Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/28/2014 11:06 Comments ||
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#3
When Mrs. Besoeker and I are shopping and the two of us get separated, I generally try to find someone like Kathryn to chat up. Invariably the wife shows up in a minute or two.
Bring our boys home now and let Karzai have a Najibullah moment. It's the only way these jokers are ever going to learn...
A Taliban fighter identified only as Sadiqullah was freed despite his capture last May in Helmand with IED-making equipment, including several hundred feet of wire, alligator clips, electrical parts for triggers, and yellow jugs typically used as homemade explosives.
"The [Afghan Review Board] is releasing back to society dangerous insurgents who have Afghan blood on their hands."
Afghani officials freed 37 insurgents and Taliban fighters with "blood on their hands" in what the Pentagon called a "major step backward" for the rule of law in the war torn nation. The hardened fighters were among 88 prisoners who were being held by the U.S. and being transferred to the emerging Afghan criminal justice system. U.S. authorities said many had directly participated in attacks that wounded or killed scores of U.S. military personnel and Afghan citizens, yet were freed by the Afghan Review Board.
"The ARB is releasing back to society dangerous insurgents who have Afghan blood on their hands," the United States Forces-Afghanistan said in a statement. "This extra-judicial release of detainees is a major step backward in further developing the rule of law in Afghanistan."
Many of those freed were Taliban fighters who were connected by forensic evidence to specific IED attacks. Several were captured in possession of bomb materials and some even admitted taking part in attacks on coalition forces. At least two had been captured, freed and recaptured.
"These guys have all been caught, clearly engaged in activities designed to kill people," said retired U.S. Army Lt. Col Tony Shaffer, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies. "There is zero justification for releasing them."
Among the detainees freed over U.S. objections were:
Haji Abdullah, described as a "high-level foreign fighter facilitator" who helped mount the Aug. 16, 2012 attack that brought down a U.S. helicopter.Abdullah escorted Pakistani and Arab suicide bombers into the area to facilitate their attacks, and directed a cell of 10 fighters which carried out attacks ordered by the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Mohammad Khan, a Taliban commander who coordinated suicide bomber missions, one of which killed a U.S. soldier and wounded four more.
Habibulla Abdul Hady, a Taliban fighter linked to multiple IED attacks in Kandahar.
Nek Mohammad, a bomb expert who transferred money to Al Qaeda before he was captured last May in possession of bomb making materials.
Akthar Mohammad, a suspected Taliban commander who planned and conducted numerous attacks on U.S. and Afghan forces.
"Khalil," a Haqqani network operative and suspected member of a Taliban cell captured last July in Kandahar. In addition to testing positive for trace amounts of explosives, he failed a polygraph test that asked if he had been involved in attacks on coalition forces.
Nurullah, a suspected Taliban commander who carried out bomb and rocket attacks against coalition forces that killed at least one U.S. service member and injured four more.
Shaffer said the freed fighters will almost certainly return to the battlefield, continuing to undermine the emerging civilian government.
"We have sacrificed 12 years of blood and treasure to help secure a stable future for the Afghan people," Shaffer said. "By doing this, they are not only undermining the security investment of NATO and the Afghani forces, they are increasing the likelihood that these guys will come back and attack their governance when we leave."
He speculated that the decision had likely come down from President Hamid Karzai, who has increasingly tried to show his independence from the coalition.
"He's trying to play both sides against the middle," Shaffer said. "He's trying to look like he's not close to us. It will blow up in his face."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] a government battalion has today started an operation to cleanse illegal roadblocks between the Somalia's capital and Afgoye district.
The operation started early Monday morning and the road blocks are said to be manned by men in Government dresses.
The operation is said to have been successful as the troops managed to have remove several road blocks.
Top government officials led the mission to the cleanup up exercise as the lower Shabelle region experiences the rising road blocks which have halted the movement of vehicles in and out of the region.
However few vehicles have been spotted using the road from Mogadishu to Afgoye after yesterday's strike by the public commuters.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] A member of Somali rebel group al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... was killed Sunday by a missile fired by a suspected drone, a rebel commander said, blaming the U.S. for the strike. We had this yesterday. This is more detail.
Abu Mohammed told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that Sahal Iskudhuq, a bully boy commander who was believed to be close to al-Shabaab's top leader, was killed when his car was hit by a missile in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region. The attack took place in a village called Hawai, he said.
A Somali intelligence official confirmed the attack, describing the victim as a "dangerous" bully boy. His driver was also killed in the attack, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to reveal the information.
Mohammed blamed the attack on the U.S., which flies drones over Somalia that occasionally fire at one of al-Shabaab's top leaders.
Last October, a U.S. military strike hit a vehicle carrying senior members of the al-Qaeda-linked group, killing its top explosives expert. Earlier that month, U.S. Navy SEALs had raided a coastal Somali town to take down a Kenyan al-Shabaab member. The SEALs withdrew before capturing or killing their target -- Abdulkadir Mohammed Abdulkadir, known as Ikrima -- who was identified as the lead planner of a plot by al-Shabaab to attack Kenya's parliament building and the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... office in capital, Nairobi, in 2011 and 2012.
Kenya has faced multiple attacks by the bully boys, who want the country's military to leave Somalia. In September, the forces of Evil attacked Nairobi's upscale Westgate Mall with guns and grenades, killing at least 67 people.
Al-Shabaab is now mostly active in Somalia's rural regions, after being ousted from the capital 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... forces in 2011. But the group is still able to launch lethal attacks-- often involving forces of Evil on suicide missions --within Mogadishu, the seat of government.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] MPs investigating the Westgate shopping mall terrorist attack claim security agencies have surrendered Mandera town to terrorists.
In a chilling finding on the extent of the terror threat from the Somali-based al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... , the joint parliamentary committees note that security forces usually don't have control of the town, especially at night. They called on the government to take tough measures to loosen the terrorists' grip.
The committee proposes that the government demolishes all illegal structures erected at the no-man's land at the Kenya-Somalia border, which are believed to harbour terrorists.
"The government should demolish all illegal structures constructed in the 'no-man's land' and clearly demarcate the border between Kenya and Somalia. A major trench should be dug to deter immigrants from crossing the border. People should only be allowed to cross at designated areas. Screening of people crossing the border should be tightened," say the MPs.
During their investigations, the joint committee co-chaired by Mr Asman Kamama and Mr Ndung'u Gethenji visited Mandera in Northern Kenya and Kilifi at the Coast.
In the report, the members observed that there was no presence of security in Mandera and the few coppers were negligent.
"The government should post more security personnel to boost patrols along the border in Mandera County. There is literally no police presence or patrol in the town at night. The town is patrolled by a handful of home-guards who are not properly equipped to deal with militia insurgence," states the report tabled before Parliament last month.
Further, the report recommended employment of more home-guards in Mandera to augment efforts of officers patrolling the Kenya-Somalia border.
"The Administration Police posts such as Damasa, Libihiya, Hareri, Kalaliyo, Hareri Hosle, Kamor and Border Point 1 should be re-opened immediately in order to safeguard lives and property of the people residing there. The military camp should be strengthened. More armoured vehicles should be provided to the military. The military should be deployed to patrol along the border between Kenya and Somalia," say the politicians.
They raised concern that non-Kenyan children were being admitted to Kenyan schools and in the process end up being citizens of Kenya.
"Admission into basic primary education should be thoroughly scrutinised. It is alleged that children of non-Kenyans are admitted to local schools and end up as citizens who, after school, get absorbed into the military, police and public service."
"Mushrooming private schools are also admitting students from Somalia," says the report.
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01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Moroccan security forces dismantled a jihadist-recruitment cell, MAP reported on Saturday (January 25th). The network allegedly recruited and trained young Moroccans in Nador, Tetouan, Al Hoceima, Taza, Fes and Marrakech, the interior ministry said. The leader of the group reportedly spent time with al-Qaeda-linked snuffies in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] On Monday, South Giza prosecution detained 73 Moslem Brüderbund supporters for 15 days pending investigation into the protests that took place during the celebration of the third anniversary of the 25 January revolution.
On Saturday, the corpse count in the festivities that took place in Giza governorate alone stood at 12 deaths, including three fatalities in Dokki, five in Agouza, two in Ousim, one in Warraq and another in Giza.
The victims' bodies were handed over to their families after the autopsy.
Initial forensic reports showed that the cause of death was bullets in the chest, head and other parts of the body.
The suspects face charges of allegedly joining an armed terrorist group that aims to disturb security and public peace, possessing firearms without a license, manufacturing and possessing fireworks and Molotov cocktails, attacking the personal freedom of citizens and intimidating them, vandalizing property including cars and shops, resisting authorities, attacking police and inciting against them and demonstrating without a permit.
The suspects denied all charges against them, adding that police tossed in the clink You have the right to remain silent... them randomly while dispersing their demonstrations.
They denied having anything to do with the weapons and explosives police claim they had.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] The central Cairo attorney general has ordered the detention of 119 Brotherhood members for 15 days pending investigation into charges of assaulting citizens in Muski during the third anniversary celebrations of the 25 January revolution.
The suspects are also charged with joining a banned group, organizing a demonstration without notifying authorities in advance, resisting authorities, blocking roads and disrupting traffic.
Clashes between police and anti-military rule protesters on the third anniversary of the 25 January revolution left at least 62 people dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[REUTERS] Attackers armed with guns and explosives killed 22 people at a busy church service in a northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... n village, witnesses said on Monday, in a region where Islamist sect Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... is resisting a military crackdown.
They set off bombs and fired into the congregation in the Catholic church in Waga Chakawa village in Adamawa state on Sunday morning, before burning houses and taking residents hostage during a four-hour siege, witnesses said.
President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... is struggling to contain Boko Haram in remote rural regions in the country's northeast corner, where the sect first launched an uprising in 2009.
The shady sect, which wants to impose sharia law on a country split roughly equally between Christians and Moslems, has killed thousands over the past four and a half years and is considered the biggest security risk in Africa's top oil exporter and second largest economy after South Africa.
Its fighters' favorite targets have traditionally been security forces, politicians who oppose them and Christian minorities in the largely Moslem north.
The front man for the Catholic Diocese of Yola, Reverend Father Raymond Danbouye, confirmed 22 people killed in the attack were buried at a funeral on Monday.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[TRIBUNE.NG] Harcourt, Rivers State, on Sunday, as the state police command confirmed the arrest of 320 Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... suspects.
Though details were still sketchy as of the time of filing this report, Nigerian Tribune gathered that the suspects were tossed in the clink
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[CHANNELSTV] 74 people have been killed in separate attacks by suspected Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... members in Adamawa and Borno states, northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... .
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[VOA News] Rebels who ousted the Central African Republic's president last year are evacuating their main camp in the capital.
Witnesses say hundreds of Seleka fighters, who are mostly Moslem, left Camp Deroux in Bangui Monday, moving by convoy to another base north of the city.
While the movement of rebel fighters suggests a decrease in their influence, tensions in Bangui remain high.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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Suspected Islamist militants have attacked two villages in north-eastern Nigeria, leaving 74 people dead, say police and witnesses.
Militants attacked Kawuri village in Borno state as a busy market was packing up on Sunday, setting off explosives and setting houses ablaze. Witnesses said 52 people were killed in that attack, while 22 died in an attack on a church service in Waga Chakawa village, Adamawa state, on Sunday.
The attacks were blamed on Boko Haram. The Islamist group - whose name means "Western education is forbidden" - is especially active in north-eastern Nigeria.
Borno and Adamawa are two of three north-eastern states - along with Yobe - put under emergency rule last May, as the military attempts to combat the insurgency.
Gunmen planted explosive devices around Kawuri village prior to the attack, said a witness and security official. They also killed civilians in their homes, dozens of which were set ablaze in the attack.
"No house was left standing," Ari Kolomi, who fled from the village to Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, some 70km (43 miles) away, told AP news agency. "The gunmen were more than 50 [in number]; they were using explosives and heavy-sounding guns."
Mr Kolomi said he did not yet know if his relatives had survived the attack.
Earlier on Sunday in neighbouring Adamawa state, gunmen attacked a busy church service in Waga Chakawa village, an army spokesman said. They set off bombs and fired into the congregation, killing 22 people, before burning houses and taking residents hostage during a four-hour siege, witnesses told Reuters news agency.
The army suspects Boko Haram of being behind both attacks.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan sacked his military high command earlier this month. No reason was given, but the move came amid concern that Boko Haram have been able to continue their bloody campaign despite the wide-ranging powers given to the military to tackle the insurgency last year.
Since the state of emergency was imposed in May, UN figures suggest more than 1,200 people have been killed in Islamist-related violence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A clash between Yemeni troops and southern separatists, who were demonstrating on Monday against the country's reconciliation talks, left four people maimed, witnesses and a medic said.
Hardline secessionists, who are calling for independence for the south, erupted into the streets of the southern city of Ataq two days after a national dialogue concluded in Sanaa.
The talks concluded with a plan to turn the republic into a federation, draft a constitution and hold elections.
"The Yemen dialogue does not concern us," chanted protesters in Ataq, according to witnesses. "We reject the outcome of the Sanaa dialogue."
A shootout erupted between armed protesters and troops who tried to disperse the demonstration, witnesses said, adding two protesters and two soldiers were maimed.
A medic at the Ataq public hospital confirmed the toll, and said one demonstrator is in a critical condition.
Moderate factions in the Southern Movement had joined the talks, part of a Gulf-brokered exit deal that ended a year of Arab Spring-inspired protests against former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , who stepped down after 33 years in power.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The Kuwaiti coastguard seized on Monday an Iranian boat carrying 12 Iranians and two Afghans that had entered the Gulf state's territorial waters, the interior ministry and a security source said.
Patrols spotted the boat after it entered Kuwaiti waters early in the morning, seized the vessel and detained all 14 on board, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the 14 individuals would be held pending an investigation.
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01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] The vice-president of Tala upazila Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal ...student wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)... in Satkhira district was killed and three coppers sustained injuries in a 'shootout' with the joint forces yesterday.
The incident took place in Magura Khowaghat area of the upazila around 4am. Joint forces men have recovered one pipe gun, two rounds of bullets and five handmade bombs from the spot, police claimed.
The dear departed was Azharul Islam, 28, son of late Shiraj Uddin Sarder of Ghona village. The injured police men were Sub-Inspector Shakhawat and constables Tajbur and Shahabuddin.
Officer-in-Charge of Tala cop shoppe Matiar Rahman said Azharul Islam was detained from a shrimp enclosure in Ghona village on Sunday morning.
Later, a joint forces team took him to Magura Khowaghat area to recover arms where a group of miscreants opened fire and hurled bombs on them to snatch him away.
The law enforcers opened fire to save their lives, police said.
OC Rahman said the shootout continued for 20 minutes and at one stage three coppers and Azharul received bullet wounds. The injured were taken to Satkhira Sadar Hospital, while the duty doctors declared Azharul as dead.
Duty doctor of the hospital Porimal Biswas told the Dhaka Tribune that Azharul had been dead when he was brought there.
Assistant Police Superintendent Kazi Monirruzzaman said, "Azharul is accused in two cases under Tala cop shoppe including murder of Islamkati Union Gay Pareehad member Rouf. Seven cases were filed under Patkelghata cop shoppe."
The upazila Chhatra Dal unit has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... today protesting the death.
Meanwhile, ...back at the saloon, Butch got the bill for the damage caused by the fist fight, the mirror broken in the shootout, and drinks for everyone...... police in separate drives nabbed three Jamaat-Shibir men from Fatikchhari, Sitakunda and Lohagara upazilas in Chittagong early yesterday for their involvement with sabotage in the areas before, during and after the election.
Law enforcement seized a gun and four rounds of cartridges from a Shibir man, Saleh Jongi, 30, accused of four murder cases lodged with Fatikchhari cop shoppe, the station's OC Shahjahan Bhuiyan said.
Police tossed in the calaboose Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! eleven activists of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust) yesterday for their suspected involvement in unrest in the campus on Sunday.
Earlier two cases were filed in this connection. The university unit Shibir president and secretary are among the 300 accused.
In Bogra, the father of Shibir leader Abdullah Al-Baki of Bogra Azizul Haque College filed a case accusing 23 Chhatra League ... the student wing of the Bangla Awami League ... and Jubo League ... the youth wing of the Bangla Awami League... activists and leaders of murdering his son yesterday. Police is yet to arrest anyone six days into the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[BUSINESSWEEK] The army and federal agents captured Dionicio Loya Plancarte, known as El Tio, who was wanted by the government for 30 million pesos ($2.24 million), said a press official in the Attorney General's Office, who asked not to be named because government policy prohibits it. Hours after Loya's capture, the government said it signed a pact with vigilantes who've taken up arms against the cartel to allow them to register their weapons and form a temporary rural police brigade.
President Enrique Pena Nieto deployed the army to Michoacan earlier this month after armed vigilantes stripped coppers of their weapons in more than a dozen towns, accusing them of links to narco gangs that have been extorting citizens for years. After initially clashing with the so-called self-defense groups, the army took over duties from local police and began arresting cartel leaders in the state in efforts to improve security. The vigilantes had demanded top cartel leaders be caught before they would consider disarming.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] As many as eleven bodies have been recovered from two separate graves found in Khuzdar district of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , provincial minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said on Monday.
Bugti said the eleven bodies have raised to thirteen the number of bodies from the two graves in the Tutak area of Khuzdar.
"Investigation into the incidents has been started and soon the facts will be made public," he said.
Speaking to a foreign news organization earlier on Sunday, Bugti said the bodies -- most of which were decomposed and beyond recognition -- were discovered after a local shepherd reported to security personnel the discovery of bones, body parts and the possibility of a suspected mass-grave in the area.
Bugti had only confirmed the recovery of four bodies in his conversation with the news organization. He confirmed the recovery of further bodies on Monday while speaking to the state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... APP.
Bugti, however, dispelled the impression that 'dozens' of bodies were found from the grave.
"There is no truth in the media reports in which they have claimed that 'dozens' of dead bodies were recovered in Khuzdar," he claimed.
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01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A series of attacks in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... and Sunni Arab areas north of the capital killed nine people on Monday, as Iraq grapples with a months-long surge in nationwide violence.
Coupled with a protracted stand-off between security forces and anti-government fighters in the western province of Anbar, unrest this month has left more than 850 people dead, fueling fears Iraq is slipping back into the brutal conflict that plagued it in 2006-2007.
Foreign leaders and diplomats have urged Iraq's Shiite-led government to address long-term grievances in the disaffected Sunni community to undercut support for hard boys, but with elections due in April, Prime Minister Nouri-al-Maliki has taken a hard line.
Attacks on Monday struck in Storied Baghdad, and in and around the restive mostly-Sunni cities of Baquba, djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... and Samarra, security and medical officials said.
In the most brutal incident, gunnies killed two coppers and an anti-Qaeda Sahwa militiaman in an attack on their joint checkpoint near Samarra and then decapitated them.
The Sahwa are a collection of Sunni Arab tribal militias that moved against their co-religionists in al-Qaeda and joined with the U.S. military from late 2006 onwards, helping turn the tide of Iraq's insurgency.
Sunni snuffies regard them as traitors and often target them, as well as Iraq's security forces, in attacks.
Elsewhere, gunnies killed three people, including a police officer, in separate shootings in Storied Baghdad, while two coppers were bumped off in the main northern city of Mosul.
Mortar fire in Muqdadiyah, near Baquba in confessionally-mixed Diyala province, killed one person and maimed three others.
The latest bloodshed took the overall corpse count for the month above 870 -- more than three times the toll for January 2013, according to an Agence La Belle France Presse tally.
It comes as security forces are locked in battles with hard boys, including those affiliated with the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... (ISIL), in Anbar, a mostly-Sunni desert region west of Storied Baghdad that shares a border with Syria.
The standoff has forced more than 140,000 people to flee their homes, the U.N. refugee agency said, describing this as the worst displacement in Iraq since the 2006-2008 sectarian conflict.
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01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The Philippine military attacked a Moslem renegade faction yesterday, two days after the country's main Moslem rebel group successfully ended negotiations to end a decades-long insurgency that has killed tens of thousands.
Soldiers, backed by artillery, attacked guerrillas of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in a remote village on the southern island of Mindanao, triggering fighting that sent hundreds of civilians fleeing, the military said.
Regional military front man Dickson Hermoso told AFP the attacks were launched in a bid to arrest about 25 leaders of the BIFF, a small group of between 250 and 400 forces of Evil that is opposed to the grinding of the peace processor.
The attacks began yesterday morning and were continuing throughout the day, according to Colonel Hermoso, who said there were no immediate casualties.
Hermoso said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the 12,000-strong rebel organization that wrapped up peace talks with the government on the weekend, was helping the military.
"The MILF are part of the law enforcement operations. They are just securing their communities so those (BIFF fighters) cannot enter. They are also angry at the BIFF," he told AFP.
MILF military front man Von al-Haq confirmed that the military had coordinated with the MILF before the attack.
"The BIFF cannot enter (our territories.) We have a line where we have re-positioned (personnel). If they run there, they cannot enter there unless they are surrendering," he told AFP.
Brigadier General Edmundo Pangilinan, one of the commanders of the operation, said it was a coincidence the attack came just after the conclusion of the peace talks with the MILF.
But he also said the army wanted "to totally neutralise the BIFF to prevent the rise of another group that may want to destroy peace".
"We want to have this group neutralised so they won't cause trouble... especially now that we have this positive development in our peace negotiations," he added.
The MILF has been leading a rebellion in the southern Philippines since the 1970s aimed at winning independence or autonomy for the country's Moslem minority in Mindanao, which they regard as their ancestral homeland.
About 150,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the conflict.
After 18 years of negotiations, the MILF agreed Saturday on the final parts of a peace accord that would give Moslems a large degree of autonomy in the south, including control of much of the region's natural resources.
The peace accord is expected to be signed within weeks and President Benigno Aquino is aiming for it to be fully implemented before he steps down in mid-2016.
However it must still clear other hurdles, including congressional approval and a regional plebiscite, as well as the opposition of smaller rebel groups such as the BIFF.
The BIFF broke away from the MILF gradually after its leader, Saudi-trained holy man Ameril Umbrakato, accused the main Moslem group of betraying the region's quest for independence.
Umbrakato led attacks against mostly Christian towns in the south in 2008, leading to the deaths of more than 400 people and displacing 750,000 others.
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01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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Renegades, huh? Elders can't control them? MILF is helping the military? This story has a kind of a familiar ring to it.
[An Nahar] The Lebanese army has tossed in the calaboose Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! a Syrian young woman who was videotaping a number of sites in the vicinity of the defense ministry building in Yarze, including the house of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, An Nahar newspaper reported Monday.
"The young woman lives in a building near the ministry and she used to practice jogging on daily basis and under the eyes of soldiers," An Nahar said.
"That continued until an officer noticed from the window of his office that she had never showed up without her hand purse," the daily added.
The officer then ordered army troops to stop her and inspect her purse.
"It turned out that it contained a video camera that was recording the daily movements at different times of the day," An Nahar added, noting that investigations are underway to "identify who sent her."
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01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Unknown assailants on Monday assaulted a Syrian man who is a resident of the 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... neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen.
"Syrian national Ahmed Ibrahim Ali was assaulted in the al-Qobbeh neighborhood" in Tripoli, state-run National News Agency reported, noting that the man was born in 1989 in the northern city.
Ali was rushed to hospital for treatment and LBCI television noted that he is a resident of Jabal Mohsen.
Meanwhile, ...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?
Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features. If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!... Abdul Latif Saleh, front man for the Arab Democratic Party -- the main political and armed force in Jabal Mohsen -- confirmed the attack in remarks to al-Jadeed TV.
More than 20 attacks have targeted Jabal Mohsen residents in several areas of Tripoli in recent months.
The most recent incident took place on January 6, when unknown attackers beat up a Jabal Mohsen resident in the neighboring al-Baqqar district.
Tensions between Jabal Mohsen and the rival district of Bab al-Tabbaneh date back to Leb's 1975-1990 civil war but have been exacerbated by the conflict across the border in Syria, where Alawite Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... is battling a Sunni-led uprising.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] An Israeli soldier was injured on Monday when a bomb went off near the barbed wire in the southern border town of Adaisseh, the state-run National News Agency reported.
The NNA said that the soldiers was digging a hole near the barbed wire when the bomb went kaboom!.
No further information was provided.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... later on the Israeli army denied the report.
Another big win against the hated juices in the Land of Arab Imagination.
Last week, an Israeli infantry unit, comprised of 25 soldiers, crossed the barbed wire in al-Wazzani hills and deployed at the river's eastern bank.
However, facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable... the soldiers did not cross the U.N.-drawn Blue Line.
The Wazzani spring is a major source of the Hasbani river.
An Israeli bulldozer was later reported to have crossed the technical fence in the town of Rmeish in the Bint Jbeil district.
According to NNA the bulldozer began digging in Wadi Qatmoun.
Monday's incident also comes two weeks after Israeli troops dismantled and removed two electronic devices from the Lebanese border town of Adaisseh, south of the Blue Line, as Lebanese soldiers and UNIFIL peacekeepers stood guard and monitored the process.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Conflicting reports emerged Monday about an alleged Israeli Arclight airstrike on Russian-made missiles in the Syrian port city of Latakia, amid official Syrian and Israeli silence over the unconfirmed news.
The pro-Damascus Russia Today television quoted Latakia residents as saying that they did not hear any blasts overnight and that the powerful S-300 missiles in question would have produced extremely loud kabooms had they been targeted in an alleged raid.
"Reports of a possible Arclight airstrike are still limited to social networking websites and the authorities in Damascus have not confirmed or denied the incident," RT noted.
Israeli media outlets had quoted websites affiliated with the Syrian opposition as saying that "Israeli warplanes overnight bombed missile launchpads in the city of Latakia."
"Israeli authorities usually keep silent over their actions in Syria," Russia Today said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called the chief of staff and complained that the artillery was keeping him awake... Israel's public radio quoted a Syrian opposition member as saying that "kabooms ripped last night through depots storing Russian-made missiles in Latakia."
"A loud kaboom was heard in the Sheikh Daher neighborhood and it echoed across the city," the source added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... the correspondent of Leb's MTV in Jerusalem quoted Western sources as saying that "for the fourth time, Israel has bombed depots containing very advanced, Russian-made surface-to-air missiles in Latakia."
"Moscow has noted that should Israel's responsibility for bombing Latakia be confirmed, that would signal an open-ended crisis," the correspondent added.
Leb's National News Agency on Monday reported that Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier at medium altitude over the Bekaa region of Baalbek, sparking panic among residents.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"Moscow has noted that should Israel's responsibility for bombing Latakia be confirmed, that would signal an open-ended crisis," the correspondent added.
#1
Let's see... set up the balance scales.
On one side: JOOOS ; one the other side: pure industrial grade stupid.
Now we're gonna see which side's heavier. And guesses, class? Anyone? Bueller?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
01/28/2014 19:08 Comments ||
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[Ynet] Two large kabooms were heard in the area of Leb's Baalbek as a result of Israeli Air Force low-altitude operations, according to Lebanese news website El-Nashra.
It is further reported that the jets caused great panic among local residents. Hezbollah's Al-Manar network also reported that IAF jets are operating in the same area.
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.
Goodluck Jonathan
[TRIBUNE.NG] Harcourt, Rivers State, on Sunday, as the state police command confirmed the arrest of 320 
[CHANNELSTV] 74 people have been killed in separate attacks by suspected 
Suspected Islamist militants have attacked two villages in north-eastern Nigeria, leaving 74 people dead, say police and witnesses.
[An Nahar] Unknown assailants on Monday assaulted a Syrian man who is a resident of the 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
