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Iraqi Papers Sunday: Iranian Coup Plot Foiled?
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Four ISAF soldiers injured in suicide attack
(KUNA) -- Four soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were wounded when a suicide bomber targeted their convoy in eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Saturday. The blast took place in the Barmal district of Afghanistan's southeastern Paktika province. Governor of the province Dr Akram Khpalwak said the bomber was riding in a car packed with explosives. Khpalwak said the man exploded his car when a NATO convoy was at a distance of a few metres. As a result, four foreign soldiers suffered injuries; however, the official would not say about health condition of the soldiers. Mostly American forces are stationed in southeastern parts of Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the coalition's Combined Joint Task Force - 76 Lt Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick said the foreign troops opened fire at the terrorist, who was approaching the convoy. He said the man in the suspected car was fatally injured in the firing and was confirmed dead in the blast. In the meantime, he exploded the car, which resulted in injuries to four soldiers.

The spokesman also rejected a Taliban claim regarding an attack on US military convoy in the eastern province of Kunar. Earlier, Taliban spokesman Dr Hanif said they had attacked a military convoy and killed and injured several soldiers. The attack was the first suicide blast in Afghanistan in the year 2007. More than 100 suicide attacks were registered during the year 2006, which was considered the bloodiest year since the ouster of Taliban in 2001.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Death ends migrant's three-day journey into jihad
Praise be to allan!
A MELBOURNE father's mission to join Islamic jihad in Somalia ended with his death three days after arriving in the African region in December to fight Ethiopian-backed forces.
"Hey, buddy! Getcher..."
"Ha hah! At last I am here, ready to kill the infidel! I got my turban! I got my automatic weapon! I got... Aaaaaaiiiiieeee!... Rosebud!"
"... head down."
Heh. allan has rewarded his slave!
Ahmed Ali, 25, embraced fundamentalist Islam four years ago before travelling to Somalia with his wife and at least one child. Ali migrated to Australia with his parents in the late 1990s. His conversion to radicalism upset his mother who, when informed of his death, told members of the Islamic community: "My son died four years ago."
"It just took this long for the rigor mortis to set in."

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Brett || 01/07/2007 12:17 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A long days journey into blight.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 13:19 Comments || Top||

#2  "My husband went to Somalia and all I got was this bloody t-shirt"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/07/2007 13:50 Comments || Top||

#3  At least he tried to fight for Holy War in his home country and not in Australia.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/07/2007 14:25 Comments || Top||

#4  he aint no Aussie
Posted by: Slotle Shavique1294 || 01/07/2007 18:34 Comments || Top||

#5  rest in pieces you worthless shitbag
Posted by: Slotle Shavique1294 || 01/07/2007 18:35 Comments || Top||

#6  "he aint no Aussie"

Mozzie! Mozzie! Mozzie!
Oy! Oy! O... Splat!
Posted by: Whiskettes4Hilali || 01/07/2007 20:46 Comments || Top||

#7  "Prominent Melbourne-based Somalian cleric Isse Musse told The Australian last night that he was concerned..."

Why are all these Mozzie "clerics" I've never heard of described as "prominent"? Is it the nose; the beady eyes? the white doily-thingy?
Posted by: Snavish Glaing8521 || 01/07/2007 20:56 Comments || Top||

#8  "However, Ali Vachor, secretary of the Islamic Society of South Australia - who attends the same mosque as Mr Kanie in Park Holme, in Adelaide's southern suburbs - told The Australian that Mr Kanie was the victim of US "terrorists"."

Of course he was a "victim"™ - nothing newsworthy in that - but the Park Holme Mosque has been in the news today with reports that it has been funded by Saudi Wahabbists.
Posted by: Whiskettes4Hilali || 01/07/2007 21:13 Comments || Top||

#9  "She can't believe that in three days he goes to the front (of the battle) and gets killed,"

Aw, Jeez. Too bad, so sad.
Sounds like you raised a fuckin idiot, lady.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/07/2007 21:38 Comments || Top||


Anti-Ethiopia protests rock Mogadishu
Police and protesters exchanged fire in Mogadishu on Saturday, killing at least one person, a government source said, as hundreds of Somalis demonstrated against Ethiopian troops and a disarmament drive. Protesters hurled stones and burnt tyres, wreathing streets in smoke and reviving memories of the chaos that had largely stopped during six months of strict Islamist rule.

“Protesters shot at policemen, the police returned fire killing one man,” a government source said. “I don’t know how many people have been wounded.” A witness said three people had been killed and that Ethiopian troops had opened fire. “The Ethiopians opened fire and shot dead a young boy and a lady, they also killed another person,” the witness said. In the latest show of discontent with the forces that ousted the Islamists, hundreds of Somalis marched through the capital chanting “Down with Ethiopia”. Women waved the Koran while witnesses said children were among the demonstrators.

Ethiopian soldiers fired in the air to disperse crowds and government troops armed with AK-47s patrolled the streets. Somalia’s interim government wants to install itself in Mogadishu, one of the world’s most dangerous cities, after ousting the Islamists last week with the help of Ethiopian tanks, troops and warplanes. Within hours of the Islamists fleeing, militiamen loyal to warlords reappeared at checkpoints in the city where they used to rob and terrorise civilians. Their return showed how easily Mogadishu could slide back into the anarchy and clan violence that has gripped the city since the 1991 ouster of a dictator. “We are against the Ethiopian troops’ occupation. We don’t want them, they should leave,” 20-year-old protester Ahmed Mohamed told Reuters. “They are harassing us in our own country. The government is imposing the Ethiopians on us.”

A hospital source, speaking before the shooting incident, said at least five civilians were hurt. The interim government had given Mogadishu residents until last Thursday to hand in their weapons or be disarmed by force. Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari told local radio on Saturday the disarmament programme had been postponed. Few weapons have been handed in as locals wait to see if the government can impose the relative stability experienced under the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC).

The SICC had controlled much of southern Somalia after ousting warlords from Mogadishu last June, but have been forced into hiding after being routed from their strongholds in two weeks of open warfare. They have vowed to fight on, melting into the hills in the remote south where Ethiopian and government forces are hunting hundreds of their fighters.

Kenya has sent troops to seal its frontier, blocking entry to Somalis fleeing fighting. A local official said 23 suspected Islamist fighters, including foreigners, had been arrested. An assistant immigration minister told Reuters five Somali members of parliament had been detained in Nairobi for questioning on suspicion of helping the Islamists. The Ethiopian presence in Somalia was sure to provoke a response from residents, who view the Horn of Africa’s Christian-led military giant across their border as a rival.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  stopped during six months of strict Islamist rule.

Shhhssshshshshs... it's very young and needs to gain strength before it goes to the AP. A diet of pure pap is called for so it'll grow up to be a big, strong meme.

Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 7:27 Comments || Top||

#2  It's a quagmire!

As long as governments tolerate mob rule and televised martyrdom-bribery these histrionics will continue to be used and they will continue to be effective. I have often thought the same thing watching masked gunmen at IRA/Fatah/etc. funerals: There are the enemy gathered en masse; deal with it (but take take to smash the cameras... no images = no news).
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/07/2007 8:41 Comments || Top||

#3  The strategy of Jihad: if they're too strong to kill---protest.
Posted by: gromgoru || 01/07/2007 8:48 Comments || Top||

#4  Sounds like Jamil Hussein is hiding in Mog.

“The Ethiopians opened fire and shot dead a young boy and a lady, they also killed another person,” the witness said.
Posted by: john || 01/07/2007 9:20 Comments || Top||

#5  Mog would be a nice place to seal off from food, water, power, medical care and egress. Let that stinking shit hole rot and let em eat each other.
Posted by: Frank G || 01/07/2007 11:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Haniwye clan dont like the TNG, cause its run by a rival clan. Haniwye backed the Islamic Courts, which is how the IC won (eritrean intell not being quite the ISI) With Ethiopian troops on the ground, Haniwiya let IC take care of itself, letting lots of Islamist die, and leaving the foreigners trapped. But Haniwye is still there, and unless TNG deals with them seriously, they can make trouble. And they can use remnant IC types as well.
Posted by: liberalhawk || 01/07/2007 21:24 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Rocket launcher probe targets contractors
Posted by: Slotle Shavique1294 || 01/07/2007 17:37 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Stolen Rocket Launchers 'Sold To Terror Suspect'
(AKI) - Australian police on Friday arrested a 28-year old gun dealer, Taha Abdul Rahman, over the theft of seven rocket launchers from the Australian military that are believed to have been for sale to a suspected terrorist and major underworld figure. According to a report on the Sydney Morning Herald quoting the Australian Federal Police, Rahman supplied two rocket launchers to one man and five others to another person who is facing terror charges on another matter.

The gun dealer was arrested in his home Sydney and was charged with 17 offences - two counts of dishonestly receiving stolen property, seven counts of unauthorised possession of a prohibited weapon, seven counts of unauthorised supply of a prohibited weapon, and one count of possession of ammunition. One rocket launcher was recovered, adding to another of the missing weapons that was secured by police last year in a raid on the same home. However five launchers remain unaccounted for.

The investigation into the stolen rocket launchers follows a failed deal in which police paid 50,000 dollars to a convicted drug dealer and double murderer, Adnan "Eddie" Darwiche, to recover a rocket launcher and 20 kilograms of explosives, believing that the criminal had a further three in his private arsenal. The report in the daily said that Darwiche had hoped to gain a reduction in a double life sentence he is serving. "The person who received five (launchers) is currently facing terrorism-related charges on another matter,'' Australian Federal Police (AFP) Assistant Commissioner Frank Prendergast told journalists on Friday.

The news of the stolen rocket launchers was first reported last month and since then has sparked a national inquiry into the theft of military weapons including an audit of arms stockpiles in Australia.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Man held at Schiphol with 8 passports
Military police arrested a man who was allegedly carrying eight passports at Schiphol Airport on Thursday. Military police said the man — who was about to board a flight to Istanbul — was carrying seven Swedish and one Finnish passport. The passports were real and at least four of the Swedish documents were registered as being stolen. The man is being held on remand and authorities are investigating what he was planning to do with the travel documents.

Posted by: Seafarious || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Just an honest mistake by an honest mistaken traveler. Move along. :)
Posted by: Phineter Thraviger || 01/07/2007 0:59 Comments || Top||

#2  We got a name?
Swen? Lars?
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/07/2007 1:03 Comments || Top||

#3  At first I thought he might have been a Pakistani, but then I realized that he only had eight passports.
Posted by: Biff Wellington || 01/07/2007 1:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Bet they were wrapped in his special silky burka.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 7:30 Comments || Top||

#5  he proof that the gentleman in question is not Pakisatani is that all the passports were real. Pakistanis manufacture their own.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2007 18:22 Comments || Top||

#6  The
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/07/2007 18:22 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
3 Detained Trying to Enter Port of Miami
MIAMI (AP) -- The FBI detained three men who were caught Sunday trying to enter the Port of Miami. A truck driver raised suspicions when he made inconsistent statements at the port's delivery entrance, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said Sunday.
"At some point he said he was alone," Orihuela said. However, police stopped the truck and found two more men in the truck cab, she said.

The men, all of Middle Eastern descent, were in this country legally, Orihuela said.

The port's cargo area was closed while authorities investigated.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 01/07/2007 13:58 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Foxnews reports that one of them has an outstanding arrest warrant and that a bomb squad has been called.
Posted by: mrp || 01/07/2007 14:39 Comments || Top||

#2  I expect this to vanish from the news quickly. More important things to cover, like the Dems getting Congress.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats || 01/07/2007 14:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Yay! The Religion of Peace!!!
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/07/2007 15:26 Comments || Top||

#4  I question the timming of this report!
/channeling demCraps


Posted by: RD || 01/07/2007 15:51 Comments || Top||

#5  UPDATE: (link)

From the linked article:

Authorities have discovered two "suspicious" 55-gallon drums in the back of the truck. Miami-Dade County police's bomb squad and fire rescue's hazmat team were called to the scene.

The driver's manifest indicated he was carrying auto parts, but nothing like that was found in the truck.

Sunday is a busy day for cruise ship travel at the port. Cruise line officials said embarkation of some ships may encounter brief delays.
Posted by: mrp || 01/07/2007 16:12 Comments || Top||

#6  I thought Iraqi's could lie better than that...must be racial profiling by the Latino guards and FBI ...uh wait, that's ok..nevermind.
And why are these suspects here legally?
Posted by: Phineter Thraviger || 01/07/2007 16:25 Comments || Top||

#7  Testing, testing 1, 2, 3.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 01/07/2007 16:32 Comments || Top||

#8  The men, all of Middle Eastern descent, were in this country legally, Orihuela said.

Hell, in Miami that's reason enough to be suspicious.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 16:48 Comments || Top||

#9  LOL
Posted by: mrp || 01/07/2007 17:01 Comments || Top||

#10  Nimble Spemble has the correct measure of the case.

Looks like a nice piece of work by the gate guards on a slow Sunday morning. Hat tip to those guys.

Posted by: Mark Z || 01/07/2007 18:30 Comments || Top||

#11  Were they there to transport six imams to the airport?
Posted by: doc || 01/07/2007 20:19 Comments || Top||

#12  Which article did mrp have in mind?
The one linked in #5 doesn't mention 55 gallon drums, but clearly says that the cargo was wire harnesses for automoble electronic equipment -- auto parts. The article does agree that Sunday is a busy day for cruise ships.
Posted by: GK || 01/07/2007 20:36 Comments || Top||

#13  GK, the article at the #5 has been re-written since the original afternoon post, and with another reporter's by-line added to the first two writers.
Posted by: mrp || 01/07/2007 20:51 Comments || Top||

#14  No 55 gallon drums now? No mention now of an arrest warrant for one of the dudes? No ID on one of the language problem perps? How do they know who he really is? Is CAIR involved yet?
Posted by: Phineter Thraviger || 01/07/2007 21:31 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
42 killed in terror attacks in Indian state of Assam
(KUNA) -- High alert was sounded Saturday across Assam, a state in Northeast India, as the death toll in a series of attacks Friday and today by separatist groups in the state touched 42. "Security forces have been put on high alert across the state after the inhuman attacks on innocent people by militants," news agency Indo-Asian News Agency reported today quoting Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

As many as 42 people had been killed in 10 separate attacks in Assams Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts since Friday night. While no rebel group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, authorities in Assam are blaming the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) for the attacks, the news agency said. The ULFA, a rebel group, is fighting for an independent nation of Assam, carved out of India, since 1979.

The Assam authorities told the news agency: "The immediate provocation for the attacks was the killing of five senior ULFA leaders by counter-insurgency forces in separate shootouts in the past one week and the arrest of two of their frontline leaders in raids." Meanwhile, passengers of a train bound for Dibrugarh from New Delhi had a narrow escape when a powerful bomb planted underneath a bridge exploded, damaging a coach. The incident occurred near Diphu in eastern Assam Saturday, the news agency said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Two killed, 45 injured in grenade explosion in Kashmir
(KUNA) -- At least two civilians were killed and 45 people including four soldiers injured in a blast in Pulwama district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir Saturday.

Separatist guerrillas threw a grenade at a passing vehicle of Indian Army at main market at Shopian in Pulwama district, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported. "One civilian identified as Muhammad Yusuf Lone died on the spot while 45 people including four troopers were injured," Pulwama police told the news agency. In the evening, a severely injured person, -- Muhammad Akram Shah, succumbed to injuries at a hospital at Shopian, the news agency said. Indian security forces immediately surrounded the market place and launched search operations. No group had yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
New commander for Iraq called innovative: Surfs Up - Kawabunga
HONOLULU - Shortly after arriving in the islands to head U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. William Fallon asked a former world surfing champion for lessons on riding the waves.

"I was awfully impressed that a man that's in his 60s, as I am, would have the wisdom and the youthful spirit to take up surfing," said surfer Fred Hemmings, who also is a state senator.

The 62-year-old Navy officer's willingness to try new things was one quality Defense Secretary Robert Gates cited Friday in giving Fallon one of the world's toughest jobs: commanding U.S. troops in the Middle East as they battle insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Fox Fallon is one of the best strategic thinkers in uniform today and his reputation for innovation is without peer," Gates said in a news release, using the naval aviator's call sign.

President Bush called Fallon one of the nation's "foremost military strategists."

As U.S. commander in the Pacific, Fallon also has been an active diplomat, frequently traveling around the region to meet with military counterparts as well as heads of state.

He's spearheaded a major push to revive exchanges with China's military that had been all but severed after a U.S. spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter plane in 2001. Fallon pushed ahead with the program despite criticism from some in the Pentagon, saying Chinese and U.S. officers need to understand each another better to avoid potentially disastrous miscalculations.

Fallon has not spoken on how he would fight insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in an interview with The Associated Press in June, he said in reference to the Philippines that terrorists need to be defeated from a variety of angles.

"You can only make so much progress in pure military means to solve this problem. There are underlying issues that have to be addressed — economic issues, social issues — with the populations," Fallon said.

"You've got to work both sides of the problem. You've got to work the military side, to keep pressure on the bad guys. At the same time, we're trying to work the humanitarian, economic side."

In the Philippines, Special Forces troops under Fallon's command have been training and equipping local soldiers as they battle insurgents and al-Qaida-linked terrorists.

The troops, joined by aid workers, have also been building schools, repairing roads and providing medical care to residents in an effort to isolate the terrorists.

Retired Adm. Walter Doran, who has known Fallon since they were both Navy ROTC cadets at Villanova University in the 1960s, said Fallon's two years heading the Pacific Command should eliminate worries about a Navy man's ability to lead a ground war.

"Putting him in a position of joint leadership will not be a new experience for Bill Fallon," said Doran, now an executive at defense contractor Raytheon Co. "He's doing that right now."

Fallon has extensive experience in senior leadership roles, from his Pentagon stint as deputy to the Navy's top officer to his leadership at the Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. Fallon also flew combat missions during the Vietnam War, commanded a carrier air wing in the Persian Gulf War of 1991, and led the naval battle group supporting NATO operations in Bosnia.

The Senate is expected to approve Fallon's appointment.

Hemmings, the surfer, said Fallon's keen sensitivity to those around him sets him apart.

"In the course of our friendship, I could sense that he genuinely was sensitive to me as a person, to who I am, my roots and background," Hemmings said. "It's a tremendous asset in any human being, much less a military leader."

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/07/2007 12:27 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  GolfBravoUSMC, thx for the article.. never heard of Adm. William Fallon before.
Posted by: RD || 01/07/2007 16:05 Comments || Top||

#2  President Bush called Fallon one of the nation's "foremost military strategists."

To be complemented as a strategist by President Bush is staggering. Bush and his team almost redefined the word by an order of complexity.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/07/2007 16:26 Comments || Top||

#3  That kinda clarifies things.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 16:56 Comments || Top||

#4  Fallon is good. He can deal with the political end as well as tactical. He trusts the judgement of the officers that work for him and his integrity is unmatched. I think he will do well.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 01/07/2007 17:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Does he like the smell of napalm in the morning?
Posted by: Free Radical || 01/07/2007 17:25 Comments || Top||

#6  Good, now stop hanging ten and get out there and hang thousands.
Posted by: Jackal || 01/07/2007 20:06 Comments || Top||

#7  How many of you guys have worked for Fallon? I am skeptical.
Posted by: anymouse || 01/07/2007 22:31 Comments || Top||


Iraqi Papers Sunday: Iranian Coup Plot Foiled?
Az-Zaman headlined in its international edition: "the American forces abort an Iranian coup in Iraq". Az-Zaman claimed that an Iranian intelligence operation was underway to "form a pro-Iranian government in Iraq after removing al-Maliki’s government".

The paper added that the ‘coup’ was to be carried out in conjunction with Iraqi ‘heads of militias and pro-Iranian officials’. The paper quoted a ‘British source’ who said that the ‘plan’ was aborted when the American forces arrested five Iranian intelligence operatives during a ‘high-level meeting’ with Shi`a politicians.

The aim of the meeting, according to the British source, was to negotiate a post-Maliki political arrangement and determine the viability of the government and the Shi`a coalition after the Da`wa party –one of the constituents of the Shi`a bloc- was tarnished by the process of Saddam’s execution.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/07/2007 10:27 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Moslem irrationality, savagery, primitivism, and hatred of women --as taught by and practiced according to the Koran-- IS a heavy burden on civilized people.

It's been so for more than a thousand years. How much longer?
Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) || 01/07/2007 12:23 Comments || Top||

#2  Samaha said that the generous praise by Western politicians and writers of the “great Iraqi people” before the invasion has been replaced with a quasi-racist language that investigates the roots of “Sadistic, barbaric” displays of “incivility” during the killing of Saddam. A language reminiscent, according to Samaha, of the classic colonial rhetoric of the 19th century, where the occupation and “enlightenment” of the “natives” were seen as a “burden” on the ‘civilized white man’.

Actions speak louder than words ...
Posted by: doc || 01/07/2007 12:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Yet the Iraq study group wanted us to seek the help of Iran. Idiots!

I still say we should withdraw all of our troops from Iraq - through Iran. Use the strategy first pioneered by General Sherman. We can put 'em back afterwards (though with the mad mullahs neutralized, I suspect most of our problems in Iraq will be over).
Posted by: DMFD || 01/07/2007 13:55 Comments || Top||

#4  If a coup had succeeded I'm sure the US would have just accepted it rather than kill the coup plotters, slaughter the militias, and then put the Kurds in charge while we went after Iran.

Yeah the Dems and wobblies would have declared the whole thing a wash and wailed and moaned but most Americans would have taken the news differently.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/07/2007 14:27 Comments || Top||

#5  Again, presuming that Saddam was agz any US-Western influence in the ME, including agz support for Israel, and now post-9-11 alleged "War for Oil", then why the IRAN-IRAQ WAR??? Iff Saddam was covertly "ME for Muslims/ Arabia for Arabs" etc, i.e. SADDAM THE MARTYR, then the only pragmatic/realistic reason for him to wage war was to control Iran's oil for himself + family or Baathist Party [Iran = entire ME?], since iff he was a US agent-oper the USA would had helped him prevail = not fail agz Iran, NOT WORK AGZ HIM + RADICAL IRAN.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 01/07/2007 23:29 Comments || Top||


Four insurgents killed, one arrested -- MNF
(KUNA) -- Multi-National Force (MNF) troops killed four insurgents and arrested one bomb-making suspect in a Baghdad raid Saturday. A MNF statement said, as the soldiers arrived the five men fled the area. The insurgents entered a building, refused to give up and opened fire. Four of the suspects were killed when soldiers returned the fire, the fifth surrendered to MNF troops.

A MNF tank was damaged when it struck a roadside bomb in Fallujah Saturday, according to another statement issued today. MNF casualties have been reported but no details were disclosed.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi security official escapes assassination attempt
(KUNA) -- A major general of the Iraqi police escaped death on Saturday when a booby-trapped car blew up killing one citizen and injuring six others including two security men. The booby-trapped car blew up when the major general's motorcade passed by, the police told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). The explosion, that occurred close to a gas station in the district of Al-Karradah in central Baghdad, caused extensive damage to a number of civilian cars.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi police find more dead bodies in Mosul
(KUNA) -- A number of three dead bodies were found in different areas in city of Mosul northern Iraq, stated the Iraqi police Saturday. In a statement to KUNA, a police source said one of the victims was found in Al-Thaorah neighborhood while the others were discovered in Al-Sinaa'a and Adi Akaz areas The police indicated that the victims were tortured before they were shot-dead by their murderers. Meanwhile, masked gunmen killed two Iraqis in Al-Whda neighborhood in Mosul.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Security operation in Baghdad ends with death of 30 insurgents
(KUNA) -- At least 30 insurgents were killed and eight others were arrested when Iraqi and US forces were conducting a security operation near the location were Iraqi police found 15 bodies in Kharkh area here, said a security source Saturday. The source told KUNA that the joint forces stormed Haifa Street in Baghdad and managed to kill the insurgents and arrest others.

It was a busy day for Iraqi police who found a number of 27 dead bodies near a cemetery in Baghdad.
Ummm... Sounds like an appropriate place for dead bodies, if y'know whudda mean. Though another KUNA article mentions that 15 of them had been hanged...
According to eyewitnesses, the victims were killed in retaliation to the execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Insurgents elude forces in eastern Iraqi province
Villagers deny knowledge of the rebels -- except for a teen who describes their getaways

FONTIMIYA, IRAQ — U.S. and Iraqi forces trudged through waterlogged fields, crawled down tunnels and went house to house Friday in a painstaking search for Sunni Arab insurgents, combing a remote rural region east of Baghdad that has been a training and logistics base for Al Qaeda in Iraq and other militant groups.

But for the second day of the 1,000-troop operation, in home after home, they found only women, children and men too old to fight.

Time and again, U.S. forces in Iraq have staged major assaults on known insurgent hide-outs only to have key individuals melt away. As with other operations, the military is attempting to dislodge insurgents from their hiding places in Diyala province, then sweep them into known escape routes where they can be intercepted.

But the area's sunken irrigation canals, vast agricultural fields, seldom-traveled back roads and widely scattered hamlets have given guerrillas innumerable ways to avoid capture.

"We are hardly finding any military-aged males," U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Pete Johnson said as he directed a truckload of Iraqi fighters into position outside a village in an icy downpour. "They have all pushed away somewhere. Either they have run away or they are waiting for us." If the insurgents are preparing to make a stand, Johnson said, "we can definitely take the fight to them."

"But if they disappear and hide," he said, "there is no way we can establish positive identification and get them."

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Silly me, but have they heard of UAVs?
Posted by: Captain America || 01/07/2007 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  I think its getting to be about time for a re-enactment of Hamburg in several of these cities.

I know we don't want to kill civilians, but if they're hiding, and protecting the insurgents, they're not really civilians. The Army would be wise to stop bullshitting themselves about these people.
Posted by: Mike N. || 01/07/2007 3:03 Comments || Top||

#3  In Fontimiya, one of the larger wheat-farming communities, 20 men sat cross-legged in a windblown field, eyes downcast and some shivering in the cold, as U.S. soldiers barked out questions.

Simple (albeit well armed) farmers forced from their fields into a cold rain in the desert while dawg-faces bark at them threatningly.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 7:36 Comments || Top||

#4  You've found the lair. All able bodied males misssing. Course, they're the ones you've been chasing. Now do what's required. Take the remaining to detention camps. Burn the structures to the ground. Make it well known that this will be the pattern until all the Brave Lions are hunted down and killed.
Posted by: SpecOp35 || 01/07/2007 14:02 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas officials killed, kidnapped; Fatah officials likewise
Three Hamas militants were killed and five were wounded Saturday evening in clashes with a Fatah-related family hours after Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas declared Hamas security forces in Gaza illegal.

The militants, all members of the the Diri family, were killed in an exchange of fire between Hamas and members of the Durmush family, some of whom are affiliated with Fatah, in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City.

Four Hamas militants were kidnapped during the incident....
Posted by: mhw || 01/07/2007 00:12 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This needs to be on Pay Per View.
Posted by: Classical_Liberal || 01/07/2007 0:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Trucefire still holding except for the dead guys...film at eleven.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/07/2007 0:26 Comments || Top||

#3  Kumbaya.
Posted by: Ol Dirty American || 01/07/2007 0:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Hatfields and McCoys? Nope, it's the Diri's and the Durmush's! Reload and go get'em boys!
Posted by: Phineter Thraviger || 01/07/2007 0:55 Comments || Top||

#5  Maybe we should start keeping a scoreboard so whe can tell which side is winning. Or which group of losers is losing more, however you want to look at it.
Posted by: SteveS || 01/07/2007 1:48 Comments || Top||

#6  Nice to see all these "exits" on the "Roadmap".
Posted by: JDB || 01/07/2007 1:55 Comments || Top||

#7  a Fatah-related family

Side note to Free-Radical, be sure, very sure.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 8:24 Comments || Top||

#8  This won't really get the ball rolling until there is some major massacre. I'm hoping a bunch of gunmen will assemble without warning and just butcher an entire town of the opposition. Followed by uniformed personnel rounding up forty or fifty civilians and death-squadding them.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/07/2007 8:44 Comments || Top||

#9  So is this regular popcorn night or butter-caramel popcorn? I am so crossing my fingers for butter-caramel.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/07/2007 8:49 Comments || Top||

#10  Whatever happened to all those Hamas officials the Israelis captured? They're probably the safest ones around.
Posted by: KBK || 01/07/2007 13:01 Comments || Top||

#11  they should be released in Fatah territory :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 01/07/2007 14:13 Comments || Top||


Infighting spreads to West Bank
West Bank cities are bracing themselves for the deadly turmoil restricted until recently to Gaza as violent infighting between Fatah and Hamas spills over into the West Bank. Reports of heavy gunbattles between Hamas and Fatah Jenin poured in on Saturday night while in Gaza three members of a Hamas-affiliated family were killed by Fatah gunmen. Earlier in the day the first signs of West Bank infighting emerged as gunmen abducted Nablus deputy mayor Mahdi al-Khamdali at gunpoint. Meanwhile in Ramallah gunmen, reportedly from Fatah, stormed the offices of the Hamas-controlled Ministry of the Interior, shot the office manager in his legs and abducted him.

A Palestinian Authority security official told Ynet Saturday night that there is a grave chance that the internal power-struggle may take root in the West Bank. According to the official Hamas forces are preparing their ranks and stockpiling weapons. The source estimated however that should the situation in the West Bank come to an all-out battle between the warring factions Fatah would have the upper hand in the region. "But it is not a simple matter at all," said the source, "we've been seeing unprecendented 'import' efforts by Hamas over the past several months in terms of arms." The official said that the rise in demand for firearms by Hamas has already affected the arms-trade in the area, as prices skyrocket to almost double their original value.

"An M-16 (assault rifle) that was once worth about 6,000 Jordanian dinars (USD 8,450) is now bought for 10,000 dinars (USD 14,200), this signals that the fight against them (Hamas) will not be easy," said the PA official. The official also said that Fatah has been recruiting supporters, quietly strengthening its military wing in the West Bank; however he said "Hamas' stronghold is expected to be in the northern West Bank, in Nablus and Jenin. The question we must ask however is will the whole of the Fatah movement rally for such a confrontation?"
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds like they're definitely goin to the mattresses now...
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/07/2007 0:11 Comments || Top||

#2  $15,000 for an M-16? At that price let's sell them all they want, then take the profits & buy our side some real guns.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/07/2007 7:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Screw the popcorn, it's time for High Tea
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 8:32 Comments || Top||

#4  Something is missing. Aha, got it.

The fragile truce is further threatened as infighting spreads to West Bank.
Posted by: gromgoru || 01/07/2007 8:45 Comments || Top||

#5  Tip for the MSM: Never lead your story out of Lebanon, Gaza or Iraq with a cease-fire; it will always be over before the next morning's paper.

Posted by: Besoeker || 01/07/2007 8:54 Comments || Top||

#6  Bes, the MSM and the Loonie Left love their little Cease-Fires™. It validates their morally superior position when normal circumstances degenerate in to Bush-Style-Cowboy™ violence.

See, true militants don't even use AK47s anymore. Apparently the weapon of choice is now the evil American M-16.

Posted by: john || 01/07/2007 9:42 Comments || Top||

#7  Sell M-16s for 15K but leave out the cleaning kits.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/07/2007 14:08 Comments || Top||

#8  What a buncha Maroons! I only paid 600 for mine. I wonder if these are weapons the Jihadis bought over here at gun shows and smuggled back to Jihadi land like Diane Feinstei, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Teddy Kennedy told us.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 01/07/2007 14:21 Comments || Top||

#9  Jesus Christ. 16 grand. Bush should undercut the market and sell them all the $5,000 M16s they can afford. Flood the damn market so these clowns can really get at it. Nothing could be better for paleo civil war than an infinite supply of weapons.
Posted by: Mike N. || 01/07/2007 18:33 Comments || Top||


Founder of Ansar Al-Sunna group assassinated in Gaza
(KUNA) -- Founder of Ansar Al-Sunna group, Adel Nassar was assassinated Friday after attending Friday prayers in Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza Strip. A Palestinian security source said that Nassar, accompanied by his friend Jebril Al-Aawur, was shot dead by masked gunmen. Al-Aawur sustained serious injuries and was transferred to a nearby hospital, the source concluded.
I'm guessing that this is a different Ansar al-Sunna from the one in Iraq -- though I confess I can't recall having heard of this one in Gaza.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  yesterday this guy was said to be a cleric

of course he's still dead
Posted by: mhw || 01/07/2007 0:07 Comments || Top||

#2  ...and still a holy man.
With real holes.
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/07/2007 0:16 Comments || Top||

#3  That is the holey man I like.
Posted by: twobyfour || 01/07/2007 0:26 Comments || Top||

#4  The Lebanese historian Kamal Salibi had it right: "Great powers should never get involved in the politics of small tribes."
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/07/2007 3:19 Comments || Top||


Palestinian Brigade shell Israeli Sderot city with three rockets
(KUNA) -- Al-Aqsa Brigades, military wing for the Palestinian Fatah movement, launched three rockets against Sderot city and the western Negev region, in southern Israel. The brigades claimed in a statement that Israeli sources confirmed the attacks and added that the operation came in retaliation to Israeli assassinations and arrests for Al-Aqsa officials in the West Bank. On Friday Al-Aqsa brigades also launched rockets on the Jewish settlements of Kibbutz Saad and Shuvat in the western Negev.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The main thing, truce still holds.
Posted by: gromgoru || 01/07/2007 8:50 Comments || Top||

#2  gromgoru - at least till Israel finally gets fed up and hits back. Then it's 'Fragile Peace Accord Threatened by Israel'.
Posted by: DMFD || 01/07/2007 13:57 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
JI cheese, several top Sayyaf commanders tagged and bagged in sea battle
An Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant was among six extremists killed in a gun battle at sea with government forces in the southern province of Tawi-Tawi on Saturday, a military spokesman said.
"Avast, ye bloody bandits, or face the ghost of Stephen Decatur!"
Gufran alias Abu Samur is a reported trusted aide of JI explosives expert Dulmatin, one of two alleged masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombings who are hiding in the Sulu jungles with the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, said Commander Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, Navy spokesman, in a text message Sunday. Aside from Gufran, Bacordo said four other fatalities have been identified: Abu Sayyaf sub-commanders Abu Hubaida and Judnam Jamalul, alias Black Killer, Ibrahim Hassan alias Abu Muksin -- a confidante of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani -- and Gadar Abubakar, a security escort of Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman. Jamalul was among 17 Abu Sayyaf members, including Janjalani, who are wanted by the United States for attacks on American citizens. The US had offered a $40,000 bounty for Jamalul’s capture or death. Captured Abu Sayyaf members identified the slain bandits,
Heh. Look into the bloated, ruined face of your future, losers.
who are in the military's order of battle, said Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade.
Very good work, General Sabban. I'm impressed.
Sabban said the group was heading to Tawi-Tawi to scout for a new hiding place for Abu Sayyaf and JI leaders who are the targets of a military dragnet in Sulu. "These are trusted aides and bodyguards of the high-value targets who want to escape from Sulu. They are their advance party," Sabban said in a phone interview.
"And now they're doorknob dead," he added.
Sabban said the extremist leaders, including Dulmatin and fellow JI and Bali bombing suspect Umar Patek, have not escaped from Sulu. "By all indications, they are still in Sulu," he said.
Frantically looking for new undies.
Sabban claimed the Abu Sayyaf had run out of resources and were "trying to escape Sulu to survive." The bandits were onboard a twin-motor pumpboat (motorized outrigger canoe) off Tawi-Tawi late Saturday evening when they were engaged in a 30-minute gunbattle by Navy and Marine troops. Troops recovered two M16 rifles an M203 grenade launcher and huge amounts of ammunition on the rebels' boat, marine spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan said. Caculitan said this group was being pursued by members of the Marines in Capual and Pata Island two days ago but managed to escape after a brief clash. Marines spotted and engaged the group Saturday in a firefight off Tawi Tawi, he said.

No casualty was reported from the government's side in the encounter.

An officer involved in the assault said the military had information that the militants were planning to carry out kidnappings in Tawi Tawi to raise funds. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media. Elements of the 2nd Marine Battalion's Special Operations Platoon led by Maj. Joseph Ferrous Cuison managed to intercept the terrorists who tried to flee by motorized outrigger canoe boat. Dulmatin, Patek, and Janjalani are the subjects of a five-month-old military operation involving more than 7,000 troops in Sulu.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/07/2007 04:29 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Sri Lanka
Bomb explosion kills 15 bus passengers in Sri Lanka
(KUNA) -- A bomb exploded inside a bus in southern Sri Lanka Saturday killing 15 passengers on board and injuring 32. The explosion today took place at Hikkaduwa, 100 km south of capital Colombo, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported. All those killed were locals, the news agency said. As many as six people were killed and over 50 injured when a bomb exploded inside a passenger bus at Nittambuwa, near Colombo Friday. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Good morning to yez...
Bangladesh opposition vows to paralyse country'Human pipeline' of terror linked to PakistanLondon Times: Israel May Nuke IranAnti-Ethiopia protests rock MogadishuStolen Rocket Launchers 'Sold To Terror Suspect'UN Peacekeepers Accused in Sudan Sex-Abuse Case ReprimandedInfighting spreads to West BankSpanish bishops fear rebirth of Islamic kingdom
Posted by: Fred || 01/07/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gosh, I didn't recognize her without her Westinghouse.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 01/07/2007 1:15 Comments || Top||

#2  My folks bought a huge Westinghouse fan because of her ads on the Today Show?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/07/2007 7:24 Comments || Top||

#3  She looked better as she became older. That's a twist.
Posted by: Sneaze Shaiting3550 || 01/07/2007 10:37 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2007-01-07
  Iraqi Papers Sunday: Iranian Coup Plot Foiled?
Sat 2007-01-06
  Top Dems Oppose More Troops in Iraq
Fri 2007-01-05
  White House Postponing Loss of Iraq, Biden Says
Thu 2007-01-04
  Report: Supreme Ayatollah Khamenei is Supremely Stable
Wed 2007-01-03
  Iran Funding Both Shiite And Sunni Jihadists In Iraq
Tue 2007-01-02
  Islamists decamp from Kismayu
Mon 2007-01-01
  Baathists pledge loyalty to Izzat Ibrahim
Sun 2006-12-31
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Sat 2006-12-30
  Saddam hanged
Fri 2006-12-29
  Daffy Janjalani presumed dead
Thu 2006-12-28
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Wed 2006-12-27
  Up to 1,000 Somalis dead in Ethiopia offensive
Tue 2006-12-26
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  UN Security Council approves Iran sanctions


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