Eight Arab, five Pakistani and two Afghan militants were killed when bombs they were making exploded prematurely inside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.
The insurgents were assembling bombs in Desi Mosque of Yousifkhela district in the south-eastern province of Paktika on Friday, the ministry said.
Pakika borders the Pakistani town of Wana, where Taliban militants are said to have training bases. Afghan officials have repeatedly blamed Islamabad for not doing enough to clamp down on cross-border infiltration by insurgents
Posted by: Mike N. ||
06/27/2010 16:37 Comments ||
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#5
You know how they used to say to turn off your two-way radios when entering construction blast zones - maybe nobody told these guys (or maybe WE didn't turn OURS off.)
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Elements of the Mexican Army 8th Zone killed five armed suspects after being attacked Tamaulipas, according to Mexican news reports.
The gunfight stems from an apparent kidnapping case where members of the criminal gang Los Zetas kidnapped five PEMEX employees and two of a contracting firm two months ago. Authorities were only alerted two days ago of the crime, which took place at Cuenca de Burgo, in the north of Tamaulipas.
Elements of the Mexican Army were conducting search sweeps near the PEMEX well Arcos No. 145 near Ciudad Mier near a gap which leads to the well. Armed suspects were apparently hiding in cars when they opened fire on the soldiers, who returned fire, killing five armed suspects.
Seized were: nine rifles, more than 11,300 cartridges, 99 magazines, four grenades, and two stolen cars.
PEMEX has requested military help in guarding natural gas production wells. A spokesman for the Mexican petroleum company said the organized crime activity is affecting production in the area.
#1
Few mess with PEMEX...this is considered sacred ground since the '30s oil nationalization by President "Tata" Cardenas)...and the petrolero union is nothing to be fooled around with. They have a supply of their own Uzis...
Ten people in northern Mexican states were murdered in ongoing drug and gang related violence which included four people shot to death at a popular nightspot in Juarez.
Nine people died in Durango during an attack on a drug rehabilitation center today in Gomez Palacios in northern Durango.
Two unidentified men were shot and two more were wounded in front of an automotive service facility in Juarez Friday afternoon, according to Mexican news reports. The victims were coming out of the Rapidito's Bip Bip store near the intersection of calles Norzagaray and Arroyo de las VÃboras.
Witnesses say the shooters were riding aboard several pickup trucks, and they fled the scene after the attack. Two men were killed at the scene while another two were wounded.
Two unidentified women were shot to death late Friday night in separate crimes in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, according to Mexican news reports. The victims were handcuffed and shot dead on Calle Mirador, in the Los Arquitos district.
Three men and one woman were shot to death in front of several witnesses in a popular nightclub in Juarez early Saturday morning, say Mexican news reports. The victims were sitting at the same table in the Bar Habana de la Gómez Morin on Avenida Gämez Morin at the Plaza El Trigal commercial center, when armed suspects walked in and shot at the group. Three men and a woman died at the table while a fifth victim was taken to the hospital.
All the victims were in their 20s and two were said to be college students.
Agents with the Baja California state PolicÃa Estatal Preventiva (PEP) seized six assault rifles and nearly a kilo of "ice" in a search in Mexicali Friday just after noon, say Mexican press reports. PEP agents are synonymous with a major crime detective squad.
Inside the residence, agents found six AK-47 assault rifles, 355 cartridges and ten magazines. No suspects were found or arrested.
Two unidentified men were shot to death in their car at a construction site south of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, say Mexican news reports. Reports say the two were trying to sneak into a construction site near the intersection of Nacional highway and calle Capital Mederos south of Monterrey, when they were attacked by a group of armed suspects.
Nine unidentified individuals were shot to death at a drug rehabilitation center in Durango today, say Mexican news reports. The victims were at the Living Force Group, which is a private facility. More than 40 people total stay at the center and were unharmed in the attack.
The attack began at 1400 hrs. Investigators at the scene found 59 spent cartridge casings for AR-15 assault rifles.
#1
Re "kilo of ice": many a time I have been stopped by Federales at nighttime roadblocks, and asked w/o any preliminaries - "Donde esta el hielo!" or "Donde esta el helado (ice cream)!"). The officers of such detachments often wear no uniforms - just blue jeans, snap button shirts, a badge, and a '45 carried/stuck right in the center of their bluejeans - machismo exemplified!
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Intergang warfare in the streets of a small community in Jalisco has claimed the lives of three narcotics gang members Thursday and an unknown number of wounded, according to Mexican news reports.
Officials say members of Los Zetas criminal gang and the Sinaloa Cartel battled in the streets of Yahualica in the Los Altos region Thursday. The fighting has involved an estimated 60 gunman using 5.57mm pistols, AR-15 and AK-47 assault rifles, and hand grenades.
Witnesses report the gunfights started about 2000 hrs. Thursday night when residents heard the sounds of car chases and gunfire, as armed suspects aboard vehicles chased each other near the intersection of calles Guadalupe Victoria and Vallarta, near the town square. Residents locked themselves inside their homes toe escape the gunfire. Some even hide underneath parked cars. Some reports indicate at least five hand grenades were used in the firefight.
Authorities have counted at least 200 bullet holes in various buildings around Yahualica.
Some reports say the gunfight erupted when one side abducted three unidentified individuals, and apparently got away with their victims.
Officials are not certain of the casualty count because some gangs evacuated their dead and wounded. Local police authorities in Yahualica have not intervened in the fighting, leaving state authorities to patrol the streets.
Since Friday, however, one of the gangs have withdrawn towards Zacatecas in a ten luxury vehicle convoy.
KOLKATA: India detained a Pakistan-bound ship carrying undeclared military hardware, including rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns, police said on Saturday.
Given that Pakistan can buy such things on the open market, one wonders whether one of the ISI's pets has decided to to find another source of supply...
The Panama-registered vessel MV Agean Glory sailed from Monrovia, Liberia, to Bangladesh via Mauritius. It then traveled to Calcutta, the police said. The origin of the weapons was not immediately known. The vessel offloaded civilian goods including a car in Kolkata, which also serves as a port for mountainous Nepal, top police official Bhupinder Singh said.
Liberia and Mauritius seem like unlikely places to load weapons, though perhaps Charles Taylor was having a clearance sale ...
Authorities detained the ship on Friday after finding that the clearing agent did not specify that it was carrying weapons -- the information given by the ship captain, Singh said. The police were questioning the crew of the ship near Diamond Harbour in the Bay of Bengal, about 50 kilometres south of Calcutta. Other details were not immediately available.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/27/2010 00:00 ||
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HANGU: Fighter jets pounded Taliban hideouts in upper Orakzai Agency on Saturday, killing 14 Taliban, and injuring eight others, security sources told Daily Times.
Security and local sources said, that the jets first hit Taliban hideouts in Mazid Ghari and Tor Kanri, areas of Ismail Zai tehsil in upper Orakzai, killing eight Taliban and injuring three others.
Two hideouts were also destroyed. Separately, the sources said, the jets also bombed the areas of Kotak and Kot Kalay in upper Orakzai Agency, killing six Taliban and injuring five others. Two Taliban hideouts were also destroyed in the jet fighters' bombing, the sources added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/27/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
No children or women hit? Guess there weren't any Taliban or Al-Qaeda spokespersons around. [sarc]
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
06/27/2010 15:02 Comments ||
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Firing in different areas of Karachi continued as three more people were gunned down on Saturday. Sources said several others were also injured when unknown men opened fire in the areas of Malir, Rizvia Society and Gizri.
According to reports, two political groups exchanged heavy fire in the Azampura and Colony Gate areas of Shah Faisal Colony after which all shops in the area were closed down. Angry people took to the streets and blocked traffic by burning tyres. Police and Rangers rushed to the affected areas.
Meanwhile, unknown assailants shot dead one man in the city's Shamsi Society neighbourhood. The deceased was later recognised as Ata Mohammad.
In another incident of firing, armed men targeted a jeep on Punjab Chowrangi. Three people were injured in the incident. They were rushed to a hospital but one of them succumbed to his injuries. Subsequently, people forcefully closed down shops in the area. Separately, in the Rizvia Society neighbourhood, assailants killed one person.
So far, 120 people, including 25 political workers, have been killed in the month of June.
Twin low intensity bomb blasts hit a CD market in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Saturday wounding four people and creating havoc in the area, police said.
Police said the target of the blasts was one of the busiest music and CD markets in the city centre's Hall Road. Shopkeepers in the area said they had received threatening letters for selling Western movies and objectionable CDs' from unknown persons describing the business as dirty'.
Four people have been wounded in these two blasts. The target was the CD and music market,' Rafiullah, a police officer at the site who goes by one name, told AFP.
Sajjad Bhutta, the city's top administrative official, told reporters at the scene that the bombs were timed devices.
Mudasser Javed, an injured shopkeeper, said he and others like him had received threatening letters warning them to put a stop to the un-Islamic' business.
TV footage showed shopkeepers closing down their stores and running from the scene soon after the blasts.
Update: Seven people were injured in two low-intensity blasts at Lahore biggest electronic market at Hall Road on Saturday.
The first blast occurred near CDs market, Zaitoon Plaza, causing the panicked shoppers and shopkeepers running for cover. After five minutes another blast occurred near Rafi Plaza that further contributed to the panic among the people. The impact of the blasts smashed windowpanes of the nearby shops. The injured were rushed to Meo Hospital while police and relief crew reached the spot. They ordered the people to immediately leave the blasts site.
DCO Lahore Sajjad Bhatta said the blasts were part of conspiracy to spread fear and can be traced back to Al-Hamra Arts Council and Allama Iqbal Town blasts.
A US missile strike has killed four suspected militants in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials say. They said the missile, fired by an unmanned drone, had destroyed a house near Miranshah in North Waziristan. The house had been used by the group of regional Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a security official told the BBC. Two more militants had been injured in the attack.
The US does not generally confirm missile attacks by drones.
WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: Forces from the Wassit-based Quick Response Department arrested two leading members of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) during a battle with the gunmen in the northern part of the province on Saturday, according to a senior security official.
The interior ministry's QRD forces clashed with a group of gunmen from the AQI in the area of al-Shujairiya, al-Suwayra district, (135 km) north of al-Kut city,' Maj. Aziz al-Amara, the QRD commander, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The operation resulted in the capture of Ali Hussein and Yasser Hassan while other gunmen escaped to unknown places,' he added.
Amara said initial investigations with the two men showed that they lead armed groups of Al-Qaeda and wage armed operations against civilians and Iraqi security forces.
Kut, the capital city of Wassit province, lies 180 km southeast of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/27/2010 00:00 ||
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BASRA / Aswat al-Iraq: Policemen in Basra captured six wanted men and liberated a civilian taken hostage during search raids all over the province on Saturday, a local security source said.
The raiding force captured six persons wanted on criminal charges and freed a man taken hostage in the area of al-Ashar, central Basra,' the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
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Indonesia's vaunted "deradicalisation programme" aimed at bringing terrorists back into mainstream Islam has been exposed as a myth by recent arrests of re-offenders, analysts and police said. Senior police now acknowledge that no such programme exists and are issuing increasingly stark warnings that, on the contrary, the mainly Muslim country's prisons are at risk of becoming schools of violent jihad.
The final straw appears to have been the re-arrest Wednesday of Abdullah Sunata, 32, on suspicion of plotting attacks on the Danish embassy and a police parade. He was released from jail last year for good behaviour after serving only a fraction of a seven-year sentence for his role in a 2004 attack on the Australian embassy, which killed 10 people.
One of Sunata's alleged accomplices arrested on the same day last week had also been jailed for the embassy attack, while a third who was killed by police was a former soldier who had been radicalised in prison while serving time for smuggling.
Other recent examples include bomb-maker Bagus Budi Pranoto -- also jailed over the embassy truck bombing, he was released after just four years only to be re-arrested over last year's suicide attacks on luxury hotels in Jakarta.
Within months of Sunata's release, he was allegedly back on the jihadist war path, plotting attacks and helping to organise a new terror cell dubbed "Al-Qaeda in Aceh" under the leadership of Jemaah Islamiyah militant Dulmatin. Police discovered the cell in February and killed Dulmatin in March.
National police spokesman Edward Aritonang said Sunata's case was further evidence that Indonesia's prisons, far from helping to rehabilitate terrorists, risked turning into terrorist "schools". It is time to look at a "new system or method, so the counselling for prisoners truly works and prisons don't become schools" of radicalisation, he said.
Hundreds of terrorists have been convicted, jailed and released since Indonesia was shaken by the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists. With rare exceptions -- notably three of the Bali bombers who were executed in 2008 -- most have been given lenient sentences and even financial help to find jobs and reintegrate into moderate Indonesian society.
Counter-terrorism squad chief Colonel Tito Karnavian complains that the notoriously corrupt correction system effectively provides extremists a sanctuary to preach, recruit and plot. "In prison they can convene, sit and discuss freely and safely, secured by the government," he told reporters earlier this month, adding that Indonesia had "no systematic mechanism" for rehabilitation. "They are able to survive, not only survive but collaborate... We need quite a big budget for prevention and rehabilitation, not only repression."
Recognising the danger, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the creation of a national counter-terrorism body, focusing on prevention and rehabilitation, which will report directly to him. But Karnavian warned that an "extra-judicial body" would be "prone to be politicised" -- a possible reference to Islamic parties in the ruling coalition -- and said police should remain in charge of all counter-terrorism efforts. "As long as the radical ideology is growing and extremism is increasing we have a very huge reservoir for would-be terrorists or suicide bombers," he said.
Noor Huda Ismail, a former extremist who now works directly with terrorist prisoners to bring them back into moderate society, said Indonesia had never had a proper deradicalisation plan. "All they've done so far is be nice with the terrorists in order to squeeze information from them," he told AFP.
The Al-Qaeda in Aceh group's chief alleged ideologue, Aman Abdurrahman, was initially arrested over his involvement in a bomb-making cell back in 2004 and was released in 2008. Analysts who visited him in jail during that period said his prison guards, rather than working to deradicalise him, didn't even know who he was and made no effort to stop him holding "study sessions" with other terrorist detainees. Like Sunata, Abdurrahman is now back behind bars.
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.
Eight Arab, five Pakistani and two Afghan militants were killed when bombs they were making exploded prematurely inside a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.
A US missile strike has killed four suspected militants in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, Pakistani officials say. They said the missile, fired by an unmanned drone, had destroyed a house near Miranshah in North Waziristan. The house had been used by the group of regional Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a security official told the BBC. Two more militants had been injured in the attack.
Indonesia's vaunted "deradicalisation programme" aimed at bringing terrorists back into mainstream Islam has been exposed as a myth by recent arrests of re-offenders, analysts and police said. Senior police now acknowledge that no such programme exists and are issuing increasingly stark warnings that, on the contrary, the mainly Muslim country's prisons are at risk of becoming schools of violent jihad.
