background paragraphs removed - RTWT for the details
To the south of Swat in Mamoon, in Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, the situation is equally restive, but the focus of local militancy is directed across the border in Afghanistan against the foreign troops there.
Western intelligence believes that Osama bin Laden, his deputy Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and other top al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders have free access in this region to meet and plan operations. Cross-border raids into Afghanistan are frequently staged from here.
The Bajaur area has been hit twice by Central Intelligence Agency predator drones, one specifically after Zawahiri. However, at a time when al-Qaeda is reactivated and the Taliban's main focus is to lay siege of Kabul, via adjacent Nooristan province in Afghanistan, aerial surveillance is considered insufficient. As a result, a large US base is under construction on a mountaintop at Ghakhi Pass on the Pakistan-Afghanistan (Bajaur) border. Militants believe this is in preparation for an operation inside Pakistan to clamp down on them as well as to renew the hunt for bin Laden and his associates.
As a result, the militants have attacked the new base in an attempt to delay its construction. "This is a matter of life and death for the mujahideen. We will shed our blood, but we will never let this base be completed," Dr Ismail told Asia Times Online while standing at the grave of his son, who was killed a few weeks ago by US forces while attacking the base. The tall and well-built Ismail is the leader of the TNSM and a main source of inspiration for the jihadis in Bajaur. "My son sacrificed his life against American designs to build this base over our heads. I shall never allow them to complete it, I will fight till my last.
#1
Oh, boy, more "last drop of blood" guys.
Hope the doc sent his runaway burqa out to be dry cleaned. You look like shit when you're captured in a dirty one...
#3
I like the idea of these bearded goons attacking a fortified base. They won't have any civilians to hide behind when the heavy artillery starts falling on their heads.
#4
"[Taliban leader] Mullah Omar once gave me the example of a policeman who would never spare anyone - not even his father - while doing his duty in front of his superiors. But in the absence of his superiors, he would give leeway to anybody he wanted to.
"The same is true with Pakistan, which is like a policeman whose officer is America. When the Americans keep check on Pakistan, it forces [Pakistan] to carry out operations, but in the absence of the Americans, it turns a blind eye against the mujahideen," said Ismail.
Best explanation I've heard so far of Pakistan's relationship with America.
Since returning to Pakistan he has twice been detained, most recently a few months ago. On that occasion a large rally had been arranged in his honor and the Americans took the opportunity to bomb the area, in the process killing scores of students at a madrassa.
#5
I never understood the American fetish for respecting borders when no one else gives a damn about them. Instead, Dr Ismail and his ilk should be visited by 2000 pounders into his home compound. Better yet during his Friday call to jihad.
Posted by: ed ||
07/17/2007 7:55 Comments ||
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#6
The fresh faces of the mujahideen after martyrdom, the aroma from their flesh and blood, are living miracles and prompt youths of the area to join forces with the mujahideen to defeat the Western coalition in Afghanistan," Ismail said.
The mindset of these people are sick/deluded!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
07/17/2007 8:17 Comments ||
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#8
Bajaur is a relatively progressive region (compared to what?) in the FATA, in contrast to the North Waziristan and South Waziristan tribal areas (Oh, compared to that). It has a high literacy rate thanks to its network of schools and colleges indoctrination centres (aka madrassas), and boasts modern road networks IED practice ranges and sports complexes public hanging facilities.
There, fixed that for ya.
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2007 9:52 Comments ||
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#9
The moron got his son killed for no good reason and then he stands back and urges other fresh young faces to go and get themselves killed. If he feels so strongly about it why isn't he leading the charge? What a monster. I hope the artillery crews at the new mountain top base make him their first target.
#11
Militants believe this is in preparation for an operation inside Pakistan to clamp down on them as well as to renew the hunt for bin Laden and his associates.
America really needs to overcome its fastidious observation of international borders. As ed noted:
"I never understood the American fetish for respecting borders when no one else gives a damn about them."
We are fighting an enemy that purposefully remains stateless yet enjoys the clandestine support of many Muslim majority nations in the region. This simple fact requires us to stop respecting the territorial sovereignty of these terrorst sponsors and begin prosecuting all facilities and bases that support attacks.
I know all the top Afghan officials in Kunar [province in Afghanistan] and I am aware that once this base is finished they will frequently meddle in our area.
This certainly makes it sound as if Ismail has infiltrated the local authorities. A thorough screening of their activities might prove quite enlightening. Collaboration between Muslim co-religionists makes their help essentially worthless. We really need to shift over to independently prosecuted campaigns with flat-out destruction as a goal. Fighting terrorism using a one-bullet-at-a-time strategy is both too glacial in its speed and does not reach back through conflict fronts into the real root causes of indoctrination and financing.
#12
Jihadi numbnuts across the globe continue to beg for a fight-to-the-death, and we continue to avoid giving it to them. Lots of innocents folks will end up paying for the stupid waiting game we've employed for far too long.
#14
Simple : for 60+ years, the Soviet-run Communist International pump the idea that NO Western state was worth defending, working for, or dying for. It was a well thought out meme to infect the body politic of the West, so that when the Soviets felt the time was right, they could sweep through the West and put us all behind the Iron Curtain. The Soviets paid particular attention to infiltrating operatives into the media, Hollywood, and academia : the better to spread the propaganda.
However, the Soviet Union collapsed before they could proceed with that Western overthrow. But a lot of the same people are pumping that cultural suicide today, simply because they have no other beliefs on which to anchor their lives. The West never did a purge of the Left after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, so they still operate today - and they have now switched their allegiance to the jihdis; because the West had the nerve to kill their god - Soviet communism.
#16
A couple of ARCLIGHT strikes down through a heavily-built-up area (as such are considered in the NWFP), followed by a few squadrons of F/A-18s with napalm and cluster munitions should do some serious mind-changing. Telling Pervert he either gets on the stick or Islamabad is next may actually get that idiot to move. Until the US understands that the only thing the muzzies respect is overwhelming force, and we exercise it a few times regardless of casualties, we're going to continue screwing up this war. When the MSM starts whining and wheezing, they need to lined up against the wall and shot, just like we'd do any other group of traitors. Start with the NYT, WAPO, and the LA Slimes. Oh, and the next time Tony Snow has a press conference, have two Marines at his side. The first person to utter any stupidities about the attack gets a full clip, starting at the groin and working up - either sex, regardless of who they represent. Those behind them will just have to take their chances. If need be, I'll take the place of one of the Marines.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/17/2007 18:23 Comments ||
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#17
The first person to utter any stupidities about the attack gets a full clip, starting at the groin and working up - either sex, regardless of who they represent.
lol! If only.
Posted by: A T ||
07/17/2007 18:40 Comments ||
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#18
Until the US understands that the only thing the muzzies respect is overwhelming force, and we exercise it a few times regardless of casualties, we're going to continue screwing up this war.
End of story. Any delay in doing this only ups the butcher's bill.
Afghan and US-led forces killed several suspected militants and detained another in a joint operation in southern Afghanistan on Monday, the US-led coalition said, while a suicide attack on a private Afghan security company vehicle killed one guard.
The coalition said credible intelligence led them to residential compounds in Zabul province that were suspected of providing sanctuary to insurgents. During the operation, several armed males were shot and killed by the forces, it said in a statement. The men wore shoulder harnesses and had small arms, light machine guns and grenades, it added.
The forces also detained a man who will be questioned regarding his identity and involvement in insurgent activity, the statement added. There was no indication of civilian casualties, it said. Militants like these pose a threat to the peace of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, coalition spokesman Major Chris Belcher said.
Meanwhile, an Afghan security firm vehicle came under attack in Greshek, police said. One security guard was killed and four others were wounded. The vehicle is destroyed, Andiwal told AFP. A suicide attacker detonated his vehicle some distance from a convoy of a US security company, USPI, in western Farah province Monday, Farah police chief Abdul Rehman Sarjang said. The suicide attacker became the victim of his own ill-fated attempt. There was no harm to the USPI vehicle or personnel, Sarjang said.
Meanwhile Taliban militants attacked a highway police post overnight in western Nimroz province, sparking a two-hour gun battle which left seven militants killed and three wounded, governor Ghulam Dastageer Azad said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Is it just me or does it seem that the Taliban is pulling in everyone including the waterboy for their latest attacks? I mean, other than suicide bombings of civilians, nothing seems to be working out for the Taliban. This summer must have really chewed up any trained personnel that the Taliban had left.
#2
Methinks we're well inside their training cycle, Shieldwolf. I remember reading here that the current crop of Talib madrassah boys are kitted up on the bus as they head toward the border, and shown how to use the equipment once they've been shoved across the border. So that matches your read on the situation. It probably won't change until Iran sends some experts to take over, like they're doing in Iraq.
(SomaliNet) Somalia interim president Abdulahi Yusuf said today he had finished three years in the office with political violence and will stay in power for the next two years with boldness and unyielding rule as the national peace conference was adjourned to Thursday after todays mortar attack around the venue of the talks. At the opening ceremony of the postponed peace conference in north of the Somalia capital Mogadishu, President Yusuf said he would never surrender to what he called the Islamist elements whose aim is to destabilize the situation. Stop the fear, you will die when your destiny ends said president Yusuf when Ali Mahdi Mohamed, the chairman of the reconciliation conference whispered to him to finalize the speech as mortar shells slammed in an area not far from the conference venue.
The mortar attack, which was coincided with the opening of the peace talks, wounded three civilians in Abdulaziz district, north of the capital. The reconciliation committee did not yet give any reason about the deferral of the talks but sources close to the conference venue say that the meeting was adjourned because of the violence in the capital.
President Yusuf admitted that there is a chaotic situation in the country particularly in Mogadishu. In fact there is uneasy situation and the government is doing all it can with the help of the society. He said. The delegates of Somali clans should not feel frightened but be relaxed and encouraged to maintain their meeting... this is a minor thing, the security forces will end up the matter, said president Yusuf who wanted to calm down the spirit of the envoys who grew concerns after they received the news of mortar attack.
Meanwhile, the executive council of the ousted Islamic Courts Union Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed who is now in Asmara, Eritrea has condemned the national reconciliation conference as fruitless and senseless. He accused the international community of putting trap for Somali people when they supported what he called the deceitful meeting in Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Six people and one government soldier have been killed and dozen others wounded in bomb blasts in the besieged Bakara market in Mogadishu today as the reconciliation conference has been postponed to Thursday following mortar shelling near the conference venue.
The targets of the todays bomb attacks were government soldiers but caused more casualties on the civilians, according to the local residents. The transitional federal government soldiers indiscriminately sprayed bullets to the civilians in what looks like a response to the bomb attacks. All the roads either entering or leaving the biggest market are sealed off by the TFG soldiers after the explosions. We have a problem with the constants blasts in the market as it is the only life line to the residents of the city, said a local shopkeeper adding that I have not opened my shop for the fourth day,
Medina hospital, which is the only referral hospital, is stretched to the limit with wounded civilians in the latest round of violence. 25 civilians have been killed in bomb attacks and shootouts in and around Bakara market since the TFG soldiers began ringing it off two weeks ago. Local militants in Somalia have vowed to continue the strings of the attacks on the TFG soldiers and government installations in the capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) The security forces in Afgoie town, 30km south of the Somalia capital Mogadishu launched massive security operations today destroying all the illegal business centers close to the municipal office in the town following yesterdays bomb attack, which killed the deputy, chairman of the town Hassan Ahmed Hassan and other civilians and wounded four others. The commander of the security forces in Afgoie town Ali Habad said today the move was to assure the security and find the peace killers.
A curfew, which starts 8:00pm to 5:00am, has been imposed on Afgoie town last night after the killing of the deputy chairman. We will continue clearing the kiosks around the government offices in order to prevent any attackers, said Habad. We are telling the business people not to approach government buildings because the militant groups might hid through the kiosks,
Afgoie town in Lower Shabelle region, south of Somalia is a farmland alongside the banks of the Shabelle River, which runs through southern regions.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Somalia transitional federal government, which is now struggling to pose a sort of law and order in the capital, said today that it lost one of its soldiers in grenade attacks on the troops involving in the security operations in Bakara market. The commander of the current operating forces in and around Bakara market, colonel Yusuf Hussein Dhumal told the local media that one police officer died and four others were wounded in todays bomb attacks. As we have been receiving in the reports, we lost one soldier and four others wounded when unknown militants hurled hand grenade bombs at the soldiers as they were on their duties, said the official.
Dhumal said the search for weapons and suspects in and around Bakara market will continue for an indefinite period. The government set up a big military station inside the market to keep an eye to the insurgents movements. The TFG believes that Bakara market, the biggest hub in southern Somalia is the hotspot for the attacks against the government. Several soldiers have been killed in bombings and ambush attacks launched by the insurgents since the Bakara siege began two weeks ago.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Ya know, all this curfew stuff and killings and violence seems pretty racists to me.
Posted by: Al Sharpton ||
07/17/2007 13:33 Comments ||
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Security authorities have arrested three suspected terrorists and uncovered weapons caches along the Yemen-Oman border, police said Tuesday. Hundreds of hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, 158 mortars and other weapons were smuggled from a Yemeni military storage and hidden in a cave in Al-Mahrah province near the Oman border, a police official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.
The official also said preliminary investigations shows that the three suspected terrorists allegedly smuggled the weapons in preparation for terrorist attacks in Yemen. But it was not clear whether the three are linked to al-Qaida terror network, the official said. Al-Qaida is believed to be behind the suicide attack that killed eight Spanish tourists who were visiting the ruins of a temple linked to the ancient Queen of Sheba earlier this month. Yemeni authorities say they have rounded up two dozen suspects since the attack took place.
Saudi Arabia said on Monday 16 Saudis were handed over after the United States had freed them from its naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said King Abdullah is keen to free all detainees held at the controversial detention camp, the official news agency SPA quoted him as saying. Prince Nayef expressed his satisfaction with the level of cooperation that the US authorities are showing, said SPA.
Citing Saudi officials, Al-Arabiya television said there were 53 Saudis remaining at the prison. Saudi public anger over the treatment of Saudi detainees in Guantanamo has been high in the Gulf Arab state, a key US ally. Two Saudis were among three prisoners who hanged themselves in June at the prison.
Saudi Arabia has freed many of the 45 prisoners who were repatriated last year after they ended their terms in Saudi jails under a deal with Washington. Many of the men held at Guantanamo were captured in Afghanistan in the US-led war to oust the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks. Many have been held for years and nearly all are being held without charge.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Many of the men held at Guantanamo were captured in Afghanistan in the US-led war to oust the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks. Many have been held for years and nearly all are being held without charge..... and should have been EXECUTED!
#2
How many days to smuggle them thru Syria and train them to push the detonator of the next large car bomb in Baghdad, Mosul, etc. ? Get them back in the fight ASAP. Stupid is as stupid does...and keeps doing.
#5
I think that one reason that prevented the repatriation of this particular group was that some of them didn't want to face the Saudi interrogators who use real torture (as opposed to the 'making them listen to Lead Zeppelin' torture).
#8
We don't have to charge them with anything, you pencil necked moonbat of a reporter. They are enemy combatants under your precious Geneva Convention. We are not making up the rules as we go along, no matter what the NYTs says. They could find their ass if their head was stuck up it. And don't be surprised if we capture them again or even end up killing them in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 13:37 Comments ||
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In the near future, Europe may host two anti-ballistic missile systems, one operated exclusively by the United States and the other a joint project involving America, Russia and other European countries. According to some experts, the initiatives advanced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who proposed joint use of the Gabala radar in Azerbaijan and a radar in southern Russia, have not convinced the United States to revise its plans to deploy ABM systems in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Washington has not rejected Putin's proposals outright but is trying to adapt them to its strategic defense program without fundamentally changing the program itself.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Stephen Mull, the U.S. acting assistant secretary for political-military affairs, recently said the United States did not accept Gabala as a substitute for the plans it was pursuing with its Czech and Polish allies. But it is looking forward to "constructive dialogue" during bilateral expert-level consultations with Moscow about the possible integration of the Gabala site.
Moscow will not be happy because the proposal Putin made to President George W. Bush at the G8 summit in Germany called for the joint use of the Gabala radar as a substitute for elements of a U.S. ABM system in the two East European countries.
Later, the Russian president made an even more significant proposal. He said at a news conference in Kennebunkport, Maine: "The number of parties to this consultation could be expanded through the European countries who are interested in resolving the issue. And the idea is to achieve this through the forum of the Russia-NATO Council."
He also proposed establishing "an information exchange center in Moscow" involving the joint use of the radar that is being built near Armavir in southern Russia. "A similar center could be established in one of the European capitals, in particular, in Brussels, for example," Putin added.
Washington has not yet formulated its response to these proposals, and it is not clear if it is pondering them or has already decided to soft-pedal the issue. American experts have noted that there is a lot of interest among European countries in working on a regional ABM system in the NATO-Russian Council, but also warned about the complexity of the project.
The Russian president's initiatives, if accepted, would internationalize the ABM project. This would remove a great deal of concern and mutual suspicion, but it would also entail the exchange of technologies. Washington is probably not happy about the latter part, as it has quite a few ABM technologies it does not want to share.
The United States is unlikely to bury the idea of an ABM deployment site in Europe. While experts hold consultations and foreign and defense ministers discuss relevant issues, the United States will start deploying its ABM elements in Poland and the Czech Republic.
As Rice said, the United States needs "to continue to move forward with the Czech Republic and with Poland."
She added, though: "But we do agree that this could be an area for which U.S.-Russian cooperation could make a gigantic leap forward." These words were not an attempt to sweeten the pill.
It looks as if Washington intends to work on two projects simultaneously, one a purely American ABM system, and the other a joint regional one.
#1
Or, what I am hearing is Bush is telling Putie:
"We are willing to work with you on protecting everyone from rogue nuke attacks, but we sure as hell don't trust you to get it right so we are keeping our own system separate."
#3
HINDU.com > Russia-China repeat calls for NON-US DOMINATED, "MULTI-POLAR" WORLD. Key phrase or premise here being NON-US DOMINATED. Russia's greatest post-Cold War fear remains China's usurpation of Russia's role as self-proclaimed, primary counter = anti-USA/Western nation in Eurasia + World + future OWG. As for anti-US ABM = anti-GMD, WORK CONTINUES IN BOTH RUSSIA + CHINA ON END/TERMINAL-STAGE MANEUVER MISSLE TECH. DUMB OR MIRV-TYPE WARHEADS WILL BASICALLY BECOME MICRO-INTELLIGENT UAVS.
#5
Do we need to defend Euros? It would be cheaper to make some arrangement with Vlad. We are too close to the Saudis and they are too close to Iran. That could change, should common sense prevail.
Read the full text of Vlad's post G8 press conference. Am we missing something?
Polish military intelligence has arrested a Palestinian suspected of ties with Al Qaeda, according to a news report Monday. Intelligence officers arrested the individual, who was using a fake passport, overnight on Wednesday after tailing him for several days, the right-wing daily Dziennik said citing sources close to the investigation. Contacted by AFP, Polish military intelligence refused to comment. Dziennik reported that Polish investigators were in contact with British, French, German and US intelligence about the case. It said the arrest was tied to an operation in early June when Polish investigators smashed a network producing fake passports and other documents suspected of being used by groups with links to international militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD (Rooters) - A blast rocked the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Tuesday at a court where the country's suspended chief justice was due to speak and at least four people were killed, Dawn TV reported.
A reporter for the television station at the scene said he could see four bodies on the ground. Suspended chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had not arrived at the court to speak to lawyers at the time of the blast, Dawn TV said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the blast. Global Warming! No, wait...
#3
All for the better. The more military losses Pakistan experiences, the fewer of them we have to fight when it comes time to confiscate their nuclear weapons.
A joint investigation team of the Punjab Police, the Federal Investigation Agency and several intelligence agencies has detained 39 people and transferred them to an undisclosed location. The team has been investigating the firing of an aircraft gun at President Pervez Musharrafs aircraft on July 6 and has detained these 39 people in this connection. Sources told Daily Times that the suspected attackers telephone calls had been traced to these people, adding most of them belonged to the NWFP. It was previously reported that the presidents aircraft had been targeted from a house on Asgher Mall Road in Rawalpindi, which is owned by one Muhammad Sharif who is still being interrogated. A forensics laboratory is currently examining weaponry and other items confiscated from the house.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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Investigators have made little headway into Sundays suicide bombing in NWFP that killed at least 45 people and injured 108, prompting the government to set up investigation committees, police said. Investigators have yet to find out whether the DI Khan suicide bomber was a young man and deceived the police by posing as a candidate for recruitment in police force, DI Khan Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Habibur Rehman told reporters.
Rehman said he had constituted an investigation committee under the supervision of Superintendent of Police (SP) Anwar Saeed to probe the DI Khan suicide attack, but the police had so far not arrested anybody.
Sources in the police linked the suicide attack to the recent arrest of suicide bombers in DI Khan. The DIG said the police had recently recovered six suicide jackets and arrested three bombers last week, while one had blown himself up. He said the city was still under the threat of suicide attacks.
A local journalist, Saeedullah, told Daily Times that the DI Khan suicide bomber appeared to be around 45 years old. The NWFP government set up a two-member inquiry tribunal to investigate the suicide bomb blast at Dera Ismail Khan and it will submit its findings in seven days, said an official notification, APP reported. The tribunal is made up of Wadud Shah, Peshawar DIG (Investigation), and Muhammad Fahim Wazir, additional secretary (FATA) in the Home and Tribal Affairs Department.
Meanwhile, police arrested dozens of suspects from the bazaar near where two suicide bombers drove cars packed with explosives into an army convoy in Matta, Swat on Sunday. We saw police arresting people after in the bazaar the blasts, locals told Daily Times. Acting Swat DPO Abdur Rashid denied any arrest were made from the bazaar.
Agencies add: Dera Ismail Khan was put on high alert on Monday, with police checking vehicles leaving and entering the city, senior police officer Gul Afzal Afridi told AP. Investigators have collected samples from parts of the suspected suicide bombers body for DNA testing, Afridi said. Yesterdays attacks are likely linked to the Lal Masjid, a senior investigator in DI Khan told Reuters. Militants based in North and South Waziristan with allies in towns and cites were believed responsible, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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After the suicide bombings in the country and reports by secret agencies regarding chances of attacks on law enforcement agencies, the city police have tightened security around police-related buildings including the office of the capital city police officer (CCPO) and the Central Police Office (CPO) where visitors were being searched before entry.
CCPO Additional Inspector General Malik Muhammad Iqbal confirmed reports that law enforcers could be terrorists prime target. He said there was no fear among police officers. He said, We are policemen securing the lives and property of the public. If we fear, who will secure the citizens?
At Police Lines Qilla Gujjar Singh, policemen had put up barriers in the middle of Empress Road where they thoroughly checked every visitor and vehicle before allowing entry.
The CCPO said that specially equipped vehicles were patrolling VVIP areas such as the Governors House, Civil Secretariat and the Chief Ministers House. He added that specially equipped commandos were deputed at all police installations and police stations. He said that large contingents of plainclothesmen were also deputed at the airport, railway station, bus stands, congested roads, shopping centres and recreational places.
The people reportedly, did not like the routine security arrangements on city roads because they were hindering traffic and causing extended traffic jams.
Tariq Masood, a resident of Cavalry Grounds, said policemen had put up barriers at Cavalry Grounds Chowk on Monday afternoon and checked vehicles due to which all linking roads got blocked and the traffic was completely jammed. Similar situation was also observed on other major roads of the city, where policemen had put up barriers to check commuters, especially motorcyclists. Many incidents of quarrels between policemen and commuters were also reported.
According to a Punjab police spokesman, Inspector General Ahmad Naseem had issued a special circular on Monday in which he had directed all district police officers (DPOs), deputy inspector generals (DIGs) and regional police officers (RPOs) to monitor law and order and ensure round-the-clock patrolling.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers nabbed 46 men suspected of involvement with al Qaeda affiliated terror networks July 12 under the cover of darkness, east of Lutifiyah, Iraq. Troops of the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., air assaulted in the area, and then began searching reeds along canals for weapons caches.
The combined air assault detained 29 men on the Iraqi armys list of persons of interest, and 14 others who were identified by sources as terrorists. Three other men detained were taken for questioning on suspicion of terrorist activity.
Air assaults are critical in the 2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div.s area of operations, said Maj. Kenny Mintz, a native of San Diego, Calif., and the brigades operations officer. The terrain here is dominated by canals, which makes it difficult to get around, explained Mintz. Some of these canals are more like rivers. An air assault allows us to get around quickly and decisively.
Using helicopters avoids the hazards both natural and manmade. Its also faster, and seconds count, said Mintz, when in pursuit of terrorists who can disappear into tall vegetation in the lush Euphrates River valley. Use of helicopters also allows Soldiers with their heavy combat loads and armor to move farther and faster in the summer heat, the San Diego native said. With daytime temperatures that top 110 degrees Fahrenheit, Soldiers rapidly exhaust the supplies of water they can carry. By flying, rather than walking, to an objective, the troops can function much longer, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
but is he a San Diego native? lol. The reporter seems entranced with that
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/17/2007 9:52 Comments ||
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#2
Frank G,
Anyone who has served where this a CA and/or PA operations set up knows how these guys & gals work. You go in and tell your mission story and they in turn pretend they are reporters [they use the same 4x8 lined spiral bound notebook] and then get a bunch of personal details to brag up the hometown and the native. They are charged with accomplishing two things; one, is to bring positive news to attention of the public and two, to provide another layer of morale to the troops. Like everyone else they are integral to overall mission and operations.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 13:45 Comments ||
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Coalition Forces killed two terrorists and detained 25 suspected terrorists during operations around Iraq Monday targeting al-Qaeda media and bombing operations.
A senior member of an al-Qaeda in Iraq media cell gave himself up to Coalition Forces during a raid in Mosul. In addition to his surrender, the al-Qaeda in Iraq media cell member led Coalition Forces to the media cell headquarters, where they discovered various jihadist propaganda and media materials. Three additional suspected terrorists were detained with the cell leader.
In Baghdad, Coalition Forces conducted a raid targeting a key liaison between al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and vehicle-borne improvised explosive device cells in the city. When the ground forces began clearing the building, one man ran toward the perimeter security element. Coalition Forces, reacting to the perceived hostile threat, engaged the man, killing him. Ground forces detained two suspected terrorists during the operation.
A raid southwest of the capital city targeted close associates of al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders. When Coalition Forces began securing the building, one man fled the scene, and began digging in the yard. Coalition Forces pursued the man, who attempted to evade the ground forces. When the ground forces caught up with the man, he attempted to assault an element of the force, and Coalition Forces, reacting in self-defense, engaged the man, killing him. Coalition Forces detained two suspected terrorists during the raid.
In Ramadi, Coalition Forces captured two suspected terrorists during a precision raid. One is an alleged associate of a terrorist who facilitates the movement of foreign terrorists into Iraq for suicide operations.
Two coordinated raids in Baghdad targeted members of the Baghdad bombing network. Coalition Forces detained five suspected terrorists linked to an al-Qaeda in Iraq leader overseeing the bombing network, and two more suspected terrorists with ties to an al-Qaeda in Iraq weapons facilitator.
Coalition Forces detained eight suspected terrorists north of Taji during a raid targeting a direct associate of al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders known for using IEDs. Were targeting the top of al-Qaeda in Iraqs leadership as well as the operatives who conduct attacks that harm innocent Iraqis, and were taking them off the streets so the people of Iraq can live without fear of vicious terrorist attacks, said Maj. Marc Young, an MNF-I spokesperson.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11131 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#3
A senior member of an al-Qaeda in Iraq media cell gave himself up to Coalition Forces during a raid in Mosul.
Couldn't be CNN or AP or NYTs. Guy was in Mosul. The preceding groups never leave their hotel in Bahgdad.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 13:48 Comments ||
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#4
Frankly, I am getting a little sick of this sort of headline. I would much rather see "Coalition forces kill 25 terrorists, detain 2 suspects, one of whom is expected to die of sepsis soon"
Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces killed two and injured two rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi terrorists conducting an ambush on Iraqi and Coalition Forces operating in Al Kut July 14. From an over-watch position, Iraqi and Coalition Forces observed several terrorists emplace a command-detonated improvised explosive device near the planned ambush site. Minutes later, another terrorist shot a rocket-propelled grenade at an Iraqi Security checkpoint to drive security forces toward the ambush site. The operative, who fired the RPG, then used a woman and child as a shield to escape into a nearby house.
Several other rogue JAM operatives then drove down the road and emplaced another device on the opposite side of the checkpoint. The device was believed to have contained an explosively formed penetrator, more commonly called EFP. Iraqi and Coalition Forces killed two terrorists, injured two others and destroyed both IEDs in the process. The ambush was successfully circumvented with no death or injury to the teams.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
If this news release is any example, rogue/ will soon join miscreant as favoured Rantburg terminology.
A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device factory was discovered and destroyed by Coalition Forces in a rural area west of Saab al bor, Iraq July 14. While conducting a reconnaissance mission in the Qanat Banat Al Hasan area, west of Saab al bor, troopers from Company A, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment discovered a large car bomb factory containing 2,000 lbs. of ammonium nitrate, 1,000 lbs. of nitric acid, 10 large shape charges and two trucks already rigged for detonation. After cordoning off the area, the Soldiers destroyed the factory using artillery fire. There were no injuries in the destruction of the site. An investigation has been launched to determine who was using the facility.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Too bad we couldn't pretend we didn't find the place. Set a remote-detonation pack with a microphone, and listen for any likely exploders coming back. Then, when necessary or appropriate, initiate a 'work accident'. Of course, given the number of such accidents, we may be doing this already.
#2
Glenmore, a variation on your idea has haunted me for years (i.e., the apparent decision never to do anything like it has haunted me): why not de-mil/disarm the devices ready to go, put the place under surveillance, grab the first few people who show up, squeeze them for info, and roll up the rest? The (apparent) utter lack of thoroughness, of full exploitation of successes, of any use of deception or mobility or the other dozen advantages we wield as against no other enemy in our history - I have puzzled and agonized over this since early 2005 when I first got my close-up seat to the fun.
Next to the epidemic of "soft power" delusions (refusal to use power to show who owns the future to a populace whose only rational approach is to focus on that issue), this operational mediocrity has been the most baffling and frustrating thing to watch. All may be attributable to my lack of info and expertise, but extensive anecdotal data and direct interaction with military in-theater who shared much of my reaction makes me wonder ....
#3
That kind of undercover op requires a fair mount of deception. If they were involved in the initial detection, I'd be concerned about leaks from the IF compromising it.
#4
I have been in the AO and it is the last place you want to have to go back too. Definately not going to leave the much cached material in place. Great idea to try and trap the bad guys, but the trade off of taking that kind of material off the street just isn't worth it.
#5
#1 Too bad we couldn't pretend we didn't find the place. Set a remote-detonation pack with a microphone, and listen for any likely exploders coming back.
Variations on that theme are already producing success.
#6
Please give your troops a heartfelt "Well done!" from the folks back home, Besoeker dear. They've been going gangbusters, based on what we're seeing here.
#8
These ideas also need to assume that the boom-makers and gunners aren't watching you or know that you found the stuff. Never take points off the scoreboard. Destroy when found. That way it doesn't see another day period.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 13:52 Comments ||
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#9
Besoeker gives me hope; Manolo and Jack raise reasonable points, which I can't address absent all the details of the situation. My general point is that deception, or finesse of any kind, and especially use of our unique advantages, has been sorely lacking for the most part. All the "finesse" is the bogus sort that confuses nation-building with war - forgetting that it's the hammer in the back pocket, and the hammer that's taken out and used, that makes any of the DAC/NAC meetings and projects meaningful (I'm talking about contested areas, not friendly villages in the south).
Members of the Iraqi Army, with U.S. Special Forces as advisors, detained three suspected insurgents linked to a rogue group of the Jaysh al-Mahdi (JAM) militia, during a series of operations July 15 in north Baghdad. One team received small arms fire but safely detained the primary and secondary suspects at the location without injury. The third suspect was detained at a separate target location.
The primary suspect is believed to be a rogue JAM battalion commander and is suspected of organizing kidnappings and leading death squad killings of Sunni Muslim Iraqi citizens. Intelligence suggests he has been involved in more than half of the detonated improvised explosive devices in two of the northern districts of Baghdad. The second suspect is an alleged rogue JAM cell commander in northern Baghdad under the primary suspects control. The second suspects cell is accused of conducting death squad killings of Iraqi civilians and using IED attacks against Coalition Forces.
The third suspect has also been implicated in death squad killings of Iraqi civilians as well as operations using IEDs under the leadership of the primary suspect. A fourth additional suspect who was present during the operations was also detained.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
Accessories? I hear Escape burqa and coordinated hijab are all the rage for insurgent leaders this year.
#2
I think so enterprising reporter like Michael Yon or Bill Roggio should look into this new MNF PA style of using the word "rogue". How can there be a rogue element to AQ or the insurgency since they themselves are "rogue". Who is the individual writing the releases and who higher up has asked for this word to be used. Are we in fact protecting something or someone or are we projecting some intelligence we have but can't reveal. As Arte Johnson would say, "dis is verrrrry interesting".
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 13:55 Comments ||
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#3
Jack, the rogue tag is to identify those elements of the Mahdi army (Tater's boys) who are in clear and open league with Iran. These are the swine who are working with the Quds Force (lead bad element of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard).
The new tag came about as a result of what seems to be an effective campaign to splinter Tater's group. Identify the rogue guys and bring the less hadline folks into the political/normal life process. Note that Tater has run off to Iran again, which another sign that the campaign is working.
Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers responded to an explosion that destroyed a school north of Baghdad July 14. This was the second school in the area destroyed in the last two days. Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division responded to the explosion, shortly after noon, while on a patrol in the area of Quant Banat Al Hasam, Iraq. When the Soldiers arrived at the site, the cause of the explosion could not be identified.
The unit believes Al Qaeda extremists, operating in the area, are responsible for explosion. We had received several tips that Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) was using this school as a rendezvous point to conduct meetings and cache weapons and munitions, said Maj. Randall Baucom, spokesperson and public affairs officer for the 1st Ironhorse Brigade Combat Team. Although the exact cause of this explosion is unknown, like the destruction of the Al Malahma School in Taji, we believe AQI is a likely suspect. Coalition Forces will continue to investigate the cause of the explosion and determine who is responsible for this attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11130 views]
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#1
They had received tips that the school was being used as a rendezvous point, yet they did not react on those tips ? Either, there was a plan in the works, or they receive so many tips there just aren't enough units to follow up.
An Iraqi Army platoon with Coalition Forces as advisers detained a key suspected insurgent during an early morning raid, July 15 in Najaf. Iraqi Soldiers detained their primary suspect without incident, while two other suspicious individuals present during the raid were also detained. The primary suspect is believed to facilitate Iranian support for the rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi militia, a well-known insurgent group in Iraq. He allegedly provides rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi with improvised explosive devices and Iranian-made explosively-formed projectiles which have been used to attack Coalition Forces. Additionally, he is suspected of assisting rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi with cross-border training of their insurgent members and providing rogue Jaysh al-Mahdi with financial support, weapons, and equipment. The primary suspect is accused of exploiting charity organizations for insurgent recruiting purposes.
This article starring:
Jaysh al-Mahdi
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#8
Thanks, TW! I took quite a long sabbatical from the 'burg, and I'm not yet "fully back," but it feels great to be here amongst the brothers/sisters of the 'burg! And, I see that Grace is back too, quite the bonus for me!
Posted by: BA ||
07/17/2007 12:37 Comments ||
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A midnight mission by combined U.S. and Iraqi army forces resulted in 12 men being detained for questioning on suspicion of terrorist activity. Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., and 4th Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, joined forces to clear the villages near al-Owesat and al-Thobat, Iraq, July 14.
During Polar Tempest, tipsters gave the Coalition Forces viable information. The night began with Soldiers clearing houses, when an Iraqi man who claimed to know where several terrorists lived in the area led them to various places. As the patrol moved along, the Soldiers encountered small-arms fire and shot back, killing a terrorist. Three men fled, but Soldiers seized an AK-47 and an ammunition vest.
The Iraqi man guiding the Soldiers said he believed they had encountered the lead element of a larger group of anti-Iraqi forces. As the Coalition Forces and IA forces continued clearing houses in the area, the man pointed out one of the residents as a terrorist. In another house a male claimed to know where a high-value target lived. As Coalition Forces followed him, several local residents began to flee in vehicles. They were stopped and detained.
As troops searched the areas near the Euphrates River, they came across two small boats at a water-pumping station. The Soldiers destroyed the boats. They also found an improvised explosive device, which was disarmed and thrown into the river. Its another operation in which we received good information from a local source, said Maj. Robert Griggs, a native of Stockton, Calif., who serves as the 4-31 operations officer. It really shows that the people in the area are tired of the terrorists.
It also shows that we have a very capable Iraqi army unit to take on these complex missions. We brought all our assets to bear, with the UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and attack aviation. Were still looking for our missing Soldiers, and any information leading to them. We also want to help the residents of this area have a more stable Iraq. Twelve detainees were taken to Coalition bases for further questioning. During the searches, Soldiers also found a Dragunov sniper rifle magazine, a grenade, and an unidentified rifle.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11134 views]
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#1
Fred,
Since we are doing a lot of capturing versus killing lately during the surge, is there anyone out there keeping score like Chuck Simmins does for the deaths? It sure seems like the PAO's have been super busy lately and all this good news is beginning to get real sugary.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 14:00 Comments ||
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Two Iraqi civilians were killed and three more wounded in two separate vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attacks July 16 in the Rusafa District of eastern Baghdad.
The two civilians were killed at approximately 1:10 p.m. when insurgents detonated the second of two car bombs in Rusafa. Two more civilians were wounded in the attack. In the first blast, at 9:18 a.m., an Iraqi Police officer was wounded and two vehicles, one belonging to the police, were damaged.
Following both attacks, Soldiers with the 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division rushed to the scene and sealed off the area. The wounded were transported to Medical City for treatment. It was the second straight day car bomb attacks have struck the eastern Baghdad, Rusafa District.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
At least 80 people were killed on Monday in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk in a coordinated attack by a suicide truck bomber in a crowded market and a separate car bomb parked on a busy street, police said. Iraqi police said 136 people were wounded in the Kirkuk blasts and warned that the death toll could rise further. Most of the wounded, which include women and children, are in critical condition because they are suffering from burns, said Major General Barhan Habib Tayyib, police chief of Kirkuk. A Reuters cameraman on the scene described the carnage after the bomb exploded in a market near an office of Iraqi President Jalal Talabanis Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party. The explosion scattered bodies across the market, set dozens of cars on fire and trapped passengers on a bus where they burned to death, the cameraman said. The car bomb exploded in a commercial area called Iskan, near shops and a bus garage, police said. The two blasts came within minutes of each other, they added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11130 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
The 'people' who do things like this are who we let win if we quit and go home. How can the Pelosi-Murtha group live with themselves for trying to allow that? Have they no consciences?
#2
No, Glenmore, they do not since they are "professional politicians" of the left wing of the Democratic Party. These are the same people that deserted everyone in Southeast Asia in 1975, and then tried to blame the Khmer Rouge's Killing Fields on the US. They are also the same people that invoke the names of the troops and their families in order to justify trying to lose a war that the troops overwhelmingly support. They are the same people that said that President Bush should "listen to the generals" but refused to listen to General Petraeus when he says all he really needs is some time and the troops in the Surge to win.
#3
I think the point has been made before on this forum that the donks don't care who wins in Iraq as long as George Bush loses. They hate the man, pure and simple, and they don't really care about much of anything else.
#4
And I think a lot of the wounds to Bush are self-inflicted. He has the bully pulpit and should be using it. You only read the MNF news releases here. If I was Bush, I would call a press conference everyday in the brand new press room facility at the WH and personally read everyone of these releases to the Washington press corps and then go on TV/Radio once a week and do the same thing to the American people. I can't believe that the most powerful man in the world is out manuevered by the MSM everyday.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 14:04 Comments ||
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South of Baghdad, thousands of US troops targeted a suspected Al Qaeda safe haven used to reinforce militants fighting in the capital, the military said. US troops targeted a suspected Al Qaeda haven in an operation called Marne Avalanche which aims to stem the flow of weapons and militant fighters into the southern part of Baghdad, where US and Iraqi forces are already fighting to clear them out, the military said in a statement. In pre-dawn raids, helicopter-borne troops swept into an area around the Euphrates river valley. A spokeswoman said at least one air strike had to be called in the early hours of the operation. They captured a militant cell leader and seven of his lieutenants, as well as a mobile improvised explosive device factory, said Major Alayne Conway.
US and Iraqi forces have launched a series of big security clampdowns since the last of 28,000 extra US troops ordered to the country by US President George W Bush arrived a month ago. They aim to thwart violence between majority Shiites and minority Sunni Arabs, which has pushed the country towards full-scale civil war, while winning time for Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki to deliver key power-sharing laws.
In the Boubal-Shama commercial district northeast of Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed five Iraqi soldiers. One soldier was also wounded in the pre-dawn attack on their vehicle convoy. A pair of mortar rounds, which struck a Shiite enclave in the capitals mainly Sunni district of Dora, also killed two people and wounded six others.
Also on Monday, the US military said insurgents had killed two more American soldiers in Iraq over the weekend. A soldier was attacked during combat operations in the northern Nineveh province on Sunday, while another died in a roadside bomb attack near Baghdad on Saturday. The latest fatalities took the US militarys losses in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 3,616, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
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#1
You heard it hear first. Bush goes to Iraq before he goes to Crawford. He also hopes Mother Sheheen follows him:) He has to go to get the briefing before Petraeus comes home in September with his report. He needs to be out front with the good news and progress to defeat the wind bags in Congress especially that ugly little nit wit Carl Levin and the most despicable charlatan of all, Chuck "The Dagger" Schumer.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/17/2007 14:06 Comments ||
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#2
It's got to get to the point where there are no safe havens--in the entire world for AQ.
An indictment was filed Monday at the Beersheba District Court against an Islamic Jihad operative who was involved in the 2004 attack on the Kissufim Crossing, which left four Israelis dead.
Tali Hatuel, 34, who was 8 months pregnant, and her daughters, Hila, 11, Hadar, nine, Roni, seven, and Merav, two, were shot at point-blank range, after initial gunshots brought their car to a halt. The terrorists then sprayed the car with bullets to ensure that all the occupants were dead. Jihad Abu-Dahar, who confessed to taking part in the attack, was arrested by security forces in a June operation.
This article starring:
JIHAD ABU DAHAR
Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad
The body of a Palestinian man was delivered to a hospital Monday, a week after he was abducted by Hamas militants in what appeared to be a new case of vigilante justice by the Islamic group following its takeover of the Gaza Strip. Another two men were harshly beaten while in Hamas custody, including a German citizen of Palestinian origin, a human rights group said.
Walid Abu Dhalfa, 45, was nabbed last week by Hamas' Executive Force in Gaza City. Early Monday, his body was brought to Shifa Hospital with signs of suffocation, Palestinian medical officials said. Hamas said he died while trying to escape.
Hamas promised amnesty for its vanquished Fatah rivals in the Gaza Strip, which the Islamic militant group violently seized last month. But since then, at least nine Fatah loyalists have been killed, according to local human rights workers.
This article starring:
WALID ABU DHALFA
Fatah
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11124 views]
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#1
Walid Abu Dhalfa, 45, was nabbed last week by Hamas' Executive Force in Gaza City. Early Monday, his body was brought to Shifa Hospital with signs of suffocation, Palestinian medical officials said. Hamas said he died while trying to escape.
Oh, c'mon. It's obvious he died from choking on all the cake and ice cream the boys were feeding him while he was in custody.
They'll be more careful next time...
#4
I expect Amnesty Internatonal and Human Rights Watch, which have been so vigilant about Guantanamo and Abu Grahib, to immediately condemn Hamas' failure to accord its prisoners humane treatment and due process.
[crickets]
Ah, guys . . . that's your cue. You know, condemn Hamas for, you know, the due process thing? The choking the poor schmuck while he was in custody? That's a human rights issue, isn't it?
We're waiting.
Any time now.
[crickets]
Hello? Anybody there?
Posted by: Mike ||
07/17/2007 6:26 Comments ||
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#5
I'm not holding my breath for the hue and cry from Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch.
Why is this commonplace event even a headline? More like SOP. Keep up the good work, Hamas. Fewer Palestinians are good, but expanding their reputation as murderous criminals who are totally unworthy of a sovereign nation is even better.
A multiple bombing in this southern Thai provincial seat Tuesday morning wounded 18 persons, including police and journalists.
The first bomb was placed in the basket of a motorcycle, and exploded without causing casualties. However, a second bomb, believed to be command detonated, exploded as a bomb squad inspected the motorcycle incident in front of a shop in the downtown area. The second bomb was hidden in a motorcycle exploded, wounding four police officers, four journalists, and 10 bystanders.
Most seriously injured was Police Senior Sgt-Maj. Subin Pruedmongkol reportedly lost both legs and both his arms and four journalists, including reporters from local newspaper "Chao Tai" (Southerners) and from television channels 3, 7, and TITV. The authorities are trying to determine how the bomber detonated the bomb.
In a separate attack in Yala's Yaha district, a man was shot dead by a gunman. According to the authorities, Doromae Beeding was shot in the head and died instantly in front of a tea shop Tuesday morning.
After her husband Marine Private First Class Reuben S. Doronio Jr. was killed in an ambush in Basilan last July 10, Jomarie Doronio received several text messages from her husbands killers. One of them asked if he could befriend her. The others inquired about her well-being.
Either way, she could only feel disgust at their attempt to add insult to injury. The communication began on the day her husband was killed, Jomarie said. Pasensya ka na. Nabalitaan naming napatay na ang mister nyo (Were sorry. We heard that your husband has been killed), was the text message she received from her husbands cellular phone number. She and her sister-in-law Honeylee called the number but nobody answered.
The next day, the military camp in Basilan confirmed that Reuben was among the 14 marines killed in the encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels. They had been scouring the jungles for the kidnapped Italian priest, Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, when they were attacked. Ten of them were beheaded, including her husband, while some of the soldiers had their genitals cut off. The mutilations sparked outrage across the country.
The two women called the acts bastos (barbaric). Honeylee said the rebels again sent 10 more text messages to Jomarie, still using her brothers number.
One of them was, Puwede ba makigpag-kaibigan (Can we be friends)? Honeylee said the sender might have fallen for Jomarie after he saw her picture on her husbands phone.
Naibog gyud na nimo (He must like you), Honeylee told Jomarie.
The messages only stopped when Honeylee told them, through text message, One day, you will also suffer the pain we have at present.
The two, united in grief, vowed never to forgive Reubens killers.
The rest of the family is also seeking justice for his death. His father Doronio Sr. described him as a brave and compassionate person. It was unfortunate that he died young, was the sentiment shared by the victims brothers and other relatives.
Reubens body lies in state at the Cebu Rolling Hills Memorial Chapels in Banilad, Cebu City. He will be buried on Saturday.
Doronio Sr. told Sun.Star Cebu that despite the pain they are feeling right now, he is appealing to the Muslim rebels responsible for their deaths to free Fr. Bossi and return to the fold of the law. Reuben graduated with a degree in science and education at the Cebu State College of Science and Technology at the age of 19. He might have chosen the field of education because of his mother, who is a Department of Education supervisor in their hometown of Borbon, said his father. But instead of practicing his profession, he joined the Marines at the age of 20, so he could serve his country.
Reuben turned 25 last Feb. 10. He married Jomarie on May 25, 2006. The couple has a five-month-old son Lexben Gabriel who was born last Feb. 12. Doronio Sr. said his son flew to Manila last week to visit a friend who was in the hospital. He suddenly showed up in Borbon to visit his family, but he did not stay long. According to his father, Reuben asked him to buy a plane ticket for his trip to the Basilan military camp so he could join his group in the search for the missing priest. The last thing I can remember (of him) is that he smiled while bidding goodbye to us, Doronio Sr. said.
#9
All GSM cellphones "talk" to the nearest towers every so often. Based on the relative timings and signal strengths you can get the position of the phone to around 30 meters.
In the U.K. the police ask the mobile providers where phones are so they can arrest people at home.
#10
BP is correct. There are a couple of towers in that area. This allows for a decent fix on the area. So they know it came from Basilan. Thats the easy part. Now figure in the island is nothing but mountains and deep jungle with trails and this whole event get complicated. The ASG are constantly moving so the text at nine AM will be a mile away from their current location. Viet Vets will get this easier than dealing in desert areas.
More importantly I hope the Phils are capturing all the other text messages they are sending from his phone, I'm sure they are texting home and friends with it, and the military will garner some important info to help set these idiots up for an ambush.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/17/2007 16:17 Comments ||
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A top government official in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province was killed Monday by suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam guerrillas. Herath Abeyweera, the chief secretary of Sri Lanka's Eastern Provincial Council, was gunned down this evening in the port town of Trincomalee, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported from capital Colombo. Abeyweera belonged to the majority Sinhalese community of Sri Lanka. The killing was ahead of a state ceremony on coming Thursday to celebrate the wresting of the country's Eastern Province from LTTE control.
A UN peacekeeping vehicle was slightly damaged on Monday by a small roadside bomb at a bridge in southern Lebanon, the UN and the Lebanese military said. The blast came less than a month after a car bombing cost the lives of three Spanish and three Columbian members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on June 24. "We can confirm an explosion in the area of Qasmiyeh bridge which slightly damaged a UNIFIL vehicle of the Tanzanian battalion," spokeswoman Yasmeena Bouziane said. "There were no casualties," Bouziane said, adding that a UNIFIL team has been sent out to the scene.
UNIFIL said in a later statement that a military police vehicle "was hit this morning by a small charge of explosives located a few metres from the vehicle."
"The explosion caused limited damage to the vehicle but no injuries to the occupants," the statement added. UNIFIL said it was awaiting the results of its investigation to determine the scope and intent of the explosion.
A Lebanese military spokesman also reported the explosion on the bridge which lies on the main coastal road to the southern port city of Tyre. The army immediately cordoned off the area and diverted traffic from the bridge. UNIFIL has a position on the bridge, which crosses the Litani river, the northernmost line of deployment of the multinational force which was beefed up after last year's war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah.
June's car bombing against the Spanish contingent was the first fatal attack on UN peacekeepers since UNIFIL's mandate was expanded. The bombing, blamed on Sunni extremists rather than Hezbollah, was aimed primarily at damaging the stability of Lebanon, UNIFIL commander Major General Claudio Graziano said at the time.
Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, in a audio message posted on the Internet last week, praised the June 24 attack as "a response against those invading Crusader forces who were occupying a beloved part of the land of Islam".
UNIFIL counts about 13,500 troops along with 1,000 civilian employees, compared to only 2,000 before the July 12, 2006 outbreak of the devastating war in Lebanon. Lebanese political parties Hezbollah and AMAL were quick to condemn Monday's attack. AMAL and Hizbullah issued a joint statement "expressing our dismay for, and denunciation of the attack targeting international peacekeepers in the south."
AMAL Parliamentarian Ali Khreis said the attack is "an act of terrorism targeting mainly residents of south Lebanon and their security and stability." Khreis also said the bombing "targeted peace doves (peacekeepers) that came from various countries to achieve peace and stability for south Lebanon."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/17/2007 00:00 ||
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[11129 views]
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#14
Since you guys are too old for Grace, I'll just step up and see to it that the poor girl isn't lonely. A golden opportunity tough job, but someone's gotta do it.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/17/2007 17:33 Comments ||
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#15
What's that old line, "A woman is only as old as she looks, but a man's never old until he stops looking"? I've never stopped looking, so I guess I'm not "old" yet. Of course, my wife says it's all right to look, but no touchie... She backs that up with a 9" cast-iron skillet and a beaut of a right. I've never been tempted to test her swing, either...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/17/2007 18:14 Comments ||
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#16
I always suspected you were a wise man, OP. ;-)
#18
I was caught by my wife clandestinely scoping out a beauty of the opposite sex. The mother-in-law said me it's O.K. to look--she said to me "You're not dead yet."
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.
Meanwhile, an Afghan security firm vehicle came under attack in Greshek, police said. One security guard was killed and four others were wounded. The vehicle is destroyed, Andiwal told AFP. A suicide attacker detonated his vehicle some distance from a convoy of a US security company, USPI, in western Farah province Monday, Farah police chief Abdul Rehman Sarjang said. The suicide attacker became the victim of his own ill-fated attempt. There was no harm to the USPI vehicle or personnel, Sarjang said.
Saudi Arabia said on Monday 16 Saudis were handed over after the United States had freed them from its naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said King Abdullah is keen to free all detainees held at the controversial detention camp, the official news agency SPA quoted him as saying. Prince Nayef expressed his satisfaction with the level of cooperation that the US authorities are showing, said SPA. 
ISLAMABAD (Rooters) - A blast rocked the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Tuesday at a court where the country's suspended chief justice was due to speak and at least four people were killed, Dawn TV reported.
Investigators have made little headway into Sundays suicide bombing in NWFP that killed at least 45 people and injured 108, prompting the government to set up investigation committees, police said. Investigators have yet to find out whether the DI Khan suicide bomber was a young man and deceived the police by posing as a candidate for recruitment in police force, DI Khan Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Habibur Rehman told reporters. 
After the suicide bombings in the country and reports by secret agencies regarding chances of attacks on law enforcement agencies, the city police have tightened security around police-related buildings including the office of the capital city police officer (CCPO) and the Central Police Office (CPO) where visitors were being searched before entry.
A top government official in Sri Lanka's Eastern Province was killed Monday by suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam guerrillas. Herath Abeyweera, the chief secretary of Sri Lanka's Eastern Provincial Council, was gunned down this evening in the port town of Trincomalee, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported from capital Colombo. Abeyweera belonged to the majority Sinhalese community of Sri Lanka. The killing was ahead of a state ceremony on coming Thursday to celebrate the wresting of the country's Eastern Province from LTTE control.
