[REUTERS] Men in Afghan army uniforms turned their weapons on American forces in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding four others, officials said.
An Afghan Interior Ministry official said the shooting took place in Kapisa province, just north of the capital, Kabul.
The NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... -led coalition confirmed two foreign soldiers had been rubbed out, but did not specify their nationality.
Two U.S. defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , said both victims were Americans.
Four American soldiers were also maimed, one of the U.S. officials said.
It was the first such "insider" attack this year. There were ten such incidents last year, resulting in the deaths of 15 members of the ISAF international security forces, according to Rooters' totals.
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[Shabelle] The State Tuesday evening withdrew robbery with violence and terrorism charges against 33 suspects captured during the February 2 storming of the controversial Musa Mosque but imposed stringent conditions for their release. The move was greeted with celebrations by the released suspects and their relatives who hired several matatus to ferry the former to town. The vehicles were hired by the Hassan Ali Joho Foundation, which also retained lawyer Mohammed Balala for the suspects. They are required to report to CID officers every Wednesday and stay out of crime because Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code under which they were set free indicates they could be retossed in the calaboose Please don't kill me! and charged when the State gathers enough evidence to indict and prosecute them. The police have forwarded laptop computers, documents and electronic material seized in the February 2 raid for forensic analysis and decoding in Nairobi.
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BOSSASO, Somalia -- A military court in Somalia's northeastern state of Puntland has sentenced Al Shabaab member to life in prison after finding him guilty on charges of terrorism on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.
The Punties really are stepping up here...
Bossaso court commenced the criminal hearings, with the court prosecutor presenting the evidences being collected by the intelligence before the court.
Of the accused four men, three of them were convicted of committing terror acts while the remaining defendant was released after the court found him of not being Al Shabaab member, the judges declared.
Addressing the media members inside the court, the chairman of Puntland military court Abdifatah Haji Adan announced the final decision, saying that-Abdirahman Musse Osman, Abdihakin Abdullahi Hundul and Abdihakim Omar Guduudow-have received life imprisonment, 10 years and 5 years in prison respectively.
"Puntland military court freed Aweys Bulle Saadiq who wasn't convicted of being Al Shabaaab operative," said Adan.
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BELEDWEYNE, Somalia -- Accidental explosion during a bomb-making process at a house in Hiraan region town of Bulo-Barde of central Somalia left 14 Al Shabaab fighters dead according to residents, Garowe Online reports.
Bulo-Barde resident who asked to remain anonymous because of his security told Garowe online News Agency that the deadly blast also wounded seven militants.
"We learned of the death of 14 Al Shabaab fighters, seven others were wounded in the accidental explosion. The thunderous blast completely leveled the building to the ground," said the resident of Bulo-Barde.
Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group has yet to comment on the incident as violent dispute weakened the extremists influence in the southern part of the country where terror groups, armed clan militias and criminal gangs remain active.
Reacting to the foiled attempt, Somalia Federal Government officials say the bomb was aimed at targeting civilians in Hiraan regional capital of Beledweyne.
Al Shabaab previously carried out several suicide bombings in Beledweyne, killing dozens of people including African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers, Somali government soldiers, civilians and officials.
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[Jihad Watch] Champ has been an indefatigable and unstinting supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as of its proxies in the U.S. Thus it is not surprising that U.S. Embassy employees in Cairo would be Brotherhood allies as well. Champ was the target of vociferous criticism during the anti-Brotherhood demonstrations last summer for his uncritical support of the Brotherhood. No, not surprising at all.
US Embassy confirms one of its local employees detained, by Rabab Fathy for Youm7 via the Cairo Post, February 11 (thanks to Joyce): CAIRO: National Security arrested a local employee on Jan. 25 who works for the U.S. embassy in Cairo, the embassy confirmed Tuesday. Cook, driver, security guard ?
We confirm that one of our local employees was arrested on Jan. 25. According to our information, there are no charges against him so far, said Mofid al-Deek, Media Attaché and the spokesperson of the U.S. embassy in Cairo.
Deek said the embassy is communicating with the Egyptian government to understand the reason for the employees detention. Could espionage or involvement in known terrorist organizations possibly be a factor ?
A security source reported National Security arrested Ahmed A., a U.S embassy employee in charge of the political Islam file. The source added that the employee was in constant contact with Khairat el-Shater, First Deputy of the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, when the group ruled the country. Could we by chance have full disclosure of his entire social network ?
The suspect was arrested while participating with others in marches and riots in Giza Governorate. He is being investigated by the National Security Agency to determine the dimensions of his activity. Their National Security Agency I take it, obviously not our own.
"in charge of the political Islam file," per the article. Sort of a local expert.
Counterweight to the Saudis maybe?
That was the original intent of the administration's foreign policy "experts," along with cuddling up to Recep Erdogan and his AKP.
However, the MB had also done a fairly good job of infiltrating the power structure in DC before the current administration took office, so there was likely a pot of prior influence in that direction.
[MAGHAREBIA] Kairouan National Guard units jugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! three people for alleged links to Ariana terrorists, Shems FM reported Tuesday (February 11th).
The suspects captured Monday night were sent to Tunis for interrogation. In other security news, the interior ministry Tuesday said that a policeman and a protestor were killed in skirmishes in Jelma, Sidi Bouzid governorate.
The festivities erupted Monday following the arrest of a narco. A group of people attacked the cop shoppe demanding his release. Police used tear gas and had gun sex, but one of the protestors and a police officer were shot by accident.
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[Libya Herald] The army's 319 Brigade, known as the Omar Mukhtar Brigade, have left Benghazi to secure vital electricity and water facilities in the troubled Sarir oilfield area.
The front man for the General Chief of Staff, Ali Al-Sheikhi, told the Libya Herald that the brigade had been dispatched to set up checkpoints on the Kufra-Ajdabiya road, securing the area against tribal festivities which have disrupted power and water supplies to other parts of the country.
The arrival of the force had been agreed by Tebu-manned Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) from the 25 Brigade and Zwai rustics from the 427 Brigade one week ago following mediation by a government-led group of officials.
The two brigades had been engaged in sporadic fighting in the area for over a month which forced the closure of Sarir Power Station. The closing of power plant and the cutting of power lines during festivities caused power cuts 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... and Benghazi. The power shortages had the knock-on effect of greatly reducimg the capacity of the man-made river leading to water shortages in Benghazi, Ajdabiya and Sirte.
Sheikhi said the deployment operation would be made gradually according to military regulations and as circumstances dictated . He added that there were also plans to bring in fresh PFG units in the near future.
The arrival of the Omar Mukhtar Brigade should result in the electricity lines being restored and the Man-Made River pumps restarting. Employees at GECOL, the electricity company, had refused to carry out repairs until the area was secure.
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A total of two unidentified armed suspects were killed in a confrontation with Mexican security forces in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo in Tamaulipas state Tuesday, according to official Mexican news accounts.
A news release posted on the state government website of Tamaulipas said that the gunfight took place at about 0255 hrs near the intersection of Bulevar Adolfo Ruiz Cortines y Calle Coahuila in Riberas del Bravo colony.
A Mexican Army Policia Militar unit observed a Mazda Tribute SUV that had been reported as stolen, apparently traveling in convoy with a Chevrolet Malibu sedan. The unit attempted a traffic stop, which ended with gunfire. Two of the shooting victims were left in the vehicle. Presumably other armed suspects fled the scene.
In the sedan, soldiers found five rifles, one semiautomatic handgun, and weapons magazines and ammunition.
Later that evening in Matamoros municipality, according to a separate news release, a Mexican Naval Infantry road patrol detained eight suspects in the village of Control Ramirez presumably at a residence near the intersection of calles Sexta and Panaderos y Jornaleros. The report said that the detainees were behaving suspiciously.
Marines seized eight rifles, 164 weapons magazines, 5,137 rounds of ammunition, four hand grenades, .67 kilograms of marijuana, five radios, and five vehicles.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and BorderlandBeat.com. he can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com
An Islamic militant leader in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria has reportedly claimed responsibility for six killings in the southern Caucasus Stavropol Krai region last month.
In a video posted on the Internet on February 9, Tengiz Guketlov said the deaths had nothing to do with the Islamic insurgency's previous threat warning that it would disrupt the Sochi Olympics. said the killings were in retaliation for the deaths of 35 local Muslims by security forces in multiple operations. Guketlov claimed that none of the 35 was a militant.
Last month, six dead bodies were discovered in or near four cars in two separate districts outside the city of Stavropol. Two cars were booby-trapped.
[DAWN] A youth was caught roaming 'in a suspicious way' outside a seminary in Cantonment area on Tuesday.
However, we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... police initially declared 19-year-old Syed Suleman Ali of Swabi mentally sick.
Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... (Sami) central front man Maulana Asim Makhdoom said the security staff at Jamia Manzoor Islamia Eidgah observed a suspicious young boy near the seminary's main gate and nabbed him.
He said the suspect, who could speak Pashto, Punjabi, English and Urdu, claimed he was a graduate. He initially remained tightlipped, but when pressed by security guards disclosed that he was sent by some people in tribal area for surveillance of the seminary.
Quoting the suspect, Makhdoom said he had been visiting the seminary for the last one week and his accomplices had planned attack on it after a week.
The front man urged police to get the suspect examined by a psychiatrist to check his mental health.
Cantonment SP (Operations) Sarfraz Khan Virk said the youth was apparently mentally retarded, but police would wait for his family before taking further action.
He said police contacted Suleman's brother Younas, who is Pakistain Air Force employee and was currently serving at Sargodha base, on phone.
Younus told police that his brother was not mentally fit and he had left home twice without informing the family. The SP said police were still investigating as to how the youth reached the city.
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[DAWN] The city police authorities on Tuesday informed the Sindh High Court that 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... activist who was picked up when he was escorting home his bride from the wedding ceremony and then allegedly subjected to torture was tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! for his alleged involvement in the Feb 4 killing of four coppers.
A two-judge bench was seized with the petition of the MQM against alleged extrajudicial killings and torture of party workers by the law-enforcement agencies.
The petition was jointly filed by MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar, party worker Fahad Aziz and his father, who cited the interior secretary, home secretary, Rangers director general, inspector general of police, Additional IG Shahid Hayat, SSP-East and Sharea Faisal SHO as respondents.
On Tuesday, SSP-East Pir Muhammed Shah filed his comments in the petition stating that Fahad Aziz was arrested along with his driver on Feb 8 under Section 54 (when police may arrest without warrant) of the criminal procedure code by the Shah Faisal Colony police after they received secret information about his involvement in various heinous crimes, including the recent assassination of four coppers in the Ibrahim Hyderi police jurisdiction.
The police officer further submitted in his comments that the Muttahida worker during interrogation had confessed to the killing of coppers. He said that the suspect during interrogation complained of being unwell and he was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
Later, the SSP said, the Muttahida worker was released on surety of MNA Iqbal Ali.
He further submitted that the police team members who picked up the Muttahida man and allegedly tortured him were placed under suspension and a high-level inquiry was initiated to probe the allegations.
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[DAWN] DERA ISAMIL KHAN: A police constable escorting a polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... team was killed and his colleague injured when gunnies opened fire on them in a village near here on Tuesday.
According to police, Hawaldar Tanveer and Constable Naseeruddin were returning after performing duty with the polio team in the village of Chamb when they came under fire. Naseeruddin was struck down in his prime while Tanveer suffered injuries.
They were taken to the DHQ hospital here. Tanveer was later taken to a hospital in Multan at death's door.
EXPLOSION: Three men belonging to the Dotai Pondgan tribe died when mines on a road in Bachaabad village of Loni area went kaboom! accidentally on Monday night.
According to sources, the apparent target were rival Gandapur rustics.
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[Egypt Independent] Gunmen tossed hand grenades into the house of a slain Pak police officer on Wednesday, police said, killing nine men in an attack coinciding with peace talks between the government and Pakistain Talibs.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the early morning assault on the house on the outskirts of the northwestern city of 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. . On Tuesday, attackers hurled grenades into a Peshawar cinema, killing 13.
The peace talks between government representatives and Taliban are taking place in the capital Islamabad, about 200 km (120 miles) to the east. Both sides are supposed to refrain from attacks while talks proceed, although there is no formal ceasefire.
It was not immediately clear why the gunnies targeted the house of the policeman, a mid-ranking inspector killed in a shoot-out with faceless myrmidons last Sunday.
About a dozen men threw grenades over the house's walls in the early hours of the morning and then clambered over, Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Khan Mohmand told Rooters.
"After entering, they shot all the men in the in the house using AK-47 rifles," he said. Women and children in the house were spared.
Peshawar, a sprawling quiet provincial capital, is the gateway to Pakistain's frontier with Afghanistan and has been badly hit by bad boy violence.
Pak Taliban bully boyz have been battling for years to topple the government, banish democracy and establish their brand of Islamist rule. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... wants to negotiate a settlement and stop the fighting.
Many experts are doubtful that talks will succeed - previous deals have all collapsed in violence. Some worry any governing role for the Taliban is incompatible with the country's laws.
Others point out that even if the government clinches a deal with the Taliban, there are many more bad boy groups that routinely target civilians.
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Suspected terrorists insurgents on Wednesday evening gunned down a female bank employee, burned her body and left a note with written message to Thai army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha.
The body of Sayamol sae Lim was discovered near her motorcycle on a local highway. When security officers and a paramedic team arrived at the scene, they found her head and upper torso in flames.
The victim was returning to her home when an unknown number of attackers shot her and used gasoline to burn her body. The assailants left a note with a written message that challenged security forces and Gen Prayuth. The message read: "Dear army chief this is not the last body after the three brothers."
The message apparently referred to the Feb 3 shooting attack that killed three Malay-Muslim brothers aged 6, 9 and 11 years-old and wounded their parents in Narathiwat province, in an incident that shocked local residents and the authorities.
First, what sources do you recommend for learning more about tensions in Thailand and Burma? Michael Yon has posted some good information and some gut-wrenching photos. Any other suggestions?
Second, I'm having trouble using the "search" feature on the Burg to look up previous postings on these matters. I don't know whether your search engine just doesn't like my machine, or if I'm typing something wrong.
#2
I don't know. I'd have to start picking out a couple chapters each out of about a dozen and a half books.
Keep in mind a lot of the problems date back to the departure of England and France as colonial powers, and their eventual replacement by Russia and China as colonial overlords of the area.
#3
I'm not well informed about the background and have no recommendations there. The newspaper that seems to have the best, most detailed reporting in the region is the Bangkok Post (as I used for this post). I'd mention Yon's posts on Twitter and Facebook, but you're already aware of him.
Militants ambushed a group of Philippine marines and killing one soldier and injuring at least three more in the southern province of Sulu. The soldiers were returning to their base from the town of Parang when gunmen attacked them, triggering a firefight that killed the marine.
It was not known if there were casualties among the militants and no group claimed responsibility for the attack, but the military blamed Abu Sayyaf. Recently military forces launched an operation to capture Abu Sayyaf gunmen involved in a series of kidnappings in Sulu.
Marines had earlier clashed with militants under Sihata Latip and Abraham Hamid in Talipao town that left at least nine Abu Sayyaf gunmen dead or injured. One of those killed was identified as Rakib Jal.
Troops also captured a militant camp in a remote village used by the Abu Sayyaf. The camp was being used by rebel leaders Sibih Pisih and Idang Susukan.
Last month, security forces clashed with a small band of Abu Sayyaf gunmen that eventually rose to about 400 after armed supporters of the terror group attacked them in Luuk town. The fighting was so fierce that the provincial policemen, backed by a pair of armored carriers, managed to hold their ground until reinforcements arrived, but the gunmen broke into smaller groups and dispersed.
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02/13/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Three people were maimed on Wednesday in a shooting in al-Zahriyeh area in the northern city of 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...
"An unknown assailant fired gunshots at Samir Rustom in al-Zahriyeh in the afternoon, wounding him in the leg," the state-run National News Agency reported.
"A soldier and Ahmed al-Hosni, a minor, were also injured in the incident," the NNA added.
The shooter fled to an unknown destination while the injured men were transferred to the region's hospitals for treatment, according to the same source.
"A heavy army deployment was noticed in the area between (the rival Tripoli neighborhoods of) Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh," radio Voice of Leb (93.3) said.
Al-Jadeed television said army and Internal Security Forces mobile checkpoints were erected in al-Zahriyeh.
In a separate incident, NNA said the army jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! Syrian national Qays Abdul Hamid Jideh at the al-Airouniyeh checkpoint which links Zgharta's Mejdlaya to the al-Beddawi area near Tripoli.
Four hand grenades were seized in Jideh's possession, NNA added, as LBCI television described him as a "Salafist."
"Jideh was disguised in a ISF member costume," VDL remarked.
The al-Airouniyeh checkpoint is on the road between Mejdlaya and the Zgharta district and also links Tripoli's al-Qobbeh area to the northern Dinniyeh district.
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[An Nahar] A rumor was circulated Wednesday afternoon about an alleged arrest of an Internal Security Forces member who is part of the Center House's guard platoon over ties to detained top Qaeda-linked bad boy Naim Abbas.
Al-Jadeed television identified the man as H. A., saying he is a member of the guard platoon of the Center House, the headquarters of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. in downtown Beirut.
Al-Jadeed said Abbas has confessed that the ISF member was one of his close associates.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung... NBN TV also said that the man belonged to the Center House's security team and the premiership's guard squad, adding that he hails from the southern town of Kfar Hamam.
But state-run National News Agency later denied "reports circulated by some media outlets about the army intelligence's arrest of ISF Sergeant H. A., who is a guard at the Center House."
"Security forces interrogated the sergeant and it turned out that he has nothing to do with any terrorist act," NNA added.
For its part, the ISF issued a statement later on Wednesday, in which it categorically denied the presence of "any ties whatsoever between the aforementioned member and Naim Abbas."
"He is not also involved in any other case," the ISF added.
"The publishing of this type of reports in such a hasty manner is an irresponsible journalistic behavior that insults the dignity of this esteemed institution," the ISF said.
It stressed that it "will not hesitate to arrest security violators wherever they may be, without any reluctance and with ultimate transparency."
The ISF urged media outlets to resort to its public relations department for any news pertaining to its officers and members "to preserve their credibility on the one hand and the dignity of the ISF institution on the other hand."
Only a few hours after Abbas made his confessions, the army started raiding arms depots in the al-Dibbiyeh and al-Saadiyat areas, where it seized explosives, rockets and fake IDs. Earlier on Wednesday, the army defused two booby-trapped cars in the Beirut area of Corniche al-Mazraa and the Bekaa area of al-Labweh.
Abbas, a Paleostinian leader in the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... , has been described as the group's number two man in Leb.
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[An Nahar] The Bekaa city of Baalbek witnessed three kidnappings on Wednesday evening, which targeted a Syrian man, a Syrian girl and a Lebanese pharmaceutical salesman.
"Unknown gunnies in a tinted-glass SUV kidnapped Charbel Khairallah, a pharmaceutical salesman, robbing him of his silver Kia Picanto vehicle," state-run National News Agency reported.
The kidnappers later dropped Khairallah at the intersection of the the town of Majdaloun, south of the city of Baalbek, after which the man reported the operation to the Baalbek cop shoppe, NNA said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the palazzo, Count Guido stepped from behind the suit of armor, rapier in hand. Ciccolini snarled and reached for his own weapon... the agency said a Mercedes carrying two women picked up Syrian national Zahra Ahmed al-Hajj Ali and her toddler daughter Rawaa Mohammed Qobti from Baalbek after she finished her beggary activities in the city.
At the entrance of the town Iaat, "one of the women gave the mother 10,000 Lebanese pounds to buy candies for the child from one of the shops."
"When the mother left the car, the two women took the child to an unknown destination," NNA said.
The mother also filed a report at the Baalbek cop shoppe.
Separately, unknown individuals kidnapped Syrian man Fahd Mohammed al-Masri on Baalbek's public road and asked his relatives over the phone for a $200,000 ransom, according to NNA.
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[An Nahar] Military experts defused on Wednesday a boom-mobile in Beirut after the army announced the arrest of a Paleostinian leader in the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... , described as the group's number two man in Leb.
And later on Wednesday, media reports said the "jacket wallah" who was supposed to blow up the car was also enjugged Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! by security forces.
A communique said following careful follow-up and monitoring after he came out of the Paleostinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hellhole near Sidon in the South, the army intelligence in Beirut made the arrest of Naim Abbas, who is being questioned under the supervision of the judiciary.
Following his arrest, Abbas admitted to plotting to blow up a car, the communique said.
So the military defused around 100 kilograms of explosives, several rockets and explosives belts placed in a black SUV that was parked in Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood, where he was arrested.
Photos showed the explosives carefully placed in the seats of the Toyota Rav 4 in small packs.
The state-run National News Agency said the suspect was planning to use the car in a bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs.
The army also seized laptops and other electronic devices during a raid on a warehouse in Corniche al-Mazraa, reports said.
The raid and the process to defuse the boom-mobile brought traffic to a standstill for several hours after soldiers blocked the main road in both directions, they said.
According to the communique, the army was carrying out raids in several areas after Abbas informed it about the locations of other booby-trapped vehicles.
Later on Wednesday, MTV said "the supposed suicide bomber Mohammed Mahmoud was arrested at Naim Abbas' house in Corniche al-Mazraa."
LBCI TV also confirmed that "the suicide bomber who was supposed to carry out an attack with the Corniche al-Mazraa car was among those arrested along with Naim Abbas."
Abbas has close ties to Sheikh Omar al-Atrash, a holy man from the Bekaa Valley who was arrested last month, and later charged with detonating bombs and explosive-rigged vehicles, attacking the army in Majdelyoun and al-Awwali bridge areas in the southern city of Sidon and launching rockets on Israel.
In a related development, the military prosecutor charged on Wednesday Ali Hussein al-Hujairi for links with al-Atrash and for belonging to a terrorist organization.
Judge Saqr Saqr referred al-Hujairi, who was also arrested last month, to the first military examining magistrate Nabil Wehbe.
Several of the latest bombings in Hizbullah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa have been claimed by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades whose leader, Majed al-Majed, was captured by Lebanese authorities in December and died in jug later.
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[An Nahar] The army intercepted on Wednesday a booby-trapped vehicle in the Bekaa region.
Media reports said the dismantled the explosives-laden car on the Arsal-al-Labweh road.
The Army Command announced in a statement that the vehicle had arrived in Leb from Syria's Yabrud region.
Containing three women, the car was going to be transported to Beirut where it was to be handed over to would-be suicide-bombers.
The vehicle was pursued for a while before being intercepted at the Bekaa's al-Labweh checkpoint.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr later ordered that an investigation be launched in the case.
Al-Jadeed said that the vehicle was a silver Kia.
Al-Manar television identified the women as Joumana Hassan Hmayyed, Hala Ahmed Rayed, and Khadijeh Mohammed Audeh, all of whom hail from the Bekaa town of Arsal.
OTV said "the three women locked away ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... in Arsal confessed to planning a triple suicide kaboom."
Quoting military sources, LBCI television said the women confessed to plotting "a triple bombing during which the car and two jacket wallahs were supposed to blow up."
Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system... a statement issued by Arsal's residents said "the three arrested women do not represent the town in any way whatsoever," describing the army as the country's "security valve."
Arsal lies 12 kilometers from the border with Syria and has been used as a conduit for weapons and rebels to enter Syria, while also serving as a refuge for people fleeing the conflict that erupted in 2011.
The Lebanese army has several times seized cars loaded with arms and ammunition in the town and its outskirts.
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02/13/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Only a few hours after detained Qaeda-linked myrmidon Naim Abbas made his confessions, the army started raiding arms depots in the al-Dibbiyeh and al-Saadiyat areas, where it seized explosives, rockets and fake IDs.
"Abbas is the one who told interrogators about the two (booby-trapped) cars that were seized in (Beirut's) Corniche al-Mazraa and (Bekaa's) Arsal, in addition to a warehouse in al-Saadiyat," which lies on the coast linking Beirut to Sidon, LBCI television reported.
Quoting military sources, LBCI said troops confiscated explosives and fake IDs in the al-Saadiyat storehouse.
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!... also following confessions by Abbas, the army raided a depot in the Shouf area of al-Dibbiyeh, seizing "rockets that were supposed to be fired at Dahiyeh during (Hizbullah's) Martyrs Day ceremony in addition to boom jackets," according to al-Jadeed TV.
LBCI said "fake IDs" were also confiscated at the storehouse.
"The army seized 4 rockets that were prepared for firing towards Beirut at one of al-Dibbiyeh's forests, following the confessions of Naim Abbas," LBCI added.
Later on Wednesday, state-run National News Agency confirmed that "an army patrol seized in the town of al-Dibbiyeh four rockets that were prepared for firing at Beirut's southern suburbs during the commemoration of (Hizbullah's slain commander) Imad Mughniyeh on February 15, according to the confessions of the detainee Naim Abbas."
Earlier, NNA said the army staged raids in search for a number of runaways in the al-Saadiyat area.
LBCI television reported "a heavy deployment and army raids in al-Saadiyat in search for runaways and suspects linked to security dossiers."
The developments come in the wake of the army's arrest in Beirut of Naim Abbas, a Paleostinian leader in the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... , who has been described as the group's number two man in Leb.
Abbas has close ties to Sheikh Omar al-Atrash, a holy man from the Bekaa Valley who was locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! last month, and later charged with detonating bombs and explosive-rigged vehicles, attacking the army in Majdelyoun and al-Awwali bridge areas in the southern city of Sidon and launching rockets on Israel.
Several of the latest bombings in Hizbullah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs and the Bekaa have been claimed by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades whose leader, Majed al-Majed, was captured by Lebanese authorities in December and died in jug later.
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[Egypt Independent] Russia said on Wednesday it would veto a UN resolution on humanitarian aid access in Syria in its current form, denouncing the draft as an effort to lay a foundation for military strikes against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... 's government.
Moscow had already dismissed the Western-Arab draft debated in the Security Council on Tuesday as a non-starter, but a senior diplomat's unequivocal condemnation indicated Russia would seek major changes before dropping its opposition.
"Its whole purpose and aim is to create grounds for future military action against the Syrian government if some demands it includes are not met," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said of the draft, according to state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... RIA.
"It is unacceptable to us in the form in which it is now being prepared, and we, of course, will not let it through."
Since the civil war began in Syria in 2011, Russia and China have vetoed three Western-backed Security Council resolutions condemning Assad's government and threatening it with sanctions.
Russia says it is not trying to prop up Assad but that he must not be forced out by foreign powers, and adamantly opposes Western military intervention.
At the United Nations ...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly... on Tuesday, French Ambassador Gerard Araud told news hounds that Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council Moscow was prepared to work on some kind of resolution on aid access, but not the present draft.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow would consider a draft resolution only if it was "not about one-sided accusations" against Syria's government.
The draft condemns rights abuses by Syrian authorities and gangs, and demands that the government stop all aerial bombardment of cities and towns as well as the indiscriminate use of bombs, rockets and related weaponry. It also condemns "increased terrorist attacks," and calls for the withdrawal of all imported muscle from Syria.
It expresses an intent to impose sanctions on individuals and entities obstructing aid and if certain demands in the resolution are not met within 15 days of its adoption.
Homs operation
The government and opposition have agreed on a pause in hostilities to allow the delivery of aid and the evacuation of civilians from Homs, Syria's third-largest city, though aid workers came under attack over the weekend.
Russian officials have said the agreement on Homs has demonstrated that a Security Council resolution is not needed to address the problem at this point, and could serve as a template for similar operations elsewhere in Syria.
Western nations say the Homs operation is a drop in the bucket and want the council to guarantee broad aid access.
On Wednesday, Assad's forces and allied Lebanese militia Hezbollah stepped up attacks on Syria's strategic border town of Yabroud, activists said, in apparent preparation for a new offensive to flush out rebel forces.
While supporting opposite sides in the conflict, the United States and Russia have joined forces to organize peace talks now underway in Geneva and an agreement obliging Assad to abandon his chemical weapons arsenal.
But the aid access dispute has revived mutual recriminations between Washington and Moscow over one another's motives in Syria, where the conflict has killed more than 130,000 people and driven a third of the population from their homes.
"The Security Council needs to speak with one voice," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said in a statement on Tuesday. "Every day the council remains silent, we let down the Syrian people, and we fail to uphold our role as guardians of international peace and security."
President Barack Obama Jedi mind meld... said U.S. officials "have delivered a very direct message to the Russians that they cannot say they are concerned about the well-being of the Syrian people when there are starving civilians".
French envoy Araud said the draft was "balanced" but could be amended, suggesting Gay Paree was prepared to accommodate some of Russia's objections in negotiations on the text to avoid a veto.
Gatilov said China agreed with Russia on the draft.
"The Chinese share our approach, and I would like to hope that certain other Security Council members will objectively evaluate the situation," RIA quoted him as saying in Geneva.
However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying spoke cautiously about the draft at a daily news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, saying: "All parties are currently engaged in talks. We should not prejudge the outcome."
"We believe that at present the international community must work together to relieve the humanitarian situation and should create favorable conditions for the conflicting sides to conduct dialogue and negotiation," she said.
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02/13/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
BELEDWEYNE, Somalia -- Accidental explosion during a bomb-making process at a house in Hiraan region town of Bulo-Barde of central Somalia left 14 Al Shabaab fighters dead according to residents, Garowe Online reports.
An Islamic militant leader in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria has reportedly claimed responsibility for six killings in the southern Caucasus Stavropol Krai region last month. 
[DAWN] The city police authorities on Tuesday informed the Sindh High Court that the 
[Egypt Independent] Gunmen tossed hand grenades into the house of a slain Pak police officer on Wednesday, police said, killing nine men in an attack coinciding with peace talks between the government and Pakistain Talibs.
Nawaz Sharif
Suspected 
[An Nahar] Three people were 
[An Nahar] Military experts defused on Wednesday a 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
