[An Nahar] Four suspected Taliban gunnies entered a luxury hotel in Kabul on Thursday evening before being rubbed out, officials said, adding that three people were maimed as guests were rushed to reinforced safe rooms.
Just two weeks before Afghanistan's presidential elections, the attackers hid small pistols in their socks and penetrated several layers of security at the Serena hotel, a prestigious venue favored by foreign visitors to the Afghan capital.
A front man for the Taliban grabbed credit for the attack. Talibs have vowed a campaign of violence to disrupt the Afghan election on April 5.
"The four young attackers entered the hotel at about 6 pm pretending to be guests and started to attack at 9 pm," Sediq Sediqqi, the interior ministry front man, told news hounds.
"Two guards have been taken to hospital, as well as one foreign national employee of the hotel. All four attackers were bumped off, two of them after they resisted in a bathroom in the hotel."
No guests were reported to have been injured in the attack, during which intense bursts of gunfire erupted inside the hotel as security forces and emergency response teams rushed to the scene.
"I heard some gunshots, and we all were taken by guards to the safe rooms," a front-desk clerk told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity.
The attack occurred on the eve of Nawroz, the Persian New Year which is a major holiday in Afghanistan, and the Serena hotel was hosting special evening celebrations.
The Serena hotel, the most prestigious accommodation in the city, was hit by a Taliban suicide kaboom in 2008 that left eight people dead.
The gunfire at the hotel on Thursday came on the same day that seven Taliban suicide attackers stormed a cop shoppe in the eastern city of Jalalabad killing 10 coppers.
The target of the three-hour truck bomb and gun assault was a cop shoppe near the governor's house in Jalalabad.
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HUDUR, Somalia -- Somalia's Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group imposed a blockade on Bakool regional capital of Hudur of southwestern Somalia, turning back the vehicles moving into the newly liberated town, Garowe Online reports.
Rather puts a new twist on the meaning of "liberated" town...
Speaking with Mogadishu-based radio station via telephone, Bakool Governor Mohamed Abdi Tool said that the price of food is now up after Al Shabaab group which maintains militias presence around Hudur denied trucks loaded with commercial commodities entry into the town.
They're just educating the common folk about economics the way Father Guido Sarducci would have done: "the only two words you need to know are supply and demand."
"If the trucks carrying food and other essential items veer-off the road leading to Hudur, we will take action against them, the commercial commodity will be confiscated and distributed to the needy persons," added Tool.
He voiced concern over the future prices of food as low-income families who can't afford the food inflation reside in the provincial capital of Bakool.
On 7th of March, Somali government forces aided by battalions from the neighboring country of Ethiopia liberated Hudur from Al Shabaab fighters following little resistance from the militants in the outskirts and nearby villages.
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03/21/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] There are 25 American personnel on board the oil tanker Morning Glory, which is sailing back to Libya under escort of a US warship. The American sailors are supervising transit and performing security, navigation and communication tasks, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
"The three Libyans who had taken control of the Morning Glory remain now under US control aboard the Morning Glory," he added.
The 21-person crew are also still on board the vessel. It is not known what will happen to the six Paks -- including the Captain -- six Indians, three Sri Lankans, two Syrians, two Sudanese and two Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... ns, upon arrival.
An arrest warrant was issued for them by the Attorney General, but some sources said at the time that the crew had been forced to stay in Sidra port by gunnies. The Captain's wife told Rooters that her husband and the crew were held hostage and forced at gunpoint to load oil.
The vessel, which left Libya last week carrying an illicit shipment of crude loaded, is being escorted back by the USS Stout, a guided missile destroyer.
The fun part: since the North Koreans disavowed the vessel and its registry, we're free to go through it as long as we want. Smart move...
A source in the oil industry said the vessel was expected to dock at a Libyan port on Saturday. It is not known which port it will go to first, but it is expected to unload the stolen crude at Zawia.
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[Libya Herald] Two vehicles belonging to the independent Libya TV channel were blown up this evening in a car park at the Tourist Village near Gar Younis in Benghazi. No one was hurt in the kaboom and, apart from the vehicles, one of which was completed destroyed, there was no damage. The reason for the attack is unknown.
Over the pst year there has been a steady spate of attacks on TV stations and news hounds from various quarters. Last month , the 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... headquarters of Alaseema TV ("Capital TV") was attacked twice in the space on one week.
Meanwhile in Benghazi today, Turkey sent an air ambulance to pick up five of the military students injured in Monday's car kaboom. The plane was sent, according to Turkish diplomatic sources, at the request of the Libyan authorities.
Yesterday, a soldier was shot and killed at a checkpoint in Hawari district. Balal Abdulgader Al-Nimar died immediately. His colleague, Ibrahim Abdullah Bufanara was injured and is now undergoing treatment in hospital.
Also last night, an unknown group threw bombs at Sabri cop shoppe. No one was hurt and there was no damage.
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Seven men were shot to death and another four were wounded in an apparent ambush in northern Sonora state Tuesday night, according to Mexican news reports.
An account which appeared in the online edition of Milenio news daily said that attack took place in Carborca Tuesday night in a remote location called Las Agujas.
All seven were from Sinaloa state and all were in their 20s. The victims were said to be smuggling marijuana.
According to the report a total of seven weapons magazines and 89 rounds of ammunition for AK-47 and AR-15 rifles were found in addition to a radio.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com and Boderlandbeat.com he can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com
[Ynet] A 20-year-old Florida man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to travel to the Middle East to join an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group and receive military training as part of a holy war, or jihad.
Shelton Thomas Bell admitted he recruited an unnamed juvenile and the two flew to the Middle East in 2012 with the intention of joining the Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... group, according to his plea agreement.
[An Nahar] Attacks killed eight people across Iraq Thursday, a day after bombings, shootings and shelling left 46 people dead, part of a surge in bloodshed with elections due within weeks.
The violence, Iraq's worst since 2008, has been primarily driven by discontent in the minority Sunni Arab community, which alleges mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces, and by the civil war raging in neighboring Syria.
Thursday's attacks came on the 11th anniversary of the beginning of the U.S.-led invasion that ousted now-executed dictator Saddam Hussein, illustrating the high level of violence that has plagued Iraq for much of the aftermath of his downfall.
The violence struck on the outskirts of Storied Baghdad, north of the capital in Salaheddin and Kirkuk provinces, and in the western city of Ramadi, killed eight people. Security forces also found the body of a policeman, security and medical officials said.
In Ramadi, a city that government forces wrested from partial bully boy control earlier this year, a roadside kaboom killed four coppers who were on patrol.
Security forces regained control of Ramadi after anti-government fighters overran parts of the Anbar thriving provincial capital, as well as all of the nearby city of Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... in January.
While Ramadi may be back in government hands, a stalemate persists in Fallujah.
Elsewhere, attacks in Hawijah, Sharqat, Madain and Abu Ghraib left four people dead, while the corpse of a police intelligence officer who had been kidnapped two days earlier was found in Siniyah.
The latest unrest comes after a series of nationwide attacks killed 46 people on Wednesday, including coordinated bombings targeting a cafe in western Storied Baghdad which killed 13 people, and shelling and festivities in Fallujah that left 15 dead.
More than 300 people have been killed so far this month and upwards of 2,000 since the beginning of the year, according to Agence La Belle France Presse figures based on reports from security and medical sources.
Analysts and diplomats have called for the Shiite-led authorities to do more to reach out to the disaffected Sunni minority, but with elections looming on April 30, politicians have been loath to be seen to compromise.
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[An Nahar] Jordanian border guards have intercepted two vehicles crossing from Syria loaded with arms and thousands of Captagon tablets, a drug widely used by Syrian rebels, the army announced Thursday.
The Petra news agency quoted an army official as saying one of the vehicles and its cargo was destroyed when it was fired on by border guards during the operation late on Wednesday.
The other was found to be carrying 209 weapons, which the report did not identify, and 10,000 capsules of Captagon, the brand name for the amphetamine phenethylline.
The military official gave no indication of the number of cross-border smugglers in the vehicles, nor their nationalities.
Rebels fighting to oust Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... 's regime reportedly widely use Captagon to help them cope with the rigors of battle, while sales of the drug reportedly generate millions of dollars for weapons purchases.
Jordanian authorities announced at the beginning of the year that trafficking of arms between Jordan and Syria was up by 300 percent despite hundreds of smuggling attempts being foiled by the authorities.
Commentators said Jordanians were rushing to buy arms, fearing a spillover of the conflict that has laid waste to much of neighboring Syria over the past three years.
Jordan's interior ministry estimates that while 120,000 weapons are legally registered, there are more than one million illegal arms in a country with a population of seven million.
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[Ynet] A Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli bus near the Paleostinian village of Madma, south of Nablus. No injuries were reported but damage was caused to the bus. IDF forces are searching the area.
[Ynet] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' military wing Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades say they were able to fix the tunnel exposed several months ago.
The IDF discovered a terror tunnel on Thursday near the Gazoo Strip border fence, it was cleared for publication. However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... Hamas denied the announcement, saying the army found an "old" tunnel.
In a presser on Thursday evening, Hamas' military, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed that they were able to fix a tunnel that was exposed several months ago, parts of which were destroyed by the IDF.
The Qassam Brigades stressed that it was the stormy weather that hit the area last week and caused a part of the tunnel to collapse that exposed it, and not IDF intelligence.
Hamas' military wing issued a warning to the IDF, saying the Paleostinian resistance knows how to claim a heavy price from Israel. Qassam Brigades' front man Abu Ubaidah stressed that the preparedness of the resistance organizations in Gazoo is a part of the protection of the Paleostinian people from "repeated Israeli aggression."
The IDF told Israel Radio on Thursday evening that Hamas was preparing underground outposts and command centers ahead of the possibility of an Israel ground invasion into the Gazoo Strip.
The IDF uncvered a 2.5-kilometers-long terror tunnel last October that originated in the Absan village situated between Khan Younis and the Gazoo border fence and one of its many exit points was in Israel's Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha.
At the time, troops held extensive checks along the tunnel to dismantle the explosives and locate the many holes that had been dug in it.
It is estimated it was meant to serve Death Eaters in a high-profile attack on an Israeli kindergarten.
Syria's air force on Thursday carried out fresh strikes on areas on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.
Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said Syrian warplanes carried out eight raids in two stages on Khirbet Younin on the outskirts of Arsal at noon, targeting Syrian opposition fighters.
A similar attack was made on Wadi Ajram on Thursday morning.
The new raids came after an assault on Wednesday night.
"Syrian helicopters carried out two strikes against the areas of Wadi Ajram and Khirbet Younin on the outskirts of Arsal, just after 9:00 pm" on Wednesday, said a Lebanese security official.
"The strikes caused no injuries," he told Agence France Presse.
The official said the strikes may have been targeting rebels fleeing the Qalamoun area where Syria's forces are on the offensive.
Syria's army and Hizbullah overran the rebel bastion Yabrud in the Qalamoun mountains on Sunday and are now targeting other opposition strongholds along the frontier with Lebanon.
Mainly-Sunni Arsal has been periodically targeted with often deadly air strikes by Syria's forces in the past few months.
Arsal's residents support the Syrian revolt against President Bashar Assad, and the town is hosting tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.
Smuggling routes used by opposition forces to move fighters and weapons back and forth between Lebanon and Syria pass through the Arsal area.
The state-run National News Agency said the army on Wednesday arrested 15 Syrian men at a checkpoint in Arsal.
"The men had entered Lebanese territory with forged papers, and some of them were members of (Syria's al-Qaida affiliate) al-Nusra Front."
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[Ynet] The Beirut Military Court sentenced 10 Lebanese citizens to jail for spying for Israel. Two of the defendants were sentenced with life in prison for cooperating with Israel, obtaining Israeli citizenship and joining enemy lines.
The rest of the defendants were sentenced to 15 months in prison for obtaining Israeli citizenship and entering Israel.
Whether Christian or Muslim, these count as moderate by any standard. When you have a moment, remember them. The rest of their lives are likely to be nasty, brutish and short.
[An Nahar] The Syrian army found on Wednesday a number of explosive-rigged vehicles carrying Lebanese license plates while combing through southwest of the strategic town of Yabrud.
According to the Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
, the Syrian army located a factory for manufacturing bombs in Ras al-Ain village in Yabrud and seized several booby-trapped vehicles carrying Lebanese license plates.
Al-Mayadeen Network said on Thursday that the bomb factory turned out to be a farm in al-Sarkha area near Yabrud.
The channel said that the farm contains several chambers that are specified to manufacture certain kaboom.
On Sunday, the Syrian army seized full control of rebel bastion Yabrud along the Lebanese border.
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[An Nahar] A wanted terrorist left the northeastern border town of Arsal as Lebanese authorities took a firm decision on the deployment of the army in the village, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Thursday.
Sheikh Mustafa al-Hujairi is the leader of an gang that provides logistical support to al-Qaeda linked networks Jabhat al-Nusra, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... and 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... (ISIL), the daily said.
His 200-member group, includes people who work in providing aid to Syrian refugees through a mosque and clinic run by al-Hujairi, it said.
According to the daily, the network also includes suspects who have in the past years been involved in several security incidents in and around Arsal.
Al-Hujairi and many of his aides are wanted by security forces for involvement in boom-mobileings, murders and for firing rockets on towns in Bekaa's north, al-Akhbar said.
It quoted security sources as saying that the Sheikh left Arsal after receiving a message from a Lebanese official that the law enforcement decision has been taken by authorities and "there is no going back."
The official allegedly warned him that "his fate was at stake."
But the security sources said al-Hujairi could still be hiding in the town.
They quoted him as telling the Arsal municipal chief around ten days ago that he would hide in the barren mountains of the town.
Al-Akhbar said that Interior Minister Nuhad al-Mashnouq informed several officials, who attended a security meeting at Baabda Palace on Wednesday, about reports that al-Hujairi had left Arsal ahead of the army's deployment there.
The army deployed in the town on Wednesday, reopening the main road after its closure heightened sectarian tension across the country.
Mostly Sunni Arsal had been sealed off by residents from the mainly Shiite neighboring town of al-Labweh, where one person was killed last week by rocket fire.
The closure of the main road out of Arsal prompted fury among Sunnis in other parts of Leb, and many erupted into the streets on Tuesday night to burn tires in protest.
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[An Nahar] A cache of weapons and military equipment was seized Thursday in the coastal town of Naameh, around 20 kilometers south of Beirut.
"State Security agents raided an arms depot in Naameh and seized weapons, ammunition, hand grenades and military equipment," al-Jadeed television reported.
The TV network published pictures of the confiscated items on its website.
Earlier on Thursday, al-Mayadeen TV said "security forces raided an arms depot and tossed in the calaboose Please don't kill me! a man belonging to the Salafist movement in the Naameh area."
In August 2013, around 250 kilograms of TNT and other kaboom, fuses and detonators were found in a car parked in an underground garage in Naameh.
Detained top Qaeda-linked krazed killer Naim Abbas has recently confessed that the Naameh boom-mobileing ring busted in August 2013 had links to the the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... .
The Naameh cell members are allegedly involved in the Ruweis bombing that shook Beirut's southern suburbs on August 15 2013, killing more than 20 people and wounding at least 300 others.
The Naameh ring members Issa Aa., Wissam Aa.and Khaled M. were arrested, however the whereabouts of S. B. and M. A. are still unknown.
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[An Nahar] One person was killed and dozens were maimed in fierce festivities in the northern city of 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... on Thursday as the Arab Democratic Party, the main armed and political force in Jabal Mohsen, asked residents to show calm and "leave things to the army."
"Heavy festivities are still ongoing on all the fighting frontiers in Tripoli, especially Souk al-Qameh, al-Omari Street, Haret al-Barraniyeh, al-Shaarani, al-Nasseri Mosque, Syria Street, Baal al-Darawish, al-Mallouleh, al-Mankoubin, al-Riva and Jabal Mohsen," state-run National News Agency reported in the evening.
"Dozens of rocket-propelled grenades were fired at these frontiers and the sounds of kabooms echoed across the city amid festivities with light- and medium-caliber weapons," NNA said.
Jabal Mohsen resident Mahmoud Kanjou was killed during festivities between the district and the neighboring areas of Bab al-Tabbaneh and al-Baqqar, the agency had reported in the afternoon.
The festivities also left dozens of people maimed, NNA said, identifying some of them as Abdo Harrouq, Walid al-Shami, Yahia al-Sour, Osama al-Muhtadi and Amal al-Ajam.
Army forces were shooting back at the gunnies with the appropriate weapons, the agency noted.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... Arab Democratic Party front man Abdul Latif Saleh announced that "the party has asked the victims' families in Jabal Mohsen to cease fire, show restraint and allow the Lebanese Army to address the situation."
"The party will hold a meeting with the victims' families to follow up on the issue," Saleh added.
The current round of festivities in Tripoli had erupted a week ago after the shooting death of a resident from Jabal Mohsen.
Prime Minister Tammam Salam announced on Tuesday that a comprehensive security plan will be proposed for Tripoli, while rejecting the lawlessness in the city.
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[An Nahar] Clashes intensified on Thursday between the Syrian regime troops and gunnies along the Lebanese-Syrian border with shelling and gunfire targeting Khat al-Petrol village in the Akkar border area of Wadi Khaled.
According to the state-run National News Agency, heavy gunfire and shelling from the Syrian side of the border targeted the northern town as battles flared up along the border.
The NNA reported that mortar shells hit at dawn the banks of Nahr al-Kabir in northern Leb.
Ambulances had rushed to Khat al-Patrol town after casualties were reported.
Houses along the border were also damaged during the gunbattles.
The news agency said that the battles are in the cross-border town of Bqayaa.
At least 35 Syrians maimed in the festivities were admitted to a hospital in the nearby town of al-Qobayat for treatment.
President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... contacted several officials to inquire about the aerial shelling and rocket attacks against Lebanese border towns.
"It is not acceptable that Lebanese citizens and regions remain exposed to shelling as a consequence of the Syrian conflict," Suleiman said.
"We call on these feuding factions to stop transforming Leb into a target for their attacks," he added. "Leb can't tolerate this situation any longer."
Suleiman urged army troops to control the border, noting that it must also be monitored inside Syria.
The shelling came a day after Syrian troops recaptured the town of Al-Hosn close to the border, sparking a new exodus of refugees adding to the thousands who had already sought shelter in mainly Sunni Mohammedan Wadi Khaled.
Later, the NNA reported that Syrian authorities closed the legal border crossing in Bqayaa, causing traffic to come to a halt in both directions.
Wadi Khaled residents called on the Lebanese army to interfere to stop the Syrian shelling on the area.
The international highway in the Beddawi area was shortly blocked to protest the incident.
NNA later reported that two houses burned in the village of Bani Sakher in Wadi Khaled after coming under Syrian shelling.
An army post near al-Bqayaa border crossing reportedly came under fire from the Syrian side.
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq urged the residents of the areas to reopen the roads to facilitate the transportation of the injured.
For his part, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour ordered the hospitals to receive Lebanese and Syrian people, who were maimed in the festivities.
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[An Nahar] Syrian regime forces seized the famed Crusader fort Krak des Chevaliers on Thursday, marking a significant advance in their drive to seal the Lebanese border and sever rebel supply lines.
"The Syrian Arab Army raises the flag of the nation over the Krak des Chevaliers castle in Homs province, after crushing the Death Eaters who were holed up there," state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.
The government forces entered the fort, which had been under opposition control since July 2011, after fierce festivities in the nearby village of Al-Hosn.
The Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV, a private broadcaster sympathetic to Syria's government, broadcast live images showing regime forces atop one of the castle's towers, raising the Syrian government flag.
A pro-regime militia chief said the fighting left at least 40 rebels dead, including the leader of the jihadist Jund al-Sham, Khaled al-Mahmud.
He was better known by his nom de guerre Abu Suleiman al-Muhajer, the National Defense Forces commander said.
The offensive in the Krak des Chevaliers area is one of two major operations by the Syrian army near the border with Leb aimed at cutting off rebel supply routes.
The army, backed by fighters from Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... , is also fighting to seal the border in the Qalamun region, where it seized the last major rebel bastion of Yabrud on Sunday.
Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, said he expected the army to win more strategic victories along the Homs and Damascus province borders with Leb.
Losing the border would have limited effect on the opposition's weapons supplies, he said, but "in terms of general logistics, communications, and small localized safe havens, its value is well established."
As the army shelled the area around Al-Hosn, dozens of people tried to flee for Leb.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 60 people "killed or injured" as they fled for the border.
The Britannia-based Observatory was unable to confirm a precise corpse count, but said that among the casualties were both civilians and fighters.
A Lebanese security source said some 60 people were maimed by army fire as they crossed the river that divides the two countries.
Syrian army tanks also shelled the border area, causing at least one house in northern Leb's Wadi Khaled district to burn down.
"The situation is very bad," Wadi Khaled doctor Tareq Dandashi told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"The whole of Al-Hosn has fled to Leb, and the Syrian army has been targeting them as they crossed over," he said.
Wadi Khaled resident Khaled Hussein said 130 Syrians had tried to flee to the town on Thursday, but many had been killed or injured trying.
"There are still bodies in the river" that separates Leb from Syria, he said.
The area of north Leb, whose residents are largely sympathetic to the rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators... , has come under frequent cross-border shelling by his forces.
It is home to thousands of families who have fled the three-year-old conflict.
Protesters in northern Leberupted into the streets and set up roadblocks of burning tires to express their solidarity with people in Wadi Khaled.
The Lebanese army meanwhile closed off unofficial border crossings in the north, citing the danger caused by the artillery fire.
The flare-up on Leb's northern border came hours after twin Syrian air raids Wednesday night hit the Arsal area, on the eastern border, without causing any casualties, a Lebanese security source 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.
Wow, what a view with these cool 3D Glasses...Aysun Kayacý and Paula Garcés really POP-OUT at me. 
HUDUR, Somalia -- Somalia's Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab group imposed a blockade on Bakool regional capital of Hudur of southwestern Somalia, turning back the vehicles moving into the newly liberated town, Garowe Online reports.
[Libya Herald] There are 25 American personnel on board the oil tanker Morning Glory, which is sailing back to Libya under escort of a US warship. The American sailors are supervising transit and performing security, navigation and communication tasks, a Pentagon spokesperson said.
[Ynet] A 20-year-old Florida man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to travel to the Middle East to join an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group and receive military training as part of a holy war, or jihad.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Ynet] 
Syria's air force on Thursday carried out fresh strikes on areas on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal.
[An Nahar] The Syrian army found on Wednesday a number of explosive-rigged vehicles carrying Lebanese license plates while combing through southwest of the strategic town of Yabrud.
[An Nahar] Syrian regime forces seized the famed Crusader fort Krak des Chevaliers on Thursday, marking a significant advance in their drive to seal the Lebanese border and sever rebel supply lines.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
