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Nine US soldier among scores who die in wave of attacks in Afghanistan
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  she just sorta... fades to black, doesn't she....
Posted by: Ho Chi Angolumble7419 || 07/13/2008 15:45 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Nine US soldier among scores who die in wave of attacks in Afghanistan
Nine U.S. troops were killed in an attack Sunday on a base in a remote province of eastern Afghanistan, a Western official familiar with the situation said.

It's the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years.

Though details of the attack were not immediately available, an earlier statement from NATO's International Security Assistance Force said Afghan and ISAF soldiers were involved in "heavy fighting" with insurgents at a command outpost in Kunar province.

"Insurgents have been firing at the [command outpost] with small arms, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, using homes, shops and the mosque in the village of Wanat for cover," according to the statement.

ISAF and Afghan soldiers, backed by air support, responded with small arms, machine guns, mortars and artillery, the statement said.

"There have been casualties on both sides of the fight, but accurate numbers could not be confirmed as the fighting is ongoing at the time of this release," the statement said.

Since the start of coalition operations in Afghanistan, 470 U.S. troops have died. This figure includes Sunday's casualties.

News of the dead U.S. troops came after a suicide bomber riding a motorcycle killed at least 21 people, including four police officers, in southern Afghanistan Sunday.

The latest incidents are part of a deadly wave of weekend attacks that also included a suicide attack at an army camp in Helmand province and the death of two coalition soldiers.

The motorcycle attack occurred in the southern Afghanistan city of Tarin Kowt on Sunday, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said.

The suicide bomber blew himself up in a market, authorities said.

Helmand province was the site of a deadly suicide attack by a teenager Saturday. Authorities said the teen detonated his explosives-laden vest outside an Afghan National Army camp. The blast killed the bomber and three others, officials said.

The boy approached the army camp in the Marja district. A soldier discovered the vest while searching the teenager, but it detonated immediately, ISAF said.

The blast killed the teen and two soldiers. A child later died of his injuries, ISAF said.

In other developments:

• Also in Helmand province, a coalition member was killed in a roadside bomb Sunday, the U.S. military said. The identity and nationality of the soldier was not disclosed.

• In northern Afghanistan on Saturday, a soldier assigned to ISAF was killed in an explosion. The soldier's nationality was not released.

• The Indian Embassy in Afghanistan will resume issuing visas on Monday, a week after a massive bombing outside its gates killed 58 people. An embassy staff member said maintenance work at the offices was almost complete. The suicide car bomb detonated July 7 in a crowded street outside the embassy, where dozens of people were lined up to apply for visas.

• Also in Helmand province, Afghan National Security Forces and coalition troops killed at least 40 militants in an ongoing operation, a coalition statement said. "Militants attacked an ANSF and coalition forces security patrol beginning [Saturday] in Sangin district, using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, from multiple concealed and fortified positions. The ensuing fight led ANSF and coalition forces to return fire and call for precision air strikes," the coalition statement said. "At least 40 militants have been killed in the last two days, while over 30 enemy boats and several hand bridges were also destroyed on the Helmand River."
Posted by: gorb || 07/13/2008 14:28 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  not one Taliban POS should escape alive.
Posted by: Frank G || 07/13/2008 14:39 Comments || Top||

#2  More details.

KABUL, Afghanistan - A multi-pronged militant assault on a small, remote U.S. base killed nine American soldiers and wounded 15 Sunday in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years, officials said.

The militant assault on the American troops began around 4:30 a.m. in a dangerous region close to the Pakistan border and lasted throughout the day. Militants fired machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars from homes and a mosque in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/13/2008 14:43 Comments || Top||

#3  You won't make permanent headway in Afghanistan until you cut of the head of the serpent in the frontier providences of Pakistan and even Pak itself. They will respect force. I agree with Old Patriot. We need BUFFS over the base areas. They are not impressed with precision JDAMs, but they are impressed with area pulverization. They do respect power.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/13/2008 14:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Paul...I think the period between the election and inauguration will be a very interesting period. We pretty much know where the islamo-cockroaches are. It's a matter of doing the job. It would not surprise me that we do just that: MOAB's in the Pak mountain fortresses and arc-light's in the Pak training camps. And let the world...especially allan... be d*mned.
Posted by: anymouse || 07/13/2008 14:56 Comments || Top||

#5  Light the SOBs up
Posted by: Legolas || 07/13/2008 15:41 Comments || Top||

#6  The status quo not only isn't working; it cannot work as long as NATO allows the Pashto Heroin industry to flourish. After the harvest ends in May, Taliban recruits for the Summer Offensive. And they have at least $150,000,000 in their pockets at the time. The RPGs they use are not donated.

Reminder: Karzai praised Taliban "morality" in a der Spiegel interview last month. That Pashto dirtbag has to go.
Posted by: McZoid || 07/13/2008 15:46 Comments || Top||

#7  Roggio is reporting that fighting is ongoing. It wasn't so much a hit and run attack as it seems to be a fairly protracted battle that is still continuing.
Posted by: crosspatch || 07/13/2008 15:56 Comments || Top||

#8  Note the difference in Iraq: they have NO shelter, and are prusued reletlessly, by untis that seekk to close with, engage and destroy the enemy.

In Afghanistan, that's not the case wiht much of the NATO contingent - plus the Taliban and Al Qaeda have sheltered logistics support in Pakistan for recovery and re-organization thanks to the Pakistani government being utterly incompetent or else maliciously involved in supporting the Talib.

Until we pursue and destroy the enemy in Pakistan, Afghanistan will remain a mess.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/13/2008 16:32 Comments || Top||

#9  hola goat bugger! Long time no hear! Dad finally left the laptop unsecured?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/13/2008 17:03 Comments || Top||

#10  Poor little justice. He hasn't noticed that his jihadi world-conquerers have been so thoroughly defeated in Iraq that they are running away to be killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan, land of the ignorant and impure. Not to mention that Dr. Fadl, the emir of Al Qaeda, the boss of Osama bin Laden and his assistant, that Egyptian al-Zawahiri, publicly repudiated all Al Qaeda has done in the name of jihad. Dr. Fadl even declared that those who kill innocents in the name of jihad or takfir, even Jews and Christians, will go straight to Hell, along with those who seduce them onto that false path.

But perhaps poor justice has not learnt Arabic, and so he does not know what all who have read the newspapers or watched the discussions on Al Jazeera televisions know: that the great modern theorist of Islam condemns those who engage in jihad against the West, against those who are guests in Muslim countries, and against those who are residents of countries where Muslims are allowed to live in peace and safety.

And justice, dear, do try to develop a sense of style. Your choice of colour combinations is appalling. Your parents must be so embarrassed when you leave the house.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/13/2008 17:19 Comments || Top||

#11  thustice junder ?????? what?
Posted by: Legolas || 07/13/2008 17:19 Comments || Top||

#12  The North Vietnamese had Laos and Cambodia for sanctuaries, the Taliban have Pakistan and Iran. If we don't put a stop to this situation we're talking about the same no win policy that made Vietnam a 'Quagmire'.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 07/13/2008 17:23 Comments || Top||

#13  The only reason there is even one muslim left on this planet is because of western restraint - you, my deluded friend, are living in fairy land!
Posted by: Legolas || 07/13/2008 17:24 Comments || Top||

#14  I see the Nazi's are climbing out of the latrine pit again.

Hey Justice (which you ain't)...thunder (which you're not), why don't you crawl back down in the sewage where the rest of your kind huddle.

Posted by: FOTSGreg || 07/13/2008 17:34 Comments || Top||

#15  Oh, and just a BTW, there NoJustice...ass-wind, you're obviously not Muslim or Islamic, simply a little boy troll who wants to post something to get us going.

If that's really what you believe, I invite you to stand in the public square of any town in this country and spout your nonsense and racist filth. I'd love to be standing nearby to watch you count your teeth. If you're really brave, try it in Skokie or NYC or downtown Antioch where I live - or just come by the house sometime. I'd love to show you my bayonet collection.

Posted by: FOTSGreg || 07/13/2008 17:41 Comments || Top||

#16  [Justice returns has been pooplisted.]
Posted by: Justice returns || 07/13/2008 18:41 Comments || Top||

#17  Militants fired machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars from homes and a mosque in the village of Wanat in the mountainous northeastern province of Kunar, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.

Need to reduce areas from which they are firing to rubble. I wonder if these were special forces units or regulars and if they had air support.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/13/2008 19:15 Comments || Top||

#18  boy, that return was short
Posted by: Frank G || 07/13/2008 19:18 Comments || Top||

#19  Frank you owe me a new keyboard. And a mouthful of Cab.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 07/13/2008 19:38 Comments || Top||

#20  And a mouthful of Cab

Ima afraid to ask Nimble...

<:)
Posted by: Red Dawg || 07/13/2008 20:11 Comments || Top||

#21  Besides a friendlier regime in Pakistan, the Taliban benefit from a recent influx of foreign jihadis fleeing the rout of terrorist forces in Iraq. It is likely as well that the latter have brought their financial and western ideological and propaganda support with them.

Expect the left-liberals in this country to drop their phony bait-and-switch support for the Afghan operation and return to the full-blown defeatism/sedition that characterized their position before the Iraq invasion.

Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 07/13/2008 20:18 Comments || Top||

#22  I'm not so sure. Remember, The Obamessiah wants to invade Pakistan.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 07/13/2008 20:21 Comments || Top||

#23  Poor justice. The lad is clueless, and he can't read Arabic.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/13/2008 20:29 Comments || Top||

#24  Nine US soldier among scores who die in wave of attacks in Afghanistan

I recall a fairly good video or...two, about some semi-permanent US base/s in the A-Stan Mountains very near the Paki border. The Location best I can remember was West of Tank or South of Jalalabad in the A-Stan mountains.

The reason for my comment is that I was struck how few of our folks were stuck there perched up high on a mountain side in Indian country.

They ran regular hard ass defensive patrols but still the villages were not particularly friendly because there were so many hard core Talib types around.

Our guys had registered fires and aircraft on call but they seemed to be like sitting ducks inspite of the supporting arms.

The Talibs made their lives interesting by firing in harassment fire on a regular bases.

does anyone have these videos?
Posted by: Red Dawg || 07/13/2008 20:34 Comments || Top||

#25  Nimble, I expect B*O to flip away from that position as soon as the situation in Iraq is so bad for the jihad that even the MSM must acknowledge it.
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 07/13/2008 20:42 Comments || Top||

#26  Red Dawg---sounds like trolling for Talibs.....
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/13/2008 21:53 Comments || Top||


40 militants killed in Afghanistan: US-led force
International and Afghan security forces killed at least 40 militants in an operation still under way in the southern province of Helmand, the US-led coalition said Sunday.

The fighting started on Saturday after militants ambushed an joint Afghan and international security patrol in the province's volatile Sangin district, the US-led coalition said in a statement. "The ensuing fight led ANSF (Afghanistan National Security Forces) and coalition forces to return fire and call for precision air strikes," it said. "At least 40 militants have been killed in the last two days, while over 30 enemy boats and several ... bridges were also destroyed on the Helmand River," it said.

A soldier with the same unit was killed by a bomb blast Sunday, the coalition announced earlier.
Posted by: ed || 07/13/2008 12:12 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pay Back!

MORE!
Posted by: Red Dawg || 07/13/2008 20:46 Comments || Top||


Taliban militants executed two women
Taliban militants executed two women in central Afghanistan late Saturday after accusing them of working as prostitutes on a U.S. base. The women, dressed in blue burqas, were shot and killed just outside Ghazni city in central Afghanistan, said Sayed Ismal, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor. He called the two "innocent local people."

Taliban fighters told Associated Press Television News the two women were executed for allegedly running a prostitution ring catering to U.S. soldiers and other foreign contractors at a U.S. base in Ghazni city.

1st Lt. Nathan Perry, a U.S. military spokesman, said he had not heard allegations "anything close to that nature."
Posted by: tipper || 07/13/2008 11:40 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That will teach them to turn down talibully boys' advances.
Posted by: ed || 07/13/2008 11:58 Comments || Top||


Deadly blast hits Afghan market
A suicide attack in south Afghanistan has killed at least 21 people, many of them children, police say. The bomb was detonated in a market in the Deh Rawud district of Uruzgan province at about 1030 local time. Provincial police chief Jumma Gul told the BBC that a suicide bomber on a motorbike had struck a police vehicle.

The attack comes amid an increase in militant attacks. US forces said 40 insurgents had been killed in Helmand province in the past 24 hours. There is no confirmation. A local official, quoted by Reuters, blamed Taleban fighters for the latest attack. Officials said four of those killed in the Uruzgan attack were policemen and the rest were civilians. A further 43 people were wounded.

Several shops were reported to have been destroyed by the blast. The attack came as Nato-led and Afghan troops were engaged in fierce fighting with insurgents in the eastern Kunar province. Insurgents were reported to have attacked a remote International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) outpost.

A local shopkeeper told AFP that the marketplace in Uruzgan was crowded when the bomb went off. "Most of the casualties are shopkeepers and people and children who were selling stuff on the roadside," said the man, who gave his name as Fazlullah. "I can see human flesh, blood and pieces of metal, wood, clothing scattered around. Everything is bloodied."

The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says no group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast but the Taleban are known to be active in the area. Local government officials have been attacked by the Taleban in the past.

Some analysts believe that the movement has gained strength as it increases its attacks across Afghanistan. Aid agencies have expressed concern about the rising civilian death toll in Afghanistan. The Red Thingy Cross said that in July at least 250 civilians were killed or wounded over a six-day period. The UN said recently that the number of civilians killed in fighting in the country had jumped by nearly two-thirds compared to last year.
Posted by: john frum || 07/13/2008 10:50 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It is beyond me what is hoped to be gained by this. I mean, it isn't Spain for chrissakes. Time for an awakening ala Iraq.
Posted by: Unique Battle || 07/13/2008 11:30 Comments || Top||

#2  They hope to gain power through fear. Islam is the religion of blood and rape. In the civil war after the Soviets left, the rocketing of Kabul killed 50,000 civilians and looting and rape was the order of the day.
Posted by: ed || 07/13/2008 11:37 Comments || Top||

#3  And yet those villagers killed the Taliban who tried to kidnap their aid workers... not to mention the farmers in poppy country who've decided wheat is more profitable. Osama bin Laden's popularity has sunk in Pakistan from -- if I recall correctly -- 70% approval to something in the teens. Rather like Congress, except for the starting point. Not to mention that Al Qaeda has been recruiting entirely too many abandoned women and mental defectives, of which the Muslim world has, sadly, considerably more than they ought.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/13/2008 20:44 Comments || Top||


'Pakistani Taliban attack Afghan district, one dead'
"Pakistan-based Taliban" attacked a remote Afghan district on Saturday, the Afghanistan government said. "Pakistani Taliban began attacks on Bargi Matal district from 11am. The fighting continues," the Interior Ministry said in a statement released on Saturday evening. The attack was launched from Pakistan's adjoining Chitral area, it said. "The youths of the area are joining the security forces to defend their district against the Pakistani militants. One of those brave youths died in fighting," it said. Security forces had sent reinforcements, it said, without giving details.
Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  "The youths of the area are joining the security forces to defend their district against the Pakistani militants. One of those brave youths died in fighting," it said.

May that brave youth find himself in Paradise as a true martyr, for he chose to act as a true Lion of Islam. Quite unlike those cowardly murderers, the Taliban, whom Dr, Fadl wrote are condemned to the depths of Hell.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/13/2008 20:54 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Aid workers targeted in Somalia
  • Three aid workers have been shot over the last day in Somalia, two of them fatally
  • One victim worked for aid agency, DBG, which has suspended operations
  • Four World Food Program drivers of relief supplies killed this year
  • Somalis dependent on humanitarian aid since 1993 famine, ongoing war, drought
  • Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


    Africa North
    Egyptian police uncover 250kg explosives cache in Sinai desert
    An Egyptian security official says police have discovered 250 kilograms of explosives hidden in the Sinai desert near the border with Israel.

    The official says Bedouin trackers working for authorities found an underground hiding place in Nagaa Shabanah, a village a few miles south of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

    He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to media. Several anti-tank land mines were also found with the explosives.

    The official said Saturday that the material was to be taken across the border into Gaza. Israel has repeatedly accused Egypt of not doing enough to stop smuggling of weapons into Gaza.
    Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  But did it have STARK ENTERPRISES stenciled on the explosives?
    Posted by: borgboy || 07/13/2008 15:05 Comments || Top||


    Morocco says it foils plot aimed at tourist hotels
    Moroccan security forces foiled a terrorist plot to attack tourists this summer, in what has become a "near-daily" struggle to root out extremist cells increasingly linked to al-Qaida in Iraq, a top security official said Friday.

    Abdelhak Bassou, head of Morocco's Renseignements Generaux domestic intelligence agency, told The Associated Press in a rare interview that four separate terrorist cells have been broken up so far this year. He said one of those groups, with 11 militants arrested in May, was preparing attacks "planned for this summer" in a plot aimed at tourist hotels in Morocco, which is a largely moderate Muslim kingdom and strong U.S. ally.

    The country has seen a rise in radical Islam in recent years, and the government has jailed hundreds of suspected militants since a string of bombings killed 45 people in 2003.

    Bassou said authorities had broken up "about 30 cells" over the past five years and predicted they would dismantle "another three or four" radical cells during the rest of this year. "At this point, it's become near-daily work," he said.

    The investigations have revealed extremist networks that extended from Europe to the al-Qaida terror operation in Iraq, he said. Most of the Moroccan cells support al-Qaida in Iraq via militant bases in neighboring Algeria, channeling cash, weapons and combatants, he said.

    Three of the four alleged cells currently being prosecuted were focused on supporting insurgents in Iraq and had smuggled "some 30 to 50 (Moroccan) fighters" into that country, Bassou said. "We have to continue to anticipate," he said, adding that the threat also comes from "loose elements" of one or two individuals who plan small attacks on their own.

    Some 1,100 alleged Islamic radicals are now behind bars, either convicted of terrorism charges or awaiting trial.

    Bassou said a "huge improvement" in cooperation between Arab and Western intelligence services has helped limit terrorist attacks since the 9/11 assault on the U.S., but he said another factor is that many al-Qaida loyalists are focused on the war in Iraq. "It doesn't mean they wouldn't blow up a bus of tourists here if they have the opportunity," he said.

    But the fact that al-Qaida is relying on many support cells in North Africa for fighters, money and guns is a sign that it is losing ground in Iraq, Bassou said. "If they don't show results, I don't give them five more years of existence," he said, contending that al-Qaida needs victories in Iraq to attract new recruits in the Arab world.
    Posted by: ed || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


    Bangladesh
    Under pressure, Dhaka coughs up militants
    Bangladesh has repeatedly denied any terror infrastructure on its soil. But there's a clear indication that terror organisations on the run in India are setting base in Bangladesh. For the first time ever Bangladesh has handed over such insurgents to India.

    The Bangladesh police handed over three Indian insurgents over to India. Three among the four men handed over by Bangladesh belong to the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland and had sneaked across the porous border to train there. Their deportation corroborated TIMES NOW's chilling expose of how Bangladesh was fast becoming the training hub for Indian insurgent groups. The intelligence map that TIMES NOW acquired clearly showed the training camps of various banned militant outfits spread across Bangladesh.

    Bangladesh has denied this fact time and again. But with India stepping up diplomatic pressure on Bangladesh, Dhaka had few options but to start the process of deporting insurgents.
    Bangladeshis should watch it -- India got them their freedom, and India can take it away.
    Posted by: john frum || 07/13/2008 09:46 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  The responsible nations really need to announce a hot pursuit doctrine. Those who willingly host terrorists are as guilty as the terrorists themselves.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 07/13/2008 22:06 Comments || Top||


    India-Pakistan
    "More than 100 terror camps" in operation in northwestern Pakistan
    By Bill Roggio

    Al Qaeda continues to grow its network and expand its capabilities in northwestern Pakistan, US military and intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. The peace agreements have given the Taliban and al Qaeda time and space to re-establish their networks, which pose a threat not only to Pakistan, but the West as well.

    Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and allied terrorists groups, collectively called al Qaeda and allied movements, or AQAM, by some in US military and intelligence circles, has set up a series of camps throughout the tribal areas and in the settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. "More than 100" terror camps of varying sizes and types are currently in operation in the region, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. As of the summer of 2007, 29 terror camps were known to be operating in North and South Waziristan alone.

    Some camps are devoted to training the Taliban's military arm, some train suicide bombers for attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, some focus on training the various Kashmiri terror groups, some train al Qaeda operatives for attacks in the West, and one serves as a training ground the Black Guard, the elite bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. A US Special Forces raid against the Black Guard camp in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan, Pakistan in March 2006 resulted in the death of Imam Asad and several dozen members of the Black Guard. Asad was the camp commander, a senior Chechen al Qaeda commander, and associate of Shamil Basayev, the Chechen al Qaeda leader killed by Russian security forces in July 2006.

    The growth in the number of camps US intelligence officials said Pakistan is outpacing Iraq as the destination for recruits, The New York Times reported earlier this week. Iraq is now seen as a lost cause by jihadists while Pakistan is now seen as al Qaeda's main effort. Recruits from Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East are heading to Pakistan.

    Al Qaeda has also reformed Brigade 055, the infamous military arm of the terror group made up of Arab recruits. The unit is thought to be commanded by Shaikh Khalid Habib al Shami. Brigade 055 fought alongside the Taliban against the Northern Alliance and was decimated during the US invasion of Afghanistan. Several other Arab brigades have been formed, some consisting of former members of Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guards, an intelligence official told The Long War Journal.

    A strike in South Waziristan

    The deteriorating situation in Pakistan's tribal agencies is highlighted by the increased incidences of cross-border attacks over the past several months. Today, 11 Pakistanis, including nine soldiers, were wounded in an attack launched from Afghanistan into the lawless, Taliban-controlled tribal agency of South Waziristan.

    Conflicting reports exist on the nature of the attack, and there is no confirmation on who carried it out. An unnamed Pakistani official told Reuters that "about 60 rounds fell in Angoor Adda," a town near Wana in South Waziristan. BBC reported more than 10 "shells" landed near a military outpost just hundreds of yards from the Afghan border. Xinhua and The News reported that the attack was conducted by US aircraft. The US military has not confirmed conducting an attack, but it rarely confirms such incidents.

    The attack inside Pakistan appears to be a response to a Taliban attack on a base in Barmal in Paktika province in Afghanistan, according to several of the reports. In the past, the US military has conducted hot pursuit of Taliban forces as they flee across the border to Pakistan.

    Afghan and Coalition forces have fought a series battles with the Taliban along the ill-defined border as Taliban have been attempting to overrun military bases and district centers in the region. US and Afghan forces have killed more than 200 Taliban fighters in the lopsided battles. Many of the Taliban attacks have been launched from inside North and South Waziristan in Pakistan.

    The most controversial counterattack into Pakistan occurred as US forces engaged a Taliban force as it retreated from Afghanistan’s Kunar province across the border into Pakistan's Mohmand tribal agency on June 10. The engagement sparked an international incident. The US confirmed it killed eight Taliban fighters, while the Pakistani government said 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed. The Pakistani government expressed outrage over the strike. But the incident sparked suspicions that the Pakistani paramilitary Frontier Corps either aided the Taliban or were part of the attack force.

    The security situation in Pakistan's tribal agencies has spiraled downward since the government negotiated peace agreements with the Taliban in North and South Waziristan in 2006 and throughout early 2007. The agreements gave the Taliban and al Qaeda time and space to consolidate their hold in the tribal areas and in some settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province. The Taliban renewed their efforts to destabilize the Afghan government and boldly conducted a series of military attacks in northwestern Pakistan and a bloody suicide campaign in the major cities.

    The new Pakistani government has reinitiated peace negotiations with the Taliban in the northwest. Peace agreements have been signed with the Taliban in North Waziristan, Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Malakand, Mohmand, and Khyber. Negotiations are under way in South Waziristan, Kohat, and Mardan. The Taliban have violated the terms of these agreements in every region where accords have been signed.
    Posted by: john frum || 07/13/2008 07:59 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

    #1  The Taliban have violated the terms of these agreements in every region where accords have been signed.

    Diplomats - are hey incapable of learning, or just congenitally stupid?
    Posted by: OldSpook || 07/13/2008 9:26 Comments || Top||

    #2  Ahmed Rashid has documented how, with full backing from Perv, the ISI created an "NGO" to handle the Taliban. Staffed by retired ISI and other retired Pak military officers with jihadi links, they reported for duty at ISI HQ but were officially off the payroll.

    It was this "NGO" that revived and sustained the Taliban. The then ISI chief Kayani is now the head of the Pak Military.
    Posted by: john frum || 07/13/2008 9:32 Comments || Top||

    #3  Is that all? Did they forget to count the Pak military camps?
    Posted by: Spot || 07/13/2008 9:35 Comments || Top||

    #4  A really big bomb could get them all and leave a 'do not enter' glow on the land.
    Posted by: wxjames || 07/13/2008 12:01 Comments || Top||

    #5  " A US Special Forces raid against the Black Guard camp in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan, Pakistan in March 2006 resulted in the death of Imam Asad and several dozen members of the Black Guard."

    This is type type of operation that Armitage put a stop to. Whenever someone extols the wisdom of these "sophisticated diplomats" we should remind them of the before and after in North Warzistan.

    Al
    Posted by: Frozen Al || 07/13/2008 14:25 Comments || Top||

    #6  I keep saying a little napalm and an ARCLIGHT strike or two would put an end to this. We NEED someone with the cojones to do it in Washington. I was hoping Bush would be that person. Now I'm not sure there IS such a person - at least no one that can actually get elected.
    Posted by: Old Patriot || 07/13/2008 14:53 Comments || Top||

    #7  OP...Arc-light is the answer. Take no prisoners. Any "civilian" is at least sympathizer if not a collaborator. Send their hearts and their minds to allan.
    Posted by: anymouse || 07/13/2008 15:01 Comments || Top||

    #8  9-11 followed indulgence of Al-Qaeda/Taliban genocide camps in Afghanistan. Surely something similar will follow NATO's follies.

    If Senator McCain wants another election issue; he needs to promote a hardline on cross border terror. Unwinnable wars are eventually lost; our current politicians seem illiterate at times.
    Posted by: McZoid || 07/13/2008 15:52 Comments || Top||

    #9  I'm afraid most of our politicians are spineless and weak kneed. Hell, we can't get them to do much about our own border situation or for that matter the price of gasoline. I don't have much hope for anything to be done about Pakistan. McCain would be the one that might show some intestinal fortitude.
    Posted by: JohnQC || 07/13/2008 19:22 Comments || Top||

    #10  Laos and Cambodia lessons learned or de-javu all over again?
    Posted by: Besoeker || 07/13/2008 20:34 Comments || Top||

    #11  McCain aint going to do jack about the cross border stuff. He's a gimp on waterboarding, and guess who one of his top advisors is?

    Armitrage. The same moron that screwed the ops side of the house by playing politics.

    McCain is a fool, and is now proving to be an idiot with his choice of advisors like Armitrace and Juan Hernandez, his amnesty pandering, and his stupidity regarding global warming.

    Posted by: OldSpook || 07/13/2008 21:29 Comments || Top||

    #12  Carly Fiorino may be the most hated person to ever work at Hewlett Packard. In a certain sense that's not saying much because most people who've worked there weren't particularly hateful, regardless of their competence. On the other hand, a LOT of people have worked there.

    And she's the McCain advisor who said Phil Graham's place was under the bus.
    Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 07/13/2008 21:33 Comments || Top||

    #13  bomb them...

    anyone who runs is a taliban...
    anyone who doesn't run is a well disciplined taliban...
    Posted by: Abu do you love || 07/13/2008 21:56 Comments || Top||


    Taliban release four workers of anti-polio team
    Local Taliban on Saturday released four workers of a team administering anti-polio vaccine in the Mohmand Agency, an official said. A spokesman of Health Ministry said that the workers have returned to Peshawar safely. According to an agreement reached between the NWFP government and the local Taliban, workers of anti-polio campaign would not be harmed. The polio team was facilitated in Swat, while the local Taliban violated the agreement in Mohmand Agency and kidnapped the workers.
    So... now what? Double Secret Probation?
    Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


    LI, AI clashes kill 7, injure 4
    Seven people including two women were killed and four others injured on Saturday in clashes between the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and Ansar-ul-Islam in the Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency. The militants groups exchanged heavy fire, although a jirga of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) led by Shujaul Malik was due on Saturday in the valley to defuse the tension in the area. The two groups have been fighting in the valley on the Pak-Afghan border for a fortnight now. The clashes have already claimed over 100 lives.
    Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami


    Taliban kill 15 Pakistani soldiers in ambush
    Taliban militants killed at least 15 paramilitary soldiers in an ambush in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, officials said. The militants attacked a convoy of paramilitary troops as it was heading towards the volatile town of Hangu, 40 km (25 miles) west of the garrison town of Kohat. "At least 15 soldiers including an officer have been killed in the attack," a senior government official in Hangu told Reuters. A military official said up to 12 soldiers were killed. A Taliban spokesman said one of their fighters was killed.

    Tension has been running high in and around Hangu since Thursday when militants took 11 paramilitary soldiers and government workers hostage to press for the release of their seven men arrested earlier. Militants have threatened to kill the hostages if their comrades were not freed.
    Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

    #1  Hand don't know what glove is doing?
    Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/13/2008 12:58 Comments || Top||


    16 Pakistani troops killed in ambush: official
    Suspected Taliban militants ambushed a Pakistani paramilitary convoy Saturday in a restive northwestern town, killing 16 soldiers and wounding others, officials said.

    The convoy was heading to a fort outside Hangu district near the border with Afghanistan when the rebels attacked it with rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles, local police officer Shakirullah Jan told AFP. He did not confirm the death toll. But a senior security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said 16 soldiers were killed in the neighbourhood of Zargari, outside Hangu city.

    Security forces responded by attacking Taliban positions using gunship helicopters and artillery fire in the mountainous region.

    "16 Frontier Constabulary were killed in the ambush and a few were injured. Security forces have pounded militant positions using gunship helicopters, the number of casualties on the Taliban side was unknown," the official told AFP.

    Hangu district, which has a history of violence between minority Shiite and majority Sunni sects, is close to tribal areas bordering Afghanistan where pro-Taliban militants are active.

    Pakistan is battling a resurgence in Islamist violence after a brief lull brought about by the new government's negotiations with Taliban militants in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. The negotiations, launched after the government came to power five months ago, has drawn criticism from the United States and other Western allies.

    Local official Fazan Khan said Saturday's attack -- the latest incident in a week of bloodshed in the country that included a suicide bomb attack -- involved hundreds of Taliban militants. "Hundreds of Taliban attacked the convoy and did not allow security forces to retrieve the dead bodies of the soldiers for several hours," Khan said.
    Posted by: ed || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  the mighty Pak Army, Paras, and FC seem to be ineffective losers

    again
    Posted by: Frank G || 07/13/2008 9:14 Comments || Top||


    Iraq
    Brave Lions of Islam Attack Soccer
    Posted by: Glenmore || 07/13/2008 13:23 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  Oops, fat finger syndrome. Here's the article.

    TIKRIT, Iraq – An Iraqi Police officer and a Sons of Iraq member were killed as a result of anti-Iraqi forces firing upon a soccer game south of Duluyiah July 13.

    Two Iraqi civilians and a Sons of Iraq member were wounded in the attack, including a nine-year- old child.

    “To fire upon a soccer game where the people of Iraq are starting to enjoy normalcy and happiness is another example of the barbaric nature of the insurgents,” said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, spokesperson for Multi-National Division - North. “To open fire at a soccer game where children are in attendance is horrific.”
    Posted by: Glenmore || 07/13/2008 13:25 Comments || Top||

    #2  If anyone, especially a muslim, believes these cockroaches are "warriors from allan", they need deserve whatever happens to them.
    Posted by: anymouse || 07/13/2008 14:59 Comments || Top||


    Israel-Palestine-Jordan
    Kassam lands in open area in Sha'ar Hanegev; no casualties
    A Kassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in an open area in the Sha'ar Hanegev region Saturday afternoon. No casualties or damage were reported.
    Posted by: Fred || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


    Sri Lanka
    2 fishermen killed in unprovoked Sri Lankan Navy firing
    NAGAPPATTINAM (Tamil Nadu) — Two Indian fishermen were killed when a Sri Lankan Navy vessel allegedly opened fire on their fishing boat, a survivor of the incident said here yesterday. The bodies of the fishermen were brought ashore after K. Murali, a fisherman injured in the shooting in the wee hours of yesterday, tipped off relatives on a mobile phone that his mates S. Vasagan and N. Narayanswamy were killed in ‘unprovoked’ firing by the Sri Lankan Navy in the Palk Straits.
    Completely unprovoked, of course, with no mention of the arms being delivered by the fishermen, I'm guessing ...
    The Sri Lankan mission in Chennai, 350km north of here, was unavailable for comment.

    The Communist Party of India (CPI) announced yesterday it would picket the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai on July 30 to protest the "incessant killing of innocent Indian fishermen by the island's navy". Announcing the protest in a statement, CPI state secretary D. Pandiyan also called on the central government to raise the issue of ‘unacceptable behaviour’ of the Sri Lankan Navy at during the Saarc summit next month. "It is unfortunate that the poor fishermen were killed in cold blood on a boat that was granted to them as part of the rehabilitation package since the 2004 tsunami. We will network other like-minded parties to take part in the protest," Pandiyan added.
    So the commies in India are supporting the Tamil Tigers, eh ...
    Posted by: Steve White || 07/13/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


    Terror Networks
    How Al-Qaeda's mastermind turned his back on terror
    By Lawrence Wright
    Posted by: ryuge || 07/13/2008 01:28 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  to paraphrase,

    "That's not the Sayyid Imam al-Sharif I knew"
    Ayman al-Zawahiri
    Posted by: mhw || 07/13/2008 10:52 Comments || Top||



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