RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi King Fahd has ordered the release of all 31 Islamic militants who surrendered to security authorities under a June amnesty, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. The amnesty, which spared the lives of those who turned themselves in, was open to anyone who was wanted but had not been arrested for carrying out terrorist acts. "The concerned authorities were assured that the deviants have already rectified their ideology and attitudes toward their nation and society," said the ministry's statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
"Do you promise not to do it again?" "Yes." OK, you're free to go."
Relatives of victims or the individuals who suffered at the hands of the terrorists had a right to demand punishment, but the statement said "nobody has claimed anything against them."
They'd rather stay breathing.
During the month of the pardon, four wanted men surrendered in Saudi Arabia, including Khaled bin Ouda bin Mohammed al-Harby, a confidant of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.
Guess he worked out that deal with the Saudi government.
None of them was considered a hardcore militant. Twenty-seven others who had left the country turned themselves in and were repatriated. Scores of Saudis and foreigners have been killed or wounded in waves of attacks that began in May 2003.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 10:58:29 AM ||
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Looks like a whole lotta "repenting" goin' on in the Magic Kingdom.
After a short period of relative calm, fear has returned to the Magic Kingdom. ... On October 27, the Canadian Embassy e-mailed the following to its citizens abiding in Saudi Arabia:
The Embassy has received various reports indicating that car bombings or other terrorist activity could occur sometime between today, October 27 and the end of Ramadan in Riyadh, Jeddah or in other cities in Saudi Arabia. ...
"Last night when I was out, police were everywhere. There was even a police roadblock in front of our compound. Special Forces. When I left the compound, all the soldiers had their helmets and bullet-proof vests on, and they were carrying machineguns." ...
The headline in yesterday's Arab News:
Al-Qaeda Terrorist Arrested, Large Cache of Arms Seized
The cache included a large quantity of explosives, 33 bombs, hand grenades, machineguns, launchers, communication devices and different currencies. The weapons find fed the rumor mill of other terrorists being arrested, other weapons being found.
One terrorist died and another was seriously injured in an apparently accidental explosion as they prepared for an attack in Dagestan, Novosti reported Friday. Authorities said the pair were in a car when it exploded, killing the passenger instantly. The driver attempted to escape, but received multiple head wounds and burns and was detained.
Was that in the explosion, or while he was being "detained"?
The suspects have been identified as brothers who were followers of Wahhabism, an extreme form of Islam. Investigators searching the explosion's debris found parts of a Makarov pistol, 15 cartridges, a grenade, aluminum powder and two pairs of rubber gloves.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 2:18:21 PM ||
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Police and security officials found a big arms depot in Ingushetia, Russia's internal republic close to Chechnya. Spokesman of the North Caucasus Counterterrorist Center, Ilya Shabalkin, quoted by Russian Information Agency Novosti said the depot belonged to the gunmen led by Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. There were over 53,000 shells, 240 grenade launcher rounds, machine guns, assault rifles, 100 kilos of explosives and 30 panels for self-made explosive devices, in the depot. Shabalkin quoted by the agency said Basayev planned to arm several detachments and wage war in Ingushetia.
Nice haul, officers.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:44:59 PM ||
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Basayev on left
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/12/2004 20:26 Comments ||
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The Dutch parliament asked the government Friday to draft legislation compelling mosques to employ only imams who have studied Islamic religion in the Netherlands. The proposal, supported by the government and the opposition, came after a debate in which Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's government was accused of underestimating Islamic terrorism and failing to protect a filmmaker killed by a suspected Muslim radical on Nov. 2. Theo van Gogh's killing has triggered a cycle of retaliatory attacks on Islamic buildings and Christian churches that shocked this traditionally peaceful and tolerant nation. In a sometimes testy debate over the slaying, lawmakers pushed the government to shut down hate-mongering Web sites and broadcasters and to improve monitoring of foreign imams who come to preach at any of the Netherlands' 500 or so mosques.
Balkenende promised "a hard-line approach to those who want to wreck" Dutch society. His government promised more money to combat terrorism and a stricter monitoring of foreign funding of Dutch mosques. It also proposed giving police greater powers to conduct searches, detain terrorist suspects and access their bank accounts. A vote on the proposal for Dutch-educated imams was delayed. Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner said it may be discriminatory unless applied to all religions. If passed, it would take effect in 2008.
Yeah, that'll help alot.
The government narrowly escaped a confidence motion based on its anti-terrorism record that has generated much criticism, even from government supporters. Jozias van Aartsen, leader of Balkenende's Liberal allies, said the government had been "lax" and gave "fuzzy explanations" why the man charged with Van Gogh's murder was not tracked more closely even though he consorted with hard-core Islamists on a government watch list. "Not all Muslims are terrorists," he said, "but there are a large number of terrorists in this world that feel attached to an identity as Muslim. They want to destroy us."
#3
Very true, but at least folk's are starting to think about these things, however it plays out.
Posted by: Michael ||
11/12/2004 15:25 Comments ||
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#4
The Dutch parliament asked the government Friday to draft legislation compelling mosques to employ only imams who have studied Islamic religion in the Netherlands.
I don't see how an exclusively Dutch education makes an imam any less susceptible to extremism when it is not possible to totally isolate him from toxic outside influences. And it's for damn sure a piece of paper with legalese on it won't do the trick.
#6
If these guys are going to pussyfoot around, nothing will happen, even in 2008 (LOL!) The immigrants who do not support Dutch law and preach sedition need to be deported. They are calling the Dutch govt's bluff. If this situation is not dealt with right now by the govt, then vigilantism will take care of it, and it will be even uglier. Show time for the Netherlands and showtime (whether they believe it or not) for Europe.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/12/2004 16:01 Comments ||
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#7
The Dutch parliament asked the government Friday to draft legislation compelling mosques to employ only imams who have studied Islamic religion in the Netherlands.
I'da gone one step further, only imams accredited by the Dutch Refromed Church would be allowed.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 23:00 Comments ||
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#11
They still don't get it do they? Short of expurgating those hate and jihad ideology inherent within that Creed, it'll be just another useless merry-go-round beating around the bush.
#12
Fred, having read (just some hours ago) about someone using a "flitgun" to exterminate flying insects (in Olivia Manning's "Balkan Trilogy" and "Levantine Trilogy"), I am astounded to read of such a thing here.
The largescale anti-terror operation in The Hague, Amsterdam and Amersfoort on Wednesday thwarted a planned attack in the Netherlands at the last moment, Interior Minister Johan Remkes told MPs on Thursday night. The seven arrested suspects are allegedly linked to Mohammed B., the 26-year-old Dutch-Moroccan man accused of killing Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam last week, newspaper De Telegraaf reported. The suspected Islamic extremists are belong to the so-called "Hofstadgroep", a network centered around the 18-year-old Samir A., who was arrested in July and is accused of planning attacks against targets such as Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Dutch Parliament in The Hague and the Borssele nuclear power plant. The 19-year-old Jason W. one of the two suspects arrested as Special Forces officers fired tear gas into a house in the Laak district of The Hague after a 14-hour stand-off on Wednesday was allegedly prepared to die in a suicide attack.
If he was so willing to die, how come he gave up?
A farewell letter written to his mother indicates that he was prepared to die as a martyr for Jihad. The teenager who is the son of a US man and a Dutch woman is believed to have converted to radical Islam five years ago.
Another convert, another would-be martyr. That seems to be a trend.
The Spanish Interior Ministry said Thursday the name of one of the two men arrested in The Hague, Dutch-Moroccan Ismail A., appears on a document found on Casablanca bombing suspect Abdeladim Akoudad when he was arrested in Barcelona in October 2003. Akoudad was also allegedly in contact with Mohammed B., who is also suspected to have had "direct contact" with a leading figure who was active in a Spanish terror cell. That man, Mohammed Achraf, was recently arrested in Zurich, Switzerland. Spanish investigator Baltasar Garzón denied this week there is evidence that a group of alleged violent extremists recently arrested in Spain are connected to Mohammed B., the alleged killer of Van Gogh. But a Spanish Interior Ministry source has reportedly said that Garzon knows better and his statement was only designed to protect existing investigations.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 1:47:21 PM ||
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"If he was so willing to die, how come he gave up?"
He needed to die in a real suicide attack that included innocent civilians. I think it's part of the contract to get the virgins.
As details of the investigation into the murder of controversial filmmaker Theo van Gogh emerge, everything seems to point to the fact that the alleged killer was part of a Dutch network of suspected Islamic terrorists with international connections.
I thought the Dutch media sez he was a lone nutter with a drug problem?
As details of the investigation into the slaying emerge it became clear that instead of being a lone actor, Mohammed Bouyeri seems to have been a key figure in a suspected terror network, dubbed De Hofstad group by intelligence services.
Per the excellent Zacht Ei blog, de Hofstad refers to Den Haag, or The Hague. (De Telegraaf reports separately that three members of the Hofstad Group travelled to the European soccer championships in Portugal. The Dutch intelligence agency AIVD tipped off the Portuguese, who arrested them).
The Dutch investigation revealed that Bouyeri, who has dual Moroccan and Dutch nationality, had links to another suspected extremist, Samir Azzouz. Azzouz, 18, was arrested in June 2004 and provisionally charged with planning terror attacks in the Netherlands together with four other suspects also in custody. Azzouz in turn had contacts with a Moroccan, Abdeladim Akoudad, held in Spain over last year's Cassablanca bombings which killed 45 people including 12 suicide bombers. Akoudad is believed to be a member of the radical Islamic group Salafia Jihadia and is currently in prison suspected of helping prepare terrorist attacks and fund-raising for terrorist groups. Swiss and Spanish media also reported links between the Dutch group and Mohammed Achraf, an Algerian recently detained in Switzerland pending extradition to Spain. Madrid believes Achraf headed an Islamic cell accused of plotting to blow up symbolic buildings in the Spanish capital. The Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported that, based on classified Spanish intelligence service wiretap reports, Achraf and Bouyeri had "direct contact" in September. In the Netherlands a storm of criticism erupted in the last few days as it became clear that intelligence services were monitoring Bouyeri as part of the entourage of the Hofstad group and Azzouz but considered him only a minor figure. "The information about B (Bouyeri) that the intelligence services received did not alter the image they had of him that he was not a key figure in the network. Up until the attack on Van Gogh the intelligence services had no information that indicated that B was preparing a violent action," the Dutch interior and justice ministry said in a joint letter to parliament late on Wednesday.
A differing point of view: On Tuesday, top Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon said he saw no discernible link between radical Islamic cells in Spain and the gunning down of controversial director van Gogh. "This is not a line of enquiry that we are following," Garzon said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:50:52 PM ||
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Dutch prosecutors said on Friday they suspected the two men arrested in a dramatic raid in The Hague were plotting murder and a newspaper reported that one of them wrote he was ready for a martyrs' death. The two men, Dutch nationals aged 19 and 22, were arrested after a 14-hour standoff with police in which the suspects threw a grenade, wounding four officers. Dutch media reported that the 19-year-old was Jason W., the son of a Dutch woman and a US soldier, who converted to Islam five years ago. De Telegraaf daily said he had left a note suggesting he was ready to die for "jihad" or holy war. Dutch Interior Minister Johan Remkes told parliament in a debate on Thursday evening that Wednesday's raid in The Hague, along with others in Amsterdam and Amersfoort in which another five people were arrested, had foiled a new attack.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 1:04:30 PM ||
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They allow terrorist training camps to operate on their soil? Dutch authorities have raided a suspected training camp of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrilla group in the southern Netherlands and arrested 29 people, prosecutors said on Friday. "This was a result of a year-long investigation," a prosecution spokesman said, adding that 29 people had been arrested in the raid at a farmyard campsite near the southern village of Liempde. "We suspect this was a training camp." Other raids were taking place elsewhere in connection with the investigation, Dutch news agency ANP reported. The spokesman said there was no connection between the raid and others in the country in recent days linked with investigations into suspected Islamic militants following the murder last week of outspoken Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.
Earlier this week, a Dutch court blocked the extradition to Turkey of Nuriye Kesbir, who Ankara accuses of being part of the top leadership of the PKK and of organizing and taking part in attacks in southeast Turkey in 1993-95. Kesbir was arrested after arriving in the Netherlands in September 2001. She was denied political asylum and has been fighting extradition proceedings ever since. Turkey accuses Kesbir of training female PKK fighters and of planning and making armed attacks that resulted in 144 deaths. She has denied the charges but confirmed holding a leadership position in the PKK.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 1:13:47 PM ||
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Wait, what's the deal? As already mentioned, there are terror camps just hanging around the Netherlands?
And only after Van Gogh they bother to think "Gee, maybe this is a bad idea?"
Dutch police raided a camping ground in Liempde, in the south of the Netherlands, and arrested 29 people suspected of being members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is labeled a terrorist group in the European Union. National law enforcement officials led the raid, said Wim de Bruin, a spokesman for the police. The camp may have been a paramilitary training center for the Turkish group, he said. The action isn't linked to the Nov. 10 siege of a house in The Hague, when special forces arrested two suspected terrorists after they injured three police officers with a hand grenade, De Bruin said. It also has no connection to the Nov. 2 murder of Theo van Gogh, in whose killing a suspect with dual Moroccan and Dutch citizenship has been held, he said.
Kurdish rebels have fought against Turkey a two-decade war of independence at the cost of more than 30,000 lives, most of them Kurdish. The rebellion has largely subsided since the 1999 imprisonment of rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. The rebels in June ended a unilateral five-year truce with the Turkish army.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/12/2004 5:58:51 AM ||
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This only the top of the iceberg....All kind of groups are active in The Netherlands.....they mainly finance their operations under the umbrella of the Dutch liberal drug policies and don't have to worry about the law......our prisons are among the best all- inclusive hotels of the Netherlands.....
#4
Low hanging fruit, perhaps, Cornîliës? I suppose the natives should be grateful at least some of the bad guys are being taken out of circulation, if not all the culprits in the van Gogh tragedy. Dutchgeek, in my perennial Pollyanna view, although the prisons are posh, I suspect Dutch prison doors effective locks, unlike French ones, ja of niet?
Dutch police have arrested a member of the anti-immigration party set up by murdered populist Pim Fortuyn on suspicion of sending a threatening letter to his own party purporting to be from an Islamist group. The arrest came amid heightened religious and racial tension in the Netherlands following the murder last week of a filmmaker critical of Islam. Police have charged a Dutch-Moroccan man with the killing and with threatening a prominent politician. Several other politicians have also received death threats since the murder, which has sparked a spiral of revenge attacks on mosques, churches and religious schools across the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 11:22:21 PM ||
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Fourteen people have been injured in one of two bomb blasts to strike Thailand's restive Muslim-majority south, police said, while a Buddhist teacher was shot dead in another attack. With the violence that has killed more than 540 people this year showing no sign of abating, a remote control bomb exploded at dinnertime in a crowded restaurant in the capital of Narathiwat province, a police spokesman said. "Initially we have 14 people injured from the blast," he said, adding that four victims were in a critical condition. The policeman said the bomb exploded at 6:20pm (local time) in the Ungmor restaurant five minutes after a witness saw two men posing as clients plant it in the restaurant before riding away on a motorbike.
The Motorbikes Of Doom strike again!
Some 40 minutes later a second device went off in a general store at Tak Bai district, where 87 Muslims were killed during and after a riot last month. The blast caused no injuries. The bomb attacks followed the slaying earlier in the day of a Buddhist martial arts teacher. Police said the 45-year-old teacher from a Yala sports school was gunned down while returning to his home from a funeral.
Uh oh, they gunned down the master, I've seen that movie. Some where, students are swearing Dire Revenge.
The shooting came amid media reports on Friday that an independent commission investigating the deaths of the 87 Muslims protesters had accused some security force members of firing directly into the crowd. Commission member Isma-ae Ali told the Bangkok Post that gunshot wounds on seven of those killed in rioting at Tak Bai suggested not all security force members had fired in the air as the government had claimed. However, the inquiry team is focusing primarily on 78 protesters who were rounded up by security forces, piled into trucks and who died largely through suffocation after the riot. The team's head, former parliamentary ombudsman Pichet Sunthornpipit, reportedly said the team had also been appalled to learn that as many as 23 protesters had suffocated in a single truck. The commission's investigation is not expected to be completed until next month. With attacks continuing almost daily, defence volunteers in three southern villages had started returning guns to authorities saying they feared being targeted by Islamic militants, the Nation newspaper reported on Friday. Some 4,000 shotguns have been handed out to village officials by the Government in a bid to fend of a wave of hit-and-run attacks aimed mostly at security forces, state officials, Buddhist civilians and monks.
So you prefer being a unarmed target? Each to his own, I guess.
Muslims make up only four per cent of the Thai population but are in a majority in four southern provinces. A separatist insurgency in the south has continued sporadically for decades and sparked into life again in January with a raid on an army depot by militants who killed four soldiers and looted hundreds of weapons.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 1:31:14 PM ||
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And the Ramadan amnesty continues, it seems ...
Malaysia has freed four suspected Islamic militants who allegedly underwent military training in Afghanistan and procured donations to buy weapons and explosives, security officials said on Friday. Authorities had arrested the men in 2001 and 2002 during a crackdown on members of regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah and its affiliate, Kumpulan Militan Malaysia, or KMM. The four suspects were released Wednesday from the Kamunting prison camp in northern Perak state where they had been imprisoned for more than two years, a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press. " The government feels these four have repented and can be released from Kamunting," the official said. " There are however some conditions restricting their movements in the districts where they live," the official said.
Three of the suspects are alleged members of the KMM while the fourth, Abdul Razak Bakarudin, was believed to be a key official in the Malaysian cell of Jemaah Islamiyah, the official said. Abdul Razak was among 24 suspected Islamic militants who pleaded with the government on Monday to free them during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. The security official declined to say whether the release of the four suspects was to coincide with Ramadan. All four allegedly underwent military training in Afghanistan before authorities uncovered the KMM and Jemaah Islamiyah threat in Malaysia, the official said. Security officials have said that Abdul Razak led a non-governmental organization, which collected donations from unsuspecting Malaysians and channeled the funds to Jemaah Islamiyah. Security officials have said that Jemaah Islamiyah received almost one million ringgit (US$263,000; euro 204,000) from Abdul Razak's organization, which was used to buy weapons and explosives.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:55:33 PM ||
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A PHOTOJOURNALIST affiliated with the online news website Mindanews was shot dead early evening Friday, a statement posted on the site said. "Photo editor Gene Boyd R. Lumawag, 26, was shot dead at the intersection of Serrantes and Marina streets in downtown Jolo, Sulu. He was on his way to shoot the sunset from the pier of Jolo when felled by a lone bullet from a caliber .45 handgun," site editor Carolyn O. Arguillas said in the statement.
Saw this article, he took one round in the temple, professional hit.
Arguillas said Lumawag was found dead by police and Marines. "No one in the crime scene could tell me how it happened," she said. Army investigators later told her that Lumawag may have been gunned down by members of an "urban terrorist group" allegedly of the Abu Sayyaf.
"That's our story and we're sticking to it."
"Gene Boyd was looking forward to his first coverage of Eid'l Fitr, the celebration marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan," Arguillas added in the statement.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:48:14 PM ||
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Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani has reportedly slipped back to Basilan province following intense military operations against him and his followers in Sultan Kudarat province in central Mindanao, the military said on Friday. Southern Command chief Lieutenant General Alberto Braganza however said the information was still being double-checked. Braganza said aside from Basilan, Janjalani was also reportedly sighted in Sulu, another area where the Abu Sayyaf operates.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:49:00 PM ||
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November 12, 2004: Fighting between government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces has resulted in several deaths (depending on who you believe, either seven MILF personnel or three paramilitary personnel) and has forced anywhere from 1,000-3,000 people to flee their homes. Both sides are blaming each other for this breakdown in the 15-month-old cease-fire. MILF claims that the fighting was the result of a family feud, but the Philippine Army is considering filing a formal complaint over the incident. A joint monitoring team is en route to ensure another gun battle does not break out. This isn't the only problem MILF has in trying to keep the peace process on track. MILF is also fending off claims that some young Moro fighters are receiving training in suicide bombing from the Indonesian group Jemaah Islamiya (JI), at Mt. Kararao in Central Mindanao. JI is tied to al-Qaeda, and should links between MILF and JI be proven, MILF will be in serious trouble.
Gloria wants a peace deal so badly, the MILF could walk around wearing "I'm JI and proud of it" t-shirts and she'd refuse to believe it.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 10:14:09 AM ||
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#1
I'm shocked!
Hooda thunk it?
/sarcasm
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/12/2004 11:36 Comments ||
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The ire that has swept through the Muslim world since Buddhist Thailand's crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in its underdeveloped southern region last month is understandable given the circumstances: 78 Muslims in Tak Bai district suffocated to death when 1,300 protesters were stuffed into police trucks for more than six hours. In neighboring Malaysia, condemnation has been more vocal than elsewhere. The atavisticParti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) called the incident "a Holocaust of the modern era", while former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad compared the region's unrest to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urged Thailand to grant autonomy to Thai Muslims. A popular state-controlled daily said the Thai government now "surpasses Israel's record of aggression" against Muslims. In some ways such censure comes with the territory. Malaysia's Muslims, like Thailand's, are of Malay ethnicity. And Malaysia is Thailand's closest majority-Muslim neighbor. But it also suggests that Malaysia has a long way to go to fulfill its self-proclaimed tag line as an exemplary progressive Islamic nation.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
11/12/2004 8:08:26 AM ||
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Article: Mild-mannered Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi stressed the security forcesâ brash actions at a news conference after the Tak Bai incident. "We hope he [Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra] will be able to manage the situation without allowing the violence to spread. It is important he manages it."
Actually, many of the effective monsters in history have been mild-mannered in public. Uncle Joe Stalin and China's Moose Dung used their soothing voices to send millions of their fellow countrymen to their deaths. Moderate Muslims are not spittle-flecked ranters - they couch their message of conquest in mellifluous tones.
Has Islam been hijacked, or is this the natural predisposition of Muslims? If we take GWB's position that Islam has been hijacked, then the problem is that the hijackers comprise the vast majority of Muslims, and the hijacking is composed of changes in Islam that have taken over the allegiance of the vast majority of Muslims. In saying that Islam has been hijacked, GWB was proferring an olive branch, giving Muslims the chance to reject the path of confrontation with the US via their terrorist proxies. If Muslims slap this olive branch away, they may yet regret it, just as the Muslim kingdoms of Central Asia regretted killing the Mongol envoys.
US commanders say they are negotiating the surrender of as many as 300 people holed up in a mosque in the Iraqi rebel stronghold of Falluja. It is unclear whether those inside are insurgents or civilians.
#4
As a former infantryman, I say let the negotiaters do their job for a while. There very well could be civies in there and if we can get them out and the bad guys to surrender it will be good. They have neat little robots now to take a peek at what is going on. However, if they are all males or mostly fighters, call in the JDAM and turn 'em into potted meat.
Patience is the key. They ain't goin' anywhere and I am sure the military has turned the water off already so time is on our side.
#5
I actually think turning this into a lenthy negotiation is a mistake. If we end up having to take them out, much of the media will portray it as unnecessary, and that portrayal will have more resonance if there is a protracted negotiation. Get it done quick I sez.
#6
The Beeb has a reporter embedded with the Marines, and, through clenched teeth he actually expresses some admiration for the Marines:
"And when they see what they believe to be militants - and these marines are incredibly calm under fire, they are almost unflinching - they do wait until they see a guy with a gun but when they see that, they open up with everything they have got and the question is, how much collateral damage is there going to be?"
Posted by: Matt ||
11/12/2004 16:25 Comments ||
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#7
If there are civies...they may be human shields as well.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/12/2004 16:27 Comments ||
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#8
flush 300 islamocockroaches via 72-Virgin Airlines to meet allan in Hell.
#13
UPDATE: Beeb is now saying that up to 300 have surrenderred. Nice, quick, outcome. We should be achieving an intelligence bonanza along with our military victory. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4008255.stm
#14
Matt - if you're referring to the Beeb reporter I think you are, he's been filing some damn good stuff. Hard to believe he's actually a Beeb employee. Reporting the situation without any spin. He won't last long. In fact, he's right up in the thick of it for days. Bosses are probably hoping there's a round with his name on it out there.
#15
Bulldog, I think you are being too charitable, at least based on the article Matt refers too. The whole gist of the report is to fret about possible, but unobserved, civilian casualties.
#17
Matt's referring to this article. It's heavily civilian-casualties spun. I've seen at least three of Paul Woods' televised reports, and his comments re. civilians have been measured and minimal. Most of the time he's simply been reporting on the fighting, and how the battle's going. And he's been right in the midst of it. I wouldn't be surprised if the staff at BBC online have had a large influence on what went into that online report attributed to him. Or maybe he's calmed down and had tme to think, and remember his BBC training. ;)
#18
Mmmmmhmmmm. You got enny more uh that potted meat mmmmmmmhmmmmm /slingblade
If we got 300 terrs to surrender then that is a huge victory from many perspectives: 1. Intelligence 2. Reduction of enemy force 3. PR - positive for us 4. PR - bad for the jihadis 5. Distrust amongst the balance of the jihadi force - they will be all torn up to learn that 300 people together in one place decided to surrender. I guess they weren't so faithful.
The myth of the great Arab fighter is going to go up in smoke as these guys come out with their hands up.
Him being an eyewitness in this case means that little can be done to spin anything. And if he does try to massage the reporting to give it a tone more in line with typical BBC fare, well, it's his word against the word of every single member of the unit he was embedded with.
#23
You folks do realize that we're talking about 21,600 virgins here? And, given events of the past few days there may ALREADY be a virgin shortage wherever it is these mutts wind up.
Still, they need help movin' on...and I say we oblige 'em! MOAB time!
#26
"You folks do realize that we're talking about 21,600 virgins here? And, given events of the past few days there may ALREADY be a virgin shortage wherever it is these mutts wind up "
Like it Justrand, Like it !!
#27
Take two JADMS and build a new mosque in the morning. Thanks for playing our game: YOU CAN'T WIN! "See what happens when low-life Jihadis try to take refuge in a mosque and take pot shots at Marines."
#28
About those 17 virgins. Is there anything which says they are not the same 17 virgins for everyone? (Meaning that there are 17 virgins shared among all the thousands of muslims who have died for Allen....)
#29
HOLY SHIT, we caught Hannibal Lecter!! (see BigEd's photo) I knew Zarqawi wasn't the brains behind that outfit. And that beheading stuff, NOW I get it. The only thing missing is a hand-cart for that marine roll him down the street.
#30
Beeb reporter's remark: when they see what they believe to be militants
Ah, the "militants" rear their little heads again. No neck-sawing fascists or terrorists or foreign provacateurs in these parts. No sir.
The Beeb press corps are not shy about mixing opinions in with their reportage. Why doesn't this beebster tell us what he sees? Or can he see no evil?
#31
Well, despite all the spin from the BEEB and ships at sea, this just goes to show the professionalism and thoroughness of the Marines. The only advice I have to give is to not send these clowns to Gitmo. H-1 or someplace in the middle of the western desert would be fine.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/12/2004 21:11 Comments ||
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#33
Only the 300 surrenders is good - if that hadn't happened, I would have been for simply dropping the JDAM to get it over with before the media could have spun the negotiations at all.
See "Kill Faster" by Ralph Peters - get the job irrevocably done before the MSM can get inside your OODA loop and screw it up, by getting inside theirs and getting the kills first.
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
11/12/2004 23:07 Comments ||
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#34
If you blow them up into lil bitty bits,then there is no way to tell if they were jihads or sympathizers.Where's my bottle of Chianti.
U.S. forces went on the offensive against concentrations of militants in southern Fallujah who tried to break out of a security cordon, as guerrillas launched attacks in another one of Iraq's major cities in what could be a bid to relieve pressure on their allies. By Friday, U.S. army and marine units had pushed deeper into the southern reaches of Fallujah, backed by FA-18s and AC-130 gunships, as they sought to corner insurgents. With insurgent fire cover from nearby buildings, some three to four dozen militants tried to break out of the security cordon to the south and east of the city late Thursday but were pushed back by U.S. troops, the military said. U.S. forces are also positioned to the west near key bridges, blocking rebels from crossing the Euphrates River with patrol boats.
As night fell Thursday, U.S. soldiers and marines attacked south of the main east-west highway that bisects Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim insurgent stronghold 65 kilometres west of Baghdad. An Iraqi journalist in the city reported seeing burned U.S. vehicles and bodies in the street, with more buried under the wreckage. He said two men trying to move a corpse were shot by a sniper. Two of the three small clinics in the city have been bombed and in one case, medical staff and patients were killed, he said. A U.S. tank was positioned beside the third clinic and residents were afraid to go there, he said. "People are afraid of even looking out the window because of snipers," he said, asking he not be named for his own safety. "The Americans are shooting anything that moves."
Many, if not most, of Fallujah's 200,000 to 300,000 residents fled the city before the assault. It is impossible to determine how many civilians who were not actively fighting the Americans or assisting the insurgents may have been killed. Most of the insurgents still fighting in Fallujah are believed to have fallen back to southern districts ahead of the advancing U.S. and Iraqi forces, although fierce clashes were reported in the west of the city around the public market. U.S. officers said the majority of the insurgent mortar and machine-gun fire Thursday was directed at U.S. military units forming a cordon around the city to prevent guerrillas from slipping away. Officers said that suggested the insurgents were trying to break out of Fallujah rather than defend it.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:38:41 PM ||
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#1
"An Iraqi journalist"
This is that BBC mook from yesterday. The quotes are identical. BBC used his name.
#2
Yea, Fadil is another Mohammed al-Sahaf. For being someone stuck in his apartment, he sure gets around all over Falluja. Who was it that wrote about about the fantasy ideology of the Arabs? It you lie about wish it, it's just as good as true.
Posted by: ed ||
11/12/2004 13:53 Comments ||
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#3
Yep, I read this stuff yesterday. I loved the part about the burning vehicle with the guys stuck underneath. If there was a sniper anywhere near such a scene his building and he would be toast.
A U.S. Army helicopter was shot down Friday north of Baghdad, and its three crew members were wounded, the U.S military said. The UH-60 Black Hawk was hit by anti-aircraft fire in Taji, 12 miles north of the capital, the military said. Three of the four crew members were injured in the attack, but are expected to recover, the U.S. military said. The crew was rescued and the helicopter was recovered.
This was the third time a U.S. helicopter was shot down this week. On Thursday, two U.S. Marine helicopters were downed by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in separate incidents near Fallujah. The crews of the two-man Super Cobra helicopters were forced to make hard landings, the military said. One of the four pilots was slightly injured and other helicopters rescued the crew members from the area, the military said.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:58:10 PM ||
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#4
Iraqi NG troops hold their ground...incompetent police chiefs get canned....good signs.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
11/12/2004 13:52 Comments ||
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#5
rules of engagement
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2004 13:53 Comments ||
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#6
basically, restrictions on all-out carnage
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2004 13:53 Comments ||
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#7
As I understand it ROE lets us abort the jihadis.
Or something like that.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
11/12/2004 15:13 Comments ||
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#8
what the MSM seems to be missing, and some others as well
1. AFAIK, the Iraqi Police are not trained to stand up to a large scale insurgent assault. Theyre police (and not the best) not soldiers. One hopes that over time as we revett and retrain the IP, they'll be able to reduce crime, and do stuff like look for weapons, IEDs, etc. But even when theyre up to standard I dont think theyre expected to fight conventional battles. And of course theyre not all up to snuff YET.
2. ING is better. I dont think its ONLY Kurdish units being called in, and if it is, they will still have to watch ROE.
3. A rising now in Mosul looks like a desperate move for the insurgency. While it would be a big blow IF they could take control of Mosul, that seems to be most unlikely, and they will lose many of the fighters they managed to smuggle out of Fallujah for a couple of days of headlines. When they could have gone to ground and kept on a steady low level campaign of IED's etc. Either A. They are running low on resources, and realize it or B. Theyre running out of time with the elections coming up and realize it, or C. Theyre not very smart - maybe they lost to many strategist types in Fallujah?
Gunmen battled U.S. and Iraqi troops around five major bridges across the Tigris River in the northern provincial capital of Mosul on Thursday, capping a week of mounting violence that has some local officials worried Iraq's third largest city is becoming another Fallujah. "The same terrorists who are in Fallujah are coming to Mosul," said Kosrat Rasool Ali, a prominent leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which controls the eastern half of the pro-U.S. autonomous Kurdish region. "They are reorganizing themselves; they are coordinating with the other groups. "
Mosul, at one time a postwar model for U.S. occupation, has seen innumerable roadside blasts, car bombs, assassination attempts against local officials and drive-by shootings at U.S. troops and Iraqi forces in recent months. But violence escalated dramatically after the U.S. ground assault on Fallujah began Sunday night. Two U.S. soldiers were killed Tuesday in a mortar attack on a nearby base. On Wednesday, Mosul authorities imposed an indefinite curfew, closed bridges and public buildings after gunmen attacked a police station and killed three officers. An Iraqi national guardsman died, an unnamed foreigner working for a private security company was killed in an assault on a U.S. military convoy, and a Turkish truck driver was killed and his rig burned outside town.
On Thursday, masked gunmen roamed the streets, setting police cars on fire, ransacking five police stations and looting the buildings of weapons, ammunition and body armor, witnesses said. Saadi Ahmed, a senior member of the pro-U.S. Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, said some Mosul police officers turned their stations over to the attackers. "The internal security forces ... are a failure and are ineffective because some of them are cooperating with the terrorists," Ahmed said.
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:25:52 PM ||
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'course, a lot depends on your definition of "victory"...
An audiotape purportedly made by al-Qaeda-linked terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi encouraged his fighters in Fallujah and said victory was near. The tape surfaced Friday on an Internet site known as a clearinghouse for militant Muslim comment. "As for you heroes of Islam in Fallujah, praise for your Jihad, praise for your nation, praise for your religion. (Have) one hour's patience, and then you will see the results," the speaker said after identifying himself as al-Zarqawi. "Rejoice my nation. There is no doubt that God's victory is on the horizon," the speaker said, adding a challenge to "the Americans to show the truth of what goes on on the battleground."
The voice sounded like that on earlier tapes attributed to al-Zarqawi. The statement was peppered with verses from the Quran and poetry, typical of recordings linked to al-Zarqawi. The statement appeared as American and Iraqi soldiers pushed deeper into the southern reaches of Fallujah, cornering militants being backed into smaller pockets of the city, on the fourth day of an offensive launched in part to clear out militants linked to the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi. The link to the five-minute tape was posted by an individual who signed himself Abu Maysarah al-Iraqi, known as the media coordinator of al-Zarqawi's group, al-Qaeda of Jihad in Iraq. In an unusual written introduction, al-Iraqi said the recording was "short and hasty" because of the "grave" circumstances. A longer statement would follow in which al-Qaeda strategy would be outlined, al-Iraqi said.
Also Friday, another well-known Iraqi militant group, Ansar al-Sunnah Army, claimed in a statement on its Web site to have joined forces with al-Zarqawi's group and the Islamic Army in Iraq, which claimed responsibility for kidnapping two French journalists who remain missing. Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed to have carried out a "joint operation" with the two groups in Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:14:22 PM ||
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#1
he can't see the Fallujah horizon from the hole he's hiding in , in Tehran
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2004 13:30 Comments ||
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#2
By now, Allah must be scraping the bottom of the barrel for virgins. Maybe 72 Cro-Magnon or Austropithicus virgins or something.
#3
I just received this email form a friend at Camp Pendleton. I will take the name and unit off to protect the privacy of the sender.
Subject: News from the war
Hi Everyone, I am here in Fallujah and well. I have been forward for the last 36 hours or so and am back now in our camp for a bit before heading back out to the forward command post.
We are doing well...only 6 KIA and 68 WIA so far from our regiment. 7th Marines on our flank has taken some pretty good losses but we are killing the enemy in droves. They are hiding in houses that are heavily fortified and we just destroy the house with a tank shot or a bomb or missile. There is no negotiating or surrender for those guys. If we see the position and positively ID them as bad guys, we strike. When they run, we call it maneuver and we strike them too. Why? Yesterday the muj attacked an ambulance carrying our wounded. The attackers were hunted down and killed without quarter. These guys want to be martyrs.....we're helping.
Don't hear a lot of this on the news huh? Fox News is doing a pretty good job over here so stick with them for coverage.
This is the only way this place can ever be safe.
And in the midst of all this we're helping to restore power and protect and feed and evacuate the ordinary citizens of Fallujah.....although most left the city as soon as the muj moved in.
And today is the Marine Corps's 229th birthday. It is only fitting that we are engaged in combat and serving our country today . The beer, cake and steaks will flow once we're all done. As the Regiment's S-4, it's one of my ! > responsibilities to see that they get just that. But for now it's chow and water and fuel and ammo.....lots of ammo.
My thoughts are with all of you and thanks for keeping us in your prayers.....I'm sure God is around here somewhere, above all of this...keeping an eye on things and protecting the just and the angels.....that's what our KIAs are referred to as.....but we all hope he turns a blind eye on the muj and their false beliefs as we find them and kill them.
And I'm just here doing my job.
Chris
Major [deleted] 1st Marine Division Camp Fallujah, Iraq
Posted by: Michael ||
11/12/2004 13:47 Comments ||
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#8
Thanks Michael. I will forward your posting to one of my best friends whose son in somewhere in the Arabian/Persian Gulf. I am not a religious person but I have to say today: God Bless people like you and all the brave soldiers fighting this war so that her son and my only son can look forward to a future without fear of being killed just because of what they are; Americans!!!
The daytime optical camera on the Pioneer Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAV, yields rich colors, and so the quick red flashes from the mosque courtyard instantly caught the Marines' attention. The operation to seize back Fallujah was going well on the afternoon of Nov. 8. Seven battalions were advancing from the north, and the Pioneer was circling a four-square kilometer district to the south, called Queens. Long the lair of criminal gangs, terrorists, kidnappers, and jihadists, Queens was a jumble of a few thousand drab cement two-story houses and dirt roads, with scant vegetation........
#3
Yes, the resistance is crmbling. The MSM resistance, that is. Here's one bet you'll see the MSM start to shift coverage of Iraq from glass 9/10ths empty to glass half-full.
As Osama saith, "When the people see a strong horse and a weak horse, they will support the strong horse." Because for your average MSM hack it's not about journalistic integrity; it's all about professional advancement and market share.
EFL. Words from the "mastermind"... An audiotape purportedly made by al-Qaida-linked terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi encouraged his fighters in Fallujah and said victory was near. Go get 'em, guys! Wish I could be there with you!
The tape surfaced Friday on an Internet site known as a clearinghouse for militant Muslim comment. Its authenticity could not be confirmed. "As for you heroes of Islam in Fallujah, praise for your Jihad, praise for your nation, praise for your religion. (Have) one hour's patience, and then you will see the results," the speaker said after identifying himself as al-Zarqawi. Yeah, in one hour, you'll probably be dead. But I'll be he won't.
"Rejoice my nation. There is no doubt that God's victory is on the horizon," the speaker said, adding a challenge to "the Americans to show the truth of what goes on on the battleground." You mean the kicking your ass part? This guy reads too much Jihad Unspun.
The speaker also said Kurds and Shiites serving with the Iraqi forces have "sold their religion" and claimed the U.S.-Iraqi offensive in Fallujah had been blessed by "the infidel's imam," Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Al-Sistani, the leading Shiite cleric in Iraq, has issued no public statement on the Fallujah fighting. His silence is resented by radical Sunnis, who expected him to condemn the assault on the city. Looks like the infidel's imam likes to pick winners.
The statement appeared as American and Iraqi soldiers pushed deeper into the southern reaches of Fallujah, cornering militants being backed into smaller pockets of the city, on the fourth day of an offensive launched in part to clear out militants linked to the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi. In an unusual written introduction, al-Iraqi said the recording was "short and hasty" because of the "grave" circumstances. A longer statement would follow in which al-Qaida strategy would be outlined, al-Iraqi said. I'll be praying for you, boys. Don't let me down. Don't forget to write...
#1
"Live! From a safer haven than you're in, it's Abbbbbbbbbu Zarqawi!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2004 12:34 Comments ||
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#2
Zarqawi sez: "Keep fighting you brave jihadi. We have the infidel on the RUN. I stand with you in body and spirit; I stand shoulder to shoulder with the brave defenders of the true faith." (BTW, my mailing address as changed of late. Contact me at P.O. Box 123, Tehran, Iran).
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
11/12/2004 12:41 Comments ||
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#3
Sistani's silence speaks volumes. Well done, Allawi! And kudos to our diplomatic efforts. If Sistani's on our side, the end for Z-man and the other fascists is nigh. How many days until elections? Only 60 or so, right?
Iraqi security forces, backed by U.S. troops, have arrested a hardline Sunni cleric and about two dozen others after a raid of his Baghdad mosque uncovered weapons caches along with photographs of recent attacks on American troops, the U.S. military and the Iraqi National Guard said.
Sheik Mahdi al-Sumaidaei, the head of the Supreme Association for Guidance and Daawa, a conservative Sunni organization, was detained Thursday, along with 25 others, the U.S. military said. The raid took place at the Um al-Tuboul mosque, a major landmark in western Baghdad, said Iraqi National Guard Col. Mohammed Abdullah said, who said the cleric and 27 others had been detained The U.S. command said American troops "provided the outer cordon" while the 90-minute raid was carried out by Iraqi troops. Two U.S. soldiers were wounded by snipers during the raid, the military statement said. Abdullah said they also found TNT explosives, lists with names of Iraqi officers employed in the U.S.-trained Iraqi National Guard, as well as photographs of recent attacks on U.S. soldiers and foreign convoys on the airport road.
Posted by: ed ||
11/12/2004 11:28 ||
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#1
The Iraqi government should arrest all they can of this organization, and hold them incommunicado until after the elections.
#3
The Dutch were there when we needed them. They contributed a significant amount of their forces. They know that if push comes to shove, we'll return the favor.
Pakistani forces attacked hideouts of al Qaeda-linked militants near the Afghan border today but did not catch one of the area's most wanted men, a military commander said. Troops seized several deserted hideouts, including bunkers and caves, in the rugged South Waziristan tribal region, said regional commander Lieutenant-General Safdar Hussain. ''The operation was successful beyond my expectations,'' he told reporters in the northwestern city of Peshawar. ''The militants are in total disarray. They are on the run and we are chasing them,'' he said. ''But they are still there and this operation cannot be the last operation.''
Authorities have been trying to find Abdullah Mehsud, a Pakistani militant whose men kidnapped two Chinese engineers last month. The fighting has been in the Spinkai Raghzai region, a stronghold of Mehsud, in South Waziristan, 400 km southwest of the capital, Islamabad. Six rebels and two soldiers were killed in fighting in the area this week, security officials said.
Hussain said his forces had searched Mehsud's native village, Nano, but had not found him. Hussain said his men would not give up the hunt. ''This is a clear message for Abdullah Mehsud that the government is resolved to root out terrorism from the region. He has only seen a tip of the iceberg of military power.''
"We keep getting phone calls from China reminding us about their military power."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
11/12/2004 12:09:56 PM ||
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Five days of fighting in and around Fallujah have left 25 American and Iraqi troops dead, as well as over 600 anti-government gunmen. There appears to be some coordination among the anti-government forces. There have been attempts by the anti-government fighters to break the cordon around Fallujah, so that hundreds of trapped gunmen can escape. So far, this has not worked. In Mosul, and elsewhere in central Iraq, gangs of anti-government gunmen attacked police stations and began openly prowling the streets. Coming out into the open like this, makes it easier to kill off the hostile gunmen.
The anti-government forces are partially run on illusions. For example, the halting of an American offensive in Fallujah last April is portrayed by anti-government forces as a military victory. This ignores the fact that the fighting was stopped in order to allow for a negotiated return of government control to Fallujah. The anti-government forces never intended to honor any pledges that came out of the negotiations, and portrayed their deception as a victory as well. This shows the cultural differences between the thugs who have run Iraq, and are trying to regain control, and reality.
Flushed out of their bases, the anti-government forces are much more easily killed, and a lot more quickly. This has an adverse impact on recruiting for the anti-government gangs. Battles like this are a reality check for the young men who have become mesmerized by the pro-Sunni propaganda, which portrays the gangs as valiant freedom fighters who are taking back control of Iraq for the Iraqis. That message is getting harder to sustain, as more and more evidence of Sunni Arab Iraqi atrocities come to light. Pro-Sunni media like al Jazeera find it difficult to shift their editorial slant, but are being forced to by public opinion, and the rather different portrayal of events by Iraqi media. The Sunni Arab gunmen in Iraq have been attacking and killing Iraqi journalists who do not tow the party line, and al Jazeera people are uncomfortable with that as well. Seeing the Sunni Arab gunmen quickly rolled over by American and Iraqi troops is also a hard story for al Jazeera to cover.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 10:22:58 AM ||
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#1
"There have been attempts by the anti-government fighters to break the cordon around Fallujah, so that hundreds of trapped gunmen can escape."
AIEEEEE!!!! OH ALLAN! I DON'T WANNA DIE!!!! I DO NOT WANT TO DIE!!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!
#2
Flushed out of their bases, the anti-government forces are much more easily killed, and a lot more quickly. This has an adverse impact on recruiting for the anti-government gangs.
C'mon, guys! Allah will protect you! No, really, he will! Trust us! Really, he will!
#4
Seeing the Sunni Arab gunmen quickly rolled over by American and Iraqi troops is also a hard story for al Jazeera to cover
Ya, hard to recruit people to be a small speed bump. Arabs (like most other people in the world) like a winner. Most Osama Tshirts stopped being bought after the fall of Tora Bora, 'cause Osama was seen as a looser. Same problem here. As long as the asshats kept killing people, they were popular with the other asshats. As soon as they start loosing, you will quickly see a huge drop in the amount of people coming across the border because a) they want to be with the winners, not losers and b) they really don't want to die that badly.
#5
Don't run away Jihadi. Don't show your cowardice. Stand and face the infidel.
Come to heavan Jihadi! The Virgins await you. Unable to satisfy your women folk on earth, the Virgins in heavan happily await your arrival. Fortunately for you, they ARE Virgins and have low expectations of your ability to satisfy them. Come to heavan Jihadi.
Posted by: Mark Z. ||
11/12/2004 12:14 Comments ||
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#6
"Seeing the Sunni Arab gunmen quickly rolled over by American and Iraqi troops is also a hard story for al Jazeera to cover." Yeah, truth is harder than fiction.
Posted by: Tom ||
11/12/2004 12:21 Comments ||
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November 12, 2004: American marines fighting Iraq have come up with a simple way to quickly clear a stretch of road of remotely controlled bombs. Marine armored vehicles (AAVs) can be equipped with the Mk 154 Mine Clearance System, which uses rockets to propel a cable (stuffed with explosives) down a road. The explosives are detonated, and all mines, and road side bombs, are detonated or disabled over an area of 14 by 100 meters. The Mk 154 was originally designed to quickly clear mines during combat. But it turns out to work against booby traps and roadside bombs as well. The army has a similar system. Both are developed from the World War II era "bangalore torpedo."
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 10:19:52 AM ||
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#6
Sounds like the New, Improved MiCLiC(tm)(pat. pend.). Nothing new here. OTOH, if some numbskull "reporter" hasn't seen one in action before, I guess they would be impressed. They do realy make a loud boom.
Posted by: N Guard ||
11/12/2004 13:29 Comments ||
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U.S. forces fighting in Fallujah found the bodies of 20 foreign fighters Friday in the southern part of the city who had been killed execution-style. The men were described as foot soldiers with Monotheism and Jihad, a guerrilla group headed by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that now calls itself al-Qaida in Iraq, the Washington Post reported Friday. Residents say Zarqawi's lieutenants ordered foreign fighters to man bunkers in two neighborhoods as other neighborhoods were to be defended by allied Muslim groups, the First Army of Mohammad and Ansar al-Sunna Army. But residents said the U.S-led offensive opened strains between the local insurgents and the foreigners. When a senior Zarqawi commander was found dead of a bullet to the head during the battle, many interpreted his death as the result of an insurgent execution. Besides the commander's death, the bodies of 20 foreign fighters also were found shot to death execution-style, military officials said.
Ah, excellent, the rats are turning on each other.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 10:03:41 AM ||
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#1
Two reactions:
1. Question for Michael Moore: were the guys who got offed the "true patriots and Minutemen," or their executioners? Which group should we root for?
2. Something for the Fallujah "insurgents" to consider: what if some of your "fighters" are really infiltrators from the U.S. Special Forces, the CIA, the Mossad, or their equivalents in Allawi's army? Mahmoud over there in the foxhole next to yours could be a double agent. If he acts suspiciously, maybe you should shoot him first, before he shoots you.
Posted by: Mike ||
11/12/2004 10:34 Comments ||
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#2
20 less assholes for our lads to deal with. Thank you whoever wasted these f*ckers. Saved the U.S. taxpayer money in ammo.
#3
Why, they're just like our Founding Fathers. Everybody know the story of how Gen. Washington popped a cap in the azz of any troop who didn't give him his propers.
#4
hehe , uplifting and budget saving news all in one ..
Just a shame their fucktard 'leader' Abu Musab al-Zarqawi isnt anywhere to be seen . no doubt left the area at the first hint of trouble . Anyway he's too busy rounding up defenceless civ's to worry about a proper gunfight .
#6
It's at least possible that these executions are the work of Iraqi troops or police, who are in no mood to show any mercy after the repeated slaughter of captured security personnel by Zarqawi's thugs.
#7
Here's the link to the WP story: In the industrial area on Fallujah's south side, residents said Thursday that the bodies of 20 foreign fighters had been found outside a truck repair shop, many killed by a single shot to the head. Insurgents native to Fallujah said the foreigners were executed for deserting their positions when the U.S.-led assault on the city began Monday night.
That's very Stalin of them.
But residents said strains between the local insurgents and the foreigners quickly turned into a deep schism under the intense pressure of the U.S.-led offensive. When a senior Zarqawi commander was found dead of a bullet to the head during the battle, debate ensued over whether he was killed from a distance by a U.S. sniper or at close range by an Iraqi insurgent, residents said. Residents said everyone in the city, including the insurgents, was stunned by the firepower the Americans brought to the battle. Guerrillas counted 40 armored vehicles approaching their positions as night fell Monday.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 11:26 Comments ||
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#8
Residents said everyone in the city, including the insurgents, was stunned by the firepower the Americans brought to the battle. Guerrillas counted 40 armored vehicles approaching their positions as night fell Monday.
Betcha laundries were busy washing all the soiled clothing. I can well imagine being on the unfriendly end of a Marine rifle company. Not pleasant.
#11
The reality of our offensive has to be a cold slap in the face for a lot of these guys. They live in a fantasy world in which fault always lies elsewhere and Allah will magically save them from harm.
Well when you torture people, cut off heads, blow them up and force your Wahabism down their throats you are a fool not to expect some sort of retribution. But I guess they just don't understand that. Give em hell Marines! Give em hell soldiers! Give em hell Airmen!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/12/2004 14:28 Comments ||
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#13
"Splitters!!!!"
"Now Brian, I just want you to know that there isn't one of us here who wouldn't die for the cause."
"I wouldn't!"
"Oh, right, there is one..."
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
11/12/2004 18:23 Comments ||
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#14
When a senior Zarqawi commander was found dead of a bullet to the head during the battle, many interpreted his death as the result of an insurgent execution.
"Insurgent" execution?
Err--Seems common sense to me. Most folks don't want self-appointed foreign nitwits telling them what's important...
But no sign of the French hostages.
US marines have found alive a Syrian driver in the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah who was taken hostage with two French journalists almost three months ago, a military spokeswoman said on Friday. "Marines located the driver of the two French reporters," the spokeswoman said, referring to Mohammed al-Jundi. But she was unable to say when he was found and had no information on the fate of French reporters Christian Chesnot of Radio France Internationale and Georges Malbrunot of Le Figaro newspaper. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Sunday that his government knew that the hostages were "still alive a few days ago," after a botched attempt in September to rescue them.
Posted by: ed ||
11/12/2004 09:34 ||
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#1
as far as im concerned , if they do find the french reporters , the best thing they can do is .. lock the door again with them inside and leave a sign outside saying 'nothing to see here ' and let the french diplomats find em , but hey Im British and aint too keen on the frogs ...
This could turn into total madness with the masked, armed, terrorist thugs pushing their way through this ever growing mob in Ramallah, sending Yasser off for ever. Stay glued to FOX.
Thousands of Palestinian mourners burst into Yasser Arafat's walled compound Friday, raising questions about whether the helicopter carrying his body would be able to land there.
'Copter swarm! LGF standing by...
Arafat was to be buried at the compound before sunset Friday, following a state funeral in Egypt. For several hours, hundreds of Palestinian police had tried to keep the growing crowd back from the walls of the compound, but at one point, mourners managed to break through gates and climb over walls. A top Arafat aide, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, appealed to the crowd to move back from the gates. Despite the chaos, a marching band lined up in one corner of the compound for a drill, ahead of the burial. The crowd broke into the compound as Arafat's helicopter was en route from Egypt to Ramallah.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/12/2004 7:03:57 AM ||
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#1
Just as Yasser would love it---chaos!
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/12/2004 7:07 Comments ||
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#2
The Paleo mobs have also stoned and torched a number of cars in the area. Last week, I predicted that Arafat mourners would swarm some poor bastard's car just from force of habit. I was kidding, but damned if it isn't happening right before our eyes.
#5
Yasser even dead, continues the insanity! I have a real bad feeling about this for Mr. Abbas, in terms of Hamas trying to murder him. plus---> a terrorist march to Jerusalem & Israel being VERY hard pressed to stop all these killers as the whole world is watching.
Islam in action. Real peaceful right?
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
11/12/2004 7:24 Comments ||
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#6
I just saw a coffin swarm. The "security men" were standing on the thing. No great hope that this is going to be a new chance for peace.
#8
Yegads--I'm watching this on Fox now. Gun sex, coffin swarm, chanting mobs. Compare and contrast this with the dignity, ceremony and respect shown during Ronald Reagan's procession, the viewing in the Capitol rotunda, and the funeral.
Yeah, these people are definitely ready for their own country.
Posted by: Dar ||
11/12/2004 8:01 Comments ||
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#9
What a bunch of savages. The paleos can't orchestrate a sane, orderly and respectful funeral, but they're ready for self-rule, boy!
The mosque had been taken, but the fire kept coming. "We've got chunks of territory, but these guys [insurgents] are all over the place," Marine Lt. Brandon Turner said Thursday as he stood amid shattered glass and concrete under the green dome of the Khulafah Rashid mosque, his fellow Marines resting on a plush red carpet. "They just keep coming at us."
There is no real pattern to the fighting in Fallouja — a fierce, chaotic battle that continued to rage Thursday, house to house, street to street. But if there is any accepted truth so far, it is this: The insurgents are not going away easily. And that truth has a corollary: The Marines are doing all they can to draw the guerrillas out and kill them. "The enemy is right where we want him. He's coming to us," said Lt. Col. Gareth Brandl, commander of the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, which has experienced perhaps the toughest fight of all the units penetrating the city. "And we're killing him." Many of the 3,000 to 5,000 insurgents estimated to have been in Fallouja before the invasion are believed to have fled this Sunni Muslim city west of Baghdad. But those who have remained are tenacious, even though Marines say they have killed hundreds of them.
If the Marines have bumped off 600+, as was claimed yesterday, and captured I dunno how many, that's a pretty significant chunk of 3,000, and still a pretty good chunk of 5000 — say, between 12 and 20 percent attrition.
Guerrilla snipers crouch in buildings and amid the rubble. Small squads of insurgents rush Marine positions. Dozens of rocket-propelled grenades, or RPGs, have struck tanks and other military vehicles. A pickup with six men carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers was spotted near one mosque. Several snipers on rooftops halted the advance of a platoon of Marines heading out on foot Wednesday to attack insurgents in a mosque where they had been firing on U.S. troops. "They seem to be communicating with each other," said 1st Sgt. Jose Andrade of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, as he crouched on a main street, taking cover. "It makes it harder to get at them."
#4
they quit broadcasting against the "infidels" from the mosques, huh? Word gets around that we aren't holding back. GOOD!
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/12/2004 10:26 Comments ||
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#5
"These mosques have lost the protections of the Geneva Convention. We are not here to destroy mosques. But the terrorists are using them and we will go after them."
JERUSALEM, Nov. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Israel will allow Palestinian security forces to take charge of security arrangements during Arafat's burial in Ramallah, local newspaper Ha'aretz quotedDefense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying Thursday.
Since Israel still has not issued any official permit for security staff to carry weapons in the West Bank, the decision effectively means that Israel will not act against Palestinians carrying weapons during the burial, said the paper. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will continue to secure the area surrounding Ramallah, added the paper.
According to the report, the Israeli defense establishment launched a series of measures Thursday, as part of a general alert following the death of Palestinian National Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat earlier in the day. The IDF began to implement its "New Leaf" plan, which outlines emergency measures to be taken in the immediate aftermath of Arafat's death. Â In accordance with the first stage of the plan, roadblocks were erected Thursday morning around major Palestinian population centers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The entire West Bank and the Gaza Strip was also placed under closure.
Meanwhile, Israeli police on Thursday closed the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors, as part of the general alert declared in the wake of Arafat's death. The Temple Mount, where tens of thousands of face-making, eye-rolling, seething worshipers are expected to attend the last Ramadan prayers on Friday, is likely to be a particularly volatile flash point. Israel will not allow worshippers to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank for Friday prayers there.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/12/2004 12:29:20 AM ||
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#1
...And it looks like they're doing one helluva job!
Indian soldiers killed six suspected rebels in two separate gunbattles early Thursday in India's insurgency-hit Jammu-Kashmir state, an army spokesman said. Acting on a tip, soldiers raided the remote village of Achipora, where some guerrillas were hiding, spokesman Lt. Col. V.K. Batra said. Three rebels were killed in the ensuing gunfight in Achipora, nearly 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, Batra said. Also on Thursday, government troops killed another three insurgents in the nearby village of Walarhama and recovered two automatic rifles and a huge quantity of bullets, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/12/2004 12:27:28 AM ||
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Israel Police prepared to hit the highest level of alert— essentially signifying a state of war - Thursday night, as preparations for Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's funeral continued in Cairo and Ramallah. Police said that at 6 a.m. Friday the force will go on Operation Alert Level D. Under the new alert level, all members of the Israel Police will be called up for active duty, including cadets and policemen currently on vacation. Police said that their biggest concern is that the tens of thousands of Palestinians who flock to mosques for prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan will begin to riot and may attempt to breach military checkpoints and enter Israel.
I'd say that's not an unreasonable fear.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 10:37:35 PM ||
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Farouk Kaddoumi, a top Palestinian hardliner who rejected past peacemaking with Israel, on Thursday was named head of the mainstream Fatah movement to succeed Yasser Arafat, a Palestinian official said. He told Reuters that Kaddoumi, who had been Fatah's No. 2, was elevated by a vote of its policymaking Central Committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah hours after Arafat died in a French hospital. Kaddoumi rejected interim peace deals signed by Arafat with Israel in 1994 and as a result did not return with him to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, remaining in exile in Tunis and more recently in Damascus. It was not immediately known whether Kaddoumi, who co-founded Fatah with Arafat in 1965, might come back to the Palestinian territories as a result of becoming Fatah chief. Kaddoumi's rise could complicate a brewing post-Arafat power struggle since Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat's moderate successor as head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, of which Fatah is part, supports renewed peace talks with Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 10:27:28 PM ||
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#1
Ah yes, 1965, a great year, when the sky seemed the limit for revolutionaries, guerilla leaders, cadres, cells, front organizations, proxies, subversives, dissidents, counterculture activists, French existentialists, anarchists, pacifists, and other assorted left wing promoters of violence, murder, and chaos.
Posted by: V is for Victory ||
11/12/2004 8:24 Comments ||
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Israeli troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships raided a Gaza Strip town yesterday, killing three Palestinians and wounding at least nine others, witnesses said. The raid came hours after the announcement of Yasser Arafat's death.
So much for the Peace Processor...
In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli cars and burned tires to vent their outrage over Arafat's death, the army said.
That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but sense... Of a sort... I guess.
Israeli troops used bullets and fired tear gas to break up the rally of about 400 people at Beit Umar, a village near Hebron, the army said. Two border patrol officers were slightly wounded and seven Israeli cars were damaged, the army said. Troops went into Sheik Ejilin, a Gaza City neighborhood near the Netzarim settlement, after spotting fighters preparing to fire rockets and plant bombs directed against the Jewish settlement, the army said. Military officials said troops hit 12 Palestinian gunmen during the operation but did not know their conditions. Palestinian hospital officials said three bodies were evacuated from the area and 14 people were hospitalized, including a 42-year-old woman who was in a critical condition with shrapnel from a tank shell in her head.
Bet that hurt. Hope her ululator wasn't damaged...
Two of the dead and six of the wounded were identified as fighters, according to hospital officials.
The rest were puppies, kittens, baby ducks, fluffy bunnies, and the lady with a tank round lodged in her head...
Witnesses reported heavy fighting between the troops and fighters from different organizations, with helicopters sporadically firing machine guns. In Bethlehem, dozens of Palestinians heaved boulders and rocks at Israeli troops and tossed an explosive device at soldiers. The second demonstration occurred in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Rocks also were thrown at Israeli cars on a road linking Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 9:58:26 PM ||
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The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has declared that a delegation of top leaders would participate in the funeral of Palestinian Authority chief Yasser Arafat in Cairo. Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, has said that his Movement was following up preparations for the funeral in the Egyptian capital. Abu Zuhri affirmed that Arafat was a great symbol of the Palestinian people's struggle.
I understand from my confidential sources that they're going to demontrate their latest offensive weapon...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 11:39:16 PM ||
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#1
I think they should make Arafart into a giant piñata. Let the leaders from each faction take turns trying to give it a good whack - just pull those headbands down over their eyes. The inside would be filled with, well, insides. This way they have goodies to take back and share with their favorite killers and everyone has fun.
#4
Speaking of representation, does anyone think that Chirac will make an appearance at Arafat's funeral, even though he didn't bother to show up at Reagan's?
Posted by: The Doctor ||
11/12/2004 8:16 Comments ||
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Palestinian parliament speaker Rawhi Fattuh was sworn in Thursday as acting head of the Palestinian Authority after the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat. Under the terms of the Palestinian basic law, the mini constitution, Fattuh will remain as caretaker head of the Palestinian Authority until fresh elections are held in 60 days.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 10:26:15 PM ||
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Former prime minister Mahmud Abbas was appointed the new overall head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Thursday after the death of its long-time leader Yasser Arafat, official sources said. "Abu Mazen (Abbas) has been appointed head of the PLO," said a source in the Palestinian presidency's office. The widely-expected decision was confirmed at a meeting of the PLO's decision-making executive committee in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 10:31:44 PM ||
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The U.S. military has deployed a lighter version of an air bomb in the current invasion of the Iraqi city of Fallujah. U.S. officials said the new weapons was meant to reduce collateral damage in targeting Sunni insurgency positions in Fallujah. The GBU-38, dropped by F-16 multi-role fighters, is 500 pounds and guided by the Joint Direct Attack Munition system. The first 500-pound JDAMs were deployed in a combat operation on Oct. 29 in Fallujah, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said two bombs destroyed an insurgency stronghold with slight collateral damage. "The 500-pound JDAM is perfect for the urban warfare that's taking place now in Iraq," U.S. Navy Capt. Dave Dunaway, JDAM program manager, said. "Precision, reliability, and accuracy is exactly what the warfighter was asking for, and we are pleased that we could respond quickly."
The JDAM guidance kit converts existing unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions. JDAM has been manufactured by Boeing. Officials said the military rapidly tested, procured and deployed the GBU-38 in an attempt to acquire greater flexibility and accuracy. They said the effort to acquire initial operational capability was achieved eight months ahead of schedule. During the military attack on Fallujah, U.S. Air Force F-16s dropped GBU-38s on suspected insurgency targets. Officials said the 500-pound JDAMs proved effective, but they did not elaborate. The GBU-38 completed initial operational evaluation on Sept. 28 following tests at Naval Air Command test ranges in southern California. The military then evaluated the bomb and deemed it capable for operations on Oct. 8.
#3
ACTUALLY, I kinda like collateral damage, especially in Fallujah being as it is mostly occupied by dead enders from the Baath party and friends, neighbors, nut jobs and jihadists from Saudi, Syria and Iran..........oh I almost forgot Palestinians.
I think we should make the rocks dance in Fallujah and Ramadi.
#5
#2 There appears to be a genuine look of fear in his eyes.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-11-12 10:57:50 AM
Yup , I'd feel inadequate and scared with better armed , better dressed , better shaven , cleaner , more intelligent , more organized , hardboyz loitering over me . He should count his lucky stars he's alive , even though his head looks like a mighty tempting football .
Instead of 72 virgins , all he got was an NFL team , I be he's gutted :P
#7
However, by the time a picture such as this is taken, it's almost impossible to bring the insurgent to "justice"! They need to loosen the ty-wraps on his feet, allow him to 'posture to run', and then shoot him down like a mad rabid dog!
The Kurdish governor of Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk survived assassination when a car bomb exploded Thursday as his convoy passed by, police said. The attack took place at about 8:30 a.m. in the center of the oil rich city of Kirkuk, close to the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), a leading Kurdish party, the police said. Kirkuk Governor Abdel-Rahman Mostafa was not hurt in the attack, while one pedestrian was killed and four others wounded at the Al-Tabaqchali overpass, some 100 meters from the PUK building.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 10:13:59 PM ||
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Five Wazir militants accused by the government of sheltering foreign terrorists in South Waziristan Agency agreed on Thursday to a "peace agreement" with the government to shun terrorism and pledged "allegiance to the state", a government negotiator told Daily Times. Militants loyal to former Taliban commander Nek Muhammad made the deal after their tribes assured guarantees on their behalf. "We have reached an agreement with the wanted men," chief government negotiator Col (r) Inamullah Wazir said, adding, "There is a truce now." The deal was made with militants Maulvi Abdul Aziz, Haji Muhammad Omar, Muhammad Sharif, Muhammad Javed and Maulvi Abbas, said Col (r) Wazir, who spent more than a month negotiating the deal. The tribes that the wanted men belonged to, namely Yargulkhel, Utmankhel and Kakakhel would keep a Rs1 million written surety bond with the government for each militant, he added. "The agreement with the wanted men is in written form," Col (r) Wazir said, refusing to give details of the agreement's terms and conditions. "I hope the terms will be disclosed in a few days," he added.
The agreement was made hours after security forces arrested four militants in the Dilla Kula area, ISPR chief Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan told Daily Times. "One of them is wounded. We also seized weapons and the vehicle they were trying to escape in," he added. A military source said the identity of the four militants was not yet known. "We haven't yet identified their nationality," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 11:17:12 PM ||
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Pakistan's federal Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said on Wednesday that the United States would have launched an operation in Wana, South Waziristan, to eliminate Al-Qaeda militants and Taleban remnants had Pakistan not acted swiftly against the terrorists.
"You can clean the rathole out, or we'll clean it out for you."
"Okay! Okay! Cheeze! We'll do it!"
"And no tribal lashkar drums!"
Speaking to Arab News at an iftar reception, Rashid said Americans had plans to go after the Al-Qaeda suspects in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. "The government never wanted to interfere in the tribal regions given the fiercely independent nature of the people there. But after the Sept. 11 attacks in America and the fall of the Taleban, a large number of Al-Qaeda suspects and Taleban remnants sneaked into our tribal regions and found sanctuary there with the help and support of some tribal elders," he said. "Pakistan came under tremendous pressure but it was mainly because of our national interests that we launched the operation to flush out terrorists. It was not because of outside pressure that we acted against the Al-Qaeda suspects."
"No, no! Certainly not! We got our dignity, y'know!"
He said Pakistan deployed troops on its borders with Afghanistan to pre-empt any infiltration by Taleban remnants from the other side of the border. "Nevertheless, some terrorists managed to sneak into our territory. We offered the militants amnesty if they surrendered, but they did not heed our offer."
"That's why we were providing covering fire for them when they'd stage attacks into Afghanistan. It was a confidence-building measure!"
"We learned after clashes in Angore Adda — the most volatile area in Wana — that seven of the militants killed carried prize money on their heads," the minister said. Subsequent clashes, seizure of CDs and attempts on President Pervez Musharraf's life made it clear that a terror network was operating in Wana and had members across the country who were involved in bomb blasts and other terror activities. Some of the most wanted terrorists were arrested on information gleaned from militants captured in Wana," Rashid said. Responding to a question Rashid said the Wana operation would continue until all terrorists are eliminated. Rashid said: "As Muslims, we believe in jihad. But we should differentiate between jihad and terrorism. It is the moral duty of our religious and political leaders to differentiate between jihad and terrorism."
"I'm not sure what the difference is, but we'll keep looking for it..."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 10:04:22 PM ||
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#1
True or not (and I'm betting it's true) making the claim is good cover for Musharraf & Co. at home.
Military personnel accused in two failed assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf will be tried by a military court soon, an official said on Thursday. Al Qaeda-linked terrorists tried to blow up President Musharraf's motorcade twice within 10 days in December 2003 on a road near Islamabad. The president escaped unhurt, but in the second attack, 17 people were killed. Security agencies have arrested an unknown number of civilians and some low-ranking army and air force officials on suspicion of their links with those who masterminded and executed the attacks. An official, who requested anonymity, said "arrangements are underway for the court martial of some army personnel". He refused to disclose how many people would be tried, what charges they would face and when the trial would take place. No civilians have yet been tried in the attacks, an apparent response to President Musharraf's close support of the US-led war on terrorism. One key suspect, Amjad Hussain Farooqi, was killed on September 26 in a shootout, but authorities have yet to capture Abu Faraj al-Libbi, an alleged Libyan Al Qaeda operative, who officials say masterminded the plot with Farooqi's help.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 11:14:41 PM ||
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Five soldiers and two tribesmen were wounded in clashes between the army and militants in different parts of South Waziristan yesterday as authorities decided to release some 250 tribesmen and Afghan refugees arrested during the past few months in Wana and Shakai areas on suspicion they were involved in militant activities.
Oh, that's comforting, isn't it?
Official sources said orders for the release of 10 prisoners were issued on Wednesday. A Mahsud tribesman and an Ahmadzai Wazir elder were also freed while eight Afghan refugees held in the Dera Ismail Khan prison would be released today. Sources said the government was close to reaching a peace agreement with a group of militants loyal to Nek Muhammad. "We will sign an agreement with tribesmen loyal to Nek Muhammad within two days," said retired Col. Inamullah Wazir, who led the government side in talks. Tribal sources said talks were being held with militant leaders Maulvi Muhammad Abbas, Muhammad Javed, Maulvi Abdul Aziz, Haji Muhammad Umar and Muhammad Sharif at a secret location.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 10:11:07 PM ||
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#1
Catch, release, rinse, repeat.
Posted by: Steve ||
11/12/2004 9:40 Comments ||
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So have they "repented" or do the "Moderate Muslim Clerics" have watchdog duty?
The Qassam Suicide Rocket Mark I had problems with horizontal stabilization. More seriously, from the Hamas point of view, fully 60 percent of them failed to explode on impact.
The Qassam Brigades, military wing of the Hamas Movement, mourned the Mujahid Fathi Issa Al-Tal, who was martyred while attempting to swim his way into a Zionist settlement in the Gaza Strip.
I think this means they've given up on trying to perfect the dread Qassam Suicide Rocket...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 11:47:56 PM ||
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Indeed, we have to give them the Yassin Prize (TM)
for innovative ways of commiting suicide.
The Qassam brigades also proudly announces
the openning of the Yasser school for Islamic Morons(TM). The curriculum will include, among others, anvanced parachuteless jumping off high
buildings, the art of poinless dying (TM),
BombMaking for Pedestrians and "Introduction to
being sent to your death by your Mullah who stays behind and watches you explode(TM)".
Other advanced courses will be selected from the
Hizbulla and Iranian revolutionary curricula.
As selection is very tough, applicants with IQ above 45 need not apply.
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
11/12/2004 4:40 Comments ||
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P.S.
Does Fathi get the 72 Mermaids ??
Posted by: Elder of Zion ||
11/12/2004 7:18 Comments ||
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Do guys like this get the stupid virgins so they'll have something in common?
Kidnappers of three UN workers in Afghanistan said on Thursday they expect the government to release 26 Taliban prisoners in exchange for their hostages before Eid this weekend. The kidnappers from a Taliban splinter faction have threatened to kill Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland, Shqipe Hebibi from Kosovo and Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan unless the prisoners, some of whom may be in US custody, were freed. "Intermediaries assured us that our prisoners will be released and other demands will also be met before Eid," said Mulla Ishaq Manzoor, one of several men claiming to speak for the Jaish-e Muslimeen (Army of Muslims) militants. Manzoor did not detail the other demands. The government has declined to comment on efforts to release the three. The UN spokesman in Kabul, Manoel de Almeida y Silva, called for the release of the hostages before Eid. "Eid is a time of happiness, compassion, forgiveness and friendship among people," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/12/2004 11:20:08 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.
The amnesty, which spared the lives of those who turned themselves in, was open to anyone who was wanted but had not been arrested for carrying out terrorist acts. "The concerned authorities were assured that the deviants have already rectified their ideology and attitudes toward their nation and society," said the ministry's statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. 
One terrorist died and another was seriously injured in an apparently accidental explosion as they prepared for an attack in Dagestan, Novosti reported Friday. Authorities said the pair were in a car when it exploded, killing the passenger instantly. The driver attempted to escape, but received multiple head wounds and burns and was detained. 
The Dutch parliament asked the government Friday to draft legislation compelling mosques to employ only imams who have studied Islamic religion in the Netherlands. The proposal, supported by the government and the opposition, came after a debate in which Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's government was accused of underestimating Islamic terrorism and failing to protect a filmmaker killed by a suspected Muslim radical on Nov. 2. Theo van Gogh's killing has triggered a cycle of retaliatory attacks on Islamic buildings and Christian churches that shocked this traditionally peaceful and tolerant nation. In a sometimes testy debate over the slaying, lawmakers pushed the government to shut down hate-mongering Web sites and broadcasters and to improve monitoring of foreign imams who come to preach at any of the Netherlands' 500 or so mosques. 
The largescale anti-terror operation in The Hague, Amsterdam and Amersfoort on Wednesday thwarted a planned attack in the Netherlands at the last moment, Interior Minister Johan Remkes told MPs on Thursday night. The seven arrested suspects are allegedly linked to 
An audiotape purportedly made by al-Qaida-linked terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi encouraged his fighters in Fallujah and said victory was near.
U.S. forces fighting in Fallujah found the bodies of 20 foreign fighters Friday in the southern part of the city who had been killed execution-style. The men were described as foot soldiers with 
The mosque had been taken, but the fire kept coming. "We've got chunks of territory, but these guys [insurgents] are all over the place," Marine Lt. Brandon Turner said Thursday as he stood amid shattered glass and concrete under the green dome of the Khulafah Rashid mosque, his fellow Marines resting on a plush red carpet. "They just keep coming at us."
JERUSALEM, Nov. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Israel will allow Palestinian security forces to take charge of security arrangements during Arafat's burial in Ramallah, local newspaper Ha'aretz quotedDefense Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying Thursday.
Indian soldiers killed six suspected rebels in two separate gunbattles early Thursday in India's insurgency-hit Jammu-Kashmir state, an army spokesman said. Acting on a tip, soldiers raided the remote village of Achipora, where some guerrillas were hiding, spokesman Lt. Col. V.K. Batra said. Three rebels were killed in the ensuing gunfight in Achipora, nearly 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, Batra said. Also on Thursday, government troops killed another three insurgents in the nearby village of Walarhama and recovered two automatic rifles and a huge quantity of bullets, he said.
Former prime minister 
Military personnel accused in two failed assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf will be tried by a military court soon, an official said on Thursday. Al Qaeda-linked terrorists tried to blow up President Musharraf's motorcade twice within 10 days in December 2003 on a road near Islamabad. The president escaped unhurt, but in the second attack, 17 people were killed. Security agencies have arrested an unknown number of civilians and some low-ranking army and air force officials on suspicion of their links with those who masterminded and executed the attacks. An official, who requested anonymity, said "arrangements are underway for the court martial of some army personnel". He refused to disclose how many people would be tried, what charges they would face and when the trial would take place. No civilians have yet been tried in the attacks, an apparent response to President Musharraf's close support of the US-led war on terrorism. One key suspect, 
