THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Dutch commandos killed 18 enemy fighters who set up positions in rugged hills overlooking a Dutch camp in southern Afghanistan, the country's military chief said Friday. There were no Dutch casualties during a 10-day mission. "If we had not done something then our soldiers could have come under fire and the construction of our camp could have been hindered," Gen. Dick Berlijn, commander of the Dutch armed forces, told reporters in The Hague.
Berlijn said the Taliban fighters were massing on terrain on both sides of the Baluchi Valley, about 6 miles north of where Dutch troops are building Camp Holland, which will be their base for a reconstruction mission due to start Aug. 1. "The Baluchi Valley is a strategic position and in the end we decided that if we did not do something about it, it would be a major threat for us," he said.
So you wacked them. Good thinking, Dick
There are some 455 Dutch soldiers setting up camp near Tarin Kot, capital of Uruzgan Province, where a 1,400-strong Dutch reconstruction team is due to start work next month. Berlijn said the Dutch mission was carried out independently of a U.S.-led coalition mission in the same region, but added that Dutch and coalition forces coordinated closely. He declined to give any details of the U.S.-led operations.
The Dutch government deliberated for months before finally deciding to send 1,400 soldiers to take part in NATO missions in Afghanistan. While the government insisted the deployment was to rebuild the shattered Uruzgan province, opponents argued that reconstruction is impossible in what is essentially still a war zone. Speaking at a briefing on Dutch operations in Afghanistan, Berlijn said that his country already has more than 1,500 troops in the country and said that number could rise to around 2,000 before settling back to the 1,400-strong force approved by parliament.
In recent months, Dutch troops have killed dozens of Taliban and other enemy fighters without suffering any fatalities.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 12:58 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Thank you Holland. Thank you NATO. We need to note that they are punching above their weight here.
#3
While the government insisted the deployment was to rebuild the shattered Uruzgan province, opponents argued that reconstruction is impossible in what is essentially still a war zone.
Good thinking, the enemy has to be killed before you can "rebuild," (what?).
This coupon is good for cover charge and drinks at both De Bananenbar (Banana Bar) and die Casa Rosso, Amsterdam. Holders must show proof of Texel Commando School completion or Afghanistan deployment orders. Coupon expires Feb 2069.
#8
The Dutch - the adults of Europe. (they've got some company, but across the board they are remarkably less misguided) Afghanistan is a place where even Europeans are allowing their armed forces to fight (the French have been collecting a few scalps, for a while). I fear it's still an SF phenomenon - Euro armies are still generally under-funded and have paltry overall capabilities. But it's a start.
Not, that it was the poor fuckers fault who were outnumbered on the ground you understand, but I'd rather have a gun than a dutch "peacekeeper" protecting me.
Afghan and coalition soldiers on Wednesday recaptured the second of two towns that had been overrun by the Taliban, Afghan and U.S. officials said. Hundreds of troops battled Taliban fighters and entered the Helmand provincial town of Garmser, which insurgents had captured Sunday, said General Rahmatullah Roufi, the Afghan Army commander in the country's south. "Our troops launched an attack on Garmser and thank God we captured it," Roufi said. He declined to provide details.
A purported Taliban statement threatened "severe" action in the coming days. The operation in Garmser followed an offensive against Taliban militants about 32 kilometers, or 20 miles, to the north in Naway-i-Barakzayi, which the insurgents captured Monday but apparently abandoned.
A spokesman for the U.S. military, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick, said Afghan and coalition forces "skirmished" with Taliban fighters outside Garmser but met no resistance once inside. "The Taliban appears to be bullying their way around some of the smaller towns in remote areas but they have no capability to lay claim to any piece of ground," Fitzpatrick said. Two Afghan soldiers were wounded in the operation, and the deputy governor of Helmand Province said two Taliban were also killed.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Severe beards. Severe action.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/21/2006 5:20 Comments ||
Top||
#2
...depends on what the meaning of 'severe', is...
#3
Don't knock slingshots. Slingshots and ball bearings (1/4" size) will put a HURT on someone. It's much worse than being hit at point-blank range with a paintball. It won't kill a deer, but I've knocked squirrels out of trees 50-60 feet up with one. They're also VERY quiet...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/21/2006 15:55 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Blowguns are quiet as well. Used to shoot pigeons off the rafters in the barn with one. Doesn't put a hole in the roof like a .22 if you miss.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 16:08 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Used to sell Whammo on my blowgun design. Round looked like a mini-sabot, used sharped pianowire. Whammo lawyers say go away.
The arrival of the Ethiopian troops in some regions of Somalia indicates the animosity of the Ethiopian government that it has been unwilling for goodness and nationalism to the Somali society for 16 years, supreme leader of consultative council of Islamic courts Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said in an interview with Mogadishu based Somalia Radio Shabelle on Friday. Sheikh Aweys who is now in Somalia central Galgadud region harshly attacked the Ethiopian intervention as illegal occupation in Somalia territory and declared all out holy war (Jihad) against Ethiopian forces in Bay and Bakol regions in southwest of Somalia.
The world community should know the clear aggression by Ethiopia into Somalia and also Somalis have to understand that Ethiopia never wish bless for them, Sheikh Aweys said. I urge all Somali people to defend their country from Ethiopia and keep their independence existed, The sovereignty is not received by begging but it is reached through struggle and war, he said people should die for their freedom and scarify life and property,
Freedom? Under Islam?
When asked what to do since Ethiopian troops have occupied in Baidoa town to protect the UN backed transitional federal government, Sheikh Aweys quoted an Arabic proverb which says seek the death to get life. There is no other option for Somali people (Muslims) rather than to fight Ethiopian soldiers till to withdraw from their land, Sheikh Dahir Aweys, a prominent cleric and key founder of Islamic Courts said.
He condemned the transitional federal government based in the provincial town of Baidoa for handing over the country into the Christian Ethiopia government which is the only enemy in the region. Is the Baidoa based government Somali or member of Ethiopia? Is it responsible for Somali people and the republic or for Ethiopia? It is surprisingly that Ethiopia is thought to own Somalia, the Sheikh said adding I am certifying that Somalia government is an Ethiopian government,
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys accused by Washington of being in the list of US wanted terrorists but denied that accusation appealed the Somalis interim government in Baidoa 240km southwest of the capital to back out its plan of fueling war or make it clear that they belong to Ethiopians. He also called on international community to act quickly the deliberate aggression by Ethiopian in Somalia otherwise the world will not have to regret what the bad consequence that will result from the Ethiopian intervention.
Bad timing, Sheikh. The rest of the world is busy at the moment. Leave a number and we'll get back to you.
Sheikh Aweys said they are still ready to negotiate with the government officials. but it is misfortune that Ethiopian backed Somali government seemed be prepared to wage war in the country.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 10:45 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Enough with the Jihad crap.
Anytime some mullah utters Jihad a bomb should take him out.
Palov conditioning at it's best.
#2
On a more festive level, one shoudl invente a drinking game based on the Holy Men : declare jihad, three drinks, ask for an international law against "blaspehemy" (of the Master Religion), two drinks, sez allan will shake the ground below and freeze the blood of the Crusaders, one drink, sez jewish wimmen and material goodies are for the taking of the Moderate Muslims, two drinks, warns of deep laid plots against islam, one drink, etc, etc...
Everybody could get wasted in no time! Except muslims, of course, since they're not allowed to drink, theorically...
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 12:03 Comments ||
Top||
#5
people should die for their freedom and scarify life and property
Is that a fruedian slip ?
Posted by: J. D. Lux ||
07/21/2006 12:09 Comments ||
Top||
#6
The Ethioians have been there a month or so, according to Ruggerio. Look at this map I prepared. The Ethiopians are moving to secure the two best roads from their nation to the sea and Mogadishu.
The Ethiopian army has some experience in fighting and they are not at all adverse to hiring mercs, especially for their air force. This could be a one-sided fight.
Ethiopian troops were moving closer to the Somali capital Mogadishu amid fears of all-out war in the volatile Horn of Africa nation where Islamists have risen to power, witnesses told Reuters. Ethiopian soldiers were moving beyond the provincial seat of the interim Somali government in Baidoa to the towns of Buur Hakaba and Baledogle, various local residents said.
Addis Ababa denies it has soldiers there, while the Somali government, which has little authority beyond Baidoa, said people were confusing its militia because they were wearing uniforms donated from Ethiopia.
And carrying guns donated from Ethiopia ...
Nominally Christian-led Ethiopia, the main power in the Horn of Africa, correctly views the Islamists as "terrorists" and supports Somalia's interim government. It has not hesitated to send troops in to attack radical Islamic militia in the past.
Some 2,500 Ethiopian soldiers remained camped in Baidoa, protecting government installations like parliament, the presidential palace and the town's airport, the witnesses said. "A few are walking on the streets. Although the town is calm, people fear the presence of Ethiopian troops might trigger a war here," said Ali Hassan, a Baidoa resident.
Another resident said Ethiopians had stationed their heavy equipment and military arsenal near an airport at Eldon town, 18km north of Baidoa.
Somalia's deputy information minister Salad Ali Jelle rubbished reports of an Ethiopian incursion, saying government forces had mobilised because of recent Islamist advances and were being mistaken because they were wearing donated uniforms. "People are confusing the government troops wearing military uniforms donated by Ethiopia," he told Reuters. "There are around 3,000 patrolling Baidoa, and its vicinity, as well as guarding government buildings like the parliament... There are no Ethiopians whatsoever in Baidoa."
"What about all the hard boyz speaking Ethiopian on the street?"
"They're .. bilingual Somalis."
In the Islamists' stronghold of Mogadishu, which they took from US-backed warlords in June, demonstrators were set to protest against the incursion by Ethiopian troops and express support for their new Muslim rulers. The Mogadishu demonstration, organised by civil society groups and businessmen whose money has underpinned the Islamist rise, was to start after Friday prayers, organisers said.
So the new rulers know how to throw a demonstration complete with eye-rolling and face-making ...
The rise of the Islamists has threatened the authority of the transitional administration of President Abdullahi Yusuf, formed in 2004 to steer the nation from anarchy to peace. Western nations back Yusuf's government in principle, but recognise it has little political or military power. UPDATE: On Thursday morning, about 100 Ethiopian armored cars, trucks carrying soldiers, and armed pick-ups drove into Baidoa. Some of the troops moved on to station themselves in the strategic region of Gedo. Agence-France Presse reported that the Ethiopian troops received a triumphant welcome in the town, which had feared an imminent invasion by the Islamists. It is estimated that Ethiopia deployed a limited contingent of 5,500 soldiers to help protect the interim government.
Hundreds of Ethiopian troops in armored vehicles rolled into Somalia on Thursday to protect their allies in this country's virtually powerless government from Islamic militants who control the capital.
The move could give the U.S.-backed Somali government its only chance of curbing the Islamic militia's increasing power. But Ethiopia's incursion could also be just the provocation the militia needs to build public support for a guerrilla war. "We will declare jihad if the Ethiopian government refuses to withdraw their troops from Somalia," a top Islamic official, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, told The Associated Press.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I declare jahad null and void
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/21/2006 0:07 Comments ||
Top||
#2
We got any Spectre's handy? Be nice to give the Ethiopes a bit of help...
(SomaliNet) The Islamic militiamen who now control the capital city Mogadisho and most of the southern regions, on Wednesday deployed hundreds of militiamen outside Baidoa where the interim government is based. The Islamists said that they planned to seize the town which, if they succeed, will give them uncontested power over Somalia and weaken the government further.
Ethiopia was, however quick to offer support to the government saying should the Islamists attack then it (Ethiopia) would deploy its troops into the country. The government is too weak to defend itself at the moment. However,by nightfall on Wednesday, no attacks had occured. The Islamists are known not to fight at night. This has caused alot of tension in the country especially between the government and the Islamists after the government called off talks that were supposed to take place in Khartoum on Friday,last week.
The US has accused the group of having links with Al-Qaeda operatives after the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Osama bin Laden called Somalia a front in his global war against the US and its allies. The Islamists have denied these accusations saying that they are fighting for one cause and that is to make Somalia a peaceful nation. The Islamists have denied that they are planning to seize control of Baidoa. An official of the group said that the troops were deployed there so that they would convince the president to establish sharia law in the country. "Our aim of going into the region is to convince the people in the region to implement Islamic law and establish Islamic courts," said Mohammed Ibrahim Bilal the head of the militia that seized control of Bur Haqaba region.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Somalinet apparently gets their Seattle and Australian papers a little late.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2006 8:22 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The guy on the bottom of the pic looks like Chris Rock.
(Interfax) - Three facts of voluntary surrender of weapons and ammunition by Chechen residents have been recorded in the republic in the past 24 hours, Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman Amin Deniyev told Interfax Thursday. A campaign conducted by local authorities and policemen following a call to members of illegal armed groups by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Nikolai Patrushev has prompted not only the surrender of a number of militants but also that of weapons and ammunition, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Vicenza, 21 July (AKI) - Italian police on Friday arrested four Algerian nationals on charges they belonged to a cell of the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, a militant group based in Algeria which has sworn allegiance to al Qaeda. The arrests took place in a vast anti-terror operation in the northern regions of Veneto and Lombardy and the central city of Reggio Emilia. The alleged terror ring was based in Venice and operated across Italy to finance the group and recruit militants to send to Algeria and Iraq. Ring members are also charged with forging identification papers and residence permits for illegal immigrants.
Interior minister Giuliano Amato said the operation was significant as cell members "were ready to reach Algeria and Iraq in an operational role."
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 08:57 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Vicenza, isn't that where the US 173rd Airborne is based? I would read something into it if Italy didn't have islamic terror cells throughout all it's territory.
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 11:48 Comments ||
Top||
EUGENE, Ore. -- Three suspects have pleaded guilty to eco-terrorism charges.
Kevin Tubbs, 37, Kendall Tankersley, 29, and Darren Thurston, 36, admitted to arsons at a ranger station, several lumber mills, wild horse corrals and two meat-packing plants.
They admitted to trying to intimidate and coerce federal agencies, private businesses and the public through sabotage and mass destruction.
As part of the plea deal, all three agreed to cooperate in the continuing investigation of 10 others in a series of firebombings around the Northwest from 1996 to 2001. The Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for those acts.
Could be the break the FBI needs to roll up a bunch of these guys. They've been trying to get someone to spill his guts for a long time.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 13:21 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The next thing they will notice burning is their buttholes in Federal Pound Me In The Ass Prison...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/21/2006 13:53 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Because it's much easier to blow shit up than to win public opinion on the merits of your arguements.
#3
If the Feds got them, they got cell phones and computers, too. And surely this time someone bothered to get a warrent to poke through them (unlike Moussaoui's laptop before 9/11).
Two men from Atlanta already accused of discussing targets for bomb attacks in the United States have been indicted by a grand jury in Georgia on charges of receiving paramilitary training and plotting a "violent jihad" against civilian and U.S. government targets. The two, 21-year-old Syed Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 19, are also said to have links to some of the 12 men and five youths arrested in the Toronto area last month and accused of plotting bombings and kidnappings in southern Ontario. Both men are U.S. citizens.
The grand jury indictment says Ahmed and Sadequee went to Washington, D.C. last April and filmed the U.S. Capitol building and the headquarters of the World Bank, allegedly seeing them as potential targets for a bombing campaign. Both men have pleaded not guilty to earlier charges and their lawyers say the government's case against them is "shallow and inconsequential." At the time of the arrests of the 17 suspects in the Toronto area in early June, the FBI said that Ahmed and Sadequee had travelled to Canada earlier in the year to meet with some of those accused in the Toronto case. Sadequee told the FBI that he had an aunt in Toronto, but agents said he was unable to give her full name, or other details about her family.
"She wore a chador most days, I never really got to know her..."
An FBI affidavit obtained by the Canadian Press earlier this year says much of the case against the two men comes from a lengthy interrogation of Ahmed after he was arrested in March. At the time, he had just returned from a trip to Pakistan, which the FBI said was for paramilitary training, but Ahmed's family says was for religious studies.
Which are one and the same, for the most part.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Local reports and others from yesterday stated that they planned/discussed bombing Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta (just NW of downtown ATL). I found it pretty ironic too, that that's where the F-22 is being built (right next door at Lockheed's facility and they test the F-22 from Dobbins). I thought to myself...how young and naive do you have to be to think you can bomb an Air Reserve Base w/ only 2 of you, and then I saw they were from Pakistan, lol!
Posted by: BA ||
07/21/2006 11:38 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"My aunt? She was this big black shadow flitting in and out of the shadows. Never said a word, not even her name. Couldn't even tell you the color of (and I am guessing here) her eyes."
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 11:52 Comments ||
Top||
India said on Friday that Pakistan should arrest the leader of a powerful Kashmiri guerrilla group based there and hand him over to New Delhi if it was serious about fighting terrorism.
The call came after Indian officials said Pakistan-backed Islamists may have carried out or planned last week's bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed more than 180 people.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has offered to help in the investigation into the bombings.
"The self-styled chief of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Syed Salahuddin, who is freely roaming in Pakistan and in PoK ... should be arrested and handed over to India," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told reporters, referring to Pakistan-administered Kashmir as Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, led by the Pakistan-based Salahuddin, is the biggest militant group fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, where more than 45,000 people have been killed since 1989.
Sarna said New Delhi also wanted Pakistan to ban another militant group, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which the United States says is a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group Indian officials say probably carried out or planned the Mumbai blasts.
The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen quickly dismissed the Indian demand.
"No one has any right to arrest Syed Salahuddin or any Kashmiri from their homeland," Ehsan Elahi, the group's spokesman told Reuters. "India has occupied our territory and does not have any right to make such demand."
On Thursday, Musharraf urged India not to indulge in a "blame game" after the Mumbai blasts and said the two countries should take the two-and-a-half-year peace process forward.
Sarna said India was committed to the peace process, but urged Pakistan to act against the guerrillas.
"Let me add India remains committed to the dialogue process with Pakistan but this can be sustained or yield results only if Pakistan acts against terrorist groups operating from territories under its control," he added.
Posted by: john ||
07/21/2006 20:14 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Pak rejects Indian demand to extradite Dawood, Salahuddin
Rejecting India's demand for deportation of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and Hizbul Muhajideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Pakistan on Friday claimed there was nothing to warrant pointing finger at it in the Mumbai train blasts.
A strongly-worded statement by Pakistan Foreign Ministry said the fact that after 10 days of the blasts India had little to say other than to mention Ibrahim and Salahuddin, "demonstrates that there was nothing to warrant the irresponsible act of finger-pointing at Pakistan immediately after the Mumbai attack."
Posted by: john ||
07/21/2006 20:16 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen quickly dismissed the Indian demand."
SRINAGAR, India - Soldiers and police clashed Friday with Islamic terrorists militants in Kashmir, killing three insurgents, police said, as a separate gunbattle raged elsewhere in the divided Himalayan region.
The three terrorists militants were found door knob dead in the village of Sursan, 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian Kashmir, said the areas police chief, S. P. Pani. We had information about the presence of four terrorists militants in this village and accordingly cordoned off the entire village, he said. As troops were zeroing in on the target house, a gunbattle erupted. He could not say what happened to the fourth terrorist militant.
He's still running.
Pani also said a separate gunbattle was being fought in the village Khudwani, also south of Srinagar, and that nine terrorists militants had been killed by security forces in that area in the past three days.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 09:20 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Islamabad, 21 July (AKI) - The Pakistani authorities on Thursday ordered the evacuation of a northern area of the country, near the border with China, of tourists and foreigners after receiving intelligence reports of the possible presence of Osama bin Laden in the area. According to Arab daily al-Hayat, the presence of the al-Qaeda leader was reported in the extreme north of Pakistan in an area that borders China and Afghanistan. For this reason hundreds of tourists - most of them European - were made to leave the Chalinji Pass and the Wakhan corridor and the security forces closed all access to the area.
The intelligence reports that had reached Islamabad indicated that bin Laden and his deputy Egyptian doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri - along with other leading figures of the al-Qaeda terror network - had decided to use the area bordering China as a secure refuge as it is not controlled by the US military. Al-Hayat says the reports were confirmed by Western embassy sources in Islamabad, who indicated that the choice of sticking near the China border was because US military bombers would not attack that area for fear of hitting China.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 09:04 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
ISI: "Osama, you were spotted. We have to get you outta here without being seen. Wait til we get the tourists out, then...."
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2006 9:28 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Quite possibly the Chinese are sending a shipment of new ballistic missile parts and the Pak authorities don't want anyone near the highway area.
Posted by: john ||
07/21/2006 9:31 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Or the Paks have dismantled and are sending one of their new F-16s to China for study
Posted by: john ||
07/21/2006 9:37 Comments ||
Top||
#4
The Pakistani authorities sed, Bin Laden Hiding On China Border in SF or Berzerkeley.
#5
We can put a 500 pound bomb in a living room window, and we would worry about hitting China?
Maybe he thinks he's beat us, now on to another great satin, China.
Islamabad, 21 July (AKI/DAWN) - Pakistan's president General Pervez Musharraf has said that the government was determined to re-establish its control of the restive south-western province of Baluchistan and to "fix" the sardars or tribal rebel chiefs in the Baluchistan.
My cat's are "fixed". Is that what he means?
"We will protect national installations in Baluchistan at all costs and ensure full security to the development activities and to foreign investors there," he said in an address to the nation on Thursday.
In an address to the nation on Thursday, Musharraf paid a glowing tribute to security and intelligence agencies for establishing peace in the province in order to carry out development works. He criticised the media for 'misrepresenting the facts'. "But the bottom line is that the writ of the state will have to be established in Balochistan, Wana, etc. And I assure you that soon there will be peace in that province, he promised.
The president said that for 40 years three Baluch sardars, who were opposed to development and perpetrating atrocities on their tribes, had been pampered unjustifiably in the name of political settlement, "but no more". He insisted that the operation against the 'rebellious' sardars was being conducted by the paramilitary forces and not by the army, though some 1,000 armymen were assisting the security forces.
He said all the Bugti commanders had surrendered and the so-called Nawab Akbar Bugti was on the run, adding that of the total 77 sardars in Baluchistan only three Bugti, Marri and Mengal were opposing the government. Musharraf said over 16,000 sub-tribes of Bugti Rahejas, Kalpars, Masouri had returned to Dera Bugti after years of repression by sardars led by Nawab Bugti. "But I would not call him a Nawab as he is on the run."
He said the government had no option but to take serious action in Baluchistan where militants even possessed surface-to-air missiles and modern rocket launchers. "But I can say with full authority that terrorism and anti-Pakistan activities have been drastically reduced following the government's decision to take action against them." "How could we keep quiet when bomb blasts became a daily routine and people are targeting national installations, like railway tracks and government buildings?" he asked.
He was hopeful that the economic deprivation in Balochistan would subside with the commissioning of over mega development projects there.
Meanwhile the federal government has directed the four provincial governments and the chief commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory to freeze the bank accounts of 42 suspected members of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an official source told the Pakistani daily Dawn on Thursday. The separatist group was one of two foreign groups that were banned this week in Britain under under laws outlawing the glorification of terrorism.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 08:59 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
LOL, Steve, that's the first thing that came to my mind, too. After reading the article, I'm not so sure that isn't his intent.
QUETTA: The security forces recovered large quantity of arms and ammunition from Dera Bugti area on Thursday.
And then some:
According to details the Frontier Corps in a search operation against the miscreants recovered 3 Sam missiles, 309 rockets, 104 mortar bombs, 175 land mines, 10250 rounds of anti air craft gun, 27 rifles, 815kg of explosives, 238 detonators and fuses. The FC search team also recovered 85 thousand rounds of different types, 69050 rounds of Dragunov rifle, 1020 rounds of 12.7 mm gun, 4320 rounds of Kalashnikov, 227 fuses of 40 mm rockets, 178 kilograms of explosives, 900 detonators, 250 meters of detonating wire, two 303 rifles and one 32 bore pistol. In another raid the FC personnel recovered 104 mortars, 100 land mines, 40 china rifles and 660 kgs of explosives from Loop Sherani area. The arms and ammunition was dumped to be used for subversive activities.
#3
*Love* the title, Seafarious. But would the RAB really want to acquire that much stuff? Given that each bit needs to be properly stored between uses, and regularly dusted and polished to remove fingerprints and all. I think they're happier continuing in their ultramodern, minimalist way. ;-)
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh police has charged six people, including four Bangladesh nationals who are absconding, for alleged involvement in the twin bombings at Varanasi this March in which about 20 people were killed. The chargesheets were filed before Varanasi chief judicial magistrate P.N. Srivastava on Wednesday. "The accused have been charged for murder, attempt to murder as well as under the anti-explosives law," said a home department spokesperson.
The twin blasts on March 7 - one at the Varanasi railway station and the other at the popular Sankat Mochan temple - had injured about 100 people in the temple town that draws huge crowds of Hindu devotees as well as a large number of foreign tourists. Of the six key accused, only Wali Ullah, an imam at a local mosque, is in custody. One person was gunned down by police and there is no trace of the four Bangladeshi nationals who might have bravely sneaked back into their country, officials said. "From the leads given by Wali Ullah, we have reason to believe that the four Bangladeshi nationals were activists of a militant organisation based in that country," the spokesperson said.
While the court has yet to give a date for commencing trial, police has submitted a list of 45 witnesses for the station blast. There is another list of 18 witnesses for the blast at the Sankat Mochan temple.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
Baghdad, 21 July (AKI) - Iraqi authorities announced Friday the arrest of 19 terrror suspects who were allegedly preparing to attack a police station. At least one of those arrested may be linked to a series of car hijacking attacks in the city Sabaa al-Bur, west of the capital Baghdad, authorities said. "One of the suspects confessed he hijacked model Kia cars on the road to Najaf after killing the passengers," authorities said.
Last month gunmen took several South Korean-made Kia from pilgrims travelling to a Shiite religious site in Sabaa al-Bur. No trace of the cars' original occupants has been found.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 08:50 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Two persons were Thursday injured in a bomb explosion near a US military patrol in Najaf southern Iraq, police said. A source at the police said in a press statement a roadside explosive device went blew up near the US military patrol in the north of Najaf. The source said the explosion, which did not hurt the US soldiers, injured two civilians who happened to be nearby the blast's site.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:04 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Up to 10 Iraqis, including six policemen were injured in Iraq Thursday due to the explosion of a booby-trapped car in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a police source told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). It added that the car bomb targeted a police patrol in the Exhibitions Street, near a public square. The explosion injured six policemen and four civilians. Three other mortar rounds targeted the Northern Oil company on the Kirkuk-Biji Rd near the village of Fakhar. No casualties were reported as a result of the mortar attack, the source said. It added that one more mortar round fell on infrastructure premises on the same road near the Sidi Humaid village. No casualties or damages were reported.
Meanwhile, the authorities caught seven insurgents outside the Rashad area and confiscated three Klashnikov guns from them. The operation was aimed at purging the area from terrorists who were trying to ingnite sectarianism in the area, the source said.
The Iraqi forces, along with the multi-national ones had started, on Thursday, the Blessed Day operation aimed at chasing armed groups in Rashad, west of Kirkuk. A military source said the operation was an extension to a previous purging operation called iron hammer. The earlier operation was launched by the Iraqi forces last week near the Howeija and Zab areas and districts near them in search of armed groups.
On Wednesday, four Iraqis were killed and 16 others injured due a bomb, which exploded in a cafe in Kirkuk. In a related development, the US army announced its soldiers arrested seven armed men, including two who from the Al-Qaeda organization, a statement said. It added that the operation took place "during a raid on the Mahmoudieh village." The two Al-Qaeda members were found to be involved in facilitating the infiltration of foreigners into Iraq and in planting bombs, the US army statement said. The US forces also seized a large quantity of arms and ammunition, the statement added.
In Irbil, unknown gunmen killed an Iraqi police officer in central Mosul, a police source said. The source told KUNA that two civilians were also killed in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Three Iraqi civilians were killed and ten others injured on Thursday when a car bomb blew up in the Shula district, west of Baghdad, Police said. The car blew up in the Sadrain crossing in the Shula district, an Iraqi police source told KUNA, noting that three civilians were instantly killed and ten others received serious wounds. The blast inflicted damages to shops and cars around the scene, the source said.
In a separate development, a total of 38 corpses of gunshot victims had been found in Baghdad over the last 24 hours. According to the Iraqi police, 22 of the corpses were found in the Karkh district of the Iraqi capital, while another sixteen were found in the Rasafa district. The bodies bore evidence of torture, the police sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Twelve Iraqis were killed on Thursday by a booby-trapped car blast in northern Baghdad. In a press statement, a police source said the blast took place near an Iraqi police patrol in Baghdad's Salah Al-Din governorate. All 12 dead persons were civilians, added the source.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- The governor of Mosul Duraide Muhammad Kashmula survived Thursday an assassination attempt after a bomb exploded near his convoy in the city of Mosul in Northern Iraq. A security source told reporters that the explosion occurred in Al-Faisaliya area in Mosul. The source added that the explosion did not cause any damage.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Five Iraqi civilians were killed and tens of others were injured when a car bomb exploded in Midtown Kirkruk city in Northern Iraq, said a police source Thursday. The source told KUNA that the car exploded near the city hall and added that it caused damage to nearby properties. Violence is still occuring in Kirkuk city despite numerous efforts by the Iraq security forces and Multi-National Force (MNF) to maintain order in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
ISRAEL is massing it's forces along the border with Lebanon amid speculation they are set to mount a massive ground invasion as early as today.
Thousands of Lebanese civilians are fleeing north after Israel warned them to leave border villages and called up 3,000 army reserves in a possible prelude to a major ground offensive against Hizbollah guerrillas.
US television network CNBC said intelligence sources told an affiliate that the ground invasion was "imminent" and likely to start later today.
CNBC said an unidentified Western nation had also told NBC that Israeli troops were expected to enter Lebanon today.
But another military source later said the Israeli army plans to step up pinpoint incursions into southern Lebanon but will stop short of a full-scale ground invasion.
"You should not expect a full-scale incursion into Lebanon," the source told Reuters, adding that brief, targeted incursions would intensify along the border.
"We are already inside Lebanon and troops will continue to operate there because it is the only way to act against the Hizbollah bunkers there," the source said.
The army is also reported to have told 3,000 reserves to report for duty. The call-up came a day after Defence Minister Amir Peretz spoke of a possible land offensive.
The Israeli army could have three to four divisions on the border with Lebanon by the end of the weekend, the YNET news Web site reported. The army would not confirm or deny the report.
Lebanon's defence minister said the army, which has not fought so far despite losing a score of soldiers in Israeli air strikes, would defend the country against invasion.
Amid mounting world alarm at the 10-day-old conflict, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she would visit the Middle East next week and attend an Italian-hosted international conference in Rome on Tuesday in a bid to secure lasting peace.
The announcement came as Al Arabiya television reported the Israeli army had found the body of an Israeli soldier who had previously been reported missing.
It later said the body was found in southern Lebanon, but gave no more details.
Earlier on Friday, Israel's army confirmed that four soldiers had been killed and several wounded in fierce clashes with Hizbollah guerrillas just inside Lebanon on Thursday.
Israel has so far failed to stop Hizbollah cross-border rocket attacks, despite 10 days of bombardment which have killed 345 people in Lebanon and forced half a million to leave their homes. About 90 per cent of those killed were civilians.
Australians trapped in southern Lebanon have also reportedly been injured in Israeli attacks on the border town of Aitaroun.
At least 34 Israeli troops and civilians have been killed, almost all in fighting with Hizbollah guerrillas or by rockets fired by the Lebanese group.
The United States, Israel's main ally, has rebuffed Lebanon's appeals for an immediate UN-backed ceasefire, saying this would not last unless Hizbollah, backed by Syria and Iran, is prevented from attacking the Jewish state.
Rice told a news conference in Washington an immediate ceasefire would be a "false promise" if the root causes of the conflict were not addressed. "An immediate ceasefire without political conditions does not make sense," she said.
Border residents flee Families with possessions packed into cars and pickup trucks clogged roads to the north after Israeli planes dropped leaflets warning residents of south Lebanon to flee for safety beyond the Litani river, about 20 km from the border.
An estimated 300,000 mostly Shi'ite Muslim Lebanese normally reside south of the Litani. There was no word on how many have already fled the bombing and fighting of the past few days. Air raids have wrecked many roads and bridges in the region.
Israel began its assault after Hizbollah captured two soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on July 12. It has also waged a military campaign in Gaza since June 28 to recover another soldier, seized by Palestinian militants.
Israelis still overwhelmingly back the military operations, a new opinion poll in the Maariv newspaper showed.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who was involved in brokering a 2004 prisoner swap between Israel and Hizbollah, also plans a trip to the Middle East next week.
In Gaza, Palestinian medics said Israeli shelling killed a Hamas militant and four civilians on Friday, as tanks and troops withdrew from a refugee camp after a three-day assault.
#1
Israel: defend yourselves with all means available. Lebanon: you brought this on yourselves by not living up to your agreements to disarm the murdering Shia scum. Tehran and Damascus: I hope there's a nuke with your names on it sitting somewhere in an Israeli bunker just waiting to be loaded on an F-16. It's not one iota less than you deserve.
Posted by: mac ||
07/21/2006 22:31 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Hopefully the IDF have a fix on the bunkers now, and can drop something suitably nasty down them.
From Strategy Page. This is a PowerPoint presentation. Click on the picture to begin
As you scroll through the pictures toward the end of the presentation you will see the damage done by the ball bearings packed in the rocket's nose cone. These Iranian-provided Hizbullah rockets were not aimed at strategic targets. They were packed with ball bearings aimed at civilians with the objective of maximizing death and injury. Imagine what these ball bearings do when a man, woman or child is hit by one of them.
#2
What an approprate pic. Notice how the 'brave lion of islam' is hiding behind the skirt of the mother and child while the other has shielding the woman and child.
As for the ballbearing pic. I'm sure we'll see it on the NYT's front page any dayweekmonth year now....
#3
this is quite funny and since I do not know how to post I hope somebody does it:
Now this is a classic. Hardline cleric Omar Bakri who is barred from Britain for inciting terrorism tried to get onboard of a British warship to flee Beirut but was turned back. Bakri who preached terror in Londistan London for so many years decided to let go of jihad against the "Israeli infidels" and flee the battlefield to return to his previous safe haven.
Bakri, who had lived in Britain for 20 years, said he had shown his British driving licence and his cancelled British passport.
"I know myself I am not welcome in the UK but I have the right like everyone else to safety," he said. "It is better to try and fail."
Britain barred him from returning to the country as part of a government crackdown on Islamic preachers who it says inspires suicide bombers like those who attacked London's transport system last year, killing 52 people.
See, we only preach jihad and encourage others to carry it out, we never actually do it ourselves!!
The funny thing, Bakri stated before that he doesn't want to return to the UK
In an interview with Reuters in Beirut last August, the bearded cleric said he had no intention of returning to Britain because of the way Muslims there were being treated.
Ahh, when things gets tough we cry mama.
Update:
This is how the British tabloid The Sun reported the story:
#4
That's not true Anti-personnel and anti-material bombs, rockets grenades are always with ball beraings or and such. It's not the rockets that make it abominable but to where Hizballah points them.
#5
Israel wants the Lebanese army on the border. The Lebanese army has refused to move into the area but have said they would respond to an Israeli incursion. This might just be a way to get the Lebanese army into the region in a way that is politically acceptable within the Lebanese domestic climate. And the threat is too credible to ignore. Not to move the Lebanese army into the area might actually precipitate an Israeli invasion to move Hezbollah back. Pass the popcorn please.
#10
Yeah, well, my idea was to paint the group what it is, I was purposely not going to the judgement of their religion area, that is where you risk making even more enemies. The point being that if we portray what they do as hirabah and not jihad, we provide an opportunity for other Muslims to hate them too and in terms they themselves understand.
Oh, and I just noted an interesting comment from a Fox presenter in Israel musing aloud about why Israel would be so blatently telegraphing their intentions rather than keeping the callups and buildup quiet.
#12
While the damage agsint vehicles lolo impressive the second vehicle is not touched at all and I observe no vehicle has been set afire as a HE payload would have done. So it confirms my opinion ball bearins is mainly for personel. When you are after vehicls you use HE.
#14
Ball bearings are too expensive to use in most antipersonnel weapons. More often, prenotched large gauge wire or preformed shrapnel sintered together is used. When the device explodes, each notched or sintered piece separates and becomes shrapnel. It sounds like the Syrians don't have the machinery to do this and are using ball bearings because they have to.
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 17:31 Comments ||
Top||
#15
I just noted an interesting comment from a Fox presenter in Israel musing aloud about why Israel would be so blatently telegraphing their intentions rather than keeping the callups and buildup quiet
They can't call up their reserves and keep it quiet. No country that size (either physically or in terms of population) could.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/21/2006 17:56 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Mike: They can't call up their reserves and keep it quiet. No country that size (either physically or in terms of population) could.
I'll say. My understanding is that reserve callups are typically via blanketing the media with notices so that no one can say he missed the callup notice and sit the campaign out. Note that everyone of combat age in Israel is a reservist, which is to say that they are all draftees. Draftees don't always want to be dragged away from their daily lives. I don't know the Israeli practice, but I suspect the only people who don't know of the call-up don't listen to the radio, watch TV, read newspapers or even have telephones.
#19
I wasn't talking about announcing reserve callups. I was talking about the reporting on troop formations South of the Lebanese border to include video. They could very easily censor that information.
#20
Don't think of them as "ball bearings" because yes, bearings are made of expensive steel to exacting tolerances for mechanical operations. Think of it as "steel shot" which is basically nothing more than round drops of cheap steel of various sizes and not of uniform size and shape.
The purpose of missiles with those warheads is to take out formations of troops in the open such as dismounted mechanized infantry or paratroopers. In the traditional use, these are "barrage" rockets. They are designed to be sent via multiple launchers in waves of dozens at a time to saturate an area with dozens of small explosions. Think of these rockets as the orinal cluster bomb in how they were initially designed to be used.
They're not ball bearings per se in US ammo, but just metal balls the same as overshized buckshot. A 40MM AP grenade can do horriffic damage even when body armor is worn.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
07/21/2006 21:17 Comments ||
Top||
#22
On the issue of destruction, it appears that IAF targeting in Beirut is taking out Shiite support areas, accurately. Check this out:
Israel warned Lebanese civilians to leave border villages on Friday and called up 3,000 reserves in a possible prelude to a ground offensive that would expand its 10-day-old campaign against Hizbollah guerrillas. Thank you. We've been waiting.
Israeli planes dropped leaflets over south Lebanon warning civilians to flee for safety north of the Litani river, about 20 km (13 miles) from the frontier. A good place for a new border, don't you think?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
07/21/2006 11:50 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
But Hizb'allah has been blockading them in their villages so as not to lose their meat shield. This needs to be highlighted.
#2
AP is reporting that Israel now has troops and tanks on the border. Probably giving Americans time to get out.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
07/21/2006 12:34 Comments ||
Top||
#3
The call up of reserves puts a great strain on the Istaeli economy. They also needed time to move stuff around. Methinks we may see some serious action soon.
Posted by: DanNY ||
07/21/2006 13:32 Comments ||
Top||
#4
The Hizb'alebanese did not drop leaflets just katushas.
#5
I don't know about most people, but if I had either the Israeli or American army telling me to get out of the way I sure as fuck would do it. Anyone else I would tell to go to hell and fight back.
THE Israeli military is calling up several thousand reserve soldiers to reinforce ground units operating on the northern border with Lebanon, a military source said today.
"The army called up several thousand reserves in order to strengthen our forces against Hezbollah," said the source. They said the number called up would be fewer than a brigade, which numbers around 3000 soldiers.
On July 12 the army called a rapid deployment division of 6000 soldiers to the country's northern border hours after two soldiers were snatched by Hezbollah guerrillas, sparking a massive Israeli offensive.
(KUNA) -- Israeli warplanes fired three missiles at a Palestinian national security site east of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian security sources said Thursday. The missiles crashed into the site located near Gaza International Airport inflicting major damage to buildings surrounding the site, which were shelled three times over the past few years. The attack did not sustain any human losses, the sources said.
In related developments, Israeli forces blew up three tunnels they found south of Rafah last night. The Israeli radio quoted today military sources saying that the Israeli Army blew up two tunnels near Al-Dehniya village in the southern part of the Strip and a third one near Sofa crossing north of Rafah. The tunnels are used by Palestinians to smuggle weapons into Gaza, the source added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:05 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Palestinian national security site
Funny that, as they're not a nation and have no security.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
07/21/2006 0:58 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Any Rantburg experts on engineering, rather than combat, aspects of dealing with tunnels? For example, even though tunnels are cleverly hidden to the naked eye, wouldn't technology for oil drilling or mining detect them? What kind of explosives are best for destroying them? Is the damage permanent or is it just a case of sealing off the entrances in which case the enemy can burrow back to them later?
#3
I'm no expect on engineering, but I would have to think that sonar would find these tunnels. As for getting rid of them, I would say punch a hole into them from above every 10 yards, drop an explosive in each hole and bang.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
07/21/2006 10:11 Comments ||
Top||
#4
ground penetrating radar works, especially if te soil is fairly uniform, with little density changes
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2006 10:39 Comments ||
Top||
#5
With the Mediterranean so close, I'd think some sort of flooding might be feasible. It's fun to think about, at least.
#7
Did a quick look at the geology of Lebanon. Southern part of the country is limestone overlaying sandstone. They have a lot of quarries to extract the limestone for building and to make cement. This means they've got a lot of expertise in-country for digging tunnels in the relatively soft limestone. If the layers are as thick and fine grained as reported, you wouldn't need much shoring for tunnels. Perfect for digging deep bunkers, with the waste rock dumped in quarries where it wouldn't raise any eyebrows.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 12:34 Comments ||
Top||
#8
It's possible to do 'seismic' surveys in which data is collected from an array of deployed sensors ('geophones') while shock waves (from an explosive or even vibration from a nearby highway)propagate through the earth. The data can then be analyzed for tunnel detection, as well as a general understanding of the relative densities of the underlying rock and soil. It is tricky to analyze the data though.
#9
This is gaza though steve, heavier than air immobilising agents, its the only way to be sure.
Posted by: chu chi ||
07/21/2006 13:15 Comments ||
Top||
#10
The Hariri family controls a lot of the cement production in Lebanon. The Syrians are also way involved in cement production. Which may be one reason why Hariri got killed, and one or several reasons why China and Russia won't side against the Baathists.
#11
The Party of Allah (Hezbolla) have lots of tunnels and bunkers since they had plenty of time to prepare. BTW, Lebanon is not a country or state and deserves to be dusted as a terrorist shell, sadly.
#13
Why would Russia and China prefer Baathist cement to Hariri cement
Perhaps Hariri wanted cash while the Baathist's would take weapons in trade? I remember Hariri was supposed to have major connections in the Saudi construction business as well.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 16:15 Comments ||
Top||
#14
This is gaza though steve
Well, the underlying rock strata is pretty much the same in Israel. I was there in 1984 and it all looked like the same rock formations. Went on tour in Jerulsalem and went down in old tunnel under old city. It was all limestone there as well. Same in southern Lebanon when we went to the Beufort Castle with the IDF. Looked a lot like New Mexico and Arizona.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 16:20 Comments ||
Top||
#15
My opinion was the Syrians took out Hariri without consulting the Russians and Chinese and did it solely because he was a rare Lebanese politico no longer willing to be one of their pawns, rather than for any business (cement) reasons. Fortunately, it boomeranged on them because Hariri's patrons, the Saudis, were riled by the assassination enough to team up with us and the French to push them out (like when the mob offs an investigative journalist or prosecutor and only draws more heat). Another factor was that the Iran-Syria alliance put Syria in the Shiite camp (Syria's Alawite minority is quasi-Shia and controls the government and military rather than the Sunni majority) and the Saudis are seeing in Iraq how the Iranian controlled Shiites like to deal with Sunni adversaries.... Thanks to all for the comments on how to detect the tunnels; anything more on optimum permanent destruction methods?
(KUNA) -- Israel will enforce a comprehensive blockade on the West Bank and Gaza Strip upon the directions of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, the Israeli radio reported Thursday. Peretz's decision came after Israeli security agencies were tipped that the Palestinian resistance intended to carry out operations inside Israeli towns. The siege was also in light of the deteriorating security situation in northern Israel.
The Israeli police announced yesterday that it arrested a Palestinian who they claimed was on his way to blow himself up in Tel Aviv. Israel raised its alert level to the maximum and its security forces posted many military checkpoints after it received several warnings on the probability of Palestinian suicide operations in Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:02 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- One person was killed and six others were injured when an Israeli warplane launched at least one missile at a gathering of Palestinians in Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. Palestinian sources said the injured were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital and that two of them are in serious conditions. A Palestinian was killed and another was injured Thursday morning after being shot by Israeli forces, which are still penetrating in Al-Maghazi refugee camp.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:01 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- The Ezzuddine Al-Qassam Brigades, military arm of Hamas Movement, on Thursday fired mortar rounds on Israeli forces in Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza Strip. The brigades said in a press release that Palestinian fighters fired three mortar rounds on a gathering of Israeli military vehicles east of the camp, noting that the target received a direct hit.
Also, Al-Quds Brigades, the military arm of Islamic Jihad movement, said it fired a "Quds 3" type missile on the Jewish Sderot settlement in southern Israel. Earlier today, the brigades said that it fired three "Quds 3" type missiles on Sderot, noting that the Israeli army confirmed that the settlement was hit by Palestinian missiles. A spokesperson for the Israeli army told the Israeli radio that two Palestinian missiles hit Sderot this morning. The source said the missiles were fired from northern Gaza Strip, noting that some properties were damaged in the attack, while some residents experienced a shock.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army dropped fliers warning Gaza Strip residents of the consequences of storing weapons and ammunitions in their residences. The fliers, dropped on northern Gaza Strip, warned that the Israeli army will destroy any location or building were weapons are stored, noting that anyone who has weapons or ammunitions in his house is in danger and should evacuate immediately.
Meanwhile, the Israeli tanks stationed on the eastern borders of Gaza Strip fired a score of shells on vacant areas, farm lands, and residential areas in the towns of Beit Lahya and Jabaliya in northern Gaza Strip, said Palestinian security sources. The sources said that the Israeli shelling caused major damages in a number of houses and public properties.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Is it just me, or is it just a little pathetic to issue a press release that you had fired THREE mortar rounds at the enemy?
(KUNA) -- Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel will not hesitate to launch a full ground attack to eliminate Hezbollah. He told reporters that the operations will not end until Hezbollah operating centers in northern Israel are demolished. Peretz's statements coincided with the heavy fighting between Hezbollah operatives and Israeli soldiers in southern Lebabanon.
Meanwhile, the Israeli bombardment of the southern suburbs of Beirut resumed at 9:15 pm local time after the capital witnessed a respite today. Two large explosions were heard in the southern parts of Beirut with no clue if the bombardment came from Israeli Jet fighters or battleships.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Never realized the Israelis possessed "Battleships". Mebbe they raised the "Yamato" from the depths?
#2
Borgboy,
No Yamato !
We dont have destroyers ot other big battleships but ewe have plenty of Saar shipes and other small fast ships with onboard cannons and missile fire power.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
07/21/2006 6:11 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Betcha it's a babelfishism for "gunship". Since the sentence is "Israeli Jet fighters or battleships".
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/21/2006 7:52 Comments ||
Top||
#4
He told reporters that the operations will not end until Hezbollah operating centers in northern Israel are demolished.
The KUNA reporter is a wee bit challenged in the geography department. Or maybe he is predicting future reality...
#5
Israel has not only battlehips but also a whole hidden fleet of aircraft carriers. In the fities an Israeli helicopter made an emrgency landing on an American carrier. When questionned by the Americans (let's remeber that the Eisenhower administartion was not that fond of Israel) the pilot just told: "I thought it was one of our carriers".
#9
I hope the Israelis kill every Muslim male they catch with a weapon in hand. No surrenders, no POWs, just KIA. Don't show any more mercy to them than you would to the Death's Head SS because that example is exactly who these scum seek to emulate. They won't learn until they get hit as hard as the Germans did, so it's long past time to start teaching exactly the same way the Allies taught the Germans. That's what it will take to win this war and the sooner Israel and the West acknowledge it, the fewer casualties we'll take in the fight.
Posted by: mac ||
07/21/2006 11:53 Comments ||
Top||
#10
well, I dont know. My initial thought is that they wont go North of the Litani. OTOH I didnt think theyd do a ground offensive (Spec ops aside) at all, so dont go by me.
Or maybe this is part of a political game? The farther north they go, the more pressure for a ceasefire. Maybe this means theyve done most of what they need to do, and are ready for a ceasefire on their terms, one that insists on a UN force that has a mandate to disarm Hezbollah?
#13
I have read history. A lot of it. Like the blowing of the American embassy in Beirut, plus the one of to hundrec marines perpetrated by your pals of Hizbollah.
#15
"the one of to hundrec marines perpetrated by your pals of Hizbollah."
Your understanding of the English language is as pitiful and woeful as your conception of current affairs, you are implying, that friends of hizbollah that are 'somehow' connected to me are procreating US marines. explain your idiocy to the families of the slain, idiot.
#16
The Israelis have no need to go north of the Litani. 20km will put 98-99% of the rockets out of range. The 1-2% can be dealt with aggressive recon and airstrikes. In addition to going to the Litani, I think it is imperative to destroy all buildings and improvements like roads and water systems in the muslim areas to make it as difficult for any of them to return.
If I had my way, I would scrape away any topsoil and turn the area into the world's largest Japanese rock garden.
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 17:07 Comments ||
Top||
#17
the Liberty incident occurred precisely because the Israeli navy was weak in 1967. It relied on air alone to deal with offshore threats, and when overtired pilots, whod been busy the previous few days destroying the air forces of several arab nations, and had gotten little rest, saw a warship, outside of normal tradelanes, having been assured the 6th fleet was nowhere nearby, and after what appeared to be naval shelling on the coast, they tragically, mistakenly, fired on what they THOUGHT was an Egyptian destroyer.
Today Israel has a navy that controls the coast of Lebanon, though it consists of destroyers, not battleships. It is participating in the destruction of Hezbollah, the group that killed hundreds of US Marines in Beirut. Not by accident, but deliberately.
#18
The Liberty, as an intelligence ship, is built on a merchant hull, not a destroyer hull. They look nothing alike.
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 18:34 Comments ||
Top||
#19
The Liberty, as an intelligence ship, is built on a merchant hull, not a destroyer hull. They look nothing alike.
To a sailor. For pilot who has not been trained at ship identification and is travelling at 300 Mph they look alike. Hey in WWII bomber crews time and again fired on Mustangs, Thunderbolts and Spittfires taking them for Messerchmitts and Focke Wulfs. The only ones who were, more or less, never subject to friendly fire were the Lightnings.
#20
Which reinforces my point. A mustang and Bf109 look similar because they are both fighters. It would be the same as mistaking a Mustang for a C-47.
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 19:17 Comments ||
Top||
#21
The Israelis knew exactly what they were attacking and why. Whether they knew whose, might be debatable, but I doubt it.
#23
Phase 2:
When Israel invades in force, Hizbollah will launch Tel Aviv range missiles from border areas in northern Lebanon. The launchers will then scurry back into Syria, posing a dilemma on Israel. Israeli's will perceive the status quo as unmanageable, and will exercise the "Sampson Option." Anyone who matters will support that default escalation, in that it will prevent Iran from ever possessing Euro-blackmail missiles (if not ICBMs, with warheads).
I wonder: has Condi Rice ever heard the weekly "Death to America" chants at Teheran University? I hope what she is sayingis diversionary, otherwise I don't like what I am hearing from her. But, she could surprise. The term "armistice" is not in the WOT dictionary.
#24
pihkalbadger, I've seen USS Liberty brought up numerous times. I always think of it as evolution in action (play spy in war zone, refuse to identify yourself, ignore signals to go away).
p.s. My little history expert. Eisenhower administration ended 6 years before the Liberty incident.
#25
When I think of the coming envasion, I see a strategy best served by a thrust on the right, off tackle, cut left to the sea and seal off escape to the north. Then go rat hunting. Winning the attrition game is paramont.
HEZBOLLAH said Friday it rejects a plan by UN chief Kofi Annan proposing a ceasefire with Israel and calling for the release of two Israeli soldiers captured by the Lebanese Shiite militant group.
#4
I can't imagine how bad i would feel if I was the UN. They have monitors who allow a group of people to ignore a resolution, use the weapons that were the subject of the resolution to start a war. Than ask them to ceasefire, so the bad Israel's will stop killing thier countrymen, and they say, take a hike. I would feel rally bad that I did'nt do my job. These deaths are on the UN.
If this dose'nt show the Lebanesee who side they (Hezbollah)are on , nothing will.
#7
(channeling the "Soup Nazi), Nasrallah is quoted:
"NO PEACE for you, Kofi, NEXT!" (/end channeling)
Posted by: BA ||
07/21/2006 11:56 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Breaking: Syria rejects eUNuch delegation. Now what?
Today's powwow at the UN, that included Bolten, Rice and the eUNuch delegation (just returning from fruitless intense negotiations in the Mideast) was supposed to map out a diplomatic strategy. Rice goes to Egypt, Jordan and Israel. The eUNuch's goes to Syria. Now, it looks like the eUNuch's are all dressed up with no place to go.
A HARDLINE Muslim cleric barred from Britain for glorifying violence said today he tried to get on board a British warship to flee Beirut but was turned back. "The answer was, 'unless you have a British passport you are not entitled to come on board'," Omar Bakri told Sky News.
Syrian-born Mr Bakri left Britain for Lebanon last August, saying he was going on holiday, after British Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged to silence Islamists glorifying violence.
Mr Bakri, who had lived in Britain for 20 years, said he had shown his British driving licence and his cancelled British passport. "I know myself I am not welcome in the UK ... but I have the right like everyone else to safety," he said. "It is better to try and fail."
He doesn't feel safe around Hezbollah? Wonder why?
Britain barred him from returning to the country as part of a government crackdown on Islamic preachers who it says inspires suicide bombers like those who attacked London's transport system last year, killing 52 people. The British Home Office said he had been barred because his presence was "not conducive to the public good".
In an interview with Reuters in Beirut last August, the cleric said he had no intention of returning to Britain because of the way Muslims there were being treated.
#2
A documentary on primetime terrestrial TV the other evening implicated this shitbag with both British suicide bombers in Israel and Siddique Khan of 7th July fame. Hand his dwelling's GPS to the IAF. Legitimate target.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
07/21/2006 5:17 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Notice how this Jihad(Tm)-preaching douchebag, who incites young men to commit violence and to go out and fight, is crapping his pants as soon as real violence (and not the worst one, IE the indiscriminate one he advocates) comes a tad near him???
Absolute coward, utter hypocrit.
And these are the sh*theads who tell the whole world they're gonna win because they "love death more than we love life"?
HILARIOUS!
It reminds me of the limousine liberals who can't stop criticize the army and the use of force, but to quote an israeli from one of my ML, "become more militaristic than anybody and ask for harsh measures to be taken as soon as the bombs start coming closer to them"...
#5
Another failed opportunity! ..... "Thats right Omar, all we have remaining for sleeping quarters are these empty torpedo tubes, but they're nice and quiet, very private."
"He had a shuttergun and two cartridges of bullets. Halt! Absconder!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/21/2006 8:24 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Poor Omar is probably using up his supply of 'Depends' while imagining what would happen to him if he fell into the hands of Israel, or worse - one of its Lebanese allies.
The last of his dole money probably ran out too
Posted by: john ||
07/21/2006 8:29 Comments ||
Top||
#10
All of the radical's talk about fighting Jew's, and here's one with an oppurtunity, and he wants to leave to live on the dole in England. This is one of your revered your leaders.
In February this year, he told Radio Four that the person(s) responsible for the cartoons of the so-called prophet Mohammed should be killed: 'However, in Islam, God said, and the messenger Mohammed said, whoever insults a prophet, he must be punished and executed. This man should be put on trial and if it is proven to be executed.'
For a man who glorifies violence, terrorism and bombing it is now a delight to hear that he is not too happy about being in Lebanon while Israeli bombs are falling around him. The bravado of a man who supported killing has evaporated and he is now pleading with the British authorities to be allowed to return to Britain, the country he abused and wished to see vanquished.
Reuters reports that earlier today, Bakri had said he tried to get on board a British warship which was evacuating civilians, but was refused permission to board.
The answer was, 'unless you have a British passport you are not entitled to come on board,' he told Sky News. He said that he had shown British officials his UK driving license and his now-cancelled British passport."
Posted by: Mike ||
07/21/2006 8:37 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Asharq Al Awsat interviewed him ten days ago. Among the highlights...
Q) Do you think about going back to the United Kingdom?
A) No. I do not think about that unless Britain renounces its terror laws through which it is terrorizing Muslims under the pretext of fighting terrorism. It is religiously prohibited for people like me to return to the United Kingdom, because this would fall within the framework of offering oneself as captive. Islam prohibits Muslims from allowing themselves to become captives of nonbelievers.
Oooops. Let turn some pages in the Koran to get me out of that. It's in here somewhere. Oh. Okay. There it is. Phew!
#15
tu3031 shows us a good point. Katie Curic was wondering want we want to hear. How about this interview, then him trying to get on the boat. That's true, hurts them and not us. Oh, answered my own question.
#17
The Ballad of Brave Sir Omar
Bravely bold Sir Omar rode forth from Beiruit.
He was not afraid to die, O brave Sir Omar!
He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways,
Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Omar!
He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp,
Or to have his eyes gouged out, and his elbows broken;
To have his kneecaps split, and his body burned away;
And his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Omar!
His head smashed in and his heart cut out
And his liver removed and his bowels unplugged
And his nostrils raped and his bottom burned off
And his pen--
#18
According to Al-Guardian, Omar sez, it's for "the children"...
"I am appealing on behalf of my children who are worried and they want to see their own father. Do you want my little sons or my little family to come now to Lebanon? I don't think you want that."
I'd tie ribbons around them and pack them up on the next boat down, scumbag.
#19
I don't understand why he bothers with a long boat ride back to Britain when his home country is just a few short hours away by car.
Posted by: Azad ||
07/21/2006 11:40 Comments ||
Top||
#20
Thanks tu, I was wondering where the Bakri baby factories and future jihad units were stationed. I'm sure Brave Sir Omar is still on the Brit dole via the blessed infidel invention of Western Union.
Posted by: ed ||
07/21/2006 12:00 Comments ||
Top||
#21
Karma's a bitch.
Posted by: Jan ||
07/21/2006 12:16 Comments ||
Top||
#32
Muck, you misunderstood the question. Towing Omar Bakri behind the cruise ship might be nice to him, but not to the people at the ship's destination.
Posted by: Phil ||
07/21/2006 22:18 Comments ||
Top||
#33
ima wuz shure em kids wuld luv em water skiins jihadi show. :)
#1
In belmont club where this map was mentioned you see:
You'll note the area overlooking Avivim, where the IDF found 120-foot deep bunkers and weapons caches plus huge land mines, was near outpost 65-2 of the Ghana Battalion, UNIFIL. UNIFIL was commanded by Major-General Alain Pellegrini of France.
#2
Nostradamus Pellegrine??? Yet another Ollie Stone production of almost a Madonna - dare Angelina Jolie - film, wid soundtrack not by Aerosmith or GNR, and not starring Joe Paterno, a Texas-sized asteroid or the Sun, etc.!?
I've seen the pics before..does anyone have the name and specs on that real short range mortar like missle [good sized] that the IDF uses to clear close in targets/AOs? You can see it in the vid.
"Established to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, to restore international peace and security, and to assist the Government of Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area. UNIFIL has, however, been prevented from fully implementing its mandate. Israel has maintained its occupation of parts of south Lebanon, where the Israeli forces and their local auxiliary continued to be targets of attacks by groups that have proclaimed their resistance to the occupation. UNIFIL does its best to limit the conflict and protect the inhabitants of the area from the fighting. In doing so, it continues to contribute to stability in the area."
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/21/2006 1:51 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Saw John Bolton on O'Reily last night. He said the only reason we are still in the UN is to look after American interests. He said he was NOT optomistic about the UN doing anything.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/21/2006 7:36 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Nice video, RD. Note that it starts showing an Israeli soldier saying a prayer for peace.
Very interesting bit about Ambassador Bolton, Deacon Blues.
#11
Good for them. Now if the Israeli's would join in then the UN could be cleared quickly and things could get back to Israel stomping on Iran/Syria/Hiz.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
07/21/2006 9:04 Comments ||
Top||
#12
I'd rather see the UN guys join in against Hezbollah. The enemy of my enemy is . . . well, maybe not a friend, exactly, but someone I might be able to do business with.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/21/2006 9:19 Comments ||
Top||
#13
I would like to see the UN guys join Hezbollah too. All the enemies of the west in one place for a good strike.
Serves them right. Lie down with dogs terrorists, get up with fleas dead.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/21/2006 11:04 Comments ||
Top||
#17
"UNIFIL" - the latest way to spell "worthless."
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/21/2006 11:05 Comments ||
Top||
#18
I wondered about that, TW. Heard it on the radio this morning that several Hezz rockets "fell short" and hit some UN "outposts." I found it funny that the next headline they discuss was Kofi saying everyone within 20 miles of the Israel/Lebanon border should GET OUT NOW! Wonder if that goes for the so-called peace-keepers too? I'd assume so, seeing as how quickly they (the UN, not the soldiers) tucked tail and ran in Iraq.
Posted by: BA ||
07/21/2006 11:48 Comments ||
Top||
#19
BA, the Jpost article I linked above (all of four lines long -- *lots* of info there!) said the rockets were aimed at an Israeli post beyond the UNFIL one, but missed. May well be true, but demonstrates -- as graphically as the Hizb'allah habit of shooting those things off from the houses of Shiites and Christians alike -- the fondness Hizb'allah has of using innocents as a meat shield. (What an evocative phrase!).
(KUNA) -- Israeli air force carried out 18 raids over central and western, southern Lebanon, according to a security source. The source told KUNA, over 70 villages in Tyre have been hit by the air raids. Israeli tanks have also been firing at most of the border towns especially Kfar Kila and Al-Edaisa. Since this morning Tyre had witnessed 12 air raids targeting residences and infrastructure. As many as 102 bodies of people who have died during the past few days are being held at Tyre's Al-Hakawi Hospital.
Citizens in South Lebanon have been asking relief agencies to evacuate them before a humanitarian crisis takes place. In related news, Aitaroun and Mais Al-Jabal villages have witnessed clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli army troops. Sources have said, the border area has recently been cautiously calm as both sides struck each other. In a statement, Hezbollah had announced that it had shelled a military area in Safad.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/21/2006 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
BRUSSELS The Israeli military is using chemical weapons during its bombing of Lebanon, a Belgian-Lebanese professor claimed during a press conference in Brussels on Thursday. The press conference was organised by the secretary of the Tripoli archbishop, Monsignor Jean Abboud. The Belgian professor of Lebanese origin, Bachir Cham, is the head of a hospital in Lebanon.
"The bodies don't look like they normally do. After an explosion there were no traces of blood loss or subcutaneous haemorrhages [bruises]," Cham said via mobile phone direct from Beirut. The hair and sometimes the beard and the moustache remained intact. I found no traces of the pressure wave by the explosion. The colour of the skin was black like a shoe, but the skin was not carbonised or burnt."
Eight mummy-like bodies were taken to the hospital on Monday and photos taken of the corpses. Two children's bodies showed no indication of wounds resulting from an explosion. "I have the impression that a poisonous product penetrated the body via the skin. Death follows with almost 100 percent certainty," the professor said. A heart specialist, Mohammad Farran, said letters had been sent to the UN and the EU drawing their attention to the alleged use of chemical weapons by Israel in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Arab, Lebanese and Belgian fellow travellers peace activists protested for fourth consecutive day in front of the EU headquarters in Brussels against the Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Placards carried by the protestors read: "Israel today is committing a deliberate crime against Lebanon" and "Stop Israeli terrorism".
#4
I think this is probably misdiagnosis of a case of contageous hemorroids by our Belgian-Lebanese good doctor.
I love the fantasies spewed out by the overactive eastern imagination.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
07/21/2006 6:21 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Take your medicine Hizbullebanese, you did not fight for your country. Maybe some of Saddam's cocktails came from Syria and made it into what was once Lebanon..
#8
If the guy is right...doesn't that indicate the presence of WMD issues?
For a nation like the US, Israel, Russia, China, et cetera, an allegation of chem weapons would be--and is--on its face preposterous. But that doesn't mean their use is tatally unlikely, given the rogue nation status of pre-war Iraq, Syria and Iran.
Usually in someone's words are truth. Maybe not the truth they want to expose, but truth nontheless.
#9
Yeah, just like the NK accusations against the UN forces in the Korean War. Desperation is the soul of deceit. However, it is true that suicide killers would pack caustic and inflammatory materials with their charge.
#10
Perhaps these people were in a bunker or tunnel that got all the oxygen sucked out of it by one of those fuel-air type bombs. Would suffocation lead to the discoloration?
A new Osama bin Laden message from al Qaeda's as-Sahab Institute for Media Production is to be released soon, according to IntelCenter, which monitors extremist websites. Sites have begun to advertise a new message.
In his message, bin Laden will reportedly address events in Gaza and Lebanon. This message has been expected and is consistent with new efforts in 2006 by al Qaeda's senior leadership to be responsive in their messages to current developments.
Trying to stay relevent while Hezbollah gets all the headlines.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/21/2006 12:40 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#6
This message has been expected and is consistent with new efforts in 2006 by al Qaeda's senior leadership to be responsive in their messages to current developments.
Geez! That sounds almost as lame as some of the corp-speak memos I get at work from the suits. Wonder if Binny'll have a PowerPoint presentation to go with it.
#11
Is this like Y2k, when the articles counter hits 100 000 it resets to 00000, and the whole WWW crashes down in flames, depriving everybody (including myself) of their daily dose of PrOn?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Afghan and coalition soldiers on Wednesday recaptured the second of two towns that had been overrun by the Taliban, Afghan and U.S. officials said. Hundreds of troops battled Taliban fighters and entered the Helmand provincial town of 
Hundreds of Ethiopian troops in armored vehicles rolled into Somalia on Thursday to protect their allies in this country's virtually powerless government from Islamic militants who control the capital.
(SomaliNet) The Islamic militiamen who now control the capital city Mogadisho and most of the southern regions, on Wednesday deployed hundreds of militiamen outside Baidoa where the interim government is based. The Islamists said that they planned to seize the town which, if they succeed, will give them uncontested power over Somalia and weaken the government further. 
(Interfax) - Three facts of voluntary surrender of weapons and ammunition by Chechen residents have been recorded in the republic in the past 24 hours, Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman Amin Deniyev told Interfax Thursday. A campaign conducted by local authorities and policemen following a call to members of illegal armed groups by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) Director 
Vicenza, 21 July (AKI) - Italian police on Friday arrested four Algerian nationals on charges they belonged to a cell of the Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, a militant group based in Algeria which has sworn allegiance to al Qaeda. The arrests took place in a vast anti-terror operation in the northern regions of Veneto and Lombardy and the central city of Reggio Emilia. The alleged terror ring was based in Venice and operated across Italy to finance the group and recruit militants to send to Algeria and Iraq. Ring members are also charged with forging identification papers and residence permits for illegal immigrants. 
Two men from Atlanta already accused of discussing targets for bomb attacks in the United States have been indicted by a grand jury in Georgia on charges of receiving paramilitary training and plotting a "violent jihad" against civilian and U.S. government targets. The two, 21-year-old Syed Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 19, are also said to have links to some of the 12 men and five youths arrested in the Toronto area last month and accused of plotting bombings and kidnappings in southern Ontario. Both men are U.S. citizens.
SRINAGAR, India - Soldiers and police clashed Friday with Islamic 
QUETTA: The security forces recovered large quantity of arms and ammunition from Dera Bugti area on Thursday.
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh police has charged six people, including four Bangladesh nationals who are absconding, for alleged involvement in the twin bombings at Varanasi this March in which about 20 people were killed. The chargesheets were filed before Varanasi chief judicial magistrate P.N. Srivastava on Wednesday. "The accused have been charged for murder, attempt to murder as well as under the anti-explosives law," said a home department spokesperson. 
(KUNA) -- Up to 10 Iraqis, including six policemen were injured in Iraq Thursday due to the explosion of a booby-trapped car in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, a police source told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). It added that the car bomb targeted a police patrol in the Exhibitions Street, near a public square. The explosion injured six policemen and four civilians. Three other mortar rounds targeted the Northern Oil company on the Kirkuk-Biji Rd near the village of Fakhar. No casualties were reported as a result of the mortar attack, the source said. It added that one more mortar round fell on infrastructure premises on the same road near the Sidi Humaid village. No casualties or damages were reported.
(KUNA) -- Three Iraqi civilians were killed and ten others injured on Thursday when a car bomb blew up in the Shula district, west of Baghdad, Police said. The car blew up in the Sadrain crossing in the Shula district, an Iraqi police source told KUNA, noting that three civilians were instantly killed and ten others received serious wounds. The blast inflicted damages to shops and cars around the scene, the source said.
(KUNA) -- Twelve Iraqis were killed on Thursday by a booby-trapped car blast in northern Baghdad. In a press statement, a police source said the blast took place near an Iraqi police patrol in Baghdad's Salah Al-Din governorate. All 12 dead persons were civilians, added the source.
(KUNA) -- The governor of Mosul Duraide Muhammad Kashmula survived Thursday an assassination attempt after a bomb exploded near his convoy in the city of Mosul in Northern Iraq. A security source told reporters that the explosion occurred in Al-Faisaliya area in Mosul. The source added that the explosion did not cause any damage.
(KUNA) -- Five Iraqi civilians were killed and tens of others were injured when a car bomb exploded in Midtown Kirkruk city in Northern Iraq, said a police source Thursday. The source told KUNA that the car exploded near the city hall and added that it caused damage to nearby properties. Violence is still occuring in Kirkuk city despite numerous efforts by the Iraq security forces and Multi-National Force (MNF) to maintain order in the city.
Israel warned Lebanese civilians to leave border villages on Friday and called up 3,000 reserves in a possible prelude to a ground offensive that would expand its 10-day-old campaign against Hizbollah guerrillas.
(KUNA) -- Israel will enforce a comprehensive blockade on the West Bank and Gaza Strip upon the directions of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, the Israeli radio reported Thursday. Peretz's decision came after Israeli security agencies were tipped that the Palestinian resistance intended to carry out operations inside Israeli towns. The siege was also in light of the deteriorating security situation in northern Israel.
(KUNA) -- One person was killed and six others were injured when an Israeli warplane launched at least one missile at a gathering of Palestinians in Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza. Palestinian sources said the injured were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital and that two of them are in serious conditions. A Palestinian was killed and another was injured Thursday morning after being shot by Israeli forces, which are still penetrating in Al-Maghazi refugee camp.
(KUNA) -- The 
(KUNA) -- Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said that Israel will not hesitate to launch a full ground attack to eliminate Hezbollah. He told reporters that the operations will not end until Hezbollah operating centers in northern Israel are demolished. Peretz's statements coincided with the heavy fighting between Hezbollah operatives and Israeli soldiers in southern Lebabanon.
A HARDLINE Muslim cleric barred from Britain for glorifying violence said today he tried to get on board a British warship to flee Beirut but was turned back. "The answer was, 'unless you have a British passport you are not entitled to come on board'," 
(KUNA) -- Israeli air force carried out 18 raids over central and western, southern Lebanon, according to a security source. The source told KUNA, over 70 villages in Tyre have been hit by the air raids. Israeli tanks have also been firing at most of the border towns especially Kfar Kila and Al-Edaisa. Since this morning Tyre had witnessed 12 air raids targeting residences and infrastructure. As many as 102 bodies of people who have died during the past few days are being held at Tyre's Al-Hakawi Hospital.
BRUSSELS The Israeli military is using chemical weapons during its bombing of Lebanon, a Belgian-Lebanese professor claimed during a press conference in Brussels on Thursday. The press conference was organised by the secretary of the Tripoli archbishop, Monsignor Jean Abboud. The Belgian professor of Lebanese origin, Bachir Cham, is the head of a hospital in Lebanon.
A new Osama bin Laden message from al Qaeda's as-Sahab Institute for Media Production is to be released soon, according to IntelCenter, which monitors extremist websites. Sites have begun to advertise a new message. 
