Two SAS squadrons are to switch from Iraq to Afghanistan next year to mount one of the biggest covert operations for decades against the Taleban leadership and opium smugglers, who help to fund insurgents.
They plan to mount a combined operation with the Special Boat Service (SBS), the Royal Marines equivalent of the Armys elite regiment, which is leading covert missions in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.
The SAS served with distinction in Afghanistan during the early years of the campaign from 2001. It became involved in highly unusual formation assaults on the Taleban and al-Qaeda terrorists, and also in hunting for Osama bin Laden and drug traffickers.
A decision was taken about three years ago, however, to divide up the roles of special forces, giving the SBS lead responsibility for covert missions in Helmand province, while the SAS took charge in Iraq.
It has been operating from both Baghdad and Basra in the south of Iraq, where the rest of the British forces have been based for the past five years.
Next year, as most of the 4,100 troops are withdrawn, the SAS will also be pulled out, but its expertise and unrivalled experience of covert missions against foreign terrorists and insurgents will be exploited to the full in southern Afghanistan.
It will be joined by the other special forces support teams that have also played a vital role in Iraq in tracking down al-Qaeda and insurgent leaders: the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which was formed out of 14 Intelligence Company, also known as the Det (Detachment), and the Special Forces Support Group, created from the former 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment, which provides back-up for SAS and SBS operations.
The Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which has male and female members, is equipped with sophisticated high-tech surveillance kit. Its intelligence-gathering capability will be crucial in the battle with the Taleban.
Elements of the regiment are already serving in Afghanistan, but the transfer of so much surveillance and covert operations experience will provide military commanders with a hugely expanded and more versatile special forces capability.
#3
I read some wit who said that "When the SAS comes, it is a military operation. When they bring kukris with them, it is a covert operation. And when they bring a herd of pigs with them, it is a black operation."
(AKI) - Unidentified gunmen have shot dead the tribal leader of a refugee camp in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region. It was the latest in a series of attacks on the 2.7 million people uprooted by over five years of fighting between the government and rebels, the United Nations reported late on Thursday. Around 300,000 people have died in the conflict.
A patrol from the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur dispatched to Camp Hassa Hissa in West Darfur on receiving reports of the attack, confirmed that the camp leader had been killed but found the camp to be calm.
It was the second violent incident in a Darfur refugee camp this month. On 1 December two government-allied Janjaweed militiamen armed with a rifle quarrelled with refugees at Hissa Hissa camp in South Darfur.
One of the militiamen was severely beaten and later died and a refugee was slightly injured in the incident. Sudanese police arrested a second militiaman and took him into custody.
The following day a dozen armed men set ablaze a water pump and five generators supplying energy to Hissa Hissa, injuring a refugee. Also on this occasion, UNAMID sent an armed team to ease tensions between the camp residents and the militiamen.
A day later, two gunmen equipped with AK-47 assault rifles and a hand grenade stopped a humanitarian convoy, beat up aid workers and stole money as it was on its way from Nyala, the South Darfur capital, to Kalma refugee camp, the UN said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Seventy-five people, including six policemen, were killed in separate tribal clashes in south Darfur on Friday, security officials and tribal sources said.
Thirty-five members of al-Falata tribe died in fighting with the rival Habaniya tribe while 17 tribesmen were wounded in the clashes, a security official said. "Six policemen, including an officer, were killed while attempting to stop the tribal conflict," the official, adding that six other men who were not immediately identified were also killed in the clashes.
The official did not provide reasons for the clashes but said that the government in south Darfur had sent reinforcements earlier in the day to contain the violence.
In a separate incident, 28 members of the al-Gamir tribe were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen on a village in the Ed al-Fursan region, tribal chief Othman Hashim told AFP. He did not provide further details.
The attackers used heavy weapons, the mayor of the town of Bram, Issa Mohamed Abdullah, was quoted as saying by the Sudanese state news agency.
According to the United Nations, 300,000 people have died and 2.2 million have been displaced in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003 against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum complaining of marginalization.
But Sudan has put the death toll at 10,000 and denies accusations by the International Criminal Court that members of the Khartoum government orchestrated a campaign of genocide in Darfur.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Somali pirates have captured two Yemeni fishing boats off the coast of Aden and seven fishermen succeeded in escaping. This latest incident coincides with an international summit in the Kenyan capital Nairobi which is discussing tougher measures to tackle piracy.
Meanwhile, Ahmedou Ould Addallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, has called for greater international efforts ion Somalian waters. The United States wants to deal with pirates on land as well as at sea. United Nations sources say a resolution to this effect is being prepared for a UN Security meeting next week. The Somalian government has indicated it supports a tougher approach.
International vessels patrolling the Gulf of Aden would be then granted permission to use "any means necessary" to chase the pirates into their hiding places on land.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Two women were killed in a grenade explosion in Bandarban Cantonment area yesterday. The dead were identified as Saleha Begum, 30, and Rozina Begum, 17.
"Honey, have you seen my [KABOOM!]"
Local people said Saleha and Rozina lived in a makeshift house on the bank of the Sangu river near Cantonment Public School and College and worked in the area as day labourers.
Saleha's husband Shafiuddin said their niece Rozina found an abandoned grenade at a place in the area at around 11:30am and took it to their house. As Saleha tried to pull the pin out of the grenade, it exploded with a big bang, killing the two on the spot, he added.
Local people said they have heard a big sound in the cantonment area at around 11:45am.
It remained unearthed as of 6:00pm yesterday how the grenade came to be there in the cantonment area. Local sources said the opposite side of the college is usually being used as firing zone. ''The grenade might be left there mistakenly during firing exercises," they said.
After post-mortem examination at Bandarban Sadar Hospital, bodies of Saleha and Rozina were buried at a local graveyard with the help of local municipal authorities. Local army authority has given money and relief goods to Saleha's family, her relatives said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
As Saleha tried to pull the pin out of the grenade, it exploded with a big bang, killing the two on the spot, he added
#4
"How many times have I told Shafiuddin to empty his pockets before he puts his pants in the dirty laundry hamper. Look, Rozina, here's a greKABOOM!
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/13/2008 10:26 Comments ||
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#5
In the fall of 1972, I was caretaker of a mine that shut down for the season. I was cleaning out the rooms and threw old greasy coveralls into the burning barrel. Suddenly there was a series of booms coming out of the burn barrel and I hit the deck. Turned out that a bunch of blasting caps were left in the pockets.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/13/2008 13:52 Comments ||
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#6
:( Basting Caps.... 10 years of TeeeVee warnings in muh yooof... I could never find one.
Three suspected criminals were killed in separate incidents of 'crossfire' between their accomplices and law enforcers in Gazipur, Narayanganj and Rajshahi early yesterday.
They were identified as Mohammad Selim, 28, a suspected ringleader of Choura village in Kaliganj upazila of Gazipur, Mohammad Ali, 45, a top terror of Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj, and Shahjahan alias Tiger, 42, a leader of outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-Lal Potaka) of Jhikra Baruipara in Bagmara upazila of Rajshahi.
Acting on a tip-off,
"Hello, Rab? Dis is Muggsy! I gots a tipoff for yez!"
a team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Thursday arrested Selim who was wanted in a number of cases from Uttara area. According to his confessional statement, the elite force raided the village of Kaliganj upazila at about 2:30am to arrest his cohorts and recover hidden arms. "When Rab members reached near Kaliganj Sramik College with Selim, his cohorts opened fire on them,
"Whuh? Whuh? What time is it?"
"Ummm... 2.30 am."
"Whozzat outside?"
"Looks like the Rab!"
"Open indiscriminate fire while I get dressed!"
[BANG! BANG! BANGETY BANG!]
forcing the law enforcers to fire back", said a Rab-1 official adding that Selim died on the spot while trying to flee the scene.
"Captain!"
"Yes, sergeant?"
"They're shooting at us!"
"Are they, by Gum? I fear we must shoot back then!"
[BANG! BANG! RATATATATATA!"
One pistol and some sharp weapons were recovered from the spot.
"Hokay. I'm dressed. Let's get outta here!"
"What'll I do with this pistol and the sharp thingies?"
"Just leave 'em!"
Our Narayanganj correspondent reports: Top terror Mohammad Ali, who was awarded capital punishment in absentia by a court for murder, was arrested by Rab-11 from Raniganj Fulbaria village in Kapasia upazila of Gazipur Thursday midnight.
"Stick 'em up, Cassius! Yer under arrest!"
Rab later took him to Brahmankhali
"No! Not Brahmankhali!"
"Shuddup. Yer goin' to Brahmankhali!"
in Rupganj upazila to recover hidden arms and bullets as per his confession.
"Yeah. I confess. I left 'em there. Don't kill me!"
"Shuddup. Get in the van."
Sensing the presence of Rab,
"Mahmoud! What's it mean when my antennae stick up like this?"
"Hah. It means the Rab is near!"
Ali's associates fired bullets targeting the law enforcers at about 3:30am. The elite force also retaliated resulting in a gunfight.
Sources said Ali was caught in the line of fire while trying to flee. Critically injured Ali was rushed to Rupganj Health Complex where doctors declared him dead.
Alas for Ali, the Rupganj Health Complex was not a Level I trauma center ...
Rab personnel recovered two pistols and several bullets from the spot. Ali was wanted in a number of criminal cases including murder and extortion, police said.
Our Staff correspondent from Rajshahi adds: Police arrested PBCP-Lal Potaka leader Shahjahan from Baruihati Bazar on December 9. During police interrogation, he confessed to having illegal firearms.
He also confessed to kidnapping the Limbergh baby ...
Police said they along with Shahjahan went to recover firearms and bullets around 2:30am. When policemen reached a pond at Baruipara criminals opened fire on them, triggering a gunfight that continued for half an hour.
[BANG!]
[BANG!]
[BANG!]
"Boy, this is tedious. How long have we been at it?"
"About a half hour."
"Bring Shahjahan over here. I've got something for him!"
Police said Shahjahan sustained critical injuries during the gunfight and died at Bagmara Health Complex.
"Gasp! It's 2.30am in the upazila! I'm pretty shot up, but I'm alive! I'm gonna be okay, ain't I, Doc?"
"Ummm... No. You're critical."
"Rosebud."
He was wanted in a number of cases on charges of five murders in Atrai, Bagmara and Doulatdia police stations.
"Aaaar! He had the death sentence on twelve systems!"
Police found a shutter gun, four bullets, a machete, a Chinese axe and some other sharp weapons on the spot of the clash.
"What're those things, Sarge?"
"I dunno, but be careful. They look sharp."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Chinese axe
!
Definitely a new coooorespondent.
Authorities on Friday arrested the Belgian widow of a man involved in killing an anti-Taliban warlord, saying she was part of an al-Qaida group that was about to launch a suicide attack. Malika El Aroud, 49, was charged with belonging to a terrorist organization. Five men in their 20s were also charged; eight others were released for lack of evidence
El Aroud, dressed in black from head to toe, was pushed into a police car during a night raid early Thursday a few miles away from, and a few hours before, a summit of European Union government leaders was scheduled to open. Authorities said she was too dangerous to walk the streets and even considered calling off the summit.
"It was considered as a possibility," said Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme at summit headquarters. In the end, the gathering went smoothly. Authorities said they cannot say whether an attack was planned in Brussels or elsewhere.
The arrest added to the aura of El Aroud, who is known for using the Internet to support radical causes.
"She is a beacon and a catalyzer in the radical movement, and she is very smart in using it," said Brice De Ruyver, a Ghent University professor and former government security adviser. "Our freedom of expression has always given her a safe conduct to use the Internet and attract vulnerable youths," De Ruyver said. One of the five men charged was said to be on the verge of carrying out a suicide attack.
Repeated phone calls to the office of her lawyer went unanswered.
El Aroud has figured in almost every major Belgian terror probe since 2001, investigators say. An official in the Federal Prosecutor's Office said she frequently switched laptops and wireless Internet services to evade investigators. The official, who has knowledge of years of investigations into El Aroud, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
Last year, she was detained in a pre-Christmas anti-terrorism sweep, and authorities were convinced they had averted a terrorist attack.
El Aroud has had a tumultuous life. As a child, she moved from her native Tangiers in Morocco to Belgium, where an unhappy youth led to failed relationships before she discovered fundamentalist Islam.
She and her husband, Abdessatar Dahmane, went to Afghanistan, where he was killed during the assassination of anti-Taliban warlord Ahmed Shah Massoud two days before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
Turned into the widow of a martyr, El Aroud returned to Belgium, where, experts say, she since has been involved in radical networks in Belgium and Switzerland. Investigators suspect her current husband, Moez Garsalloui, is now an important link of El Aroud's group in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
But Claude Moniquet, the president of the Brussels-based think tank European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, said he believes any attack would probably have targeted Europe rather than Afghanistan. "Some of the terrorists who were arrested were just back from that country after they had received training; they would not go there anymore," he said. "It is unlikely from a strategic standpoint that a new attack in Afghanistan would change much. In Europe, however, the impact would have been huge."
This article starring:
Abdessatar Dahmane
Malika El Aroud
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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A federal judge on Friday sentenced a former Ford Motor Co. engineer to 10 years in prison for trying to supply global positioning satellite equipment and other materials to the terrorist group Hezbollah. "You allowed the depth of your feeling for what was happening in your homeland to overcome your judgment," U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen told Fawzi Mustapha Assi, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen. "These were serious misjudgments."
Assi, 49, of Dearborn, who has been in custody since May 2004 and will be given credit for the time he has already served, pleaded guilty in 2007 to providing material support to terrorists. He was charged a decade ago -- in 1998 -- after federal agents stopped him at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, where he was about to board a flight to Lebanon carrying GPS equipment, night vision goggles and a thermal imaging camera.
Assi was the first person indicted under a 1996 law that made it illegal to knowingly provide money or material to terrorists. The U.S. State Department designated Hezbollah a terrorist group in 1997.
"I took it upon myself to help people who were under occupation," said Assi, who continued to argue the law under which he was convicted is unconstitutional.
Assi's family members packed Rosen's courtroom Friday. His brother, Sami Assi, said it will be painful to know Fawzi Assi will have to spend several more years locked up. "We will pray for him to (serve) his time and come back to his family," Sami Assi said after the sentencing hearing.
This article starring:
Fawzi Mustapha Assi
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
He'll be moving out of Dearborn then? Bloody social climber.
"You allowed the depth of your feeling for what was happening in your homeland to overcome your judgment," U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen told Fawzi Mustapha Assi, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen. "These were serious misjudgments
WTF??? A journalist might make that mistake BUT a District Judge?
FYI U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen:
Fawzi Mustapha Assi is a US Citizen. That Means His Fcuking Homeland is the United States of America;
Hezbollah is responsible for a large number of American lives. Hezbollah is responsible for a Vast number of Jewish lives.
Hezbollah has American blood all over their organization. Hezbollah has Jewish blood all over their organization AND it has sleeper cells all over the World.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
12/13/2008 15:28 Comments ||
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#3
While I'm sorry he didn't get the death penalty, something all Hezb deserves, I hope that his sentence requires loss of citizenship and immediate deportation upon completion.
I'd strip him of all assets and dump him back in Leb with nothing but the clothes on his back, but that's just me
LAHORE: The Pakistan Army has confirmed an unusual movement of medium and heavy military artillery vehicles from the cantonment area of Lahore to north of Punjab through the Motorway on Saturday but the ISPR said it was only for winter exercises.
Hundreds of medium and heavy artillery vehicles moved from the Lahore Cantonment area to north of Punjab via Motorway as the 11th Corps was moving from Lahore to Tilla Range Jhelum while the 10th Corps moved towards Lahore.
The heavy movement of military vehicle at Motorway caused scare among the masses amidst the current tensions between India and Pakistan.
When contacted, Director-General Inter Services Public Relations Major-General Athar Abbas stated that the unusual military movement was due to routine winter military exercises. It is further learnt that the 10th Corps was returning to the Lahore Cantonment after completing its winter exercises while the 11th Corps was moving to Jhelum to replace it.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 19:17 ||
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ISLAMABAD: Indian fighter planes Saturday violated Pakistans air space by entering two places in Kashmir and Lahore.
Planes of Pakistan Air Force (PAF), which were already on alert, quickly came into action and forced the Indias fighter jets to leave Pakistan air space, Geo TV sources said.
The sources further said that the Indian planes were fully equipped with warheads.
Meanwhile, a state run TV channel has reported that a loud blast was heard in Arabian Sea between Badin and Jati cities Saturday night.
However, further details about the blast were not received.
The cause and exact location of the blast is being ascertained.
The local people were in a state of fear after the blast, sources said.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 16:46 ||
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#1
New Delhi: Dismissing Pakistan's claim that two Indian fighter jets violated the country's airspace in two separate sectors, Indian Air Force denied any such incident.
"There were no reports of Indian Air Force fighter jets violating the Pakistani air space," highly placed sources in the IAF told PTI on Saturday night.
Pakistani TV channels earlier reported that two Indian jets violated Pakistani airspace in the Lahore and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir sectors.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 17:56 Comments ||
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#2
stirring up the rubes, huh? "State of Emergency" coming?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/13/2008 18:24 Comments ||
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#3
Ifn it ain't the Daily Jang Ima say teh hell wit it.
This shit sounds like it was written by a damn tree jinn on meth.
#4
Either the Pakistani leadership is suicidal, or they are going for panic so they can restore the "calm".
If they are going for the latter, the danger is that India might lose patience with their game and just flat out whoop their asses.
Armed with nothing but presence of mind and courage, two persons tackled terrorists at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on November 26.
The railway announcer at the station, Vishnu Dattaram Zinde, and head constable of the Railway Protection Force Jillu Yadav, who were honoured by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, were instrumental in preventing further casualties in the attack.
As usual, Mr. Zinde had finished his dinner and returned to his seat to continue with his announcements about train arrivals and departures. He then heard an explosion and what he saw from his room shocked him. A stream of injured passengers draped in blood and a host of others rescuing the injured spun Mr. Zinde into action.
Realising that it was a grenade blast, Mr. Zinde switched off the computer announcement system and assumed the mantle himself, which they do in emergency situations. What he did from then on earned him the gratitude of the nation.
Perched at an advantageous position, Mr. Zinde comprehended the situation and repeatedly directed personnel of the RPF and the GRP (Government Railway Police) to rush towards the mainline sensing trouble from that end.
With reports of gunshots, an alert Mr. Zinde turned his attention to those passengers disembarking from the suburban trains. He directed them to either stay put in the trains or exit through the side gate and not head to the main gate. That he did without telling them of the presence of the terrorists so as not to create any panic. At times, I had to single out frightened passengers heading for the main gate by calling them out by the colour of their shirts and warning them.
He did attract the two terrorists attention who were just about 20 paces away standing right in front of him. They fired at his cabin, but without apparently being sure of anyones presence.
Mr. Zindes two other colleagues, G.S. Tiwari and Sekhar Peshwi, switched off the lights and pasted papers on the glass panes. They had ducked to evade being sighted but carried on with their work.
Mr. Yadav entered the scene thanks to Mr. Zindes directions. On that day he had not been issued a weapon. That did not deter his zealousness and commitment.
He sighted the two terrorists and asked a GRP constable armed with a .303 rifle to fire at them. He was standing there and declined to use his weapon. What are you looking at? You wont get an opportunity like this to excel in your duty. Stand up and deliver, exhorted Mr. Yadav without much success.
Mr. Yadav rushed to his side, grabbed the rifle and fired at the terrorists. A volley of shots breezed past him. He grabbed the GRP man and pulled him behind a wall for cover.
That one shot, however, created panic in the terrorists and they rushed out of the station. It prevented the killing of more people.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 16:24 ||
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#1
There are ever sheep and wolves. Sometimes there are sheepdogs.
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman also known as Kasab, the Pakistani terrorist who was captured alive on November 26 during the Mumbai terror attacks, has written to the Pakistan High Commission seeking legal.
Kasab's letter has been forwarded by the Mumbai police to the External Affairs and the Union Home Ministries for necessary action, Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria said.
He said that Kasab has also asked the Pakistan High Commission to take custody of the body of fellow terrorist Ismail Khan, who was killed in an encounter in south Mumbai the same night.
Kasab was the only terrorist captured alive by police while nine other terrorists involved in the terror attacks in Taj, Oberoi-Trident Hotels and Nariman House, besides Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Cama Hospital were killed.
Ajmal has been remanded to police custody till December 24.
However, the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi denied having received any letter from Kasab. "We have not received any letter," a Pakistan High Commission spokesman said.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 12:01 ||
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#1
Dear ISI,
Send lawyers, guns, and money.
Posted by: ed ||
12/13/2008 19:10 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI: In another successful anti-piracy operation, Navy warship on Saturday repulsed an attack on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden and nabbed 23 Somali and Yemeni sea brigands, in a show of resolve to weed out the menace that affected maritime trade in the region.
The pirates on two speed boats had surrounded the merchant vessel flying the Ethiopian flag around noon, when INS Mysore warship intervened and warded off the attack, Navy spokesperson said here.
The pirates had fired at the merchant vessel with their small arms, when it sent out a rescue call and the Indian warship, which was sailing nearby moved its Marine Commandos on an helicopter to help the distressed cargo vessel, he said.
The attack took place about 150 nautical miles off Aden and INS Mysore was about 13 nautical miles away from the merchant vessel when it picked up the SOS call. The Navy flew its Marine Commandos on helicopters to the scene of the pirate attack and rescued the ship. MV Gibe was later escorted to safety, he added.
The Naval commandos also boarded the pirates' boats and seized seven AK-47 assault rifles, two other rifles, a grenade launcher and 13 fully loaded magazines of ammunition from the 12 Somali and 11 Yemeni pirates on board the two pirate boats. Further search for other pirates, who fled from the spot following the Indian Naval intervention, was in progress, the spokesperson said.
Last month, Navy warship INS Tabar, a missile-frigate, had sunk a mothership of the pirates and had also rescued two merchant vessels that were under attack from the sea brigands.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 11:21 ||
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#1
The Mysore
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 11:28 Comments ||
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#2
Press Release from Indian Ministry of Defense
INS Mysore is currently in the Gulf of Aden for Anti-Piracy Patrol Operations which are being conducted under the control of the Western Naval Command. Whilst escorting merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the ship received a distress call on MMB Channel 16 from MV Gibe (Ethiopian Flag) at about 1100 hours on 13 Dec 08. MV Gibe reported that she was under attack by two boats closing her and firing small arms. MV Gibe opened retaliatory fire with small arms that were held onboard the vessel. The position reported by the merchant vessel was 13 nautical miles from Mysore at that time. The ship altered course to close MV Gibe and also launched her integral armed helicopter.
On sighting the helicopter and Mysore, the boats disengaged from MV Gibe and attempted escape. Mysore closed the vessels and ordered them to stop. The larger boat was a dhow was of green colour and 8-10m in length. It had taken the second smaller boat (a skiff) under tow. Subsequently, the name of the dhow was identified as 'Salahaddin', Hull No 758(2).
The dhow was boarded at 1230h by the ship's Marine Commandos and a search carried out. 23 personnel (12 Somali and 11 Yemeni) surrendered on boarding. The search of dhow revealed a substantial cache of arms and equipment, including seven AK-47 and three other automatic rifles, along with thirteen loaded magazines; a rocket-propelled grenade-launcher along with rockets, cartridges and grenades; as many as three Outboard Motors (OBMs), a GPS Receiver, etcetera.
The personnel, arms, ammunition and equipment have been taken into custody by INS Mysore and will be handed over to appropriate authorities ashore and the ship will return to her patrol-duties.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 11:31 Comments ||
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Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 11:40 Comments ||
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#5
Thanks for the pics, John. Warms the heart!
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/13/2008 12:35 Comments ||
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#6
Who are the 'appropriate authorities ashore' who will receive custody of these men? Somalian or Yemeni police? The what? Anything from summary execution to immediate release and a new boat?
#9
Nice looking ship, the INS Mysore. And a nice looking ship, all neat and businesslike indicates a good captain and crew.
I know the sickening limitations of so-called international law and all, but these pirates needed a summary military tribunal and an execution on the Dhow, then the dhow sunk. I think that Blackwater-type operations are more cost effective here. The expense of running convoy duty and patrols will be many times the ransoms the pirates get. Think swift, hard justice.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/13/2008 13:59 Comments ||
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#10
It seems to me that the least messy thing to do would be to put life jackets on the pirates and drop them back into the water. If they get back to shore, good for them. If not...
The United Nations Security Council's Al Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee on Wednesday added the names of a host of Pakistani organisations and individuals -- including Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT), Jamaatud Daawa (JD), the Al Rashid Trust, Al Akhtar International, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Haji Muhammad Ashraf -- to its consolidated list. Contrary to reports, Gen (r) Hamid Gul's name was not on the list.
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed -- chief of LT -- was born in Sargodha in 1950, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in Okara in 1960 and Haji Muhammad Ashraf -- LT's chief of finance -- in 1965. Ashraf is listed as LT's chief of finance.
The UN announcement says the LT is also known as Al Mansoorian, Paasban-e-Kashmir, Paasban-e-Ahl-e-Hadith.
The Al Rashid Trust is said to be known as the Al Ameen Trust with branches in several Pakistani cities. While headquartered in Pakistan, its operations extend to Afghanistan, Kosovo and Chechnya, and the organisation is said to be involved in the financing of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Until October 21, this entity appeared also as the Aid Organisation of the Ulema Pakistan. Al Akhtar Trust International -- another sanctioned entity -- is also known as the Azmat-e-Pakistan Trust with regional offices in Bahawalpur, Bawalnagar, Gilgit, Islamabad, Mirpur Khas and Tando Jan Muhammad. It also runs the Akhtarabad Medical Camp in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan.
US welcomes: On Wednesday, the US welcomed the development in a statement saying, "The US is pleased that the committee has decided to move forward on these high-priority designations."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A few miles away, in Mr. Saeeds leafy neighborhood, it was a decidedly more relaxed scene. Several dozen policemen ringed the area around his home, standing casually with rifles and enforcing a house arrest that seemed more of a forced vacation.
Two heavily bearded workers from Jamaat-ud-Dawa arrived with food, and the police raised the barricades and allowed them through, choosing not to inspect their Suzuki truck. Mr. Saeeds relatives have been allowed to come and go freely from the home, policemen said. A young boy and a girl standing on the second-floor balcony of Mr. Saeeds home looked down at the police and smiled.
One local police commander, seeing journalists arrive, rushed over and proclaimed that Mr. Saeed was confined inside his home, banned from going outside now or at any other time.
Almost on cue, Mr. Saeed emerged moments later from the mosque across the street, clad in a green jacket and a cream-colored shalwar kameez, the long tunic and baggy pants that Pakistani men commonly wear, and ambled back to his house. No, no, its not Hafiz Saeed, the embarrassed commander said, though it clearly was. Im just following instructions, he added.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 11:46 Comments ||
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#2
Just wondering...do you think the Indian Air Force has the coordinates of that house and mosque?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
12/13/2008 13:32 Comments ||
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Unidentified assailants on Friday blew up Awami National Party (ANP) MNA Muzaffarul Mulk Khan's house near Mingora city as the Taliban blew up another public school in Swat's Qambar area.
There were no casualties in the attack on the ANP leader's house, as the MNA has already moved to Islamabad in view of the deteriorating security situation.
Meanwhile, the two-storey building of the government high school for boys in Qambar was completely destroyed in the Taliban attack. A nearby girls' school was also damaged.
According to official statistics, the number of schools destroyed by the Taliban over a year in Swat has risen to 148, while more than 180 schools have been closed for fear of attacks. Around 90,000 students have been affected by the Taliban attacks on schools.
In another incident on Friday, a child was killed and two people injured when a shell hit a house in Bandi area of Kabal tehsil.
Separately, the Taliban released 70 of the 90 people they abducted earlier between Mandal Dak and Matta. The abductions came after the locals attacked a suspected Taliban fighter's house in Matta tehsil. The remaining 20 people are still in the custody of the Taliban.
Taliban killed: Also on Friday, Nawagai tribesmen killed a Taliban fighter and injured another in Bajaur Agency as security forces pounded Taliban positions in Anzaray, Sasmi and Dooda areas of Khar tehsil and Charmang, Chiynar and Tangi areas of Nawagai tehsil.
The casualties came when the local tribesmen attacked Taliban trying to enter Nawagai from Mohmand Agency.
Meanwhile, locals have started returning to the agency after security forces gained control of several areas.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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The Taliban on Friday targeted with rockets another terminal storing supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan, according to police.
Police officials told Daily Times that there were no casualties or damage in the attack that came around 3am. But the NNI news agency reported that a 'dozen or more' containers were destroyed after 10 rockets were fired at the terminal on Ring Road. NNI said police had arrested five suspects and more arrests were likely. It quoted police as saying that security had been tightened around the terminals on Ring Road, but those working at the terminals said the security was not sufficient.
On Thursday, a blast at Bilal Terminal damaged four NATO trucks parked there. Police sources told Daily Times that fire brigade units managed to prevent the ensuing fire from spreading to other trucks and containers stored at the terminal.
Friday's incident was the fourth in a series of attacks targeting NATO supplies on Peshawar's Ring Road since the beginning of the month.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
As odd as it sounds, it's refreshing to see the Taliban target genuine military targets. I guess they ran out of acid to splash on little girls. Now how about some action from the Paks to defend their infrastructure?
Police on Friday arrested a would-be suicide bomber when he was trying to enter a mosque in Dera Ismail Khan, a senior police officer said. "The bomber, wearing a suicide jacket, was apprehended by security personnel when he was trying to enter Faqir Shah mosque where a large number of people were coming to offer Juma prayers," Dera Ismail Khan District Police Officer Nasir Mehmood Satti told APP. A police official said the alleged bomber, identified as Shakeel Ahmed, belonged to Dara Adamkhel.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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Police shut down offices of Jamaatud Dawa and arrested scores of operatives as it continued a crackdown against the banned group on Friday, officials said.
Islamabad Police sealed three offices of Jamaatud Daawa on Friday. One was near Masjid Quba in the I-8 Markaz and another in Street 35 in G-6/4, Chief Commissioner Kamran Lashari said. No arrests were made. Officials said the group had abandoned its G-6 office before the police raid. Later on Friday, police raided and sealed another office located on Korri Road near Shahzad Town, and arrested six suspected operatives.
NWFP: Jamaatud Dawa officials in Peshawar said police had arrested 150 operatives in a province-wide operation and sealed 46 offices. Many workers have gone underground.
Police closed the Jaamatud Dawa headquarters at Peshawar's Fawara Chowk late on Thursday. No arrests were made.
Frontier Police also closed down offices of the banned Al Akhtar Trust and Al Rashid Trust in the Saddar, Hashtnagri, Gulbahar and Yakatoot areas of the city and in the rest of the province.
Police raided an office, two schools and a religious seminary run by Jamaatud Dawa in Muzaffarabad, and placed its leader Abdul Aziz Alvi under house arrest.
Rawalpindi: In Rawalpindi, police and other agencies sealed five offices of Jamaatud Dawa -- in Satellite Town, Kashmari Bazaar, Benazir Bhutto Road, Pindora and Tench Bhatta -- sources in the police said, but did not make any arrests.
Lahore: In Lahore, divisional superintendents of police took surety bonds from the Jamaatud Dawa operatives, police sources told Daily Times.
The Interior Ministry had issued detention orders for JD chief Hafiz Saeed, Ameer Hamza, Yahya Mujahid and Abu Umer Qazi. Saeed has been put under house arrest. The name of a second detained leader could not be confirmed. Police continued to search for the other two on Friday.
Multan Police sealed a JD office at Rasheedabad Chowk, and a school and a dispensary on Tareen Road in a midnight operation.
Police also sealed Jamaatud Dawa offices in south Punjab cities of Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Arifwala, Bahawalnagar, Khanewal, and held one operative each from Arifwala and Rajanpur.
Sindh: In Sindh, officials said they had arrested 11 operatives of the banned group and sealed six offices and six seminaries, but Jamaatud Dawa officials claimed 100 operatives had been held and 35 offices sealed.
"Seven of the men and two of the seminaries belonged to Karachi," Sindh Special Secretary Collin Kamran Dost told Daily Times. Law enforcement agencies sealed a Jamaatud Dawa office and a library on New Zarghoon Road in Quetta late on Thursday. No arrests were made.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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ISLAMABAD: A coalition of five major Jihadi organisations, led by the once fiery militant commander Syed Salahuddin, has simply disappeared. It has temporarily dissolved itself, closed its offices, removed all signs and asked its leaders to stay quiet.
The strategy follows the current Pakistan-India tension following the Mumbai blasts and the ban imposed by the UN on several such organisations in Pakistan. The United Jihad Council (UJC) is a major Kashmiri group comprising Harkat-ul-Ansar, Hizbul Mujahideen, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, Al-Jihad, Al-Barq, Ikhwan-ul-Mussalmin andTehrik-ul-Mujahideen. By early 1999, as many as 15 organisations were affiliated with the council, though only five of these were considered influential.
"Following the Mumbai attacks and the subsequent tension between Pakistan and India, the United Jihad Council has decided to remain silent," said a commander of one of the UJC member organisations, requesting anonymity.
He said the incumbent Pakistani rulers were pursuing the same policy adopted by Pervez Musharraf and the statements on Kashmir issued so far by President Asif Zardari had made it clear that the present Pakistan government would extend no support to the Kashmiri freedom fighters.
"In the current situation, the UJC is maintaining complete silence and has no contact with any Pakistani organisation or institution," the UJC commander said. "The outfits banned in Pakistan, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba, have never worked with the UJC nor maintained with it any direct or indirect contact," he added while claiming that that they were fighting for the liberation of occupied Jammu and Kashmir and their struggle would continue.
Since the government launched a crackdown against Jamaat-ul-Dawah and started sealing its offices across Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, all the central leaders of the UJC have been maintaining a low profile and have removed signboards from temporary sub-offices of the organisations in various districts of Azad Kashmir.
When The News contacted Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq, he said there was no change in Pakistan's Kashmir policy. He said Pakistan supported the just struggle of Kashmiris for their right to self-determination but no authority in Pakistan had any links with militant or political organisations operating in occupied Kashmir.
The UJC was formed in the summer of 1994 by amalgamation of several armed resistance organisations. It is currently headed by Syed Salahuddin, the leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest group operating in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
This organisation was created to unify and focus efforts of various armed resistance groups fighting the Indian rule in Kashmir. This made distribution of resources like arms, ammunition, propaganda materials and communication more streamlined. It also made it easier to coordinate and pool resources of various Jihadi groups to collect information, plan operations and strike at targets of military importance in the Indian occupied Kashmir.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Quiet dinner parties at home with key members of the UJC as guests don't count as meetings, of course.
Aswat al-Iraq: Joint Iraqi forces captured 48 wanted persons and suspects in a large-scale security operation conducted south of Mosul city on Friday, an official source from the Ninewa Operations Command (NOC) said.
"A joint force from the Iraqi police and army conducted a wide-scale security operation in Hammam al-Alil district, south of Mosul, and its villages, rounding up 48 wanted men and suspects, including 31 against whom arrest warrants had been issued by Iraqi courts for involvement in several crimes," the source told Aswat al-Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Good job. Looks like training is sitting in well.
Gaza militants fired two Qassam rockets into the Western Negev on Friday, a few days before Israel's truce with Hamas was set to come to an end next week. The rockets stuck open areas and caused neither damage nor casualties.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Wednesday to discuss the future of Israel's policy on the Gaza Strip.
Just hours before the meeting, a Qassam rocket struck the western Negev, following a two-day lull in fire from Gaza.
The prime minister would not allow any details of the meeting to be released to the public, but topics on the agenda included Israel's response to Hamas in light of the militant group's continued violations of the truce.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, as long as it doesn't "hurt the fragile truce".
Four persons were killed and five were wounded in separate attacks in two troubled southern Thai provinces by terrorists separatist militants, police said Saturday.
The authorities said the first incident erupted late Friday when armed ethnic Malay Muslim terrorists militants travelling by pick-up truck fired at security guards in a village of Yala's Raman district. Three security personnel were killed and three were wounded, police said, adding that several cars and a tea shop near the scene were damaged. The terrorists insurgents collected three pistols belonging to the dead victims before leaving the scene, police said.
In nearby Pattani province, a bomb weighing about five kilogrammes, planted by terrorists militants inside a karaoke lounge in Khok Pho district, was exploded by apparent remote control as police patrolled nearby. One police officer was killed and two others were seriously wounded, police said.
Sri Lanka's military has captured another key town from Tamil Tiger guerrillas in the north following heavy fighting that left scores dead and wounded on both sides, officials said on Friday.
Security forces took control of Terumarikandi, about eight kilometres south of Kilinochchi, the political capital of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the defence ministry said. Earlier, the army said it had taken Kokkavil, Olumadu and Pooneryn, all towns previously held by the rebels.
"Scores of LTTE cadres were killed and many others reportedly sustained injuries during the intense fighting reported in the area for last two days," the ministry said. It gave no government casualty details after the latest fighting, but on Thursday placed military losses at 20 soldiers killed and claimed killing at least 27 guerrillas. However, the LTTE, which on Thursday placed military losses at over 90 killed and 180 wounded, raised the figures to 120 killed and 280 wounded.
The guerrillas in a statement to the pro-rebel Tamilnet.com website said they beat back a two-pronged advance on Kilinochchi, which they have been defending for months in the face of Sri Lanka's biggest military offensive.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/13/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
(AKI) - Unidentified gunmen have shot dead the tribal leader of a refugee camp in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region. It was the latest in a series of attacks on the 2.7 million people uprooted by over five years of fighting between the government and rebels, the United Nations reported late on Thursday. Around 300,000 people have died in the conflict.
Seventy-five people, including six policemen, were killed in separate tribal clashes in south Darfur on Friday, security officials and tribal sources said. 
(SomaliNet) Somali pirates have captured two Yemeni fishing boats off the coast of Aden and seven fishermen succeeded in escaping. This latest incident coincides with an international summit in the Kenyan capital Nairobi which is discussing tougher measures to tackle piracy. 
Three suspected criminals were killed in separate incidents of 'crossfire' between their accomplices and law enforcers in Gazipur, Narayanganj and Rajshahi early yesterday.
Police shut down offices of Jamaatud Dawa and arrested scores of operatives as it continued a crackdown against the banned group on Friday, officials said.
