The offices of two leading non-governmental organisations in northwest Bangladesh have been attacked with firebombs, injuring six people, police said Thursday, blaming Islamic militants. The assaults on the offices of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and Grameen Bank occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, police said. Three grenades were recovered from another BRAC office on Wednesday before they could explode, police said. "We suspect that a group with an Islamic ideological bent hurled the petrol bombs at the two offices," a senior police official in northwestern Rajshahi told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
BRAC, the country's largest NGO, has been at the forefront of the country's fight against poverty. Grameen Bank is known worldwide for its pioneering work giving small loans to the poor to help them set up businesses. The incidents, in three separate districts of Rajshahi, follow a series of unexplained explosions and attacks over the past year on targets including religious shrines, cinemas, academics and opposition rallies. The opposition has accused the government - a four-party Islamist-allied coalition led by Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party - of supporting fundamentalist groups they claim are involved in the attacks. The government has dismissed the accusation saying it is working hard to track down the culprits.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Grameen Bank is famous for giving loans to women to start their own businesses. Never heard anything bad about them, but then again, allowing a female to be even partially independent of male control is apparently quite un-Islamic.
More than £2m seized by Irish police has been taken for forensic examination to see if it is linked to the £26m Northern Bank raid in December. Seven people were arrested in Cork and Dublin during a series of raids in which the money was seized, including £60,000 in Northern Bank notes. Seventeen bags of sterling bank notes were removed from a house near Cork under a heavy police guard. It is understood one of those held is a former Sinn Fein representative. Irish police said the raids had been targeting money laundering activities. They are expected to release more details on Friday. BINGO - can't wait to see McGuinness/Adams' faces now - sure they'll be unavailable for comment. The Irish govt seem awfully co-operative for once.. shame they can't turn over the weapons stockpiles as well.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/18/2005 6:51:37 AM ||
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A civilian nuclear fuels reprocessing plant in northwest England cannot account for some 30 kilograms of plutonium, enough for seven or eight nuclear bombs, a newspaper said yesterday. The annual audit of nuclear material at all of Britain's civil nuclear plants is expected to reveal that the quantity of plutonium at Sellafield was classified as "material unaccounted for" last year, The Times said. Figures published by the British Nuclear Group (BNG) each year reveal an audit of nuclear material which is admitted and processed by the various plants around Britain. A spokeswoman at Sellafield said: "This is material that is unaccounted for, and there is always a discrepancy between the physical inventory and the book inventory. There is no suggestion that any material has left the site."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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and there is always a discrepancy between the physical inventory and the book inventory
30 kilos? That's a mighty discrepancy. Some may due to rounding up while measuring--that I would understand. But that should be probably within range of +/- few hundred grams.
#5
SPoD, with this being in Europe, they don't need to be Muslim. "Anti-Zionists" of any stripe will do. Israel's existence is an outrage, afterall.
30 kg... this is a big deal. Somebody can't add, or somebody's been taking home leftovers.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
02/18/2005 9:00 Comments ||
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#6
The plant in South Carolina has lost hundreds of pounds. Rocky Flats in Colorado had about 350 kg MUF. In 1996, the Department of Energy reported 2.8 metric tonnes of plutonium as "inventory differences" or MUF.
Remember, plutonium is dense, so 30 kilos isn't a large pile. Record keeping is the first point of failure. Math can often be the second. The plutonium is not in pure form, it's in with other radioactives. I'd carry pure plutonium in my pocket all day long. It's not that radioactive. The stuff you normally find it with, is. Stealing it would require the ability to handle deadly, highly radioactive substances. It's most likely an inventory error.
The Israelis, it is generally accepted, got much of the material for their nuke program by "acquiring" it from the Savannah River plant.
#13
it's that damn metric system conversion confusion...
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 10:06 Comments ||
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#14
So it would measure no bigger than your hand-or your pocket. Maybe it was stuffed down someone's pants or into their socks-that seems to be happening nowadays with FYEO documents...
Thanks, AzCat. So, seriously, how is plutonium contained when it is handled?
3 sq. in. = 3" x 1" x 1"
so
30 x 3 sq in ~ 4.5" x 4.5" x 4.5"
Pu has a density of like 20,000 kg/m^3, unless it really is early if 30 kg were a 1.75" cube the density would be like 300,000 kg/m^3 but if 30 kg is more like a 4.5" cube it remains closer to 20,000 kg/m^3. :)
But Jules is ahead of both of us: it's pretty small.
#17
The specific gravity of Pu is 19.84, so a cube 10 cm on a side would have a mass of 19.84 kg. A 30 kg cube would be about 11.45 cm on a side, or about 4.5 inches. AzCat is correct.
#24
30 kg is still 66 lbs. Would take more than a few pocket loads to carry.
Posted by: john ||
02/18/2005 11:51 Comments ||
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#25
SPoD, only if the material is all in one place, you are allowed private access, you can get your lead-lined lunchbox into and out of the glovebox without being noticed, and then you can carry out a 30 kg (66 lbs) load plus lead lunchbox (150+ lbs total?) without being noticed by either guards or instruments. Better reinforce that lunchbox handle. Why not just go break into an underground ICBM silo -- you'd have about the same chance!
Posted by: Tom ||
02/18/2005 11:54 Comments ||
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#26
I don't care how much is missing, so long as it's not enough to make a critical mass.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/18/2005 11:59 Comments ||
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#29
So, Chuck, what percentage of other radioactives do you usually find the Pu mised with? I'm trying to get a feel for what kind of typos you'd need. (If you've got a ton of some alloy that's 2.3% Pu and you wrote down 3.2% . . .)
Posted by: James ||
02/18/2005 12:14 Comments ||
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#30
Checked the Manhattan Project Heratige site. Fat Man had 13.6 pounds of plutonium, with a yield of 21 kilotons. 13.6/2.2 = 6.2 kilos. so about enough for 5 good sized bombs, give or take a little
Posted by: Weird Al ||
02/18/2005 12:35 Comments ||
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Plutonium is created by neutron irradiation of uranium-238. It would be found in association with uranium and uranium decay products.
This plutonium began as part of nuclear fuel rods. The near aproximate amount of plutonium in each rod can be calculated, since the radiation exposure is known. As the rods are processed, the plutonium would be separated out [I believe]. The article doesn't spell out where the difference was found, but the math efforts above [much applause!] demonstrates that errors are quite possible in the calcs.
#32
I googled for info, found this, which suggests that for best Pu-239 purity you want rods irradidated for a short time. "Very short" they quote as giving 0.9%, so my random numbers weren't that far off. A little stoichiometric error could look pretty dramatic when you try to compare the Pu-239 you actually wound up with to what you thought you'd get.
Beautiful little understatement in the article: "Higher concentrations of Pu-240 can result in pre-detonation of the weapon, significantly reducing yield and reliability."
Posted by: James ||
02/18/2005 14:23 Comments ||
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#33
Metric system is very simple. You take a cube of 10 cm side (around 1/9th of a yard) and you fill it with pure water at 4 degrees Celsius (that is the temperature where water at its heaviest point). That cube will weigh exactly one kg. Plutonium has a densite of 19.8 so a cube of plutonium that size (10 cm) will weigh 19.8 kg and 30 kg of plutonium is a cube of 11.6 cm (1/8 th of a yard). It would fit into the hand of most men and a few women.
Fill with water a cube of, say glass, measuring 10 cm side. The difference in weight between the empty cube and the full one (ie nthe weight of the water) will be one kg.
In fact all the metric system is intertwined: scientists measured the perimeter of the earth divided it 40 million and defined the meter (they were slightly off target since the earth measures around 40,100 km instead of 40,000). A liter (volume unit) is the volume of cube of 1/10th of meter side. A kilogram is the weight of the water who would fit in that cube.
Pro-Russian Chechen forces on Friday killed a top commander of rebels battling Moscow's rule in Chechnya, an army spokesman said. Yunadi Turchayev, who led rebels in central Chechnya and in the capital Grozny for at least a year, was a top commander in rebel forces controlled by Aslan Maskhadov and warlord Shamil Basayev. "A Chechen interior ministry patrol discovered the hiding place of Yunadi Turchayev and his companions," said the army. "In the course of the capture operation the bandits tried to mount armed resistance, and were destroyed by return fire."
Rebel news sources did not confirm or deny the report. Turchayev, 32, was part of a younger generation of Chechen fighters who have moved up to fill positions vacated by commanders who have either been killed or fled abroad. He was also charged with recruiting young men into the rebel forces, the army said. The army trumpeted the operation as revealing the level of cooperation between federal forces and local pro-Moscow police. But the operation by the local police may highlight the army's failure to kill or capture the top two leaders.
This article starring:
ASLAN MASKHADOV
Chechnya
SHAMIL BASAIEV
Chechnya
YUNADI TURCHAIEV
Chechnya
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:23:10 AM ||
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THE Australian Federal Police (AFP) has cleared 10 men it was investigating as part of its inquiries into the Beirut bombing that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri this week. Lebanon's Justice Minister Adnan Addoum yesterday said authorities had contacted Interpol in Sydney over the departure from Beirut to Australia of 12 men on the day of the bombing that killed Mr Hariri and 16 others. Mr Addoum said the 12 were among 14 men with Australian citizenship who tried to leave Lebanon, but two missed the flight for unknown reasons.
AFP spokesman Kirk Cunningham said late last night the AFP had conducted the investigations on behalf of Interpol. He said 10 men had been interviewed after they arrived in Sydney on Thursday night, and that all had been cleared of any part in the bombing. He said the AFP was initially alerted that a total of 12 men - and not 14 as reported by Mr Addoum - were under suspicion. Only 10 of the men had arrived in Australia. He could not confirm reports that the men were Australian citizens, but said he believed they had been visiting Lebanon at the time of the bombing. Mr Addoum also said some of the suspects left traces of explosives on aircraft seats.
But Mr Cunningham said while sniffer dogs had at first picked up suspicious scents in the aircraft seats occupied by the men, forensic tests had proved negative. Earlier last night, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said the minister had had no contact with Lebanon over the allegations. Reports earlier this week said Australian authorities were helping Lebanon investigate the murder. No credible claims of responsibility have emerged for the bombing, but Lebanon's interior minister has said a suicide bomber backed by "international parties" may have killed Mr Hariri. Some also suggest rogue Syrian intelligence operatives or factions among Lebanon's different religious groups may be responsible. Lebanon's Syrian-backed regime is facing escalating calls to stand down over the death, and Washington has issued stark warnings to Damascus about its role in Lebanon.
Posted by: God Save The World ||
02/18/2005 7:32:11 PM ||
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When robbers stole more than $300,000 from an armored car here in 1997, investigators were taken aback by the size and brazenness of the heist. But they really became alarmed when they discovered that one of the culprits had been under surveillance as a suspected Islamic extremist. That man, Mustapha Darwich Ramadan, was arrested shortly before he planned to flee Copenhagen on a flight to Amman, Jordan, police said. He was convicted of robbery and served 3 1/2 years in prison. After his release in June 2001, Copenhagen police said, he struck again, robbing a money-transfer store of about $15,000. This time, he escaped to either Jordan or Lebanon, police said.
Since then, according to European intelligence officials, Ramadan has surfaced in Iraq as a leader of Ansar al-Islam, a radical group that U.S. officials say has carried out at least 40 suicide bombings and other attacks resulting in more than 1,000 deaths in the war-ravaged country.
Officials say Ansar also operates an extensive underground network that recruits young Muslims across Europe to join the insurgency in Iraq. Intelligence estimates of the numbers sent from Europe by Ansar and other groups vary from 100 to more than 3,000, but there is general agreement that the flow is increasing. U.S. intelligence officials say that most insurgents are Iraqis but that foreign fighters pose a major threat. Testifying before Congress on Wednesday, CIA Director Porter J. Goss said Islamic extremists were "exploiting the Iraqi conflict to recruit new anti-U.S. jihadists." He expressed concern that fighters who survive the insurgency will establish cells in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
MUSTAPHA DARWICH RAMADAN
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:37:19 AM ||
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Darwin wins, always. And the idiots flowing into Iraq lose. I've no complaints.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Europe is emerging as one of the most fertile recruiting grounds for radical Islamists bent on terrorism, western authorities say. Intelligence officials report an increasing number of recruits from Sweden to Italy are making their way to Iraq under the auspices of Ansar al-Islam, a once-obscure Kurdish group that has evolved into a global network of jihadists, the Washington Post said Friday.
Typical Ansar recruits are young Muslim men of Middle Eastern descent living in Europe. European authorities say that recent Ansar activity includes the following:
-- One of Ansar's top commanders in Iraq, Abu Mohammed Lubnani, once operated as an armed robber in Denmark;
-- Swedish police arrested four Ansar members for allegedly helping to plan twin bombings that killed more than 100 people on Feb. 1, 2004, in the Iraqi city of Irbil; and
-- German police said they broke up a hastily arranged plot by three Ansar members to attack interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi during a visit to Berlin.
"Ansar is very good -- a leading power -- in terms of mobilizing followers to fight the Americans in Iraq," said Guenther Beckstein, interior minister for the German state of Bavaria.
This article starring:
ABU MOHAMED LUBNANI
Ansar al-Islam
Ansar al-Islam
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 9:25:45 AM ||
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A Canadian court Thursday ordered the government to release on bail a Moroccan whom Ottawa suspects of belonging to Al Qaeda, federal officials and CBC television said. The reports said a judge in Montreal had ruled that Adil Charkaoui be freed on $40,500 bail after spending 20 months in detention. He will also have to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and stay with his family. Charkaoui has been held since May 2003 under a "security certificate," which allows detention without trial under limited circumstances. The government alleges that he had been seen with Al Qaeda officials and received terrorism training in Afghanistan.
Charkaoui, 31, denies the charges. Government officials said they did not know whether they would appeal. Friends and relatives had pushed for Charkaoui's release, arguing that the security certificates were unconstitutional. Oscar-winning filmmaker Denys Arcand was one of those who helped raise the bail money.
This article starring:
ADIL CHARKAUI
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:05:26 AM ||
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Denys Arcand ought to have an electronic monitoring bracelet put on him, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/18/2005 12:01 Comments ||
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#2
Bracelets are too nice. Imbed GPS and RFID in their brains. Somewhere where it is too hard to remove. Do it before letting them out on bail. Same for releasing the Gitmo pond scum. At the very least say you did this....
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 13:02 Comments ||
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#4
Bracelets are too nice. Imbed GPS and RFID in their brains. Somewhere where it is too hard to remove. Do it before letting them out on bail. Same for releasing the Gitmo pond scum. At the very least say you did this....
3dc - I have the same concern as you do. I think the "bracelet" may be found in place of a flea collar on the family cat, and Adil Charkaoui long gone.
#5
How about underneath the right shoulder blade? Not many would be willing to go digging around there with a knife, if they even realized there was something there.
From FoxNews (read to the bottom):
A former FBI informant testified at the terror-funding trial for a Yemeni sheik and his assistant that the defendant had boasted of supplying arms, money and fighters to Usama bin Laden. Mohamed Alanssi, called as a hostile witness for the defense, testified Thursday that Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan al-Moayad told him he gave $20 million to bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks and $3.5 million to the terrorist group Hamas. [Emphasis added.]
Alanssi was to be the star prosecution witness in the trial before he set himself on fire outside the White House three months ago, claiming the FBI reneged on promises of money and U.S. citizenship. The defense then called Alanssi to the stand in an effort to portray him as unstable, greedy and untruthful. [Emphasis added.]
Defense attorney Howard Jacobs asked whether al-Moayad, who runs religious charities in Yemen, explicitly stated he funneled money to Islamist fighters. Alanssi replied that it wasn't necessary. "The charitable work of Sheik Moayad is a front, and the money he gets is for mujahedeen," a militant group whose name means holy fighters, Alanssi said. Jacobs asked to strike the response from the record. "No," Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. replied. "You asked it." [Emphasis added.] ROFLMAO! That is exactly why a lawyer is never supposed to ask a question without already knowing what the answer will be. Serves him right. The whole lot of them can rot in hell. Or Yemen.
This article starring:
SHEIK MOHAMED ALI HASAN AL MOAIAD
Learned Elders of Islam
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/18/2005 4:41:53 PM ||
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Shoot him. I saw enough misery and destruction to last me 100 lifetimes because of stupid worthless garbage like this animal.
Feel free to grind him up over my tomato garden.
An American translator who admitted taking classified documents from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was sentenced Friday to 20 months in prison. With time already served, Ahmed Fathy Mehalba could be out in three weeks. Mehalba, 32, an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen and civilian Arabic translator at Guantanamo, told the judge he exercised "very poor judgment," but said he never intended to use the files for any illicit purpose. He was one of four men swept up in an espionage investigation at the Navy base. Some or all charges were dropped against the three other men - a Muslim chaplain, another interpreter and an Army Reserve colonel.
Mehalba was arrested at Boston's Logan Airport in 2003 after returning from Egypt. Customs agents found 132 compact discs in his luggage, including one that contained hundreds of documents labeled "SECRET" or "SECRET/NOFORN," meaning no foreign government was allowed to look at them. Mehalba initially told investigators that the discs contained only music and videos, and later said he had no idea how the classified documents got on the discs. His lawyers argued that he was taking materials with him to work on translating them. Last month, Mehalba pleaded guilty to unauthorized possession of classified materials and lying to federal investigators.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, he would have faced around three to four years in prison. But prosecutors agreed to recommend a lower sentence because he accepted responsibility for his actions, has no criminal record and had "significantly reduced mental capacity" at the time he committed the crimes. Defense attorney Joseph Savage said Mehalba has been treated for manic depression and attention deficit disorder. Mehalba received a medical discharged from the Army in May 2001 and was later hired by San Diego-based defense contractor Titan Corp. to be a translator at Guantanamo Bay. He has been behind bars since his arrest 17 months ago. He is expected to be freed around March 10. Sigh
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 4:21:52 PM ||
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#1
...and had "significantly reduced mental capacity" at the time he committed the crimes.
The old 'I'm crazyy!!' defence still works, unfortunately.
If they're smart (which they don't seem to be), they'll put surveillance on his ass when he gets out.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/18/2005 16:34 Comments ||
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#3
he must have cooperated. Or maybe if he didn't, the prosecution decided to be really mean and act like he did, putting him back out on the street for a good laugh.
#4
N.B. - Egyptian born!
Ok, here's the deal, spill everything or when we hammer you, we'll strip you of your naturalization and ship your sorry ass home to Egypt where the local authorities will be waiting to entertain you, Egyptian style. They got no bleeding hearts to cry for you there. Sort of - What goes down in Cairo, stays in Cairo.
#6
Assuming he was stupid enough to bring S/NF documents with him on a disk to work, was he so stupid that he couldn't remove the markings on them? If they were .doc, like most working files are, it would have been easy to do. So why leave the markings on them?
1. He's really, really stupid.
2. He needed to have the markings on them to convince his "market" in Egypt that he was good for the stuff.
While I never underestimate the lower limits of human intelligence, option 2 makes more sense to me. Any other options?
The U.S. arm of a large Saudi charity suspected by the government of supporting terrorism was indicted on fraud and tax charges, federal prosecutors said yesterday. The three-count indictment charges Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation and its two officers, Pirouz Sedaghaty -- also known as Pete Seda -- and Soliman Al-Buthe with illegally sending $150,000 to Muslim fighters in Chechnya.
The Bush administration last September designated the charity as a group suspected of supporting terrorism through its main location in Ashland, Ore., and a prayer house in Springfield, Mo. Sedaghaty had been living in Dubai; the whereabouts of Al-Buthe were unknown. Wednesday's grand jury indictment alleges that an Egyptian citizen contacted the foundation in Saudi Arabia seeking to donate to Muslims in Chechnya. The indictment said that $150,000 was transferred by wire to a foundation bank account in Ashland. Al-Buthe flew from Saudi Arabia to Oregon, then went to an Ashland bank with Sedaghaty, where the pair took out 130 $1,000 traveler's checks, and a $21,000 cashier's check before Al-Buthe headed back overseas, according to the indictment. snip. Obligatory, "My client is innocent," statement from lawyer.
Rather quiet this week: 11.02.2005 at 0400 LT in position 10:16N - 064:35W, cement terminal, Pertigalete port, Venezuela. Two unlit boats approached a bulk carrier within 100m. Security guards fired warning shots and boats moved away.
10.02.2005 at 0900 LT at Banjarmasin Roads, Indonesia. Twelve robbers armed with knives attempted to board a general cargo ship along with stevedores. C/O and bosun spotted them and stopped them boarding. Robbers threatened them with knives. Master raised alarm and crew mustered. Robbers aborted boarding and escaped in their speedboats.
Posted by: Pappy ||
02/18/2005 12:44:36 AM ||
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11.02.2005 at 0400 LT in position 10:16N - 064:35W, cement terminal, Pertigalete port, Venezuela. Two unlit boats approached a bulk carrier within 100m. Security guards fired warning shots and boats moved away.
#4
Itn been a quiet week in port woebegon, when suddenly from the horizon a speedy boat appeared. Shots were fired, words exchanged curses mounted. Then peace.
The Australian Federal Police have confirmed findings by local forensic experts that the explosives used in the Valentine's Day bombings in three major cities across the country were triggered by cellular phones, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Edgar Aglipay announced yesterday.
Aglipay said the Australian forensic experts "are confirming the report of our (PNP) Crime Laboratory" that all explosives used in the bombings in General Santos, Davao City and Makati City were activated by cell phones.
Aglipay said there were indications the bombers used TNT explosives.
"As of now, we can say that cellular phones were used in the bombings," he said.
Police said a 27-year-old engineer who was among the critically wounded in the Makati blast succumbed yesterday at the intensive care unit of the Ospital ng Makati.
Ronnie Soriano, a resident of Cabasaan street, Zone III, Signal Village, Taguig City, became the fourth casualty of the Makati bombing.
Chief Inspector Alfredo de la Cruz of the Makati police said they were not able to take any statements from Soriano after he was placed in intensive care shortly after the blast.
Aglipay said the PNP will coordinate further with the Australian police to determine if the Feb. 14 bombings were carried out in the same manner as the deadly nightclub bombing in Bali, Indonesia in October 2002 that left over 200 people dead and the Marriott Hotel bombing, also in Indonesia, in 2004. Both attacks have been blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group.
"They are still in the process of gathering evidence in General Santos and we will again discuss this over the weekend," Aglipay said.
He said PNP investigators are collating all documentary and physical evidence, along with the testimonies of witnesses to ensure an airtight case is built up against the suspects.
"As I have said, the investigation is continuing at a very good pace and we will try to solve the bombings at the soonest possible time," Aglipay said. "We are continuously gathering evidence."
He said he is personally handling the investigation and bringing experts for his visit to the bombing sites in General Santos and Davao City.
When asked if the JI might have carried out the bombings, Aglipay refused to confirm this, pointing out their investigation has yet to be completed.
On the other hand, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Avelino Razon said they have identified three suspects in the bombing.
Razon declared they would arrest the bombing suspects "in due time," adding that Aglipay has been satisfied with investigations on their end focusing on the bus bombing in Makati.
"The chief PNP wants us to make sure that after their arrest, the suspects would rot in jail," he said.
At least 13 people were killed in the Valentine's Day bombings, with over 140 others wounded.
Superintendent Napoleon Taas, NCRPO intelligence chief, said the witnesses are now guiding police agents on a stakeout for the three still unnamed suspects somewhere in Metro Manila.
A witness has reportedly surfaced at the Makati police and agreed to help authorities identify the suspects behind the blasts.
Razon said the witness, known as "Francisco," has intimate knowledge of how the bomb was manufactured.
Aside from Francisco, Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia said they have three witnesses helping the police identify the suspects.
Francisco, reportedly a resident of Culiat, Quezon City, is a walk-in witness. He earlier called "Patrol 117" and was instructed to show up at the Makati police station.
"We are still verifying all the information he has given us, but so far nothing has turned out to be positive, except his description of the suspects did corroborate the statement given by the bus driver and conductor (of the ill-fated bus)," Garcia said.
Last Monday's bomb attacks have forced Aglipay to shelve plans of attending the Interpol conference in France on Feb. 25 so that he could personally supervise the ongoing investigation.
He designated Director Rolando Garcia of the PNP Philippine Center for Transnational Crime as his representative at the Interpol conference.
Aglipay urged the public to remain vigilant and report all suspicious-looking characters and packages to discourage another terror attack.
Aglipay said the PNP remains on high alert in receiving "continuous threats" to the country's peace and order situation.
"We have a continuing threat, and we urge the people to be security conscious and inform the PNP if there are suspicious-looking persons in their barangays," Aglipay said.
For his part, Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes explained authorities are always working "on the assumption there is a threat."
"We work on the basis that there is a threat, there is a need for general vigilance not just on the part of the police but on the part of the entire community," he said.
Reyes, however, admitted that the government cannot guarantee that the public is 100 percent safe against terror attacks.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:11:53 AM ||
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Superintendent Napoleon Taas, NCRPO intelligence chief
Sounds like a potential series, The Man From NCRPO
#2
Its so easy to solve that cellphone problem... Unfortunately, nobody would listen to me.... But the cheap and simple way is give all new cellphone numbers to a fake telemarketing computer for the first month of use.... A few premature bangs????
Police have arrested two Abu Sayyaf members, one of them tagged as a bomb-making expert, authorities said. Police, acting on a tip-off, raided a house in Barangay Baliwasan in the city's outskirts and arrested Abu Sayyaf member Nassid Tajid, who put up no resistance, said Western Area Police Command director Vidal Querol. He said Tajid is a suspect in the 1999 abductions of Fr. Roel Gallardo and several students from a Catholic school in Basilan. The priest and several other students and teachers were later killed when the military staged a rescue attempt.
Querol said Tajid, 26, alias Rudimar Taji, is a bomb-making expert who worked under Jainal Antel Sali alias Abu Solaiman, who heads the Abu Sayyaf's Urban Terrorist Group. With Tajid's arrest, Querol said they could have foiled bombing plots by the Abu Sayyaf in this port city.
A second Abu Sayyaf member, Jubail Sahibul, was arrested in a Zamboanga suburb last week, military spokesman Col. Domingo Tutaan said. Sahibul took part in the kidnapping of 21 Western tourists and Asian staffers on the Malaysian resort island of Sipadan in April 2000, Tutaan said. The hostages were taken by boat across the sea border to Sulu and ransomed off for millions of dollars.
This article starring:
ABU SOLAIMAN
Abu Sayyaf
JAINAL ANTEL SALI
Abu Sayyaf
JUBAIL SAHIBUL
Abu Sayyaf
NASID TAJID
Abu Sayyaf
RUDIMAR TAJI
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:10:08 AM ||
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Yet another family affair ...
The first car bomb to explode in a year-long separatist uprising in Thailand's Muslim south was planted by relatives of hunted militant leaders, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Friday.
``We know it was done by children of people subject to our arrest warrants who are pressing the government to stop hunting them, not foreigners or any people linked to foreign groups,'' Thaksin said in Bangkok.
The Thursday night blast killed six people and wounded 14 in Sungai Kolok near the Malaysian border.
General Sonthi Boonyakarin, a top army commander in the region, said the Barisan Revolusi Nasional, or National Revolution Front, a group fighting the government, was responsible.
But the governor of Narathiwat province, scene of one of the deadliest attacks since the uprising began in January 2004, said he was not so sure there was no foreign involvement.
The attack on Sungai Kolok, a border town that draws tourists with its bars and brothels, was too wicked for Thais to have carried out, Governor Pracha Taerat said. ``If they were Thai, they would not have planted such a powerful bomb as this, which is similar to those in Iraq,'' he said.
A noodle shop bore the brunt of the blast, with four diners killed instantly and two dying later in hospital.
There has been considerable speculation that Jemaah Islamiah, the Southeast Asian branch of al-Qaeda, may be involved in the violence.
Militants have set off several motorcycle bombs by mobile telephone, but security officials said a car bomb was a step up in sophistication.
The car, stolen from an army camp two years ago, was parked near a busy hotel hosting a wedding party. The bomb, which was made of fertilizer, weighed at least 50 kilograms.
``They aimed for a wider scale of victims,'' Pracha said.
``It is an act of terrorism.''
Thaksin, who spent two days in the region this week proclaiming his determination to end the insurgency with harsh measures and ordering security forces to be more proactive, said he expected more bombs.
``Our intelligence reports suggest that there will be more explosions, but they won't be as powerful as this,'' he said.
``So we have to pay closer attention in municipal areas. It will take a month before our proactive approach will take effect''.
The impact on Thailand's image as a safe destination for tourists and investors will depend on whether the violence spreads outside the region, analysts say.
``It still looks like local unrest,'' said Bob Broadfoot, managing director of Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in Hong Hong.
``What we are afraid of is the violence might move to Bangkok. That's what they did in Indonesia and the Philippines.''
Sungai Kolok was hit by four bombs last year after the separatist violence erupted with a raid on an army camp in the south, from where 400 assault rifles were stolen.
Pracha said military intelligence reports suggested last week that Sungai Kolok was one of three towns targeted for bombs, but security had concentrated on motorcycles.
Thaksin has sent thousands of soldiers to deal with a revival of the unrest he blames on radical Islamist teachers, but there have been few signs that he is succeeding.
His latest ideas, announced during his visit to the region Wednesday and Thursday, include denying entire Muslim villages development aid if they are adjudged to have helped separatists.
And if that fails,, he said, troops will ``lay siege'' to villages.
His scheme has drawn fierce criticism.
Muslim leaders, academics and politicians said it will only encourage support for the insurgency, but Thaksin is unmoved.
``I won't listen because I have a thorough understanding of what the problem is,'' he said. ``Those who want everything to stop, come and help us. Don't just sit idly by and criticizing.''
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:07:01 AM ||
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SONGKHLA, Thailand, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Thai police Friday arrested a man suspected of involvement in a car bombing that killed six people and wounded 44 the day before. Police arrested Habeeza Jaeduloh, 30, a native of the southern border town of Sungai Kolok, where a bomb exploded Thursday after being planted in a pickup truck parked in a busy nightlife district. Habeeza had been arrested and charged with theft after stealing a car near the scene of the blast shortly after it occurred, Channel NewsAsia reported.
Needed a get-away car, did he?
Police became suspicious after noticing he carried a passport showing his departure for Malaysia on Feb. 10, but no re-entry stamp.
It's those little details that'll get you. Bet he didn't get a re-entry stamp because he was driving the car bomb back and didn't go through customs.
The suspect is being questioned by military authorities, the regional army commander said.
That sounds...painful.
Militants involved in violence in Thailand's rebellious southern provinces are suspected of frequently fleeing across the border to escape arrest. Malaysia has promised to cooperate with Thai authorities, but says it has too little information about insurgent activities to take action.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 9:34:44 AM ||
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At least four people were killed and 40 injured when a bomb exploded in the Thai tourist town of Sungai Kolok, bordering Malaysia, police said. The bomb exploded in Sungai Kolok shortly after Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra left the restive region after a visit to discuss security with Muslim leaders. "There are more than 40 people injured, three of them in operation rooms now. There are four people killed," a medical official in the town said. Police said the bomb exploded behind a hotel on a street boasting a strip of bars and nightclubs.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- The multi-sectarian Lebanese opposition Friday demanded Syria end its military presence and called for dismissal of the government.
"In response to the policy of intimidation and terrorization by the Lebanese authorities and the Syrian authorities, the Lebanese opposition declares the launching of the democratic and peaceful uprising for independence," the opposition said in a statement. "We demand the dismissal of the government, which has no legitimacy, and the formation of a transitional administration to protect the Lebanese people and ensure the immediate withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon to pave the way for holding free and honest legislative elections."
The opposition also called for an international investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri under the auspices of the United Nations.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 4:12:05 PM ||
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#1
Where did these people get this outlandish idea of holding free and honest elections?
#6
Right on Sobiesky. The Djinn is out of the bottle.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/18/2005 16:44 Comments ||
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#7
Lemme see... 3,777,218 (July 2004 est.) and there is, according to Debka, 1.4 million Syrian workers.
Does look like there would be some ketchup with that popcorn.
#10
While I sympathize with Lebanon's people in this, they are not actually as united as they ought to be.
Beside Hizbollah, which is pro Syria by virtue of their weapons supplies, there are innumerable Syrian agents who have been bought or blackmailed into helping Syria.
What will be interesting over the next few days is seeing which public figures come out with pro Syria op-eds.
#11
could be good timing, what with W meeting all those "high level" thinking folks on "their" ground. And he let's them know, "We stand with the Lebanese people."
#12
If the majority of the Lebanese really want the Syrians out, all we have to do is provide air support and a few dozen Special Forces troopers to point out the targets, as we did in Afghanistan. The question here is whether we want to control the aftermath, which will require some amount of manpower. The Lebanese militias are armed and can serve the role of the Northern Alliance during the Afghan campaign.
#14
Not just Hezb'allah, let's not forget the heavily armed Paleos sitting in Ein-el and other shitholes. You know - the ones Lebanon sorta forgot to absorb since they were so useful as permanent refugees...
#1
Okay, now watch how swiftly or vehemently worldwide condemnation of this act turns out to be, and compare it to criticism of U.S. actions in Iraq. If I were to venture a guess, it won't come close.
#3
Does anyone have a copy of this video? We need to broadcast this far and wide (since you know the MSM won't do anything to defame their friends the terrorists).
Afghanistan has disarmed 80 percent of its estimated 50,000 militiamen under a joint program with the United Nations, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said.
``This is another milestone in the disarmament process,'' Ariane Quentier, senior public information officer for the Mission, said at a briefing yesterday in the capital, Kabul, according to the UN Web site. The program ``has kept gaining momentum since it was initiated last year.''
A total of 40,104 militiamen have handed in their weapons under the program that provides training to help find jobs in civil society, the UN said. The northern region of Mazar-e-Sharif was declared disarmed in December and Jalalabad in the east earlier this week, according to the UN.
Afghanistan has created a national army of more than 21,000 soldiers since the Taliban regime was ousted in December 2001. The country is preparing to hold parliamentary and local elections this year, the second stage of its move toward democracy that began with last October's first direct presidential election won by Hamid Karzai.
The U.S. has 18,000 soldiers in Afghanistan hunting fugitives from the Taliban and the al-Qaeda terrorist network. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has 8,500 soldiers in the UN-authorized International Security Assistance Force responsible for security in Kabul.
NATO said last week it will expand its peacekeeping force in Afghanistan by about 900 soldiers to boost security for the parliamentary and local elections by allowing the force to extend control beyond the area surrounding Kabul.
Election Date
The polls were scheduled to take place between April 21 and May 21, the UN said last month. The date will be 120 days after Karzai issues a decree establishing the boundaries of electoral districts, Quentier said last week.
Karzai, 46, has made security and the fight against drug traffickers the priorities of his government. Afghanistan is the world's biggest opium producer. Poppy cultivation increased 64 percent in 2004, the UN said in November. The opium poppy is the raw ingredient in producing heroin.
The UN is helping Afghanistan cope with winter storms that have hit the country in the past three weeks, Quentier said at yesterday's briefing. More than 260 people have died, many of them children, as result of the cold weather, Agence France- Presse reported.
The World Food Program airlifted food and medical supplies for more than 28,000 people in the southern province of Zabul to cover their needs for the next two months, Quentier said.
``The WFP has faced major difficulties in reaching Saghar and Tulak districts in Ghor province to provide assistance to some 15,000 people,'' she said. Two convoys carrying food were unable to reach the areas because of snowfalls, she added.
Many of the deaths are among children under the age of five who suffered respiratory infections, pneumonia and whooping cough, AFP cited Afghanistan's Public Health Minister Mohammad Amid Fatimie as saying yesterday in Kabul.
Suicide bombers killed at least 17 people in attacks on two Shi'ite mosques in Baghdad Friday as thousands of Shi'ites — Iraq's majority Muslim sect — commemorated Ashura, the main event in their religious calendar.
Separately, a rocket landed near a police station and close to a mosque in a Shi'ite district of northwestern Baghdad killing three people and wounding five in a shop, police said.
In the first suicide attack, a man wearing an explosives- packed vest merged into a crowd near a mosque in the Doura area of southwestern Baghdad and blew himself up, survivors said. The blast killed 15 people and wounded 33, Yarmouk hospital said.
Soon afterwards, an explosion shook a second Shi'ite mosque in western Baghdad, the U.S. military and police sources said.
Police initially blamed that blast on a mortar strike but later said two suicide bombers had approached a crowd outside the mosque. They were spotted by police, who shot them, but one still blew himself up, killing at least two people, police said.
Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, told CNN he believed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant who is al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, was behind the attacks. Zarqawi has claimed responsibility for many of Iraq's worst strikes.
The attacks came as thousands of Shi'ites marched through the city for Ashura in a show of strength a day after a Shi'ite alliance was confirmed as the winner of last month's historic election, handing the community power for the first time.
Dressed in black for mourning and holding aloft green banners bearing the name Hussein, the martyred grandson of the prophet Mohammad, thousands filled central Baghdad for the Ashura march, some of them flailing themselves with chains.
Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the main party in the Shi'ite alliance that won the Jan. 30 election, addressed the crowd with a message of political conciliation.
"I call on all Iraqis to unite and I assure everyone the Iraq we want is a unified and secure Iraq where every citizen, without exception, enjoys justice and equality," Hakim told the crowd, which chanted "Hussein, Hussein" and "God is Greatest."
"We say it now and we will always say it, that we are open to all Iraqis, because they are partners in this nation," he said, in one of the strongest declarations yet of Shi'ite intentions to include Sunnis in the political process.
Iraq's Electoral Commission announced Thursday that the main Shi'ite coalition, the United Iraqi Alliance, had secured 140 seats in the assembly, just enough for a slim majority.
A Kurdish alliance came second and will have 75 seats, while a list headed by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite, will have 40. Sunni Arabs have fewer than 10 seats.
A two-thirds majority is needed in the assembly to decide the top government posts, a margin the Shi'ite alliance could secure if it allies with the Kurdish coalition.
Intense talks have been going on for two weeks to determine who will take the top positions, with the Kurds expected to get the presidency and the Shi'ite bloc the prime minister's post.
But it is not clear who from the United Iraqi Alliance will be the preferred choice. The front runner is physician Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a religious Shi'ite and leader of the Dawa Party.
Ahmad Chalabi, another former exile and former Pentagon favorite, is also pushing to have his candidacy considered.
Jaafari has said he expects a decision in a couple of days. Many officials expect the announcement of the president, two vice-presidents and prime minister to be made together.
Whoever ends up as prime minister faces the daunting task of improving security in a country plagued by suicide bombings and abductions — two Indonesian journalists were reported missing in western Iraq Friday and were believed kidnapped.
At Friday's Baghdad march, there was a small presence of Iraqi police near the main procession, as well as many members of the Badr Organization, a Shi'ite militia loyal to SCIRI.
The march also included a funeral procession for three members of the Badr Organization who SCIRI says were killed in Iraqi police custody in Baghdad earlier this month. Iraq's interior ministry said it was investigating their deaths.
In northern Iraq, three U.S. soldiers were killed in separate attacks in and near the city of Mosul Thursday, raising to 1,117 the number killed in action since March 2003.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:18:13 AM ||
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#1
I am telling you now: Ashoura blood-letting will be brutal this year. Spin-consumers will finally admit that the 20,000 Persian Shiites who will travel from the Persian terrorist entity, daily, manifest cultural unity between the terror state and Iraq Shia-pets. I will post links to pictures of the Muslimutt blood feast, in exact measure to the suppression of coverage of the social idiocy of that demographic enemy of Western Civilization.
Affirmation - in substitution of Denial - will be the first phase of your de-programing. We will clear your captive minds of all appeasement cobwebs, and put you on the straight path to one-button dreams and schemes. SAY DOOM!
#3
Actually, Liberalhawk, I have seen pictures of Ashura martyr venerations, and I am not happy with sharing the planet with these people. Check out Yahoo news pic posts during Ashura. It is need to know material. Regards.
#4
Isn't it in the Philippines that there are pre-Easter parades where people whip themselves until their backs are bloody... except for the ones who have themselves nailed to wooden crosses (the local substitute for papier mache puppets)?
IRAQI security forces had captured two suspected members of a militant group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq, the Iraqi Government said today. Brothers Hutheyfa and Mohammed Abdul-Jabbar were picked up on February 12 in Baghdad, based on intelligence extracted from other suspected insurgents under interrogation. "It's clear from information and evidence gathered from the raid that Hutheyfa is a member of al-Qaeda," the Government said. Iraqi security forces have rounded up scores of suspected guerrillas in recent weeks.
This article starring:
ABU MUSAB AL ZARQAWI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
HUTHEYFA ABDUL JABAR
al-Qaeda in Iraq
MOHAMED ABDUL JABAR
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:33:44 AM ||
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#1
"based on intelligence extracted"
IRAQI security forces>>Iraqi dentists who use truth serum !
Posted by: No novocaine ||
02/18/2005 15:39 Comments ||
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Two Sunni Muslim militants who were planning an attack on rival Shiites blew themselves to bits with a hand grenade after a gunbattle with Pakistani police on Friday, officials said. Police said the men, who were members of the banned Al-Qaeda-linked group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, killed themselves during a raid on their hideout near a Shiite mosque in the turbulent southwestern city Quetta. "When police knocked at their door, they resorted to firing and when besieged they blew themselves up with hand grenades," Quetta police chief Pervez Rafi Bhatti told AFP. "Their bodies were blown into pieces." Five hand grenades, two Kalashnikov rifles and hundreds of bullets were recovered from the house, the walls of which had been daubed with anti-Shiite slogans, police said. "The militants could have attacked Shiite processions in the city today and there is also a possibility they were planning to attack the main Ashura procession" on Sunday, provincial police chief Chaudhry Muhammad Yaqub told a press conference.
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi later said in a statement faxed to newspapers that the militants were its members and that it was proud of their acts. The group vowed it would carry on attacks against Shiites and warned the government not to be happy about killing two of its men. "Our members were ready to launch suicide attacks and by dying they have provided inspiration to other Lashkar-e-Jhangvi mujahideen and Sunni youth to follow their footsteps," spokesman Commander Zarar said in the message. Police said they raided the house in Quetta after neighbours became suspicious about the activities of the men, who rented the house two weeks ago. One of the dead was identified as Niaz Muhammad, a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activist.
The other guy was just a corpse...
Meanwhile police in the southern city of Karachi on Friday arrested around 50 suspected members of outlawed Sunni extremist groups, city police chief Tariq Jamil told AFP. Most were members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The organisation has mounted numerous attacks on Shiites, who make up 20 percent of Pakistan's population, and is also blamed for the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Police in Karachi last week said they had arrested four militants including a suspected suicide bomber. "Those arrested overnight were being interrogated to find out their links with the four suspects and also about any conspiracy to disrupt peace in the city," Jamil said.
This article starring:
Chaudhry Muhammad Yaqub
COMANDER ZARAR
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Daniel Pearl
NIAZ MUHAMAD
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Tariq Jamil
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/18/2005 11:13:33 AM ||
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February 18, 2005: Iraqi and coalition forces are getting hit with 50-60 attacks a day. Most of these are ambush type attacks that result in no casualties. Dozens, sometimes over a hundred, of the attackers, or suspects, are arrested every day. Interrogations of these men, and examination of documents seized, indicates that there is no one anti-government organization behind the attacks. But the attackers are not broad-based either. They are almost entirely Sunni Arab, and many are not even Iraqi. The anti-government activity in Iraq is driven by several factors. First, there is the Sunni Arab resentment at losing power. That hurt, as for over half a century, the Iraqi Sunni Arabs lived large off increasing oil revenues. The money also enabled them to buy guns, build elaborate torture chambers and hire lots of thugs to keep the majority Kurds and Shia Arabs in line. Losing control of the oil wealth meant the loss of jobs, privileges, and protection from retaliation from Kurds and Shia Arabs seeking revenge for family members killed or tortured by Sunni Arab enforcers.
The "resistance" is spontaneous in the sense that many Sunni Arab Iraqis will, because they have guns and an opportunity, take a shot at Iraqi security forces or American troops. If the Iraqi cops in the neighborhood are Kurdish or Shia Arab, a bunch of local guys will agree to just up and kill one of "them." This has even happened when nearby Iraqi security forces were from a different Sunni Arab tribe, and the local fellows were unhappy that they did not get the security jobs (one of the better paying, and less taxing forms of employment available in Iraq these days.) Tribal leaders have been reluctant to confront the angry (at being unemployed and thrown off the gravy train) young men, although that is changing as it becomes clear that the new Iraqi security forces are not going away, and keep getting better at hunting down and killing the attackers.
The recent elections hit at a major source of encouragement for attacks on Iraqi government forces; the Sunni Arab media. When the elections were a big success, months of anti-democratic propaganda suddenly fell flat. News outlets like al Jazeera have basically been the propaganda service for the former Saddam (Baath Party) and al Qaeda officials organizing anti-government violence in Iraq. It's no wonder that the Iraqi government eventually threw al Jazeera staff out of Iraq. These journalists were working directly with the bomb makers and gunmen to carry out attacks.
At first, al Jazeera said it was merely coincidence that one of their camera crews was on the scene when a suicide bomb went off, or gunmen attacked Iraqi police or civilians. Police raids and interrogations soon turned up evidence that al Jazeera was part of the "attack team" whenever possible. The Baath Party organizers of many of the deadlier attacks would pay bonuses to the attackers if their was good media coverage, so there were financial incentives all around to have al Jazeera cameras rolling while you killed Iraqis. Over 80 percent of the dead have been Iraqis. Sunni Arab Iraqis are good at killing Iraqis, but usually get themselves killed when they go after Americans. While the cash bonuses are higher for killing foreigners, what's the point if you don't live to collect it?
The Baath party leadership is still out there, or at least enough of them, with cash and guns, to finance attacks on oil production facilities and senior government officials. But this war is not going well at all. Each week, another few of these organizers are killed or arrested. That doesn't usually make the news, but the message resonates in Sunni Arab neighborhoods. The new guys in charge aren't going away. The Kurds and Shia Arabs, 80 percent of the population, have the guns and control the oil now. Either do business with them nice, or continue to lose gun battles with the growing security forces. More Sunni Arabs are doing the math, and ignoring al Jazeera.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 9:55:33 AM ||
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#1
It has devolved into an episode of 'Cops'. Much like Washington D.C. or Watts. Some unhappy individual sees a cop walking down the street a block or two away, so he just lets fly with a round in the general direction of the cop, with no further thought than that. No deeper meaning than just general displeasure with his life, or wife, or whatever, and no thought to consequences.
#2
Not bad, for StrategyPage. Hits pretty close to the mark. When the Iraqi troop strength is sufficient, then the borders can be properly controlled - with the exception of bribery, etc. That will make the population of terrorists available finite. An that equates to an eventual "end". Q.E.D.
So keep training up Iraqis. Keep vetting them in joint operations. In other words, carry on. The rebuilding process, which can't really be undertaken in full force without better security, will cement the fact that this is the better way - even among the Sunnis, who are receiving their fair share of infrastructure help.
Ignore the ankle-biters, second-guessers, and blame-whores.
#3
If you want to meet some blame whores, go to this site: http://abbaskadhim.blogspot.com/
Whine, cry, all is doom, the US is a monster and all the administration are liars, blah, blah, blah. No matter how well things go in the future in Iraq, the US will be to blame for those that go wrong. I think some RB'ers ought to go over and teach them some a few things. Have fun!
Two suspected militants have blown themselves up in the Pakistani city of Quetta after a gun battle with the police, officials say. The police said the militants belonged to the outlawed Sunni group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. They were planning to attack a Shia mourning procession when the police raided their hideout, officials said. Pakistan has a long history of sectarian violence between majority Sunni and minority Shia Muslims.
Who doesn't?
More than 4,000 people have died in Shia-Sunni clashes since 1980. A senior police official said the unidentified militants were possibly planning attacks on local Shias. "We think these two men were from Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and they were planning attacks against Shiites," police official Mohammed Shahban told the Associated Press news agency.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 9:00:06 AM ||
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At least 16 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in twin suicide attacks on Shia Muslim mosques in Baghdad, Iraqi security sources say.
In the deadliest blast, at least 15 worshippers died when a suicide bomber struck at prayer time. At the same time, suicide attackers struck another mosque, killing one person, while at least two people died in a blast at a Baghdad cafe. The attacks came on the eve of Ashura, the holiest day of the Shia calendar. It follows a period of relative calm in Iraq after regular insurgent attacks.
In the first attack, a bomber mingled with worshippers at the packed mosque in southern Doura district before triggering the blast at about 1300 local time (1000 GMT). "The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt at the Kazimain mosque in Abu Dishr near Doura," a police officer told AFP news agency. Ahmed Zaher, a doctor at Baghdad's al-Yarmuk hospital, told AP news agency casualties were being brought in in cars and pick-up trucks.
At around the same time as the attack in Doura, two suicide bombers targeted another Shia mosque in western Baghdad, police said. The bombers were accompanied by gunmen who opened fire on guards at the mosque. But according to the police, the guards fired back and the bombers detonated their explosives.
Abdul Qasim Ubid told Reuters television he saw the attackers strike. "I heard someone coming and then he exploded himself. There were legs and hands. It was terrible, terrible," he said. One person was killed and four others injured, police and hospital sources said.
Hours later, attackers targeted a cafe in Baghdad, as an Ashura procession passed by. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Baghdad says the blast, caused by a suicide attack or a mortar, killed the cafe's owner and a relative and possibly one other person.
Iraqi security forces have increased security for Ashura to try to avoid a repeat of last year's bomb attacks against Shia worshippers in Baghdad and Karbala that killed at least 181 people. Iraq's land borders have been closed until Tuesday.
Predominantly Sunni Muslim militants have vowed to continue targeting Iraq's Shia majority, which is set to take power for the first time in the country's history. Ashura marks the death 1,300 years ago of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, which widened the split between Sunni and Shia Islam and is celebrated by blowing each others mosques up.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/18/2005 8:39:59 AM ||
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#1
At some point in time, the ruling authority will decide that enough is enough and people who have nothing to do with these terrorists are going to suffer mightily. All because a bunch of losers couldn't/wouldn't see the writing on the wall.
#2
"I heard someone coming and then he exploded himself. There were legs and hands. It was terrible, terrible," he said.
That's what suicide bombers do, all political finessing to the contrary. And it's also when you call Mssr. Chirac for his expertise. See, this poor fellow, who is of course traumatized by what he saw, needs a chance for education, because he is but an impoverished Muslim. Let the erudite Mssr. Chirac go over and explain, in keeping with his philosophy that political parties can have terrorist wings, how this bombing was really legitimate political expression by the Sunnis, oh, and BTW, so sorry about the mess and ruined lives.
#3
why stop at mosques? How about suicide bombers at a wedding? "Blow up now, or forever hold your peace". Maybe we could convince all the suicide bombers to blow themselves up all at once. Or maybe, you could split one side of town into half civilian, half suicide bomber.
#6
Open Google "Images" and type "Ashoura," for a slide show of the blood-letting of children of which .Com obviously approves, given his condemnation of anyone who stands up for civilized values.
Some of the photo links are restricted, re posting, but you can see smiling, knife-wielding parents holding the blades that they just used to hack open their infant's heads.
Those who would support Jaafari Hizbollization of the Iraq entity, should admit your complicity in bloody child abuse. I love the smell of napalm in the morning, and charcoal in the afternoon.
Tabari VII:97/Ishaq:368 âWe carried Kaâbâs head and brought it to Muhammad during the night. We saluted him as he stood praying and told him that we had slain Allahâs enemy. When he came out to us we cast Ashrafâs head before his feet. The Prophet praised Allah that the poet had been assassinated and complimented us on the good work we had done in Allahâs Cause. Our attack upon Allahâs enemy cast terror among the Jews, and there was no Jew in Medina who did not fear for his life.ââ SAY DOOM!
#7
Wow, we have another poster here who does the same thing: referring to other posters from other threads which have F*CKALL to do with the current thread.
A bomb blast killed one person and wounded six in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday in what appeared to be a failed attack on an African Union (AU) peacekeeping delegation, witnesses and officials said. The explosion went off outside the former ministry of foreign affairs minutes after a visiting AU fact-finding team passed by on its way to a nearby airstrip, witnesses said. "This was a clear attempted attack on the AU delegation," a senior Somali official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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The police has rounded up one of the prime suspects behind the unsuccessful assassination attempt on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz during his election campaign in Fateh Jang (Attock) in August 2004. A special police team that was investigating the assassination attempt arrested proclaimed offender Mohammad Salman alias Zaheer, son of Mohammad Banaras, from Pindi Saral, a suburb of Fateh Jang. Police also obtained 14 days judicial remand of the accused from the special anti-terrorism court of Judge Safdar Hussain Malik on Thursday.
Strict security measures were adopted when Mohammad Salman was presented before the court. Ch Riaz, the station house officer of Fateh Jang, maintained in his petition that Mohammad Salman was arrested on February 16 and the police wanted his remand. The court allowed 14 days judicial remand of the accused.
This article starring:
MOHAMAD SALMAN
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Why have bus service, if not for Jaish to threaten it?
The banned militant organisation Jaish e-Muhammad on Thursday threatened to disrupt a historic new bus service across the military line that divides Kashmir if it led to more "atrocities" by Indian forces in the disputed Himalayan region.
"Them Heathen Hindoos is prone to committing atrocities with buses, y'know!"
"This will weaken the idea of Kashmir uniting with Pakistan. This is a conspiracy by India to weaken jihad," Mufti Abdur Rauf, a spokesman for the outlawed militant group said. "We will see what benefits India wants to get. If it infiltrates spies into Azad Kashmir and there is an increase in atrocities by Indian security forces in the held Kashmir, we will certainly try to stop it," he said. "It is tantamount to betraying the blood of the mujahideen of Kashmir." The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced the start of the service from April 7 the most concrete outcome yet from a year of peace talks, raising hopes for a permanent rapprochement between the two countries.
This article starring:
MUFTI ABDUR RAUF
Jaish e-Muhammad
Jaish e-Muhammad
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Buses. Jehadis everywhere hate 'em. Paging Dr Freud, Dr Jung, Dr Spock.
#4
If I was the Indians I would be worried about exctly the same thing. Any time you allow traffic with the jihadi's then you are inviting suicide bombers.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/18/2005 7:48 Comments ||
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#5
To the MOON, Jaish!
Posted by: Ralph Al-Kramden ||
02/18/2005 9:57 Comments ||
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#6
I'm feeling less guilty every day wishing Pakland would just CEASE EXISTING
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2005 10:09 Comments ||
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Two men have been killed and one wounded after foreign fighters battled each other in Pakistan's remote North Waziristan tribal area, security forces say. One of the dead men was of Arab origin and the other was an Uzbek speaker, security officials said of Thursday's incident.
"Your mother sleeps with camels!"
"A curse upon your mustache!"
Paramilitary troops were hunting for the fourth man, who had escaped the fighting and fled to a nearby village, sources said. Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between fighters allegedly linked to al-Qaida and security forces over the past year in neighbouring South Waziristan.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has claimed that it had foiled a "possible terrorist plot" to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York by arresting a suspected Al Qaeda activist and busting a terrorist network in America. Robert S Mueller, director of the FBI, told the Senate Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday that Yassin Muhiddin Aref, connected to the Pakistani diplomats' assassination plot, was arrested in New York on money laundering charges.
In 2004, the FBI learned that Al Qaeda and related terrorist groups had conducted detailed surveillance of financial targets in New York, Washington DC and New Jersey. In response to this threat, with the coordination of the Department of Homeland Security, the threat level was raised for the referenced cities and "we mobilised a large contingent of analysts and agents to review the massive amount of information connected with the attack planning, and to uncover any additional information that would give the FBI insight into the plot," Mueller added. Previously, in the spring of 2004, Britain had arrested a group of terrorists who were plotting an imminent attack inside the UK. In response, the FBI immediately formed a task force to determine if there was a US nexus to the plot or if any of the British subjects had links to individuals in the US.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
I think we forget how much the lack of terracts in the US and UK in the last 3 years is due to preemptive LE action.
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The offices of two leading non-governmental organisations in northwest Bangladesh have been attacked with firebombs, injuring six people, police said Thursday, blaming Islamic militants. The assaults on the offices of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) and Grameen Bank occurred Tuesday and Wednesday, police said. Three grenades were recovered from another BRAC office on Wednesday before they could explode, police said. "We suspect that a group with an Islamic ideological bent hurled the petrol bombs at the two offices," a senior police official in northwestern Rajshahi told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
More than £2m seized by Irish police has been taken for forensic examination to see if it is linked to the £26m Northern Bank raid in December. Seven people were arrested in Cork and Dublin during a series of raids in which the money was seized, including £60,000 in Northern Bank notes. Seventeen bags of sterling bank notes were removed from a house near Cork under a heavy police guard. It is understood one of those held is a former Sinn Fein representative. Irish police said the raids had been targeting money laundering activities. They are expected to release more details on Friday.
Pro-Russian Chechen forces on Friday killed a top commander of rebels battling Moscow's rule in Chechnya, an army spokesman said. 
Canadian court Thursday ordered the government to release on bail a Moroccan whom Ottawa suspects of belonging to Al Qaeda, federal officials and CBC television said. The reports said a judge in Montreal had ruled that 
The U.S. arm of a large Saudi charity suspected by the government of supporting terrorism was indicted on fraud and tax charges, federal prosecutors said yesterday. The three-count indictment charges 
11.02.2005 at 0400 LT in position 10:16N - 064:35W, cement terminal, Pertigalete port, Venezuela. Two unlit boats approached a bulk carrier within 100m. Security guards fired warning shots and boats moved away.
Police have arrested two 
At least four people were killed and 40 injured when a bomb exploded in the Thai tourist town of Sungai Kolok, bordering Malaysia, police said. The bomb exploded in Sungai Kolok shortly after Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra left the restive region after a visit to discuss security with Muslim leaders. "There are more than 40 people injured, three of them in operation rooms now. There are four people killed," a medical official in the town said. Police said the bomb exploded behind a hotel on a street boasting a strip of bars and nightclubs.
IRAQI security forces had captured two suspected members of a militant group headed by 
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi later said in a statement faxed to newspapers that the militants were its members and that it was proud of their acts. The group vowed it would carry on attacks against Shiites and warned the government not to be happy about killing two of its men. "Our members were ready to launch suicide attacks and by dying they have provided inspiration to other Lashkar-e-Jhangvi mujahideen and Sunni youth to follow their footsteps," spokesman 
Two men have been killed and one wounded after foreign fighters battled each other in Pakistan's remote North Waziristan tribal area, security forces say. One of the dead men was of Arab origin and the other was an Uzbek speaker, security officials said of Thursday's incident. 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has claimed that it had foiled a "possible terrorist plot" to kill a Pakistani diplomat in New York by arresting a suspected Al Qaeda activist and busting a terrorist network in America. Robert S Mueller, director of the FBI, told the Senate Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday that Yassin Muhiddin Aref, connected to the Pakistani diplomats' assassination plot, was arrested in New York on money laundering charges. 
