A Spanish judge has filed terror charges against 17 people for their alleged role in a suspected plot to blow up the National Court, a hub for the nation's investigations into Islamic terrorism. Judge Baltasar Garzon filed the charges late Saturday after quizzing 18 suspects between Friday and Saturday. Eight of the suspects were arrested this week in connection with the alleged plot while 10 were already in jail for separate cases.
One of those arrested during the week, Smail Latrech of Algeria, was kept in custody pending further investigations. Sixteen of the suspects, mostly Moroccans and Algerians, were charged with belonging to an armed group. The 17th, a Spaniard identified as Baldomero Lara, was charged with collaboration. No one was allowed bail.
"Achraf had made the necessary preparations to acquire 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of explosives, of which at least 500 kilograms were to be packed into a truck that would be crashed into the National Court," Garzon said in his court order. Achraf is believed to be Algerian and to have had ties to the Armed Islamic Group, which launched a violent campaign in 1992 to topple the Algerian government and set up an Islamic state. Spain has asked for his extradition.
Garzon said Achraf ordered the attack to be carried out urgently and that the cost did not matter. The group, he said, aimed "to end the lives of those inside (judges, officials and the public in general) and destroy archives which concern 'mujahedeen brothers." He said one of the 10 already in jail, a Mauritanian named Kamara Birahima Diadie, was to make contact with a gypsy identified only as Antonio, who was to obtain the explosives. A Palestinian, identified only as Salim, was to prepare the mechanism to explode the bomb, the judge added. Four persons, including Achraf, were to carry out the court attack, the magistrate said.
Garzon, an anti-terrorism specialist, works out of the court, which is located in downtown Madrid. Achraf's name surfaced after police, acting on testimony from a protected witness in contact with Achraf this summer in Spain, arrested the eight purported cell members. Garzon said three of those already in jail for membership in the Armed Islamic Group - Abdelkrim Bensmail, Mohamed Amine Akli y Bachir Belhakem - were also close friends of Allekema Lamari, one of seven militants believed to have been behind the March 11 train bombings in Madrid. The seven blew themselves up weeks later as police moved in to arrest them. Achraf was arrested Aug. 28 for entering Switzerland without identifying documents. He was held in a detention center for illegal immigrants in Zurich and was awaiting deportation when officials learned he was allegedly linked to the Spanish plot. Spanish police are believed to have intercepted calls made by Achraf and found mailed instructions from him. In the court order, Garzon also issued arrest warrants for seven others.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/24/2004 3:23:42 AM ||
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Garzon is a courageous, honourable man. Thank you for leading the WoT in Spain. I wish there were many others like him.
#2
Garzon is doing his sacred duty to protect his country and its institutions, despite the cowardice of its leader Zappy. Garzon is risking everything for this. That is true courage.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/24/2004 11:10 Comments ||
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#3
After reading this article, I'm convinced this was a huge intel haul. Spain dodged a massive bloody bullet this time, and Judge Garzon is the reason. He certainly seems to know which questions to ask; he's got his canaries singing for all they're worth. My respect for him only increases. I just hope he has somebody else to start his car for him every morning.
Continued military operations in south-central Mindanao last week resulted in the killing of at least half a dozen Abu Sayyaf members and their local allies, a ranking Army commander said on Saturday. Col. Alfredo Cayton, chief of the Army's 601st Infantry Brigade, said the combined forces of the Abu Sayyaf and Abu Sofia, both linked with the Jemaah Islamiyah, have been engaging government troops in running gunbattles since Oct. 6 in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat. He said the latest encounter, where the military had to use air assault, was on Oct. 20 in Lake Sebu town in South Cotabato. "There (was) no body count," explained Cayton, "because the casualties [killed and injured] were taken along by their comrades in their withdrawal. But, according to field reports, four to six were seen being dragged and carried as they retreat(ed)." He said the government suffered no casualties.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/24/2004 3:32:00 AM ||
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THE extremist group led by Iraq's most wanted man today claimed it carried out the shocking roadside massacre of almost 50 unarmed cadets.
The new Iraqi soldiers were found dead beside a remote road after being executed by attackers while returning home from their final training course.
Many of the recruits were found with a single bullet wound to their heads in one of the deadliest attacks against the country' fledgling security forces.
"The bodies of 37 new recruits, some with their hands tied, were found, shot dead, on the side of the road, while the corpses of 12 others were found in a minibus a few metres away that had been burnt out," said a spokesman for Iraq's interior ministry, Colonel Adnan Abdul Rahman.
"The recruits, who came from all over the southern provinces of Iraq, were mainly Shiite and were returning home on board three buses when they were ambushed in Diyala province."
The attack, discovered last night (AEST) happened overnight Saturday (AEST) after the recruits completed a training course at a base outside the town of Mandali in eastern Iraq, Mandali's Iraqi national guard commander Ali al-Kaaki said.
He put the toll at 48, and his figure included five civilians who were drivers.
Anger mixed with grief on the faces of the national guardsmen at the base. "This is a massacre, this is terrorism," screamed one, who did not want to be identified.
Today's website statement said "Some children of The Al-Qaeda Group of Jihad in the Country of Two Rivers (Iraq) have succeeded in killing 48 corrupt heads, members of ... the Iraqi guard."
It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the statement.
The Zarqawi group, formerly known as Al-Tawhid wal Jihad (Unity and Holy War), announced its name change on another Islamist website at the weekend, apparently to show its allegiance to the al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.
It was also not possible to verify the origin of that statement.
In the claim for the killings, the website statement said: "The band was coming out of Karkush base, between the towns of Baladruz and Mandali, in the east of the country, and going on holiday in the south."
#2
"Some children of The Al-Qaeda Group of Jihad in the Country of Two Rivers (Iraq) have succeeded in killing 48 corrupt heads, members of ... the Iraqi guard.
Hmm. Partial translation raises suspicions. What is 'children' in arabic? I suppose there's a selection of suitable words to choose from. Doesn't 'al Jazeera' literally mean 'the land between two rivers'? So is 'al Jazeera' now oficially part of Zarqawi's group's name?
UP to 160 Arab fighters had appeared in Iraqi courts charged with carrying out terrorist attacks and could face the death penalty if convicted, the justice minister said today.
Give them a quick trial, followed by an even quicker execution.
"The Arabs have been referred to Iraqi courts and the verdicts against these foreigners are due to be pronounced soon for acts of terror they carried out in Iraq," Malik Dohan al-Hassan said. He said those on trial included Egyptians, Iranians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Syrians, Yemenites and Moroccans. "The crimes committed in Iraq would be judged according to Iraqi law, which reserves the death sentence for those charged with premeditated murder or those who carry out a car bombing to kill the biggest number of people," he said. Capital punishment, which was in force under the ousted regime of president Saddam Hussein, was reinstated by the interim government on August 8 after being abolished by the previous US-led occupation authority. Both the Government and US-led forces accuse foreign fighters, particularly those linked to Jordanian-born militant Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, of carrying out some of the worst car bombings and killings in Iraq.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
10/24/2004 5:55:29 PM ||
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Give them a quick trial, followed by an even quicker execution.
Invite al Arabiya along for the fun. Post a tape to al Jazeera.
Any chance of Zarqawi getting the death sentence in absentia? Let the military or police who catch him administer the punishment however they see fit.
#2
Well well well. Looks like they'll need to open a bag of 12,000 raisins for all these Jihadis.
Every now and then I think whimsically of a Jihadi who has just toasted himself (and probably some innocents at the same time) and is sitting in his own little version of paradise, waiting for his houris, then out comes this old guy with a little dish containing 72 raisins. "I blew myself to bits for that!", "yes", says the old guy, "but as you were an evil swine, these raisins are all you have to eat for eternity, oh, and by the way, they're mouldy and will give you the shits".
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
10/24/2004 18:17 Comments ||
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Since the UN refuses to train the judges for Saddam Hussein's trail, going through a kind of a live fire exercise with real, live terrorists will have to do. D'you suppose the UN will then accept responsibility if those they haven't trained do not perform quite up to standard?
A car exploded Sunday next to an Israeli army jeep in this West Bank city, damaging the vehicle, Palestinian witnesses and the army said. No injuries were reported. The blast shook much of Nablus, the West Bank's largest city, and sent a large plume of smoke into the sky. The car was located near the El Ein refugee camp. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion. The army frequently operates in Nablus, a stronghold of Palestinian militant groups.
This sounds more like a Baghdad-style attack than a Nablus attack...
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 12:28:47 PM ||
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Car exploded next to a jeep and the jeep is just damaged? Some jeep!. Glad there's no (human, ie Israeli) casualties...
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
10/24/2004 18:35 Comments ||
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Pakistani judges have ordered a top scientist accused of leaking nuclear technology to remain in custody another three months. Mohammed Farooq was arrested last December along with 10 other people from Pakistan's top nuclear weapons facility, Khan Research Laboratories. The arrests came after the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program Abdul Qadeer Khan confessed to selling nuclear weapon secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf later pardoned Khan, and the government has denied any involvement in the leaks.
"It wasn't Doc Khan, and it wasn't us. We're still looking for the fallguy culprit."
Pakistani officials have said that Farooq, an aide to Khan, was a key figure in dispersing nuclear technology secrets on the international black market. He is the only Khan Research Laboratories' employee who remains in custody. On Saturday, a panel of judges decided to keep him in custody another three months, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said. His extended detention was needed for further investigation, said a senior army official, speaking on condition of anonymity. He didn't elaborate. Neither Ahmed nor the army official would say what charges Farooq faced.
They're still working on his sentence. After they decide that, they'll work on the charges and build some evidence against him.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 12:26:47 PM ||
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A State Department security officer was killed Sunday during a mortar or rocket attack at a U.S. base near Baghdad International Airport, the U.S. Embassy announced. Ed Seitz, an agent with the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security, was killed about 5 a.m. at Camp Victory, embassy spokesman Bob Callahan said. Camp Victory is the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition's ground forces command. An undetermined number of people were injured in the attack but none with life-threatening injuries, Callahan said. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is on a tour of Asia, said, "The Department of State and I mourn the loss of one of our own today in Baghdad."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 12:25:39 PM ||
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A U.S. Marine warplane bombed suspected militants trying to rebuild a command post in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah on Sunday, and witnesses said six people were killed. The F-18 Hornet struck the post that was gutted in an earlier bombing run, causing "significant" explosions in a northern district of Fallujah, said Lt. Lyle Gilbert, a Marine spokesman. "Every time we see them attempting to rebuild, we'll destroy it. It's simple," Gilbert said.
Witnesses said six people died in the airstrike, and at least one corpse was taken to the Fallujah General Hospital. Gilbert had no information on casualties. American commanders have spoken of a new offensive ahead of Iraq's crucial elections in January. The aim would be to suppress insurgents controlling a number of central Sunni Muslim cities, particularly Fallujah, where peace talks with city leaders have broken down. Fallujah leaders have called on the Iraqi government to pursue a peaceful solution to the military standoff and order a halt to frequent U.S. airstrikes. Fallujah community leaders also issued a list of other demands, including compensation for damaged property and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the city's outskirts. Fallujah leaders want any Iraqi military units deployed into the city to consist exclusively of Fallujah natives. The Iraqi government has reportedly rejected the demands.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 12:24:13 PM ||
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"Every time we see them attempting to rebuild, we'll destroy it. It's simple," Gilbert said.
Trickey bastards those Marines.
Gunmen in Iraq have abducted a 7-year-old Lebanese boy and are demanding $150,000 for his release, Lebanon's official news agency reported Sunday. The boy, identified as Mohammed Hamad, was kidnapped two days ago on his way home from school in the Diyala province east of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the state-run National News Agency said. The boy's father, Abdel-Ghani Hamad, has lived in Iraq for 30 years.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 12:21:08 PM ||
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Suicide bombers killed 20 members of Iraq's fledgling security forces near a US marine base west of Baghdad and at a checkpoint to the north today amid a spate of insurgent attacks across the country. The surge in violence underlined the scale of the task facing the US military and Iraqi interim government, which have sworn to quell rebels ahead of elections due in January. Hospital officials said 16 Iraqi police were killed and up to 40 people wounded by the morning suicide bomb at an Iraqi police post near the marine base west of Baghdad. Another suicide bomber blew up his vehicle near a checkpoint manned by Iraqi National Guards in the village of Ishaqi, near Samarra, north of Baghdad, killing four guards. A guard officer said six guards were also wounded in the attack. Police said a policeman was killed by a roadside bomb in Samarra town.
There was no let up in violence elsewhere across the Sunni Arab heartland of central Iraq. Rebels killed two Turkish truck drivers and wounded two in a convoy attack near the northern city of Mosul, police said. Six US soldiers were wounded when their armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb on a highway leading to Baghdad airport. Insurgents also fired two mortar rounds in central Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding one, witnesses said.
But the US military said it had captured a lieutenant of its top foe in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and five other suspects in an overnight raid on what it said was a hideout of the Jordanian militant's network in southern Fallujah. US forces earlier launched an airstrike on the rebel-held militant stronghold, killing two people and wounding three. US troops did not name the man or give his nationality, but said he had once been viewed as a minor Zarqawi operative. "However, due to a surge in the number of Zarqawi associates who have been captured or killed by (US) strikes and other operations, the member had moved up to take a critical position as a Zarqawi senior leader," the statement said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/24/2004 3:12:22 AM ||
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BBC breaking news
The bodies of 49 Iraqi army soldiers have been found near the town of Baquba, north-east of Baghdad, according to police. The bodies were laid out in four rows with about 12 bodies in each row, Gen Walid Al-Assawi, commander of the Diyala provincial police, has said. "After inspection, we found out that they were shot after being ordered to lie down on the earth," he said. Thirty-seven bodies were found on Saturday, and another 12 on Sunday.
Posted by: Doug ||
10/24/2004 5:17:40 AM ||
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I hope they remember this when the "insurgents" surrender.
Posted by: John J. Simmins ||
10/24/2004 12:54 Comments ||
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Suspected Algerian Islamic militants killed 16 people in the first attack on civilians since the start of the holy month of Ramadan, officials said on Saturday. The victims, mostly young people, were shot dead, burned or had their throats cut at a rebel roadblock on Friday evening near the city of Medea, some 45 miles south of Algiers, a civil defense officer told Reuters. Local residents also said 13 people were reported missing and feared they had been kidnapped by the rebels as they made their way to pay a visit to their farm lands. "I called my friend to find out if he had been caught in the attack. Someone else answered the phone and told me 'come retrieve your dogs'," a local resident, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. A vast military operation was under way to track down the suspected rebels.
The victims were being buried on Saturday. Authorities declined to comment, although official radio confirmed 16 people had been killed. Algerian Islamic rebels have usually intensified their attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began eight days ago, in the belief it brings them closer to God. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA), famous for cutting the throats of civilian victims, still has a few dozen active members, although it is no longer seen as a threat, experts say.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/24/2004 3:18:08 AM ||
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A large explosion shook downtown Baghdad on Sunday night, but its cause could not immediately be determined. The blast occurred after sundown when Iraqi Muslims were taking their iftar meal, which breaks the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
Happy holidays...
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 12:14:49 PM ||
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Obviously loud post-iftar farting mistaken for explosions...
An American woman, believed to be a civilian, and a young Afghan girl died from their wounds after a suicide bomb attack in a busy shopping street in the Afghan capital, hospital staff said on Sunday. A Taliban suicide fighter blew himself up in the attack on Saturday afternoon. The militant group claimed responsibility for the blast and said it planned more attacks. "We had seven patients from the blast. Two deaths; a little girl and the American lady," said Ognjen Predja, logistics officer of the Emergency Hospital.
A U.S. embassy spokeswoman confirmed an American citizen died after the attack, while on Saturday, Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Poulain, spokesman at the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul, described her as a civilian. No other details about the woman were immediately available, though other media said she was in her early twenties and was working for a translation firm. Hospital staff said the dead Afghan girl was aged between 10 and 12. Three Icelandic troops serving with the NATO-led ISAF peacekeeping force were also wounded in the attack while patrolling in their vehicle on Chicken Street, a well-known haunt for foreigners shopping for carpets, jewellery and antiques. Poulain said on Sunday one of the soldiers was in a serious condition. Iceland has 15 troops in Afghanistan.
The attack came as election workers entered the final stages of counting in a historic presidential election that took place on Oct. 9. With an estimated 81 percent of the votes counted, incumbent President Hamid Karzai had polled 54 percent, putting him on course for the simple majority required to avoid a run-off against the second-placed candidate.
That last actually gives me a good feeling. Either Karzai or Qanooni would make a good leader for Afghanistan — I actually suspect Qanooni would make the better one. But Karzai didn't get a one-party state-style majority, and the opposition might get the idea that if they'd only run one person against him there'd have been a real competition. The two-party idea works better than the multi-party idea.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/24/2004 2:58:13 AM ||
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An American woman civilian and a little afghan girl killed: another courageous efforts by the Islamic Heroes⢠- the Lions of the Desertâ¢!
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/24/2004 10:20 Comments ||
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Damn. Shiite/Iranian involvement?
The bodies of about 50 Iraqi soldiers were found on a remote road in eastern Iraq, apparently the victims of an ambush as they were heading home on leave, Iraqi authorities said Sunday. Interior Ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul-Rahman said the victims were believed to have been killed about sundown Saturday on a road about 95 miles east of Baghdad near the Iranian border. There were conflicting reports on the exact number of dead, whether they were members of the Iraqi army or the Iraqi National Guard and whether they were all killed execution-style. Iraqi government spokeswoman Maha Malik quoted witnesses as saying insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades at about two vehicles carrying the unarmed troops.
It's so much easier to slaughter them when they're unarmed...
Gen. Walid al-Azzawi, commander of the Diyala provincial police, said the bodies were laid out in four rows each, with 12 bodies in each row. "After inspection, we found out that they were shot after being ordered to lay down on the earth," he said. Bastards
Al-Azzawi said he believed the soldiers had been training at the Kirkush military camp northeast of Baghdad. An Associated Press reporter on the scene reported seeing the burned frames of two minibuses. Bloodstains were visible on the ground, along with human remains. Witnesses said the attackers stole some buses. Police said they had found 51 bodies from the attack place. A U.S. military source in the region confirmed the incident, but was uncertain of the number of dead.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/24/2004 9:35:28 AM ||
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should've hit PG1 for this?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/24/2004 9:47 Comments ||
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who in their right mind let these people drive around with no arms and no protection?
Posted by: Capt America ||
10/24/2004 12:29 Comments ||
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It is not the first time I am suspicious how easily the terrorists slaughter the Iraqui police. I think some of the high ranks are working for the terrorists.
#7
It is likely that these men were very recent recruits who had not yet qualified with weapons. If so, they should not have been sent out in such a large group without a substantial armed escort. Whoever allowed this to happen should be thoroughly investigated and either imprisoned for gross negligence or shot for complicity with the enemy.
Terrorists are obviously targeting the Iraqi forces during the vulnerable recruitment and training processes. Additional measures should be taken to ensure security at these times.
I think we should emphasize our commitment to the Iraqi forces by treating this as we would a slaughter of 50 American or British soldiers: Regular Coalition troops should carry out a very large scale cordon and sweep of the area, while special forces teams turn the hills upside down to find and liquidate the killers.
#10
execution and slaughter are promoted in the hadiths as an example of the way mo the profit handles these type of situations--eg the massacre of the jewish beni qurayza [800 males and bepubed boys]--why don't you let these people practice their religion--sheesh
Posted by: SON OF TOLUI ||
10/24/2004 20:32 Comments ||
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Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain said on Saturday that criminal elements not Jihadis were fighting against security forces in South Waziristan Agency.
"It's just that they're Arab criminal elements, and Uzbek criminal elements. And, of course, our own home-grown criminal elements..."
Corps Commander Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain and General Officer Commanding Maj-Gen Niaz Khattak, along with a selected group of journalists, visited areas recently occupied by the troops in the wake of operations launched against foreign terrorists in Spinkai Raghzai and Karvan Manzaa areas of Mahsud tribe. After purging the Wazir tribe areas of insurgents, the security forces have entered into decisive battle against foreign terrorists in Mahsud areas of South Waziristan Agency.
I thought they were criminal elements. Make up your mind.
Addressing troops at hill tops at Spinkai Raghzai and Karvan Manzaa, the corps commander praised the high morale of the Jawans and said they were fighting against elements who had fled their native countries and taken refuge here for carrying out subversive activities using the name of Jihad for their ulterior motives. "They are not Jihadis, they are simply criminals and have no concern with religion Islam," he added.
Ahah. So that's it. It all depends on what the definition of "jihadi" is...
The corps commander said things recovered from the hide-outs of the terrorists, like flags of al-Qaeda, literature in foreign language, audiotapes with Arabic marking, typical Uzbek dresses, propaganda material, huge cache of arms and ammunition, after the operations clearly manifest that they were foreigners as the local tribals did not use such equipment. More interestingly, he told the troops that security forces seized fresh cooked rice at 12 noon from a bunker. "Had they been Muslim or Jihadis, they would have been fasting by that time," he added.
No Ramadan for the tough guys, eh?
He said: "Neither we would allow anybody to use our soil for carrying out subversive activities nor we needed permission or certificate from any one for entering these areas. It is our country and we are custodians of the country's borders. It is part of our duty to counter internal threats as well." Safdar declared that fighting against terrorists would continue till their complete elimination from the area. "We are searching different areas in the agency to flush them out." He said local tribesmen were fully cooperating with the security forces but due to fear, they hesitated in apprehending the aliens. The corps commander said political process was also under way and would soon bring about positive results. He said he had made best efforts to convince warlord Abdullah Mahsud to mend his ways and pave the way for speedy development of the backward tribal areas.
If you give him a shot to the head, that'll mend his ways.
However, he paid no heed to our contentions and was adamant on polluting the peaceful atmosphere.
"Well... Relatively peaceful, anyway."
He said the kidnapping of the Chinese engineers was a sorrowful act, adding China is a time tested friend of Pakistan and is extending a helping hand in the construction of dams and road infrastructure in the country in general and the NWFP in particular.
"And they have a very large army. Really large."
Later, the journalists were also shown the arms and ammunition confiscated by the security forces during last two days from the hide-outs of terrorists which included HMG, rocket launchers, rockets, hand grenades, mortar shells, IEDs, foreign literature, dresses, etc.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/24/2004 3:07:14 AM ||
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dresses?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/24/2004 9:20 Comments ||
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What a loser. At 17, he dropped out of high school in the small industrial city of Zarqa in Jordan. One of 10 children of a Bedouin herbal healer, he quickly developed a reputation as a drunk and a rabble-rouser. By one account, he was jailed for sexual assault, and took up the ideology of jihad in prison. After his release, he drifted for a while and then went to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets. But by the time he got there, the war was over. So he got a job in Afghanistan with a small jihadist newspaper, even though he was nearly illiterate, writing in a child's scrawl. Back in his homeland, his first terrorist operation, in 1993, was an utter failure, and he and his confederates were jailed until 1999. He was freed in an amnesty. Then he returned to Afghanistan, but was apparently rejected by Al Qaeda, instead running his own training camp in Herat. "He had no learning," says a former Jordanian intelligence officer. "He was a thug." Yet today, at 37, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi has managed to become the most wanted man in Iraq.
What Zarqawi lacks in pedigree, he has made up for in brutality. He has personally beheaded at least two Americans, and his group, Tawhid and Jihad, has killed dozens of other hostages. Zarqawi's group has assassinated Iraqi officials, blown up hundreds of Iraqi pilgrims and claimed responsibility for the bombing that drove the United Nations out of Iraq. Using mostly foreign fighters, Zarqawi can be blamed for only a small percentage of the many daily attacks on Iraqi and American forces, but his operations have been far more spectacular than most. With an apparently inexhaustible supply of suicide bombers, Zarqawi has become far more effective than even Osama bin Laden. And the price on his head, $25 million, is the same.
U.S. officials believe Zarqawi uses the rebellious city of Fallujah as a principal base, and Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has issued an ultimatum to Fallujah to turn him in or face a full-scale invasion. In April, a halfhearted assault cost the lives of 60 U.S. Marines and up to 600 Fallujans, before the fighting ended in a compromise that left insurgents in control of the city. This time, American forces are threatening to go all the way, and the past two months have seen at least 18 airstrikes against what the U.S. military says are Zarqawi safe houses in the city (residents claim many of the victims have been women and children). It's a measure of how far Zarqawi has risen in the terrorist pantheon that during the same period, American forces didn't launch a single airstrike against Qaeda or Taliban forces in Afghanistan.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
10/24/2004 3:02:17 AM ||
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moral of the story: It's all GW's fault that even such a loser extrodinaire such as this as this can become Iraq's most wanted man.
BBC? NPR? Nope...Newsweak. Do they realize how juvenile their spin is? Do they realize how transparent and silly they sound. They are just like bitchy school girls saying the prom-queen is really just an ugly bitch.
Yawn. This is the 21st Century. These guys are so stuck on reliving their Anti-American heyday. Grow up, geezers.
Six Tunisian doctors arrived in Ramallah Saturday night amid growing concern for the health of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. On Friday night, Arafat's aides summoned the Tunisian representative to Ramallah and requested that the Tunisian government urgently send a medical team to examine Arafat. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom approved the Tunisian government's request to send the medical team to Ramallah. According to the officials, Arafat is in "good health" and was even continuing to observe Ramadan by fasting from dawn to dusk, contrary to his doctor's advice. Hani al-Hassan, a top Fatah leader closely associated with Arafat, dismissed reports that Arafat was seriously ill as "Israeli propaganda."
"Zionist lies, all zionist lies!"
The news about Arafat's failing health coincides with reports about a new crisis between him and PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, who is again threatening to resign. Palestinian sources said Qurei was frustrated with Arafat because of the latter's refusal to relinquish some of his authority. According to the sources, Qurei is planning to quit after the US elections and may be replaced with Foreign Minister Nabil Sha'ath. Qurei is also facing growing opposition in the Palestinian Legislative Council, which is planning a no-confidence vote against his cabinet next week.
Are those shark fins I see circling in the distance?
Posted by: Seafarious ||
10/24/2004 2:37:39 AM ||
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This just in: General Franco still dead, Arafish still not
Would that Arafat could struggle as well to remain dead.
Two Islamic Jihad militants died in an Israeli air raid at Khan Younes in the Gaza Strip overnight, hospital officials said Sunday. The two armed Palestinians were hit by a missile fired by a helicopter gunship or an unmanned aircraft, security officials said. Two other members of the Jihad's armed branch were wounded in the incident, one of them seriously. The two Palestinians, who were killed about 300 meters (yards) from the Israeli settlement of Neve Dkalim, were identified as Zyad Abu Mustafa and Sharif Ensalem, both about 20 years old. The Israeli army confirmed the incident. "One of our aircraft fired at armed men who were about to attack Neve Dkalim," said a spokesman without naming the type of aircraft used.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/24/2004 12:25:42 AM ||
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buh-bye. No raisins for you!
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/24/2004 8:38 Comments ||
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One of our aircraft fired at armed men who were about to attack Neve Dkalim,â said a spokesman without naming the type of aircraft used.
Typical self-hating jew talk. I'll wager it was IDI portable transonic multi-dimensional peacekeeper.
The Taleban claimed responsibility for yesterday's suicide bomb attack in Kabul and promised more to come under Afghanistan's first elected president, who is just days away from being announced. "We claim responsibility for all attacks against foreign troops in Afghanistan, as well as today's attack in Kabul," Taleban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi told AFP by satellite phone from an undisclosed location.
...a bearded man with grenades strapped under his traditional long smock blew himself up in the city's bustling "Chicken Street"...
"We dunnit an' we're glad!"
"There will be more attacks around the country such as (yesterday's) attacks." Three Icelandic peacekeepers, an unidentified foreign woman and three Afghans were wounded when a bearded man with grenades strapped under his traditional long smock blew himself up in the city's bustling "Chicken Street" at 3:30 p.m. Dozens of people were browsing through its bulging antique and carpet shops in autumn afternoon sunshine when the bomber struck. His ruptured body ended up on the sidewalk beneath two woven red carpets hung on display. The attack in downtown Kabul was the boldest of several attacks by the Taleban since the Oct. 9 presidential elections, which they failed to disrupt through violence despite pledging to do so. It also came as the vote count neared to a close, surpassing 81 percent.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 10:35:18 PM ||
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The Punjab government arrested 12 people on Friday for their alleged involvement in anti-state activities, sources told Daily Times on Saturday. The sources said the arrested people were basically high profile sectarian activists who were identified by men already arrested after the bomb blasts in Silakot, Multan and Lahore. The arrested people are Hamza Bin Zubair and Hakeem Ehsanur Rehman of Lahore, Ghulam Ghaus, Zahid Iqbal, Shahid Iqbal, Sajid Naeem and Abdul Rauf of Rahimyar Khan, Mahmood Ali of Multan, Abubakar Mohammed Raza of Bahawalnagar, Mohammed Shiraz of Bahawalpur, Syed Abdullah of Gujranwala and Haji Mohammad Khamosh of Sheikhupura. The Punjab assistant inspector general of police (operations) had asked district police officers to arrest the activists.
The arrest orders stated that they had been detained for six months on their involvement in anti-state activities. However, the sources said they had been detained as a part of an anti-sectarian drive. Another source said these people had been under watch for some time and the arrests had been made after the already arrested activists named them for their alleged involvement in the blasts.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/24/2004 10:58:28 PM ||
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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.
A Spanish judge has filed terror charges against 17 people for their alleged role in a suspected plot to blow up the National Court, a hub for the nation's investigations into Islamic terrorism. Judge 
Continued military operations in south-central Mindanao last week resulted in the killing of at least half a dozen 
Pakistani judges have ordered a top scientist accused of leaking nuclear technology to remain in custody another three months. 
Gunmen in Iraq have abducted a 7-year-old Lebanese boy and are demanding $150,000 for his release, Lebanon's official news agency reported Sunday. The boy, identified as Mohammed Hamad, was kidnapped two days ago on his way home from school in the Diyala province east of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the state-run National News Agency said. The boy's father, Abdel-Ghani Hamad, has lived in Iraq for 30 years.
Six Tunisian doctors arrived in Ramallah Saturday night amid growing concern for the health of Palestinian Authority Chairman 
