Posted by: Mike ||
08/16/2009 8:39 Comments ||
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#4
The oddest thing is that no matter how young the Rantburg babes are in their pictures, they all still look like adults. Today's "starlets" tend to look (or try to) like 14 yr. old hookers.
A police officer has been killed after a traffic police outpost in the capital of Russia's Southern republic of Dagestan came under repeated gun fire.
The attacker is thought to have been using a sniper rifle with a silencer.
In a separate attack, a policeman was shot in the head in another district of the city, but survived and was admitted to hospital. It was the second attack on police in the city in the last few hours.
One day earlier, presumably the same gunman opened fire on a police squad patrolling Boomchakalaka Makhachkala's central square, just meters from the republic's Interior Ministry, killing two police officers and wounding one. Experts say in that case, too, a sniper rifle with a silencer was used.
Traffic police stations in the region have been ordered to beef up their security. A special police task force is searching for the sniper throughout the city.
It sounds very well thought out, the three students are well into their twenties, and given that the journalism field is shrinking, anyone serious about getting into the profession had better have something like this on his/her resume. Besides, they're Alaskan, so they should have considerably less in the way of ideological blinders... and considerably more tact when dealing with the troops around them.
#1
This is what real journalism schools should be doing. Hell, we have enough armchair and green zone journalists. They are a dime a dozen. Life involves risk. You weigh the risks for the benefits and see if it is a worthwhile endeavor. Hats off to Hamilton and UAF. Alaskan pioneering spirit in action.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/16/2009 16:07 Comments ||
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#2
"We have found seven of our dead colleagues floating in the sea," ..."The Egyptian crew members killed them ... we used to welcome them and treat the Egyptians better than other hostages, but if we capture more of them we shall get our revenge."
#7
Traditionally, at least the British used to hang pirates aboard their own, slowly sinking vessels. This way, they would not soil the decks of the British ship, and their ship might even be seen by their pirate comrades before it went under.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Yemeni army said on Saturday on the fifth day of its latest offensive against Shiite rebels that its aim was to "save" civilians from the insurgents.
The military also denied claims by the Zaidi rebels that it was using white phosphorous munitions in its campaign.
A spokesman said on the website of the defense ministry newspaper September 26 that the objective of the operation in the mountainous northern province of Saada is to "protect citizens and their property from the aggression, pillage and destruction carried out by criminal elements."
He gave no details on any operations on Saturday, a day after at least two soldiers and 16 rebels were reported killed.
The rebels have accused government forces of killing dozens of civilians in bombardments and of using white phosphorous, which international law bans for use against non-combatants because it causes severe burns. "The government does not possess phosphorous weapons," the spokesman said in response.
Truce rejected
On Thursday, the government offered terms for ending its offensive. These included the rebels evacuating all government offices they have occupied, handing in ammunition and equipment and freeing their prisoners.
These conditions were dismissed by the rebels, who charge that it is the army and not their side that has been responsible for death and suffering among civilians.
They also accuse the government of failing to respect a June 2007 ceasefire intended to end a conflict which has left thousands dead since it first erupted in 2004.
Officials say the rebels want to restore a form of clerical rule, the Zaidi imamate prevalent in Yemen until 1962. The rebels say they are defending their villages against government oppression.
According to the governor of Saada Hassan al-Manna, around 17,000 families have been displaced from their homes during the past five days.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Four people have been killed and another one wounded in a firing incident in Quetta.
SHO Gwalmandi Athar Hussain told DawnNews that a group of armed men opened indiscriminate fire at a tandoor on Tarin road early this morning killing four people and wounding another one.
He termed old enmity as the reason behind the incident. He said both the victims and assailants belong to Khilji tribe.
All the bodies and the injured have been shifted to civil hospital and police have started search for the accused.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] At least fifteen militants were killed and many sustained injuries during security forces' action against Taliban here in tehsil Ladha of South Waziristan Agency (SWA) on Saturday, Geo news sources said.
Forces also succeeded to shell militants' suspected hideouts during separate actions in different SWA tehsils, sources claimed.
According to sources, the major operations against Taliban were carried out in Makin and Kandao localities of tehsil Ladha of SWA wherein, security forces bombarded several suspected militants' sanctuaries.
Subsequently, 15 militants perished while many others were injured and their hideouts located in different areas were shattered.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Troops killed four Muslim rebels in Indian Kashmir as a separatist strike paralyzed the restive region Saturday in protest against celebrations marking India's 1947 independence, police said.
The rebels were killed in a fierce gun battle in southern Kashmir late Friday, on the eve of India's celebrations of its 62nd anniversary of independence from British colonial rule, police said.
Since 1989, when insurgents launched a revolt against New Delhi's rule, separatists have marked festivities honoring India's independence as a "black day" in the Muslim-majority region.
Anti-India strike
Separatists staged their traditional one-day anti-India strike to coincide with the celebrations, shutting down shops and businesses and emptying the streets of people.
The four rebels killed by troops belonged to the region's most powerful guerrilla group, the Hizbul Mujahedin, which is fighting for the inclusion of Indian Kashmir by neighboring Pakistan, police said.
During the night soldiers also defused eight bombs planted by rebels in the scenic Himalayan region, where authorities have sharply boosted security for the celebrations, said police.
"The attempt by militants to disrupt the Independence Day celebrations was foiled," a police spokesman told AFP.
In summer capital Srinagar sharpshooters took up positions on top of buildings overlooking the venue for the main celebrations, as part of the heightened security.
The tightly guarded Independence Day celebrations were to be attended later in the day by Indian Kashmir's new chief minister, Omar Abdullah, who was elected in May.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] A soldier from Pakistan's military has been killed and 11 others injured during a clash with Afghanistan's army at the border in the South Waziristan region. "The clash erupted when Pakistan's army asked troops of the Afghan national army to stay in their area and also signaled them not to cross their limits at Angor Ada area of the Pak-Afghan border", a senior military official told a Press TV correspondent on Saturday.
The official said that Afghan troops instead of staying in their area opened fire at Pakistani soldiers. As a result of the shooting, one Pakistani solider was killed and 11 others were injured. Pakistani soldiers retaliated but there are no reports about the number of casualties on the Afghan side.
The Pakistani military official also said that the military would raise the issue before high level authorities in Pakistan. The Pakistani official also proposed that the issue be presented before a tripartite commission -- including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Coalition forces -- so that such incidents would not happen in the future.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
First rule of any combattant - never talk smack to an armed man, and NEVER call them names. I'm sure some of that happened, especially if there were Punjabis (virtually a certainty) in the Pakistani platoon.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/16/2009 15:45 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Three soldiers and two civilians were killed and four others injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a security check-post in Khwazakhela, while eight militants were killed in a military operation in Kanju area of Swat on Saturday.
According to the Swat media centre, the bomber hit the check-post on Khwazakhela-Charbagh road near the village of Waliabad, 14km from the district headquarters of Mingora, at about 10am. The check-post building was completely destroyed. The injured were taken Saidu hospital. The dead were identified as Safdar, Fayaz and Mazhar (soldiers), Qasim Jan and Abdul Majeed (civilians).
Soon after the strike security personnel cordoned off the area, closed the Mingora-Khwazakhela road and started search operation. A military official said that the vehicle used in the bombing did not come from far-flung area as there were several check-posts on roads between Khwazakhela and Charbagh. It had come from a nearby area, he added.
Mohammad Zameer, a resident of Charbagh, told Dawn that after a long time the people of Swat celebrated the Independence Day with great enthusiasm, but the attack brought back fears that militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah could return and sabotage the government's efforts to rehabilitate the displaced people and restore peace. 'It seems that militants are still hiding in Swat to terrorise and frighten people who have suffered a lot because of the operation,' he added.
The ISPR said in a press release eight militants had been killed in Kanju area of Kabal tehsil. One militant surrendered himself to security forces in Sakhara area of Matta tehsil. Five militants were captured in Amlok, Amankot, Drushkhela and Qambar areas of Swat.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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A Palestinian man was killed in what police say was a clan-related dispute in Gaza City on Friday night. The incident was unrelated to clashes in the southern Strip, sources said.
A man identified as Rashid Dughmush was transferred to the Ash-Shifa Hospital after unidentified gunmen opened fire on him in the Sabra neighborhood as he drove past them in a de facto government police vehicle.
What's a 'de facto government police vehicle'?
Police declined to say if Dughmush was working with them, or how he had otherwise come into possession of the car.
Maybe he took the five-finger discount?
Director of ambulance and emergency services in the Palestinian Ministry of Health Muawiyah Hassanein identified the slain man and said he was in his 40s.
In September 2008 a fierce gunbattle broke out in the same neighborhood after de facto government security forces attempted to arrest three members of the Dughmush family. Medical sources said that 12 people were killed in the incident, and de facto police detained at least 15 in subsequent raids.
Clearly a de facto police vehicle is what the de facto police are issued for transportation.
Members of the Dughmush family, some affiliated with the group Army of Islam, accused Hamas of using the killing of a police officer as pretext to wage war against the group.
Who else is affiliated with the Army of Islam, I wonder -- runaway Al Qaeda in Iraq members, disgruntled ex-Hamasniks achin' for a fight, Fatah hard boys wearing a new beret? The group did not just appear out of thin air, like the fairies.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
What's a 'de facto government police vehicle'?
Either one not marked, or one that's not, but was pressed into service (Commandeered)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/16/2009 13:27 Comments ||
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Ma'an -- Hamas officials released a statement saying Palestinian Authority forces detained three of the movement's supporters in raids across the West Bank Friday night.
Those taken were reportedly from Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, and Hebron in the south.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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Ma'an -- An Egyptian child was hit by a stray bullet and a Palestinian man fled from the clashes between Hamas and the ultra-Islamist group Jund Ansar Allah (Warrior of God) in the border city of Rafah on Friday.
There was no word on how the Palestinian escaped the Strip, but sources said he handed himself over to Egyptian police.
Yes, but had he intended to do so, or was he presented with an exciting opportunity?
Egyptian sources said ten artillery shells also landed on the southern side of the Gaza-Egypt border, five of which exploded though no casualties were reported from the shells.
Egyptian forces dismantled the remaining shells, and had troops pull back from the border area as the Gaza Strip clashes went on into the night.
"Let 'em kill one another until they're done, sergeant. Allah will sort it out."
"Yessir, captain!"
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] PHILIPPINE President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military on Saturday to intensify offensives against Abu Sayyaf guerrillas after honoring 23 troops killed in a recent gunbattle to capture camps from the al-Qaida-linked militants, an official said.
Arroyo embraced weeping wives and family members of the slain troops, whose bodies are lying in state at a military camp gymnasium in the southern port city of Zamboanga.
She also gave Merit Medals to the marines and soldiers, who were killed when troops assaulted and captured two Abu Sayyaf camps on Wednesday on the southern island province of Basilan, said Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. He said 31 militants were killed, and 22 government troops were wounded in their deadliest clash in years.
Arroyo promised 250,000 pesos ($5,200) in financial aid to each family, as well as jobs for the widows and scholarships for their children, he said. She also visited wounded soldiers at a military hospital before calling her military commanders to a meeting.
Teodoro told reporters that Arroyo ordered commanders to 'rapidly conclude the war and annihilate the ASG (Abu Sayyaf group) in Basilan.' The Abu Sayyaf is on a US list of terrorist organizations and is suspected of having received funds and training from al-Qaida.
Basilan Gov. Jum Akbar said more than 1,300 families fled their homes near the fighting and many more had been displaced by the Abu Sayyaf, who ordered villagers to leave days before the military assault.
More than 400 marines, army and police commandos stormed the hilltop camps on Basilan, targeting about 150 Abu Sayyaf militants led by two terror suspects wanted for a series of bomb attacks and kidnappings.
Teodoro said the two camps served as a stronghold and a bomb factory for the Abu Sayyaf on Basilan, about 880 kilometers south of Manila.
Brig. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, the Basilan marine commander, said troops were pursuing the militants and will continue operations 'to once and for all flush out the remaining terrorist elements in the province.'
Although weakened by yearslong US-backed offensives, about 400 Abu Sayyaf gunmen on Basilan and nearby Jolo Island and the Zamboanga peninsula have recently turned to ransom kidnappings to raise funds for terror attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
PHILIPPINE President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered the military on Saturday to intensify offensives against Abu Sayyaf
Must be election time on the Philippines again. And Arroyo is again posing to be 'drafted into office'.....
#3
#2 Well, yeah... going after groups on the south is always a electorate-pleaser. Of course nothing will be done to the communist forces in the north. Posted by Pappy
Oh, you're talking about the 'PHILIPPINES.' That'll cure me of reading the cmts first.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Twenty Syrians were killed and over 60 injured in a failed Scud missile test carried out by Syria, Iran and North Korea in May, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Friday. One of two missiles had apparently strayed off its course due to a technical malfunction, landing in a civilian populated area in a town on the Syrian-Turkish border. The victims were all civilians.
Syria is lucky only their own citizens were killed. Can you imagine Turkey's reaction had the technical malfunction occurred in the nearest town on the far side of the border?
The incident was part of a botched attempt to test a new short-range ballistic missile developed together by the three countries, the report said. According to Kyodo News, the area - a marketplace - was immediately closed off to the public, who was told that a gas explosion had ensued and was the cause of the wreckage. It was unclear where the other missile landed.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2009 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/16/2009 13:35 Comments ||
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#8
The good news is the warhead works.
Posted by: ed ||
08/16/2009 13:35 Comments ||
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#9
Not necessarily, Ed, it could've been unexpended fuel.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/16/2009 15:23 Comments ||
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#10
RJ, even satellites come down. It just takes longer. Ask the Australians.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/16/2009 15:51 Comments ||
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#11
Oh to be a fly on the wall (who could understand the language of Syria) when the locals are discussing how a gas leak could fall on them from above.
I suspect that the NKor food rationing may lead to lack of brain development in their engineers.
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.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A soldier from Pakistan's military has been killed and 11 others injured during a clash with Afghanistan's army at the border in the South Waziristan region. "The clash erupted when Pakistan's army asked troops of the Afghan national army to stay in their area and also signaled them not to cross their limits at Angor Ada area of the Pak-Afghan border", a senior military official told a Press TV correspondent on Saturday. 
[Dawn] Three soldiers and two civilians were killed and four others injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a security check-post in Khwazakhela, while eight militants were killed in a military operation in Kanju area of Swat on Saturday.
[Jerusalem Post Front Page] Twenty Syrians were killed and over 60 injured in a failed Scud missile test carried out by Syria, Iran and North Korea in May, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Friday. One of two missiles had apparently strayed off its course due to a technical malfunction, landing in a civilian populated area in a town on the Syrian-Turkish border. The victims were all civilians. 
