Thirteen people suspected of links to Al-Qaeda will go on trial in Yemen soon accused of planning attacks, a legal official said on Monday. "Yemen's prosecutor-general intends from next week to bring before court a new group of 13 members of Al-Qaeda," said the source. "The group members planned terrorist acts. They will also be prosecuted on other charges, never before made against Al-Qaeda network members, including some linked to immoral activities."
They raise money by pimping and dealing drugs, too?
The official was speaking as a Sanaa court held another hearing in the trial of 11 other presumed Al-Qaeda members also charged with planning attacks in Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden. The court adjourned that case after dealing with procedural questions and fixed its next hearing for February 28.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:10:58 AM ||
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What links one to Al-Qaeda in Yemen these days? Maybe it's a sure way to get a conviction...if that doesn't stick, then the "immoral activities" will get 'em for sure.
Maoist Shining Path insurgents ambushed and killed three Peruvian policemen in a remote jungle area known for guerrilla activity, officials said Monday. The officers were driving Sunday evening in the Huallaga Valley about 205 miles northwest of Lima when more than 70 rebels sprayed their SUV with semiautomatic weapons fire, police said. The officers were shot to death as they fled the vehicle, which was then looted and set ablaze, police said.
Sunday's attack was the first on police in the former guerrilla stronghold since June, when two officers and a marine died in a similar ambush. Terrorism experts say "Comrade Artemio," the last original Shining Path leader still at large, commands about 150 guerrillas in the mountainous jungle region. Artemio had eschewed violence since 2001, but last April threatened to renew attacks if the government did not negotiate an amnesty for his contingent and jailed Shining Path leaders. A red flag bearing images of a hammer and sickle was left behind and phrases associated with the Shining Path were scrawled on the road in red paint, including: "We sought a political solution to the problems arising from the people's war."
Former Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi told Radioprogramas radio Monday that the ambush had all the hallmarks of Artemio, who he said has joined forces with the cocaine trade in Huallaga Valley, a prime producer of coca leaf, the raw material for cocaine.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:45:28 AM ||
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"Artemio had eschewed violence since 2001, but last April threatened to renew attacks if the government did not negotiate an amnesty for his contingent and jailed Shining Path leaders."
Ah, I see. "Let us come home or we'll kill you." Marxist logic at its finest.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/22/2005 7:13 Comments ||
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Translated from Spanish It happened last night at 8:30pm as confirmed today by General Hector Fandino, commander of the 17th Army Brigade. A patrol of the 46th Infantry Battalion was undertaking military operations in the sector known as "Pegado" when guerillas of the 34th FARC Front set off an improvised explosive device [literally a 'field mine']. Two soldiers died at the site and two others died at the Apartado Hospital where the wounded were brought.... In the same region, this past February 9th, 18 soldiers and 11 guerrillas were killed in combat with FARC. Meanwhile, on February 14th, three children perished by stepping on mines emplaced by the same group of guerrillas in Vistahermosa.
Posted by: 11A5S ||
02/22/2005 12:37:19 AM ||
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I don't know how to post links yet; but I'd like to recommend Yahoo news for this topic, especially if you can read Spanish. Yahoo has a link to "prensa nacional" (national press) under Colombia. You can look up just about every newspaper in the country. We have a dear friend in Pereira, whose uncle's coffee farm is uncomfortably close to the local gang operations, so we try to keep current on this.
AN al Qaeda suspect blew himself up in southern Russia as security and police forces closed in, security officials revealed yesterday. Abu Dzeit, a Kuwaiti, killed himself during an operation in Ingushetia, a region which neighbours Chechnya, said Sergei Ignatchenko, a Federal Security Service spokesman. He said security forces killed two accomplices in a house, then found Abu Dzeit in an underground bunker.
Ignatchenko said Abu Dzeit had funded and planned several terrorist attacks, including an attack on Ingushetia's interior ministry last summer and organising the school siege in Beslan in September. He said Abu Dzeit, also known as Little Omar and Abu Omar of Kuwait, had trained bombers and suicide attackers. In the bunker were weapons , ammunition and an explosives laboratory, he said. Ignatchenko said al Qaeda wanted an Islamic-controlled community in the North Caucasus. In related developments, three alleged militants holed up in a flat in Nalchik were killed on Sunday after a day-long siege with police. Another alleged militant was killed yesterday in Karachayevsk. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, yesterday ordered the interior ministry to treat suspected Islamic militants in the south more severely.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:15:55 AM ||
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Putin, ..., yesterday ordered the interior ministry to treat suspected Islamic militants in the south more severely.
What that entails?
Hanging on their entrails?
I suggest shootin' first and skipin' questions later.
#2
Abu Dzeit, one of mainy aliases of Al Kaboomi himself.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2005 1:23 Comments ||
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This makes it look like he committed explosive suicide without using the action to take any of his enemy with him. In other words, simple -- and religiously forbidden -- self murder to avoid the discomforts of being captured, which is expressly forbidden in the Qur'an. How, then, can this person be taken up to Paradise and the 72 sloe-eyed virgins?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
02/22/2005 7:00 Comments ||
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Yesterday I posted a link to Pravda's take on the situation. The long and the short of it: they believe this guy was Very Very Important, even though there's a noticable dearth of previous articles about him both there and here...
Trailing Wife: Maybe he meant to go out with a bigger boom than he actually did. especially if he's about as competent as the rest of the terrorists in the Beslan atrocity, which started going south with an accidental detonation of one of the bombs there.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/22/2005 8:40 Comments ||
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#6
I thought I felt a chill.
We can always hope that that they asked him a few questions before the bunker blew up.
#7
Heh! Spokespeople for law-enforcement authorities rejected the information, though. They said that the terrorist with such a name had been killed several months before. Maybe they did catch him a few months ago, and claimed he was dead to keep the Red Thingy Away. Timing's about right. At some point they'd want to produce the body. A big boom would nicely hide unattractive marks.
#8
Phil F -- Well, if that was his intention, the result was downright pathetic. But if he really does get the whole Paradise reward after all, what is he going to say to the other guys when they compare notes between bouts of laying siege to their individual sets of virgins?
Beslan Guy: I killed babies and raped little girls, and in the end sent 300 infidels to roast their bellies in hell.
Abu Dzeit: Well,I planned a bunch of things, and when the police came for me, I tried to take them with me. I did, really!
All the other Lions of Islam, who'd been listening closely, start muttering to one another, then somehow all have wandered off, leaving Abu Dzeit to the lonliness of his virgins and 10,000 servants, none of whom can supply interesting conversation....
#9
I wonder if the Bangledesh police are paying attention to this? A little variation in the "crossfire" plot could keep their jobs fresh and interesting.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/22/2005 11:18 Comments ||
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Putin, the Russian president, yesterday ordered the interior ministry to treat suspected Islamic militants in the south more severely.
Simpler... Many more 20-somethings having "Heart Attacks" in custody. There must be a genetic population of Islamics with congenetal heart defects in the Caucuses. Hmmmm
#11
The question that's bugging me now is why have we gone from hearing nothing about this guy to hearing that he was more-or-less in charge of AQ operations in the Caucasus?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
02/22/2005 16:37 Comments ||
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Phil asked the other day why we haven't heard anything about Abu Dzeit before. My guess is that his kuniyat of "Dzeit" (which doesn't sound terribly Kuwait) has probably been mangled a couple of times during the translation from Arabic to Russian to English. As far as who he is, he's one of the 10 Arab al-Qaeda leaders who oversee and finance the Chechen/North Caucasus jihad, of whom Basayev is the big cheeze. There are lower-ranking Arab commanders who run the jamaats or jihadi platoons (not to be confused with the Ingushetia Jamaat, which is an organization rather than a paramilitary formation), but the top ten make up the local Council of Boskone that makes the whole thing work.
Russia has been knocking off or detaining these big shots at a fairly consistent rate since Beslan, and by all accounts Abu Dzeit oversaw all of the nastiness in Ingushetia, though I believe there's some actual Ingush the Bad Guys use to give them some local flavor. Abu Hafs al-Urduni (if he's still alive, there's been conflicting reports on this one) or Abu Omar al-Saif are the Arab Big Cheezes in the North Caucasus now that Abu Walid al-Ghamdi is toes up. Russian forces claim to have killed a key Al Qaeda member suspected to be involved in a school siege in which over 350 people, mainly children, were killed, Xinhua reported. Abu Dzeit was killed in an operation by Russian security forces in Ingushetia republic last week, Sergei Ignatchenko, a spokesman of the Federal Security Service, said Monday. He was suspected to be involved in the attack last September at a school in Beslan town of North Ossetia province near the troubled Russian republic of Chechnya.
Dzeit, according to the spokesman, was involved in funding and planning several terrorist actions, including an armed attack on the Ingushetia interior ministry last summer. "We can say that with the elimination of Abu Dzeit, a channel of funding terrorists in the North Caucasus and the rest of Russia has been blocked," he said.
Ignatchenko said Dzeit and two accomplices were hiding in a village in Ingushetia. Troops raided the house where Dzeit was hiding in a bunker along with two associates. While the forces killed the associates, Dzeit blew himself up, Ignatchenko said. A large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the bunker, which also had a mini-film studio and a laboratory for making explosives.
Investigations revealed that Dzeit, also known as Little Omar and Abu Omar, was the Al Qaeda representative in Ingushetia, distributing funds from the international terrorist network. Dzeit, who had received special training at Al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, was also in charge of training suicide bombers.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:10:01 AM ||
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Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk is moving to deport three Muslim clerics because of accusations they represent a threat to public order and national security. The three imams will be declared undesirable aliens and two of them will have their residence permits cancelled, the first such action has been taken against clerics. In the third imam's case, an application for an extension of a residence permit will be refused. The Dutch security service AIVD said one of the imams originates from Bosnia and a second comes from Kenya. The origin of the third imam was not released, newspaper De Volkskrant reported. Minister Verdonk took the decision in consultation with Interior Minister Johan Remkes. This represents the first active step in the government's plan to crackdown on Islamic extremism. Inquiries by the AIVD indicated that the imams "contribute to the radicalisation of Muslims in the Netherlands", the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday. All three imams work at the Al Fourkaan mosque in Eindhoven.
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
The ministry claims the imams tried to recruit, or tolerated the recruiting, of Muslims for Jihad, or holy war. They are also accused of using their sermons to urge Muslims to "isolate" themselves from the rest of Dutch society. The AIVD said the mosque in Eindhoven disseminated the Salafist philosophy — which is strongly opposed to Western society and the imams there were sponsoring aversion of the West in their sermons. The Dutch Cabinet "declared war" on Islamic extremism following the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an alleged Islamic militant in November last year. One of the methods the government announced it would use was the expulsion of "radical imams". It has increased funding for the AIVD and judiciary and announced legislation forcing suspected terrorists to regularly report to police. Mosques also promised to keep closer tabs on extremism. Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and other areas such as train stations have been declared permanent security zones. Members of the public entering these areas can be picked out at random by the police and frisked. The deportation comes after the AIVD pinpointed Eindhoven in recent years as a "hotbed" of terrorism. A total of 100 to 200 Muslims are currently under surveillance across the country.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/22/2005 12:24:49 PM ||
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Perhaps the Dutch will proclaim themselves an Imam Free Zone.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/22/2005 12:48 Comments ||
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The Dutch may have to keep an increasing number of them under surveillance for a very long time. Is that a solution?
#4
The AIVD said the mosque in Eindhoven disseminated the Salafist philosophy â which is strongly opposed to Western society and the imams there were sponsoring aversion of the West in their sermons.
On the one hand they didnt expell all Imams but carefully selected Salafists who preach hatred of the West. On the other hand they didnt accept the excuse that its only words - they treated incitement seriously. The right balance, I think.
#5
true, but a couple (or twenty) falls down the stairs on the way to the exit might let the imams see how much we appreciate their efforts
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/22/2005 14:55 Comments ||
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This is more of what I'm afraid of what we'll see in the future, when the P.C./multiculti groups' reality comes crashing down around them. Forgot who it was that said it here, but the liberals may act more violently (than your typical Rantburger; although, I doubt it) when cornered b/w a rock and a hard place and I think that the Netherlands may be leading the way to the death of the LLL (in Europe, at least). Amazing what a dose of reality will do for ya.
A former high school valedictorian in Virginia was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and conspiracy to support the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a U.S. citizen, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court. He claimed that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars. The indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified coconspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush.
This article starring:
AHMED OMAR ABU ALI
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Posted by: Sherry ||
02/22/2005 10:45:19 AM ||
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According to the indictment, Abu Ali obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator to assassinate the president.
More than 100 supporters of Abu Ali crowded the courtroom and laughed when the charge was read aloud alleging that he conspired to assassinate Bush.
All I can add is, "Pay attention America. Pay *very* close attention."
#2
80 years sounds about right if there's no chance of parole.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/22/2005 11:12 Comments ||
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100 "supporters", eh?
Somebody there taking their pictures? Be sure to make the burka-clad oncover their faces; not all of them are women.
I especially love the bit about his plan getting a religious blessing. From an Aztec priest, no doubt.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/22/2005 11:17 Comments ||
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A former high school valedictorian
obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator
Hmmm- Anyone check the roster of High School Principals in Virginia for someone converting to Wahabism. Particularly his? Or at least one of his teachers who may have been very adamant about his "selection"???
Remember? That Poison Pen Principal up in New Jersey was doing his level best to demoralize troops according to yesterdays article in the NY Post :
#5
Zero factor still in play. The political world will change as drastic as 9/11, if it happens. To parapharse someone else - if you strike me down, you will only make me more powerful.
#6
"Offered . . . to show the judge his scars". Such an offer might play with the press, but it is nearly meaningless as a legal matter: First, the mere fact of scars does not prove the cause for the scars. Second, even if he did receive the scars in detention, it could be for any number of reasons (sadistic prison guard, etc). Third, being beaten by X does not mean you did not plan to kill Y. Here, being beaten by Saudis might a cause of desire to kill a US figure: The US supports the Saudis, the Saudis beat me up, therefore, I take revenge on the US. Et cetera.
#8
doubt this kid was capable however, you have to take this seriously (depending on the evidence). The crowd of supporters might've been laughing because they knew the defendant didn't intend to assasinate the President. Virginia's no stranger to terror (radical Muslim snipers) so they'll probably throw the book at him. He can show his scars to his cellmate.
start by closing all wahabi islam mosques in the US and deporting their clerics and inner circle.
Posted by: abdul ||
02/22/2005 19:27 Comments ||
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Dina Araz and her husband, Navi Araz, sat in the courtroom and wept tears of pride as their son, Behrooz (aka Abu Ali), was formerly charged with plotting to assassinate the POTUS. Navi Araz was heard to mutter "Today my son is finally a man."
#15
From My Pet Jawa (thanx Google News!), here's some info on Ali's high school:
According to the Washington Post and reprinted in the NY Times, he attended the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria Virginia. While family and friends feign that he is the victim of anti-Muslim discrimination, the Jawa Report can reveal that the school in question follows the radical Wahhabi curriculum of the Saudi Ministry of Education. Until recent protest by the US goverment, this curriculum has included anti-Semetic and anti-Christian bigotry and overt calls to jihad.
It sounds like half the kids at that school are Americans. How can that be? It's certainly not accreditted. Is this a matter of discussion in DC right now?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/22/2005 20:15 Comments ||
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#18
They are not Americans. They are American passport carriers.
They can be born here. They can live here for most of their lives but their loyalties will always lie with the islamic world.
My neighbors in Saudi, a palestinian married to an egyptian, lived in Orange County, California for 20 years. Both became Americans while living here and on Sept 11th they both walked around with big smiles on their fu*** faces. They have four potential terrorists...all Americans!
SOUTHERN Command (Southcom) chief Alberto Braganza Monday confirmed the death of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) chieftain Kadaffy Janjalani and his right-hand man Isnilon Hapilon. "We are confirming the death of Janjalani and Hapilon. We have not heard of Janjalani and Hapilon since November," said Lieutenant General Braganza, as he stressed that the military has significantly reduced the ASG capability, despite their claim of responsibility for the Valentine's Day bombings that occurred in Cities of General Santos and Davao in Mindanao and in Makati, Metro Manila. The three simultaneous blasts killed 11 people and injured over a hundred. But Braganza was quick to say that because they have yet to search and recover their bodies to strengthen their findings, the military has to continue to officially check its veracity.
The Fat Lady has retired to her dressing room to sulk, disappointed yet again...
As usual, he downplayed continuous threats from the ASG to conduct more bombings across the country, following their successful February 14 bomb attacks. Braganza also denied that the Misuari breakaway forces have formal ties with the ASG even if both are fighting side-by-side against government troops in Sulu. "It's not hierarchical, but just tactical alliance in some areas due primarily to blood relationships," Braganza said. As this developed, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regional office has called on the Armed Forces to cease its continuous offensives in Sulu to spare more lives in the Sulu fighting.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:37:36 AM ||
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Fecal matter for brains. Human rights commission can't dictate acts of military necessity. Just sign everything over to the islamic terrorists now and get it over with. They sure as heck will not pay any attention to human rights commissions. It's against allan to do so.
#3
As this developed, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regional office has called on the Armed Forces to cease its continuous offensives in Sulu to spare more lives in the Sulu fighting.
Spare TERRORIST SCUM LIVES, you mean? KMWWA*, you bastards.
Agreed, BigEd. No offense to SPoD, but these people indeed have Deep Space Class Hard Vacuums betwixt their ears.
Philippine security forces have arrested two men suspected of involvement in last week's deadly Valentine's Day bombing in Manila. They said the men were suspected to be members of the al Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which claimed responsibility for the Manila bombing and two other attacks in the south that day which killed a total of 13 people and wounded more than 100. "Based on sketchy reports, we got a big fish," Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Buenaventura Pascual told reporters, saying the two suspects were also linked to previous bomb attacks in the southern port city of Zamboanga on Mindanao island. He said a team of soldiers and police officers arrested the two in Manila early on Tuesday, but gave no further details.
A senior military intelligence official told Reuters one of the suspects, Gamal Baharan, was involved in an October 2002 bomb attack outside an army training camp in Zamboanga City that killed an American soldier. A police intelligence official said the other suspected Abu Sayyaf member, Amil Hajiron, was caught based on a tip from an informant who saw a sketch of the bomb suspects on newspapers and television. Hajiron was believed to be involved in the November 2002 bombing of a Roman Catholic shrine in Zamboanga City, the police official said.
This article starring:
AMIL HAJIRON
Abu Sayyaf
GAMAL BAHARAN
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:28:51 AM ||
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2 Abu Sayyaf members are big fishies
Good. Now scale them, clean out the innards, and cook them.
Indonesia's military suffered a rare casualty when a soldier was killed in a clash with separatist rebels in restive Aceh province on the eve of another round of peace talks, the army said on Monday. It said 20 Indonesian army (TNI) soldiers were ambushed by about 30 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels on Sunday while they were on their way to a bridge reconstruction site in Aceh Jaya regency on the west coast of the tsunami-wrecked province.
The clash came a day before another round of peace talks in Helsinki aimed at ending three decades of violence and securing a lasting peace for the gas-rich province on the northern tip of Sumatra island. The military in Aceh said in a statement that seven other soldiers were wounded. Three critically wounded soldiers were taken to a hospital in Medan in North Sumatra province, it said. Few soldiers have been killed in the most recent months of the offensive in Aceh, launched in May 2003. Sunday's death of the unidentified soldier was the first since the Dec. 26 tsunami.
In a separate incident, the army said on Monday that outgoing army chief General Ryamizard Ryacudu fired shots as a convoy he was travelling in chased a group of rebels. Local media showed pictures of Ryamizard firing an automatic weapon.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Heavy clashes between Iranian Kurds and security agents erupted on Friday in three towns in western Iran, leaving dozens injured and hundreds arrested. Clashes broke out after State Security Forces agents used force to disperse demonstrations taking place simultaneously in the towns of Sardasht, Saqqez, and Baneh in protest against severe fuel shortages in the area, eye-witnesses reported. The demonstrations quickly turned violent as protestors fought back and shouted slogans against Iran's ruling clerics.
In Sardasht, residents came to the aid of protestors during clashes as the SSF attempted to arrest anyone in the vicinity of the demonstration. At least 200 people, mostly youths, were arrested. In Saqqez, residents reportedly forced SSF agents to flee the scene after serious scuffles. In Baneh, hundreds of protesting youths were reportedly detained by security forces and taken for questioning. Iranian Kurds have been at loggerheads with the Islamic fundamentalist regime that has been in power for 26 years.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:53:56 AM ||
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So the Mad Turbans are using a page out of Saddams book and denying resources. The Young men are all "fighting age" so it's another page. The more you tighten your grip the more slaps away.
Posted by: Matt ||
02/22/2005 10:08 Comments ||
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If they put as much effort in produceing oil, and selling it or using it to supply thier own people, as they do hideing WMD, they would be rich enough to build a non conventional military that would preclude any attack.
#6
48 hour rule, as usual. The Iranian dissidents and exiles have tendency to exagerate disturbances inside Iran. I mean I admire these folks deeply, but I wouldnt wager too much on their reports.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he would soon take steps to withdraw his troops from Lebanon under an accord that ended the 15-year civil war there, according to the head of the Arab League. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa met Al-Asad and Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara on Monday, as tens of thousands of demonstrators thronged the seafront in Beirut to urge Damascus to recall its troops from Lebanon. "During our meeting, President al-Asad expressed his firm desire, more than once, to continue implementing the Taif accord and to withdraw from Lebanon in keeping with this agreement," Musa said.
Syria is facing intense international pressure to end its political and military domination of Lebanon. Lebanese opposition figures have suspected Syria of having a hand in the murder a week ago of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, but al-Assad's government has vehemently denied this. Al-Hariri, a five-time prime minister and billionaire businessman who spearheaded Lebanon's post-war revival, was killed four months after he quit in a row over Syria's influence in his country.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Is that "soon" as in, say, "next week," or "soon" on a geological timescale?
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/22/2005 1:19 Comments ||
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IIRC, the Taif Accord only requires partial withdrawal/redeployment by Syria of its many armed instruments of occupation. It also doesn't affect Hizb'allah. UN 1559, on the other hand, orders them all out.
So Baby Assad's only promising part of what's, and won't follow through on even that much. Surprised?
The US military has been carrying out raids in the western Iraqi province of Anbar in a crackdown on insurgents. The focus of the operation is the town of Ramadi, the provincial capital, which has been a rebel stronghold for many months. Night-time curfews have been imposed and a cordon of checkpoints surrounds the town, which is home to 400,000. The offensive has been dubbed Operation River Blitz and is targeting rebels in towns along the Euphrates river. Iraqi security forces are also taking part in the operation. They say a prominent tribal leader and more than 10 of his relatives are among those detained...
#3
Looks like he is using a weapon with accessories for urban combat (think SWAT.) I wonder how many guy are adding their own sighting devices etc? I have seen various sighting devices so I am wondering. The radio thing means this guy is a coms guy.
#4
Can someone who is knowledgable about urban warfare training please give me the benefit of your expertise and describe how these soldiers wage urban warfare under these conditions? Somebody our family cares about is in the middle of Urban Warfare School in Okinawa. Anybody who reads my usual comments probably knows that "my military knowledge, tho' I'm plucky and adventury/ Has not yet been brought down to the beginning of this century." (with apologies to WS Gilbert)
One of the Taliban's most senior and charismatic commanders has become a key negotiator as more and more members of the Islamic militia in Afghanistan give up the fight against the Americans. The commander, Abdul Salam, earned the nickname Mullah Rockety because he was so accurate with rocket propelled grenades against Russian troops. He later joined the Taliban as a corps commander in Jalalabad before being captured by the Americans after September 11. Now he is a supporter of President Hamid Karzai and is tempting diehard Taliban fighters to accept an amnesty offer and reconcile themselves to Afghanistan's first directly elected leader. "The Taliban has lost its morale," he said, speaking by satellite phone from the heartlands of Zabul province, a Taliban redoubt. "But you have to go and find the Taliban and call to them and ask them directly. If they believe they will be secure and safe they will come down from the mountains."
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, said yesterday that a group of Taliban militia including senior officials will soon join the Afghan government's peace initiative. "They are in Kabul seeking peace and to boost the reconciliation process," he said, adding that he was hopeful that the Taliban surrender would take place before the parliamentary elections, expected in the summer. Afghan officials claimed in recent days that four unnamed senior figures from the former Taliban government have accepted the US-backed offer of amnesty extended to them by Mr Karzai's government and will form a new party for the elections. "This step is a great encouragement to other Taliban to end their struggle," said Mullah Rockety. "I have said to the Taliban that now is the time for unity, the time for Afghan brother to stop killing Afghan brother."
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
ABDUL SALAM
Taliban
MULLAH ROCKETY
Taliban
Zalmay Khalilzad
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:47:20 AM ||
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This is what victory in the War on Terror will look like. It deserves a bigger headline.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/22/2005 8:58 Comments ||
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He blamed Taliban inactivity on extreme winter weather and promised a spring offensive against US troops.
I thought the "brutal Afghan winter" was supposed to screw us up?
#3
tu3031---The Brutal Afghan Winter (TM) term only applies to operations by people on the outside looking in.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2005 9:52 Comments ||
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#4
Not coming soon to the BBC.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
02/22/2005 10:29 Comments ||
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#5
Part of the amnesty agreement has to include him being forced to watch kids fly kites, people playing chess, and hear music (Afghan Folk-Nothing "culturally offensive" to a normal Afghani) being played. And, to see how much happiness people have related to these activites, and be reminded of the Taliban Butchers such as One-Eye Omar's hatred for such activities.
An Algeria rebel group has killed 10 soldiers in an ambush on a military convoy after rejecting any truce with the government. The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) posted a statement on its internet site claiming to have exploded bombs as the soldiers' road convoy went past on Friday in the Batna region, 430km east of the capital. Its fighters then opened fire with machine guns, killing 10 soldiers instantly, it said. It did not know the number of wounded. However, the Algerian government has confirmed the death of only four soldiers.
Despite the arrest of its number two operative Amari Said last October, the GSPC is considered still the most dangerous and organised of Algeria's rebel Islamic forces. The GSPC has between 300 and 500 men, many former combatants from the war in Afghanistan, Algerian police chief Ali Tunsi said. Sahrawi has since been replaced by Abu Musab Abd al-Wadud, whose real name is Abd al-malik Durkdal.
As in "Durka Durka Durka Jihad"?
In an interview with an Algerian newspaper in January, Algerian Interior Minister Yzid Zerhuni promised to soon put an end to the GSPC. "There are at this moment some pockets of terrorists from the GSPC that we are going to put out of commission," said Zerhouni.
This article starring:
ABD AL MALIK DURKDAL
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
ABU MUSAB ABD AL WADUD
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
AMARI SAID
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
Yzid Zerhuni
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:34:34 AM ||
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Communist rebels stepped up their campaign to block highways disrupting food and fuel supplies across Nepal as seven people were killed in clashes between villagers and rebels, officials said Monday. The insurgents ordered disruptions of the country's transport network to protest King Gyanendra's Feb. 1 decision to dismiss the government and suspend civil liberties. Rebels attacked passenger convoys, burned trucks and set off land mines late Sunday to stop travel on the Prithvi Highway, the country's lifeline, killing one truck driver and wounding seven passengers, army spokesman Brig. Gen. Dipak Gurung said.
The road's closure was likely to cause food and fuel shortages and send prices soaring across the Himalayan state. Also Sunday, rebels set off homemade bombs when residents tried to clear tree trunks and boulders placed by the rebels on other roads, injuring four people, police said.
Showing rare defiance, armed villagers challenged the Maoist militants in the southwestern Kapilbastu district, killing six of them on Sunday, Gurung said. Unlike in the past, villagers are no longer succumbing to rebel demands and have killed at least 20 insurgents in the past four days, Gurung said.
Let's hope this is a trend ...
The rebels focused on blocking the 125-mile Prithvi Highway, which connects Katmandu to the heart of the Himalayan state and leads to the southern border with India. "The battle has moved to the highway. They want a show of strength by shutting it down, we want to keep it open," Gurung told The Associated Press. Gurung said army patrols have been escorting buses, trucks and other vehicles on the highway.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2005 12:23:33 AM ||
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#2
Showing rare defiance, armed villagers challenged the Maoist militants in the southwestern Kapilbastu district, killing six of them on Sunday, Gurung said. Unlike in the past, villagers are no longer succumbing to rebel demands and have killed at least 20 insurgents in the past four days, Gurung said. Let's hope this is a trend ...
Algeria's top Islamic rebel group has killed four soldiers in an ambush on a military convoy and rejected any truce with the secular government, security sources said on Monday. The attack by guerrillas of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) took place on Saturday in the Batna region, 500 km (310 miles) east of the capital Algiers.
The government is preparing a national referendum to give hundreds of rebels still fighting a chance to surrender in exchange of laying down their arms. A communique dated Feb. 20 published on its Web site in which it claimed responsibility for the Batna attack, said: "Our ambush against a military convoy was a great success ... we reject any truce, reconciliation or dialogue with the regime."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:23:08 AM ||
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Kenyan authorities have arrested three men with alleged links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in the East African nation, a police official said on Monday. The trio -- a Sudanese national and two Kenyans -- were detained on Saturday in northeast Kenya near the border with lawless Somalia and transferred to Nairobi for questioning by anti-terrorism police, the official said. "We are holding one Sudanese and two Kenyans on suspicion of involvement in terrorism activities," the official said, suggesting that Kenya may have been tipped to the threesome's alleged activity by foreign intelligence. "We got a hint from sources I cannot disclose now of their involvement in terrorism activities and links to bin Laden," the official said on condition of anonymity. "The investigation is continuing."
Police took them into custody as they were travelling along a normally unpatrolled road in Kenya's northeastern Tana River district, the official said. "The route ... is not manned by police and that's why it appears they were using it," the official said. Kenyan authorities believe that the route has been used by terrorists in the past, notably to transport bombs and other weapons from Somalia to Kenya for the deadly 2002 attacks on Israeli interests in the port town of Mombasa.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:21:55 AM ||
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Twenty-two people including four US soldiers have died in a series of attacks in Iraq since Sunday evening, while a journalist, her son, and three men working for the US military have been kidnapped, according separate security sources and a statement from a militant group.
An Iraqi truck driver was killed overnight in an attack northeast of Baghdad on his convoy carrying equipment for the Iraqi army, police said. Two other drivers were missing. A teacher at Baijiâs Oil Institute died on Monday in a bomb attack, while an Iraqi soldier was killed in a mortar attack outside Samarra and an Iraqi civilian died in an attack on a chemistâs, southeast of Samarra, security sources said.
In Mosul, police Lt Col Essam Fathi was shot dead as he left home, police said, and in the same city gunmen kidnapped Raeda Wazzan, a journalist working for a government-funded television station, along with her son, aged 10, a TV executive said. An Interior Ministry source said that four people had died in separate attacks in the capital.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
02/22/2005 12:17:43 AM ||
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#1
Someone pointed out around the time of the election that statistically, we lose about 47 people per day on the highways of America.
Soon this will all fade in the background as Mikey Jackson will consume the attention of the news media sharkfest. Mikey, All Day, All Night. OMG.
#2
By the way, three of the soldiers were killed in an attack on a medevac chopper. I'm sure we'll hear more about this from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Posted by: Matt ||
02/22/2005 10:00 Comments ||
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#3
and over 14,000 people were murdered in the US in 2003.
#5
Ahhhh.....but the highways are IMPROVING! At the time of the Viet Nam war, our highways killed around 55,000 people every YEAR - roughly the same number of US tropps that died in Viet Nam during the whole quagmire. And, as you may have noticed, we drive a lot more now.
The number of deaths an the roads peaks at about twice the average on the Fourth of July. I suppose having so many cars on the road does give one a sense of independence..... (irony intended).
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/22/2005 16:07 Comments ||
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SYDNEY - Australia will send an additional 450 troops to Iraq to provide security for Japanese engineers helping rebuild the country's south, Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday.
Howard, one of US President George W. Bush's closest allies, said Iraq was at a "tilting point" following recent elections and the coalition had to support the fledgling democracy. "The government believes that Iraq is very much at a tilting point and it's very important that the opportunity of democracy, not only in Iraq, but also in other parts of the Middle East be seized and consolidated," he told reporters.
Howard said it would be "devastating" if the Iraqi democracy failed.
The prime minister said the initial commitment was for a year, with two troop deployments, each spending six months in Iraq. He refused to say whether it could be expanded after that. Howard did not canvass the possibility of expanding Australia's military presence in Iraq when succesfully campaigning for re-election last October and said changing circumstances on the ground since the poll warranted the additional deployment
Howard said it was a difficult decision to send extra troops and pointed out any military deployment involved the risk of casualties. "I know it will be unpopular with many people," he said.
Thanks, mate!
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/22/2005 11:47:21 PM ||
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#1
The Left is in disarray in Australia at the moment. Opposition will be minimal.
#2
Good on ya, mates! (even though your guys seem to have the pick of the limited good-looking babes around the Palace ....)
Australia -- first "ally" visit on my itinerary when I get the chance. (OK, not exactly a place without a lot of attractions anyway -- they even have x-country skiing in their winter!)
#3
they even have x-country skiing in their winter Not around here. The record was in 1923 when snow covered the top of Bluff Knoll the highest mountain in the south of Western Australia for a whole 4 days. If anyone is fascinated by the subject of snow in WA here is a site.
#4
Outstanding...will require the addition of a few more bottles of fine Aussie Semillon to the collection. Good on ya Bruce!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
02/22/2005 1:59 Comments ||
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phil_b: am I talking about Victoria? I know that I was shocked, a few years back, to encounter a nearly 100% Australian staff at a California x-country ski area. They explained that they had two winters, one in the Sierras and one back home.
In any case, I hope to get to Oz before too long, whether winter or summer. I once worked for a guy from Perth, BTW.
#6
Howard, one of US President George W. Bushâs closest allies, said Iraq was at a âtilting pointâ following recent elections and the coalition had to support the fledgling democracy. âThe government believes that Iraq is very much at a tilting point and itâs very important that the opportunity of democracy, not only in Iraq, but also in other parts of the Middle East be seized and consolidated,â he told reporters.
Iraq is indeed at a tilting (tipping?) point. Everyone agrees with that assessment. Some wish us to pull out because of that, hoping that we'd be foolish enough to take the bait, resulting in the balance tipping against us in the long run.
Howard shows he has gumption and initiative, seeing an opportunity to jump in and tilt the balance in the West's favor at a critical time.
Bush, Blair, Howard, Aznar: God has indeed smiled upon our undertaking by giving us such leaders.
Australia is just 500 miles from the world's most populous Muslim country. I think the ADF can handle any threats from that direction but, if not, they know who to call.
#9
Iraq is indeed at a tilting (tipping?) point. Everyone agrees with that assessment.
I would say, rather, that there are several good indications that Iraq is at a tipping point. Ive been burnt too many times to say it IS a tipping point. On Iraqi tipping points its not a 48 hr rule thats needed, but at least a one month rule. I want a full month with a lull in US combat deaths, and Iraqi deaths from insurgent incidents. Maybe two months. I continue to hope.
Pakistan has issued new rules of engagement permitting its Army to fire at US forces that cross the border from Afghanistan without coordinating first, according to a report contributed to the magazine 'American Conservative' by a former CIA officer.
Then they've got no bitch when we fire back, do they?
Philip Giraldi, now an international security consultant and writer of intelligence matters, writes in the February 28 issue of the magazine's 'Deep Background' column that "President Musharraf has been receiving angry reports from his military that US forces have been engaging in hot pursuit across the border in violation of bilateral agreements. Musharraf is also said to be unhappy about the recent abrupt withdrawal of Predators and other surveillance resources from Pakistan for transfer to Iraq for use against Iran. According to high level Pakistani sources, Musharraf and his Army chiefs expended a great deal of political capital in their support of the Al Qaeda hunt, clashing frequently with hostile tribesmen along the border. The US Central Command's January announcement that the drones and other supporting surveillance technologies that were being used against Al Qaeda would be withdrawn to support 'elections in Iraq,' was an unpleasant surprise, particularly when 'in Iraq' turned out to be a euphemism for 'against Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/22/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Iraq is a euphanism for Iran, Syria, and Saudi, if ya really want to get technical, heh.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/22/2005 1:20 Comments ||
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#2
Really? -- Shoot back!
That's not going to sit to well with anybody I know.
#3
Most of these asshats don't even know where the border is. The assets that were used over Pakistan were not being put to good use. There is also this, the removal may lead some QA to believe they can move without detection. That is not likely the case. Of course if our troops are fired on they will respond in kind.
#4
It will be an interesting day when some Pakki border unit fires on American ground troops who have Apaches, A-10's and AC-130's in close air support. There might not be a whole lot to pick up afterwards - just pink mist.
#6
according to a report contributed to the magazine âAmerican Conservativeâ by a former CIA officer.
That's Buchanan's paleo-con circle jerk. Take this report with a world-record sized salt deposit.
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
02/22/2005 7:40 Comments ||
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#7
"a former CIA agent"?? Who? Schuerer.
Ok, we are to believe that Musharraf is bizarrely ordering his men to shoot at Americans who shoot at Al Qaeda - but is angry that we withdrew our intelligence assets since they have "expended a great deal of political capital in their support of the Al Qaeda hunt." But he's mad because we shoot back? Makes sense, not a lot of sense, but some.
#10
I suspect that much of the Army in that region is from that region, that is, totally in bed with the bad boyz. They won't shoot at their own, and were probably danger close to mutiny and shooting at the US anyway. This way, they keep their uniforms on, and under at least modest discipline. More than anything else, I just see it as a little give and take--I truly doubt any Pak military are going to light up the US any time soon.
#11
Hey, if they could spare a few minutes from shooting at Americans to snipe at some of the terrorists over there, that would be nice. But only if they've got time.
The editors of the always-excellent German blog David's Medienkritik are joining forces with other people of good will in Mainz on Wednesday to add their voices to the throngs "welcoming" President Bush to Germany. Click on the link to find out the details and we will be there in spirit and solidarity with you. Send us some pictures and we'll post 'em!
Posted by: Seafarious ||
02/22/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#2
It feels good to see that there are those in Germany dedicated enough to go out and rally in support of German-American relations, over the top of the moonbats who will undoubtedly be moving alongside the President from country to country.
Posted by: Jame Retief ||
02/22/2005 6:35 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Thirteen people suspected of links to Al-Qaeda will go on trial in Yemen soon accused of planning attacks, a legal official said on Monday. "Yemen's prosecutor-general intends from next week to bring before court a new group of 13 members of Al-Qaeda," said the source. "The group members planned terrorist acts. They will also be prosecuted on other charges, never before made against Al-Qaeda network members, including some linked to immoral activities."
Maoist Shining Path insurgents ambushed and killed three Peruvian policemen in a remote jungle area known for guerrilla activity, officials said Monday. The officers were driving Sunday evening in the Huallaga Valley about 205 miles northwest of Lima when more than 70 rebels sprayed their SUV with semiautomatic weapons fire, police said. The officers were shot to death as they fled the vehicle, which was then looted and set ablaze, police said.
It happened last night at 8:30pm as confirmed today by General Hector Fandino, commander of the 17th Army Brigade. A patrol of the 46th Infantry Battalion was undertaking military operations in the sector known as "Pegado" when guerillas of the 34th FARC Front set off an improvised explosive device [literally a 'field mine']. Two soldiers died at the site and two others died at the Apartado Hospital where the wounded were brought.... In the same region, this past February 9th, 18 soldiers and 11 guerrillas were killed in combat with FARC. Meanwhile, on February 14th, three children perished by stepping on mines emplaced by the same group of guerrillas in Vistahermosa.
AN al Qaeda suspect blew himself up in southern Russia as security and police forces closed in, security officials revealed yesterday. Abu Dzeit, a Kuwaiti, killed himself during an operation in Ingushetia, a region which neighbours Chechnya, said Sergei Ignatchenko, a Federal Security Service spokesman. He said security forces killed two accomplices in a house, then found Abu Dzeit in an underground bunker.
Russian forces claim to have killed a key Al Qaeda member suspected to be involved in a school siege in which over 350 people, mainly children, were killed, Xinhua reported. Abu Dzeit was killed in an operation by Russian security forces in Ingushetia republic last week, Sergei Ignatchenko, a spokesman of the Federal Security Service, said Monday. He was suspected to be involved in the attack last September at a school in Beslan town of North Ossetia province near the troubled Russian republic of Chechnya.
Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk is moving to deport three Muslim clerics because of accusations they represent a threat to public order and national security. The three imams will be declared undesirable aliens and two of them will have their residence permits cancelled, the first such action has been taken against clerics. In the third imam's case, an application for an extension of a residence permit will be refused. The Dutch security service AIVD said one of the imams originates from Bosnia and a second comes from Kenya. The origin of the third imam was not released, newspaper De Volkskrant reported. Minister Verdonk took the decision in consultation with Interior Minister Johan Remkes. This represents the first active step in the government's plan to crackdown on Islamic extremism. Inquiries by the AIVD indicated that the imams "contribute to the radicalisation of Muslims in the Netherlands", the Justice Ministry said on Tuesday. All three imams work at the Al Fourkaan mosque in Eindhoven. 
A former high school valedictorian in Virginia was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and conspiracy to support the Al Qaeda terrorist network. 
SOUTHERN Command (Southcom) chief Alberto Braganza Monday confirmed the death of 
Philippine security forces have arrested two men suspected of involvement in last week's deadly Valentine's Day bombing in Manila. They said the men were suspected to be members of the al Qaida-linked 
Indonesia's military suffered a rare casualty when a soldier was killed in a clash with separatist rebels in restive Aceh province on the eve of another round of peace talks, the army said on Monday. It said 20 Indonesian army (TNI) soldiers were ambushed by about 30 
Heavy clashes between Iranian Kurds and security agents erupted on Friday in three towns in western Iran, leaving dozens injured and hundreds arrested. Clashes broke out after State Security Forces agents used force to disperse demonstrations taking place simultaneously in the towns of Sardasht, Saqqez, and Baneh in protest against severe fuel shortages in the area, eye-witnesses reported. The demonstrations quickly turned violent as protestors fought back and shouted slogans against Iran's ruling clerics.
sad said he would soon take steps to withdraw his troops from Lebanon under an accord that ended the 15-year civil war there, according to the head of the Arab League. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Musa met Al-Asad and Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara on Monday, as tens of thousands of demonstrators thronged the seafront in Beirut to urge Damascus to recall its troops from Lebanon. "During our meeting, President al-Asad expressed his firm desire, more than once, to continue implementing the Taif accord and to withdraw from Lebanon in keeping with this agreement," Musa said.
The US military has been carrying out raids in the western Iraqi province of Anbar in a crackdown on insurgents. The focus of the operation is the town of Ramadi, the provincial capital, which has been a rebel stronghold for many months. Night-time curfews have been imposed and a cordon of checkpoints surrounds the town, which is home to 400,000. The offensive has been dubbed Operation River Blitz and is targeting rebels in towns along the Euphrates river. Iraqi security forces are also taking part in the operation. They say a prominent tribal leader and more than 10 of his relatives are among those detained...
One of the Taliban's most senior and charismatic commanders has become a key negotiator as more and more members of the Islamic militia in Afghanistan give up the fight against the Americans. The commander, 
An Algeria rebel group has killed 10 soldiers in an ambush on a military convoy after rejecting any truce with the government. The 
Communist rebels stepped up their campaign to block highways disrupting food and fuel supplies across Nepal as seven people were killed in clashes between villagers and rebels, officials said Monday. The insurgents ordered disruptions of the country's transport network to protest King Gyanendra's Feb. 1 decision to dismiss the government and suspend civil liberties. Rebels attacked passenger convoys, burned trucks and set off land mines late Sunday to stop travel on the Prithvi Highway, the country's lifeline, killing one truck driver and wounding seven passengers, army spokesman Brig. Gen. Dipak Gurung said.
Algeria's top Islamic rebel group has killed four soldiers in an ambush on a military convoy and rejected any truce with the secular government, security sources said on Monday. The attack by guerrillas of the 
Kenyan authorities have arrested three men with alleged links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks in the East African nation, a police official said on Monday. The trio -- a Sudanese national and two Kenyans -- were detained on Saturday in northeast Kenya near the border with lawless Somalia and transferred to Nairobi for questioning by anti-terrorism police, the official said. "We are holding one Sudanese and two Kenyans on suspicion of involvement in terrorism activities," the official said, suggesting that Kenya may have been tipped to the threesome's alleged activity by foreign intelligence. "We got a hint from sources I cannot disclose now of their involvement in terrorism activities and links to bin Laden," the official said on condition of anonymity. "The investigation is continuing."
Twenty-two people including four US soldiers have died in a series of attacks in Iraq since Sunday evening, while a journalist, her son, and three men working for the US military have been kidnapped, according separate security sources and a statement from a militant group.
SYDNEY - Australia will send an additional 450 troops to Iraq to provide security for Japanese engineers helping rebuild the country's south, Prime Minister John Howard said on Tuesday.
Pakistan has issued new rules of engagement permitting its Army to fire at US forces that cross the border from Afghanistan without coordinating first, according to a report contributed to the magazine 'American Conservative' by a former CIA officer.
