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''Assad's right hand man'' assassinated in Syria
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Using a mink to towel off is very chic you know.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 08/03/2008 4:07 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Taliban militants planting bomb have red wire green wire mix up
Three Taliban militants were killed when a roadside bomb they were planting exploded prematurely in eastern Afghanistan, officials said today.

A doctor working for the Taliban was among those killed in yesterday's blast in the eastern Paktika province, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The bomb was being placed on a main road in the province, it said.

Militants regularly attack Afghan and foreign troops with roadside bombs. The number of insurgent attacks in eastern Afghanistan, which borders Pakistan, has risen by 40% this year compared to the same period in 2007.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 08/03/2008 01:36 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1 
Posted by: gorb || 08/03/2008 3:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Free Image Hosting
Posted by: gorb || 08/03/2008 8:35 Comments || Top||

#3  a Doctor killed huh? How many Talidocs could there possibly be? That prolly means 10-20 future wounded will suffer painful festering and fatal injuries, cuz the Doc is DEAD, lol
Posted by: Frank G || 08/03/2008 8:52 Comments || Top||

#4  We know where you are Gobr. Don't run, you be get exhausted.

We also have your little dawg.
Posted by: Turboimage || 08/03/2008 14:38 Comments || Top||


Afghan bride, groom among 13 dead in wedding bus blast
A suspected militant bomb struck a minibus carrying a newly married couple in Afghanistan killing the bride and groom and 11 wedding guests, police said on Saturday. The device that blew up the wedding party in the southern province of Kandahar was likely planted to target security forces, provincial police chief Mutiullah Khan said. He said 10 people were killed in the blast near the town of Spin Boldak close to the Pakistan border.

"A roadside bomb exploded under a minibus carrying a bride and groom. Ten people including the bride and the groom were martyred," he said.

But Spin Boldak border police commander Abdul Raziq said that 13 had died - eight woman, two children and three men. Six other people were wounded in the attack on the wedding convoy, both officials said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  I see the Taliban and I have a lot in common. 2 weeks of French guests is my limit also.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 08/03/2008 4:09 Comments || Top||


Kabul bomber identified
AfghanistanÂ’s intelligence services believe that the suicide bomber who crashed an explosives-laden car into the Indian embassy in Kabul last month was a Pakistani national.

Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Hamza Shakoor, tentatively identified as a 22-year-old resident of PakistanÂ’s Gujranwala district, is believed to have driven the sports utility vehicle that was used to bomb the Indian mission.
Posted by: john frum || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
10 killed after rival clans clash in southwestern district
At least 10 people have been killed and dozens others wounded after rival militia clashed over land ownership in Bardhere District, Gedo Region, and southwestern Somalia. The victims were the militia men who have been fighting for the third day. The two sides used various kinds of weapons.

Reports say that the fighting has spread to new areas of Gedo Region.

Reliable sources say that more than 20 houses, especially those belonging to pastoralists, were burnt during the fighting, while hundreds of people have been forced to flee their homes.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336095 views] Top|| File under:


Qoranic schools, mosques closed down for security reasons
Talking to Mareeg online, the general director of Justice Ministry, Haji Muhammad Keyrow Adan, has stated that there are concerns that about 500 Quranic schools and mosques have been closed down for security reasons in the war racked Somali capital Mogadishu.

He also mentioned that it was essential to work for peace together to let those religious centres to resume their operations. "We are not here to tell the people about peace, You know that Islam is peace, So, I urge the people to work together for peace, You are also aware that if there is no peace there is no life, We are know that about 500 Quranic schools, mosques and universities have been closed down for security reasons", said the general director.

Elsewhere Religious leaders in Mogadishu have expressed their concern about the closure of more than 30 mosques in the city and urged the residents to embark on re-opening of the mosques. There are about 30 mosques that are closed in Mogadishu, some of them having been turned into bases for Ethiopian troops, while in some others; the neighborhoods have been deserted by residents due to the frequent fighting in the areas they are located in.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts

#1  Deserted mosques across the Somalia capital Mogadishu, which have been either closed for turned into garbage dumps by Ethiopian troops.

We could learn a thing or two from these Aethiopians.
Posted by: Spike Uniter || 08/03/2008 1:49 Comments || Top||

#2  About one third of Ethiopians are Muslim; I question accusations that troops conducted themselves in a way that Muslims could claim was offensive.

Posted by: McZoid || 08/03/2008 8:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Smarter than the US and europe governments.
Posted by: Hellfish || 08/03/2008 9:41 Comments || Top||


Embattled Mogadishu mayor says he is still in charge
Muhammad Omar Habeb says he is the legitimate governor of the Banadir Region Mogadishu and its environs.
"Yeah! Ain't nobody fires me!"
Muhammad Dhere told Mareeg online last night that he remains the legal governor of the Banadir Region. Muhammad Dhere said that the president of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] had already issued a decree recognizing Muhammad Dhere as the regional governor.
"I got it right here in my pocket!"
The presidential decree conflicts a statement issued by the prime minister's office dismissing Muhammad Dheere as both the Banadir governor and Mogadishu mayor.
"So whaddya think o' them apples?"
Speaking on the reasons for his dismissal, Muhammad Dheere said: "I think it has to do with personal differences with the prime minister. We differ on many things that have to do with government business. There are matters concerning him and the man he claims to have replaced me with that are harmful to their reputations, but I have refrained from speaking on these publicly. If they do not back off, I will disclose these.
"We'll see what the honest folk of Somalia think of having cross-dressing homosexual infidels as prime minister and mayor-presumptive of Mog!"
"He is the one who has been busy looking for conflict and I will not be irresponsible [for any eventuality]; I am more than happy to work with the government" Mohamed dhere said in the interview.
This article starring:
Muhammad Dhere
Muhammad Omar Habeb
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Kenyan police say Al Qaeda's Fazul escapes raid
One of Africa's most wanted al Qaeda operatives, sought for his role in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, has narrowly escaped capture in Kenya, police said on Sunday. Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, high on Washington's list of terrorist suspects, left a home in the Indian Ocean resort of Malindi late on Saturday just minutes before officers crashed through the door, police said.

"We sealed off the whole area and had sea and land patrols but unfortunately, Fazul got leakage of the intended raid and escaped," said one senior detective who asked not to be named. "We are still looking for him."

The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of the Comorian, who speaks five languages and is said to be a master of disguise, forgery and bomb making. He is accused of playing a lead role in the 1998 embassy attacks in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, which killed 240 people.

Kenyan police said they found two passports believed to belong to Mohammed and arrested two people, including the owner of the home, which is near the Malindi district hospital.

Another police source said more than 50 officers took part in the raid, and that Mohammed appeared to have been staying at the house for several days. "Our intelligence reports show that he came into the country from Somalia to seek medical attention because of a kidney condition," the source told Reuters.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed
Posted by: tipper || 08/03/2008 14:47 || Comments || Link || [336100 views] Top|| File under:

#1  leakage, huh?
Posted by: Frank G || 08/03/2008 15:13 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
It's oficial: Mudhat Mursi no more - friends confirm ''He's dead Jim''
CAIRO, Egypt -- Al Qaeda confirmed in a Web statement Sunday the death of a senior commander known as a top explosives and poisons expert, who is believed to have been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan last week.

The statement said Abu Khabab al-Masri and three other commanders were killed. It did not give details on when or how they were killed, but Pakistani authorities have said they believe al-Masri died in an American airstrike last Monday on a compound near the Afghan border.
Which was why the Paks were bitching so hard about how we violated their sovreignty...
Pakistani officials have said six people were killed in that strike, in the country's lawless South Waziristan tribal region.
Al-Q sez Zawahiri wasn't among the dear departed, dang it...
Al-Masri, an Egyptian militant whose real name is Midhat Mursi, had a $5 million bounty on his head from the United States. He is accused of training terrorists to use poisons and explosives, and is believed to have trained homicide bombers who killed 17 American sailors on the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Darunta training camp
ABDUL WAHAB AL MASRIal-Qaeda
ABU ISLAM AL MASRIal-Qaeda
ABU KHABAB AL MASRIal-Qaeda
ABU MOHAMED IBRAHIM BIN ABI FARAG AL MASRIal-Qaeda
MIDHAT MURSIal-Qaeda
MUSTAFA ABU AL YAZIDal-Qaeda
USS Cole
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 08/03/2008 09:01 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Just noticed his real name is Midhat Mursi. With a name like Midhat maybe he suffered with an inferiority complex and was trying to earn a Top Turban status.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 08/03/2008 9:12 Comments || Top||

#2  To quote the other Joe: AFGAN PAKI AIRSTRIKES (=AQ DEAD)

To quote Rambo "Murdock... I'm coming to get you."
Posted by: regular joe || 08/03/2008 9:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Fast travel to Hell. May he burn in fires for ever...
Posted by: Black Bart Snolet6720 || 08/03/2008 12:25 Comments || Top||

#4  probably never knew what hit him..... not very satisfying.....
Posted by: Solomon Flugum2656 || 08/03/2008 13:15 Comments || Top||

#5  There's Smallhat, Midhat, and Bighat. Now it's time to get Bighat.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/03/2008 18:11 Comments || Top||


2 news channels blacked out in Jammu, 2 newspapers shut, as protests rage on
JAMMU: As the violence over the Amarnath land controversy rages, Jammu administration on Sunday blacked out two local TV news channels and sealed offices of two Hindi dailies.

The move sparked instantaneous protest as a large number of people defied the curfew and staged a demonstration here prompting police to resort to cane-charge and fire teargas shells to scatter them.

A senior Aaj Tak correspondent and an NDTV cameraman were injured in the police action which took place outside the offices of the two channels — Takel and JK , journalists said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum || 08/03/2008 08:49 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As I commented on the other Jammu article, 1 Kanal is .125 acres, an old British Unit used in Pakistan-From my old surveying text book. The plot in question is 800 Kanals, or 100 acres. This should illustrate the level of disregard that the Hindu population has suffered in their own country.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/03/2008 10:53 Comments || Top||


Govt to launch operation in Mohmand and Bajaur
The government has decided to launch a military operation in the Mohmand and Bajaur agencies to maintain the law and order situation, Aaj TV reported on Saturday. According to the channel, the decision was taken at a meeting presided over by NWFP Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani and attended by officials from the Tribal Areas in Peshawar. The meeting agreed to launch an operation for the restoration of peace in Mohmand Agency and Bajaur Agency, the channel said. The channel added that important decisions for improving the law and order situation in tribal and semi-tribal areas were also expected at another meeting to be held on Monday.
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336101 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Militants target military installations in Lower Dir
Militants targeted military installations with missiles in the Timergarah area of Lower Dir district late on Friday night, but there were no casualties.

This was the second attack in less than a month in which militants fired missiles at military installations. Security forces retaliated, creating panic among residents.

Lower Dir Nazim Ahmed Hassan Khan told the district assembly on Saturday that the situation was calm in the area as army officials and the district administration were holding jirgas with area elders. Khan appealed to people to help the administration maintain order in the district.
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336101 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Bomb kills eight policemen in Swat
At least eight police and security workers were killed on Saturday when a remote-controlled bomb exploded near their vehicle in Swat, officials said.

Another five policemen were wounded in the blast in the valley's Kabal town, police officer Alam Khan said. "Their condition is very serious," Khan told AFP. The dead included six police and two paramilitary soldiers, he added.

He said the vehicle was badly damaged and the bodies of two policemen were "badly mutilated". Officials said the police party was returning to base after a search operation in Kabal when the bomb planted by militants went off. However, Inspector Muhammad Wisaal, one of the wounded men, told Reuters in a hospital in Mingora that the policemen were returning from 'holiday' when the bomb exploded. Police officer Bashir Khan, meanwhile, told The Associated Press that the bomb targeted the police van because it was carrying money to pay the salaries of the staff in Kabal.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Al-Qaeda number two al-Zawahiri reported injured by US missile
US broadcaster CBS said it had obtained an intercepted letter from a Pakistani Taliban commander requesting urgent medical help for Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man. Pakistan's military said it had no information about the report.

Chief Pakistani military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said: "There is no evidence or information in this regard. We have no reliable information."

Al-Zawahiri has been mistakenly reported killed before in the remote and hostile area where he is believed to be hiding along with other surviving al-Qaeda leaders.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  The letter describes how al-Zawahiri was in "severe pain" and said that his "injuries are infected".

Doesn't necessarily mean it was a missile. Could just be the aftermath of his last encounter with a goat.
Posted by: Iblis || 08/03/2008 1:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Could just be the aftermath of his last encounter with a goat.

It'd probably be less dangerous if he used the back end of the goat instead.

Oh yeah, and pray for sepsis.
Posted by: gorb || 08/03/2008 2:06 Comments || Top||

#3  May he lay in his death bed for six months and a day. In searing pain.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/03/2008 9:36 Comments || Top||

#4  There will be golden opportunities funerals for these fallen heros. Honor guards will line the streets, wart hogs will fly over raining Allan's blessings upon them. We'll all meet at the snackbar later.
Posted by: Virgins bin Promised || 08/03/2008 12:26 Comments || Top||

#5  "death bed for six months and a day. In searing pain."

...or as a shriveled opium addict, whose only concern is his next fix.
Posted by: Bin thinking again || 08/03/2008 16:15 Comments || Top||

#6  President George Bush is believed to have ordered a new drive to kill or capture al-Qaeda members before he leaves office.

Like the way "W" is thinking. If McCain becomes President, he will most likely bring the job to completion. If BO gets to be President, I don't think we can count on the job being finished.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/03/2008 18:18 Comments || Top||


Gas pipeline blown up in Dera Bugti
Unidentified men blew up a 16-inch gas pipeline in Pirkoh district, Dera Bugti on Saturday, the police said. The explosion suspended gas supply to Pirkoh purification plant. Rain in the area is hampering repair work. The police have registered a case.
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Somethings, they don't change.
Posted by: .5MT || 08/03/2008 17:06 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Air Force Looks To A New Drone To Keep Peace In Iraq
The US Air Force may turn increasingly to a new armed drone, the MQ-9 Reaper, to help keep the peace in Iraq once the conflict shrinks in scale and US ground troops go home, a top US commander says. Lieutenant General Gary North, the commander of US air forces in the Middle East, said he is examining options for when and where he can replace manned fighter and bomber aircraft with armed drones.

"Today we are in an environment where we may not need the large number or persistence of manned aircraft," he said in an interview by telephone Friday with AFP from a base in the region. "We can put unmanned aircraft -- Predator, Reaper, and other assets -- overhead for long endurance periods. We call that persistent stare.

"And with the Reaper, armed with Hellfire and 500-pound precision weapons, we'll be able to have a deadly stare if needed," he said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Sherry || 08/03/2008 14:35 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Reaper was deployed in Iraq for the first time July 17 from Balad Air Base, and has been flying in Afghanistan Pakland since September.

heh....do you hear something?
Posted by: Frank G || 08/03/2008 15:15 Comments || Top||

#2  MQ-9 Reaper flys overhead for long endurance periods. We call that persistent stare.

Mahmood, "Do you feel that Haji?"

Haji, "Feel what?"

Mahmood, "who's watching us?"

Haji, "Huh?"

Mahmood, "I wonder if it's Allah?"

Haji, "I stinks your imaginating tings Mahmoo....BOOOM!

/thanks Sherry ~:)
Posted by: Red Dawg || 08/03/2008 15:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Still going to need QRF for quite a while. And that means mobile infantry.

AF should realize there's yet to be a way to take and hold ground without the PBI. And its the individual grunt that has one this by being out there amongst the sheep, killing wolves, showing the way things are and being a living example of a liberator (not a conqueror).
Posted by: OldSpook || 08/03/2008 16:41 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Gaza fugitives 'to be sent back'
Posted by: tipper || 08/03/2008 06:33 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The men, members of a clan allied to Fatah, were allowed into Israel after fighting left nine dead on Saturday.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads Fatah, told Israel not to transfer them to the West Bank, as he had earlier requested.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/03/2008 9:01 Comments || Top||

#2  Send them back, with a catapult.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 08/03/2008 9:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Interesting situation here for the 'human rights' community. On one hand this seems a good opportunity for them to blame Israel for violating International convention. However, to do so requires acknowledging that Hamas will torture or kill political opponents.
Posted by: mhw || 08/03/2008 13:18 Comments || Top||

#4  mhw - No problem for them. Such contortions are all in a day's work.
Posted by: Bulldog || 08/03/2008 14:22 Comments || Top||

#5  well an ISRAELI human rights group has already gone to court to keep them from being sent back. Of course THEY have no problem acknowledging that Hamas tortures opponents.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 08/03/2008 15:44 Comments || Top||

#6  heres something interesting on WHY abbas doenst want them

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331182583&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Posted by: liberalhawk || 08/03/2008 20:46 Comments || Top||


Palestinian man infiltrates IDF base in Jordan Valley
An unarmed Palestinian man infiltrated an Israel Defense Forces base in the Jordan Valley on Saturday morning, apparently in an attempt to steal equipment.

The suspect fled unharmed after an IDF soldier tried to stop him and fired shots into the air. IDF forces were combing the area in search of the suspect.

The Palestinian man left behind a bag full of office supplies which he collected from the base.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336091 views] Top|| File under:

#1  No big, he was just a small biz startup.
Posted by: Spike Uniter || 08/03/2008 1:42 Comments || Top||


9 hard boyz killed in Gaza festivities
Nine people have been killed in Gaza in fighting between militant group Hamas and allies of its rival, Fatah. Reports said up to 88 people were hurt after Hamas officials surrounded a house allegedly linked to a bombing that killed five Hamas men and a girl.

Israel has allowed nearly 200 Fatah members, including at least one key clan member wanted by Hamas, to cross the border, Israeli officials said.

Saturday's violence was the worst in a week of tit-for-tat operations. The latest operation was also among the most sweeping since Hamas seized power in Gaza from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in 2007. Dozens of people have been arrested in Gaza and the West Bank in the past week during Hamas and Fatah operations against each other's supporters.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336093 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


150 Fatah supporters enter Israel after Hamas takes over east Gaza
(CNN) -- About 150 pro-Fatah Palestinians seeking refuge from a Hamas crackdown in eastern Gaza City were allowed into Israel on Saturday, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman told CNN. They were let in at the request of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas took control of a neighborhood in eastern Gaza City on Saturday.

The Palestinians entered through a security checkpoint in Nahal Oz in the Gaza Strip's northern region Saturday afternoon, the spokesman said. "They were asking to enter the state of Israel after being threatened by Hamas gunmen," the spokesman said.

The spokesman said the Palestinians, some of whom were wounded, were allowed to cross the border after they disarmed. He also said they would be asked about the events leading them to seek refuge in Israel. Those who suffered injuries were taken to a facility to receive medical treatment.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Southeast Asia
Seven bombs hit southern Thai tourist towns
Seven small bombs exploded at shops and restaurants in southern Thailand's tourist hubs injuring two people, officials said Sunday, while two people were killed in separate attacks. Two bombs hit Hat Yai and five exploded in Songkhla Town within hours of each other late Saturday. Both towns are in Songkhla province, which borders the southern provinces beset by a bloody separatist insurgency. The bombs hit 7-Eleven convenience stores, a restaurant, a tea shop and a police checkpoint, with the first blasts heard at about 9:00pm (1400 GMT).

"From the bombs there are no dead. Two people were admitted to Songkhla Hospital," the Ministry of Health said in a statement. Prat Boonyavongvirot, permanent secretary at the health ministry, said that two women aged 16 and 18 were hit by shrapnel but were expected to recover from their injuries.

Songkhla's police chief, Major General Viroon Aiempaijit, said police were collecting evidence and it was too early to tell who was behind the attacks. "We cannot say yet who did this, or whether it was connected to the separatist violence," he told AFP.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: ryuge || 08/03/2008 06:41 || Comments || Link || [336096 views] Top|| File under:


Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan troops close to rebels' de facto capital
Sri Lankan government troops have entered the district housing the Tamil Tiger rebels' de facto capital for the first time in 11 years, the military said Saturday as a regional summit opened in the capital.

Fierce new fighting between government forces and the rebels across the country's embattled northern region killed 35 rebels and 14 soldiers, the military said. Leaders and officials from eight South Asian nations gathered Saturday in Colombo for an annual regional summit. The government sealed off roads and sent 19,000 troops and soldiers onto the streets of the capital to prevent any bombings.

A rebel attack in the capital during the summit would be deeply embarrassing for the government. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said army troops had crossed into Kilinochchi district, where the rebels' de facto capital is located, in fighting Thursday for the first time in 11 years. He did not give details about casualties, but said troops had moved about one kilometre into the district.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Top Syrian general assassinated: reports
BEIRUT (AFP) - Arab media reported on Sunday that a brigadier general thought to be the Syrian regime's liaison with Hezbollah in Lebanon has been assassinated.
48 hour rule, folks, so we're bringing out the accordion lady to keep us entertained while we wait for confirmation ...
The reports came almost six months after the killing in a Damascus car bomb of top Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughnieh, which the Shiite militant group blamed on Israel.

The Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat on Sunday quoted "informed sources" in London as saying that a senior Syrian officer had been found dead. "The circumstances of the incident are not clear," the London-based paper said in its report, which said the sources suggested that the slain officer had been "in charge of sensitive files and closely linked to the Syrian top brass."

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White || 08/03/2008 17:27 || Comments || Link || [336152 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Wow! Sounds like Syria may be on the "Special 6-month Jewish Plan". Let us hope. I've seen a few speculations that Assad could turn. This might be just an incentive for that to occur.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon || 08/03/2008 19:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe he's hoping he can "dump the burqua" at home and step up into an islamic Carla Bruni who can get him a photo shoot in Vanity Fair.
Hey, look at the transition from Jacque Chirac to Nick and Carla, amd maybe Bebe Assad sees the potential to star in "Flip My Regime"
Posted by: Capsu78 || 08/03/2008 19:23 Comments || Top||

#3  So, maybe someone at CIA still knows how to get his hands dirty. Promote him!
Posted by: Iblis || 08/03/2008 19:24 Comments || Top||

#4  I am gonna guess palace politics at work.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 08/03/2008 21:13 Comments || Top||

#5  this man visited Lebanon regularly. If CIA or Mossad were gonna get him, it would have been much easier to do so in Lebanon (some may believe CIA and/or Mossad have good networks inside Syria, I know of no reason to believe that). So I will agree with ZF, probably an inside job.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 08/03/2008 21:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Possibly. Though if the Israelis really want to worry Assad, then whack his boys while they're 'safe' within Syria. Heh.
Posted by: Steve White || 08/03/2008 21:31 Comments || Top||

#7  I agree with Mr. White and also believe it looks like a chess move by a pretty good player to create future chaos 'in the ranks'.

One one hand, it creates internal distrust in the Assad regime (possible defection candidates?). It creates suspicion on Hezbo's part on who is 'safe' and who isn't. It really gets Nasrallah's (and Hama's, too) boys living in Syria so 'edgy' that they may want to come home very soon, making Iran's 'direction' a little tougher. Lastly making the Persian 'emissaries' in Assad-Land think twice before going outdoors or turning on a light.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 08/03/2008 22:45 Comments || Top||


Lebanese reach draft on Hezbollah arms
Lebanese political factions reached a compromise on Hezbollah's arsenal, the information minister said Friday, releasing a vaguely worded draft statement that implies the militant group can keep its weapons.

The position paper must now be approved by Parliament, whose vote will decide whether to accept a unity government that includes Hezbollah. The new Cabinet was formed after Hezbollah gunmen routed armed supporters of the previous pro-Western administration earlier this year.

Hezbollah's arms have long been a point of dispute, with many legislators in the Western-backed majority in Parliament wanting to disarm the group. Hezbollah rejects the demand, and it will hold veto power in the new government.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/03/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah



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Sun 2008-08-03
  ''Assad's right hand man'' assassinated in Syria
Sat 2008-08-02
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Fri 2008-08-01
  189 arrested, curfew lifted in Diyala
Thu 2008-07-31
  Qaeda big turban in Afghanistan killed in US airstrike
Wed 2008-07-30
  Gilani in Washington; Paks raid Haqqani's empty madrassa in N Wazoo
Tue 2008-07-29
  Military offensive under way in Diyala
Mon 2008-07-28
  Mudhat Mursi: Dead Again?
Sun 2008-07-27
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Sat 2008-07-26
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Fri 2008-07-25
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Thu 2008-07-24
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Wed 2008-07-23
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Tue 2008-07-22
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Mon 2008-07-21
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