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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Unconfirmed: Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar assassinated, report says
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Judge Killed, 4 Civilians Injured in Blast at Uruzgan Mosque
[Tolo News] A provincial judge was killed and four civilians were maimed in a kaboom at a mosque in southern Uruzgan province on Monday morning.

The incident happened in Tarin Kowt, the bustling provincial capital of Uruzgan. The judge was identified as Taj Mohammad, provincial police chief Farid Hayeel said.

"A bomb had been placed inside the mosque," Mr Hayeel said.

No one has as yet been placed in durance vile
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
in connection with the incident but the police have started an investigation, according to Mr Hayeel.

No group including the Taliban has grabbed credit for the blast.

Australian forces handed over the responsibility for providing security in all of Uruzgan to Afghan troops on July 17 as part of the third phase of national security transition.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under:


Insurgents Attack District Governor Compound, Kill 3 Police
[Tolo News] Insurgents attacked a district governor compound in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province on Monday, killing three coppers, local officials said. Two other coppers were maimed in the attack.

The incident occurred yesterday in the Hesarak district of the province when beturbanned goons attacked the district governor compound and clashed with security troops, provincial front man Ahmad Zia Abduzai said.

"The district governor, Haji Fazl Khaliq, has sustained minor injuries in the attack and several beturbanned goons also were killed in the attack," he said.
There were no civilians casualties in the attack.

No group, including the Taliban, has grabbed credit for the attack.

Insurgents have recently increased attacks in the province and are targeting local security forces checkpoints.

The incident comes as The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday that Afghan National Security Forces are dying at five times the rate of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
soldiers as beturbanned goons increased their attacks.

According to the article, more than 850 Afghan National Security Forces and police have died in the past four months compared with 165 NATO troops.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under:


Insurgents Kill Two Nato Troops in Western Afghanistan
[Tolo News] Two NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
troops were killed in an cut-thoat attack in western Afghanistan on Sunday, Isaf said.

Isaf did not provide more information about the exact location of the incident or the nationality of the soldiers.

Two NATO troops were killed in an cut-thoat attack in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.

The deaths bring the number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 266, according to icasualties.org, an organization that tracks military fatalities.

There are currently 130,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. Of those, 90,000 are from the US.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Clashes in Southwestern Somalia leave 8 dead
(Sh. M. Network)-Heavy festivities in southwestern Somalia between Somalia government troops along with the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
(AU)Missionin Somalia (AMISOM) forces and Al shabab fighters killed at least 8 combatants, reports said on Monday.

Mohamed Abdullah Hirse, the front man of Gedo administration for Somali government, told the Media Monday that eight Al shabab combatants were killed in the fighting while two soldiers on their side sustained minor injures.

The fighting which both warring sides exchanged heavy artillery fire and machine guns occurred Sunday afternoon at Tuulo-Barwaqo located near Garbaharey, the quiet provincial capital of Gedo region, south-west Somalia.

Reports from the town indicated that Al shabab agents have been attacking Somali and AMISOM forces in the region in the past few days since the cut-throats were pushed back from strategic stronghold towns in south west Somalia.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Uganda on high alert as Somali terrorist enters, says police
(Sh.M.Network)-Police has released a photograph of a notorious terrorist feared to have entered the country with plans of hitting Ugandans.

Speaking to the press at the Uganda Police headquarters yesterday morning, the newly appointed police front man, Samson Kuteesa, said a terrorist identified as Muhamed Libani Hajji, of Somali origin, had entered Uganda. Kuteesa said the force had got the information through the international antiterrorism security network.

"We have since got his pictures and [urge] members of the public to notify security as soon as they see him around," Kuteesa said.

He added that the international anti-terrorism partners, including the Interpol, had verified this information and that the American government had strongly warned its citizens about the possible presence here of Muhamed. He said that UPF and other security agencies in the country had stepped up measures to prevent any attacks.

The police was also working in partnership with the owners of hotels, the transport sector, and entertainment places to strengthen public security measures. The police front man appealed to individuals, including the children to be observant and vigilant to ensure that their surrounding is safe.

"Any suspicious individuals, situations and other [suspicious] objects -- do not approach or handle. Certain objects may have appealing colors like abandoned radios, TVs and phones" Kuteesa said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Islamists In North Mali Stone Couple To Death
[NY Times] Islamists in control of a town in northern Mali stoned a couple to death after accusing them of having children outside of marriage, a local official who was one of several hundred witnesses to the killings said Monday.

The official said the bearded Islamists, armed with Kalashnikov rifles, brought the couple into the center of the town of Aguelhok from about 12 miles away in the countryside. The young man and woman were forced into holes about four feet deep, with their heads protruding, and then stoned to death at about 5 a.m. Sunday, the official said.

"They put them into the holes, and then they started throwing big rocks, until they were dead," the official said, speaking by satellite phone from the remote desert town near the Algerian border.

"It was horrible," he said, noting that the woman had moaned and cried out and that her partner had yelled something indistinct during the attack. "It was inhuman. They killed them like they were animals."
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Dine

#1 
Well, they'll stone you and say that it's the end
Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again
They'll stone you when you're riding in your car
They'll stone you when you're playing your guitar

Yes, but I would not feel so all alone
Everybody must get stoned
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/31/2012 10:35 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Unconfirmed: Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar assassinated, report says
Hat tip to Rantburg's own crosspatch.
[Iran PressTV] Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
n spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been assassinated, a report says.
I'm sure if I look around here long enough I'll find my sympathy. Let's see, where's the flashlight...
The Gay Paree-based Voltaire Network confirmed the death of 63-year-old Prince Bandar on its website on Monday, citing unofficial sources.

The international non-profit organization, which publishes a free website (voltairenet.org) in eight languages, said that Prince Bandar was killed because of his role in the July 18 deadly bombing in Damascus
...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat...
The bombing killed at least four high-profile Syrian security officials, including Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha and his deputy Assef Shawkat who was also Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
's brother-in-law.

However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
there has been no confirmation or denial neither from Saudi officials nor from the Syrian government yet.

Bandar, who was Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005, was named the kingdom's Secretary General of the National Security Council in 2005. On 19 July 2012, he was appointed Director General of the Saudi Intelligence Agency by King Abdullah.

Many said his promotion was a reward for the role he played in organizing the attack in Damascus, the organization reported.
Debka adds interesting speculation:
Saudi silence on intelligence chief Bandar's fate denotes panic

Disquiet in Washington, Jerusalem and a row of Middle East capitals is gaining ground the longer the Saudi government stays silent on the reports of the assassination of the newly-appointed Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, purportedly in a revenge operation by a Syrian intelligence death squad. If true, it would shoot a devastating tentacle out from the Syrian conflict to the broader region.

It is widely feared that Saudi rulers are too traumatized to respond by the fear of Iranian penetration of the highest and most closely guarded circles of Saudi government, possibly climaxing in Bandar's assassination.

The prince, son of the late crown prince Sultan, has not been seen in public since Saudi General Intelligence headquarters in Riyadh was hit by a bomb blast Monday, July 23 killing his deputy, Mashaal al-Qarni.  
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/31/2012 09:26 || Comments || Link || [336116 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If true, this is a serious escalation by the Iranians and their Syrian proxies. They have escalated this and made it personal to the ruling family - unintended consequences can happen with a royal family and their reaction (Archduke Ferdinand and Serbia...).

It also shows how bold but reckless the Iranians have become. They are now giving a lot of people in the region good reasons to want them gone and increased the willingness to turn a blind eye to any strikes necessary to remove the Iranian threats.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/31/2012 12:20 Comments || Top||

#2  If true ... it's a big development alright.
It sets in motion an escalating chain of espionage and killings in the Middle East. Things are heating up.
Posted by: Raider || 07/31/2012 12:39 Comments || Top||

#3  BTW - great job Rantburg on picking up this story so fast. I saw it here first!
Posted by: Raider || 07/31/2012 12:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Keep in mind that the DEBKA speculation is just that, speculation, and it was likely generated in the head of the person at the keyboard as he was typing it.

I would wait. It looks to me like Iran is trying as hard as it can to precipitate an attack by someone.
Posted by: crosspatch || 07/31/2012 13:03 Comments || Top||

#5  [On working for the CIA]
Vince Ricardo: Are you interested in joining? The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program.


Peter Fauk as Vince Ricardo: The In-Laws, 1979
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/31/2012 13:03 Comments || Top||

#6  If this is true, the famous saying 'so... it begins'.
Posted by: lord garth || 07/31/2012 13:05 Comments || Top||

#7  "The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program."

Hahahahahahahahahaha !!!
You're killin' me Besoeker ... but not literally.
Good one :-) Comment of the week.
Posted by: Raider || 07/31/2012 13:39 Comments || Top||

#8  "Serpentine, Sheldon! Serpentine!"
Posted by: mojo || 07/31/2012 13:42 Comments || Top||

#9  What's the rule - 24 or 48 hours?

Til then - Oh no, not shot tentacle devastation!?!?!?
Posted by: Halliburton - Mysterious Conspiracy Division || 07/31/2012 14:03 Comments || Top||

#10  If true the Saudi's should spread the implication that the group was attacked while visiting Mecca when hit by a bomb, the rock appears to be okay but the are removing residue or something like that which would be certain to inflame folks against Iran.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 07/31/2012 14:51 Comments || Top||

#11  A mischievous person would light off a sub-launched cruise missile or two at this point, just to stir the pot.
Posted by: SteveS || 07/31/2012 15:01 Comments || Top||

#12  It also shows how bold but reckless the Iranians have become.

Assassinating Assad's high command was a normal ordinary thing to do on the part of the Saudis, but a revenge attack by the Syrians on the official who masterminded the attack is reckless? Only if the proper posture of a Syrian is on his knees.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/31/2012 15:06 Comments || Top||

#13  I can only hope that this means war, and all parties will have at it. Popcorn.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 07/31/2012 15:23 Comments || Top||

#14  Some of the comments on the article are hilarious. Did you know that SA takes order from the Mossad?

Can these loonies get anymore paranoid?
Posted by: AlanC || 07/31/2012 15:27 Comments || Top||

#15  ZF, in the pecking order there, Syria is supposed to kowtow to Saudi Arabia. The fact that Syria are actively hostile and retaliate by hitting a high placed royal (instead of a less politically sensitive but military target) is a huge escalation, especially given the tribal politics and personal (family) impact of the actions. This is like if the Chinese went after the Secretary of State's aircraft instead of a Navy Recon plane (c.f. Hainan Island incident)
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/31/2012 15:40 Comments || Top||

#16  Some of the comments on the article are hilarious. Did you know that SA takes order from the Mossad?

Can these loonies get anymore paranoid?


The background here is that some Muslims believe that the al Sauds are the descendants of converted Jews who never really converted or did convert and are still simpatico* with those of the Jewish faith. It would be amusing if this speculation is an outgrowth of the completely-fictional Harold Robbins novel "The Pirate".

* The banning of self-declared Jews from entry into Saudi Arabia would seem to contradict this supposed link to Judaism, but the theory is probably that they are prevented from showing any outward signs of favor by popular opinion (i.e. the day-in day-out avoidance of assassination attempts by disgruntled Jew-haters in the country).
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/31/2012 15:49 Comments || Top||

#17  This is like if the Chinese went after the Secretary of State's aircraft instead of a Navy Recon plane (c.f. Hainan Island incident)

That's not remotely comparable. If the US assassinated the Chinese high command, you can bet they would come after equivalently senior US officials. Pecking order has nothing to do with it. Deterrence is what it's all about.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/31/2012 15:51 Comments || Top||

#18  actually ... i have to agree with Zhang Fei here. These incidents were triggered by the bomb going off in Damascus, so there is an argument that the Syrians are responding in kind. What's unusual is that they were able to strike back so quickly, so accurately, and so deep inside the territory of Saudi Arabia. The circumstances lend credibility to the claim by Debka that perhaps the Iranians, and maybe Al Qaeda proxies inside Saudi Arablia, were responsible for planting the bomb.
Posted by: Raider || 07/31/2012 16:22 Comments || Top||

#19  Thanks ZF for the info.

I think, though, that your take only proves to me that, yes, these loonies CAN get more paranoid!!

8^)

Pop-corn anyone?
Posted by: AlanC || 07/31/2012 16:31 Comments || Top||

#20  Or the AQ miscreants are lighting the candle at both ends. Zawahiri would be grinning the whole time.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 07/31/2012 16:42 Comments || Top||

#21  I think, though, that your take only proves to me that, yes, these loonies CAN get more paranoid!!

Paranoia is defined as fears borne of irrationality or delusion. False flags are not anything new in the world of international relations. The Alawites have remained a distinct sect in the Middle East for a thousand years by pretending to be mainstream Muslims, when in fact they are either a Muslim or a Christian heresy. And in Israel's case, false flags are not exactly a new phenom - many an Arab spy has been recruited by Mossad agents posing as operatives of Euro intel agencies. While I doubt the Saudi royal family is composed of Jews or ex-Jews, most non-European societies are not like the US. In those societies, secrets remain secrets because they are, unlike in the US, a matter of life-and-death for entire clans or tribes.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/31/2012 17:46 Comments || Top||

#22  DEBKA sourced rumor. Doubt it. Wouldn't bet any money on it yet.
Posted by: tipper || 07/31/2012 17:59 Comments || Top||

#23  The Lavon affair was an infamous false flag operation that failed in spectacular fashion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavon_Affair

The Lavon Affair refers to a failed Israeli covert operation, code named Operation Susannah, conducted in Egypt in the Summer of 1954. As part of the false flag operation,[1] a group of Egyptian Jews were recruited by Israeli military intelligence for plans to plant bombs inside Egyptian, American and British-owned targets. The attacks were to be blamed on the Muslim Brotherhood, Egyptian Communists, "unspecified malcontents" or "local nationalists" with the aim of creating a climate of sufficient violence and instability to induce the British government to retain its occupying troops in Egypt's Suez Canal zone.[2] The operation caused no casualties, except for those members of the cell who committed suicide after being captured.

The operation became known as the Lavon Affair after the Israeli defense minister Pinhas Lavon, who was forced to resign because of the incident, or euphemistically as the Unfortunate Affair or The Bad Business (Hebrew: העסק ביש‎, HaEsek Bish or העסק הביש, HaEsek HaBish). After Israel officially denied the incident for 51 years, the surviving agents were in 2005 officially honored with a certificate of appreciation by the Israeli President Moshe Katzav.[3]


Blood matzos are obviously the product of overactive imaginations. Other events are not equally obvious. If I had to posit a reason some Arabs believe Israel might have engineered the 9/11 attacks, I'd point to a combination of the Lavon Affair and the Israeli recruitment of Arab agents while posing as operatives working for European intel agencies. I guess it's conceivable that Israelis might have posed successfully as operatives for Arab intelligence agencies or terrorist groups, given the number of Mizrahi Jews from Middle Eastern countries in Israel who are, by accent and appearance, indistinguishable from the Arabs in the region from which they came.

In the end, though, al Qaeda and bin Laden did claim credit for 9/11, and it's a real stretch to believe that they would take credit for an event used as the justification to kill them on sight anywhere they are found, especially when the al Qaeda body count is in the tens of thousands. No amount of street cred from falsely claiming credit is worth the systematic root-and-branch slaughter of your organization's personnel.

Bottom line? While the preponderance of evidence points to the conventional wisdom, Arab conspiracy theories are not based on pure fantasy.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/31/2012 18:10 Comments || Top||

#24  OS: ZF, in the pecking order there, Syria is supposed to kowtow to Saudi Arabia.

In fact, I'd be extremely surprised if the Alawites did not view the Saudis with a mixture of suspicion, fear or even hatred. Any majority Muslim country, from Egypt all the way to Indonesia, that has received religious funding from the Gulf states (public or private) has engaged in pogroms against its religious minorities. When you consider that Sunnis outnumber Alawites 100 to 1, and the way in which Gulf state money makes its way via hawalas and the usual money-laundering vehicles into Syria to the Sunni troglodytes who can't nurse their grievances on blessings from Allah alone, I'd think the Alawites would have cultivated agents in the Gulf state establishments who cannot stand the Bedouin scum who rule the country (or the even scummier populace they rule over), some of whom might even be Shiites, atheists, communists or fascists. Or it could boil down to a simple matter of blackmail and/or big money payoffs.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/31/2012 20:23 Comments || Top||

#25  "I'm sure if I look around here long enough I'll find my sympathy."

I don't know where you keep your sympathy, but mine's under my nanoviolin, in the nano-dictionary - right between sweat and syphalis.
Posted by: Barbara || 07/31/2012 20:43 Comments || Top||

#26  syphalis syphilis

PIMF :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 07/31/2012 20:56 Comments || Top||


Al-Qaeda militants surrender themselves to authorities
[Yemen Post] Al-Qaeda forces of Evil surrendered themselves to the Yemeni authorities in Lahj governorate on Monday, the Defense Ministry affirmed on Monday.

The ministry said that the forces of Evil responded to a call of Lahj Governor, Ahmed al-Majidi, who urged al-Qaeda forces of Evil to surrender themselves.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start tasting his third quart...
sources revealed that the abductors of the Italian have no relations to Al-Qeada, pointing out that a tribal group kidnapped him to put pressures on the government.

The Interior Ministry identified the abductor Nasser Juraidan from Marib, affirming that the abductors is accused of killing and sabotage acts in Marib.

Yemen's foreign minister has vowed to do everything possible to track down the kidnappers of an Italian embassy security officer and obtain his safe release, state news agency (Saba) said.

The Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome said a security officer who was a member of the country's Carabinieri military police had been seized in Yemen and that a crisis committee had been activated.

On Sunday, about 100 armed rustics loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
stormed the Interior Ministry, demanding to be enlisted in the police force.

Security situation in Sana'a and some main cities is still fragile as a number of officers were assassinated and suicide kabooms were carried out against troops.

Several Yemeni military and security commanders were killed during the past two months after Al-Qaeda received painful attacks in its main strongholds in Jaar and Zinjibar, and its forces of Evil were cleansed from them.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


420 Ethiopian Refugees Riot at Yemen Refugee Camp
[Yemen Post] The Yemeni authorities controlled on Monday a riot by African refugees who protested their bad conditions in the Kharaz refugee camp in Lahj province, the September 26 website reported.

About 420 Æthiopian refugees,
Ethiopian refugees in Yemen? Are these people utterly nuts?
who were earlier transferred from Dhamar province, closed all roads to the refugee camp and its gate preventing the UN staff and staffs of other agencies from leaving and entering it, the website said.

The Æthiopians were demanding to improve their conditions,
From the Yemenis, who have neither food nor water nor fuel enough for their own people...though they do have enough khat...
and the authorities controlled the situation, the website quoted a source at the camp as saying.

It is the second time the Æthiopian refugees were rioting, the source continued, urging to take action to prevent any outlawed acts in the camp, according to the website.

Yemen continues to receive many African refugees, mostly from Somalia and other horn of Africa countries, on daily bases.

Earlier this year, the authorities said more than one million African refugees have arrived in the country in the past few decades and the persistent influx of Africans adds to a range crises faced in Yemen.

More recently, the authorities launched urgent measures to prevent the on-foot movements of African refugees among the Yemeni cities in a move which appeared to be within the steps to fight illegal activities and grouping.

Reports have also warned Africans are a key reason for pandemic spread in the country.
Pandemic spread of what, exactly?
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Yemeni lawmaker escapes assassination attempt
[Yemen Post] A Yemeni politician, Saleh Qaashah, escaped on Sunday an liquidation attempt and his driver was seriously maimed in Ibb city.

According to the Defense Ministry, hard boyz threw a grenade on the car of Qaasah who was not existed inside the car.

It spelt out that security services started investigating the case and hunting the perpetrators.

After a year of pro-democracy demonstrations that swept the country and after formation of an interim government, some Yemeni governorates witness loose security as gunnies assassinate military and security officials and carry out suicide kabooms against troops.

Unidentified men assassinated on Thursday a security official, Abdullah Al-Mawzaie, in the port city of Aden as they planted a bomb on his car.

Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, the water was up to Jack's neck and still rising...
rustics affiliated to a former security official occupied the Interior Ministry building, but the Interior Ministry denied that, affirming that some soldiers protested on Sunday, demanding to fire corrupt officials.

Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Italian embassy security officer kidnapped in Yemen
In another indication of instability in the Arabian Peninsula country, an Italian embassy security officer was kidnapped on Sunday. The Yemeni government said the hunt for the abductors had begun.

The Italian security officer was kidnapped near his country's embassy in Sanaa. A spokesman for the Italian Foreign Ministry in Rome said the man was a member of the country's Carabinieri military police.

In a phone call with his Italian counterpart, Giulio Terzi, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr Al-Qirbi said the hunt for the abductors had begun, state news agency Saba said late on Sunday. It said nothing about identity of the kidnappers.

The abduction followed the kidnapping in March of the Saudi deputy consul in Yemen's port city of Aden, Abdallah Al-Khalidi, by Al-Qaeda-linked militants. The kidnappers have demanded the release of women detainees held in Saudi prisons.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:


Yemeni gunmen vacate Interior Ministry after protest
DUBAI: Yemeni tribesmen agreed yesterday to vacate the Interior Ministry after storming it the day before in a protest for jobs, an official said — an incident that highlighted the ongoing turmoil in a country where Al-Qaeda militancy has alarmed world powers.

An Interior Ministry source said it had persuaded the 100 tribesmen, seen as loyal to the former president Saleh, to vacate the Interior Ministry in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The tribesmen were demanding to be enlisted in the police force.

“The president formed a committee to negotiate,” the source said, referring to the country’s leader Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. “They were persuaded to end the occupation in return for a promise to respond to their demands.”
Posted by: Steve White || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Truck owner wants DEA to pay up after botched sting
The owner of a Texas semi says the federal government owes him for damages to his truck and family.
This is related to the War on Drugs, and is a distant cousin to Fast and Furious, so it's WoT related. But more than anything, it's outrageous. If a government agency can commandeer your property without your knowledge for 'law enforcement' purposes, then your property is not yours. As Kevin Williamson said over at the National Review Corner, another phrase for this is 'grand theft auto'.
The phone rang before sunrise. It woke Craig Patty, owner of a tiny North Texas trucking company, to vexing news about Truck 793 - a big red semi supposedly getting repairs in Houston.

"Your driver was shot in your truck," said the caller, a business colleague. "Your truck was loaded with marijuana. He was shot eight times while sitting in the cab. Do you know anything about your driver hauling marijuana?"

"What did you say?" Patty recalled asking. "Could you please repeat that?"

The truck, it turned out, had been everywhere but in the repair shop.

Oct. 10, 2011: Trucking company owner Craig Patty hires Lawrence Chapa as a truck driver.

Nov. 21, 2011: Chapa is shot to death in Harris County while, unknown to Patty, Chapa was driving his truck and working for the feds on a drug sting.

Nov. 21, 2011: Four men, three born in Mexico, are charged with capital murder.

Jan. 30, 2012: Patty's insurance company denies his claim for truck repairs because the semi was used in a law-enforcement operation.

July 23, 2012: DEA formally presented with a demand to pay damages.
Commandeered by one of his drivers, who was secretly working with federal agents, the truck had been hauling marijuana from the border as part of an undercover operation. And without Patty's knowledge, the Drug Enforcement Administration was paying his driver, Lawrence Chapa, to use the truck to bust traffickers.

At least 17 hours before that early morning phone call, Chapa was shot dead in front of more than a dozen law enforcement officers - all of them taken by surprise by hijackers trying to steal the red Kenworth T600 truck and its load of pot.

In the confusion of the attack in northwest Harris County, compounded by officers in the operation not all knowing each other, a Houston policeman shot and wounded a Harris County sheriff's deputy.

But eight months later, Patty still can't get recompense from the U.S. government's decision to use his truck and employee without his permission. His company, which hauls sand as part of hydraulic fracturing operations for oil and gas companies, was pushed to the brink of failure after the attack because the truck was knocked out of commission, he said. Patty had only one other truck in operation.

In documents shared with the Houston Chronicle, he is demanding that the DEA pay $133,532 in repairs and lost wages over the bullet-sprayed truck, and $1.3 million more for the damage to himself and his family, who fear retaliation by a drug cartel over the bungled narcotics sting.

"When you start a new business, there are obvious pitfalls you go through, a learning curve," said Patty, who before buying his two trucks worked in the pharmaceutical industry. "But who would ever be ready to deal with this?

"How am I -- a small businessman, father of three, American Joe from Texas -- supposed to make a claim against a federal agency that has conveniently shrouded itself behind a red, white and blue cloak of confidentiality and secrecy?"

Copies of letters and emails from Patty's insurance company state that it won't pay for repairs because the truck was part of a law-enforcement operation. Patty drew from his 401K retirement fund to repair the truck, which was out of operation for 100 days.

"I was not part of this," he said. "I had absolutely no knowledge of any of it until after it happened."

For its part, the DEA has not admitted that it was using Chapa as a spy because its official policy is not to comment on whether someone was an informant.

Lisa Johnson, a spokeswoman for the DEA Houston Division, confirmed that Patty's demand had been received and noted that it would be investigated by the agency. But the Chronicle established Chapa was an informant based on interviews with multiple law-enforcement officials who spoke on the condition they not be named, and later by courtroom comments of prosecutors.

Patty's request chronicles much of what he's been through, including the operating costs for his trucks and everything repaired or replaced due to the attack. Among other disturbing chores was the need to hire a Spring-based company to clean up the mess in the cab caused by the killing.

Houston lawyer Mark Bennett, who is advising Patty, said if Patty's initial claim is not resolved, the next step would be to sue.

Patty hired Chapa five weeks before the shooting and now wonders how many of the trips in the $90,000 rig included DEA work. GPS information from the truck reveals an unauthorized trek to the Rio Grande Valley in the days before Chapa was killed. He took a 1,000-mile round trip detour from the route he was supposed to travel.

Perhaps most unnerving, Patty says, is that drug mobsters now likely know his name, and certainly know his truck.

The truck has a new driver, but there's still one bullet hole inside the truck's cab. A chunk of seat cushion, sliced out as evidence, has been covered with a patch.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under:

#1  heads need to roll at the DEA and DOJ. Chapa's family should be suing as well
Posted by: Frank G || 07/31/2012 10:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Want to bet DEA denies all claims of liability by saying the owner's only grievance is with his dead driver for misusing the truck.
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/31/2012 10:40 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
'Olympic visa scam': FIA to ask Interpol for red warrants against Asad
In case you haven't been paying attention: The Brit tabloid The Sun reported on the plot that would have allowed bad guyz into the country under the guise of being part of the Olympic delegation. The guy who owns the travel agency fronting the thing said he didn't know anything about it. He hasn't been to the office in eight years because he's sick. The interior ministry ordered that he not be arrested. Now they want the guy who helped with the expose deported so they can punish him...
The Federal Investigative Authority (FIA) has decided to contact the Interpol for red warrants against Mohammad Ali Asad, a central character of the so-called Olympic visa scam, while also declaring him as the main accused in the case, sources told DawnNews on Monday.

The Pak government has started the paperwork but haven't done much else against Asad for fraud, impersonation and mis-declaration, and is seeing his deportation from the United Kingdom.

The scandal came to the fore after the British tabloid "The Sun" published a report of a scam involving fake documents for travel to London, allegedly in connection with Pakistain's Olympic contingent.

Last week, the Pak federal cabinet had announced it would sue the UK-based tabloid for the "fabricated" story alleging that a group of travel agents and a politician were involved in the scam, which allowed anyone to travel with the Pak Olympic contingent as support staff if they pay a certain amount of money.

However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
an investigation conducted by the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) dismissed the claims and called its report a "fake scam."

"There was no fraud or illegal activity done while obtaining the ID cards and passport of "the Sun Man" Mohammad Ali Asad," a Nadra statement had said.

Sources also told DawnNews that the other main suspect in the investigation, Abid Chaudhry, appeared at the FIA office today, however he was asked to visit again on Tuesday for further investigation.

Speaking to media representatives today, Chaudhry claimed that he was innocent and that the real culprit was Mohammad Ali Asad. Chaudhry also demanded that Asad be brought to Pakistain for investigation.

On Saturday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
termed the British tabloid's report a conspiracy against Pakistain, calling it "a pre-planned and concocted story."

"We have full right to get him deported. This is a test case for the United Kingdom," Malik had said. "We have been cooperating with them for years and now it is time for them to reciprocate."
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Nato trucks suspended for fifth day at Torkham crossing
[Dawn] Pak officials said Monday that a ban on NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
trucks at the main border crossing into Afghanistan will last until the government promises to safeguard security.

Officials closed the northwestern Torkham crossing, the quickest route to the Afghan capital Kabul from the port of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, to NATO traffic on Thursday, just weeks after lifting a seven-month blockade on NATO trucks going into Afghanistan.

The Pak Taliban has vowed to attack NATO supplies and last Tuesday, one of the truck drivers was rubbed out in the northwestern town of Jamrud.

The suspension comes with the head of Pak intelligence, Lieutenant General Zaheer ul-Islam, due to hold talks with CIA chief David Petraeus in Washington this week, the first such talks for a year.

"The security plan by the political administration, police and Frontier Corps (a paramilitary force) is being prepared and once it is finalised and approved, NATO trucks will be allowed to pass," Bakhtiar Khan, a local administration official, told AFP.

Authorities in the northwest say they wrote to the federal government 11 days ago, asking them to finalise a security plan as soon as possible.

"But so far we have not received any response," information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told AFP from the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
province.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Cross-border shelling injures girl in Bajaur
[Dawn] A girl was injured seriously when a mortar shell, fired from across the border, hit a house in Sarkai Kandao area of Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central
...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth...
on Saturday night.

"The mortar shell fired from Afghanistan landed at the village and hit the house of Gulab Khan, partially damaging it and injuring a girl," officials said.

The injured girl was taken to agency headquarters hospital for treatment.

Officials said that snuffies living in Kunar province
... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country.....
of Afghanistan were responsible for the attack.

Volunteers of Mamond Peace Committee took positions in the mountainous area close to Pak-Afghan border soon after the incident.

It is pertinent to mention here that snuffies living in Kunar have increased attacks on the border areas of Bajaur tribal region during the last two months.

"Mamond rustics have made extraordinary arrangements for encountering cross-border attacks. For this purpose they have established dozens of new posts and deployed hundreds of volunteers in the border areas of the region," Noor Mohammad, a senior member of Mamond Peace Committee, told Dawn.

Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed this guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread...
political administration on Sunday destroyed the houses of four rustics in Kitkoot village for their alleged links with snuffies living in Afghanistan.

The residents of the area said that administration with the help of Bajaur Levies destroyed the houses of four rustics, who were blamed for helping snuffies in an attack on the village two weeks ago.

"A committee, formed for probing the matter, held the said persons responsible for supporting snuffies in the attack on the village," Tahir Khan, a member of the local peace committee, told Dawn.

Official sources said that the four rustics provided shelter to snuffies in their houses. They said that action against the rustics was taken after the decision of the inquiry committee, comprising members of local peace body.

Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed this guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread...
security forces and volunteers of local peace committee recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunition during a search operation in Kitkoot.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: TNSM


Blast in CD shop injures 2
[Dawn] Two persons were maimed and a CD shop was destroyed in a blast here on Sunday.

The bomb, planted at a CD shop, went off when Mohammad Adnan, the owner of the adjacent vegetable shop, pulled the shutter of his shop up to open it. Mr Adnan and a passerby identified as Shahzad were maimed in the blast while the shop was destroyed.

Both the injured were taken to King Abdullah Teaching Hospital from where Mr Adnan was referred to Ayub Medical Complex at death's door.

Eyewitnesses told journalists that the shop of Mr Adnan caught fire after the blast. The people present on the occasion extinguished the fire and took the injured to hospital, they added.

Police reached the spot and cordoned off the entire area soon after the blast. They also diverted traffic to other route until the Bomb Disposable Squad reached from Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
and defused the remaining bombs.--
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336063 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Three of a family among 10 killed
[Dawn] A couple and their nephew were rubbed out inside their home in Korangi at Iftar on Sunday, taking the corpse count in the city since late Saturday night to 10, police said.

As Shamsul Hasan, 55, his wife Rasheeda, 50, and their nephew Zeeshan, 22, broke their fast after dusk, gunnies entered their house situated near the mobile market in Sector 35-D, Korangi 4, and opened fire on them, said a duty officer of the Awami Colony cop shoppe.

The three family members had been shot multiple times, he said, adding that police Sherlocks later found more than a dozen spent bullet casings at the scene of the crime.

The official said the couple had sustained gunshot wounds to their chest and abdomen, while their nephew had been shot to the head.

The police quoted people in the neighbourhood as saying that the three suspects had come to the house on a cycle of violence.

The bodies were shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for medico-legal formalities.

"The exact motive for the killings is not yet clear," said DIG-East Shahid Hayat. However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
he said, the family had a history of drug peddling.

The family head, his slain nephew and a son had been locked away
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
in narcotics cases, he added. The DIG said that a son of Shamsul Hasan was in the vicinity and he saw the fleeing killers. He was in a state of shock at present, he added.

Woman bumped off

A woman was killed and her husband and a brother-in-law were maimed in a gun attack on the family in the early hours of Sunday in Surjani Town.

Police said the family had just returned home in Rozi Goth when suspects riding a cycle of violence attacked them with firearms at around 3am.

A duty officer at the Surjani Town cop shoppe said Hasina Khatoon, her husband, Zahid, and brother-in-law, Asif, were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital with gunshot wounds. The woman died during treatment, he added.

Quoting the area people, the police said the unknown assailants rode away after carrying out the attack. The police suspected some personal enmity behind the attack.

Two rubbed out

A man was rubbed out in Junjal Goth near New Sabzi Mandi within the remit of the Sohrab Goth cop shoppe on Sunday.

Police said the attack took place near Chawal Godam when the man, identified as Shumail Khan, 45, was shot by two persons riding a cycle of violence while he was on his way to work in the Mandi. The victim lived close to the scene of the crime, the police added.

The victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds and died before he could be shifted to hospital, the police said. They quoted doctors on duty at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital as saying that one of the bullets that pierced his neck proved fatal.

The police said some personal enmity seemed to be the motive behind his murder.

In Malir, a man was rubbed out by unknown persons at a tailor's.

Police said that an altercation took place at the shop located on Bakra Piri Road within the remit of the Malir City cop shoppe. The young man, identified as Muzammil Ahmed, sustained serious bullet wounds and was rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate
Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead.
He's dead, Jim!
MQM, PPP men killed

Two political activists were among three persons rubbed out in different parts of the city on Saturday night.

Khurram Sultan, 35, an MQM activist, was targeted by unknown assailants near Gol Market in Nazimabad No.3.

The victim was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
He's dead, Jim!
on arrival.

The police said the activist, belonging to the party's Unit 183, was having tea at a hotel when gunnies opened fire on him.

A senior PPP activist was bumped off by unknown assailants who barged into his residence in Bab-e-Iqbal Apartments in New Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
late Saturday night.

PPP central district president Sohail Abidi said that the victim, Safdar Baloch, was a senior activist of the party.

The body was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for legal formalities.

In another incident, a young man, Rashid Ahmed, was rubbed out by unknown men at around midnight in Federal B Area within the remit of the Yousuf Plaza cop shoppe.

The victim suffered gunshot wounds in the chest and was struck down in his prime, the police said, adding that the body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

Two bodies found

The body of a young man stuffed in a gunny bag was found dumped in the Aram Bagh area on Sunday.

Police said the body had been dumped in the furniture market sometime in the early hours of the day.

They said the victim's throat was found slit. The body was taken to the Civil Hospital Bloody Karachi for legal formalities and, later, sent to the Edhi morgue for identification.

Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie was cracking himself up, but nobody else seemed to be getting the non-stop jokes...
police found a 12-15 days old decomposed body of a man in the Khairabad locality of the Manghopir area on Sunday.

The police said the dead had a Qaumi Razakar card on his body that suggested his possible identity as Pervez Ashraf.

The remains were sent to the Civil Hospital for legal formalities.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under:


Pakistan suspends NATO supply over security issue
PESHAWAR: Pakistani officials said yesterday that a ban on NATO trucks at the main border crossing into Afghanistan will last until the government promises to safeguard security.

Officials closed the northwestern Torkham crossing, the quickest route to the Afghan capital Kabul from the port of Karachi, to NATO traffic on Thursday, just weeks after lifting a seven-month blockade on NATO trucks going into Afghanistan.
The route is open, you see, but it's not secure, so the drivers won't drive, so we don't get our supplies, tough luck infidels, oh and where's our money because Zardari wants his ten percent...
The Pakistani Taleban have vowed to attack NATO supplies and last Tuesday, one of the truck drivers was shot dead in the northwestern town of Jamrud.

“The security plan by the political administration, police and Frontier Corps (a paramilitary force) is being prepared and once it is finalized and approved, NATO trucks will be allowed to pass,” Bakhtiar Khan, a local administration official, told AFP.

Authorities in the northwest say they wrote to the federal government 11 days ago, asking them to finalize a security plan as soon as possible.
The bureaucracy moves slowly, doncha know...
“But so far we have not received any response,” Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told AFP from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Federal government officials were not immediately available to comment.
Not until their palms are correctly greased...
Islamabad closed its land routes to NATO convoys after US airstrikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on Nov. 26, but on July 3 agreed to reopen them after Washington said sorry for the deaths.

At Pakistan's southwestern crossing into Afghanistan, officials said no restrictions have been placed on NATO supply trucks, but that traffic had thinned.

“Fifty-eight trucks are parked at Chaman awaiting clearance from Afghan officials,” clearing agent Ashraf Khan told AFP.

In Karachi, many truckers won't leave without security guarantees and compensation, said Akram Khan Durrani, president of the All Pakistan Oil Tankers Owners Association.

“Until that, we are not going anywhere,” he told AFP. “It is too dangerous to take our vehicles out without solid guarantees. The situation has changed dangerously as many political and religious groups are against it and the Taleban could strike anywhere if we have no security.”
Posted by: Steve White || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:

#1  See also WAFF, TOPIX > RESUMED NATO CONVOYS MAKE MILLIONS FOR TALIBAN, mainly in do-not-attack-the-trucks/convoy "protection money" from corrupt Afghan Politicos + Security Agencies.

versus

* DAILY TIMES.PK > TALIBAN TO CUT TIES WID AL-QAEDA: AFGHANISTAN, as per secret Govt-Sharing = Peace negotiation = meeting.

ARTIC > INFORMED SOURCES = Taliban may also choose to remove AQ + other Militant Groups, etc. from Taliban-controlled regions.

versus

* DAILY TIMES.PK > AL-QAIDA AFFILIATES RISING AFTER DEATHS OF [Top = "Core" AQ] LEADERS: US STATE DEPARTMENT.

As per the DAILY MAIL.UK, Osama had 24 kiddies from 5 different wives - In short the scenario is there that, by his progeny, Osama may still end up proving more dangerous dead than alive???

When combatting Muslims, ONE ULTIMATELY ALSO FIGHTS THEIR DESCENDANTS OR GENERATIONS, NOT JUST ONE OR A FEW LEADERS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/31/2012 22:21 Comments || Top||

#2  OOOOPPPSIES, forgot DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > TALIBAN MAY [conditionally] AGREE TO PRESENCE OF US BASES + MILITARY ADVISORS AFTER 2014.

and

* TOPIX > US RECONSTRUCTION HITS MAJOR SNAGS [snafus] IN AFGHANISTAN.

* IIRC STARS-N-STRIPES > AFGHAN ECONOMY IS NOT "SUSTAINABLE".

IOW, Afghanistan needs one, or more?, massive US Govt. STIMULUS = QUANTITATIVE EASEMENT(S)???

Plus, ya know, as per TOPIX another problem for US Reconstruction in AFghanistan is that the Italian Mafia is over in KENYA = CENTRAL AFRICA???

just sayin'.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/31/2012 22:31 Comments || Top||


US Drone Kills 7 Militants in North Waziristan: Officials
[Tolo News] A US drone attack Sunday killed at least seven forces of Evil in North Waziriatan, officials said, days before the country's intelligence chief visits Washington with the contentious raids likely to be discussed.

Attacks by unmanned American aircraft are deeply unpopular in Pakistain, which says they violate its illusory sovereignty and fan anti-US sentiment, but US officials are said to believe the attacks are too important to give up.

In Sunday's attack, the second in the month of Ramazan, missiles struck a compound in Khushhali Turikhel village of the troubled North Wazoo tribal district, which lies on the border with Afghanistan.

"US drones fired six missiles into a bully boy compound. At least seven forces of Evil were killed," a security official told AFP.

"It is not immediately clear if there was an important bully boy killed in the attack."The toll might rise as forces of Evil search for colleagues buried under the rubble of the compound, the official said, adding that missiles also hit and destroyed two bully boy vehicles.

Local intelligence officials confirmed the attack and casualties.

Khushhali Turikhel lies around 35 kilometres (20 miles) east of Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
, the main town of North Waziristan which is considered a stronghold of bully boys.

Drone strikes are likely to be a major issue when Pakistain's spymaster, Lieutenant General Zaheer ul-Islam, holds talks in Washington on August 1-3 with his CIA counterpart.

Washington regards Pakistain's semi-autonomous northwestern tribal belt as the main hub of Taliban and al Qaeda forces of Evil plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.

Ten forces of Evil were killed on Monday in a similar attack in Shawal area of North Waziristan. In a drone attack at the start of July, six forces of Evil were killed and an attack on June 4 killed 15 bully boys, including senior Al-Qaeda figure Abu Yahya al-Libi.

There has been a dramatic increase in US drone strikes in Pakistain since May, when a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
summit in Chicago could not strike a deal to end a six-month blockade on convoys transporting supplies to coalition forces in Afghanistan.

On July 3 however, Islamabad agreed to end the blockade after the United States apologised for the deaths of 24 Pak soldiers in botched air strikes last November.

Islam's trip on Wednesday marks the first Washington visit in a year by the head of Pakistain's Inter-Services Intelligence and signals a thaw in relations beset by crisis since US troops killed the late Osama bin Laden
... who has won the race to that place where we all eventually end up...
near Islamabad in May 2011.

In protest at US drone attacks, local Taliban and Pak warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur have banned vaccinations in North and South Waziristan, putting 240,000 children in the region at risk.

They have condemned the immunisation campaign as a cover for espionage. In May, a Pak doctor was nabbed
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
for 33 years after helping the CIA find bin Laden using a hepatitis vaccination programme as a cover.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel Charges Golan Druze with Spying for Syria
[An Nahar] Israeli prosecutors on Monday charged a Druze resident of the occupied Golan Heights with spying for Syria, the Shin Bet internal security service said in a statement.

It said that Iyad Johari, from the border village of Majdal Shams, was charged with having contact with a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy.

The Shin Bet said that he was locked away
You have the right to remain silent...
last month "on suspicion of maintaining contact with Syrian intelligence and passed information on Israeli army deployment on the Golan Heights."
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Southeast Asia
Two Muslim rangers gunned down in southern Thailand
Two Muslim rangers were killed in a terrorist drive-by shooting in Narathiwat province on Monday evening, raising the death toll from terrorist insurgent attacks during the fasting month of Ramadan to 11.

The victims were travelling on a motorcycle when a terrorist gunman riding pillion on another motorcycle shot each of them in the head with a pistol, seriously wounding them. The terrorists assailants then fled. The rangers were taken to the hospital where they were later pronounced dead.
Perhaps a little situational awareness in the future, fellas?
Police blamed separatist terrorists militants.

The terrorist ambush occurred in front of a mosque where the rangers had gone for a Ramadan evening prayer and left to buy food for their fellow Muslim soldiers during Ramadan. At least 23 violent terrorist incidents have taken place in the deep South since Ramadan began on July 20. Monday's killings raised the Ramadan terrorist death toll to 11 after five policemen were slain in a car bomb attack in Yala and four soldiers were killed in a terrorist drive-by shooting last week.
See also:
Thai army chief slams Pattani police for leaked security cam footage
Posted by: ryuge || 07/31/2012 01:53 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency

#1  Again, the number 1 opening salvo for yet another bloody day. This headline is usually the first.
Posted by: newc || 07/31/2012 4:22 Comments || Top||


Indonesian police arrest 62 over Ramadan bar attack
Indonesian police said Monday they have arrested 62 people, most of them minors, involved in attacking a bar in south Jakarta for serving alcohol during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. A group of 150 youths -- some as young as 13 and carrying swords and golf clubs -- raided the De Most bar late Saturday, smashing bottles of alcoholic drinks and damaging the property, said Hermawan, chief detective for South Jakarta police.

"Of the 62 arrested most are minors, and some... were armed with Samurai swords, sickles and golf clubs," said Hermawan, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

"They shattered the windows and door and smashed bottles, saying they wanted all bars shut to ensure the month of Ramadan is not tainted," he added.

Twenty-three people face charges of damaging property while four are additionally charged with carrying sharp weapons.

The group called itself the Prophet's Defenders Council, Hermawan said.

"It is usual for me and my followers to raid sinful places during Ramadan," the group's alleged leader, 33-year-old Habib Bahar was quoted as saying by the Kompas.com news website after the arrests.

"They commit sins there. They get drunk so action must be taken," said Bahar, who was among the arrested.

A bar staff member said the attackers, some of them wearing white trousers and matching skull caps, arrived on motorcycles and shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greater) as they entered the bar and forced guests to leave.

"There was a live band playing (traditional) dangdut music and some of us were dancing. They said this is a sinful place, before smashing the glasses and beer bottles," the bar's operational manager Pariah, 37, told AFP.

"It was very frightening as they were armed with sticks, machetes, swords. Some of the female staff took off their high-heel shoes and ran helter-skelter. We thought they were going to kill us," she said.

In previous years Islamic groups have raided places serving alcohol, but Saturday's attack was the first this year since the fasting month of Ramadan officially began on July 21.

Authorities have ordered bars and nightclubs to close during the holy month, but the ban is not strictly enforced.

Ninety percent of Indonesia's population of 240 million identify themselves as Muslim but the supposedly vast majority practise a supposedly moderate form of Islam.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under:

#1  find the leaders (Imams) of the Prophet's Defenders Council, beat the crap out of them, then jug em
Posted by: Frank G || 07/31/2012 10:06 Comments || Top||

#2  "They said this is a sinful place, before smashing the glasses and beer bottles," the bar's operational manager Pariah, 37, told AFP."

It was probably a delightfull atmosphere - before they started spilling blood with Samurai swords. Honestly, it just seems like these militants have got no grasp of ambiance.
Posted by: Raider || 07/31/2012 13:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Is that reelee the name of the bar's operational manager, or does he just have a terrific sense of humor?
Posted by: Shinter Javirong9154 || 07/31/2012 16:10 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian Regime Claims Military Gains in Aleppo, Rebels Deny
[An Nahar] Government forces on Monday strafed rebel-held districts in Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
with helicopter gunships and pounded them with shelling on the third day of a pitched battle for Syria's commercial capital.

The fighting has sent some 200,000 civilians fleeing the northern city, according to the U.N., which warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe, while La Belle France said it would call an urgent U.N. Security Council meeting on Syria.

The head of the U.N. observer mission inside Syria said he personally had witnessed heavy shelling of Homs, Syria's third largest city, on a field visit on Sunday during which U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
said the convoy came under small-arms fire by unknown assailants.

The army's offensive in Aleppo was focused on Salaheddin district in the southwest, a stronghold of the rebel Free Syrian Army, said the Syrian Revolution General Commission.

The army said later that it had overrun Salaheddin, although the rebels denied the claim.

Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, head of the Free Syrian Army military council for Aleppo, insisted government troops had "not progressed one meter (yard)," and that the rebels still controlled "between 35 and 40 percent of Aleppo."

Inside the embattled district, whole streets and buildings were damaged, and electricity cables dangled between them, an Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent reported.

While battles raged nearby, about 200 people waited in a queue to buy their daily bread from a rebel-controlled bakery.

Just outside of Aleppo, rebels seized a strategic checkpoint after a 10-hour battle, another AFP correspondent reported.

By securing the checkpoint, about five kilometers (3.8 miles) northwest of Aleppo, the rebels now control a direct route between the Turkish border and the commercial capital.

The AFP correspondent said the rebels captured seven tanks and armored vehicles, and destroyed an eighth vehicle.

The Syrian Observatory for human Rights said the rebels had been able to make use of the captured armor. "Rebels used a tank they had captured from the army to target the military airport," the Britannia-based watchdog said.

U.N. mission chief Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye said he was "deeply concerned about the ongoing violence from both sides in Aleppo."

"My observers there have reported an upsurge in the violence, with helicopters, tanks and artillery being used," the Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
ese general said.

"It is imperative that both sides respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians."

Gaye said that during his trip to Homs province on Sunday -- his first field visit since taking over the mission earlier this month -- he had seen heavy shelling in Homs and extensive damage in the battleground town of Rastan.

"There were damaged tanks left on the side of the streets, public infrastructure, such as bridges, was destroyed, and homes on the main roads inside the town were largely damaged," he said.

The five-vehicle convoy which was carrying Gaye came under small arms fire near Homs, a U.N. peacekeeping spokeswoman said.

"Fortunately there were no injuries," the U.N. chief told news hounds.

U.N. officials said it was not known who had fired the shots.

There was renewed fighting in Homs province on Monday, in which the Syrian Observatory reported five rebel fighters and four civilians killed.

They were among 41 people the watchdog was able to confirm killed nationwide, although it admitted it had no immediate accurate figures for Aleppo.

"In a war context, it takes more time to accurately document the corpse count," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said an estimated 200,000 people had fled from Aleppo in two days and that an unknown number were still trapped in the city.

Amos said many people in Aleppo had sought shelter in schools and other public buildings. "They urgently need food, mattresses and blankets, hygiene supplies and drinking water," she said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta
...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993....
warned Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
that the assault on his own population in Aleppo would be a nail in his coffin.

"It's pretty clear that Aleppo is another tragic example of the kind of indiscriminate violence that the Assad regime has committed against its own people," Panetta told news hounds.

"If they continue this kind of tragic attack on their own people in Aleppo, I think ultimately it will be a nail in Assad's coffin," he said.

Syria's top diplomat in London Khaled al-Ayoubi resigned in protest against the "violent and oppressive" actions of the Assad regime, the British Foreign Office said.

It was the latest blow to the Damascus
...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world...
government after a series of defections of diplomats and senior army officers in recent weeks.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336092 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  reports are that the rebels captured a few more tanks and some light artillery this morning north of the city center and the Syrian govt forces haven't taken anything beyond what they had yesterday except for a block or two in the western part of the city
Posted by: lord garth || 07/31/2012 10:40 Comments || Top||

#2  afternoon action consisted of shelling by the govt and ambushes and skirmishing by both sides

reports are that the rebels are placing IEDs and pre positioning vehicle bombs in anticipation of a push by govt forces
Posted by: lord garth || 07/31/2012 15:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Rebel-held areas are reported to be running short of food. If true, they are in trouble. In fact, it's pretty surprising they're having these issues, given that a substantial chunk are said to be drawn from Army defectors. On the other hand, it's been a while since they've gone to war. Of course, they could resort to the other white meat, if they're not squeamish.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 07/31/2012 21:20 Comments || Top||


Syria Rebels Draft Transition Road Map
[An Nahar] Syria's rebels distributed on Monday a "national salvation draft" proposal for a political transition in the country, bringing together military and civilian figures for a post-Bashir al-Assad phase.

The draft by the joint command of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) proposes the establishment of a higher defense council charged with creating a presidential council, which in turn would bring together a total of six military and civilian figures to lead a future transition.

The proposal "meets all the revolution's demands," said the umbrella Military Council Joint Command, based in the central province of Homs.

When Syria's uprising first turned into an armed insurgency, various factions of fighters generally had little or no coordination with each other as they separately battled President Assad's forces.

This has changed with time, with the Joint Command, headed by Colonel Kassem Saadeddine, emerging as an increasingly representative coordination body for the FSA inside Syria.

Officially, the FSA is under the command of defected Colonel Riad Assaad, who is based in Turkey. However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese...
FSA commanders inside Syria have frequently said they would not take orders from a leader based outside the strife-torn country.

The transition-phase higher defense council should include "all Military Council leaders in Syria's cities and provinces, as well as all the high-profile defected officers and others who have contributed to the revolution," the Joint Command statement said.

Among the proposed presidential council's responsibilities would be "to put forward draft laws for referendum and (...) to restructure the security and military apparatus," the statement said.

The FSA also envisaged "the development of solutions for civilians who took up arms during the revolution," adding that they "could be incorporated in new security and military institutions."

The transition would also feature the "establishment of a higher national council to protect the Syrian revolution," whose role would be to "monitor the work of the executive."

Alongside all major opposition forces -- including activist networks the Syrian Revolution General Commission and the Local Coordination Committees -- the FSA and the new national council should participate "in the creation of new institutions," the statement said.

In the transition, the FSA should head both the interior and defense ministries, according to the draft. "The minister of presidential affairs should be a civilian appointed by the revolution's military wing," the statement added.

The draft aims to take Syria through "a safe and balanced transition period," the FSA said, describing it as a "road map that can be accepted by all parties on the path to liberation and independence, and the building of a new Syria."

The FSA also warned that "any government that is created anywhere... that lacks national and revolutionary legitimacy, that does not fully meet all the demands of the revolution, and that lacks the approval of the Joint Command and all the revolutionary forces on the ground, will not see the light."
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Road Map to Sharia?

That's my bet.
Posted by: AlanC || 07/31/2012 11:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Is that anything lie the Free Mexican Air Force?
Posted by: mojo || 07/31/2012 12:13 Comments || Top||


U.N. Chief Observer Sees 'Heavy Shelling' in Homs
[An Nahar] [An Nahar] The new head of the U.N. observer mission in Syria said on Monday that he saw heavy shelling in the central city of Homs and major damage to the nearby town of Rastan during his first visit into the field.

"During my visit to Homs, I was personally able to witness heavy shelling from artillery and mortars ongoing in the neighborhoods of the city," Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye told news hounds after Sunday's trip.

"Rastan was heavily damaged by an intensive shelling campaign and fierce fighting," Gaye said.

"There were damaged tanks left on the side of the streets, public infrastructure, such as bridges, was destroyed, and homes on the main roads inside the town were largely damaged."

Gaye said he had met both the provincial governor and members of the rebel Free Syrian Army to "gauge their readiness for local engagement and dialogue."

He called on both sides to exercise restraint and to move away from "this mindset of confrontation and militarization."

He said he was "deeply concerned about the ongoing violence from both sides in Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
," Syria's most populous city, where an army assault on rebel positions entered its third day on Monday.

"My observers there have reported an upsurge in the violence, with helicopters, tanks and artillery being used," the Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
ese general said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


U.N. Says Syrian Forces Attacked Chief Observer Convoy
[An Nahar] A convoy of unarmed U.N. observers came under attack in Syria, U.N. leader the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
said Monday as he expressed mounting concern at the spiraling onslaught by government forces.

The five-vehicle convoy which was carrying U.N. mission chief General Babacar Gaye came under small arms fire near the protest city of Homs, a U.N. peacekeeping spokeswoman said.

"Fortunately there were no injuries," Ban told news hounds as he announced the attack on Sunday.

The convoy was at the village of Talbisa, traveling from the protest city of Homs when one vehicle was hit by three bullets and another by one bullet, a U.N. peacekeeping spokeswoman, Josephine Guerrero, told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"It was a convoy of five vehicles, which was carrying General Gaye, which came under small arms fire," she said.

U.N. officials said it was not known who had fired the shots.

Gaye told a presser in Damascus
...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat...
that he had been on his first field visit since his arrival one week ago to take charge of the U.N. Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS).

He did not mention the shooting incident but told news hounds: "During my visit to Homs, I was personally able to witness heavy shelling, from artillery and mortars, ongoing in the neighborhoods of the city."

Ban made a new plea for Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
to halt the "violent measures" of his forces in Homs and the city of Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
, which is the target of a major new assault.

"We are deeply concerned that they are using all sorts, all kinds of heavy equipment, including military airplanes and attack helicopters and heavy weaponry. This is an unacceptable situation," Ban said. "The situation is getting worse and worse."
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Did you get a good look, Mr. Observer?
Posted by: mojo || 07/31/2012 12:14 Comments || Top||


Syria's Top Diplomat in London Defects
[An Nahar] Syria's top diplomat in London resigned Monday in protest against the "violent and oppressive" acts of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's
Lord of the Baath...
regime, the British Foreign Office said.

The move comes after a series of defections by senior Syrian officials in recent weeks, including diplomats in several countries and top army officers.

The Foreign Office said in a statement that charge d'affaires Khaled al-Ayoubi had informed it on Monday that he had "left his post", describing it as a blow to the Syrian government.

"Mr. al-Ayoubi has told us that he is no longer willing to represent a regime that has committed such violent and oppressive acts against its own people, and is therefore unable to continue in his position," it said.

Britannia expelled the previous Syrian charge d'affaires, Ghassan Dalla, and two other diplomats in May. Syria had earlier withdrawn its ambassador from London.

"Mr. al-Ayoubi was the most senior Syrian diplomat serving in London. His departure is another blow to the Assad regime," the Foreign Office said.

"It illustrates the revulsion and despair the regime's actions are provoking amongst Syrians from all walks of life, inside the country and abroad."

It added: "We urge others around Bashir al-Assad to follow Mr. al-Ayoubi's example; to disassociate themselves from the crimes being committed against the Syrian people and to support a peaceful and free future for Syria."

The Foreign Office said Ayoubi was not speaking to the media and asked for his privacy to be respected.

It said he joined the Syrian diplomatic service in 2001, and that his first posting was in Greece as consul from 2003 to 2008.

A Foreign Office front man would not confirm Ayoubi's current whereabouts or say whether he was now seeking asylum in Britannia.

Defections are becoming a growing problem for Assad's regime, which has launched a bloody crackdown on a revolt in which more than 20,000 people have died since March 2011, according to activists.

Syria closed its embassy in Australia on Monday amid reports that some of its staff were seeking asylum.

Mayer Dabbagh, Syria's honorary consul in Sydney, confirmed the closure but declined to say why the embassy had shut or what had become of its staff.

Also on Monday a diplomatic source said that another brigadier general had defected from Syria's army to join the ranks of opposition fighters, pushing the total number of rebel generals based in Turkey to 28.

Senior Syrian officers have been crossing over into Turkey to link up with rebel forces on a near daily basis in recent months, often accompanied by rank-and-file troops, to join the ranks of the Free Syrian Army.

There have been a number of defections by diplomats too.

Sources said last week that Syria's charge d'affairs in Cyprus, Lamia Hariri, and her husband Abdel Latif al-Dabbagh, the ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, had both defected.

Nawaf Fares, Syria's ambassador to Iraq, left for Qatar earlier in July month after publicly renouncing his post.
Posted by: Fred || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Tens of thousands flee Aleppo as fighting rages
BUKULMEZ, Turkey: Some 200,000 people have fled Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, during days of clashes between rebels and the military. Aleppo residents, some severely wounded, are packing up belongings and loading them onto cars, trucks and even motorcycles to seek temporary shelter in rural villages and schools outside the city and dusty tents across the border in Turkey.

In interviews with The Associated Press, refugees described a city besieged by government troops and beset by incessant shelling. Food supplies and gasoline are running low and black market prices for everyday staples are soaring.

The battle for Aleppo, a city of 3 million that was once a bastion of support for Assad, is critical for both the regime and the opposition. Its fall would give the opposition a major strategic victory with a stronghold in the north. A rebel defeat, at the very least, would buy Assad more time.

Activists said regime forces were shelling rebel-held districts of the city and a cluster of surrounding villages relentlessly on Monday, sending entire families and panicked residents fleeing. Many went to Turkey, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) away, where tens of thousands of Syrians have already found refuge during the uprising.

The UN said 200,000 Syrians have left Aleppo over the past 10 days as the government trains its mortars, tanks and helicopter gunships on the neighborhoods seized by the rebels.

“I am extremely concerned by the impact of shelling and use of tanks and other heavy weapons on people in Aleppo,” Valerie Amos, the top UN official for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement late Sunday. “Many people have sought temporary shelter in schools and other public buildings in safer areas,” she added. “They urgently need food, mattresses and blankets, hygiene supplies and drinking water.”

“It is not known how many people remain trapped in places where fighting continues today,” she warned.

In online videos, people can be seen scurrying through streets against a backdrop of gunfire and climbing onto any form of transportation available to escape, including trucks, cars and even heavily laden motorcycles. The authenticity of the videos could not be independently verified.

“Dozens of families are packing their belongings and leaving in cars and trucks,” said an activist in a village near Aleppo, who declined to give his name for security reasons. “They are taking only light possessions that they can carry, like a few clothes, some valuables and that’s it.”

“I saw cars with eight, nine people packed in them fleeing the bombing,” he added. He said rebels had seized a nearby checkpoint early Monday and captured several tanks. The regime responded by shelling the rural area just northwest of the city. “Entire families are leaving.”

Videos of the attack on the checkpoint in Andan posted on the Internet show fierce exchanges of fire in the early morning and then later, victorious rebels hauling out boxes of ammunition and taking heavy machine guns for the fight in Aleppo.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry defended its offensive in Aleppo province, saying it was meant to protect innocent people. In two letters addressed to the head of the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary General, Syria said that “armed terrorist groups” backed openly with funds and weapons by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey have committed “horrifying crimes” against innocent civilians. It accused the rebels of using residents as human shields.

Syrian state media reported the army had “purged” Aleppo’s southwestern neighborhood of Salaheddine and inflicted “great losses” upon the rebels in one of the first districts they took control of in their bid to seize the city.

Activists, however, disputed these claims. The assault has knocked down power lines, and the neighborhood has been without electricity since the morning.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/31/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under:

#1  200K seems like a lot..

But still less than the number of coastal evacuees in the U.S. when a hurricane approaches.
Posted by: American Delight || 07/31/2012 12:17 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2012-07-31
  Unconfirmed: Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar assassinated, report says
Mon 2012-07-30
  Nine dead after Dagestani raid
Sun 2012-07-29
  Syria Rebels Fend Off Aleppo Assault
Sat 2012-07-28
  Helicopter gunships strafe Aleppo
Fri 2012-07-27
  62 Mexican Policias Federales kidnapped in Michoacan
Thu 2012-07-26
  Syrian envoy to Cyprus defects
Wed 2012-07-25
  Syrian forces attack mosque, kill 30
Tue 2012-07-24
  Syrian Army Retakes Most of Damascus
Mon 2012-07-23
  23 wounded in Iraq car bombing
Sun 2012-07-22
  Pencilneck may use chemical weapons against rebels
Sat 2012-07-21
  Islamic Jihad Leadership Abandons Syria For Iran
Fri 2012-07-20
  Syria Rebels Take 'All Iraq Border Points'
Thu 2012-07-19
  Pencilneck runs away to Latakia
Wed 2012-07-18
  Two Buses With 40 Israeli Tourists Blown Up At Bulgarian Airport
Tue 2012-07-17
  Blast kills MP in Mogadishu, Militants claim responsibility

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