Chechen police discovered a large homemade bomb in a car they stopped near Grozny, and there were concerns that a second car they did not manage to head off could also contain explosives, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
The police officers tried to stop the two small, Russian-made sedans for inspection Tuesday outside the village of Pobedinskoye, said Roman Shchekotin, spokesman for the Southern Federal District office of the Interior Ministry. Instead of stopping, the people in the cars opened fire. Two people then jumped from one of the cars into the other and made their getaway.
Police found a metal box in the abandoned vehicle filled with 60 kilograms of ammonium nitrates and aluminum powder, two electric batteries and two 400-gram sticks of TNT, Shchekotin said. He added that police and security service officers were searching for the second car in hopes of heading off a possible terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, police detained a suspected rebel in Dagestan, the regional Interior Ministry said Wednesday. Tagir Dadayev, who is suspected of belonging to a gang headed by purported Islamic warlord Rappani Khalilov, was captured Tuesday in the town of Dylym, on the border with Chechnya.
Also on Tuesday, a prominent Islamic faith healer, Maksharip Belkharoyev, was shot and killed by six masked gunmen who broke into his house in the village of Alkhasty in Ingushetia. His adult daughter was gravely wounded, Shchekotin said. Belkharoyev had frequently spoken out against Islamic extremism.
In Kabardino-Balkaria, the local legislature confirmed the Kremlin's candidate to replace longtime leader Valery Kokov, who has been ill and resigned earlier this month. The republic's new president, Arsen Kanokov, is a member of United Russia and the founder of a Moscow-based holding with interests in retail, construction and banking.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 01:04 ||
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Was it a suitcase nuke?
Posted by: Howard UK ||
09/29/2005 6:55 Comments ||
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Been a slow season for the society of islamic chechen boomers, grozny lodge.
#3
Actually, Chechnya has not been all that quiet. You just have to keep up with them. It's a pain because if you spend a lot of time checking that out, you miss what is going on in Darfur, Sudan.
There are so many places where this is happening, and we have home-grown idiots who prefer to think we are not even at war. May they be erased from history.
BRITAIN has called an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers on Sunday evening in an effort to prevent membership talks with Turkey from collapsing only hours before they are scheduled to start.
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, called the meeting in Brussels yesterday after negotiations failed to agree the terms of the entry talks, with Austria insisting that Turkey should be offered an alternative of ââ¬Åprivileged partnershipââ¬? rather than full membership.
Austria is also insisting that Croatia, home of the Ustasi thugs who launched the dismemberment of Yugoslavia and the delight we have in the Balkans today which used to be under Austrian rule, must start EU entry talks at the same time as Turkey; but other member states are insisting that Croatia must first surrender its war criminals.
British efforts to ensure that the Turkish entry talks start on Monday have failed to stop high-stakes brinkmanship.
Abdullah Gul, the Turkish Foreign Minister, will have a plane on standby and be waiting in Ankara on Sunday night to learn whether he should fly to Luxembourg to start the talks at a celebratory lunch on Monday.
Last night Mr Gul said that the occasion may be delayed because Turkey would not have seen any negotiating framework agreed by EU ministers on Sunday night.
ââ¬ÅEveryone knows thereââ¬â¢s no point in going to Luxembourg without seeing this document,ââ¬? he said. There were still so many issues to resolve that ââ¬Åthere is a possibility that negotiations will not startââ¬?.
The EU agreed last December that Turkey should start its membership talks, but attitudes to the Muslim nation have hardened since.
Cyprus, an EU member that is occupied illegally by 35,000 Turkish troops, was recently persuaded not to veto the start of the talks with a declaration that Turkey must recognise the Government of Cyprus before it can join the Union.
France insisted on inserting language that emphasised that Turkey could join only if the EU is capable of absorbing the populous country, which would become the largest member of the Union.
Austria, whose capital was twice besieged by Ottoman forces, and where all significant political parties oppose Turkish membership, insists that it be made clear that the talks will not necessarily result in full membership, but a special partnership.
Turkey has threatened to walk away if the aim of the talks is changed in that way.
I hope we're doing exactly nothing to help the Turks.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
09/29/2005 20:36 ||
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Turkey and the Straw?
Posted by: Mike ||
09/29/2005 20:54 Comments ||
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gobble gobble
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/29/2005 21:36 Comments ||
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I could care less. Turkey is a muslim nation. It doesn't belong in the EU as long as it is.
#4
I disagree - Turkey is the home of the Trojans, the Romans-Byzantines, the Turks and Ottomans, and parts of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. It has played a major role in the dev of Euro and Western democratic history and politics, however defective or controversial. Pragmatically, the West needs a democratic model, ally, and economic linchpin for the newly independent, mostly Muslim states of Central Asia. Like the Iranians, most Turks gen like Western-style materialism, libertarianism, and pop culture, NOT RADICALISM - Amwerica and Euro need to nurture that strength and make it better. When I look at TV images of the citizens of Turkey, I see many of the same ethnic faces one sees in similar images for Europe or even America. THE RADICS /JIHADISTS ARE FIGHTING FOR REGIONAL AND PAN-GLOBAL REGRESSIVE, ULTRA-CONSERVATIVE, TRADITIONALISM, NOT MODERNITY OR SOCIAL PROGRESS.
After a decade, Al Qaida's leading ally has re-established operational cells in France.
The Salafist Brigade for Combat and Call has set up cells in France as part of an effort to renew major insurgency attacks. Officials said the cells were formed in North African emigrant communities in France.
On Monday, officials said nine suspected Salafist operatives were detained in Paris and Normandy. The operatives were charged with terrorist offenses, including plans to attack a range of targets in France.
"They were believed to have established a network of logistic cells that would have enabled the execution of simultaneous attacks in France," a French security source said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 01:02 ||
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Dear Sir,
I happened to be one from the mid west who worked for 5 years, ten years from now in Boston for the Harvard Medical School. My business was to do science for the Harvard but just for the curiosity, I kept my ears open to listen to the people who came there from all over the world. It was before 9/11, I learned that the brightest of the French christen scientists working there hated Muslims particularly those from Pakistan. Among the Pakistaniâs, there was a horribly growing contempt towards the western countries. I realized then that the Islamic militancy is rising fast. It was a shock for me to know at that time that any one from any country could enter Boston any time from Canada completely unchecked. This was exactly what happened when the Islamist attacked USA on 9-11. Another thing I also learned at that time that white American MDs at the Harvard Medical School were scared of the Muslim co-workers from Middle East countries and from Pakistan. Well, All I want to say that the Home land security could learn a lot about the future activities of radical Islamists if they listen to the Islamists in Boston particularly those working at the Harvard.
#2
I agree Annon, universities, especially elite universities, are hotbeds for these sorts of movements. I remember posters of Khomeini all over my (American) campus in the mid 1970's, long before anyone had ever heard of Khomeini. Also, universities in Paris were the training ground for many despots and dictators of the 20th century.
Posted by: jolly roger ||
09/29/2005 18:34 Comments ||
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A federal grand jury has handed up new indictments charging two leaders of an area... Let Me guess. Synagogue? Fundamentalist Christian church? Bhuddist temple?
...mosque with conspiring to support terrorists, the U.S. Attorney said Thursday. Well, knock Me over with a feather.
The superseding indictment returned Thursday also charges Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain with attempting to provide support to Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamic extremist group based in Pakistan that is on the State Department's list of designated foreign terrorist organizations. Aref also was charged with making a false statement when he answered "none" to an immigration question asking him to list any organizations to which he had belonged. He also was charged with making false statements to the FBI when he was arrested in August 2004 and denied he was a member of the Islamic Movement in Kurdistan. At the time, he also denied knowing Mullah Krekar, believed to be the founder of Ansar-al-Islam, a radical Islamic fundamentalist group.
Aref, 35, who is the imam of the Masjid As-Salam mosque, and 50-year-old Hossain, a founder of the Albany mosque, have been free on $250,000 bond since shortly after their arrest in August 2004. Each originally was charged with money laundering and supporting terrorism. They were arrested after a yearlong FBI sting using an undercover informant.
The initial 19-count indictment accused them of working with an FBI informant who posed as a part-time arms dealer and proposed that Hossain hold money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile that would be used to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York City. Aref, who witnessed the financial transactions and wrote receipts, has said he knew nothing about any missile. An FBI photo shows the informant holding a missile launcher while Hossain watched. Hossain said later he didn't think it was real.
"There are really no new facts here," said Terence Kindlon, the lawyer for Aref. "It's based on the same old facts." They haven't reached their expiration date yet.
He said he doesn't know why the new indictment was issued. He had not yet read the indictment. "The charge of providing material assistance to a terrorist organization is legally a slightly more serious charge than the original," Kindlon said. "It could require that the judge revoke the bail that was previously set for Aref."
Fallout from the Abu Azzam arrest? Do we have some hard evidence linking the "political" wing with the "militant" wing (to use Reuterese). Or are we just giving up on the Sunnis and through playing their games?
BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces raided the homes of two officials from a prominent Sunni Arab organization on Thursday, arresting bodyguards and confiscating weapons, Sunni officials said. Adnan al-Dulaimi, secretary-general of the Conference for
Iraq's People, was present during the early morning raid on his home in western Baghdad, the group said. No violence was reported when the U.S. soldiers arrested four of his bodyguards and confiscated 20 AK-47 assault rifles, said Mehdi Salih, a spokesman for the conference.
The other raid took place at the Baghdad home of Harith al-Obeidi, another senior official in the organization, said Iraq's largest Sunni political party, the Iraqi Islamic Party. The U.S. military said it conducted several raids in those areas of Baghdad on Thursday, but couldn't immediately say which homes or Iraqis had been targeted.
"These raids are based on false tips from people who want to marginalize Sunnis and hinder their participation in the political process," al-Dulaimi said in an interview with Associated Press Television News. "So I appeal to the United Nations, the Arab League, the European Union and the U.S. government to intervene to solve this problem." Both Sunni groups condemned the action, calling it an abuse of Iraq's Sunni minority, and suggested the raids could derail efforts by Sunnis to get last minute changes in the country's draft constitution, which will face an Oct. 15 national referendum.I think that you marginalized yourselves.
#1
I see. People who shoot at us like cowards, they hide behind their women, they cry like little girls, and WE are marginalizing them??? Good! It's about damn time.
#4
Better US forces knocking on your door than a JDAM knocking on your roof. Maybe they would like the Sunni approach better: we come in the night wearing black ski masks, make them kneel on the floor and shoot them in the head.
#5
This is the same al-Dulaimi who pronounced on the Tal Afar raid a couple of weeks ago:
"MG Lynchâs statements cannot be dismissed as posturing, as there is support from this assertion in the Iraqi government. Iraqi Defense Minister Dulaimi stated during the height of operations in Tal Afar; "We tell our people in Ramadi, Samarra, Rawah and Qaim that we are coming.â Mr. Dulaimi accurately described the current operations on the border well over a month ago, which gives good reason to take his words to heart."
#6
The Sunnis are incapable of becoming a legitimate part of the new Iraq because they refuse to be ruled over by people they once ruled.
They have fooled themselves into believing they can play nice now, and sneak back into power when we leave, but Zarqi don't play by the rules, so they can't even pretend and they are fucked plain and simple.
There will be no peace between the Sunnis and Shiias in Iraq now or ten years from now.
I say let the Shiia have their day, and in another ten or twenty years if they have forgotten that we gave them a country and they get all friendly with Iran we can go wipe the floor with their asses too.
#9
KBK Different guy, same tribe. Guess where the false tips are coming from?
Posted by: john ||
09/29/2005 13:38 Comments ||
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It's not just the Iraqi Sunni Arabs (lovely "former" Baathists that they may be). It's the Sunni Arabs throughout the region (Saudi Arabia, etc) that can't bear the thought of the natural rulers beng thrown over by those Shiites. And it's the anti-government Sunni Arabs that are getting all the foreign support, so it isn't just their own delusions that are at work here -- it's the delusion of the entire region that when the Americans lose their concentration (soon, they think), those who held power before will be able to take power again.
A woman suicide bomber blew herself up at an Iraqi police recruitment centre yesterday, killing five people in an attack claimed by Al Qaedaâs Iraq frontman Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi.
In Tal Afar in northern Iraq, a woman pushed her way into a crowd and blew herself up at a police recruitment centre in the first insurgent attack in the there since Iraqi forces announced the end of military operations 10 days ago.
It was believed to be the first attack by a female suicide bomber since the end of the 2003 US-led war to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Jumaa Mohammed, one of the 35 wounded, said the attack was carried out by a woman wearing Islamic dress. âIt was a young woman. She pushed her way through the crowd and then there was an explosion.â
Zarqawiâs group claimed responsibility in an Internet statement that could not be verified. âAn honorable sister from the martyrdom-seeking Al-Baraa bin Malek Brigade ... carried out a heroic attack against a group of volunteers to the ranks of apostasy ... at an apostate recruitment centre in Tal Afar,â it said.
The two US soldiers were killed and another wounded in a bomb attack near Safwan in southern Iraq near the Kuwaiti border, while a Marine was killed in a shooting attack in Ramadi on Tuesday. An Iraqi policeman and a civilian were also killed when they were caught in gunfire against a Jordanian embassy car, an official said in Amman.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also warned of âmore dark momentsâ in Iraq.
Despite the relentless violence, an opinion poll found that more than 80 per cent of Iraqis would vote in the October 15 referendum on the draft constitution, a key stage in the post-Saddam political transition. At the same time, 49 per cent said they believed the charter expressed the will of the people, against only 30 per cent who said ânoâ.
However, 47 per cent said they were not totally satisfied that all ethnic and religious groups were fully able to take part in drafting the constitution, a document which has deeply divided the countryâs ethnic groups. The survey put electricity shortages at the top of Iraqisâ everyday concerns, followed by ethnic tension and religious tension.
Foreign nations with troops in Iraq hope the consitution vote and Decemberâs elections will pave the way for a withdrawal of their forces once Iraqi security is deemed competent enough. As part of that plan, US forces handed over military control of Karbala to Iraqi forces, making it only the second city where local forces are fully responsible for security following Najaf.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 00:49 ||
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I wonder whether she made a bad mistake in her choice of lover, or if she was making amends the hard way for having been raped -- that is, after all, the Palestinian Way of getting girls to go boom.
Iraqi Police on Wednesday found seven dead bodies of Iraqi citizens in the area of Shulah, southwest of Baghdad. An Iraqi Police source told reporters that the bodies were handcuffed and shot in the head.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Sunni Waqf Diwan told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the dead bodies were Iraqi citizens detained on Tuesday from their homes in the area of Dola'e in northern Baghdad by men dressed in Iraqi Police uniforms and using Iraqi Police vehicles. The spokesperson expressed the Diwan's condemnation of the incident, demanding the concerned authorities to investigate the incident. The source called on the United Nations, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Conference to stop the "daily shedding of blood done with official cover".
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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Jordan on Wednesday confirmed reports that a Jordanian Embassy car came under fire in Baghdad. An authoritative source at the Jordanian embassy told KUNA the car was attacked at the Al-Ghazalia bridge in Baghdad on Wednesday but none of its passengers was hurt. The source who requested anonymity said the car was hit by three bullets, adding that another civilian car, which was behind the embassy vehicle, was also hit and its driver killed. A policeman who happened to be in the area was injured in the shooting.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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Iraqi army forces arrested on Tuesday three insurgents for their involvement in an attack against the Iraqi army in Al-Azamiyah area in North West of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. A statement for the Iraqi Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the insurgents attacked the army forces using hand grenades during which three Iraqi soldiers and two civilians were injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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Iraqis expressed fury on Wednesday over the three-year jail sentence for Lynndie England, the U.S. soldier notorious for holding a naked inmate by a leash in Abu Ghraib prison, saying it exposed American hypocrisy. They said the sentence would have been more harsh had she been convicted of abusing Americans. "America should be ashamed of this sentence. This is the best evidence that Americans have double standards," said Akram Abdel Amir, a retired bus driver in Baghdad. "There are Iraqis in jail without any charge, just based on suspicion. But when it comes to Americans, the matter is totally different."
I figured that'd be their reaction. And they're right. England should have gotten at least ten years.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
I dunno, three years for Lyndie sounds about right. I think guy who leaked the photos is the one who deserves 10 years or more.
#4
"America should be ashamed of this sentence. This is the best evidence that Americans have double standards," said Akram Abdel Amir, a retired bus driver in Baghdad.
This is the best example of "outrage" they could find? I'll wait for somebody other than Ralph al-Kramden to speak out against her sentence.
Personally, I think she should have gotten 10 years for being stupid.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/29/2005 9:41 Comments ||
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#5
how much time would irAqii' given al zarqari for beheading ppl
#7
If it happened to Americans I seriously doubt she'd have gotten any sentence since humiliation by a woman is just not the same thing in our culture.
Of course if she taunted them with a cross, that might be different.
#9
You beat me to it, I agree the one who leaked the photos should be the one punished here.
We need to get a handle on the cameras in use in these parts, that they are putting others in harms way because of this nonsense.
Posted by: Jan ||
09/29/2005 17:03 Comments ||
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#10
of course, who knows how many Iraqis they had to interview to get the few knowing hate-filled answers..hmmm? Do you think the avg Achmed cares?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/29/2005 18:29 Comments ||
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Well, one of them who got the photos publicized is dead (Hackworth).
Hamas said on Wednesday that it was not afraid of Israel's threats to eliminate its top leaders and pointed out that the policy of targeted assassinations would only boost the movement's standing. Despite the defiant statement, sources in the Gaza Strip said most of the Hamas leaders have gone underground for fear of being targeted by Israel.
I'm sure the IDF would love to help them go underground...
Hamas was responding to threats made on Tuesday by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, who said that if Hamas did not stop its rocket attacks, Israel would send Mahmoud Zahar and Ismail Haniyeh to the same place as slain Hamas leaders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi. "Mofaz's threats to resume political assassinations and eliminate the Hamas leadership don't scare us," Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri said in Gaza City. "Nor will they stop our process of defending the Palestinian people." Masri noted that many Hamas leaders and activists have already been killed in the confrontation with Israel, "a fact that has never weakened Hamas."
"Yeah! We ain't scared! You want a piece of us? C'mon!"
"I don't think..."
"Shuddup, Zahhar! You Zionists want him, come and get him!"
"But we're not..."
"Button it, Haniyeh! Go ahead! Bump 'em off! See what happens!"
"The threat to kill Zahar and Haniyeh is a very dangerous development, but as Muslims we believe that our lives are in the hands of God," he said. "Both Zahar and Haniyeh have already escaped assassination attempts thanks to God."
"We're outta here! Bump somebody else off!"
According to Masri, experience has shown that assassinations and arrests of Hamas have only served to strengthen the movement and rally more Palestinians behind it. He reaffirmed, however, Hamas's commitment to the unofficial truce with Israel. "Our decision to announce a cease-fire [earlier this week] was not taken out of strength, not weakness," he explained. Hamas has come under heavy criticism from many Palestinians following last Friday's explosion in Jabalya refugee camp that killed 21 people injured more than 120 others. Many Palestinians have rejected Hamas's claim that Israel was behind the explosion, which occurred when a truck loaded with rockets overturned during a rally organized by the movement. "The majority of Palestinians does not believe the Hamas version because the few survivors talked they know the truth," said Omar al-Ghoul, a Palestinian political analyst. He said that growing resentment on the Palestinian street toward Hamas compelled the movement to agree to a cease-fire. "Popular resentment against Hamas has grown following the Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 14:57 ||
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Article: According to Masri, experience has shown that assassinations and arrests of Hamas have only served to strengthen the movement and rally more Palestinians behind it.
They must have strengthened Hamas in some moral sense, because operationally, suicide attacks went down to almost nothing after Rantisi and Yassin were killed.
#8
According to Masri, experience has shown that assassinations and arrests of Hamas have only served to strengthen the movement and rally more Palestinians behind it.
That was when Hamas was in Lebanon. Now that Palistinian houses and infrastructure is getting pounded it's not getting the same response.
#10
That's what cockroaches do when the spotlight goes on, run for cover. Time to fumigate.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/29/2005 21:38 Comments ||
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#11
Hamas doesn't have "political" leaders. All leaders of Hammas are terrorists. Attacks on Israel are acts of war. Being a "political" leader gives you no special protection. Prepare to die because that is your gods will.
Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian militants during early morning raids on the West Bank today, Palestinian sources said.
The soldiers entered the towns of Jenin and neighbouring Burqin to arrest suspected West Bank militants. In Jenin, a militant fired at Israeli soldiers, who fired back and killed him. Palestinian sources identified the militant as 30-year-old Samer Asady, a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
The other two militants killed by Israeli troops were shot in Buqin. The Israeli army said the men had appeared to be about to fire on the soldiers, who later found assault rifles and ammunition clips on their bodies. Palestinians identified the men as Islamic Jihad militants Nidal Khlouf, 32, and 24-year-old Samer Shalaby.
Zakariya Zubeydi, the leader of al-Aqsa in Jenin, said his group would no longer stick to the informal truce with Israel which has largely been upheld since February. "The Israelis have not upheld their part of the ceasefire agreement," he said. "We will fight back hard, and there will be no limits to our responses from now on. We need to protect our people."
Israel launched the crackdown on militants last weekend in response to a series of rocket attacks launched by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into southern Israeli towns. The operation has continued with a series of air strikes and arrest raids, despite pledges by Hamas and other groups to stop the rocket fire.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/29/2005 14:10 ||
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If you saw an Israeli patrol approaching, would you fire at it? I really question the judgment of some of these guys.
#2
I think they're victims in a way of their own propaganda. They get told things like Israeli's are cowards, they only shoot women and kids, etc. Then these 'militants' get given AK's, with enough training to spray and pray, after which they run out to hose a patrol, which turns out to be filled with professional soldiers who take 1/2 a second to aim and pop them.
Israeli soldiers tend to get killed in three ways: bombings, close-range shooting or lucky shots. There are a few jihadis left who know a thing or two about urban combat, but most of their colleagues are dead. And even those few aren't serious marksmen.
#5
penalty box for missing is very warm indeed. Almost Hades-like. What the hell? Allen promised virgins? Do you know how hard raisins get at 1500 degrees?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/29/2005 18:27 Comments ||
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#6
Do you know how hard raisins get at 1500 degrees?
Frank, Ima thinker tey might giter teir ashes hauled at that temp.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
09/29/2005 19:40 Comments ||
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#7
Do you know how hard raisins get at 1500 degrees
Gasious I would think. Instant vapor raisins.
Posted by: Charles ||
09/29/2005 20:10 Comments ||
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An al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leader says the Palestinian militant group will no longer respect a six-month truce after Israeli raids killed three militants. "There will be no limits to our responses... We need to protect our people," said Zakaria Zubeidi. Mr Zubeidi speaks for the group only in Jenin, where one its commanders was killed during an overnight raid. Meanwhile Palestinians in the West Bank are voting in local polls - the first since Israel's pullout from Gaza.
Samer Saadi, a local leader of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, was shot dead during what Israeli forces called an arrest raid in Jenin. The other two men, both members of the Islamic Jihad, were killed in an exchange of fire in the nearby town of Birqin. "This Zionist enemy only understands the language of bullets. We in the al-Aqsa Brigades have committed ourselves to the truce but this enemy is not committing to the truce," Mr Zubeidi told reporters.
The deaths come in an upsurge of violence since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on 12 September. According to the Israeli army, Saadi was killed as he fired at soldiers, while the two other men killed in a separate incident had assault rifles and were about to do the same. Israel has made more than 400 arrests in the West Bank since militants launched rocket attacks at the end of last week.
Thursday's vote is seen as a test for the militant group Hamas, which has been feted by Palestinians for driving Israeli forces from Gaza, but which has also been blamed for the latest round of violence.
Election monitors said the turnout was high in the vote that will decide more than 1,000 council seats. Israel Radio reported that the army had allowed Palestinian police to carry weapons during the vote and international observers to monitor it.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has rejected suggestions that Israel could stage take more unilateral steps after the Gaza pullout.
"There is only one plan and that is the roadmap," he told a Tel Aviv business conference, referring to the internationally-backed peace plan which has lain largely dormant since its inception in 2003. Key Sharon aides have been suggesting that Israel could pull back from parts of the West Bank and unilaterally set its border if negotiations with the Palestinians failed. Gaza plan architect Eival Giladi, Sharon adviser Eyal Arad and cabinet minister Tzahi Hanegbi have all spoken in such terms this week. "Numerous ambassadors telephoned my office to obtain an explanation," Mr Sharon said. "There was also a very strong demand for an explanation from the US, which was astonished by the possibility of a change in the Israeli position... "We have made a big effort to calm things down and reaffirm that the road map is the only plan that has our support," he said.
Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including east Jerusalem, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/29/2005 08:59 ||
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#1
I didn't know the circus had stopped. Who could tell the difference.
#4
MunkarKat, good one. It's the only group I know of that can blow themselves up (by accident)and use as a reason to attack a country. Or should I say attack empty fields?
#5
From what I understand, they've just thrown down the gauntlet. Now you're going to see some nasty underhanded evil bombings and spray paint. Just wait.
#6
"West Bank asks for Gaza-like Smackdown⢠Too"
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/29/2005 12:10 Comments ||
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#7
translation: "I'm gonna kill you....after you get your foot offa my neck."
Posted by: Mark E ||
09/29/2005 13:04 Comments ||
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#8
Palestinian militant group will no longer respect a six-month truce...
What truce? Was there a truce?
Posted by: Jan ||
09/29/2005 16:55 Comments ||
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#9
The IDF reckons that the jihadis were simply building their capabilities. They've figured out that, if they don't attack Israel too often, the IDF won't stomp on them. So they build up their networks and cells, and wait for an opportunte moment.
Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence General Aharon Zeevi Farkash has claimed that al-Qaeda has infiltrated the Gaza Strip.
Following the Israeli pullout from Gaza, al-Qaeda secretly entered the region through the Egyptian border he said at a meeting held at Tel Aviv University.
In the future, Israel will withdraw from the West Bank and from some other regions, the military chief acknowledged, and confirmed that this is for the benefit of all Israelites.
For now, no Arab military coalition threatening Israel exists; however, Farkash said, against the Qassam missiles and the Shahab-3 long-range ballistic missiles of Iran, Israeli should be prepared.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 00:38 ||
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Moshe: What's that smell over in Gaza?
Isaac: My Gawd, there must be al_q over there.
Posted by: Captain America ||
09/29/2005 1:06 Comments ||
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#2
You're kidding, right? He is just figuring this out? Why have we known about this awful issue for years, while you give them what they want by fleeing? ANSWER ME, you freakin' idiot!
Excuse me, I'm a little po'd over here. I do not believe we should have made Israel pull out. Maybe we should invite bin Ladin to some peace talks? Maybe we could even go to Oslo?
Oh, you say that would be stupid, ridiculous, traitorous, suicidal, etc? EXACTLY.
#4
Look at what is happening in the Gaza Strip, guys. By pulling all the Settlers out, Prime Minister General Sharon made himself a nice little free fire zone, with no hostages. On the West Bank side he's pulled back the outlying Settlements, the indefensible ones sitting alone atop a hill, and filled in the blank spaces on the map around Jerusalem. Basically, he accomplished unilaterally one of the proposals of the agreement Arafat refused to sign -- trading Israeli land for Palestinian land to get rid of the "swiss cheese" intermingling that the Palestinians have been complaining about. So now the territory the Palestinian Authority controls is truly Judenfrei -- although the fenced border has moved from the Green Line of the 1949 Truce. I wonder if Sharon plans to start moving the fence further onto PA territory, the longer the Palestinians refuse to live up to their responsibilities under the Roadmap...
Wanted members of the Palestinian Al-Aqsa brigades, military arm of mainstream Fatah, are clashing with Israeli occupation forces in Kafr Qalil town close to Nablus, eyewitnesses said Wednesday. The added in a telephone call to Kuna that the Israeli occupation forces stormed a home where wanted Palestinians were hiding and clashed with them for two hours. They added that Israeli ambulances arrived at the site of the fight and surrounded the house. No further details were disclosed.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
clashing, huh? Sounds more like they're bleeding on em
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/29/2005 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
IDF kills Jenin leader of Aksa Martyrs' Brigade
IDF soldiers killed the commander of the Aksa Martyrs' Brigades in Jenin, Samar a-Sa'adi, early Thursday after he opened fire on troops who had entered the city.
Earlier Thursday morning, IDF soldiers from the Nahal Brigade shot and killed another two armed Islamic Jihad terrorists, identified as Nidal Khlouf, 32, and Samar a-Sa'adi, 24, a cousin of the Aksa Martyrs' Brigade commander with the same name who was killed later, Israel Radio reported.
#4
That land is not occupied. It is disputed, because Arabs are sore losers. They figure if they claim it is theirs long enough, no one will remember THEY LOST THE DAMN WAR. Wheh! Glad to get that off my chest. Thanks.
#5
Hmmm, Abulances and not a hearse? Occupation forces do not normally 'Clash" with Al-Aqsa idiots for hours. Normally the brave warriors give up, die, or flee. I think that it would be a good idea to star providing air support during their next big rally.
GAZA - Israel fired more missiles into Gaza and knocked out power to thousands of Palestinians on Wednesday in an offensive against cross-border rocket volleys by militants two weeks after its withdrawal from the territory.
Before dawn, Israeli aircraft launched missiles at four militant targets in and around Gaza City, destroying the offices of a leading Fatah militant and two other militant groups, Israeli military sources and Palestinian witnesses said. They said a fifth missile fired later destroyed a bridge in the north Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.
In separate strikes, Israeli aircraft fired missiles into open fields in northern Gaza âfor deterrent purposesâ, an Israeli military source said. Israel Radio described the action as being aimed against rocket launchers.
Residents of Beit Hanoun told Reuters they wanted militants to stop firing rockets into Israel so that economic reconstruction could begin after numerous Israeli ground raids in the past five years of violence.
Whoa. There's a clue.
Militant groups, including Hamas and the less influential Islamic Jihad, have said they were halting the rocket attacks to avoid being turned into cranberry jam large-scale Israeli retaliation.
The air strikes destroyed two major electrical generators and plunged Gaza City and much of the densely populated northern strip into darkness for hours. The army said it had not deliberately targeted electricity infrastructure. After emergency repairs, at least 35,000 people remained without power after daybreak.
Late on Tuesday, Israeli artillery fired on what the army said were rocket launching sites in northern Gaza after a rocket landed in a street in a town in southern Israel. There were no further rocket attacks by late afternoon on Wednesday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
tough being sovereign, ain't it, Paleos?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/29/2005 0:18 Comments ||
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#2
After emergency repairs, at least 35,000 people remained without power after daybreak.
Four suspected members of a terrorist group carrying an improvised bomb were arrested in North Cotabato province, police said Thursday.
Senior Inspector Raulito Suyom, Pigcawayan town police chief, said the four suspected members of the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) were on their way to Cotabato City aboard a passenger jeepney (minibus) when they were intercepted at a checkpoint at 7 a.m. Wednesday.
The seized bomb was fitted with a cell phone as a trigger device.
Suyom identified the suspects as Kasan Datukon, 27, Abdulsalam Abu, 30, Suhuddin Danda, 25, Omar Bantas, 29, all of Pagcawayan town.
The suspects were interrogated at the 6th Infantry Division headquarters in Maguindanao province.
Major General Agustin Dema-ala, division commander, said the bomb was made from a 60 mm mortar round.
He said the group could be part of an alleged plot by 10 JI suicide bombers, who are reportedly scouring Mindanao and Metro Manila for targets.
"We are linking this to the JI plot. It [seized explosive] will surely be used for a terrorist attack," Dema-ala said in a phone interview with INQ7.net.
The suspects are now in the custody of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in the area, he said.
Investigators suspect that the group was about to drop off the bomb to their cohorts in Pigcawayan, Dema-ala added.
Quoting Suyom's interview with DXMS radio, the Associated Press reported that Datukon placed the bomb inside a bag on the floor at the front seat of the jeepney that was headed to Cotabato city.
The suspect later offered his seat to an old man and transferred to the roof of the vehicle with other passengers, a practice common in remote areas where transportation is difficult, Suyom said.
The bag was discovered at the checkpoint and the driver immediately pointed to Datukon as the owner. The device was rigged to explode with a call from another cell phone carried by Datukon, Suyom said.
Dema-ala believes Datukon is a member or a recruit of the al-Qaeda-linked extremist Abu Sayyaf group and trained in bomb-making by operatives of JI, which is based in Indonesia and is also active in the southern Philippines.
He told the Associated Press that the bomb was similar to other improvised explosive devices discovered or set off in several southern cities, and traced back to the Abu Sayyaf.
The military has been conducting a massive manhunt for Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani on Mindanao.
The JI has allegedly carried out terrorist attacks in the country with the Abu Sayyaf group, including the Valentine's Day bombings in the cities of Makati, Davao, and General Santos earlier this year.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 01:22 ||
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#1
Fry 'em. I like mine original, but some may like 'em crunchy. Either way, country fry 'em.
Soldiers and police arrested a suspected bomber and seized an explosive device with a mobile phone trigger in a southern Philippine province, police said Thursday.
Kasan Datukon, 29, was nabbed early Wednesday during a routine inspection at a road checkpoint in Pigcawayan town in North Cotabato province, on the main southern island of Mindanao, police chief Senior Inspector Raulito Soyum said.
Three other men who boarded the minibus with Datukon also were held for questioning, Soyum said in an interview with DXMS radio.
Maj. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, commander of the army's 6th Infantry Division, said the bomb was made from a 60 mm mortar round attached to a mobile phone.
Datukon placed the bomb inside a bag on the floor at the front seat of the minibus that was headed to Cotabato city, Soyum said. The suspect later offered his seat to an old man and transferred to the roof of the vehicle with other passengers, a practice common in remote areas where transportation is difficult, Soyum said.
The bag was discovered at the checkpoint and the driver immediately pointed to Datukon as the owner. The device was rigged to explode with a call from another cell phone carried by Datukon, Soyum said.
Dema-ala believes Datukon is a member or a recruit of the al-Qaida-linked Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group and trained in bomb-making by operatives of Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesian-based terror group also active in the southern Philippines.
He said the bomb was similar to other improvised explosive devices discovered or set off in several southern cities, and traced back to the Abu Sayyaf.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 01:03 ||
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#1
Has anyone else noticed that everyone, no matter where they are, is carry a 60mm mortar round attached to a mobile phone? Hmm. I wonder if they're profiling?
PS. Do we have the ability to blow up certain mobile phones yet? hehehe.
#2
Wrong numbers would sure be a bummer, wouldn't they? The unemployment rate in the Philippines is what? Maybe the government should do something about that...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/29/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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#3
PS. Do we have the ability to blow up certain mobile phones yet? hehehe.
You know, I think you've got something here, disrupt cell service and not only are their "Triggers" disabled, but the baddies can't communicate.
That triggers a thought, issue cell phones to the assorted "Good Guys" such as firemen, police, etc that work on a different frequency, whenever anything goes "Boom" disable ALL other (Civilian)cell phones, then the baddies can't set off any others, or communicate, but the good guys can.
That should put a serious crimp in any "Secondary" boomers.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/29/2005 14:10 Comments ||
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Beirut, 29 Sept. (AKI) - Lebanese security forces have arrested 12 people who authorities allege are collaborators with Israel, a Lebanese newspaper reported on Thursday. The as-Safir daily said those detained were suspected of belonging to a network that included militiamen linked to General Antoine Lahad, a former leader of the South Lebanese Army (SLA), allied to Israeli forces during the Jewish state's occupation of southern Lebanon from 1978-2000.
Many of the SLA's leaders fearing reprisals in Lebanon went to live in Israel after the Israeli pullout. On Monday International Red Cross officials handed over the body of a former SLA leader, Samir Fares Sakhan who died in Israel, to Lebanese authorities so that he could be buried by his family.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/29/2005 12:40 ||
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Heavy clashes broke yesterday in front of the British Embassy in Tehran between police and Islamist students trying to enter the embassy compound. Tear gas was used as anti-riot units aided police prevent hundreds of violent students from entering the compound, where they wanted to bring down the British flag. Scores of protesters incensed by European Union moves to send Iranâs nuclear case to the UN Security Council hurled stones and smoke bombs over the walls of the British Embassy compound. Several students and police officers were injured in the clashes, and several students were reported arrested. Tehran police chief Gen. Talaei was at the scene supervising operations.
The students had been at a state-organized gathering to protest against last Saturdayâs anti-Iran resolution approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was proposed by the EU trio of Britain, Germany and France. After the police cooled down the protest, some 200 students staged a sit-in in front of the embassy, shouting slogans demanding the embassy be closed and the ambassador expelled.â Some also shouted âthis espionage den should be closed,â referring to the former American Embassy in Tehran which was occupied by students in 1979 for 444 days and since then called âspy den.â
After an hour police dispersed the crowd and the situation in the area returned to normal. Police denied reports of explosions near the embassy â but witnesses said students were seen throwing fireworks into the compound. âNuclear energy is our legitimate right,â they chanted. âWe will fight, we will die, we will never surrender.â During the protest, organized by the hard-line Basij militia, British and US flags were burned. Groups of protesters hurled stones, tomatoes and smoke bombs into the walled compound and some tried to push past police to reach the embassyâs main gate. Young women in black head-to-toe chadors held placards which said: âWe are your serious enemiesâ and âThe den of the old fox should be closedâ â a reference to Londonâs reputation for cunning and deceit in Iran. One protester, his forehead cut by a police baton, left two bloody handprints on the embassyâs brass name plate.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Tehran police chief Gen. Talaei was at the scene supervising operations.
FBI agents on Wednesday joined in the investigation into the latest of a spate of explosions in Lebanon, examining the site where a bomb tore threw a car and maimed a prominent TV anchorwoman. The Lebanese government had asked for U.S. help in trying to crack the mystery surrounding the explosions in recent months, the last of which targeted political talk show host May Chidiac of a popular TV station which had taken a line opposed to Syria.
Three men arrived at the site of Sunday's explosion near the port city of Jounieh north of Beirut to examine Chidiac's bombed out vehicle. Wearing gloves, one sifted through debris and collected fragments while another shot pictures as an accompanying woman took notes. Journalists were kept behind a police cordon about 10 meters (yards) away and team members declined to respond to their attempts to get a comment. A black box carried by a team member was marked "explosives unit" with the Washington, D.C., address of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Armed Lebanese police, who had sealed off the area since Sunday, provided security for the team.
I'll bet that made them feel... ummm... secure.
A U.S. Embassy official declined to discuss the matter Wednesday, other than to say that "the U.S. is happy to respond positively to requests from the government of Lebanon." The official did not wish to be named, but U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said Tuesday the U.S. team was to assist the Lebanese in the investigation and provide technical expertise.
"I mean, hell, we couldn't do any worse, could we?"
Meanwhile, the chief U.N. investigator into the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, met with Prime Minister Saniora. Details of their discussions were not disclosed, but Mehlis met late Tuesday with Justice Minister Charles Rizk. "What Mr. Mehlis told me is of such importance," Rizk told reporters Wednesday, that he had asked Saniora to meet with the German investigator as soon as possible. He did not elaborate.
"I can say no more!"
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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Cairo, 29 Sept. (AKI) - Egyptian police have killed two suspects in July's bomb attacks in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The interior ministry said security forces had killed the two men after a shoot-out in a mountainous region of the Sinai peninsula, and arrested a third. It described them as "the most dangerous fugivie suspects" in the suicide car bombings that killed at least 64 people and wounded more than 170.
The men killed in the shoot-out were identified as Khalid Musaid Salem, 33, a dentist, and Tilib Murdi Soliman, 23. The third suspect, Yunis Mohammed al-Alian, 25, was arrested. The ministry did not elaborate on the alleged involvement of the three in the deadly bombings. The ministry said the security forces received a tip off that the men were on their way to meet Mussa Mohammed Salem Badran, another suspect in the bombing who was killed on Wednesday.
The hunted men reportedly opened fire, injuring an officer and three soldiers and the security forces responded, killing the two suspects and arresting the third, according to the interior ministry.
Gee, you'd almost think they were caught in a "crossfire"
Security sources said the three suicide bombers who carried out the attacks on the Sinai resort were Bedouin members belonging to an Islamist cell whose chief has been arrested.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/29/2005 12:14 ||
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Pakistani security forces have arrested a wanted Sunni militant believed to be the head of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed militant group thought to be linked to al-Qaeda, and mastermind of a string of suicide attacks on minority Shiite Muslims, officials were quoted as saying on the website of the Pakistani television channel Geo TV. Asif Choto, was arrested over the weekend when security officers stopped a car on a motorway between Rawalpindi and Lahore, according to a senior security official.
Choto has been accused of killing scores of Shiites in several cases. He is believed to be behind the attack on a Shiite mosque in Karachi, which left five people dead, a suicide bombing in the eastern city of Sialkot in October 2004, which killed 30 Shiites, as well as two bombings in Karachi in May 2004 which left more than 40 people dead.
According to Geo TV, Choto was planning new attacks when he was captured in Rawalpindi.
Another militant from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Rashid alias Shahid Satti, was also arrested, according to senior police officials.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 00:36 ||
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#1
Aggh, please move to Afghanistan/South Asia ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
09/29/2005 0:37 Comments ||
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#2
Dan, do you want them all to move to Afghanistan so we can have the "final" word? :)
A bomb explosion Wednesday night tore apart a small portion of rail track in Southern Pakistaniprovince of Baluchistan, wounding one and suspending train service temporarily, said railway and police officials. Officials said explosion blew off one feet portion of the track and wounded a teenager. Railway official said that the repair work have been started and hoped that it would complete within the next 24 hours. Bombs and rockets targeting railway tracks, government installations and natural gas facilities have exploded almost daily in Baluchistan, the biggest and poorest of Pakistans four provinces. Police has been unable to arrest the real culprits but blames Baluch nationalists for continuous unrest and violence in the province since early 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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KABUL - A suicide bomber dressed in an army uniform rammed his motorcycle into a fleet of buses carrying Afghan army officers in the capital Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least nine people and wounding 28, officials said. The Taleban claimed responsibility for the murders attack at the Kabul Military Training Centre, set up by US-led forces to train a new national army, and warned that more could be expected.
Defence Ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi said 10 people had been killed, including the splodydope bomber. He said most of the dead were army officers. Another ministry official said eight of the dead were soldiers and another a civilian. âIt was a suicide attack,â Azimi said. The person was wearing an army uniform and was on a motorbike which he rammed into the convoy of the National Army officers.â
Four minibuses that had been carrying soldiers were burned in the attack, witnesses said. Mohammad Akbar, the police chief of the eastern city district where the blast took place, said the attacker struck the buses in the car park of the training centre. Witness Mohammad Gul, 32, said he saw a motorcyclist ride into the car park. âSuddenly there was a huge explosion. It was deafening and I still canât hear properly,â he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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Egypt yesterday proposed the creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East and blasted Israel for standing in the way, at a meeting in Vienna of the UN atomic watchdog. Israel, believed to be the only state in the region with nuclear weapons, said it was not against such a zone but that there must first be an overall peace agreement in the Middle East. Israeli atomic energy commission chief Gideon Frank also said another Arab initiative to name Israel as a nuclear threat was unacceptable as it was âpolitically and cynically motivated.â
Egyptian Ambassador Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy told the 139-nation general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency that âEgypt will be tabling a draft resolution on ... a nuclear-free zoneâ and hopes for âa serious international commitment in this area.â Ramzy appealed to IAEA chief Mohamed El-Baradei âto continue his efforts to persuade the country which is standing in the way of the creation of such an area to display good will,â in a clear reference to Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Translation, if we can shame or trick you into giving up your nukes we'll slaughter you easier.
Answer, we're not the idiots you hope we are, you want our nukes we'll give them to you (Ummm, do you mind if they're fused and ready to go off first?)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/29/2005 0:28 Comments ||
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#4
"Israel, believed to be the only state in the region with nuclear weapons, said it was not against such a zone but that there must first be an overall peace agreement in the Middle East."
Right after my date with the Olsen twins I'll get this bomb outta my basement.
#6
Egypt's gonna get one soon,
Just to use on you-know-who.
So, Israel's getting tense,
Wants one in self-defense.
"The Lord is our shepherd,"
Says the psalm,
But just in case,
We're gonna get the bomb!
Who's next?
— Tom Lehrer
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
09/29/2005 18:30 Comments ||
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#7
Where else but Rantburg do people casually quote my fave songwriter, Tom Lehrer! That was perfect, Eric. :-D
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A federal grand jury has handed up new indictments charging two leaders of an area...
Iraqi Police on Wednesday found seven dead bodies of Iraqi citizens in the area of Shulah, southwest of Baghdad. An Iraqi Police source told reporters that the bodies were handcuffed and shot in the head. 
Jordan on Wednesday confirmed reports that a Jordanian Embassy car came under fire in Baghdad. An authoritative source at the Jordanian embassy told KUNA the car was attacked at the Al-Ghazalia bridge in Baghdad on Wednesday but none of its passengers was hurt. The source who requested anonymity said the car was hit by three bullets, adding that another civilian car, which was behind the embassy vehicle, was also hit and its driver killed. A policeman who happened to be in the area was injured in the shooting.
Iraqi army forces arrested on Tuesday three insurgents for their involvement in an attack against the Iraqi army in Al-Azamiyah area in North West of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. A statement for the Iraqi Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the insurgents attacked the army forces using hand grenades during which three Iraqi soldiers and two civilians were injured.
Iraqis expressed fury on Wednesday over the three-year jail sentence for Lynndie England, the U.S. soldier notorious for holding a naked inmate by a leash in Abu Ghraib prison, saying it exposed American hypocrisy. They said the sentence would have been more harsh had she been convicted of abusing Americans. "America should be ashamed of this sentence. This is the best evidence that Americans have double standards," said Akram Abdel Amir, a retired bus driver in Baghdad. "There are Iraqis in jail without any charge, just based on suspicion. But when it comes to Americans, the matter is totally different."
Hamas said on Wednesday that it was not afraid of Israel's threats to eliminate its top leaders and pointed out that the policy of targeted assassinations would only boost the movement's standing. Despite the defiant statement, sources in the Gaza Strip said most of the Hamas leaders have gone underground for fear of being targeted by Israel. 
According to Masri, experience has shown that assassinations and arrests of Hamas have only served to strengthen the movement and rally more Palestinians behind it. He reaffirmed, however, Hamas's commitment to the unofficial truce with Israel. "Our decision to announce a cease-fire [earlier this week] was not taken out of strength, not weakness," he explained. Hamas has come under heavy criticism from many Palestinians following last Friday's explosion in Jabalya refugee camp that killed 21 people injured more than 120 others. Many Palestinians have rejected Hamas's claim that Israel was behind the explosion, which occurred when a truck loaded with rockets overturned during a rally organized by the movement. "The majority of Palestinians does not believe the Hamas version because 
Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinian militants during early morning raids on the West Bank today, Palestinian sources said.
Wanted members of the Palestinian Al-Aqsa brigades, military arm of mainstream Fatah, are clashing with Israeli occupation forces in Kafr Qalil town close to Nablus, eyewitnesses said Wednesday. The added in a telephone call to Kuna that the Israeli occupation forces stormed a home where wanted Palestinians were hiding and clashed with them for two hours. They added that Israeli ambulances arrived at the site of the fight and surrounded the house. No further details were disclosed.
Heavy clashes broke yesterday in front of the British Embassy in Tehran between police and Islamist students trying to enter the embassy compound. Tear gas was used as anti-riot units aided police prevent hundreds of violent students from entering the compound, where they wanted to bring down the British flag. Scores of protesters incensed by European Union moves to send Iranâs nuclear case to the UN Security Council hurled stones and smoke bombs over the walls of the British Embassy compound. Several students and police officers were injured in the clashes, and several students were reported arrested. Tehran police chief Gen. Talaei was at the scene supervising operations.
FBI agents on Wednesday joined in the investigation into the latest of a spate of explosions in Lebanon, examining the site where a bomb tore threw a car and maimed a prominent TV anchorwoman. The Lebanese government had asked for U.S. help in trying to crack the mystery surrounding the explosions in recent months, the last of which targeted political talk show host 
A bomb explosion Wednesday night tore apart a small portion of rail track in Southern Pakistaniprovince of Baluchistan, wounding one and suspending train service temporarily, said railway and police officials. Officials said explosion blew off one feet portion of the track and wounded a teenager. Railway official said that the repair work have been started and hoped that it would complete within the next 24 hours. Bombs and rockets targeting railway tracks, government installations and natural gas facilities have exploded almost daily in Baluchistan, the biggest and poorest of Pakistans four provinces. Police has been unable to arrest the real culprits but blames Baluch nationalists for continuous unrest and violence in the province since early 2004.
KABUL - A suicide bomber dressed in an army uniform rammed his motorcycle into a fleet of buses carrying Afghan army officers in the capital Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least nine people and wounding 28, officials said. The Taleban claimed responsibility for the 
Egypt yesterday proposed the creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East and blasted Israel for standing in the way, at a meeting in Vienna of the UN atomic watchdog. Israel, believed to be the only state in the region with nuclear weapons, said it was not against such a zone but that there must first be an overall peace agreement in the Middle East. Israeli atomic energy commission chief Gideon Frank also said another Arab initiative to name Israel as a nuclear threat was unacceptable as it was âpolitically and cynically motivated.â 
