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Palestinian PM submits resignation making way for unity govt
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
5 00:00 Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division [1] 
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2 00:00 JosephMendiola [1] 
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gotta love a gal with the class to wear high heels while lounging around the swimming pool.
Posted by: Scooter McGruder || 03/08/2009 0:04 Comments || Top||

#2  sometimes, when I feel "classy, and pretty" I ...er...nevermind
Posted by: Frank G || 03/08/2009 0:07 Comments || Top||

#3  I know I'm easily confused, but that does not look like Betty Page.
Posted by: Adriane || 03/08/2009 0:36 Comments || Top||

#4  Happy Birthday:

Claire Trevor - died 2000 (90) "Stagecoach with John Wayne"
(Now)

Alan Hale, Jr. - died 1990 (68) "Gilligan's Island" (Now)

Cyd Charisse - died 2008 (86) "Brigadoon" (Now)

Sue Ane Langdon - 73 "Presley movies, 'Roustabout' and 'Frankie and Johnny'" (Now)

Lynn Redgrave - 66 "Best Supporting Actress, Georgy Girl" (Now)

Kathy Ireland - 46 "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model" (Now)


This day in History:

Not much of note
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/08/2009 3:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Gams

Happy Birthday Cyd


Ann

Myrna

Virginia

Wilde x 2

Arlene

Paulette

Leslie

Evelyn

Dolores

Aileen

Dorothy

Hazel

Lorraine

Elizabeth

Virginia

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/08/2009 5:09 Comments || Top||

#6  Oh boy! i have always had a thing for fishnet stockings...


Rowrl!
Posted by: abu do you love || 03/08/2009 7:18 Comments || Top||

#7  This day in history, not much to note, but for your amusement, I offer this trip down memory lane, from p. 3 of the New York Times, 8 March 1933:
BANKING CHAOS SEEN AS SPUR TO REFORM;
Need for National Revision Is Cited as Leaders Falter Over Relief Measures.
ALL EYES ON WASHINGTON
Dependency of System on Federal Action Revealed in Confusion Here.
IN QUANDARY OVER SCRIP
Financiers Hold Parleys, but Fail to Agree on Emergency Move on Third Day of Holiday.
Out of the confusion of opinion and practice which existed among the New York banks yesterday on the third day of the banking holiday there emerged a growing concern that the national crisis would have to be settled by a thorough-going reorganization of the banking system. Bankers who have been working on the plan to issue New York Clearing House certificates as a substitute for currency expressed doubt that the scrip would ever be used. Other bankers said the entire matter was undecided and that everything depended on the decisions reached by the administration officials in Washington... A number of the bankers cling to the idea that it should be possible to reopen the banks in some fashion and begin banking operations just where they were left off along the old lines of organization, but others, who have suffered a rude awakening in the last few days, assert impatiently that any such belief is "perfect nonsense."..Once the public is assured of the soundness of the banking system, the money now in hoarding will flow back overnight into its accustomed channels and the business of the country can be resumed. [Some] bankers said provision should be made for a greater concentration and unification of banking resources and the establishment of wider branch banking facilities. In any case, they said, rigid Federal supervision is called for.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 03/08/2009 8:06 Comments || Top||

#8  Bring me ladder #2, fully loaded please.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/08/2009 8:42 Comments || Top||

#9  We got the scrip. They're called Federal Reserve Notes. Seen a Silver Certificate lately?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/08/2009 10:34 Comments || Top||

#10  That's a helluva thing for a Sunday morning GBUSMC. Now I've got to take another shower......a cold one!!!

First saw Cyd in Singin' in the Rain and it's been all down hill from there.

Posted by: AlanC || 03/08/2009 10:41 Comments || Top||

#11  Betty Grable was hot.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/08/2009 12:59 Comments || Top||

#12  Jeebus, there's a month of bloid pics there ...
Posted by: Steve White || 03/08/2009 14:05 Comments || Top||

#13  I don't think she's lounging around the pool in her high heels. I think she learned that it is hard to walk in the grass in those things. She fell and she is writing a note to herself to not do that anymore. If you could read it, the note probably says, "Do not walk on the grass". Thanks Fred for another great shot.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon || 03/08/2009 20:47 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Two dead and three wounded in Afghan suicide attack
A suicide bomber attacked a police station in southwestern Afghanistan early on Saturday, killing two people and injuring three policemen, a provincial official said.

The attack took place in Nimroz province that borders volatile Helmand -- which sees some of the worst violence of the Taliban-led insurgency against the United States-backed government -- as well as Iran and Pakistan.n. "At around 9:50 am, a suicide attacker, who had strapped explosives to his body, detonated his charge in front of the first police station in Zaranj city," provincial governor Ghulam Dastagir Azad told AFP. "So far, one policeman and a civilian are dead," he said, adding that three policemen were also wounded in the attack. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Nimroz, where Taliban militants have been increasingly active in recent months.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Two killed in suicide attack on Algeria barracks
Two people were killed and five others wounded in a suicide attack Saturday on the barracks of Algerian security forces at Tadmait near Tizi Ouzou, east of the capital, witnesses said. A man tried to enter the barracks and after he was stopped by a guard he detonated a belt of explosives he was wearing, according to witnesses.
There was no immediate official statement with details on the attack.

Earlier local press reports said a bomb exploded at the entrance to the barracks about 100 kilometres (60 miles) east of Algiers. The toll was two dead and five wounded, according to the APS news agency, citing a security source. The two dead were identified as a security guard and an elderly passer-by.

The attack targeted the so-called communal guards, a force created in the early 1990s which were marked by Islamist violence and a government crackdown on Muslim fundamentalism that left 150,000 people dead, according to official figures. The guards are generally deployed in small towns and are often backed up by paramilitary forces.

In the last attack on Feb. 22, nine security guards were killed when Muslim extremists attacked their local headquarters at Ziama Mansouriah near Jijel, about 360 kilometres (224 miles) east of Algiers. A week later Interior Minister Yazid Erhouni said security forces had killed about 120 armed Islamists since Sept. 1 last year including top ringleaders.

Saturday's attack came just over a month before presidential elections set for April 9 when President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is seeking a third mandate.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Bangladesh
2 more BDR troops held
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday arrested two more BDR jawans from BDR headquarters in connection with the mutiny.

Investigation Officer (IO) of the mutiny case ASP Abdul Kahar Akand told the reporters that CID officials also recovered three pistols, 36 bullets and one SMG in an abandoned condition from the headquarters.
If they find a shutter gun we'll know who's behind this ...
Meanwhile, six other jawans were shown arrested yesterday in connection with the mutiny case filed against over one thousand people, including its Deputy Assistant Director Touhidul Alam, with the Lalbagh police station. The IO said Metropolitan Magistrate Faisal Atiq Bin Qadir directed to show the detainees arrested in the case after a prayer.

A total of 36 BDR men have been arrested in connection with the case since the 'Operation Rebel Hunt' began.

Fire brigade sources said no more body was found during their on going rescue operation in Pilkhana area yesterday.

On the other hand, relatives of BDR personnel gathered at the gates of the headquarters yesterday like other days to know about the fate of their near and dear ones. For the first time, some army personnel let them contact the BDR jawans over cell phone yesterday.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Some 250 BDR men still on the run
Around 250 suspected mutineers of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) are still on the run defying government orders to get back to barracks. The Daily Star has obtained the rough figure from army officers preparing a list of the paramilitaries who were at the Pilkhana headquarters during the bloody mutiny that left dozens of their commanding officers from the army killed on February 25-26.

Meanwhile, new BDR Director General Brig Gen Md Mainul Islam has asked the surviving army officers, deputed to BDR, to convene at Senakunja in Dhaka cantonment this morning. He told The Daily Star yesterday that BDR has lost all its 12 sector commanders and chiefs of several battalions based in the capital and elsewhere.

The remaining battalion commanders and staff officers from the battalions that do not have any commanding officer at present will participate in the coordination meeting. "Objectives of the meeting are to assess the situation, strengthen co-ordination within the force and give necessary directives," Brig Gen Mainul said.

An officer involved in the rescue operation last night said, "Roughly speaking, I'd say around 7,500 BDR men were supposed to be inside Pilkhana during the carnage. We need a few more days to have the exact figure."

As of yesterday afternoon, a notice board at the BDR headquarters showed around 1,500 border troops missing. That number was based on a sketchy estimate that around 9,000 paramilitaries were in the Pilkhana compound when the deadly revolt broke out.

However, late at night, the officials concerned revised that figure down to 7,250. Around 250 BDR personnel might have been on leave at that time. "Though our notice board still shows 1,500 missing, the number would come down to around 250," said an army officer.

In the week following the end of mutiny, news reports citing primary investigations said at best 200 mutineers had been directly involved in the vicious killings, looting, arson and other crimes during the fateful 33 hours at the BDR headquarters.

Another officer concerned said some 451 rebels stayed put at Pilkhana after laying down arms in response to the prime minister's general amnesty, but the rest 6,750 escaped. "Those who surrendered on announcement of the amnesty have been kept in BDR hospital," he continued.

Following the government notice for them to report for duties within 24 hours ending at 4:00pm on March 1, around 6,500 BDR men returned to the headquarters. "Around 250 border guards who did not get back to barracks yet will be considered deserters," noted the officer.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Should be a rich target environment for the RAB
Posted by: john frum || 03/08/2009 11:03 Comments || Top||


Britain
Armed guards stood by as Brit soldiers shot at Northern Ireland base
Posted by: tipper || 03/08/2009 19:28 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  raises questions about why barracks throughout the UK are protected by civilians

Uh, yeah.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/08/2009 21:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Seriously, MoD might consider resignation for a failure of failure of judgment like this.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 03/08/2009 21:01 Comments || Top||

#3  So, PrezBO, how's that "Civilian Security" thingie working out in EU?
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 03/08/2009 21:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Real IRA claims responsibility for Belfast soldier killings
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2009 21:22 Comments || Top||

#5  TSA?
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 03/08/2009 22:46 Comments || Top||


Two soldiers killed in gun attack on Antrim Army base in Northern Ireland
Two men, understood to be soldiers, have been killed after an attack on an Army barracks in Northern Ireland. Four other men were injured in the attack, when shots were fired at the Massereene base in County Antrim, north of Belfast. Two were thought to be military personnel and the others civilians.

The attack happened at around 9.20pm Saturday at the barracks, which is home to 38 Engineering Regiment. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence described it as a "drive-by" attack. Reports suggested that at least two gunmen opened fire close to the main gates of the base. The victims were reportedly waiting to take delivery of pizza when they were attacked.

A spokesman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, said: "We can confirm that an attack has been carried out in Massereene in Antrim at about 9.20pm. "There have been two fatalities. It is understood that those two fatalities are male. It is also understood that a further four males have been brought to hospital and are in a serious condition."

Witnesses said there were two long bursts of gunfire. Immediately afterwards, sirens could be heard blaring inside the military barracks, which is located on the edge of the town of Antrim. At least six ambulances and three paramedic vehicles rushed to the scene to take the injured to Antrim Area Hospital, about a mile away. The area around the barracks was sealed off and a major security operation was launched. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

One witness who lives near the base told how he looked to the sky after hearing what he thought were fireworks. He added: "Then I heard a lot of loud bangs again, only it was a lot more than there was initially - maybe between 10 and 20. Then the siren at the Army barracks went off. Then all you heard was the police sirens and ambulances and there was at least six ambulances. There was definitely six of the ambulances and God knows how many police cars - they just came out of the police station one after the other."

The soldiers are the first to be murdered in Northern Ireland since Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick was killed by an IRA sniper in 1997. Ian Paisley Jnr, a Democratic Unionist member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the policing board, said the shooting could be a defining moment in the history of Northern Ireland. He said: "For the last 10 years, people believed things like this happened in foreign countries, places like Basra. Unfortunately it has returned to our doorstep."

The shooting follows warnings last week by Sir Hugh Orde, Northern Ireland's police chief, that the threat of a serious terror attack in Northern Ireland was higher than at any time since he became chief constable seven years ago. An Army special forces squad is mounting a round-the-clock surveillance operation on dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. The Special Reconnaissance Regiment, which shares headquarters in Hereford with the SAS, is employing communication intercept tactics that have been used on enemy targets in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sir Hugh said that he had called in the six specialists because the threat of a serious attack was heightened, but insisted the deployment did not signal the return of soldiers to the streets. "I will die in a ditch over that - that is not going to happen," he said. "This is a very small number, a handful of people coming in with technical expertise I don't have, to enhance the frontline capabilities of my officers. The idea that there will be SAS walking around with machine guns, as some people have tried to portray, is rubbish."

Republican extremists opposed to the peace process have launched a series of failed murder attempts on police, ranging from shootings to bomb attempts. Last year dissident Republicans tried to kill PSNI officers in separate incidents in Derry City and Dungannon Co Tyrone. Last month, security forces also defused a 300lb bomb in Castlewellan Co Down which may have been intended for an attack on a nearby barracks.
Posted by: Bulldog || 03/08/2009 05:19 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  But, but, but, I thought George Mitchel brought them Peace.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/08/2009 5:25 Comments || Top||

#2  No, that was Ted Kennedy (got knighted for it)

[Announcing the honorary knighthood for Edward
Kennedy, Mr Brown said that "Northern Ireland is
today at peace, more Americans have healthcare,
more children around the world are going to school"
because of the long-serving Democratic senator.]
Posted by: Mullah Lodabullah || 03/08/2009 9:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Are we certain which group of religious fanatics are responsible?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 03/08/2009 9:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Are we certain which group of religious fanatics are responsible?

Real IRA claim responsibility
Posted by: tipper || 03/08/2009 18:49 Comments || Top||


Europe
Spain arrests terror suspect wanted by Morocco
Spanish authorities arrested a 21-year-old Moroccan citizen wanted in Morocco on terror-related charges, Spain's Interior Ministry said Thursday (March 5th). The suspect, identified only by his initials "J.M." and an alias, "Abou Mosaab Anadori", was arrested Tuesday near Barcelona under an international arrest warrant issued by Morocco on February 19th, the ministry added. The suspect is accused of belonging to dismantled terror group Fath Al-Andalus, which allegedly planned attacks against government and tourist targets in Morocco. Last August, Moroccan authorities uncovered the network and arrested 15 cell members.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


India-Pakistan
Assam cops have AK-47s to fight, but no bullets: CAG
GUWAHATI: At least 2,000 Assam Police personnel, who were engaged in fighting militancy, carried their AK-47s without ammunition for nearly two years. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its 2007-08 report revealed the Assam Police did not receive the ammunition till March last year.

The CAG report tabled in the state legislative assembly on Saturday stated that during 2004-05, the ministry of home affairs supplied 2,000 AK-47s at a cost of Rs 1.60 crore without any ammunition. The police department, after a lapse of nearly two years, placed an order for the supply of 3,25,976 rounds of 7.62 mm x 39 ball ammunition for the AK-47s valued at Rs 96 lakh with the Ordinance Factory at Bharangaon.

But the ammunition was not received till March, 2008. The report further said that in September 2008, the DGP said the ammunition could not be collected due to non-receipt of delivery and non-availability of railway wagons.

The CAG report also revealed that the state police's preparedness and striking capability with sophisticated weaponry was not adequately addressed as the force is short of the required sophisticated arms, including AK-47s, SLRs, LMGs, carbines, pistols and rifle grenades, by varying figures of 23% to 100%.

The CAG pointed out that the detection of bombs and explosives decreased by 30% in 2007-08 compared to 2003-04, while cases of police casualties and bomb blasts increased by 42% in 2007-08 compared to 2003-04. It also observed that short procurement of bomb detectors and inadequate procurement of bullet-proof jackets could be among the factors that contributed towards the increase in bomb blasts and police deaths.

Assam Police, under the modernization of police force (MPF) schemes, got 5200 INSAS rifles worth Rs 13.06 crore from MHA, 1680 of which were withdrawn in December 2007 as the district police were not specially trained to handle the INSAS rifles.

These rifles are now lying unused at the district police headquarters, the CAG reported. Apart from these, the Assam Police also procured a Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Indigo, which are actually not allowed under the MPF scheme.

Not only that, the CAG found that 75 police stations and 55 police outposts are insecure because of a lack of boundary walls. Fifteen of these vulnerable police stations are in Guwahati.
Posted by: john frum || 03/08/2009 11:23 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds like a management problem to me.
Posted by: tipover || 03/08/2009 13:01 Comments || Top||

#2  If I were in their position, I'd spring for twenty rounds or so to fit my gun.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/08/2009 17:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Fix bayonets
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 03/08/2009 18:23 Comments || Top||


The making of a Mumbai terrorist
TIME forgot to use the word 'militant'
*tsk, tsk* No Pulitzer for this story.
Posted by: ryuge || 03/08/2009 09:24 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Don't think the jailhouse food agrees with him.




Posted by: john frum || 03/08/2009 9:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Perhaps he's been brooding about that loooong future without his martyrdom anywhere to be seen in it, john.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2009 13:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Not that long. The value of his intel decreases by the day and he is on trial for offenses that carry a death penalty. His date with the gallows may be a few years away, but it is almost certain.
Posted by: john frum || 03/08/2009 13:43 Comments || Top||


Nowshera: 4 suspects held, explosives seized
Police claimed capturing four suspects and seized three vehicles laden with explosives and weaponry in Nowshera on Saturday, police sources said. According to DPO Noshera Muhammad Idrees, during a routine checking on Tarojabba check post police signaled three suspected vehicles to stop but they refused to obey and hid in a nearby village where police arrested four offenders and seized three explosive-laden vehicles after 30-minutes long shootout. He said, Â"The criminals, during preliminary investigation, confessed that the explosives and weaponry were meant to carry out terrorism in Punjab.Â" Police have registered cases against them and taken to unidentified place, sources added.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


Drone down in S Waziristan?
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied reports that a drone was shot down in South Waziristan by the Taliban on Saturday. "As far as CENTCOM goes, all of our drones have been accounted for. So it's not ours, if there is one that was shot down," Major Marie Boughen, a spokeswoman for CENTCOM, said. Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician, a Pentagon spokesman, said he had heard of no such reports, adding "the Taliban make specious claims all the time". Referring to reports of a downed drone, army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP he had no confirmation of the crash. "We are further investigating and trying to find out," he added. Earlier, residents and a local police official said two drones were flying at low altitude over a village in South Waziristan when one of them was hit by Taliban fire and crashed.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  Biden has learned how to fly?
Posted by: gorb || 03/08/2009 6:53 Comments || Top||

#2  said two drones were flying at low altitude over a village in South Waziristan when one of them was hit by Taliban fire and crashed.

yeah, because we always fly our UAVs low enough for them to be hit by indiscriminate wedding party fire
Posted by: Frank G || 03/08/2009 12:32 Comments || Top||


Govt frees 12 Taliban prisoners in Swat
The government on Saturday released 12 Taliban prisoners after a meeting in Swat of a delegation of the Tehreek-Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) and the NWFP government.

Awami National Party (ANP) NWFP President Afrasiyab Khattak, provincial Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain, the Malakand division commissioner, and representatives of the TNSM and the local peace committee attended the meeting.

Sharia: It was decided that sharia would be formally implemented in Malakand region, including Swat district, from next week after the government released the 12 Taliban, a spokesman for a pro-Taliban cleric said.

They agreed to open the Qambar-Takhtaband road, Amir Izzat Khan, spokesman for TNSM chief Sufi Muhammad said.

The spokesman said it was also decided that qazis would begin taking up cases under the Islamic law from March 12, three days prior to an earlier deadline of March 15 set by the TNSM chief.

Earlier on Friday, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti had said that his government would not free Taliban prisoners who were in the black and grey categories of security agencies, but had promised to release those falling in the white category.

Official sources said no prominent Taliban was among the freed prisoners, who were set free at the Circuit House in Mingora.

Meanwhile, unidentified men abducted six people from Saidu Sharif tehsil of Mingora, witnesses said.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Bombs kill 15 in Peshawar, Khyber
Three separate bombings killed at least 15 people in the NWFP and Khyber Agency on Saturday.

At least eight people, including five policemen, two FC personnel, and a civilian were killed in a remote-controlled car bombing in Mashugagr village. Some villagers also sustained minor injuries.

Muhammad Wali, a villager, said the car was unlocked and the villagers had found the body of an old man in it. "The blast occurred when police officials walked towards the vehicle," he said. Security officials said about 40 kilogrammes of explosives were packed in the vehicle. They said it was likely that the militants who had blown up the shrine of Sufi poet Rehman Baba were involved.

According to Online, President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and several other political personalities have, in separate statements, condemned the bombing.

Darra blast: In a separate car bombing, at least two civilians were killed and seven others, including six security personnel, injured in Darra Adamkhel. Eyewitnesses said the Taliban detonated a car parked alongside the road when a convoy of Mehsud Scouts reached Bazikhel graveyard. They said security forces launched indiscriminate fire after the attack and arrested 15 locals. At least 10 people were injured, Online quoted a private TV channel as reporting.

Tirah blast: Also on Saturday, at least five people were killed and eight injured when a shop in the remote Tirah area of Khyber Agency was bombed, sources said. They said five volunteers of banned organisation Ansarul Islam (AI) were killed. An AI spokesman blamed rival militant outfit Lashkar-e-Islam for the blast.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  Going long on Sept. Ak-47 futures.
Posted by: Shipman || 03/08/2009 10:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Also: Come home Hawk, we needs you.
Posted by: Shipman || 03/08/2009 10:35 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Suicide attack kills 28 at Baghdad police academy
At least one suicide bomber exploded himself in the busy early morning hours on Sunday near the police academy killing 28 people and injuring 57, some of them seriously, according to Iraq’s Interior Minister.

The area near the police academy has been a frequent target for suicide bombers since shortly after the American invasion in 2003. Just over three months ago, on Dec. 1, a bomber wearing a vest blew himself up in almost the same location killing 15 people.Sunday’s bombing came after a period of relative calm in the capital and a peaceful election at the end of January. However, many military officials, Iraqi and American, have predicted that the post-election period would see an increase in violence.

Early reports suggested there were two bombers: one on a motorcycle and the other wearing a suicide vest but those details were still sketchy and reporters were not able to get close to the scene of the attack. A police lieutenant near the scene of the bombing said there had been a protest near the police academy and that the bomber had mingled with the crowd before the explosion.
Posted by: ryuge || 03/08/2009 05:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Lets see that the One will do.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/08/2009 6:24 Comments || Top||

#2  looks like The One is snatching defeat from the jaws of victory :(
Posted by: abu do you love || 03/08/2009 7:14 Comments || Top||

#3  No one can say he was not warned of this.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/08/2009 7:54 Comments || Top||

#4  The area near the police academy has been a frequent target for suicide bombers since shortly after the American invasion in 2003.

So what should be done differently to fix this? Never mind the opinion of the American president, it's up to the Iraqis to protect their protectors-in-training.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/08/2009 13:24 Comments || Top||

#5  Slightly off-subject, did you know there have been three Times a president has been impeached, and all 3 were Democrats.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/08/2009 17:58 Comments || Top||


4 civilians wounded in IED blast in Diyala
Aswat al-Iraq: Four civilians were wounded, three of them seriously, when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near their vehicle in southern al-Saadiya district, Diala province, on Saturday, the local police said.

"The IED blew up near the vehicle in the area of Imam & Yassin, southern al-Saadiya, (100 km) north of Baaquba, wounding all four passengers on board," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The three seriously wounded people were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment," he said, not giving more information.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency


Daini red-listed for Interpol to arrest him — Atta
Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi lawmaker Mohammed al-Dayni is still at large but he was placed on the red list so that the Interpol may arrest him if he left Iraq, a senior security official said on Saturday.

"The Baghdad Operations Command has placed Dayni on the red list," Mohammed Atta, the BOC official spokesman, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Atta had earlier said that Dayni has escaped to an unknown place after he was stripped of parliamentary immunity, calling on citizens to report him if any information on his whereabouts was available.

The Iraqi parliament had lifted immunity off Dayni on Feb. 25 by majority after the Iraqi interior ministry accused him of involvement in acts of violence.

Atta, during a press conference he held on Feb. 22, said that Dayni's nephew, Riad, has acknowledged the responsibility of his maternal uncle for the deadly blast that occurred inside the Iraqi parliament on April 12, 2007.

Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency


Baiji: U.S. forces bang AQI gunny
Aswat al-Iraq: U.S. troops killed a man in Baiji in self-defense, said a U.S. source, explaining that the man is an amir (senior member) of al-Qaeda Organization in the area.

"The forces entered a neighborhood at al-Qayiara area of Baiji (35 km) north of Tikrit, to track down some accomplices of a detainee," Lt. Colonel Braen Maki told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The forces came under fire from a man with a pistol when they went inside a house," he said. "The force responded and killed him," he added. "The force later identified the man as a wanted person for being an amir of al-Qaeda Organization in Baiji," he noted.

Maki added that the house was empty when the incident took place but from two men who were arrested for interrogation.

Earlier, a source from Salah al-Din police said U.S. forces handed over the body of a man who was shot dead to the Iraqi police in Baiji city, claiming that he was a gunman who attacked a U.S. patrol that killed him, but the dead man's relatives said that the forces killed him in front of his family.
Posted by: Fred || 03/08/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran test-fires new long-range missile
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has test-fired a new long-range missile, the country's state Press TV reported on Sunday.
Perhaps. You can never be too sure, it might be an old TV re-run.
Iran often stages war games or tests weapons to show its determination to counter any attack by foes including Israel and the United States, which accuse the Islamic Republic of seeking to develop nuclear bombs. Tehran denies the charge.
And if it can't it just makes something up out of thin air ...
"Iran test fires new long range missile," Press TV, Iran's English-language television station, said in a scrolling headline without giving details.

The Press TV report came less than a week after a top Iranian military commander said that Iranian missiles could now reach Israeli nuclear sites. Iran has often said it has missiles able to reach the Jewish state but had not previously mentioned such specific targets. Israel is believed to be the only nuclear-armed Middle East state.
I hear the old TV studios where the US faked the moon landings are available.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/08/2009 10:13 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  reports elsewhere say that Iran has announce 'it will fire' the missile

most of these reports say it is a air to ground device fired from a fighter (which if true means the missile can travel at least as far as the fighter - and we know Iran has fighters with at least 1200 km range - assuming they don't have to return to base)
Posted by: mhw || 03/08/2009 14:52 Comments || Top||

#2  STARS-N-STRIPES > seems US ELITE FORCES left behind to advise and train Iraqi Mil-Sec are worried the OBAMA ADMIN's PLANS TO DOWNSIZE THE US PRESENCE IN IRAQ will take away their WAR-INSURGENCY-WINING TECH(S) and LEAVE THEM EITHER MOSTLY FOOT-BOUND, OR ELSE RELIANT ON OLDER IRAQI MIL EQUIPMENT ON PAR [read, NOT COMBAT/FIELD-SUPERIOR OR DOMINANT] TO THAT OF THE MILITANTS???

IOW, HOW CAN ANY ISLAMIST HIDDEN-IMAM/MAHDI LOSE UNDER THESE KINDS OF SELF-IMPOSED [pro-Islamist]ENEMY LIMITATIONS, etc. OR STRATEGIC ENVIRON???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/08/2009 21:13 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
41[untagged]
7Govt of Pakistan
4TTP
2Iraqi Insurgency
2Taliban
2al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Govt of Iran
1al-Qaeda in Iraq
1Govt of Sudan
1Palestinian Authority
1Al-Muhajiroun
1al-Qaeda in Pakistan
1Global Jihad

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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2009-03-08
  Palestinian PM submits resignation making way for unity govt
Sat 2009-03-07
  US taps Delhi on Lanka foray: Marines to evacuate civilians
Fri 2009-03-06
  Marwan to be 'freed' as part of Shalit deal
Thu 2009-03-05
  ICC issues arrest warrant for Sudan's president-for-life
Wed 2009-03-04
  Lanka troops in last Tamil Tiger Towne
Tue 2009-03-03
  Lanka cricketers shot up in Lahore
Mon 2009-03-02
  Hariri tribunal gets underway in The Hague
Sun 2009-03-01
  Mighty Pak Army claims famous victory in Bajaur
Sat 2009-02-28
  Bangla sepoy mutiny: Mass grave horror stuns nation
Fri 2009-02-27
  Paleofactions agree to form unity govt
Thu 2009-02-26
  Bangla: At least 50 feared dead in sepoy mutiny
Wed 2009-02-25
  Lanka: Troops enter last Tamil Tiger-controlled town
Tue 2009-02-24
  Mulla Omar orders halt to attacks on Pak troops
Mon 2009-02-23
  100 rounded up in Nineveh
Sun 2009-02-22
  1 European killed, 9 others wounded in Egypt blast


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