Six US service members and a dozen civilians died in attacks in Afghanistan, adding to a summer of escalating violence against stepped-up operations by international and Afghan forces.
NATO said four US service members died in the east: One as a result of small-arms fire, another by a roadside bomb, a third during an insurgent attack and the last in an accidental explosion. Two other US troops died in separate roadside bombings in southern Afghanistan. Their deaths raised to 23 the number of American troops killed so far this month in the war.
Also, unknown gunmen killed 11 Pakistani Shia tribesmen in the east and at least one person died when a bomb planted on a motorbike exploded in Kandahar city in the south, officials said.
Explosions also hit two convoys of international troops in different parts of the country, with Germany saying two of its troops were wounded by a roadside bomb in the northern province of Kunduz. Another explosion targeted NATO troops in Khost in the east, but the alliance said there were no casualties.
Afghan and international forces also said a combined commando unit killed a Taleban operative and captured eight others in an overnight raid in Paktia province in the east, though local villagers claimed the men were innocent civilians. In the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, thousands of Afghans staged an anti-US protest over another night raid that killed two security guards.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#2
Unfortunately, Mike Steele is making a cheap political statement. This is not Obama's war, it wasn't Bush's war. This is OUR war. This is a war for the survival of Western culture as we know it and it has been brewing at verious levels of heat for centuries. Ask any European if the current demographics of the continent do not matter. We are at war with Islam, a conflict they fund via crude oil and narco trafficing. International borders mean nothing, nothing to Islam anyway. Afghanistan is simply the current battlespace. Chasing these vermin around the mountains using investigative, law enforcement, and civil-military techniques is a fools game. Unless we totally devastate thier cities, population centers, smash the Kaaba to dust, and destroy their corrupt governments and Mullahs the butcher's bill will not end. There is very, very little chance that we will win this war under Obama. He has no passion for the defeat of Islam in any form, radical or otherwise. His head is not in this game and our generals know it. His planned eviceration of our military could however, could guarantee military defeat for future presidents and houses of congress. Obama is not the cause nor is he part of the solution. Obama is simply the debilitating, socialist, affirmative action pox which we have brought upon ourselves.
#3
The West has no strategic interest in Afghanistan. The original problem, the Taliban harbouring AQ and OBL, was fixed by deposing the Taliban.
Everything else, excepting dronezapping suspected bad guys, is a pointless effort at nation building.
And as for narco-terrorism, stopping the flow of cocaine from Columbia or MJ from Jamaica is a vastly simpler problem than stopping the flow of opium/heroin from Afghanistan. And I don't see much success in stopping the flow of C and MJ.
Being in Afghanistan to stop the flow of narcotics is a pipedream (opium allusion)
#4
...and the best way to stop, or at least massively restrict, the flow of opiates from terrorist zones? Legalise the trade.
Legalise, regulate, quality control, tax. If you do that you know what it is and where it's from. You take supply out of the hands of criminals and terrorists and you turn the whole business from a hugely unstabilising and destructive underground activity into open and controlled, regulated like other drugs (e.g. tobacco and alcohol). The second biggest, if not the biggest - and apparently the most reliable* - main supply of cash to the Taliban would dry up, virtually overnight, as the West sourced supplies from friendly trading partners.
To use a rather unfortunate phrase: it's a no-brainer.
*"Could the Taliban run out of cash?
From drugs at least, the Taliban's future revenue streams look ominously steady. According to a UN report published in August, opium-traffickers have stockpiled more than 10,000 tonnes of the stuff, with a street value of billions of dollars. That's enough to satisfy world demand for two years."
#5
"According to a UN report published in August, opium-traffickers have stockpiled more than 10,000 tonnes of the stuff...."
Arc Light anyone?
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
07/11/2010 8:52 Comments ||
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#6
Re: "Steele is correct. This IS Obama's war."
W. faced a problem after 9-11; how to get the conventional armed forces into a fight against an unconventional foe. The answer was to invade Iraq and setup a kill box. Al-Qaeda could be counted on to "come-on-in" where we could kill them. This (eventually) worked.
History argues against fighting a conventional war in Afghanistan. We should be careful about building up conventional forces. All that did for the Russians was to increase the number of targets.
SO and drones are our best strategy for containing the Taliban. I would be very surprised if a "hearts-and-minds" campaign will ever work there. What is an acceptable outcome? War lords that export drugs instead of terrorism?
There has NEVER been a strong central government in Afghanistan. Do you think that there ever will be?
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
07/11/2010 9:11 Comments ||
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#7
Unless we totally devastate thier cities, population centers, smash the Kaaba to dust, and destroy their corrupt governments and Mullahs the butcher's bill will not end.
Or we can just convert them to Christianity. Nothing kills a cult faster than apostasy...
#8
Afghanistan can and will be won in the same way Iraq was: by building up the local army and police until it is strong enough to crush the insurgents and terrorists without outside help. The "experts" said Iraq was lost in 2006 and they were wrong. Opposing the war simply because Obama is in charge instead of Bush is the worst kind of partisan politics. If you don't like Obama, support Petraeus instead.
#10
But does anyone seriously think that when we pulled out, the Taliban wouldn't walk right back in behind us? And Al Qaeda behind them? The Afghan Arabs of Al Qaeda have been marrying the local girls since the '90s, after all.
#12
Allusion is "a brief reference, explicit or indirect, to a person, place or event, or to another literary work or passage".[1] It is left to the reader or hearer to make the connection
A pipe dream is a fantastic hope or plan that is generally regarded as being nearly impossible to achieve, originating in the 19th century as an allusion to the dreams experienced by smokers of opium pipes.
#13
But does anyone seriously think that when we pulled out, the Taliban wouldn't walk right back in behind us? And Al Qaeda behind them?
And does anyone seriously think that if we are attacked again we would not use systems that require no American presence but render Afghanistan unfit for use as a base for further aggression? We really need to make sure the Afghan leaders understand this. Perhaps a trip to Hiroshima.
#14
Problem Nimble is that Obumbles has already declared that he would not use them under any circumstances - including mass murder via a bio or chem weapon.
And personally I serious doubt he would even use them after a nuclear attack. Especially if the 'culprit' has any sort of deniability or grivence (real or imagined) against the US.
Remember practically the first liberal / MSM response to 9/11 was: "What did we do to offend them?" or "Why do they hate us?"
#15
He made promises? like Woodrow "He kept us out of war" Wilson? Or Franklin "I will not send American boys into any foreign wars" Roosevelt. Or Lyndon "We are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves." Johnson?
Libs cannot be believed by anybody about anything.
#16
It's not for nothing that Afghanistan is known as the graveyard of Empires. If you were going to bet on the victor, fundamental analysis would strongly suggest not the invader.
However Afghanistan is very susceptible to the oldest strategy there is, divide and conquer. The various groups there hate each other. Just back the group that most serves our interests and let them at it. It wont be pretty, but then it never was.
#17
Just back the group that most serves our interests and let them at it. It wont be pretty, but then it never was.
President Dostum? I like it. Shipping containers full of Pashtuns
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/11/2010 12:46 Comments ||
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#18
I'm with Mr. Spemble. Stories like this break my heart; I am tired of losing our sons and daughters when we have unused weapons sitting in scabbards. If we are committed to fight -- let us win. I want our enemies to fear us, not like us.
Posted by: Bill ||
07/11/2010 15:08 Comments ||
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#19
Afghanistan is a tribal, high entropy place run by tribal warlords with loyalties that are bought and sold.
Al Q set up shop there and formed a base because it was remote and the locals could be bought. We are fools to think that we can go nation building there by transforming the society. A huge multigenerational project and a financial black hole.
Afghanistan is a stopping place on the road to Pakistan, which also leads to Saudi Arabia. Follow the money. We are treating the surface sore manifestations of a deep disease. We are wasting our time, troops, and treasure, when we are not dealing with the Paks and the Saudi financiers in a quiet, kinetic way.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/11/2010 15:34 Comments ||
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#21
President Dostum? I like it. Shipping containers full of Pashtuns
Frank G, first step would be to place a $10K bounty on the presentation of the head of any journalist found in Afghanistan,
Then based on saying "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" no one including yuman rites groups would have any oxygen to conduct their self-righteous propaganda.
After that the likes of Dostum would be able to creatively conduct their business.
Other than the special forces, no one need ever be the wiser,
#22
"Afghanistan is a stopping place on the road to Pakistan, which also leads to Saudi Arabia. Follow the money. We are treating the surface sore manifestations of a deep disease. We are wasting our time, troops, and treasure, when we are not dealing with the Paks and the Saudi financiers in a quiet, kinetic way."
People change when the their pain threshold is exceeded. What is the pain threshold of the Arab Al-Qaeda financiers that we have to exceed to make them change their behavior? A 50 caliber bullet from an SO sniper rifle? Or something more dramatic? I agree that it is proper to treat the financiers as combatants.
General Sherman once said, "War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want." Terrorism is the remedy chosen by Al-Qaeda's financiers; let them have all the terrorism they want.
Asymmetric warfare was developed because it is impossible to beat the US Military in a conventional fight. Asymmetric warfare assumes that the US will fight conventionally. I say no; give the money guys all the asymmetric warfare we can throw at them.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
07/11/2010 21:26 Comments ||
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A massive bomb blast has rocked the southern Afghan city of Kandahar amid a surge in violence against civilians in the violence-wracked country.
At least one civilian was killed and several others were wounded in the bombing attack which took place in a shopping center in Kandahar on Saturday.
Afghan officials said the bomb was planted on a parked motorcycle.
No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
A "shopping center" in Kandahar? Most of Kandahar doesn't even have electricity, let alone "shopping centers". Marketplace might have been a better word.
[Dawn] An Afghan insurgent group rejected on Saturday reports that it was providing intelligence on the Taliban to the government and foreign troops.
General Murad Ali Murad, commander of Afghan troops in the north, told Reuters that Hezb-i-Islami fighters had tipped-off government and US forces, revealing locations of key Taliban figures there.
"This is part of the propaganda war by the government, foreign troops and those trying to create differences among us," said Haroon Zarghoun, a spokesman for Hezb, which is led by former prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
"Anyone doing such work is an apostate and is certainly not a Hezb member," Zarghoun told Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location. Hekmatyar's Hezb is one of three major insurgent groups fighting government and foreign forces in Afghanistan mainly in the east and pockets of the north.
STRONGHOLDS
The other two, both seen by NATO as bigger threats, are the Taliban, with strongholds in the south, and the Haqqani network, based mainly in the southeast.
Ousted in a US led invasion in 2001 the Taliban have re-grouped in their traditional heartlands, but are also now spreading to parts of the north.
However the group has lost a number of commanders in the north in operations by Afghan and foreign troops in recent months which senior Afghan officials said were the result of Hezb fighters selling them out.
While Hezb shares some of the aims of the Taliban, it has led a largely separate insurgency. Earlier this year, Taliban fighters pushed into Hezb-i-Islami strongholds in the north, leading to clashes between the two groups.
Both groups later played down the clashes, but Murad said Hekmatyar's men who came off worse in the fighting were now seeking revenge and were passing on information about their Taliban rivals.
Several Taliban commanders, including the deputy shadow governor of Kunduz and a shadow district governor, have been killed in the last three months, NATO has said, some by air strikes as they drove through a remote desert and others as they met in a field.
Under NATO rules of engagement, such air strikes would require troops to follow strict procedures for positively identifying the insurgents. This in turn would be heavily dependent on reliable intelligence and could suggest such information came from within the insurgency.
Increased localised squabbling could signal divisions in the insurgency after Hezb-i-Islami distanced itself from the Taliban earlier this year when it sent a delegation to Kabul to meet President Hamid Karzai.
While the talks ended without breakthrough, Hezb said it would consider negotiating with the government as long as foreign forces withdrew within a specified timeframe.
The Taliban have always insisted no talks can take place until all foreign troops leave.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hizb-i-Islami-Hekmatyar
#1
ION NEWS KERALA > KREMLIN OFFCIALS: US BUILDING SECRET BASES [thirteen] IN AFGHANISTAN TO ATTACK RUSSIA, in future ala "OPERATION BARBAROSSA/BARBAROSSA III"???
and
* DAILY TIMES.PK > [Traditional = Conservative Cold War Espionage methods] RUSSIAN SPYING LAMENTED AFTER SLEEPER "FARCE".
COLD WAR = Soviet KGB Spy Veterans understand SHADOW WAR + using FEMME "HONEY TRAPS", ETC. for anti-US espionage, BUT DON'T UNDERSTAND + HATE FACEBOOK, MYSPACE, ETC. NET UTILITY ["Anna Chapman" style self-promotion = "attention whoring".
IOW, ANNA CHAPMAN = LOOOOKKKK AAATTT MEEEEE...???
D *** NG IT, MORIARITY, 'TIS ANOTHER REASON TO HATE 1980's MTV RAP - RAP HAS DESTROYED THE WE-LOVE-PAUl-SIMON'S-N-ORVILLE'S-BOW-TIE SPY BUSINESS!
* "LAW AND ORDER" > "HANG 'EM HIGH" NYCDA MCCOY = "MAYBE ITS A GENERATIONAL THING BUT I FIND THIS KIND OF MUSIC TO BE INCOMPREHENSIBLE"!
#3
"Barbarossa 3/III" > on a separate note, MADONNA + PAULA " YOU'VE GOT TO REMEMBER" ABDUL wanna know what does 1970's Guam remember about "BARBAROSSA 3/III"?
[Arab News] A defense lawyer says a Tunisian court has convicted eight people of terrorism-related charges and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from two to 12 years.
Samir Ben Amor says the eight were accused of "belonging to a terror group" and "inciting terrorist acts." Ben Amor says his clients denied the charges. Two were convicted in absentia. Others alleged they had been tortured to extract confessions. The lawyer learned of the verdict Saturday.
Rights groups such have criticized the North African nation's 2003 anti-terrorism law as too broad and imprecise.
Human Rights Watch says nearly all those convicted under the law were accused of planning to join jihadist groups abroad or encouraging others to do so, not having planned or committed attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[2 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
Twelve bodyguards of Farc rebel leader Guillermo Saenz have died in an army attack, Colombian special forces say. Commandos launched a surprise raid on a base of the rebels' supreme commander in central Colombia's Tolima mountains at an altitude of 2,500m (8,200ft). Six soldiers were also killed.
Local media said the army was gradually closing in on the chief of Farc, which has been fighting since the 1960s.
Female confidante 'killed'
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe congratulated the special forces team for the operation, which is said to have taken place in the early hours of Sunday. Mr Uribe said: "I can confirm that one of the guerrillas killed in the operation was a woman named Magaly. She was responsible for the deaths of at least 70 soldiers and police officers." He was referring to Magaly Grannobles - a friend of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) leader - who also commanded a rebel unit. The commander of Colombia's armed forces, Gen Freddy Padilla de Leon, described her as "an extremely dangerous criminal and a trusted confidante of the Farc leader".
Gen Padilla said the killing of the Farc bodyguards was as "a decisive move against the security apparatus that guards the leadership of the Farc".
Google Translate. Updated with new information concerning the fighting going to the US side of the border.
About 25 armed suspects attacked a Juarez police station near the US border early Sunday morning according to Mexican new accounts.
The ensuing firefight lasted for more than an hour beginning at about 0100 hrs. and forced the closure of the Zaragoza international bridge until 0800 hrs.
The police station attacked took place in the Maria Isabel district of Juarez, very close to the US border.
Authorities are still investigating the event, but a number of armed suspects were killed in the attack. Nothing had been released so far on police casualties.
The Mexican daily La Polaka is reporting that several spent cartridge casings, probably from assault rifles, were found on the American side of the Zaragoza bridge, suggesting the firefight went over to the American side last night.
#1
"The Mexican daily La Polaka is reporting that several spent cartridge casings, probably from assault rifles, were found on the American side of the Zaragoza bridge, suggesting the firefight went over to the American side last night."
#2
It really is just a matter of time before the gangs begin to infiltrate in numbers and bring the killing spree to America. I suspect vehicle ambushes will be next; then small Law Enforcement manned border offices, checkpoints, and outposts will be hit and overrun.
#3
If it turns into open season, which it might, in short order there will very likely be military grade weapons, if not personnel, provided to the American lawmen.
Think Chuck Norris with a Ma-Deuce. And if that isn't enough firepower, the Texas NG will join the fray.
Obama's toadies would tell him to federalize the NG, to keep them out of the fight, and at that point the governor would authorized a non-federalizable militia.
#5
Obama's toadies would tell him to federalize the NG, to keep them out of the fight, and at that point the governor would authorized a non-federalizable militia.
At that point there will be blood. Mexican blood.
I believe Texas already has a non-federalizable militia. And there is going to be blood eventually.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
07/11/2010 15:32 Comments ||
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#6
It is very clear to me that the comments above are precisely the "crisis" Obama seeks to exploit. He will be quick to declare martial law; protect his future voting base from racist attack by federalizing or mobilizing troops, and disarming Texas citizens. I can invision numerous scenarios that might make George Wallace's performance at the door of Foster Auditorium at University of Alabama appear quite timid. I doubt it will end well.
#7
...mobilizing troops, and disarming Texas citizens.
Let them try.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
07/11/2010 16:44 Comments ||
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#8
molon labe, baby
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/11/2010 16:51 Comments ||
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#9
Disarming Texans? Flying to Europe via Arm-flapping would be easier.
Posted by: Charles ||
07/11/2010 17:43 Comments ||
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#10
The threat of a US Attorney General filing mulitple lawsuits against the State of Arizona for attempting to enforce federal laws would have looked implausible a few short years ago as well. I would not put anything past these social justice, race baiting communists.
#11
Obama's toadies would tell him to federalize the NG, to keep them out of the fight, and at that point the governor would authorized a non-federalizable militia.
Hence the need for the second amendment.
And then every citizen in the USA would understand the need for that amendment.
Do you think Obama's toadies would be so stoopid as to push things that far? They may just be uncooperative at that point.
#12
Do you think Obama's toadies would be so stoopid as to push things that far? They may just be uncooperative at that point.
Posted by gorb
Anticipating worst case scenarios generally reduces the incidences of gobsmakery and surprise. These people will likely become very desperate in the coming months....cornered gibbons and the like.
#13
There is a novel by Tom Kratman called State of Disorder : the plot is that the federal government is taken over by socialists and is trying to beat the people into submission. They finally screw up by trying to disarm the Texans and initiate another Waco scenario which leads to the start of civil war. Unfortunately, it seems rather prophetic right about now.
#14
Also, the Texas State Militia is rather large and impressive; plus, there are NO guarantees that the Texas NG would obey what are illegal orders by the feds.
Google Translate
A Mexican military helicopter reported missing and down July 7th was found Saturday, say Mexican press reports.
The Mexican Air Force Bell 206 helicopter was found 97 kilometers southwest of the Guadalajara, Jalisco airport. The aircraft was travelling between Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan, to the Guadalajara airport carrying two unidentified officers and a soldier.
The SecretarÃa de la Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) announcement said the aircraft crashed due to adverse weather conditions.
The crash is the second deadly helicopter crash in 20 days. On June 18th a Bell 412 belonging to the Mexican Air Force crashed in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango claiming 11 soldiers' lives. The cause of that crash was also adverse weather conditions.
Google Translate A man was detained by elements of the Mexican Army for possession of assault rifles and munitions, according to Mexican press reports.
Ernesto Alonso Campos Villezcas, AKA El Neto, 30, of Cuauhtemoc Chihuahua, was stopped while driving a stolen Lincoln LT pickup truck Saturday afternoon by the army acting on an anonymous tip.
Confiscated were: three M-4 carbines with magazines and 840 .223 cartridges, an AK-47 assault rifle with five magazines and 150 7.62x39mm cartridges, one M4 carbine chambered for 5.56mm, seven 9mm magazines and 230 9mm cartridges, one fragmentary hand grenade, two portable radios, a stolen Lincoln pickup truck and two bandoleros.
Seventeen individuals were murdered in ongoing gang and drug related violence,which included two Nuevo Leonn state police agents abducted at gunpoint Friday night.
Three people were shot to death in the southern Chihuahua community of Parral Thursday, according to the Mexican daily El Sol de Parral. Martin Perea was driving a concrete contractor's van along with two others when he was shot by three unidentified armed suspects near the intersection of calles San Uriel and Villas del Real Thursday morning.
Gunman accosted the trio, telling the two passengers not to get in the van. The gunman then shot Perea with a .45 caliber pistol, killing him, but one of the passengers was hit as well.
Two young men in their 20s were shot to death near the Santa Rosales dam Thursday afternoon. One of the victims was identified as Jorge Urbina Sandoval, 21, of Juarez while the other remains unidentified. Investigators at the scene found .45 and .223 shell casings.
An unidentified person was abducted near Calle Del Cerro by suspects riding in a green van. The suspects apparently beat the victim before forcing him into the vehicle and driving away. Although authorities were quickly alerted they were unable to find the van tied to the abduction.
A man was shot to death in Agua Prieta, Sonora Thursday, according to Mexican press accounts. Oscar Mccormick Velazquez, 37, was shot to death by armed suspects riding a Dodge Durango near the intersection of Calle 22nd and Avenida First Industrial in the Ejido district. One of the armed suspects used an AK-47 assault rifle.
An unidentified assailant threw a disabled hand grenade into the offices of a Monterrey, Nuevo Leon radio station late Friday night, according to Mexican press reports. At about 2230 hrs. an armed suspect riding aboard a white Pontiac sedan threw a hand grenade through the front door of the Multimedios Radio radio station near the intersection of calles Paricutin and 2 de Abril in the Roma district.
Explosives experts at the scene determined that the grenade fuse was not in place and would not detonate.
Two unidentified Nuevo Leon state police agents were abducted at gunpoint late Friday night in southern Monterrey, say Mexican press reports. The abduction took place near the intersection of calles Rio Nazas and Rio Aguanaval in the Las Retamas and Mexico district. Witnesses report hearing gunshots near the Tots hamburger stand, and seeing the patrol vehicle with flat tires. Investigators at the scene recovered several spent cartridge casings for an AR-15 assault rifle.
Three men were shot to death late Friday night in Tijuana, according to Mexican news reports. Carlos Alfonso Alvarado Manzano, 32, Eleazar Meza Velasquez, 30 and Lucio Alberto Gonzalez Tovar, 22, were working outside a home at 2300 hrs. on Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos painting when armed suspects riding a vehicle attacked the trio. Apparently one of the three attempted to flee the attack but was hunted down and shot to death.
Police say that Alfonso Alvarado had a criminal record in California relating to drug trafficking. They also said his two partners were until a few weeks ago truck drivers before they began work on the residence. Police think the three may have failed to pay a tribute to their attackers and were gunned down in retribution.
Investigators at the scene found 12 9mm spent cartridges casings at the scene.
A man and a woman were shot to death in an SUV at an intersection in Juarez Saturday afternoon, according to Mexican news reports. Eladio Jäuregui, 24, and Sandra Escobedo, 32, died when the Lincoln luxury SUV they were riding in was assaulted by armed suspects at the intersection of calles Gomez Morin and Ejercito Nacional. The car had Texas licence. plates. The driver, identified only as Mark, escaped the initial assault but was hit several times by bullets.
The victims were found on Km. Marker 197 on the Chihuahua city to Delicias highway shot multiple times with high powered weapons.
An employee of the Chihuahua Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos (CEDH) was shot to death Saturday in Chihuahua,according to Mexican media reports. Guillermo Alcaraz, who previously worked as a cameraman in local media, was shot aboard his Volkswagen Jetta in front of the offices of a local digital newspaper near the intersection of calles Blas Cano de los Rios and Alvarez de Arcila.
Three unidentified men were shot to death in a sudden attack in Juarez Saturday afternoon, according to Mexican press reports. The attack took place as the three were conversing with two other men on calle Alvaro Obrego in the calle Alvaro Obrego dsitrict when they were attacked by armed suspects. The two other men were wounded in the attack and treated at a local medical facility.
Hizballah is setting up shop along the American border with Mexico, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Seyassah reports. In an exclusive story, the Kuwaiti daily revealed that Mexican officials have arrested a Mexican national with ties to the Shiite terrorist group.
The militant, Jameel Nasr, was reportedly under police surveillance for a while, with authorities explaining he had traveled from Lebanon to countries throughout South and Central America, eventually gaining citizenship and a job as a graphic engineer in Mexico. While in Mexico, Nasr reportedly traveled frequently to Lebanon to receive information and instructions from Hizballah commanders.
No idea. I don't pay attention to arrests unless they come with large amounts of drugs and guns, so it looks like the local press wasn't informed by anyone in the government about the bust.
Updated with additional information concerning a new PGR investigation of those rescued and an updated list of contraband seized.
Elements of the Mexican Army conducted a raid in a northern Monterrey, Nuevo Leon neighborhood Friday night rescuing nine unidentified people and arresting eight unidentified suspected kidnappers, according to Mexican press reports.
However, the ProcuradurÃa General de la República (PGR), the Mexican national attorney general's office, announced Saturday that all seventeen people involved in the operation would be investigated concerning the nature of their involvement. The PGR had suspicions that some of the nine rescuees were also involved with organized crime.
At about 2000 hrs. a detachment of the Mexican 7th Military Zone cordoned off an area near the intersection of calles Apodaca and Teran in the Topo Chico district and initiated a firefight with armed suspects in the area, which lasted several minutes.
The cordon was apparently successful because an unreleased number of suspects attempted to clear the area but were caught by the army. Civilians in the area took shelter in their homes as the battle raged. Medical personnel were called in to assist at least two who developed medical conditions caused by the gun battle.
Weapons seized by the army included three handguns, three submachine guns, an AK-47 assault rifle, several weapons cartridges, eight magazines, an ice chest used to keep victims' cell phones, bullet proof vests, military uniforms, six sets of handcuffs and two packets of drugs.
Victims told authorities they were kidnapped after suspects approached their homes or businesses disguised as police.
One of the victim said that there were more than 40 people at the location the day before, and that people were coming and going all the time in vans and other vehicles.
The victims also said the kidnappers also beat them and used other forms of physical coercion while in their custody.
Military jets bombed Taliban positions in the countrys troubled tribal region along the Afghan border on Sunday, killing 22 rebels and wounding several more, security officials claimed. The aerial assault took place in three villages of Orakzai district where the government forces have been carrying out a major operation against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters since mid-October.
Our fighter jets engaged various hideouts of the militants and completely destroyed two of these, said a senior official with the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) force that is spearheading the assault in the mountainous tribal region. Twenty-two militants died and several were injured, added the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
SRINAGAR - Indian authorities on Saturday re-imposed a curfew several hours ahead of schedule in some areas of Kashmir, including parts of the main city Srinagar, in response to protesters attacking security forces with stones, police said.
Authorities late on Friday had lifted a four-day long curfew that was introduced after some of the largest protests in two years against India rule.
The curfew was to have come back into force later on Saturday evening, but was brought forward after police and protesters clashed in several places in the volatile region. In Srinagar, thousands of protesters led by separatist leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq marched the streets demanding freedom.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[1 views]
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[Dawn] Germany says Pakistan has arrested a German wanted on terrorism charges at home. The Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Pakistani authorities had confirmed they were holding a man from Frankfurt identified as Rami M.
A ministry spokesman did not comment on media reports saying Rami M. was wanted in Germany for membership in a terrorist group, nor on reports he was planning a terrorist attack on Germany's embassy in Islamabad.
Der Spiegel magazine and Berliner Zeitung daily reported that Rami M. had phoned the embassy, asking for documents to leave Pakistan.
They reported the embassy asked him to come on June 21 but was warned he planned an attack.
The reports said Pakistani authorities arrested him before his embassy appointment.
This confuses me. The German national went to Pakistan in order to attack the German embassy? Could he find no acceptable targets back home?
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
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[Dawn] Fighting erupted between security forces and militants in South Waziristan on Friday and Saturday, leaving 32 terrorists dead, officials said.
Six security personnel also lost their lives in fierce clashes that took place in the area after a long pause in violence.
Thirty-five security men were reported injured in Karwan Manza, Pash Ziarat and Dwa Toi areas dominated by the Mehsud tribe.
Militants resumed attacks at a time when the government is making arrangements to send over 300,000 displaced people of the Mehsud tribe back to their homes.
The registration process for displaced people started a few days ago at relief camps in Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts.
Officials said militants attacked a check-post in Dwa Toi area at around 11am on Saturday, injuring 18 security men. Security personnel, backed by helicopter gunships, returned fire and killed 14 militants. The officials said that bodies of four militants had been taken into custody.
The heavy exchange of fire continued till evening. Another check-post in Karwan Manza came under militant attack in which three security personnel were killed.
Government forces repulsed the attack killing 12 militants. The counter-offensive also left 17 security personnel injured.
Six militants and three security personnel were killed in a clash in Pash Ziarat area on Saturday afternoon after terrorists attacked a convoy.
The political administration in Ahmadzai Wazir has asked tribes to expel foreign and local militants from the area or face action.
At a jirga in Wana on Saturday, Assistant Political Agent Abdul Ghafoor Shah asked tribal elders to abide by the peace deal signed between the government and tribes in 2007.
The officials said that foreign and local militants had sanctuaries in the area, adding that tribesmen are required to take action against militants in accordance with the agreement.
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07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] The death toll from a suicide attack in a volatile border region of Pakistan climbed to 102 on Saturday, showing the militants' continued ability to stage deadly strikes despite losing ground in army offensives.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, claimed responsibility for Friday's attack in Mohmand, a Pashtun region on the northwestern border with Afghanistan, where security forces have stepped up operations against militants in recent months.
Friday's attack is the deadliest Pakistan has suffered since an attack on a market in Peshawar in October last year that killed 105.
Five children, aged 5 to 10, and several women were among the dead on Friday, and the toll rose after rescuers working throughout the night found more bodies in the rubble.
"We have recovered more bodies from the debris of dozens of shops that were razed to the ground by the blast and the number of dead has increased" to 102, said Rasool Khan, assistant political agent of Mohmand.
The bomber blew himself up outside Khan's office.
Late on Friday, a TTP spokesman in Mohmand who identified himself as Ikramullah Mohmand, said anti-Taliban tribal elders from various peace committees who had come to Khan's office were the target.
According to him the elders were planning to raise a lashkar, or tribal force, to fight the Taliban. A senior elder and two others were killed in the attack.
"We will attack such gatherings in future also," Mohmand said.
Among nearly 80 wounded were several people displaced by fighting between security forces and militants, who were collecting relief goods near the blast side.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
tribal elders from various peace committees ... were the target.
I doubt the Taliban can be tamed, let alone made civilized.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Thirteen more people, including two minors and four members of a family, were killed on Friday in a fierce clash between the Magsi and Qambrani tribes in Shikarpur, raising the death toll to 23.
Sources said Magsi and Qambrani tribesmen were engaged in a fierce gunbattle over the possession of a piece of land in Kuddan village of Shikarpur. They used rockets launchers and other sophisticated weapons against each other.
According to the sources, Kuddan and Jamali villages suffered most as several houses were destroyed in the clash. Four members of a family were killed in the Jamali village. The sources said these people were innocent and had no connection with the dispute.
Police collected the bodies after the temporary ceasefire and had confirmed 23 deaths so far. Seven people of the Qambrani tribe and 13 people of the Magsi tribe were killed in the clash on Friday, police said. Citizens slammed the police for failing to control the situation and taking preventive measures to stop the bloodshed. No arrest had been made till the filing of this report.
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07/11/2010 00:00 ||
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Turkish warplanes bombed Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq overnight wounding one person in the raid, an Iraqi regional government official said on Saturday.
The bombing started at 3:00 am (midnight GMT) and lasted for one hour in the area of Sidakan, near the Iranian border, said the official from Iraqs Kurdish autonomous region, on condition of anonymity.
A civilian was injured and farms were damaged, he said, adding that the raid hit villages in the Qandil mountains, an area in northeastern Iraq, which also straddles the borders of Iran and Turkey.
The PKK has significantly escalated attacks against Turkish targets after jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan said in May he was abandoning efforts for peace with Ankara and the rebels called off a unilateral truce last month.
Turkey has asked Iraq, the United States and the Kurdish regional administration in Arbil to hand over 248 Kurdish rebels operating from rear bases in Iraq, the Istanbul-based Hurriyet daily reported on Saturday. The list includes rebel commanders such as Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalkan, and Ankara wants the handover to be as soon as possible, the newspaper said, quoting unnamed senior Turkish officials.
Turkey has also mooted a joint military operation if necessary, Hurriyet said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A Gaza aid ship left for Egypt Saturday under Israeli pressure, officials in Greece said, but Libyan organizers declared it intended to defy the Jewish state's blockade of the Palestinian enclave.
The ship's agent and the Greek foreign ministry said the vessel chartered to a charity headed by a son of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi had departed for the Egyptian port of El-Arish.
"All the ship's documents are in order, they indicate as its destination the Egyptian port of El-Arish," said Petros Arvanitis, the agent of the cargo ship Amalthea.
Organizers said the Moldovan-flagged boat, with 12 crew and up to ten activists on board, would head for Gaza but would go to the Egyptian port of El Arish instead if banned from reaching their destination.
"We hope the Israelis will not ban the ship from entering the port of Gaza. If they decide to do so we have no means to object to that. This is a peaceful mission," said Youssef Sawani, executive director of the Libyan charity organizing the aid trip.
"Our sole goal and intention is to have the goods delivered to those who need it. It's not to make an event or a show in high seas or somewhere else," he said before the ship left the Greek port of Lavrio.
A charity chaired by the Libyan leader's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is organizing the trip and said the ship carried some 2,000 tons of food and medicine and complied with international rules. The trip was expected to take between 70 and 80 hours.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists died in May when Israeli marines stormed a Turkish aid ship leading a Gaza-bound convoy, prompting an international outcry.
Israel said its commandoes were attacked with knives and sticks when they boarded the ship and acted in self-defense.
Israel said on Saturday it contacted Greek, Egyptian and Moldovan authorities to make sure the ship chartered by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation would not attempt to reach Gaza.
Its ambassador to the United Nations sent letters to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the president of the U.N. General Assembly, Ali Treki of Libya.
"In spite of the stated intention of this mission, we are deeply concerned that the true nature of its actions remains dubious," Gabriela Shalev wrote. "This mission is completely unwarranted," she wrote, urging the international community to ensure that the ship "does not sail".
The organizers said the Amalthea, re-named Hope, carried only food and medicine and complied with international rules.
Supporters of the charity making the trip were mostly Libyans, they said, with also one Nigerian and a Moroccan. The crew include Cubans, Haitians, Syrians and Indians.
Israel says its blockade of Gaza is necessary to stop arms and materials it fears could be used for military purposes from reaching Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers.
The United Nations says the blockade has led to a humanitarian crisis for the territory's 1.5 million people, of whom about 1 million depend to some extent on regular supplies of U.N. and other foreign aid brought in overland after Israeli inspection.
Following the international outrage caused by its raid on the aid flotilla, Israel has announced steps to ease the blockade of the enclave and set up an inquiry into the incident.
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#1
"Our sole goal and intention is to have the goods delivered to those who need it. It's not to make an event or a show in high seas or somewhere else,"
Since food and medicines are not in short supply in Gaza, the sole reason for the ship's trip is to trigger an "event" and a spectacular circus on high seas.
The "activists" aboard should soon release their video's of "I want to be a martyr" sound bites. Begging to be killed. That's their reason for being on the ship.
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.
A man was detained by elements of the Mexican Army for possession of assault rifles and munitions, according to Mexican press reports.
Military jets bombed Taliban positions in the countrys troubled tribal region along the Afghan border on Sunday, killing 22 rebels and wounding several more, security officials claimed. The aerial assault took place in three villages of Orakzai district where the government forces have been carrying out a major operation against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters since mid-October.
