MOGADISHU - A landmine killed one person and wounded eight in a rare attack on a mosque in the Somali capital on Tuesday, a day of chaotic violence that left at least another 15 people dead and scores wounded.
Witnesses said the mine exploded as worshippers were going to the Abu Hureyra mosque in Bakara Market, an area used as a base by rebels fighting the government and African Union (AU) peackeeping troops in Somalia.
Residents said nine people died when mortar shells hit a house in the south of the city, two rebels and a government soldier were killed in fighting near Bakara Market and two AU soldiers were wounded when they stopped a suicide bomber from ramming a truck laden with explosives into their base.
“We have received 57 injured people today. Three of them died in the hospital,' Mohamed Yusuf, director of the Madina Hospital, told Reuters.
It was not clear who was behind the mosque explosion, though residents suspected it might have been infighting between the two insurgent groups that dominate the Bakara Market. No, really?
“We hear about explosions at mosques in Iraq, so this is an amazing thing to happen in Somalia,' witness Abdallahi said.
Hizbul Islam and al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab are the two main rebel groups in Somalia. While the two frequently clash in the south of the country for control of strategic towns, they are usually on the same side against the government in the capital.
“They claim to be religious. But clerics don't behead, kill and detonate people,' said Mogadishu resident Mohamed. Can't imagine he said that with a straight face ...
“It really is terrible, this could stop people going to mosques.' That might not be such a bad thing ...
Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing on Tuesday that targeted a new African Union base set up last week in the Shangani area of the capital, north of the presidential palace. An AU peacekeeping force made up of soldiers from Uganda and Burundi is propping up the government in Mogadishu, and guarding key sites such as the airport and seaport.
Major Barigye Ba-hoku, spokesman for the AU force, said the vehicle was blown up before it could ram into the new base, which is manned by Ugandan soldiers. “We have foiled the attempt, we have destroyed the would-be suicide car bomb. Two of our soldiers who destroyed the car sustained minor injuries,' he told Reuters.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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An Egyptian court on Wednesday convicted 26 men of planning attacks inside Egypt and of being linked to Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Jihadis: making friends and influencing people wherever they go.
Judge Adel Abdel Salam Gomaa of the emergency state security court sentenced the men - who included Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians and one Sudanese - to prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years. Gomaa said the investigation proved the group intended "to strike Egypt's economy, destroy the bonds between its people and create chaos and instability throughout the country." The court's sentences may not be appealed. Only the president can overturn its verdict.
The 26 detainees in the were arrested in late 2008 and early 2009 and charged with conspiring to carry out attacks against the Suez Canal and tourist sites within Egypt, spying for a foreign entity and possession of explosives. Media reports at the time said the investigation into Hezbollah activities revealed that the goal of the cell was to undermine stability in Egypt and to strike at Israeli targets, not to aid Gaza's Hamas rulers.
Among those tried was Sami Chehab, also named as Mohamed Youssef Mansour Ahmed, who received a jail term of 15 years. He was present in court, placed with the others inside a cage. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last year confirmed Chehab was a member of the group but denied he committed any crime, saying Chehab was only involved in helping equip Palestinians in their fight against Israel.
Defense attorney Montasser Zayat said three of those convicted received life sentences, which he said in Egyptian law was equivalent to 25 years.
#1
Judge Adel Abdel Salam Gomaa of the emergency state security court sentenced the men - who included Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians and one Sudanese - to prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years.
I just realized I am prejudiced--I always think of Hezbollah as Iranian and Lebanese exclusively. AQ seems more inclusive, taking anyone that signs on, but I guess a black Sudanese just didn't fit my mental image of a Hizzbilly. I guess I'll have to be more open-minded when it comes to suspicious terrorists.
#2
Lumpy Elmoluck5091, this varied group of men were cannon fodder plus a small leadership cadre -- not even any Number Threes, I imagine. At that level, just about any vetted enthusiastic volunteer will do. At the top level in each of the jihadi groups it seems to be pretty tribal, with an awful lot of intermarriage to nail home loyalties. That's probably what you were thinking of. Even Al Qaeda has a pretty small circle at the top.
Posted by: trailing wife at the Toyota shop ||
04/28/2010 14:18 Comments ||
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SANAA - Yemeni police arrested dozens of al Qaeda suspects in sweeps a day after a suicide bomber tried to kill Britain's ambassador to Yemen, security officials said on Tuesday. Among those taken into custody, the officials said, were seven Yemenis who had close relations with the bomber, who died when he attacked the convoy of British Ambassador Tim Torlot on Monday.
The seven men, as well as the bomber, had all been arrested for suspected al Qaeda ties following the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. targets, but were released after two years in prison, according to the officials.
Monday's attack “bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda', Yemen's interior ministry said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
And how many Al Qaeda escaped from Yemeni custody today?
Posted by: American Delight ||
04/28/2010 8:27 Comments ||
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After scanning the video footage of BDR mutiny at Pilkhana, Criminal Investigation Department investigators confirmed another BDR sepoy's involvement and he was brought to CID headquarters from Thakurgaon yesterday, CID sources said.
The BDR jawan, sepoy Billal Hossain, 20, had been working undisturbed at Rifles Battalion-20 headquarters in Thakurgaon since the bloody mutiny that left 74 people including 57 Army officials killed.
Additional Superintendent of Police Abdul Kahar Akand of CID, also the main investigation officer, told The Daily Star, “Billal was arrested as he was found in the thick of action with firearms in the video footage captured by media people.'
“Recently we have arrested a number of BDR members from Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Sylhet and Khagrachhari and several others will be arrested soon from different districts,' said Kahar Akand.
CID has arrested 2251 BDR members and 34 civilians in connection with the Pilkhana mutiny case so far. Of them 2267 were remanded while 539 gave confessional statements before the magistrates.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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A senior North Korean party leader has reportedly announced that the North Korean military took "gratifying revenge" on South Korea. Does seem like an admission of 'responsibility', doesn't it ...
The Daily NK, an Internet media outlet, quoted a senior North Korean party leader as making the remark in a political lecture for party members in Onsong, North Hamgyong Province on April 24.
He reportedly said, "Since our heroic People's Army took revenge on the enemy, all South Chosun [Korea] has been in fear of our defensive military ability."
"Defensive revenge." The Hermit Kingdom really isn't like anywhere else on earth, thank goodness.
The Daily NK carried the report under the dateline Changchun, China on Monday.
A source in North Hamgyong Province said the secretary did not directly mention the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan on March 26 "but participants in the lecture were able to confirm that a rumor which had been circulating among the people really happened."
According to the source, the lecture was held to boost morale among party members in the province on the occasion of the North Korean Army's founding anniversary on April 25.
A South Korean government official said, "We have no confirmed intelligence reports about such a lecture. It seems the content of these Saturday lectures normally spread from Pyongyang to the provincial regions in a week or two."
If the news report is true, it is highly likely that similar lectures have been given throughout North Korea.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I hope the South has the balls to do something about it.
#2
Knowing the ROK, the hard part is not the payoff, but in restraining some of their commanders who are itching to start a war. But no bones about it, a lot of Norks are going to die over this.
My guess is that they will blow one or more of the North's dams, as they are a major vulnerability, and will seriously mess them up.
#3
Anonymoose, do you think the politicians are as itchy as the South Korean military? Not to mention dear President Obama?
Posted by: trailing wife at the Toyota shop ||
04/28/2010 14:21 Comments ||
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#4
Mine their harbors. Keep mining them randomly until the bottoms are so covered there isn't room for any more. Force all imports and exports to go through Chinese ports. Kimmie's corrupt, criminal behavior will be curtailed, if not ended. China can't afford to be an OBVIOUS partner in such behavior.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/28/2010 15:39 Comments ||
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A man who allowed a friend turned government cooperator to store camping equipment in his London apartment and then loaned him $300 to take it to an al-Qaida commander in Pakistan pleaded guilty late Tuesday on the eve of trial.
Syed Hashmi, 30, a Pakistani-born naturalized U.S. citizen, spared himself a possible life sentence by admitting to one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to the terrorist group. Lawyers for Hashmi and prosecutors reached a plea deal Tuesday, with the government agreeing to drop substantive material support and other charges and Hashmi accepting a likely sentence of 15 years in prison, which would have him free by the time he turns 40.
A smiling Hashmi shook hands with defense lawyers David Ruhnke, Anthony Ricco and Sean Maher after the guilty plea and before he was returned to 10 South, the so-called terrorism wing at New York's Metropolitan Correctional Center. His lawyers then hugged each other in obvious relief. "I just think this was the right thing to happen," Ruhnke said outside the courtroom. "The government was seeking 70 years and the guidelines were 30 years to life and we were terribly concerned this man was throwing his life away."
Judge Loretta Preska was set for jury selection today following her Monday decision to grant the motion of prosecutors Brendan McGuire and John Hillebrecht for an anonymous jury, with the judge noting that Hashmi had "enthusiastically declared his support of jihad and the killing of non-Muslims." The defense opposed, saying it would stigmatize their client and subvert the presumption of innocence.
The judge will sentence Mr. Hashmi on June 7, when Ruhnke said his client will leave the isolation cell in which he has lived for more than two years and be sent to a federal prison. "I've been in 10 South and I've been in Guantanamo Bay," the lawyer said, "and I would rather serve my time in Guantanamo Bay."
A man detained after claiming he had explosives on a trans-Atlantic flight Tuesday served in the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence specialist for four years, Air Force officials said. Delta Air Lines Flight 273, which was heading from Paris, France, to Atlanta, Georgia, was diverted to Bangor, Maine, on Tuesday afternoon after the man made the explosives claim, law enforcement officials said.
Two law enforcement officials identified the passenger as Derek Stansberry of Florida. He held the rank of senior airman and was on active duty from June 2005 to June 2009, according to Air Force officials. Federal air marshals on board the flight took Stansberry into custody, Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliot said.
In addition to explosives, Stansberry claimed he had false documents, the law enforcement officials said. Investigators had found no explosives so far, they said.
Stansberry was not flagged on any databases, they said. The FBI is leading the investigation with assistance from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Bangor Police Department, the officials said.
Stansberry trained at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, and also was stationed at Hurlburt Field in Okaloosa County, Florida, according to Air Force officials. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to service records.
Passengers said they were unaware of any disruption, but that the flight crew moved all the passengers forward in the partially filled cabin.
The jet landed in Maine at about 3:30 p.m. ET.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Early days I know, but could this be a case of PTSD ?
Posted by: Dave UK ||
04/28/2010 5:14 Comments ||
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Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
04/28/2010 7:29 Comments ||
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#5
PTSD is not impossible for 'Chair Force' - he was deployed in Iraq & A'stan, and for all we know could have been driving trucks and getting blown up and stuff. Airmen were (are?) being detached and assigned to general transportation units, among other things.
I doubt he was driving trucks. I vote for smart but a total flake.
Posted by: ed ||
04/28/2010 7:55 Comments ||
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#7
#6 as an intelligence specialist for four years
Pretty much explains it. Confused, pi**ed off, and frustrated. Hazards of the profession. Send him down to Eglin, lock him up and get him some medical help asap.
#9
Some intel weenies are little loose in the head, helps on the job in a few ways. But some do go way off the end of the rope. Even converted combat arms people, like Cav troopers.
#11
From Foxnews.com: The father said government officials questioned him, but he was as perplexed as they were. "My son's profession in the military required he live a squeaky clean life," Richard Stansberry said. The father said his son served four years in the Air Force before leaving last year for a job in the private sector. He wouldn't identify his son's employer, but said the firm does work for the Air Force....Houston, 24, said that when Tuesday's flight landed, FBI agents boarded and helped remove the suspect, who was wearing handcuffs. "He looked extremely calm, like a blank face. No emotion," Houston said of the man who was removed.
Richard Stansberry, of Apollo Beach, Fla., said he has not yet been able to speak to his son. "Unfortunately, I don't think they'd let him call me," the elder Stansberry said. "In a situation like this, the government is doing what it is supposed to do."
CIA? "When seeing and hearing isn't believing"?
Wonder if we'll hear anymore on this?
#14
Sounds like he was an intel puke that got caught up in the drug scene after he left service and joined a civilian outfit. I've seen it happen dozens of times. This may have been his way of asking for help. Weird, but it happens all kinds of ways. Goodfellow AFB trains Imagery Analysts and Intelligence specialists - training once done at Lowry AFB. Sounds like he was either going back to Eglin/Hurlburt or to McDill, SOCOM Headquarters.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/28/2010 15:50 Comments ||
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A former U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was charged with making bomb threats. Derek Stansberry, 27, of Florida was accused of claiming he had dynamite in boots in his backpack connected to a pressure trigger and that he also had explosives in his laptop, an FBI affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Maine said.Delta Flight 273 was diverted to Bangor, Maine, where the plane and luggage were searched. No explosives were found. The passengers were forced to stay overnight in Maine and were due to arrive in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon.
Stansberry was an Air Force senior airman and served as an intelligence specialist, Air Force spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Linda Pepin said. He was on active duty from June 2005 to June 2009 and received several decorations, including for service in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pepin added.
He was charged with interfering with a flight crew and making false statements about having an explosive device on the plane, according to court records. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted on the first charge and up to five years for the second one.
A federal judge ordered Stansberry temporarily held without bail. At his initial court appearance, Stansberry requested a competency exam be conducted, according to court records. A detention hearing is scheduled for May 3.
In the Delta incident, one air marshal reported that Stansberry had said he had taken eight Ambien sleeping pills and had previously used Valium but not during the flight. He later told the FBI he had taken one Ambien earlier that day.
The incident began when Stansberry passed a note to one of the flight attendants in which he said he was not an American citizen and had a fake passport. The crew turned the note over to one of the four U.S. air marshals on the jumbo jet.
He then made claims about explosives in his computer and boots. The air marshals moved the items to the rear of the plane and built a bunker around them in hopes it would dampen any effects of a possible explosion, the affidavit said.
During interviews with law enforcement agents, Stansberry told them he had top security clearances, had classified information, and other passengers on the plane had tried to interrogate him, though none had in fact talked to him, the court papers said.
"He decided to claim that he had a bomb in order to divert attention from the fact that he had classified information," the affidavit said.
Nine Ambien pills?!? It's a wonder the man is still breathing!
#16
If you ain't Cav, you ain't shit. Yep that's the saying. "Charge Hard".
As for being a bit off, well... lets jsut say I have personal experience on being an the odd side of things at times, mentally. Made me a better analyst and ops, but was detrimental to career arc. Sometimes still get right pissed after all these decades. Not surprised to see the zoomie that popped his cork was one of us dark side types. I trained at Goodbuddy Airplane Patch myself, so I know what he is about.
The Indian and Pakistani prime ministers are due to meet on Wednesday amid escalating tensions over limited water resources.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of breaching the terms of a 1960 treaty governing the use of shared river systems, complaining that irrigation channels on its side of the border have emptied. The issue has now been adopted by militants in Jamaat-ud-Dawah, widely regarded as a front for Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Jihadi group fighting Indian troops in Kashmir and responsible for the November 2008 wave of gun and bomb attacks that killed at least 170 people in Mumbai.
Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashka-e-Taibi and head of Jamaat-ud-Dawah, threatened a water war with India during a recent TV interview. "Look at India's attitude, especially after the 9/11 attacks. It has taken advantage of Pakistan's weaknesses and made dams and stopped our water. Pakistan, for its defence, will have to fight a war at all costs with India if it is not prepared for talks on Kashmir and water," Saeed said in an interview with Frontline, a private TV channel.
His comments followed earlier statements claiming that control of water resources was being used as a weapon to weaken Pakistan. "India is trying to hatch a deep conspiracy of making Pakistan's agricultural lands barren and economically annihilating us," said one.
PESHAWAR: The security forces on Tuesday killed 13 Taliban during a fresh offensive in Orakzai Agency and also destroyed several hideouts in the process. According to official sources, security forces arrested 26 Taliban, including three important commanders in the Tribal Areas and Lower Dir district.
In Lower Orakzai Agency, the security forces, backed by helicopter gunships and artillery, killed eight terrorists after a battle over a checkpoint in the Beezot area. The forces also arrested five extremists from the Mashti area.
Airstrikes killed five more in the Kasha area of Orakzai, AP reported.
The military escalated an offensive in Orakzai Agency in mid-March after militants fled there to avoid a separate offensive in South Waziristan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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BARA: Security forces killed five terrorists, including two commanders, and arrested another 18 during an operation in tehsil Bara of Khyber Agency, sources said on Tuesday. The operation was launched at the Akakhel area in which two commanders, including five activists of the defunct Lashkar-e-Islami (LI) were killed, sources said. They said that 18 terrorists were also arrested during the operation.
According to sources, a curfew has been imposed in Akakhel, Zawa and Qambarkhel areas since yesterday, which has added to the miseries of the people. The operation in Bara was launched some months ago, in which a large number of terrorists have died and been injured.
Separately, Khasadar Force personnel along with tribal police arrested Syed Ameen, son of Ayub Jan on having alleged ties with terrorists, during a raid at the Ghundai area of tehsil Jamrud.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI: A senior Indian woman diplomat of the level of second secretary in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, has been arrested for passing on Indian state secrets to Pakistan intelligence agencies for two years.
53-year-old IFS Group B officer Madhuri Gupta was working in the press wing of the Indian High Commission, according to intelligence sources. It is unlikely that she was a lone spy operating on her own. But there is so far no confirmation of any others arrested or interrogated. According to sources, simultaneously, the station head of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Islamabad R K Sharma has also come under the scanner, according to sources.
Home secretary G K Pillai said Gupta had been passing information to Pakistani agencies. "She has been arrested," he said.
According to sources, Gupta, a spinster, is alleged to have been taking information from the RAW station head in Islamabad, which was passed to the Pakistani spy agencies.
The sources said that the role of Sharma had also come under scanner for allegedly abusing his position and passing information to Gupta. However, it was not clear whether he knew the woman officer's real designs, the sources said.
The internal security establishment is extremely cagey about the role of Indian diplomats abroad. The four independent anonymous sources, who confirmed this information to TV channel Times Now, were reluctant to reveal exactly what kind of information the alleged mole was privy to. However suffice to say for now that the officer may have been on the pay-role of the Pakistani establishment, and was allegedly passing on crucial strategic information belonging to Pakistan.
The Ministry of External Affairs sources said an official statement will be given out the complete facts in the case. However sources did mention that Gupta, who is also believed to be an Urdu interpreter and a staffer for 30 years who has served in Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Islamabad, has confessed to the crime.
This is the first-ever case of a senior Indian diplomat being arrested for such a crime. What is more, Indian agencies believe that the 45-year-old is just a part of a massive Pakistani spy ring and there may have been others in the Indian diplomatic establishment also engaged in counter espionage. Currently the exact nature of the inducements to Gupta for her services is not known.
But the revelation is shocking and will have wide ramifications, coming as it does as the SAARC summit is underway at Thimphu in Bhutan and will doubtless have to be taken up with Pakistan at the highest level. The extent of damage done will also have to be assessed.
"She is in the information wing, which is isolated from the political wing and not in the most vital departments and could not have been privy to the most sensitive of documents. However it is a penetration. We earlier had a penetration by East Europeans, but this is a first from Pakistan," said former MEA secretary K C Singh reacting to the news.
Gupta was apparently being tracked for nearly a year by the Indian government both in Islamabad and in New Delhi at her residence, before being carefully brought over to India on the excuse of SAARC related work. She was detained in New Delhi four days ago, and interrogated by a special group comprising members of different agencies like the Intelligence Bureau, RAW and Delhi police, before being arrested. A court remanded her to further police custody of another five days on Monday.
Government sources say Gupta, who was liaising officer between Indian and other embassies in Islamabad, has risen through the ranks and was engaged in espionage for the Pakistanis for about two years. She has been produced in a local court in East Delhi where she stays, and remanded to 10 days police custody.
"I am not trying to discriminate on the basis of class, but a person who has not been properly trained and brought up in the values of the services can perhaps be more susceptible to foreign inducements easily. Nevertheless, given the fact that all those working in Islamabad know that they are under watch and being targeted by Pakistani intelligence which is on the lookout for chinks - that they were able to penetrate the embassy is shocking," said Union minister Kapil Sibal. He said it was imperative to ascertain what information had been leaked.
Speaking in the development, Times Now strategic affairs expert Mahroof Raza said, "The Indian government would have found it extremely difficult to hold an Indian officer in the High Commission if she was working for the Pakistani government. She would be having patrons in the Pakistani system who would make it extremely difficult to get her back and put her through legal and administrative proceedings. This is perhaps the first time an Indian diplomat has been caught spying overseas and working against Indian interests. This gives a completely different dimension to Pakistan's desire to know what India is up to on foreign policy."
Posted by: john frum ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Yet another way in which Barry the Pseudo-genius has undermined Bush's achievements is the way he's set back Indo-US relations. We were on our way to forging an alliance with this extremely valuable bulwark against both the ChiComs and a Pakistani implosion until Barry was inaugurated and immediately gave India the back of his hand. Sigh.
WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: Unknown gunmen wearing military uniform robbed a house in north of Kut on Tuesday, a police source said.
"The gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniform launched on Tuesday (April 27) an armed robbery on a house in central al-Nuaamaniya district, north of Kut," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "They stole 20 million Iraqi dinars and fled to unknown place," he added.
Kut, the capital of Wassit, is 180 km southeast of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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Palestinian officials in Gaza say Egyptian forces have pumped gas into a cross-border smuggling tunnel, killing four Palestinians.
A Hamas security official in charge of the tunnel area says the Egyptians filled the passage with gas Wednesday. Gaza doctor Hamdan Abu Latifa said the smugglers suffocated.
The Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give his name.
There was no comment from Egypt, which has been under pressure to choke off the smuggling. Hamas says Egypt has blown up numerous tunnel entrances recently. Remember when Sweden lost its marbles because the US used tear gas in Vietnam?
#1
i am sure that this is BS, but if true, then i applaud the Egyptians and say 'More! Faster!'
drown every one of the rats in each and every tunnel. the tunnels are the lifeline for Hamas, and the sooner the tunnels go, the sooner Hamas goes, and the sooner something come come out of the festering sewer of Gaza that might have a use
Posted by: abu do you love ||
04/28/2010 17:01 Comments ||
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#2
thats whu=y miners used too take birds intomines too detect gases.
Posted by: chris ||
04/28/2010 17:25 Comments ||
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#3
Oops! That was me. Last night was burrito night...phew!
#4
Gaza - Ma'an - Poisonous gas killed four Palestinians and injured six inside a smuggling tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border on Wednesday evening, medics reported.
It was not immediately clear what type of gas was being used. Medics are accusing Egyptian forces of spraying a chemical into the tunnel as part of a crackdown on smuggling.
One of the victims was identified as Muhammad Abu Jamous. He was among four pronounced dead on arrival at Abu Yousef An-Najjar Hospital in Khan Younis, our correspondent reported from the scene. Six others were injured after inhaling toxic gas inside a tunnel, medics said, blaming Egypt.
Gas might have been used in the same tunnel days earlier, officials said.
"Workers said they were on their way to one of the tunnels filled with poisonous gas a week ago, to confirm the toxin had dissipated," Adham Abu Salmiya, spokesman for Gaza medical services, told Ma'an. "They were shocked to find it had actually remained in the tunnel, resulting in the deaths and injuries."
Muhammad, has the gas dissipated?
Muhammad? Muhammad?
Mahmoud! Get down there and ask Muhammad if the gas has dissipated!
Wednesday's incident comes amid an escalating Egyptian security crackdown along the borders of the coastal enclave. Smugglers have said that in recent weeks, officials clamped down on tunnels, seizing goods almost daily, and shutting down tunnels rapidly. Forces detonated explosives inside a tunnel on Saturday morning.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/28/2010 19:05 Comments ||
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#6
It is not easy to get some gases out of a tunnel, and it might kill very quickly.
Often in industry, some worker will descend on a ladder into a toxic gas and pass out. So others will try to rescue him and pass out as well. Sometimes there may be four or five dead guys before somebody says to themselves, "Hey! Wait a minute!"
And in mines, to make matters worse, such toxic gases are often explosive.
A female health volunteer was shot dead and two villagers seriously wounded in two separate incidents in Pattani on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
Pol Col Viroj Boonyasak, the Yarang district police chief, said when Sina Waelae, 41, a female health volunteer of tambon Kolam in Yarang district, was returning home from Pattani town on a motorcycle she was followed by two men on another motorcycle. The pillion rider fired a shot from an 11mm pistol into her head, killing her instantly.
In the other incident, two villagers - Ibrohim Wawaeni, 30, an employee of Yarang hospital, and Abdulroning Maming, 38 - were shot and seriously wounded after two men, who followed them on a motorcycle, opened fire at them with handguns. Ibrohim was shot in the abdomen and Abdulroning in the head.
The shooting took place while the two men were riding on a motorcycle with a boy, Su-aimi, 11, Abdulroning's son, sitting between them to Pongsata village in Yarang district. The boy was not hurt.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
About Gates confirming the Hizb'allah missiles: last I heard, the Dept. of Defence has intelligence resources unavailable to the State Department. Perhaps Secretary Gates was just being helpful.
#6
Two days later, and no further confirmation on the capture of Izzy Ibrahim al Douri...bummer, I had high hopes for that one.
Posted by: abu Chuck al Ameriki ||
04/28/2010 13:38 Comments ||
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#7
I don't watch television or go to movies, so I really enjoy Fred's female enticements from time to time. Most of the people that are "stars" today aren't really ATTRACTIVE. This young lady is, in many ways. Thanks, Fred.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/28/2010 14:59 Comments ||
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#8
About Gates confirming the Hizb'allah missiles: last I heard, the Dept. of Defence has intelligence resources unavailable to the State Department. Perhaps Secretary Gates was just being helpful.
My guess: he's pushing back against a) DoS, which always downplays threats and b) the NYT etc. who carried water for the CIA by criticizing the DoD intel groups.
Also, remember that he withdrew the original whitewash report on Nidal Hassan which managed never to use words like 'Islam' and 'jihad'. He's at the point of the spear right now and there are certainly people poised to push him out if they can.
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.
An Egyptian court on Wednesday convicted 26 men of planning attacks inside Egypt and of being linked to Lebanese group Hezbollah. 
SANAA - Yemeni police arrested dozens of al Qaeda suspects in sweeps a day after a suicide bomber tried to kill Britain's ambassador to Yemen, security officials said on Tuesday. Among those taken into custody, the officials said, were seven Yemenis who had close relations with the bomber, who died when he attacked the convoy of British Ambassador Tim Torlot on Monday.
PESHAWAR: The security forces on Tuesday killed 13 Taliban during a fresh offensive in Orakzai Agency and also destroyed several hideouts in the process. According to official sources, security forces arrested 26 Taliban, including three important commanders in the Tribal Areas and Lower Dir district. 
NEW DELHI: A senior Indian woman diplomat of the level of second secretary in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, has been arrested for passing on Indian state secrets to Pakistan intelligence agencies for two years.
