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| Axis of Evil |
| Islamic Group Shows Battle Videos on Web |
| 2002-12-16 |
| A militant Islamic group operating in an autonomous region of northern Iraq — and accused of ties to al-Qaida — has placed videos of its battle with a Kurdish militia on its Web site. Ansar al-Islam's www.ansarislam.com shows the ferocity of a battle earlier this month that left scores dead. In one scene, as a barrage of rockets hits a hilltop target, a voice cries "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great." The group's Web site claimed it killed 103 and wounded 117 soldiers of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, while only four of its own fighters were killed in the Dec. 4 battle. Patriotic Union officials said 53 of their fighters were killed and 31 wounded, while 21 to 25 Ansar rebels died in the initial battle and a counterassault. One of those killed, according to the PUK, was Abdulla Khalifana, Ansar's deputy commander in chief. E-mails sent to an address on Ansar's Web site and to the site administrators went unanswered. Typical IT department. Most likely cruising porn sites. PUK officials say Ansar al-Islam is an offshoot of al-Qaida. Ansar officials say that some of their members have trained with bin Laden's group in Afghanistan, but they're not under al-Qaida's control. The Kurdish-controlled provinces in northern Iraq have become relatively prosperous enclaves. Major cities have satellite-powered Internet cafes and nascent Internet service providers offer home connections to the Net. Software stores sell pirated copies of sophisticated Web design programs for several dollars a piece. Computer training centers have opened. Even with battle videos, Ansar's site in Kurdish, Arabic and Farsi — the English page is still under construction — may find it difficult to compete for the attention of the mostly young Kurds who frequent Internet cafes here. Chat rooms are more popular. The two main Kurdish parties also have extensive Web sites. OK, does everyone have a website but me? |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #3 There's always Paypal - upper right corner, where nobody notices it... |
| Posted by: Fred 2002-12-17 08:44:17 |
| #2 I have been meaning to ask Fred if he needs a donation too. Paypal, or is there any Adobe software you might need? Might take a month or 2 to come, but its worth the wait. |
| Posted by: PJ 2002-12-16 18:37:49 |
| #1 If you do start a website Steve, 15$ URLs at dotster.com and 60$ a year hosting at cornerhost.com. I'll kick in the first donation too. |
| Posted by: PJ 2002-12-16 18:35:16 |