the GDP. Those running the nuclear programme and the strategic organisations are extremely upset and do not know why this is being done. Some key officials of the PAEC, the sources confirmed, had even resigned in protest over this strange attitude of the government.

Such an attitude, it is said, had demoralised and de-motivated those handling the core classified projects. The issues of massive slashing of funds and the change in the financial system were also discussed at the highest level but to no avail.

ìThis is like creating hurdles in the progress and development of the countryís nuclear programme,î an extremely concerned source said, adding that no government had even done what was being done by the present government.

But a Finance Ministry official said that because of serious financial crunch, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani had recently approved a summary to scale down budgetary allocations for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) by over Rs 118 billion for the ongoing fiscal year 2008-09.

After getting approval from the prime minister to reduce allocation for the federal share of the PSDP to around Rs 219 billion from its initial allocated amount of Rs 371 billion, the Planning Commission (PC) barred the ministries/divisions on March 24, 2009 from undertaking work on new schemes in the remaining months of the ongoing fiscal year.

Earlier, the government had excluded Rs 34 billion for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from development expenditure and put it under the current expenditures.

Under the IMFís prescriptions, the government is taking steps to curtail fiscal deficit within the agreed limit of 4.2 per cent of the GDP or Rs 562 billion and mainly compromising development expenditures. But not many knew that this situation is also affecting the nuclear programme of the country.

Interestingly, while the nuclear programme as well as the development projects under the PSDP is facing financial slash, the government has terribly failed to control current expenditures as only the prime minister has cut down its expenditures by around 38 per cent. The federal ministries and divisions are not following his footsteps.

The Planning Commission, in its March 24th circular, had asked the ministries and divisions that if there were very necessary spending requirements, then the ministries/divisions should approach the PC for getting a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
Posted by: john frum || 05/01/2009 17:56 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Saudi money drying up?
Posted by: Frank G || 05/01/2009 18:40 Comments || Top||

#2  What's the diff? The Taliban will have it under new management if the govt falls.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/01/2009 18:47 Comments || Top||

#3  ION PAKLAND, PAKISTANI DEFENSE FORUM > THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE TALIBANIZATION OF PAKISTAN FOR INDIA [Artiiikle = DANGERS are so great and realistic INDIA must work for the de facto BREAKUP OF PAKISTAN INTO THREE OR MORE SMALLER SELF-SOVEREIGN WEAK ENTITIES.

* Taliban will turn focii to destabilization and Islamist conquest of INDIA.
* Iff Islamambad falls, Taliban + PK ARMY backers won't hesitate to use NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO ATTACK INDIA, + FOSTER PAN REGION, PRO-ISLAMIST NUKULAAR PROLIFERATION.
* Time is on the side of the Taliban and other regional MILTERR GROUPS, espec agz INDIA, PRO-US GOVT IN AFPAK, + US AGENDUM IN SOUTH ASIA.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/01/2009 19:22 Comments || Top||


Taliban kidnap 10 paramilitary troops in Upper Dir
PESHAWAR: Taliban militants early Friday briefly kidnapped 10 paramilitary soldiers from their local headquarters in a northwest Pakistan town bordering troubled Swat valley, police said.

The abductions took place in the town of Dir, in the Upper Dir district of Malakand, the region in which the military this week launched an offensive against Taliban.

Up to 60 Taliban militants stormed the local paramilitary headquarters and snatched 10 personnel shortly after midnight, Dir police chief Ijaz Ahmed told AFP, before later releasing them. 'They were released unconditionally,' he said.

Atif Rehman, head of the district administration in Upper Dir, confirmed that more than 50 armed militants attacked the local paramilitary headquarters and abducted 10 personnel for 13 hours until they were freed.

In nearby Buner district, militants earlier this week captured police stations in three villages and have been holding hostage 52 police officers and paramilitary soldiers, the military has said.
Posted by: john frum || 05/01/2009 17:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  More a joint exercise than a kidnapping.
Posted by: Grunter || 05/01/2009 17:44 Comments || Top||


Female Pakistani Singer Killed by Her Brothers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Ayman Udas, a rising female vocalist in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province, was shot at her home, allegedly by her own brothers.

Her death has rattled the city's jittery artistic community, as local musicians and dancers in Peshawar -- a city renowned for its vibrant artistic life -- face increasing pressure as the region falls under greater Taliban influence.

Some attributed Udas's death to the Islamist militants, but her husband told reporters that his wife was killed because she broke family tradition.
these two statements are not contradictory
Posted by: lord garth || 05/01/2009 10:03 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It's got to be tough being a woman in a muslim culture. Talk about human rights violations. Where are all those noisy "do-gooders" who come out of the woodwork when they want to criticize the USA about something.
Posted by: JohnQC || 05/01/2009 13:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Killing girls is what good Muslim dads and sons do. Like they say, its a tradition.
Posted by: Tarzan Greagum5059 || 05/01/2009 15:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Similar topic: I am in Philadelphia for a meeting and am downtown city center. I cannot believe the number of women here in full abaya and hijab and mask. This was pretty common when living in London but here in Philly? I guess being in Florida on the First Coast sort of closets me from what is happening in big urban areas. Creepy if you ask me.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 05/01/2009 15:52 Comments || Top||

#4  #3 in the US-WEST, all things equal the greatest opponent of Liberal feminism is NOT MEN, GOVT-PUBLIC POLICY, or CONSERVATISM, ETC. BUT OTHER WOMEN.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/01/2009 21:06 Comments || Top||


Taliban destroy FC camp, seize arms
BUNER: Militants blew up a camp of the Frontier Constabulary and took away weapons, while jets and helicopters continued heavy bombing on their suspected positions in different parts of Buner district on Thursday.

According to sources, two FC platoons which had been besieged at the Jawar Camp on Wednesday night were allowed to leave after surrendering to the militants.

The militants took away an APC and a large haul of weapons before destroying the camp and a checkpoint, the sources said.

A police vehicle was also taken away and a police station was set on fire in Pir Baba town. Local people said militants had control of Ambela Chowk, Pacha, Nawagai, Jungai, Swarai, Gagera, Dewana Baba, Pir Baba and Sultanwas.

Security forces stepped up air strikes and ground forces, backed by tanks and heavy artillery positioned in Rustam area of the Mardan district, attacked targets in Buner.

Helicopters attacked militants in Sultanwas town where they had set up makeshift headquarters at the house of a tribal elder after forcing his family to leave.

Planes bombed Karaker, Dermai pass, Darazai pass and Ambela. Militants have blown up two bridges near Ambela in a bid to block the movement of ground forces. Militants are reported to have planted explosive devices along the area’s main road and at other places.

Hundreds of families, among them Afghan refugees, left their homes and headed towards Swabi and Mardan. People in Daggar, the district headquarters, were facing shortage of food and other essentials items because of curfew. Troops had arrived in the town by helicopters on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, two children were injured in shelling by helicopters in Gul Abad as security forces continued their operation in parts of Lower Dir district. According to sources, militants were still holding positions in Gul Abad.

No casualty among militants was reported in the attacks by helicopter gunships. Militants took away two vehicles from the hujra of MNA Malik Azmat Khan of the Pakistan People’s Party at Ouch.

A vehicle was taken away from the Chakdara timber market, owned by the Forest Development Corporation (FDC). Militants moved in two vehicles on the Chakdara-Timergara road near Gul Abad.
Posted by: john frum || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Four policemen kidnapped in Swat
[Geo News] Militants have kidnapped four policemen in the restive division, Geo news reported on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Attackers of Manawan Police Centre still at large
[Geo News] Law enforcement agencies have failed to expose the attackers of Manawan police academy despite the fact that one month has gone. Investigations are still underway from the suspects, who were arrested following the attack, from different parts of the province. However, police have yet to come up with any concrete progress in this connection. According to sources, law enforcement agencies received some reports that the militants' group involved in the Manawan police academy siege could attack again.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


10 shops blown up in Adezai
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] At least 10 shops were destroyed in three consecutive explosions in Adezai village while a remote-controlled bomb was recovered from outside the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Wednesday.

It was learnt that unidentified terrorists planted three bombs at a market in Adezai village in the jurisdiction of Matani Police Station. The explosives went off in quick succession, razing at least 10 shops to the ground. No casualty was reported in the incident.

In another incident, unidentified miscreants hurled a remote-controlled device at the PHC building from a car. A bomb was planted at the shrine of Maderzad Wali Pir in Sarqa Feroshan in Hashtnagri, which was defused by the bomb disposal squad Tuesday night before it could cause any damage or casualty.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Troops get more areas of Buner evacuated; 14 militants killed
[Associated Press of Pakistan] On the third day of anti‑militant operation being carried out jointly by FC and Pakistan Army, more areas in Buner have been got evacuated from the militants while life is returning to normalcy in Deer, Director General ISPR Major General Athar Abbas said here Thursday. Addressing a media conference at ISPR, he said a large number of militants have been killed during the operation in Buner as so far 14 militants have been reported killed. He said the ground inspection of the area is continuing and the number of killed would increase.

He said that four of the two explosive laden vehicles approaching towards troops were targeted and destroyed in Deer while the other two fled from the scene causing no damage to the troops. FC has established its Headquarter at Daggar, he informed.

He said people of Deer area have been fully backing the troops and have taken a sigh of relief where the situation is well in control.

He said the troops in Buner re‑launched operation in the early hours on Thursday and regained the control of Balandari Pass and Ambala heights after facing a strong resistance from the militants.

Meanwhile, he said the militants attacked post in Jawari Pass area and were given an exemplary response whereby killing four militants while rest others fled from the scene. During the cross fire with the attackers, he said one FC personnel received wounds.

He said the Daggar area is also being swooped to get full control besides ensuring that no militant is in control of any area.

He said that on Wednesday late the militants set the Pir Baba Police station ablaze. Militants are present in high number in Sultan Pass and Pir Baba Ziarat areas, he said. He said that the operation was at slower pace due to the laying of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in the area.

Giving update on situation in Swat, he said that the government and security forces have been exercising maximum restraint despite clear violations of the peace deal by Taliban.

He said Taliban are carrying out armed patrolling besides setting up of check posts, kidnapping for ransom, killing and damaging the private properties, in clear violation of the peace deal.

He said despite all odds the government has been sincerely working for implementation of the peace deal in letter and spirit to achieve peace by avoiding any colossal damage to life and property.

Answering a question, he said that the government had already condemned and rejected the "drone attack policy". "It hurts more than it helps," he said.

He dispelled the impression that the ammunition available with the militants could harm the fighter aircraft. However he said the helicopters used for engaging militants were fired upon.

In reply to another question he said, "we need to have modern gadgets and weaponry to effectively deal with the militants." The list of demand includes, he said, fast moving helicopters, surveillance aircraft, better Night Vision Devices, and attack helicopters.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Taliban hold Buner town people hostage
[Bangla Daily Star] The Pakistan army says the Taliban are holding the population of one town near the capital hostage.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas says troops are encountering stiff resistance from militants in Buner as the troops fight their way toward insurgent strongholds. The district is 100 kilometres from the capital of Islamabad.

Abbas said security forces have killed another 14 militants in operations to reverse the spreading power of the Taliban.

A slew of gun attacks in Pakistan's biggest city killed at least 34 people, officials said Thursday, further rattling a country already tense over a military offensive against Taliban militants in a district near the capital.

The unrest came as President Barack Obama said he was "gravely concerned" about Pakistan's stability and described its government as "very fragile" although he did express confidence that the country's nuclear arsenal was safe from militants.

Pakistan's president urged the public to support the army's offensive against Taliban fighters so that Pakistan would remain "a moderate, modern and democratic state."

Ethnic tension was the suspected spark for the gun attacks Wednesday in Karachi, a teeming southern port city with a volatile history. Much of the tension has been between the Pashtun population, who dominate the country's militant-infested northwest, and Urdu-speakers descended from migrants from India.

The latter are in large part represented by the political party that runs the city, the Muttahida Quami Movement.

The MQM has been outspoken against the Pashtun-dominated Taliban and has warned that the militants represent a growing threat in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub.

The city was largely crippled Wednesday after two MQM activists were gunned down by unknown shooters, sparking street violence that went on late into the night.

Paramilitary rangers roamed the city's trouble spots Thursday, as hospital doctors and police said the death toll had reached 34, with about 50 others injured.

There was concern that tensions could flare again during funerals set for later in the day.

Officials and politicians resisted blaming groups beyond criminals.

"Criminals and the mafia want to put the city's peace on the stake, but all the peaceful citizens should come up to counter such designs," MQM leader Altaf Hussain said from London, where he is in self-exile.

The rangers arrested more than 25 suspects in the shootings, said Maj. Aurang Zeb, a spokesman for the security forces. He added that educational institutions were ordered shut.

The military, meanwhile, continued with an offensive against Taliban militants in Buner, a district some 100 kilometres from Islamabad.

The army said Wednesday that it had retaken the main town in Buner and that more than 50 Taliban fighters and one member of the security forces died in the offensive. Militants were holding dozens of captured police and troops hostage.

Troops backed by jet fighters and helicopter gunships were moving toward militant strongholds in the Ambela and Pir Baba areas, an army official said Thursday. The troops were facing resistance at Ambela and some other areas, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

Taliban fighters from the Swat Valley entered Buner earlier this month fresh off a peace deal with the government. The military launched the offensive there Tuesday under strong US pressure.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Iraq
Turkey: Air attacks target Kurdish militants in Iraq
[ADN Kronos] Turkey's military said it had launched air strikes against suspected separatist militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq on Thursday. The air attacks which began overnight took place after nine Turkish soldiers were killed by a bomb in the country's southeast on Wednesday.

The PKK, which has been fighting a 25-year war for a separate Kurdish state, claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack.

Two Turkish soldiers were also injured in a firefight with PKK in the central province of Tunceli, according to military sources.

The military frequently carries out air operations against PKK rebels based in neighbouring Iraq, from where the guerrillas launch attacks on Turkish security forces.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Do pictures count?
Posted by: .5MT || 05/01/2009 8:21 Comments || Top||

#2  What a Big Beautiful Bird...
Posted by: Hupolurt B. Hayes8086 || 05/01/2009 19:23 Comments || Top||


Death toll from twin Iraq car bombs rises to 51
[Mail and Globe] The death toll from twin car bomb blasts in a crowded Baghdad market rose to 51 on Thursday, police said, and the country's main Sunni political party condemned the attack on a heavily Shi'ite Muslim area.

The car bombs on Wednesday, which also wounded 76 people in the capital's sprawling Sadr City slum, followed a series of other attacks in the past two weeks that have stirred fears of a return to broader sectarian bloodshed in Iraq.

A third car bomb was found in a parked taxi cab and detonated by security forces.

The Iraqi Islamic Party, the main political party in Parliament representing the country's once dominant Sunni minority, denounced the attack as a blatant attempt to trigger renewed fighting between Sunnis and Shi'ites.

"The bloody hands want Iraqis to feel fear," the party said in a statement.

"These explosions in Sadr City are part of a big conspiracy by Iraq's enemies. We call on all political groups and the Iraqi government, and especially the security forces, to quell this sedition."

The upsurge in violence this month has ended the sense of growing calm and security that had gripped Baghdad earlier this year.

While the violence remains below the levels of last year, the attacks coincide with plans for United States combat troops to pull out of Iraqi cities in June, ahead of a full withdrawal from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq

#1  Didn't see it on TV, why is that?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 05/01/2009 12:46 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Seven Israeli Arabs held for soldier kidnap plot
Seven Israeli Arabs, including two minors, were indicted yesterday for planning terror attacks and attempting to kidnap soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces.

The defendants, who were arrested before Passover, were charged with aiding the enemy during wartime, holding contacts with a foreign agent, illegal possession of weapons and conspiracy. The police said they searched the defendants' homes, uncovering explosives that were ready to be activated, computer files and other incriminating evidence.

The cell members, who call themselves the Galilee Freedom Brigades, have been identified as Abdullah Harubeh, 19; Suheib Kabaha, 20; Kutaib Kabaha, 21; Mohammed Kabaha, 20; Ahmed Kabaha, 20; and two 17-year-olds. Harubeh is a resident of the northern village of Maghar while all the other suspects live in Barta'a, near Haifa. Harubeh is charged with planning to recruit operatives who would abduct soldiers and carry out terrorist attacks by planting explosives. He reportedly told interrogators that he had formed the cell under the guidance of an Islamic Jihad operative from the West Bank known as Abu Kassem.

The cell, which was caught in a joint operation by the police and Shin Bet security service, was apprehended shortly before carrying out its plans, the police said. "The defendants decided to attack soldiers during the IDF's offensive in Gaza," investigating officer Tamir Arad said.

Harubeh led authorities to the remaining suspects, some of whom were allegedly tasked with hiding weapons and planning an escape route for the terrorists after carrying out the abductions, the police said. His statement also led to the arrest of the two youths, who had eight makeshift pipe bombs. "The explosives seized in the defendants' possession could have caused great damage. Since the cell was prepared for action we decided not to wait but to act before Passover eve," said a local commander, Avi Algarisi.

While preparing for the attacks the defendants simulated a soldier's abduction and bomb planting, the police said. "One of the defendants played soldier while the others pulled him into a car, simulated strangling him and drove him to a hiding place," Algarisi said.

An e-mail sent to Haaretz said that "we proudly announce that these brothers are sons of the Galilee Freedom Brigades and their various branches." The e-mail said the organization's people were preparing more attacks in Israel. "You will have no peace or safety because our cells in 1948's Palestine are preparing more heroic acts. These will not stop until your defeated entity is wiped out," the message said.

The organization has claimed responsibility for several suicide attacks in Israel, but the Shin Bet has been unable to determine the group's members and modus operandi. A group by that name was captured in 2004 and charged with the murder of soldier Oleg Shaichat. Since then, as far as the Shin Bet knows, the organization - if it exists - has reduced its activities while claiming responsibility for terror attacks carried out by lone assailants.

Harubeh's family yesterday rejected the charges against him. "It's all lies, my son never had anything to do with such things; quite the opposite, he was thinking of joining the police," said Yonas Harubeh in Haifa District Court after his son's indictment. "I think someone framed him.

"Many in our family and I myself served in the IDF and we're proud of it. Anyone who has fought for this country cannot act against it," he said.

Abdullah Harubeh had finished high school and was about to study chemistry at university, his father said.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/01/2009 00:48 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dad, when your son likes chemistry and wants to join the police, I don't think it means what you think it means...
Posted by: gromky || 05/01/2009 5:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Sometimes apples end up very far from the tree. Papa and senior male relatives served their country, but young son is a psychopath -- such things sadly have happened before.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/01/2009 8:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Israeli Arabs is a contradiction, once you are an Arab you hate Jews and the Jewish State, in other words they hate the country they live in, and the only purpose to stay there is to destroy it from inside.
Posted by: lena || 05/01/2009 15:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Lena wrote: " in other words they hate the country they live in, and the only purpose to stay there is to destroy it from inside."

Sort of Obamaish then?
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 05/01/2009 15:54 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Three killed in fresh attacks in Thai south
Three people, including two terrorists suspected militants have been left dead in separate incidents in Thailand's restive south, police said Thursday.

They said a 32-year-old Muslim man, sought by police over bombs planted in troubled Pattani province, was found dead Thursday morning next to his motorcycle at a cemetery in the main Pattani town.

A district mayor in neighbouring Yala province was later killed in a drive-by shooting. Police said two men had shot at the 51-year-old as he drove home from a business meeting. His assistant was also shot and seriously injured. Two other men were wounded in two separate shootings in Pattani later in the afternoon.

On Wednesday, a terrorist suspected militant was shot dead after a 20-minute gun battle with about 100 security personnel in nearby Narathiwat province.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/01/2009 00:20 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Sri Lanka
Blow-by-blow accounts of 58 Division entering Tiger-controlled NFZ
But the most challenging task of capturing heavily fortified earth bund which separated the No Fire Zone into two from the South of Valayamadam came on Monday night. The LTTE had constructed this earth bund soon after they were defeated in Puthu-kudiyiruppu. They took every possible measure to prevent the Security Forces reaching the most sensitive area in the No Fire Zone.

The earth bund which was constructed from the beach front to lagoon front right across the No Fire Zone from East to West in the South of Valayamadam was 10 feet in height and 700 metres in length. There was a 6 feet deep ditch behind that earth bund so that troops attempting to cross this earth bund end up in falling into that ditch.

Since the situation was quite challenging, the General Officer Commanding of the 58 Division Brigadier Shavendra Silva took a decision to cross this earth bund during the night as the resources that could be committed to this operation was limited in view of the latest decision by the Government.

Strict instructions were given to the troops not to fire artillery, mortar and other heavy weapons during this operation. Therefore, troops were equipped only with their small arms during this operation.
Gonna get a lot of guys killed doing that.
Despite this situation infantrymen attached to the 58 Division were able to capture the earth bund following close quarter fighting with the LTTE cadres holding that earth bund.
A desperate, horrific fight described in a single bland sentence.
After close quarter fighting with the LTTE the infantry troops of the 58 Division captured the earth bund. But, the real fighting began after troops dominated the earth. The LTTE leaders, who were totally disappointed with the situation, sent an explosive laden truck into the earth bund around 1.30 am in the morning.
Here come the Black Tigers all-star team.
Soldiers who were ready to face any eventuality displayed their gallantry firing RPGs to the truck which was fast moving towards the earth bund. Troops, managed to blow up the explosive laden truck even without an iota of regard for their safety.

But it was not the end. On Wednesday too the LTTE made several suicide attempts to recapture the earth bund in Rettavaikkal. According to military there had been six suicide missions by the LTTE to recapture the earth bund between 2.30 a.m. and 4.30 a.m. on Wednesday. Three suicide cadres, two explosive laden motorbikes and a double cab were blown off by the troops before they reached towards military controlled areas. It was display of gallantry by the troops, even though they were aware of the fact that they too will be blown off once they fired RPGs to those moving vehicles but they did it for the sake of the country.
"Pro Patria"
A number of soldiers sacrificed their lives and some were wounded but managed to withhold to all suicide missions by the LTTE which had become the sole weapon of the LTTE at this moment.

Even under these circumstances the 58 Division troops managed to advance further south of the earth bund and had linked up with the 53 Division troops operating in the South of Valayamadam. The 58 Division troops are now heading towards the junction which links the Puthumattalan - Mulluaitivu road into the Paranthan - Mullaitivy A-35 road.

During the search and clear operations troops recovered an improvised armour-plated six-wheel truck, apparently used for transport of LTTE terrorist leaders across uncleared areas in the most recent past. This bullet-proof vehicle could accommodate a few passengers inside in addition to its driver.
Pics of truck at this link. With some spikes it could be a Road Warrior vehicle.
The front section of the vehicle, identical to that of a modern electric train had also a powerful communication antenna, jutting out from one side of the driver’s seat.

The vehicle has also been used recently as empty biscuit wrappers and water bottles were found inside.

Troops engaged in search and clear operations also uncovered a massive suicide craft fitted with two 400 HP engines. According to military more than 1500 Kg of explosives can be stored inside this craft and it could make a devastating impact if it rams into a big vessel.
Twin 400s, yeah that'll get you going.
Security Forces believe that the LTTE had designed this huge explosive craft targeting the troop carrier Jet Liner which transported 3,000 troops who were going on leave and reporting back to duty in the Jaffna peninsula.

Even the military intelligence were not aware of existence such a huge suicide craft which has been designed to operate in the surface of the sea without being detected on Radar screens. The recovery of such a huge suicide craft is a great relief for the Security Forces.
Much more at the link, as usual.
Posted by: gromky || 05/01/2009 06:31 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Compare wid PAKISTANI DEFENSE FORUM [paraph] > IFF ELECTED TO POWER, AIADMK PARTY SECRETARY-LDR J. JAYALITHAA VOWS TO SEND INDIAN ARMY TO SRI LANKA TO CARVE OUT "TAMIL ELAM" HOMELAND BY FORCE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/01/2009 19:26 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka vows to fight until rebel leaders captured
[Mail and Globe] Sri Lanka told Britain and France that it would keep up its military offensive until the leaders of the rebel Tamil Tigers have been captured "dead or alive", a press report in Colombo said on Thursday.

The privately run Island newspaper said Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse made it clear to the visiting British and French foreign ministers that international calls for a ceasefire were premature.

Rajapakse said a truce would only help the Tamil Tigers' founder and leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, 54, who is believed to be holed up with his last remaining fighters on the island's north-east coast.

"After 30 years, the time has come finally for Prabhakaran and other terrorist leaders to be captured dead or alive and the government will not stop until that end is achieved," Rajapakse told the newspaper.

The Tigers have been driven back by a Sri Lankan military onslaught that earlier this year dismantled the rebels' de facto state.

The French and British ministers left Colombo early on Thursday after a visit in which they urged the government to halt the fighting and allow aid workers access to tens of thousands of affected civilians.

Sri Lanka's leaders say they are on the cusp of victory after a 37-year armed campaign by the Tigers for an independent Tamil homeland.
Posted by: Fred || 05/01/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
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trailing wife
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2009-05-01
  Taliban hold Buner town people hostage
Thu 2009-04-30
  U.S. missile strikes kill 10 in South Waziristan
Wed 2009-04-29
  70 militants killed in Pak operation
Tue 2009-04-28
  TNSM suspends talks with govt
Mon 2009-04-27
  Suspect in Bat Ayin attack in custody
Sun 2009-04-26
  North Korea reactivates its nuclear program
Sat 2009-04-25
  US may use daisy-cutters 'if Pakistan shows reluctance'
Fri 2009-04-24
  73 killed in twin suicide blasts in Baghdad
Thu 2009-04-23
  Abu Omar al-Baghdadi nabbed
Wed 2009-04-22
  Turkish police detain 37 in anti-Qaeda raids
Tue 2009-04-21
  Lanka gives Tigers 24 hours to hang it up
Mon 2009-04-20
  Iraq arrests children recruited by Al-Qaeda
Sun 2009-04-19
  Parliament approves Islamic law in Somalia
Sat 2009-04-18
  Pakaboom kills 27
Fri 2009-04-17
  Mufti Hannan, 13 other Huji men indicted

Better than the average link...



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