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Meshaal rejects U.S. timeline, threatens terrible things
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 5: Russia-Former Soviet Union
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3 00:00 Woozle Elmeter2970 [1]
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Afghanistan
Afghan police raid Taliban ‘suicide prep school’
Afghan police acting on a tip stormed a madrassa in western Farah province seizing 22 Taliban members, according to officials. The raid targeted well known Taliban commander Mullah Hayatullah Khan but was not amongst those arrested. Most of those arrested are teenagers thought to be undertaking suicide bomb indoctrination.

Farah province has recently seen an upsurge in Taliban related violence including a spate of suicide bombings and high profile assassinations. The targeting of Mullah Hayatullah Khan and other known commanders is the latest tactic to be widely employed by ISAF and Afghan forces intent on spoiling the Taliban’s military objectives.

Over the last week Taliban commanders have been targeted in Khost, Helmand, Farah, Zabul and Kandahar. A group of Taliban in Kandahar responsible for bombing the Alokozai tribal elder Mullah Naqib was seized during one of these operations. According to an ISAF statement, sub-commander Engineer Majid was shot twice by Afghan police during a fierce clash between militants and police in Khost province. They subsequently arrested him as he fled the battlefield seeking medical treatment at a local health clinic . Last week in Farah, police along with the help of local villagers also killed and captured Taliban commanders attempting to abduct Indian engineers.

ISAF commanders have recently touted their success in targeting Taliban leaders. “The Taliban extremist leadership in the south have been taken off guard by Operation Achilles and are on the defensive at this stage,” said Major General Ton van Loon, an ISAF regional commander. “We have inflicted serious damage to their command and control infrastructure as well as their ability to re-supply.”
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Taliban Commanders Killed Near Shindand (including hostage swap-ee)
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Coalition and Afghan National Security Forces have received intelligence which indicates over 10 Taliban commanders were among those killed during fighting in the village of Parmekan, 23 kilometers (14.26 miles) south of Shindand, Herat Province, on April 27 and 29. One of the senior Taliban commanders reportedly killed was from Helmand Province and recently released with four other Taliban members in exchange for an Italian journalist who was taken hostage two months ago.
?Homing device implanted before release?
Two other senior Taliban commanders, believed to have been killed in the battles, were known enemies of the Afghan government for the past three years.

Reporting and intelligence suggests that most of the senior Taliban commanders and sub-commanders entered the Zerkoh Valley to reinforce enemy fighters in the village of Parmekan at the conclusion of the first battle against Coalition and Afghan National Police forces. They were later killed during the second battle.
Ran to the rescue of their comrades, did they? Goooood ....
Following reports of civilian casualties during the operation, ...
If we got TEN Taliban leaders, the fluffy ducklings around them may have been civilians, but were most assuredly NOT innocent.
... both Combined Joint Task Force-82 and NATO's International Security Assistance Force are working with the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to make inquiries into the incident. “Coalition and Afghan National Army Forces value the life of all Afghan civilians while Taliban fighters have been known to use Afghan civilians as human shields when attacking Coalition and Afghan National Security Forces,” said Maj. Christopher Belcher, a CJTF-82 spokesperson. “The lengthy battle against the Taliban fighters is an indication of the precautions taken by Coalition and Afghan National Security Forces to positively identify enemy fighters and prevent the harm to any innocent Afghan civilians who did not vacate the area.”
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If we got TEN Taliban leaders, the fluffy ducklings around them may have been civilians, but were most assuredly NOT innocent.

That's a given, also the expected lie tht "Innocent Civilians" were even in the area.

I strongly suspect they only become "Innocent" after death.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/06/2007 8:57 Comments || Top||

#2  You know, that homing device thing might be a good rumor to spread. You can't trust anyone that's been released because they have a microchip in them.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 05/06/2007 12:38 Comments || Top||

#3  For some reason I was thinking it was a coincidence that the reports of ther deaths of tens of civilians in Afstan and the report on Marines' mental health were released around the same time. Now I don't think it was so much of a coincidence.
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 12:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Sea - are you paranoid or prescient?

I think it's Hizballah Islamic Press™ (HIP) at work again, warming up for the summer offensive.
Posted by: Bobby || 05/06/2007 13:24 Comments || Top||


Freed Taliban Commander Killed
Important Taliban commanders were among more than 130 people killed in a recent counter-insurgency operation in the western Herat province, insiders confided to Pajhwok Afghan News on Thursday. A key commander released recently along with four others in exchange for Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo died in the Zerkoh raid, which also left over 50 civilians dead, touched off furious protests and prompted President Hamid Karzai to warn foreign troops against collateral damage.

The much-criticised prisoner swap resulted in the release of Ustad Yasir, Mufti Latifullah Hakimi, Mansoor Ahmad, Hamdullah and Mullah Ghaffar.

Tribal elders and Taliban said three militant commanders, including one freed as a result of the prisoner exchange were killed in the Herat operations, jointly conducted by Afghan and Coalition forces.

Haji Abdul Hakim, a Taliban commander in Greshk district of the southern Helmand province, revealed Mullah Ghaffar, Mullah Jan and Mullah Janan perished in the Herat clashes.

Mullah Ahmadullah, a Taliban commander in Marja district, said Mullah Ghaffar was laid to rest in Nawzad and Mullah Lal Jan in Khan Nishin district of Helmand on Wednesday.

Haji Muhammad Wazir, a tribal elder from Marja, confirmed six dead bodies including those of the commanders had been brought to Helmand from Shindand in Herat. Brig Gen Nabi Jan Mullahkhel also said the dead bodies had been brought to Helmand, but stopped short of giving more details
This article starring:
Brig Gen Nabi Jan Mullahkhel
Daniele Mastrogiacomo
HAJI ABDUL HAKIMTaliban
Haji Muhammad Wazir
HAMDULLAHTaliban
MANSUR AHMEDTaliban
MUFTI LATIFULLAH HAKIMITaliban
MULLAH AHMEDULLAHTaliban
MULLAH GHAFARTaliban
MULLAH JANTaliban
MULLAH JANANTaliban
MULLAH LAL JANTaliban
USTAD YASIRTaliban
Posted by: Gromogum Elmereter5708 || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  left over 50 civilians dead, touched off furious protests and prompted President Hamid Karzai to warn foreign troops against collateral damage

A sure sign Afghanistan is taking on signs of "civilization" - their media swallows every anti-American story from the Hizballah News Factory.
Posted by: Bobby || 05/06/2007 7:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Damn that's a grisly .jpg. Still they are the proto-commies leading the 100 million.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/06/2007 9:42 Comments || Top||

#3  So much for this Catch & Release bullshit.
Posted by: Zenster || 05/06/2007 14:01 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Plane Disappears Over Sinai
No evidence of Islamofascist terrorist involvement yet, but given where the disappearance took place and the identity of the missing, I figure sooner or later an Islamist video will pop up on YouTube showing the operataion.
CAIRO, May 6 (UPI) -- Rescuers searched the Sinai Sunday for a plane carrying members of a team responsible for security arrangements between Israel and Egypt. The plane belonging to the Multi-National Force disappeared in clear weather about 80 miles from al-Nakheel in the Sinai, reported KUNA, the Kuwait news agency.

Authorities fear the plane may have hit a mountain before crashing, KUNA reported.

The Multi-National Force is responsible for security arrangements between Israel and Egypt, as stipulated by the Camp David peace treaty.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/06/2007 10:16 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  9 Peacekeepers Die in Sinai Plane Crash
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
May 06, 2007 6:53 AM EDT
CAIRO, Egypt - Nine foreign peacekeepers, including French and Canadian soldiers, were killed Sunday when a French plane attached to the Sinai's multinational peacekeeping force crashed in a remote, mountainous area of the desert, the force's spokesman and police said.

Force spokesman Normand St. Pierre said as many as eight of the dead were French, but did not have exact figures. He said a "higher than normal" load of passengers and crew were aboard the aircraft at the time of the crash because it was on a training mission.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/06/2007 10:26 Comments || Top||

#2  "...may have hit a mountain before crashing..." Are they indicating that the plane bounced / glanced off a 'cumulo-granite' cloud before finally impacting? If they haven't found the wreckage yet, you can they know? They will have to follow any debris field back to initial impact point to be sure. This assumes no mid air break up or Mayday call.
Posted by: USN, ret. || 05/06/2007 15:15 Comments || Top||

#3  Bad biz. But gaia is ever want the airplanes for her own.

Sigh...


Posted by: Shipman || 05/06/2007 15:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Cumulo-granite cloud? Oh, my.
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 15:17 Comments || Top||

#5  No better way to teach the victim mentality than by being one.
Posted by: Zenster || 05/06/2007 16:30 Comments || Top||

#6  In this case it's an awfully short-lived message, though.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/06/2007 17:47 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Shibir leader held while videoing army camp
Army personnel arrested a Shibir leader while he along with his associate was taking video footages of an army camp in Chapainawabganj on Friday afternoon. Police said the detainee, Abdur Rashid, was 'baitul maal' (treasury secretary) of Chapainawabganj municipality unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir. However, Rashid's accomplice managed to flee with the video camera.

Rashid was handed over to Shibganj police. Police later raided his house and seized several objectionable books and documents. Police said Rashid would be produced before a court today with a remand petition. Rashid is a first year student of Radhakantapur College and hailed from Pitalitala under Shibganj upazila of the district. According to a top army official of the camp, an army sentry noticed that Rashid and his associate were taking video footages of the army camp. "As they were challenged the man, who was shooting, ran away with the video camera," added the official.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
UK paper shows video of FBI's test of shoe bomb
Truthers don't watch this video. It was obviously a set up to make you look bad...
AN FBI video has revealed in chilling detail how a British terrorist planned to blow a passenger jet out of the sky. The footage — obtained by the News of the World from security sources — show the shoe-bomb blast tearing a hole through the metal fuselage as if it were tin foil. It proves that if the attack by Brit Richard Reid on American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami in 2001 had succeeded, all 197 on board would have died.

The video of the FBI reconstruction of his device was handed to us following the end of the year-long Operation Crevice fertiliser bomb trial. Five men were jailed for a total of 95 years for their part in a plot to blitz major targets. They included the Bluewater shopping centre and Ministry of Sound nightclub.

The film was shot at the US Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia. It was supplied to us to prove just how deadly and effective even the smallest of explosive devices developed by al-Qaeda are. The shoe-bomb was constructed from exactly the same ingredients and to the same dimensions as the one Reid possessed. Once detonated, the video shows the jet exploding from every angle as the shoe — with just ounces of PETN, a military explosive and TATP — triacetone triperoxide — blows a hole in the fuselage. The blast rips the plane in half, its tail snaps off and sheets of reinforced metal from the outside of the plane disintegrate. This is what Reid's bomb would have done to a plane full of passengers flying at 30,000ft, if the detonator had not been faulty.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 15:15 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  JHC ! This ought to bring some reality to a bunch of mushy minds. Is there any doubt that we'll kick ANY f**king flying imams or any other Muslims off planes with the slighest suspicion. Not only do we have the right, we have the responsibility. Let them walk.
Posted by: Woozle Elmeter2970 || 05/06/2007 17:53 Comments || Top||

#2  HFnS! But that video reminds me of a video I saw some years ago when they were testing bombs going off in the cargo hold, which is where this explosion seems to emanate from. Are we sure it isn't one of those and this story is ginned up? It just seems to test the limits of reality and a bit beyond. Could RDX or C4 do this? What was Reid's bomb made of?
Posted by: gorb || 05/06/2007 21:26 Comments || Top||

#3  LGF sez the vid's an old one - the newspaper got hosed
Posted by: Frank G || 05/06/2007 21:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Yeah, I just saw that.
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 22:30 Comments || Top||


Guantanamo inmate says he only fought Ethiopians
A "high value" Somali prisoner at Guantanamo denied having Al Qaeda ties but said he fought Ethiopian soldiers in his homeland and had the right to do so, according to a Pentagon transcript released on Friday. The US military says Guleed Hassan Ahmed, a Somali in his early 30s, was a member of al-Ittihad al-Islami, a militant Islamist group the US government classifies as a terrorist organization. The military has previously given the man's name as Gouled Hassan Dourad. It also says he was an Al Qaeda cell leader in Djibouti and was part of a group that killed Ethiopians in the Somali capital of Mogadishu in 2002. Ahmed declined to attend an administrative hearing at the Guantanamo US naval base in Cuba on April 28 to assess whether he had been properly classified as an "enemy combatant."
Well then, let's give him to the Aethiops ...
Yes, let's. That seems fair.
About 380 suspected Al Qaeda or Taliban fighters are still being held at the US military prison on the base. But he submitted a written statement to the hearing officers, according to the censored transcript. In it, Ahmed acknowledged receiving paramilitary training in Afghanistan and said he fought alongside al-Ittihad al-Islami but never joined the group and had no links to Al Qaeda. "My training was solely for the purpose of fighting in Somalia, but not against Americans," he wrote. "I did fight jihad alongside al-Ittihad against Ethiopians, which is my right to do," Ahmed was quoted as saying. "If Ethiopian military members came to Mogadishu, I would defend against them. That is my right to do as a Somali but it is against my religious beliefs to fight against civilians."
This article starring:
GULID HASAN AHMEDal-Ittihad al-Islami
al-Ittihad al-Islami
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I fought the dipthongs, and the Æ won.
Posted by: Shipman || 05/06/2007 15:18 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Peshawar court declares 8 JI officials proclaimed offenders
A local court on Saturday declared eight former and sitting Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) union council nazims and councilors as proclaimed offenders for smashing multinational companies’ billboards carrying photos of women and destroying cable connections three years ago after the formation of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government in NWFP.

None of the accused, who include former UC nazim Tariq Mateen, naib nazim Sirajuddin, Jamshid Munir, sitting nazim Dost Muhammad Khan, councilor Niaz Ali, UC nazim Khalid Gul Mohmand, Rahmat Saeed and Maulana Masih Gul, appeared in court and Magistrate Ihsanul Haq , under section 512 of the Criminal Procedure Code, declared the eight proclaimed offenders for not appearing.

On May 23, 2003, Gulbahar Police Station charged JI nazims and councilors with damaging multinational companies’ billboards displaying women’s photos and cable network supply lines during their protest against obscenity on GT Road Peshawar. The police also charged the JI activists under Section 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act, but the NWFP prosecution department later dropped the charges of terrorism. After the incident and threats from local government officials, multinational companies removed pictures of women from their billboards across the city of Peshawar. The officials claimed that the Taliban, whose influence is growing in the North West Frontier province, consider the depiction of uncovered women un-Islamic. They said, “These multinational companies want to promote obscenity, lewdness and vulgarity.”
This article starring:
DOST MUHAMAD KHANJamaat-e-Islami
JAMSHID MUNIRJamaat-e-Islami
KHALID GUL MOHMANDJamaat-e-Islami
Magistrate Ihsanul Haq
MAULANA MASIH GULJamaat-e-Islami
NIAZ ALIJamaat-e-Islami
RAHMAT SAIDJamaat-e-Islami
SIRAJUDINJamaat-e-Islami
TARIQ MATINJamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Odd, my idea of good taste on billboards involves Imams, Rope and insufficient reach to touch ground. this shit would stop quickly if the real instigators were dealt with
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/06/2007 9:01 Comments || Top||

#2  They won't be dealt with. The charges will either drop or evaporate.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 9:25 Comments || Top||


4 rockets fired at Kohlu check post
Unidentified militants fired four rockets at a security check post near Kohlu on Saturday. No loss of life or property was reported because the rockets landed at an abandoned place. Security forces have started searching for the suspects.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Shia man shot in DI Khan
Gunmen killed a Shia man here on Saturday, days after a weeklong curfew was lifted in Dera Ismail Khan, police sources said on Saturday. The sources said that two masked men on a motorcycle opened fire at Imdad Hussain, killing him at the scene. “The killing took place six kilometres from Dera city, and we are investigating if it was sectarian,” they added. Police told reporters later that Mastullah Khan, the alleged killer of three of the four Shia men, had been “arrested” and was being investigated.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  These waki Pakis.
Posted by: gromgoru || 05/06/2007 1:33 Comments || Top||

#2  shot in DI Khan

Bet that hurts, just what body part is Di Kahn?
Anywhere near Di Balls?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/06/2007 8:55 Comments || Top||


Pakistanis smash cars for Islam
Around 200 armed men have forcibly halted dozens of cars and smashed their cassette players in northwestern Pakistan in a bid to impose Taliban-style values. A government official confirmed Saturday's incident but did not say if authorities planned any action against the men who also smashed mobile phones and ordered men to grow beards.

The men took up positions beside a road near Khar, the main town in the tribal region of Bajaur, where they stopped and searched passing vehicles, witnesses said. "They smashed cassette players running music and mobile phones fitted with cameras," a driver, whose vehicle was searched, said. The driver, who preferred anonymity, also said the armed men had urged clean-shaven tribesmen to grow beards.

Pakistan's lawless tribal belt is well-known as a hotbed of support for Taliban fighters in neighbouring Afghanistan. Heavily-armed tribes also shelter many groups and individuals who wish to overthrow Pakistan's government and replace it with a Taliban-style theocracy. Critics say the government's influence in the areas has weakened considerably since authorities signed a series of peace deals with some tribal leaders.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm with Old Patriot on this one. Arc-light the living fuck out of this entire area, then come back and do it again when all the relatives turn up for any funerals. These twisted Neanderthal scumbags are the heart and soul of Talibanization and need to be ejected from the gene pool with a catapult. There is nothing worth saving about these people. They will drive Islamic radicalism until whatever control they have is wrenched from their grasp. Leave their entire territory a lunar landscape of tortured smoking rubble pour encourager les autres.
Posted by: Zenster || 05/06/2007 4:58 Comments || Top||

#2  Too late for that now.. this has spread to Lahore itself, where in the British built Mayo hospital, the TVs of patients have been taken away because they were watching "vulgar" Indian movies
Posted by: John Frum || 05/06/2007 8:00 Comments || Top||

#3  Q. WHAT"S WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE?

A. the two microphones being held by off-camera TV interviewers.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/06/2007 9:09 Comments || Top||

#4  halted dozens of cars and smashed their cassette players

Back to the 8-Track!
Posted by: Shipman || 05/06/2007 9:13 Comments || Top||

#5  ejected from the gene pool with a catapult...

One of the best quotes of the week. Amen to the quote and to the sentiment Zenster.
Posted by: JustAboutEnough || 05/06/2007 16:31 Comments || Top||

#6  They don't want any symbols of the western decadence, except for those that can get their message to the rest of the world.
Posted by: Bobby || 05/06/2007 16:47 Comments || Top||

#7  Probably some imam with a sense of humor sponsoring a contest for free ticket to Paris.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 05/06/2007 16:52 Comments || Top||

#8  Jihad on cars pleases Allah.
Posted by: Sneaze || 05/06/2007 19:52 Comments || Top||


Iraq
US Kills 10 In Iranian-linked Cell in Baghdad
Sounds like Groundhog Day (the movie), in Iraq.
BAGHDAD, May 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said it killed up to 10 militants and destroyed a torture room during a raid in a Baghdad Shi'ite bastion on Sunday. The military said it was targeting suspected members of a cell known for smuggling sophisticated bombs from Iran.

It was the second time in as many days that U.S. forces have conducted an operation in Sadr City, a stronghold of the Mehdi Army militia of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, in search of insurgents they accuse of procuring so-called explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran.

EFPs are a particularly lethal type of roadside bombs, which are the deadliest weapon against U.S. forces in Iraq. Attacks on U.S. troops using armour-piercing EFPs have increased in recent months, reaching 65 attacks in April, according to media reports quoting Lieutenant-General Ray Odierno, commander of day-to-day operations in Iraq. The U.S. military believes EFPs bombs are made in neighbouring Iran, a country Washington accuses of fomenting violence in Iraq. Tehran says it does stir trouble in Iraq.
But it's because that what the Iraqis want.
Sunday's raid in Sadr City took place at 1:30 a.m. and involved air strikes by U.S. aircraft against buildings after U.S. forces were fired on with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, Major General William Caldwell, a U.S. military spokesman told a news conference.
No more than 100 innocent women and children were harmed.
He said the U.S. military confiscated more than 150 mortar rounds, ammunition, as well as components to make roadside bombs. U.S. forces also found handcuffs, a face mask and blood stains in what appeared to be a torture room, he said.
Just some wild and crazy kids engaging in sex fantasies.
"Intelligence reports indicate that the secret cell has ties to a kidnapping network that conducts attacks within Iraq as well as interactions with rogue elements throughout Iraq and into Iran," he said.

A military statement said intelligence reports indicated the presence of "suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training".

On Friday, U.S. forces detained 16 suspected Iraqi insurgents in Sadr City during an operation against cell members accused of facilitating the transport of EFPs from Iran.

Earlier on Sunday, witnesses said six people were wounded after the U.S. aircraft opened fire on six homes in Sadr City during the raid, reducing one to a pile of rubble.
What went wrong with the attacks on the other five?
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/06/2007 10:32 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  3 women, 4 children, 2 baby ducks, and 1 bunny.
Posted by: Jackal || 05/06/2007 11:34 Comments || Top||


Suicide attack on army recruits kills 15
A suicide bomber walked into an Iraqi army recruiting center outside of Baghdad on Saturday and blew himself up amid a crowd of recruits, killing at least 15 people and wounding 22 others, police said. The attack underscored the danger facing Iraqi forces who are frequently targeted by Sunni insurgent groups that accuse them of collaborating with U.S.-led efforts to stabilize the country. The explosion hit about 10 a.m., when the bomber entered a recruitment center in Abu Ghraib, a town on the western outskirts of the capital, police said. Witnesses said guards spotted the bomber but were unable to stop him from detonating his explosives vest. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed five soldiers and 10 recruits, police said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Al-Masri sez he's not dead
Al-Qaeda in Iraq released a recording purportedly of its leader, who had been reported killed in recent fighting, criticizing the country's largest Sunni party and branding its chief, Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a "criminal" for participating in the government. The statement by Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was seen as a warning to Sunnis not to take part in the political process that could legitimize the Shiite-led government and its U.S. backers. Al-Hashemi has resisted calls by fellow leaders of the main Sunni alliance to pull out of the government.

The al-Masri statement, posted on a militant Web site, did not directly address reports from Iraqi officials that the al-Qaeda leader was killed Tuesday by rivals north of Baghdad. The U.S. military declined to confirm the report of al-Masri's death and believed it stemmed from confusion over the killing of another al-Qaeda militant.

There was no indication when the 20-minute statement released Saturday was recorded, although a transcript posted on the Web site was dated Saturday. It could not be independently verified. In the statement Saturday, al-Masri sharply criticized al-Hashemi for taking part in politics and legitimizing the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose U.S.-backed security forces are fighting Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda militants. "This criminal relentlessly calls for the occupier to remain," he said, referring to al-Hashemi. Last week, al-Hashemi spoke to U.S. President George W. Bush in a phone call to discuss the Sunni threats to leave the Cabinet.

An insurgent statement in March, calling Deputy Prime Minister Salam al-Zubaie a stooge "to the crusader occupiers," was followed a day later by an assassination attempt against the highest-ranking Sunni government official. That statement, which was made by the al-Qaeda front group, the Islamic State of Iraq, also singled out al-Hashemi. The latest statement, however, did not calling for attacks against the Islamic Party, which, al-Masri said, would only distract his group from its fight against the Shiites and American forces. "The leaders of the Islamic Party are renegades but we make it clear that we don't want to fight them and be drawn into secondary battles that only serve the occupier and its Shiite associates," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  'Tis but a flesh wound. Come over here and I'll bite you on the knee.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/06/2007 0:41 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm at the point where I will believe he is dead only after he admits it.
Posted by: Thoth || 05/06/2007 5:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Mark Twain, "The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated".
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/06/2007 8:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Next time mention the last S&P market close.
Posted by: Perfesser || 05/06/2007 12:04 Comments || Top||

#5  They just got a new al-Masri is all. Interchangeable parts.
Posted by: Elmereter Hupash6222 || 05/06/2007 15:38 Comments || Top||

#6  This reminds me of the endless parade of Dread Pirate Roberts in "Princess Bride."
Posted by: doc || 05/06/2007 17:43 Comments || Top||


Two Denver TV news employees deploying to Iraq
Here are two MSM members with some guts.
Denver CBS4 is saying farewell to two of our colleagues who are heading to Iraq to serve their country. Dr. Dave Hnida is the Medical Editor at CBS4 news. Mike Silva is the Copter4 pilot.

Hnida has served one tour of duty in Iraq as a combat physician. This time, he'll be caring for the seriously injured in a field hospital. For Silva, heading to Iraq means returning to war 38 years after he first served his country in Vietnam. He officially retired from the Colorado National Guard 14 years ago. It took a briefcase full of documents to persuade the Army that he could come back.

Hnida expects his second tour of duty to last about 4 months. Silva will be gone for about 400 days. The two men spoke with CBS4's Jim Benemann in late April about their service.
Interview at link
This article starring:
Denver CBS4
Dr. Dave Hnida
Mike Silva
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Stand by for the breaking news of their "Capture, Ransom, Release (When ransom is paid,and/or Prisoner "Swaps" are arranged)and multi-million dollar book deals."

It's already writen, just held for future publication.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/06/2007 8:52 Comments || Top||

#2  I dunno about that. I presume they'll actually be in uniform, so you'll have to go through the Army to get them.
Posted by: Jackal || 05/06/2007 11:35 Comments || Top||

#3  The pic at the link shows both men in uniform at the teevee station before shipping out.
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 15:52 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinians open fire on UN school
Palestinian militants opened fire near a children's festival at a UN-operated elementary school in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing a bodyguard of a local Fatah leader and wounding seven other people, medical officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But Muslim extremists had earlier visited the school, warning authorities not to hold the festival, UN and security officials said. They also issued a warning on Saturday.

It was not clear why the extremists objected to the event, at the school in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, or whether they were behind the shooting, the officials said.
Maybe it was a 'peace festival'? Can't have any of that in Gaza!
The gunmen were masked, making identification difficult, security officials said.
The Heroes of Islam™.
At least one foreigner, John Ging, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, was inside the school when the shooting broke out, said Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman for the agency. Ging was not hurt, but remained holed up inside the school, he said.

In March, Ging escaped a kidnapping attempt unharmed after gunmen fired on his convoy. The incident prompted the UN to take stronger security measures, including police convoys for senior staff.

Palestinian medical officials identified the dead man as a bodyguard of Majid Abu Shameleh, a senior official in ineffectual President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. Abu Shameleh was leaving the event when the shooting erupted. No children were hurt.
This article starring:
Majid Abu Shameleh
Posted by: ryuge || 05/06/2007 10:05 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Paleoswine vs. UN.

Red on red.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/06/2007 11:17 Comments || Top||

#2  We need to encourage our enemies to fight each other more. Right now, with the transis and the moslems both concentrating on us, we're strategically in a bad way.
Posted by: Jackal || 05/06/2007 11:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe someone just needed a hug and a cookie?
Posted by: Seafarious || 05/06/2007 13:00 Comments || Top||

#4  UN condemning Israel in 5, 4, 3 ...
Posted by: DMFD || 05/06/2007 13:20 Comments || Top||

#5  Allan hates school.
Posted by: Elmereter Hupash6222 || 05/06/2007 15:42 Comments || Top||

#6  Allan didn't do well in school.
Posted by: gorb || 05/06/2007 22:43 Comments || Top||

#7  #5: "Allan hates school."

#6: "Allan didn't do well in school."


Allan went to school?

Who knew?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 05/06/2007 22:57 Comments || Top||

#8  FREEREPUBLIC > CHILDREN ARE BAD FOR THE PLANET. Instead of eliminating 5.0Bilyuuhn-plus of humanity, humanity just won'have any kiddies. OUTLAWING OF SEX? D *** NG IT, NO SEX, NO KIDS, NO BABES, AND NO GIRL SCOUT COOKIES FOR SALE EITHER! Time for another VERIZON ONE barbarian TV rampage.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/06/2007 23:08 Comments || Top||


Omar Abu Sharia, Cmdr Muj in Paleo, Killed in Car Bomb, Iranians Blamed
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The link's in Arabic.
Posted by: phil_b || 05/06/2007 0:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Must be some admin thing. The link I put in had run through a translator first, but that part got cropped somehow.

It was not much, just saying how he had been killed and it was the Iranians fault. Then mostly one-liners about how rotten Shiites are.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 05/06/2007 9:58 Comments || Top||


IDF arrests six terror suspects in the West Bank
The IDF arrested six terror suspects in the West Bank overnight Friday. A Fatah operative was arrested in Jenin, two Tanzim fugitives were caught in Tulkarm and three Tanzim fugitives were arrested south of Bethlehem. Meanwhile, Palestinians opened fire on an IDF post south of Bethlehem. No casualties were suffered although the military post sustained damages.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Muslim protesters score victory in southern Thailand
More than 300 Muslims in Krong Pinang district, mostly women and children, Sunday ended their four-day series of demonstration to force release of 24 suspected militants with a victory as authorities agreed to free them and withdraw a unit of ranger from the area within a month.

The Muslims agreed to end their demonstration as the authorities promised to release the 24 suspects within a month, return their confiscated motorbikes and withdraw a unit of rangers from Ban Rupae of Krong Pinang subdistrict.

The demonstrators began to phase out at about 12.15 a.m. and helped to clean the road to allow resumption of traffic along the road which is a backbone of communication between Yala down town and southernmost border district of Betong. Meanwhile their Buddhist counterparts who organised a counter demonstration in Yala's Bannang Sta also agreed to end their road blockade after they were informed about the end of the Muslim protest.

Chairman of Southern Islamic Culture Foundation Chamroon Denudom, also a former deputy commander of the Fourth Border Police Region said the government should make clear the procedure of detention under the emergency law which authorises officials to detain suspects without charge for 30 days.

Also:

Meanwhile, the body of a Muslim man was found floating in the Pattani river in Yala's Muang district yesterday morning. The cause of death had yet to be determined.

Elsewhere, two schools in Krong Pinang sub-district were set alight early yesterday morning.

In a separate incident, a man was shot dead along with his young daughter and son in his house in Than To district on Friday.

In Bannang Sata district, an assistant to a village headman was gunned down yesterday on his way home.

In Yala's Muang district, two border rangers and a two-year-old girl were killed in a roadside bomb attack near a local bridge in Yala municipality yesterday evening. The rangers were patrolling the area when the bomb was detonated by mobile phone.

The aunt of the girl, who was driving the motorcycle they were riding, was seriously injured while another ranger sustained minor injuries.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/06/2007 09:50 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Pussies!
Posted by: USN, ret. || 05/06/2007 15:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Good little dhimmies. Expect much more to follow.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 05/06/2007 19:47 Comments || Top||


Bomb blast in Thai capital wounds 1
Security forces threw a protective cordon around the Thai king's residence in Bangkok Sunday and planned to step up security throughout the capital following a bomb explosion which wounded one person, police officers said. The small explosive device went off Saturday night on a road opposite Chitralada Palace, slightly injuring a 22-year-old man.

Metropolitan police chief Maj. Gen. Adisorn Nontree said that authorities will tighten nighttime security in Bangkok, focusing on 84 sites including embassies, department stores and government offices. Beginning Sunday night, the security force will be doubled to some 600 police and soldiers and the installation of more than 1,000 close-circuit cameras will be speeded up, he said.

"It was just an attempt to cause chaos," Adisorn said about Saturday's explosion. Asked if there was any significance to the site of the explosion, police spokesman Maj. Gen. Ronnarong Yangyuen said, "We still can't draw any conclusions. The bomb site was near several important places."
Posted by: ryuge || 05/06/2007 07:04 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Court Orders Arrest of MNLF Leader for Attacks in Jolo
A local court has ordered the arrest of a senior leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and ten others in connection with simultaneous attacks that killed three soldiers in the restive southern island of Jolo. Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, the military commander for western Mindanao, said the warrants include 3 counts for murder, two counts for frustrated murder and six counts for attempted murder.

Troops were battling Malik’s forces accused of attacking a Marine base and the town hall of Panamao town on April 13, killing three soldiers and a civilian. The military also accused Malik’s group of sheltering Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah militants on the island in Sulu province, about 950 kilometer south of Manila. “He is a fugitive and we will help the police track down and arrest Malik and those involved in the attacks,” Cedo told Arab News yesterday.

Malik has denied military allegations that his group was coddling terrorists. Malik accused the military of attacking MNLF forces and killing civilians in the guise of pursuing the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiyah.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Sri Lanka
12 dead in attack on rebel boats near Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's navy destroyed two separatist rebel boats during a pre-dawn clash off the country's east coast Saturday, killing at least 12 insurgents, an official said. The sea clash broke out after the navy spotted a cluster of rebel boats off the coast of the eastern town of Pulmoddai, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) northeast of the capital Colombo, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said. The insurgents opened fire and the naval boats retaliated, destroying and sinking two boats and killing 12 rebels, Samarasinghe said. There was no immediate comment from the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Terror Networks
new ALQ film
My experience with the taunts these guys make has shown that the taunts usually have several meanings. The referral to a glass of juice is unnerving. Our food supply is constantly being tainted so this leads me to believe there is a hidden clue here about drinking. Their little taunts should be taken serioiusly.
Posted by: Pink Panther || 05/06/2007 09:04 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Link to video please?
Posted by: Thinemp Whimble || 05/06/2007 11:13 Comments || Top||

#2  The juice referrel could also stem from our current problems with lethally contaminated Chinese ingredients in pet foods. Al Qaeda spokesmen like to take credit for the work of others, and to piggyback on current events and concerns. A perfect example is al Zawahiri claiming victory this week because Pelosi and Reid are demanding withdrawal because the war is lost. A demand that won't be satisfied any time soon, and in the meantime A.Q. people are being killed or captured faster than they can be properly trained.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/06/2007 18:23 Comments || Top||


Screech taunts Bush
Al-Qaeda's number two has taunted George Bush, the US president, in a new video posted on the internet. According to the US-based Site Institute, which said on Saturday it had seen the video, Ayman al-Zawahri sarcastically referred to a congressional bill that ties funding for the US effort in Iraq to a timetable for troops to withdraw.
"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap."
"This bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap," al-Zawahri said, adding the bill was evidence of American "failure and frustration". He did not mention the vetoing of the bill last Thursday by Bush.

Al-Zawahri also congratulated Bush "on the success of his security plan" in Iraq and invited him to celebrate with "a glass of juice, but in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament in the middle of the Green Zone", referring to the site of a recent suicide bombing. The Site Institute said al-Zawahri also claimed al-Qaeda fighters in Iraq were getting "closer to victory over their enemy" despite continuing sectarian violence.

"We aren't waging jihad to lift oppression from the Muslims only, we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all of mankind, because Allah has ordered us never to accept oppression, whatever it may be."
Al-Zawahri also spoke on a number of other topics in the video, including fighting in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Algeria, and Somalia. He also referred to Saudi Arabia, the recent constitutional reforms in Egypt and the US Pentagon's release of the confessions of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and is said to be al-Qaeda's number three and who was allegedly behind the September 11 attack on the US World Trade Centre. In it al-Zawahri called on minorities around the world to join the struggle against "oppression", saying: "We aren't waging jihad to lift oppression from the Muslims only, we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all of mankind, because Allah has ordered us never to accept oppression, whatever it may be." The internet video is one hour seven minutes long, dated May and subtitled in English.
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  When he's right, he's right.
Posted by: gromgoru || 05/06/2007 1:34 Comments || Top||

#2  His head on a pike would have made a perfect White House lawn decoration for Cinco de Mayo.
Posted by: Phineth the Prolific6003 || 05/06/2007 8:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Ditto, many decorated spikes.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 05/06/2007 9:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Jeez that oppresion thing is a right bitch, I assume he is mean the MAN?
Posted by: Shipman || 05/06/2007 15:21 Comments || Top||


Good Sunday morning
Azeris jailed for 'insulting Islam'Meshaal rejects timeline proposed by U.S., rattles sabers'Hizbullah is ready for another war'Pakistanis smash cars for IslamAl-Masri sez he's not deadChief justice rallies PunjabTurks rally to support secularism14 Euro MPs for lifting state of emergency
Posted by: Fred || 05/06/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  is "dis-engenue" a word?
Posted by: Hupinens Bourbon5055 || 05/06/2007 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Okay, picture her about 2 inches shorter and with black hair. I never got anywhere near that woman either.
Posted by: Thoth || 05/06/2007 5:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Hey, hey, hey, it's a beautiful day
Posted by: Gladys || 05/06/2007 6:38 Comments || Top||

#4  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Good Lord for all of Nature's Bounty.
Posted by: Excalibur || 05/06/2007 8:39 Comments || Top||

#5  I see England... I see France...

Oh and nice shoes too...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 05/06/2007 8:54 Comments || Top||

#6  Greetings Thoth. Are you havern a fine Cinco weekend?
Posted by: Shipman || 05/06/2007 9:11 Comments || Top||



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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2007-05-06
  Meshaal rejects U.S. timeline, threatens terrible things
Sat 2007-05-05
  Tater Tots, Badr Brigades clash in Sadr City
Fri 2007-05-04
  Thousands Rally Against Olmert
Thu 2007-05-03
  Muharib Abdul Latif banged; Abu Omar al-Baghdadi said titzup
Wed 2007-05-02
  75 'rebels' killed in southern Afghan offensive: UK officer
Tue 2007-05-01
  Abu Ayyub al-Masri reported rubbed out
Mon 2007-04-30
  UK police charges 6 with inciting terror, fundraising
Sun 2007-04-29
  Somalia president claims victory, asks for international help
Sat 2007-04-28
  Missiles Kill Four Hard Boyz in Pakistan
Fri 2007-04-27
  US House okays deadline for Iraq troop pullout
Thu 2007-04-26
  London: Four men plead guilty to explosives plot
Wed 2007-04-25
  IDF to request green light to strike Hamas leadership
Tue 2007-04-24
  Lal Masjid calls for jihad against ''un-Islamic'' govt
Mon 2007-04-23
  51 killed as Somalia fighting rages
Sun 2007-04-22
  Khaleda sets out for exile any time now...


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