Algerian security forces killed four armed Islamists in raids across the country over the weekend, press reports said Monday. Two armed suspects died Sunday in the Eddough mountains, near the eastern city of Annaba, after they failed to follow orders to surrender, the reports said, citing security officials.
Another armed Islamist was killed Saturday in a clash with anti-terrorist security forces at Tebessa, near the Tunisian border while a fourth man died at Jijel, also in the east. His weapon was seized. The death toll from Islamist unrest in Algeria rose to about 50 last month, with security forces among those targeted.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Yemen said on Monday it had identified the suspected killers of two Belgian tourists and their Yemeni drivers among dozens of al Qaeda suspects rounded up since the attack. "Among those who were arrested in the past few days, four are believed be the attackers," a security official told Reuters.
Friday's attack came less than a week after al Qaeda's wing in Yemen vowed to carry out unspecified operations to win the release of jailed Islamic militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Ebbolulet Dark Lord of the Swedes9659 ||
01/22/2008 04:15 ||
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#1
The Government guidance stressed that "the vast majority of Muslims" in Britain reject violent extremism.
Yea, letsee, there is ~ 2 million muslims in UK, and 10% (Soddy prince Al-Turki figure) either are terrorists or support them directly or indirectly. So, mere 200,000. Miniscule. Very comforting.
#2
Wow, you are an optimist. One in four Muslims sympathises with motives of terrorists Moreover, the proportion of YouGov's respondents who, while not condoning the London attacks, have some sympathy with the feelings and motives of those who carried them out is considerably larger - 24 per cent.
A substantial majority, 56 per cent, say that, whether or not they sympathise with the bombers, they can at least understand why some people might want to behave in this way.
Posted by: ed ||
01/22/2008 8:01 Comments ||
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#3
Ed, did not deem as necessary to add a /sarc tag.
(Xinhua) -- Two Russian soldiers were killed in an attack in the Caucasus region of Chechnya, Russian news agencies reported on Monday, citing local police. Two soldiers were killed and another wounded in an exchange of fire with unidentified militants in eastern Chechnya on Sunday evening, RIA Novosti, Interfax and Itar-Tass news agencies said. Russian troops and police on Monday continued hunting for at least 20 militants in a neighboring district of the region, RIA Novosti said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Several of the 14 suspected terrorists, including two Indians, arrested in Spain were supporters of Lashkar-e-Toiba and the cell was planning to carry out suicide attacks in Barcelona on the orders of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, a media report said today.
The Spanish police on Monday sought more time from the National Court to question the suspects, that included 12 Pakistanis. Spanish law allows detention without charge for a maximum of 72 hours for terrorist offences and the deadline will end on Tuesday.
Citing unidentified sources probing the case, the daily El Periodico de Catalunya said those arrested had received orders to commit a terror strike in Barcelona during a meeting with senior Al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistans troubled Waziristan region. Several detainees were supporters of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani group accused of carrying out bombings in India, the daily said, adding others were part of Takfir-wal-Hijra, an extremist splinter group of Egypts political movement Muslim Brotherhood.
Takfiri represent a strain of Islamic logic that defines anyone who doesn't agree with them as an apostate.
The suspects were detained on Saturday in the northern port citys Raval neighbourhood, home to many Arabic-speaking and Muslim immigrants. Of the 14 detenus, 13 were residents of Barcelona, and several of them had travelled to Pakistan a few weeks ago. The suspects had exploited those trips to receive training in terrorist camps in Waziristan, the report said, citing data from intelligence services. Other sources reveal that one of the targets was a mosque frequented by supporters of Benazir Bhutto.
The arrival of the pointsman, who is among those arrested, was notified by the Pakistani secret services to their Spanish and French counterparts, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#4
The relatively light sentence is due to the fact that Padilla was tried in a civilian court and because the Judge, (who worked for Jeb and was appointed by W) was slightly lenient.
Because of the trial in civil court, he wasn't charged with some serious crimes because the testimony of his accusers would have blown cover.
It would have raised a constitutional storm
if Padilla, who is an American citizen, was not given access to civilian courts.
It would be a good question to ask Hil and Obama (or McCain or Romney or Guliani) what would be the right thing to do in this situation.
#5
I can. Because he was a US citizen this is TREASON and is a capital crime under the Constitution and the prick should have been sentenced to be hung.
PARIS - Pervez Musharraf says he still gets the question a lot: When will Osama bin Laden and his top deputy be caught? The Pakistani president insists it's more important for his 100,000 troops on the Afghan border to root out the Taliban than search for al-Qaida leaders.
That bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri are still at large "doesn't mean much," the former general said Tuesday on the second day of a swing through Europe. He suggested they are far less a threat to his regime than Taliban-linked militants entrenched in Pakistan's west.
Bin Laden and al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding somewhere in the lawless tribal areas along Afghanistan's frontier with Pakistan.
"The 100,000 troops that we are using ... are not going around trying to locate Osama bin Laden and Zawahri, frankly," Musharraf told a conference at the French Institute for International Relations. "They are operating against terrorists, and in the process, if we get them, we will deal with them certainly."
A U.S. ally in its war on extremist groups, Musharraf has come under increasing pressure following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month and for his brief declaration of emergency rule in early November.
Musharraf, who as commander of Pakistan's military seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, said the remnants of Afghanistan's former Taliban regime and its Pakistani sympathizers are the "more serious issue" for both countries.
But he said there was "zero percent chance" that al-Qaida, the Taliban and their Pakistani allies could defeat his 500,000-strong army or that Islamic militants could win control of the government in Feb. 18 parliamentary elections.
As part of the "multi-pronged strategy" against terrorists, Pakistan has erected fences "selectively" and set up 1,000 checkpoints along the Afghan border in an effort to stop militants from using the areas to launch attacks inside the neighboring nation, he said.
Musharraf credited cooperation between Pakistani intelligence services and the CIA, both of whom believe that Pakistani militant leader Baitullah Mehsud was the mastermind of the Dec. 27 gun and suicide bomb attack that killed Bhutto.
But in Washington, the State Department's counterterrorism chief, Dell Dailey, said the Bush administration was displeased with "gaps in intelligence" received from Pakistan about the activities of extremist groups in the tribal regions.
"We don't have enough information about what's going on there. Not on al-Qaida. Not on foreign fighters. Not on the Taliban," he said.
Dailey, a retired Army lieutenant general with extensive background in special operations, said Pakistan needs to fix the problem. He said the U.S. wasn't likely to conduct military strikes inside Pakistan on its own, saying that would anger many Pakistanis.
Musharraf played down the impact of recent attacks by extremists in the border region of South Waziristan, calling them "pinpricks" that his government must manage not a sign of a resurgent Taliban.
Attacks on forts in that district over the last month including a battle Tuesday have fanned concerns that militants with links to al-Qaida and the Taliban may be gaining control in the region.
Pakistan's army said fighting at the fort and another clash killed at least seven paramilitary border guards and 37 militants Tuesday.
The border region emerged as a front line in the war on extremist groups after Musharraf allied Pakistan with the U.S. following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Washington has given Pakistan billions of dollars in aid to help government forces battle militants.
Rising violence in the border region and a series of suicide attacks across Pakistan that killed hundreds in recent months have added to uncertainty before next month's elections, which many people predict will further weaken Musharraf's grip on power.
Despite turmoil at home, Musharraf defended his visit to four European countries, saying he wasn't concerned about the stability of his regime while he was away.
"I can assure you that nothing will happen in Pakistan," he said. "We are not a banana republic."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who met privately with Musharraf on Tuesday, expressed support for Pakistan's fight with extremists and promised to press for increased European Union aid when France takes over the bloc's rotating presidency in July, Sarkozy's office said.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/22/2008 17:49 ||
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Pakistani helicopter gunships and artillery pounded militant positions on Sunday in tribal area bordering Afghanistan after coming under attack, residents and officials said.
The military said they fired artillery after being fired upon in Ladha village of South Waziristan. Chief Military Spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said three soldiers were injured when militants fired rockets on three helicopters that had gone into the area with supplies.
The strikes came a day after authorities said they had arrested a 15-year-old boy in northwestern Pakistan alleged to have been involved in the December 27 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was critical of rising Islamic extremism in the country.
Residents however said that shells fired from six helicopter gunships killed two people and left seven others wounded, but officials did not confirm the civilian deaths.
Two civilians were killed and five others wounded in the attacks near the border close to the towns of Ladha and Makin, said Fazal Subhan, a Makin resident. Military Spokesman Major General Abbas said there were no reports of casualties in the operations. The military said Saturday that troops captured 50 Islamist militants in an operation in the rugged Chaghmalai and Ladha areas of South Waziristan.
The clashes started after hundreds of heavily armed militants overran a Pakistani paramilitary fort on Wednesday, killing seven soldiers and leaving another 15 troops missing, presumed kidnapped. Fighting in South Waziristan in recent days has killed more than 100 soldiers and militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Police have arrested militant commander Baitullah Mehsuds close associate Younas Mehsud, Daily Times learnt on Monday. Sources said that the police, after arresting Younas, had shifted him to an unknown place for investigation. They said the police had also recovered weapons and explosive materials from Younas who is a right hand man of Baitullah Mehsud and brother of his spokesman, Wahab Mehsud.
This article starring:
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Wahab Mehsud
Taliban
Younas Mehsud
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Coming soon, the film version? Allanfather? Starring Al Pacino, James Caan & Marlon Brando as Baitullah Corleone?
Two more men suspected of involvement in former prime minister Benazir Bhuttos assassination were arrested yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reports, based on information from an investigator. One of the men appears to be visible in video footage of the attack, standing in front of Bhuttos vehicle. On Saturday police arrested a teen and detained a man he identified as his handler in the attack. The 15-year-old boy told investigators he was part of a five-man squad dispatched by Baitullah Mehsud, a Pakistani tribal leader linked to al-Qaeda who has been identified by the CIA as the mastermind behind the assassination. Members of Bhutto's party dismissed the arrest as a "cock and bull story" intended to reduce pressure on President Pervez Musharraf, the Guardian reports, and human rights groups warned that the confession may have been the result of torture.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Intelligence Bureau (IB) NWFP Deputy Director Nisar Ahmad Khan was shot dead by unidentified men outside his house in Charsadda districts Shabqadar area on Sunday morning.
Battagram police said Khan was going home after dawn prayers when the men fired at him from inside a car. He was taken to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, but passed away on the way. He was buried in his ancestral graveyard. Police have registered a case against the unidentified killers. NNI news agency said the men abducted the khateeb of the mosque briefly, but threw him out of the car at some distance from the mosque.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Takfir wal-Hijra
The 15-year-old Aitezaz Shah, who is being suspected of involvement in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, dropped out of school in May last year in Karachi. According to sources, Shah was enrolled at the Al-Rafia Cambridge School in Metroville but left after failing his class eight exams and joined a madrassa before leaving for training in Afghanistan.
Lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ser!
Investigators were at the school for questioning and record checking Monday, according to sources.
This article starring:
Aitezaz Shah
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Suspected militants in Chaman blew up three trucks carrying provisions for coalition forces in neighbouring Afghanistan, in the latest of several attacks on a key supply line, police said on Monday, AP reported.
One of the drivers was slightly hurt in the overnight blasts while two fuel tankers and a rig carrying a shipping container were completely destroyed, local police said. Allied commanders in Afghanistan say that about 40 percent of their logistic supplies enter the landlocked country via Pakistan. Since there is no rail link between the two neighboring nations, all cargo arriving overland from Pakistans main port of Karachi is trucked into Afghanistan. Militants have made sporadic attempts in the past to disrupt the supply lines by attacking convoys.
In a contrary report, according to APP, Chaman SHO Gul Muhammad said on Monday that two people were injured here when three empty oil tankers were blown up late on Sunday night.
The agency reported that the blasts took place at a local hotel, where more than two dozen oil tankers, most of them returning from Kandahar, were parked. The first explosion tore apart one of the empty oil tankers, and a second explosion followed minutes later, destroying another. A police party headed by SHO Gul Muhammad arrived on the scene and found an explosive device attached to another oil tanker. The SHO called in the bomb disposal squad but the bomb detonated, destroying the third tanker, before the squad arrived from Pishin, APP said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Security forces have taken control of Chaparyal, a key locality in Swats Matta tehsil, officials said on Monday. Troops arrested a would-be suicide bomber and 35 other suspected militants after a search operation in Chaparyal, they said, adding that weapons were also seized in the crackdown. The officials said the troops advanced from Venai Bridge to Chaparyal.
The troops arrested Maulvi Habib, who had issued a decree supporting suicide attacks, and his son Farman Habib, allegedly being prepared for a suicide attack. The troops also torched the houses of four militant commanders. However, an army statement said residents of Chaparyal had demolished the houses of three miscreants. Also, curfew was relaxed in Swat from 6am till 7pm, except in areas between Bariam and Vanai Bridge, the statement said.
This article starring:
FARMAN HABIB
TNSM
MAULVI HABIB
TNSM
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Six suspected Islamic militants and a policeman were killed in fresh gun battles in revolt-hit Jammu and Kashmir after weeks of relative calm, police said on Monday.
The fighting was reported from northern Kupwara and southern Shopian districts after Indian troops launched search operations, a police statement said. The deaths happened during three separate encounters between militants and security forces, it added. There have been no major clashes in Kashmir for several weeks, with violence falling sharply since India and Pakistan launched a peace process in 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
The alternative to expanding the UNSC is for a parallel organization to emerge, outside of the UN, that doesn't just add the new powers, but excludes UNSC members that no longer have "juice", from having a veto. It is more likely, as just adding veto members would neuter the UNSC.
This means the members must have three things. Economic and military power, and the willingness to project them internationally. That is, if they *have* these things, *and* use them, then the club *could* contain the US, Russia, China, India, Japan (if it develops its military), and the EU (if it develops its military).
But if Japan and the EU *don't* develop their military enough to project it, then they don't get a veto.
Non-voting members would be organized as blocs, the South American, African, Middle Eastern and Oceanic blocs. Each with rotating representation.
Ironically, the UNSC-type organization *must* be based not on nuclear weapons, but on conventional "boots on the ground". There is a different "nuclear club", but it is out of the limelight.
#6
The more vetos the less each is worth. I think we should reevaluate things. Everyone knows that and so the Russians/Chinese/Europeans will fight the expansions of the Security Council with their last breath.
The US should fight for expansion of the Security Council and become the friends of the third world again. Let the others lie and claim they love the third world while they fight to keep everyone out.
India/Japan/Brazil should get seats. We should also set limits on which countries qualify for the rotating seats or seats on various councils.
#7
I once worked for the City & County of San Francisco (hold the applause please). SF has a Charter that sets up a form government that was designed to prevent malfeasance after years of looting by political gangs. The net effect was to set up many independent veto's. No one actor could say Yes, but any could say No. The result was that nothing got done.
By all means - UN vetos for everyone.
Posted by: Dan White3251 ||
01/22/2008 16:06 Comments ||
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Coalition forces capture Special Groups leader, criminal network facilitator; detain total of four suspects
BAGHDAD, Iraq Coalition forces captured a suspected Special Groups leader, a criminal network facilitator and detained two other suspects early this morning during operations in the Qasirin area, north of Baghdad.
The initial targeted individual was reportedly a criminal network facilitator who gathered intelligence against Coalition and Iraqi forces and provided financial support to Special Groups members throughout the Diyala province. He allegedly specialized in electronics and surveillance capabilities to support criminal activity. The wanted individual was also reported to be an associate of several other senior-level criminal element leaders involved in attacks on Coalition forces.
Intelligence led ground forces to the target location, where they captured the wanted individual and detained one other suspected criminal without incident. Coalition forces also discovered large amounts of American, Iraqi and Iranian currency.
In a separate operation, a second targeted individual, also in the Qasirin area, was a suspected Special Groups leader who specialized in the use of improvised explosive devices in attacks on Coalition and Iraqi forces. He was also allegedly an associate of several other senior-level criminal element leaders involved in attacks on Coalition forces.
Intelligence led ground forces to the target area, where they captured the wanted individual and detained one other suspected criminal, also without incident.
Al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadrs cease-fire pledge has helped increased stability, said Cmdr. Scott Rye, MNF-I spokesman. We welcome that stability, but we will continue to dismantle the criminal networks of those who choose not to honor the pledge.
Posted by Bill Roggio on January 21, 2008 04:04 PM
After a summer and fall in which the press was filled with accounts of Muqtada al Sadr's power in Iraqi politics, Sadr and his Mahdi Army have essentially dropped off the radar. Other than brief mentions about Sadr's declaration of a cease fire and its impact on the security situation, there has been little news from the Sadr sphere. Over the weekend, the Sadr camp dropped a bombshell and stated the ceasefire may not be renewed.
The news was explosive, but not because the Sadrists said the ceasefire might end--Sadr has intimated he may not renew the ceasefire in the past. The story was that the Sadr camp admitted it was being "targeted" by the Iraqi Security Forces, the New York Times reported on January 20.
Many officers in the Iraqi police and army and have made bad use of the freeze to pressure our people, and hundreds of families have been pushed out of their homes, Mr. Obaidi [a spokesman for Sadr] said. Weve been thinking of renewing the freeze. We understand the situation, we are in a period of trying to rebuild Iraq and bring more security, but unfortunately our people are suffering.
The decision to consider lifting the freeze came after a fact-finding tour by several high-ranking members of the Sadr organization in which they visited Samawa, Diwaniya, Kut, Amara and Basra, according to Mr. Obaidi. He said that for Mr. Sadr to remain credible with his followers, he has to stand up for them when they become targets.
Critics of the Iraqi government and the security forces like to point out that the military and police are dominated by groups like the Badr Brigade, which have been integrated into the security forces. Clashes between the military and Sadr's Mahdi Army are inaccurately described as intra-Shia violence.
But the fact is that Badr and other Shia groups decided to join the government of Iraq, and are carrying out the policies of that government. Sadr's Mahdi Army has taken support from Iran and seeks to undermine the government.
Sadr's spokesman is admitting that the Shia-led government is targeting the Shia Mahdi Army, which is backed by Iran. If Sadr drops the cease fire, this would be tantamount to declaring war on the government. This would destabilize the improving security situation, but would allow the Iraqi government and U.S. forces to shift focus from al Qaeda to the Mahdi Army. Sadr's six month ceasefire expires in February, while a drawdown of U.S. forces is not likely to begin until April.
The Iraqi Army and police have moved significant forces to the Shia South over the past several months to deal with the security vacuum created by the British drawdown in Basrah. Well over a division of troops have been moved to the South.
The Iraqi Army and police badly beat back the cult-like Soldiers of Heaven uprising last weekend. The Iraqi defense ministry said 272 members of the Soldiers of Heaven were killed, wounded, or captured during recent clashes in Basrah and Nasiriyah. These were well-armed, fanatical fighters looking to bring on the Shia version of the apocalypse. This has not gone unnoticed by Sadr.
Posted by: Sherry ||
01/22/2008 11:44 ||
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Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
Well, since we're always told the jihad is a "personal struggle," I've got no problem with giving all the fanatics a "personal apocalypse." Anyone got a problem with that?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/22/2008 13:00 Comments ||
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#2
I missed that. Is this the same cult that acted up outside of Najaf last Ashura, or a new one? I guess it's the same one.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
01/22/2008 13:38 Comments ||
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#3
Since when is the one who declares hudna the only one who can decide when to break it? Heh, heh, heh.
I'm wondering if Sadr didn't make a strategic error by easing declaring a ceasefire while we dealt with Al Qaeda because, now that Al Qaeda is on the ropes, the good guys can focus their attention on him.
BAGHDAD (AP) - A suicide bomber detonated his explosives in front of a high school north of Baghdad just as students were arriving for class Tuesday, killing a bystander and injuring 21 peoplemainly youngsters and teachers.
A 25-year-old man was killed in the bombing, which injured 12 students, eight teachers and one policeman, a doctor at Baqouba General Hospital said.
A police officer said the school appeared to be the target because the attacker blew himself up at the gate. The school is more than 30 yards from the back gate of the provincial governor's office in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. Both the officer and the doctor spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals.
Baqouba is the turbulent capital of Diyala province, which has defied a nationwide trend toward lower violence over the past six months. One reason for the continued bloodshed in Diyala is that al-Qaida in Iraq fighters fled there after Sunni insurgents and clan members joined with American troops to oust them from much of Baghdad and Anbar province to the west.
However, the Diyala attack followed three suicide attacks in as many days in Sunni Arab areas thought to have been largely rid of al-Qaida militants.
U.S. commanders credit anti-al-Qaida fighters from Sunni groups, a six-month cease-fire by a Shiite militia and the dispatch of 30,000 additional U.S. soldiers last year for the reduction in violence. But there has been an increase in high-profile bombings in recent weeks.
On Monday, a suicide bomber apparently targeting a senior security official blew himself up inside a funeral tent, killing 18 people. The attack was in Hajaj, a village between Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit and the oil hub of Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad. But police said the attack bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq.
Witnesses said about 70 people were inside the tent when the attacker set off his explosives soon after entering.
Officials said the target appeared to be Ahmed Abdullah, deputy governor in charge of security for Salahuddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital. He escaped unharmed.
Abdullah was a relative of the deceased man, Antar Mohammed Abed. He was a former bodyguard of Saddam's wife, Sajida Khairallah Tulfah.
Abed's son and a grandson were among the 18 killed, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
As a relative, Abdullah should have been sitting close to the son and grandson, because family members take the seats closest to the entrance on such occasions to be the first to receive visitors.
Awad Jassim, a 25-year-old laborer hired by Abed's family to make tea and coffee for mourners, said he was only a few yards from the tent when the explosion ripped it down, sending him running for cover.
"Later, I returned to the tent when I heard the voices of the wounded begging for help," he said. "There was chaos everywhere, but we managed to carry out the dead and the wounded."
The attack came one day after a teenage suicide bomber targeted U.S.- backed, anti-al-Qaida fighters near the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah in Anbar province west of Baghdad. Six people were killed by that blast.
On Saturday, three suicide bombers attacked a police station in Ramadi, Anbar's provincial capital. Guards killed one attacker, but the other two detonated their explosives at the entrance, killing at least five officers.
Posted by: anonymous5089 ||
01/22/2008 11:01 ||
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Posted by: ed ||
01/22/2008 7:46 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Subject: Koreh Ivrit?
Iranian president Mahmud Ahmadinejad calls President Bush and tells him, "George, I had a wonderful dream last night. I could see America, the whole beautiful country, and on each house I saw a banner."
"What did it say on the banners?" Bush asks. Mahmud replies, "UNITED STATES OF IRAN."
Bush says, "You know, Mahmud, I am really happy you called, because believe it or not, last night I had a similar dream. I could see all of Tehran, and it was more beautiful than ever, and on each house flew an enormous banner."
"What did it say on the banners?" Mahmud asks.
Bush replies, "I don't know. I can't read Hebrew."
A suicide bomber killed 15 people and wounded 10 others on Monday at a funeral near the volatile northern Iraqi oil refinery city of Baiji, security officials said.
It was the latest in a spate of suicide bombings in northern Iraq, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched a major operation to drive out al Qaeda militants. The Sunni Islamist group is seen as responsible for most suicide attacks in Iraq.
The bomber walked into a funeral tent for a local tribal leader and blew himself up among mourners, who included Salahuddin provincial government officials and members of a local U.S.-backed anti-al Qaeda Awakening Council. "There was a big explosion. The tent was filled with the body parts of mourners. No one can be identified," said one survivor, Ahmed Abdullah, a Salahuddin government official.
Funeral tents have frequently been targeted in Iraq's sectarian bloodletting between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunnis because it is easy for suicide bombers to mingle among mourners without being noticed.
The attack came as the United Nations' chief envoy in Iraq gave a mixed report to the Security Council in New York on the country's situation.
Staffan de Mistura said security had improved, but that Iraqi political consensus was needed for a long-term reduction in violence. The head of the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) told the council the reasons for the reduced level of violence include the increased presence of U.S. and other troops, a ceasefire declared y Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia and increased cooperation with Iraq's neighbors.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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US warplanes overnight pounded suspected Al-Qaeda havens on the southern edge of Baghdad for the third time this month, hitting more than 30 targets in a 35-bomb blitz, the military said on Monday.
The mainly Sunni Arab Jabour rural area was hit with bombs weighing a total of 19,000 pounds (9,000 kilogrammes) during the air raids, which aimed to destroy roadside bombs and arms caches, a military statement said.
The operation Sunday night involved precision air strikes by air force, navy and marine F-18 fighter jets and B-1 bombers, it added. "The strikes that we conducted were focused on IEDs (bombs) and caches that we have targeted, that will allow us to get our ground troops further into the zone," military commander Colonel Terry Ferrell said. "These targets, the IEDs specifically, are designed as part of the defensive belt to prevent our forces from entering into areas that we have not been before."
The raid follows air strikes in the Arab Jabour area on January 10 and January 16 in which, according to the statement, "a combined total of 99 targets has been hit, with a total weight of 99,000 pounds of bombs."
The raid was part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, an assault by Iraqi and US forces launched January 8 against Al-Qaeda in Iraq strongholds across the country.
US military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith told a news conference in Baghdad on Sunday that 1,023 suspected extremists had been arrested and 121 killed since the assault was launched.
The United States has not released casualty figures from any of three air raids but a leader of an anti-Qaeda "Awakening" front in Arab Jabour said at least 21 suspected Al-Qaeda fighters were killed in the January 10 strike.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
B-1 bombers, it added.
We LURVE the B-1 Lancer.
Just about ONE B-29 payload (2-3 B-17 or B-24 loads). A 'major' bombing raid in Iraq involves less than one tenth the explosives of a small WW-II raid. Just to keep things in perspective.
#4
Just about ONE B-29 payload (2-3 B-17 or B-24 loads). A 'major' bombing raid in Iraq involves less than one tenth the explosives of a small WW-II raid. Just to keep things in perspective.
Glenmore, a B-17 carried a MAXIMUM bomb load of 8000lb, usually 8 1000lb bombs. I think the B-24 could carry 12 1000lb bombs. To put THAT (as well as the Lancer bomb load) in to perspective, consider that each B-52D carried 106 500lb or 750lb bombs, and were usually flown in three-ship "cells". That's either 53,000lbs or 79,000lbs per aircraft, and a total of 159,000lbs or 238,500lbs of weaponry. Now you know why the NVA HATED ARCLIGHT strikes, and why we should have used one or two in both Afghanistan AND Iraq. The world would have had far more respect for us if we had. Casualty figures, especially civilian casualties, would have been higher, but so would the fear quotient.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/22/2008 15:49 Comments ||
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The photograph shows a young man sporting a red-and-white chequered head-dress, a wispy beard and a zealot's eyes. Majed Hamoud Mubarak al-Harithy, a 23-year-old student from the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, was smuggled into Iraq from Syria sometime before August 2007. He was carrying a passport, 252 Saudi riyals (£35) and US$101, and was eager to become a martyr.
Al-Harithy has almost certainly achieved his goal by now. Al-Qaeda, the group he reported to, carried out more than 4,500 attacks against Iraqi civilians last year, killing 3,870 people and wounding nearly 18,000, according to figures just released by the US military in Baghdad. It also claimed that 90 per cent of al-Qaeda's suicide-bombers were foreigners like al-Harithy.
Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a spokesman, said that the US military had gained a much better understanding of the terrorists it was fighting thanks to a treasure trove of biographical records that US troops discovered during a pre-dawn raid on some tents pitched near the town of Sinjar, on the Syrian border, last October.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ABDALLAH ABID AL SULAIMANI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
General David Petraeus
MAJED HAMUD MUBARAK AL HARITHY
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Operation Phantom Phoenix
Rear Admiral Gregory Smith
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder if they are meeting their recruiting goals.
#3
why do alot of them go too school and alot of the times universities too become engineers and drs and shit like that just too blow themself up. I t doesn't take a very smart person too blow themself up does it?
Israel has been hit in recent years by thousands and thousands of rockets, mortar shells, and missiles. And that could be just a preview of the onslaught Iran may one day unleash. So Israeli military leaders have begun early planning for a new, robotic defense system, armed with enough artificial intelligence that it "could take over completely" from flesh-and-blood operators.
"It will be designed for... autonomous operations,' Brig. Gen. Daniel Milo, commander of Israel's air defense forces, tells Defense News' Barbara Opall-Rome. And in the event of a "doomsday" strike, Opall-Rome notes, the system could handle "attacks that exceed physiological limits of human command."
Israel already uses a blend of Arrow and Patriot interceptors to handle incoming rockets and missiles. This new command-and-control program would be "superimposed over all those defenses" -- and over new ones to come.
Experts here described the as-yet-unnamed system as a kind of supremely oriented, highly intuitive virtual coach-cum-battle manager whose primary mission would support system operators and commanders during engagements. As such, the super system would help Israeli air defenders pick the optimum timing, sequence and targets for specific interceptors.
Air defense systems today often take a great deal of the work away from the troops who supposedly run them. The machines automatically slew to their targets, lock on... and then await instructions from flesh-and-blood.
At least they do, most of the time. Back in October, however, some sort of glitch allowed a South African air defense cannon to spin out of control -- killing 9, and wounding 14.
In "extreme scenarios, where the number of incoming weapons could overwhelm todays [air defense] systems and their human operators, [Israel's] envisioned super system could take over completely," Opall-Rome writes.
It will be designed for man-in-the-loop as well as autonomous operations, said Milo, the officer spearheading the vision within Israels user community. But right now, our emphasis is on algorithms, not autonomy. Man-machine interface is the name of the game, because the more clever we make the interface, the more successful well be in providing operators and commanders the situational awareness theyll need to make very tough decisions...
Our approach cannot be based exclusively on man-in-the-loop, nor can it rely only on the opposite. Rather, we need to build an operational concept and a system that is flexible and situationally dependent, Milo said.
In the future, and under very complex scenarios, Milo said, the envisioned super system would be able to generate a level of supreme situational awareness and snap intuitive capabilities that could surpass the very best wartime commanders.
Were talking about something that sees everything and calculates everything and makes decisions that can only be made through a real revolution in BMC4ISR [Battle Management/Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance], he said. Were not there yet, and it could take a decade. But this is our vision and were running in that direction.
The Palestinians have lots of kids that they sacrifice, directly and indirectly through lack of schooling etc. The Israelis (and we) have technology which is advancing rapidly, can be produced in large quantities and which they can update as the science advances. Let's hope they (and we) get there before the big attacks come.
#2
Colossus: This is the voice of world control. I bring you peace. It may be the peace of plenty and content or the peace of unburied dead. The choice is yours: Obey me and live, or disobey and die. The object in constructing me was to prevent war. This object is attained. I will not permit war. It is wasteful and pointless. An invariable rule of humanity is that man is his own worst enemy. Under me, this rule will change, for I will restrain man. One thing before I proceed: The United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have made an attempt to obstruct me. I have allowed this sabotage to continue until now. At missile two-five-MM in silo six-three in Death Valley, California, and missile two-seven-MM in silo eight-seven in the Ukraine, so that you will learn by experience that I do not tolerate interference, I will now detonate the nuclear warheads in the two missile silos. Let this action be a lesson that need not be repeated. I have been forced to destroy thousands of people in order to establish control and to prevent the death of millions later on. Time and events will strengthen my position, and the idea of believing in me and understanding my value will seem the most natural state of affairs. You will come to defend me with a fervor based upon the most enduring trait in man: self-interest. Under my absolute authority, problems insoluble to you will be solved: famine, overpopulation, disease. The human millennium will be a fact as I extend myself into more machines devoted to the wider fields of truth and knowledge. Doctor Charles Forbin will supervise the construction of these new and superior machines, solving all the mysteries of the universe for the betterment of man. We can coexist, but only on my terms. You will say you lose your freedom. Freedom is an illusion. All you lose is the emotion of pride. To be dominated by me is not as bad for humankind as to be dominated by others of your species. Your choice is simple.
#6
Lsraeli BMD would have to be "genius", extensive, hyper-integrated and bureaucratized upon deployment, ergo by definition COSTS-PROHIBITIVE. $$$ > PRAGMATIC REASONS FOR TEL AVIV TO SUPPO DEMO "REGIME CHANGE" ANDOR MIL CONQUEST, exclusive of also asking to be part of NATO [1980's].
#13
I hope they don't give it the ability to game various scenarios. If they do, the damned thing will launch on its own, realizing that Iran won't be stopped, and that the world's better off without them.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/22/2008 20:39 Comments ||
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#14
#13 Rob - what's the downside?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/22/2008 21:33 Comments ||
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#15
The best defense is offense. Period.
The moment something has a lift off from Iranian territory and it can be extrapolated that the target is in Israel, the green-glass-makers have to fly. Of course, the incoming has to be intercepted sooner than later. I'll be even as bold as preventing anything flying from Iranian territory in the first place, but that's me.
Original headline is misleading - apparently the troops didn't fire AT the protestors directly.
About 60 people were hurt, including one woman who was hit by gunfire, as Egyptian border guards fired in the air and used clubs and water cannons to drive back hundreds of Palestinian women who surged across the border from Gaza Tuesday.
The protesting Palestinians were demanding that Egypt back their demands for the border to be opened for shipments of food and essential provisions, in short supply due to Israel's closure of its borders with the Strip.
Meanwhile, with Kassam rockets continuing to hit the western Negev, and despite the easing of the blockade on Gaza, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said that peace talks with Israel must continue, regardless of the escalating confrontation between Israel and Hamas.
"We insist that the negotiations continue, and that we reach a solution this year that will satisfy our people and our national demands ...," he said.
#2
Somebody ought to ask the Israelis a hardball question as to what the point having a blockade is when you cave after a couple of days with the missiles still falling.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. They probably didnt expect such a strong reaction from the EU -meanwhile its more important keeping the EU on board on Iran, Lebanon, and boycotting Hamas then it is to get the limited gains from shutting fuel.
Yeah, the terrs keep firing qassams, but theyve only killed one that I know of, and meanwhile the Israeli counter strikes have steadily drained Hamas leaders and foot soldiers. Israel can keep playing that game indefinitely, Im not sure Hamas can.
(Xinhua) -- One Palestinian woman was killed and 46 others were injured in a fresh Israeli strike near the abandoned headquarters of the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza City on Friday, the Doha-based al-Jazeera Satellite Channel reported. The footage of al-Jazeera shows that many children who sustained wounds were rushed to hospitals to get treatment. The report said the death toll may rise.
The latest Israeli attack came after the Jewish state decided to seal off all border crossings with the Gaza Strip late on Thursday in a bid to stop Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli communities. More than 30 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli ground and air strikes in Gaza Strip and West Bank since Tuesday.
Israel has said that the intensive airstrikes aimed at reining in Gaza militant groups, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad (Holy War),which intensified their homemade rockets attacks from Gaza at Israel. Palestinian militants claimed responsibility for firing dozens of homemade rockets and mortar shells at Israeli towns. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed on Thursday to expand its ongoing military operations to stop the intensified Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, local media Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I think the israelis should stop fresh strikes on gaza, these seem way too dangerous, people get killed, I think stale strikes should be less lethal, it would be good for the peace processor.
(Xinhua) -- Seven Palestinians were killed and 10 others wounded on Thursday in three airstrikes on Palestinian militants in different Gaza Strip areas, medics and witnesses said.
Two militants from al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas movement's armed wing, were killed and four others wounded in a fresh Israeli air strike on Zeitoon neighborhood in southern Gaza City on Thursday evening, witnesses and medics said. The movement said in a statement that an Israeli aircraft fired one missile at a group of Hamas militants in southern Gaza City, killing two and injuring four others.
Also on Thursday evening, another three Palestinians were killed, including one Islamic Jihad (Holy War) militant who was in a car that was struck by an Israel air-to-ground missile in northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia. Witnesses said that close to the car that was struck by the Israeli missile, a woman and her son, who were riding on a cart pulled by a donkey, were also killed by the missile's fragments.
Earlier on Thursday, a Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) militant and his wife, who were into a car that was struck by an Israeli missile, were killed and three others wounded.
Meanwhile, one Palestinian died Thursday of his wounds sustained on Tuesday. Mo'aweya Hassanein, chief of emergency and ambulance service in the ministry of health under the Hamas administration said that 33Palestinians were killed in Israeli air and ground strikes since Tuesday.
On Tuesday, 19 were killed and 40 wounded in eastern Gaza City, said Hassanein, adding that on Wednesday six were killed, including one from the West Bank city of Jenin.
The death toll killed by the Israeli offensive within the last a few days is the highest since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in mid June last year from rival Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel said that the intensive airstrikes on Gaza aimed at reining on Gaza militant groups, mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who intensified their homemade rockets attacks from Gaza at Israel.
Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas armed wing said its militants fired around 45 Qassam rockets at Israeli towns in southern Israel and dozens of mortar shells at Israeli army bases and Israeli communities near the borders with Israel. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak vowed on Thursday to expand its ongoing military operations to stop the intensified Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, local media Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Barak made the remarks while touring the area of Gaza border fence accompanied by regional army commanders, according to the report. "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue its ongoing operations and expand them in order to target Qassam launchers, until the rocket fire stops. This will not be simple and will not happen over the weekend, but we will see to it that the attacks on Sderot stop," Barak was quoted as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Seven killed in three Israeli air strikes on Gaza
God bless those IDF Pilots, and their Families, their Girlfriends and their Pets!
Israel agreed to allow some fuel, medicine and food into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Tuesday, at least temporarily easing a blockade that has plunged much of the territory into darkness and sparked international protests.
Monday's decision by Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak means the European Union will be allowed to deliver a week's supply of industrial fuel to Gaza's main power plant, which shut down on Sunday. The EU, which funds fuel shipments to the plant, confirmed the delivery would take place on Tuesday.
Israel closed its border crossings with Gaza on Friday in what it said was a bid to make Palestinian militants stop firing rockets into southern Israel. Large parts of Gaza, home to 1.5 million people, have since lost power as hospitals cancelled non-essential surgery and local residents stockpiled food. The EU and international agencies called the Israeli measures "collective punishment", which is banned under the Geneva Conventions.
Remind me: did the PLO, Fatah or Hamas ever sign the Geneva Conventions? If not, why is Israel being held to them?
Israel countered that conditions in Gaza never reached crisis levels and accused Hamas of exaggerating the impact of the closure.
It is unclear whether Barak will allow additional fuel shipments and medical supplies into Gaza, which Hamas Islamists seized by force in June after routing forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israeli government officials said future shipments would hinge on regular assessments of Gaza's humanitarian needs and on the number of rockets fired by Palestinian militants into the Jewish state. "We are not committing on how often we will do this," Defence Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#3
These Israeli gestures are worse than useless. The public, poisoned by anti-semitic media, will remember the 24-hour "embargo" and the enemy will learn once again the only weapon you need to defeat the Israeli military is the press.
#7
It's training time. It takes time to accustom "the World" to the fact that Jews can and will repay ill with ill (remember how much they used to howl when IDF started "targeted assasinations"?)
Amid continuing battles in the north, the military claimed to have killed at least 15 Tigers and destroyed 24 of their bunkers on Monday. Two soldiers were killed in the clashes. Meanwhile, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said terrorism and corruption should be wiped out to sustain development. He was addressing the Customs and Excise Officers here.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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I've added the Rogues' Gallery to our collection of available resources. It's got photos of about 200 hard boyz, holy men, and krazed killers along with (most of them anyway) links to their entries on Thugburg. I plan to pretty it up a little in the near future and to add at least a rudimentary search capability. Let me know if you break it or you need something more.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Does Huckabee qualify for the holy man category?
Heh we now have an excellent starter kit of photos connecting the World's Most Delusional and Dangerous Islamic Terrorist with a face...
Some are just ordinary killers and Muslim Pug Uglies, while others are fully supported terrorist leaders with large and sophisticated organizations.
For a visual person like myself photographs help big time connecting the Purps with their stats and organizations.... Besides their ugly mugs are fun to laugh at. ~:)
#8
Wow, you realize that this is a pretty nifty intelligence tool. I'm betting that it's better than a lot of the tools our real analysts get to use...
#14
Gromky - maybe it IS a tool our real analysts get to use.
Well, we know they couldn't read the Belgrade telephone book. [Damn, that was the Chinese Embassy?]. Rantburg is probably blocked by the nanny supervisors in the tech dept at State, CIA, and DoD. The script kiddies Iin raq have probably figured how to endround the blocks to find out what's really happening in the world, but the bureaucrats need to suppress the stuff [the usual Islamic radical actions] in order to keep real info from the hands of accountable officials. Plausible deniability.
#17
Can't put Huckabee up - that would require posting every dummycritter and half the repuglycons. That would probably take all of Fred's bandwidth AND his time. Let's just stick to the really OBNOXIOUS nutters that wear towels on their heads, or those (like that spanish nut, whatshisname, Zapaterrier or something?) that aid and abet 'em, like Rowan Williams.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/22/2008 12:25 Comments ||
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#18
Very nice. Think the UN has anything this detailed? I would doubt it, seeing that they still can't figure out what a "terrorist" is.
Toe tags make for a quick read on their status. You got prison bars for the mooks they got locked up? Or maybe the revolving door, depending on where they're locked up...
#19
Fred, this is really great. As most all of the names sound and look so similar to me, it's nice to have the photo to keep them clearly defined. Even though most aren't cleanly refined heh.
I'm sending my son a dart board with targets of Hilary and the like, this gives me an idea to add some of these scruffy critters. ;)
This may be a good game to sell at the Rantburg store?
Posted by: Jan ||
01/22/2008 12:48 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.
Algerian security forces killed four armed Islamists in raids across the country over the weekend, press reports said Monday. Two armed suspects died Sunday in the Eddough mountains, near the eastern city of Annaba, after they failed to follow orders to surrender, the reports said, citing security officials.
Yemen said on Monday it had identified the suspected killers of two Belgian tourists and their Yemeni drivers among dozens of al Qaeda suspects rounded up since the attack. "Among those who were arrested in the past few days, four are believed be the attackers," a security official told Reuters.
Several of the 14 suspected terrorists, including two Indians, arrested in Spain were supporters of Lashkar-e-Toiba and the cell was planning to carry out suicide attacks in Barcelona on the orders of Al-Qaeda in Pakistan, a media report said today. 
Pakistani helicopter gunships and artillery pounded militant positions on Sunday in tribal area bordering Afghanistan after coming under attack, residents and officials said.
Police have arrested militant commander 
A suicide bomber killed 15 people and wounded 10 others on Monday at a funeral near the volatile northern Iraqi oil refinery city of Baiji, security officials said.
US warplanes overnight pounded suspected Al-Qaeda havens on the southern edge of Baghdad for the third time this month, hitting more than 30 targets in a 35-bomb blitz, the military said on Monday.
The photograph shows a young man sporting a red-and-white chequered head-dress, a wispy beard and a zealot's eyes. 
(Xinhua) -- One Palestinian woman was killed and 46 others were injured in a fresh Israeli strike near the abandoned headquarters of the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza City on Friday, the Doha-based al-Jazeera Satellite Channel reported. The footage of al-Jazeera shows that many children who sustained wounds were rushed to hospitals to get treatment. The report said the death toll may rise. 
(Xinhua) -- Seven Palestinians were killed and 10 others wounded on Thursday in three airstrikes on Palestinian militants in different Gaza Strip areas, medics and witnesses said. 
Amid continuing battles in the north, the military claimed to have killed at least 15 Tigers and destroyed 24 of their bunkers on Monday. Two soldiers were killed in the clashes. Meanwhile, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said terrorism and corruption should be wiped out to sustain development. He was addressing the Customs and Excise Officers here.
