[Quqnoos] At least two Afghan civilians were killed as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Kandahar on Wednesday. According to a statement of the Afghan Interior Ministry, the incident occurred at about 8:00am in the restive district of Zeray, nearby the provincial capital, Kandahar city.
"The roadside bomb was reportedly planted last night and it hit a civilian mini-bus today while heading to the neighbouring Helmand province," Zeray district governor, Neyaz Mohammad Sarhadi told Quqnoos.
No groups, including the Taliban, have claimed responsibility for the attack as Taliban insurgents were blamed for many bomb blasts, targeted military personnel or Afghan civilians.
Quqnoos' Mohammad Masumi in Kandahar province, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban, said that Zeray is a stronghold of the insurgents, located approximately 30 km west of Kandahar city.
The Zeray incident took place a day after a similar bomb blast in the neighbouring Helmand province killed at least eight security guards and wounded four others.
The bomb struck two vehicles of a private security company in Giriskh, a remote district in Helmand province, where 4,000 US Marines have been carrying out a major offensive against Taliban militants over the past few weeks.
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07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The Somali pirates who hijacked the German-flagged container vessel Hansa Stavanger in April have reportedly demanded a higher ransom.
The pirates said a ransom of USD 3.5 million was too little and that Germans must add another USD 1 million for the release of the vessel.
They described the low share of money as the reason behind their decision to up their demands to USD 4.5 million, Press TV's correspondent in Mogadishu reported.
The 20,000-ton German vessel Hansa Stavanger with five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos on board had been seized in April about 400 miles (646 km) off the southern Somali port city of Kismayu.
Somali pirates had earlier released another German-owned cargo ship held for nearly three months and its crew of 11 Romanians. The ship -- the MV Victoria -- was captured in May in the Gulf of Aden, south of the Yemeni port of al-Mukalla.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
earning the pirates millions of dollars of ransom payments
EARNING? Tells you where Iran Press is coming from when they use the word 'earning' to describe money gained through extortion.
[Maghrebia] The Algerian Army launched an emergency plan to cut links between al-Qaeda fighters in the South and the North, L'Expression reported on Tuesday (July 28th). Troop reinforcements were sent to Sidi Ali Bounab, Batna, Biskra and El Oued, Ghardaïa, Djelfa and Laghouat. Sources said the chosen areas represent transit and communication points linking different terrorist brigades.
In related news, Algerian troops killed 8 terrorists between Tafrente and Zaoui in Batna province, El Watan reported on Tuesday (July 28th).
Lots of activity being reported from the Maghreb all of a sudden...
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07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Fighting raged for a fourth day running in northern Nigeria on Wednesday as troops tracked down remnants of an Islamist sect after clashes that have left at least 250 dead. Sounds of gunfire were heard through the night in Maiduguri city, the base of the self-styled Nigerian Taliban, following orders from President Umaru Yar'Adua for the armed forces to crush the movement "once and for all." Since it's sub-Saharan Africa, I'm guessing that means "kill them." I understand the name of the group, Boko Haram, means "Education is forbidden."
The home of the sect's leader Mohammed Yusuf was shelled by forces on Tuesday evening, along with a mosque where many of his followers have been gathered, but the fate of Yusuf was unclear. Another article said he got away, which is what masterminds usually do, especially if they're holy men...
Residents said it appeared that troops were now closing in on the last of the militants amid claims of summary executions by the security forces. Sounds fair, since the Nigerian "Talibs" were doing the same thing when attempting to impose their will...
Abdul Mimini Hassan, a resident of Maiduguri, said that gun battles continued throughout the night and were concentrated in the Bayan Quarters where Yusuf's home is located. "We kept hearing sounds of gunshots throughout the night. I believe the moonlight enabled them to fight," he told AFP. It's easier if you're just firing in the enemy's general direction...
The fighting in Bayan subsided shortly before dawn but gunfire could still be heard in the adjacent neighborhood of Ungwani Shamu. "Now I can hear sporadic gunshots outside our neighborhood, and we are about a kilometer away from the Taliban base. I believe the fighting is between pockets of members of the Taliban and the military," added Hassan. That's probably a pretty good bet unless there are a few more armed groups participating in the festivities...
Maidguri, capital of Borno state, has seen the worst of the unrest in northern Nigeria since clashes first erupted on Sunday in Bauchi state. The first clashes broke out when police hit back at militants after a foiled attack at a police station, and spread rapidly to neighboring states. Wouldn't that imply that the first clashes actually broke out when the "Talibs" attacked the police station? Who the hell writes this stuff?
Authorities say 55 were killed in Bauchi and Yobe states. However, most of the casualties appear to have been in Maiduguri where a police source said at least 206 people died on Monday alone. I'm getting the impression most of the casualties have been on the turban side...
The unrest is the deadliest in Nigeria since November last year when human rights groups say up to 700 were killed in the central city of Jos in direct clashes between Muslims and Christians. Which is why we talk about "Islam's bloody border."
Scores of residents have been displaced by the violence, with many seeking refuge at the police headquarters where they huddled among corpses of militants killed during clashes with the military. Most of the bodies, young men in their 20s, were riddled with gunshots wounds. The smell of blood permeated the air. Kinda to be expected if the bodies are riddled with holes. They let the blood out, y'know...
Is that anything like letting out the magic blue smoke from my computer/PalmPilot/cell phone?
Outside the station, an AFP correspondent witnessed soldiers shooting three young men dead at point blank range on Tuesday. The men who had just been arrested were seen kneeling and pleading for their lives before being shot. "Please form a line so you can be executed in an orderly manner!" Food is also running out as shops and businesses have been shut since Monday. Even hotels were not serving food as chefs and waiters have not been able to leave their houses for fear of being caught up in the crossfire. "The food situation is terrible. All markets and shops are closed, so even if you have money there is nowhere to buy food. We are eating garri (cassava flour porridge) and sugar," said Mohammed Awwan Mujahid. "I hope this fighting ends soon, otherwise we will starve," he added. Thank your local holy man...
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm over the violence and condemned "the unnecessary loss of human life and the destruction of property." I'll bet he didn't mention militant Islam by name, did he? Yar'Adua said late Tuesday the group would be routed and punished. The military operation under way will "contain them once and for all," he said, adding: "They will be dealt with squarely and forthwith." When they're six feet under they don't pose serious problems, do they?
The Nigerian extremists emerged in 2002 in Maiduguri before setting up a camp on the border with Niger, from where it attacked launched a series of attacks against the police. The leadership has previously said it intends to lead an armed insurrection and rid society of "immorality" and "infidelity." Announcing you're gonna lead an armed insurrection in Africa has a special kind of brilliance...
Troops then moved in to raze the camp during battles in which scores were killed. Many were arrested while others went underground. Remnants re-emerged in Maiduguri. Imagine their suprise when the army showed up.
Northern Nigeria is mainly Muslim, although large Christian minorities have settled in the main towns, raising tensions between the two groups. Islam just doesn't do well with competition...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Nigerian Extremist have been known to turn a white shade of pale ... usually after getting shot and sometimes dying.
SEOUL, July 30 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean fishing vessel carrying four passengers was seized Thursday morning by a North Korean patrol boat after straying across the East Sea border, officials said. The 29-ton South Korean boat named "800" is still moving northward, a defense ministry official in Seoul said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
"The satellite navigation system on the boat appears to have malfunctioned," the official said, adding it crossed about seven miles into North Korean waters when it was seized around 6:30 a.m.
The fishing boat departed the port of Geojin on the eastern coast at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday and sailed past the Northern Limit Line as far as 20 miles off the port of Jejin, he said. The fishing boat was scheduled to return to its port Friday morning.
"We are pushing for its release," the official said, adding South Korean authorities have sent a message calling on North Korea to immediately return the ship "for humanitarian reasons."
North Korea has yet to respond, the official said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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More like spoofing or jamming, Grom. You send out a false signal, but at a higher wattage to override the legitimate signal. The Russians were experts in the art.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/30/2009 12:32 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A Tunisian-born former Islamist fighter has fled prison in Bosnia, triggering a nation-wide manhunt by forces concerned about the threat he poses to security, authorities said Wednesday. Karay Kamel bin Ali, a Tunisian-born volunteer in the Muslim army during Bosnia's 1992-1995 war, had failed to return to the jail in the central town of Zenica from authorized leave, prison chief Nihad Spahic said. "Police and border police were immediately informed that he is on the run," Spahic told AFP.
Better known in Bosnia by his nom de guerre Abu Hamza, he had been entitled to leave the prison based on good behavior while serving more than half of his sentence. He did not return as due on Monday.
Bin Ali was detained in 2007 and sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison for robbery, acts of violence against his family and for making threats against a prosecutor.
Like many Mujahideen fighters in Bosnia's war, bin Ali had obtained the citizenship of the ex-Yugoslav republic by marrying a local woman, but lost the status on the grounds he poses a risk to national security.
Bin Ali was to be deported from Bosnia once he sees out his term, according to a security ministry spokeswoman.
This article starring:
Karay Kamel bin Ali
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
authorized leave? boggle
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2009 19:39 Comments ||
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[Mail and Globe] A car bomb exploded outside a Civil Guard barracks in the northern Spanish city of Burgos early on Wednesday, injuring 46 people in an attack authorities blamed on Basque separatist rebels ETA.
The blast at about 4am (2am GMT) ripped away most of the outer wall of the multi-storey barracks in of the biggest attacks for some time by ETA, whose ranks have been decimated by arrests.
"It's almost a miracle no one was hurt more seriously," an emergency services spokesperson said, adding that the barracks had been evacuated and fire fighters were going through the building.
Most of the injured, who included children, suffered cuts and bruises and although no one was in serious condition, 38 had been transferred to hospital in the historic cathedral town, according to the spokesperson.
The car packed with explosives had been parked outside the barracks, home to members of Spain's paramilitary police force and their families.
"Those who do this sort of thing will end up in jail," said Manuel Chaves, one of Spain's deputy prime ministers.
Authorities believe ETA is under pressure to show it can still mount attacks despite having been weakened by a series of arrests including that of its suspected top commander, Jurdan Martitegi, in April. His capture brought to four the number of commanders caught in less than a year.
ETA is held responsible for killing more than 800 people in the past 40 years in a campaign to carve out an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southern France. It typically employs shootings and car bombs, often targeted at police and army barracks.
Polls indicate most Basques in Spain would favour some sort of independence, although support for ETA violence is confined to a diminishing minority.
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07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] A U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist accused of being an al-Qaida operative is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Wednesday as he rejected the finding of a defense expert who concluded she was mentally ill.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman based his ruling largely on the findings of three other experts who concluded the woman was faking mental illness to evade trial or improve the chance she would be returned to Pakistan. Her trial is set for Oct. 19.
The defendant, Aafia Siddiqui, has "sufficient present ability to consult with her lawyers with a reasonable degree of rational understanding and she also has a rational as well as a factual understanding of the proceedings against her," Berman wrote.
Siddiqui, 37, was captured a year ago in Afghanistan and charged with attempting to murder U.S. soldiers and FBI agents by shooting at them on July 18, 2008. She was brought to the United States in early August to face a seven-count indictment. The most serious charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life behind bars.
Over the last year, psychiatric experts who have evaluated Siddiqui have said she reported dramatic hallucinations and delusions involving flying infants, dark angels, a dog in her cell and children visiting her.
One expert noted that the hallucinatory experiences ended abruptly after a psychologist found her incompetent for trial last year after a one-month evaluation. The psychologist later changed her opinion after a six-month study and a review of thousands of documents.
"This is an instance where a defendant may have some mental health issues but may nevertheless be competent to stand trial," Berman wrote.
Mental health experts testified earlier this month in a hearing that was interrupted several times by Siddiqui's outbursts.
At one point during a break, she shouted toward prosecutors: "I want to make peace with the United States of America. I'm not an enemy. I never was."
The judge noted in his ruling Wednesday that Siddiqui's polite and appropriate demeanor during the first two hours of the hearing changed abruptly after a prosecutor asked a witness if he had seen any outbursts from Siddiqui.
"Immediately thereupon, Dr. Siddiqui became much more loquacious, outspoken and difficult in the courtroom," Berman said.
The judge noted that Siddiqui appeared appropriately groomed and in good physical condition at her hearing, entering and exiting the courtroom at an appropriate pace and without assistance.
Her lawyer, Dawn Cardi, did not immediately respond to a message for comment Wednesday.
Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for prosecutors, declined to comment.
Siddiqui studied at MIT and Brandeis University before she returned to Pakistan in 2003.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
reported dramatic hallucinations and delusions
defendant may have some mental health issues
Sounds like a standard description of a whole lot of practitioners of the Religion of Pieces.
The NWFP government has ordered the Malakand administration to stop Afghan nationals serving as prayers leaders in different districts of the division from continuing their activities.
A special cabinet meeting on law and order last week decided that all mosques should have local residents as prayer leaders. "In each mosque, the imam should be a local resident and no Afghan national should be leading prayers at any mosque in the region," they added. At the same meeting, the NWFP government also decided to request extra security from the army for foreign nationals working as consultants on the Lowari Tunnel and a road connecting Chitral with the rest of the country.
Probe and confiscate: The cabinet meeting also directed the government to confiscate the property of any person found linked to the Taliban in Swat and Malakand Division, senior officials told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. The meeting decided that a committee comprising the home secretary, a senior member of the Board of Revenue and the finance secretary should examine the confiscation of such properties. "The government has vowed to show zero tolerance for people who have violated peace and challenged the writ of the state in Malakand," the officials said, adding there was unanimity during the meeting that the Taliban should pay for their heinous crimes. "In this context, the government has taken the decision to confiscate property owned by the Taliban," they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] A security guard was killed and six others, including two lawyers, were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in the parking lot of the district courts here on Wednesday.
Sources said the IED, planted by unknown terrorists, exploded as soon as the car of Syed Mastan Shah, a senior lawyer belonging to the Shia community, entered the parking lot. The IED was exploded with remote control.
The lawyer suffered multiple injuries while his security guard, Asad Abbas, was killed on the spot. Other wounded persons included Iqbal Hussain, the driver of Mastan Shah, Manzoor Ahmad, lawyer Rashid Irfan, Syed Manzoor Hussain and Muhammad Irfan. Driver Iqbal Hussain was said to be in critical condition. The blast was so powerful that it destroyed the car of the lawyer.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
others, including two lawyers, were injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off
Normal Islamist terrorism or somebody who just doesn't like lawyers?
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] An anti-Taliban elder and cousin of an MPA was killed and his son was injured when suspected militants stormed their house in Shangla district on Wednesday.
The militants attacked the house of Haji Khalil, cousin of MPA Fazlullah and relative of PML-Q NWFP chapter President Amir Muqam, who had supported the military operation against the militants.
Haji Khalil died on the spot while his son Adil and two other relatives sustained injuries. One of the wounded was identified as Afzal. The injured were flown in a military helicopter to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Khwazakhela, Swat. According to local police, attacking militants were resisted by Haji Khalil Khan and his relatives as a result of which two attackers were also killed.
There were also reports of an attack on the house of former federal minister Amir Muqam in Choga Makhozai village. The extent of damage to his house could not be ascertained.
Haji Khalil Khan was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard in Choga Makhozai. The funeral was attended by officials of the administration besides a large number of dwellers of the area. Fazlullah is an independent MPA, whose father and former MPA Pir Mohammad Khan, had lost his life in a suicide attack on Amir Muqam's residence in Peshawar.
The sources said the militants had set up a camp at the boundary of Shangla-Buner, where they had entered through Chagharzai and Charbagh and continued their activities. Eyewitnesses said the militants were regularly patrolling the Puran-Buner Road and there was a visible increase in their numbers.
It was reported that the militants also set up check-posts at Shaheed Sar, Sar Qalla and Hindwano Kandao areas on Puran-Buner Road, where they were checking vehicles. Meanwhile, unidentified militants opened fire on a security forces convoy near Martong area in Shangla district, but that caused no casualties.
APP adds from Islamabad: As many as four terrorists were killed, 21 others apprehended while one militant surrendered before security forces during a clearance and search operation in different parts of the Malakand Division.
According to ISPR's updates issued on Wednesday, two personnel of security forces were also injured in search operations. The ISPR said security forces conducted a search operation at Tal near Shah Dherai, during which two terrorists were apprehended and 10 terrorist hideouts were destroyed in area around Dhardial and Unra Sar.
Security forces conducted a search operation at Amankot, Ahingro Derai, Minar Qambar and Landikas near Mingora and killed four terrorists and apprehended three suspects. Nine suspects were apprehended by security forces at Sangota near Mingora.
A terrorist voluntarily surrendered himself to security forces at Sakhra near Matta. A local Jirga also handed over a suspected terrorist to security forces at Bahrain.
During a routine search, security forces apprehended six suspects and demolished eight houses of terrorists in Dheri village near Dewana Baba, Buner.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A close friend of Osama bin Laden told Al Arabiya that he thought the al-Qaeda mastermind's son was probably still alive casting doubt on reports by American media that he was killed in Pakistan.
Yemeni national Rashad Saied, who stayed with bin Laden in Afghanistan before the September 11, 2001 attacks, said there is no proof to U.S. media reports last week that Saad bin Laden was killed in an American airstrike on Pakistan earlier this year. "If Saad had been killed, al-Qaeda would have announced that," Saied told Al Arabiya. "They announced the death of many key figures in the organization before. It is considered a source of pride for them."
According to American officials, the 29-year old Saad fled to Pakistan after spending years in Iran, where he was arrested in 2003. Intelligence officials said bin Laden's third-oldest son played an active role in establishing a link between Iraq and al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Dr. Murray, Dr. Conrad Murray to the white courtesy phone please, Dr. Conrad Murray.
[Geo News] Security forces' successful operations against militants continue in Lower Dir while restive Tehsil Maidan has almost been cleared of militants.
Forces action against militants is on in Tehsil Maidan where area up to Lal Qila has been cleansed of militants. Action has now been stretched to Qambar area in Tehsil Maidan where operation is being carried out even in evenings and nights.
Security forces target militants hideouts during nights with the help of tanks.
Heavy arms including TCC9 tanks, 7mm mortar and 130 mm medium artillery guns are being used in different areas of Tehsil Maidan which is proving effective.
Security forces claim that the backbone of the militants has been broken.
Militants positions are being pounded with heavy artillery from Headquarters in Lal Qila and Taimer Gara.
Qambar market has been purged of militants while there are reports of militants presence in the adjoining areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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#3
Jawad for allegedly tossing a grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers and their interpreter in Kabul
Have You Ever Been In A Turkish Afghani Prison, Jawad? A young man like you will be the life of the cell block.
Posted by: ed ||
07/30/2009 17:38 Comments ||
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#4
Once they are in Afghanistan, their lives are meaningless, and they can be shot on the spot for any hostile acts they commit. So a pretense of giving them American justice is nonsensical. Any tactical information they had should have been obtained before they left that country, then they should have been disposed of like used Kleenex.
[Al Arabiya Latest] British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday confirmed that two more British hostages held in Iraq had been killed by their captors as an Iraqi official urged the release of the last captive still thought alive.
Brown said he believed Peter Moore, a contractor, was still alive, and reiterated his call for the computer consultant to be freed. "I can confirm that on July 20, with great sadness, the government informed two families of those British men kidnapped in Iraq that Alan McMenemy and Alec MacLachlan, two of the three hostages still held, were very likely to be dead," Brown said in a statement.
Of the five men snatched in May 2007 -- Moore and his four security guards -- two were confirmed dead last month. "Four of the hostages are dead," Sami al-Askari, a legislator in the governing Shiite Muslim alliance who is close to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told reporters. "Two of them have been handed over and there are efforts being made by the government with the abductors to release the others."
Moore and the four security guards were kidnapped in May 2007 in the Iraqi finance ministry, in an audacious operation by around 40 heavily-armed militants posing as security personnel.
The bodies of two other guards, Jason Swindlehurst, 38, and Jason Creswell, 39, were handed over to the British embassy in Baghdad last month. "I and the entire government are committed to doing everything that we can for the release of Peter Moore, whom we still believe to be alive," Brown said.
The families of all five men expressed their dismay in a joint statement and urged the release of any remaining hostages.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iraqi riot police withdrew from a camp housing Iran's main exiled opposition on Wednesday after a raid by security forces triggered violent clashes that left more than 400 people wounded.
The Iraqi army had stormed Camp Ashraf on Tuesday after a months-long tense stand-off around the base north of Baghdad, but were forced to call in riot police to quell violence when residents tried to resist.
Iraq's defense ministry struck a tough tone, insisting the offensive against the People's Mujahedeen base in the province of Diyala was justified under a security agreement signed by Baghdad and Washington in November. "It's our territory and it's our right to enter, to impose Iraqi law on everybody," defense ministry spokesman General Mohammed Askari told Al Arabiya.
"They (camp residents) have to submit to the law, and to Iraqi sovereignty. The SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) authorizes us to do what we did," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: Two children were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near them in eastern Mosul city on Wednesday, a Ninewa police source said.
An IED went off near a house in al-Muthanna neighborhood, eastern Mosul, wounding two children who were standing nearby the explosion scene, the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not give further details.
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07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq: A U.S. commander in Diala said on Wednesday that his forces are ready to conduct air strikes targeting Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) network strongholds east of the city of Baaquba in coordination with the Iraqi forces.
There are indications on the presence of armed groups belonging to the AQI in the areas of Hamrin, Khanaqin district, (155 km) east of Baaquba, the commander said during a press conference he held at the local administration building in central Baaquba. The U.S. forces are ready to start an air strike targeting these groups in association with the Iraqi forces out of commitment to the status-of-forces agreement (SOFA) signed between Iraq and the United States."
Hamrin hills are considered the most important AQI strongholds in Iraq due to their geographic nature that help gunmen hide. Baaquba, the capital city of Diala province, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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Militants evaded crackdown that hurt group by seeking havens, recruits among sympathetic Islamists I left out the introduction. You know the story.
In 2006, according to police documents, an emissary of Mr. Noordin known as Syaifuddin Zuhri, but who used the alias Sabit, arrived at a small Islamic school called al Furqon, about four hours' drive south of Palembang. His mission: To exhort a nonviolent study group of about 10 people concerned about Christian conversions of local Muslims to consider attacks on Western targets. Mr. Sabit, who had fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, knew the founder of the religious school, a Jemaah Islamiyah member and Afghan veteran called Ani Sugandi, and had helped him recruit hard-line teachers, according to police testimony viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Sugandi later told police he had refused requests to join in the violence, but sheltered Mr. Sabit and allowed him to give a sermon to the group.
In the sermon, Mr. Sabit claimed he had direct links to Osama bin Laden and urged the members to launch a jihad against America and its allies, according to the testimony of Abdurrahman Taib, a leading member of the study group. The following year, Mr. Sabit told Mr. Taib that he had been sent by Mr. Noordin, the police files show. Mr. Sabit introduced Mr. Taib to a master bomb maker, who later trained others in the group, and supplied him with a loaded revolver and 11 spare bullets to be used in attacks on "infidels," Mr. Taib said in trial testimony.
Members of the group went on, in 2007, to shoot dead a Christian schoolteacher in Palembang who had persuaded his Muslim female students not to wear their veils. The members also built bombs and planned to attack tourist cafes in a Sumatran hill resort popular with backpackers, according to testimony. The group called off the attacks at the last minute because they didn't want to also kill Indonesian Muslims. When the group was broken up last year, after police followed leads from arrested Jemaah Islamiyah members, Those arrested included Mr. Sugandi, the head of the religious school -- which is now shuttered -- and a 35-year-old Singaporean known as Fajar Taslim, who had helped radicalize the group and was wanted in Singapore for a foiled attempt to attack Western targets there in 2001.
Six suspects picked up had no previous known connection to Jemaah Islamiyah or any other violent group, suggesting Mr. Noordin's network was able to successfully radicalize people. Eight members of the group confessed and were convicted of the teacher's murder and of planning attacks, and received prison sentences of between 10 and 18 years. Mr. Sugandi was given a five-year sentence for harboring terrorists, and his school shut down. Mr. Sabit wasn't captured.
In Indonesia, a secular nation of 240 million people with thousands of moderate Islamist academies, there are about 50 radical Islamic schools opened by alleged members of Jemaah Islamiyah. Sidney Jones, an expert on Southeast Asian terrorist networks at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, a peace-advocacy body, says the school heads -- who want to see the establishment of an Islamic state and are highly distrustful of Indonesia's secular government and police -- often allow known terrorists to stay with them as long as they promise not to engage in acts of violence while there. "You can be at any one of these schools and link in to Noordin" or his associates, says Ms. Jones, who first outlined the story of the Palembang group in a report last May.
Heri Purwanto, a 25-year-old who was in the Palembang study group and made a living hawking prepaid cards for mobile phones, was guarding the group's bombs in a derelict house in the city when police arrested him. His mother, Purwati, who lives in a run-down wooden house at the end of a narrow maze of alleys in a poor part of the city, contends her son was never a radical Muslim and is at a loss to explain his involvement. Ms. Purwati says she complained to guards at her son's Jakarta prison that he was sharing a cell with Mr. Taslim, the Singaporean, and could become further radicalized.
Some members of the study group, who police have been unable to prove were involved in the attacks, have remained free. A lawyer for one of them, Oloan Martua Harahap, who owned an Internet cafe used by the group for meetings but claims not to be have known of the plans for the shooting or planned bombings, says those arrested had became more radical through contact with Mr. Sabit and others. "They were saying jihad must be conducted now and the enemy is Capitalism," says Bahrul Ilmi Yakup, the lawyer.
Mr. Sabit was arrested in June in Cilacap, a town in Central Java where police now say they believe the Jakarta attacks were planned. Just a few days before the bombings, police raided an Islamic school in Cilacap run by a man who is the father-in-law of Mr. Noordin and a relative of Mr. Sabit, uncovering bomb making material. The material was similar to an unexploded bomb found later at the JW Marriott. Authorities have since detained a woman believed to be Mr. Noordin's wife. Her father, who ran the school, and Mr. Noordin remain on the run.
#1
Six suspects picked up had no previous known connection to Jemaah Islamiyah or any other violent group, suggesting Mr. Noordin's network was able to successfully radicalize people.
I wouldn't necessarily say they were radicalized. My feeling is that they were already radical. What they needed was a planner or a project manager - someone who could break a mission down into tasks that could be accomplished step by step.
An assistant village headman was shot dead in an ambush on the intra-village road of U-bae village while riding his motorcycle back home late on Wednesday night, Pol Col Sompian Eksomya, Yala police chief, said on Thursday morning.
Sama-air Aryae, 43, assistant village chief of U-bae village, tambon Bacho in Bannang Sata district, was shot several times in his body and died at the spot. Police blamed terrorists insurgents.
[Straits Times] AN INTERNET blog purportedly speaking on behalf of a group calling itself 'Al-Qaeda Organisation Indonesia' has claimed responsibility for the July 17 Jakarta hotel bombings.
The entry was posted on the Google site blogspot.com on Sunday but was only discovered Wednesday and reported in the Indonesian media.
The message in Indonesian and Arabic was signed by 'Abu Muawwidz Nur Din bin Muhammad Top' and praises two 'holy warrior brothers' who blew themselves up at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in central Jakarta.
The statement said the attacks were a 'martyrdom operation for jihad' intended as 'retribution for the deeds of America and its agents against our Muslim brothers and holy warriors in all corners of the world'. It described the victims of the attack as 'henchmen of America' and 'thieves and robbers of things of value to the Muslims of this country'.
Two suicide bombers killed seven people including six foreigners in the coordinated blasts at the adjacent luxury hotels. Police have said the attacks bear the hallmarks of Malaysian Islamist Noordin Mohammed Top, who heads a violent splinter faction of the radical regional network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
Noordin is suspected of masterminding suicide bombings in Indonesia in 2003, 2004 and 2005 which killed a total of 42 people and injured scores more.
Indonesian police spokesman Sulistyo Ishak said investigators were still examining if the claim of responsibility was genuine or a hoax.
'We will confirm with the investigation team. It's for them to investigate if it's true that this (attack) was carried out by this group,' he told AFP.
Terrorism analyst Sidney Jones, of the International Crisis Group, said she could not say whether the claim was authentic but noted that blogs were 'often used by some of the jihadi groups'.
'I just don't know. It's interesting this time round, if it is him, he's only claiming to be Al-Qaeda for Indonesia and not the Malay Archipelago,' she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Somali pirates who hijacked the German-flagged container vessel Hansa Stavanger in April have reportedly demanded a higher ransom. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] Fighting raged for a fourth day running in northern Nigeria on Wednesday as troops tracked down remnants of an Islamist sect after clashes that have left at least 250 dead. Sounds of gunfire were heard through the night in Maiduguri city, the base of the self-styled Nigerian Taliban, following orders from President Umaru Yar'Adua for the armed forces to crush the movement "once and for all."
Food is also running out as shops and businesses have been shut since Monday. Even hotels were not serving food as chefs and waiters have not been able to leave their houses for fear of being caught up in the crossfire. "The food situation is terrible. All markets and shops are closed, so even if you have money there is nowhere to buy food. We are eating garri (cassava flour porridge) and sugar," said Mohammed Awwan Mujahid. "I hope this fighting ends soon, otherwise we will starve," he added.
Yar'Adua said late Tuesday the group would be routed and punished. The military operation under way will "contain them once and for all," he said, adding: "They will be dealt with squarely and forthwith."
[Geo News] A U.S.-trained Pakistani scientist accused of being an al-Qaida operative is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled Wednesday as he rejected the finding of a defense expert who concluded she was mentally ill.
The NWFP government has ordered the Malakand administration to stop Afghan nationals serving as prayers leaders in different districts of the division from continuing their activities.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A close friend of Osama bin Laden told Al Arabiya that he thought the al-Qaeda mastermind's son was probably still alive casting doubt on reports by American media that he was killed in Pakistan. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday confirmed that two more British hostages held in Iraq had been killed by their captors as an Iraqi official urged the release of the last captive still thought alive.
DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq: A U.S. commander in Diala said on Wednesday that his forces are ready to conduct air strikes targeting Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) network strongholds east of the city of Baaquba in coordination with the Iraqi forces.
