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Pope John Paul II dies
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Arabia
Reformists' Trial Set to Resume Today
The trial of three detained Saudi reformists will reconvene today behind closed doors, their attorney said. Ali Al-Demaini, Abdullah Al-Hamed and Matruk Al-Faleh, who have been held for over a year, "were informed on Tuesday that the hearing will take place on Saturday morning," said lawyer Khaled Al-Mutairy. He said the hearing would be held in camera as in earlier hearings. The judge had adjourned the hearing for three weeks on March 12 following a request by the prosecutor for extra time to gather more evidence against the defendants. Mutairy said he did not expect a verdict to be reached in today's session which he thought would focus mostly on examining the prosecutor's new evidence. Demaini, Hamed and Faleh were arrested in March last year. They were charged with causing instability, collecting signatures for a petition and exploiting the Kingdom's battle with Al-Qaeda terrorists for political gain.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Nine More Die as Clashes Continue in Yemen's North
Six soldiers and three supporters of a slain anti-US preacher were killed yesterday in clashes that began six days ago in the mountain region of northern Yemen. Security officials said armed followers of Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi, who was killed by government forces last year, attacked a military post in the in the Kahlan area of Saada province, 250 km north of Sanaa, killing six soldiers and injuring 13 others. Three of the attackers were killed in a heavy exchange of fire that lasted more than half an hour, said the officials. They said five other dissidents were arrested. Local sources in Saada said insurgents fired a missile at a military vehicle near a checkpoint, setting it a blaze. It was not clear whether the attack left casualties.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The joy gals look a tad diminished.
Posted by: Dennis Kucinich || 04/02/2005 2:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Al-Houthi's boyz are Shiites but we have them as Al-Qaeda linked a Sunni organization. Is this a contradiction or is this evidence of the Arabic an enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine? Lends credence to an Al-Qaeda, Shiite Iran Axis
Posted by: Rightwing || 04/02/2005 10:44 Comments || Top||


Court commutes Juwaied's death sentence, gives life
The Court of Appeals Wednesday commuted the Criminal Court verdict and sentenced a Kuwaiti sergeant in the National Guard, Mohamed Hamad Fahad Al-Juwaied, to life in prison for spying on Kuwait. The court also acquitted Juwaied of all other charges against him. "This verdict is a great change in the case results because it shows the court is satisfied some of the charges were fabricated," Attorney Mohamed Al-Ali, lawyer for Juwaied, told the Arab Times after the verdict was issued. "The verdict saves the man from being sent to the gallows, said Ali. "It also gives the defence a ray of hope to save him from being imprisoned," the lawyer added.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Opposition accused of supporting rebellion in Yemen
Sanaa: Yemen's official newspaper has launched an attack on opposition Socialist and Islamist groups accusing them of supporting the armed rebellion. The rebellion which broke out on Monday has claimed several lives. An armed forces weekly said the opposition parties are helping members of the Faithful Youth organisation which was headed by Shaikh Hussain Badr Al Deen Al Houthi until he was killed by the army last year, in their uprising.

"The trouble in Sadah revealed the dirty role played by those who are fond of creating fires and causing troubles in the homeland. Badr Al Deen Al Houthi has always been stirring fears, especially after he disclosed his intentions [referring to a previous interview with the elder Al Houthi] and his dark vision and his hostility to republican and democratic system. He has flagrantly violated the laws and constitution," 26 September weekly wrote in a front page editorial on Thursday. "
 those who do not care but to offend the homeland and put it into troubles, chaos and unrest, have found their long-sought goal in this man with his deep fanaticism and racism", the weekly said. "It is surprising to see that they agree on one thing that is not for the cause of good, but for the cause of evil. They will be held accountable before Allah, justice, people and the history," the paper concluded.

Meanwhile, Ali Mohammad Salah, Deputy Chairman of the Military General Staff for Operations Affairs, confirmed on Thursday that government troops were surrounding Al Houthi followers in three areas Al Shafa'a, Al Ruzamat and Al Nushur in Sadah governorate, 250 km north of the capital Sanaa. "The heroes of the armed forces and security are now surrounding the saboteurs and outlaws from all directions with the objective of forcing them to surrender to the security forces. They will be brought to justice," Salah said. He said efforts were being exerted by security forces, local authorities, social figures and tribal elders to contain the situation peacefully. He spoke of many deaths and injuries among the government troops but without mentioning numbers . He also said many of the rebels were arrested in addition to deaths and injuries.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Spain Arrests 13 Suspects in March 11 Probe
Spanish police investigating the March 2004 train bombings in Madrid arrested 13 people Friday suspected of being linked to Islamic militancy, the Interior Ministry said. A Syrian man, 39-year-old Mohamad Bassem, was detained in Madrid Friday as part of the same operation in which a dozen people had been arrested earlier in the day, an Interior Ministry source said. Four of those arrested earlier were believed to be connected to Youssef Belhadj, suspected of being a spokesman for al Qaeda who claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings and who was extradited to Spain from Belgium Friday, the ministry said. The other detainees were believed to be connected to Serhane ben Abdelmajid Farkhet, known as "The Tunisian," a suspected ringleader of the March 11 attacks. "The Tunisian" was among seven suspects who blew themselves up in a suburban Madrid apartment on April 3 rather than face arrest.

In Friday's operation police arrested six Moroccans, four Syrians, an Egyptian, a Palestinian and an Algerian in raids which started before dawn in Madrid and its suburbs. One of the suspects is considered "The Tunisian's" personal assistant, the ministry said. The operation, part of the investigation into the attacks which killed 191 people in March last year, remains open. Friday's swoop brings to about 90 the total number of arrests since the attacks on four commuter trains. Most of them are of North African origin and 45 remain in jail or under court supervision. Belhadj appeared briefly before a Spanish judge in Madrid on Friday after being extradited and was accused of the murder of 191 people and belonging to an armed group, a court source said.
This article starring:
MOHAMAD BASEMal-Qaeda in Europe
SERHANE BEN ABDELMAJID FARKHETal-Qaeda in Europe
THE TUNISIANal-Qaeda in Europe
YUSEF BELHADJal-Qaeda in Europe
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bassem - another Syrian around 40 years of age. Would've been 16 years old in 1982. Mitch Porter, call your office.
Posted by: Fleater Angoper3898 || 04/02/2005 2:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Fleater, please explain. I'm afraid that 1982 was a year full of distractions for me, and I don't remember much of what was happening in the rest of the world. Thanks!
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/02/2005 3:47 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm afraid that 1982 was a year full of distractions for me
Me too, a year of heartbreak and shame, financial catastrophe and 2 car wrecks. However I recall mallards falling from the skies and breaking 100 so I remember the year with fondness.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/02/2005 8:33 Comments || Top||

#4  You sure you're not talking about 1995? I distinctly remember that happening in 1995...
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 10:45 Comments || Top||

#5  No my Duck Diary sez '82.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/02/2005 11:01 Comments || Top||

#6  1982 was a landmark year for the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. In that year, Brothers became enough of a threat to the Assad regime that Papa Doc Assad levelled a good portion of one of his cities, Hama. Many were killed, in the thousands probably. Many of surviving brothers fled to Europe.

It's generally the case that whenever an insurgency poses a threat to a government, particularly a tolerably-organized police state, the insurgents have outside backing. Was it Osama bin Laden? Well, no, in 1982 young Osama was still in Peshawar, playing billiards for the jihad with his CIA case officer.

The Syrian Brothers had Iraqi backing. Assad took Iran's side, more or less, in the Iran-Iraq conflict, even to the point of secretly allowing Iranians to launch some air raids from Syrian territory. In 1982, Assad closed his border with Iraq while putting down the revolt.

In 1998, around the time of the most serious coup attempt by the UK and USA (otherwise known as Operation Desert Fox), Saddam decided to activate his assets in Europe. I don't know whether the Syrian Brothers in exile were still beholden to Saddam. But I do know that Syrians, age 35-45, have turned up all over both the 9/11 and 3/11 plots, in supervisory roles. Immediately after 9/11 the Syrian gov't cheerfully helped us find these guys, so I doubt that they were acting on behalf of Damascus. And remember that short little Iraqi Mukhabarrat memo that Stephen Hayes turned up - it specifically mentions that Osama had good relations with the Syrian section.
Posted by: Fleater Angoper3898 || 04/02/2005 14:50 Comments || Top||

#7  Thanks, Fleater. Very good perspective -- I remember the Hama massacre, but somehow never put a date to it... and certainly didn't realize what had happened to the graduates.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/02/2005 20:11 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Padilla Support Network Included Washington DC Public Schools Building Manager
A widening federal probe into a radical Islamic support network that allegedly assisted "dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla has netted its most surprising catch: the former top building manager for the Washington D.C. public schools.
Kifah Wael Jayyousi, who served as "chief of facilities" for the Washington D.C. school system between 1999 and April 2001, was arrested by U.S. Customs agents at Detroit airport last Sunday while returning to the country from Qatar where he has been working for the past two years.

In a criminal complaint unsealed this week and in a court hearing today, Jayyousi, 43, was described as a key player in a U.S.-based network of extremist Muslims who raised funds and recruited soldiers to wage "violent jihad" in Chechnya, Bosnia and Afghanistan. He is charged with providing material support to terrorists. Jayyousi and two associates were "primary participants in a triangulated North American support cell," said federal prosecutor Russell Killinger in a detention hearing in Detroit today. "They were supporters of every single violent terrorist organization that was active [during the 1990s]. I can't tell you how many thousands of people were killed" by these terror groups.

But the hearing today also revealed potential holes in the government's case. While saying that the government had tapes of thousands of hours of intercepted Jayyousi telephone conversations that were obtained with secret national-security wiretaps in the 1990s, Killinger acknowledged that the Justice Department—for reasons that remain unclear—dropped surveillance of him around 2000. Moreover, a federal magistrate said that much of the government's evidence appeared to be "protected speech" under the Constitution and did not involve allegations that he personally engaged in any violent activity. While ultimately deciding to hold Jayyousi without bond, U.S. magistrate Stephen Whelan said of the evidence presented against Jayyousi: "This is somewhat of a close case for me."

Still, regardless of how it is ultimately resolved, one significant question likely to emerge from the unfolding case is how Jayyousi, who had been under investigation by the U.S. government for years for his suspected links to terrorists, could have managed to land a sensitive $114,534 a year job that placed him in charge of maintenance—including the air conditioning, water and heating systems—of Washington D.C.'s public schools. The Jordanian-born Jayyoussi, a naturalized American citizen with a doctorate in engineering, worked as the assistant superintendent of the Detroit public schools before being hired by the District of Columbia. He was later fired from his D.C. position five months before the September 11 terror attacks for matters that had nothing to do with terrorism. He was accused by the schools superintendent of "shoddy management" and financial irregularities—allegations that he vigorously denied.

Roxanne Evans, a spokeswoman for the Washington school system, said today that the terrorist charges against Jayyousi—and the fact that he had even been under federal investigation while overseeing the city's school buildings—came as a complete surprise to school officials there. "I haven't found anybody who knew anything about this," she said.

One possible explanation for the fact that Washington school officials would have known nothing about the probe was indirectly cited by Killinger, the lead prosecutor in his case. He noted today that the surveillance of Jayoussi was a secret "intelligence" investigation—authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)—and not a criminal case. Prior to 9/11, he noted, there was a "wall" that prevented FISA wiretaps from being shared with criminal investigators. (As a result, FBI agents, who might have been expected to review Jayyousi's status under a standard background check required by the Washington public schools for its top officials, would not have known Jayyousi was under investigation.) The tearing down of the "wall"—and the sharing of intelligence evidence with criminal investigators—was one of the major effects of the Patriot Act passed after 9/11 and has allowed the Justice Department to bring cases like the one against Jayyousi.

According to the criminal complaint, Jayyousi and two associates—Kassem Daher (a Canadian resident who has since fled to Lebanon) and Adham Amin Hassoun (a south Florida man now in custody awaiting trial on terror-related charges in Miami)—had been the prime targets of a FISA investigation into terrorist-support activity since 1993. The three men set up a web of nonprofit charities—with names like the American Islamic Group and American Worldwide Relief—that operated under the guise of humanitarian relief while actually raising money and recruiting fighters for jihadi groups closely linked to Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization, according to the government's charges.

"I am a Muslim citizen of the great upcoming Islamic State," Jayyousi wrote in a February 1994 e-mail obtained by federal prosecutors. The e-mail goes on to refer to those opposing the radical vision of a resurgent Muslim state as "bloodsuckers ... who are enslaving Muslims in Asia and Africa and around the World."

Another reason Jayyousi came under government scrutiny was his apparent relationship with the Egyptian Omar Abdel Rahman, the "blind sheikh," who was arrested in 1993 and later convicted of plotting to blow up major New York City landmarks. An FBI agent's affidavit unsealed this week describes Jayyousi as a "supporter and follower" of the radical sheikh, helping to relay a message from an overseas supporter and updating him on "jihad news" in telephone conversations placed to his prison cell. Jayyousi's newsletter raised funds for the blind sheikh's defense and called his trial "The Greatest Conspiracy Against Islam."

The criminal charges against Jayyousi make no mention of Padilla, the former Chicago gang member and presidentially decreed "enemy combatant" who sources say is another central figure in the sprawling, if little-noticed, FBI investigation that roped in Jayyousi. But the criminal complaint against Jayyousi describes in some detail his close relationship with his alleged confederate Hassoun, a Palestinian-American computer engineer who is described as the "East Coast representative" of Jayyousi's American Islamic Group and who allegedly recruited Padilla. The complaint and other evidence in the case suggests that the activities of Padilla may have been one reason that the Justice Department renewed its interest in Jayyousi after essentially dropping its probe of him in 2000.

According to the FBI agent's affidavit laying out the case against Jayyousi, the former schools official worked closely with Hassoun in the United States to recruit jihad fighters in the States to go abroad. One such fighter allegedly enlisted by Hassoun seems to fit the description of Padilla. Although Padilla's name is not mentioned in the affidavit, it describes how the FBI found the mujahedin application form "for one of Hassoun's jihad recruits" dated July 24, 2000—the same day federal officials have said Padilla filled out his application form. In a monitored September 2000 international telephone call to another associate, Hassoun is quoted in the case as asking about the whereabouts of "Ibrahim"—described by a source close to the case as Padilla. "Ibrahim is a little further south 
 he is supposed to be there by Usama [bin Laden] and then he could be able to go to Kh ... little further south," the affidavit states Hassoun's associate told him. This refers to "Ibrahim's" plans to leave the training camp in Afghanistan and fight in Chechnya under the command of the Saudi-born jihadi fighter known as Ibn Omar al-Khattab.
Ever since he was declared an enemy combatant and thrown into a military brig without any criminal charges against him, the Justice Department has been fighting a stiff battle in the courts over claims by Padilla's lawyers that the government's actions were unconstitutional. A federal judge in South Carolina last month ordered that Padilla be either charged or released—a decision that Justice is appealing. One way out of their box, law-enforcement officials tell NEWSWEEK, is to somehow get Hassoun, or now possibly even Jayyousi, to plead guilty and then use their testimony as grounds to finally bring criminal charges against Padilla. But judging from today's courtroom developments, the feds have a long way to go. William Swor, Jayyousi's lawyer, described the government's case as a "unwarranted confabulation of the facts." He argued, for example, that at the time that Jayyousi was raising funds to support Muslim fighters in Bosnia, he was taking the same position as the U.S. government, which had denounced Serbian aggression against that country. Jayyousi, who was returning to the United States to see his elderly father—who recently suffered a heart attack—has every intention of staying to "clear his name," said Swor.
This article starring:
ADHAM AMIN HASUNal-Qaeda
federal prosecutor Russell Killinger
IBN OMAR AL KHATTABal-Qaeda
JOSE PADILLAal-Qaeda
KASEM DAHERal-Qaeda
KIFAH WAEL JAIYUSIal-Qaeda
OMAR ABDEL RAHMANal-Qaeda
Roxanne Evans
U.S. magistrate Stephen Whelan
William Swor, Jayyousi's lawyer
American Islamic Group
American Worldwide Relief
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/02/2005 5:14:01 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


FBI finds explosives in Nichols home
FBI agents searching the former home of convicted Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols found explosive materials, including blasting caps, that appear to date before the deadly 1995 attack, agency officials said Friday.
That was...ummm... (carry the four, divide by the square root of 17...) ten years ago...
FBI Agent Gary Johnson said the discovery was prompted by a recent tip and that preliminary information unearthed with the explosives at the Kansas home indicated the material had been there a long time. "The information so far indicates the items have been there since prior to the Oklahoma City bombing," Johnson said in an interview from Oklahoma City.
Surely you're not saying they didn't take the house apart with a fine tooth comb as he was awaiting trial?
The discovery could prove an embarrassment to the FBI and other federal authorities who had searched the Nichols' property in Herington, Kansas, extensively during the original investigation a decade ago.
I'd say "embarrassment" is a pretty weak term. Let's start with "humiliation" for now, and see if we can't find something stronger than that...
Nichols, who is serving multiple life prison sentences, hasn't lived there for years.
I guess the new inhabitants aren't smokers...
Johnson said the FBI was still searching the property and trying to determine whether the explosive materials might be connected to the bombing. He said FBI officials received recent information that led to the search but that the source and origins of the information were still being investigated.
"Hello? FBI? This is Joe Homeowner. Hey, lookee here, we just bought the old Nichols house, and the basement's full of dynamite. You want to send somebody over to dispose of it?"
FBI agents went to the property Thursday night, bureau spokesman Jeff Lanza said in Kansas. After finding something in the house near downtown Herington, agents backed out and decided to wait for a bomb squad, he said. FBI officials said the subsequent search uncovered various explosive components, including blasting caps.
Somebody want to give J.Edgar Hoover a hand? I just heard him turn over in his grave.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Heh heh, Fred.

Killer snark. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/02/2005 0:08 Comments || Top||

#2  ...FBI and other federal authorities who had searched the Nichols' property...

I guess they must've eyeballed it in from the local donut shop...
Posted by: PBMcL || 04/02/2005 0:38 Comments || Top||

#3  5 stars and a hoot Fred. >;)

Humm...the words 'house plant' come to mind.
Posted by: Grarong Chager1375 || 04/02/2005 3:22 Comments || Top||

#4  I think I found the solution to the pesky WMD problem.......perhaps a visit to Saddam's numerous residential abodes in 5 years may produce equally positive results!
Posted by: Janos Hunyadi || 04/02/2005 7:09 Comments || Top||

#5  I'd be careful with the BBQ Grill, likely the patio is full of detanator cord.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/02/2005 8:36 Comments || Top||

#6  This entire case has been mishandled since the beginning. This is embarrassing for all the involved federal agencies, but I would prefer reliable assurances that there have been changes. In Central Florida, they're still looking to find source of anthrax mailed in 2001 and recently search a warehouse for a second time. Maybe the 3rd time will be the charm.
Posted by: Right in Florida || 04/02/2005 10:44 Comments || Top||

#7  "FBI Agent Gary Johnson said the discovery was prompted by a recent tip "

Prompted by a recent tip? I thought McVeigh and Nicholls acted alone and there was no conspiracy. Sounds like someone else knows something. When will the OK City bombing be investigated for what it is?
Posted by: TomAnon || 04/02/2005 12:18 Comments || Top||

#8  Way to go Fred. It looks like the Clinton leftover FBI field managers had to re-solve at least one crime before retiring.
Posted by: Poison Reverse || 04/02/2005 13:40 Comments || Top||

#9  FBI: why do they hate us?
Posted by: clueless || 04/02/2005 20:44 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanese man shot dead in Syria
Unknown assailants in Syria shot dead a Lebanese taxi driver early Friday near both countries' borders, Lebanese security officials said. The motive behind Wael Hammoud's killing was unclear, but it marked the first known act of violence involving a Lebanese citizen in Syria since Syrian soldiers recently began their controversial withdrawal from Lebanon. Some residents of the man's hometown of Majdal Anjar speculated the incident may have been smuggling-related.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Another Beirut boom
At least seven people were reported wounded in the latest blast to hit a Christian area east of Beirut in 12 days. The blast detonated in the underground car park of Broumanna's Rizk shopping center at 9:45 p.m., hitting yet another of Lebanon's commercial centers. A dozen cars were destroyed as the explosion ripped through the surrounding area, shattering windows and setting several cars on fire, reducing them to blackened hulks of twisted metal. "What do they want with us? Why don't they leave us alone? We just want to live in security," said Marie Aswan, who lives in an apartment across the road from the shopping complex.
And they just want to rule you...
The bomb, the fourth in less than two weeks, has severely damaged Rizk Plaza, causing fires to rage in the clothing stores and furnished apartments above. People were being evacuated through windows and from balconies, as heavy rain fell to smother the fire, leaving behind a thick cloud of black smoke. In the hours that followed, the blast was judged to be the least damaging of the recent explosions. But the incident indicates a shift in modus operandi, as Broumanna is the first residential area to be targeted. Broumanna is known to be a popular destination for Gulf Arabs who vacation here all year round. The bomb was planted in a car in the center's underground parking lot, a few meters away from an Internal Security Forces' patrol. Residents reported hearing the explosion, followed by the wailing of ambulances rushing to the bomb site. Leading opposition member Walid Jumblatt immediately accused the Lebanese security services of being behind the explosion. In a live interview with the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera, Jumblatt said: "They know that their days are numbered, therefore they are trying to terrorize the people, but the people will not surrender, they will not bow."
I think Wally's probably right. The booms are pretty transparent, politically, and the list of suspects is pretty short: the Lebanese security guys, the Syrians, or Hezbollah — which basically all boils down to the same suspect. Though I suppose it could be the Iranians, working through Mugniyeh, though that's still the same terror structure.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Talk about sore loosers ..
Posted by: MacNails || 04/02/2005 3:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Talk about your comeback players of the decade, hard to decide between Mo and Wally.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/02/2005 8:37 Comments || Top||

#3  A lot of these "booms" are happening in the Christian areas. Christian killing is starting to be widely acccepted and sadly becoming the norm. The MSM thinks its ok for the Mooselimbs to push the Jews into the sea but what they and some liberal Christians don't understand is that, after the Jews are destroyed, will never happen the Christians are next. That is why people with any decency should strongly support Israel.
Posted by: Poison Reverse || 04/02/2005 13:19 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Abu Ghraib attacked; troops hurt
DOZENS of insurgents attacked Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad today, detonating two suicide car bombs and firing rocket-propelled grenades at US forces.
At least 20 US soldiers were wounded in the fighting, which lasted about an hour before the assault was repelled, the US military said today. At least 12 detainees were also wounded, some severely.

It was not known how many insurgents were wounded or killed.

"A group of between 40 and 60 insurgents attacked the US forward operating base at Abu Ghraib," said Lieutenant Colonel Guy Rudisill, a spokesman for detainee affairs.

"They detonated two VBIEDs (suicide car bombs) and also fired rocket-propelled grenades into the prison camp ... it was a sustained attack."

US forces responded with heavy weapons, and the situation was under control by 5am (AEST), he said.

"The attacks were intermittent. They would fire RPGs and then stop, then they would attack again," he said. "It’s under control now."

Witnesses said the second car bomb was detonated against US forces as they were trying to evacuate casualties from the first car bomb blast.

Lt-Col Rudisill said US troops had sealed the prison grounds and it was not believed that any insurgents had managed to penetrate the jail’s perimeter.

Abu Ghraib, notorious for the prisoner abuse scandal that emerged last year, is on the western outskirts of Baghdad. It is one of three US-run detention facilities in the country.
Posted by: tipper || 04/02/2005 5:38:38 PM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Abu Ghraib, notorious for the prisoner abuse scandal that emerged last year..."

Prior to the US led liberation, Abu Ghraib was a model reformatory. No notoriety before Lindy. sheesh.
Posted by: JDB || 04/02/2005 18:14 Comments || Top||

#2  They didn't say if there was an attempted riot during the attack.
Posted by: Penguin || 04/02/2005 19:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, JDB, AG wasn't notorious, at least in the West. After all, CNN didn't want to jeopardize their access, so they couldn't report anything negative, or even the fact that they were censored.
Posted by: jackal || 04/02/2005 20:18 Comments || Top||

#4  After all, CNN didn't want to jeopardize their access, so they couldn't report anything negative, or even the fact that they were censored.

Did the new Iraqi Government ever condemn CNN for that. Was the apology all they needed?
Posted by: penguin || 04/02/2005 21:03 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
IDF Photo Essay: Finding Weapons and Explosives
Hat tip: LGF
This is a small collection of photos from the IDF displaying some of the methods used to smuggle arms or conceal weapons and even terrorists. Great photos--only wish it were a larger collection.
Posted by: Dar || 04/02/2005 2:25:04 PM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan/South Asia
Shiite Scholar Shot Dead
Motorcycle-riding gunmen shot dead a Pakistani Shiite scholar and injured two people including his daughter yesterday in a suspected sectarian attack here, police and community leaders said. Ghulam Hussain Najafi, vice-principal of the Jamia Al-Muntazir Shiite seminary, was being driven by his daughter to a mosque here when two attackers opened fire on the vehicle, police said. "It appears to be a sectarian killing," local police officer Khalid Ahmed said. The attackers fled on their motorbikes after the attack, said the slain scholar's colleague, Syed Abbas Sherazi.

Najafi's daughter and another female student at the seminary were injured and were being treated in hospital, he added. Angry youths and teachers from the Shiite school took to the streets after the murder, witnesses said. Chanting slogans against sectarian violence, they demanded the immediate arrest of the attackers. Sherazi said two suspected terrorists, who were chasing Najafi on a motorbike, opened fire after a street vendor blocked the passage by placing his cart in front of the Shiite scholar's vehicle. "The assailants and the vendor fled after the attack," he said, suspecting that the vendor was also involved in the murder plot. The killing of Najafi who was in his early 50s, could be linked to a recent slaying of a top Sunni police officer in the northern city of Gilgit, he said. "It appears to be linked to the situation in Gilgit," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  An MMA attack? (Motorcycling Muslim Assassins.)
Posted by: Sock Puppet 0’ Doom || 04/02/2005 1:26 Comments || Top||

#2  "Chanting slogans against sectarian violence, they demanded the immediate arrest of the attackers."

In order not to waste time or breath, before chanting, the crowd was clearly able to determine that this killing did not involve a Christian sectarian murder. Christian sectarian killing is accepted.
Posted by: Poison Reverse || 04/02/2005 13:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Christians aren't sectarians, they can only be schismatics and heretics. Only the lions and tigers of Islam can sectare themselves. (Yes, I realize that isn't a word, but we got through the bat mitzvah, and I'm just a tad giddy. Thanks for understanding.)
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/02/2005 19:33 Comments || Top||

#4  That would, of course, have been "we just got through the bat mitzvah," but clearly I was a tad more giddy than I thought. ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/02/2005 22:51 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine
Abbas Rejects Security Chief's Resignation
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the resignation of one of his top security chiefs yesterday over a shooting attack on his Ramallah headquarters. Abbas asked West Bank Intelligence Head Tawfiq Tirawi to remain in his post to enforce law and order in the Palestinian areas, sources at the Muqata headquarters said. Tirawi earlier submitted his resignation after his organization was blamed for failing to control armed men, who went on a shooting spree at the headquarters and nearby restaurants in downtown Ramallah Wednesday night, causing extensive damage. In an attempt to solve the problem with the recalcitrant militants, Abbas has decided to incorporate them into the Palestinian security forces. He earlier ordered to arrest the perpetrators of the shooting spree, but no arrests were made yesterday. Observers said the president knows the militants would put up armed resistance against such arrests.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In an attempt to solve the problem with the recalcitrant militants, Abbas has decided to incorporate them into the Palestinian security forces. He earlier ordered to arrest the perpetrators of the shooting spree, but no arrests were made yesterday. Observers said the president knows the militants would put up armed resistance against such arrests.

A bit of the non-sequitur.
Posted by: gromgoru || 04/02/2005 10:08 Comments || Top||

#2  In an attempt to solve the problem with the recalcitrant militants, Abbas has decided to incorporate them into the Palestinian security forces. He earlier ordered to arrest the perpetrators of the shooting spree, but no arrests were made yesterday. Observers said the president knows the militants would put up armed resistance against such arrests

When it starts making sense I'd advise a fast run to Albertsons for reality tablets and cough drops.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/02/2005 13:15 Comments || Top||

#3  In an attempt to solve the problem with the recalcitrant militants, Abbas has decided to incorporate them into the Palestinian security forces.

Haaahahahahaaaaa, only a Paleo could come up with such a stupid-assed "solution".
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 04/02/2005 13:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?
Posted by: Pappy || 04/02/2005 18:38 Comments || Top||


Iraq-Jordan
Shiite party tops rebel hit-list
Insurgents in Iraq appear to have stepped up their campaign of violence against a leading Shiite political party, said members of the group which is renowned for its strong ties to Iran. The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) has recently been hit in a series of deliberate attacks and, according to reports posted on insurgent web sites. "We are being targeted in Baghdad more than other groups," Ali Al Bayati, SCIRI spokesman in London told Gulf News in a telephone interview. "SCIRI families returning from exile they have been working hard for democracy and as a result are being attacked by former Baathists and terrorists. They know we are strong and so they try to weaken us and keep Iraq in chaos."

Al Bayati would not confirm how many party members had been killed or attacked. But he said the Shiite group a leading member the election winning United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) feared it now topped the insurgents' political hit-list. However, according to reports posted on insurgents' web sites, at least 19 SCIRI members have been killed and dozens more wounded in the past week, some in a mortar strike on the party's Baghdad headquarters. Three of the deaths were confirmed by mainstream media after the bodies of a council official and two of his relatives were found by police. They had been executed and dumped in an abandoned car near Baquba, a rebel stronghold.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine
Abbas Fires Security Chiefs for Not Stopping Chaos
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas fired several security chiefs on Friday for failing to halt lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza, two days after gunmen from his Fatah faction fired at his compound. The head of Palestinian national security in the West Bank, Haj Ismail, also quit after the president called for his resignation, a senior Palestinian security official said. Abbas has yet to approve it. "(Abbas) was not happy with the performance of some of the heads of security forces," a Palestinian official said. "He was very upset about what happened in Ramallah and he will take other crucial measures in the near future."

Several al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants fired at the president's compound in Ramallah on Wednesday and then rampaged through the city after security commanders urged them to put aside their weapons. Hours after Abbas's announcement, gunmen from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades stormed a recreation center in the West Bank town of Nablus to protest against a recent election of the building's management that the militant Hamas group had won. Abbas's orders also followed the resignation of the head of Palestinian intelligence, who quit after complaining to the president that too little was being done to halt the chaos.
Posted by: Fred || 04/02/2005 00:00:00 AM || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WTF???

If Mazen wants to put a halt to "lawlessness", then the obvious course of action is to go after the groups that are behind it......oh yeah, that's right, Mazen doesn't want to go after those groups because he's afraid of a civil war.

Sheesh, talk about being seriously phuqued up.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama || 04/02/2005 2:43 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't think that Mazen has the muscle (nor the will) to stand up to Hamas and its partners in crime. And he is not going to ask Israel for help, so who ya gonna call?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/02/2005 15:12 Comments || Top||

#3  Alaska Paul
Expecting Abbas to stomp out terrorism is (IMHO) like expecting Bush to stomp out heterosexual marriage.
Posted by: gromgoru || 04/02/2005 19:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Maybe I was just making Blinding Statements of the Obvious on a Saturday.
D'oh!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/02/2005 20:19 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2005-04-02
  Pope John Paul II dies
Fri 2005-04-01
  Abbas Orders Crackdown After Gunnies Shoot Up His HQ
Thu 2005-03-31
  Egypt's ruling party wants fifth term for Mubarak
Wed 2005-03-30
  Lebanon military intelligence chief takes "leave of absence"
Tue 2005-03-29
  Hamas ready to join PLO
Mon 2005-03-28
  Massoud's assassination: 4 suspects go on trial in Paris
Sun 2005-03-27
  Bomb explodes in Beirut suburb
Sat 2005-03-26
  Iraqi Forces Seize 131 Suspected Insurgents in Raid
Fri 2005-03-25
  Police in Belarus Disperse Demonstrators
Thu 2005-03-24
  Akaev resigns
Wed 2005-03-23
  80 hard boyz killed in battle with US, Iraqi troops
Tue 2005-03-22
  30 al-Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam captured at Baladruz
Mon 2005-03-21
  Three American carriers converging on Middle East
Sun 2005-03-20
  Quetta corpse count at 30
Sat 2005-03-19
  Car Bomb at Qatar Theatre

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