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Today: 59 articles and 188 comments as of 14:39.
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37 people killed in bomb blasts at Pakistan shrine
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Estelita Rodriguez aka Juanita Lopez in "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter" (Died in 1966 at age 38)

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 07/02/2010 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Estelita Rodriguez played Consuela in 'Rio Bravo' (1959) my favorite western.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 07/02/2010 10:17 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Senior U.S. commander restricts Humvee use in Afghanistan
The once-ubiquitous Humvee may become a rare sight in some parts of Afghanistan following a decision by the senior U.S. commander in eastern Afghanistan to restrict the use of the vehicles in the field.

Maj. Gen. John Campbell, commander of Joint Task Force-101, ordered this week that the use of Humvee vehicles outside a military base would have to specifically be approved by a colonel -- one of the most senior field grade positions in the military.

Prior to this, the use of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV, or Humvee) had to be approved by a lower-ranking officer, according to Task Force spokesman Maj. Patrick Seiber.

Seiber said the decision was not specifically in reaction to a number of deadly IED attacks on troops in recent weeks, but is part of trying to improve protection for the force. The Humvee is heavily armored, but its flat bottom and low-to-the-ground profile has made it particularly vulnerable to attacks using improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. In recent years, the military has fielded a new series of armored vehicles with V-shaped hulls to deflect the blast of roadside bombs, but even some of those have been destroyed in large-scale attacks.

Campbell's decision comes amid the release of figures showing that June has been the deadliest month of the war for the coalition across Afghanistan, with 101 coalition troops killed and about 400 U.S. troops wounded.

Casualties due to IED attacks continue to skyrocket. The Pentagon reports that in May 2010, the latest data available, the number of coalition forces -- including Afghans -- that were killed or wounded by IED attacks was 284, more than double the 104 killed or wounded in the same month last year. The number of overall IED attacks reached 1,128, compared to 513 in May 2009. The Pentagon statistics on IEDs include Afghan troop casualties because those units are suffering very high attacks rates, according to the Pentagon.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 07/02/2010 11:33 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  60 US troops killed in June. This is around the average in Iraq at the peak of the guerrilla war there. Afghanistan is no longer a backwater conflict. They had better get those ROE's fixed if they don't want KIA's in the triple digits. Funny how the media's no longer harping on the number of deaths, now that Ogabe's president.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/02/2010 13:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Drop the 'PID' requirement and drop it NOW!

(Requirement to have Pos ID of hostile fire)
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/02/2010 15:49 Comments || Top||

#3  PID is bullshit.I don't care who you are if gunfire comes from your direction at me and doesn't kill me then you are dead as shit.
Posted by: chris || 07/02/2010 19:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Why does it take so long to figure out the obvious--Humvees are anything but bombproof, but what do we constantly do? Patrol in Humvees.

Seriously, I am so weary of hearing stories about this stuff. We have no stated winning strategy and just keep getting picked off. Goodnight U.S. Commanders, your disengenious, slow response in a kill zone part and parcel of a war that keeps grinding on has thoroughly sickened me again.
Posted by: Hugh Jass || 07/02/2010 22:24 Comments || Top||


Afghan governor: Suicide attackers strike Kunduz
An Afghan provincial governor says four suicide bombers have attacked a small inn in northern Afghanistan. Kunduz provincial governor Mohammad Omar said Friday that two suicide bombers blew themselves up and two others entered the guest house Friday morning in Kunduz city.

He says one Afghan policeman was killed and another Afghan policeman and three private security guards working for foreigners were wounded.
Talk about low yield. That's like walking into a bank and robbing the penny tray.

Also in the article:
U.S. and Afghan troops seized a key Taliban figure after a four-hour gunbattle — part of a strategy that NATO officials said Thursday had eliminated more than 100 insurgent leaders in the past four months.

Surprise attacks against the Taliban leadership are carried out mostly by U.S. special operations troops, whose numbers in Afghanistan have tripled in the past year. Between April 1 and June 25, 110 Taliban figures, including shadow governors, commanders and their deputies and bomb makers, have been captured and 32 killed, according to Lt. Col. John Dorrian, an operations spokesman at NATO headquarters in Kabul.

He said another 500 insurgents have been killed or apprehended in the nearly daily operations — largely in the south where the Taliban are strongest. "Intelligence is reporting that the insurgency is having difficulty replacing the leaders who have been taken off the battlefield," NATO chief spokesman Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz said. "One insurgent recently captured told the assault force that captured him that he was ... tired of running."
No sense in dieing tired, Mahmoud. Best to look rested and at your best when SOF comes for you.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2010 00:31 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This might be the incident.
US aid office under attack in Afghanistan
Afghan police said Friday they were battling suspected Taliban militants who entered the office of a US aid organisation in northern Afghanistan.

A large number of police had surrounded the compound of Development Alternatives Inc (DAI) in the northern city of Kunduz, an AFP reporter on the scene said. Gunshots could be heard from inside the compound, he said.

A police officer said "at least three armed Taliban have entered the office", but there was no immediate word on casualties.

Police said they believed that some guards on the gate might have been killed as the militants entered the compound.

The siege began at about 5:30am (0100 GMT). It was not known if there were American citizens inside the compound.

DAI is a so-called "implementing partner" of Washington's international aid arm USAID.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2010 0:55 Comments || Top||


NATO kills over 30 Taliban in Afghan gunbattle
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) said on Thursday its forces had killed at least 31 Taliban fighters and captured a rebel chieftain after a four-hour gunbattle in southern parts of Afghanistan.

After record casualties in June, the military alliance also announced the first death for July, saying a soldier whose nationality was not revealed died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan. NATO said it troops had called in air support during gun battle in southern Helmand province where fighting erupted after rebels attacked soldiers moving in on their compound with machine guns and rockets.

In a statement, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said that the Taliban chief of Naw Zad, a restive district of Helmand, was injured and detained following the fighting. "Afghan and international security forces captured the Taliban district chief of Naw Zad and killed a large number of insurgents during an operation in remote Baghran district in northern Helmand province last night," it said.

ISAF spokesman General Josef Blotz said at least 31 insurgents had been killed in the operation in Baghran. "Throughout the four-hour firefight enemy forces attempted to use improvised explosive devices against the security force," he told reporters, referring to homemade bombs regularly used by the Taliban. However, the Afghan and the coalition forces employed precision air fire and suppressed the enemy, he said.

A huge arms cache and a quantity of opium had been discovered and destroyed, he said. Troops captured several wounded insurgents following the fighting, the ISAF statement said, and no civilian or soldier was hurt. This operation dealt another significant blow to the Taliban network, said Colonel William Maxwell, ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Centre director.

As Afghan and international troops work to weaken the insurgency, President Hamid Karzai has signed a decree launching an Afghan Peace and Reintegration Programme, which has been in the works for months, to lure Taliban foot soldiers off the battlefield. The initiative would attract low- to -midlevel fighters with promises of security, jobs, literacy and vocational training plus development aid for their villages.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  NATO routinely declines to identify captured Taliban leaders for security reasons. But Dawood Ahmadi, spokesman for the governor of Helmand province, said those captured included Mullah Nazar Mohammad, the Taliban district chief of Now Zad, and Mullah Malang, a Taliban commander in Baghran.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2010 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm a waiting for this version of the headline:
"NATO kills over 15,000 Taliban in Afghan Gunbattle."
Posted by: 3dc || 07/02/2010 19:37 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Somali festivities kill 21, wound 42
At least 21 people were killed and 42 wounded in fighting in Somalia, a human rights group said on Thursday.

Fighting between clans left 14 people dead and 24 injured in the village of Huldonyale in central Somalia, the Mogadishu-based Elman rights group said.

Government troops alongside African Union peacekeepers exchanged shells in Mogadishu with al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels, who are waging an Islamist insurgency against the Western-backed government. Seven people were killed and 18 wounded.

The clan fighting was believed to be a continuation of clashes over pasture and water.

"This clash has been recurring for months. It seems there is no sign of a ceasefire agreement between these two neighbouring clans," Ali Yasin Gedi, the vice chairman of Elman, told Reuters.

Somalia has had no effective central government for 19 years and has become a safe haven for Islamist militants and clan fighters. More than 21,000 people have been killed in the violence since the start of 2007 and 1.5 million forced from their homes.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Sudan releases Islamist opposition leader Turabi
[Al Arabiya Latest] Sudanese authorities late on Wednesday released Islamist opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi one and a half months after arresting him and closing his party's mouthpiece newspaper.

Surrounded by journalists and supporters in his house after he was set free, Turabi said the release was as groundless as the arrest.

"There was no legality or procedure that was followed," he told Reuters Wednesday.

Turabi, leader of the Popular Congress Party, was arrested mid-May when security officers took him from his home. A few hours later, the authorities closed his party's newspaper Rai al-Shaab (view of the people) and arrested its Editor-in-chief Abuzerr Ali al-Amin from his house. Amin was later charged with terrorism and espionage.

Two other journalists from the paper, Ashraf Abdel Aziz and Dahab Ibrahim, were also arrested. Aziz and Ibrahim appeared in court afterwards but the judge banned reporting on the case.

The arrests stirred the indignation of the opposition and party members staged protests demanding the release of Turabi, chanting anti-government slogans, and calling for bringing down the regime of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Africa North
Ambush in Sahara kills 11 Algerian police
Al Qaeda insurgents killed 11 Algerian paramilitary police in a desert ambush on Wednesday, a newspaper and a security source said, in the deadliest attack the group has mounted so deep in the Sahara.

The attack could be a sign that the militants are becoming a more potent force in the Sahara desert, a vast and thinly-policed region which security experts say al Qaeda wants to turn into a new battleground.

A convoy of gendarmes, or paramilitary police, was attacked by insurgents at dawn in an ambush in the Tamanrasset region, near Algeria's border with Mali, Algeria's El Watan newspaper reported. There was no official confirmation of the report, but a government security source, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters: "I can confirm the information which was given on the 11 gendarmes."

The scene of the ambush is not close to any of energy exporter Algeria's major oil and gas fields. The ambush took place in the same region where Algeria and some neighbouring states this year set up a joint military headquarters designed to combat the threat from al Qaeda in the Sahara.

Militants fighting under the banner of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have been shifting the focus of their campaign from Algeria's Mediterranean coast, where they are being squeezed out by security forces, to the Sahara. Security experts say al Qaeda is building a base in the desert region that straddles the borders of Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger where its exploits the porous borders, patchy security and networks of drug traffickers.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Britain
Abu Hamza’s son gets 12 months for riot violence
The son of hate preacher Abu Hamza was today sentenced to 12 months youth detention for attacking police officers at a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy.

Yasser Kamel, 20, was caught on camera throwing four missiles at officers during a protest against Israeli military action in Gaza on January 10 last year.

Isleworth crown court heard how the student disguised his face with a scarf and used a stolen police riot shield for protection. A total of £50,000 of damage was caused to shops and cafés in Kensington High Street during the rioting.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wonderful! Isn't he on the dole there? And isn't he an adult?
Posted by: imoyaro || 07/02/2010 22:30 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Chihuahua: Assistant State Attorney General Shot to Death
Google Translate with a hat tip to Nota Roja for the additional details.
An assitant attorney general for the Mexican state of Chihuahua and a close advisor to Chihuahua Attorney General Patricia Gonzälez Rodríguez was found shot to death in Juarez late Wednesday night, according to Mexican news reports.

Sandra Ivonne Salas and her driver, Omar Contreras, were both shot to death aboard their official Dodge Durango following a brief chase with armed suspects.

The attack started just after Salas left her office and continued in the city streets ending near the intersection of calles Jilotepec and Las Torres underneath a bridge.

An unidentified bodyguard was wounded in the assault.

Salas was on temporary assignment evaluating a prosecutor in Juarez. She is the second top Chihuahua state law enforcement official to be murdered in two years.
Posted by: badanov || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  These Cartels have taken parts of Arizona. And this is only the beginning with DC abandoning Arizona. Does any have detailed information regarding Mexicos cartels?
Posted by: Data Please || 07/02/2010 18:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Welcome, Data Please! Look through Rantburg's archives for the last month or so. That's how long badanov has been tracking the situation south of the border. The articles you're interested in will be on the first two pages of the website, filed under Caribbean-Latin America. If you read Spanish fluently, click on the article headline to go to the original article.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/02/2010 19:18 Comments || Top||


Tamaulipas: Torre Cantu's Killers Wore Mexican Navy Uniforms
Google Translate with a hat tip to Nota Roja
Details from the Mexican press are emerging which show that the murder of a Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) politician Tuesday morning was performed with military like precision and may have used inside information, according to Mexican press reports.

Tamaulipas gubernatorial candidate Rodolfo Torre Cantu was shot to death along with four others in his entourage on a stretch of road in Tamaulipas Tuesday morning in an ambush that witnesses say was executed by men wearing Mexican Navy uniforms who were specifically targeting Torres Cantu.

Shortly before 1000 hrs, Torre Cantu left his home for a 20 minute drive to the General Pedro Jose Mendez airport in Cuidad Victoria for his campaign. Just before entering the 6.5 kilometer Soto La Marina road and just in front of the Parque Científico y Tecnológico, the convoy came upon a truck travelling at low speed.

Just ahead another truck or trailer crossed the road, effectively blocking it. The lead truck stopped suddenly causing Torre Cantu's vehicle to collide with it. The trailing Chevrolet Tahoe, carrying part of the security detail narrowly avoided colliding into the lead vehicle of the convoy by swerving to the left and stopping.

From behind two trucks marked as belonging to the Mexican Navy stopped at the rear on either side of the halted convoy, discharging men who were apparently dressed as Mexican sailors.

The security detail exited their vehicle to inform the sailors who it was they were guarding. Torre Cantu also exited his vehicle with his security detail, and at that moment, armed suspects from the lead truck exited their vehicle and open fired on the candidate.

Reports say investigators found between 80 and 120 spent shell casings of various calibers.

The candidate fell mortally wounded on the shoulder of the road.
Reports say that Torre Cantu usually did not travel on the road, preferring to fly and usually had security with him when he did.

Latest Mexican national news report suggest three of the vehicles used in the murder have been found in a rural district of the Guemez municipality.
Posted by: badanov || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Jalisco: State Police Bags Two Bad Guys in Yahualica
Google Translate. References to a previous intergang battle where three gang members died are here.
Jalisco State Police confronted armed suspects in Yahualica said to be members of the Los Zetas criminal gang Wednesday leaving two gang members dead and one wounded, according to Mexican press accounts.

A previous intergang fight left local authorities not to intervene, choosing instead to patrol areas in Yahualica not affected by gang on gang violence.

In the latest confrontation which began at about 1900 hrs. Wednesday, Jalisco State police were fired upon by suspected gang members in a nearby town. Apparently police killed two armed suspects, wounded one and place under arrest three men.

The detainees are: Hernando Luna Franco, 27, Martín Israel Muñoz, 25, and Sergio Guadalupe Díaz Ramírez, 22.

Seized were: two vehicles, two 9mm caliber handguns, an AR-15 assault rifle and an AK-47 assault rifle, and a 9mm caliber submachine gun.

Previous reports agree that Los Zetas were involved in the last two gunfights, but reports now say that additionally the Sinaloa or Valencia criminal gangs were also involved. The issue for criminal organizations is control of interstate highways in the area to move illegal drugs north to the US.

The previous confrontation involved an abduction attempt of three people by one of the gangs.
Posted by: badanov || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Durango: Mexican Army Bags Guns, Drugs, Cars, Bad Guys
Google Translate with a hat tip to Nota Roja for the additional details
Twenty luxury vehicles, a large number of rifles and an unconfirmed number of dead is the toll of an armed confrontation between elements of the Mexican Army and armed suspects in Madero, Durango, Tuesday night, according to Mexican news reports.

Elements of the 10th Military Zone were fired on by armed suspects at the Hotel Madero in Francisco I. Madero, Durango as they arrived to serve a search warrant. Seized in the search were 13 luxury vehicles, including an armored van, 850 doses of cocaine, 61 doses of marijuana, 20 rifles, 62 magazines and four thousand rounds of various calibers. Suspects escaped the military cordon leading to a gunfight and chase through the town. Two people were arrested, a man and a minor boy.

A second battle took place Wednesday afternoon at about 1300 hrs. when a second search warrant was executed by the Mexican Army near the intersection of calles Primero de Mayo and Escuadrón 501. Armed suspects were apparently caught off guard by the appearance of the Mexican army, and escaped by throwing four hand grenades at troops, sparking a second gun battle in the town including the city center near the city hall.

The toll includes ten killed and several wounded, and it remains unofficial. The dead and wounded probably occurred in the second gun battle, according to current reports.
Posted by: badanov || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Sonora: Intergang Battle Toll Reaches 21
Google Translate with an assist from Nota Roja for additional details
An intergang feud near a tiny remote Sonora, Mexico community has claimed the lives of 21 people, according to Mexican news reports.

Last week two government officials of the community of Tubutama, Gerardo Gonzälez Mendez and Sergio Väzquez Diaz were murdered in a remote location north of town June 22nd aboard their official vehicle.
Authorities think these murders may be related to the gun battle between gangs.

According to the Sonora PGJE, the top law enforcement agency of Sonora, the battle started in an unpopulated area between Tubutama and Saric about 15 kilometers to the north of Tubuama.

Reports are the gun battle lasted about six hours.

Tubutama has a population of about 400.

Authorities report the toll of 21 dead, two juveniles arrested, six people seriously wounded and eight vehicles seized. Reports say nine assault rifles and pistols were seized by authorities as well. Authorities acknowledge the death toll may rise as they discover more bodies.

The issue for rival gangs is control of smuggling routes to the US for drugs and immigrants.
Posted by: badanov || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Interesting that Bambi has decided to make 'immigration reform' an issue just as northern Mexico explodes in gang, drug and paramilitary violence. Then again, everything Bambi does is for his own benefit.

This violence has high potential for spilling over our border. The narco-terrorists have already been threatening American police officers in southern border counties. That's going to get worse, and we might see some pitched gun battles on our side.

Then what, Mr. President?

Calling out a thousand National Guard soldiers for administrative duties and showmanship won't cut it.

It's time to secure our border. We can do it a number of ways -- I suggest a stronger Border Patrol, a physical fence where that's practical, and better surveillance and tracking where a fence isn't practical. I suggest augmenting the Border Patrol with army reserve units, not for law enforcement but for logistical support.

But pull your head out of the sand, Mr. President. Time's a-wasting ...
Posted by: Steve White || 07/02/2010 10:56 Comments || Top||

#2  The very term 'immigration reform' is a lie. Obama wants an open border, no holes barred, as do his supporters.
Using info from article, the battle was 34 miles SW of Nogales AZ.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 07/02/2010 12:44 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China will be deploying 998, 170 and 887 to Gulf of Aden. > 1,000 including Navy spec-ops
Posted by: 3dc || 07/02/2010 00:51 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  What the hell does this headline mean? It would be nice to have an article instead of a cryptic headline.
Posted by: gromky || 07/02/2010 1:58 Comments || Top||

#2  FTA: "China will be deploying 998, 170 and 887 to Gulf of Aden. It also reports that the flotilla will have more than 1,000 personnel, including Navy special forces troops. We also find out that 998's displacement is 18,500 tonnes in its mission configuration."

Ship ID Nos. gromky.
Posted by: tipover || 07/02/2010 2:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Naval prOn at the link, also. It means the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy may be for fighting, unlike the US Navy.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 07/02/2010 7:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Or is their intent to get in the way to make an attack on Iran a little more complicated?
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 07/02/2010 7:51 Comments || Top||

#5  It would be nice to have an article instead of a cryptic headline

If you click the cryptic title inside the Rantburg article it will open up the original article that the title was taken from in another browser. In this case, it will probably answer all your questions.
Posted by: gorb || 07/02/2010 9:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Gromky - I don't want to put Fred into a copyright violation situation so rather than re-mis-write some article I just post the link.
Posted by: 3dc || 07/02/2010 11:42 Comments || Top||

#7  Among the interesting tibits in this article is that the Chinese now have their own LCAC. (Air cushion landing vehicle). Pictures of it at the link.

This makes the threat of invading Taiwan much more credible. An 18,000 ton amphibious assault ship is pretty formidable as well.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 07/02/2010 12:09 Comments || Top||

#8  Practicing using their new toys?
Posted by: gorb || 07/02/2010 13:27 Comments || Top||

#9  It is acceptable to quote part of an article under copyright law.

Sometimes I'd like to have an idea of what I'm going to click on before I click on it. Kind of, to know what's going on and to see if it's interesting or not. Sort of the "head line" of the article, if you get my drift. This "head" should be descriptive text. Anyway, crazy idea I had.
Posted by: gromky || 07/02/2010 17:35 Comments || Top||

#10  Also I like to bitch. But hell, who don't?
Posted by: Shipman || 07/02/2010 18:04 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
37 people killed in bomb blasts at Pakistan shrine
Two suicide bombers struck a popular Muslim shrine in Pakistan's second largest city, killing 37 people and wounding 180 in the second major attack in Lahore in a month.

The bombers attacked late Thursday as thousands of people visited the Data Darbar shrine, where a famous Sufi saint is buried.
i.e. not muslim enough
Lahore has experienced a growing number of attacks as Taliban fighters along the northwest border with Afghanistan have teamed up with militant groups once supported by the government in the country's heartland.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2010 00:29 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Muslims must kill, and sometimes infidels are not available.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/02/2010 3:17 Comments || Top||

#2  the fellow buried at the shrine was a mystic who believed that meditation could result in direct communication with or direct experience of the divine each of which is arguably a heresy in Islam.

In addition, many people venerate this mystic which is also arguably a heresy in Islam.

and yes, there are many a potential heresy that atracts thet attention of suicide bombers
Posted by: lord garth || 07/02/2010 9:18 Comments || Top||

#3  Death toll now at 50.
Video at link.
Posted by: tipper || 07/02/2010 11:14 Comments || Top||


Deadly blast hits Sufi shrine in Lahore
Suicide bombers have launched a deadly attack on a Sufi shrine in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

At least 35 people died in the blasts at the popular Data Darbar shrine late on Thursday evening, officials say. At least 175 other people were hurt in the blasts, believed to be the first targeting a shrine in Lahore.

The shrine is largely frequented by members of the majority Barelvi sect, who are seen as heretics by the Taliban. Thousands of people were visiting the shrine at the time, officials say. It holds the remains of a Persian Sufi saint, Abul Hassan Ali Hajvery.

Although no-one has yet said they carried out the attack, Taliban militants and their Punjabi jihadi allies have been involved in several such bombings in the northern Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province. Most of the Taliban belong to the rival Deoband Sunni sect, which strongly disapproves of worship at shrines.

Many are also allied to the Sipah-e-Sahaba, and its armed splinter group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which seeks to turn Pakistan into a Deoband Sunni state.

At least two attackers were involved, although police initially said three explosions had been heard. The impact of the blasts ripped open the courtyard of the shrine. Rescue workers could be seen clambering over the rubble as they carried out the victims.

Khusro Pervez, commissioner of Lahore, said two of the attacks took place in the main courtyard and one in the lower level of the shrine.

The first attacker struck in the underground area where visitors sleep and prepare themselves for prayer, he said. As people fled, a second bomber detonated his explosives in the upstairs area. Officials say they believe the bombers used devices packed with ball-bearings to maximise the impact of their attack.

The attack is the biggest on a Sufi shrine in Pakistan since militant attacks began in 2001.
Posted by: lotp || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Rocket Garbage Truck
This is a captured "garbage truck" captured in Gaza earlier this year by Israeli troops.

The truck is set up to fire nine Kasem rockets and then drive off innocently.

The note pasted on the driver?s door says - "In case of traffic violations, please contact The Palestinian Authority."

The Israelis have evidence of ambulances and emergency vehicles set up the same way.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2010 11:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I wonder what the "Palestinians" could do if they put this much energy into getting their $hit together.
Posted by: gorb || 07/02/2010 13:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Nothing. They have no interest in improving their lot in life.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 07/02/2010 13:49 Comments || Top||

#3  El Paso Department of Sanitation, please...
Posted by: 2sealys || 07/02/2010 14:11 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria detains 400 Kurdish rebels in raids
Syrian security forces detained 400 people in five cities in Syria in an operation against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatist guerrilla group, Turkey's state news agency Anatolian said on Thursday. Turkey has sought the support of its neighbours in the region and the United States in its fight against the outlawed group, which has killed more than 50 Turkish soldiers in the last two months in escalating violence. Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, facing public anger at the government's inability to stem the rising violence ahead of next year's elections, has called on allies to cut off funds for the rebels and extradite suspected militants to Turkey. The PKK is active in Turkey's impoverished southeast as well as Syria and in Iran through an offshoot called the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). Syria and Turkey came to the brink of war in 1998 over Syrian support for the PKK, but political and trade ties between Ankara and Damascus have warmed since then.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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Thu 2010-07-01
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Wed 2010-06-30
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