A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than 1 miles away. Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots -- even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle.
"The first round hit a machinegunner in the stomach and killed him outright," said Harrison, a Corporal of Horse. "He went straight down and didn't move.
"The second insurgent grabbed the weapon and turned as my second shot hit him in the side. He went down, too. They were both dead."
The shooting -- which took place while Harrison's colleagues came under attack -- was at such extreme range that the 8.59mm bullets took almost three seconds to reach their target after leaving the barrel of the rifle at almost three times the speed of sound.
The distance to Harrison's two targets was measured by a GPS system at 8,120ft, or 1.54 miles. The previous record for a sniper kill is 7,972ft, set by a Canadian soldier who shot dead an Al-Qaeda gunman in March 2002.
In a remarkable tour of duty, Harrison cheated death a few weeks later when a Taliban bullet pierced his helmet but was deflected away from his skull. He later broke both arms when his army vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Harrison was sent back to the UK for treatment, but insisted on returning to the front line after making a full recovery.
"I was lucky that my physical fitness levels were very high before my arms were fractured and after six weeks in plaster I was still in pretty good shape," he said. "It hasn't affected my ability as a sniper."
Harrison, from Gloucestershire, was reunited in Britain with his wife Tanya and daughter Dani, 16, last month. Recalling his shooting prowess in Helmand province, he said: "It was just unlucky for the Taliban that conditions were so good and we could see them so clearly."
Harrison and his colleagues were in open-topped Jackal 4x4 vehicles providing cover for an Afghan national army patrol south of Musa Qala in November last year. When the Afghan soldiers and Harrison's troop commander came under enemy fire, the sniper, whose vehicle was further back on a ridge, trained his sights on a Taliban compound in the distance. His L115A3 long-range rifle, the army's most powerful sniper weapon, is designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft and supposedly capable of only "harassing fire" beyond that range.
"We saw two insurgents running through its courtyard, one in a black dishdasha, one in green," he said. "They came forward carrying a PKM machinegun, set it up and opened fire on the commander's wagon.
"Conditions were perfect, no wind, mild weather, clear visibility. I rested the bipod of my weapon on a compound wall and aimed for the gunner firing the machinegun.
"The driver of my Jackal, Trooper Cliff O'Farrell, spotted for me, providing all the information needed for the shot, which was at the extreme range of the weapon."
Harrison killed one machinegunner with his first attempt and felled the other with his next shot. He then let off a final round to knock the enemy weapon out of action.
Harrison discovered that he had set a new record only on his return to UK barracks nine days ago. The previous record was held by Corporal Rob Furlong, of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, who was using a 12.7mm McMillan TAC-50 rifle.
Tom Irwin, a director of Accuracy International, the British manufacturer of the L115A3 rifle, said: "It is still fairly accurate beyond 4,921ft, but at that distance luck plays as much of a part as anything."
News of Harrison's success comes amid concern over a rival insurgent sharpshooter who in a five-month spree has killed up to seven British soldiers, including a sniper, in and around the Taliban stronghold of Sangin.
In a later incident during the tour, Harrison's patrol vehicle was hit 36 times during a Taliban ambush. "One round hit my helmet behind the right ear and came out of the top," he said. "Two more rounds went through the strap across my chest. We were all very, very lucky not to get hurt."
#1
"Tom Irwin, a director of Accuracy International, the British manufacturer of the L115A3 rifle, said: 'It is still fairly accurate beyond 4,921ft, but at that distance luck plays as much of a part as anything.'
...
In a later incident during the tour, Harrison's patrol vehicle was hit 36 times during a Taliban ambush. 'One round hit my helmet behind the right ear and came out of the top,' he said. 'Two more rounds went through the strap across my chest. We were all very, very lucky not to get hurt.'"
#2
News of Harrisons success comes amid concern over a rival insurgent sharpshooter who in a five-month spree has killed up to seven British soldiers, including a sniper, in and around the Taliban stronghold of Sangin.
BS
Pakistani Army sniper in mufti
Posted by: john frum ||
05/02/2010 10:32 Comments ||
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#3
Brit troops have all the competence their leadership lacks. Nice shot!
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2010 11:11 Comments ||
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You and Napoleon agree. He said British cavalry were the best-mounted and worst-led in the world.
Posted by: Wholung Prince of the Lichtensteiners5478 ||
05/02/2010 12:59 Comments ||
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#7
His L115A3 long-range rifle, the army's most powerful sniper weapon, is designed to be effective at up to 4,921ft and supposedly capable of only "harassing fire" beyond that range.
So, do the Moose-limbs dispatched at these record distances also get some of the glory? You know, like maybe 10 bonus virgins or a Muhammad Pez dispenser? Just wondering.
#12
To get 2 shots off right after each other and both be on target is remarkable. .338 Lapua kicks like a sumbitch. Bruised my shoulder last time I fired one (at a "home made" range out on a farm) - last shot wasn't even on the target at 800m, but it was at least on the paper. Then again, it was a hunting rifle, not a sniper weapon, so bolt action, no buffers, etc. Plus the rounds are very expensive.
Anyone that can get two of these off that accurately, at extended range, in combat conditions is a hell of a marksman.
Posted by: ed ||
05/02/2010 20:15 Comments ||
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#15
Rhodesiafever, I prefer about 200-300m if I'm firing my rifle. Of the war I've seen, I really preferred 500m and a Bushmaster, or one of the nearby 120mm Rheinmetall reaching out and touching things at about 2km. If you're handing out a gut shot at 4 feet, to me that means you've screwed up to get into that situation. (But that's why my Glock 23 is for, now as a civilian - worst case)
Jihadi tourism. The same type that used to go to Iraq to get killed, and before that Afghanistan. Of course they thought they were going to swan about, seducing the local girls with their sexy mujaheddin ways, not actually be sent off fully drugged and wearing a suicide vest or whatever cannon fodder was called for that day. These are on the losing side of Darwin's equation.
A growing number of Britons are answering the call to jihad in Somalia and joining the ranks of militants linked to al-Qaida ahead of an American-backed drive next month to strengthen the country's army. Sources say that the influx, which includes Britons of Pakistani origin, is heading to the Horn of Africa as the US tries to shore up Somalia's government in the face of a broadening Islamist insurgency.
US State Department sources said yesterday that it had noted an influx of "foreign fighters" arriving in Somalia to swell the ranks of al-Shabab. Popular routes from Britain to Somalia involve Kenya or Djibouti, the small republic that borders Somalia on its north west. One western official said some flights to the republic had, at one stage, been dubbed the "Djibouti express" because on occasion so many young Britons were on board. The precise scale of the exodus is unclear, but "scores" of British fighters are known to have travelled to Somalia.
There is fresh concern over Somalia's proximity to Yemen, the Arabian peninsula base for al-Qaida. Last week the British ambassador to Yemen survived a suicide bomb attack as his convoy travelled through the capital, Sanaa. A Pentagon source said recent events meant the US was developing "significant concerns about the growing threat" in the area.
America has brought US special forces into Yemen to work with the army to try to counter the al-Qaida threat. It has also spent $6.8m in Somalia supporting training for nearly 2,000 soldiers, touted as the biggest effort to rebuild the Somalian army in 20 years.
The issue of Somalia has been repeatedly raised by Jonathan Evans, director-general of MI5. "There is no doubt that there is training activity and terrorist planning in east Africa -- particularly in Somalia -- which is focused on the UK," he has said. British security sources cite the case last month of an Australian man of Somali origin who was suspected of working with al-Shabab, but who escaped from police custody in Kenya, as an example of the new wave of foreign fighters entering the country.
The movement between Somalia and the UK has led to increased efforts to detect potential terror networks linked to Islamic militants basedin east Africa. The Somali community in Britain numbers about 250,000, the largest in Europe, with the bulk of those coming to the country as refugees within the past 20 years. Two Somali asylum-seekers were among the four men convicted of the failed attempts to bomb the London transport system on 21 July 2005.
#2
No surprise to see the two most hated/unemployed set of people in the UK being involved ie British pakistani origin and British Somalian origin both scum who do not offer anything to the UK except drug dealing and gang warfare!
AFP - A French warship destroyed a pirate 'mother ship' and 11 Somalis were seized in an anti-piracy operation off the Somali coast, the EU naval force Navfor said on Friday.
The surveillance frigate Nivose found, "stopped and searched a mother skiff and two supporting skiffs, some 480 nautical miles east of the Somali coast" on Thursday, Navfor said in a statement.
The French sailors boarded and searched the vessels and discovered "pirate paraphernalia". The 11 Somali crew were taken off the three apprehended boats which were then sunk.
The proactive action is part of Navfor's aim to prevent and disrupt pirate activity. More than 40 such pirate groups have been disrupted in the last two months "showing that the new strategy is working," Navfor said.
#4
Actually the Nivose did it the old-fashioned way, Ship.
There's nothing wrong with the French military (below the rank of general, at least).
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 9:37 Comments ||
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#5
Many of the stories on Rantburg prove the mettle of the soldiers, airmen, Marines and sailors of our NATO allies. Despite how their governments are, these men are brave, fight hard despite the fact they are often horribly equipped compared to our own troops and take their lumps without complain. Even the French.
My hat's off to them. Their governments can take a flying leap though.
#7
You know, if we authorized open whaling in the Indian Ocean, we might be able to see what a Japanese trawler could do to the integrity of some of these freebooter skiffs.
#9
Apparently, the pirates didn't have a lightsaber to use against the pirates
Why not use the same pointing devices against the pirates that all these folks seem to like to use against airplane pilots? It would screw them up big time if they used something industrial-strength. They couldn't even afford to look back at the ship they were attacking for fear they would be blinded or messed up!
I didn't realize the Mistral class helo platform was so large: 21,000 tons.
Pirate news from the Indian Ocean.
French naval crews destroyed two pirate "mother ships" and captured 22 pirates total in two separate actions, according to a EU NAVFOR news release.
Thursday afternoon the French light frigate Nivose located and searched a pirate "mother ship" with two smaller skiffs 480 nautical miles off the eastern coast of Somalia.
The search found what was described a pirate paraphernalia. The crew took 11 Somali prisoners and the two skiff aboard before sinking the larger vessel.
Saturday morning, a Swedish surveillance aircraft located a pirate action group 450 nautical miles off the eastern coast of Somalia.
The French amphibious assault helicopter carrier Tonnere was dispatched to the area. A helo crew launched to monitor the pirate force recorded the Somali pirates as they dumped weapons and equipment overboard..
A boarding party was sent and they secured the rest of the equipment and took 11 suspects into custody. The French also took two of the skiffs aboard.
Mexican news outlets report at least six executions in northern Mexican states since Wednesday night.
A man in his late 30s was found shot in the head on San Sebastian Street in Guadalupe, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.
A 50 year old man as found in a bullet riddled 1998 Ford Taurus Thursday night. He was shot 15 times with a 9mm weapon.
A 41 year old employee of Urgent Mail was found dead Thursday night in a white Nissan light truck in Delicias. Reports say he was shot with .40 caliber weapon.
Also, a 17 year old man was found in Delicias murdered Thursday night in a carwash. He was also shot with a .40 caliber weapon.
A 38 year old man was found in an address in the Gardens of the East area of south Juarez. Investigators said he was shot eight times with a .223 rifle.
In Tijuana early Saturday morning, a man was found dead on a road in the Green Valley area of Tujuana. Authorities say he was shot with a 9mm weapon.
In other crime news, Tijuana municipal police were shot at by assault rifles early Friday morning responding to an armed robbery call.
Reports say patrols attempted to approach a suspect vehicle, a grey light truck but a passenger produced a rifle and began firing hitting two patrol vehicles. One stray shot hit a residence waking the occupants.
After a pursuit began, the drive also pointed an assault rifle and shot at police.
#1
Meh. Typical Chicago-land Saturday night. Does Mexico have Section 8 housing?
Posted by: ed ||
05/02/2010 0:35 Comments ||
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#2
It's a good thing this is happening in Mexico - dumb white American males couldn't deal with this mayhem. Just wait for the wise Latinas to work their magic. Any moment now...
Even though this amount of pot probably represents the daily usage of your standard rock band, the heavy weapons seized are what is notable about this story.
Mexican federal agents seized a ton of marijuana and several heavy weapons and munitions in Baja, according to a published Mexican news report. The four suspects arrested in the raid are suspected members of the Sinaloa drug cartel, according to the Mexican federal State Preventative Police ( PEP ).
The raid took place on the east side of Puebla along the highway to San Luis.
According to the translation, the pot, packaged in one kilogram packages, were lowered from a tractor-trailer rig to a basement in a warehouse and were found in the small underground area.
With the drugs agents also seized two .50 caliber rifles ( AR-50 ), two AK47s, an AR-15, a Ruger Mini-14 rifle, 98 .50 caliber rounds and 48 7.62x39mm rifle cartridges.
Agents also seized a 40mm grenade launcher along with four rounds,three of them fragmentation rounds. Agents noted the grenade launcher was the same type use in an attack of a Mexican public security official.
Agents also seized a tractor-trailer rig, a 1996 Ford Sedan, a 1988 Ford Econoline van, a Nissan 200X and a motorcycle.
#1
Two .50s? Those suckers are expensive, and uncommon. Shouldn't be too hard to track where they came from. Next question is what did they want them for? Sniper overwatch of a drug transaction (they'll need more than 98 rounds to practice with)?
#2
NAFTA allows some registered tractor-trailers to by-pass customs at the border, if the driver speaks English. Grenade launchers and .50 cal shows they are prepared for an insurgency. We need troops NOW.
#4
MS-13 has fired .50 cals at border officials for several years now. They and the Mexican cartels also are sporting body armor, night vision equipment, encrypted comms gear, RPGs and launchers and more recently helicopters.
This is a step or two beyond your basic law enforcement situation.
#6
Be tough on the civilians, but nuking Nogales would let the drug cartels know we're playing for real for once. Of course, that's COMPLETELY above Obumble's pay grade...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/02/2010 19:04 Comments ||
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One person was killed and 21 were injured when a bomb exploded in Nalchik, the capital of Russia's republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. The bomb exploded during horse races as the city celebrated May Day.
A spokeswoman for the local Interior Ministry said the bomb was equipped with a timer and filled with pieces of metal designed to injure as many people as possible. Law enforcement officials said the bomb exploded near a VIP box. A republic cabinet minister was among those wounded.
In Ingushetia today, a man was shot dead by policeman after opening fire at a sports complex. The man opened fire after police began to search him at the entrance to the sports complex in the city of Nazran, where Ingushetia's president and other officials were attending a national judo competition.
Genius.
The NYPD is checking surveillance cameras around Times Square Sunday as they search for suspects in the car bomb scare. "We're in the process of identifying additional cameras which may have captured images of the vehicle and more important, people seen driving or leaving the vehicle," said NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.
The FBI is also involved in the investigation.
All City cops whose shift was supposed to end at midnight were kept on the job overnight, and checks were conducted in the outer boroughs for any suspicious activity that might be related to the incident.
Police also said the license plate on the rear of the SUV did not belong to the vehicle, rather it was traced to a man who said it was on a car that he left at a junk yard.
An SUV found parked on 45th Street Saturday evening was loaded with explosives, smoking and moments from blowing up when an alert t-shirt vendor noticed something wasn't right and alerted a mounted police officer. That officer, Wayne Radigan, evacuated the block and called for reinforcements.
He was congratulated by Governor Paterson, Commissioner Kelly, and other officials early Sunday morning for his actions. "We avoided what could have been a very deadly event," Mayor Bloomberg said.
"Firefighters, emergency service officers and the bomb squad responded and the bomb squad confirmed that the suspicious vehicle did indeed contain an explosive device," Bloomberg said.
Packed inside the dark green Nissan Pathfinder were three propane tanks, consumer-grade fireworks, two full five-gallon gasoline containers, two clocks, some electrical wire, and a metal gun locker.
The vehicle was abandoned with its engine on and hazard lights flashing, but police don't yet know who was driving it.
Police immediately shut down Times Square, canceled Broadway shows, evacuated the Marriott Marquis, and ushered thousands of people outside the barriers.
Bloomberg said the bomb scare is another reminder that New York is a terrorist target and everyone has to be vigilant.
"Message, New Yorkers, is what we've been saying for an awful long time. Terrorists around the world who feel threatened by the freedoms that we have in this country and want to take those freedoms away from us always focus on the symbol of those freedoms, and that is New York City," Bloomberg said.
Governor David Paterson issued a statement following the car bomb scare.
"We owe an incredible debt of gratitude to the heroic actions of the New York City Police Department and to a single vigilant New Yorker who identified a suspicious vehicle near Times Square in New York City," he said. "Luckily, no one is hurt, and now the full attention of city, state and federal law enforcement will be turned to bringing the guilty party to justice in this act of terrorism." Oblahblah has been so lucky twice now that we know of. This run will not continue. Liberals need to go bye-bye because they keep going the wrong way on security issues like surveillance of terrorists and border security and illegal aliens (which has nothing to do with "immigration" unless it is just being used as a tool to pacify people's reaction to illegal aliens).
Was this bomb built by Pakistani nationals on vacation in this country?
#2
Oblahblahhas been so lucky twice now that we know of.
I count this as the fourth, one of which was successful:
o The aborted Afghan-Yemen plan to bomb the New York City subway last September -- Nasi and a couple of high school friends have been convicted for it, and the imam will be returning to Afghanistan in a few months.
o The unsuccessful pantybomber from Nigeria who flew in Christmas day, also connected to Yemen.
o Major Hassan, who successfully killed many of his fellow soldiers just before they shipped out to Iraq, and who I believe now faces the death penalty.
#4
"Surprised the doofus didn't try to blame it on the Tea Partiers..."
I'm sure he would have liked to, but the Obama regime probably already had in their hands the Pakistani Taliban video taking credit for the attempt.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
05/02/2010 16:00 Comments ||
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#5
I'll give Paterson his due. It's a reasonable statement.
I would have liked to have seen an additional sentence about hunting the terrorists down, grinding them into the earth, and torching their villages, but that's just me.
But we do indeed owe thanks to a street vendor and to the police.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 16:21 Comments ||
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#6
There have been a lot more attempts, including 3 muslim plots in one week to bring down office/governmental buildings. Law enforcements stings even got one of them on video pressing the switch of the US gov issued truck bomb.
Posted by: ed ||
05/02/2010 16:28 Comments ||
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#7
o The aborted Afghan-Yemen plan to bomb the New York City subway last September -- Nasi and a couple of high school friends
Sorry -- my brain apparently got a little too efficient -- that's Najibullah Zazi, of course.
#8
At the NYPD news conference, Kelly said they had a video of a white male, about 40, leaving the scene and changing his shirt from a dark color to a red one underneath. They also blew open the gun box and it had packets of white powder, possibly fertilizer but still being analyzed. I guess they also have fingerprints and other forensic material. He did say someone also contacted a local new organization and took credit or gave a warning beforehand. No further elaboration.
I deleted all my cookies at the behest of Comcast, trying to get their TV listings to show Richmond for zip 23235, instead of the Philadelphia they seem to think it should be.
It didn't work. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/02/2010 21:25 Comments ||
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#17
Barb: I deleted all my cookies at the behest of Comcast, trying to get their TV listings to show Richmond for zip 23235, instead of the Philadelphia they seem to think it should be.
Team Obama seems to be able to get this to work out with the stimulus money and all. Why don't you give them a call?
The tape has yet to be verified, but US intelligence officials contacted by The Long War Journal believe it is legitimate. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan News Channel on YouTube was created on April 30. Officials believe it was created to announce the Times Square attack, and Qari Hussain's statement was pre-recorded.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attempted car bomb attack in New York's Times square, a statement on an Islamist website said on Sunday. The statement said it was to avenge the killing of two Islamists and "Muslim martyrs."
"The Pakistani Taliban announced its responsibility for the New York attack in revenge for the two leaders al-Baghdadi and al-Mahajer and Muslim martyrs," said a statement on a website commonly used by Islamists.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/02/2010 14:01 ||
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Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#1
The "Palestinians" are right by their side. I understand they are pretty happy about this, too.
#8
Wait as minute. I thought fireworks were unislamic.
Posted by: ed ||
05/02/2010 16:23 Comments ||
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#9
Well, the only thing that really matters is that no profiling is done. It doesn't matter if it works, is wise, or whatever.
Posted by: Jefferson ||
05/02/2010 17:07 Comments ||
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#10
You Tube had a video of Aari Hussain Mehsud claiming credit for the car bomb but the vid id gone due to terms of use violation. You Tube not pimping for the Terrs anymore or thge Taliban want royalties?
#11
DRUDGEREPORT > REAL CLEAR POLITICS - LOCAL NYC TV NEWS CHANNELS: FAILED TIMES SQUARE CAR BOMB WAS A DIVERSION FOR "MASSIVE EXPLOSION" [to come]???
Some one really Really REALLY R_E__A__L_L_Y R-E-A-L-L-Y RRRREEEEEEEEELLLLLLYYYYYYYYYY ......@ETC,
D **** YOU, WANTS THEIR OWG-NWO, NATIONAL-GLOBAL SOCIALISM GOVTISM, REVOLUTION, SECUL TOTALITARIANISM, + OF COURSE RADIC ISLAM + ISLAMIST SHARIA IN AMERIKA, THE OWG MIGHTY USSA VS. THE OWG WEAK USRoA SSR.
* YEAR 2012 > IRAN + MILTERRS declare they possess NUKULAAR WEAPS + ADVANC WMDS.
POST-2012 > ADVENT OF LOCAL + GLOBAL NUKULAAR TERRORISM-MILITANCY???
#14
I'm waiting for some moron to publish exactly why the "Bomb" didn't work, Yes I know, No I'm not telling.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/02/2010 20:21 Comments ||
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#15
TOPIX > VARIOUS > FORMER "DEAD" TALIBAN LEADER HAKEEMULLAH MEHSUD THREATENED ATTACKS ON US CITIES IN NEW VIDEO
"COMING TO AMERICA" NOT-STARRING-EDDIE-MURPHY-OR-ARSENIO-HALL.
* SAME > NASRALLAH: HIZBULLAH HAS THE "LEGAL RIGHT" TO OWN ANY WEAPON. Still won't confirm or deny that the Hizzies Huzzies Hezzies Hazzies Hussies Hissies, etc. don't have SCUDS
and
SAME > SHIMON PERES: NORTH KOREA A DUTY-FREE ARMS, NUCLEAR SHOPPING CENTER/STORE FOR IRAN.
Uh, uh, RADIC ISLAM LIKES BUYING "HAWAIIAN" MACADAMIA NUT CHOC-COVERED CANDIES, LEIS + TROPIC BEACH WEAR, FOR IRAN???
Police say they have found an explosive device near the course of the Pittsburgh Marathon, forcing them to detour the final part of the race.
Police say the device was found in a small microwave oven on the sidewalk after the leaders had finished the course Sunday morning. Several blocks were cordoned off near the original finish line for the marathon and half-marathon.
The bomb squad used a robot to disable the device. The all-clear was given for the area shortly before 11 a.m. About 5,000 people took part in the full marathon.
The disruption comes a day after a car-bomb scare in New York emptied Times Square.
#1
Probably not connected but someone interviewed on the news last night said the fireworks in the Times Square bomb were purchased in Pennsylvania. Now the Taliban are taking credit.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2010 14:44 Comments ||
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#3
See also PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > YOUTUBE VIDEO > "AL QAEDA BASES ACROSS THE USA".
* ION BHARAT RAKSHAK > TERROR THREATS AGZ NEW DELHI AN ATTEMPT TO DERAIL 2010 COMMONWEALTH GAMES? |THREE TERROR GROUPS ASKED TO TRIGGER TERROR STRIKES AGZ NEW DELHI.
* WMF > INDIA'S [effective/successful] MAOIST REVOLUTION MAY DEVOL INTO THE FUTURE FOCII FOR ISLAMIC RIOTS AND INSURGENCY.
Police found a suspected car bomb in a smoking sport utility vehicle Saturday evening in Times Square, then cleared the streets of thousands of tourists milling through the landmark district so they could dismantle the device.
A white robotic police arm broke windows of the black Nissan Pathfinder to remove any explosive materials while heavily armed police and emergency vehicles shut down the city's busiest streets, teeming with taxis and theatergoers on one of the first summer-like days of the year.
Investigators removed bomb-making materials, including propane tanks, explosive powders and a crude timing device, top police spokesman Paul Browne said.
"There were explosive elements, including powder, gasoline, propane and some kind of electrical wires attached to a clock," Browne said early Sunday. "No motive has been identified."
So the terrorists had built a fuel-air explosive. That would have leveled the block. We would have had dozens, likely hundreds dead.
An officer noticed smoke coming from the SUV around 6:30 p.m. and cleared the streets. The area remained closed more than seven hours later.
Police are investigating a report that someone was seen running from the vehicle at some point and are reviewing security videotapes, Browne said. The Nissan Pathfinder's license plates do not match the car's registration, he said.
Police evacuated several residential and commercial buildings and cleared the streets of people. Police were deployed around the area with heavy weapons on empty streets in the heart of busy midtown Manhattan.
Some tourists reported hearing a small explosion hours after the car was first located.
Shelly Carlisle, of Portland, Ore., said police crowded into her Broadway theater after the curtain closed on "Next to Normal," a show on the same block where the SUV was found.
"At the end of the show, the police came in. We were told we had to leave," Carlisle said. "They said there was a bomb scare."
The car was parked on 45th Street, and the block was closed between Seventh and Eighth avenues as a precaution, police said. Times Square lies about four traffic-choked miles north of where terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in 1993, then laid waste to it on Sept. 11, 2001.
FBI agents are on the scene with the New York Police Department, and the matter is being taken seriously, said Paul Bresson, head of the FBI's public affairs office at bureau headquarters in Washington.
The Homeland Security Department is aware of the situation, but the NYPD has it under control and is investigating, said a Homeland Security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is in progress.
The block that was closed is one of the prime blocks for Broadway shows, with seven theaters housing such big shows as "Billy Elliot" and "Lend Me a Tenor."
Katy Neubauer, 46, and Becca Saunders, 39, of Milwaukee, were shopping for souvenirs two blocks south of the SUV when they saw panicked crowds. "It was a mass of people running away from the scene," Neubauer said.
Said Saunders: "There were too many people, too many cops. I've never seen anything like it."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg left early from the White House correspondent's dinner Saturday night. A news conference was planned in New York for early Sunday.
President Barack Obama, who attended the annual gala, praised the quick response by the New York Police Department, White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said. He has also directed his homeland security and counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to advise New York officials that the federal government is prepared to provide support.
Brennan and others will keep Obama up to date on the investigation, Shapiro said.
I never thought of that. Maybe you should call the NYC police and let them know. If they seem like they're ignoring you, just keep calling back until you find someone who will listen to you.
#7
Fortunate they were not well-trained terrorists, or the bomb might have worked. Unless it was a false-flag bomb - intended to not go off, but to discredit some group without actually hurting anyone. We'll see who the vehicle or bomb components trace back to (think of Operation Himmler & Polish town Gleiwitz or maybe Gulf of Tonkin?)
#9
Johnnie I believe Charles was being sarcastic. And a good one, too.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/02/2010 8:52 Comments ||
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#10
They picked up three Iranians with backpacks, after scouting out the sights from the top floor of the Marriot, and towed a licenseless van New Year's Eve. This hotel was also evacuated Saturday night, as it overlooks the district. Dry run?
#11
Being 1 May and all, it sounds more like some Anarchists group, maybe some close friend of Aires. It certainly would not be a communist/socialist group. That group owns the White House...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/02/2010 10:52 Comments ||
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#12
The Telegraph is reporting that the vehicle was parked near the Viacom headquarters.
This might be aimed at South Park, even though the creators live in Colorado.
#13
That may have been a dry run, Lumpy Elmoluck5091. This was a lucky fizzle. The New York Post has more:
An unidentified T-shirt vendor, who is a Vietnam veteran, saw smoke billowing from a Nissan Pathfinder and alerted Police Officer Wayne Rhatigan, a mounted patrol cop, who looked inside the smoldering vehicle at around 6:30 p.m. on West 45th Street near Seventh Avenue in front of an entrance to the Minskoff Theatre.
Rhatigan, who has been on the force for 19 years, the last four in the Mounted Unit, smelled gunpowder and called in the Fire Department, which put out the car fire as he and two patrol officers cleared the area of civilians.
Bomb Squad members then searched the SUV, which bore Connecticut license plates that were actually registered to a Ford F-150, and found two gasoline cans, three propane tanks, electrical wires, black powder, consumer grade fireworks and two clocks, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
There was a "box within a box" in the car, a 2X2X4 black gun locker, Kelly said.
Officials dismantled the first device and were in the process of rendering the second box safe this morning at the departments firing range in the Bronx.
An NYPD security camera caught the Pathfinder travelling west on West 45th Street at 6:28 p.m. and at 6:34 p.m. the 911 call came in, Kelly said.
Investigators interviewed the person who had the license plates before they were put on the Pathfinder. That person is not a suspect and told officials that he dropped the plates off at a junkyard. Police are trying to track down the owner of that junkyard.
Ay Pee adds that the keys were left in the ignition, and fingerprints have been found.
#14
"There was a "box within a box" in the car, a 2X2X4 black gun locker, Kelly said. Officials dismantled the first device and were in the process of rendering the second box safe this morning at the departments firing range in the Bronx."
Hope they remembered to check with a Geiger counter.
#18
From the Telegraph The device, which failed to detonate, was left near the offices of Viacom, which owns the irreverent cartoon series.
Last month postings on an Islamic website warned the creators of South Park - Matt Stone and Trey Parker - that they could face violent reprisals after an episode of the show featured Mohammed in a bear suit.
A posting on the website of a US-based group called Revolution Muslim warned Stone and Parker that they would probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh, the Dutch film-maker who was murdered in 2004 by a Muslim angered by his film about Muslim women.
#19
All I needed. Mr. Secretary, initiate DEFCOM 1 please. Madam Secretary, send the Tehran communique at 2300 hrs local. Give them 30 minutes to evacuate. Someone notify the Israelis.
#20
Mayor Michael Bloomberg left early from the White House correspondent's dinner Saturday night. A news conference was planned in New York for early Sunday
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2010 14:53 Comments ||
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#25
lotp, "propane tanks, explosive powders and a crude timing device" is practically a Paleo TM. Betcha if NYPD gives Shabak the whole data they'll get the name of the muhandas (engineer)in return.
A 16-year-old girl affiliated to a Maoist outfit was allegedly raped by other members for fleeing the camp in Latehar district of Jharkhand, police said today.
"The girl ran away from a camp about five days ago. She was caught by the ultras, beaten up and raped when she refused to return," Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Dwivedi said.
The Maoists had asked their sympathisers to trace her alleging that she had fled with arms.
The SP said the girl was dumped at a lonely place from where villagers rescued her. She was admitted to a health centre.
The girl was arrested and shifted to the Sadar Hospital, Latehar, he said.
The girl had run away once earlier following physical and mental pressure on her and had been jailed after being arrested from the Manika area.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/02/2010 11:34 ||
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QUETTA: Six people, including a superintendent of police, were injured when a bomb went off on Quetta's Qambrani Road on Saturday.
The bomb blast occurred early on Saturday when a police party was patrolling the Qambrani Road as part of beefed up security measures. The bomb that was planted in an auto rickshaw was detonated through a remote control.
The blast injured four policemen, including SP Alam Pirkani, and two passers-by. The injured personnel were moved to the Combined Military Hospital where doctors said the SP and the van's driver were in a critical condition.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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MINGORA: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a local leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) in the Kabal tehsil of Swat. It was learnt that ANP leader, Riaz was gunned down in the Manja Delvi area of the tehsil.
Recently, there has been a consistent rise in the number of targeted killings in Swat.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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LAHORE/SIALKOT: Unprovoked firing by the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) killed a civilian in Battal sector of Azad Jammu Kashmir, a private TV channel reported on Saturday.
The channel said the BSF fired mortars and shells on a small village around 40 kilometres from Rawalakot, killing one Muhammad Azeem. AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider condemned the incident, calling it a cowardly act'.
Poor Muhammad. He was pro'ly a rag trader. A simple rag trader. A heavily-armed, simple rag trader, infiltrating the border. Dastardly Indians, killing a rag trader.
Meanwhile, the BSF also opened unprovoked fire using heavy weapons at the Sialkot working boundary. According to the details from the Shakargarh sector, the Indian BSF started firing around midnight that continued for two to three hours. However, the firing stopped after the Chenab Rangers retaliated. No loss of life has been reported and the Pakistani side has asked the BSF for a wing commander-level meeting to protest the incident.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The Pak's are probably annoyed that THEY didn't get to initiate the cross border shooting.
PESHAWAR: Jet fighters heavily bombed militant hideouts in the volatile Orakzai Agency on Saturday, killing 15 militants in the process, officials said. The jet fighters pounded Taliban hideouts in Kasha and Shakihan areas in Lower Orakzai, killing 11 militants while destroying three hideouts.
Separately, security forces shelled compounds between the Eisa Khel and Anjani areas, killing four militants and destroying two hideouts.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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MINGORA: Three civilians were killed and 16 people, including seven security personnel, were injured in a suicide blast and a simultaneous clash between security forces and the Taliban at a commercial plaza in Mingora city of Swat, security officials said on Saturday.
Operation Rah-e-Rast in-charge Maj Gen Ashfaq Nadeem told Daily Times four Taliban had also been killed. He said one of the Taliban blew himself up, while the remaining three were killed during a gunfight with security forces. He said seven security forces personnel had also been injured.
Malakand Deputy Inspector General Qazi Jamilur Rehman confirmed that three civilians were killed when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a commercial plaza. Bomb disposal squad officials said 15 kilogrammes of explosives had been used in the blast.
However, according to locals, security forces first surrounded five suicide bombers at the city's Green Chowk. They said one bomber blew himself up in the plaza, a second was killed by the forces, while a third managed to flee. They said the security forces arrested the remaining two suicide bombers and shifted them to an unidentified location. Swat District Police Officer Qazi Ghulam Farooq confirmed the killings and the arrests.
Security officials said the forces also arrested three suspected people from Essakhel and Fatahkhel villages during a search operation following the blast.
Locals said the suicide bomber, who blew himself up, was identified as Abdullah and his accomplices as Anees, Hazrat Ali and Sher Alam.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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Guwahati: The founder-chief of the militant outfit, National Democratic Front of Boroland, Ransaigra Nabla Daimary (alias D.R. Nabla or Ranjan Daimary), was held in Bangladesh and handed over to the Border Security Force late on Friday night.
Never heard of him or them but he's a bad one, so kudos to the BSF for getting him.
BSF authorities, in turn, handed him over to the Assam police and he was brought to the city on Saturday. He is likely to be produced in court here on Sunday. When contacted, Subhash Ch. Das, Principal Secretary, Home, did not divulge where and under what circumstances Daimary was arrested and details of the Bangladesh Rifles handing him over to the BSF in the Dawki sector of the border.
The 51-year-old insurgent leader was wanted in a number of cases including the October 30, 2008 serial blasts in Assam in which 88 persons were killed, at least 540 were injured and public property worth Rs.2.99 crore was damaged. Interpol also issued a Red Corner notice against him.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, in its charge sheet filed on May 25, 2009 in connection with the serial blasts, named 19 persons, including Daimary, accused. Its investigation revealed that the nine serial bomb blasts in Guwahati, Barpeta Road, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar were triggered by the NDFB.
Daimary had been president of the NDFB since its inception on October 3, 1986. The outfit was originally known as the Boro Security Force and re-christened the NDFB in 1993. However, the NDFB general assembly on December 15, 2008 replaced him by B. Sungthagra (alias Dhiren Boro). But, 12 days after his removal, Daimary claimed that he was still president.
On January 1, 2009 the NDFB expelled Daimary for his alleged involvement in the October 30, 2008 blasts. This split the outfit into two, with one faction led by Sungthagra known as the NDFB (ceasefire) and the other as the NDFB (Ranjan Daimary).
Splinters!
I think that's "Splitters!" But why an subgroup of vicious revolutionary terrorists would call themselves "Ceasefire" is beyond me.
Daimary earlier initiated the NDFB's peace process, declaring a unilateral ceasefire with the government of India on October 8, 2004, for six months and it was extended for another 3 months. He signed a bilateral agreement on Suspension of Operation with the Centre on May 25, 2005.
However, he later went underground and operated out of his bases in Bangladesh along with armed cadres of the third battalion of the outfit.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI: Madhuri Gupta, the junior diplomat who was arrested last week for allegedly passing secret information to a Pakistani intelligence agent, was remanded to 14 days' judicial custody by a Tis Hazari court here on Saturday.
Ms. Gupta, who was posted as the Secondary Secretary with the Press and Information Wing of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, was produced before the court on completion of her five-day police custody. During an in-chamber hearing, the police sought two days extension of her remand to confront her with the records obtained by them. However, the court turned down their request and sent Ms. Gupta to judicial custody till May 15.
Ms. Gupta's counsel said she told the court that she was innocent and was being framed.
"Yes, and I was hypnotized by faceless miscreants, too! I remember nothing, nothing at all, since leaving my father's house for the convent school when I was fourteen."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI: The US, Australia and Canada on Saturday warned that terror groups were likely planning imminent attacks' in India's capital and foreigners there should be vigilant.
The US embassy's alert, adding the word imminent', appeared to be more urgent than an advisory last month that cited increased indications of attacks in New Delhi. The warnings noted that markets and other areas frequented by Westerners in New Delhi have been targeted in past attacks.
Following the warnings, the Indian government put the Delhi Police on full alert' and ordered increased security and visitors in important markets, including Chandni Chowk, Connaught Place and Karol Bagh.
The US alert said Americans in India should maintain a high level of vigilance', remain aware of their surroundings and watch out for unattended packages. The Canadian travel warning said that credible and specific reporting indicates that a terrorist attack could be carried out in the following days or weeks, in market areas of Delhi frequented by foreigners'. It echoed a warning for Australian travellers to exercise a high degree of caution' in India in general and to avoid crowded shopping areas in the capital.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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ANTI-INDIA protesters stoned a bus in Indian Kashmir on Friday, killing a passenger as the region was again convulsed by violent demonstrations that also left 20 people injured, police said.
Police said the 42-year-old man was hit in the head as he travelled through Srinagar, the Kashmiri summer capital, and later died in hospital.
'A murder case has been registered. We will find the killers,' Srinagar police chief Javed Reyaz Bedar told reporters.
Later, police fired tear gas and charged hundreds of protesters who tried to march to the high-security office of the United Nations to protest against alleged human rights violations by Indian security forces.
'In all 15 protesters and five policemen were hurt in clashes in Srinagar and other towns,' a police spokesman said.
Young anti-India Muslims often throw stones at security forces during protests that frequently disrupt the volatile and violent Muslim-majority Kashmir valley
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/02/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Happy Birthday
Elda Furry aka Hedda Hopper, actress and gossip columnist. Her son William Hopper, best known for playing Paul Drake in the Perry Mason series. (Died 1966 at age 80)
#3
Ya know, one thing I could never figure how: Why the hell would Sara Evans first husband cheat on her with a skank? That is one mighty fine looking woman there.
Vital test - if she can look good in jeans, a jersey and a ballcap, she's beautiful in my book.
Gee, thanks for the extra non-link to the same place, ass-sym. I always follow instructions from someone who tells me to perform an anatomically impossible auto-erotic act.
Doesn't everyone?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/02/2010 23:00 Comments ||
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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.
A BRITISH Army sniper has set a new sharpshooting distance record by killing two Taliban machinegunners in Afghanistan from more than 1 miles away. Craig Harrison, a member of the Household Cavalry, killed the insurgents with consecutive shots -- even though they were 3,000ft beyond the most effective range of his rifle.
QUETTA: Six people, including a superintendent of police, were injured when a bomb went off on Quetta's Qambrani Road on Saturday. 
MINGORA: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a local leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) in the Kabal tehsil of Swat. It was learnt that ANP leader, Riaz was gunned down in the Manja Delvi area of the tehsil. 
PESHAWAR: Jet fighters heavily bombed militant hideouts in the volatile Orakzai Agency on Saturday, killing 15 militants in the process, officials said. The jet fighters pounded Taliban hideouts in Kasha and Shakihan areas in Lower Orakzai, killing 11 militants while destroying three hideouts. 
NEW DELHI: Madhuri Gupta, the junior diplomat who was arrested last week for allegedly passing secret information to a Pakistani intelligence agent, was remanded to 14 days' judicial custody by a Tis Hazari court here on Saturday.
NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: Ten civilians were wounded on Saturday when unknown gunmen used two grenades to attack a police patrol in central Mosul city.
