Hat tip William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection.
TALIBAN commanders have revealed that hundreds of insurgents have been trained in Iran to kill Nato forces in Afghanistan. But it's better for us to pressure Israel ...
The commanders said they had learnt to mount complex ambushes and lay improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which have been responsible for most of the deaths of British troops in Helmand province.
The accounts of two commanders, in interviews with The Sunday Times, are the first descriptions of training of the Taliban in Iran. According to the commanders, Iranian officials paid them to attend three-month courses during the winter. They were smuggled across the border to the city of Zahidan, in southeast Iran, an hour's drive from training camps in the desert.
Instructors in plain clothes provided daily exercises in live firing. The first month was devoted largely to teaching the Taliban how to attack convoys and how to escape before Nato forces could respond. During their second month they were shown how to plant IEDs in sequence so that the rescuers of soldiers wounded in one blast would be caught in further explosions. The third month was spent on storming bases and checkpoints. A hilltop fort was among the locations used for practice by a Taliban platoon. Sounds like an advanced infantry course ...
Local mediators persuaded the commanders to travel to Kabul to tell their stories. They were interviewed on separate occasions on the edge of the city.
Western officials troubled by growing Iranian support for the Taliban describe the accounts as credible. A military crackdown in Pakistan is thought to have encouraged Taliban leaders to look to Iran for more help.
One of the commanders said: "The military is pressuring the Taliban in Pakistan. It is certainly harder to reach places that were once easy to get into. I think more of my fighters will travel to Iran for training this year."
Karl Eikenberry, the American ambassador to Afghanistan, recently described signs of co-operation between Iran and the Taliban as disturbing. "Iran or elements within Iran have provided training assistance and some weapons to the Taliban," he said.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has publicly backed his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai. But American and British officials have accused Iran of playing a double game by giving covert backing to the Taliban.
Shi'ite Iran had long opposed the Sunni-dominated Taliban. The reason for the change was summarised by one Taliban commander who said of the Iranians: "Our religions and our histories are different but our target is the same. We both want to kill Americans."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
IRGC scumbags and the hezzie friends.
Iran has a pure evil government to the core.
Kill them all if military action must be sought.
#3
Been brewing a very long time. They need bloodied.
Wik: 53 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in support of the Iranian Revolution.
It became known as "the battle of Crossing Point One". In a series of suicidal attacks late last year, hard-core Taliban fighters tried to over-run an isolated British base on the northern tip of Nad e'Ali. Had the insurgents succeeded, the victory would have been a propaganda coup par excellence, and the British mission in central Helmand could have been seriously jeopardised.
For two gruelling weeks in the area of Luy Mandah, 30 soldiers fought a 360-degree battle with the Taliban in the most arduous conditions. The combat was often at close quarters where bayonets were fixed and hand grenades became the weapons of choice for the beleaguered British troops. By the battle's end, every man in the platoon was credited with at least one Taliban kill.
The battle proper began on the night of November 4 last year, just a few hours after five members of the battlegroup in another part of the district were shot dead by a rogue Afghan policeman. The troops' morale had been dented three weeks earlier when a member of their company had been fatally wounded by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Such was the force of the blast that Guardsman Jamie Janes suffered a quadruple amputation. As the troops carried Janes's shattered body back to their base, they were ambushed by Taliban. Scores needed to be settled.
The troops from 5 Platoon No 2 Company 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, commanded by Lieutenant Craig Shephard, 24, and Sergeant Dean Bailey, 36, decided to exploit the Taliban's fondness for attacking wounded soldiers by constructing an ambush based on a fake IED strike. After the explosives were detonated, the Taliban -- as expected -- quickly appeared with a two-man Pakistani sniper team leading the way. As the British troops pulled back to the base, the Pakistanis were shot dead by hidden British snipers -- both dispatched with head shots from 400 metres. When the Taliban pushed forward towards the base, they were cut down by raking machine-gun fire and Javelin missiles. After two hours of fighting, 10 Taliban lay dead.
"The ambush was a case of thinking out of the box," recalled Lt Shephard. "We wanted to outsmart them by using their tactics. We knew that they would ambush what they thought was an IED attack so we set up a trap."
The following day, the platoon commander led a patrol to assess the damage. But this time the Taliban was waiting. "At the time, I called it a 'simple patrol' -- I will never use that phrase again," said Lt Shephard. As the patrol pushed into enemy territory, it was ambushed. Accurate and sustained machine-gun fire and barrages of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) kept the troops pinned down for almost an hour.
"The fire was so intense and accurate -- we simply couldn't move," recalled Sgt Bailey. "If we had tried to move, we would have been cut to pieces."
The troops eventually managed to withdraw after a smoke screen was laid by mortar fire. But as they pulled back to the relative safety of the base, the Taliban attacked in force.
"You couldn't make it up," the sergeant added. "There were four sangar [sentry posts] in the corners of our compound being hit at the same time. It was 360-degree warfare."
As the base came under intense fire, a group of Taliban used an irrigation ditch to move up to one of the compound's rear walls. There was a real risk that the insurgents might breach the base's security. With little thought for his personal safety, and knowing that drastic action was required, Sgt Bailey, with two of his corporals, filled their ammunition pouches with grenades, fixed bayonets, and charged 50 metres across a field to reach the wall behind which dozens of Taliban were preparing for an assault.
"We lobbed high-explosive grenades into the ditch from behind the wall. It worked. We killed or injured them all," said Sergeant Bailey.
The fighting lasted for most of the day. By sunset, the British troops estimated they had killed another 30 Taliban -- bringing the number of enemy dead to 40 in less than 24 hours.
Back in enemy territory, a force of around 100 to 150 Taliban fighters -- including Chechens, Arabs and English-speaking Islamists from south Asia -- was preparing more attacks. Their original plan was to create havoc for the second round of the presidential elections, but after they were cancelled, Taliban commanders focused their attention on Crossing Point One.
The battle continued for days with such regularity that the soldiers knew that it would begin in the morning after breakfast, followed by a lull at midday, and would then continue until sunset. "It was like Zulu," said Sgt Bailey. "The Taliban just kept coming and coming. It was suicidal. The more they sent, the more we killed."
As the assaults continued, commanders were forced to trawl the whole of Helmand for Javelin missiles, a high-powered rocket used against enemy forces hiding in compounds. In two months of fighting, 4 Platoon fired 47, more than the rest of the British force in Helmand combined.
As the days passed, some of the men became exhausted. Back at the main company location in Patrol Base Shaheed, the officer commanding No 2 Company, Maj Richard Green, pulled some of his men out of the front line just for a few hours' rest. There was a real danger that battle fatigue might take root.
"I started to rotate the guys after a week. They were shattered. But it was everything you wanted from leadership. The guys were tested to the limit -- no one let me down."
Lt Shephard, who joined the Army in 2007, said: "Every platoon commander wants to come to Afghanistan and have 'their fight'. But you have to be careful what you wish for. We were lucky. We got away without any serious casualties."
#1
"The troops ... decided to exploit the Taliban's fondness for attacking wounded soldiers by constructing an ambush based on a fake IED strike. After the explosives were detonated, the Taliban - as expected - quickly appeared with a two-man Pakistani sniper team leading the way. As the British troops pulled back to the base, the Pakistanis were shot dead by hidden British snipers - both dispatched with head shots from 400 metres. When the Taliban pushed forward towards the base, they were cut down by raking machine-gun fire and Javelin missiles. After two hours of fighting, 10 Taliban lay dead.
'The ambush was a case of thinking out of the box,' recalled Lt Shephard. 'We wanted to outsmart them by using their tactics. We knew that they would ambush what they thought was an IED attack so we set up a trap.'"
The standard tactical box needs to be made a whole lot larger from the outset, IMO.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Large crowds of anti-war demonstrators have gathered in the US and several other countries to mark the 7th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
In the Washington DC, thousands of people gathered near the White House in the largest demonstration against the extra deployment of US troops to Afghanistan. The coalition of anti-war groups was led by military veterans as well as high-profile activists such as Ralph Nader and Cindy Sheehan.
Despite promising to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan during his campaign, US President Barack Obama recently approved the deployment of some 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan. The move would increase US presence in Afghanistan to more than 100,000 troopers.
Similar rallies were also held in Japan, where around 600 protesters called for the complete withdrawal of US-led troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the Philippines, protesters gathered outside the US embassy in Manila to demand an end to the American occupation of the two war-torn countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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not a word about the protest against obamas government suck care. Far many more protesters.
U.S. drones fired missiles Sunday at a house and car in a militant-dominated tribal region near the Afghan border, killing at least four people, officials said.
The attack occurred in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, two intelligence officials said.
The drones fired three missiles, they added, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The identities of those killed were not known, though the region is dominated by the Taliban's Haqqani network, which is blamed for launching attacks across the border against American and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
[Geo News] Fourteen militants including two commanders in an exchange of fire between Taliban and local residents in Kurram agency, Geo News reported Saturday. Those killed include two militants' commanders Jungal Badshah and Ayub. Armed militants attacked the houses of peace committee members, who were working against Taliban, Friday night. In the attack, two people were killed and three injured. In a counter attack from peace committee members, 14 militants were killed and seven injured. During the Jirga (tribe council meeting) in Kurram agency Thursday, some pro-government tribesmen opened fire on a group of Pakistani Taliban, leaving 21 militants dead and several others injured. Meanwhile, seven militants were killed in a military action backed by gunship helicopters targeting militants' positions in Orakzai Agency. A training camp and two hideouts were destroyed.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] At least two suspected militants were killed during a search operation in Haleemzai Tehsil of Mohmand Agency on Saturday.
Official sources said that arrests had also been made in GhaziBaig area of Haleemzai Tehsil. The search operation was conducted after three security forces personnel were injured earlier in the day when militants attacked a security checkpost in Safi Tehsil.
Militants also blew up a government primary school for boys in the Gurbaz area of the Safi Tehsil.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] A counterterrorism official said police had arrested three Taliban militants and seized a bomb-making factory in Karachi.
Raja Omar Khatab says police raided a house in the city's industrial area on Saturday and forced the militants to surrender after a gunbattle. No one was injured.
"The three men, who belong to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were arrested from the Site industrial area during a police encounter on Saturday morning," a senior police official, Raja Omar Khittab told AFP.
"We are interrogating the three TTP militants," Khittab said, adding: "We also seized a bomb-making laboratory in the nearby Qaim Khan Colony on the basis of information provided by the rebels."
He said the arrested men were planning "big terror attacks" in Karachi, adding that police recovered a huge quantity of explosives, detonators and other equipment from the laboratory.
Local intelligence officials confirmed the arrests and said Subhan Ghani, one of the three men, was leader of the trio.
He says that after their arrest, the suspects led police elsewhere to the bomb factory. A large number of explosives, detonators and other bomb-making material was seized.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The Anti Terrorist Squad arrested two alleged militants from the Raiwind area in Lahore on Saturday and recovered explosives and suicide jackets from their possession.
Police sources revealed that they seized around 200kg of explosives and have handed over the arrested terrorists to law enforcement agencies for further interrogation.
Police have conducted several raids across the city after the recent spate of terror attacks in Lahore. Around 4,500kg of explosives and suicide jackets were recovered in Allama Iqbal Town last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: Five Iraqi servicemen were injured when two explosive devices hit their patrol in northern Mosul, a military source said today.
On Saturday, two explosive devices went off consecutively in al-Ziraie neighborhood, northern Mosul, wounding five patrolmen,' the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
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03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: One Iraqi policeman has been injured in a hand grenade blast in Mosul City, a local security source said on Saturday.
This evening, a hand grenade hit a Federal Police patrol in al-Zanjali area, western Mosul, wounding one patrolman,' the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The source did not provide more details.
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Israeli troops have shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian youth and injured another critically in the West Bank village of Iraq Burin, medics say.
The Palestinians were holding a demonstration near an Israeli settlement in the area to protest an Israeli plan to expand settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Palestinians are also angry at Israel's decision to re-open a synagogue in Jerusalem al-Quds close to the al-Aqsa Mosque Compound.
The clashes began after the demonstrators tried to defend their property against Israeli settlers. Then, the Israeli armored Border Police invaded the village of Iraq Burin of 1,100 residents and started shooting randomly at the Palestinian civilians with tear gas canisters and live ammunition.
Residents said that three people were arrested and their houses were raided.
One Palestinian was killed on the spot and another was seriously injured and is in critical condition at the hospital.
Medics said Muhammad Qadus, 16, was struck by a live bullet fired by Israeli forces in the village, south of Nablus.
Qadus was transported to a local hospital by a private car after Israeli forces prevented a Red Crescent ambulance called to the scene, medics said. The teenager was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, they added.
A statement from the Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said that Qadus "was shot in the back, indicating he could not have been posing any threat to the soldiers who shot him."
Another 16-year-old Palestinian boy, identified as Useid Abed an-Nasser Qadus, was seriously injured. Medics said he sustained a live bullet to the stomach and was transferred to a hospital for emergency surgery.
The international community has condemned the Israeli plan to build new 1,600 settlement units on occupied Palestinian territories. The move has widely been viewed as a setback to efforts to resume the stalled peace process.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Jerusalem al-Quds
WTF??? when did that name kick in?
Posted by: Mike Hunt ||
03/21/2010 1:56 Comments ||
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Two Palestinians who attempted to stab a soldier with a pitchfork and a broken glass bottle near the Hawara checkpoint in Samaria were killed by IDF fire on Sunday afternoon. The soldier was not hurt in the attack.
Government troops chased down a group of Abu Sayyaf terrorists militants who killed two government militiamen in the southern Philippines, seriously wounding a leading terrorist militant blamed for deadly attacks and kidnappings, officials said Sunday.
About 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen staged an attack Saturday that killed two militiamen near mountainous Sumisip township on Basilan island. Reinforcement troops later caught up with the attackers and seriously wounded and possibly killed their leader, Abugao Bayali, said Rear Adm. Alex Pama, who heads a counterterrorism force. "He's one of the more notorious commanders and we've worked very hard to get him," Pama said.
A military report said Bayali was wanted for deadly attacks last year that killed at least eight people, including village leaders and policemen in Sumisip, where he maintained a stronghold.
Bayali was involved in at least three kidnappings for ransom and used homemade bombs in two attacks last month against government troops in Basilan, a predominantly Muslim island about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, the report said. Last month, he led a brutal attack that killed a militiaman and 10 civilians in the Basilan village of Tubigan, according to the report.
Bayali was believed to have given sanctuary to Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir, a US-trained engineer wanted by Washington for allegedly having given bomb-making training to the Abu Sayyaf.
#1
Netanyahu is a tough negotiator. He's not easily impressed by pomp, circumstances, soaring rhetoric, and torture of the truth. He will probably offer to make concessions (maybe) regarding the 1600 units to be built in East Palestine (which are not built yet) in exchange for bunker buster bombs and long range bombers. Our "community organizer in chief" will come away feeling like he has been dismantled by a pro. He only will wish Bret Baier was interviewing him. Better wear your cup Barry.
#2
ION WAFF > THE OTHER THREAT TO ISRAEL [Israeli "Brain Drain" from Israel proper, espec as affected by Hezbollah's acquisition of LRBMS, etc. capable of hitting all of Israel from Lebanon].
#3
Excellent strategic move by Netanyahu. Soetoro will issue a resounding 'HELL NO.' Netanyahu will respond with oncea again tightening the blockade and increasing settler housing construction. Arms can be purchased from the French. Everyone knows, that's why God made the French.
A Lebanese military judge has filed a lawsuit against four people on charges of collaborating with the Israeli regime.
The suspects have reportedly been giving information on military sites, civilians and Hezbollah officials.
This is while Beirut complains of Israel carrying out reconnaissance flights over Lebanon almost on a daily basis.
In February, the Lebanese army arrested six people, including retired security officials, on suspicion of spying for two separate Israeli-linked espionage networks operating in the North and South of the country.
Last May, Lebanese security forces, with the help of Hezbollah, tracked down a large spy network with Tel Aviv links.
The wave of arrests began in April 2009 with the detention of a former brigadier general of the General Security directorate.
More than 70 people including policemen and security officials have been detained since the start of the crackdown on spies, which senior Lebanese security officials say has dealt a major blow to Israel's espionage networks in the country.
Many of the suspects are said to have played key roles in identifying Hezbollah targets that were bombed during Israel's 2006 war against Lebanon.
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03/21/2010 00:00 ||
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"IntelNews reported on Friday that a Syrian man was shot dead in Budapest on Wednesday morning, as he was driving his car. Witnesses reported that the assailant stole a small black briefcase from the 52-year-old victim's vehicle, before fleeing the scene of the crime on foot. It also emerged that, in the week prior to the mysterious shooting, Hungarian air controllers located two Israeli Gulfstream spy planes hovering over the Hungarian capital, close to the airport, where Wednesday's shooting occurred."
Israel had a Green Light to go after every scumbag they have on the books right now.
Keep them so busy with loss that no one has time to move a muscle.
Light of the Nations needs to set precedent now in eliminating the concourse of the riff raff while the world's leaders are aghast at the current US leadership.
Bang the bangers everywhere they are and bang them all.
We need a strong Israel doing all the things they are accused of doing.... and more.
#3
It was in the news last week that those Israeli planes were doing what they were pre-cleared by the Hungarians to do (I disremember the details.)
I am much more curious as to who the Syrian was and what was in his briefcase - was this just some random mugging murder of some guy or a planned hit and snatch of something significant?
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.
NINEWA / Aswat al-Iraq: One Iraqi policeman has been injured in a hand grenade blast in Mosul City, a local security source said on Saturday.
