A military operation in which a British soldier died in Afghanistan at the weekend left about 30 Taliban fighters dead, Afghan police said on Sunday. The British forces, however, could not confirm the rebel toll but said possibly a significant number were killed in the fighting in the Kajaki district of the southern province of Helmand that started on Saturday.
In the two-day operation 30 Taliban were killed and another 20 were wounded, Helmand police chief Mohammad Nabi Mullahkhail said. He said the operation concluded on Sunday. Some of the insurgents bodies are still left at the battle site, he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Rory Bruce of the British task force in Helmand said there were no other casualties to the troops beside the death, the first this year among the roughly 40,000 foreign soldiers in Afghanistan. A number of Taliban were killed in the course of the action, but we dont know how many ... possibly a significant number, he said. A purported Taliban spokesman, Mohammad Yousuf Ahmadi, said only three fighters were killed and eight wounded.
In another development, police said a suicide bomber blew himself up near a convoy of foreign construction workers and Afghan soldiers in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, wounding one civilian. The blast went off south of Qalat, the capital of Zabul province, killing the bomber, said police official Mohammmad Asif. None of the foreigners or Afghan soldiers were wounded, but an Afghan passer-by was hurt in the blast, he said. Asif said the foreigners and Afghan troops were in their vehicles near a construction site at the time of the blast. The foreigners were working on the construction of a building for Afghan security forces, he said. Asif could not say what nationality the foreigners were or the name of the company they worked for.
On Saturday, a mine blast in another southern province destroyed a police vehicle, wounding two Afghan border policemen, said Raziq Khan, a border police official. The blast occurred in Spin Boldak area of Kandahar province and Khan blamed Taliban militants for planting the mine on the road.
Afghan soldiers, meanwhile, discovered some 60 gas masks, four mine detecting machines and other military equipment in Paktika province, said Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Mohammad Zahir Azimi.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Some of the insurgents bodies are still left at the battle site
Meaning there were too many for the Talibs to drag off?
#2
It probably means that they killed more talibs than could be spared to drag them off. Probably not a 50% csuality rate on the Tabliban side, since some will betake to their curly toed slippers and not bother with the extra weight...
#4
Sad to say that Facist Islam puts no price on their losses, and we care about every single one.
To lose 30, 300, 3000 is inconsequential if our single loss causes us to fail. We owe it to the fallen to stand resolute in the face of evil.
Posted by: john ||
01/15/2007 9:01 Comments ||
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#5
Still the good news is that there probably close to 5000 dead talebs, and taleb-wannabes of breeding age. That's a start. And, they keep coming in large, kill-size groups...which is even better.
#6
Thirty-plus is a respectable honour guard for the halls of Valhalla. Go to your reward with our thanks, brave soldier!
Afghan soldiers, meanwhile, discovered some 60 gas masks, four mine detecting machines and other military equipment in Paktika province, said Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Mohammad Zahir Azimi. Gas masks? Isn't that a bit odd for Afghanistan? I wonder how old those articles are...
#1
I have to credit the Bush Administration for the fall of Al Qaeda in Samalia who (Black Hawk Down) kicked Clinton's butt. Clinton launched a poorly planned operation, 2 dozen of our brave American troops fought hundreds and hundreds of assailants Alamo style to the last man, and then Clinton loads the military on ships, suts and runs from Somalia.
Bush, through armies of Allied African Nations he has built up in Africa, the CIA, US Special Forces, like Douglas McArthur has returned and defeated them. Who would believe that African Armies could:
1) Stand side by side with American Forces...
2) and Defeat bad guys on that continent.
Pin a medal on George Bush's chest.
Take out the Taliban - DONE
Take out Saddam - DONE
Take out Zar Cow Pee - DONE
Take out Al Qaeda in Africa - BEING DONE
Take out Osma - Negraponte has started putting heat on Packistan - In the works.
Somali gunmen battled government and Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu's heaviest fighting since the ouster of hardline Islamists last month as the fledgling adminstration silenced four broadcasters for allegedly fomenting unrest. At least two people died Monday in a gunbattle between forces and rebels in southern Mogadishu, the Islamists' traditional stronghold, while a policeman was gunned down when a gang raided a cache of weapons he was guarding. The deaths underscored the scale of the task facing President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's weak interim government, which was only able to supplant the Islamists with the aid of the Ethiopians.
As many Somalis seethe at the presence of Ethiopian troops on their streets, Addis Adaba tried to explain its intervention to other African states and urge them to help make a planned peacekeeping force a reality.
Witnesses said rockets and mortar shells were used in the overnight battle. "After the fighting, I saw two bodies, both of them men killed near a pasta factory," said Munina Ismail.
"An explosive that was thrown at the vehicle left many casualties, but I do not know how many," said Mohamoud Aden, said another local resident in the area which has been the scene of a number of ambushes of troops in recent days.
The exchanges dragged on for up to an hour before a joint force of government troops and Ethiopian soldiers brought the situation under control.
In the second incident, gunmen raided a nearby police station in Huriwa neighbourhood, gunning down an officer and stealing three rifles. Ethiopian troops and tanks then arrived, sealing off the area and searching houses for weapons.
Parliament approved the imposition of martial law at the weekend, giving the security forces wide-ranging powers. In a sign of the government's willingness to flex its muscles, it ordered the Qatar-based satellite television network Al-Jazeera and Mogadishu radio stations Shabelle Radio, Radio HornAfrik and Voice of the Koran radio off the air.
The move drew immediate criticism but government spokesman Abduraman Dinari insisted the step was not aimed at curtailing freedom of speech. "Their coverage is instigating violence in Somalia," he told Mogadishu's Simba Radio, which was not hit by the order. "We are not undermining the freedom of expression, we are ensuring the security of the Somali people.
#2
Ahhhh. Let me see. Islamist talk big, when you attack, they run for the hills, leaving behind people and material to cause long term problems. Are we getting the pattern yet?
#5
"As many Somalis seethe at the presence of Ethiopian troops on their streets"
Them that can, do (Ethiopians), them that can't, seethe (Chickensh!t Somalians)
Announcing the seizure of rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, heavy machine-guns and AK-47 rifles during the raids, a spokesman for the transitional government said the rule of law rather than the gun would prevail in the future.
"This city will not be a hideout for freelance gunmen. The days of terrorising people are over," said Abdirahman Dinari Sunday. "The government is determined to enhance security in Mogadishu and the safety of our people is a priority."
The scale of the task ahead was further underlined Sunday when troops ended up seizing weapons during a raid on one of Mogadishu's hospitals. "They entered the hospital building and then they took all the weapons from the guards. I saw more than ten AK-47s taken from the guards," a member of the private Arafat hospital's staff told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Typical failed islamic state: where else would you hide guns other than a hospital? Okay, a mosque, but where else? Okay, an orphanage ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) At least one soldier of the transitional government has been killed and civilian person was injured in ambush attack in Somalia capital, Mogadishu later on Sunday amid series of explosions and attacks against the presence of the Ethiopian forces in the country.
Witnesses told Somalinet that an unknown group of militiamen attacked a police station located in Huriwa district in north of Mogadishu where they killed a policeman and took the guns of three other policemen. A girl has also been wounded in the attack, which happened around 10:05 pm local time. The assailants escaped unharmed.
Sounds like the Islamic Courts are hanging around.
Elsewhere in the city, unidentified men have launched an ambush attack to convoys of Somalia and Ethiopian forces in northwest of the capital Mogadishu. The allied forces responded with gunfire and repelled the attackers. The convoys were passing near Coca-Cola Company on the main industry road. There is no immediate casualty on the latest attacks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Wonder if the RAB has considered taking their show on the road; for training, of course.
Egyptian security forces discovered a cache of explosives on Sunday in the Sinai Peninsula, where bomb attacks have killed more than 100 people since 2004, security sources said. The cache consisted of at least 500 kg (1,100 lb) of TNT hidden in two gas containers and large plastic bags and was found in the desert area near al-Arish, on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, the sources said.
They said the explosives were discovered after a tip-off and no arrests had been made. "We received information that some elements were concealing large quantities of explosives," one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Egypt has blamed the Sinai attacks, the last of which took place in April, on an Islamist militant group called al-Tawhid wal Jihad (One God and Jihad) and says the group is made up of Sinai Bedouin with militant views.
#6
TW; I bet if you could look at the Egyptians dance card, you would find that these 'discoveries' are all window dressing. Sort of like our Border patrol; just find enough to keep major heat off.
More than 500 armed militants in Chechnya and other parts of Russia's troubled North Caucasus surrendered to authorities as part of an amnesty that expired Monday, a Russian official said. Authorities proposed the amnesty last summer as part of efforts to secure peace and normalcy in Chechnya. The offer, which expired at midnight, promised that surrendering militants would avoid prosecution unless they were suspected of grave crimes such as murder, rape or terrorism.
Posted by: ed ||
01/15/2007 06:57 ||
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like Fred been saying, the North Caucasus Jehad Swamp is drying up due to Global Warming.
A senior bodyguard for slain Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbayev and five associates have surrendered to regional authorities. Yandarbayev's nephew, Amirkhan, turned himself in to Chechen officials, along with another nephew and an associate Friday. Two more former bodyguards and a driver surrendered Saturday.
Yandarbayev, Chechnya's acting president from 1996 to 1997, was killed by a car bomb in February 2004 in Qatar, where he had sought refuge. Moscow had sought his extradition on charges of terrorism and al-Qaida links, and the United States and the United Nations had accused him of having ties to militants. Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said Friday that the men had turned themselves in as part of an amnesty offer that was scheduled to expire Monday.
Also Friday, a federal soldier was injured when a booby trap exploded while he was conducting a search operation in Chechnya, authorities said. The soldier was hospitalized with serious injuries after the explosion in a wooded area outside the village of Vysokogornoye in the province's southern Shatoi region, the Interior Ministry's Chechen headquarters said. A search was under way for those responsible for constructing and planting the device, which was made from land-mine parts.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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MIRANSHAH: Pro-Taliban militants on Sunday shot dead a suspected Uzbek fighter and captured another in Butkhela village, officials said. The pair was travelling in a car and did not stop at a barrier set up by local Taliban, after which they were chased and shot at, a Pakistan intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Local villagers said militants frequently checked vehicles on the road, which links North Waziristan to Bannu. Police in Bannu also confirmed the incident.
The killing came despite a peace agreement signed last year between Islamic militants operating in the region and government forces which calls for an end to militancy in the tribal district. The deal was aimed at ending nearly three years of violence in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, during which hundreds of people have died in clashes between security forces and rebels. Pakistans tribal areas have been rocked by violence since hundreds of Al Qaeda and Taliban militants flooded across the border from Afghanistan after the US led an invasion of the country in late 2001.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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City police on Sunday recovered a time bomb near the main gate of the Metrological Department situated in front of the NWFP Assembly building, police said. Capital City Police Chief Malik Saad told Daily Times that a High Court guard, Head Constable Murad Khan, informed East Cantt police station officials, at 11:00 am, of a shopping bag containing a 1.5 kg bomb.
Malik Saad said bomb disposal squad officials then reached the area and defused the bomb. He added that the act was aimed at creating a sense of insecurity among residents. He said nobody had been arrested, but that an investigation was underway. Another police official said that the bombs target was the NWFP Assembly building. Meanwhile, a government notification said that the capital police chief has announced a cash prize and commendation certificates for Head Constable Murad Khan.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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what's a Metrological Department?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2007 6:54 Comments ||
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I used to work in the Metrology department of the Navy. Calibration, measurement, stuff like that.
#5
So there is now a bounty on bombs: witness that Head Constable Khan gets a cash prize and commendation. Good on him.
Look for this to be expanded to the general population with not always positive results.
SWAT: Two women and a young girl were killed in a landmine explosion here on Sunday. According to a private TV channel, the landmine exploded in a field in Muttah, killing the three people who were working there. The deceased have been identified as Neemro, Jan Bibi and Fehmida. "Honey! Have you seen my landmine?"
"Ummm... Oh, dear! I think I left it out in the field! I'm sorry, honey. I'll get it back tomorrow!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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I think I've commented on this before, but it's worth repeating. Notice that it's never young BOYS that are killed in these incidents, just young girls. I guess muzzies consider girls expendable...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/15/2007 12:29 Comments ||
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As 20,000 more US troops head for Iraq, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, the only correspondent reporting regularly from behind the country's sectarian battle lines, reveals how the Sunni insurgency has changed.
One morning a few weeks ago I sat in a car talking to Rami, a thick-necked former Republican Guard commando who now procures arms for his fellow Sunni insurgents. Rami was explaining how the insurgency had changed since the first heady days after the US invasion. "I used to attack the Americans when that was the jihad. Now there is no jihad. Go around and see in Adhamiya [the notorious Sunni insurgent area] - all the commanders are sitting sipping coffee; it's only the young kids that are fighting now, and they are not fighting Americans any more, they are just killing Shia. There are kids carrying two guns each and they roam the streets looking for their prey. They will kill for anything, for a gun, for a car and all can be dressed up as jihad."
Rami was no longer involved in fighting, he said, but made a tidy profit selling weapons and ammunition to men in his north Baghdad neighbourhood. Until the last few months, the insurgency got by with weapons and ammunition looted from former Iraqi army depots. But now that Sunnis were besieged in their neighbourhoods and fighting daily clashes with the better-equipped Shia ministry of interior forces, they needed new sources of weapons and money.
Continued on Page 49
Two of Saddam Hussein's aides were hanged before dawn on Monday, the Iraqi government said, admitting that the head of his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was also ripped from his body during the execution. On the defensive after international uproar over sectarian taunts during the illicitly filmed hanging of the ousted president two weeks ago, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh insisted there was "no violation of procedure" during the executions of Barzan and former judge Awad Hamed al-Bander.
But defense lawyers and politicians from Saddam's once dominant Sunni Arab minority expressed fury at the fate of Barzan, Saddam's once feared intelligence chief, and there was also skepticism and condemnation of Iraq's Shi'ite-dominated government across the mostly Sunni-ruled Arab world. "The convicts were not subjected to any mistreatment," Dabbagh said describing the beheading by the rope as a rare mishap. "Their rights were not violated. There was no chanting."
Government adviser Bassam al-Husseini said the damage to the body was "an act of God". During his trial for crimes against humanity over the killings of 148 Shi'ites from Dujail, a witness said Barzan's agents put people in a meat grinder.
The treatment of corpses is a particularly sensitive issue in Muslim culture. Video footage of Saddam's body lying on a trolley showed what appeared to be a wound on his throat. Hangmen gauge the length of rope needed to snap the neck of the condemned but not to create enough force to sever the head.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 09:44 ||
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The treatment of corpses is a particularly sensitive issue in Muslim culture
particularly since Islam seems to demand so many corpses
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2007 9:52 Comments ||
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Surely his own genitalia belongs in his mouth ..
Yes, this issue has been noted by israeli, french, and about everyone who had to fight arabs and ended up with prisoners made by those sensitive souls. "Feminizing" executees by castrating them and stuffing their genitalia in mouth, testicles in place of eyeballs,... seems to be very prevalent, regardless of actual location (north africa, middle east, lebanon,...). IIUC, the rationale behind that is that mutilation prevents a soul to reach paradize, and that castration prevent use of virgins in any case. Manhod anxiety should be considered too.
And I won't even mention decapitation and throat-slitting, taught to every muslim boys aged 8-10 and more with yearly ritual slaughtering of man-sized mammals (has anyone NOT noted the exact same method of pulling the head back and slicing back and forth and through the neck tissues?).
#7
Wow, a de-cap during a hanging? Yes, it is known to happen. What did the hangman do in this case? Tied a sandbag or two for added weight on the way down?
Speaking of de-caps, this is poetic justice for the very people and faith (or at least it's more extreme variants) that gets off on decapitations.
#12
Hangmen gauge the length of rope needed to snap the neck of the condemned but not to create enough force to sever the head.
"Mahmoud you idiot! You carry the two to the next column and divide by three! Honestly, where do we get you guys?"
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/15/2007 11:40 Comments ||
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Overenthusiastic, but still quite effective, and unquestionably dead.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/15/2007 11:41 Comments ||
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...Supposedly, a decapitated head can still process information for a second or two - and I hope Barzan's head processed every bit of it.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/15/2007 11:45 Comments ||
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#15
Gee, if there was no head to be held by the rope, that means he fell to the ground. I hope he didn't strain his ankle or something, or even busted his knee, falls can be real bad.
#16
Gee, if there was no head to be held by the rope, that means he fell to the ground. I hope he didn't strain his ankle or something, or even busted his knee, falls can be real bad.
#18
In the spirit of 'Faces of Death' from my high school days, does anyone have a link to the video? Found something on YouTube, but it just showed Barzan standing there - never showed the 'big drop'...
#23
Do it the old way, so instead of breaking the neck he just strangles to death over a few hours. You can even sell sharp sticks to poke him with while he dangles.
Hmmm, way too much study of EUROPEAN torture techniques. They sure USED to be inventive.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/15/2007 13:31 Comments ||
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#26
Well, according to an AP story (Washington Times)that gallows was approved by human rights organizations.
The execution was conducted on the same gallows where Saddam was hanged Dec. 30 in a building located in the Shi'ite neighborhood of Kazimiyah. Mr. al-Dabbagh said the gallows were built to international standards and in accordance with human rights organizations.
#27
Barzan's agents put people in a meat grinder.
The treatment of corpses is a particularly sensitive issue in Muslim culture
hmmmm, ain't karma a bitch
Posted by: Jan from work ||
01/15/2007 13:36 Comments ||
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#28
But does that human rights approved gallows have the 'Good Housekeeping' Seal on it? If it does, they can return it for a full refund.
I prefer to think of the thing as failing 2 out of 3 times (so far).
#29
Now, ain't that the shitz. This guy will do anything to get the ACLU on his side.
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/15/2007 14:13 Comments ||
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#30
Question: Does deese guyz get the vurgins?
Posted by: Captain America ||
01/15/2007 14:16 Comments ||
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#31
The treatment of corpses is a particularly sensitive issue in Muslim culture.
During one of Saddam's pogroms (10000 Barzani clan members killed including many small boys) the bodies of Kurdish prisoners who died at one notorious holding facility were dragged outside and left at the prison gates for the feral dogs to carry off.
Posted by: john ||
01/15/2007 15:33 Comments ||
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#32
Botched? WTF is was executed in the Mooslum tradition of beheading. The boy went pop and I opened a beer.
Waiting for Keith Ellison and the lap dog CAIR boys to wade in on this one. Guess if it didn't take place in a Minneapolis airport it's not a big deal. Pussies.
#45
When hanging was more popular over here, the width of the neck and weight of the body were both measured so as to determine the length of the rope. That way, heads didn't roll. Muslims can't do anything right, except scream incoherently.
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq - Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army soldiers together detained 47 insurgents during Operation Ar Bead in Fallujah proper Jan. 9. Charges against 31 of the detainees have been filed, and charges against 16 others are pending.
The combined operation was spearheaded by the Iraqi Police and Iraqi Army, though elements of 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 participated at the request of the police. "The district police chief - this was his idea," said Lt. Col. Race Roberson, the RCT-5 police implementation officer. "It was (an Iraqi security forces) operation; they were the owners of it."
The Fallujah and Habbaniya Police recruited 301 new members earlier this week and shipped them to the Jordanian International Police Training Course. "The police are a strong force, and they will go anywhere at anytime in the city of Fallujah," Roberson said.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/15/2007 07:50 ||
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#1
I won't believe this until I get the lowdown from Capt. Jamil Hussein of AP.
Saddam Hussein's half brother and the former head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court were hanged before dawn Monday, Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said, two weeks and two days after the former Iraqi dictator was executed in a chaotic scene that has drawn worldwide criticism.
Barzan Ibrahim, Saddam's half brother and former intelligence chief, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, head of Iraq's Revolutionary Court, had been found guilty along with Saddam of in the killing of 148 Shiite Muslims after a 1982 assassination attempt on the former leader in the town of Dujail north of Baghdad.
"They (government) called us before dawn and told us to send someone. I sent a judge to witness the execution and it happened," al-Faroon said.
Good riddance to them both. Now they're re-united with Sammy and Himmler in hell.
Two officials in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, confirmed that the hangings took place around 6 a.m. local time.
The executions reportedly occurred in the same Saddam-era military intelligence headquarters building in north Baghdad where the former leader was hanged two days before the end of 2006, according to an Iraqi general, who would not allow use of his name because he was not authorized to release the information. The building is located in the Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah.
And why not? We already know the gallows mechanism works as advertised.
The two men were to have been hanged along with Saddam on Dec. 30, but Iraqi authorities decided to execute Saddam alone on what National Security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie called a "special day."
And special it was.
A lawyer for the two men told The Associated Press recently that they were taken from their cells and told they were going to be hanged on the same day Saddam was executed. Issam Ghazawi, a member of Saddam's defense team for the past two years, said he met individually with Ibrahim and al-Bandar recently, and that Ibrahim told him they were escorted from their cells and told they were also going to be executed.
"The Americans took me and al-Bandar from our cells on the same day of Saddam's execution to an office inside the prison at 1 a.m. They asked us to collect our belongings because they intend to execute us at dawn," Ibrahim reportedly said. He said the two men were also told to write their wills.
Al-Bandar and Ibrahim were taken back to their prison cells nearly nine hours later, according to Ghazawi. "Their execution should be commuted under such circumstances because of the psychological pain they endured as they waited to hang," he said.
So the next time we'll nudge the Iraqi government to move along.
Ghazawi quoted as Al-Bandar as saying he "wished to have been executed with President Saddam." Ibrahim, the lawyer said, "was in the worst condition. He kept crying over the death of his brother and said it was a great loss for the family and the Arab world."
Since when do we grant wishes? You wanted to hang with Sammy? Umm, no. You swing on an ordinary day with a bare minimum of witnesses and no public notice. How's that?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/15/2007 00:25 ||
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#4
Barzan was the life of the party at the Dujayl trial. Among his best days: sitting on the floor and facing back at the press gallery sulking like a 5-yr old (and noticing Kim Dozier/CBS sitting in the front row of the gallery, and staring like a guy who lives in prison and doesn't see purdy women too often); wearing his dishdasha one day after No. 1 had switched back to his dark suit following a protest day involving "casual wear" - Saddam gave him looks all day that fairly screamed "you idiot, we gave up on that clothing passive resistance thing yesterday, you look like shit!"; delivering his own expert testimony, trying to debunk his signatures on various incriminating documents by explaining that anything can be forged, and citing "an American movie" ("Catch Me If You Can") as authority for his claim (causing Ryan Chilcote of CNN to be caught on camera, just behind Barzan over his right shoulder, laughing uproariously).
Most telling, and less amusing, however, were the plaintive, almost embarrassed words about Barzan of one veteran Iraqi journalist who attends most days at the couthouse: "such people ran my country, and murdered millions, for thirty years."
Awad was known to courthouse rats as "Dr. Evil" - he didn't resemble the Austin Powers character, but his appearance - dark and hostile eyes always glowering out from under his keffiyeh - invariably produced photos that made him look like a Central Casting bad guy (check the web for photo pool images of Awad in the courtroom).
Awad will only be missed in that he won't sit through the "special courts"/"merchants" case, if it comes to trial. He'd obviously be a central defendant then, and that case, properly done, would be the quintessential case about the Ba'athist tyranny, as it concerns the use of political kangaroo courts as tools of repression against all sects and groups.
#5
Yes, and on WTOP radio this morning was the whining about poor Barzan, who had been soooo sad since Saddam was strung up. Also the obligatory, "Now the Sunnis will really be mad because of the way these guys were hung." I think that's 'cuz one of the heads was reported to have been yanked off. Ouch!
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/15/2007 6:35 Comments ||
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#6
Awad Hamed al-Bandar with table cloth
Awad Hamed al-Bandar with out table cloth
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
BAGHDAD, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Two of Saddam Hussein's aides were hanged before dawn on Monday, the Iraqi government said, admitting that the head of his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti was also ripped from his body during the execution.
#9
I wonder how Bashir Assad's neck would hold up?
Posted by: ed ||
01/15/2007 7:57 Comments ||
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#10
Ibrahim al-Tikriti was also ripped from his body during the execution.
A jaw flinging headpopper? They very obviously neglected to consult the Rantburg executions and hangings height/weight, rope length, slack, length of fall and velosity charts SOP. Why do they not consult the Rant first?
#13
Sometimes the rope is so tight you have to cut if free......
Posted by: john ||
01/15/2007 9:10 Comments ||
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#14
Does this go in the "Breaking Noose" category?
Posted by: Mike ||
01/15/2007 9:36 Comments ||
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#15
My response to the news about Ibrahim:
OTOH, There is wailing and gnashing of teeth from the usual suspects.
NPR's usual lead-story, the American soldier death-watch, has been a little slow lately, so Morning Edition had to open with the "grisly" news about the hideous fate of Saddam's poor half-brother. They gave a good third of the news segment to the various reactions from horrified terror-lovers and dictator-tools. The tone was what you might expect when some hideous atrocity was being reported.
Admittedly, it is a bit untidy that the rat's head and his ass ended up as separate assemblies, so the Iraqi executioners should probably make an effort to polish their professional skills. Practice makes perfect, though. By the time they finish hanging the Saddamite fat-cats and start on small-fry and tools, it'll be a snap
#17
They gave a good third of the news segment to the various reactions from horrified terror-lovers and dictator-tools. The tone was what you might expect when some hideous atrocity was being reported.
Ah. The "Barney" generation. As in, Barney the Purple Dinosaur! Saints preserve us.
Posted by: Chuck Darwin ||
01/15/2007 11:12 Comments ||
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#18
Sometimes, I want to use an axehandle to wake people up. Other times, I want to use it to put them to sleep. My "little list" is getting longer and longer.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/15/2007 12:41 Comments ||
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#19
"Atomic Conspiracy, listening to NPR so you don't have to". A friend tells me that on the first day of the war in 2003 NPR played funereal music - someone called it "music to lose by." Same guy tells me that on the day of Queen Nancy's coronation, NPR was practically as upbeat as a John Philip Sousa festival.
Why does one cent of MY money go to producing that crap?
The Palestinian Authority security forces have foiled an attempt by Hamas to assassinate senior PA leaders in the Gaza Strip, including PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah legislator Muhammed Dahlan, Palestinian security sources said Monday.
The sources said the security forces discovered over the past few days a number of underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip that were dug along major roads used by PA and Fatah leaders. Some of the tunnels were also discovered beneath the homes of top Fatah officials in the same area, the sources said.
Abdel Hakim Awad, a senior Fatah official in the Gaza Strip, said the tons of explosives were discovered in the tunnels, some of which were traced back to the interior of Hamas- controlled mosques.
"There are plans to assassinate senior Fatah leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas and Muhammed Dahlan," he said. "Otherwise, how can anyone explain the network of booby-trapped underground tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip, particularly the main Salah a-Din Street?"
The convoys of both Abbas and Dahlan often pass through Salah a-Din Street on their way to Israel and the West Bank. Hamas leaders have accused Dahlan of being behind an assassination attempt on the life of PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh several weeks ago. Last week, thousands of Hamas supporters staged demonstrations in the Gaza Strip where they condemned Dahlan as a collaborator with Israel and the US.
Awad also revealed that one of the tunnels was supposed to provide access to the headquarters of the PA National Security Force near Jabalya refugee camp.
He expressed astonishment at the fact that Hamas was plotting to assassinate Fatah leaders despite reports that the two parties were close to reaching a deal on the
formation of a unity government. "This proves that Hamas is using double-talk," he charged. "On the one hand, their leaders are talking about the resumption of the unity government talks, while on the other hand the movement's actions on the ground suggest that they are headed toward escalation."
Warning against the grave consequences of such assassinations, the Fatah official said his party has briefed all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, on the discovery of the underground tunnels. "Any attack on our leaders will draw a scorched earth response from Fatah," he said. Awad also accused Hamas members of kidnapping four Fatah activists and shooting a fifth in separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday night.
PA officials said talks over the formation of a unity government might resume in the coming days. They added that Abbas was planning to appoint Dahlan as head of the PA's National Security Council. According to the officials, former Finance Minister Salam Fayyad may return to his job in a new unity government, while the Foreign Ministry would be handed over to independent legislator Ziad Abu Amr.
A senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip denied the charges that his movement was planning to assassinate Abbas and Dahlan, explaining that the tunnels were supposed to be used to repel a possible attack by the IDF. "The latest allegations are part of a campaign of incitement waged by Fatah against Hamas," the official told The Jerusalem Post.
In another development, a Hamas leader said Monday that his movement could liberate most of the land of Palestine and establish a Palestinian state within 10 years provided that the Palestinians united and formed a strong army.
This is the first time that a Hamas official talks about plans to establish a Palestinian army. Some PA officials have in the past accused Hamas of trying to establish its own army in the Gaza Strip, noting that the movement's paramilitary "Executive Force" was already acting as if its members were soldiers.
"Hamas could achieve a fateful victory [over Israel] if the internal fighting stops and once the Palestinians develop their military capabilities," said Hamad al-Rakab, a top Hamas official in the Khan Younis district in the southern Gaza Strip.
"When we talk about victory, we mean the liberation of the land, the establishment of a Palestinian state on most of the territories of historic Palestine and guaranteeing the return of all refugees to their original homes."
According to Rakab, Hamas's goal could be achieved if the Palestinians met two conditions - ending internal strife and establishing a Palestinian army consisting of all the armed groups.
He admitted, however, that the idea of a Palestinian army remains a "remote dream" at this stage. He suggested that until then the Palestinian armed groups establish a "joint operations command" to coordinate attacks on Israel.
He also called for developing the technological capabilities of Hamas's armed wing, Izzaddin Kassam, especially with regards to rockets and missiles.
#1
I can only hope that they kill each other off in large enough numbers to render to whole idea of "palestine" redundant. I doubt they could run a bath nevermind a country.
GAZA (Rooters) - Palestinian security forces uncovered an extensive network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip that the Fatah faction said on Monday could have been used to assassinate its top leaders, including President Mahmoud Abbas.
The ruling Hamas faction would not say whether it dug the tunnels, discovered by Fatah-dominated security forces in central and northern Gaza on Monday and over the weekend.
A Fatah spokesman, Abdel-Hakim Awad, held Hamas responsible but stopped short of accusing the group of being behind any specific assassination plot.
Awad said some of the tunnels were lined with explosives and ran directly beneath the homes of prominent Fatah members.
One of the tunnels ran underneath the main road leading to the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel, a key route used by some Palestinian workers into the Jewish state.
The crossing and road are also used by Abbas and Mohammad Dahlan, a possible successor to Abbas, and other Fatah officials to reach the West Bank.
"This represents ... a premeditated intention to carry out assassination attempts against leaders and symbols of Fatah," Awad said, singling out Abbas and Dahlan.
"Any attack on any of our leaders will turn the Palestinian situation into serious chaos and internal fighting, which will spare no one," Awad said.
At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Abbas of Fatah called for fresh elections last month, raising the stakes in his bitter power struggle with the governing Hamas Islamists.
GUNMEN
Abbas said he would give negotiations over a unity government with Hamas one last chance.
But Fatah's accusations about the tunnels could cast a shadow over the renewed talks.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, declined to comment on the tunnels.
"Hamas will not respond to such media provocations ... in order to provide a positive atmosphere to defuse the crisis and to allow the resumption of national dialogue over the formation of a unity government," Barhoum said.
Earlier on Monday, Hamas-led policemen arrested six gunmen who stormed into a U.N. office in the Gaza Strip looking for foreigners to kidnap, a spokesman for the force said.
The spokesman, Islam Shahwan, said the gunmen, whose identities and affiliations he declined to disclose, had sought to seize international staff at the Khan Younis headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA's media adviser in Gaza, said no foreigners were present when gunmen, whose number he put at 10, barged in.
"We have detained six gunmen ... (and they) are now being interrogated," Shahwan said. Ouch. Bet that hurts. A lot.
Gaza has been hit by a spate of kidnappings in which gunmen attempting to press the Palestinian government for jobs or to free prisoners have seized foreigners, all of whom have been released, usually within hours or days.
Recently, some kidnappers in Gaza sought ransoms but it is unclear whether any money was paid.
Just an OK game, though, IMHO. I'm still an SJG fan, from back before there even was an SJG.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
01/15/2007 15:18 Comments ||
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Awad said some of the tunnels were lined with explosives and ran directly beneath the homes of prominent Fatah members.
Hey, it's the Gunpowder Plot, Gaza Style. After interrogating and dispensing justice to the perps, Gaza my have its own Guy Fawkes Night soon.
The King gave persmission to torture Guy Fawkes, to wit:
"The gentler tortours are to be first used unto him, et sic per gradus ad maiora tenditur [and thus by steps extended to greater ones], and so God speed your good work." Substitute Allan for God and you have a wrap.
Barbara Skolaut, please pass the popcorn.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/15/2007 15:47 Comments ||
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#3 Paul - My new industrial strength poppers just arrived.
Here's a bowl for you - with extra butter. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/15/2007 16:06 Comments ||
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A gun displayed by the Palestinians as that of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, was not in fact his, Channel 1 reported Sunday evening. According to the report, the gun was "completely different" then the one which Shalit was carrying.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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IDF soldiers caught ten Chinese citizens near the Egyptian border on Monday night who were trying to infiltrate into Israel. The ten were detained by immigration police for interrogation. "Drat! Another hundred yards and we'da been home free! We could just blended in with the population and nobody woulda been the wiser!"
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Infiltrators for a government or trying to open a resturant?
#5
WTF? Why would Chinese want to sneak into Israel? Could it be that Iran sold somebody some Chinese weapons and now the buyer needs some help with the technical details?
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/15/2007 0:59 Comments ||
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Mike N, assuming that's a serious question. Israeli per capita income is high as are wage rates. A decent restaurant would be a nice little earner and pay it's illegal workers way more than they get in China.
#7
MN: WTF? Why would Chinese want to sneak into Israel?
China is one of the poorest countries in East Asia - which is why toys that used to say "Made in Thailand" now say "Made in China". And most of East Asia is poorer than Israel.
#9
Uighars should be so lucky as to make it to Israel : the Han Chinese are very carefully wiping out any Uighars that show any level of confrontation. The Chinese may support Islamic regimes when they can get oil from them, but any Islamic leanings will get you shot in China.
#11
Dang, #10 Sgt. - I've gotta eat there the next time I'm in the Big Apple! ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/15/2007 19:10 Comments ||
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as info Israel has guest workers from the far east, mainly thais (and I suppose Chinese), IIUC, so there is a community they could blend into. The Israelis started importing asian and east european guest workers, when Pal labor was cut off by the 2nd intifada and associated border closures. There havent been poor Jewish sources of immigratant labor since the Yemenite and Moroccan Jews have gone middle class.
A dog was killed overnight Sunday when a grenade was thrown towards a house in Beersheba. Aside from the dog, no one was wounded and no damage was reported. Police set up roadblocks in the area in an attempt to catch the attacker who sped away from the scene in a car. Hmmm... If I'da had a grenade handy the same thing would have happened in Baltimore last night.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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Where's the outrage about the slaughter of innocents?
For heaven's sake, the poor canine wasn't even a Joooo!
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/15/2007 6:57 Comments ||
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My neighbor has a couple of Chihuahuas that yap at all hours. I wonder...
#4
Homeowner was bothered with a gorilla hanging in a tree outside his house. He called the local Gorilla Removal Service™.
Removal guy arrived with a chihuahua, stick, handcuffs, and shotgun. He says "I'll climb the tree and poke the gorilla with a stick. when he falls out of the tree, the chihuahua will grab his, er, private parts. when he puts his hands in front of him, put the handcuffs on."
Homeowner looks at the shotgun and says "What's this for?"
"If I fall out of the tree first, shoot the chihuahua!"
You wanted a story. sorry.
Posted by: john ||
01/15/2007 9:21 Comments ||
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IDF Givati Brigade soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians who were crawling towards the border fence in the northern Gaza Strip, south of the Erez crossing overnight Sunday. The IDF said that the two were carrying a bomb, proven by the several blasts that were heard after the shots were fired. There were no casualties among the soldiers.
Also Sunday night, Egyptian security forces discovered a large stockpile of explosives near El-Arish, in the Sinai. Security officials said that at least 500 kilograms of TNT were found inside two gas canisters and big plastic bags as a result of intelligence work. However, no one has yet been arrested over the discovery.
Earlier Sunday, senior officers said that in the face of continued violations of the Gaza cease-fire, including daily Kassam rocket attacks and the smuggling of weapons across the Philadelphi Corridor from Sinai, the IDF "was more ready than ever" to launch a massive ground operation against the terror infrastructure in the Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
to launch a massive ground operation against the terror infrastructure in the Strip
Since the "terror infrastructure" includes just about every body above room temp, make it truly decisive and flush EVERYONE either into the Med or into the sewer (not that there's much difference around Gaza, I hear).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/15/2007 12:46 Comments ||
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the two were carrying a bomb, proven by the several blasts that were heard after the shots were fired
Two bombs planted by suspected Muslim insurgents damaged a bridge and disrupted rail traffic in parts of southern Thailand on Monday, officials said. No injuries were reported.
A bomb exploded on rail tracks running through the Rangae district of Narathiwat province, leaving the tracks intact but prompting about an hour's delay as security personnel inspected the area for more bombs, said Montakan Sriwilas, a spokeswoman for the State Railway of Thailand. Train services resumed around 10 a.m. (0300 GMT). He said authorities believe insurgents were behind the blast.
Another bomb exploded before dawn at the foot of a bridge in the Bajor district of Narathiwat province, causing minor damage, police said.
Separately, one soldier was killed and five others injured in a bombing in nearby Pattani province Sunday night.
At least five soldiers and six civilians were killed in Sri Lanka as Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops traded long-range artillery fire in the islands restive east, officials said Sunday.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired artillery at army positions in Mankerni in the district of Batticaloa on Saturday killing five soldiers in two attacks, the defence ministry said in a statement. Four soldiers were reported killed and two injured soldiers were admitted to hospital, the ministry said, adding another soldier was killed and one more wounded in the second attack in the same area.
The rebels said five civilians were injured on Sunday in the military artillery attacks. Police said six civilians were also found shot dead in five places in the islands northern and eastern regions as well as elsewhere Sunday. Investigations were underway to identify the victims and track down the killers, police said.
The killings came as Sri Lankan police commandos captured three more Tamil Tiger rebel bases in the islands east, raising to 11 the number seized from the guerrillas, an official said Sunday.
The elite Special Task Force commandos took control of the three bases of the LTTE in the district of Ampara late Saturday following a weekend offensive, a local official said. One commando was wounded when he stepped on an anti-personnel mine (during the offensive in Ampara), the police official told AFP. He said the separatist rebels withdrew in the face of the military advance. There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tigers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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01/15/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
It's the mystery of the floating cheesecloth. Why does it hate us?
Posted by: Almost Anonymous5839 ||
01/15/2007 0:58 Comments ||
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Another Dorothy. Is there a pattern?
What's next? Dorothy and Toto?
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/15/2007 6:36 Comments ||
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It's the mystery of the floating cheesecloth. Why does it hate us?
"cheesecloth"! careful 5839 thats no stinking cheesecloth, thats got enchantresses written all over it, it's one of dem Siren Sweetly Singing Man Nets.
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.
A military operation in which a British soldier died in Afghanistan at the weekend left about 30 Taliban fighters dead, Afghan police said on Sunday. The British forces, however, could not confirm the rebel toll but said possibly a significant number were killed in the fighting in the Kajaki district of the southern province of Helmand that started on Saturday. 
Somali gunmen battled government and Ethiopian troops in Mogadishu's heaviest fighting since the ouster of hardline Islamists last month as the fledgling adminstration silenced four broadcasters for allegedly fomenting unrest. At least two people died Monday in a gunbattle between forces and rebels in southern Mogadishu, the Islamists' traditional stronghold, while a policeman was gunned down when a gang raided a cache of weapons he was guarding. The deaths underscored the scale of the task facing President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's weak interim government, which was only able to supplant the Islamists with the aid of the Ethiopians. 
Announcing the seizure of rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, heavy machine-guns and AK-47 rifles during the raids, a spokesman for the transitional government said the rule of law rather than the gun would prevail in the future.
(SomaliNet) At least one soldier of the transitional government has been killed and civilian person was injured in ambush attack in Somalia capital, Mogadishu later on Sunday amid series of explosions and attacks against the presence of the Ethiopian forces in the country. 
A senior bodyguard for slain Chechen rebel leader 
MIRANSHAH: Pro-Taliban militants on Sunday shot dead a suspected Uzbek fighter and captured another in Butkhela village, officials said. The pair was travelling in a car and did not stop at a barrier set up by local Taliban, after which they were chased and shot at, a Pakistan intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Local villagers said militants frequently checked vehicles on the road, which links North Waziristan to Bannu. Police in Bannu also confirmed the incident. 
City police on Sunday recovered a time bomb near the main gate of the Metrological Department situated in front of the NWFP Assembly building, police said. Capital City Police Chief Malik Saad told Daily Times that a High Court guard, Head Constable Murad Khan, informed East Cantt police station officials, at 11:00 am, of a shopping bag containing a 1.5 kg bomb. 
As 20,000 more US troops head for Iraq, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, the only correspondent reporting regularly from behind the country's sectarian battle lines, reveals how the Sunni insurgency has changed.
Nidal al-Mughrabi
IDF Givati Brigade soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians who were crawling towards the border fence in the northern Gaza Strip, south of the Erez crossing overnight Sunday. The IDF said that the two were carrying a bomb, proven by the several blasts that were heard after the shots were fired. There were no casualties among the soldiers. 
At least five soldiers and six civilians were killed in Sri Lanka as Tamil Tiger rebels and government troops traded long-range artillery fire in the islands restive east, officials said Sunday.
