[ADN Kronos] Italian and Afghan soldiers on Tuesday came under fierce attack from militants, just north of Farah in western Afghanistan.
A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said that the Afghan soldiers, backed by the Italians immediately responded with an exchange of fire. One militant was captured but no injuries were reported amid reports of worsening violence across the country.
The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the elections and have urged people to boycott the ballot, the second direct presidential poll since the hardline Taliban were removed by US-backed Afghan forces in 2001.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Are these raids, or is it something sustainable?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/05/2009 10:19 Comments ||
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#2
I don't think anyone is ready for clear, hold and build in Farah province, when there aren't quite adequate resources to hold and build behind the USMC schwerpunkt in Helmand.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/05/2009 15:27 Comments ||
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[Quqnoos] A suicide bomber attacked a vehicle of a district intelligence official in the southern Zabul province, killing 4 and wounding 17 on Tuesday, officials said
The bomber detonated the explosives trapped on his body when the car of a local intelligence head passed by a bazaar in the remote district of Shahjoy, said Zabul's deputy governor, Gulab Shah Ali Khail.
At least three civilians were killed and 16 others have been wounded in the huge blast took place in the restive southern province, the official further said.
The district intelligence head has survived the attempt on his life but an employee of intelligence service was killed and another has been injured, said provincial Police Chief, Gen Jelani Khan Farahi.
The incident occurred at about 11:00am on Tuesday.
Afghan security forces have cordoned off the bazaar as two other suicide bombers have been reportedly entered the area, intending to target government officials and institutions, Mr Ali Khail said.
Zabul is a volatile province in the southern Afghanistan, neighbouring Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the Taliban.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, speaking from an undisclosed location, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the bomber has killed eight Afghan security personnel.
Several people have been killed and dozens have been wounded in a series of pre-elections unrest over the past few days as Taliban vowed to disrupt the elections on 20 August.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#3
ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTAN POL: TERRORISTS PREPARING TO DECLARE AN INDEPENDENT BALOCHISTAN + TALIBAN GROW IN STRENGTH, SOUND WARNING IN GHAZNI.
The Taleban fired eight rockets into Kabul yesterday in an attack designed as a statement of intent before the Afghan elections on August 20. A spokesman for the group said the attack showed that the Government and its Western backers could not ensure security before the landmark vote. "We are in control," said Zabiullah Mujahed, warning of further attacks.
He said from an encrypted phone while lounging poolside in a safe house in Peshawar ...
That would be the pretty white princess phone with the gold-toned detailing?
Rockets were aimed at areas close to the international airport and a district that contains the American and British embassies. None did serious damage and the only casualties were a man and a child who suffered slight injury. Gunfire was also heard briefly after the rockets landed.
So the Talibs' aim is as good as it ever has been. Gotta be Hekmatyar ...
The launcher in the picture holds nine. What happened to the last one?
Police in the district of Deh Sabz, northeast of the city, reported the discovery of a ninth rocket and a crude water-drip timer device wired to a car battery for launching the munitions. "There's no indication that these rockets were targeting any particular site," the US Embassy said. One of the missiles exploded a few hundred metres from the Embassy.
Successful Taleban attacks on Kabul have been declining sharply since 2007. This year only one attack has succeeded, so far, in breaching the city defences: an assault by gunmen and suicide bombers that briefly took control of the Justice Ministry in February. Security around the city appears to have been improved by the influx of 4,000 new police and by improvements at the Interior Ministry.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
Counterfire on a delayed-fire launcher on a timer doesn't seem like a useful response. The only things that will end this sort of attack are
A) regular foot-patrols to spot the big honking launchers sitting around waiting to go off
B) check-points to stop guys with launchers hanging off their trucks' tail-hitches
C) the Taliban running out of money for disposable rocket-racks.
You know, even I can't tell if I'm being sarcastic any more... It's not the Green Zone rocket-siege of 2007, but it ain't good, either. Bad memories of the 1990s for Kabul.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/05/2009 10:17 Comments ||
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Kabul Is Shelled by the Taliban reads the dramatic headline in the Wall Street Journal a newspaper that is a byword for serious, nonsensationalistic news coverage. Variations appeared in newspapers around the world. From the headline, you would think the capital of Afghanistan was under incessant barrage from enemy artillery as it was in the 1990s during its civil war. But when you read the actual stories (I wonder how many will actually bother to), a slightly different picture emerges:
Taliban militants fired rockets into Afghanistans capital from about 12 miles away before dawn Tuesday. . . . The attack was the first on Kabul in nearly six months, and relatively minor, wounding two people and damaging a few buildings.
So let me get this straight: a handful of militants unleash a few long-range inaccurate rockets that cause little damage and this is supposed to be the shelling of Kabul? Actually, its a sign of how safe the Afghan capital is that such a minor attack makes the news at all. In the case of Baghdad, it would have taken dozens of casualties for an attack to get this much media play. But even in Baghdad, it was easy to overhype such attacks. I remember how during visits to the Iraqi capital in the past, I would sometimes get worried e-mails from back home wondering if I was OK after some attack or another. Invariably, the folks back home knew more about it than I did because they were watching CNN, whereas when you are actually in a sprawling city like Baghdad, it is quite possible to be completely oblivious of a bombing that has taken place a few miles away.
I am by no means suggesting that the media suppress the news of such attacks, but I wish they would keep in mind that the only reason the Taliban stage them is to garner this kind of overwrought press coverage.
Heck of a statement of intent by the Taliban: one out of nine rockets is a dud, the eight that go off manage to inflict splinters on two people (although perhaps Purple Hearts should be awarded nonetheless), and the brave Talib Lions of Islam only dared come as close as twelve miles away, and even then they didn't dare stay long enough to remove their launcher for re-use. Soon little Afghan children will be taunting their neighbors with
Cowardy cowardy custard,
Your Mama's made of mustard,
Your Papa is a Taliban,
Who runs away from mouse and lamb,
And you're just like that scared old man,
You cowardy cowardy custard!*
*It scans better in the original Pashto, of course, but note the near-rhyme in line four. ;-)
#4
Actually, TW, that particular rocket-launcher has 12 tubes - three layers of four. Probably Russian-made, dating from WWII (the "Great Patriotic War"). Probably dragged into place by human mules, "aimed" in the general direction of Kabul, and partly camouflaged so it wouldn't be detected before the rockets were launched. Too bad the operation wasn't detected by a drone and Hellfire-zapped.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/05/2009 14:32 Comments ||
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#5
Worse and worse, Old Patriot. Of twelve, eight went off as planned, one was a dud... What happened to the other three? Or did the Taliban only have nine of the things lying about?
#6
good catch TW. Taliban may still be strong in Helmand, and in some rural areas in the east, but the meme that the whole country is falling is based on not reading past the headlines.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/05/2009 15:29 Comments ||
Top||
#7
ION TOPIX > CENTRAL ASIAN STATES [Ex-USSR/Soviet STANS]PROFESS UNITY, BUT INSTEAD ARE GOING THEIR OWN WAY.
[Maghrebia] Terrorists opened fire on a civilian vehicle Monday afternoon (August 3rd), in Tadmait, Tizi Ouzou province, killing all four passengers, local press reported. Security sources cited by Tout sur d'Algerie said the attackers were probably targeting a delivery truck bound for the local army barracks. The young victims in the Peugeot 404 covered pickup were actually transporting food from the nearby village of Ichakalène to a party for one of their sisters.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Five bodies were found floating in the canals of Sundarbans yesterday following Sunday's fierce gunfight between two pirate groups.
Of the deceased, four were identified as Masum, 40, and Khalil, 38, of Sharankhola upazila, Bachchu, 35, and Faruque, 37, of Mongla upazila in Bagerhat. The body of a man aged over 50 and wearing uniform of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) could not be identified yet.
Local sources said the bodies were not recovered till 5:30pm yesterday for an unknown reason although those corpses were seen at Dudmukhi, Lathimara and Bharani canals Monday evening.
Sources in the coastguard confirmed that the five pirates were among those killed in a fierce gunfight between Raju Bahini and Zulfikar Bahini at Dudmukhi canal under Sharankhola upazila. No one has so far claimed the bodies, police said.
Meanwhile, coastguard members recovered two trawlers from Lathimara canal during a special operation on Monday. The pirates of Raju Bahini used the trawlers, sources said. Besides, coastguards and forest guards in another joint operation rescued 25 fishermen and recovered eight fishing boats from Dudmukhi canal on July 31. The fishermen, hailing from Sharankhola upazila, were kidnapped by pirates to realise Tk one lakh each from them, said Lieutenant Lokman Hakim of coastguards west zone.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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At least 17 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were killed when the security forces bombed one of their hideouts in the country's central Meta province, officials said.
There were 200 FARC guerrillas at the camp when the attack took place, a defence ministry spokesman said Monday, without elaborating on the fate of the other rebels.
Media reports said the security forces have launched a major operation against the rebels, mainly to capture FARC's 27th Front commander Efren Arboleda.
The operation was hampered due to the bad weather, reports said.
In a separate development, the army and the air force have launched an operation against the rebels in southern Caqueta province. The main target is the chief of FARC's 49th Front, Wilson Pena Maje.
Gen. Javier Florez, commander of the Joint Task Force Omega, said his soldiers have killed at least 40 militants in clashes in eastern Colombia in recent weeks.
FARC, the country's largest leftist group, has fought with successive Colombian governments since mid-1960s. The group is thought to have around 9,000 fighters.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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Turning a new page in relations between Washington and Pyongyang, North Korea freed two US journalists shortly after former US president Bill Clinton met leader Kim Jong-il.
The North Korean leader had issued a special pardon to the journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling of US media outlet Current TV, North Korea's KCNA news agency reported on Tuesday.
The journalists were arrested on the North Korea-China border in March and accused of illegal entry. Last month, they were sentenced to 12 years hard labor for what North Korea called grave crimes.
The North Korean news agency said Clinton passed on a verbal message from US President Barack Obama.
"Kim Jong-il expressed thanks for this," KCNA said of the message.
"He welcomed Clinton's visit to the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and had an exhaustive conversation with him. There was a wide-ranging exchange of views on matters of common concern," KCNA added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Kim got the attention he wanted and I wonder what else he got. Bill Clinton would never have got on that airplane if the deal hadn't already been done.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/05/2009 7:37 Comments ||
Top||
#2
And to think, all of this was accomplished without the assistance of a single Arkansas State Highway Patrolman.
#6
I wonder if this time it was Clinton that had to be under the desk. He sure wasn't smiling much in the pictures I saw and looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth. Not to mention Kimmie was smiling like a man that just got ....
#7
WMF > CHINA: A STEP-BY-STEP ON HOW TO LOSE NORTH KOREA/ CHINA MUST BE WATCHFUL AND PREVENT NORTH KOREA FROM HAVING NUCLEAR WEAPONS, STRONG BILATERAL RELATIONS WID THE US.
* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > TOP ARTICLE: ENCIRCLING THE DRAGON [China].
SRINAGAR: Nine militants, including a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, were killed in six encounters in Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said on Wednesday.
Five infiltrating militants were among seven ultras killed in four separate encounters with security forces in Kashmir valley, while a self-styled section commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and an infiltrator were killed in Jammu region since last evening, the spokesman said.
The slain militant commander identified as Noor Mohammed alias Mansoor was gunned down in a gunbattle in Doda district. An AK 47 rifle and three magazines were recovered from the slain militant.
Another militant was killed by the army during an infiltration bid across the LoC in the Poonch sector.
In the valley, a group of heavily-armed militants from across the border sneaked into Tangdhar, 130 kms from here, in the wee hours, but army troops confronted them and in the ensuing firefight, which is still continuing, three militants were killed, a defence spokesman said. He said the operation was still going on.
The spokesman said two more militants were killed in an ongoing gunbattle between ultras and security forces at Furkhan near Trehgam, 150 kms from here on Wednesday morning. He said two infiltrators were killed in Keran sector, 140 kms from here in Kupwara on Tuesday evening.
Troops also launched a search operation in Didan Gali in Pirpanjal sector of South Kashmir on Wednesday morning. As the troops were engaged in combing operation, militants hiding there opened fire, the spokesman said adding the troops retaliated. The gunbattle was going on but there were no reports of any casualty so far.
Defence sources said militant commanders in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) are "desperate" to push militant groups into the valley to foment trouble in the valley where the level of violence has come down in the recent past.
They said engagement of army troops in as many as five places in the valley indicated that infiltrators are waiting in the wings to cross over into India taking advantage of the weather conditions. The peaks along the LoC get blocked due to snow and infiltration becomes almost impossible during winter months.
This article starring:
Noor Mohammed
Posted by: john frum ||
08/05/2009 14:13 ||
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Two missiles, suspected to have been fired by a US drone, have killed one of the wives of a leading Pakistani militant, relatives have told the BBC.
Mammas, don't let your babies grow up to marry jihadis Pakistani militants.
The missiles struck the house of top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud's father-in-law, locals told the BBC. They say that several other relatives of Mr Mehsud were injured in the attack in the South Waziristan tribal area. Mohammad Iqbal Mehsud, nephew of Malik Ikramuddin, told the BBC Urdu service's Dilawar Khan that more than 40 people were present in the house at the time of the attack. They remained unharmed because they were in others rooms, he said. Pity. Should have used 500 lb bombs. Cheaper too.
He said Baitullah Mehsud was not in the house at that time.
Residents say that the militants have set up check posts at points along roads near the area and have stopped traffic. Hello CIA. More targets dead ahead.
Posted by: ed ||
08/05/2009 08:23 ||
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Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/05/2009 15:25 Comments ||
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#6
Napalm would have left a much neater scene, with fewer survivors. Unfortunately, 90% of the people in the house were civilians. Such a strike would send a definite message, however, that we'll do whatever is necessary to win this frigging war, including a "scorched earth" campaign. If we terrorize enough people, they'll stop fighting. That's why the current "rules of engagement" are so stupid - as well as the tactics. These people don't respond to kindness, but force. An ARCLIGHT strike using a dozen B-52s, even against just a "militant stronghold" in the mountains of either Afghanistan or Pakistan would certainly result in a number of gunnies getting the message. Fighting a war with both hands in boxing gloves and one foot in a bucket is stupid, expensive in both lives and treasure, and won't accomplish much. Whatever happened to the doctrine of "overwhelming force"?
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/05/2009 15:57 Comments ||
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#7
drink up!
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/05/2009 16:56 Comments ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Three militants were killed and several others injured when security forces pounded suspected hideouts of the militants in different areas of Salarzai Tehsil of Bajaur Agency, official sources said here on Monday. The sources said security forces targeted the militant hideouts in Darra, Ghundai and Sor Dagay areas with artillery guns. They said three militants were killed and several others sustained injuries. They added that a number of sanctuaries of the militants were destroyed in the action.
Meanwhile, the authorities in Bajaur Agency asked the elders of Salarzai tribe to flush the militants out of their areas or face the consequences.Speaking at a Jirga of the elders, Khar Subdivision Assistant Political Agent Iqbal Khattak said the people of Tangi, Babar Shah, Darra, Ghundai and Sor Dagay should cooperate with the political administration in eliminating the militants and refrain from harbouring them in their areas.
Tribal elders Malik Mehraban Gul, Malik Muhammad Zada, Malik Gul Rahim, Malik Fateh Said, Malik Sahib Shah and others attended the Jirga. In their speeches, the elders vowed to make efforts for handing over the wanted persons to the administration or expel them from the area to avert a possible action by the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] The political administration of South Waziristan Monday launched a crackdown on the Karmazkhel Wazir tribes and stopped their perks and privileges for locking the office of agency surgeon.
Tribal sources told The News that the political administration had also warned the rebellious Wazir tribes of stern action, including sealing of their property in the settled areas, if they did not mend their ways.
The administration has stopped perks and privileges, payment of salaries and honoraria to maliks belonging to Karmazkhel tribes and ordered sealing of their filling stations, hotels, restaurants and business centres.
The sources added that the law-enforcing agencies had been alerted to carry out checking of vehicles on security checkpoints and arrest the Karmazkhel Wazir tribesmen to punish them for challenging the writ of the government.
Karmazkhel tribesmen had locked the office of agency surgeon in Wana after manhandling and forcibly evicting the staff from there a few days ago. Mahsud tribes resented the action of Karmazkhel tribes and asked the NWFP governor, chief secretary and Fata health director to shift the office of agency surgeon to Tank to settle the dispute once and for all.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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[ADN Kronos] Jets shelled Taliban hideouts and killed at least five militants in Pakistan's troubled northwestern Swat region late Monday, officials said. The aircraft raided the town of Dok Darra after intelligence reports said that a large number of militants had gathered in the area, military spokesman Major Nasir Ali Khan said.
The air raids were the latest sign that Taliban militants have not given up their fight to impose strict Islamic law in the Swat district and surrounding areas, despite the army's claim it had defeated them.
"The bombing destroyed three Taliban bases and killed five militants," Khan said.
The army said it had arrested a total 17 suspected terrorists in the Swat region, demolished several suspected militant hideouts, seized arms and ammunition and recovered an explosive device.
Security forces demolished the houses of the district chief of the hardline Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-i-Muhammadi group, Maulana Salar, and other militants during an operation in Chamla tehsil, DAWN's correspondent in Buner adds.
Frontier Corps and police personnel entered the Buner villages of Koga and Sora, stopped all traffic and advised people to stay indoors.
The Pakistani military claims it has completed a three-month-long offensive against the Taliban in the troubled northwestern Swat Valley and surrounding areas that began in late April.
The military has claimed it has killed over 2,000 militants and defeated the Taliban in the conflict, which drove an estimated two million people from their homes.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] The death toll in Sheikhupura factory armed clash mounted to three, Geo News reported Tuesday.
According to reports, the armed men killed a factory-owner here on charges of sacrilege to the Holy Quran; also four other people were injured in the ensuing exchange of fire and rampage,. The labourers and owner of leather factory here were locked in dispute over salaries. Today, when factory owner turned up to his factory, armed men attacked on him by leveling charges of irreverence to Holy Quran and killed him along with his servant. Also, at least four men were injured in the scuffle and exchange of fire, who were rushed to the hospital.
On receiving the report, administration and police arrived on the spot and broke up the enraged people, bringing the situation back to normalcy. Does that mean they revived the dead guy?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] The alleged killer of an Iraqi journalist who was kidnapped in the aftermath of a 2006 bombing that set off sectarian violence across Iraq, admitted to raping her before shooting her dead in a confession aired at an Iraqi army press conference on Tuesday. Yasser al-Takhi and two brothers were shown confessing after being arrested for the kidnap and murder of Atwar Bahjat, a presenter on Al-Arabiya television, cameraman Adnan Abdallah and sound engineer Khaled Mohsen.
Major General Qassim Atta, spokesman for the Iraqi army's Baghdad operations, said the Takhi brothers were arrested in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Dora but did not say when. Takhi told interrogators that he and three others, including his brothers Mahmoud and Ghazwan, kidnapped the news team and drove them to a side street where he raped and shot Bahjat, while his two brothers killed Abdallah and Mohsen with a machine gun.
"We parked beside the main street, I asked the girl to step out and I told her, 'You are pretty and I like you, and I want to have sex with you," he said in the video, adding that Bahjat refused. "But I put the pistol to her head, and I raped her. "Ghazwan and Mahmoud, they killed the cameraman and the engineer with a BKC (machine gun). And then, I finished, took her and killed her."
Al Arabiya TV expressed gratitude to Iraqi security forces for investigating the crime and arresting the perpetrators. "We appreciate the efforts of Iraqi security to conduct the investigation into the rape and murder of our correspondent in Iraq, " Nasser al-Sirami, head of media at Al Arabiya said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The article isn't very verbose about who these guys were. AFP says they were with Jaish Mohammed. Also, that we had him twice, but he was released for lack of evidence.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/05/2009 10:25 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] The suspected deputy leader of an Iraqi insurgent group allied to al-Qaeda has been arrested along with nine other fighters in the country's north, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.
Fakri Hadi Gari was arrested along with the other suspected Ansar al-Islam (AAI) fighters in Iraqi army-led raids in the restive northern city of Mosul on July 24, it said in a statement. "(Gari) is believed to be responsible for AAI recruitment and financing efforts and the operational director for AAI attacks. He is also believed to have facilitated the movement of terrorists across the borders of Iraq," the statement said.
Ansar al-Islam is a predominantly Kurdish group believed to be allied to al-Qaeda in Kurdistan in the country's north. The group operates along the porous border between Iran and Iraq and has been blamed for attacks on coalition forces and Iraqi officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/05/2009 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.
The Taleban fired eight rockets into Kabul yesterday in an attack designed as a statement of intent before the Afghan elections on August 20. A spokesman for the group said the attack showed that the Government and its Western backers could not ensure security before the landmark vote. "We are in control," said Zabiullah Mujahed, warning of further attacks.
[Bangla Daily Star] Five bodies were found floating in the canals of Sundarbans yesterday following Sunday's fierce gunfight between two pirate groups.
At least 17 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were killed when the security forces bombed one of their hideouts in the country's central Meta province, officials said. 
SRINAGAR: Nine militants, including a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, were killed in six encounters in Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said on Wednesday.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Three militants were killed and several others injured when security forces pounded suspected hideouts of the militants in different areas of Salarzai Tehsil of Bajaur Agency, official sources said here on Monday. The sources said security forces targeted the militant hideouts in Darra, Ghundai and Sor Dagay areas with artillery guns. They said three militants were killed and several others sustained injuries. They added that a number of sanctuaries of the militants were destroyed in the action.
[ADN Kronos] Jets shelled Taliban hideouts and killed at least five militants in Pakistan's troubled northwestern Swat region late Monday, officials said. The aircraft raided the town of Dok Darra after intelligence reports said that a large number of militants had gathered in the area, military spokesman Major Nasir Ali Khan said.
[Geo News] The death toll in Sheikhupura factory armed clash mounted to three, Geo News reported Tuesday. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] The alleged killer of an Iraqi journalist who was kidnapped in the aftermath of a 2006 bombing that set off sectarian violence across Iraq, admitted to raping her before shooting her dead in a confession aired at an Iraqi army press conference on Tuesday. Yasser al-Takhi and two brothers were shown confessing after being arrested for the kidnap and murder of Atwar Bahjat, a presenter on Al-Arabiya television, cameraman Adnan Abdallah and sound engineer Khaled Mohsen.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The suspected deputy leader of an Iraqi insurgent group allied to al-Qaeda has been arrested along with nine other fighters in the country's north, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.
