(KUNA) -- Suspected Taliban militants gunned down two Afghan policemen in western Afghanistan, officials said on Tuesday. The incident happened in the western province of Herat, bordering neighbouring Iran, on Monday evening, provincial police chief Rahmatullah Safi told journalists. The policemen were patrolling the border areas when they came under attack from the Taliban, the chief said. He added that the attackers also killed two civilians while escaping from the area after committing the crime. Taliban militants so far did not claim responsibility for the killing of the policemen or the civilians. The western border of Afghanistan, especially the provinces bordering Iran, are frequently used by smugglers for smuggling of goods as well human trafficking.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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Three Afghan villagers died on Monday when a Taliban weapons cache exploded in southern Afghanistan, and a dozen of militants were killed in an operation a day earlier, police said.
Four other villagers were wounded when weapons and explosives hidden in a stable in a village in the southern province of Ghazni blew up, provincial deputy police chief Muhammad Zaman told AFP.
The Taliban had hidden lots of weapons and explosives in a stable. The stock went off for unknown reasons, killing three civilians and injuring four others, Zaman said.
Taliban killed: Separately, 12 Taliban-linked rebels, including two militant commanders, were killed in an operation on Sunday by international and Afghan forces in Uruzgan province further south, provincial police chief Juma Gul Hemat said. We had a joint clean-up operation with coalition forces in Chora district. We came in contact with the Taliban and fighting erupted. During the fighting, 12 Taliban were killed, Hemat told newsmen.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Guess they finally found the right microwave frequency to trigger C-4 without a detonator. Maybe we'll see more of these in the coming weeks.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/26/2008 14:07 Comments ||
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MIRANSHAH: Militants accused an Afghan citizen of spying for the US, and shot him dead late on Monday in the Ahmed Khel area of North Waziristan. Abdullah Jan, a resident of the Afghan province of Paktia, was shot in the head on the Miranshah-Dattakhel road. Locals found the body on Tuesday with a note which stated that all US agents will meet the same fate.The man was shot from close range and his body was found near a paramilitary camp, an official told AFP. Residents said the man had been kidnapped last week from Miranshah bazaar.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
a paramilitary camp
Does that mean a Taliban camp, an Afghan Police camp, or what?
#3
We should release lists of our 'spies' via news leaks and other ways, to include prominent people on our wanted lists. Maybe they'll kill a few of them off for us.
Unidentified gunmen killed three people including a woman in Matta tehsil in Swat district on Tuesday, officials said. They also said security forces arrested four suspected militants including a militant commander closely linked to rebel cleric Fazlullah.
Police officials in Matta told Daily Times that locals had found two unidentified bodies on a road in Chauta Kalam. In another incident, unidentified assailants killed Habibullah and his wife and injured his second wife when they were standing outside their house. Security forces arrested four suspects on Tuesday including one they identified as militant commander Muhammad Yusuf, close aide to rebel cleric Fazlullah. He was arrested at Fizzagut checkpost. They also seized Rs 60,000 from him. Sources said the men were being interrogated at an undisclosed location.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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KOHAT: The Kohat District administration on Tuesday summoned the army to overcome clashes which erupted between two rival tribes four days ago.
Mehtab Khan, the nazim of Asterzai Union Council, told the BBC that the clashes between the Mushti and Kachi tribes had once again started in Kohat. Both groups used heavy weapons during the night between Monday and Tuesday, he said, adding that there were contradictory reports about causalities. He said the local administration had called in the army in order to overcome the crisis. Officials didnt confirm reports of the death of seven people in the clashes.
A resident of Kachizai said people in the area had shifted their families to safer places. He said some houses were also burnt during the clashes. Meanwhile, the Hangu District administration continued the curfew for the fourth consecutive day.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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BAJAUR: A man died in a blast in Bajaur Agencys Salarzai tehsil on Tuesday, witnesses said. They said that Abdul Ghani was passing through a field when a landmine exploded and injured him. He was taken to the Agency Headquarters Hospital, where he died. In another incident, militants fired rockets and mortars at Chargo checkpost in Salarzai tehsil late on Monday night, but no one was hurt, the areas political administration said. Security forces launched a retaliation in the direction of the attack, it said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- As many as eight persons have been killed and several injured in separate attacks by insurgent groups in Northeast India. Four persons were killed and several others injured when the rebel group Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel faction) triggered a bomb blast in the North Cachar Hills district in Indias Northeastern state of Assam late last night, the news agency Press Trust of India reported Tuesday. Four more persons were killed and four others injured in separate attacks by insurgents last night in Indias Northeastern state of Manipur, the news agency said. Three, including two girls, were killed during a dance festival last night in Manipurs Thoubal district. In another attack, a man was gunned down by unidentified assailants in Manipurs Imphal East district last night.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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BANNU: A man was arrested when he allegedly entered the house of a religious party leader with a hand grenade, police said on Monday. A man namely Ibratullah entered the house of Maulana Tamizuddin in Kotka Badali, Ismailkhel village, and closed the doors, police said, adding that they had cordoned off the property.
They said that Ibratullah surrendered to them after having negotiations with Malik Jehanzaib Khan, a respected figure in the area, and Maulana Tameezuddin. Ibratullah was a resident of Hurmuz village in North Waziristan, police said, adding that they were probing the matter.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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Kokrajhar, India: An NDFB militant was beaten to death by a mob while another escaped on Tuesday near Manas National Park in Assams Chirang district, official sources said.
The militants had gone to Bansbari on Barpeta Road to extort money from PWD contractors who were engaged in construction of a PWD road. As the police fired in the air, local people grabbed the militants and beat them up injuring a militant. The police reached the spot, but the other militant escaped. The injured militant died on way to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Has the Right Rev. Al Sharpton approved the use fo the reserved word "lynching" for this event?
GHALANAI: Militants fired a volley of rockets at the Mohmand Agency headquarters hospital late on Sunday, damaging the hospital building, and disrupting the supply of electricity and water. However, no casualties have been reported.
Dr Asad, the purported spokesman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Mohmand Agency, told Daily Times via telephone from an undisclosed location on Monday that the TTP was not involved in the attack. He said the local Taliban stood by their ceasefire accord with the government. He suspected that a third force was trying to sabotage the government-Taliban ceasefire agreement. Dr Jehangir, the medical superintendent of Ghalanai Headquarters Hospital, said rockets had damaged the Eye Ward building.
Damage: He said rockets also destroyed the electricity and water network in the hospital.
Sources said a few rockets also landed outside a 132-Kilo volt grid station but didnt cause any damage.
Security forces retaliated, and exchange of fire with militants continued for two hours. This is the second militant attack at the agency headquarters, Ghalanai, within a short span of time. A large number of headquarters of various government departments are situated in Ghalanai.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Sherry ||
03/26/2008 10:25 ||
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#1
Opps -- that was another one of those, I pressed Enter when putting in the link, and poof, it posted. Meant to shorten title and of course, include the text.
Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been given three days to surrender their weapons and sign a pledge renouncing violence.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued the 72-hour deadline in the southern oil port city of Basra.
The ultimatum comes as the Shiite prime minister is in Basra to supervise a crackdown against the spiraling violence between militia factions vying for control of Iraq's second-largest city.
Iraq's leaders faced their gravest challenge in months as al-Sadr's followers battled government forces for control of Basra, fought U.S. and Iraqi troops in Baghdad and unleashed rockets on the Green Zone.
Armed Mahdi Army militiamen appeared on some Baghdad streets for the first time in more than six months, as al-Sadr's supporters announced a nationwide campaign of strikes and demonstrations to protest a government crackdown on their movement.
Merchants shuttered their shops in commercial districts in several Baghdad neighborhoods.
U.S. and Iraqi troops backed by helicopters fought Shiite gunmen in Baghdad's Sadr City district after the local office of al-Maliki's Dawa Party came under attack, the U.S. said. Residents of the area reported intermittent explosions and gunfire in the area late Tuesday.
An American soldier was killed in fighting Tuesday afternoon in Baghdad, the U.S. military said. No further details were released, and it was unclear whether Shiite militiamen were responsible.
Although all sides appeared reluctant to trigger a conflagration, Brig. Gen. Ed Cardon, assistant commander of the U.S. task force operating south of Baghdad, said the situation in the south was "very complicated" and "the potential for miscalculation is high."
The burgeoning crisis part of an intense power struggle among Shiite political factions has major implications for the United States. An escalation could unravel the cease-fire which al-Sadr proclaimed last August. A resumption of fighting by his militia could kill more U.S. soldiers and threaten at least in the short run the security gains Washington has hailed as a sign that Iraq is on the road to recovery.
The confrontation will also test the skill and resolve of Iraq's Shiite-led government in dealing with Shiite militias, with whom the national leadership had maintained close ties.
Underscoring the serious stakes at play, al-Maliki, a Shiite, remained in the southern city of Basra to command the security operation. Sweeps were launched at dawn to rid the city of militias and criminal gangs that ruled the streets even before the British handed over control to the Iraqis in December.
U.S. and Iraqi officials believe some factions of al-Sadr's movement maintain close ties with Iran, which provides them with weapons, money and training. Iran denies the allegation.
Basra, located near the Iranian border about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad, is the center of the country's vast oil industry. Stability in the city is essential if Iraq is to attract huge investments needed to restore its neglected oil fields and export facilities.
Throughout the day, the sounds of explosions and machine gunfire echoed through Basra's streets as Iraqi soldiers and police fought the Mahdi Army in at least four strategic neighborhoods.
A military spokesman said 40 people have been killed and 200 wounded in two days of fighting between Shiite militias and government forces in the southern city of Basra.
Associated Press Television News video showed smoke rising over Basra, and coalition jets prowling the skies while ambulances raced through the streets.
Iraqi police and soldiers prevented journalists from reaching the areas of heaviest fighting, and it was unclear which side had the upper hand by sundown.
Iraqi military spokesman Col. Karim al-Zaidi acknowledged that government troops were facing stiff resistance.
Residents of one neighborhood said Mahdi Army snipers were firing from rooftops. Others fired rocket-propelled grenades at the troops, then scurried away on motorcycles. Other residents said police fled their posts.
Residents spoke by telephone on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals, and their accounts could not be confirmed.
British troops remained at their base at the airport outside Basra and were not involved in the ground fighting Tuesday, according to the British Ministry of Defense. Air support was being provided, but a spokesman would not say if it was U.S. or British planes.
The British had given assurances that the Iraqis could handle security in the city when they withdrew last year.
In Baghdad, several salvos of rockets were fired at the U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies. There were no reports of casualties, but the blasts sent people scurrying for concrete bunkers.
Lawmakers from al-Sadr's movement announced that a civil disobedience campaign which began Monday in selected neighborhoods of the capital was being extended nationwide. The campaign was seen as an indication that the Sadrists want to assert their power without provoking a major showdown with the Americans, who inflicted massive casualties on the Mahdi Army during fighting in 2004.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, was in contact with the Sadrist leadership in hopes of easing the crisis, said a top Sadrist official, Liwa Smeism.
Schools and shops were closed in many predominantly Shiite districts. "All shops are closed in my area except bakeries and vegetable stands," said Furat Ali, 35, a merchant in southwestern Baghdad.
Police also reported fighting between Iraqi security forces and Mahdi militiamen in the Shiite cities of Hillah and Kut, which lies on a major route between Baghdad and the Iranian border.
The showdown with al-Sadr has been brewing for months but has accelerated since parliament agreed in February to hold provincial elections by the fall. The U.S. had been pressing for new elections to give Sunnis, who boycotted the last provincial balloting three years ago, a chance for greater power.
Al-Sadr's followers have also been eager for elections, believing they can make significant gains in the oil-rich Shiite south at the expense of Shiite parties with close U.S. ties.
Sadrists have accused rival Shiite parties, which control Iraqi security forces, of engineering the arrests to prevent them from mounting an effective election campaign.
They also complain that few of their followers have been granted amnesty under a new law designed to free thousands held by the Iraqis and Americans.
"The police and army are being used for political goals, while they should be used for the benefits of all the Iraqi people," said Nassar al-Rubaei, leader of the Sadrist bloc in parliament. "If these violations continue, a huge popular eruption will take place that no power on Earth can stop."
#2
For some reason, statements like this remind me of the Klingon ship captain in Star Trek 3, who got the drop on the good guys with his disrupter, then said loudly "Drop all weapons!"
There are just so many situations where that seems appropriate.
WASHINGTON - Authorities are awaiting identification of the remains of three bodies in Iraq, a U.S. law enforcement official said Tuesday, a day after the remains of two kidnapped contractors were identified.
Four other kidnapped Western contractors have been missing for more than a year. The disappearances received new attention this month when the severed fingers of several men were sent to the U.S. military in Iraq. Several relatives had taken the discovery of the fingers as a hopeful sign but hopes dimmed Monday when the FBI said the remains of Ronald Withrow of Roaring Springs, Texas, and John Roy Young of Kansas City, Mo., had been identified.
A U.S. law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the identification process is ongoing, confirmed that three other bodies are awaiting testing. The other men still missing are Jonathon Cote, of Getzville, N.Y.; Paul Johnson-Reuben of Minneapolis; Joshua Munns of Redding, Calif.; and Bert Nussbaumer of Vienna, Austria. A finger from each was received by the military recently.
Munns' mother says she has lost hope that her son is alive after hearing from the FBI that the remains of Withrow and Young had been identified. "I think at this point, because they already killed the others, (he) is going to be probably dead as well, that's just a mom's intuition," said Jackie Stewart, a resident of Ridgefield, Wash.
Stewart, 45, hopes some good can come out of the story of her son's ordeal. "I was never seeking media attention, but if (it helps) somebody else get their kids back, and get this war over with," she said she would gladly "stand in the limelight."
Cote's father, Francis, said he has not given up hope but expressed anger at the death of Young, one of his son's colleagues. "How could they hold someone and spend all the resources to keep them in captivity feed them, clothe them, bathe them, retain them, provide security for them and then finally decide, 'OK, that's it, we're going to terminate his life?' " said Cote, who lives in suburban Buffalo, N.Y. "I just don't understand how that can take place. I just don't have that kind of hatred in my heart. I never will, and I don't understand it."
Johnson-Reuben's family, too, is hoping for the best. "We're still just praying for everyone involved," said Patrick Reuben, the missing contractor's twin brother.
Patrick Reuben's wife, Jennifer Reuben, added that there are many hostages, and the three additional bodies could be the remains of any of those who have been captured. She said even if the bodies end up being the remains of the contractors, the fate of a sixth contractor is still unknown. "This is just really terrible," she said.
The family will hold out hope for Johnson-Reuben until they learn otherwise, Jennifer Reuben said. "How can you not?" she said.
In Parkville, Mo., north of Kansas City, Young's cousin, Melanie Gustin, told reporters Tuesday that her family can stop worrying about Young and move toward healing. "We don't lay awake nights anymore going, 'Is he cold? Are they hurting him? Is he hungry?'" Gustin said, her voice breaking. "That's not on your mind every single night when you go to bed and every morning when you wake up. No, this isn't the way we wanted it to turn out. But he's at peace now. And they can't hurt him anymore." "Remains of three bodies"
Remember, if these are the missing contractors, the barbarians had them alive and the deaths were recent.
Remember also that the kidnappers' primary demand was for the release of prisoners. Whatever savagery the terrorists inflicted on these helpless captives was directly incited by the media with their sensationalized and distorted propaganda about Abu Ghraib and Gitmo. AQ and Iranian-affiliated propaganda forces should be priority targets.
This is a message from the Iranians and the Sadrists and was probably timed to coincide with the latest Sadrist uprising. Our special forces should retaliate in the most ruthless and terrifying manner possible and our troops should keep it in mind as they suppress the uprising. It is all these demons understand.
#2
"retaliate in the most ruthless and terrifying manner possible"
That's the real trick. To do that selectively while protecting the predominately Muslim population of Iraq from the terrorists. The concept is difficult; the execution almost impossible. And yet, everyday, our troops do it.
#4
The task has been somewhat trivialized as the 3 block war. The hard part for me is that post 911, we are there PROTECTING Muslims. I have to say that on 912, that was not my first impulse. Still, if protecting Muslims screws with Al Qaeda, it HAS to be a good thing. In any case, it does seem to be working. Maybe that's why Al Qaeda/Iran is seeing if they can provoke an overreaction.
#5
Since the enemy and their agents will construe literally anything we do as an over-reaction, we must examine the details and the history of such interactions in that part of the world. The Turks and the British got good results with measures that would be outrageously provocative by current standards, so did Saddam for that matter.
The trick, as you say Zebulon, is to act in the genuine interest of the people there. There are ways to do that. Individual provocateurs can be targeted, and complicit individuals eliminated. This may lead to displays of rage from terrorist supporters, but only because they know that sympathetic media will validate these charades.
It is easy to distinguish between real reactions and media-generated posturing, we just have to avoid the common underlying assumption of media coverage, ie that Iraqis have the intelligence of chimpanzees and the emotions of children.
KUT, Iraq - Armed followers of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr seized control of five districts in the southern Iraqi town of Kut on Tuesday, police sources said. The sources said Sadrs Mehdi Army militia were in control of the Jihad, Shuhada, Zahara, Sharqiya and Hawi districts of the city, which has 18 districts in total. A Reuters witness in the city said he could hear shooting and explosions. U.S. warplanes were circling overhead.
We ask U.S. forces to help us with aircraft and vehicles. The militants have spread out through Kut, said police Captain Majid al-Imara. He said 8-10 policemen had been wounded in clashes in the town of Aziziya north of Kut.
Iraqs security forces have repeatedly clashed with Sadrs followers in Kut over the past two weeks. In Samawa, capital of southern Muthanna province, police imposed a curfew after Mehdi Army fighters appeared on the streets. Curfews were also imposed in Hilla and Kut, police said.
Sadr imposed a ceasefire on the Mehdi Army last August, a move the U.S. military said contributed greatly to falling levels of violence in Iraq. But in recent days there have been signs that the truce is fraying, with Mehdi Army fighters complaining that Iraqi and U.S. security forces are exploiting it to target them. Sadr called for nationwide sit-ins on Tuesday in protest against what he said were attacks on his followers and threatened a civil revolt if the crackdown did not stop.
It's spring time and a young man's fancy turns to jihad ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Basra, Kut, and Sadr City. It looks like a general uprising by stages and the murder of our captive contractors was probably timed to coincide with it. It will remove the last barrier to eliminating Tater and his tots for good.
#4
This is also an effort to embarrass Petraeus and derail the surge. He's due to "report" to Congress in a couple of weeks and the Iranians would like to have their Tet offensive in full motion during the hearings.
Galrahn also has an interesting post about the level of naval activity, especially EUropean, in the ME.
naval activity represents the largest Naval buildup around the Middle East region since late 2003, particularly east of the Suez Canal, however because it is not the US Navy the media is ignoring this massive buildup of force.
As we observed back in January, we predicted that by late March there would be an enormous naval surge to the Middle East region. Our predictions have proven right, but due to the nature of the naval buildup, there is very little discussion of it. There is no question the build up represents scheduled deployments and alliance naval activity of a routine nature. There is also no question that the tension level for war is growing, and we can now safely say the date being observed in the region where many expect war to break out is April 6th.
#6
If the tater tots are still as poorly led and trained as they were back in 2003-2004, the Iraq Security Forces ought to be able to handle them reasonably well - in fact with luck the ISF will do more killing then we would. Perhaps there have some Iranians to help them but given the cultural problems that might not work.
This could be, for Tater, a Tet offense that doesn't work.
#7
i agree with old spook. The govt wants to weaken Sadr - they may not even really want to destroy him altogether - anyway their priority is to fix the longstanding mess in Basra. Their weakness is the limits on the overall number of reliable forces available to the govt (esp with the war with AQinIRaq far from finished) Mahdi Army has lots of militants, but theyre local bhoys who cant be moved from city to city that easily (esp with the coalition controlling the air and -thus- the roads).
From a pure military strat POV - the govt can concentrate force in space - Mahdi Army cant. Ergo the Mahdi army strat is to concentrate in time - to attack everywhere at once to make it harder for the govt to concentrate in space.
As Lincoln said, those who cant skin, can still hold a leg.
#8
The fighting in the Kut area is far more prolematical for Sadr than Basra. His guys are outsiders there. The region is the heartland for Sistani's Sadr Militia.
BTW, anyone who think Sadr had the remotest influence over this revolt beginning? He's in Iran, being "educated". This is Iran trying to state a Tet Offensive, pure and simple.
Too bad for them that the Iraqi security forces are stronger than South Vietnam's.
#9
The ARVN marines that we (82nd.)operated with around Hue in 68 were very good. I believe the Iraqi units involved in Basra are the cream of their army. Time will tell if they are a BCS team or a mid major.
#10
This could be, for Tater, a Tet offense that doesn't work.
The Tet Offenisve was a disaster for the Communist forces. They lost 40000 dead. The Viet Cong was essentially wiped out as a fighting force; after that the North Vietnamese had to move in.
People think the Tet offensive was a disaster for America because Walter Cronkite said so.
Let's hope Tater Tot's offensive works out as well for him, but that the traitors in the media can't spin it into a victory for him.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
03/26/2008 12:01 Comments ||
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#11
And let's use the Internet and every conversation we can with friends and family to make sure the MSM can't spin this one away. They'll try, for sure. Let's work to make that impossible for them.
Youtube, folks. Nothing like videos online, like the Moving America Forward demonstrations and the Vets for Freedom and the Protest Warriors and .... all getting viral traction in the Net.
Won't dent the leftists, but it can influence the moderates. And maybe even get a clip or two on the TV news.
#12
If the Iraqi Army can make this happen, it will be a stunning victory. Now is the time for Sistani to speak up if he wants to be the man.
If the Iraqi Army wins decisively and Basra is retaken, then oil pipelines are safe. When was the last time an Arab army had a victory over an armed, organized, and seasoned foe?
#13
from what I can gather the mahdi army is well equipped and fighting back hard in Basra. Teheran may be thinking this is Lebanon 2006, redux. But Maliki doesnt have a timetable with a UNSC resolution looming, like the Israelis did. Hes probably planning on something more like the second battle of Fallujah. I dont know the geography of basra well enough, it may be he can cut it into slices and take one at a time. There may be hunger and thirst problems for civvies if the battle goes too long, as the obvious strat, which they seem to be employing, is to surround the hostile areas and cut them off.
#16
Basra? Can't be. The Brits were in charge of that.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
03/26/2008 18:24 Comments ||
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#17
This + Euro naval buildup reports convinces me more that OSAMA + RADICAL ISLAM desire and need to ensure IRAN devs the so-called "ISLAMIST BOMB". Given MSM reports that Dubya will not = can't undertake any milaction agz Iran in his lasy year as POTUS, for at least six months iff not ever thru Jan 2009, IMO OSAMA, SADR, ETC. HAVE CHOSEN TO ESCALATE BY KEEPING IRAQ-AGHAN AS A "HOLDING FRONT" AGZ THE US-COALITION, AND REFOCUS INSURGENCT EFFORTS TOWARDS CENTRAL ASIA, + AFRICA< BUT PRIMARILY CENTRAL ASIA WHERE RUSS IS HARD-PRESSED TO INTERVENE EVERYWHERE = ESPEC NUCLEAR-WMD ARSENALS LOC WITHIN THE FORMER, MOSTLY MUSLIM SSRS. Read - even iff the USA attacks IRAN per se, RADICAL ISLAM > there's always Russ [unsecure]Cold War stockpiles or caches, former SOviet NucPerts living in the former SSR's, + RUSS MAFIAS/OTHER MAFIAS. THESE ARE EXCLUSIVE OF ANY NUKES-WMDS WEAPONS ANDOR TECHS ACQUIRED BEFORE 9-11 TO PRESENT
E.G. UKRAINE > BELIEVES "DUAL-USE"/NUKE CAPABLE COLD WAR SOVIET TCMS, WARHEADS + MISSLES, WENT MISSING AND WERE LIKELY SECRETLY DELIVERED TO IRAN. * NOT ONLY FROM UKRAINE.
Iff I am correct about this [covert]Islamist strategy, US-WEST > ARE IN REAL DANGER NOT ONLY FROM THE "ISLAMIST BOMB" = POTEN ISLAMIST NUKE TERROR ATTACKS, BUT ALSO FROM A ISLAMIST-DESTABILIZED CENTRAL ASIA. i.e. A RETURN OF COMMIE-STYLE TOTALITARIAN ANTI-DEMOCRACY IN RUSSIA DUE TO RUSS FEARS OF NUCLEARIZED IRANIAN EMPIRE = NUCLEARIZED ISLAMIST BLOC ON ITS BORDERS, WHICH RUSS WILL BLAME ON THE US-WEST/NATO.
Lest we fergit, Russ blamed the USA for 9-11, the rise of Al QAEDA as a US CIA-INTEL PROXY, BESLAN,and for its Islamist troubles in Chechnya, etc.
*"HEZBOLLAH versus ISRAEL" also a HOLDING FRONT? ISLAMIST BOMB > TIME + NUKE NUMBERS IS AGZ ISRAEL IN LR.
* ISRAELI INTEL > IRAN WILL "THE BOMB" AS EARLY AS 2009.
Some Lebanese even have a precise date for it: April 6 the day Israel's biggest emergency drill ever starts, when they believe the Israeli Defense Forces juggernaut will roll across the border to finish the job they should have during the 34-day conflict. Although, mind you, there's not a thread of evidence that the Israelis are really going to invade.
(KUNA) -- Multi-National Forces (MNF) said Tuesday it killed five suspects and injured several others in Basra late Monday. An MNF press release said it bombarded the suspects who were spotted conducting suspicious activity in the Al-Hyyaniyah district in Basra. The release did not say if the operation was conducted by US or British forces. The operation is the first to be conducted by the MNF since British forces withdrew from the city in mid 2007. The operation coincided with the Iraqi government's announcement of starting a wide military operation in Basra, supervised by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, to chase wanted rebels. Spokesman of the government said Monday British forces will not return to the city, stressing that the Iraqi authorities will impose security in it.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- A source at the Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed reports of fierce clashes Tuesday in Basra, where Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is personally overseeing military action, while authorities are claiming the protests in Baghdad came under gunpoint.
The source told KUNA the clashes started in the early morning between army forces and armed groups he referred to as "outlaws" in different areas of Iraq's second city. He said the security forces controlled the situation and many militants were between dead, wounded, and arrested. The air forces took part in the fighting, which is part of a wide-scale military action in Basra, he also said. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced the "start of military operations in Basra" and the Multi-National Force said he was supervising the operations himself.
Al-Maliki is in Basra with both the Minister of Defense Abdelqader Al-Obaidi and Minister of Interior Jawad Al-Bulani. While the source would not reveal the identity of the militants, eyewitnesses told KUNA the clashes were with the Mahdi Army. The witnesses also said these were the fiercest clashes in the city and that columns of smoke could be seen in the areas of the clashes. They also reported heightened military activity since early morning and said ambulances are taking the injured to hospitals. On a relevant front, Fardh Al-Qanoon (law enforcement) operations command said militants forced civilians to close shop and stay home and also closed the transport stations, under threat of weapon, in Baghdad suburbs yesterday. The militant's affiliation was not stated.
The Sadr bloc had on its part said it called for the protests in southern Baghdad. A command statement said banning civilians from their businesses and denying access to schools and state facilities constitutes breach of law and is an act punishable by the anti-terrorism law, pledging protection for civilians. Meanwhile, Sadr bloc's representative Nassar Al-Rubeiei said protest was a civilian expression of opposition to and condemnation of arbitrary raids against the bloc's figures and members, and is a "peaceful protest." The Shiite areas of Baghdad suffered increased security tension recently, as did southern Iraq, with frequent clashes between security forces and militants of different affiliations.
Al-Maliki had arrived in Basra yesterday and met military leaders to review the deterioration of the security situation in Iraq's second city and lone port city.
Basra saw heightened security measures yesterday which included a closure and ban of vehicles from both entry and exit, in addition to a curfew and suspension of work at state bodies.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/26/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
Maliki seems to have been acting in good faith these last few months. If he keeps this up, he may actually rise to the level of Stud.
#3
Point taken gorb, but given the tendency of iraqi security officials to have multiple loyalties, having the PM right on top of things makes a certain amount of sense.
Open up, warden. Got another one for Mastermind Row... JERUSALEM - The Israeli military says it has captured the mastermind of the deadliest suicide bombing of the Palestinian uprising. Omar Jabar had been on the run since the March 2002 bombing at a hotel in the Israeli city of Netanya.
In the attack, the bomber blew himself up during a dinner celebrating the Jewish holiday of Passover. Thirty people were killed and nearly 150 were wounded. The attack sparked a large Israeli military operation in the West Bank. The army says Jabar planned the attack and dispatched the bomber to the hotel. It says Jabar was arrested early Wednesday in the West Bank.
#12
LOL - it's San Diego humor...if you've seen love-making in the surf movie scenes (think "From Here to
Eeternity") you probably never thought of the abrasive nature of sand in .... practice. It ain't good, pretty, or healthy, and if you don't want a second circumcision, better avoided
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/26/2008 20:52 Comments ||
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#13
and it makes you have typos and avoid preview...all bad
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/26/2008 20:53 Comments ||
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#14
LOL, Frank, never tied sand in da shorts to typos, but I see your "point."
Posted by: BA ||
03/26/2008 22:16 Comments ||
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#16
After all, what's sandpaper made out of? Lovemaking in the surf always struck me as a good way to get a lungful of salt water... which I suppose could be considered romantic to some.
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.
GHALANAI: Militants fired a volley of rockets at the Mohmand Agency headquarters hospital late on Sunday, damaging the hospital building, and disrupting the supply of electricity and water. However, no casualties have been reported.
KUT, Iraq - Armed followers of Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr seized control of five districts in the southern Iraqi town of Kut on Tuesday, police sources said. The sources said Sadrs Mehdi Army militia were in control of the Jihad, Shuhada, Zahara, Sharqiya and Hawi districts of the city, which has 18 districts in total. A Reuters witness in the city said he could hear shooting and explosions. U.S. warplanes were circling overhead.
(KUNA) -- Multi-National Forces (MNF) said Tuesday it killed five suspects and injured several others in Basra late Monday. An MNF press release said it bombarded the suspects who were spotted conducting suspicious activity in the Al-Hyyaniyah district in Basra. The release did not say if the operation was conducted by US or British forces. The operation is the first to be conducted by the MNF since British forces withdrew from the city in mid 2007. The operation coincided with the Iraqi government's announcement of starting a wide military operation in Basra, supervised by Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, to chase wanted rebels. Spokesman of the government said Monday British forces will not return to the city, stressing that the Iraqi authorities will impose security in it.
(KUNA) -- A source at the Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed reports of fierce clashes Tuesday in Basra, where Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki is personally overseeing military action, while authorities are claiming the protests in Baghdad came under gunpoint.
JERUSALEM - The Israeli military says it has captured the mastermind of the deadliest suicide bombing of the Palestinian uprising. 
