Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Prince Naif said that the Kingdom had received more than 30 Saudi detainees extradited by Syria. According to press reports, Syria arrested more than 300 Saudis over the past few weeks on suspicion they were en route to Iraq to fight alongside insurgents. Prince Naif refuted suggestions that new terror cells were in the making after Saudi security forces made remarkable success in a nationwide clampdown on Al-Qaeda militants. However, he pointed out that police had arrested some suspects who were planning to join the terror group.
Ummm... Doesn't that leave 270 of them still be be accounted for?
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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How many were killed in Operation Matador? These were their replacements. And there's more where these came from. Wonder why the Syrians stopped them this time.
#2
Might be because the thought of those US and Iraqi forces along the border was ... worry making to Assad. He knows damn well that the flow of jihadis through his country into Iraq, often with Syrian papers, gives the elected Iraqi government ample justification to pursue fighters across his border - and to bring along with their allies (the U.S.).
Posted by: too true ||
05/30/2005 6:51 Comments ||
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"Hmmm... That's unusual. They've neveer caught fire before..."
Three military helicopters parked at an airport in northeastern Qassim region caught fire Saturday evening, the director general of public affairs at the Armed Forces said. "The fire did not cause any casualties, but damaged buildings adjoining the hangar," the official said, adding that an investigation has been launched to find out the cause of the fire.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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A Yemeni security court yesterday sentenced a mosque preacher to death and jailed another for eight years for spying and supporting a rebellion last year. The court handed the death sentence to Yahya Hussein Al-Dailami and sentenced Muhammad Ahmad Muftah to eight years in prison for "having contacts with the state of Iran with the aim of harming the diplomatic and political position of Yemen".
Cheeze. They actually sentenced a preacher to the high jump. Of course, he is a Shiite...
Both men were accused of supporting a rebellion led by radical Shiite leader Hussein Badruddin Al-Houthi. The two men conspired to overthrow the country's republican system and established the Sanaa Youth organization to carry out their plot, presiding judge Najeeb Al-Qaderi said. He said Al-Dailami had maintained contacts with the Iranian ambassador to Yemen and asked him to offer support to his group. Dailami also "traveled to Iran and made contact with the Iranian state seeking support for an Islamic revolution in Yemen," Al-Qaderi said. On Oct. 3, the same court sentenced a judge to 10 years in jail after finding him guilty of backing Al-Houthi.
That puts Yemen on Iran's poop list. Expect a hit attempt on Saleh in the near future...
On May 14, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a general amnesty for rebels who were involved in two waves of bloody fighting with government forces in northern Yemen. Authorities announced in mid-April that the army had completed an offensive against Al-Houthi's followers after capturing their strongholds in Saada. Some 525 troops and hundreds of rebels were killed in fierce fighting that broke out on March 28 in the mountainous areas of Saada, 250 km from Sanaa, officials said. The battles followed another revolt led by Al-Houthi's son, Hussein, who was killed by the army last September after leading a nearly three-month rebellion that left more than 400 insurgents and troops killed. Al-Houthi, 81, and a handful of his aides are still on the run since his revolt was crushed last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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Colombia's army has made the biggest seizure of ammunition in the country's history, a top commander has said. Gen Carlos Alberto Ospina said the arms were found in the southern jungle base of left-wing rebels the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). Half a million rifle bullets, grenades and other explosives were stashed in an underground chamber, he said. Gen Ospina said the arms cache was discovered in a huge, cement-lined hole covered with thick vegetation, in the state of Caqueta. "This is the biggest seizure of ammunition ever made in Colombia," he said.
Shamil Basayev, the elusive and nihilistic leader of many of Chechnya's guerrillas and terrorists, claimed late Saturday that a group of his saboteurs had set fire to one of Moscow's most important opera and ballet theaters. He said the possibility of more such operations was growing each day. The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater, second in stature only to the Bolshoi Theater, was severely damaged by a fire on Friday. Its cause, still under investigation, has not been announced. A fire official said on Russian television that arson had not been ruled out.
Mr. Basayev, who said last year that he organized the seizure of the public school in Beslan that ended with more than 330 deaths, is Russia's most wanted man. Bald, bearded and prone to sneering wisecracks and chilling acts of violence, Mr. Basayev, who lost a foot when he stepped on a land mine in 2000, has often spoken through a separatist Web site, www. kavkazcenter.com. Last Friday, the Web site claimed to have received an e-mail message from Mr. Basayev in which he said his Islamic saboteurs were behind a power failure earlier in the week that had left millions here without electricity. The Kremlin dismissed the claim as unfounded.
Late Saturday, in another posting on the Web site, Mr. Basayev said "a report was received today from one of our sabotage groups who have been given the task of destroying economic, political, administrative and cultural propagandist centers" in Russia, especially in Moscow. The group, he said, burned down the theater. He also claimed to have assembled many supporters of his jihad, including Muslims from unspecified nations, Russians and numerous "non-Muslim sympathizers." The veracity of the message could not be independently confirmed.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2005 12:59 ||
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Sham, ol' buddy...you might REALLY want to consider keeping your mouth shut and your head down, 'kay?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/30/2005 13:43 Comments ||
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Wow! Now he can claim experience as an arsonist too on his resume. Lets see now... theft, rape, murder, carnal knowledge of children, murder of children, torture, trespassing, kidnapping, extorsion, impersonating a jihadist and mujahdin, impersonating a muslim and defiling the koran and Holy Scriptures, violating traffic signs, unlawful use of firearms, unlawful possession and use of explosives and munitions, disrupting the peace, urinating in public, breaking & entering, robbery, assault, conspiracy, use and transport of stolen narcotics for resale, peeking through windows and cracks of doors at people using the bathroom, breaking curfew, destruction of public property, hooliganism, cow tipping, violating immigration and custom laws, conducting business with known organized crime members, subversion, endangering minors, theft of sevices, shoplifting, pandering obscene materials, lying, and many other things that real Muslims would certainly be ashamed of but are too gross or disgusting to list here. Basayev aka "ghavnicka" is a good reminder to castrate or hobble certain breeds of swine before they become mature. Its true that he is hobbled now and hops around on his one good split hoof left. Rumor that a young convert that he took a particular liking to almost completed the needed castration. He missed though, and Basayev handed him over to one of his lesser porkers as a reward. basayev knows this and so do a few others... but its kept vewy vewy quiet while they sneak around Moscow late at nite looking for fresh trollops. Basayev got in touch with his feminine side... and so did some of his associates... like him, they didn't like that side and are now into touching the masculine side... they are much more content and now you know the rest of the story. If someone can spare the money, please send a copy of "Deliverance" to Basayev.. CD only. The other copy got wore out.
Russian security officials killed a top separatist fighter in a gunfight in eastern Chechnya on Monday, Russian military officials said.
Mansur Magomayev was killed after he refused arrest during a special operation in the eastern city of Gudermes, according to a statement from the regional headquarters for Russian forces in the North Caucasus. NTV broadcast footage of heavily armed soldiers bursting through a gate at a home, and later showed a man it identified as Magomayev lying face down on the ground.
Guns, explosives, ammunition, night-vision goggles and other equipment were found at the house, the statement said.
Also Monday, more than 100 people demonstrated outside the government headquarters in the Chechen capital, Grozny, calling for authorities to do more to locate three men in their 50s who were kidnapped more than a month ago and were allegedly being held at a regional government detention center.
Chechen authorities have refused to comment on the men's whereabouts.
Chechnya has been at war for most of the past decade, with separatist fighters based largely in the southern mountainous areas waging hit-and-run guerrilla attacks on Russian forces. Kidnapping are rampant and the violence regularly spills over to neighboring regions, either in the form of criminal gang turf-wars or separatist fighting.
In Karachayevo-Cherkessia, a region west of Chechnya, a police officer and two civilians were killed on Sunday night outside a store in the regional capital, police officials said.
The officer worked for the regional organized crime-fighting division and was accompanied by a retired Interior Ministry officer, said Interior Ministry spokesman Alexei Polyansky. A bystander was also killed.
This article starring:
MANSUR MAGOMAIEV
Chechnya
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2005 12:57 ||
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WASHINGTON, May 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. deployment of 15 stealth jets in South Korea may be designed to put pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program. The Pentagon has confirmed the deployment. That along with a decision to end the U.S. military's search for soldiers missing in action since the Korea War is seen as part of a new push by the Bush government to further isolate the Asian communist country, the New York Times reported Monday.
If the NYT reported it, I'd check the hangers again. You know, just to be sure.
The Pentagon said it acted to ensure American troops' safety in the "uncertain environment" created by North Korea's unwillingness to participate in the six-party talks on its nuclear program, the Times said.
The Pentagon says the F-117 stealth fighters are part of preparation for a long-planned training exercise. But the Times said it comes at a time when China, South Korea and some U.S. experts want the administration to make a more specific offer to North Korea.
I think a JDAM down Kimmies chimney would be specific
North Korea has called the deployment "a risky prelude to war."
But then they say the same thing when one of our GIs shines his boots the wrong way.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/30/2005 14:35 ||
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B-2s on Guam are not quite the same message as F-117s flying just a few minutes away. Those new elevator shoe detectors should give Kimmie something to think about too.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/30/2005 19:06 Comments ||
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#3
If nothing else, this should get a "sea of fire" broadcast.
#4
B-2s on Guam are not quite the same message as F-117s flying just a few minutes away
It does with the new APQ-11Teen Threat Annunciator and Fighter Spooker. The B-2 can carry 498 of these balsa B-29 reflectors which makes it look like General LeMay is back in charge and on the way.
Some of the five Navy ships deploying unexpectedly from the East Coast will be spending their deployment in the Mediterranean, according to Navy officials. The ships and their 2,500 sailors are making the deployment, according to a press release from the Norfolk, Va.-based 2nd Fleet, to "detect [and] disrupt international terrorist organizations' use of the maritime environment."
Heading east will be the amphibious assault ship USS Saipan, the amphibious transport ship USS Nashville, the frigate USS Nicholas, the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and dock landing ship USS Gunston Hall. Neither 6th Fleet public affairs officer Cmdr. Cate Mueller nor 2nd Fleet officials would say which of the ships would remain in the Mediterranean. Those that do stay will "be engaging in a variety of productive theater security cooperation exercises, events and operations ⊠which are invaluable contributions to the international fight against terrorism," Mueller said. "These ships are coming for identified purposes, not just for a regularly scheduled deployment, and we are eager to put them to work ⊠."
The ships will be working in conjunction with other nations, including NATO allies and countries in northern Africa, she said. The deployments are being made through the Fleet Response Plan, which last summer deployed dozens of ships, including seven aircraft carrier groups. FRP is designed to get ships ready for deployment sooner than in the past and keep them ready longer in case they are called to deploy unexpectedly, according to 2nd Fleet commander Vice Adm. Mark Fitzgerald. The Saipan, Nashville and Gunston Hall are designed to carry Marines and their equipment, but a 2nd Fleet public affairs official said the ships won't be taking the Marines, only their regular complement of sailors.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 12:35 ||
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#1
Marine assault ships with no Marines on them? Something's up. They must have gotten wind of a possible WMD transfer from Africa/Middle East to Europe, is my guess. Hope they find whatever it is they're looking for.
#8
To a lay person it looks like predeployment of hardware for an amphibious assault. I wonder where? Try as I might, I can't expand the list beyond Syria.
#11
Thanks Fred for posting the article, sorry I just left in the comments section but the kids (big and small)were screaming at me to get off the computer...had to hop for the BBQ.
Dittos,I have similar thoughts as you guys stated..*Something up*..with all human traffic from Africa to Italy and who knows what all is happening along the coast..Horn of Africa,North Africa,Malta,etc.
Posted by: R ||
05/30/2005 22:55 Comments ||
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The Abu Hafs al-Misri Brigades have called their 'sleeping' European cells to action with a message published on some of the most important Islamist internet forums saying: "We ask all waiting mujahideen, wherever they are, to carry out the planned attack." The message follows months of silence from the group which claimed responsibility for the Madrid train bombings on March 11 last year and threatened Italy last summer.
This time, part of the message is addressed directly to the European cells. The first part of the 'Message to the mujahideen in Europe', however, is directed at the Iraqi groups and reads: "We of the Abu Hafs al-Misri Brigades call on all our cells in Iraq to close ranks and start the bloody war against the enemies of Islam. We send out a message to America and its allies, wherever they are, to state that we will not let the sacrilege of the Koran pass unnoticed and there all be a reply in the future."
The second part of the message refers to the supposed attack that sleeping cells should carry out in Europe. "The truth about the infidel crusade has become obvious," the document says, calling on the cells to carry out the planned attack "after the infidels declared war on Islam, desecrating the noble Book that is the Holy Koran. But we also send a message to all those locked up in the prisons of the tyrants," it continues, "from Fes to Guantanamo: the dawn is near and so too is victory."
The message clearly states that it is the alleged desecration of the Koran by guards in the US-run Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba that should spur the dorment European cells to action.
In the last few weeks thousands of Muslims have taken to the streets in Pakistani, Palestinian, Egyptian, Iraqi and Afghan cities to protest against the desecration reported, and later retracted, by Newsweek magazine.
The authenticity of the latest internet statement, which is dated May 29, has not been verified, but it was published on the forums normally used for messages from the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who is believed to have been injured. The message has prompted heated debate on some fundamentalist websites, among those who believe it is authentic and those who dismiss it as a fake.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2005 12:42 ||
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How abot this, "kiss my ass." Buch of cowards who only go after women and children. Oh yea Islam is great, a great big bunch of coward baby killers.
A self-described martial arts experts and a physician, both U.S. citizens, have been arrested on a charge of conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda and are expected to be arraigned on Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department said on Sunday.
A complaint filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday alleges Tarik Ibn Osman Shah and Rafiq Sabir offered to provide assistance to al Qaeda during multiple meetings with a confidential source and an undercover FBI agent posing as an al Qaeda operative and recruiter, the Justice Department said in a statement.
During the course of the investigation, Shah and Sabir allegedly pledged their support and loyalty to al Qaeda and its leader, Osama Bin Laden, in conversations that were recorded with their consent, the statement said.
Shah allegedly agreed to provide training in martial arts and hand-to-hand combat to al Qaeda members and associates while Sabir allegedly agreed to provide medical assistance to wounded jihadists in Saudi Arabia, the statement said.
Travel records indicate that Sabir was scheduled to leave for Saudi Arabia on June 2, the statement said.
Shah was arrested by FBI agents in the Bronx area of New York this weekend while Sabir was arrested in the area of Boca Raton, Florida. Both were expected to be arraigned on Tuesday. If convicted, each could face a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a fine of $250,000, the Justice Department said.
The complaint further charges that "Shah repeatedly indicated his desire to train Muslim brothers in the martial arts in order to wage jihad and also regularly discussed his desire to find people who were willing to press the fight."
Shah allegedly presented himself and his "partner" Sabir, whom he referred to as a skilled medical doctor living in Florida, as a "package" deal, the Justice Department said.
#1
After SJR:23 what does it take before someone is formally charged with treason during time of war? Has the judiciary eliminated treason from the books without telling anyone? And before you try to rationalize it away, SJR:23, Section 2.(b)(1) is specific on invocation of the state of war.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 08:51 ||
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To our RB vets, thank you for your service. To our fallen friends and family, thank you for your sacrifice. Neither will be forgotten.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 8:53 Comments ||
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Went to my Dad's and Uncle's graves with wife and young son yesterday. Their headstones had flags planted by cemetary staff as did all the vets buried there. We are a small village whose population during WWII and Korean war was less than 2,500 and grew a little to over 4,000 during Vietnam. I would say that over 20percent of the graves had flags (only vets got them). Thats considerable. Also down at Memorial Park there is a monument to all those who gave their lives during WWI, WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Looks to be over 100 for WWI and the same for the other wars. That is a lot of young men (and women) for a small village. I wonder how many small villages and farm towns around the country have the same contribution - probably all of them. Sacrifice for liberty, justice and the freedom we all enjoy - the ultimate Americanism - you selfish, left wing, euroloving, paleo scarf wearing, eastern establishment elitist pricks!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/30/2005 9:50 Comments ||
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took flowers to my Dad's grave at Ft. Rosecrans - the boy scouts had put out 80,000 flags. Beautiful
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 9:56 Comments ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 10:12 Comments ||
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#5
Still the best recognition uttered long ago by another American president, appropriate today as then -
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground -- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.
It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth." - A.Lincoln
#7
Nice parade, service, and speech at the County Seat. The POW/MIA folks had a POW cage in the parade. It made a big impression on the 9 year old. Some times a stranger can make an impression a parent never can. Your efforts are worth it.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
05/30/2005 11:17 Comments ||
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My dad's buried in California, so I expect my mom and brother to do the honors. Thank goodness I can still call my Father in law to give my thanks to him for his service. And I'll be thinking about a friend of mine who also served. What I'll remember about them is told here.
#9
Flying back in my plane from Homer, Alaska on Friday, I flew over the military cemetery at Ft. Richardson. Makes one humble, thankful, many emotions. So many gave up their futures so we could live without fear. I have been telling my young son about these people. He, in turn, will tell his friends. I thought about all the buddies my dad had in WW2 that he told about, that never came home. He told me about his best buddy Schmitty who committed suicide in 1965 after 20+ years of survivor's guilt from Peleliu. They all are part of us. They need to stay in our thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/30/2005 12:57 Comments ||
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#10
He told me about his best buddy Schmitty who committed suicide in 1965 after 20+ years of survivor's guilt from Peleliu. They all are part of us.
Rest easy AP, my Dad made 4 assault landings, Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo and after Saipan figured the odds.... He's lived every day after like as gift and laughs every morning. :) He's 81. 4th Marines Divison.
West Boca · A 50-year-old doctor was arrested Saturday morning on a federal terrorism charge. Dr. Rafiq Abdus Sabir was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He was being held in the Palm Beach County Jail waiting to appear in U.S. District Court.
U.S. Department of Justice spokesman Charles Miller in Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the charge against Sabir. FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela also declined to comment. Spokesmen from the Department of Homeland Security could not be reached for comment, despite an attempt by phone.
"None of us will say any more!"
The charge Sabir faces is from a 1996 law making it a crime for anyone in the United States to knowingly aid terrorist organizations. The maximum sentence for conviction is 15 years in prison.
The charge against Sabir was posted on the Palm Beach County Jail's Web site after he was booked at 1:26 p.m., but later was removed from the Web site on orders of the FBI. "My boss, Maj. Christopher Kneisley, made it very clear to me the FBI and the other federal agencies didn't want this information to be released," said Sgt. Konstandinos Patzanakidis, a jail official. "We're going to do whatever they want us to do."
FBI agents swarmed Sabir's home at about 7 a.m., neighbor Dan Kozan said. A woman who answered the door at his home in the gated Villa San Remo community west of Boca Raton on Saturday afternoon said only, "There's nothing to talk about."
"I will say no more!"
Dr. Daniel McBride, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Boca Raton and a friend of Sabir, said Sabir works in the emergency rooms of two hospitals in Palm Beach County. "That's absurd," McBride said of the charge against Sabir. "He is a quality guy and a quality physician. He's all about helping others. That's why he became a doctor.
"It would shock me beyond belief if [the allegation] was true."
Prepare to be shocked.
Sabir graduated from City College of New York with a bachelor's degree in biology and in 1981 graduated from Columbia University's medical school with a specialty in emergency medicine, according to Florida state records and Columbia's alumni Web site. He practiced in the New York City area in the 1980s and '90s before moving to Florida. Sabir received his Florida driver's license in 2002 and his medical license in 2003.
Article doesn't say if he's American born but he sure is American trained. Columbia's a very respectable med school.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2005 01:14 ||
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This article with photo says Sabir is US-born, converted from Catholicism in high school. His ex-wife had nothing but good things to say about him. She neglected to say why she is no longer married to him.
#2
Nobody ever picks up that, in these cases, the guys are all normal on the outside, and America-loathing fanatics on the inside. "But he's such a nice guy!" they shout as the feds lead him off. Here's a thought: maybe they know how to keep cool and not blow their cover? Jeez...every single time we get one of these, it's the same way. And yet nobody ever pauses to think that maybe it's a pattern.
500K in med school loans? Something smells rotten. VERY rotten.
My employer has a med school. Tuition is about 34K a year; add another 5-6K a year for incidental expenses. Add another 10 to 12K a year to live like a student. If you borrowed every single penny (and you could), you'd owe about 200K coming out. That's a whole lot of money, it forces itself into career decisions --
-- and it's less than half of what this guy supposedly owes. For an additional 300K (75K a year) I could live like a prince as a med student.
It's barely possible that if he borrowed money from the HEAL program (Health Education Assistance Loan), which charges interest at market rates, and then made no payments and let the charges compound, that you could owe 500K, but the program doesn't let that happen -- once you graduate from med school they hand you a payment schedule.
Something smells about the money. Follow the money.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2005 13:05 Comments ||
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Steve, you're forgetting expenses for shipping medical supplies to Afghanistan and Chechenya.
Posted by: Carl in N.H. ||
05/30/2005 14:12 Comments ||
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#7
With that kinda money I coulda been a Doctor!
Posted by: Master Love ||
05/30/2005 14:47 Comments ||
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To paraphrase Walter Hagen:
"I don't want to be a doctor, I want to live like one."
Swish - keep your head down!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/30/2005 15:34 Comments ||
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Military action would not stop Iran's nuclear program but could be a last resort to delay any quest for an atomic bomb, the mastermind of Israel's 1981 air strike on the Iraqi reactor at Osiraq said yesterday. While Israel and its US ally have not excluded the option of attacking Iran if all diplomatic efforts to curb its nuclear capability fail, independent experts believe the Islamic republic's facilities are too dispersed and fortified to be eliminated militarily.
But David Ivry, who planned the Osiraq raid as then chief of the Israeli air force, argued against thinking in all-out terms. "You cannot eliminate an idea, a national will. But you can delay progress on a nuclear program with the appropriate military action," Ivry told Reuters. "That is a valuable objective in itself."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 21:21 ||
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when you face national extinction at the hands of an already-admitted-willing opponent, you take NOTHING off the menu. Shoudl the missiles fly west from Iran - we should be providing the refueling to shake and bake Iran to the 2nd century
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 22:18 Comments ||
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Syria has been trying to show it is tackling the problem of foreign fighters crossing into Iraq, and a state-run newspaper suggested Monday that authorities require visas of some Arab nationals. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, acknowledged Sunday they were questioning 30 of its nationals sent home by Damascus as suspected holy warriors heading to Iraq.
The United States and Iraq have, for months, singled out Syria for allowing fighters to cross into its eastern neighbor to carry out attacks. Syria, in turn, has repeatedly said it is doing all it can to stop would-be insurgents from slipping across the 380-mile-long border — most of it desert. Washington and Baghdad intensified their criticism of Syria after insurgents stepped up their attacks, killing more than 700 people since the April 28 swearing-in of the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
Much of the criticism of Syria appears to be political. The foreign fighters issue has been a favorite Washington pressure point, even though U.S. military and intelligence officials in Iraq have long played down Syria's role. The insurgency, they have said, is overwhelmingly Iraqi. The foreign infiltrators have their choice of Iraq's six international borders, not just the frontier with Syria. Military analysts say there are several U.S. incentives for blaming Syria. Depicting Iraq as a haven for foreign terrorists validates President Bush's claims that Iraq is the center of the global war on terrorism. And branding the insurgency as foreign-inspired hides the fact that many Iraqis actively oppose the U.S.-led invasion.
Even so, Syria appears to be trying to meet U.S. demands by publicizing its actions against would-be border-crossers. Syria said it detained hundreds of foreigners trying to infiltrate Iraq. Syria's U.N. ambassador, Fayssal Mekdad, said Thursday that more than 1,200 people were arrested in recent weeks for trying to cross into Iraq. Many were sent back to their home countries, including Saudi Arabia, because of suspicions they were trying to join the insurgency. "Syria has never been friendly to such elements, who are declared enemies of Syria as well," Mekdad said.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia said Syria handed over more than 30 of its citizens who were trying to enter Iraqi to support the insurgency. "The move underlines Syria's cooperation with the United States in controlling the borders with Iraq," Syrian political analyst Ayman Abdul Nour said. But it was unclear whether all the deported Saudis were intent on joining the insurgents. "You can't take for granted that everyone arrested is connected to terrorism," said Brig. Mansour al-Turki, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry spokesman. "Some of them are connected with other crimes or with outstanding court summonses."
The circumstances of their arrests in Syria were not clear. Al-Turki did not have exact figures on how many Saudis were sent back. "Handing over infiltrators to their countries of origin shows that Syria is very serious in controlling its borders with Iraq," said Marwan Qabalan, a professor at Damascus' Center for Strategic Studies.
The head of Syria's state-run television on Monday urged the government to impose entry visa requirements to safeguard Syrian security. Syria does not require entry visas for citizens of Arab countries, making it an attractive holiday destination and an easier route for Arab foreign fighters to get close to the Iraqi border. "Allowing all Arabs to enter Syrian territories without visas would ... attract fugitives and suspects to Syria," Diana Jabbour wrote in an editorial published in the state-run newspaper Al-Thawra. Jabbour suggested visas only be waived for citizens of countries that do not require visas for Syrians.
Meanwhile, security officials at Damascus' international airport, the nation's main port of entry, said Monday they are scrutinizing incoming passengers. Al-Jaafari, Iraq's prime minister, said earlier this month he will soon visit Syria to demand a crackdown against foreign insurgents crossing into the country. No date has been set for the visit. The United States and Iraq also accuse Syria of harboring fugitives from the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein. In February, Syria's handed over Saddam's half brother, Sabawi Ibrahim, a wanted leader of Iraq's Sunni-based insurgency. Ibrahim's transfer to Iraq came after Syria was subjected to international pressure following the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
A U.S. military official suggested earlier this month that top lieutenants of al-Qaida in Iraq met in Syria last month to plot suicide bombings. Syria provided the United States with intelligence on al-Qaida after the Sept. 11 attacks. But Bush approved congressional sanctions against Damascus a year ago, alleging that Syria was supporting terrorism and undermining U.S. efforts in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 16:49 ||
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desperately trying to pull a PR turnabout from their ass
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 18:20 Comments ||
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Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had fled the country after being seriously injured in an American attack, reported the UK newspaper The Sunday Times on Sunday quoting a commander of the Iraqi insurgency.
Al-Zarqawi has shrapnel lodged in his chest and may have been moved to Iran, said the paper, adding that his supporters might try to move him to another country for an operation. It quoted an unnamed insurgency commander as saying the militant was wounded three weeks ago when a US missile hit his convoy near Al Qaim. "Shrapnel went in between the right shoulder and his chest, ripped it open and is still stuck there," said the commander, adding that a second piece penetrated Zarqawi's chest but exited from his back. "There was concern about spinal injuries," the commander said. "But his ability to move eliminated that fear." The paper did not say when the commander was speaking but said the source had proved reliable in the past. The report contradicted a statement from Zarqawi's group posted on the Internet on Friday, which said he was still leading operations in Iraq.
Meanwhile in Tehran, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi denied the newspaper's report. Asefi said the report in The Sunday Times was without foundation. "This is an unprofessional kind of fabricating news," he told reporters, adding, "Iran is a clear and transparent country, where such covert activities do not take place." The United States has accused Iran of harbouring Al Qaeda militants who escaped Afghanistan after US troops invaded in late 2001 following the September 11 attacks.
I'm not sure if I believe it or not. Qaim is right across the border from Syria, not Iran. But if he's actually located in Syria, chances are we'll go in and get him; if he's in Iran, maybe we won't. But this makes me discount the claims that he's hale and hearty and leading operations in Baghdad. If he was perforated three weeks ago, with two chest wounds, with one piece still in there, he's probably not feeling really spry, particularly if one piece passed through his chest cavity. I'll continue to pray for sepsis. And maybe MRSA...
Some additional things that could go very wrong for Zarq in the next few weeks:
1) empyema purulent infection of the pleural space that surrounds the lung. That's bad, and improperly treated it leads to chronic, suppurative pneumonia (high mortality), a pleural peel (has to be removed surgically), trapped lung syndrome (ditto), or our old standby sepsis. 2) bronchopleural fistula, a hole between the breathing tubes and the pleural space. That's not supposed to happen, and it leads to infection, pneumothorax, etc. 3) mediastinitis, a serious infection of the middle of the chest. Complications include pericarditis, sepsis, etc. 4) chronic respiratory insufficiency, if they had to remove a fair amount of lung (say 1 whole lung or more). He'd be short of breath all the time, a very miserable feeling.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
We could probably add to that the discomfort of being trudled about in a cart or a truck, not a smooth riding ambulance. He's probably not in the best of health or mood for that matter.
#2
The CIA dropped the ball on this call! It seems that the plight of the too small a missile is again plaguing our side because of the 'permission factor'. Remember the two huge bombs the US dropped to get Saddam that night we thought he was in that bunker; within 15 minutes of the intelligence, the drop occured. Zarqawi is only wounded, he's angry and the US is going to regret not using a larger missile!
#5
I doubt he is in Iran. It would require crossing very security concious Kurdish controlled areas or a long trip either through or around Baghdad. If he is not in Iraq then he is in Syria.
#6
I'm an optimist. I'm hoping he's at Diego Garcia, being professionally nursed back to health so that he and Her Victor can ..you know...have daily chats.
#7
I assume he has a spare cabinet full of fake passports. I wonder if he's in a hospital in the US by now.
Posted by: James ||
05/30/2005 10:11 Comments ||
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I don't know if he is in Iran but it would be nice to spread the news in Irak's Shia zones that the Iranian mullahs are sheltering the guy who has killed hundreds of them.
Intelligence agencies arrested three activists of outlawed Lashkar e Jhangvi from Sargodha on Monday morning and seized a bag full of hand grenades from their possession, which according to sources were to be used in terrorist attacks. Sources told Daily Times that the agencies were watching the men for the last week after being tipped off about their mysterious movements. The men were identified as Zafar Iqbal, Mansoor and Mistri Saeed.
"Play Mistri for Me"?
Zarfar Iqbal is stated to be a clerk in a local girls college. "A bag of grenades was seized from their possession. They used to provide logistic support to LJ terrorists," said the sources.
This article starring:
MISTRI SAID
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
ZAFAR IQBAL
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Lashkar e Jhangvi
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 23:07 ||
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SRINAGAR: Indian troops have shot dead three terrorists in the latest violence in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir while terrorists have killed two civilians, one a former terrorist, police said on Monday.
The terrorists were shot dead in two clashes in southern Udhampur and Anantnag districts late on Sunday, a police spokesman said. The bullet-riddled bodies of two Muslim civilians were recovered overnight on Sunday from a ditch near the town of Tral, he said. afp
Posted by: john ||
05/30/2005 20:16 ||
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KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) - At least five people, including two assailants, were killed in a suicide bomb attack on Monday at Muslim mosque in southern Pakistan, the latest religious violence to rock the country, officials said.
Eighteen people were wounded, four seriously, in the attack at the a minority Shi'ite Mandinatul Ilm mosque in the middle-class Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi, hospital officials said.
It was the latest incident of religious violence to hit one of Washington's main allies in its war on terrorism and came after a suicide bombing at a Muslim festival in the capital Islamabad on Friday that killed at least 19 people, mostly Shi'ite Muslims.
Senior Karachi police officer Gul Hameed Sammo said two attackers were killed including one who blew himself up, while a third was unconscious and in critical condition in hospital.
Police said explosives and detonators were found strapped to the bodies of the other attackers.
Police officer Asif Aijaz Shaikh said one attacker snatched a gun from a police guard at the mosque and shot him dead.
"When they heard the fire, the two other police guards responded and opened fire on the two assailants standing outside," he said. "At this point, the assailant inside the mosque blew himself up."
Mobs of angry Shi'ite youths stoned and set fire to a nearby outlet of the American fast food chain KFC and also attacked a hospital and two petrol stations.
"The situation got totally out of control in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. Angry mobs were on the street and were not allowing police and ambulances to enter the affected place," Haider said.
Posted by: john ||
05/30/2005 17:26 ||
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Mobs of angry Shi'ite youths stoned and set fire to a nearby outlet of the American fast food chain KFC and also attacked a hospital and two petrol stations.
Luckily, El Al does not have an office in Pakiwackystan.
What is wrong with these people? [just a rhetorical question...]
#2
Six charred bodies recovered from KFC fast food restaurant in Karachi
(Updated at 0515 PST) By Afzal Nadeem
KARACHI: An enraged mob of protesters have torched a restaurant located at the Neepa Chowrangi area of Karachi after the blast in the Madina-tul-Ilm mosque and six charred bodies have been recovered from the restaurant late night.
All the six bodies have completely burned to ashes. The bodies have been identified as electrician Mohammad Saleem, one sales manager, an AC technician security guard Ghulam Hussain and two other employees the names of whom have yet to be identified.
At least more then a hundred people were present in the restaurant when it was set on fire. Nearby shops and many other buildings were also damaged due to the torching of the restaurant. Many people are searching for their loved ones outside the restaurant even now. They say that their relatives who came to the restaurant have not returned to their homes even now.
Relief activities are underway and it is suspected that more damages can occur. Meanwhile the police officials who killed the attackers of the Madina-tul-Ilm mosque have been promoted while the funeral prayer of Raza Rashid Hussain the police official who was killed in the attack would be held at the police headquarters in Garden today.
Posted by: john ||
05/30/2005 20:39 Comments ||
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hey, it's possible a Koran was treated unkindly...what was the enraged Islamic mob supposed to do? Turn the other cheek(s)?
ROPMA
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 20:58 Comments ||
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BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 30 (UPI) -- The al-Qaida network is reportedly threatening terrorist attacks in Libya if it fails to release imprisoned followers, an Islamic Web site said Monday.
Threaten away, I'm sure the Q-man will give it the attention it deserves
The site, monitored in Beirut, carried a statement signed by Abu Baraa al-Libi, presumed leader of al-Qaida in the North African Arab country.
"We salute the struggling Libyan people and inform you that our Jihadist operations will begin soon against the tyrant's forces in the city of Darna," the statement said. It also threatened to "cut off the heads of atheists" and vowed "not to settle for less than the release of our leaders and followers held in Libyan prisons."
The statement, which could not be authenticated, did not say how many al-Qaida followers were imprisoned in Libya.
Not enough, but I'm sure they'll be wotking on it.
This article starring:
ABU BARAA AL LIBI
al-Qaeda in Libya
Posted by: Steve ||
05/30/2005 14:41 ||
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Dateline Tripoli: Abu Bin Jihadi, an Al Qaida leader was released from Libyan prison yesterday ... and again today. Additional parts are scheduled for release tomorrow.
#3
Interrogate the Al-Q prisoners. Obtain all available intelligence from them. Dispose of in accordance with hazardous waste procedures. Rinse and repeat.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
05/30/2005 15:47 Comments ||
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The Colonel knows how to dispose of a problem.
Posted by: Tom ||
05/30/2005 19:17 Comments ||
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I'd not expect Wahabbi-types to like the Q-man much; he's got his own private brand of Muhammadanism.
Posted by: James ||
05/30/2005 21:49 Comments ||
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I dunno, James. They cooperated with Saddam, to an extent. They are somewhat allied to Syria and Shiite Iran. Sure, there's friction, but as they are all members of the Religion of Peace™, they can sort it out.
Three Algerian guards and a shepherd have been killed in separate attacks by Islamic militants aiming to disrupt a general amnesty planned for this year, a newspaper said on Monday.
Suspected militants cut the throat of a 60-year-old shepherd before burning his body on Saturday in a mountainous area near Batna, 430 km east of the capital Algiers, said Algeria's leading daily El Khabar, citing unnamed sources.
Three municipal guards were killed and two more kidnapped on the same day when unnamed armed rebels attacked barracks in the southwestern province of Ain Defla, some 150 km from Algiers.
Authorities were not immediately available for comment.
Members of Algeria's main rebel movement, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), and the smaller Armed Islamic Group (GIA) have stepped up attacks as the government prepares an amnesty, security experts say.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2005 13:55 ||
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Happy summer to all! Your humble Rantburg editorial staff would like to once again invite you to step away from the keyboard and raise a glass with us.
We had a great time in January and can "almost" guarantee a snow-free weekend.
The particulars so far:
Saturday, July 9
3 p.m.
Washington DC
Venue to be announced later
Leave a note in comments and send me an email (seafarious -at- yahoo.com) to let me know that you plan to attend.
#1
Any chance for a Gulf Coast "simulcast?" Let's see, between Louisiana and Texas, I know there's me, Muck (who's now back online), and Sgt. Mom... anyone else?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
05/30/2005 13:09 Comments ||
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#2
..Any possibility of an SE Rantapalooza (SC, NC, GA, FL, AL)? Heck, I'll do the heavy lifting to see if we can get it aboard USS Yorktown at Patriot's Point in Charleston.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/30/2005 13:40 Comments ||
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Ship-
Was aboard her this Saturday - she is in excellent shape! They have banquet and party facilities aboard, and from what I understand, it's one of the more popular venues in Charleston.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/30/2005 16:15 Comments ||
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I don't know about a simulcast, but the San Antonio bloggers and assorted lizardoid minions have scheduled a BBQ picnic June 25th at one of the pavilions in San Antonio's McCallister Park. The Rant'n'Raven has set it up, e-mail me for particulars.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 18:21 Comments ||
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Thanks for the details, Sgt. Mom...
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
05/30/2005 21:08 Comments ||
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#12
goddamit. wishn .com was still in texas. or mebbe im thawt he was an was rong. eeter way phil e-mailee me. im needer give ya my nyoo number. lets atend an meet sgt mom. :)
The violent backlash to the largest Iraqi-led counterinsurgency operation since the downfall of Saddam Hussein continued today in Baghdad and surrounding areas.
In Hilla, south of Baghdad, officials said two suicide bombers strapped with explosives blew themselves up in a crowd of former policemen protesting the disbanding of their unit, killing 27. Al Qaeda's network in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack in separate statements posted on the Internet.
The first bomber detonated his explosive belt in the middle of the crowd. As survivors scattered, the other bomber ran with them and blew himself up nearby. A doctor at a hospital in Hilla said that in addition to the more than two dozen killed, 120 people had been wounded.
In Baghdad, coalition forces briefly detained Muhsin Abdul Hamid, the head of Iraq's largest Sunni Muslim political party, during a house raid, the military said in a statement.
After he was interviewed, the military said, it was determined that he had been detained by mistake and he was returned to his home.
"Coalition forces regret any inconvenience and acknowledge Mr. Hamid's cooperation in resolving this matter," the military statement said.
On Sunday, at least 20 people were killed in the capital, 14 of them in a battle lasting several hours when insurgents initiated sustained attacks on several police stations and an army barracks.
The violence, including at least four suicide car bombings, was a bloody start to an operation that Iraq's new Shiite-majority government had presented as a new get-tough policy toward Sunni Arab insurgents, first in Baghdad and then countrywide. The government has said it will commit 40,000 uniformed Iraqis to the Baghdad operation in an effort to crush insurgents who reacted to the government's swearing-in four weeks ago with one of the war's biggest rebel surges.
The Baghdad toll was part of another day of bloodshed across Iraq. In total, at least 34 people were killed, including a British soldier caught by a roadside bombing near the town of Kahla that broke a protracted period of calm in the Shiite-dominated south.
A statement from the Second Marine Expeditionary Force said a marine was killed Saturday when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb near Haqlaniya, about 90 miles northwest of Baghdad.
At least initially, the crackdown in Baghdad appeared to have been met by a stiff, coordinated response that brought the toll to about 700 from the intensified rebel attacks this month. The heaviest battle raged across the districts of Abu Ghraib, Amariya and Khudra on the capital's western edge.
In the space of 30 minutes in midafternoon, the insurgents answered attempts by government forces to cordon off the districts with a sequence of attacks. They appeared to catch Iraqi forces by surprise, and prompted commanders to call for backup from American troops garrisoned nearby. Iraqi witnesses said Apache attack helicopters with loaded missile racks swooped overhead as the insurgent attacks flared into protracted gun battles below.
Even before the fighting on Sunday, the government of Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari appeared to have opened a new and potentially hazardous chapter in the war. Announcing the crackdown last week, government officials said the operation would move Iraqi troops "from the defensive to the offensive" in the war, and show Iraqis that the leaders they elected in January were capable of providing the security that just about every opinion poll in recent months has shown is their highest priority.
But the operation met with skepticism even before it started.
For one thing, few believed the government could commit the 40,000 soldiers and paramilitary police officers it had promised, since the American command's latest official count of the number in Baghdad Province, reaching deep into the countryside beyond the capital itself, totaled only slightly more than 30,000. Many Iraqis said they suspected that the government was overstating its abilities in the hope of stemming rising popular anger in the face of the new insurgent offensive.
There has been another fear, one rooted in the country's shifting political landscape. Essentially, the operation begun Sunday involves a government led by two religious parties with strong ties to Iran, commanding new American-trained army and paramilitary police forces that are heavily Shiite, taking on an insurgency that is almost entirely Sunni Arab.
The potential for a further sharpening of sectarian tensions has been unavoidable, despite assurances by Dr. Jaafari that the Shiite leaders intend to govern in a way that draws Iraq's religious and ethnic communities together.
The concern appeared to be at least partly born out on Sunday, as truckloads of Iraqi soldiers and police officers in camouflage fanned out across the city, setting up checkpoints and moving in force through neighborhoods long known as insurgent strongholds, raiding homes and carrying away suspects.
One man in Amariya telephoned The New York Times to say that people in his neighborhood believed that the sweeps were inspired and led by the Badr Organization, a shadowy militia group founded in Iran that is an offshoot of one of the two governing Shiite religious parties, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
The belief is a potentially explosive one among Sunni Arabs, especially hard-liners who remember the Badr group for its role fighting alongside Iran in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's. In interviews, some of these hard-liners have said they view the new government as an Iranian implant, open to the influence of the ayatollahs in Tehran. American officials here say that persuading Sunni Arabs that this is not so is crucial to building a democracy and avoiding a slide into civil war.
The reactions in Amariya suggested that even moderate Sunni Arabs were wavering in the face of the new government's sweeps. The man who telephoned The New York Times, a former officer who had fought in the war against Iran, said that he voted in January's elections, defying a Sunni Arab boycott, and that he had called a government hot line to report insurgent activities in his area. But on Sunday, he said his feelings were with the insurgents. "The general attitude out here is that all this tension is caused by the Badr Organization and Iran," the man said.
The rebel attacks included a suicide car bombing at an Iraqi-manned checkpoint in Abu Ghraib, the district best known for the prison that holds many of the 14,000 insurgency suspects held in American custody across Iraq. Another suicide car bomber attacked an Iraqi paramilitary police patrol in a residential district of Amariya, east of the sprawling Camp Victory complex that serves as the American military headquarters in Iraq. Gunmen also attacked a police station in Khudra, a neighborhood adjoining Amariya, according to Interior Ministry officials.
The most daring assault appeared to have been a sustained attack on the detention center run by the Interior Ministry's major crimes unit in Amariya, where suspected insurgents are held before being moved to Abu Ghraib. The ministry said the assault there involved at least 50 insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and machine guns. According to an unconfirmed account by an Amariya resident who was reached by telephone, insurgent bands roaming the district after the battle claimed to have captured weapons from the detention center's armory.
An official at the Interior Ministry's operations center said 14 people had been killed in the Amariya fighting alone, including 3 insurgents, 4 policemen and 7 civilians.
Other victims of insurgent attacks in the capital on Sunday included two security guards killed when a suicide bomber tried to ram a Volkswagen sedan through the gates of the heavily fortified Oil Ministry complex in eastern Baghdad, and two policemen killed in a drive-by shooting in the Dora district in southwestern Baghdad, a notorious insurgent stronghold. Two more policemen died in a suicide bombing at dusk in the Zeiouniya district of eastern Baghdad.
Elsewhere, nine policemen were killed in an insurgent ambush near the town of Yusufiya in a restive Sunni Arab area about 10 miles south of Baghdad, according to an Iraqi doctor at a hospital nearby. A car bombing at Madaen, about 15 miles southeast of Baghdad, killed two police commandos, according to a police commander in the town. A police commander in the northern city of Tuz Khurmato, about 60 miles south of Kirkuk, said a suicide car bomber there killed two civilians after detonating his vehicle near the local headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a partner in the new government in Baghdad.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
05/30/2005 12:31 ||
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#1
In other news the collectivization of the Ukraine continues with happy peasants joining hands with their worker comrades from Kiev.
#2
One man in Amariya telephoned The New York Times to say
Professional journalistic sourcing at its best. Chase those leads doen by hanging round the phone. I guess we're supposed to be happy that hey didn't say an anonymous source
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
05/30/2005 12:52 Comments ||
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#3
The man who telephoned The New York Times, a former officer who had fought in the war against Iran, said that he voted in January's elections, defying a Sunni Arab boycott, and that he had called a government hot line to report insurgent activities in his area. But on Sunday, he said his feelings were with the insurgents. "The general attitude out here is that all this tension is caused by the Badr Organization and Iran," the man said.
Isn't that so convenient that he happened to have their phone number lying around. It would be interesting to see what quotes the NYT published before from this man. I mean they must have used him before ...right?...How else did he get their phone number?
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 15:23 Comments ||
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#5
I have a gift certificate at Ruth Chris for the first guy that can get me the NYT's phone number in Baghdad. And if the number turns out to be the bar at the Palestine Hotel - the deal is off!
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
05/30/2005 15:37 Comments ||
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#6
this article, although anti American, is, IMO, less so that the average pre-May 2005 article
Let's see what they say when Operation Lightening ends
U.S. troops detained the head of Iraq's largest Sunni Muslim political party during a house raid early Monday in western Baghdad, a top party official and police said. Mohsen Abdul Hamid, head of the Iraqi Islamic Party, was detained by American soldiers along with his three sons and four guards, said party-secretary-general Ayad al-Samarei. U.S. military officials could not immediately confirm the detentions.
Al-Samarei said American soldiers raided Hamid's home at around 6 a.m. and confiscated various items, including a computer. "This is a provocative and foolish act and this is part of the pressure exerted on the party," he said. "At the time when the Americans say they are keen on real Sunni participation, they are now arresting the head of the only Sunni party that calls for a peaceful solution and have participated in the political process," he added. In a statement, the party demanded Hamid's immediate release, saying he "represents a large sector of the Iraqi people."
"This irresponsible behavior will only complicate the situation," the party statement said. Hamid, aged in his late 60s, is regarded as a moderate Islamic leader. He was a member of the now dissolved U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council and and has been involved with the party since the 1970s and headed it since 2003.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 08:56 ||
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the only Sunni party that calls for a peaceful solution and have participated in the political process
This is the same ambush earlier this year involving the Kentucky National Guard. This story is from the Omaha World Herald and focuses on the Nebraska Guard Unit involved and their actions during the ambush.
The rocket-propelled grenade screamed into the truck's hood just two feet in front of Pfc. Ricky DeLancey, spraying the Nebraska National Guard soldier with shrapnel and glass.
Iraqi insurgents continued raking the stricken truck with withering gunfire, one bullet grazing the Duncan, Neb., soldier's head before blowing the Kevlar out of the back of his helmet.
DeLancey turned his burned and bloodied face to the truck's driver, Sgt. Terry Ricketts, an Omahan shot through the leg and pinned beneath the truck's shattered dashboard.
"We're going to die," DeLancey said, not a hint of panic in his voice.
"Yeah, I know," Ricketts flatly replied.
On a highway south of Baghdad, the young, part-time soldiers from Nebraska's 1075th Transportation Company found 30 minutes of hell.
Rest of the article at link. Registration required so use these passwords:
bugmenot@mailinator.com
bugmenot
Apologies to Steve; he's usually not here weekends.
A robber was killed in 'crossfire' between Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and his accomplices near Mongla meteorological office in Bagerhat in the early hours yesterday.
The Rab-6 on Saturday arrested Rafique Shaikh alias Rafique 'Dakat', 40, wanted in several criminal cases, from Banishanta under Dakop upazila in Khulna.
Rafique gives a statement. What he says doesn't matter, but he has to make a statement.
Following his statement, the Rab took Rafique to the met office area to seize firearms where his accomplices opened fire on the elite force.
No time of day listed but it prob'ly wasn't during the morning rush hour.
The Rab returned fire.
Can't expect the RAB not to return fire, can you?
Rab sources said Rafique was bullet hit and died on the spot while making an attempt to flee.
Feets failed him.
Two Rab members were also injured in the gunfight, they added.
Hernias from picking up Rafique's body.
The Rab seized two foreign-made guns, four bullets and two used cartridges from the spot.
Foreign made shutter guns?
Police said Rafique was a suspect of Jessore Dainik Janakantha journalist Shamsur Rahman and Khulna Awami League mayor candidate SMA Rob murders.
That attracted the RAB's attention, not a good thing to do.
Besides, he was the second-in-command of notorious Litu Bahini.
Why didn't you say so?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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Thousands of Iraqi forces yesterday threw a security net over Baghdad to snare insurgents, who quickly struck back with a string of car bombings said to have been masterminded by Al-Qaeda's Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi. Four car bombs in and around the capital killed 16 people, most of them security personnel, in a swift response to Iraq's widest homegrown clampdown since the fall of Saddam Hussein over two years ago.
Nobody expected them to throw up their hands and surrender...
Nine soldiers taking part in "Operation Lightning" died in a suicide car bombing at their roadblock just south of the capital, while two policemen were killed when a suicide car bomber targeted their patrol in southwestern Baghdad. In western Baghdad, a car bomb targeting police commandos killed three people and wounded 20, an Interior Ministry source said, adding that police had then fought a firefight with men in the area. An earlier suicide bombing near the Oil Ministry left two dead, while violence elsewhere claimed the lives of a British soldier and seven Iraqis. Insurgent attacks nationwide have claimed the lives of around 700 people so far this month, following the swearing in of Iraq's first democratically elected post-Saddam government.
Suicide car booms remain the weapon of choice, not only because they've got the fodder to carry them out, but also because they're so Islamic...
"Squadrons and brigades directed by the sheikh of the mujahedeen Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi yesterday launched an operation ... planned and supervised by our sheikh," said an Internet statement attributed to his group. The operation was a reply to the "aborted encirclement plan in Baghdad announced by the Iraqi ministers of defense and interior", a reference to the security net expected to involve up to 40,000 Iraqi security forces that was launched the same day. It also claimed the deadly suicide bombing at the roadblock outside Baghdad.
That's actually not an indication that Zark is alive and/or well. It's just an indication that his name has value to the turbans...
It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the statement, the latest in a series of some times conflicting messages about the health of the Jordanian-born militant and his role in the insurgency. Nevertheless, the government claimed it had already captured hundreds of insurgents.
So here's the meat of the article...
"Search operations and raids have allowed us to arrest 500 people and find arms caches in several houses," said spokesman Leith Kubba, adding that "we are expecting reactions but this will have no effect on the general course of the operation."
If the bastards weren't vicious and tenacious, it wouldn't be necessary to turn out 40,000 men to hunt them down. Good luck to our guys and to the Iraqis...
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
How many of these guys are in prison camps in Iraq?
Every day we see several hundred arrested. What percentage stay arrested and get sent to the camps?
Do the camps keep getting bigger or is there a strong exit flow from them of processed ex-cons too?
"...if we follow the curve of the terrorists power we'll find that the curve is going down in general and I believe that they cannot win the battle on the strategic or the tactical level. The illusion of the "resistance" had anaesthetized many people that they even forgot all logical and scientific calculations [I'm not sure I understand the anaesthetized metaphor] and I don't know how those people are going to deal with the facts when the terrorists are completely defeated...."
Two Palestinian civilians were wounded after an unmanned Israeli drone fired three missiles into occupied Gaza on Monday. Witnesses and security sources said the drone had attempted to target a group of Palestinian resistance fighters as they prepared to launch home-made rockets into Israel. However, the occupation force's drone missed its target and hit two women. They were hospitalised but are in good condition, medics said.
An Israeli military source confirmed Monday's air strike on the Jabalya refugee camp east of Gaza City. "A terrorist cell was identified preparing to launch a mortar attack," the source said. "The air force targeted the launchers, and at least two were hit." Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian resistance group, said its men were targeted as they fired rockets across the Gaza boundary into Israel. There was no immediate word of casualties from their salvo.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
"resistance fighters", "occupation force's" (sic), "Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian resistance group"?? Why are you posting such garbage?
#2
Most articles are posted with minimal editing, with the title linking back to the original source. You're then free to comment on the article's significance.
Phrasing and content do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, posters, commenters, or anyone they know. Your mileage may vary. In the rare event of an erection lasting longer than four hours seek immediate professional help.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 9:26 Comments ||
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#3
so it hit two women, eh? bystanders? at a rocket launch?
A video of a kidnapped Italian aid worker flanked by two men aiming rifles at her head has been broadcast on Afghan television. Clementina Cantoni, 32, a worker for CARE International, responded to prompts from a man not shown on the video, identifying herself and naming her father, mother and an uncle. The tape, broadcast on Sunday by independent Tolo TV, then zoomed in on her face. She wore a blue scarf, spoke quietly and looked nervous. It was not clear when the recording was made. But near the end of the tape, the man who was speaking off-camera asked Cantoni the date. "Today is May 28, Sunday," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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Frankly, my sympathy for captured Italians is low...skepticism and lying commie traitors using their "capture" to bash the US will do that
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2005 9:13 Comments ||
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On Friday, Afghanistanâs Ulema Council published a fatwa (religious edict) in favour of the womanâs release. In it, the Council stressed that âIslam, like all the heavenly religions, promotes good behaviour, which includes protecting foreigners who have legally entered Afghanistanâ.
Since September 2003, Ms Cantoni is in charge of a food aid programme and has developed micro-trade projects for widows under the auspices of Care International. She has thus been able to help 11,000 Kabul widows and their children.
And it is Afghan widows who are pursuing a campaign for Clementinaâs liberation.
âThe mobilisation of these women is impressive and at the same time praise-worthy,â Father Moretti said.
These women have launched a petition campaign that includes posters marked by illiterate women using their fingertips, handing out pamphlets, holding demonstrations and taking part in radio and TV programmes.
Assailants ambushed a vehicle carrying a senator from the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas on Sunday, killing him and two of his companions, an official said. Senator Malik Faridullah Khan was killed in the attack in the Krirh Wam area in the South Waziristan, an intelligence official told AP from Tank, asking not to be named. Khan, a former federal minister and chief of the Ahmedzai Wazir tribe, was travelling to Tank, the official said. AFP said that Khan and two others travelling with him were killed in the attack, launched from two cars coming from the opposite direction.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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Investigating teams have been questioning the two suspects of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi to identify the suicide bomber who had blown himself up at the Imam Bari Shrine on Friday.
The two, Khawaja Muhammad Ibrahim and Aamir Shehzad, are reported to be members of a suicidal gang headed by Hafiz Yasin and are suspected to be part of the Imam Bari bomb blast. "We are expecting information from the suspects regarding the terrorists involved in the suicidal attack," a police official said on Sunday.
"Hey! We wuz gonna commit suicide, but we weren't expectin' no pliers!"
Sikandar Hayat, the district police officer, told Daily Times that the two on drilling have confessed to have had schemed to murder Allama Sajjid Ali Naqvi, the chief of Tehrik-i-Jafaria Pakistan, in October 2004. The man behind the conspiracy design was Hafiz Yasin alias Mufti Suhail, the two arrested told police, maintaining that Javed alias Jabbar, from Karachi, Muhammad Irfan alias Bobi, Aamir Shehzad, Khawaja Muhammad Ibrahim and Asif had connived the blast in Sialkot as revenge against the Rasheedabad blow up in Multan. Mr Hayat said the two accused had also owned up to plotting the explosion saying their ringleader, Hafiz Yasin, had sent Javed and Aamir for the purpose, but Aamir Shehzad chickened out at the last moment, while Javed entered the Imambargah as the suicide bomber. Shehzad possessed a press card of a weekly of Bahawalpur and had repeatedly visited the parliament along with Hafiz Muhammad Yasin and the group had also tried to attack the Shia processions on the Ramzan 21, Yum-i-Shahadat Hazrat Ali, Mr Hayat disclosed to reporters.
This article starring:
AAMIR SHEHZAD
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
HAFIZ YASIN
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
KHAWAJA MUHAMAD IBRAHIM
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
MUFTI SUHAIL
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
SAJJID ALI NAQVI
Tehrik-i-Jafaria Pakistan
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi
Tehrik-i-Jafaria Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 00:00 ||
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Police grill two over Imam Bari bombing
An apropos headline for this holiday weekend Fred. What goes with roasted bombers? Pork spare ribs?
An explosion shook the headquarters of NATO's 8,000-strong security force in the Afghan capital on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries, a spokeswoman for the force said. The blast occurred "in the vicinity" of the International Security Assistance Force compound, said Lt. Col. Karen Tissot Van Patot. She said officers were investigating the cause of the explosion. An Afghan police officer outside the compound, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a rocket had hit inside the heavily fortified base, which is near the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions in central Kabul. Sirens wailed across the city for about 30 minutes after the blast.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2005 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.
peaking to reporters in Riyadh, 
A Yemeni security court yesterday sentenced a mosque preacher to death and jailed another for eight years for spying and supporting a rebellion last year. The court handed the death sentence to 
Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq 
Intelligence agencies arrested three activists of outlawed 
U.S. troops detained the head of Iraq's largest Sunni Muslim political party during a house raid early Monday in western Baghdad, a top party official and police said. 
Thousands of Iraqi forces yesterday threw a security net over Baghdad to snare insurgents, who quickly struck back with a string of car bombings said to have been masterminded by Al-Qaeda's 
Two Palestinian civilians were wounded after an unmanned Israeli drone fired three missiles into occupied Gaza on Monday. Witnesses and security sources said the drone had attempted to target a group of Palestinian resistance fighters as they prepared to launch home-made rockets into Israel. However, the occupation force's drone missed its target and hit two women. They were hospitalised but are in good condition, medics said.
A video of a kidnapped Italian aid worker flanked by two men aiming rifles at her head has been broadcast on Afghan television. 
Assailants ambushed a vehicle carrying a senator from the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas on Sunday, killing him and two of his companions, an official said. Senator 
Investigating teams have been questioning the two suspects of the 
An explosion shook the headquarters of NATO's 8,000-strong security force in the Afghan capital on Monday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries, a spokeswoman for the force said. The blast occurred "in the vicinity" of the International Security Assistance Force compound, said Lt. Col. Karen Tissot Van Patot. She said officers were investigating the cause of the explosion. An Afghan police officer outside the compound, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a rocket had hit inside the heavily fortified base, which is near the U.S. Embassy and other diplomatic missions in central Kabul. Sirens wailed across the city for about 30 minutes after the blast.
