[TOLONEWS] A senior insurgent leader Jamal Jamal who?
was killed in a joint operation by Afghan and Nato troops in northern Baghlan province Friday, Isaf said.
"An Afghan and coalition security force killed a senior insurgent leader, Jamal, who had ties to both the Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Three other insurgents were killed and two insurgents were detained during the operation in Burkah district of the province," Isaf said in a statement.
"As the security force approached Jamal's location, a group of fighters opened fire on the Afghan and coalition troops. The security force returned fire, killing Jamal and three other insurgents," it said.
Jamal was the second high ranking insurgent official in Burkah district and he was also known as Mullah Zabiullah.
"His cell of terrorists is responsible for a significant number of attacks, including suicide bombings, against Afghan civilians throughout Baghlan and Takhar provinces," the statement said.
The leader himself was personally responsible for recruiting and training Afghans in insurgency operations and targeting Afghan officials for kidnappings and executions. He also played a significant role in linking Taliban and IMU fighters in Baghlan, working as a mediator and coordinating operations between the two networks.
The joint forces have also seized four AK-47s and ammunition in the raid.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[TOLONEWS] Taliban forces of Evil captured and took away 28 local police and 5 national police in northern Faryab province on Wednesday evening, local officials said.
The northern Faryab province parliamentarians said that these local police forces went missing after a clash with the Taliban in Ghurmach district of the province.
The Taliban launched an attack on four check posts of local police in Ghurmach district where 33 local and national police were taken away by bad boys.
They added that both sides have suffered casualties as a result of the festivities but the exact figure is not clear.
"During the festivities, Taliban took away 28 local police and 5 national police in Ghurmach district, local officials as well confirmed the reports," MP Rangina Kargar said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!... Faryab's Governor Mohammadullah Baktash confirms that a number of police forces have vanished from the area but he does not tell about the exact number of the forces.
"A number of the coppers have disappeared, it is unclear if they previously compromised with the Taliban or their ammunition finished," Baktash said.
The parliamentarians said that clash is still going on in the area but the Ministry of Interior rejected the claims.
"I don't confirm the continuation of festivities. Based on the reports, the police retaliated to Taliban's attack. We have casualties but the figure is still unclear," the Ministry of Interior's Spokesman Sediq Sediqi told TOLOnews.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
"A number of the coppers have disappeared, it is unclear if they previously compromised with the Taliban or their ammunition finished," Baktash said.
count the brass and blood spots
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/05/2013 9:30 Comments ||
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[RTTNEWS] At least seven people have been killed and more than ten others injured in a suicide car kaboom on a government convoy in Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu, media reports citing local officials said Sunday.
The attack reportedly targeted a government convoy carrying foreign aid workers. It was not immediately clear whether foreigners were among the casualties in the attack, which is said to have destroyed at least four cars in the targeted convoy.
No group has grabbed credit for the attack yet, but Somali authorities are blaming the al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... krazed killer group. The al-Qaeda aligned outfit is Somalia's most prominent and influential Islamist krazed killer unit. The group, branded as a terrorist organization by the United States and most of the international community, is the military wing of the Islamist movement ousted by Æthiopia-backed Somali forces in 2006.
Until recently, al-Shabaab and other allied groups controlled large areas in southern Somalia where they enforced strict Islamic laws or Sharia. But Somali forces, backed by African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... peacekeepers, managed to seize control of most of the rebels-held regions in recent months, except some pockets in rural southern and central Somalia.
Notably, Sunday's attack came just days ahead of an international conference on Somalia in London. The conference, which opens on Tuesday, will be co-hosted by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and British Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... .
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05/05/2013 10:51 ||
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[Al Ahram] Twelve alleged Black Bloc members were incarcerated You have the right to remain silent... Friday night for attacks on Egypt's High Court in downtown Cairo, the deputy of the Prosecutor-General of North Cairo Court Wael Hassan tells Ahram Online.
The suspects were arrested within the High Court perimeter and are believed to belong to the black-clad anarchist-inspired youth group opposed to Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Hassan details to Ahram Online that the 12 were referred to investigation Saturday for their alleged involvement in inciting violence around the High Court area and face charges of vandalism and rioting.
A number of masked young men reportedly attempted to attack the High Court Friday evening, tossing Molotov cocktails at the courthouse and clashing with street vendors near the area.
Black Bloc made its first appearance on the eve of the second anniversary of Egypt's January 2011 revolution with the primary aim of fighting the Moslem Brüderbund, from which President Mohamed Morsi hails. Members of the group typically dress in black and mask their faces.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Clashes erupted in the Libyan capital on Friday between crowds demonstrating against militias in the city and supporters of a law to exclude Qadaffy-era officials from top government jobs, an AFP journalist said.
Several hundred people gathered in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... 's central Algeria Square to protest against militias that have been laying siege to the justice and foreign ministries to call for the sacking of officials from the ousted regime of Muammar Qadaffy ... one of those little rainstorms from the Arab Spring...
Protesters waved placards reading "The era of the militias is over" and "Attacks on the ministries are attacks on the Libyan people" as well as "No to weapons, yes to dialogue."
The crowd marched to Martyrs' Square where they clashed with demonstrators calling for the adoption of the law to exclude Qadaffy-era officials from top government posts, although no one was hurt.
The main demonstration then left the square for the prime minister's office to "express Tripolitans' solidarity with the government and the legitimate authorities in the country," an organizer said.
Libya's army had taken up positions earlier on Friday at strategic sites around the capital, and soldiers in pickup trucks mounted with machineguns were also deployed on Martyrs' Square ahead of the protests.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Senate, the partisans of Honorius went for their knives and the partisans of Stilicho went for the doors... in the eastern city of Benghazi, gunnies waving guns broke up a protest by a group demonstrating against the sieges of government ministries in Tripoli, activist Mabrouka al-Mesmari said.
"There were 15 of us at the demonstration. A group of armed gunnies came and stopped us from gathering and threatened us with their weapons," she said.
Gunmen in Tripoli have encircled the Foreign Ministry since Sunday and the justice ministry since Tuesday, to demand that the General National Congress (GNC) adopt a bill that would purge former officials of the ousted regime of Muammar Qadaffy.
The same groups, most of them former rebels who fought to oust Qadaffy in 2011, briefly occupied the finance ministry on Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Five Islamist jacket wallahs on Saturday targeted a military patrol near Gao in northern Mali, leaving two Malian soldiers and the attackers dead, a Malian military source said.
Spending five lives to get two? Not terribly efficient...
"A Malian military patrol was in the village of Hamakouladji (40 kilometers/25 miles north of Gao) this Saturday," the source who requested anonymity told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"Jihadists blew themselves up as (the patrol) passed. Two Malian troops were killed on the spot. Five jihadists also died," said the source in Gao, north Mali's main town.
La Belle France launched a military intervention in the west African country in January to quash al-Qaeda-linked groups that had taken control of the north.
The French-led campaign destroyed the bases and installations of armed Islamist groups in northern Mali, leaving them unable to conduct coordinated operations, but they are still capable of small-scale attacks against Malian and French soldiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[Nigerian Tribune] NO fewer than 39 people were reportedly killed in Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State on Friday night in a clash between Christians and Moslems at a funeral ceremony.
According to reports, residents said a funeral procession for one of the traditional rulers in Aku Aka of Wukari's domain, made up mainly of Christian faithful, was passing through a predominantly Moslem area of the town, when the violence broke out.
Sunday Tribune also gathered that the funeral was being held by the predominantly Jukun people of Taraba State who were said to have sang songs and rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud that angered members of the Moslem community when they got to the territory of the latter.
The procession was also said to have been resisted by the Moslem community because they forbade it passing through a particular area "since it was a Friday."
It was further learnt that a 24-hour curfew was, thereafter, imposed on the town by the State Police Command.
Agence La Belle France Presse (AFP) quoted a rescue worker as having said that 20 bodies had been collected as of afternoon of Saturday, while efforts continued to locate more bodies.
"We are still going round the town in search of more bodies," the rescue worker, who reportedly asked not to be named, said.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Joseph Kwaji, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed that 39 bodies had been recovered, while 50 other people were maimed.
He also said more than 80 houses were razed, but gave the assurance that the situation had been brought under control, adding that police were "awaiting a comprehensive report" over the violence.
Also contacted, the chairman of the local government area, Mr. Dan-Azumi Agbu, told Sunday Tribune on telephone that there were casualties during the crisis, but that he was not in a position to give the figure of the victims.
He, however, said the situation had been put under control by security agents, adding that those affected, especially the dear departed and injured, had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jalingo, "according to the directive of the acting governor of the state earlier received this morning."
Efforts to speak with the medical director, of the FMC, Jalingo, Dr. Inusa Wiza, over the state of the injured persons proved abortive as he was said to be battling alongside other doctors to save the lives of some of the injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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Posted to contrast with the piece on the same news that Fred posted. Read this Irish Times version and you'd never know the religious dimension of the problem. Maybe that's why the people in Europe (and the U.S.) don't know about what's happening -- the MSM doesn't tell them...
Clashes between rival ethnic groups have killed at least 30 people in eastern Nigeria's Taraba state since they erupted yesterday, police said.
Members of the Jukun ethnic group were marching through the small commercial town of Wukari to a funeral when an argument broke out with local Hausa and Fulani youths, which quickly degenerated into pitched battles with guns and machetes. Attackers also set fire to around 30 houses, police said.
"Now we are in full control, although the crisis claimed 30 lives," police spokesman for Taraba state Joseph Kwaji said, adding that 40 suspects had been arrested.
Taraba state is part of Nigeria's volatile "Middle Belt", where its largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north meet.
That's where they 'meet', you see, that's all. Much like where the suburbs meet the city, it's just another line on a map. But the violence in the Middle Belt has nothing to do with religion, no sir Senator...
The Middle Belt often sees violence between semi-nomadic, cattle-keeping communities like the Fulani and settled farming peoples like the Jukun over land disputes. Communal violence has also flared this year in Plateau state, which borders Taraba.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Four coppers were severely injured in an attack on law enforcers allegedly by Jamaat-Shibir activists in the capital's Motijheel yesterday, nearly half an hour before the rally of the BNP-led 18-party alliance began there.
The victims are Sub-Inspector KM Azizul Huq, 40, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ekram Hossain, 35, and constables Ashraful Islam, 25, and Hasinur Rahman, 35, of Motijheel Police Station.
Hasinur suffered stab wounds to the head and forehead and received other injuries elsewhere in the body.
Unable to speak, he was undergoing treatment at the neurosurgery unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
The other three were admitted to Rajarbagh Police Lines Hospital.
The law enforcers came under attack around 1:30pm, when they asked the Jamaat-Shibir men not to take out sticks and other weapons, hundreds of which they had kept in a van near Pubali Filling Station, witnesses said.
On information, other police officials came in and rushed them to the hospitals.
"Without provocation, several hundred people swooped on police while they were on duty," said Nazmul Alam, DMP deputy commissioner of Motijheel division.
Asked about the reason for police inaction following the attack, he said, "We did not take action to honour the opposition's rally and avert festivities."
Azizul Huq told The Daily Star, "When we saw the sticks and other weapons in the vehicle, our seniors had requested them not to take them out so that they could not use the weapons to attack anyone."
He said the attackers belonged to Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and its student wing Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... as they had many banners demanding release of Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... and other Jamaat leaders.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe since they are opposed to Westernization, they should throw away their cell phones and quit posting their meetings on Facebook?
How about shutting down their webpage and their computers?
These clowns are nearly as hypocritical as the Enviroweinies who protest global warming and then build a big bonfire and leave trash everywhere.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/05/2013 11:22 Comments ||
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#2
I'd be content if the RAB treated them half as well as the RAB treats the BCP.
[Bangla Daily Star] Rapid Action Battalion personnel incarcerated Book 'im, Mahmoud! three Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... leaders and a member in the capital and seized 22 hand bombs, a revolver and a huge number of jihadi books from their possession early Saturday.
The arrestees are Nazrul Islam, 53, Jamaat ameer of Chapainawabganj district unit and also the principal of a school, Phulkuri Islamic Academy, in the district; Abdul Latif, 48, baitul maal (finance) secretary of the unit and also a teacher of local Birshreshtha Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir College; Md Abu Bakar, 42, nayeb-e-ameer of Feni district unit; and Shahjahan, 40, a member of the party's Chapainawabganj unit.
Acting on a tip-off, Rab personnel conducted a drive at a house at Uttara sector-4 around 2:30am and arrested Nazrul, Latif and Shahjahan along with 10 hand bombs, one foreign-made revolver, three bullets and Jihadi books, Director of Rab's legal and media wing Commander Habibur Rahman said at a press briefing.
A team of Rab-3 arrested Abu Bakar conducting a drive at Hotel Asia International in Motijheel of the capital around 3:00am. They also recovered 12 hand bombs and books of jihad from his room, he said.
Of them, Nazrul is an accused of six cases while Latif of one case, the Rab official said adding that all the cases were filed with Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station.
The trio came to Dhaka to take part to the rally organised by the 18-party alliance Saturday afternoon, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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Officials with the Puebla state attorney general's office say they have detained three individuals who were planning an attack on Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto Sunday, according to Mexican news accounts.
According to a report which appeared on the website of El Mundo de Cordoba the three men were detained Saturday in Primera Privada Francisco Villa in Tlaxcalcingo, Puebla state after police were tipped off to the plan of attack.
Detained were Ivan Izazola Vazquez, an engineering graduate of the Universidad Tecnologica de Tehuacan, Eduardo Salazar Vazquez and Xavi Vazquez.
According to officials in the Puebla state Procuraduria General de Justicia del Estado, both Eduardo Salazar Vazquez and Xavi Vazquez were detained at a private villa with devices used to make Molotov cocktails. The plan was revealed when the alleged ringleader, Izazola Vazquez, tried to buy more materials but was instead reported through the local emergency phone system.
According to reports, Izazola Vazquez is the member of the Puebla Revolucion 2013 movement, which along with YoSoy132 student movement which began last summer, had been planning a protest march against Pena and his national government later in the afternoon in Zocalo square.
Members of both organizations have been scrubbing "more aggressive" comments from Facebook pages in the wake of the detention of Izazola Vazquez. Those organizations have also disclaimed any connection to the planned attack.
According to the report, the plan was to attack Pena and a number of Mexican officials during Cinco de Mayo celebrations in a convoy which will begin at 1100 hrs Sunday.
The planned attack comes at the end of a difficult 10 days for President Pena. A visit from US President Barak Obama ended with Obama refusing to address his government's role in the Fast and Furious government sanctioned gun running scandal.
One of Pena's social programs, La Cruzada Contra la Hambre or Crusade Against Hunger is in deep trouble with the national Chamber of Deputies when it was found that officials in Veracruz state have been using the program for political purposes. That revelation has raised calls for the resignation of his Secretaria de Desarrollo Social (SEDESOL) Rosario Robles.
Another victim of those revelations is the stalled legislative agenda from the Pacto Por Mexico, which all three major political parties signed on to at the start of Pena's term last December.
Yo Soy 132 is a student movement begun during Pena's presidential campaign in which Pena campaign officials identified 131 students who participated in a particularly raucous demonstration and demanded they be disciplined.
The Yo Soy 132 movement now claims the three detainees are provocateurs in their midst.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com
#1
Golly, President Obama refused to address, ie. admit to Fast and Furious? It seems to me the next move is for the Mexican attorney general to file a case directly with the U.S. Supreme Court, as nothing less will get our beloved president's attention.
On May 23, 2012, the movement released its manifesto. An excerpt from it states:
"First we are a nonpartisan movement of citizens... we do not express support of any candidate or political party, but rather respect the plurality and diversity of this movement's participants. Our wishes and demands are centered on the defense of Mexicans' freedom of expression and their right for information... We are a movement committed to the country's democratization, and as such, we hold that a necessary condition for this goal is the democratization of the media...
However:
On June 11, 2012, a group of protesters who named themselves GeneraciónMX claimed they were part of Yo Soy 132 and announced their departure, claiming that they perceived that the movement favored the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution and its candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The leaders of the movement, however, stated that they are nonpartisan, although López Obrador has championed their cause and El Universal published a photo of his son with a T-shirt of Yo Soy 132. Moreover, the protestors of GeneraciónMX stated that the leftist participants of Yo Soy 132 treated the movement as their own...
[Pak Daily Times] A candidate running for parliament in next week's historic election was injured on Saturday as his vehicle hit a roadside kaboom in the troubled northwest, officials said. Raj Mohammad, a National Assembly candidate from the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... , was on his election campaign in the Lower Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers... when his vehicle hit an IED. "Raj Mohammad and his driver were maimed in the attack and their vehicle was badly damaged," Wali Mohammad, a local government official told AFP. "The victims are out of danger and had no life threatening wounds," he said. Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa spent the day shopping for new underwear. Tonight was going to be a special occasion... two people were maimed in a grenade attack on the provincial office of JI on Saturday night. According to police, JI candidate Akhtar Baloch had dismounted his vehicle when two people hurled a grenade at the provincial office of JI. In a separate incident, an election office of Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) was attacked in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. . Police said that around five kilogrammes of explosives were planted outside a PTI area office, which went kaboom! in the early hours of the morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Three people were killed and 35 others maimed in twin kabooms near a local party office in the southern city of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... late Saturday, police said, ahead of next week's historic elections.
The two bombs went kaboom! within 20 minutes of each other near an office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... (MQM) in the middle class neighborhood of Azizabad, senior police official Saleem Akhtar Siddiqui told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"We can confirm that three people have died in the twin blasts while 35 have been maimed. The maimed have been admitted to different hospitals," said Suresh Kumar, secretary of the health department of Sindh province.
No MQM workers were identified among the dead and maimed, Siddiqui said.
A front man for MQM, Qamar Mansoor, said a rally had been planned in the area hit by the Saturday blasts, but would now be postponed and a day of mourning observed instead.
Pakistain will elect its new government for the next five years in polls on May 11. The election of the national and regional assemblies will mark the first time a civilian government has completed a full term and handed over to another, in a country that has been ruled by the military for half its existence.
Campaigning has been marred by Taliban threats and attacks, which have killed 66 people since April 11, according to an AFP tally.
On Friday, national assembly candidate Saddiq Zaman Khattak was rubbed out along with his three-year-old son after praying in a mosque in the city of Karachi.
Khattak was a businessman and a candidate for the Awami National Party (ANP), the leading secular party in Pakistain's ethnic Pashtun northwest.
Earlier on Saturday a candidate running for parliament was injured when his vehicle hit a roadside kaboom in the troubled northwest, officials said.
In a separate incident, an election office of the cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the brightest knife in the national drawer... 's Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) party was attacked in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. .
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] At least eight snuffies were killed and three hideouts destroyed in security forces' action against Islamic fascistiin Orakzai Agency ... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers... on Saturday, while faceless myrmidonsrubbed out a tribal leader in Khyber Agency.
According to details, security forces conducted operations against Islamic fascistiin different areas of Upper Orakzai Agency, including Qismat Sanga and Sheen Qamar. The forces engaged the suspected hideouts of snuffies with heavy artillery fire and destroyed three of them, killing eight bad boys.
In Baizrot, a landmine by the roadside went off, but no loss of life was reported. Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, Gloria slowly backed away from the eight-foot bull frog. If the creature croaked she would surely be deafened... in the Sanober area of Tehsil Bara, Khyber Agency, faceless myrmidons barged into the house of local tribal leader Haider Khan and fled after shooting him.
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[An Nahar] A U.N. official said on Saturday that violence at the site of a north Iraq protest in late April killed up to eight children and maimed up to 12 others.
Marzio Babille, Iraq representative of UNICEF, said in an emailed statement that several of the injured children had received severe gunshot wounds.
"UNICEF has received substantial and credible information that up to eight children have been killed and up to 12 others seriously injured during violence ... near the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on 23 April 2013," Babille said.
"Among those reported to have been injured -- all boys between the ages of 14 and 17 -- several were said to have received severe gunshot wounds."
Iraqi security forces moved on Sunni anti-government protesters near the town of Hawijah in Kirkuk province on April 23, sparking festivities that killed 53 people.
Dozens more died in subsequent unrest across the country that included Dire Revenge™ attacks targeting security forces, raising fears of a return to the all-out sectarian conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives between 2006 and 2008.
The late April violence was the deadliest so far linked to protests that broke out in Sunni areas of Shiite-majority Iraq more than four months ago.
The Sunni protesters have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, and criticized authorities for allegedly targeting their community with wrongful detentions and accusations of involvement in terrorism.
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05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad told CNN Sunday morning that Israels airstrike on a Syrian military research facility was a declaration of war.
Al-Mekdad told CNN that Syria would retaliate, though he did not specify exactly how or when.
Officials and activists have said Israel targeted highly accurate, Iranian-made guided missiles that Syria may have been sending to Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.
An intelligence official in the Middle East spoke with the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, confirming that Israel targeted Fateh-110 missiles in Damascus, Syria, Sunday morning, the second attack in three days.
An Israeli military spokesman declined to comment when questioned by CNN, but CNN points out that Israel has said before it would stop any transfer of weapons to Hezbollah.
A senior Israeli defense official, not authorized to speak to the media, told CNNs Sara Sidner on condition of anonymity: We are watching everything when it comes to the movement of these types of weapons. We have the means to do that.
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/05/2013 10:50 Comments ||
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#4
Syria is just holding on against the rebelsfreedom fightersoppositionMB (Saudi proxy) ...whatever they are. Opening a second front would be suicidal.
#11
Personally I'm more concerned about China + Iran - Iff Baby Assad goes to war agz Israel, IMO his Russian + other backers are quite likely to cut off his existential supply of $$$ + arms.
In addition, despite Iran deeming both Syria + Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon as "Iranian territory", + despite a war wid Israel being poten what he needs to break Iran's control, he has to weigh agz the risk of a Syrian-Israeli mil conflict destroying his regime, A SCENARIO WHICH NO ONE REALLY WANTS.
As long as Israel targets Iran's delivery of "50,000" FAJIR missles + other arms to Paleo + Hezbollah Militants, I believe Assad will covertly ignore Israel's strikes despite any rhetoric to the contrary.
#12
JM has it right. Iran will try to get things through with "Quantity" rather than have their precious babAssad risk death from an airstrike. They've poured to much into Syria at this point to lose it over this.
Posted by: Charles ||
05/05/2013 20:39 Comments ||
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#13
De latest ... ...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > IRAN CALLS FOR [regional] STAND AGZ ISRAEL AFTER SYRIA ATTACK, but sezzes no need for any direct military intervention.
* TOPIX > [Daily Mirror.UK] IRAN SENDS ARMY INTO SYRIA, REPUBLICAN GUARD TO HELP ASSAD AS ISRAEL BOMBS SYRIA.
* SAME > [Xinhuanet] IRAN CONDEMNS ALLEGED ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE ON SYRIA, SAYS READY TO HELP TRAIN SYRIAN ARMY, agz the wily dastardly Israelis.
* SAME > ANALYSIS: ISRAEL READY FOR LARGER MILITARY ROLE IN MIDDLE EAST.
BERIUT, Lebanon A series of powerful explosions rocked the outskirts of Damascus early Sunday morning, which Syrian state television said was the result of Israeli missile attacks on a Syrian military installation.
If true, it would be the second Israeli airstrike in Syria in two days and the third this year.
The airstrike that Israeli warplanes carried out in Syria overnight on Thursday was directed at a shipment of advanced surface-to-surface missiles from Iran that Israel believed was intended for Hezbollah, American officials said Saturday. That strike was aimed at disrupting the arms pipeline that runs from Iran via Syria to Hezbollah, the militant Lebanese organization, and it highlighted the mounting stakes for Hezbollah and Israel as Syria becomes more chaotic.
Iran and Hezbollah have both backed President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, now in its third year. But as fighting in Syria escalates, they also have a powerful interest in expediting the delivery of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in case Mr. Assad loses his grip on power and Syria ceases to be an effective channel for funneling weapons from Iran.
Going to stuff the channel just in case...
The missiles that were the target of the Israeli raid had been shipped from Iran and were being stored in a warehouse at Damascus International Airport when they were struck, according to an American official.
Should have done FedEx direct to the Bekaa...
Iran has sought to use the threat of a Hezbollah missile attack against Israeli territory as a means of building up its ally and deterring Israel from conducting airstrikes on Iranian nuclear installations that Israeli and American officials believe are part of an Iranian nuclear weapons program.
In Lebanon, some analysts said they believed that a strong Hezbollah could also emerge as a powerful ally for Mr. Assad if he is forced to abandon Damascus, the Syrian capital, and take refuge in a rump Iranian-backed state on the Syrian coast, a region that abuts the Hezbollah-controlled northern Bekaa Valley.
Pencilneck wouldn't want to be that close to the Joooz. That's definitely reach out and touch someone distance...
The relationship between Hezbollah and the Assad regime is stronger now, said Talal Atrissi, a professor at Lebanese University in Beirut who has good relations with Hezbollah. If Mr. Assad falls, Hezbollah knows the axis of Syria, Hezbollah and Iran will be greatly weakened, he said.
Israel, for its part, has repeatedly cautioned that it will not allow Hezbollah to receive game changing weapons that could threaten the Israeli heartland even if a new Syrian government takes power.
As the Obama administration dithers considers how to dissuade Mr. Assad from ordering a chemical weapons attack the use of such weapons, the White House has said, would cross a pink blur red line Israel, by striking the warehouse, is clearly showing that it is prepared to stand behind the red lines it has set.
On Friday, SANA, the official Syrian news agency, reported an attack on the Damascus airport by Syrian rebels firing rockets at an aircraft and fuel dump an account that American officials say may have been intended to obscure the fact that the target was a warehouse full of missiles.
An American official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing intelligence reports, said the targeted shipment consisted of Iranian-made Fateh-110s a mobile, accurate, solid-fueled missile that has the range to strike Tel Aviv and much of Israel from southern Lebanon, and that represents a considerable improvement over the liquid-fueled Scud missile. Two prominent Israeli defense analysts said the shipment included Scud Ds, a missile that Syrians have developed from Russian weapons with a range of up to 422 miles long enough to reach Eilat, in southernmost Israel, from Lebanon.
Syrian forces loyal to Mr. Assad have used Fateh-110 missiles against the Syrian opposition. Some American officials are unsure whether the new shipment was intended for use by Hezbollah or by the Assad government, which is believed to be running low on missiles in its bloody civil war. But one American official said the warehouse that was struck in the Israeli attack was believed to be under the control of operatives from Hezbollah and Irans paramilitary Quds Force.
Hezbollah is now believed to have more missiles and fighters than it had before its 2006 battle with Israel, when Hezbollah missiles forced a third of Israels population into shelters and hit as far south as Haifa. A Pentagon official said in 2010 that Hezbollahs arsenal was believed to include a small number of Fateh-110s, and additional shipments would add to Hezbollahs striking power.
In carrying out Fridays raid, Israeli warplanes fired air-to-ground weapons, apparently staying clear of Syrian airspace and operating in the skies over neighboring Lebanon.
Though if they had intruded on Syrian airspace it wouldn't have mattered; the Syrian anti-air defenses are pretty much useless and the Syrian air force will not come out to play...
A spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to acknowledge the attack, saying only in a statement, Israel is determined to prevent the transfer of chemical weapons or other game-changing weaponry by the Syrian regime to terrorists, especially to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In late January, Israel carried out a similar airstrike in Syria, which it also refused to publicly confirm, that used similar tactics, including a route over Lebanon, according to a former senior American official. The January attack was against a convoy carrying SA-17 antiaircraft weapons, which were supplied by Russia. The transfer of those weapons to Hezbollah would jeopardize the Israeli Air Forces ability to operate over Lebanon.
On Sunday, the Syrian government said the missile struck a military complex at Jamraya, a base Damascus said Israel attacked in January. Large blasts sent towering plumes of flame and smoke into the night sky above Mount Qasioun, which towers over downtown Damascus, according to residents and video posted by opposition activists.
The area is home to an array of Syrian military facilities, including the headquarters of the Armys Fourth Division, as well as military research centers. Jamraya is on the far side of the mountain. Syrias Ikhbariya television, a state-owned channel, asserted that Israeli had carried out the strikes.
The new Israeli attack on the Center for Scientific Research in Jamraya in the Damascus suburbs confirms the organic link between terrorist groups and the Israeli enemy, the station said. The government has long said that the uprising against it was fueled by foreign-backed terrorists and served Israeli and American interests.
Israeli officials had no comment on the explosions. Nor did American officials, who signaled that the United States did not carry out the attack.
They are definitely going after military facilities on or around Qasioun, said Andrew J. Tabler, an expert on Syria as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. There are a lot of research and military facilities there that are tied into the command and control structure of the regime.
It is unprecedented and something all of Damascus can see, he added, stressing that it would likely have an important political impact in Syria.
Suggesting that Pencilneck isn't the strong horse anymore...
President Obama, who is traveling in Central America, said Israel was entitled to defend itself from its enemies.
The Israelis, justifiably, have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, he told the Spanish-language TV station Telemundo.
I'm a little surprised he put himself on the line...
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2013 00:03 ||
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#1
Prez Obama's 'israel was justified' comment would not be made except that the saudis, qataris, arabemirates and a few others have told Obama bluntly that they want israel or the usa to take out Iran asap
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/05/2013 0:34 Comments ||
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#4
The Bekaa Valley is *not* adjacent to the Alawi heartland, Mount Lebanon and the back-country of Tripoli lie in between. That's part of why Homs is so important, and why there's a nasty sub-war that keeps breaking out in Tripoli and environs.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/05/2013 7:04 Comments ||
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#5
This kind of thing would never occur if we had a President like Jimmy Carter in office. Oh wait ...... my bad.
#6
Mitch (#4) - I always like maps, so I google mapped Bekka Valley and with the terrain feature turned on, it looks like Rt. 4 runs from Homs straight down the Bekka Valley. Terrain makes better borders than straight lines drawn by 19th century Englishmen.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/05/2013 9:08 Comments ||
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#7
the use of such weapons, the White House has said, would cross a pink blur "salmon line"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/05/2013 9:41 Comments ||
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#8
would cross a pink blur "salmon line"
Hey!
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/05/2013 14:06 Comments ||
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#9
*sets hook, locks reel and drag and starts reeling in...*
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/05/2013 14:43 Comments ||
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#10
Terrain makes better borders than straight lines drawn by 19th century Englishmen
Explosions shook Damascus early on Sunday and Syrian state television said Israeli rockets had struck a military research centre on the outskirts of the capital.
The blasts occurred a day after an Israeli official said his country had carried out an air strike targeting a consignment of missiles in Syria. The research centre hit on Sunday was also targeted by Israel in January.
"The new Israeli attack is an attempt to raise the morale of the terrorist groups which have been reeling from strikes by our noble army," Syrian television said, referring to recent offensives by President Bashar al-Assad's forces against rebels.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights quoted eyewitnesses in the area as saying they saw planes in the sky at the time of the explosions. It said the blasts hit the Jamraya military centre and a nearby ammunition depot.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials on Sunday's explosions. "We don't respond to this kind of report," an Israeli military spokeswoman told Reuters.
[Al Ahram] The bodies of at least 62 murdered residents have been found in a Sunni neighbourhood of the Syrian city of Banias, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.
"The bodies of dozens of citizens killed on Friday during an assault by the army and Alawite members of the National Defence Forces in the Sunni neighbourhood of Banias were discovered on Saturday," the Observatory said.
"We have identified 62 citizens by their names, photos, or videos, including 14 children, and the number could rise because there are dozens of citizens who are still missing."
The mass killing is the second "massacre" to be reported in the Banias area this week.
On Thursday, the Observatory said at least 50 people had been killed in the Sunni village of Bayda, south of the coastal city of Banias.
"Witnesses from the village say no less than 50 non-combatants were killed, including women and kiddies," the group said.
"Some were summarily executed, shot to death, stabbed or set on fire."
After the deaths, which were reported on Friday, regime forces began shelling several Sunni neighbourhoods of Banias, prompting residents to flee the area early on Saturday.
"Hundreds of families are fleeing Sunni neighbourhoods in Banias in fear of a new massacre," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
"They started fleeing at dawn this morning (Saturday) from Sunni neighbourhoods in the south of the city towards Tartus and Jableh," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/05/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The bodies of at least 62 murdered residents have been found in a Sunni neighbourhood of the Syrian city of Banias, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.
