Times of India
ISLAMABAD: The Taliban warned on Friday that hundreds of foreign journalists in opposition-controlled Afghanistan risked being viewed as spies by the Islamic militia. Taliban's intelligence chief Qari Ahmedullah told the Afghan Islamic Press that the estimated 300 foreign reporters currently in northern Afghanistan included many who were simply posing as journalists. "We cannot believe all of them are journalists," Ahmedullah said. "We are sure some of them are spies or military personnel from America and Britain."
The Taliban has already arrested one female British journalist - Sunday Express reporter Yvonne Ridley - for crossing illegally into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. A Taliban intelligence source said on Friday that Ridley had been shifted from the eastern city of Jalalabad to Kabul, but gave no indication when she might stand trial or be released. "So far we have not found anything that would identify her as a spy," the source said from Jalalabad. "But even if these charges are not proved she has still broken our law by coming here illegally."
This article starring:
QARI AHMEDULLAH
Taliban
Yvonne Ridley
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Reuters
The Foreign Ministry of Afghanistan's ruling Taleban has issued a statement offering to release eight international aid workers on trial for promoting Christianity if the US ends its campaign to isolate their movement.
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Taliban anti-aircraft guns fired Saturday at a high-flying aircraft as it flew over the capital. The origin and type of the plane were unknown. The intense volley sent thousands of residents into the streets. People stared at the plane -- visible overhead -- as it continued its flight. After a few minutes, the silver-colored, slow-moving plane flew away and the firing stopped. Kabul residents -- numbed to gunfire and explosions after more than 20 years of conflict -- went about their business, shopping and strolling under a cloudless sky. Afghan gunners have fired anti-aircraft bursts in recent days in what Taliban authorities said were drills. However, the intensity of the gunfire Saturday was much heavier, and the plane was clearly visible
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K J M Varma in Islamabad Rediff.com
Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has said that he had no difficulty in finding a safer place outside Afghanistan, as his hideouts ranged from Indonesia to Algeria, Chechnya to Kashmir and Bosnia to Sudan. In an interview to Pakistan's Urdu weekly Takbeer, Laden said there was no problem finding hideouts from where he could carry out his "mission", as he had plenty of safer places in a number of countries other than Afghanistan. "I am not afraid of death because I have to kiss martyrdom one day," Laden, prime suspect in last month's terror strikes in the United States, was quoted as saying.
The weekly had not specified from where and when it obtained the interview. Stating that he considered Pakistan a sacred land and the abode of pure people, Laden said the Pakistanis would protect him without caring for their lives.
"Pakistan is a great hope for the Muslims of the entire world... Pakistanis are ready to fight against the enemies of Islam."
"Pakistan is a great hope for the Muslims of the entire world... Pakistanis are ready to fight against the enemies of Islam." He said had there been such "valiant Muslims in two other Islamic states", there would have been no dominance of the West over the world. The Saudi renegade said fighting for the security of Pakistan was the greatest jihad, as "Pakistan is the fort of Islam irrespective of those in power."
Laden said since he had become the "slave of God", he couldn't accept the hegemony of any powers on the earth for fear of risk to his life. Denying involvement of any of his compatriots in the suicide attacks in the US, Laden said Islam prohibited killing of innocent people. He alleged that the attacks might be the handiwork of India, Israel, Russia or Serbia. Laden also said the freezing of his network Al-Qaeda's assets would make no difference because the organisation had more than three alternative financial systems, which were free and independent. "Hundreds of thousands of well-educated people are running the affairs of these institutions."
He said the main task of Al-Qaeda was to "awaken" the Muslims so that they could wage a jihad against the "infidels". "We are not against any Islamic country. Rather we are against those Muslim rulers who are out to make their countrymen slaves of infidels," he said. "We are in favour of launching an armed struggle against these Muslim rulers. We are not against the US. But we are against its diabolic system and policy. The American system is in the hands of the Jews and their first priority is Israel."
Alleging that the Americans were slaves of the Jews, Laden said, "They are bound to follow the policies that Jews are making for them."
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By ANDY GELLER NY Post
October 6, 2001 -- Taunting the United States from his Afghan lair, a defiant Osama bin Laden released a videotape that shows the terror chief and his smiling military commander attending the graduation of a new group of terrorists. In the video, aired by the Qatar television station al-Jazeera yesterday, a somber and composed bin Laden stands beside his top lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, at an al Qaeda camp surrounded by rugged mountains. A handful of men armed with AK-47s - their faces covered - are near the two leaders. Singing and the beating of drums ring out. Militant gunmen fire into the air. In the background is a stark encampment with three or four squat cement huts and several tents.
Bin Laden, dressed in white-and-beige robes and a colored turban, occasionally glances at the camera. Later, he and a smiling al-Zawahiri, both carrying assault rifles, sit on the ground and listen to a ceremonial speech by a militant. All-terrain vehicles are parked in the background, suggesting the camp is in a remote region. An al-Jazeera reporter said the video was believed to be "a couple of weeks old" - taped after the Sept. 11 kamikaze attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The TV station said the ceremony marked the graduation of a group of newly trained al Qaeda fighters. The station also said it marked the anniversary of the 1998 union of al Qaeda and al-Zawahiri's Egyptian Islamic Jihad group, which is linked to the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat 20 years ago yesterday.
This article starring:
AIMAN AL ZAWAHIRI
al-Qaeda
Anwar Sadat
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Frontier Post Fakhar-ur-Rehman
ISLAMABAD: The Taliban government in Afghanistan have rejected to any imposed formula which may be implemented in the form of a broad based government in Kabul. A senior Taliban official talking on condition of anonymity told The Frontier Post on Friday night that "any government which is foreign sponsored will not succeed and bound to fail". The official said "Zahir Shah is not a popular leader, he has not sacrificed anything for the Afghanistan during war with Soviet Union but remained oblivious to the sufferings of Afghan people for the last more than 20 years. "Any government that will emerge in Afghanistan must have its roots in the people," he stressed.
He said that the "Osama bin Laden issue could be resolved through talks and solution is that he could be tried in any court and any country on the basis of the evidence, we are ready for his court trial". He said it seems the aims are political and the Afghans will fight back if they are attacked. On the other hand a meeting between the Taliban and the British Prime Minister could not materialise on Friday because of no positive response from the latter side. It was learnt that two senior Taliban officials were in Islamabad waiting for this would-be-meeting.
This article starring:
Zahir Shah
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10/06/2001 ||
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Ryan McCarthy Sacramento Bee Correspondent
A demand by the American Civil Liberties Union that Breen Elementary School in Rocklin remove a "God Bless America" sign prompted angry parents, students and administrators to rally at the school Friday evening. About 250 people, many clad in red, white and blue, gathered to support the message, which was placed on a marquee in front of the school after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Linda Kosturos, an instructional aide at Breen, said,
The ACLU contends that the words broadcast "a hurtful, divisive message."
"Rocklin has been closer than ever in the wake of the terrorist attacks. It's so sad this has arisen."
The ACLU contends that the words broadcast "a hurtful, divisive message." The organization's Wednesday letter to Breen Elementary calls the message a "clear violation of the California and United States constitutions, as well as the California Education Code."
FoxNews.com
Explosion Outside Shop in Saudi City Kills Two, Injures Four
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia An explosion outside a watch shop in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar killed two people and injured four others Saturday, Saudi TV reported. It wasn't clear what caused the blast on King Khaled Street, a popular shopping district. All the casualties were non-Saudis, the television said. A senior Gulf official said police sealed off the area. The blast went off outside a shop selling watches, witnesses reached by telephone said. No other details were immediately available.
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MUNIR AHMAD The Associated Press
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- President Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a coup, has extended his term as Pakistan's army chief after obtaining approval from top generals and cabinet members, a government spokesman said Saturday. Gen. Rashid Quereshi said Musharraf will continue to hold the powerful position of army chief indefinitely "in the largest interest of the country."
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The Record: NJ News From news service reports
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- This former Soviet republic gave the United States permission Friday to use its soil for limited military operations, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair reassured Pakistan's military government that it made the right choice in joining the international coalition against terrorism. Uzbek President Islam Karimov granted permission for U.S. warplanes and troops to use an air base to support President Bush's campaign to root out terrorists in neighboring Afghanistan. Shortly after the approval, the Army dispatched 1,000 infantry soldiers skilled at search-and-rescue, humanitarian missions, and helicopter assaults.
This article starring:
Islam Karimov
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NY Daily News By TIMOTHY J. BURGER in Washington and GREG B. SMITH in New York Khalid Almihdhar, one of the hijackers who crashed a jetliner into the Pentagon, was involved in the 1998 U.S. embassies bombings in East Africa and the attack on the destroyer Cole in Yemen last year, sources say. The embassy bombings killed 224 people. Seventeen sailors died when the Cole was attacked by suicide bombers, and 189 died in the rubble of the Pentagon.
Evidence connecting Almihdhar to the three acts of terror first showed up in a British report released Thursday that said at least three of the hijackers were associates of Al Qaeda, the confederacy of terrorist groups run by Bin Laden. The report without naming names said one of the associates played "key roles" in the three attacks. Sources familiar with the investigation of the Sept. 11 terror attacks identified the suspect as Almihdhar.
The British report also said investigators had evidence that one of Bin Laden's top lieutenants was responsible for the "detail planning of the attacks." U.S. News and World Report stated yesterday that intelligence sources identified the bombing mastermind as Mohammed Atef. Atef, formerly a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, helped Bin Laden create Al Qaeda. The two men are so close that their children recently married and Atef is considered to be Bin Laden's successor if something happened to him.
This article starring:
KHALID ALMIHDHAR
al-Qaeda
MOHAMED ATEF
al-Qaeda
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10/06/2001 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
