Quiet in SE Asia, given the disaster. However, the following is notable:
02.01.05 at 0730 LT in posn: 26:13.2N - 056:52.2E, Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf / Arabian Sea.
Several persons armed with guns in six blue speedboats about 6 - 8 meters long crossed a container ship from starboard to port. They were dressed in black clothes with facemasks. D/O raised alarm and crew mustered and activated fire hoses. Boats followed the ship but later moved away.
Firehoses? With AK's as cheap as they are in Peshawar?
Posted by: Pappy ||
01/10/2005 1:03:04 AM ||
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Crew that repel pirates with guns/small arms are executed if they are overrun. Water hoses, other "nonlethal" methods of repelling boarders are apparently not offensive to pirates. A prepared and visible resistance is usually enough to deter pirates. Pirates with a strong desire to meet Allan, however, may require stronger measures.
#3
Most merchant captains have only a shotgun or a handgun for last-ditch. They don't want to maintain an armory or train sailors. They certainly don't want weapons accessable to the average merchant seaman.
Good watchmen and a crew prepared to repel boarders with hoses, pikes, and speed (the merchant can't outrun the speedboat in many cases, but can churn up a hell of a wake) are usually sufficient. Unfortunately, crews are small and watches only maintained in high threat areas. In this case, potential pirates saw a prepared crew and chose to find a softer target.
Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry says police killed four suspected terrorists believed to be linked to al-Qaeda after they fled their desert tent.
Didn't even surround them first, did they.
According to local media the ministry said in a statement the four suspects belonged to a "deviant group" a term used by the government to describe followers of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network. Authorities demanded the suspects surrender after surrounding the tent in a remote town some 250 kilometres north of Riyadh. But the militants refused and tried to flee in a car while hurling hand grenades.
Hokay, youse four, come out witcher hands up!"
"Go screw, coppers!"
"Hokay, let 'em have it boys!"
And the corpse count from Rooters ...
A ministry statement said the dead included Mohammed Abdul-Rahman al-Farraj, Meshal Ubaid al-Haseri and Omar Abdullah al-Qahtani. It said they had participated in militant activities, including car bombings and assassinations. No clue on the other two, but I believe we're holding at least one al-Qahtani down at Gitmo.
A fourth dead man was yet to be identified. State television showed automatic weapons, ammunition, grenades, explosives and false car plates seized from the four in a tent in the desert.
What? No pakistani-made passports? Somebody's holding out here ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/10/2005 12:10:38 AM ||
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Any chance they were working up another wedding for the gentleman with 58 wives?
Saudi police killed four terrorists believed linked to al-Qaida after the militants fled their desert tent Sunday while throwing hand grenades at surrounding forces, the Interior Ministry said. Authorities asked the militants to surrender after surrounding their tent in Nafoud Thoweirat, a remote town north of Zilfi province, some 170 miles north of the Saudi capital Riyadh, the ministry said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency. But the militants refused and tried to flee in a car while hurling hand grenades, the statement said. The four were killed by the police at about 7:30 a.m. Three Saudi security personnel were slightly injured.
"Cheeze, Mahmoud! It's the cops!"
"Bring forth the Holy Hand Grenade™!"
The statement said the four suspects belonged to the "deviant group" — a term used by the government to describe followers of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network. Weapons, explosives, ammunition and documents were found in the tent, the statement said without identifying the militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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The South Korean government was checking reports that one or two of its nationals may have been kidnapped in Iraq, Foreign Ministry officials said on Sunday. The government was checking with its embassy in Iraq but it was unclear where the kidnappings may have occurred, they said. Ministry spokesman Lee Kyu-hyung said in a statement a militant Iraqi group had posted an Internet message saying it had kidnapped two South Koreans and demanding South Korea's withdrawal from the country within 72 hours. "We give the Korean government 72 hours to withdraw from Iraq, the land of Islam. If this is not done, the judgment of Allah will fall on the two hostages," said the message, signed by a hitherto unknown group calling itself Organization of Holy War in Iraq.
All the good names were taken.
"We shall issue pictures of the two hostages within the coming hours," said the statement dated Jan. 6. It was posted on a Web site used by some Islamists. The message from the group, whose name resembles a leading insurgent organization led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was not carried by the main pro-Islamist Web sites. There were no reports of missing South Koreans registered with the embassy in Baghdad, but the government was checking the presence of unregistered South Koreans in the country, Lee said. He declined to comment on the credibility of the kidnapping claim, but said all South Koreans in Iraq known to the government have been accounted for.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has argued the deployment was a tough but vital move to support the United States, a key ally with 34,000 troops in the South to deter aggression by communist North Korea. All the troops and civilian workers embedded with the contingent in Arbil have been accounted for, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified official at the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying. Kim's killing followed the shooting death of two contract workers in 2003 near Baghdad. The government has since issued a ban on travel to Iraq by civilians, but some South Koreans have been entering the country.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/10/2005 12:21:22 AM ||
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Are these American Koreans or South Korean Koreans? Except for the uniforms and the way they walk and talk, they all look the same, after all. ;-) Ok, maybe the haircuts are different, and the attitude, and the tattoos, but Iraqi kidnappers couldn't be expected to know those kinds of things...
Security at the Scuzzy airport remains unchanged...
Authorities discreetly stepped up security at the Nice international airport Saturday after receiving a letter threatening a toxic gas attack that they dismissed as a probable hoax, a ranking official said. A long-delayed readiness exercise to counter nuclear, chemical and biological attacks was planned for Sunday, when the letter said the attack would occur, said Francoise Souliman, top aide at the Alpes-Maritime prefecture, or regional government. "We received a threatening letter. But after analysis by specialized services, it appears rather fanciful," she told The Associated Press.
The letter, written in crayon German and signed by a shadowy group decrying globalization, was received Friday by officials of the Nice-Cote d'Azur airport. It said Zyklon B gas was hidden in a travel bag and would be released by a long-distance trigger if planes depart or land between 9 a.m. and noon Sunday. The letter said the gas was part of a stock seized by Allies when Auschwitz was liberated. "Threats are regularly received. They all are verified and measures are taken in line with their credibility," Souliman said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Its been 60 years. Would Zyklon B gas still be effective?
Islamic extremists accused of plotting to kill Iraq's prime minister in Germany are smuggling battle-hardened fighters from Iraq to Europe, raising a potential new terrorist threat on the continent, according to German officials. More than 20 alleged supporters of Ansar al-Islam have been arrested in Europe in the past year as authorities move against the group, which has links with al-Qaeda and Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who has been leading bloody attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq. Ansar al-Islam is suspected of spiriting dozens of fired-up young Muslims to Iraq to join the insurgency, but the latest raids in Germany - the most spectacular yet against the group - heightened concerns that the organization also could pose a menace outside Iraq.
Acting on intelligence suggesting the group planned to attack Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi in Berlin, police on Dec. 3 arrested three Iraqis believed to be Ansar al-Islam members. Arrest warrants for the three plot suspects - identified only as Ata R., Mazen H. and Rafik Y. - were based on wiretaps and intelligence that one of them apparently cased Berlin locales on Allawi's itinerary. But investigators have turned up no weapons or bomb-making materials, and Allawi's name was never mentioned in the men's coded telephone conversations. A top security official in Hamburg, Heino Vahldieck, said German authorities were right to strike quickly despite what appears to be the lack of hard evidence. Prosecutors are preparing charges of belonging to a terrorist group against the three men. ``You can wind up waiting too long once too often,'' Vahldieck said.
About 100 Ansar al-Islam supporters are in Germany alone, officials say. Mullah Krekar, the group's spiritual head, has lived for years as a refugee in Norway, and investigators believe that the group also has recruited volunteers in Italy and Britain. Estimates of its total membership range between 500 and 1,000. ``It's right up there on the list of threats,'' said Michael Ziegler, a spokesman for Bavarian security authorities. ``The foiled attack on Allawi shows that this group must be considered dangerous also for Europe.''
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Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/10/2005 12:26:28 AM ||
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Prolly just want to thank The EU and all those tumors of unassimilated disaffected dysfunctional dole-swamping immigrants for their financial support. Yeah, that's it, they wanna say "Thank You!" in jihadi to their EU buddies.
What we weren't told...... UNIDENTIFIED gunmen have killed an Indonesian soldier and badly injured another in the country's tsunami-hit western city of Banda Aceh, and opened fire on a group of lightly armed police cadets, in the latest indication that Aceh province may be sliding back towards civil war. The gunmen, presumed to be Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels, first struck about 8pm on Saturday night, local time, less than 1km from the major concentration of international groups co-ordinating the delivery of aid to the region, including the offices of the UN and the International Organisation for Migration. The two soldiers were rushed to Banda Aceh's Teungku Fakinah hospital, where a South Australian medical team led by emergency doctor Hugh Grantham operated on a bullet wound to one man's leg. "In the case of the second soldier, who apparently suffered a gunshot injury to the head, there was nothing for us to do," Dr Grantham said. The injured man and his dead comrade's body were evacuated to Jakarta yesterday afternoon.
Several hours after the first attack, about 2.30am yesterday, gunmen apparently fired simultaneously from three directions on a police post assigned to guard the house of provincial deputy police commissioner Subekti, which was badly damaged in the tsunami two weeks ago. The post, only 100m from the UN and IOM compounds and largely manned by cadets serving their compulsory three-month military service, was pock-marked with bullet holes and littered with empty shell casings. Only a handful of the police present had been carrying weapons but others, including cadets Agam and Ari, told how they had ducked for cover when the firing first began. "I was watching television," Agam said, "and I dived for the floor. I was frightened. Ari said he saw two gunmen there (to the east), two there (to the west) and one or two over there (directly across the road from him, towards the commissioner's house) before the firing began." The assailants are believed to have fled the scene on foot, in the direction of the aid offices.
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Posted by: God Save The World ||
01/10/2005 10:41:07 PM ||
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Go ahead boys, fire on U.S. military personnel, and see what you get.
#2
BAR...I was just thinking we need to pull out, making clear the reasons why. But...after reading your post, I like your idea better.
We get to help the victims by helping them survive the Tsunami and by also killing the germs of Wahhabism that infect and ultimately kill their host society.
HELICOPTER gunships blasted Muslim rebel positions in the southern Philippines today after guerillas attacked an army outpost violating a two-year-old ceasefire. Fighting broke out late yesterday when about 100 guerillas of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked soldiers on the outskirts of Mamasapano town in central Mindanao. They used mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, spokesmen for the military and MILF said. Fighting continued throughout the night and into today and two MG520 helicopters were called in to attack MILF positions. Extra troops were also deployed to prevent the rebels from overrunning the outpost, military spokesman Colonel Franklin del Prado said.
Two soldiers were wounded in the fighting, the colonel said, adding that retreating rebels were seen dragging at least five wounded or dead comrades behind them. Colonel Del Prado said the attack at Mamasapano, about 60km south of Cotabato city, was mounted by forces of MILF commander Abdul Rahman Binago whose brother, Fides Binago, leader of the Abu Sofia bandit group, was killed last week. The attack indicated there was an alliance between the Abu Sofia, which has been involved in kidnappings and robberies, and the MILF which had signed a ceasefire with Manila in 2002, he said.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu confirmed that the forces of Binago had attacked the outpost in apparent retaliation for his brother's death but stressed that this was not sanctioned by the MILF leadership. Kabalu said the MILF leadership was trying to contact Binago to get him to pull out and that an international team of ceasefire monitors was being rushed to the area to keep the fighting from spreading. About 50 security officials from Brunei, Malaysia and Libya have been deployed to the southern Philippines as part of an international team to monitor the ceasefire between the MILF and the Government. A Malaysian team was proceeding to the site of the fighting along with a joint government-MILF monitoring group, Kabalu said. Colonel Del Prado was unable to confirm if the monitoring team had arrived. The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a 26-year rebellion in the southern third of this largely Christian archipelago. Despite the signing of the ceasefire and the start of initial peace talks, sporadic clashes and military allegations that rebel commanders are sheltering members of the regional Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorist network have strained the peace process.
Posted by: tipper ||
01/10/2005 12:02:39 AM ||
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Two hand grenades hurled in a clash between Christians and Hindus killed at least three people and wounded 37 in a part of eastern Sri Lanka where international aid workers are helping tsunami victims, police said. No aid workers were injured or near the explosions, officials said. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, in Sri Lanka to see tsunami damage, was in Colombo at the time of the blast. Two suspected assailants were arrested soon after the attack in a Tamil rebel-controlled area late Saturday, said V.H. Anil, a police officer in the eastern town of Valaichchenai. He said Christians were angry that Hindus had demolished a church and may have carried out the attack in retaliation. Clashes between Hindus and Christians are rare since both groups belong the Tamil minority and believe they are oppressed by the country's Buddhist Sinhalese majority.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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An Afghan teenager was killed and two others were injured in a blast caused by old ammunition that they found in some trash, a US military spokesman said on Monday. The boy died on Saturday after he collected some unexploded ordinance from a tip in Qalat, the capital of southeastern Zabul province, Major Mark McCann told AFP. On the same day in eastern Paktia province - a hotbed of activity by remnants of the ousted Taliban regime - police clashed with insurgents in a firefight that produced no reports of any casualties, McCann added.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 11:29:11 PM ||
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Iraqi authorities said on Monday they have arrested a Saudi terror suspect in the restive northern city of Mosul. "A force from the Iraqi army arrested four terrorists and one of them carries Saudi citizenship and his name is Abdullah Hussein Ali and we found with him pamphlets promoting terror," said a statement from the government. Separately, Iraqi forces captured a "terror ringleader" named Mohammed Al-Janabi in the Bu Aitha area in southern Baghdad, it added. Both Iraqi officials and US have accused foreign fighters from Syria, Saudi Arabia and several other countries of infiltrating the country to carry out attacks. There are about 350 foreigners currently being held in US-run prisons in Iraq.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/10/2005 12:21:26 PM ||
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I am sure the Saudi is telling them he was just there trying to build up his date and honey trading business.
Take him out back and put a bullet behind his ear.
An Afghan militant group that kidnapped three UN workers last year has appointed a new leader after its old chief was arrested by Pakistani security forces, its new head said on Monday. The Jaish-e Muslimeen, a small Taleban splinter faction, abducted UN workers Annetta Flanigan from Northern Ireland, Kosovan Shqipe Hebibi and Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan in Kabul on Oct. 28. The three were freed unharmed on Nov. 23. After reports that a ransom was paid and of a possible dispute among the kidnappers over sharing it out, Pakistan said it had arrested the group's chief, Syed Akbar Agha, in December. "I have been made leader of Jaish-e Muslimeen," Ishaq Manzoor told Reuters by satellite telephone. "The decision was taken by our Shura (council) and military commanders ... following the arrest of Syed Akbar." The 35-year-old from southern Kandahar province vowed to press on resisting US and international forces in Afghanistan. "We will carry out big attacks," he said. Manzoor was chief of police in Badghis province in northwest Afghanistan under the Taleban, who were overthrown by US-led forces in late 2001 for harbouring Al Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. The Jaish-e Muslimeen has attacked trucks and set off bombs, mainly in southern Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/10/2005 11:56:35 AM ||
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Four infamous terrorists including a regional leader of the outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) were killed in 'crossfire' during gunfights between the terrorists and the members of Cheeta, Cobra and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), in Dhaka, Chittagong, Narayanganj and Khulna in the small hours of Sunday. The security personnel also recovered some firearms and ammunition from the spots. Two security-men including a RAB personnel were injured during the gunfight with the extremists in Bagerhat.
A special team comprising the members of anti-crime Special Forces Cheeta and Cobra gunned down Siddique (26), an accomplice of slain infamous terrorist Picchi Hannan in a bloody encounter at Tejgaon in the city. The members of RAB-7 shot dead an alleged serial killer Aminul Islam alias Khalifa Amin alias Khuni Amin (35) at Lohagara area in Chittagong district. Rubel (30), an alleged terrorists and second-in-command of Iru Bahini was killed during a shootout between the terrorists and the members of RAB-3 in Naraynaganj. In another incident, a regional leader of Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) was killed on the spot in the encounte with RAB and Police at. According to the sources, a combined team of Cobra and Cheeta chased a gang of terrorists while they were planning to commit a dacoity in the local area sitting in a den at Garden Road at Kazipara at about 2:25 am on Sunday. Sensing the danger, the terrorists opened fire on the members of Cheeta and Cobra.
"It's the coppers, let em have it!"
The security personnel also replied with the gunshots, which erupted a bloody gun battle between the terrorists and the Cheeta and Cobra personnel. The gunfight continued over ten minutes where both sides traded about fifty rounds of bullet.
It's a low-budget firefight
Terrorist Siddique received fatal injuries and reportedly died on the spot, other terrorists managed to escape the scene, police said.
Severely injured Siddique was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where the doctors confirmed his death.
"He's dead, Jim!"
Police later recovered a loaded revolver and 47 bottles of Phensidyle from the spot.
Revolvers, that explains the low bullet count
Police also claimed that Siddique was a listed terrorist of Tejgaon thana area and also accused in several cases including murder.
Our Correspondent from Narayanganj adds: Rubel (36), a notorious criminal of Fatullah area was killed in crossfire with Rapid Action Battetion (RAB) at Jalkuri area under Siddirganj thana early hours today. Rubel, son of Rafique Master, resident of Kotawalerbug area under Fotullah thana was known as a notorious killer of Iba Bahini and was wanted by police for several cases including two sensational murder cases. According to sources, acting on a secret information, a squad of RAB-3 arrested Rubel from a house at Fatullah area at about 9:30 PM Saturday.
"Outta the house, Rubel! And keep yer hands where we can see 'em!"
"You're gonna kill me, ain'tcha!"
Later on the RAB personnel took him to a defunct textile mill at Jalkuri area at about 2:35 am today to recover five arms from there.
Ahah! The old empty factory at 2.30 in the morning trick!
Sensing RAB presence, a group of armed youths, allegedly followers of Rubel opened fire at the RAB personnel and RAB personnel also responded by counter shot and Rubel caught by the crossfire and died on the spot while his associates managed to flee. Police recovered one .22 bore revolver and a 9 mm pistol loaded with nine rounds of bullets from the spot.
Funny how the captured bad guy always gets it in a dark abandoned building in the wee hours of the morning at the hands of his followers who manage to get away.
Such are the workings of karma, Grasshopper!
On hearing the death news of Rubel, local people of Fatullah area brought out a rejoicing procession at Fatullah area this morning.
"Ding dong, the crook is dead!"
The body has been sent to sadar hospital morgue for autopsy.
"He's all yours, Doctor Quincy!"
"Wow! Look at this, Sam! He looks like a Swiss cheese with feet!"
Our Correspondent from Khulna reports: Bagerhat based top leader of Janajuddha faction of PBCP was killed and two police and RAB members were injured in a gunfight between police and RAB with his decomplices at Satfulia WAPDA embankment area under Bagerhat sadar thana in the early hours on Sunday. The victim was identified as Apon Sheikh alias Abul Hasan (25), son of late Sheikh Abdul Hamid hails from Karapara under Bagerhat Sadar thana. He was arrested by police at 3.30 pm on Saturday from Bagerhat town.
Writing quickly, he scratched out a will, leaving his baseball glove to his little brother...
A foreign made revolver, six live bombs, two bullets, four used bullets and four used cartridges and two gun bullets were recovered from the place of encounter which lasted for twenty minutes, RAB Press release said. The encounter took place when the PBCP leader tried to flee from RAB and police custody with help of his cohorts during arms recovery operation.
Led the cops to a dark building in the middle of the night to recover arms, crossfire breaks out, etc, etc..
According to RAB, outlaw Apon was an absconder of 15 criminal cases including three murders recorded with Bagerhat Sadar thana. He was also involved in forcible occupation of shrimp enclosures, toll collection, rape, abduction for ransom, selling drugs to school children dressed as a nun extortion and tender manipulation in Bagerhat district.
Chittagong Bureau adds: A wanted culprit was shot dead during a raid by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at a village under Lohagara police station in Banshkhali slightly before dawn today. The RAB squad also recovered a good quantity of firearms and live-ammunition from the possession of the culprit. Officials of the Rapid Action Battalion claimed that the victim had been an accused of several criminal cases including double murder, robbery and kidnapping. The victim was identified as Mohammad Aminul Islam alias Khalifa Amin alias Dakat Amin (35), son of late Mohammad Abu Siddique. The RAB sources said that a ten-member team of the RAB-7 conducted a raid at Padua Bazaar area under Lohagara police station shortly after zero hours and detained the culprit Aminul Islam. Aminul Islam was taken to the RAB-7 headquarter shortly after his arrest for questioning. At a stage of questioning Amin informed the RAB men that all of his arms and ammunition were under the possession of his followers who had been staying at Banshkhalia Para. Later, the RAB men along with Amin went out in search of arms and ammunition.
And guess what happened next?
They conducted several raids at that area following Amin's information. But when the RAB men reached near Muhuri Para area at about 03:00 a.m. a group of gunmen opened fire at the RAB men. At a stage, Amin wanted to flee away from the RAB custody and caught into crossfire and sustained bullet wounds.
See: Dark; arms recovery; crossfire; dead...
The RAB men immediately took him to local Health Complex in a critical condition where the attending physicians declared him death.
"He's dead, too, Jim!"
Three members of the elite force were also suffered wounds during the gun encounter. Injured RAB people were identified as Arjun Nath, Maksud and Abbas Uddin. The RAB men recovered a foreign-made pistol, a country-made rifle, two Light Guns (LGs) and 58 rounds of live ammunition of the AK-47 rifle, four rounds of .22 rifle ammunition and a live cartridge. Body of the victim handed over to the Lohagara police for autopsy.
"Another one, Doctor Quincy!"
The body was handed over to his family members for burial after autopsy.
Posted by: Steve ||
01/10/2005 9:21:11 AM ||
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Apparently, all the Hollywood scriptwriters are now working out of the new Marvel Comics headquarters in Dhaka...
The U.S.-led coalition believes it has been whittling the command structure of the most lethal Islamic insurgency group in Iraq. U.S. officials said the military has captured several key leaders of the Tawhid and Jihad group led by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi. They said the detainees were identified as leading aides of Al Zarqawi, whom the United States regards as the most lethal insurgent in Iraq. Over the last two weeks, at least three senior aides of Al Zarqawi have been captured in northern Iraq. Officials said the military believes that the Tawhid command structure fled from Faluja to northern and western Iraq after the U.S. military invasion of the city in November 2004. On Saturday, the U.S. military announced the capture of a key aide to Al Zarqawi. The military identified the aide as Abdul Aziz Saadoun Ahmed Hamdouni, also known as Abu Ahmed, said to have been arrested in Mosul.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/10/2005 12:05:23 AM ||
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#1
If these guys wanna make a permanent dent, kill those "leaders" when they are found.
#6
I have always wondered what "abusive remarks" are that get a grade such as #2. What constitutes being over the line? Just curious.
It seems the buzz in the media is whether we should resurect "death squads." It seems like one fights Zarqwai's death squads with death squads. Hopefully, the good death squads have better intelligence and the support of the local Iraqis than the jihadists. Sometimes the MSM, bleeding hearts, etc. gets it collective underwear bunched up about such things. The Israelis targeted the Black September terrorists and dispatched with them. These terrorists were a scourge to the world. As I recall there was some applause. Eichman got snatched out of South America by the Israelis. The bad guys have to realize they cannot do what they do with impunity--there will be a price to pay.
The US did not have any moral dilemas about targeted assassinations during WWII. Not doing anything presented a larger risk and dangers to the free world.
#8
The fact that a MSM mag is running around writing stories about "Salvadorian Solutions" and "Death Squads", etc. tells you something - that it is a warning not a real concept. Syria and Iran have just been put on public notice. It may be SF trained Iraqi CI types or it may not. It may be assaination but it could be snatch and rendite. Or it could be surgical air to ground strikes or it may not. This is not a cafeteria type plan but rather a "time and place" concept. No shock and awe stuff but rather the mafia version of the silent treatment.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
01/10/2005 9:41 Comments ||
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#9
this particular troll is exceedingly illiterate in English and really hateful....bet they know the Koran really well, though. ROPMA
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/10/2005 9:47 Comments ||
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#10
Agreed John Q. In the Machiavellian order the ends will justify the means. Use all methods to eliminte the threat and the morality you temporarily suspend will be justified through peace and stability for the greater whole.
#11
"On Saturday, the U.S. military announced the capture of a key aide to Al Zarqawi. The military identified the aide as Abdul Aziz Saadoun Ahmed Hamdouni, also known as Abu Ahmed"
Hope they ain't humiliating him to try to get info on where the next roadside bomb is set.
#13
Please don't offend Abu. Please try to be politically correct during interrogation er... questioning in a friendly and collegial manner. Make certain he has exercise equipment and cable TV.
#16
Deteriorating means captured or dead--that's good! "Blasting Hebrew rap music" sounds awful since, in my opinion, garden variety rap music sounds awful. I don't know if they could last very long.
#17
Taking out command stuff from these killers is the thing. Even if we hit a wrong house along the way, bummer. It makes a point. This is what is required in a war zone being shaped by a mafia style formations. Kill them without notice and leave nothing to say hi. Just do it and move on. Go to Syria, go to Iran. Sabotage Iranian Oil production without leaving a clue. Oh and blow shit out of any vehicle that even tries to come close to a poling station. Just blow shit out of it.
Jordan charged 16 Islamic militants on Sunday with plotting terror attacks, including strikes against the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Amman. The suspected cell members were detained between August and September, but details about the allegations against them, surfaced only after they were charged at the office of Jordan's military prosecutor. One of the suspects remains at large. The men, led by 50-year-old Jordanian Abed al-Tahawi, were charged with conspiring to carry out the attacks and illegal possession of automatic weapons, a court official said. A military prosecutor accused the defendants of plotting attacks against the U.S. and Israeli embassies in Amman and a hotel housing Israeli tourists in Irbid, some 55 miles north of the capital. They also allegedly planned attacks on the home of the director of the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts and on Americans performing in festival, some 20 miles north of Amman. No details were available on how the men were arrested or how the plots were foiled.
According to the charge sheet, al-Tahawi had recruited his accomplices while preaching in mosques in Irbid before instructing them to carry out the planned attacks. Last week, military prosecutors charged two Jordanians with a foiled plot to kill four American archaeologists working in the town of Hartha, near Irbid. They also charged another four men with plotting to attack security officials, foreign and Israeli tourists and illegal possession of an automatic weapon.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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U.S. troops opened fire near a checkpoint south of Baghdad after their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb and a hospital official said Sunday at least eight people were killed in the second American attack in two days to have deadly results. In other violence Sunday, a U.S. soldier assigned to Task Force Baghdad was killed by a roadside bomb, while a Marine was killed in action in the volatile Anbar province. Seven Ukrainian soldiers and one from Kazakhstan also died in an apparently accidental explosion at an ammunition dump south of Baghdad. U.S. officials said they had no information about the checkpoint shooting, which occurred overnight Saturday. Interior Ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman said a roadside bomb hit a U.S. convoy near a police checkpoint in Yussifiyah, nine miles south of Baghdad, and troops opened fire, killing two police officers and three civilians.
Dr. Anmar Abdul-Hadi of al-Yarmouk hospital said eight people died in the attack and 12 were wounded. American commanders recently announced a change in response to roadside bombings. Rather than pushing on after the blast, they now stop and try to engage the perpetrators, who may have detonated the explosives remotely.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Article: American commanders recently announced a change in response to roadside bombings. Rather than pushing on after the blast, they now stop and try to engage the perpetrators, who may have detonated the explosives remotely.
This sounds like the old "find 'em, fix 'em and kill 'em" formula, except that it was traditionally done with infantry formations, not relatively lightly-armed supply convoys. If the commanders feel confident enough about the ability of heli-borne, air-borne, mortar and artillery fire support get the supply people out of trouble, we've definitely hit a new milestone in fire support. Otherwise, the commanders are going to be backpedaling from this new stance real quick. The reason for the old stance, of getting out of the attack zone, was that the guerrillas can concentrate anywhere they want to - attacking only the weak convoys, using large guerrilla formations. Current convoy tactics are similar to the convoy tactics during the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII, when stragglers and sub-damaged ships were left to their own devices, so as to avoid the destruction of the entire convoy at the hands of the U-boat wolf packs.
Seven Ukrainian soldiers and one Kazakh serving with the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq were killed in an explosion Sunday while loading bombs that could be used by warplanes, officials said. Lt. Col. Artur Domanski, a Polish military spokesman in Iraq, said the explosion occurred at about noon at an ammunition dump about 6 miles south of Suwaira. Eleven soldiers were wounded _ seven Ukrainians and four Kazakhs, he said. An investigation is underway to determine what sparked the blast, Domanski said. "We don't know the reason of the explosion, but as a result seven Ukrainian soldiers and a Kazakh were killed and 11 soldiers were wounded," he said.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said soldiers were loading aviation bombs when one of the devices exploded. A spokesman said he had no further details. Ukraine serves in a Polish-led contingent in south central Iraq and is the fourth-largest contributor of troops to the U.S.-led war effort with 1,650 soldiers. Kazakhstan has sent a 27-strong contingent of military engineers to Iraq and is the only Central Asian nation to contribute troops to forces there. Ukraine Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk, who visited the troops to celebrate Orthodox Christmas last week, has said that Ukraine planned a complete withdrawal by year's end. The deployment is unpopular in the former Soviet republic.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Thanks to the Ukraines and Kazakhs for being there in the first place.
After years of war and death, residents of this predominantly Christian southern city danced in the streets Sunday after rebel and government leaders signed a treaty to end Sudan's 21-year civil war. But caution mixed with joy among many war-scarred residents who worry about the future after the conflict that killed more than 2 million, mainly through war-induced famine and disease, and displaced 4 million more from their homes. "People keep asking me, `Father, is it true that peace has come, finally?'" said Rev. Santo Loku Pio, a local priest who also is secretary-general of the Juba archdiocese.
It's possible, I suppose. But I'd trust Khartoum about as far as I could move it in a wheelbarrow. The idea of Bashir sharing power with Garang sound pretty far-fetched. There's way too much shariah in the water for that to happen...
But the doubts and the hot, humid weather, could not dampen the festive atmosphere that descended on Juba after the peace treaty signing in Kenya by Sudan People's Liberation Army leader John Garang, who hails from this city of 160,000 people, and Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha. About 10,000 people, mainly ululating women wearing white gowns and red headscarves pinned with roses, marched through the city's wide, tree-lined streets in a procession to the city's main cathedral — for a ritual cleansing from the torture and pain that stained Juba's roads during the war.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A hudna? Best to find out what the government and imams are preaching in the moques. Best to keep their powder dry or the southern Sudanese may find another 2 million killed.
Posted by: ed ||
01/10/2005 16:33 Comments ||
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I hope this holds but don't forget:
In islam it is perfectly permissable to lie, and even make false treaties with infidels as long as it advances islam (by lulling infidels into a false sense if security so you can kill them!).
A Shiite Muslim cleric was ambushed Saturday as he drove through the once serene Himalayan tourist destination of Gilgit, setting off a rampage of sectarian violence and arson that left at least 14 people dead, including a family of six that was burned alive in its home. Authorities imposed an indefinite 24-hour curfew and army troops patrolled Gilgit to contain the violence, the second bout of unrest between rival Shiites and Sunnis there in six months. Security forces also blocked roads into Gilgit, about 150 miles north of the capital, Islamabad, and national carrier Pakistan International Airlines suspended flights to the town. "We don't know yet when the flights will be resumed," said Mohammed Abbas, a PIA official.
Police said hundreds of Shiites and Sunnis had clashed, setting fire to shops, homes and government buildings. The town was calm on Sunday, but the death toll rose to 14 after three people died of their injuries overnight, said Jamil Ahmed, regional chief administrator. The fatalities included six members of one family who were burned alive in their home, among them a government forestry official. Also, the local health chief Sher Wali - a Sunni - was shot dead.
The trouble started long before when unidentified gunmen shot and wounded a prominent Shiite cleric, Agha Ziauddin, as he traveled through the city in a car.
A quick look at the Rantburg archives for Gilgit shows that
.... a Shia cleric from Gilgit working in Karachi tipped off the police about the presence of (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's nephew) Arooshi in the house of Abbas Khan. (T)he Al Qaeda leadership suspect that the Shia members of the Hazara community in Balochistan and of the Kashmiri community in Gilgit in the Northern Areas had been collaborating with the US intelligence in its hunt for the dregs of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Many in Karachi claim that Masoob Arooshi was actually arrested on a tip off by the US authorities, who, in turn, got their information from the Shia cleric.
My money's on a contract hit, although Dire Revenge, sunspots, or the heartbreak of psoriasis can't be ruled out...
His private security guards, one of whom was killed, fired back, killing at least one attacker. The motive for the attack on Ziauddin, who was hospitalized in stable condition, was not known. Fearing the unrest could spread to other parts of the country, the Interior Ministry instructed authorities in each of Pakistan's four provinces to step up security for Muslim clerics and at places of worship, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
Gilgit, a town set amid steep mountains, suffered sectarian unrest in June, when Shiites staged protests, demanding changes in Islamic textbooks used in state schools. The protests spiraled into violence that claimed several lives. Authorities imposed a curfew for 13 days and had to airlift out some foreign tourists who were stranded in the city. Although tensions had since eased, some schools have yet to reopen in the Gilgit area.
About 80 percent of Pakistan's 150 million people are Sunnis and 17 percent Shiites _ although Shiites are in a majority in Gilgit and some other mountainous northern areas. Most of the Muslims live together peacefully, but a teeny tiny minority small groups of militants on both sides stage attacks.
#1
The Shias of Gilgit and the surrounding areas are ethnically similar to Tibetans and Nepalese. They have lived a very isolated existance until the last couple decades with the opening of transport links between Pakistan and China.
Since then many thousands of Pashtuns and Punjabis have settled in the region, with the encouragement of the establishment, who feel they are more loyal than a bunch of strange looking Shias. After much sectarian killing in the 80's, more and more local Shias have dropped their local version of Islam and adopted the more 'pure' Iranian style of Shiasm.
At the same time, many Sunni immigrants have been educated in mardassas, so they follow 'pure' Deobandi style Sunni Islam. So there are bound to be many more festivities in future.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/10/2005 1:49 Comments ||
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Sectarian unrest spreads in northern Pakistan
Violence spread to two remote northern Pakistan towns on Sunday, a day after 14 people were killed in violence that erupted following an attack on a minority Shi'ite Muslim leader, officials said. Hundreds of angry youth burnt tyres and blocked roads in the northern mountain town of Skardu, though there were no reports of any casualties, while the government also beefed up security in another town, Karimabad, where enraged crowds attacked local government offices late last night. The violence was sparked following an attack on religious leader Ziauddin Rizvi in Gilgit, the main town in the mountainous region known as Northern Areas.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
01/10/2005 2:02 Comments ||
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After having sown the hydra's teeth so fecklessly for so long, the inner turmoil being experienced throughout Islam's length and breadth comes as something less than a surprise. If they could somehow manage to restrict their ceaseless killing to among their own adherents, I would just about be prepared to let them have at it.
Unfortunately, they happen to spawn a special breed of fanatic whose damage is much more far reaching. At some point the outside world will be forced to recognize much of Islam for the infectious cesspool it is. Sadly, it will likely require a few terrorist nuclear atrocities before substantive measures are taken to finally sterilize this virulent and toxic mutation of the human spirit.
#4
Okay, now hold on there. I'm the author of The Human Pathogen screech / screed. You're treading very closely upon my trade-mark territory, there, bub! Of course, if you really are "there" on the cusp of the same conclusion, then I get to share the derision and antipathy that was heaped upon me for posting it. Last posted in Aug 2003 - it still stands and I still support it 100%. Aged like a fine wine, in fact. Yumm! Will repost if desired, lol! My attorney may insist, in fact!
#5
I've never disputed that fanatical Islamism is a form of pathogenic meme. I take issue with your blanket application of it to all Islam. I still maintain that there are portions of the Muslim population to whom your analogy does not pertain. However, the bulk of Islam's leadership structure (both governmental and religious) is so corrupt that it should qualify as well.
Keep in mind that Islam's lethargic reluctance in addressing the critical housecleaning needed to purge itself of violent jihadist factions is rapidly eroding what little relevance it has left. Arab nations and the puny response shown in assisting their own Muslim brethern during the recent tsunami disaster only serves to reinforce this perception.
Saddest of all is how I have no need of persuading myself about Islam's rapidly diminishing validity. That's something it is doing all by itself. The only thing I can add in response to that is; Tough Shit.
#6
Excellent smarmy reply, lol! Note that, when I first posted that screech, April, I think, guys like Pipes were still saying that the "infection" was a very very few and that Cair, et al were positive organizations of Mythical Moderate Muslims⢠who should not be painted with the brush of radical Islam. Somewhere around there in time he got his wake-up call when they virulently opposed him being appointed to some commision by Bush for his ultra-mild remarks. Duh! It's fascinating to watch the evolution of opinion and verbiage as it accepts, more and more, the reality of just how phriggin' dysfunctional and devious Islam, in practice, really is. The Mythical Moderate Muslim⢠is merely an untapped resource - a host, a vector of the pathogen... awaiting activation. But that's okay. Enough get it. We'll make it.
#7
No smarm was intended over such a serious topic, .com. We need to give Islam a fair chance and when that opportunity has passed, take it apart at the seams.
The Mythical Moderate Muslim⢠is merely an untapped resource - a host, a vector of the pathogen... awaiting activation.
The longer that Muslims take to institute any sort of significant and genuine reform, the more they do indeed become mere incubators or vectors for the pathogen. They're so busy making up my mind for me that all I have to do is sit back and watch. If Islamist terrorism wasn't such a critical threat to our entire planet, all this would be sort of sad. Instead, there's a grim satisfaction watching a truly diseased body dissolve in its own bile. Not a pleasant spectacle, to be sure, but compelling nonetheless, if only out of stark self-preservation.
#8
I'll add that this is why I staunchly advocate going out and offing Bashir, Hamza, Qawadari and all the other propagators of this meme. If we depopulate that critical disseminating tier and the evil continues, then it will more resemble a popularly held policy within Islam instead of the perverse interest of a hate-obsessed academic caste.
Free Islam of its hostile shackles, if it still insists upon pursuing violent domination, wipe it from the face of this earth. We've made for too much collective progress to permit a band of regressive Neanderthals to set back history's clock by several centuries. I'd rather glass over the entire Middle East than see that happen.
#9
"And today, in Moderate Islamâ¢, the 143rd Mythical Warriors For Peace, Combat, and Cable TV soundly defeated the Black Beheaders Brigades of The Two Bloody Rivers Of The Holy Desert in a pitched battle lasting several hours. There are rumors flying that there were actually casualties. What is clear to this reporter is that the Beheaders fled the field at the end of the engagement in disarray when the Big Screen flashed the Fatwa of Doom issued by the defector, Imam Omar of The One Evil Eye."
#11
They don't have to listen to or follow the Islamists. This is the pivot point upon which all choice is based. No matter the press or peers or society, people have chosen to seize the moment for good or ill, for and against the grain. History reveals many such moments.
We have had lone wolves who have turned entire societies - for the good. They have had Mohammad. And, as I said in my screed, they allow no lone wolves for moderation or progress, their system selects against this trait and kills it early. They do allow, however, lone wolves for regression, ala bin Laden.
#12
.com: They don't have to listen to or follow the Islamists.
I wouldn't say that this is necessarily the product of religious extremism. A lot is it may be sectarian - i.e. racist. It is possible that the Oriental-looking Shiites are being set upon by the Caucasoid-looking Sunnis using the pretext of religion. Note that sectarian struggles don't necessarily involve any particular religious devotion - Orangemen and the Catholic Irish have fought in Northern Ireland for centuries without being particularly devout. Sectarian wars like this generally go on until a resolution is imposed from without, the two parties reach exhaustion or one side pushes out the other. I don't think the Pakistani state is strong enough to impose a resolution, and the fighting is relatively desultory, so I expect neither party will reach exhaustion and neither party will be defeated. Which means that the fighting will continue, off and on, for the next several decades.
Police in Sindh and Balochistan are coordinating their efforts to seek out the abducted judges in Naseerabad, an area in Balochistan. Two additional sessions court judges Farooq Channa and Abdul Wahab Abbasi were abducted in Shikarpur, a city in Sindh, a month earlier. The district police officers of Naseerabad and Jacobabad, Ghulam Muhammad Dogar and Din Muhammad Baloch, led the operation in which police commandos ringed Tambu tehsil and arrested seven men on suspicion of their alleged involvement in the abduction, but they declined to disclose their names. Police sources said captors recently contacted the judges' families to demand a ransom for their release.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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On instruction from Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas security chief, Shabikhel Mehsud tribesmen started hunting for notorious kidnapper Arsal Bhitani in Simly, Bobar, Qaghnay and adjacent areas in South Waziristan Agency on Sunday. Arshad Naveed, the Ladah political agent, is supervising the operation. Malik Kabil Khan, the hunting party commander, said the wanted tribesman would be given to the government after his apprehension. Meanwhile, Mr Naveed said there would be no clemency for the wanted kidnapper.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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But, in a separate interview, DailyTimes has learned that the deal struck by Shah with the Mehsud Tribe is an open-ended Cost Plus contract with a very generous per diem. There are no deliverables, per se, as no guarantee of capture could be given. But this reporter was assured that the fact that Bhitani had dissed the Mehsud last year in a BBC interview would have a "positive effect" upon the Tribe's determination to bring him in. He also said they would take turns marching Naveed up and down the valleys and steep mountain trails, endlessly, since he was known to be a snotty wanker from the city.
#2
You're on a roll today, .com, and its only 6:31 a.m. EST. I almost dread what I'll see when I turn on the computer again later today. ;-)
(And thanks for your description of poor Mr. Wife's election dilemma -- after I stopped laughing I was much calmer... and I haven't snapped at Frank since. Which no doubt is a good thing.)
Three Indian army soldiers and a wanted commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen group were among seven people killed in latest the violence in held Kashmir, police said on Sunday. A gun battle near Shopian left two Indian soldiers dead and another injured. In Poonch district, Indian troops shot dead Khalid Chitrali, a commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, the spokesman said. Police said suspected militants shot dead a Muslim and a Sikh in their houses in Doda and Udhampur districts overnight.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A judge arrested in connection with two bombings that killed about 12 people, including four Americans, in Kabul last year has admitted that the suspected organisers of the attacks lodged at his house, a senior official said on Sunday.
Oooh. That had to hurt!
Naqibullah, a 60-year-old preliminary court judge, was detained about two weeks ago after two captured suspects said they had stayed in his Kabul house while they orchestrated an Aug. 29 car bombing at a US security company as well as a suicide attack in the city. Officials have identified the alleged ringleader as a Tajik national named Muhammad Haider and say he took his orders from an Iraqi Al Qaeda member. They accuse Haider and an Afghan accomplice of organising the attacks. "The judge said he gave them shelter and that he knew they were foreigners," Gen Abdul Fatah, a senior Afghan prosecutor, told The Associated Press. He wouldn't say whether the judge knew of the men's activities. Three Americans were among about 10 people killed in the attack on the office of Dyncorp, a contractor which provides bodyguards for President Hamid Karzai and helps train Afghan police.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/10/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Unidentified people blew up a gas pipeline again at Sui gas field on Sunday, killing six people including two Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel and seriously injuring 11 others, Online reported. Several men attacked the gas field with mortars, rockets and machine guns, which lasted for more than six hours. Two 67th FC Wing Scout personnel, Gul Zaman and Paril Khan, were killed instantly while the injured included two children, Ajmal and Akmal, a woman, Hakimzadi, and an unidentified man. A 36-inch diameter pipe supplying gas to the Punjab and Sindh was destroyed in the attack and gas supply to Multan, Faisalabad, Muzaffarabad and other cities of both provinces was suspended. Some rockets and mortars missed their target and hit the runway at Sui Airport, damaging it considerably. Two rockets also hit the Sui telephone exchange, suspending communication between Sui and Dera Bugti. The attackers escaped after the FC started shooting at them.
Azizullah Khan from Quetta adds: Police sources said firing resumed in Sui gas field area at about 11:30pm on the third consecutive night on Sunday. They said it was difficult to investigate and find out any loss of life and damages in the darkness. The firing continued till the filing of this report.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
The Bugti girlies go for the Neanderthal look...
I doubt the girlies have much say, lol!
#2
The girlies seem to prefer the shaved look. As for these guys, not much has changed since the Romans called them barbarians. We have the good fortune of having adopted the Roman custom of shaving.
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.
Saudi police killed four terrorists believed linked to al-Qaida after the militants fled their desert tent Sunday while throwing hand grenades at surrounding forces, the Interior Ministry said. Authorities asked the militants to surrender after surrounding their tent in Nafoud Thoweirat, a remote town north of 
UNIDENTIFIED gunmen have killed an Indonesian soldier and badly injured another in the country's tsunami-hit western city of 
HELICOPTER gunships blasted Muslim rebel positions in the southern Philippines today after guerillas attacked an army outpost violating a two-year-old ceasefire. Fighting broke out late yesterday when about 100 guerillas of the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked soldiers on the outskirts of Mamasapano town in central Mindanao. They used mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, spokesmen for the military and MILF said. Fighting continued throughout the night and into today and two MG520 helicopters were called in to attack MILF positions. Extra troops were also deployed to prevent the rebels from overrunning the outpost, military spokesman Colonel Franklin del Prado said.
Two hand grenades hurled in a clash between Christians and Hindus killed at least three people and wounded 37 in a part of eastern Sri Lanka where international aid workers are helping tsunami victims, police said. No aid workers were injured or near the explosions, officials said. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, in Sri Lanka to see tsunami damage, was in Colombo at the time of the blast. Two suspected assailants were arrested soon after the attack in a Tamil rebel-controlled area late Saturday, said V.H. Anil, a police officer in the eastern town of Valaichchenai. He said Christians were angry that Hindus had demolished a church and may have carried out the attack in retaliation. Clashes between Hindus and Christians are rare since both groups belong the Tamil minority and believe they are oppressed by the country's Buddhist Sinhalese majority.
An Afghan teenager was killed and two others were injured in a blast caused by old ammunition that they found in some trash, a US military spokesman said on Monday. The boy died on Saturday after he collected some unexploded ordinance from a tip in Qalat, the capital of southeastern Zabul province, Major Mark McCann told AFP. On the same day in eastern Paktia province - a hotbed of activity by remnants of the ousted Taliban regime - police clashed with insurgents in a firefight that produced no reports of any casualties, McCann added.
"A force from the Iraqi army arrested four terrorists and one of them carries Saudi citizenship and his name is 
An Afghan militant group that kidnapped three UN workers last year has appointed a new leader after its old chief was arrested by Pakistani security forces, its new head said on Monday. The 
Four infamous terrorists including a regional leader of the outlawed 
The U.S.-led coalition believes it has been whittling the command structure of the most lethal Islamic insurgency group in Iraq. U.S. officials said the military has captured several key leaders of the 
After years of war and death, residents of this predominantly Christian southern city danced in the streets Sunday after rebel and government leaders signed a treaty to end Sudan's 21-year civil war. But caution mixed with joy among many war-scarred residents who worry about the future after the conflict that killed more than 2 million, mainly through war-induced famine and disease, and displaced 4 million more from their homes. "People keep asking me, `Father, is it true that peace has come, finally?'" said Rev. Santo Loku Pio, a local priest who also is secretary-general of the Juba archdiocese.
A Shiite Muslim cleric was ambushed Saturday as he drove through the once serene Himalayan tourist destination of Gilgit, setting off a rampage of sectarian violence and arson that left at least 14 people dead, including a family of six that was burned alive in its home. Authorities imposed an indefinite 24-hour curfew and army troops patrolled Gilgit to contain the violence, the second bout of unrest between rival Shiites and Sunnis there in six months. Security forces also blocked roads into Gilgit, about 150 miles north of the capital, Islamabad, and national carrier Pakistan International Airlines suspended flights to the town. "We don't know yet when the flights will be resumed," said Mohammed Abbas, a PIA official. 
Police in Sindh and Balochistan are coordinating their efforts to seek out the abducted judges in Naseerabad, an area in Balochistan. Two additional sessions court judges Farooq Channa and Abdul Wahab Abbasi were abducted in Shikarpur, a city in Sindh, a month earlier. The district police officers of Naseerabad and Jacobabad, Ghulam Muhammad Dogar and Din Muhammad Baloch, led the operation in which police commandos ringed Tambu tehsil and arrested seven men on suspicion of their alleged involvement in the abduction, but they declined to disclose their names. Police sources said captors recently contacted the judges' families to demand a ransom for their release.
On instruction from Brig (r) Mehmood Shah, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas security chief, 
A judge arrested in connection with two bombings that killed about 12 people, including four Americans, in Kabul last year has admitted that the suspected organisers of the attacks lodged at his house, a senior official said on Sunday. 
