[Tolo News] Australian combat troops have completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Monday, marking the end of the nation's longest war which left 40 of its soldiers dead.
Abbott announced that more than 1,000 troops would pull out from the restive southern province of Uruzgan before the end of the year during a surprise visit to their base at Tarin Kot in October.
The drawdown was completed Sunday and most soldiers were expected to be home for Christmas.
"This war is ending, not with victory, not with defeat, but with hope that Afghanistan is a better place and Uruzgan in particular is a better place for our presence," Abbott said.
"I firmly believe that to be the case."
Canberra first committed troops to Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, but they have been in Uruzgan since late 2005.
"We know that they've paid a high price -- 40 dead and 261 seriously maimed -- but that sacrifice has not been in vain," Abbott said, referring to the 12-year mission.
"Uruzgan today is a very significantly different and better place than it was a decade ago."
Some 400 Australians will remain in Afghanistan in non-combat roles, mostly in Kabul and Kandahar, but the bulk of the 1,550 Australians who had been serving there were now out of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Thank you for being an Allie, mate.
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to co-operate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, although today the treaty is taken to relate to conflicts worldwide. (Wikipedia)
[Tolo News] Local officials reported on Monday that four boys were killed by an embedded kaboom in Urozgan province.
The incident took place in the Zartala village of Deh Rahwod district when four boys were playing together, said Abdullah Hamat, the Provincial Governor's front man.
"The boys were aged 6-8 from three different families, and they were playing together," said Hamat.
While no one has yet grabbed credit for the blast, Mr. Hamat blamed the Taliban for the incident.
Insurgents commonly use Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on roads to target Afghan and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... vehicles, but often civilians fall victim to them due to their indiscriminate placement in frequently traveled areas.
Deh Rahwod is a district in Oruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan, and the name of the town that serves as district seat. Deh Rahwod lies along the Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... River.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Outrage from Karzai in.......nevermind
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/17/2013 7:01 Comments ||
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MARITIME PIRACY BY Somali gangs has reached a six-year low, according to a new reportfrom Control Risks. The number of piracy incidents from 1 January 1 to 1 October 2013 was down 90 per cent from the corresponding period in 2012.
The huge reduction is due to a few key factors.
"Adherence to best management practices by crews and vessel operators; a significant naval presence offshore; and the continued use of armed security on board vessels. Additional onshore factors, such as the development of local security forces, have also played a part," according to the report.
But mostly the armed security...
Still, "suspicious approaches" continue in the region and pirate groups "remain operational." In 2014, activity is "likely to remain at a relatively low level, with periodic spikes."
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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Reports from the lower region of Somalia confirm that a heavy fighting broke up between rival militia groups both hailing from the region.
So something more than aimless AK-47 fire...
Residents of Nambar konton (Number 50) town confirmed to Shabelle radio station in Mogadishu that a heavy fighting broke up at the dusk of Monday morning in which heavy artillery and Machine guns were used against each other.
The fighting between the two groups has been recurring for the past few days which caused various casualties including death, injuries and loss of property.
Residents of lambar konton confirmed to Shabelle radio that the militia group who used to control the area before withdrew from their bases in town and the rival group are now in control of the area. However intellectuals and Somali elders pleaded with the Somalia government to intervene and reconcile the rival parties who frequently fight over resources.
Since when do Shaboobs listen to 'intellectuals'?
The infighting between the fighting sides is said to be spreading to other districts in the province such as Busley and Janale district and the government is yet to intervene or take a tangible ceasefire between the warring clans.
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12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Supporters of the Moslem Brüderbund killed a taxi driver by slitting his throat after he ran over a female protester on Monday in Egypt's Nile Delta governorate of Daqahliya.
According to a preliminary medical report, 24-year-old Mohammed Othman died from a deep cut in his neck, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
Eyewitness told Al-Ahram Arabic news website that the taxi driver ran over the protester after he demanded a crowd let him pass and they refused. Members of the crowd killed him and torched his car.
The female protester was transferred to a nearby hospital where she remains at death's door, according to a pro-Brotherhood Facebook page named "Al-Azhar University in Mansoura."
Public executions have occurred sporadically in Egypt in the past three years. Citizens appear to have become bolder in taking matters into their own hands because of a security vacuum following the ouster of president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 2011.
Since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... in July, the Moslem Brüderbund and its supporters have been staging regular demonstrations against what they say call a military coup, demanding Morsi's reinstatement.
The Brotherhood has been active recently on university campuses, staging daily "anti-coup" student protests, some escalating into violent festivities.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Louie DePalma would not be happy if the meter was running.
[Al Ahram] Egyptian troops killed a key Islamist myrmidon Sunday, wanted over attacks on the army and police in Sinai, the military said.
Jihadist snuffies have stepped up violence against security forces in the restive peninsula that borders Israel and the Paleostinian Gazoo Strip since the July ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... , killing dozens of troops and police in near-daily attacks.
Nesar Sabah Robaa Saleh, also known as Abu Rabiaa, was killed in the North Sinai city of Al-Arish, army front man Ahmad Ali said in a statement Sunday.
The army referred to Abu Rabiaa as "one of the most dangerous" snuffies in North Sinai who had been sought for his role in several attacks on security forces and military installations in the region.
Troops tossed in the slammer ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... 40 other myrmidon suspects, damaged 22 huts used as bases for attacks, and seized papers used in terrorist operations, Ali added.
Last week, Egyptian troops killed a leader of an Al-Qaeda inspired myrmidon group based in Sinai that claimed a failed attempt Curses! Foiled again! on the life of Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim and the murder of a high-level security official in recent months.
Egypt has poured troops and armour into the region to combat a growing insurgency while waging a sustained crackdown on Islamists -- principally Morsi's Moslem Brüderbund -- elsewhere.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Is Rabiaa ayrabick for "rabid?"
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/17/2013 12:31 Comments ||
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[Libya Herald] Staff have gone on strike at the Sebha Medical Centre after a patient was kidnapped from an operation room today at gunpoint and killed nearby.
Mohammed Abdel Hafiz Busafa, Assistant Director for the Sebha Medical Centre, said that the body of a patient who was being treated for an infected gunshot wound has been found on the steps of a nearby building after unknown gunnies threatened doctors and staff and kidnapped him while he was under anaesthetic.
Busafa said the kidnapping and subsequent killing had caused "shock and bewilderment" at the hospital and added that medical personnel were in a state of fear. He expressed outrage at the abduction and condemned it as a appalling attack on patients' rights. Busafa said that the acts of criminals had impinged upon citizens and the provision of medical services.
Patients at the Sebha Medical Centre are currently being referred elsewhere for treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The homes of a number of suspected Ansar Al-Sharia members in central Benghazi's Ard Zwawa district came under attack today following the murder of a Saiqa brigade member. No one was reported injured.
Mahmoud Al-Fituri died after a bomb blew up under his car. He was rushed to Benghazi's Jalaa Hospital where his legs were amputated but he died during surgery.
Following his death, his family mounted the Dire Revenge™ attacks in Ard Zwawiya.
A second member of the security forces was also murdered in the city today. Ahmed Zway was reported shot outside his home in the city.
These latest killings bring the number of security personnel murdered in the city this month to 13.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Senior Ministry of Interior official, Haitham Tajouri, was kidnapped last night on Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... 's Airport Road, just days after he had given up a leading militia role and joined the police. After being held overnight in Zintan, he was released this morning after officials there said that the incident was a "misunderstanding".
According to Hashim Bishr, head of the Tripoli Supreme Security Committee, it has been agreed by Zintan that the group from the town responsible for the abduction will be charged.
Tajouri shot to prominence in September while commander of the Ist Isnad (Support Unit of the SSC) which was accused of kidnapping Anoud Senussi when she was released from jail. A month later, he was involved in freeing the Prime Minister who had been kidnapped by members of the Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room and the Counter Crime Agency.
Just last week, US Ambassador Deborah Jones tweeted congratulations at his decision to join the Ministry of the Interior.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The BNP-led 18-party alliance enforces yet another spell of countrywide blockade of rail, roads and waterways beginning this morning, triggering fresh fear of violence and loss of lives.
The 72-hour blockade will also deal a heavy blow to education, business and public life in general that are already hit hard due to the crippling opposition programmes over the past two months.
The blockade will end at 6:00am on Friday, but BNP insiders said they might call a weeklong blockade from Saturday, which would be the "endgame" of their movement.
Earlier, the opposition alliance has enforced 371 hours (15 days) of countrywide blockade since November 26, demanding cancellation of the polls schedule announced the day before. Scores have died in violence since, many in arson attack on public and private vehicles.
"We want to say unequivocally to the government that it must stop playing hide and seek over the election, stop playing all kinds of election drama, cancel the election schedule and save the country from extremely anarchic situation," BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan said, announcing the blockade from the party chairperson's Gulshan office.
Political analysts say this announcement means that the talks between the Awami League and the BNP have failed to end the impasse centring on the January 5 election.
Nazrul Islam, however, said BNP chief Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... would ease the blockade if the government agreed to hold the polls under a nonparty government.
Talking about the fresh programme, one BNP leader told The Daily Star: "BNP's very existence will depend on the success of the endgame of this movement. Either BNP or the ruling party will survive depending on the outcome of the game."
But State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku and AL leader Mahbubul Alam Hanif warned against any violence, saying they would resist the opposition "anarchy" by all means.
In the briefing, Nazrul Islam said the government was staging a drama in the name of holding the election, sensing a sure defeat if the election is held with the participation of all political parties.
"People have been deprived of their voting rights," he said, adding that the government was keeping the opposition out of the polls race.
Referring to Sunday's inter ministerial meeting that decided that AL men will accompany law enforcers in tackling the opposition activists on the streets, he said such a decision would push the country towards a civil war like situation.
Nazrul urged the government to backtrack on the decision.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Leaders and activists of Awami League bulldozed the houses of Satkhira district and upazila Jamaat chiefs in presence of law enforcers this evening.
Some hundred aggravated ruling party men bulldozed the houses of district Jamaat Ameer Abdul Khaleq and Satkhira (west) unit Ameer Moulana Abdul Gafur at Vadra area around 6:00pm.
They also vandalised the valuables during the hour long attack, reports our Satkhira correspondent.
Md Moniruzzaman, assistant police super of Satkhira however said ' aggravated people' vandalised the houses.
The joint forces enjugged Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! three Jamaat-Shibir men from the spots during the drive.
Police personnel and the member of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) began the drive for second time around 3:00pm to nab the persons accused in a number of cases mostly filed in connection with recent hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... and blockade violence.
Earlier in the day at least five activists of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... were killed and three bullet-hit when they clashed with joint forces in two upazilas of Satkhira.
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12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Unidentified myrmidons vandalised six idols of Hindu gods and goddesses at a temple in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat early today.
The criminals entered Parapukur temple at Shafinagar village breaking open its iron gate and vandalised the idols anytime after the midnight, said Harendra Nath Roy, caretaker of the temple.
Roy blamed the activists of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... for the temple attack this morning, a day after the activists heavily clashed with law enforcers at Kafir Bazar, which is only 1.5 kilometres off the Shafinagar village.
Three Jamaat-Shibir men were killed in the clash. In retaliation, the activists killed an Awami League man in the same area.
The caretaker said over hundred of activists of Jamaat and Shibir along with sharp weapons in their hands paraded the entire area till the midnight.
"We, the Hindu people, couldn't go out of the house (in the midnight) fearing the activists," he said adding that the activists might have damaged the idols.
Talking to reports, Sunil Chandra Sen, president of the temple's committee, claimed that many Hindu families in the village fled away from their homes last night fearing Jamaat-Shibir men's attack on them.
The minority people in the upazilas became very upset after the idols of god and goddesses were vandalised, he said.
It was the first such attack on the temple established 200 years ago, he added.
Confirming the vandalism, Sohrab Hossain, officer-in-charge of Patgram Police Station, said, they were informed about the matter this morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Bangladesh police opened fire on bomb-throwing Islamist protesters on Monday as five more people died in festivities sparked by the execution of an Islamist leader for war crimes.
Police said trouble broke out in several places in the southeastern district of Satkhira over the hanging last week of Abdul Quader Molla, a top figure from the country's largest Islamist party.
Activists from the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... party, wielding homemade weapons and crude bombs, attacked teams of police and paramilitary border guards, police said.
"We fired rifles in self-defence," district deputy police chief Kazi Moniruzzaman told AFP of the festivities before dawn in Satkhira, a Jamaat stronghold.
District administrator Anwar Hossain told AFP five people were confirmed dead in the festivities, while Bengali daily Prothom Alo quoted local sources as saying the victims were Jamaat activists.
Bangladesh has been rocked by a new wave of deadly violence that has left 30 people dead as Islamist supporters vent their fury at Molla's execution last Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Moslem Razakar as auxillarys to the Pak Army murdered three million 3,000,000 Hindu civilians in just 8 months. ( You got to work seriously hard to do work like that even for a Moslem ) and now the Moslems ( the same people ) complain and riot when one of their Leaders who actually was as guilty as sin finally after 40 years is tried and executed for what he did...and he did do it.
He supervised and organized the murders in his areas. ( you got any Moslem neighbors )
Might I suggest that Moslems might not be your friends? And if they can they will.....kill you and your family.
Not in America of course, things like that don't happen in America.....but I WOULD be careful about Moslems even here.
They have "certain" values about dirty filthy Kuffirs...like you...and your mother.
[Pak Daily Times] Colombia's FARC rebels began a 30-day unilateral ceasefire Sunday but there was no let-up from government operations which left one guerilla dead.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a drug cartel based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border. (FARC) ordered its units to "cease fire and hostilities for 30 days" from December 15 in a message last week from Havana where peace talks to end Latin America's longest running insurgency are being held.
President Juan Manuel Santos' government has rejected the idea of any ceasefire until a peace deal has been signed. The government on Sunday said security forces had launched an operation in the southwestern province of Cauca, one of the most restive regions in the insurgency. The government said the offensive killed a FARC fighter believed to be responsible for a kaboom against a former minister in Bogota last year which claimed the life of his bodyguard and driver.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] A bomb scare on Monday forced the Harvard University ...home of the Best and the Brightest, contributed $878,164 to the 2008 Obama campaign. Is there a reason universities are among the top financiers of political campaigns? to evacuate four buildings, call in police and cancel final exams underway at the elite US university in the northeastern town of Cambridge.
An alert on its website announced the evacuations at the Science Center, the Thayer dormitory, the Sever classroom and lecture hall and the Emerson building, home to the philosophy department. "Please evacuate those buildings now," it said. "Out of an abundance of caution, the buildings have been evacuated while the report is investigated. Harvard's focus is on the safety of our students, faculty and staff," it added. Police immediately scrambled to the affected buildings.
But an hour and a half after the original alert, the report remained unconfirmed and police have "no reason to believe there is a threat to any other side on campus," the university said. Harvard also tweeted that there had been "NO reports of kabooms". Harvard, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, dominates the Massachusetts town of Cambridge near Boston. Harvard's Science Centre is home to the mathematics, statistics and history of science departments. The university is currently in session, going into recess on December 21.
Sam Weinstock, incoming president of student newspaper the Harvard Crimson, told CNN that final exams scheduled on Monday in three of the affected buildings had been cancelled. "Students were removed from those exams, taken to the freshman dining hall where they were told that exams would be cancelled," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
This should earn the student responsible an A+++ in the Current Terrorism 101 course.
[Pak Daily Times] Four officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) were killed on Monday in a remote-controlled blast in the southern periphery of the city.
The blast took place near a BDS vehicle in Badhabar area of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , where faceless myrmidons come across from Khyber Agency to attack police and anti-Taliban elders. A Badhabar Police Station official said the BDS officials were on their way to defuse a bomb when the bomb went kaboom!. An injured BDS official was taken to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) for treatment, according to Rescue 1122.
A front man for the LRH said in a press statement that three dead bodies were brought to the hospital, while the lone injured departed this vale of tears. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... police chief Nasir Khan Durrani hailed the slain BDS men. "Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, particularly Peshawar, being at the front line, has become very sensitive, where four to five IEDs (improvised bombs) are being defused on a daily basis," he said.
According to reports, Abdul Haq, 43, who had defused more than 60 bombs in his career. "He was on his way to defuse a bomb when his vehicle was hit by another bomb. Abdul Haq and a police driver were killed on spot," Najeebur Rehman, a senior police official, told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Car bombs destroyed Shia pilgrims near Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... while bully boyz attacked a city council headquarters and a cop shoppe, as Iraq-wide violence killed at least 68 people Monday, officials said.
The killing of the pilgrims underscored the danger of sectarian violence in Iraq, while the attacks on the city council and cop shoppe in Salaheddin province showed the impunity with which bully boyz can strike even targets that should be highly secure.
Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a period of brutal sectarian killings, and has raised fears it is slipping back into all-out conflict.
In the Rashid area south of Storied Baghdad, two boom-mobiles targeted Shia pilgrims, killing at least 24 people and wounding more than 50, security and medical officials said.
Sunni bully boyz including those linked to al Qaeda frequently target members of Iraq's Shia majority, whom they consider to be apostates.
In the city of Tikrit, bully boyz detonated a boom-mobile near the city council headquarters and then occupied the building, with employees still inside.
Iraqi security forces surrounded the building, and then carried out an assault that Counter-Terrorism Service front man Sabah Noori said freed 40 people who were held inside.
"We freed all the hostages" and killed one jacket wallah, while two others blew themselves up, Noori told AFP.
A police major and a doctor said that a city council member and two police were killed, though it was unclear whether they died during the initial attack or the later assault by security forces.
The assault came after suicide bombers struck a cop shoppe in the town of Baiji, also in Salaheddin province.
One bomber detonated a boom-mobile at the gate of the station, after which three entered, rubbed out an officer and a policeman, and waited inside.
SWAT security forces then attacked the station, killing one of the hard boys, while the other two blew themselves up, killing three police.
Gunmen also killed three soldiers guarding an oil pipeline near Tikrit, while two oil protection police were killed and three maimed by a bomb south of the northern city of Kirkuk.
The second-deadliest attack on Monday was in the northern city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , where bully boyz bumped off 12 people on a bus.
The city has become one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq, with bully boyz carrying out frequent attacks and reportedly extorting money from shopkeepers.
Also on Monday, five other boom-mobiles and a magnetic "sticky bomb" on a vehicle went kaboom! in and around the Iraqi capital, killing at least 17 people and wounding at least 43 -- the second series of blasts in the area in 24 hours.
One of the boom-mobiles went off in a car park near the Storied Baghdad provincial council headquarters, killing at least four people.
The attacks came after another series of bombings in and around Storied Baghdad killed at least nine people on Sunday night, while violence elsewhere in the country that day killed a further 11 people, among them a TV presenter and a family of five.
The presenter, Nawras al-Nuaimi, was the sixth journalist to be killed in Iraq since October, and the fifth to die in the city of Mosul in the same period.
Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) issued a statement on her killing, saying it was "stunned by this latest murder and by the failure of the local and national authorities to respond to the deadly campaign against journalists in Iraq."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Moslem values.
But no "true" Moslem would do such things. Right?
Islam is the Religion of Peace. It's just that...well....WHOLE COUNTRIES of Moslems seem to do this sort of stuff to EACH OTHER when there aren't even any Americans around "oppressing" them .
And not just any country...take your pick...every country with Islam smeared all over it will do this to other Moslems when they don't have enough other people to kill, they get all hot and sweaty and start in on each other.
It is because they are the religion of Peace...or something like that. But no "true"Moslem would do such things...yeah?
[An Nahar] A Lebanese soldier, who went missing after a shooting on an Israeli army unit on Sunday night, has returned to his post, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA and Voice of Leb radio (93.3) said that the soldier reported to duty in Naqoura on Monday morning after hiding in a bush throughout the night.
The Israeli army said in a statement on Sunday that an Israeli soldier was killed by a "Lebanese army sniper" near the Naqoura border post.
It identified the dead soldier as Shlomi Cohen, 31, from the northern Israeli city of Afula.
The Lebanese army has not yet issued a communique to confirm whether the soldier had opened fire on the Israeli unit.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli army front man, said Israel had protested "this outrageous breach of Israel's illusory sovereignty" with U.N. peacekeeping forces and heightened its state of preparedness.
"We will not tolerate aggression against the state of Israel, and maintain the right to exercise self-defense against perpetrators of attacks against Israel and its civilians," he said.
U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... said in statement that both sides were "cooperating with the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Interim Force in Leb to ascertain the facts."
He "reminded the Lebanese Armed Forces of their responsibilities under Security Council resolution 1701 and strongly urged both sides to exercise restraint."
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Israel would be meeting with UNIFIL to request an explanation from the Lebanese army about whether the soldier acted on his own, without orders, and what the Lebanese army would do to prevent such incidents in the future.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/17/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Not Impressed, Lebanon. Need you to not play games right now. Or, .....
[Bangla Daily Star] The Syrian air force was accused yesterday of killing 76 people -- including 28 children -- by unleashing barrels packed with explosives on Aleppo, a focal point for fighting between regime and rebel forces.
The bombardment, which activists described as "unprecedented", came as the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... said the number of Syrian war refugees in the Middle East was likely to double to 4.1 million by the end of 2014.
The number of people slain in Sunday's bombing of Aleppo "with explosive-packed barrels... rose to 76," including "28 children and four women," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, updating its previous toll of 36 dead.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said it was "one of the heaviest tolls from air raids since the beginning of the war" that flared after a brutal regime crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired democracy protests that erupted in March 2011.
Explosive-laden barrels were dropped on six rebel-controlled districts in the east, including Sakhur, Ard al-Hamra and Haydariyeh, Abdel Rahman said.
The Observatory and activists said government forces frequently drop the barrels filled with TNT on rebel-held areas of the war-torn country from helicopters and warplanes.
"The barrels of explosives are not like bombs. Their impact is not accurate as they are dropped without any guidance system, and that is why they cause a large number of victims," said Abdel Rahman.
The devices are made up of metal barrels that have a layer of concrete inside them "so that they cause as much destruction and death as possible," according to Abdel Rahman.
There are two types of barrel bombs, one of which is home-made, and the other of which is made in factories.
A Syrian security official said the army prefers the TNT-packed barrels because they are cheaper than regular bombs, which need to be imported from Russia.
The Aleppo Media Centre, a network of activists on the ground, called Sunday's raids on the northern city "unprecedented".
"Everyone is looking up at the skies and watching the planes. But there's nothing to be done," AMC activist Mohammed al-Khatieb said.
Aleppo, Syria's second city and pre-war commercial hub, is now divided between areas occupied by troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... and rebel fighters.
Fighting that erupted with a rebel offensive in July last year has caused massive damage to the historic city.
Activists posted video footage online of the aftermath of Sunday's barrel kabooms, showing bulldozers clearing rubble from the streets as men searched for survivors in wrecked buildings.
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#1
Meanwhile, not to be outdone by Assad's Air Force, the Qaeda Boyz slaughtered one hundred Syrians.
* TOPIX, WQORLD NEWS, DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > EX-CIA CHIEF: ASSAD WIN MAY BE SYRIA'S BEST OPTION.
ARTIC read, THE US-ALLIES KNOW WHAT BABY ASSAD + SYRIAN ARMY CAN DO OR IS CAPABLE OF DOING - NO ONE KNOWS WID CERTAINTY WHAT NEW BFF IRAN CAN DO TO STOP OR DEFEAT THE QAEDA BOYZ, ETAL. BEFORE NEXT SUMMER 2014???
versus
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > VIDEO: MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD DOMINATED SYRIAN NATIONAL COALITION IN SERIOUS TROUBLE, FRANCE THROWS IN THE TOWEL ON THE "SOLE LEGITIMATE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SYRIAN PEOPLE".
France surrenders all-but-officially-defeated Secular SNC to Baby Assad or the Qaeda Boyz, whichever arrives first to accept.
[An Nahar] The Lebanese army on Monday described the deadly shooting on the border with Israel as "an individual act by one of the soldiers," noting that it will address the repercussions of the incident in coordination with the U.N. peacekeeping force.
"To clarify the shooting incident that happened overnight in the Ras al-Naqoura border area, the Army Command notes that what happened resulted from an individual act by one of the soldiers," the army said in a statement.
"A military panel investigated the incident," the statement added, noting that the army is "coordinating with the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... Interim Force in Leb (UNIFIL) to address the incident's repercussions."
"The Command again reiterates the army's full commitment to the stipulations of (U.N.) Security Council Resolution 1701, especially in terms of preserving the stability of the border area in cooperation and coordination with U.N. troops," the army said.
Earlier on Monday, Lebanese and Israeli army officers met with U.N. peacekeepers after Israel accused Lebanese troops of gunning down one of its soldiers as he drove near the frontier.
"We discussed concrete steps to strengthen the existing security arrangements along the (U.N.-demarcated) Blue Line to prevent the re-occurrence of such incidents," UNIFIL Commander Major-General Paolo Serra said in a statement.
"All the circumstances of this incident are not clear at this time, but preliminary findings indicate that it was an individual action by a soldier in contravention of the existing operational rules and procedures. At this stage it is imperative that UNIFIL's investigation in cooperation with the parties, and in particular with the LAF, is concluded as soon as possible," Serra added.
The parties emphasized their "interest in preserving calm and stability along the Blue Line and pledged to work with UNIFIL to strengthen security arrangements to this end," he said.
The shooting, which took place on Sunday evening, was the first time an Israeli soldier had been killed along the border with Leb in more than three years, sparking calls for calm from U.N. Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... .
The Israeli army said the soldier was shot by Lebanese troops as he was driving a civilian vehicle along a section of the border near Rosh HaNikra on the Mediterranean coast. The crossing is known in Leb as Ras al-Naqoura.
In a statement, the U.N. chief said UNIFIL was investigating the incident in cooperation with the two armies, and urged the sides to remain calm.
"The Israel Defense Forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces are cooperating with UNIFIL to ascertain the facts," he said.
"The secretary General reminds the Lebanese Armed Forces of their responsibilities under Security Council Resolution 1701 and strongly urges both sides to exercise restraint," he said of the resolution which ended hostilities in 2006.
Israel had filed a protest with UNIFIL over the incident which it described as an "outrageous breach" of its illusory sovereignty.
And its military said it had "heightened its state of preparedness" and would maintain its "right to exercise self-defense."
The Israeli army said troops searching the area on Sunday, shortly after the shooting, had fired towards two suspects who were standing on the other side of the border, hitting one of them.
"After the incident, we reached the area to conduct searches as part of the investigation, and saw two suspects on the other side of the border," army front man Major Arye Shalicar told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"We shot at them, and saw we hit at least one. We think they were Lebanese soldiers... involved in the shooting of the soldier," he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said the shooter was understood to be "a Lebanese soldier."
"We hold the Lebanese government and Lebanese army responsible for what happens on their side," he said.
He said Israel would demand explanations from the Lebanese army at the meeting with UNIFIL.
The soldier, 31-year-old Master Sergeant Shlomi Cohen, died after his car was hit by "six to seven rounds," Shalicar said.
There was no immediate reaction from the Lebanese army on Sunday but it issued a statement on Monday saying an Israeli drone had violated Lebanese airspace in the same area shortly after the incident.
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[An Nahar] The army identified on Monday the assailants of one of the attacks on the military in the southern city of Sidon, saying however that two suspects have escaped.
A communique said that three suspects were passing on foot through a checkpoint at al-Awwali bridge at Sidon's entrance at 9:00 pm Sunday when a soldier asked for their identification papers.
One of the suspects, who remains unidentified, threatened him with a grenade, which blew up when the soldier opened fire on him, it said.
The suspect was killed and two soldiers at the checkpoint were maimed, the army statement said.
Soldiers found in his pocket another grenade, which was defused by the military expert.
The other two suspects were able to escape, the communique said, adding investigation is underway to find out their ties with another attack that took place in Sidon 45 minutes later.
The assault in the Majdelyoun area at 9:45 pm came after the army erected a checkpoint there following the first attack.
The army communique said that Bahaeddine Mohammed al-Sayyed, a Paleostinian, got off an Envoy four-wheeler and went kaboom! after embracing Sergeant Samer Rizk.
Al-Sayyed and Rizk were killed and a soldier was injured.
Two other suspects, who were in the Envoy, also died when members of the checkpoint opened fire on them.
The communique identified them as Lebanese Mohammed Jamil al-Zarif and Ibrahim Ibrahim al-Mir.
Soldiers found in their vehicle a suicide belt, three hand grenades and 23 detonators, the communique added.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr tasked on Monday the military police, the army intelligence and forensic experts with carrying out the investigation into the assaults.y to find out their ties with another attack that took place in Sidon 45 minutes later.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr tasked on Monday the military police, the army intelligence and forensic experts with carrying out the investigation into the assaults.
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[An Nahar] The Lebanese army discovered on Monday two rockets near garbage landfill in the southern city of Sidon.
MTV said that the two LAW rockets were found near the landfill.
One of them was ready to be detonated.
The army has since cordoned off the area until the arrival of the military expert.
The discovery came shortly after a double attack against two army checkpoints in Sidon on Sunday.
An army communique said three suspects were passing on foot through a checkpoint at al-Awwali bridge at Sidon's entrance at 9:00 pm Sunday when a soldier asked for their identification papers.
One of the suspects threatened him with a grenade, which blew up when the soldier opened fire on him, it said.
The suspect was killed and two soldiers at the checkpoint were maimed. The other two suspects escaped.
Forty five minutes later, a Paleostinian went kaboom! near an army checkpoint in the Majdelyoun area, killing himself and a sergeant, and wounding a soldier.
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This is a job for the Greenie Assault Teamie. LAWs should be recycled.
[Pak Daily Times] The Israeli army said Monday it fired across the Lebanese border in retaliation after accusing Lebanese troops of gunning down one of its soldiers as he drove near the frontier.
The shooting was the first time an Israeli soldier had been killed along the border with Leb in more than three years, although commentators said it was unlikely to spark a confrontation.
The army said the soldier was shot by Lebanese troops as he was driving a civilian vehicle along a section of the border near Rosh HaNikra on the Mediterranean coast.
"After the incident, we reached the area to conduct searches as part of the investigation, and saw two suspects on the other side of the border," army front man Major Arye Shalicar told AFP.
Troops opened fire and hit at least one of them.
"We shot at them, and saw we hit at least one. We think they were Lebanese soldiers... involved in the shooting of the soldier," said Shalicar.
The army filed a protest with the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL over the incident which it described as an "outrageous breach of Israel's illusory sovereignty."
The military said it had "heightened its state of preparedness" and would maintain its "right to exercise self-defence".
Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said the shooter was understood to be "a Lebanese soldier".
"We hold the Lebanese government and Lebanese army responsible for what happens on their side," he said.
Yaalon confirmed Israeli and Lebanese liaison officers would meet with UNIFIL to investigate the incident later on Monday.
"We will demand of the Lebanese army to explain exactly what happened and if this is a case of a soldier acting on his own initiative, what was done with him and how the Lebanese army plans to prevent a recurrence of such events," he said.
"We will not tolerate a breach of our illusory sovereignty on any border, especially not the Lebanese one."
The army named the soldier as 31-year-old Master Sergeant Shlomi Cohen, and said "six to seven rounds" were fired at him. It was not immediately clear whether it was the work of a sniper.
There was no immediate reaction from the Lebanese army but it issued a statement Monday to the incident, but a statement saying an Israeli drone had violated Lebanese airspace in the same area.
"At 10:15 pm (2015 GMT) yesterday, a drone belonging to the Israeli enemy violated Lebanese airspace over Naqoura, and performed a fly-over of the southern area, then left at 12:40 am," it said.
Leb's National News Agency (NNA) reported that troops had shot up "an Israeli army unit" near the Naqoura border post.
But a security official denied soldiers had opened fire. "The sound of gunfire was heard near the area of Ras al-Naqoura, and the army is trying to find out what happened," he told AFP.
UNIFIL front man Andrea Tinenti said the force was aware of a "serious" border incident and was trying to establish the facts.
"The situation is ongoing and the UNIFIL force commander is in contact with counterparts, urging restraint," he said.
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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.
MARITIME PIRACY BY Somali gangs has reached a six-year low, according to a new reportfrom Control Risks. The number of piracy incidents from 1 January 1 to 1 October 2013 was down 90 per cent from the corresponding period in 2012.
Reports from the lower region of Somalia confirm that a heavy fighting broke up between rival militia groups both hailing from the region.
[Al Ahram] Egyptian troops killed a key Islamist
Khaleda Zia
[Pak Daily Times] Bangladesh police opened fire on bomb-throwing Islamist protesters on Monday as five more people died in 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
[Pak Daily Times] A bomb scare on Monday forced the 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
