[Shabelle] Close sources confirmed to Shabelle radio station that prisons ward and other workers of the Mogadishu's central prison have been nabbed Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! by government authorities after freeing a high ranking member of Alshabab who was serving a jail term.
The freed prisoner was serving a death penalty before escaping.
The sources close to the central prison confirm that the arrested official was a nurse at the prison whose name was only revealed as Tima Adde and another top official whose name is yet to be established.
The arrested officials are suspected of aiding the escape.
The tragic escape happened when men alleged to be members of Somalia's national security agency took the accused Alshabab official who later on disappeared.
The members of the national security agency who took the suspect were also arrested earlier
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Serving a death penalty...
As I've suggested before, electric chair set to slow roast.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
09/30/2013 10:27 Comments ||
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[Al Ahram] Kenyan police on Sunday incarcerated Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! another suspect over the September 21 Nairobi mall attack that left at least 67 people dead, the interior minister said.
"Another suspect was arrested today and is undergoing interrogation," Joseph Ole Lenku told news hounds in his latest briefing on the status of the investigation.
The latest arrest, on which he provided no further detail, brings to nine the number of suspects currently held in connection with the raid, one of the worst attacks in Kenya's history.
The raid was claimed by the Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda linked Somali group which has vowed more attacks if Kenya failed to pull its troops out of Somalia.
Witness accounts and experts point to the key role played by bully boyz based in Kenya, which has a large ethnic Somali community.
Lenku said that "156 witnesses have recorded statements" as Kenyan and foreign Sherlocks attempt to piece together what happened during the 80-hour siege.
The minister also said that three men suspected of looting shops inside the mall during the chaos had been held.
"We wish to affirm that government takes very seriously allegations of looting and that those found to have engaged in the looting will be prosecuted," Lenku said.
Lenku said that owners of businesses at the shopping centre had been allowed into the strictly sealed-off site to check their shops following a first report of looting.
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder if these 9 arrestees were actually involved, or are just being used for political cover? And if they are guilty, will Kenya make them martyrs (and how quickly, and with how much pain), or will they be imprisoned to become bargaining chips for future Islamist political activities?
[An Nahar] Sudan vowed Sunday to stand firm on its decision to hike fuel prices, despite days of deadly protests and criticism from within the ruling party and from hardline Islamic leaders.
Authorities say 33 people have died since petrol and diesel prices jumped last Monday, sparking the worst protests in the history of President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. 's regime.
Activists and international human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... groups say at least 50 people were bumped off, most of them in the greater Khartoum area.
The real toll is difficult to determine but "could be as much as 200", one foreign diplomat told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"They are shooting to kill," he said, asking for anonymity.
The government has "stepped over a line", disgusting many Sudanese, the diplomat added.
"They've lost any last vestiges of respect they had for this government."
A riot police truck, siren blaring, raced towards central Khartoum on Sunday and smoke rose from the east and south of the city, but it was not immediately possible to confirm whether new protests had occurred.
In Khartoum's twin city Omdurman riot police and security forces were on the streets in large numbers.
Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman told AFP there was no going back on the fuel price hikes.
"No, it is not possible at all. This is the only way out," he said in a telephone interview.
Bilal said authorities had to intervene when crowds turned violent.
"This is not (a) demonstration," he said. "They attacked the gas stations. They burned about 21."
There are widespread suspicions that regime-linked forces committed the arson and "gave the government an excuse to clamp down", the diplomat said.
The government knew "riots" would occur if the cost of fuel went up but reducing subsidies would save billions of dollars, Bilal said.
"Our economy cannot tolerate such support," he said. "We have to carry on. We know it is a bit heavy for the people."
Arab Spring-style calls for the regime's downfall began after pump prices soared last Monday by more than 60 percent.
Sudan's most popular newspaper, an outspoken critic of the decision to cut subsidies, said it had been ordered to stop publishing.
Al-Intibaha is run by Bashir's uncle, Al-Tayeb Mustafa, who told AFP that state security agents gave no reason for the suspension.
Journalists have complained of worsening censorship since the protests began.
Fuel prices had already almost doubled last year after a partial lifting of subsidies.
Sudan lost billions of dollars in oil receipts when South Sudan gained independence in 2011, taking with it about 75 percent of the formerly united country's crude production.
Since then the north has been plagued by inflation, a weakened currency and a severe shortage of dollars to pay for imports.
The country falls near the bottom of a United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... human development index measuring income, health and education.
It also ranked among the lowest of 176 countries in Transparency International's index of perceived public sector corruption last year.
Officials in the Khartoum area on Sunday extended a school closure, in effect since the protests began, until October 20, official media said.
Classes had been expected to resume on Monday.
Residents say they have been struggling with rising prices for two years. Yet, until last week when thousands began protesting mainly in the capital, the poor had largely failed to take to the streets.
But the middle class has also joined the demonstrations "and I think that's what rattled the government more", the diplomat said.
Reformers in the ruling National Congress Party on Saturday told Bashir that the deadly crackdown was a betrayal of his regime's Islamic foundations.
Hardline Islamic religious leaders called on the government to reverse the fuel price increase.
In a statement late Saturday they advised the regime "to turn back to God and provide justice".
Bilal said that even though fuel subsidies have been cut, financial support will remain on wheat and medicine.
He added that compensatory measures aim to ease the burden as fuel prices rise. About 700,000 poor families receive handouts of about 150 Sudanese pounds a month ($20) along with medical insurance, he said.
The opposition Umma Party led by Sadiq al-Mahdi on Sunday said it stood with the protesters and urged all opposition parties to take to the streets and remove the regime.
The Communist Party called for sit-ins, while the opposition Baath Party said six of its leaders were tossed in the clink You have the right to remain silent... at their homes on Saturday night.
Activists say Sudan's opposition is divided, and its aging leadership fails to generate much enthusiasm among the wider populace.
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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A leaked National Security Intelligence (NIS) report says that early this year Godane held meetings in Somalia to come up with strategies on how to execute attacks in Kenya. The FBI has put a $7 million bounty on him.
Godane, who was born in northern Somalia, now known as Somaliland, has been leading al-Shabaab since 2008.
He studied accounting in Pakistan and while there he occasionally travelled to Afghanistan where he came into contact with al-Qaeda, led by the late Osama bin Laden.
When he returned home he founded the northern wing of Somalia's al-Ittihad al-Islami (Islamic Union), which was established by Somali Mujahiddins returning from Afghanistan. He was to later start recruiting and indoctrinating the militia who were later to start attacks against Western interests in Somalia, including kidnapping and killing of Western nationals.
Godane was to later join the Council of Islamic Courts before teaming up with Aden Hashi Farah to form al-Shabaab when they split from CIC.
A leaked NIS report says Muktar Sheikh Robow and Dahir Aweys arrived in Hela Marer area, Gedo region, from Ufuro area in the Bay region, Somalia, on March 22.
They held a meeting with 50 other leaders where they discussed the mode of training for their operatives as well as plan on how to carry out attacks on vital installations in Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Mombasa and Nairobi.
The FBI has put a $5 million bounty on Robow.
Robow, the deputy leader of al-Shabaab, is also a former spokesman for the group.
He was one of the founders of the terror group. He is from Baidoa in the Bay region of Somalia, where his Rahanweyn clan holds overwhelming influence.
Robow established the first militant Islamist training camp in Somalia, al-Hudda, in Huddur in 1996. He reportedly left Somalia in 2000 to train with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He returned to Somalia after the Taliban fell from power. In 2003, he helped create al-Shabaab from the remnants of al Ittihad al Islami.
According to a leaked National Security Intelligence report, Iman -- who was appointed by Al-Shabaab as its de facto leader of Kenyan fighters in Somalia -- was among the masterminds of the Westgate attack.
"Al-Shabaab remains focused on conducting attacks through individuals that have not been arrested before. The masterminds of the intended attacks are Kenyans, who are in middle and senior management levels of the terror group.
Last year, Iman released a video declaring war against Kenya on behalf of Al-Shabaab. Interviews with those who know Sheikh Iman, a former chairman of Muslim Youth Centre (MYC) in Pumwani, Nairobi, say he has been controversial since his days at Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology, where he graduated with a degree in engineering. Born either in 1973 or 1974, Iman presents security agents with something new in the fight against terrorism.
Those who know him say he was a charming preacher with a fanatical following among various Kenyan communities.
The British media has claimed she was involved in the terrorist attack on the Westgate Shopping Mall.
There is no evidence so far to link her to the attack but police and security forces say Samantha Lewthwaite-- the widow of one of the four suicide bombers who devastated London in July 2005 -- was involved in the Kenya attack, let alone being a "mastermind," as the British papers have claimed.
The International Police (Interpol) has issued a red-alert calling for arrest.
She is wanted by Kenya "on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011" as part of a suspected plot to bomb cities along the Kenyan coast at Christmas.
He is believed to have been the one who escorted the terrorists who attacked Westgate Shopping Mall.
He is suspected to be a 50-year-old Kenyan man who is an associate of the late Al-Qaeda leader Fazul Abdullah. Sandheere, whose parents were a Maasai and a European, is thought to have escaped moments after the assault started on Saturday.
"He escorted the attackers to the mall and then left as people were fleeing. He then travelled to the border and crossed to Somalia," said an intelligence source.
According to counter-terrorism sources, the man seconded to Al-Shabaab by the Al-Qaeda network arrived in Somalia on Friday after days of avoiding the tight security that had been mounted across the country to stop suspected terrorists from escaping.
Sandheere, said to be the regional Al-Qaeda man in charge of intelligence, logistics and special operations, escaped from Westgate with two other unidentified terrorists. He is also described as being "extremely sharp".
This article starring:
Abu Mansur
al-Shabaab
Abu Musab Al Mombasa
al-Shabaab
Abu Sandheere
al-Shabaab
Aden Hashi Farah
al-Shabaab
Ahmed Abdi Godane
al-Shabaab
Dahir Aweys
al-Shabaab
Fazul Abdullah
al-Qaeda
Jan Mohamed Khan
al-Shabaab
Maalim Abass Guyo
al-Shabaab
Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr
al-Shabaab
Samantha Lewthwaite a.k.a. "White Widow"
al-Shabaab
Sheikh Ahmed Iman Ali
al-Shabaab
Sheikh Mukhtar Robow
al-Shabaab
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] According to news reports, the son of well-known resistance leader Sheikh Hassan Khalf was killed Friday in Sheikh Zowaid area near Rafah, Sinai, by a stray bullet during a campaign waged by Egypt's army against Death Eaters in the Sinai since the ouster of Morsi on 3 July.
Egyptian armed forces presented formal condolences on Sunday to Sheikh Khalf for the death of his son, Hussein.
"The armed forces present sorrowful condolences to Sheikh Hassan Khalf, Sheikh of the 'Mujahedeen' in Sinai for the martyrdom of his son two days ago. We express our deepest condolences as commanders, officers and soldiers to his family, praying for God to grant them patience," read a statement published by official army front man Col. Ahmed Mohamed Ali.
Sheikh Khalf has often been called "the Sheikh of the Mujahedeen," in reference to his leading role in local resistance movements that cooperated with military intelligence from 1967 to 1973.
What happened in 1973? Oh, right -- Israel took the Sinai away from Egypt in that little war Egypt started. In other words, the honoured sheikh was a paid terrorist asset of the Egyptian army, exactly like the ISI still does in Pakistan.
During the resistance years he was placed in durance vile You have the right to remain silent... by the Israeli army and sentenced to 149 years in jail for military operations in Sinai, including an attack on the Israeli rulers' HQ and Israeli army's camps in northern Sinai.
Some of the operations he participated in are the Arish airport bombing, the bombing of the headquarters of the Israeli military ruler and an attack on the Israeli camps.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Rival groups of students, some armed with guns and Molotov cocktails, clashed in Egypt on Sunday, state media and security sources said, as violence triggered by the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi spread to universities.
At least 29 people were maimed in fighting between groups for and against the ousted Islamist leader at at least three campuses, said the reports.
Egypt has been gripped by turmoil since the army ousted Morsi on July 3 after mass protests against his rule, prompting his Moslem Brüderbund to take to the streets.
A security crackdown has severely restricted the Brotherhood's activities and pro-Morsi students have started rallying in campuses, traditional hotbeds of Islamist and political activity.
They met their first significant opposition on Sunday when groups supporting and opposing Morsi clashed at Cairo's Ain Shams University, leaving at least 12 maimed, security sources said.
Fifteen people were maimed when rival students at Zagazig University, some armed with guns and Molotov cocktails, fought, the state news agency said. ... and if you can't believe the state news agency who can you believe? State-owned newspaper Al Ahram said unidentified gunnies shot at students marching and shouting anti-army slogans in the city northeast of Cairo where Morsi taught engineering. It did not say whether anyone was hit.
Two people were maimed in festivities at a university in the Nile Delta city of Tanta, sources said.
The Brotherhood is facing one of the toughest crackdowns in its 85-year history.
Many of its top leaders were nabbed Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! and hundreds of members were killed when security forces crushed protest sit-in camps in Cairo in August.
The latest blow to the Middle East's oldest Islamist movement came last week, when a court banned the Brotherhood and ordered its funds seized.
The army has promised that a political roadmap will lead to elections in the Arab world's most populous country.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Rival groups of students, some armed with guns and Molotov cocktails,
[An Nahar] The Malian army came under attack Sunday from gunnies in the northern rebel stronghold of Kidal, the regional governor told Agence La Belle France Presse, three days after peace talks with rebels broke down.
"As I speak a lot of shots are being fired in Kidal. Armed men are shooting and the Malian soldiers have retaliated," Adama Kamissoko told AFP by telephone from the city.
"I do not know exactly who is firing against the Malian army, but it is defending itself."
A source from his office said the gunnies were Tuareg separatist rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), which pulled out of peace negotiations with the government on Thursday.
"Fighters from the MNLA came armed into the city center, not far from a bank where there were Malian troops. They never wanted the army around. The army fired warning shots, and a firefight began," the source said.
He added that international troops and peacekeeping forces present in the city were not yet involved in the fighting.
The fighting follows two attacks by bully boyz on soldiers in northern Mali in less than 72 hours, marking an upsurge in violence against the army since the breakdown in the negotiations.
Four jacket wallahs blew up their car at an army barracks in Timbuktu on Saturday, killing two civilians and wounding six soldiers, and two days after two men threw hand-grenades at Malian troops, wounding two soldiers in Kidal.
Mali has suffered a series of attacks claimed by Islamist faceless myrmidons since La Belle France launched a military operation in January against al-Qaeda-linked groups occupying the north of the country.
But no Islamist group has claimed any of the recent attacks, with the spotlight falling on the MNLA.
The government urged Malians to remain calm after Saturday's attack, saying security was being enhanced across the country.
"The multiplication of these attacks shows that the war against terrorism is not over and that the security situation remains fragile throughout the Sahel-Saharan region," it said in a statement.
The MNLA took control of Kidal in February after the French-led military operation ousted al-Qaeda-linked fighters who had piggybacked on the latest Tuareg rebellion to seize most of northern Mali.
The Malian authorities reclaimed the city after signing a ceasefire deal with the MNLA but the situation has remained tense.
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Three security officials were murdered in separate attacks in Benghazi today, according to the front man for Benghazi Joint Security Room, Abdullah Al-Zaidi.
Colonel Abdulkadir Mohamed Ahmed Al-Madani, Associate Director of Intelligence in the eastern region was seven shots by unknown assailants in a black Jeep in front of his home in the city's Laithi district. He died instantly, Zaidi told the Libya Herald. One of his sons who was with him was also shot and was taken to hospital.
Helicopter pilot Ali Adam Aldgara died when a bomb blew up under his car in the Suq Zamzam area.
Continued on Page 49
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The Ras Jedir border crossing, closed since Tuesday, reopened yesterday
It had been shut by the Tunisian authorities for "security precautions", as a result of tensions in the area between Tunisians and Libyans, a Tunisian embassy in official in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , told the Libya Herald.
Goods and passengers are now moving freely again. The embassy official explained that here had been an agreement between elders from Tunisia and Libya to ease the tensions.
Libyans coming from Tunisia told LANA news agency that roads in Tunisian territory are safe, with the presence of intensive patrols of Tunisian army and members of Tunisian national security on both sides of the road.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] A sniper rubbed out an Egyptian soldier in the Sinai Peninsula, security sources said on Sunday, a region where al-Qaeda-linked fighters have stepped up attacks on security forces since the army deposed elected Islamist president Mohamed Mursi on July 3.
The soldier was killed late on Saturday while on guard at a security checkpoint in the town of al Qusayma, the sources said.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Bahraini court sentenced on Sunday 50 people to up to 15 years in prison for forming the "February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition," a judicial source said.
Sixteen defendants were handed 15-year terms, while four others were incarcerated Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! for 10 years and the other 30 sentenced to five years, Agence La Belle France Presse reported the source as saying.
Iraqi holy man Hadi al-Mudaressi was among the defendants charged for creating the movement that is accused by authorities of terrorism.
The February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition has been the main motor behind an uprising that began in 2011 to demand more rights from the country's leaders.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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I put it in WOT Ops since they are coming, largely, from Muslim districts. Though this is unstated in the article.
[Express] THOUSANDS of planes coming in to land at Britain's busiest airports are in danger of crashing because pilots are being 'blinded' by laser pen attackers.
British planes are also being targeted at foreign airports. Cairo Airport in Egypt appears to be a particular problem, with one Boeing 767 carrying up to 250 Britons was hit "in excess of 100 times" by a green laser on July 28. Several incidents have also been reported at the country's Red Sea tourist destination Sharm el Sheikh.
#1
Laser safety glasses are not expensive.coating windshields would be more but better solution. I would also think tracking back infrared lasers wouldnt be that difficult. Lastly reporting it just confirms the tactics effectiveness and ensures even more.
#2
think tracking back infrared lasers wouldnt be that difficult
Might be fun if we could set up a system to 'return to sender' an amplified laser beam.
[Jpost] Russian security forces killed five suspected gunnies during a shoot-out on Friday in the city of Derbent in the North Caucasus province of Dagestan ...a formerly inoffensive Caucasus republic currently bedevilled by low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism, primarily due to its proximity to Chechnya. There are several dozen ethnic groups, most of which speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgin, and Laks. While Russers form less than five percent of the population, Russian remains the primary official language and the lingua franca... One of those killed was tentatively identified as Sherif Akhmedov, a suspected leader of an gang in the Derbent area who has been wanted since 2011 for involvement in bombings and attacks on law enforcement officers.
RIA Novosti, the Russian News & Information Agency, quoted security officials as saying that they believe Akhmedov to have been "directly involved" in the July shooting of local Rabbi Ovadia Isakov.
The rabbi was maimed in the lung, shot from behind by an unidentified assailant not far from his home, and was subsequently airlifted to Israel for medical care.
The mostly Mohammedan Dagestan is plagued by bombings and shootings that mainly target police, state officials and moderate holy mans.
[Dawn] A US drone strike killed three Death Eaters on Sunday in a restive Pak tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said.
The strike took place in the Dargamandi area, seven kilometres (four miles) north 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... which is the main town in the North Wazoo tribal region.
The area is a bastion of Death Eaters linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
"A US drone fired two missiles on a krazed killer compound, killing three rebels," a security bigshot told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Another local official confirmed the attack and casualties. However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... an intelligence official in Miranshah put the toll at four.
The area targeted by the drone is said to be the stronghold of Afghanistan's Haqqani network, a guerrilla faction linked to the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
If you boys would get on the stick and whack these guys yourselves, we wouldn't be needing to do it. And you could save your seething for the Hindoos.
[Dawn] Rangers forces in a targeted operation on Sunday arrested former SHO Javed Baloch along with nine other suspects, DawnNews reported.
In a press conference held at the Rangers Headquarters, SSP City Faisal Bashir Memon and Rangers officials revealed that the arrested were involved in the murder of one of the prime characters in the Lyari Gang War Arshad Pappu.
They added that three SMGs, two Repeaters, 25 TT Pistols, six hand grenades, and seven toy bombs were were also confiscated during the operation.
Other operations were also conducted by Rangers in different parts of the city during which 30 suspects were arrested.
Security forces conducted operations in Benazir Colony, Lyari, New Karachi, Faqeer Colony, Baldia, Gadap, Ghousia Colony, Old Subzi Mandi, Defence and Seaview along with various other areas.
According to a rangers spokesperson, the arrested suspects had been involved in various crimes of a serious order.
Karachi is presently undergoing a targeted operation aimed at ridding it of the various different extortionists, gangs and target killers at large in the metropolis.
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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A series of car bomb explosions in Baghdad, has killed at least 36 people and wounded more than 100. Police say the bombs targeted markets and car parks in mainly Shia Muslim districts of the city.
Monday's bombings struck during the Iraqi capital's morning rush hour, with reports of 12 bombs, most of them in Shia neighbourhoods.
One of the deadliest attacks was reported from the eastern Sadr City district where seven people were killed and 75 wounded in a crowded vegetable market. Another six were reported killed in Shuala, a mainly Shia area of northern Baghdad.
On Sunday, at least 25 people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a Shia Muslim mosque south of the city.
[An Nahar] Militants killed six people in the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region Sunday in a rare attack on an area usually spared the violence plaguing other parts of the country.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... 's front man said the deadly attack may be linked to the bloody civil war in neighboring Syria, where jihadists have battled Kurdish forces.
Continued on Page 49
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] A jacket wallah targeted mourners at a Shiite mosque south of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... Sunday, killing 27 people, police and a doctor said, the latest in a series of attacks on funerals.
The blast, which collapsed the roof of al-Hussein Mosque in the Musayyib area, also maimed 35 people.
"The collapse of the mosque roof killed many of those who were present," said Hamza Habib, who went to the scene after the blast.
"Blood was everywhere in the mosque, and I saw some body parts of victims."
Haidar, who was inside the mosque at the time of the kaboom, said some people tried to stop the bomber, who was still able to detonate the explosives among the mourners.
The funeral was for a person who was killed two days before when a house in Musayyib was blown up, Nasser Karim said.
Sunday's bombing is just the latest in a series of sectarian attacks on mosques and funerals in central Iraq that have raised the specter of a return to the all-out Sunni-Shiite violence that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.
On Friday, bombs went kaboom! near two Sunni mosques in Storied Baghdad as worshipers left after prayers, killing six people.
Another bombing targeted Sunni mourners in Storied Baghdad on September 23, killing 15 people, while an attack on a Sunni funeral killed 12 the day before.
Bombings targeting Shiite mourners killed 73 people in Storied Baghdad on September 21, and two blasts at a Sunni mosque north of the capital killed 18 a day before that.
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Ali Mansouri, tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! at airport on suspicion of espionage, attempted to obscure any sign of Iranian roots, visits to Islamic Theocratic Republic. Was supposed to build economic infrastructure in Israel
Development of future economic activities and the establishment of "an Iranian intelligence unit" in Israel. These were, the Shin Bet estimates, the goals of Ali Mansouri, an Iranian-born Belgian citizen who was arrested at Ben Gurion Airport. An investigation will be completed in the coming days and an indictment on espionage charges may be served this week.
According to details gleaned during the investigation, Mansouri worked in Israel under the name Alex Manes and based himself at a hotel opposite the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. He made sure to stay in a room with a balcony facing the sea, from which he could observe events at the embassy compound and monitor the security arrangements in place.
The Shin Bet is now examining whether he transferred any images to his handlers -- some of which are easily obtainable online. They are also examining whether he was asked to photograph IDF bases and track the movements of soldiers and security procedures.
Mansouri obscured all signs of his Iranian roots and visits there in recent years, and no Iranian stamps appeared on his Belgian passport. His last visit to Israel took place in early September and lasted five days -- at its end, just before he boarded a flight back to Brussels -- Mansouri was arrested.
The fact that he walked freely about Tel Aviv caused, according to the Shin Bet, damage to national security. In addition, whether he succeeded in passing information on to his handlers is also being examined. Either way, it is estimated that the relatively early foiling of his plans prevented the establishment of an active Iranian intelligence infrastructure in Israel.
The same activity -- under the pretext of business -- as part of the sale of glass from a Belgian company which had already signed a contract with one of the businesses int he country's center -- was supposed to bear intelligence fruits for years.
The Shin Bet said that the operations unit of the Revolutionary Guards handled Mansouri, urging him to sign long-term contracts establishing relationships with Israeli companies.
The Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] said the 55-year-old suspect had been recruited by Iran's Qods Force, the extraterritorial unit responsible for special operations, terrorism, and subversion, and run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The suspect was found with photographs of the US embassy in Israel.
Iran offered him a million dollars in exchange for his activities.
Mansouri answered directly to the Qods Force, which is led by Khamed Abdallahi and Majid Alawi, both of whom are subordinate to the unit's notorious commander, Qassem Suleimani, the Shin Bet added.
"This special operations unit is tasked with, among other things, carrying out terror attacks against Israel - both abroad and in Israel - and against other targets that Iran works against in the West and Middle East," it said.
It provided a detailed biography of the suspect's life. Born in Iran in 1958, Mansouri lived in the Islamic Theocratic Republic until 1980, before moving to Turkey, where he stayed until 1997. It was then that he entered the world of business, and received a visa that allowed him to reside in Belgium.
A decade later, in 2006, Mansouri received Belgian citizenship, and changed his name to Alex Mans to cover up his Iranian identity, the investigation revealed.
In 2007, he returned to Iran, from where he tried to broaden his business activities in the three countries he knew best, Iran, Belgium, and Turkey.
He continued to travel between the three states, married an Iranian woman (a second marriage), and allegedly drew the attention of Iranian intelligence recruiters due to his international business background.
Mansouri specialized in selling windows and roofing solutions to stores and restaurants, and attempted to sign supply contracts with potential customers in Tel Aviv. He presented himself as a Belgian businessman, and could refer others to websites and Facebook accounts that documented his business activities.
Security forces found in his possession many photographs of sites in Israel, some of which are of interest to Iranian intelligence agencies, such as the US embassy building in Tel Aviv.
Israel views the Qods Force as being responsible for the terrorist attack on the vehicle of the wife of an Israeli diplomat in Delhi, India, in February 2012, which seriously injured the woman. During the same month, there were additional botched attacks attributed to the Qods Force on Israeli targets in Thailand and Georgia.
The Qods Force is also behind attempted attacks on Israeli targets in Azerbaijan, Kenya, and Nigeria that were foiled in recent years, security forces said.
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09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Philippine troops hunted the remnants of a Muslim rebel group in the key southern city of Zamboanga Sunday, with residents hearing gunfire a day after the military declared an end to its three-week campaign.
The army Saturday announced that police were taking over from troops to clear sections of the vital regional trading center of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) stragglers.
But just minutes after the military said the threat to Zamboanga was over, soldiers killed three MNLF fighters in a clash that also left six troops wounded.
"What happened was not organized resistance. These are stragglers trying to escape capture," Zagala told AFP Sunday, adding that only a handful of rebels remained.
"The mission is completed. We have already neutralized the threat to Zamboanga City."
Fighters swarmed into the city's neighborhoods 20 days ago, taking hostages and triggering weeks of violence as they sought to derail peace talks between the government a rival guerilla rebel faction.
More than 10,000 homes were razed to the ground forcing over 100,000 people -- around a tenth of the city's population -- to flee.
The latest clash put the toll at 189 MNLF fighters killed, with 292 captured or surrendering, while 23 soldiers and police and 12 civilians had also been slain.
A total of 195 civilian hostages had been rescued with no more believed to still be in the hands of the gunmen, said Zagala.
The military said Nur Misuari, who founded the MNLF in the early 1970s, had sent hundreds of armed followers led by his top lieutenant Habier Malik, to Zamboanga.
Malik's identification card had been found on the body of a slain MNLF members, Zagala said, though it was too early to confirm his death and forensic examinations were being carried out.
The conflict area -- 30-40 hectares (74-99 acres) of densely packed communities, mangrove swamps and ponds -- would take about two weeks to clear of possible MNLF stragglers, unexploded bombs, booby traps and the buried bodies of dead gunmen, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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#5
Time to say it: the worldwide persecution of Christianity is demonically inspired. People don't have to listen to their baser nature, but Islam doesn't pretend to curb human violence, merely to turn it to serve "higher" purposes.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah and Baalbek residents on Sunday held a funeral for the party's members Imad Ballouq and Ali al-Barzawi, who were killed in Saturday's festivities, as the army reinforced its presence in the city.
"Through the blood of our deaders, we urge all those keen on this country's safety to protect our country from those who are tampering with its security," said Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, Hizbullah's top official in the Bekaa, as he led the mourners who turned out en masse for the funeral.
"Our hands will remain extended and our hearts will remain open for the sake of the unity of Islam and Mohammedans and in order to foil strife and confront the enemies, oppressors and Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... s," Yazbek added.
The Lebanese army was on Sunday carrying out patrols and setting up checkpoints in Baalbek a day after five people were killed in festivities between Hizbullah and gunnies.
The National News Agency said there was cautious calm in the Hizbullah stronghold amid a total closure of shops and markets, except for bakeries.
"We have handed over to the Lebanese army our checkpoints at the entrances and in the center of the city," a Hizbullah source told Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity.
"We are now working on handing over other checkpoints, until the military takes control of them all and it becomes responsible for security."
It was the second time this week that Hizbullah handed over control of its checkpoints to the army, after the military deployed in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Hizbullah set up its own security checkpoints in areas under its control after bombings that maimed more than 50 people on July 9 and killed 27 on August 15.
Militants were deployed for weeks to search vehicles and check people's identity cards.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the fighting at a Hizbullah-manned checkpoint in Baalbek.
"We were preparing to hand over the checkpoints to the army before yesterday's incident, but the incident delayed the handover by a day," said the Hizbullah source.
Earlier, Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told Voice of Leb radio (93.3) that the army's sixth battalion took over all Hizbullah checkpoints mainly the ones set up at the entrances of Baalbek as part of a deal for the military to restore order in the city.
Saturday's gunbattles were sparked by a "personal dispute," Charbel said, ruling out sectarian causes.
Five people, including a soldier, were killed after festivities broke out between Hizbullah members and al-Shiyyah clan following a dispute in Baalbek's al-Qalaa marketplace.
Leb has been on edge as a result of the civil war in neighboring Syria, with many Lebanese divided between supporters of Presidents Bashir al-Assad's regime and the opposition.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The army on Sunday announced seizing a Syria-bound truck loaded with "obsolete" ammunition in the Bekaa border town of Arsal.
"The Lebanese army intercepted a truck carrying weapons at the al-Shaab checkpoint in Arsal," MTV reported.
"Maher Abdullah was driving the truck which was headed for Syria," it said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived... Voice of Leb radio (100.5) said the vehicle was carrying 20 mortar shells.
According to LBCI television, the truck came from the northern border region of Wadi Khaled.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... an army statement issued later on Sunday said troops intercepted a pickup truck driven by a Lebanese citizen and loaded with a quantity of light munitions and 82-mm mortar shells.
"After being examined by a military expert, the munitions and mortars turned out to be obsolete and unusable," the statement said.
"The detainee and the seized arms were referred to the relevant authorities and a probe has been launched under the supervision of the judiciary," it added.
On Wednesday, the army said a Syrian man was killed and two others were maimed after troops fired on a van that failed to stop at a checkpoint in Arsal.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
I have a little 1918 vintage .45 ACP - surprisingly, it is still usable, mostly.
#2
"After being examined by a military expert, the munitions and mortars turned out to be obsolete and unusable," the statement said.
No Chinese or Russian Mortar expert here, but the High Explosives (HE) inside the munitions might still be usable. If not, the HE could be removed from the casings and replaced with Homemade Explosives (HME) which
makes an excellent shrapnel charge for an roadside IED.
#5
I understand that the HE in munitions can get very "touchy" with age and/or poor storage. May go "boom" in the tube, bad ju-ju for the mortar crew. Bullets, not so much.
Somewhat loose example is when you would find crystals on the paper and container of old dynamite. The sweat crystals are pure nitro. Best option, burn in place. Wonder how many old barns and sheds disintegrated because of that stuff.
[An Nahar] Three Lebanese soldiers were maimed late Saturday after a shell from the Syrian side of the border landed near their post in the northern Akkar district, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA said the shall hit an area in the town of al-Noura where the soldiers have a base.
The three of them were taken to a hospital in the nearby town of al-Qobayat, the agency added.
Lebanese towns and villages near the northern and eastern borders with with Syria have suffered from several cross-border attacks, some of which have been deadly.
The assaults have either been intentional or the result of festivities between Syrian government troops and rebels seeking to topple Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath...
Posted by: Fred ||
09/30/2013 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.
[Al Ahram] Kenyan police on Sunday 
[Daily Nation (Kenya)]
Wazoo
[Dawn] Rangers forces in a targeted operation on Sunday arrested former SHO Javed Baloch along with nine other suspects, DawnNews reported.
A series of car bomb explosions in Baghdad, has killed at least 36 people and wounded more than 100. Police say the bombs targeted markets and car parks in mainly Shia Muslim districts of the city. 
Nouri al-Maliki
[Ynet] Ali Mansouri, 
The Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] said the 55-year-old suspect had been recruited by Iran's Qods Force, the extraterritorial unit responsible for special operations, terrorism, and subversion, and run by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
[An Nahar] Hizbullah and Baalbek residents on Sunday held a funeral for the party's members Imad Ballouq and Ali al-Barzawi, who were killed in Saturday's 
