September 29, 2008: The Taliban and their al Qaeda allies have been fighting a large, and losing, battle against the army in the Pakistani region of Bajaur (right on the Afghan border). The fighting has been going on for a month now, and the terrorists have lost about a thousand dead, while the army has lost only 27 dead. The large disparity in losses is largely due to the Pakistani use of air power (bombers and helicopters) and artillery. The army controls the roads, forcing the Taliban to concentrate their forces, to avoid getting taken apart by road (and helicopter) mobile Pakistani infantry.
The fighting began when the Taliban, who had always been dominant in Bajaur, sought to take over completely and drive government officials out. The army responded with over 10,000 troops, and more following, and went after the towns, villages and walled compounds known to be bases for the enemy. The Taliban did not expect the army to respond so energetically. But the Taliban had prepared ambushes along the roads (by renting houses, and digging tunnels and bunkers next to them for shelter from artillery and bombs). In response, the army detected these preparations (with air reconnaissance, patrols and local informants), and avoided, or destroyed, these positions.
The situation has become so dire that the Bajaur Taliban has called for reinforcements from other Taliban groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Since most of the Pakistani Taliban are tribe based, not a lot of Taliban tribesmen have been showing up. But the al Qaeda forces (which are mostly Arabs, Chechens, Uzbeks and other foreigners) did arrive in large numbers. Al Qaeda gunmen were not immune to the army firepower, and four of the five known leaders killed, and identified, were foreign al Qaeda men.
The army believes that it will have destroyed the Taliban in Bajaur by the end of the year. The army has openly vowed to win in Bajaur, and keep their own casualties down while doing it. Pakistani soldiers have noted the ability of foreign and Afghan troops to do the same in Afghanistan, and wanted to operate the same way. This is in contrast to the way things usually work. For centuries, the Pushtun tribes have had the edge in their own mountains and valleys, and soldiers from the outside had a hard time of it. The Pakistani army is determined to show that times have changed, and that the tribes are no longer supreme in their own territory. In the past, the one tactic that worked against the Pushtun tribes was mass murder. That's how the Mongols pacified the region, but such wholesale destruction of villages and civilians is no longer acceptable. However, the U.S. tactics of scouting and long range fire power does work, even when the armed tribesmen take cover among civilians (who now do all they can to flee when they see the fighting headed their way.)
#2
I like seeing the phase "dire for the Taliban" - more, more, more, please.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/29/2008 13:17 Comments ||
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#3
If the lowlanders finally figure out that they can win (and are tired of the a##hole highlanders) perhaps they can use this to get their own country under control.
#4
Everything is interconnected. Musharaff had to leave office for this to happen. NATO had to push as many Taliban and al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan into this region as they could, then form an anvil for the Pak army to be the hammer.
The real story was the combined OPSEC and PSYOPS. I imagine that a lot of less trusted Pak army leaders are in the rear area, counting and sorting 55 gallon drums full of buttons.
#6
In addition to the bailout news, I needed some additional good news today. Maybe Pakis will save their country from being taken over by militants and terrorists.
#7
It is starting to look like there was coordination between us in Afghan territory and the Pak army coming from the south for a delicious Talibani squeeze. Put a little gin in it or bourbon and lean back and enjoy.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/29/2008 16:33 Comments ||
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#8
Contrary to clear evidence this Revolting but much loved MEME is an MSM's Fav!
Back not to long after 9/11 we evicted the Talibs from most of Northern A-stan in a few days..
Now it's a FACT that the Pashtun tribals switch sides twice a day depending on the weather and the latest rumours, that said since 9/11 everything and everybody they have thrown at the Coalition has been turned into recycled waste for compost piles..
BUT, The MSM will never let loose of this MEME ever..
*****
Approved MSM Slime-Bag Journalists VOICES.
Two Leftest Gurus:
1) Code Pink Shrew:
Preachy hysterical high pitched voice..
MEME:
"Historically No Western Army has ever defeated the tribals in A-stan. George Bush is Doomed in Afghanistan and so is his SS ARMY!"
2) Leftest Hermaphrodite:
A self appointed know it all who speaks in a contemptuous Super Snotty Nasal Tone.
MEME:
"American Troop Can't win because No one has ever defeated the best irregular Pashtun Armies EVER in Afghanistan!"
/Hey I will never let loose of the treasonous MSM.
#9
But the Taliban had prepared ambushes along the roads (by renting houses, and digging tunnels and bunkers next to them for shelter from artillery and bombs).
In response, the [PAK] Army detected these preparations (with air reconnaissance, patrols and local informants), and avoided, or destroyed, these positions.
*************
similar to MacArthur's Pacific Island Campaign...
#11
...even when the armed tribesmen take cover among civilians (who now do all they can to flee when they see the fighting headed their way.)
looks like the pak army doesn't care about collateral damage, and in the end it is reducing both the number of civilians involved and the length of the fight.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
09/29/2008 21:40 Comments ||
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KABUL (AFP) - Afghan insurgent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has claimed responsibility in a video message for an August ambush that killed 10 French soldiers, an Afghan news agency reported Monday, saying it had seen the footage. In the video statement, Hekmatyar also said he lost 10 men in the battle in Sarobi, the independent Pajhwok Afghan News agency reported.
The insurgent Taliban movement, which has unclear links with Hekmatyar's faction, has also claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest for the French military in 25 years. Pajhwok told AFP the video was delivered to its office in Peshawar in Pakistan on Sunday.
In it, the leader of the Hezb-i-Islami faction names nine of his party members killed in the fighting and expresses condolences to their families, the news agency said. He warns of "more guerrilla assaults on US forces besides the French soldiers," the agency said in a report on its website.
The mountain ambush in Sarobi, east of Kabul, was the deadliest ground attack on international troops since they were sent to Afghanistan in 2001 to oust the hardline Taliban regime. The attack, in which 21 troops were also wounded, shocked France and sparked debate about the country's involvement in war-torn Afghanistan. But France announced last week it would beef up its mission in Afghanistan with helicopters, drones and other military means.
French officers have said the ambushed soldiers were confronted by about 170 heavily armed rebels who were better organised than usual. They said they killed between 40 and 70 enemy fighters, but acknowledged they only recovered one body from the battlefield as they withdrew under the cover of darkness.
The Taliban, who were in government between 1996 and 2001, had immediately claimed the attack. However, the extremists generally operate in southern and southeastern Afghanistan, while the areas around Kabul and in northeastern Afghanistan are said to be the domain of Hekmatyar. The Taliban had previously rejected working with Hekmatyar's faction, but analysts have suggested they could be involved in some joint activities.
Hekmatyar, who served as prime minister briefly during the 1996 to 2001 civil war, is known as one of the most radical warlords in Afghanistan. The United States has offered a multi-million-dollar reward for his capture.
#1
Ah, the old "good, good" concession. He lost 10 the frogs lost ten. Even steven. Next hole.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/29/2008 13:19 Comments ||
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#2
Hek looks as dorky as ever, claiming credit for something he may or may not have been involved into, and letting slip that his side lost 10 (or only so he admits) fighters... in a pre-planned ambush involving a big number superiority, while the ambushees lost 9 (remember, the 10th was killed when a wheeled APC overturned on the way back, long after combat ended).
Taliban gunmen shot dead the most high-profile female police officer in Afghanistan as she left her home to go to work on Sunday, officials and the militia said.
The attackers were waiting outside the home of Malalai Kakar, head of the city of Kandahar's Department of Crimes Against Women, and opened fire on her car, Kandahar government spokesman Zalmay Ayoobi told AFP.
"Malalai Kakar died in front of her house," he said. "Her son was wounded."
A doctor at the city's main hospital said Kakar, in her late 30s, had been shot in the head. "She died on the spot and her son was badly injured and is in a coma," said the doctor, who refused to let his name be used.
A spokesman for the Taliban, which targets government officials as part of an growing insurgency, said the assassins were from his group. "We killed Malalai Kakar," spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP. "She was our target, and we successfully eliminated our target."
Kakar, a mother of six, was regularly profiled in international media and was known for her courage in one of Afghanistan's most conservative provinces. A captain in the police force and the most senior policewoman in Kandahar, she headed a team of about 10 women police officers and had reportedly received numerous death threats.
Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban, which is mounting a growing insurgency that targets officials working with the government. During their 1996-2001 hold on power, the Taliban stopped women from working outside the home and stopped them from leaving home without a male relative and an all-covering burqa.
Kakar was the first woman to join the Kandahar police force after the US-led 2001 ouster of the Taliban and had been involved in investigating crimes against women and children, and conducting house searches.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
I've had an odd thought, go through the Mideast and kill all the men with beards, should eliminate Islam totally.
Don't miss any Mosque, however small, or any madrases, either.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/29/2008 16:42 Comments ||
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#3
The "Lions of Islam" are at it again.
Posted by: Steven ||
09/29/2008 23:10 Comments ||
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Afghan and NATO-led coalition forces have killed at least 10 Taliban militants in clashes in western Afghanistan, security officials say. The clashes took place overnight in Farah Province, an army commander said Sunday.
Col. Ghulam Farooq Naimi, 1st Brigade, 207th ANA Corps commander, said militants on Saturday ambushed a convoy of Afghan and coalition troops patrolling Bakwa city. He said 10 followers of Mullah Rahman, a regional Taliban leader, were killed in the clashes, adding that no Afghan or foreign troops had been hurt. He added that the number of militant casualties could have been greater, while the Taliban have not commented on the incident so far.
In another clash on Saturday unidentified gunmen killed a tribal elder, Abdul Majid Mojjir in the Tajarmin village, located in the Chishti Sharif district of Herat Province. Chishti Sharif governor, Seyyed Gol Chishti, confirmed the news saying the gunmen had fled the region and their identities remained unknown.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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A tense standoff has developed in waters off Somalia over an Iranian merchant ship laden with a mysterious cargo that was hijacked by pirates. Somali pirates suffered skin burns, lost hair and fell gravely ill "within days" of boarding the MV Iran Deyanat. Some of them died.
Andrew Mwangura, the director of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told the Sunday Times: "We don't know exactly how many, but the information that I am getting is that some of them had died. There is something very wrong about that ship."
The vessel's declared cargo consists of "minerals" and "industrial products".
The Iran Deyanat was sailing in those waters on August 21, past the Horn of Africa and about 80 nautical miles southeast of Yemen, when it was boarded by about 40 pirates armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades. They were alleged members of a crime syndicate said to be based at Eyl, a small fishing village in northern Somalia.
The ship is owned and operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, or IRISL, a state-owned company run by the Iranian military. According to the US Treasury Department, the IRISL regularly falsifies shipping documents to hide the identity of end users, uses generic terms to describe shipments and operates under various covers to circumvent United Nations sanctions.
At Eyl, the ship was secured by more pirates -- about 50 on board, and another 50 on shore. But within days those who had boarded the ship developed mysterious health trouble.
This was also confirmed by Hassan Allore Osman, minister of minerals and oil in Puntland, an autonomous region of Somalia. He headed a delegation sent to Eyl when news of the toxic cargo and illnesses surfaced.
He told one news publication, The Long War Journal, that during the six days he had negotiated with the pirates, a number of them had become sick and died. "That ship is unusual," he was quoted as saying. "It is not carrying a normal shipment."
The pirates did reveal that they had tried to inspect the ship's cargo containers when some of them fell sick You do the chemistry and nuclear physics math
#1
Whether it is radiation, chemicals or just bad juju, something is double plus ungood here. I'm sure you are just as surprised as I am, what with this being an Iranian ship and all.
#2
Am I stretching things a bit by imagining that the Iranians might preposition 'Toxic Trash' thru-out the Middle East, Europe and North America?
A barrel full of some of this shit is enough to do some severe disruption of our Nations economy right now.
Hoof and Mouth, Anthrax, and some stragically placed Toxins/Poisons.
Just about anything large would tip this Nation's economy into the dumpster right now.
Yes it would be a stop-gap measure for the Iranians, but it would give them some time until they developed their G'Damn NUKES with accurate delivery systems.
Carthage Must Be Destroyed.
The longer we wait the Nastier the consequences for Israel, the USA, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the GOD DAMN Europeans will be.
ps: For the most part I recognize that Ima preaching to the choir..
I also don't think it's a stretch for Iran to have pre-position WMDs & have Al-Quds-Cells waiting for orders to GO!
#4
The trouble is the pirates need to have "A Right To Know" law. Their employer needs to give them MSDS to avoid these accidents. I'm sure an Obama adminstration will do something about this problem.
Posted by: bruce ||
09/29/2008 7:31 Comments ||
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#5
I am sure there must be some old mines drifting around out there that this ship and the one with the Ukrainian tanks on it might accidentally run into. Maybe even some that might look kind of like a US torpedo (but aren't, of course.)
#7
This could be a Bush plot to hijack food for Darfur!!!! I recommend the Obamessiah, Paloosi, Frnaks and a large delegation from the majority party immediately fly to Somalia and inspect this shipment.
#8
Somali pirates: doing jobs the US Navy won't do.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/29/2008 9:40 Comments ||
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#9
To start with, this almost has to be chemical, because while the right kind of radioactive material can do this, the timing is wrong.
Unfortunately, this doesn't mean much of anything until a sample can be obtained, because there are likely several thousand chemicals, legitimate and illegitimate, that could do this.
#10
I agree that it has to be some kind of chemical weaponry because to get that kind of immediate effects from radiation, the ship would have to glow in the dark.
Posted by: James Carville ||
09/29/2008 10:37 Comments ||
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#11
No job security in piratingg. Could do better coming to US and getting a job on Wall Street or in the Govmint. Oh, too late there is not much profit there anymore--maybe pirating is the better alternative.
#13
Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark/Curse of the Black Pearl?
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
09/29/2008 10:42 Comments ||
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#14
Imran Jones and the 30 Pirates of Green Slime
Posted by: Imran Jones ||
09/29/2008 10:48 Comments ||
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#15
I agree that it is something chemically toxic. Something that radioactive would have to be really strong to do it. Unless it was some kind of chemical warfare agent, and those are often binary.
One side of me snickers justice to the pirates, and the other side of me is very concerned with toxic sh*t like this being carried around by old rusty tubs.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/29/2008 11:11 Comments ||
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#16
ok, here's my question. Did they open a barrel of the shit and taste it ? I fnot then how was there a crew alive without wearing haz mat suits runnings this ship if the agent acted this fast?
#17
Somalian piracy has been ongoing for a while. I wonder if Russia's newfound interest in freedom of navigation in this area is more about damage control IRT this death cargo.
Posted by: Minister of funny walks ||
09/29/2008 11:26 Comments ||
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#19
The story mentions the pirates were down in the cargo hold. If the crew was avoiding it, then it's likely they weren't getting sick. Something in the hold could be leaking something highly toxic that requires pretty close proximity.
I would agree though that whatever it is, is something chemically killing the pirates, as opposed to radiation. Will send the article to my dad and see what he says.
#20
It stll could be nuclear. The timing is not off if the material has high neutron and gamma outout. Neutron flux will dissociate water, leaving a high OH- concentration (from HOH minus an H+, HOH = H2O). Full body cramps, bends-like symptoms, massive hemoglobin lycing, hurts like a bastard for days. I don't think a neutron flux causes prompt hair loss, but I don't know one way or another. Gamma might. No chem agents cause prompt hair loss as far as I know.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
09/29/2008 12:33 Comments ||
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#21
Too good to be real.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/29/2008 12:45 Comments ||
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#22
From the link
But officials involved in negotiations over the ship are convinced that it was sailing for Eritrea to deliver small arms and chemical weapons to Somalias Islamist rebels.
#25
No chem agents cause prompt hair loss as far as I know.
WM, some cyclo-sarins do, and some very toxic amounts of phosphenes. There are also a couple of really nasty degreasing compounds that can only be used wearing a full hazmat suit. Exposure symptoms are somewhat similar, but not a close enough match to say that's the cause. No telling what the Iranians are doing, and I wouldn't trust the Eritreans with anything.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/29/2008 13:15 Comments ||
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#26
Why aren't we paying the ransom to take control of this ship and its cargo?
Deduct it from the CIA's budget. To get the type of intelligence gleaned from the cargo would be cheaper than a large number of CIA Ops.
We should hire the pirates as our HumInt. Better return on investment
Um yellow cake .. probably not - if I'm not wrong in proper concentrations radiation can have the effects stated in 24 - 36 hours... the crew would not be affected if they did not open the containers.. the --- Arr matey __! Pirates did open the shipment an hence,...
They would not have to ship bombs to use as a WMD but simply dirty rads to F### with our costal waters .. Fisheries., etc..
Since we know they have the reactors , and we know they do not like us we should assume they will try to bring us down .. .
Homeland Security has talked about using medical radio waste for dirty bombs .. this would seem more likely .. but if our enemy can produce there own low level waste .. it may be easier for them to use that instead of bombs. This needs further disclosure.
Islamist extremists prepared last night to unload rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns from a Ukrainian freighter seized by Somali pirates even as foreign warships surrounded the vessel.
A US destroyer and submarine from an international taskforce set up to patrol the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and two European-flagged ships were reported to be tracking the freighter that had anchored off the southern Somali coast.
The ship's captain contacted media outlets by satellite phone to say that one of his crew had died during the hostage drama.
The pirates were demanding a $20 million (£10.8 million) ransom for the release of the MV Faina, its 20 surviving crew and cargo of weapons, which include 33 Russian tanks. It was seized on Thursday as it neared the Kenyan port of Mombasa. "The Islamists have sent pick-ups from Mogadishu to go and collect the gear," said an analyst with a network of Somali informers. "There's not much they can do with the tanks -- they can't get them off -- but the rest of the weapons they are trying to move ashore."
Somalia's insurgents have made a series of impressive gains in recent weeks. They now control the port city of Kismayo and have armed and equipped pirate gangs as part of a campaign to control the seas.
Kenya's Government said that it was awaiting the weaponry aboard the ship, but similar shipments in the past have been sent on to southern Sudan.
Witnesses on the Somali coast said that the navy ships were using loudspeakers warning the pirates not to attempt to unload the cargo. A tribal chief and local fishermen about 250 miles north of Mogadishu said that they had seen the MV Faina near at least two ships. "The pirates are now surrounded near the village of Hinbarwaqo by Western ships. They asked individuals in charge of the hijacking of the Ukrainian ship to come aboard the navy ship for talks," said a local clan elder.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Where's our new Commodore Decatur when we need him?
#2
Reds aiding and abetting red on red tribal wars. I simply cannot see a downside. US Navy, please do not interfere. Senator Obama's pal President Mwai "2 Wives" Kibaki and his customers must have his Russian tanks.....and magic glowing minerals.
#3
Where's our new Commodore Decatur when we need him?
Given the way things go today, he's waiting for the JAGs to review his request otherwise he's busy finding a good defense lawyer after the JAGs go after him for various imagined violations of the Geneva Convention et al.
Hey! Thay can't do that!! RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Militants battling Pakistani forces are getting weapons and reinforcements from Afghanistan, security officials said on Monday, vowing no let-up in their offensive in the northwest.
Government forces launched an offensive in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border in August after years of complaints from U.S. and Afghan officials that Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan were getting help from Pakistani border areas such as Bajaur.
Now the tables have turned and the militants locked in heavy fighting with Pakistani forces are getting help from the Afghan side of the border, officials said. "The Pakistan-Afghan border is porous and is now causing trouble for us in Bajaur," a senior security source in the military told a news briefing."Now movement is taking place to Pakistan from Afghanistan," said the official, who along with a colleague at the briefing, declined to be identified.
The officials did not blame the Afghan government for sending militants across the border but called on Kabul and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan forces to stop the flow.
Bajaur is the smallest of Pakistan's seven so-called tribal agencies, semi-autonomous ethnic Pashtun tribal regions.
U.S. officials say Taliban and al Qaeda-linked fighters, financed by drug money, use the tribal regions as an operating base to launch attacks into Afghanistan.
Pakistan has been under pressure from the United States to block cross-border militant incursions into Afghanistan.
But in a sign of growing frustration with Pakistan's efforts to stem the flow, U.S. forces have carried out six cross-border missile strikes by pilotless drones and a commando raid on a border village this month.
The Pakistani offensive had made Bajaur a "center of gravity" and "magnet," and even though up to 1,000 had been killed, the region was drawing militants from as far as Central Asia via Afghanistan, the officials said. "Stop the reverse flow in Bajaur. It's coming. Heavy weapons are coming. The militants are coming ... they are crossing into our territory," a second Pakistani official said. Sucks, don't it?
#2
Gee, that porous border is now a liability to the governments on both sides. What will they do? Or not do?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/29/2008 10:37 Comments ||
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#3
The Pakistani claims are doubtful and just self serving. After downplaying the militant threat and ignoring (supporting?) it for years now they have to explain the militants strength and armnament.
Rather than admit that the militants were there all along, and growing stronger, they claim that it is from Afghanistan.
#4
I thought that it was just the terrorists demonstrating osmosis, flow from the higher concentration to the lower concentration.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/29/2008 11:01 Comments ||
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#5
I think they are running home to mama. There were always large bases of support and men in Pakistan, but the fighters are getting their butts kicked in Afghanistan and are coming home.
#10
Do NOT confuse the US State Department in any way with "courage" or "strength". State has been a bad dream ever since the presidency of Woodrow Wilson.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/29/2008 13:42 Comments ||
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#11
DOS has been a hot bed of lefties and Trotskyites for as long as Karl Marx's rags have been in print....maybe even back to Hegel.
They really need to just fire everyone down in Foggy Bottom and start over.
Actually I think there are more moles at DOS than there are at the CIA.
Posted by: James Carville ||
09/29/2008 13:46 Comments ||
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#12
NATO and the Pak army have probably gone to great lengths to make this happen. Having your enemy reinforcing a bad defeat is an optimal situation for you. It won't turn the situation around for the enemy, but will make them expend resources at a huge rate.
It turns losing a battle into losing a war. The Pak army gets to slaughter them, then the losers run headlong into NATO in a disarrayed retreat.
#13
If Taliban are coming over from Afghanistan, they are merely protecting their ammo dumps and supply lines, which are in Pakistan. Can't fight without weapons or bullets, which don't grow on trees, and certainly originate in Pakistan.
#14
BO in all his naivete said he will go into Pakistan in one of his speeches. Does he realize that Pakistan is a country of 180,000 people? The population of Nazi Germany was about 80 million in 1939. The last thing we want to do is get bogged down in a land war in Pakistan. There are better ways to address the problems in Pakiland. McCain needs to lay this out.
Police backed by the Frontier Corps and Frontier Constabulary personnel arrested at least 18 Taliban from the outskirts of Peshawar in an operation on Sunday, police said.
A senior police official told Daily Times that the search operation in Adezai and Mattani areas of the city was launched in the morning and continued until afternoon. The 18 Taliban arrested included two commanders from Darra Adam Khel, the official said.
He said the two commanders, Jangrez and Alamzeb, were responsible for terrorist activities in the semi-tribal Darra Adam Khel region. He said that among the arrested Taliban two were from Waziristan. Seven Taliban hideouts were also destroyed in the operation, he added. The police official said that the operation is likely to continue on Monday and the area would soon be cleared of Taliban.
The police on Saturday imposed a curfew in the Mattani and Badabher areas. Mattani, bordering with Darra Adam Khel, had seen large-scale Taliban incursions.
Separately, villagers in Ghari Qamardin detained six Taliban and handed them over the police late on Saturday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Suspected militants have abducted a Polish engineer in Pakistan's volatile northwest, shooting dead three Pakistanis accompanying him.
Armed men in a car ambushed a vehicle carrying a Polish engineer, his assistant, driver, and security guard, near the village of Pind Sultani in Attock district, officials said Sunday. They kidnapped the Pole and killed the other three. Police said according to witnesses the attackers fled toward Kohat, a town on the edge of the volatile tribal belt that borders Afghanistan.
Poland's Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnapping, adding the kidnappers had made no contact or demands so far.
The Pole and his colleagues were traveling to oil plants northeast of the Pakistani capital to carry out some tests, the engineer's company said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The latest attack comes a week after a suicide blast targeting the five-star Marriot Hotel in central Islamabad killed 60 people, including several foreigners, raising concerns over security and the safety of foreigners in Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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The government is set to launch a major crackdown on Taliban in the Tribal Areas depending on the 'availability of men and material', an official said on Sunday. "The government understands that it is time to launch a crackdown against the Taliban before it is too late," a senior official told Daily Times on condition of anonymity. He refused to give the exact date for launching the operation. "Troops are presently engaged at several fronts like Bajaur, Waziristan, Swat, Darra Adam Khel and most recently in Shabqadar area of Charsadda," he said, adding that it did not mean that the government was not planning action against Taliban in other areas.
"Decisive action would be taken to curb terrorists activities in Mohmand, Jamrud, Landi Kotal and other areas," he added.
Delay: He said the government had been told that any delay at this juncture would amount to inviting bigger trouble in the future. "Therefore, we have to go all-out against those disturbing peace in any area," he said. "Action must be taken before it's too late," he said, adding, "It's now or never."
The official said the recent operation in Shabqadar was part of the government's resolve to the purge all areas of Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"depending on the availabilty of men and weapons" guess that says it all right there
Any of you ferocious Afghans tired of the Paki Talibunnies comin' to your house and causing trouble? Here, have some guns and ammo. The Talibunnies live over there. We'll supply all the intel you need. Might even arrange some air support, depending.
Security forces killed at least 16 Taliban after coming under attack in Bajaur Agency, a security official said on Sunday. Taliban attacked three military posts near Khar late on Saturday, but soldiers repulsed them with artillery and mortar fire, the official said. Early on Sunday, helicopter gunships and fighter jets bombed Taliban positions in three villages in the district, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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At least eleven people were injured in two blasts in the city's main commercial area on Sunday afternoon.
Police said a homemade explosive device went off in a CD shop in Nitha Singh Street, injuring several people. According to the shopkeepers, Lashkar-e-Islam had warned owners of music shops to close their businesses. The president and prime minister, in their separate messages, condemned the blast. The second blast occurred in Dawood Shopping Plaza where a gas cylinder exploded, police said.
Meanwhile, a bomb exploded in a shopping centre in Kalat, damaging the doors and windowpanes of the building.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Indian forces killed 11 suspected militants, including seven in a prolonged high-altitude battle in Indian-held Kashmir, the army and police said on Sunday. One Indian soldier also was killed in the fighting that started three days ago near Kangan, a village 30 miles (50 kilometres) northeast of Srinagar, said Lieutenant Colonel Anil Kumar Mathur, adding that the battle ended on Sunday.
With winter about to set in, suspected militants are trying to enter Indian-held Kashmir from Pakistani territory in a major thrust before snow-covered mountain passes become inaccessible, he said. Four other suspected insurgents were killed in three separate clashes with Indian forces on Saturday in the Himalayan region, Mathur said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Two of the three suspected would-be bombers killed in the Baldia Town police encounter have been identified by their families. The suspected bombers, who were believed to be linked to the banned religious organisation Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, were identified as 17-year-old Noor Muhammad and 24-year-old Syed Masroor Shah. Noor was a resident of Ashraf Nagar, Nazimabad, whereas Shah lived in Qasba Colony, Orangi Town.
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09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- A string of bomb attacks on Sunday killed 31 people and wounded more than 100 at two Baghdad markets, interior ministry officials said.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the first attack took place just before dusk in southwestern Baghdad's 4th Shura neighborhood.
A parked minibus with explosives went off in the busy market, where residents were picking food for the meal that breaks the daily fast in the Muslim fasting holy month of Ramadan, they said.
The explosion killed 12 people and left 35 wounded. All the victims were civilians, and several shops also were destroyed in the blast, according to the officials.
The assault was followed by a twin blast which also targeted a market in the Karada district in central Baghdad. A car bombing and a suicide explosion in immediate succession killed 19 people and injured up to 72.
Violence still haunts Iraq though the U.S. military said the level of violence was at a four-year low. Militant groups still seem to be capable of stepping up large scale attacks.@
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Iraqi security forces will take control of the central Shiite province of Babil within a month, the provincial governor told AFP on Sunday, but warned that armed groups still roam the region. Salem al-Saleh Meslmawe said security control of Babil, south of Baghdad, would be transferred some time after mid-October, making it the 12th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over by the US-led forces.
"We have discussed with the government and the coalition forces and there is an agreement to transfer security. This will be done within a month," Meslmawe said. "Security [in Babil] is very good and Iraqi security forces can control it."
The US military had a sprawling base in the historic town of Babylon, just north of Hilla. According to UNESCO, archaeological treasures there suffered serious damage when US forces established the base in 2003.
The decision to transfer security responsibility from the Americans was also confirmed by provincial police chief Fadhel Radad. But he also said local forces still needed logistical support.
The former US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, told AFP earlier this month that the Americans planned to transfer security in Babil and the nearby province of Wasit to the Iraqis before the end of the year.
On September 10, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdel Qader Jassem Mohammed said Baghdad would soon assume security control of two more provinces. "Iraq will take over security files of two provinces, Babylon and Wasit. The handover will be very soon," he said.
Following the transfer in Babil, American troops would withdraw to their bases and join military operations only if asked by the governor.
On September 1, the Iraqis took control of the western Sunni province of Anbar, once the deadliest region in the violence-wracked country. Apart from Babil and Wasit, the other five provinces still under the control of US forces are Baghdad, Diyala, Kirkuk, Nineveh, and Saleheddin.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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A Palestinian man infiltrated Israel by swimming from the Gaza Strip some two weeks ago, the Israel Defense Forces revealed Sunday, and proceeded to break into several homes in the Israeli town of Netiv Ha'asara. The man was caught trying to steal food and supplies. He was transferred to security services for interrogation.
The story was exposed after Netiv Ha'asara residents distributed a letter last week that mentioned details of the security breach. "The incident is a huge embarrassment for the security establishment," said local residents on Sunday.
The event occurred two weeks ago, when the Palestinian infiltrated the town at around 3 A.M. He succeeded in wandering for four hours between several homes before being caught by security personnel. During his interrogation, the Palestinian claimed he was a Tul Karm resident who was trying to reach Gaza. Later it became clear that the man was a Palestinian illegally in Israel who was looking for work.
In the wake of the investigation, Netiv Ha'asara residents have been asked to take extra precautions and keep their homes locked at all times.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Suspected terrorists separatists on Sunday shot dead two Muslim village chiefs in the restive Thai south, police said. A 61-year-old man was killed in a drive-by shooting in Narathiwat province early on Sunday afternoon, local police said, while a 47-year-old man was shot dead in nearby Pattani province. Both were elected community heads of their respective villages, a frequent target for southern insurgents battling the Thai state.
(Xinhua) -- One person was killed and nine others were injured in a suicide attack lunched by a Tamil Tiger rebel in northern Sri Lanka, the military said on Sunday.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said that the suicide bomber on a push cycle rammed into a three-wheeler carrying police in the Vavuniya town at around 03:15 p.m. local time (0945 GMT).
The driver of the three-wheeler was killed and nine others including four police, three soldiers and two civilians were injured in the blast.
The suicide bomber was also killed in the explosion.
Vavuniya is the gateway to the north where government troops are currently engaged in a battle to evict Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels from their last strongholds.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Fresh fighting around Sri Lanka's embattled northern region left 17 combatants dead on both sides, the defence ministry said yesterday. Troops killed 12 Tamil Tiger rebels during clashes on Saturday, while five soldiers also died in combat, the statement said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made no comment on the fighting.
Sri Lankan troops are advancing to wrestle the rebels' political capital of Kilinochchi and are now within four kilometres (2.5 miles) of the town, army chief Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka said last week.
The United Nations on Sunday said it would begin sending food convoys to Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu, after Sri Lanka ordered aid workers out of the region in the face of the heavy fighting. Mohamed Saleheen, head of the UN's World Food Programme in Sri Lanka, said 60 trucks would enter the rebel-held areas next week, to deliver badly needed supplies to some 230,000 displaced civilians.
Colombo relaxed its stand after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern about civilians during talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse in New York last week.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's military says a suicide bomber has blown himself up near a vehicle carrying policemen in a northern town, killing himself and a civilian and wounding eight others. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara says separatist Tamil Tiger rebels were responsible for the attack Sunday in the town of Vavuniya. He says four police in the vehicle, three nearby soldiers and a civilian bystander were wounded.
Rebel officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
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09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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AT least six people were killed today in a blast targeting a military bus on the outskirts of the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, a security official said. "We have at least six people killed, three of them soldiers," the official said. "We have about 12 other people injured."
He said the bomb went off in the Bahsas region as the mini-bus heading towards the capital Beirut drove by. There were about 24 passengers on board. Police and the army immediately cordoned off the area as forensic experts began gathering evidence.
Scotland Yard is pursuing two British businessmen after US authorities accused the Britons of smuggling military equipments to Iran.
The two are at large after allegedly supplying batteries for surface-to-air missiles and aircraft parts to Iran, the Guardian reported.
Farshi Gillardian, another British executive, was detained by British police last week after being accused of attempting to circumvent US trade sanctions with Iran.
Under US laws, American companies are prohibited from conducting transactions with Tehran or Iranian firms.
The FBI has reportedly linked Gillardian with a number of businessman, also being investigated by the American authorities for dealing with Iran.
The US and its allies have imposed sanctions on Iran, banning companies or people of providing the country with "dual use technologies and hardware". The ban is part of the West's strategy to exert pressure on Iran to change its policies.
The sanctions, however, have deprived the country of many civilian technologies. For example, the country has been denied access to civilian airplanes' spare parts.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
"The sanctions, however, have deprived the country of many civilian technologies. For example, the country has been denied access to civilian airplanes' spare parts."
Two observations about this paragraph:
(1) Opinion, not fact, in a supposed factual news piece.
(2) Tough titties.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/29/2008 13:41 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.
Afghan and NATO-led coalition forces have killed at least 10 Taliban militants in clashes in western Afghanistan, security officials say. The clashes took place overnight in Farah Province, an army commander said Sunday. 
Islamist extremists prepared last night to unload rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns from a Ukrainian freighter seized by Somali pirates even as foreign warships surrounded the vessel. 
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (Reuters) - Militants battling Pakistani forces are getting weapons and reinforcements from Afghanistan, security officials said on Monday, vowing no let-up in their offensive in the northwest.
Security forces killed at least 16 Taliban after coming under attack in Bajaur Agency, a security official said on Sunday. Taliban attacked three military posts near Khar late on Saturday, but soldiers repulsed them with artillery and mortar fire, the official said. Early on Sunday, helicopter gunships and fighter jets bombed Taliban positions in three villages in the district, he said.
At least eleven people were injured in two blasts in the city's main commercial area on Sunday afternoon. 
Indian forces killed 11 suspected militants, including seven in a prolonged high-altitude battle in Indian-held Kashmir, the army and police said on Sunday. One Indian soldier also was killed in the fighting that started three days ago near Kangan, a village 30 miles (50 kilometres) northeast of Srinagar, said Lieutenant Colonel Anil Kumar Mathur, adding that the battle ended on Sunday. 
Two of the three suspected would-be bombers killed in the Baldia Town police encounter have been identified by their families. The suspected bombers, who were believed to be linked to the banned religious organisation Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, were identified as 17-year-old Noor Muhammad and 24-year-old Syed Masroor Shah. Noor was a resident of Ashraf Nagar, Nazimabad, whereas Shah lived in Qasba Colony, Orangi Town.
