[Ynet] US officials have received a new video of captured US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl that they believe was taken within the last month, showing that the soldier is alive.
The video came to light several days ago, said one senior defense official. Another official said that Bergdahl appeared in poorer health than previous videos, showing the signs of his nearly five years in captivity.
The Rantburg archives have articles on the brave sergeant here, here, here, and here. May God watch over him until he returns to us.
Before I left for Iran, I visited with my mother who was dying of cancer. I explained the situation to her, and that two of my men had been falsely arrested and jailed. She looked me squarely in the eye and said, Ross, these are your men. You sent them over there and its your obligation to get them out. What does that say about her?
Days later I was with Simons and the team in our safe house, and he looked me in the eye one day and said, Perot see if the U.S. Embassy will allow these men to receive refuge at the embassy when we get them out of prison. That was the biggest mistake we made, because when I talked to the American ambassador he said No, and two hours later, the Iranian security forces were tearing up the town looking for me. Simons then said, Perot, I want you to go to the prison where the men are held. Visit with them, and tell them what our plan of action is, so that they know where the rendezvous point is, what theyre supposed to do, etc.
I replied, Colonel, the Iranians are still looking for me.
He replied, One branch of the Iranian government is looking for you, but another branch of the government runs the prison. They dont talk to one another they wont know anything about you at the prison. ...(continued at the link)
#2
The intelligence gap that led to the tactical failure of the Son Tay raid resulted from the lack of ISR (Intel, Surveillance, Recce). Much like today, human intelligence would have been very difficult if not impossible. The movement of the US prisoner would have very likely not gone undetected with today's ISR platforms and other special intelligence capabilities.
The bravery of the Son Tay raiders cannot be overstated. It had the high potential of becoming a 'one-way mission'. As a result of the raid, a goodly number of enemy were killed that night. The Son Tay raid and the ill fated 'Desert One' raid led to the creation of special mission capabilities and units like JSOC and others. Successful vertical insertions like the 'Battle of Cassinga' and 'Operation Entebbe' were modeled [in part], after lessons learned from the Son Tay raid.
Thanks OE, and thanks to MATT at FJ for posting. Memories of the Raiders and of heroes like Perot, good stuff. Slick sleeved, wanna-be privates [now old men] stood in awe at the time, and still do.
#3
One of Tom Clancy's characters inquired of another, "Was Son Tay blown?"
Considering what Eric Haney--Delta Force--said about a couple of preps for looking for POW in Laos, the chances are...yes.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
01/16/2014 23:34 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] Sixteen gunnies were killed and 3 were maimed during a series of coordinated operations over the past 24 hours carried out by the Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP) and National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Wednesday.
Seven other gunnies were tossed in the clink You have the right to remain silent... in the operations.
"In past 24 hours, Afghan National Police conducted several anti-terrorism joint operations with Afghan National Army and NDS to clean some areas of snuffies and enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan," the statement said.
The operations were conducted in Parwan, Baghlan, Kunduz, Kandahar, Zabul, Pashtun-infested Logar and Paktiya provinces.
"Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated light and heavy rounds ammunition and IEDs," the statement said. It did not report any casualties amongst the Afghan forces or civilians.
The Taliban has not yet commented on the casualties.
There are over 350,000 Afghan soldiers serving at the moment. Foreign troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after handing over full security responsibility to the Afghan forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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CELBARDE -- Somali security forces have beefed up security measure in a bid to thwart Al Shabaab fighters attempts in Bokool region, Shabelle reports on Tuesday. The operation has been conducted in Baradele town in Bakool region, with Somali security forces arrested dozens of Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab militants in the city, according to Govt officials.
Speaking to Shabelle Media Stationin Mogadishu, Col Abdirahman Mohamed Osmaan, a boss police forces said that the swoop was intended to eliminate Al Shabab remnants in town, adding that the numbers of Al Shabaab were detained during the searches.
They [ Al Shabaab suspects] were taken at Bardaale custody, the crackdown will be going on until Al Shabaab eliminated in all Bakool region he stressed.
This operation comes after Al Shabaab carries ambushes and grenade attacks against on Bases manned by Somali Govt officials forces and African Union peacekeeping troops in town.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
JOWHAR, Somalia -- Al Qaeda inspired Al Shabaab militants late on Tuesday night raided army bases in Middle Shabelle region town of Mahaday and Buurane vicinity of southern Somalia, Garowe Online reports. Residents reported that Al Shabaab militants targeted the military bases with rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank weapons, seizing Mahaday and Buurane from Somali government forces for nearly six hours.
Last night, I woke up to the sounds of artillery fires in the town and when I walked out of my house, I saw gunmen who wrapped headscarves around their faces, said Mahaday resident via telephone.
Witnesses say, Al Shabaab militants vacated Mahaday and nearby Burane vicinity in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with local reports disclosing that 15 persons including government soldiers and civilians were found dead.
Federal Government of Somalia officials confirmed the deadly assault on their bases and the seizure of Mahaday and Buurane by Al Shabaab.
Speaking on Mogadishu-based radio station, a spokesman for the militant group boasted about the raid, saying Al Shabaab reached its goal.
Mahaday, about 30 km north of agriculture-rich town and Middle Shabelle regional capital of Jowhar was liberated from Al Shabaab on 19th of September 2013.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] A group of the Moslem Brüderbund supporters set fire to the Roxy traffic station, causing the station to completely burn down.
Police, army and special forces then arrived on scene to secure it, while helicopters flew over it to to monitor the Brotherhood gatherings.
A resident of the area said that the a pro-MB march had arrived to area from the Matariya direction, blocked the road and forced people to evacuate the public buses. The residents gathered on the opposite side of the road, so the MB supporters threw Molotov cocktails at them, according to witness.
A police officer testified to seeing a masked person smashing the glass of the traffic station and another throwing Molotov cocktails inside the station, they then expeditiously departed at a goodly pace for fear of being chased by local residents.
Hundreds of MB youth have also demonstrated in the vicinity of Ettehadeya Presidential Palace in Heliopolis on Wednesday afternoon, demanding an halt the constitution referendum, and end what they described as a "military coup."
Protesters also set fire to a police car in Roxy area while heading to the Ettehadeya Palace, used fireworks, and chanted, "Down with the rule of the army!"
Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village the snowball down Jack's back had finally melted...... another group of MB supporters attempted to storm Tahrir Square, but security forces were blocking the entrances, leading to back-and-forth attacks between the two sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] Shubra Al-Khaima prosecution tossed in the clink Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! suspected members of a terrorist cell for 15 days pending investigation. The members were reportedly in possession of firearms, masks, mobile phones and a quantity of explosives and nails used in the preparation of IEDs.
The defendants face the charges of joining a terrorist group aiming to use violence against state institutions, stirring chaos and violence, terrorizing citizens and possession of kabooms with the intention of disrupting security and public order.
The prosecution also ordered that evidence be taken to the criminal lab to be further examined.
Security authorities in Qaliubiya have arrested the four Moslem Brüderbund supporters while in a car with the items seized by authorities, in addition to flyers allegedly inciting violence.
The defendants have admitted to possessing the seized items with the intention of participating in a demonstration in support of the Moslem Brüderbund in Cairo area of Mattariya, aiming to scare citizens and preventing them from taking a part in the vote on the constitutional referendum.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] Border guards troops destroyed six tunnels between Sinai and Gazoo, in addition to seizing weapons and ammunition in Sinai, said armed forces spokesperson Ahmed Mohammed Ali.
The tunnels, located under the city of Rafah, were destroyed by the troops who belong to the Second Field Army, in coordination with the Engineering Authority, Ali posted on his official Facebook page.
The troops also raided a storage unit in Salah al-Din area, where they found three cars loaded with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, an automatic rifle, 590 trays of agricultural pesticides, six tricycles, three cycle of violences, 15 boxes filled with large quantities of cycle of violence spare parts and an iron safe.
A man was also tossed in the clink You have the right to remain silent... in possession of remote signal devices. He was referred to prosecution to take the necessary legal procedures.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
...
Posted by: john frum ||
01/16/2014 20:02 Comments ||
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#2
At a loss for words, John? ;-p
I've got plenty for both of us: IT'S A GOOD START.
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/16/2014 20:09 Comments ||
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#3
Agricultural pesticides....
Why do I not think this guy's thumb is green?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
01/16/2014 23:28 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa met opposition leaders Wednesday in a bid revive a national dialogue that was suspended last week.
The meeting focused on "ways to overcome the obstacles that have hindered the national dialogue," designed to bring the country out of the current political crisis, the official news agency BNA reported.
Prince Salman urged representatives of the political groups to "show seriousness, transparency and credibility" in order "strengthen the rule of law and institutions," in the tiny Gulf kingdom, it said.
BNA added without elaborating that "it was agreed on the main issues to be discussed under national dialogue in a coming stage."
Bahrain's government announced Thursday that it had suspended the dialogue that began last February but was boycotted months ago by the main Shiite opposition.
It gave no indication whether the process, aimed at ending the political impasse in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom with a Shiite majority, could resume.
The decision came after eight Sunni associations announced that they too would suspend their participation in the talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] An activist 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... was killed in a shootout during a raid by law enforcers at a village in Debhata upazila of Satkhira on Tuesday.
The dear departed was identified as Anwarul Islam, 28, of Nangla village.
"We went to conduct a raid at Ghona village around 9:30am on information that Jamaat-Shibir men were gathering there to launch subversive activities," said Md Mahiduzzaman, additional superintendent of Satkhira police.
The officer claimed that the shootout ensued when Jamaat-Shibir activists hurled brick chips, crude bombs and fired guns at the police, who then fired back.
"Anwarul was found lying with a bullet wound in his leg after the shootout, and he was declared dead after we rushed him to Satkhira Sadar Hospital," Mahiduzzaman told news hounds yesterday.
The officer also claimed that during the shootout, officer-in-charge Tarek Biswas, inspector Tanveer Hasan and three constables of Debhata cop shoppewere maimed by bullets and bomb splinters.
Police also recovered a shutter gun, six rounds of bullets, two machetes and two homemade bombs after the incident.
According to police, Anwarul was an accused in the murder cases of local Awami League leaders Abu Rayhan, Abdul Aziz and Alamgir Hossain.
Following Anwarul's death, a mob vandalised and set fire to the residence of Naopara Union Gay Pareehad Chairman Abdul Khaleque, who is also a local Jamaat leader, at Kanta village, our Satkhira correspondent adds, quoting local villagers.
Police were deployed in the area after the attack.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung... in separate drives at Kolaroa upazila overnight on Tuesday, law enforcers detained 10 BNP supporters. Police also tossed in the slammer ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... a Jamaat leader from Ullapara in Sirajganj.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels... a dawn-to-dusk hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... called by Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... in Chittagong and Noakhali yesterday to protest the killing of a Shibir leader in a clash on Sunday was observed peacefully.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
"Anwarul was found lying with a bullet wound in his leg after the shootout, and he was declared dead after we rushed him to Satkhira Sadar Hospital," Mahiduzzaman told news hounds yesterday.
"of course, it being time for our lunch repast, we had to stop on the way for sustenance, and enjoyed a leisurely curry meal. Two hours at the most"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/16/2014 14:35 Comments ||
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#2
I don't think being strapped to the front bumper helped.
Three Russian security force members and four gunmen were killed in a shootout on Wednesday during a sweep for Islamist terrorists militants who have threatened to attack the Sochi Winter Olympics next month. The Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said the dead terrorists militants included a man accused of carrying out a car bomb attack in the city of Pyatigorsk late last year which killed three people.
The NAC statement said the group of terrorists militants had been trapped in a house in the village of Karlanyurt in the Dagestan region. Five officers were also injured in what was called a special operation. Police defused two explosive devices at the house where the terrorists militants fought security forces.
[DAWN] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Wednesday announced the setting up of a permanent military base in the troubled Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... Valley where Taliban faceless myrmidons shot schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai in the head.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] A roadside remote-controlled kaboom in Khyber Wednesday killed two volunteers of the Amn Committee ... Peoples' Peace Committee is a group of brown turbans tied to the Pakn People's Party and based in Bloody Karachi. It was founded by an infamous gangster, Rehman Dakait in 2008. It is accused of being involved in organized crime and gang wars. After Rehman departed this vale of tears in 2009, leadership of the group was taken over by Uzair Baloch, who is probably associated with the Tataglias. The Amn Committee was banned in Pakistain in 2011, which means squat.... , DawnNews reported.
Unknown turbans installed a remote-controlled bomb at a roadside in Khyber's Zakakhel area near a barricaded post of Amn Committee. The bomb went off with a loud kaboom. Subsequently, two Amn Committee volunteers departed the gene pool.
Following the kaboom, security personnel cordoned off the area and a probe into the incident went underway.
Earlier last week, nine people, including three children, were killed and several others maimed when a blast rocked the house of a tribal elder in the northwestern Khyber tribal region.
Khyber is part of Pakistain's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border. The Taliban and other Al Qaeda-linked groups, who stage attacks in both countries, are known to have strongholds in the zone.
Three FC personnel injured in Hangu kaboom
A landmine struck a security forces' vehicle Wednesday, leaving three Frontier Corps (FC) personnel severely injured.
According to sources, a convoy of FC personnel was travelling from Central Kurram to Tull region when it struck a landmine in the Tora Wari area. Subsequently, three FC personnel sustained injuries.
The injured persons were shifted to Combined Military Hospital.
Following the kaboom, security personnel cordoned off the area and a search operation went underway. Sources said 10 suspects were detained.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] At least four snuffies were killed Wednesday during an operation conducted by security personnel in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... 's troubled Khuzdar district, police said.
Ali Ahmed Kurd, a levies official, told Dawn.com that Frontier Corps (FC) and levies personnel conducted a joint operation in the Zaidi area of Khuzdar. He said four snuffies were killed and six were tossed in the slammer
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Bomb attacks hit the Iraqi capital Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... and a village near the northern town of Baquba on Wednesday, killing at least 52 people, police and hospital sources said.
In the deadliest incident, a bomb blew up in a funeral tent where mourners were marking the death two days ago of a Sunni Moslem pro-government militiaman, police said. It killed 18 people and maimed 16 in Shatub, a village south of Baquba.
Two years after US troops left Iraq, violence has climbed back to its highest levels since the Sunni-Shia bloodshed of 2006-2007, when tens of thousands of people were killed.
Al Qaeda-linked Death Eaters are pursuing a campaign of attacks, mostly directed at state targets, Shia civilians and Sunnis seen as loyal to the Shia-led government.
Half a dozen boom-mobiles went kaboom! across the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, mostly in Shia districts, killing 34 people and wounding 71, police and medics said.
The violence occurred amid a continuing standoff between the Iraqi army and Sunni Death Eaters who overran the city of Falluja west of Storied Baghdad more than two weeks ago in a challenge to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
#1
It is hard to feel sorry for anyone in Iraq.
The news sounds so...pleasant... to me. Every day, in every way...and they all have such Moslem values.
Allah is indeed beneficent.
"A bomb blew up in a funeral tent"....says it all.
#2
...sort of like the Filipinos who were so eager for the Americans to leave too.
Watch dogs - consume too much food, crap too many places, and sometimes bark all night. How are you doing without 'em these days boys? You don't know what you got till its gone...tear down the trees put up a parking lot.
#5
On the 'burg after any horrific event
Perpetrated by persons of Moslem descent,
If you hear something flapping in lieu of lament,
It's just Spereting erecting his "funeral tent."
#6
Butt sed ex-plo sieves are available in any grocery and/or hardware store. One can make baumz out of all sorts of ordinary items. One just needs to study up. But there's the rub. Study and urban areas are increasingly mutually exclusive.
Thuggery does indeed, all too often, have religious values: when one believes in jihad, martyrdom and, especially, in predestination, then everything awful thing that happens was meant to happen, so help me Allan. (Not to mention modern drug gangs like Santa Muerte and Knights Templar.)
At least 20 people, including a suicide bomber, were killed Wednesday in a series of attacks in Iraq, said police. Forty were reported wounded.
The deadliest attack was in Baquba, north-east of the capital Baghdad, where a suicide bomber blew himself up at a mourning ceremony, killing at least 11 others and injuring 15, dpa reported.
Meanwhile, eight were killed and 25 wounded in three car bombings in northern and central Baghdad, said police.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] At least five rockets launched from Gazoo Strip. Iron Dome intercepts rockets; none injured. IDF patrolling region to see if additional rockets hit open area
Yes, it's harder to get supplies through the tunnels the Egyptian army has locked down. Nonetheless, a stash of much-improved replacements awaits transportation from Hizb'allah storehouses, and room must be made.
At least five rockets were launched from the Gazoo Strip in the direction of Ashkelon, at approximately 2:00 am Thursday. The Iron Dome missile defense system most likely intercepted all rockets.
No injuries or damage were reported.
A red alert siren sounded in and around Ashkelon prior to the interceptions.
The IDF is combing the area to see if another rocket launched at the region had hit an open area.
On Monday, only a short time after leaders from Israel and the world left the northern Negev ranch where former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was laid to rest, two rockets were launched at the area. There were no injuries or damage reported.
The Shin Bet foiled an attempt by a Hamas-affiliated group to set up a terrorist cell in the West Bank for the purpose of kidnapping Israelis. The plot was directed by Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons, according to the Shin Bet.
In a statement, the Shin Bet said, "Those involved were in their first stages of planning the attack."
The Israeli intelligence service named Muhammad Bel, in the Eshel prison since 2008, as a suspect who recruited two Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank for the plot.
The recruits have been named as Ali Harub, serving a sentence for belonging to a military terrorist cell, planning attacks, and manufacturing bombs and Molotov cocktails, and Rajab Salah Al-din, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, imprisoned since May 2012 for three failed kidnapping attempts.
The investigation revealed that top levels of the Kataib Al-Mujahadin terror group were involved in planning the attacks. Bel was in touch with a contact in Gaza, named as Amar Khalil Kassam, who is in charge of dealing with prisoners and who answers directly to the head of the organization.
A security source said that the purpose of the plot was to enable a Gaza-based terror group to gain operatives from the West Bank, who could then use their own associates outside of prison to organize a kidnapping.
The Shin Bet said, "The Holy Warriors Brigade is a terror group that splintered off from the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and adopted extremist Islamic characteristics."
It is headed by Asad Abu Sharia, a Gaza resident and terrorist, who took over the group in 2007 after his brother, Omar Abu Sharia was killed in an IAF strike in Gaza in 2006.
The group is in close touch with Hamas in Gaza, and has been involved in rocket attacks on Israel, shootings against the IDF, and setting off bombs on the border between Gaza and Israel.
Cooperation with Hamas includes training, and assistance, as well as financial support and weapons transfers for attacks, and the smuggling of arms to Gaza. The Shin Bet said, "We can say that in effect, the Holy Warriors Brigades is a Hamas front group in every way."
A roadside bomb attack in Yala province yesterday killed two policemen and injured two others. The blast hit a four-man teacher-protection unit on two motorbikes, resulting in the death of Pol Corporal Suchat Yangthinnang and Pol Lance Corporal Waesaaree Sapahadaloh. The wounded officers were rushed to the hospital.
In another part of the same province, a paramilitary ranger and a volunteer were also shot and wounded by unknown gunmen as they returned from a teacher-protection foot patrol.
Meanwhile, a 10-kg roadside bomb was detonated in Pattani's Nong Chik district yesterday, aimed at an Army teacher-protection team, but nobody was hurt.
In related news, officials suspect a no-injury grenade and shooting attack at a police station in Yala's Muang district on Monday night was carried out by a group led by alleged terrorist insurgent Apesi Yusoh, an informed source said.
An Indonesian court has given an Islamic extremist six years in jail for conspiring to attack Myanmar's embassy in Jakarta to avenge the killing of Rohingya Muslims.
The South Jakarta district court found Rokhadi, alias Shiro, guilty of "evil conspiracy" for plotting the bombing as well as possessing the explosives meant to blow up the front of the embassy. The court added that Rokhadi kept pipe bombs in his house for three days before he passed them on to another member of the group, Achmad Taufiq, who was handed a seven-and-a-half-year sentence last week.
Rokhadi is one of several men who have been put on trial over the May bomb plot, which came amid anger at the persecution of the stateless Rohingya in mainly Buddhist Myanmar. Police foiled the plan the night before it was due to take place.
Sigit Indrajid confessed during his trial last month that he was the mastermind of the plot. He is due to be sentenced later this month.
[An Nahar] The military institution announced on Wednesday arresting Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... official Jamal Daftardar in a town in a western Bekaa.
"After investigating the attack on an army checkpoint in (the southern city of) Sidon, the Intelligence Bureau tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! Daftardar after raiding an area in western Bekaa," the army's communique detailed.
The statement noted that a gunman died of his wound during the raid to arrest the wanted suspect.
In December 2013, an unidentified attacker hurled a hand grenade at an army checkpoint on Sidon's northern entrance in the al-Awwali area, prompting troops to retaliate, which left a gunman dead and a soldier maimed.
Earlier on Wednesday, the state-run National News Agency said the army arrested Mazen Abu Abbas and another Syrian during the raid in the town of Kamed al-Lawz.
Abu Abbas is a suspect who had collaborated with the Abdullah Azzam Brigades chief.
Voice of Leb radio (93.3) said Abu Abbas died after his arrest.
It also identified the Syrian suspect as a member of al-Qaeda holding crucial information on Majed al-Majed, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades chief.
He is from al-Masri family, VDL said.
Media reports have said that a network operating form Kamed al-Lawz had helped al-Majed receive treatment in several hospitals before his death.
Al-Majed, a Saudi citizen, was believed to have serious kidney problems that require dialysis.
The army arrested him in December while heading in an ambulance from al-Makassed hospital in Beirut to the Bekaa Valley.
The military said that he later died while undergoing treatment at the central military hospital after his health deteriorated.
A statement issued by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades accused on Tuesday Hizbullah of killing al-Majed, saying his condition worsened in detention.
The statement posted on Twitter said al-Majed passed away after years of cultivating men capable of carrying on his project, adding that attacks will continue after his death.
The U.S. State Department designated his group a foreign terrorist organization in 2012.
The brigades have grabbed credit for attacks throughout the region, including the 2010 bombing of a Japanese oil tanker in the Persian Gulf and several rocket strikes from Leb into Israel.
The most recent attack claimed by the group was the double suicide kaboom in November outside the Iranian Embassy ...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!... in Beirut's southern suburbs that left scores of casualties, including an Iranian diplomat.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syria's main opposition National Coalition on Wednesday accused troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... of using poison gas in an attack on the rebel-held town of Daraya near Damascus.
At least three people were killed in the attack, the group alleged in a statement.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A boom-mobile in northern Syria killed at least 26 people on Wednesday, most of them rebels, a monitoring group said.
The bomb struck the Aleppo province town of Jarablos, scene of fierce fighting in recent days between the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... , and rival rebels.
Among the dead were three civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told Agence La Belle France Presse it was likely the incident "was a suicide kaboom staged by ISIL," adding that it came after jihadists lost turf to rival rebels in the town.
Activists in Aleppo province said there had actually been two car kabooms within minutes of each other in Jarablos.
"Two car kabooms struck Jarablos, one near the agriculture school, the other near the prison," said Nazeer al-Khatib, a citizen journalist with grassroots network Shahba Press.
Both sites were being used by rebels fighting ISIL as bases, said Khatib.
Previously under ISIL control, Jarablos has come under a heavy offensive by moderate and Salafist tough guys since Monday night.
It is important because it is located on the Turkish border, with a frontier post.
Since January 3, the Islamic Front, the Syrian Revolutionaries' Front and the Mujahideen Army have waged a fierce offensive against ISIL in several areas of northern Syria.
While local rebels have advanced against ISIL in Aleppo and Idlib provinces, the jihadists have recaptured total control of Raqa province to the east.
On January 6, ISIL commander Abul Baraa warned rebels the group would stage suicide attacks against them should they not cease their offensive.
He was killed earlier Wednesday in a rebel attack in Idlib province.
Once allied with ISIL in the fight to topple Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... , rebels turned against it because of its quest for hegemony over opposition areas and its horrific abuses.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/16/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
Images of emaciated children and old people who appear to have died of hunger are emerging from a Palestinian refugee camp outside of Damascus, where thousands are at risk of starvation after months of living under siege, UN officials and camp residents said.
"There is profound civilian suffering in Yarmouk, with widespread incidence of malnutrition and the absence of medical care," said Chris Gunness of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which is tasked with helping displaced Palestinians across the region. He said most camp residents have long been eating little other than stale vegetables, powdered tomato paste and animal feed.
Camp residents and activists on Tuesday reported two more deaths from hunger, bringing to 48 the number who have died since November from illnesses related to the siege.
Farouq al-Rifai, an activist in Yarmouk who uses a pseudonym, says at least five of those deaths were directly caused by malnutrition, while others were attributable to a range of causes related to the lack of food and medicine, including anemia and diabetes. All of the victims have been children and the elderly, but "the hunger is inescapable for everyone," Rifai said.
Gunness said the UN could not confirm deaths from starvation, but it has noted such reports with increasing alarm. He said an aid convoy on Monday was forced to turn back after a firefight erupted as the vehicles approached a loyalist checkpoint on the southern entrance to the camp. The government had denied access to a safer route through a northern checkpoint closer to the capital, he said.
Yarmouk residents accuse forces loyal to Assad of blocking access to relief convoys. The government blames "terrorists" inside the camp, including members of the radical Jabhat al-Nusra, which it claims has sought sanctuary there.
Western leaders say the government is preventing aid from reaching Yarmouk and other besieged Damascus suburbs where conditions are also reported to be dire. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Tuesday, "The deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people is . . . utterly unacceptable."
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.
[Dhaka Tribune] An activist of 
Three Russian security force members and four gunmen were killed in a shootout on Wednesday during a sweep for Islamist 
Nawaz Sharif
An Indonesian court has given an Islamic extremist six years in jail for conspiring to attack Myanmar's embassy in Jakarta to avenge the killing of Rohingya Muslims.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
