NATO forces said Tuesday they had killed more that 100 fighters in a huge weekend battle in eastern Afghanistan in which eight Americans died, the deadliest firefight for U.S. troops in more than a year.
The revised enemy death toll gives an idea of the scale of the battle, one of the biggest of the eight-year-old war, in which hundreds of fighters armed with machine guns, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attempted to storm remote outposts.
"A more detailed battlefield assessment following the October 3 attack in Nuristan has determined that enemy forces suffered more than 100 dead during the well-coordinated defense, significantly higher losses than originally thought," NATO said in a statement.
The fighters launched their assault on two remote outposts in Nuristan province Saturday, triggering the 13-hour battle in a part of the country U.S. forces had already planned to abandon under a new strategy calling for a focus on population centres.
At least two Afghan soldiers died in the battle and authorities said they had lost contact with police in the area and did not know if they were captured or changed sides deserted.
The NATO statement said Western forces had concluded the attackers were local militants operating with the help of the Taliban and the Hezb-i-Islami group led by former anti-Soviet Mujahideen commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
Since the weekend assault, Afghan authorities say U.S. and Afghan forces have mounted a number of operations to retake areas held by the Taliban. U.S. officials say operations have taken place in the area but have not give further details.
Posted by: ed ||
10/06/2009 11:28 ||
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#1
Mujahideen commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyar:
...on 19 February 2003, the United States Department of State designated him as a "Specially Designated Global International Terrorist" - Wikipaedia
Geepers "SPECIALLY DESIGNATED" I guess that means that they found he's granted power to award BONUS VIRGINS.
No wonder the terrorist deaths were at a ratio of 12:1 over our brave guys. But Hekmatyar is still with us. How come we hear about so few of the graybeard leaders meeting their own virgins?
#2
This seems to be working. We make moves to draw back from our outposts. Taliban moves in to fight so they can declare a 'victory'. we make fertilizer out of them. Works for me. Let's see if wee can suck 'em in again.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/06/2009 13:17 Comments ||
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#3
4 BCT of 4 ID, I believe. A reporter hopped a medivac in to the battle and HER story is here.
#5
One hundred dead means how many wounded? Another hundred? I'm sure the Predators followed them home when they ran away... I have the impression there are lots more of those missiles dropped than results are reported, the CIA not being known for windy -- or even not-windy -- boasting. Even so, we do sometimes hear about jihadi greybeards discovering the white raisins.
#6
No matter how you spin it, losing ten good soldiers sucks.
I understand ROE don't allow air attack without positive ID of the target and that there are not 'innocent civilians' endangered by the attack (except in force defense during an active combat engagement) so there would be no Predators following the survivors back to their safe refuge in Pakistan and zapping them there.
#9
Chuck - 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, CO home station. More info here. There are several other articles about this incident at the link.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/06/2009 16:49 Comments ||
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#10
Unless a recent Net Artic is wrong, ole' CHINGHIS KHAN = TEMUJIN was too busy having sex wid his Milyuhns-and-Zilyuhns of Wives, Concubines, + Sex Slaves to attack and destroy China + his Central Asian steppe enemies???
[Quqnoos] Unidentified kidnappers shot dead a businessman and his two body guards in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Monday
A group of armed men attempted to abduct an Afghan businessman earlier this morning but his resistance erupted a gun battle between the armed men and his protectors which left three dead, witnesses said.
The kidnappers, killing the businessman, Mohamamd Nasir, and his two bodyguards, fled the battle scene in central Kabul, a witness, Rahimullah, said.
Driver of the businessman was also injured in the exchange of fire, Quqnoos correspondent, Wali Arian, reports from the area.
This is reportedly the second incident of its nature in the Afghan capital over the past two days. The kidnappers abducted the owner of a famous hotel in Kabul on Sunday evening, Xinhua Online reports.
Attacks on businessmen and kidnappings for ransom have negatively affected the process of investment in Afghanistan and have forced many people to shift their businesses to neighboring countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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US troops in Afghanistan have started hunting down Al Qaeda leader Jalaluddin Haqqani's terrorist network in eastern Afghanistan, as insurgent attacks on US Army outposts continue to cause US casualties, CBS News has reported.
The CIA once courted Haqqani, one of America's most wanted men. Now, he's accused of killing American soldiers. A local tribal leader, Haqqani allegedly operates from his safe haven in Pakistan. During their targeted missions, soldiers are after the bomb makers and their materials. So far, US forces have uncovered four weapons caches and detained around seven suspects. Even if some missions turn up with nothing, it's still a show of force in the heart of Haqqani territory.
"You know when you are fighting Haqqani," said Lt Col Rob Campbell, "Based on the size of the force and how committed they are and how close they'll get up to you and fight you."
As winter begins to take hold, the US military believes many Haqqani fighters in eastern Afghanistan will head to Pakistan for more training. As the traditional fighting season ends, however, US soldiers now have to start a different mission - convincing Haqqani's tribesmen to turn their backs on their leader and put their weapons down.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
IIRC STARS-N-STRIPES = GUAM PDN? > PHILIPPINE BLASTS MAY SIGNAL START OF NEW AL QAEDA OFFENSIVE.
#2
We need a stink-seeking missile for Afghanistan. I'm sure that will aid immensely in targeting the Taliban leadership. All that sweaty humping over mountains and intimate relations with goats would leave a guy pretty smelly. Bathing is an option, I believe, that not many partake of often enough.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/06/2009 16:54 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A Syrian who was a prosecution witness in the inquiry into the assassination of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafiq al-Hariri was on Monday given six months in jail and deportation for entering the UAE on a forged Czech passport.
The Supreme State Security Court in Abu Dhabi pronounced its verdict, which cannot be appealed, in the presence of defendant Mohammed Zuhair al-Siddiq, a former member of Syria's intelligence services.
"The penalty ends in mid-October," defense lawyer Fahd al-Sabhan told reporters after the verdict was announced, referring to the time his client has already spent in custody.
" We have previously annulled the request that he be handed in to the Syrian authorities. But he could be deported or not deported depending on the sovereign executive decision "
Defense lawyer Fahd al-Sabhan
"We have previously annulled the request that he be handed in to the Syrian authorities. But he could be deported or not deported depending on the sovereign executive decision."
During the hearing Siddiq asked the court how he could be deported when he has a court order that bans his being handed over to Damascus.
Siddiq, in initial reports of the United Nations inquiry commission into the February 2005 killing of Hariri in a huge seafront bomb blast in Beirut, was described as a key witness.
Nicknamed the "king witness," Siddiq claimed that Lebanon's former pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave the order to kill the wealthy businessman who opposed the grip exercised by Damascus over its tiny neighbor.
However, Siddiq later recanted, and Lebanese and Syrian judicial authorities accused him of lying.
In May, the prosecutor at the international tribunal charged with bringing Hariri's killers to justice said Siddiq was no longer a credible witness and was of no interest to the inquiry.
Siddiq was arrested in France in 2005 under an international warrant as part of the investigation into Hariri's killing.
The French judicial authorities refused to hand him over to Lebanon because of the "absence of a guarantee that he would not be subject to the death penalty."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Two alleged criminals were killed in separate 'shootouts' with the members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the capital's Jatrabari and Mirpur while another died in a gunfight with police in Sutrapur yesterday.
Listed criminal Sayezuddin alias Sazu, 30, of Sutrapur died on the spot in a half an hour-long gun battle with Rab-10 members at Namapara slum near a CNG filling station under Jatrabari police station.
Rab sources said Sazu was a hired killer and engaged in drug peddling, was accused in at least a dozen criminal cases and also was charge sheeted in the Sutrapur double murder case in 2005.
"On information of gathering of a criminal gang, Rab rushed to the spot. The criminals opened fire sensing the presence of Rab which forced the law enforcers to retaliate with gunshots", said a Rab-10 official adding, "At one stage, Sazu's cohorts left the scene leaving him dead and two firearms -- a revolver and a handmade light gun -- on the spot."
In Mirpur gunfight, Abul Hossain alias 'Pichchi' Abul, 32, a suspected associate of top listed terror Shahadat, was killed at Paikepara as two teams of Rab-4 and Rab headquarters' detective wing launched a drive there around 6:00am to nab him.
He was accused in several cases.
Rab recovered a revolver with five bullets from the spot.
Meanwhile, in another 'shootout' between Jatrabari police and a criminal gang, a gangster was killed at Dholaikhal under Sutrapur police station around 5:00am.
Identified as Jane Alam Chhaiyal alias Janu of Sutrapur area, he was an associate of another top listed criminal Dakat Shahid, police said.
Police arrested Janu from the city's Banani around 3:00am and rushed to Dholaikhal along with him to nab his other cohorts following his confession.
"Sensing the presence of police, Janu's cohorts opened fire that prompt the police to retaliate. At one stage, Janu attempted to flee from the police custody and was caught in the line of firing", said Jatrabari police.
According to police, Janu was accused in five cases filed with the city's Jatrabari, Sutrapur and Kadomtoli police stations and also involved in various criminal acts, including extortion.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I have never heard cohort so many times this side of a game of SPQR in my life.
Ukrainian police on Tuesday said they had arrested three members of an Islamic fundamentalist group that was planning terrorist acts, the Interfax news agency reported. Two of the suspects reportedly were ethnic Tartars living in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. All three had been working as labourers in the Crimean resport city Yalta, according to a police statement. The men reportedly had become active members of Hizb ut Tahir, a pan-Islamist group with branches in the Middle East, Europe, and the former Soviet Union, in 2006.
Police arrested the men in Simferopol without incident. Weapons confiscated by law enforcers included two shotguns, two pistols, and "Jihad-related literature." The men were suspected of conducting robberies to finance planned later terrorist attacks against Ukrainian government institutions, participating in land theft, and attempting to develop a guerilla organization in the Crimea region, the police statement said.
Relations between the predominantly Orthodox Christian population of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and its Sunni Muslim minority have become increasingly sensitive in recent months, primarily because of land ownership disputes. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko last month appointed a new prosecutor general to the region, with instructions to take steps to prevent increased inter-ethnic conflict.
#1
The world problem is repeating itself all over the globe, whenever you have Muslims you have terrorism. And some people (included the US President) think if we only America push around the Jews, we are all going live in peace...
Posted by: Ana ||
10/06/2009 15:04 Comments ||
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The government seized and searched four shipping containers suspected of carrying banned items to North Korea at Busan Port in September, it emerged Monday.
"The search was carried out in conformity with UN Security Council Resolution 1874 sanctioning North Korea after its second nuclear test in May," a senior official said. "We consulted with the U.S. about this beforehand." He said the containers were full of chemical hazard suits.
Gee, why do they need hazard suits ...
According to a source, the government put a port embargo on a Panama-registered cargo ship which had arrived at New Busan Port via China last month and searched four containers. An official said the Busan Coast Guard and Busan Port Authority on Sept. 22 searched the four shipping containers at the request of intelligence authorities.
The hazard suits themselves do not fall under the sanctions, but they could be used at nuclear facilities or chemical weapons plants.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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Can only hope that some of the utensils used in opening the boxes "slipped" and pierced the material....
[Iran Press TV Latest] The FBI has arrested Elliot Madison, a self-described anarchist and New York social worker, for using Twitter to assist protesters evade the police at the G20 summit.
Madison, 41, and his partner, Michael Wallschlaeger, 46, were put on a $30,000 bail after they were tracked down at their hotel room, Carefree Inn motel, using computers, police scanners and the networking site Twitter to instruct the protests "and to inform the protesters and groups of the movements and actions of law enforcement" on September 24 and 25.
At the two-day summit where many world leaders gathered to discuss the global economic meltdown, about 5,000 protesters were involved in the demonstration and about 200 were arrested.
During the demonstration, police had monitored Twitter, which has turned into a very important tool for passing information among people, to screen communication, the BBC reported.
The FBI reported that other than finding radio scanning equipments at the motel, 11 gas masks, 5 pairs of goggles, test tubes and beakers were also found at Madison's home. Anarchist books and pictures of Marx and Lenin were also taken away by the FBI.
"They arrested me for doing the same thing everybody else was doing, which was perfectly legal," said Madison on Sunday night. "It was crucial for people to have the information we were sending."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I doubt(hope?) he wasn't arrested for using twitter. Thats spin from Iran News justifying the same at home.
Communists (Reds) and Anarchists (Blacks) were allies until the other factions were eliminated in the Russian Civil War. Then the Commies turned on the Blacks.
Posted by: ed ||
10/06/2009 9:08 Comments ||
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#8
The FBI reported that other than finding radio scanning equipments at the motel, 11 gas masks, 5 pairs of goggles, test tubes and beakers were also found
Gas masks, test tubes and beakers? So what are y'all thinking: molotov cocktails or Mother of Satan?
Four paramilitary personnel sustained injuries when suspected militants fired two missiles at Bara Slop Fort on Monday, sources said. Sources told Daily Times that two missiles were fired on the fort, injuring four soldiers. They said the security forces pounded the militant hideouts following the attack, adding that helicopter gunships also shelled the hideouts, but no casualties were reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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As many as 30 Afghan nationals working as imams (prayer leaders) at different mosques in Mardan have been arrested, while scores others have been expelled from the region, Mardan Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Syed Akhter Ali Shah claimed on Monday. According to a private television channel, the expulsion of Afghan nationals would greatly help in curbing incidents of terrorism and kidnappings for ransom in Swabi and Mardan districts.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Gee, what do the authorities have against imams?
Security forces killed eight Taliban and arrested another 13 in Malakand, a security forces spokesman said on Monday.
Talking to reporters, the spokesman said an operation in Palai had been completed, adding that the area had been cleared of Taliban.
The spokesman said markets and schools in Palai were now open and that the security forces had provided relief items to the residents.
Separately, the Taliban fired rockets at a checkpost in Wana in South Waziristan, APP reported.
Also, a Taliban rocket attack on security forces stationed inside the Razmak camp injured four soldiers, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.
Meanwhile, during the ongoing search-and-clearance operations in Swat, security forces apprehended 10 Tlaiban at Baqi Banda and Dhand.
Five militants surrendered to security forces at Darmai, Bar Shaur and Alamganj.
Also, during search-and-clearance operations in Mingora, security forces arrested 12 Taliban including a relative of militant commander Fateh, the ISPR said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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New Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud appeared in a video clip broadcast on local television on Monday, dispelling rumours of his death and vowing "severe" new attacks.
If at first you don't succeed ...
But since Hakimullah took over the reins of the TTP in late August, rumours had swirled that he was dead, with a senior US counter-terrorism official on Saturday saying they were looking into reports he was killed during infighting over succession. "I am alive and sitting in front of you. All the stories about my death were baseless. You can see me, that I am alive," a healthy-looking Hakimullah said in a video clip, AFP reported. "We will take severe revenge for Baitullah's killing and the continued drone strikes... both the US and Pakistan will have to face the consequences," he said.
"We have respect for Al Qaeda and the jihadist organisations -- we are with them," he added. Hakimullah said the TTP was "united and stronger than before". "Our basic aim is enforcement of Islamic law and if thousands of human lives need to be sacrificed, we will not hesitate," he warned.
The TTP has carved out camps in the mountains of Waziristan, and Washington says the militants are plotting attacks on the West and slipping over the border to target foreign troops in Afghanistan. "If the Pakistan Army tries to launch any offensive in the area, it will face severe resistance, tougher than in the past," Hakimullah said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"Only One can wear the Pie-Hat™!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/06/2009 18:29 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Police massed in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday following clashes with Palestinians near al-Aqsa mosque compound and as tens of thousands of Jews were expected to attend a religious ceremony.
Authorities restricted access to the compound to Muslim men aged 50 and over, with no restrictions for women, after Sunday's clashes in which seven Palestinian protesters were injured and three arrested.
Thousands of security officers deployed in and around the Old City, particularly in the vicinity of the compound which is holy to both Muslims and Jews, and the Western Wall, the main Jewish pilgrimage site also known as the Wailing Wall.
Israeli police and Palestinian protesters on Sunday clashed near the mosque compound, a flashpoint site sacred to Muslims and Jews that saw similar unrest a week ago.
The altercation occurred after Israeli authorities closed the holy site in and 150 to 200 people gathered to pray outside the Lion's Gate, which leads into the compound, police and witnesses said.
The clashes erupted shortly afterwards, with worshippers throwing stones and security forces hurling stun grenades and firing a water cannon, according to witnesses.
Medics said seven people were wounded and police said three were arrested.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder when the world is going to figure out that building a mosque is a form of conquest for Islam. Once a holy site, always an ISLAMIC holy site, regardless of what was there before, or what might come after.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/06/2009 18:10 Comments ||
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#2
when the first one goes down without a demolition permit, you know someone caught on
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/06/2009 18:49 Comments ||
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Two bomb attacks killed two people and injured at least 35 in a busy border town in Thailand's restive Muslim south on Tuesday, police said.
Terrorists Suspected insurgents on a motorcycle fired bullets and threw a home-made bomb at a group of people in a packed restaurant, killing a civilian and a policeman and wounding 12. Less than two hours later, a bomb hidden in a car exploded outside a hotel, injuring 23 people, a police official told Reuters by telephone. Both attacks took place in Sungai Kolok, a thriving town bordering Malaysia.
Famous for racy nightlife and popular with Malaysian tourists, Sungai Kolok has been the target of repeated bombings by suspected separatists over the past five years, hurting local trade and tourism.
The attacks followed a motorcycle bombing late on Monday that injured 17 people attending a Buddhist festival in Pattani, one of three mainly Muslim provinces where violence has claimed more than 3,600 lives since January 2004.
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.
US troops in Afghanistan have started hunting down Al Qaeda leader Jalaluddin Haqqani's terrorist network in eastern Afghanistan, as insurgent attacks on US Army outposts continue to cause US casualties, CBS News has reported.
[Bangla Daily Star] Two alleged criminals were killed in separate 'shootouts' with the members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the capital's Jatrabari and Mirpur while another died in a gunfight with police in Sutrapur yesterday.
Ukrainian police on Tuesday said they had arrested three members of an Islamic fundamentalist group that was planning terrorist acts, the Interfax news agency reported. Two of the suspects reportedly were ethnic Tartars living in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. All three had been working as labourers in the Crimean resport city Yalta, according to a police statement. The men reportedly had become active members of Hizb ut Tahir, a pan-Islamist group with branches in the Middle East, Europe, and the former Soviet Union, in 2006. 
New Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud appeared in a video clip broadcast on local television on Monday, dispelling rumours of his death and vowing "severe" new attacks.
