#2
Interesting that Adm. Mullen fires Gen. McKiernan who reports to Gen Petraeus and Petreus' only action is to "agree" with Gates and Mullen. Very adroit.
#3
People are so concerned with style over substance. We could have cleaned out the ME a long time ago if we were actually allowed to take a few skull trophies and go guns blazing. Instead we have a bunch of overly queesy pencil pushers running a war. We need a real brute in charge that doesnt care about all that.
* FREEREPUBLIC > WND - AYATOLLAH [Khameini] SEES NEW GLOBAL "MAHDI" ARMY: CALLS ON MUSLIMS TO UNITE UNDER THE COMING ISLMAIC MESSIAH [ + defeat iff notdestroy Israel + USA]???
The closer IRAN, etc. is to DE FACTO NUCLEARIZATION, the MORE INTENSIVE WILL BE THE ISLAMISTS' MILACTIONS.
OLD DREAM/VISION > The USA is already begun its force downsizing. Radical Islam must still engage and destroy a MAJOR US ELITE FORCE [ e.g. US ARMY-MARINES UNIT vee "DECISIVE BATTLE"].
The heartbroken widow of a Northern Irish man killed in Afghanistan has spoken of her immeasurable loss.
Stuart Murray, a 40-year-old father-of-two from Ballykelly, was working for a private security company when he was caught up in an explosion in the west of the war ravaged country on Saturday.
It is believed the former Royal Fusiliers soldier had been making his way to an airport when his |vehicle convoy was ambushed by insurgents.
He had been returning home after six weeks working as a security manager in a military compound close to the city of Herat.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph from her home at Riverview Cottages in Ballykelly last night, his grief stricken widow, Sheena, said she was devastated by his death.
Fighting back tears, Mrs Murray spoke of pride for her husband whom she described as a dedicated family man.
He was the life and soul, very popular, everybody loved him. He was a very dedicated family man who just wanted to provide for his family. We are all just devastated.
Its very hard. We are all devastated, but you have to be strong for the children, she said.
It is thought Mr Murray, who celebrated his 40th birthday only last week, had left Afghanistan a day early hoping to surprise Sheena and their two young children Georgia (8) and Joshua (5).
However, his widow said the exact circumstances surrounding the ambush were still unclear.
She said: We dont really know what happened. All we know is that he was travelling and there was an ambush and three people were injured and Stuart was killed. Someone is supposed to be coming to see us to tell us more on Tuesday. He was due to leave on Sunday but he left a day early.
It was the second time Mr Murray had travelled to Afghanistan for private security work, having been there back in February also for six weeks.
Mrs Murray added: He was working for Compass as a security manager. He had been out for six weeks at the beginning of the year and had come back in February.
Obviously I was worried about him going out but he always felt it was safe enough, except for travelling, because he was inside a compound.
He had been in the Army before we got together. He had been in Bosnia and had done one, maybe two tours of Northern Ireland. He had travelled all over the world with the army.
He retired in 2006 as a colour sergeant.
Tributes have also flooded in from public representatives in the Ballykelly area.
SDLP councillor Gerry Mullan, who lives close to the Murray family home, said the local community had been left stunned by the news. I know the family very well. The family are all devastated, he said.
I would like to express my condolences to the family. The whole community is devastated and stunned. We are all deeply affected by it.
Stuart had been in the Army since he left school at about 16 he had been in the Army for 21 years and had an exemplary career. It seems so cruel that after living out a boyhood dream and serving for so long, he is killed while out there on a six-week contract. It is very tragic.
Limavady councillor Leslie Cubitt said Mr Murray was a well known and well respected, hardworking man.
My sympathies go to his family, if there is anything anyone can do at this sad time, we will.
He was a good, hardworking man and this is a great tragedy, he said.
#1
Which is why naval helicopters get a grounding strap hung on them (or their hauling cable if doing vertical replenishment) before they touch the deck or a cargo load.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Taliban on Sunday for the first time threatened to attack polling stations directly, stepping up warnings for Afghans to boycott landmark elections this week.
The threat was made in leaflets pinned up and dropped in villages of southern Afghanistan, which were authenticated by a Taliban spokesman. The text varied slightly in language, attributed to different local commanders in a region considered the main Taliban stronghold in the country.
" This is to inform respected residents that you must not participate in the elections so as not to become a victim of our operations, because we will use new tactics"
Taliban leaflets
"This is to inform respected residents that you must not participate in the elections so as not to become a victim of our operations, because we will use new tactics," said one leaflet distributed in Kandahar city and seen by AFP.
The text began with a verse from the Koran urging Muslims not to seek friendship and cooperation with enemies of Islam.
The letter was signed by Mullah Ghulam Haidar, the guerrillas' purported operations commander in Kandahar city. It said voters -- as allies of the Afghan government and foreign forces -- would be considered enemies of Islam.
"All people are being informed that you must not rent out property to voting centres and if anyone did -- even after elections -- they may face problems," said the letter.
Leaflets confirmed authentic
" We are using new tactics targeting election centres. If anyone is harmed in and around election centres, they will be responsible because we have informed them in advance"
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi confirmed the leaflets were authentic and that commanders were ordering the masses to boycott the vote. "We are using new tactics targeting election centres. If anyone is harmed in and around election centres, they will be responsible because we have informed them in advance," Ahmadi told AFP. "We will accelerate our activities on election day and the day before," the spokesman added.
The leaflets marked the first direct Taliban threat to attack polling sites. Late last month, the Taliban ordered voters to boycott the polls and join the ranks of the militia in waging holy war to "liberate" Afghanistan.
Taliban threats and soaring attacks have raised widespread concern that the presidential and provincial polls will be marred by poor voter turnout, which could jeopardise the legitimacy of the elections.
The Taliban claimed a suicide bombing outside NATO headquarters in Kabul on Saturday that killed seven civilians and wounded 91 others. The bombing "was a warning that the Taliban can attack any time," said author and analyst Waheed Mujda. "The tactics they use make them very difficult to stop," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
That should increase their popularity.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/17/2009 12:24 Comments ||
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#2
Schools and elections. The tallibunnies just hate 'em. Maybe that's because they're stoopid and unelectable.
#4
Maybe that's because they're stoopid and unelectable.
Sorta explains a lot of the left's activities here. Indoctrinate them in the madrases schools and keep the real story from the people cause they might vote for the other guys. Union enforcers to follow the Philadelphia Black Panther model come next year cause the Attorney General says there's no problem with that.
[Quqnoos] Four Taliban insurgents were killed as NATO and Afghan troops launched a pre-polls offensive in the western Afghanistan on Saturday
Afghan and NATO-led forces have recaptured a village in the Guzara district of the western Herat province, in an effort to stablise the situation for the next Thursday's national elections, a police spokesman said. "A son of a local Taliban leader, Ghulam Yahya Akbari, has also been killed in the offensive," said a provincial police spokesman, Col Noor Khan Nikzad.
The operation was aimed to intensify security in the relatively restive Afghan district ahead of the 20 August presidential and provincial council elections. Taliban insurgents have reportedly fled Seyawishan village as the offensive begun to set back the militants. Local guerillas have blown up several bridges in the district in an attempt to prevent any military offensives, the local official further said.
This article starring:
Ghulam Yahya Akbari
Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The Afghan defence ministry said Sunday that more than 30 rebels, including foreigners, were killed in an operation pounding Taliban centres in a bid to secure a northeast troublespot for key elections. "Tens of terrorists were killed as a result of Operation Thunder Five in the province of Khost," the ministry announced in a statement. "The operation was launched a while ago for election security, with support from national police, border police and international forces," it said.
"More than 30 have been killed," ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi told AFP after the operation in Spera, in southwestern Khost near the border with Pakistan.
Independent confirmation of the death toll was not possible and the Nato-led military deployed in Afghanistan had no immediate details. Afghanistan's defence ministry said troops pounded Taliban centres, "overpowering" the enemy who either escaped or were killed. "Among those killed are 10 foreign nationals," said the ministry.
US, Nato and Afghan troops have launched multiple operations -- particularly against Taliban flashpoints in the south -- in a bid to safeguard imminent Afghan elections overshadowed by Taliban threats and mounting violence.
On August 20, 17 million Afghans are due to elect a president for the second time in history, but Taliban threats to block roads to polling booths and widespread fears of suicide attacks have clouded preparations.
The governor of Khost, which borders a part of Pakistan where Taliban commanders carved out safe havens in the wake of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, told AFP last week that countless offensives were underway. "Since the beginning of the month, we did 45 operations in the province to clean up insurgent strongholds. During the first two weeks of August, security forces killed 51 Taliban," said the governor Hamidullah Qalandarzai.
Thousands of US Marines have poured into Taliban-controlled regions as part of a sweeping new war strategy under US President Barack Obama aimed at quelling the insurgency.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
sweeping new war strategy under US President Barack Obama aimed at quelling the insurgency.
also known as a "Surge", a strategy in Iraq opposed by Candidate Obama in an effort to put personal andparty power over national security. He failed, the military under General Petraeus won. Never forget that or let the MSM sweep that into the historical revision file. Throw it in Reid's, Pelosi's, Obama's faces every time they try to take credit, after previously trying to declare defeat and dishonoring the sacrifices of thousands of more honorable Americans than they. F*ckers
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/17/2009 7:54 Comments ||
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[Maghrebia] Mauritania will deploy 4,000 troops to the Sahara region to fight terrorists, including groups linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Nouakchott's ANI reported on Saturday (August 15th). The move follows decisions made by army chiefs of staff from Algeria, Mauritania, Niger and Mali during last week's security summit in Tamanrasset, Algeria.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Algerian security services evacuated tourists camping on beaches from Tiapaza to Chlef after uncovering a terrorist plan targeting holidaymakers, Echorouk reported on Saturday (August 15th). Elsewhere on Saturday, a bomb exploded at a beach observation post in Tigzirt, Tizi-Ouzou, killing one policeman.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Law enforcement agencies conducted raids in various parts of the country, including Chittagong and Rajshahi on Saturday night and early yesterday following an alert message from the police headquarters on possible militant attacks.
Police patrols have also been enhanced in different places across the country following the alarms that militant attacks could take place in public gatherings or important government establishments in between August 15 and 21.
However, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad denied sending any special alert on Saturday night. "We always keep our forces on alert so that law and order is maintained," he told The Daily Star yesterday.
Asked about the special drives conducted in Chittagong and Rajshahi, he said the drives were on their own initiatives.
Our staff correspondent from Chittagong adds: the Chittagong metropolitan police (CMP) conducted an hour-long drive in the port city on Saturday night, apprehending militant attacks on public gatherings or police establishments.
According to CMP, police headquarters in Dhaka received information that a militant attack might take place on any public assembly or police establishments in the port city in between 11:45pm and 12:10am on the days.
Informed by the police headquarters, CMP police conducted the drive for an hour till 12:45am yesterday by setting up 38 check-posts at different points of the city, CMP Deputy Commissioner (north) Engineer Banaj Kumar Majumder told The Daily Star.
They searched vehicles plying the roads and also strengthened security of different important establishments.
Teams from Rab 7 of Chittagong also patrolled the city from 9:00pm on Saturday to 5:00am yesterday.
When contacted, Rab 7 Commanding Officer Lt Col Zahidur Rahim said some 16 patrol teams have been deployed in the city while security has been beefed up in Feni and Cox's Bazar.
Police also enhanced patrol and started conducting predawn raids in Rajshahi city and 16 other northern districts following the alert.
Senior police officials of Rajshahi metropolitan police (RMP) and Rajshahi division confirmed that they are conducting raids in all important places following the directives from the high-ups.
Reports received from other districts, including Natore, Chapainawabganj and Naogaon said that police patrolled the towns and kept vigil.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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Local lashkars, brandishing cudgels and other weapons and patrolling the outskirts of the city, have been quite successful in restricting Taliban raids in rural areas -- demonstrating considerable vitality and tact in successfully dealing with onslaughts.
Unlike other parts of the NWFP and the Tribal Areas -- where lashkars have crumbled under the pressure of suicide attacks and killings of members -- lashkars in Peshawar are braving the storm: two militias from the Khalil Mohmand tribe -- headed by Adezai Nazim Abdul Malik and Bazidkhel Nazim Fahimur Rehman -- are engaging Taliban from Darra Adamkhel and Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency.
Abdul Malik is fighting Taliban from Darra Adamkhel as well as the Lashkar-e-Islam (LI), while Fahim has locked horns with the LI.
"They have been attacking us with bombs, rockets," Abdul Malik told Daily Times.
On August 10, suspected Taliban attacked a vehicle owned by Abdul Malik, but the nazim was not in the vehicle.
Talks were previously launched with the Taliban, but the idea was dropped when Taliban destroyed a school, said Abdul Malik, adding that if Taliban wanted to reconcile with his lashkar, they would have to end their activities in Mattani and Badabher.
Malik is all praise for Peshawar police, but laments the provincial government has done nothing.
"We are also cooperating with the other lashkar being headed by Fahimur Rehman," he said. This cooperation is vital for the city as it protects the southwestern flank from the Taliban encroachments.
Police demolished Abdul Malik's house in August 2008 and arrested him on charges of militancy. On his release, he sided with the government, but his house was then destroyed by the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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The Christian community on Sunday asked the Punjab government to provide security for an annual Christian congregation at Maryamabad, in Sheikhupura district, following threats of terror attacks from unidentified persons. The Christian community has informed the government that residents of Chak No 3 RB, Maryamabad, had received threatening phone calls from unidentified persons, who warned of attacking the congregation and "reducing it to a pile of ashes in a manner similar to the Gojra attacks" on Christians earlier this month.
Organisers of three-day religious conference -- from September 4 to 6 -- said they had informed local police about the threats, which had expressed its inability to secure such a large gathering of people due to limited resources. The community has, therefore, appealed to the prime minister, the Punjab chief minister and the Punjab inspector general of police to take notice of the security threat and demanded the government deal with extremist threats to the community sternly. The general secretary of leading Christian organisation RIK, Pastor Murqas Sharif, said the government should ensure foolproof security at the religious conference and also appealed to Muslim clerics to play their role to defuse extremist feelings towards religious minorities in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Pak army and police arrested 13 suspected extremists in a search operation in Badarashe, Noshehra. Qari Asad alias Abu Muhammad, an important leader of the local extremists is also among the arrested. DPO Noshehra, Nisar Ahmed Tannoli told Geo News the Pak army and police launched a joint operation last night after four rockets had been fired. Thirteen suspected extremists have been arrested during the crackdown. Videos showing bomb blasts, ammunition and other sensitive documents have also been recovered from the accused. Meanwhile, the police handed over Abu Muhammad and three other extremists to the joint investigation team for inquiry.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] A 220 KV high transmission line, going from Guddo to Quetta has been destroyed in Dera Allah Yar, Naseerabad.
According to QESCO sources, a 220 KV tower came down when some miscreants targeted it using a remote detonated bomb.
Power supply from Guddo has been suspended after the blast, causing power outages in various parts of Balochistan including Quetta.
Meanwhile, QESCO rescue teams reached on the spot and inspected the affected tower. According to QESCO the maintenance of the tower will begin in next 24 hours, however it may take a full week to fix it.
Earlier, the miscreants destroyed two 220 KV towers in the same region and their repairing has not yet been started.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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One soldier was killed and two others were injured when militants attacked a military convoy in Derga Mandi area in the restive North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday. According to sources, the convoy was on its way to Miramshah from the border town of Ghulam Khan. They said the assailants used machine guns and rockets in the attack.
Soon afterwards the security forces launched a counter-attack and targeted nearby houses. Residents said four people, including two children, received bullet injuries.
Muhammad Irfan Mughal adds from Tank
Supporters of Baitullah Mehsud and those of Turkistan Bhittani clashed in the Gomal Bazaar area on Saturday, leaving four people dead. According to local people, Baitullah's supporters attacked the office of pro-government militant commander Turkistan Bhittani, killing one man and wounding two others. The Bhittani group killed three attackers. The group also claimed seizing four wounded assailants. However, the claim could not be confirmed. Baitullah's supporters had attacked their rival's offices in the area a few days ago and kidnapped several people.
Meanwhile, four unidentified bodies were found in the Kariwam area of Frontier Region of Jandola on Saturday, local officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I've been away. Whats the current dope on Baitullah Mehsud? Is he really, truely dead?
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/17/2009 11:52 Comments ||
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#2
That's what the Good Witch of the North said...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 14:42 Comments ||
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[Dawn] The bullet-riddled bodies of 18 Taliban militants apparently killed by furious residents seeking revenge were discovered Sunday in Pakistan's northwest Swat valley, officials said.
'They had been apparently shot dead by residents who fear that the Taliban might return. These militants were not killed in any military operation...the heads of some of the bodies had been smashed with hammers.'
The military claims to have cleared Swat of militants in an offensive launched earlier this year after militants extended their grip into the valley, terrorising residents with public beheadings and other violence.
'Eighteen dead bodies of militants were found in Barikot, Shamozai, Kabal and Kanju,' a local military spokesman told AFP. 'They had been apparently shot dead by residents who fear that the Taliban might return. These militants were not killed in any military operation...the heads of some of the bodies had been smashed with hammers.'
Atifur Rehman, administrative chief of Swat district, confirmed that 18 bodies had been found but he had no further details.
Swat slipped out of government control after Mullah Fazlullah mounted a violent campaign in which his followers beheaded opponents, burnt schools and fought government troops to enforce sharia law.
The army launched an offensive in late April to dislodge Taliban guerrillas from the districts of Buner, Lower Dir and Swat after militants flouted a peace deal and marched further south towards Islamabad.
Pakistan says more than 1,800 militants and over 166 security personnel have been killed in the offensive since late April, but the death tolls are impossible to verify independently.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Alas, unhappy land; ill-fated spot
Kotal--though where or what
On earth Kotal is, the bard has forgot;
Further than this indeed he knoweth not--
It borders upon Swat!
At least 17 members of the Maulvi Nazir faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including Maulvi Nazir himself, have been killed in fighting with the Baitullah Mehsud group, rival leader Turkistan Bhittani told a private TV channel on Sunday.
"They were hiding behind rocks and, as soon as our people reached there, they opened fire. It was so sudden and quick that none of our men could fire back," Shaheen Wazir, Maulvi Nazir's spokesman, told the Reuters news agency via telephone. However, another spokesman, Abdul Haq, told AFP the group was not blaming anyone. "We cannot say whether it was Mehsud's men or the government that was behind this attack," he added.
Meanwhile, an intelligence official of the region said Taliban belonging to the Baitullah Mehsud group had also fired rocket-propelled grenades at pick-up trucks carrying Wazir fighters towards Wana. A resident saw the Taliban carrying some of the dead bodies into Wana after the attack, Reuters reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/17/2009 12:19 Comments ||
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#2
Excellent news. Nazir was Islamabad's butt boy. I.e. His attacks were directed at Afghanistan. Too bad we killed Mehsud and took the pressure off Pakistan.
Posted by: ed ||
08/17/2009 13:33 Comments ||
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Ma'an -- Israeli tanks crossed into the Gaza Strip overnight Saturday in Al-Faraheen, near Khan Younis, according to the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).
In a statement, the PRC claimed responsibility for hurling an explosive device and grenade at the invading forces. The group added that its fighters would continue to prevent Israeli forces from crossing the border near Kerem Shalom.
Ma'an from time to time receives faxed or emailed statements from groups claiming responsibility for attacks on Israeli targets, which are not always possible to immediately verify. Israel's strict military censorship policy often restricts spokespersons from confirming accurate reports until hours afterward, if at all.
On Tuesday, a previously unknown Palestinian military group calling itself the "Sunna Group Supporters of Prophet Muhammad's Teachings" claimed responsibility for firing two mortar shells toward Israel forces. The self-proclaimed organization said in a statement its fighters launched two mortar shells at army vehicles stationed near a military watchtower east of Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in central Gaza.
Later, Israeli authorities reported that one mortar shell fired from Gaza had landed across the border in the Eshkol Regional Council desert area, causing no damage or injuries.
On Thursday evening, another previously unknown group, the "Al-Quds Army," said it captured an Israeli soldier, seeming to confirm later reports that witnesses saw a soldier forced into a car and driven away. Israeli police set up checkpoints and roadblocks throughout the country in an effort to rescue the alleged abductee.
However early on Friday morning, Israel's military insisted all its soldiers were accounted for, denying claims from both within its ranks and from the so-called Al-Quds Army that a soldier had been captured.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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Ma'an -- Funerals were held in the southern city of Rafah on Saturday afternoon, just 24 hours after Gaza was declared an "Islamic emirate" by a radical armed group.
Some 24 Palestinians were killed in the clashes that ensued between Hamas' militant wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, and members of Jund Ansar Allah ("Soldiers for God"), thought to be ideologically aligned with Al-Qaeda. Jund Ansar Allah leader Sheikh Abdul-Latif Abu Moussa was among those laid to rest, as well as Muhammad Jibreel Shamali, an Al-Qassam Brigades leader who died in a raid against the organization in Rafah.
At least 125 Palestinians were injured in the fighting that culminated with Hamas' armed wing storming a mosque taken over by the radical group. According to medical sources in Gaza, about 20 Palestinians were seriously wounded and four were still on life support by Sunday morning. The 24 slain Palestinians included six members of Hamas' forces, 12 Jund Ansar Allah members, and six non-combatants. At least three young children lost their lives during the battle, presumably among the civilians.
Ma'an could not ascertain the allegiance of each victim, but obtained a general list of their identities:
1. Muhammad Jibreel Shamali, 34, Al-Qassam leader
2. Muhammad Ibrahim Kallab, 24
3. Shayma Al-Aloul, 8
4. Abdul-Rahman Kgadr Mousa, 20
5. Eyhab Mahir Al-Qatrous, 19
6. Ahmad Salih Jarghoun, 19
7. Muhammad Abdullah Ghneim, 35
8. Mustafa Muhammad Al-Louqa, 22
9. Ahmad Muhammad Juda, 23
10. Ahmad Fuad As-Sabi, 30
11. Rafiq Hasan Abu Shbeik, 20
12. Muhammad Mustafa Miqda, 13
13. Jihad Riyad Duhan, 17
14. Ahmad Washah, 10
15. Mahmoud Abu Nada, 20
16. Abdullah Mustafa Awadallah, 22
17. Abu Abdullah As-Suri, known as "Khalid Banat"
18. Dr Abdul-Latif Abu Moussa, Jund Ansar Allah leader
19. Raed Bal'awi
20. Ayman Abu Sabala
21. Muhannad Mousa
22. Rif'at Abu Silmiyya
23. Raed Arabiyyat
24. Hisham An-Natour
Meanwhile on Saturday, survivors of the group insisted the Hamas operation against them was unwarranted. In a statement, Jund Ansar Allah called the assault by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades, "a hasty reaction."
Regarding the declaration its leader made calling Gaza an "Islamic emirate," Jund Ansar Allah insisted Abu Moussa had meant no ill will toward the Palestinian people or the de facto government. "The announcement came following an agreement... which was submitted to other groups for approval under a clear understanding that forbade assaults on anyone's rights," the statement insisted.
The group said its members had done nothing warranting the reaction on the part of Hamas and its security forces, insisting that Jund Ansar Allah's actions were not directed toward any one particular religious vision. "Anyone who says, 'There is no god but God,' cannot be accused of infidelity," the organization added.
This article starring:
Abdul-Latif Abu Moussa
Jund Ansar Allah
Muhammad Jibreel Shamali
Hamas
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"At least three young children lost their lives during the battle..."
Three people, including a village head, were killed in a gun battle in the southern border province of Narathiwat while an assistant village headman was wounded in a drive-by shooting in Pattani.
In Ruso district of Narathiwat, two men, identified as village head Maropae Yusobluga and defence volunteer Ibroheng Malasae were killed Sunday night following an exchange of gunfire with a group of unidentified assailants. Meanwhile, Sainudi Blugavali, one of the five presumed terrorists insurgents, was shot dead at the scene.
An investigation by combined military and police personnel on Monday found that Mr Maropae and Mr Ibroheng exchanged gunfire with the attackers while they were patrolling an area by motorcycle in Ruso district. Police said the motive behind the shooting could be either a personal conflict or the jihad insurgency.
In another incident, an assistant village headman in Nong Chik district of Pattani was shot and wounded in Bo Thong village while escorting monks who received alms from villagers early morning. Investigators said two terrorists suspected insurgents rode a motorcycle behind the 53-year-old victim and gunned him down before fleeing from the scene.
[Straits Times] TWO helicopters carrying senior Philippines military officials were hit by ground fire while flying low over the island of Basilan on Sunday, forcing an emergency landing, the army said.
Two videographers for state television were slightly injured in the rough landing but none of the official party, which included a general, were hurt.
The party was on its way to the town of Ungkaya Pukan to check on military operations against the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, four days after fierce clashes on Basilan left 23 soldiers and 21 militants dead.
'The choppers... were flying lower over Lamitan (town) when it came under fire,' military spokesman Lieutenant Steffani Cacho said, adding the aircraft were hit by fire from automatic rifles.
'We still don't know who was behind the attack, but it could be the Abu Sayyaf or Moro (Muslim) rebels.'
The attack came after President Gloria Arroyo on Saturday ordered the 'annihilation' of the Abu Sayyaf in the wake of Wednesday's fighting.
She also warned another rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), that they would be hunted down for their alleged involvement in the clashes.
The government was supposed to resume peace talks with the MILF in Malaysia this month, and it was not clear how the escalation of violence would affect the negotiations.
Presidential spokesman Cerge Remonde on Sunday said the military was under orders that the hunt for the Abu Sayyaf 'should be rapidly concluded.' He also called on the leaders of the MILF to stand down and 'help the government in getting rid of terrorists and lawless Abu Sayyaf elements.'
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Good for generals to get a whiff of gunpowder once in a while. Makes them realize, if for only a split-second, what their troops go through.
[Dawn] Three people on board were killed when an army training helicopter crashed on Sunday west of Tehran, a local official told state television.
'Three people on board the helicopter died,' governor of Shahriar, Mohammad Ali Erfan Manesh, said.
'It was a training helicopter that belonged to the air force of the Islamic republic of Iran,' he said without giving the cause of the accident.
The crash was previously reported to have occurred in the Tehran satellite residential area of Andisheh but Erfan Manesh said it actually took place near a village called Zarnan.
This is Iran's third fatal air accident in the past week.
An Iranian police chopper crashed on Monday in the southern province of Kerman, killing three and leaving three other people aboard injured.
Two people died on Saturday when a training plane crashed due to a technical glitch.
Iran, which has been under years of US sanctions hampering its ability to buy American aircrafts and spare parts, has suffered a number of aviation disasters over the past decade.
The country's civil and military fleet is made up of ancient aircraft in very poor condition due to their age and lack of maintenance.
In July, an Iranian airliner en route to Armenia caught fire in mid-air and plunged into farmland, killing all 168 people on board in the country's worst air disaster in years.
Also last month, an Iranian airliner overshot the runway in the city of Mashhad and slammed into a perimeter wall, killing 17 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/17/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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Operation "Technical Glitch" is in effect
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/17/2009 8:01 Comments ||
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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.
[Quqnoos] Four Taliban insurgents were killed as NATO and Afghan troops launched a pre-polls offensive in the western Afghanistan on Saturday
[Bangla Daily Star] The Afghan defence ministry said Sunday that more than 30 rebels, including foreigners, were killed in an operation pounding Taliban centres in a bid to secure a northeast troublespot for key elections. "Tens of terrorists were killed as a result of Operation Thunder Five in the province of Khost," the ministry announced in a statement. "The operation was launched a while ago for election security, with support from national police, border police and international forces," it said.
[Geo News] A 220 KV high transmission line, going from Guddo to Quetta has been destroyed in Dera Allah Yar, Naseerabad. 
One soldier was killed and two others were injured when militants attacked a military convoy in Derga Mandi area in the restive North Waziristan tribal region on Saturday. According to sources, the convoy was on its way to Miramshah from the border town of Ghulam Khan. They said the assailants used machine guns and rockets in the attack.
At least 17 members of the Maulvi Nazir faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including Maulvi Nazir himself, have been killed in fighting with the Baitullah Mehsud group, rival leader Turkistan Bhittani told a private TV channel on Sunday.
Ma'an -- Funerals were held in the southern city of Rafah on Saturday afternoon, just 24 hours after Gaza was declared an "Islamic emirate" by a radical armed group.
