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Peshawar blast kills 10, injures 45
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Afghanistan
Marines keep convoys rolling
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/08/2009 06:16 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  God Bless the United States Marine Corps and keep these brave men safe!
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/08/2009 7:08 Comments || Top||

#2  FYI PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > US SENATE REPORT ON SRI LANKA: US CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE SRI LANKA DUE TO ITS STARTEGIC IMPORTANCE.

* WORLD NEWS/TOPIX/PDF > ADMIRAL MULLEN: US TO FACE "TOUGH FIGHT" AGZ MILITANTS IN 2010.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/08/2009 20:56 Comments || Top||


UH60 Black Hawk landing on a mountaintop in Zabul - Very Hairy
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 12/08/2009 06:05 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Not only hairy, but the air up there is rara!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/08/2009 10:19 Comments || Top||

#2  er....rare
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/08/2009 10:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Very nice, the videos never do justice to reality. I believe the blakhawk is about 64 feet long, from tip to tail. Adding that to the perspective makes that mountain look awfull big. Then to add AP's comment about thin air, one wheel landings, etc... Exciting day for all concerned.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 12/08/2009 16:44 Comments || Top||


Afghan, Nato strike destroys Taliban bastion
Were we just waiting for President Obama to make his announcement?
[Dawn] Nato warplanes pounded a Taliban stronghold in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing more than 20 insurgents and destroying a bunker complex, military officials said.

Noor Akbar, a regional Taliban commander was among those killed in the raid in the province of Kunar, a mountainous region and Taliban flashpoint area near the Pakistan border, Afghan army general Mohammad Qasim Bitanai told AFP.

'More than 20 Taliban fighters, including their commander Noor Akbar, were killed in the raid,' he said.

The Nato-run International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said it called in an air strike that demolished a Taliban stronghold in the province's Watapur district but did not give details of casualties.

'An international security force conducted an air strike today and destroyed a known Taliban stronghold consisting of bunkers and prepared defensive positions in Kunar province.

'The security force targeted the stronghold near the village of Tsangar Darah in the mountainous Watapur district after intelligence sources indicated militant activity at the location,' Isaf said.

The Afghan general said the operation was coordinated between Afghan and foreign forces, which currently number around 113,000 in the country.

Several other militants were killed in operations elsewhere in the province of Paktika, also in the east, Isaf said without giving a figure.

US President Barack Obama last week ordered 30,000 more troops to the war-torn country as Nato allies pledged at least an extra 7,000 soldiers as part of a sweeping new strategy to crush a surge in Taliban violence.

The Taliban have made a deadly come-back since the 2001 US-led invasion toppled their regime in Kabul, forcing commanders to demand reinforcements in a bid to win a war increasingly unpopular in Western capitals.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Angry protesters torch Sudan ruling party offices
[Al Arabiya Latest] Protesters in south Sudan torched offices of the country's ruling National Congress Party after southern leaders were arrested in the capital on Monday, a southern government official said.

Offices were set ablaze in Wau and Rumbek, two provincial capitals, the source said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

"The National Congress Party headquarters in both Rumbek and in Wau are on fire," the official said."The protestors are angry at the arrest of the SPLM secretary general and other leaders in Khartoum."

Sudanese police earlier arrested several top figures of the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement during an unauthorized protest outside parliament, including SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum.

Riot police earlier arrested two senior members of south Sudan's main party and their supporters who turned out to demonstrate outside Sudan's parliament in defiance of an official ban, officials said.

Yasser Arman, a senior member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) scuffled with police outside the National Assembly and was driven away to a police station, officials said.

Officials added that Pagan Amum, the SPLM's Secretary General, had also been arrested.

However, Arman confirmed his arrest to Al Arabiya by phone, denied allegations that he had scuffled with a police officer and said that peaceful rallies will be held all over the country.

Around 25 SPLM and opposition supporters gathered outside the parliament in the early hours of Monday and were surrounded by police armed with batons and shields.

Khartoum announced in a statement the closure of schools on Monday and a day off for public employees to underline the government's "engagement... towards democratic reform" and to aid voter registration.

The SPLM and opposition parties had called the rally outside parliament to demand democratic reforms in a rare challenge to the president. Sudanese authorities announced on Sunday that the rally was banned.

Khartoum police issued a statement late on Sunday saying the planned protest was illegal as the organizers had not applied for permission to hold it but had merely notified the authorities about their intentions.

"The Security Committee of Khartoum state had a meeting today and decided this demonstration is illegal ... Anybody who participates will be questioned," said the statement.

An official in the opposition Umma party, meanwhile, said the ban showed north Sudan's dominant National Congress Party (NCP) was not serious about letting dissenting voices take part in elections, scheduled for April 2010.

The oil-producing country is due to hold its first multi-party polls in 24 years under the terms of a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between Sudan's north and south and created an SPLM-NCP coalition government.

Monday is the last day Sudanese voters can register for next April's presidential, legislative and regional elections.

Relations between the former foes have remained tense and both have accused each other of failing to implement the deal, which also guarantees the south a referendum on independence in January 2011.

Two million people were killed and 4 million fled their homes between 1983 and 2005 as Sudan's north and south battled over differences of ideology, ethnicity and religion. North Sudan is mostly Muslim while southerners are largely Christian and followers of traditional beliefs.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan

#1  South Sudan will be seperate probably by the beginning of the summer, if not the end of this year.
Posted by: newc || 12/08/2009 0:28 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Yemeni civilians showered with Saudi bombs
Saudi forces have reportedly launched several air raids on civilian areas in northern Yemen after Houthi fighters inflicted heavy losses on them overnight.

The Monday aerial bombardments came a day after the Houthis repelled a Saudi invasion into Jabal al-Ramin. The fighters destroyed several Saudi army tanks during the Sunday night attack.

One month after Riyadh launched its offensive against Shia fighters in Yemen, its jets, helicopters and artillery continue to pound civilian areas in the northern country.

Saudi Arabia joined Sana'a's offensive against the Houthis, charging that the fighters had attacked one of its border checkpoints.

Already involved in defending the Shia minority from Yemeni soldiers, the fighters deny the charge saying they could not possibly be interested in opening another front.

The fighters have also accused Saudis of using unconventional weapons including toxic materials and phosphorus bombs against civilians.

They also released new footage of Saudi firearms and ammunition they seized during the clashes along the border last week.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Waiting for Mr. Goldstone.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/08/2009 3:50 Comments || Top||

#2  ION WORLD AFFAIRS BOARD [WAB] > US: AL QAEDA FOCUSES ON YEMEN AS [regional]LAUNCHPAD. AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA [AQAP]. Yemen as new AQ = AQAP Regional base for various TERROPS Planning, Movement, Recruitment, + Logistics.

ALso, AL_ARABIYA.NET > HIZBOLLAH DENIES SUPPORT FOR YEMEN HOUTHIS. AA Sources claim that former Yemeni Prez ALI SALEM al-BEIDH allegedly made secret trip to BEIRUT to gather HIzb support for Houthis. HIZZIES HEZZIES HUZZIES, etc. repor dislike the the Yemeni Govt handling of the Houthi Rebels-Movement + general situation???

* DAWN.PK > AL QAEDA IN THE MAHGREB [AQIM] CLAIMS KIDNAPPING OF FOUR EUROPEANS [1 French, 3 Spanish].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/08/2009 20:52 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Old Biplobi bad boy eats dirt in shootout
[Bangla Daily Star] A regional leader of outlawed Biplobi Communist Party (BCP) was killed in a 'shootout' between his cohorts and police at Munshiganj village under Alamdanga upazila of Chuadanga district yesterday.

He was identified as Monwar Hossain alias Mono, 32, son of Nabis Uddin in the upazila.
He was an only child ...
According to police, a gang of BCP cadres, led by Monwar, was holding a meeting at a banana orchard near Munshiganj bazar around 1:30am. A team from Alamdanga Police Station, led by its Officer-in-charge Ilias Fakir, raided the place acting on a tip-off.
Banana orchard? Was the VFW hall booked?
Sensing presence of the law enforcers, the criminals opened fire and blasted a bomb. Monwar's accomplices fled the scene after a gun battle ensued as police reiterated.
What exactly did the police reiterate? "BANG"?
Later, police found injured Monwar and rushed to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital ...
definitely not a Level I trauma center
... where he succumbed to his injures around 2:00am.

Police recovered one shutter gun, two bombs, splinters and two bullets from the spot.
Splinters? How the mighty fall. The RAB leaves the splinters behind as a warning.
Police said Monwar was also a top leader of local gang BD Bahini -- led by one BD Hossain and was involved with extortion and abduction.

Monwar was an accused in 12 systems 11 cases -- five for murder and six for abduction.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He was identified as Monwar Hossain alias Mono, 32, son of Nabis Uddin in the upazila.

singer in a Bangla U2 cover band?
Posted by: Frank G || 12/08/2009 10:02 Comments || Top||

#2  singer in a Bangla U2 cover band?

rimshot.gif

Posted by: Mike N. || 12/08/2009 11:45 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Attacks on Pakistani city of Multan kill 12
A rocket and a suicide car bomb attack on the office of Pakistani intelligence agency in Multan city has killed at least 12 people, police say. More than 25 others were injured in the attack in the Qasim Bela area in Punjab province.

The blast comes just a day after two bombs exploded in a busy market in Lahore, killing at least 48 people. More than 400 people have been killed during a string of attacks mounted by Islamist militants in recent weeks.

They coincide with an ongoing army offensive targeting the Taliban stronghold in the country's north-west.

Television channel Express 24/7 showed images of damaged buildings and ambulances at the scene in Multan. No-one has yet said they were behind the attack.

A senior police officer in Multan Agha Mohd Yusuf told the BBC that there were two to three attackers who came in a car. One of the attackers stepped out when the car reached the check post of the military area.

"He put a rocket launcher on his shoulder and fired in the general direction of the office. One building was hit and collapsed.

"In the confusion that followed, the other attackers drove inside and blew up the car. This time the office of the intelligence service [Inter-Services Intelligence or ISI] agency was hit," Mr Yusuf said.

Even though Pakistan has seen many deadly attacks in the last few weeks, this is possibly one of the most audacious attacks, a BBC correspondent in Islamabad says.
Posted by: tipper || 12/08/2009 05:21 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Pakistan seals border with Afghanistan
Pakistani authorities have sealed their border with neighboring Afghanistan, after reports suggesting that the Taliban militants are fleeing into country's tribal areas.

"Border security forces in Killa Saifullah of south western Balochsitan province have sealed the Pak-Afghan border in order to halt illegal entry of people into Pakistan from Afghanistan," an interior ministry official told Press TV correspondent in Islamabad on Monday.

The official said the border was sealed amid allegations that the Taliban leaders travel across borders to find shelter in Pakistan's tribal areas.

Frontier Corps troops have been deployed near the Pak-Afghan border. The travelers have been required to show legal travel documents, including passports and visas to enter Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan.

In 2007, Pakistan fenced a part of its 2,500-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan to prevent incursions by militants. However, Afghanistan has opposed fencing the border because of a long-standing territorial dispute with Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan

#1  The Afghan/Pakistan Border is
"sealed"?

It is 2,500 miles long through some of the roughest terrain on the face of the Earth.
Right up there with the Hindu Kush and the Karakorum back door to China and places planes and helicopters cant even fly, rocky gorges and rocky mountain passes where a horse, or a g8damn donkey cant even go?
And they are telling us it is "sealed".....

So now we are being assured it is "sealed". WHO is telling us it is "sealed"? HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK WE ARE?

PURE BULLSH*T.

In your paki dreams.
Posted by: Angleton9 || 12/08/2009 5:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey, the US/Mexican border is sealed too!
Posted by: Glenmore || 12/08/2009 6:56 Comments || Top||

#3  As is the Social Security "Trust" Fund.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/08/2009 7:05 Comments || Top||

#4  HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK WE ARE?

Rhetorical question, but this really is beyond belief. Not only is the terrain unforgiving and they were forewarned of the offensive, Binny is stateless, without a passport to show at a "fenced" checkpoint. This area could be carpet bombed with nukes and no one would ever know in a million years! And we keep shoveling money we don't have into this worthless pit.
Posted by: Lumpy Elmoluck5091 || 12/08/2009 10:40 Comments || Top||

#5  obviously the pakis are incapable of sealing the entire border, esp in mountainous Waziristan.

I read this as just meaning they will seal the border in the Baluchistan area, which is close to Helmand where there is now a coalition offensive. Perhaps not even all of baluchistan, but just the mainly Pashtun area near Quetta.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 12/08/2009 15:32 Comments || Top||


Eight militants killed in Bajaur
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Eight militants were killed and several others sustained injuries in different areas of Bajaur Agency on Monday.

Official sources said a fierce clash took place in the Chinar area of Charmang Valley in the Nawagai subdivision when militants attacked security forces. The sources said one militant was killed and several others sustained injuries in the clash.

The official sources added that fighter jets blitzed suspected hideouts of insurgents in Kharkay, Gotki, Anga and Banda areas in which four militants were killed and several others injured. Two hideouts were also destroyed in air raids.

There were reports that three militants were killed when explosives stored in a house went off in the Damadola area in the Mamond subdivision. The house was reportedly being used by militants as their hideout and was completely destroyed in the blast.

Security forces, the sources said, conducted a search operation in Inayat Killay, the second business hub of the Bajaur tribal region near Khar headquarters, and apprehended five militants and recovered weapons from their possession.

Meanwhile, 25 militants, belonging to Sor Dagai, Chinar and Lara Darra areas in Salarzai, surrendered to security forces during a Jirga of elders of the Salarzai tribe, Ulema and political authorities in Khar town.

The surrendered militants handed over their weapons to security forces and promised that they would not indulge in subversive activities in future.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Army targets militant hideouts in Orakzai Agency
[Dawn] Security forces claimed to have killed at least eight suspected militants as they pounded militant hideouts in different parts of Orakzai Agency on Sunday.

Official sources said that the militants were killed as jet fighters pounded hideouts of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Chief Hakeemullah Mahsud in Shakar Tangi, Ghaljo, Mamozai and Dabori areas of Orakzai Agency.

Five militant hideouts and three vehicles have also been destroyed in the clashes in Orakzai, which is a militant stronghold.

Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Troops kill four militants in Swat
[Dawn] Troops on Monday killed four suspected militants during a search operation in northwestern Swat valley where the military claims to have quelled a militant uprising, officials said.

Soldiers came under fire as they raided a suspected hideout of militants loyal to radical cleric Mullah Fazlullah in Shamozai village, 30 kilometres southwest of the valley's main town Mingora.

'Troops retaliated and killed all four militants,' military spokesman Major Mushtaq Khan said.

Colonel Akhtar Abbas, senior official of the army-run Swat media centre, confirmed the incident and said there were 'no military casualties.'

Swat, a former tourist resort, slipped out of government control in July 2007 after Fazlullah mounted a violent campaign to enforce Islamic sharia law.

The army launched an offensive in April and says more than 2,150 militants have been killed in Swat and the neighbouring Buner and Lower Dir districts. It said in July that most of the insurgent bastions had been wiped out. But sporadic clashes and suicide attacks continue to rock the valley.

Pakistan's military is now engaged in a fierce offensive in the northwest tribal belt along the Afghan border, where the core Taliban leadership and Al-Qaeda-linked militants are holed up in the rugged mountain terrain.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  ION DAILYTIMES.PK > SWAT MILITANTS/TALIBS HIRE MERCENARAIES TO KILL POLICEMEN.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/08/2009 20:31 Comments || Top||


Thirteen militants killed in Swat, Lower Dir
[Dawn] Pakistani security forces killed 13 militants, including a prominent commander identified as Gul Mulla, in gun battles in two parts of the northwest over the weekend.

Pakistani troops in northwest Swat district killed four militants including a local commander named Gul Mulla on Sunday, the army said.

'An army convoy was attacked in the outskirts of Mingora. During the retaliatory fire four militants including Gul Mulla were killed,' said Major Mushtaq Khan, a spokesman for Swat media centre.

Maj. Mushtaq Ahmed said Mulla and four others were killed in the Dangram area of the Swat Valley, where the suspected militants were spotted trying to sneak through the mountains to the main town of Mingora. Pakistan's army has waged an offensive against the Taliban in Swat for much of this year.

In the neighbouring region of Lower Dir, security forces killed eight alleged militants hiding in a house in the Maidan area, said Major Suleman Hanif, another army spokesman. The soldiers recovered weapons including two rocket launchers and eight assault rifles.--
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Eight injured in bomb blast in Quetta
[Dawn] At least eight people were injured on Monday when a blast took place outside the Junior Officers Residence in Chaman Housing Scheme area of Quetta. Police said that the blast was so powerful that the windowpanes of nearby buildings were shattered. Reports stated that the bomb was planted on a motorcycle.

According to the police, all of the injured were civilians and had been shifted to civil hospital Quetta for medical treatment. The blast occurred at the gate of JOR Colony, damaging two vehicles parked nearby. JOR colony is located near UNHCR offices and other international donor agency offices.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


Peshawar huge blast kills 10, injures 45
At least 10 people have been killed and 45 others wounded in a blast outside a court building in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar.

The explosion occurred Monday following recent attacks in Peshawar that lies on the edge of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt.

Dr. Jamil Ahmad at the city's Lady Reading Hospital said at least 10 people were killed, including two policemen, adding that 45 others were wounded.

Security and government facilities are main targets of militants. On November 19, an explosion killed 19 people outside another judicial complex in Peshawar.

Earlier on Saturday, an explosion in Peshawar left four people dead.

Hundreds have lost their lives in a series of terrorist attacks in Pakistan beginning in October when the Pakistani army launched an offensive against pro-Taliban militants in the northwest.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: TTP


At least 45 killed as twin bombs hit Lahore
[Dawn] Two powerful bomb blasts ripped through the busy Moon Market in Lahore's Allama Iqbal Town late in the night, claiming at least 45. The blasts, which took place within a radius of 30 metre, also caused a massive fire in a crowded shopping mall. The blasts knocked out electricity supply.

Monday's strike was the second terrorist attack in Iqbal Town. On August 13, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the same market, killing nine people, including two children.

Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervaiz told reporters that the death toll could rise as fire-fighters struggled to put out the blaze to rescue the trapped people till late in the night. Rescue teams retrieved several charred bodies from the building. A number of the injured people taken to different city hospitals were said to be in a critical condition.

According to police, the first blast took place outside a bank and the other near a police station. People ran for their lives as the two blasts took place within a few seconds at about 8.45pm.

SSP (operations) Chaudhry Shafique Ahmed told Dawn that the first blast had been carried out by a suicide bomber.

The Iqbal Town SP said police had recovered some body parts, including the head and legs of the suspected bomber. He said police had also seized a damaged motorcycle allegedly used for planting a time device.

However, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and senior officials insisted that the blasts could have been triggered remotely.

The commissioner blamed India for the blasts. But the law minister said that militants from Waziristan were involved.

A number of shops in the market were destroyed and windowpanes of nearby buildings and houses shattered. Dozens of cars and motorcycles were damaged. Most people falling prey to the bloody attacks were either shopping or dining out at the time of the incident.

The blasts were heard in a radius of a few kilometres. Panic gripped the area and all major markets in the city were closed. Traders announced closure of the market on Tuesday in protest against the incident.

People accused police of not taking effective precautionary measures despite threats that terrorists could target markets in the city.

'I was passing through the market when the first blast took place outside the MCB Bank, where people were enjoying their food,' said Mohammad Qaiser, of Sabzazar.

'Soon after the blast I found at least 10 people lying on the ground with blood and limbs strewn all around,' he added.

Imran Hussian, a shopkeeper, said, 'I was outside the shop when a huge blast shook the entire market. A few seconds later, another explosion was heard on the outskirts of the market.'

He said he and other people ran for their lives. 'When we returned after some time, we saw the injured screaming and crying for pain. A big fire erupted in the market,' he said.

Meanwhile, police set up pickets across the city and rounded up several suspects for investigation.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan

#1  The commissioner blamed India for the blasts

/Shakes head sadly
Posted by: Gaz || 12/08/2009 2:20 Comments || Top||

#2  The commissioner blamed India for the blasts

Of course it's India's fault. If they would just submit---Pakis will be too busy robbing, raping, and murdering Indians to kill each other.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/08/2009 3:53 Comments || Top||

#3  1. Over 60 confirmed dead as of now
2. Lahore is about as far away from the Taliban controlled territory as it is possible to be, in the east side of Punjab province; the Taliban are making a point that everything is within their reach
3. As pointed out, many Paks still deny that the Taliban are responsible, even the educated ones, even after years and years of this stuff; if there was a Guiness book entry for denial, the Paks would surely rate a gold medal here
Posted by: lord garth || 12/08/2009 9:46 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Car bombs cause carnage in the capital of Iraq
A series of car bombings have killed at least 101 people and wounded 182 in the centre of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The first blast targeted a police patrol in the Dora district of the city. Four others occurred near official buildings within minutes.

In October, co-ordinated bombs attacks killed at least 155 people and wounded hundreds in Baghdad. However, Iraqi government figures have shown that violence generally has fallen over the past 18 months.

Tuesday's explosions shook houses across the capital. Official buildings located near the blasts include the interior ministry, the social affairs ministry, a university and the institute of fine arts.

"Civilians and security personnel have definitely been killed," Baghdad security spokesman Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi told Reuters news agency.

At least eight people - mostly children - died in a school bombing in Baghdad on Monday.

Iraqi officials say security has been heightened ahead of general elections due in February.
Posted by: tipper || 12/08/2009 05:15 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  election now scheduled for March

however, Al Q may have been embarrassed by the fact that in Nov they were able to kill relatively few Coalition forces (about 10) and only about 100 Iraqis as compared to Oct (300 Iraqis)
Posted by: lord garth || 12/08/2009 14:06 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Egyptian forces thwart fuel smuggling into Gaza
[Ma'an] Egyptian security forces thwarted a diesel smuggling operation and shut down a storehouse containing commercial goods, also prepared for smuggling into the Gaza Strip on Monday.

Egyptian forces stormed a fuel storehouse in the bordering As-Salam neighborhood of Rafah, containing 30,000 liters of diesel which was hidden with the intention of smuggling into Gaza, security sources said.

Diesel smugglers use underground pipes and a generating motor to pump fuel into the Gaza Strip, and therefore, Egyptian security forces search for illegal diesel dens close to the border, the sources added.

The Egyptian forces confiscated the fuel and destroyed it by mixing it with water.

Israeli authorities have restricted the transfer of both domestic gas and industrial fuel into the Gaza Strip for three months, by closing the Nahal Oz fuel pipeline in northern Gaza regularly. This has prompted a critical gas crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip, as bakeries and agricultural greenhouses have been forced to shut down as a result.

The gas crisis has further affected Gaza's hospitals, with insufficient gas to provide heating for its patients and to sterilize surgical equipment.

Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities raided another storehouse in the As-Sarsouriyah border town, confiscating large quantities of cigarettes and mineral water bottles. Sources did not say if these items were confiscated and destroyed like the fuel.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Sources did not say if these items were confiscated and destroyed like the fuel.

Because nothing ruins mineral water more than mixing it with the 'regular stuff'.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/08/2009 12:09 Comments || Top||

#2  The Egyptian forces confiscated the fuel and destroyed it by mixing it with water.

Bullshit, simply wait and the fuel will float to the top and separate itself from the water, to RUIN fuel you'd need to add tons of soap/water and blend it with something like an outboard making a sludge.

Smarter to use the confiscated fuel yourself.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/08/2009 12:26 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Two Thai rangers killed in gun battle
Two rangers were killed on Tuesday during gunfight with terrorists insurgents in Narathiwat's Rusoh district. Another ranger was wounded and then rushed to a hospital nearby.

A group of 12 rangers were patrolling the site when the terrorists insurgents opened fire on them. An insurgent was killed during the attack.

Earlier a man; Mayami Kadeng, 44, president of Bare Tai Tambon Administration Authority, was gunned down in front of his house in Rusoh district.

Mayami was earlier arrested for allegedly masterminding an arson attack at a school. He was freed on bail to run in the local election. He just won the election before being killed.
Posted by: ryuge || 12/08/2009 10:31 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran opposition defy crackdown & stage protests
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iranian police fired tear gas and warning shots in the air on Monday at protesters gathered in central Tehran chanting slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, witnesses said, as the nation marked Students Day.

Witnesses reported clashes between protesters, mainly university students, and policemen at several universities and prominent districts of Tehran, which was flooded with security force members who arrested several demonstrators.

"Police fired tear gas at groups of protesters chanting slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Vali Asr intersection and Enghelab Street," a witness told AFP, referring to prominent locations in central Tehran.

The protesters were chanting "Death to the Dictator" and "Do not be scared. We are all together," the witness said, adding that some protesters also beat up a policeman.

The incidents could not be independently verified as foreign media have been banned from covering Monday's event.

Students of Tehran's prestigious Amir Kabir University had earlier urged protests against Ahmadinejad, in an online statement.

"We are asking all people to come to universities so we can have one voice to protest at the coup d'état," said the statement, issued by the group going under the name "Green university students of Iranian universities."

Green was the signature color of main opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's election campaign for the June 12 presidential poll. He lost to Ahmadinejad in what he claims was a "fraudulent" election staged to return the hardliner to power.

Since then his supporters have taken to streets in Tehran at the slightest opportunity to demonstrate against Ahmadinejad, accusing him of "stealing their votes."

Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured onto streets in the immediate aftermath of the poll and in the deadly unrest that followed dozens were killed and thousands arrested.

The defiant protests shook the pillars of the Iranian regime in what was one of its worst crises since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  The internet felt it too.
Posted by: newc || 12/08/2009 0:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Faster, Please.
Posted by: Black Bart Ebberens7700 || 12/08/2009 9:06 Comments || Top||


Iran police make arrests on Student Day
Authorities on Monday arrested a number of people who damaged public property as opposition protesters and students staged rallies on Student Day in Iran, reports say.

December 7 marks the 1953 killings of three university students by the regime of Iran's last monarch during a protest against the visit of then US vice president Richard Nixon.

Nixon was traveling to Iran a few months after a CIA-backed coup overthrew the country's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq.

The commemoration, meanwhile, provided opposition protesters with an opportunity to stage anti-government demonstrations. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported sporadic clashes between the protesters and security forces near the main campus of Tehran University.

The report added that a group of rioters, wearing green clothes, destroyed the Vali Asr entrance of Amir Kabir University and attacked students inside the campus.

Police, the report said, arrested a number of the rioters.

During the riots, trash bins were set ablaze by the protesters, the Amir Kabir University's security post was trashed, and the bank on campus was attacked by stones, the report said.

Students in response to the rioters chanted slogans, calling them "traitors."
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


--Tech
Comments problem fix
I think I've fixed the 403 (You don't have permission to access this page) problem that sometimes showed up with comments. I haven't been able to make it do it since the fix, anyhow. Let me know if it happens for you, or if fixing it broke something else.

Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 09:29 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ummm Fred, when I comment it tries to lock up, Guess that's "Broke" too.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/08/2009 12:16 Comments || Top||

#2  403 appeared for a split second with no effect.
Posted by: Willy || 12/08/2009 12:30 Comments || Top||

#3  Your eye must be quicker than mine. I see a flash of text, which could be one of my debug statements, then it goes where it's supposed to go.

How does it "try" to lock up, Jim?
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 12:46 Comments || Top||

#4  I see some error message, too, but it goes away so fast that I can't read it
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/08/2009 13:07 Comments || Top||

#5  I read something like: Warning: Cannot modify headers
Posted by: European Conservative || 12/08/2009 13:08 Comments || Top||

#6  In that case it's harmless. I'll still try to suppress it, though.
Posted by: Fred || 12/08/2009 13:28 Comments || Top||

#7  Whew! I was afraid I'd been banned for posting something inappropriate.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/08/2009 14:13 Comments || Top||

#8  I'm seeing the same warning EC is seeing. It's up for about 1/10th of a second though, so I can't provide any add'l info.
Posted by: Dar || 12/08/2009 14:54 Comments || Top||

#9  Good ol' PrtScn button helps:

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/www/www.rantburg.com/htdocs/commwarticletmp.php:57) in /home/www/www.rantburg.com/htdocs/commwarticletmp.php on line 151.
Posted by: Dar || 12/08/2009 15:00 Comments || Top||

#10  Dar has great reflexes...
Posted by: tipover || 12/08/2009 15:56 Comments || Top||

#11  And yes, I've been getting the same message.
Posted by: tipover || 12/08/2009 16:19 Comments || Top||

#12  It's still happening. Figured Fred was sinking my comments! Haha
Posted by: 49 Pan || 12/08/2009 16:46 Comments || Top||

#13  just got it with Firefox 3.5.5
Posted by: Frank G || 12/08/2009 18:40 Comments || Top||

#14  Would you like some Database help?

I "only" did a degree in DBs and Programming and now run a company doing SaaS.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 12/08/2009 20:58 Comments || Top||

#15  We've got some awfully clever people here at Rantburg!
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/08/2009 21:24 Comments || Top||

#16  obviously I haven't been playing to my base!
Posted by: Frank G || 12/08/2009 21:35 Comments || Top||

#17  We've already seen how clever you are, Frank dear, every time a bridge falls. ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/08/2009 21:37 Comments || Top||

#18  every time a bridge falls

An angel gets its wings?
Posted by: SteveS || 12/08/2009 22:54 Comments || Top||

#19  php constantly has problems with dumping data before header info is dumped. This is usually for non-php code, and sometimes also occurs with some php extensions such as the GD stuff.

There are workarounds, but my experience is that they are difficult to implement
Posted by: badanov || 12/08/2009 23:35 Comments || Top||


Good morning ...
Posted by: Steve White || 12/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


#2  That little Border Collie could go through those bars on the gate like they wern't there at all.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 12/08/2009 12:14 Comments || Top||

#3  There was a border collie?
Posted by: Scott R || 12/08/2009 17:12 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm of the generation that thinks of Piper Laurie as Sissy Spacek's wacky mother in "Carrie".
Posted by: JDB || 12/08/2009 18:27 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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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
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2009-12-08
  Peshawar blast kills 10, injures 45
Mon 2009-12-07
  Explosions rock market in Lahore
Sun 2009-12-06
  Little resistance on day 2 of US-Afghan offensive
Sat 2009-12-05
  Attack temporarily shuts Herat airport
Fri 2009-12-04
  Russian Police find car packed with explosives near train station
Thu 2009-12-03
  14 dead in suicide bomber attack in Somalia
Wed 2009-12-02
  Obama: 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan by summer
Tue 2009-12-01
  At least 61 militants killed in Khyber tribal region
Mon 2009-11-30
  Air strike kills 30 Taliban in Khost
Sun 2009-11-29
  Russia train disaster was terrorist attack
Sat 2009-11-28
  IAEA votes to censure Iran
Fri 2009-11-27
  Lebanon gives Hezbollah right to use arms against Israel
Thu 2009-11-26
  Afghan police commander jailed for having 40 tonnes of hashish
Wed 2009-11-25
  Belgian pleads guilty in US jet parts sale to Iran
Tue 2009-11-24
  20 turbans toe-tagged in Hangu


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