KABUL -- More than 100 Taliban terrorists fighters overran an Afghan army base Sunday, killing at least 19 soldiers in the bloodiest attack on the countrys armed forces in many months.
In Sundays assault, a mass of terrorists insurgents surrounded a small base in the remote Ghaziabad district of Konar province early in the morning, according to Gen. Abdul Habib, Konars police chief. He said the terrorists militants were carrying guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
It was a savage attack by the enemies of Afghanistan, Habib said.
As of Sunday afternoon, Afghan forces had retaken the outpost.
Winter is typically a time of relative peace in Afghanistan, when Taliban terrorist leaders return to Pakistan. But this year, the terrorists insurgency appears to have stepped up its attacks in an effort to disrupt presidential elections scheduled for April. Ghaziabad, along the Afghan-Pakistani border, is one of the countrys most restive districts and is thought to be home to several al-Qaeda terrorists fighters.
Small Afghan army outposts in southern and eastern Afghanistan have always been vulnerable to large-scale Taliban terrorist attacks, particularly as the U.S. military has reduced its presence. Still, bloody terrorist strikes of this scale, in which the Taliban is able to successfully overrun an outpost, have been rare.
In a sign of the attacks importance, Afghan President Hamid Karzai postponed an official trip to Sri Lanka. In a statement condemning the raid, Karzais palace asked Pakistans leadership to realistically and seriously cooperate with Afghanistan in the fight against terrorism militancy.
The strike in Konar came amid preparations by security forces for launching an attack to clear the Taliban terrorist threat from the area, said Col. Bahwul Khan, a police officer in the province.
In addition to the 19 dead, three Afghan soldiers are missing. We do not know whether they have fled or have helped the Taliban to launch the attack, Habib said.
Get me my ouija board and let me guess...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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According to news broadcasts from the Mahadaay district in the Middle Shabelle region reports of a fierce fight in the middle of the night after Al-Shabaab attacked a base where government troops were stationed within the district.
Witnesses in the area told Shabelle that the fight was ongoing for hours and that unfortunately people were hit by the mortar shellings used by both sides in opposition to each other and it definitely caused death and casualties to Al-Shabaab, government forces and civilians.
Mahaday district in Middle Shabelle is home to forces from the government and just recently AMISOM soldiers especially those from Uganda have vacated their presence in the district.
The atmosphere this morning is so be perfectly normal and the lively spirit of the community have returned to their usual routines in Mahaday district in Middle Shabelle.
All's well that ends well...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Local residents in Derna have denied reports of an RPG attack on the home of former Guantanamo Bay detainee and alleged leader of Ansar Al-Sharia Sufian Bin Qumu.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a local source told the Libya Herald that, while there had been sporadic fighting last night near the western entrance to Derna where Bin Qumu lives, there had been no direct attack on his home.
He added that there had been no reported casualties in the fighting.
Derna-born Bin Qumu was held in Guantanamo Bay for six years. In his secret Guantanamo file, which surfaced via Wikileaks in 2011, Bin Qumu was assessed as: "A former member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a probable member of Al-Qaeda, and a member of the North African Extremist Network (NAEN)." The report also stated that the Libyan Government itself considered him to be a "dangerous man with no qualms about committing terrorist acts."
Bin Qumu was released from Guantanamo in 2007, on condition that he continued to be detained by the Libyan authorities. In 2010, however, he was released from Abu Salim prison as part of an amnesty for anti-regime prisoners. During the revolution he was a prominent figure within Ansar Al-Sharia in Derna.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Suspected Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... gunnies on Sunday returned to a village in northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... where 106 people were killed last week, torching homes, shooting and setting off explosives, a local official said.
The latest attack in Izghe, Borno state, happened at about 1:00 am (0000 GMT) and forced residents who had returned to the village after the February 15 deadly strike to flee again.
Maina Ularamu, the chairman of the Madagali local government area in neighboring Adamawa state, told Agence La Belle France Presse that "nothing remains but burnt ruins".
Izghe is in Gwoza district of Borno but its residents have closer ties with Madagali due to its proximity and ethnic allegiances.
There was no immediate comment from the Borno state police or the military when contacted by AFP.
Ularamu said one person was injured in the attack. Elderly residents who had stayed in the village had now also left, he added.
"The elderly who remained in the town, vowing not to leave their roots, had no option but to move to Madagali because the whole town has been burnt and everything looted," he said.
Some 10,000 residents from Izghe and neighboring villages fled to Madagali in the wake of last week's attack, heaping pressure on neighboring towns and cities.
"We are facing a humanitarian situation in Madagali because the displaced persons are in dire need of basic supplies which we don't have the capacity to meet," said Ularamu.
The February 15 raid in the mostly Christian village saw suspected Boko Haram fighters, who arrived in trucks and wearing military uniform, go door-to-door looking for those hiding in their houses.
The attack -- and others in the northeast blamed on the Islamist group over the last week -- sparked condemnation from the United States and United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... , among others.
The governor of Borno even claimed the turbans were better equipped than the military, prompting strong denials from the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I noticed the Taliban are quiet on Boko Haram but were giving out re muslim killings in Central Africa.
Fecking hypocrites.
Posted by: Paul D ||
02/24/2014 13:14 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Unidentified gunnies have rubbed out an intelligence officer in Yemen's southern Shabwa province, a security official said Sunday.
The gunnies opened fire late Saturday at State Security Colonel Ahmed Hashim in the city of Ataq before fleeing, the official said, adding that he died instantly.
Yemen sees frequent attacks on security forces which are usually blamed on Al-Qaeda's local affiliate, which remains active in southern and eastern regions despite successive government military campaigns.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] One person was killed in a "shootout" with police on Saturday in the Pakhimara village of Padmapukur union in Satkhira.
The dear departed Ashraf Ali hailed from Kurikahania village.
Shaymnagar cop shoppe Officer-in-Charge Sagir Mia told the Dhaka Tribune: "Being tipped off, police rushed to the place where some robbers were planning to rob. Sensing our presence, the robbers opened fire, triggering the clash with the law enforcers."
He got all that in with one sentence...
Later, police rescued 48-year-old Asraf and sent him to Shaymnagar Helath Complex where on duty doctors pronounced him dead He's dead, Jim!
Police also claimed that Ashraf was accused on twelve systems in a number of cases.
Superintendent of Police Asraful Islam, who also took part in the "shootout," said: "Two police constables Salimullah and Milon were maimed in the shootout."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Gunmen opened fire and tossed bombs on Sunday at a prison van carrying faceless myrmidons of a banned Islamist movement to a court house, freeing three of their colleagues and killing a policeman in the ambush, police and witnesses said.
The three convicts sprung from their police escort were members of the group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt. (JMB), including the group's explosives expert. Two had been sentenced to death.
The group was highly active around 2005, when it was involved in spate of bombings on judicial personnel, courts and other targets, but has been relatively quiet over the past 10 years.
Police Inspector General Hassan Mahmood Khandker said the incident showed the faceless myrmidons had not been rooted out entirely. "It is a clear indication that they are still active," he told news hounds.
He said the attack was the first such ambush on a prison van. The faceless myrmidons had been on their way to a court in Mymenshing to testify in another trial, said Abdur Razzak, superintendent of Kashimpur jail, where all three had been held.
Militants blocked a highway in Mymenshing, 120 km (75 miles) north of Dhaka, with two cars and set off several bombs to halt the prison van, police said. One policeman was struck down in his prime and three were maimed.
About 20 masked men then jumped out from a microbus and opened fire on the van, Subedar Habib, who was injured in the attack, told news hounds in hospital.
Police who mounted a manhunt and searched districts near the incident later detained one of the men. They also offered a reward of 200,000 taka ($2,560) for help in capturing them.
Border patrols had been put on alert to stop the men fleeing the country, junior law minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said.
Six leaders of the Islamist bully boy group were hanged after being convicted of killing two judges in 2005. Among them was JMB chief Sheikh Abdur Rahman, a veteran of conflicts in Afghanistan.
The group went kaboom! nearly 500 bombs almost simultaneously on Aug. 17, 2005, across Bangladesh, including the capital Dhaka, in attacks largely aimed at frightening authorities.
Its faceless myrmidons later carried out suicide kabooms on various courthouses, killing 25 people, including judges, lawyers and coppers, and injuring hundreds.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] At least five alleged assailants were killed during an exchange of fire with security forces 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 Turbat area on Sunday night, police said.
A police officer who requested anonymity, since he was not authorised to speak to the media, told Dawn.com that armed turbans attacked the convoy of Frontier Corps (FC) in Chah-e-Sar area of Turbat.
He said the FC personnel quickly retaliated and five gunnies were killed on the spot. The officer stated that the FC recovered weapons from the possession of Death Eaters.
The dead bodies were shifted to Turbat hospital.
"The dead bodies are yet to be identified," he added.
He however said that there were no reports of fatalities on the part of the FC.
The FC personnel were on routine patrolling when they were attacked by the Death Eaters, he added.
More personnel were called in the area to conduct a search operation. No arrest was made till filing of this report.
The police claim could not be verified by independent sources. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.
Turbat is considered to be one of the most sensitive towns of Balochistan where turbans have been targeting security forces and pro-government personalities.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Dozens of bad boys, mostly Uzbek fighters, were killed as Air Force jets and army's helicopter gunships carried out punitive strikes against terrorist hideouts in North Wazoo and Khyber Agency.
The strikes in North Waziristan's areas of Mirali and Datta Khel happened late on Wednesday night, while a bad boy compound in Khyber was targeted on Thursday.
The attacks followed the breakdown in government's talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain in the aftermath of TTP Mohmand chapter's claim of killing 23 Frontier Corps soldiers and the death of a major in an attack on an army vehicle near 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. .
"Air strikes were carried out with precision against bad boy hideouts in Mirali and Datta Khel. There are reports of a large number of bully boyz being killed in these strikes and a huge cache of arms and ammunition has also been destroyed," a military front man said.
A military official said six targets were hit in the overnight aerial raids.
There have been varying figures of the bully boyz killed in the attacks. Some sources claimed that 19 bully boyz were killed, while others put the casualty figure at 30. However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... it has been confirmed that most of those killed were Uzbeks. According to a figure provided by military's public affairs division ISPR, 16 Uzbek bad boyz were potted in the attacks.
The Uzbeks belonged to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan which has been operating in the region under the patronage of TTP and the Haqqani network.
The military had carried out a similar targeted operation on Jan 21 in the same region after attacks on military personnel in Bannu and Rawalpindi's RA Bazaar. It had been claimed that most of those killed were foreign bad boys.
Interestingly, both in Jan 21 and Feb 19/20 attacks it appeared that the primary target was foreign bully boyz and not the local Taliban fighters.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ... in Khyber Agency's Bara region army gunships targeted a compound, which, according to military officials, had an explosives dump, housed jacket wallahs and where IEDs (improvised bombs) were being prepared.
Seven bad boys, all Paks, were killed in the Bara strike. Among those killed in the attack was a key bad boy commander identified as Hazrat Ali and three would-be suicide bombers.
"The bully boyz targeted in Khyber Agency were involved in the Peshawar cinema blast on Feb 13 and killing of Major Jehanzaib on Feb 18 in FR Peshawar. Prepared explosives and an IED factory were also destroyed in the attack," the ISPR said.
There was no immediate reaction from the TTP to the raids on the terrorist hideouts, but Yousuf Shah, who is associated with negotiators appointed by the outlawed bad boy group for dialogue with the government, told media that he was still hopeful of resumption of suspended talks.
The strikes led to speculations that the government may have finally begun the military offensive to clear North Waziristan and other militancy-hit areas of terrorists.
But a security bigshot said the attacks were "punitive strikes" Options, including dialogue, were still open, he said.
However, some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... he said: "The strategy has been readjusted to the extent" that the future course would depend on how TTP reacts, but added that a full-scale operation was unlikely in near future.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Pak fighter jets carried out air strikes early Sunday on suspected bully boy hideouts killing 35 suspected snuffies and injured more than 15 others in Tirah valley area of Pakistain's restive Khyber tribal region, DawnNews reported.
According to security officials, during the air raid fighter jets targeted various hideouts in the Tirah valley of the Khyber Agency reportedly destroying an improvised explosives device (IEDs) making factory and a huge cache of arms, ammunition and kabooms.
The raids came a days after at least nine suspected snuffies were killed when gunship helicopters pounded bully boy hideouts in Thall village in Hangu district ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them...
On Feb 20, after consultations with the top military leadership of Pakistain 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... gave a go ahead for the Arclight airstrikes in North Wazoo and Khyber agencies.
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.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] A roadside kaboom targeting a local leader of a political party in the country's northwest killed three people and maimed two others on Saturday, police said. Police said the incident took place in Buner district when the remote-controlled bomb hit the vehicle of Adalat Khan, a local leader of Qaumi Watan Party, killing him along with two associates. "Adalat Khan and his two associates have been killed. Two others in the car were critically injured," Asif Iqbal, a senior police official told AFP. No myrmidon group grabbed credit for the attack, but a local intelligence official told AFP that Khan had supported an anti-Taliban village militia in 2009. The head of that militia was later killed in a suicide kaboom in November 2012. Police and Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) reached the site of kaboom and cordoned off the area. The BDU later declared the area clear of any other bomb. The injured and bodies were moved to a nearby hospital. Separately, a suspected terrorist was killed in a kaboom in 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. on Saturday. Police said that the blast took place in Nasir Bagh locality of Peshawar. Police said that evidence had been collected from the scene of kaboom and investigation was in progress.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] A bomb planted near a bus stop killed 12 people, including two women and a child, in Kohat on Sunday, police said.
They said 12 more were maimed when the bomb went off in Kohat in the troubled province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
Police said around five kilogrammes of explosive were planted in a cooking oil container and placed near the bus stop in the city centre before being detonated remotely.
District police chief Salim Khan Marwat gave the corpse count, which rose from 10 after two victims shuffled off the mortal coil in a 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. hospital.
The bomb went kaboom! near police and other government offices. It was also close to a busy marketplace and an area where many Shias live.
But authorities said it was too early to comment on the possible target.
The province borders lawless tribal areas where al Qaeda and Taliban-led Death Eaters have sanctuaries.
The attack came as Pak fighter jets launched air strikes on hard boy hideouts in the northwest, killing at least 38 people, according to officials, in the latest retaliation for attacks by the turbans that have derailed peace talks.
The early morning strikes made on hard boy hideouts in the Tirah valley of the Khyber tribal district were the third in the series of raids by the Pakistain Air Force (PAF) since February 20.
They follow the execution of 23 Pakistain soldiers by the Taliban last week, which cast doubts over dialogue initiated by 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 January 29.
"There are confirmed reports that 38 Death Eaters including some important commanders were killed," a statement by the military said, adding that "six hideouts were completely destroyed".
Earlier, a security bigshot in Islamabad said IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) making factories and kaboom were destroyed. Local administration officials refused to comment, saying it was a matter for the military, and the tolls could not be independently verified as it is difficult for journalists to enter the area.
On Saturday, at least nine Death Eaters were killed when Pak gunship helicopters pounded Taliban hideouts in Thall village in Hangu district ... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them... , near the tribal areas where Death Eaters linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda have strongholds.
Two days earlier, security officials said they killed over 30 Death Eaters including 16 Uzbeks in the air strikes conducted in the northwest, infiltrated by the local and foreign hard boys.
Peace talks between the Taliban and the government stalled last week due to a recent surge in turban attacks and a claim by a Taliban faction that it had killed 23 kidnapped soldiers.
Government mediators have set a Taliban ceasefire as a precondition for another round of talks.
But Shahidullah Shahid, a front man for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, on Friday blamed Islamabad for the deadlock and urged the state to declare a ceasefire first.
Shahid said the government had started the war when it should have initiated a ceasefire.
"We have been fighting a defensive war for 10 years," he told a presser on Friday, adding that the government should stop the operation immediately.
Shahid said that the Taliban still wish to engage in peace dialogue to solve the country's problems. "We were ready to talks before and are ready now," he stated.
He also said the government wanted Taliban to accept the constitution of Pakistain through dialogue but this constitution did not have a single Islamic clause in it.
The Taliban's Friday statement came after the government decided to pull the plug on the peace talks with TTP, as the prime minister and the military leadership decided that "proceeding with the peace talks amid the bombings and slaughter of soldiers would be injustice to terror victims".
The TTP leadership says it does not accept the constitution of Pakistain and claims that it has the backing of majority of Pak holy mans.
The TTP, an umbrella grouping of numerous hard boy factions, has been waging a bloody campaign against the Pak state since 2007, carrying out a number of bomb and gun attacks, often on military targets. According to an AFP tally, 86 people have been killed in 17 attacks across the country since January 29, when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced formal talks with the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Attacks in Iraq, including a series of shootings in the north, killed at least 17 people Sunday, officials said, as the country struggles to curb a year-long surge in violence.
The deadliest single attack was a bomb that went kaboom! on a highway between Storied Baghdad and the northern city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , killing three police and four detainees who had been captured during a raid.
Six shootings in Mosul itself -- one of the most dangerous parts of the country -- killed seven people, including the brother of a provincial councilor, a health directorate employee and three security forces members.
In north Storied Baghdad, a roadside kaboomwent kaboom! near bicycle shops in the Sadr City area, killing at least two people and wounding at least seven, while another bombing in the Hurriyah area maimed at least three more people.
And a bomb went kaboom! in a house in the Siniyah area north of Storied Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding two others.
Iraq has been hit by a year-long surge in violence, driven by widespread discontent among members of the Sunni Arab minority and the bloody civil war in neighboring Syria, that security forces have failed to curb.
All of the city of Fallujah -- just a short drive from Storied Baghdad -- and part of Anbar picturesque provincial capital Ramadi, to its west, have been held by anti-government fighters since early January.
More than 610 people have been killed in attacks and festivities since the beginning of the month, and over 1,600 since January 1, according to Agence La Belle France Presse figures based on security and medical sources.
And violence has killed 10 or more people on all but three days so far this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[Jerusalem Post] Israel reserves the right to assess the Iranian situation and make the necessary decisions independently, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Sunday after emerging from some five hours of talks with Wendy Sherman, Washington's top Iran negotiator.
"Israel reiterated and made clear its position that an agreement with Iran must include dismantling its ability to progress toward a nuclear weapon," Steinitz said, using code for Israel's long-standing position that the world needed to insist that Iran dismantle all it's uranium enrichment capabilities. This position clashes with that of the world powers currently negotiating with Iran, which is now seemingly willing to allow Iran some enrichment capability.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made the same point publicly at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting, saying he was concerned Iran believed it could "realize its plan to be a nuclear threshold state, with an enrichment capability that it thinks cannot be touched, and with the ability to develop both nuclear weapons and intercontinental missiles, which it is continuing to work on unhindered." "This combination of enrichment, weapons and launch capabilities, means that Iran is, in effect, receiving everything and giving almost nothing," he said. "That is the current situation." Netanyahu said that the long-term agreement now being negotiated between the P5+1 (the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany) and Iran cannot be allowed to render permanent this current state of affairs.
The long term agreement, he said, must "dismantle the Iranian ability to either produce or launch nuclear weapons, and this has yet to be achieved, and without the insistence of the major powers, it will not be achieved." Sherman, the US Under Secretary of State who led Washingtons delegation to the recent talks in Vienna, briefed Steinitz and National Security Council head Yossi Cohen and staff members from various other government and intelligence agencies on the Vienna talks.
Steinitz said the dialogue with Sherman dealt in "great detail" with diplomatic, intelligence and technical aspects of the Iranian nuclear program, and was part of Israel's ongoing strategic dialogue with the US.
Sherman has made it a practice of coming to Jerusalem after every round of talks with the Iranians to immediately brief Israel. She made clear Saturday night, however, that she does not agree with Israel's position that Iran must not be allowed any uranium enrichment capability, saying Iran might be allowed a "limited" nuclear program "that addresses practical needs." "I would like there to be zero enrichment," she said. "I would like there to be no facilities, I would like there not to be an indigenous program. I would like many things in life. But that does not mean I will get them." Sherman will also be briefing officials in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this week, states which are as concerned as Israel at the prospect of Iran gaining nuclear capabilities.
Over the last two weeks Netanyahu has once again stepped up the rhetoric against Iran's nuclear program, saying that the country has not altered any of its aggressive policies. This is expected to be the item on the top of his agenda when he is scheduled to meet US President Champ in Washington next Monday. Hopefully he won't be expecting much from the Champ.
#1
"I would like there to be zero enrichment," she said. "I would like there to be no facilities, I would like there not to be an indigenous program. I would like many things in life. But that does not mean I will get them."
..lady, Israel doesn't give a flying fig about what you would like. The Israelis have something called "national interest and security" in mind..
A policeman and a rebel fighter were killed in a gun battle that broke out when a joint police-military team tried to serve an arrest warrant against a militant commander in a camp of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in Sanrangani province, a militant spokesman said.
MNLF spokesman Absalom Cerveza said fighting broke out when the security team entered an MNLF camp in Barangay Daliao, Maasin last Tuesday to serve a warrant on Tikboy Maguid, a militant leader. Cerveza said, I condemn the raid by the police in one of our camps in Maasin."
When the security squad arrived at the camp they were confronted by three miltants and shots were fired. The militants withdrew during the fighting and left the camp. When the fighting subsided, the police entered and searched the camp but did not find Maguid.
Cerveza said the police raided the camp without definite information that Maguid was there and without proper coordination with MNLF leaders in the area and their action jeopardized what little peace remained in Mindanao.
Cerveza said the attack was an attempt to destroy the MNLF through military action and he accused Undersecretary Jose Lorena of Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) for defending the operation.
Posted by: ryuge ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Al-Qaeda's representative in Syria was killed Sunday in a suicide kaboom, the rebel Islamic Front announced on its Twitter account.
Abu Khalid al-Souri, who was appointed last year by al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... as his representative, died in the northern city of Aleppo, said the group.
The Islamic Front is the biggest rebel alliance in Syria, and it has been locked in battle with 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... (ISIL).
Al-Souri was a commander of Ahrar al-Sham movement, one of the main rebel groups in the Islamic Front alliance.
His death in a suicide kaboom in al-Halq area of Aleppo was also confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and on jihadist websites.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said he died along with six comrades when a jihadist from the rival ISIL group went kaboom! at an Ahrar al-Sham post in al-Halq.
Al-Souri fought in Afghanistan and Iraq and "was known to be close to the late Osama bin Laden ... who is no longer with us, and won't be again... ," the al-Qaeda founder who was killed by U.S. troops in Pakistain in 2011.
Jihadist websites also described Suri as a "travelling companion of Sheikh al-Zawahiri" and "among the companions of Sheikh Osama bin Laden."
Last year, Zawahiri ruled that ISIL and al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, al-Nusra Front, should operate as separate entities after the head of ISIL announced a merger of the two groups.
At the time Zawahiri appointed al-Souri as his representative in Syria to arbitrate on any issues resulting from the cancellation of the merger of the two factions.
ISIL, which grew from al-Qaeda's onetime Iraqi affiliate, is facing a widespread backlash from an array of rebel brigades angered by its abuses against civilians and rival opposition fighters.
The group has ignored Zawahiri's orders to return to Iraq.
Earlier this month, al-Qaeda cemented its split with ISIL as infighting between the rebels increased.
"Al-Qaeda announces it is not linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as it was not informed of its creation... (and) did not accept it," a statement said.
ISIL "is not a branch of al-Qaeda, has no links to it, and the (al-Qaeda) group is not responsible for its acts."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
#1
We now have Sunni jihad vs Sunni jihad in the same country where we also have Sunni vs Shia civil war and Islamic ethnic persecution of Christians.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/24/2014 1:29 Comments ||
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#2
And now is really, really close to obl. Some might even posit directly behind him, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Posted by: Steven ||
02/24/2014 1:38 Comments ||
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#3
Looks like Al-Souri grew a beard + some hair since the anti-Soviet Afghan War.
Unfortunately I wish I could say the same about Vlad.
[An Nahar] The Army Intelligence tossed in the slammer Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! on Sunday a suspected terrorist in the Bekaa region of al-Qaa, reported the National News Agency.
It said that it arrested Qassem al-Atrash and that it is verifying his identity.
Voice of Leb radio (93.3) had identified him as Hussein Qassem al-Atrash, the uncle of Omar al-Atrash, who is charged with transporting jacket wallahs to Leb.
Omar Atrash, 24, has also been charged with detonating bombs and explosive-rigged vehicles, attacking the army in Majdelyoun and al-Awwali bridge areas in the southern city of Sidon in December and launching rockets on Israel.
He was arrested in January.
Hussein Qassem al-Atrash is suspected of having cooperated with his nephew in transporting booby-trapped vehicles to Leb.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Nusra
[An Nahar] Young men belonging to "March 8 political parties" on Sunday attacked the house of former environment minister Mohammed Rahhal, a member of al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... Movement, in the western Bekaa town of Jib Janine, An Nahar newspaper reported.
It said the mob threatened to kill the ex-minister and only dispersed when an army force arrived at the house.
"A group of young men belonging to March 8 parties attacked the house of former minister Mohammed Rahhal in Jib Janine, hurled a hand grenade outside the house and smashed a number of cars that were parked outside the building," An Nahar said.
Rahhal told the newspaper that what happened on Sunday was not a new development.
"Since around a month ago, young men have been attacking my house and threatening to kill me," he said.
"But today's incident crossed all limits after around 30 to 40 young men, including Syrians, opened fire in the vicinity of the house and tossed a hand grenade whose blast sound sparked panic among the members of my family," Rahhal added.
He said even after contacting the Internal Security Forces, "these young men were not deterred."
"They pledged to murder me and launched insults against me and my family whole the ISF and army were trying to rein them in," Rahhal went on to say.
In remarks to Future TV, the former minister announced that he will file a lawsuit against "the well-known attackers."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] A boom-mobilekaboom hit a hospital on Syria's border with Turkey Sunday, killing two people and wounding several more, a monitoring group said.
A teenager and a medic working with rebel groups were killed in the car park blast close to the Orient hospital near the rebel-held border town of Atmeh, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
A Turkish official confirmed the report, and said 10 people were taken to hospital in the Turkish border town of Reyhanli.
An activist told AFP on condition of anonymity that "everyone is accusing the 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... " of being behind the blast.
Rebel groups launched a war against the jihadist ISIL in early January.
While the jihadists were initially welcomed among the ranks of opposition fighters seeking to overthrow Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... , ISIL became widely hated by dissidents over its abuses and quest for hegemony.
Since early January, the group has carried out dozens of attacks targeting opposition areas.
Elsewhere in war-ravaged Syria, regime warplanes launched air strikes against rebel areas of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, the Observatory said.
On the ground, seven rebels were killed battling regime forces near Deir Ezzor's military airport, the Britannia-based group added.
Sunday's violence comes a day after at least four people, including two children, were killed in an air raid on Sheikh Eissa in the northern province of Aleppo, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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[Israel Today] One of the leaders of the Syrian opposition forces on Friday expressed his appreciation for the compassion and care offered to victims of Syria's ongoing civil war by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli people.
Speaking from Istanbul, Mohammed Badie told Israel Radio that he and other Syrian rebel leaders were deeply thankful for the goodwill fellow Syrians had experienced at the hands of Israel as they continue to struggle against the regime of Bashar Assad.
Badie said that Netanyahu's public visit to the Israeli army field hospital that processes wounded Syrians crossing the border had sent an "important message" both to average Syrians and the Assad regime. Netanyahu continues to display both compassion and sound leadership.
A car bomb exploded on Feb. 23 near a field hospital in the Syrian town of Atmeh near the border with Turkey and dozens of casualties were seen in the vicinity, a witness said, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
"There are 50 casualties and they are being transported to Bab al-Hawa (crossing) and to another hospital in Atmeh," said witness Abdallah Saleh. The hospital suffered damaged, he said.
The hospital is owned by Ghassan Aboud, a Gulf-based Syrian businessman who runs a private television channel and charitable foundations for helping refugees.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/24/2014 00:00 ||
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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.
[Dhaka Tribune] One person was killed in a "
Wazoo
Nawaz Sharif
Zawahiri
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
A car bomb exploded on Feb. 23 near a field hospital in the Syrian town of Atmeh near the border with Turkey and dozens of casualties were seen in the vicinity, a witness said, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
