The U.S. military has captured a high-ranking al Qaeda operative in Afghanistan who played a major role in sending terrorists to Iraq and other countries to kill American troops and civilians.
The Pentagon identified the detainee as Inayatullah, an Afghan national. He was captured earlier this year in Afghanistan and shipped to the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison this week rather than being held in the war theater, where many Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners are held.
He was moved because of his senior al Qaeda status, Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon, a Pentagon spokesman, told The Examiner on Thursday.
While the Pentagon dubbed Inayatullah a senior al Qaeda leader, he is not at a level that would merit the title of high-value detainee, of which there are 15 at Guantanamo, including 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed. But the military believes it has nabbed a key operative who admitted under interrogation that he belonged to al Qaeda.
Inayatullah attested to facilitating the movement of foreign fighters, Gordon said. And Inayatullah met with local operatives, developed travel routes and coordinated documentation, accommodation and vehicles for smuggling unlawful combatants throughout countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Iraq.
Inayatullah also admitted to being the leader of al Qaeda in the city of Zahedan, Iran, near the Afghan border.
Like the other 340 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Inayatullah will undergo a combatant status review tribunal to determine whether the military is justified in holding him.
The military this summer announced that all but one of the 15 high-value prisoners completed such reviews and were determined to be unlawful combatants subject to criminal charges and trials by military commissions.
A 15th al Qaeda figure, Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi, is the most recently captured and has not yet undergone a status review. The CIA captured al-Iraqi, who was close to Osama bin Laden, in late 2006 as he was attempting to re-enter Iraq.
A military intelligence source has told The Examiner that al-Iraqi, like other al Qaeda operatives, entered Iraq through Iran. Most al Qaeda suicide bombers arrive in Iraq via Syria.
#1
A military intelligence source has told The Examiner that al-Iraqi, like other al Qaeda operatives, entered Iraq through Iran. Most al Qaeda suicide bombers arrive in Iraq via Syria.
And most captured AQ arrive at GITMO via a noisy, cold, uncomfortable C-130. Interestingly, the leaders come through Iran and the cannon fodder through Syria. Does this mean the Iranians don't want any "kaboom" practice on their territory less someone gets the wrong idea or is it just that Bashad has a much more experienced training squad?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 13:43 Comments ||
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#2
Inayatullah was captured earlier this year, he's already told them everything, so now they are sending him to Guantanamo Bay, where he will undergo a combatant status review tribunal to determine whether the military is justified in holding him?
Air strikes and Afghan army gunfire killed more than 45 suspected Taliban fighters in a clash in a southern province just as the holy month of Ramadan began, the US-led coalition said.
The battle in the southern province of Uruzgan on Wednesday began when insurgents attacked a joint Afghan army and US-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire, the coalition said. Afghan soldiers "cleared" Taliban fighters from firing positions within the village of Aduzay, while attack aircraft destroyed some fighting positions, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Chuck Simmins will need to put a new roll of tape into his adding machine.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 8:22 Comments ||
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#2
Yes, his abacus is going crazy!
Posted by: Ol Dirty American ||
09/14/2007 9:00 Comments ||
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#3
Idiots. Never bring an RPG to an airstrike.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
09/14/2007 10:08 Comments ||
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I would suggest that most of the leadership is gone, dead or in captivity. I realize there are cultural reasons for the Taliban to provoke such one-sided fights, but... you would think that the leadership would attempt to conserve its resources.
265 terrs dead in Afghanistan this month so far. Afghan Army in on just about all of it and doing a share of the killing.
Wouldn't it be neat to see a company of Afghan troops in Anbar?
#5
Wouldn't it be neat to see a company of Afghan troops in Anbar?
Or sending the best of the best from each country to the other for cross training and comparing notes? They're fighting linked enemies, after all. And wouldn't that be a PsyOps coup! Set the whole world back on its heels, that would.
#6
The long term impact of our troops creating, developing and interacting with the nacent Afghan and Iraqi armies will be significant. The contrast that the participating locals see in how our troops operate compared to local holy man (who always seems to be a fatty) is too stark for them to ignore. Already you read how the local boys in Anbar want to emulate the Marines they work with, be that in how they prep for a mission or how they conduct themselves with the locals. Each of our soldiers is an ambassador and virtually all of them will have a more positive impact on these parts of the world than any puke from foggy bottom.
Today, I was driving past a high school practice field and the football team was out there bright and early practicing (schools out for Rosh Hashannah). And I got to thinking that for most of the kids over in Iraq being tough-ass ambassadors and sending the right vibes were out on that field a couple years ago practicing. Pretty impressive to think that an 18-25 year old has that kind of maturity compared to members of congress or the press.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 13:47 Comments ||
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#8
Jack, it is particularly the maturity of the young men and women who CHOOSE to join the service and go over there that have the impact. As I've written here previously, working with these people is the best part of my job. I never cease to be impressed.
(SomaliNet) The mayor of Beledweyn city, 335km north of the Somalia capital, Elmi Saney Qasim has spoken out on Thursday a grenade explosion, which targeted his convoy inside the city overnight saying it was an attempt on his life.
Speaking to the local media, Mr. Saney said it was an organized bomb attack aimed to destroy his vehicle as he was on the way of his house. He had survived from the attack but the explosion wounded three of his bodyguards. I was not on the car when the explosion happened, I was in my house, the bomb was thrown to my bodyguards just after they brought me in my house, three of the soldiers got injured, said the mayor.
He said they are now conducting investigations over the last nights attack. The security forces will soon find the perpetrators and they will be brought before justice, Mr. Saney said the latest bomb attack had links with the 9 September roadside explosion that targeted motorcade escorting the regions governor.
After the blast, the soldiers opened fire in all directions. No one was arrested for the latest attack so far.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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(SomaliNet) Local insurgents have ambushed positions of the Somali police forces in north of the capital Mogadishu on Thursday afternoon killing five soldiers and confiscated a vehicle mounted with anti tank gun and several rifles, witnesses said. The latest skirmish happened around Mother and Child SOS hospital in Huriwa district where the rival sides exchanged all sorts of weapons.
Abdisalan, a local resident told Somalinet that he saw the bodies of five soldiers killed by rocket propelled grenade that his where they taking position. The police force run away from some of their machine-guns and a truck mounted with anti tank gun, the insurgents took over the base briefly and disappeared later, added Abdisalan.
The government did not give any comment about the latest gun battle involved by its soldiers. If this confirmed, it would be severe blow to the government battling for restoring peace in the capital. It is not yet clear whether there was casualty on the insurgent side or not. The latest fighting came as the interim government announced that it lifted the curfew from the capital Mogadishu as the violence increased.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The Germans had reinforced concrete bunkers that they fought out of and the Japanese dug caves and tunnels into the hillsides. The Muzzies prefer to use schools, hospitals, orphanages and mosques as well as churches. Tells you something about the "civilization" we are clashing with doesn't it.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 8:24 Comments ||
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Batna province experienced was shaken again. A rocket targeting a police patrol landed on a mosque coinciding with the Maghrib (sunset) prayer in Tamshit village. An atmosphere of panic has taken ground among prayers who fled. Two 10 and 14 years old kids who were playing near the mosque were wounded. Further more, an obsessive mass fear is hitting citizens in Batna as 6 young people disappeared, and thought to be recruited by terrorist groups being thus a threat to security there. This fear is fuelled by rumours saying that al Qaeda explosive belts are manufactured in Batna. On another side, security services reinforced its patrols to avoid other attacks and aggressions.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
This reads sorta like Amos Tutuola's books - English but with an African twist... not funny, but actually kind of an interesting use of the language.
Bangladesh's elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has killed 400 people since it was formed in mid-2004 to combat crimes in the South Asian nation, the head of the force was quoted as saying on Thursday. It was last Thursday, but I've been jonesing for a little "crossfire" action. The alleged "terrorists" were killed in "encounters" in which officers shot back after suspects resisted arrest by opening fire, state-run BSS news agency quoted RAB director general Hasan Mahmud Khandaker as saying. That's the "story" and they're "sticking" to it.
"The government has given firearms to us to use them according to the laws, and rules and regulations. If anyone violates the laws, he must be punished," he told a human rights conference in the southeastern town of Cox's Bazar. RAB = Judge Dread
Local and international rights groups including Amnesty International have described "encounters" as extra-judicial killings, and they have demanded full probe into all such incidents. I think we've covered about 200 of those 400 "encounters" here. They pretty much follow the same script; Arrest, trip to station, question, confession, road trip, 2AM, arms cache, dark alley, cohorts, sense presence of cops, open fire, return fire, escape attempt, crossfire, "rosebud", hospital morgue, Dr. Quincy, "He's dead, Jim", shutter gun, two round of bullet, wanted on twelve systems, etc. But hey, who's to say it's not just a long series of tragic accidents.
But authorities in Bangladesh have defended the force, saying it has contributed to a marked improvement in law and order in the country.
After all, there's 400 fewer Biplobis compared to a few years back. Would that they have fewer Islamicists.
The 8,000-strong Rapid Action Battalion, made up of members of the police and armed services, became operational in June 2004 and is credited by the country's previous four-party government with cutting crimes like extortion by half. The elite force also successfully tracked down the leaders of the country's outlawed Islamic militant group, Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), blamed for series of nationwide bombings that killed at least 28 people in 2005.
Posted by: Steve ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
hey, those encounters do sound similar!
Next!
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/14/2007 7:54 Comments ||
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#2
credited by the country's previous four-party government with cutting crimes like extortion by half.
In that case it must mean it is only a two-party government now.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 8:28 Comments ||
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#3
So if there are 8000 RABBIES and 400 fewer miscreants, that works out to only 0.05 MC/RAB, need more to bring the ratio up.
A 22-year-old German man of Afghan origin has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of a rabbi in Frankfurt. According to reports, he has confessed, but said that he didn't want to kill his victim. That's not what the many witnesses said.
Police said that they found the man, who was born in Germany to Afghan parents, after he bragged about the incident in an Internet forum.
The attack occurred on Friday, Sept. 7, as Rabbi Zalman G. was walking home from his synagogue. According to witnesses, the suspect pestered the Jewish clergyman before yelling "Dirty Jew -- I'll kill you" in German and attacking the rabbi with a knife. "Dirty Jew". Bowdlerized, but close
"He felt physically inferior to the rabbi and so reached for his knife," a Frankfurt prosecutor was quoted as saying by AP news service. Since when do prosecutors make excuses for brutal, knife-wielding thugs? Oh, he's a German prosecutor ...
The man now faces charges of attempted manslaughter and dangerous bodily harm, according to prosecutors, who said they would give more information at a press conference later on Friday.
Zalman G. is still recovering from his wounds at a hospital. Leaders of the city's Jewish community said the attack had especially shocked older Jews, who "felt old wounds and scars," as community leader Salomon Korn told AP. Korn, who is also the vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said that he didn't believe that additional security for Jewish buildings was needed.
According to a government report, 1,024 anti-Semitic criminal acts, 2 percent of which were violent, were reported committed in 2006.
#3
I have to wonder why the Jews still want to live in Germany. I would have thought that regardless of the contriction and laws against holocaust denial, it is still a rather macbre place to be a Jew.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 13:49 Comments ||
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The Frankfurt-born German citizen, whose parents come from Afghanistan, maintains that he greeted the rabbi with the words "salem aleikum," or "peace upon you." In their statement, they said that there was then "an exchange of words which ended in a physical confrontation."
The suspect said that he "felt physically inferior to the rabbi and so reached for his knife," they added. The weapon had a 7.6-centimeter (3-inch) blade.
My apologies to the Frankfurt prosecutor's office.
#5
Rambler, I'd always heard geistlich used in a religious sense, as spiritually, ie der Heilige Geist. My Langenscheidts Handwoerterbuch defines it that way as well, although going from English to German, geistlich is given as a translation for mentally.
#6
tw, I used Altavista's BabelFish translation, since I don't have my German dictionary handy. If you translate geistlich back to English, it gives "religiously".
Although, that would work too....
Someday I'll learn not to trust BabelFish.
#8
Rambler, that's why, when working with new vocabulary, I always check the back-translation to see if it matches -- very often it doesn't -- and a second dictionary the same. I've gotten into awkward situations using the wrong word in a sentence that sounded like I knew what I was saying.
Posted by: ryuge ||
09/14/2007 09:55 ||
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#1
Interesting. It seems to some extent that those in the West who aspire to do jihad are self-sorting themselves on the internet -- defiantly claiming it as conquered territory. Only it seems that it's not quite as conquered as they think. Little children crawling about under the covers, giggling, thinking themselves invisible.
Three alleged al-Qaida sympathizers arrested in connection with an online video threat against Austria and Germany may have had links to the Army of Islam, a shadowy group that kidnapped a BBC journalist earlier this year, a US terrorism research group said Thursday.
SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors al-Qaida messages, said its research suggests one of the three suspects arrested Wednesday in Vienna was a leader of the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaida propaganda group increasingly tied to terrorism operations. "The same individual also worked closely with the group responsible for kidnapping BBC journalist Alan Johnston earlier this year in Gaza," SITE said.
It described the Global Islamic Media Front as a "virtual group" that has become one of the world's most prominent jihadist organizations by translating al-Qaida videos and posting them online. Austrian authorities could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
its research suggests one of the three suspects arrested Wednesday in Vienna was a leader of the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaida propaganda group, a wholly-owned joint venture company of BBC and The New York Times increasingly tied to terrorism operations.
There, corrected as noted.
/not pinch
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 8:30 Comments ||
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Posted by: linker ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Arab name, plotting on-line to blow things up in Austria in concert with the three arrested there, picked up as he was planning to leave Canada... this is a bona fide international conspiracy! Well done, [formerly new] linker. :-)
According to reliable sources in the local police, a Pashtun army officer belonging to the elite Special Services Group, whose younger sister was reportedly among the 300 girls killed during the Pakistan Army's commando raid on the Lal Masjid in Islamabad between July 10 and 13, blew himself up during dinner at the SSG's headquarters mess at Tarbela Ghazi, 100 km south of Islamabad, on the night of September 13, killing 19 other officers.
The incident coincided with United States Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte's visit to Kabul and Islamabad for talks with leaders and officials of the two governments.
According to the same sources, the Pashtun army officer belonged to South Waziristan, but Tarbela Ghazi is not located in the tribal belt. The SSG, to which General Pervez Musharraf [Images] belonged, was specially trained by the US Special Forces for covert operations and for counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency duties.
The usually well-informed News of Pakistan reported as follows on September 14: 'The area where the incident occurred is the headquarters of the Special Services Group also known as SSG and Special Operation Task Force of the Pakistan Army. Sources said the blast was so powerful that it destroyed the Officers Mess. There are also reports that a company known as Karar of the SSG based in the area had taken part in the operation on Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad where hundreds of religious students, including religious school administrator, Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi, were killed. ...There were rumours that CIA personnel were also present in the area where the blast occurred.'
According to the police sources, a training team of the Central Intelligence Agency and a team of technical intelligence personnel of the US National Security Agency were also stationed at Tarbela Ghazi. The NSA personnel were reportedly running a monitoring station to intercept communications of Al Qaeda [Images] and the neo-Taliban.
While there are no reports of any American casualties, there have been rumours that the NSA's monitoring station was badly damaged. It is not clear whether it was damaged by the impact of the explosion inside the officers' mess or by a separate explosion.
Pakistani army sources initially projected the incident as due to the explosion of a cooking gas cylinder. Subsequently, they said it was caused by a remote-controlled improvised explosive device and then that it was caused by an unidentified suicide bomber, who drove a vehicle filled with explosives into the mess at dinner time.
They have not so far admitted that it was actually caused by a Pashtun officer of the SSG itself and not an outsider. No other details are available so far.
The daring attack came two days after another attack of suicide terrorism in which at least 17 people, including three security forces personnel, were killed and 16 others injured when a 15-year-old Mehsud suicide bomber blew himself up in a passenger van at Bannu Adda in Dera Ismail Khan district of the North-West Frontier Province on September 11.
The Pakistan army has not been able to re-establish its writ over South and North Waziristan, where the Mehsuds and the Uzbeks supporting them have been holding in custody 240 members of the security forces captured by them and have been repeatedly attacking posts of the army and the Frontier Corps. Repeated use of helicopter gunships by the army has not had any impact on the various sub-tribes of Pashtuns, who have been attacking the security forces almost daily.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/14/2007 05:31 ||
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#1
Priceless. Simply priceless. Welcome to your warmed over crow, Pakistan.
#2
Pashtos are savages. We made a mistake in assisting a Pashto win the presidency of that fake country. They are the worst drug dealers in history. You can trust them as far as you can spit against a hurricane.
NEW DELHI: In what seems like a well planned and cleanly executed manoeuvre, Shahid Bilal - one of Indias most wanted terrorist and accused of the recent Hyderabad bombings - was reportedly killed in Karachi on August 30.
According to Central Intelligence sources his end came abruptly at the hands of two motorcycle borne assailants who shot him dead at point blank range near area called Gulburg Churangi also known as Golimar Churangi in Karachi.
In a meticulously carried out operation the assailants followed Bilal, who was also travelling on a motorcycle, before shooting him at a location from where the sped off without leaving their trace. Bilals end came within 5 days after he executed the Hyderabad blast on August 25 has baffled the people in the Indian security establishment.
Sources in the Indian intelligence agencies claim that they got the news of Bilals murder on September 5 after which they tried to get it confirmed through the informal sources in Pakistan. The confirmation came on Tuesday.
It was indeed Mohammed Abdul Shahid alias Bilal, a native of Mosarambagh in Hyderabad accused of the two other terror attacks in Hyderabad, the Special Task Force headquarters and the blasts at the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. It was from Karachi that Bilal was supervising all cross-border terror acts, the officials said.
Still trying to ascertain the real motives behind Bilals murder, intelligence sources have two plausible reasons to offer that either he was killed in inter-gang or even intra-gang rivalry or the ISI chose to bump him off as he was attracting too much media attention and was the most hunted terror suspect on the radar of Indian intelligence agencies, who would have done their best to pin down Pakistan.
But the argument explaining ISIs hand behind Bilals murder seems a little far fetched as the agency is coping well to keep most of the terrorists wanted by India in safe havens. What seems a more plausible theory is that whether there was a foreign hand in bumping him off?
If that was the case then it signifies a great challenge for Pakistans Inter Services Intelligence, said an independent security analyst not willing to identify himself.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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has baffled the people in the Indian security establishment.
How'd he end up in the headlines? He was just supposed to kinda disappear.....
Taliban militants attacked a military base near the Pak-Afghan border on Thursday, sparking a battle that drew in army helicopters and left up to 50 insurgents and two soldiers dead, Inter Services Public Relations Director General Major General Waheed Arshad said. He said eight other soldiers were wounded in the fighting near Razmak, a town in the North Waziristan.
He said security forces repelled repeated militant attacks. Army helicopters and ground fire destroyed four rebel positions, he added. He said the armys initial estimate was that at least 30 militants were killed, but added later that tribesmen informed officials that up to 50 rebels had died in the military attack. He dismissed a claim by militants that they had killed over 100 soldiers in the region in the past two days as totally false and baseless.
A militant rocket hit a transformer and power line, cutting electricity in Razmak, he said. He also denied reports from three intelligence officials who said 10 soldiers had been killed in the fighting. One of the intelligence officials, on the condition of anonymity, told the AP that four to six other soldiers were missing after the attack on the Nawaz Fort base.
The security forces also killed around forty militants on Wednesday.
The security forces also killed around forty militants on Wednesday.
Fighting between Taliban militants and security forces has been raging across the NWFP since the armys operation against Lal Masjid in Islamabad. Most of the combat has taken place in the rugged mountains along the Pak-Afghan border, where Pakistans key foreign ally, the United States, fears Al-Qaeda is regrouping.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The last few months there have been an awful lot of Talibunnies killed with relatively few good guys lost. The should be good news, but it is still a little disturbing that the more you kill the more there are to kill. These 'bunnies must breed like rabbits.
That is why you have to go and cut the heart out of the body (i.e. extreme prejudice against the imans and their financial supporters). There is basically no other way to assure a rapid decelleration of radical islam, outside of the Zenster solution.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 8:34 Comments ||
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Cable operators in Swat stopped transmissions on Thursday for an indefinite period after receiving threatening letters, sources said. We have been receiving threatening letters for quite some time, and law and order is very bad in the area, Muhammad Hayat Chaman, a cable operator, told Daily Times. Hayat said if closure of cable TV could bring the Islamic system, the cable operators would fully cooperate with clerics. He said there were four cable operators in the area and all of them had stopped operating.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
MoHamHead didn't have cable, so you guys can't have cable. Or we'll shoot you and blow your stuff up. Even though Mo didn't have AK-47s or Semtex either.
At least 15 soldiers have been killed in a suspected suicide bombing at an army base south of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. Most of the victims were officers from an elite counter-terrorism force, the Special Services Group, a military spokesman said. Troops based at the barracks were part of the raid against the Red Mosque.
Chief military spokesman Gen Waheed Arshad said 11 soldiers were wounded in the blast, six seriously. He could not confirm whether any of the victims were involved in the Red Mosque raid. "The commandos were taking dinner in their mess at Tarbela town when a suspected suicide bomber blew himself up at its gate," a security official told Agence France Presse news agency.
Prolly breaking their Ramadan fast. Sheesh.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says this latest attack suggests that militants are no longer targeting simply the army but the army's elite officer corps.
The latest fighting coincides with a visit to Pakistan by the American deputy secretary of state, John Negroponte. In talks with Mr Negroponte, President Musharraf said Pakistan's commitment to fighting the militants should never be doubted.
Earlier there was heavy fighting between Pakistani troops and pro-Taleban militants near the Afghan border which left dozens dead, both sides say. The army says it has killed up to 70 militants. The rebels say twice that number of troops are dead. Neither claim can be independently verified.
The sheik was buried one year to the day after he organized Sunni Arab clans into an alliance to drive al-Qaida in Iraq from sanctuaries in Anbar province
Some 1,500 mourners called for revenge Friday as they buried the leader of the Sunni revolt against al-Qaida, who was assassinated by a bomb after meeting with President Bush earlier this month. Scores of Iraqi police and U.S. military vehicles lined the route to protect the funeral procession as it followed the black SUV carrying the Iraqi-flag-draped coffin of Abu Risha to the family cemetery just west of Ramadi, Anbar's capital. "We will take our revenge," the mourners chanted. "We will continue the march of Abu Risha."
The sheik was buried one year to the day after he organized Sunni Arab clans into an alliance to drive al-Qaida in Iraq from sanctuaries in Anbar province where the terror movement had flourished since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
...the roadside bomb was just outside Abu Risha's walled compound in view of a guard shack and an Iraqi police checkpoint
An al-Qaida front in Iraq claimed responsibility for the blast that killed Adbul-Sattar Abu Risha, 37, and three companions. A statement posted on the Internet by the Islamic State of Iraq called Abu Risha "one of the dogs of Bush" and described Thursday's killing as a "heroic operation that took over a month to prepare."
Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the second-highest ranking U.S. officer in Iraq, and several high-ranking government officials attended the funeral, including Iraq's interior and defense ministers and National Security Adviser Mouwaffak al-Rubaie. "We condemn the killing of Abu Risha, but this will not deter us from helping the people of Anbar - we will support them more than before," al-Rubaie declared. "It is a national disaster and a great loss for the Iraqi people - Abu Risha was the only person to confront al-Qaida in Anbar."
Iraqi officials said the roadside bomb was just outside Abu Risha's walled compound in view of a guard shack and an Iraqi police checkpoint. That raised suspicion that the killing may have been an inside job, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information is sensitive. Sheik Jubeir Rashid, a senior member of Abu Risha's movement, said police were questioning security guards and other staff but no arrests had been announced.
The Sadrist response:
During open-air Friday prayers in the streets of Baghdad's Shiite slum Sadr City, a stronghold of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, Imam Muhannad al-Gharawi blamed the assassination on the government's inability to secure Iraq. "The Iraqi people have lost trust with this government and killings are still going on - the latest is the assassination of the Anbar Awakening Council leader," he told thousands of worshippers. "Everyone is threatened with death in this country as long as the American Black House is still giving the orders."
And the predictable AP spin:
Abu Risha's assassination cast a cloud over Bush's claims of progress in Iraq, especially in Anbar, which had been the center of the Sunni insurgency until the dramatic turnaround by the local sheiks. Bush met with Abu Risha during a visit to Anbar on Sept. 3.
#2
Abu Risha was on our side, so this would be Dire Revenge(tm) by the good guys against the bad guys. That's the kind of Dire Revenge(tm) we can all get behind!
Posted by: Mike ||
09/14/2007 23:22 Comments ||
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#3
Forgive my own cynicism but exactly what trivial offense would it take to turn all of these stalwart anti-al Qaeda opponents back against us?
I suspect there is some overlap with an earlier article or two, but some good detail here.
BAGHDAD, Iraq Coalition forces killed five terrorists and detained 21 suspected terrorists during operations Friday in central and northern Iraq targeting senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq and a foreign terrorist network.
Near Yusufiyah, Coalition forces targeted the network that facilitates the movement of foreign terrorists in the southern belts around Baghdad. Surveillance elements observed four armed men maneuvering from the target building into position against the assault force. Responding to the hostile threat, Coalition forces engaged the armed men and called in close air support to assist them. Two armed terrorists were killed by ground fire and two were killed by aircraft fire. The ground forces detained five suspected terrorists for their alleged ties to that foreign terrorist network.
Two coordinated operations in the Jabouri Peninsula east of Balad targeted foreign terrorists and associates of al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders. Coalition forces captured two brothers who allegedly operate a safe house for foreign terrorists planning and conducting attacks in the area. The brothers are also believed to be responsible for attacks on Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces. Four additional suspected terrorists were detained in the operations.
Operations in Mosul and Kirkuk targeted senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq and their networks in northern Iraq. Coalition forces captured a suspected administrative leader for al-Qaeda in Iraqs Mosul network and detained nine other suspected terrorists.
Based on information from an operation Sep. 8, Coalition forces conducted a raid northwest of Tarmiyah and killed an armed terrorist who attempted to engage the assault force.
#1
Seems like we are all of a sudden, capturing more then we kill. Can that mean that once they are engaged, they realize they are going to lose, so give up quicker? Or have they rationed down the virgins, making some wait until more are availible?
#2
If you really want to target foreign terrorist facilitators you'd have to wipe Damascus, Islamabad, Tehran, London and Frankfort off the freeking map.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 13:51 Comments ||
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Sunni Muslims in Iraq's Anbar province vowed angrily to avenge the death of a tribal leader who led an American-sponsored uprising against al-Qaeda, as they carried his remains to a cemetery in Ramadi today.
Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea al-Rishawi, who helped the US military drive the terror group from large swathes of western Iraq, was killed along with three bodyguards yesterday afternoon when his armoured vehicle was torn apart in a bomb attack. Sheikh Sittar, also known as Abu Risha, met President Bush on a visit to Anbar two weeks ago and had been praised by General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, for having helped transform one of Iraq's most dangerous provinces into one of its safest.
Thousands of people joined the sheikh's funeral procession as the 36-year-old's body was carried the 10 km (six miles) from his home to a Ramadi cemetery for burial beside his father and brother, both victims of Iraq's sectarian conflict. Two other brothers have been kidnapped and disappeared in the past three years. Revenge, revenge on al-Qaeda, shouted the crowd of mourners, an AFP correspondent reported. There is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is his enemy."
Sheikh Sittar's assassination - seen as a heavy blow to Washington - came on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan and almost a year after he formed the Anbar Awakening Conference, a coalition of 42 Sunni tribes who along with US troops fought Al-Qaeda in Anbar.
We blame al-Qaeda and we are going to continue our fight and avenge his death, said Sheikh Ahmed al-Rishawi, another of the sheikh's brothers who was elected to lead the tribal coalition.
Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, was represented at the funeral by his national security adviser, Muwaffaq al-Rubaie, who condemned the assassination. It is a national Iraqi disaster. What Ab Risha did for Iraq, no single man has done in the country's history, Mr Rubaie told the mourners gathered at the sheikhs house. We will support Anbar much more than before. Abu Risha is a national hero."
In a statement issued by his Baghdad office, Mr al-Maliki said the attack bore the fingerprints of al-Qaeda and was aimed at destabilising the province of Anbar. The radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr also condemned the Sunni sheikhs murder.
Abu Risha was a man who proved that terrorism can be fought and security can be restored even in the most volatile area in Iraq, said Sheikh Saleh al-Obeidi, al-Sadrs spokesman in the holy city of Najaf.
Tareq al-Dulaimi. the Anbar security chief, gave a new version of the attack that killed the sheikh. He said a suicide bomber had blown up his car as Abu Rishas convoy passed, and that it was not a roadside bomb that killed him as he had initially reported. There is reconstruction work going on between the sheikhs home on one side and a series of orchards on the other so the road which is usually sealed off had to be opened for traffic, Mr al-Dulaimi said. The terrorists exploited this situation to drive through a Mercedes car and blow it up near the sheikhs vehicle."
The interior ministrys director of operations, Major General Abdel Karim Khalaf, confused issues, however, by saying that in fact two bombs had exploded, the second a car bomb.
Statements on Islamist websites usually used by insurgent groups rejoiced at the sheikhs killing and said it was the work of al-Qaeda. The apostate Abdul Sittar al-Rishawi, one of the biggest pigs of the Christian crusade, has been killed by the lions of Islamic unity. This is the beginning of the end of the Anbar Awakening Conference, one message said.
Abu Risha wanted to drive al-Qaeda out of Anbar. But al-Qaeda drove him not just from Anbar, but from the world itself."
The sheikhs killing is seen as a setback to US efforts to contain the violence raging through Iraq and to crush the local wing of Osama bin Ladens jihadist group. The slow restoration of order in Anbar has been presented as a sign that the US troops surge strategy was working.
In a speech from the Oval Office last night in which he promised a limited troop reduction from Iraq by next July, Mr Bush praised the sheikh's bravery and pointed to the improved security in Anbar as evidence of that U.S. strategy was making headway.
The President said that some 21,500 combat troops would be withdrawn by mid-2008, but ruled out a full withdrawal and promised an enduring US presence in Iraq. Some say the gains we are making in Iraq come too late, Mr Bush said. They are mistaken. It is never too late to deal a blow to al-Qaeda. It is never too late to advance freedom. And it is never too late to support our troops in a fight they can win." Sheikh Sittar is the closest thing to a matyer that I've seen so far from a Iraqi leader. He went against the norm and fought for a better life.
Posted by: Boss Craising2882 ||
09/14/2007 11:43 ||
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#1
The model here is South Korea, not South Vietnam.
And for those of you who don't have the background or time to understand the tribal politics involved, Al Qaeda just did the equivalent of whacking "Godfather Don Corleone". There will be severe consequences for them through the entire region in Iraq.
#3
I recall on interview I read about with some Sunni Sheikh talking about how they want to model Anbar on SKOR and be a vibrant, successful place. It might have been him or one of his compatriots.
I agree that this is bad news for AQI and jihadis in general.
#8
Revenge, revenge on al-Qaeda, shouted the crowd of mourners, an AFP correspondent reported. There is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is his enemy."
Thats the salient point of the article - didn't the reporter notice how different that is? Yet the reporter keeps harping this it being a huge setback for the allies. So much for non-bias.
#10
Nothing prevents these Sunnis from exporting their war against Al Qaeda. Any IDs of Saudis they find, sue the families of the jihadis in Sharia court in Saudi.
Don't forget to kill a few too, just so they know you mean business.
Six years ago the US saw the cheers of Palestinians at the destruction of 9-11. We saw the smiles of Saddam and his butchers and we heard the gloating of Bin Laden.
Six years later Saddam is gone and Bin Laden is still running from justice. But now Iraqis are chanting al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah. This is a stunning turn around, and it is all due to the wide gulf that separates American values from al-Qaedas bloodlust and hunger for absolute power over others.
#12
I really appreciate AQ stepping up to the plate and taking responsibility for the car bombing so quickly. It tells me this was planned well in advance and it was at least partially an inside job. It also says they are calling the breakaway-Sunni's bluff. How this falls out over the next week or so may very well determine the outcome in Iraq. I say that because it could bring those Baathists who have been resistant thus far into the fold. It could provide a wealth of actionable intel on AQ. It could shut down the rat line. It could put a lot of AQ with their 72 virgins.
#13
How can this be a *heavy* blow to Washington (unless they are referring to Reid/Pelosi/MoveOn Washington)?? This is a huge blow to AQ in Iraq (sorry MESOPOTAMIA). Civil wars are okay for me as long as they are Anbar-Sunni vs. AQI. Now to get the Shia on the same page (tougher with Iran in the background).
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 13:57 Comments ||
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#14
Crapping on their own doorstep: It's what Muslims do best
Zen: Seems like this time they may have stepped it up a notch and crapped in their own dinner. :-)
This is the accident where two of the guys that wrote the NY Times op-ed were killed. The headlines in the media do NOT point out that this was an accident.
As reported earlier, seven Soldiers were killed and 11 wounded on Sept. 10, when the vehicle they were traveling in was involved in a single vehicle accident in the north Baghdad suburb of Shula.
The accident occurred as elements of the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, attached to 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, currently attached to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, were returning from a successful raid in Shula where they had conducted a precision operation to capture extremists responsible for attacks on US and Iraqi Soldiers.
The unit was returning to base after the raid when their vehicle apparently lost control and fell approximately 50 feet from a highway overpass. The vehicle had three personnel in the cab of the truck and 15 US personnel in the armored troop carrier on the back of the vehicle. Also in the vehicle were three Iraqi national detainees.
The vehicle they were riding in was an LMTV armored cargo vehicle with an armored troop carrier on the back of it, commonly referred to as a Hunter Box. This vehicle is regularly used by 1-325 AIR to transport Soldiers, equipment, and detainees.
Of the 11 US personnel wounded, two have been returned to duty with a third expected to return within a week. The rest of the wounded were evacuated to Landstuhl Army Medical Clinic in Germany.
Two of the detainees were killed and the third was injured. The injured detainee is currently undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in Baghdad.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush, defending an unpopular war, ordered gradual reductions in U.S. forces in Iraq on Thursday night and said, "The more successful we are, the more American troops can return home." Yet, Bush firmly rejected calls to end the war, insisting that Iraq will still need military, economic and political support from Washington after his presidency ends.
Bush said that 5,700 U.S. forces would be home by Christmas and that four brigades - for a total of at least 21,500 troops - would return by July, along with an undetermined number of support forces. Now at its highest level of the war, the U.S. troop strength stands at 168,000. "The principle guiding my decisions on troop levels in Iraq is: return on success," the president said, trying to summon the nation's resolve once again to help Iraq "defeat those who threaten its future and also threaten ours."
With no dramatic change in course, Bush's decision sets the stage for a fiery political debate in Congress and on the 2008 presidential campaign trail. Democrats said Bush's modest approach was unacceptable.
The reductions announced by Bush represented only a slight hastening of the originally scheduled end of the troop increase that Bush announced in January. When the cutbacks are complete, about 132,000 U.S. forces will be in Iraq.
Addressing America's frustration with the protracted war, the president said, "Some say the gains we are making in Iraq come too late. They are mistaken. It is never too late to deal a blow to al-Qaida. It is never too late to advance freedom. And it is never too late to support our troops in a fight they can win."
"Whatever political party you belong to, whatever your position on Iraq, we should be able to agree that America has a vital interest in preventing chaos and providing hope in the Middle East," the president said. He added, "Let us come together on a policy of strength in the Middle East."
Bush acknowledged that Iraq's government has failed to meet goals for political reconciliation and security. "In my meetings with Iraqi leaders," he said, "I have made it clear that they must." "Iraq's national leaders are getting some things done," Bush contended. He said the Baghdad government has passed a budget and is sharing oil revenues among the provinces even though legislation has not been approved. Changes that have begun to take hold in the provinces must be followed in Baghdad, he said.
Bush said he had directed Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, to report to Congress in March with their next assessment of developments in Iraq and the level of U.S. troops needed to handle security. "Americans want our country to be safe and our troops to begin coming home from Iraq," Bush said. He said his strategy would permit "people on opposite sides of this difficult debate to come together."
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe its the BMD in the new border base??? In any case, Dubya is basically showing Moud da nose.
Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers detained an Iraqi Army battalion commander for suspected involvement in criminal militia activities.
Last week, elements from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division moved to the living quarters of an Iraqi Army battalion commander and took him into custody. He allegedly selected criminal militia members for the Baha al Araji Company and is suspected of ordering an attack on Coalition Forces in April. He is also suspected of involvement in the removal of Sunni families from neighborhoods in western Baghdad. "This arrest will have two effects. First, it will disrupt the illegal activities of criminal militias in the area, specifically within the Iraqi Army, and second, it will help to restore local trust in the Iraqi Security Forces," said Maj. Guy Wetzel, a brigade staff officer for 2nd BCT, 1st Inf. Div.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like a Michael Yon dispatch the time he described being with a American Colonel? (short term memory is the first to go) who suddenly reached over an Iraqi officer, took his gun, and put him under arrest!
I don't know about you, but with the training these Iraqis are getting, and the reports from our troops about how good they are getting, I hope they stay on our side!
Too bad, our "Congressional Leaders" can't grasped the rapid day-to-day progress that is being made.
Michael Yon has been out of Iraqi awhile and is now back.
He reports: I was the first to say Iraq was in civil war, and many readers were angry to hear me say it. Well, I'll be the first to say that I predict some sort of milestone for the war in Iraq will occur early in the next year. It's dangerous to predict like this, but something fundamental has changed in Iraq.
And I can feel that change from reading of our Milblogs...
An al-Qaida-linked insurgent group released a video Thursday showing a photograph of the ID card of a US pilot killed in Iraq last year and a brief footage of his aircraft's wreckage site, US monitors said.
The 11 minutes 30 seconds video, with English subtitles, was first obtained by the IntelCenter monitoring group in suburban Washington. The footage bears the insignia of the Islamic State of Iraq and its al-Furqan media production wing, the monitors said. Titled "The Missing," the video shows the ID card photograph of US Air Force pilot Maj. Troy L. Gilbert whose F-16CG crashed November 27, 2006, some 32 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad.
US forces who investigated the crash have said insurgents reached the site before American forces could. At the time, video footage obtained by Associated Press Television News showed what appeared to be the wreckage of his plane in a field and a tangled parachute nearby.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Iraqi Army Scouts, with U.S. Special Operations Forces as advisers, conducted an intelligence driven helicopter assault raid Sept. 12 resulting in the detention of 12 suspected insurgents and the destruction of an explosively-rigged structure.
Assault forces conducted a series of raids in the vicinity of Taji and detained ten targeted individuals and two additional persons of interest. While securing one of the objectives, an assault team discovered a command detonation wire leading from an abandoned structure and the area was immediately evacuated.
After ensuring full accountability of all forces and ensuring no civilians were located within the vicinity of the structure, close air support was called in to destroy the target with four laser-guided bombs.
The targeted individuals are purportedly linked to the Lions of Islam Martyr Group and are suspected of improvised explosive device trafficking, facilitating foreign fighters and conducting murder and intimidation campaigns in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Coalition forces killed a terrorist emplacing improvised explosive devices and discovered several caches of extremist media and production materials during weekend operations in Tarmiyah.
Coalition forces concluded a three-day operation Sept. 10 to tighten security in the northern belts around the capital. Coalition forces observed a man emplacing IEDs and responded to the hostile threat by engaging and killing him. The ground forces detained four suspected terrorists for their alleged ties to the al-Qaeda in Iraq network in Tarmiyah.
During the operation, Coalition forces discovered a terrorist safe house and caches containing weapons manuals, artillery rounds and over 20,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate. Explosives experts with the ground forces safely destroyed the caches and the safe house.
The ground forces also discovered several caches of extremist media and production equipment hidden in underground holes and in trees. The caches included materials involving senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq, including handwritten notes and videos. Coalition forces experts are currently analyzing the media materials. Al-Qaeda in Iraqs leaders and operatives are under tremendous pressure from Iraqi and Coalition forces, said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman. Their media and propaganda capabilities are under particular strain since the start of the Surge of Operations in June.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#4
I buy ammonium nitrate in 50# bags so it is only 400 bags. So really not that much when your treating acres.
BTW, an explosive expert wrote you can get prilled NH4(NO3)2 to detonate by itself, but kiddies I'm not going to tell you how to do that.
Posted by: bruce ||
09/14/2007 18:40 Comments ||
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Coalition forces killed five terrorists and detained 11 suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders and their operatives in central and northern parts of the country.
Using intelligence gained from an operation Aug. 30, Coalition forces targeted a senior leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq in Baqubah. Two armed men attempted to maneuver against the assault force and, in response, the assault force engaged the men in self-defense, killing them. As they called for the target buildings occupants to come out, the assault force saw a woman attempt to draw a pistol from a weapons belt she was wearing. Responding in self-defense, Coalition forces engaged the armed woman, killing her. Another woman approaching the assault force dropped a grenade from under her clothes. When she attempted to retrieve and activate the grenade, Coalition forces responded to the hostile threat, killing the woman. The assault force detained five suspected terrorists during the operation, including another woman who was armed with a pistol.
Coalition forces targeted a senior leader of al-Qaeda in Iraqs Baghdad network involved in planning and executing car-bombing attacks against Iraqis and the security forces that protect them. When an armed man emerged from the target building and maneuvered against the ground forces, Coalition forces engaged and killed him. Two suspected terrorists were detained in the operation.
In Mosul, Coalition forces captured a wanted individual believed to conduct assassinations for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The ground forces detained three additional suspected terrorists in the raid.
We continually use information gained from our operations to target and capture al-Qaeda in Iraqs leaders and operatives, cutting their ability to attack innocent Iraqis and destabilize the government the people have chosen, said Maj. Winfield Danielson, MNF-I spokesman.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Coalition troops teamed with Iraqi policemen and concerned local citizens to rid a major road of improvised-explosive devices and al-Qaeda cell members during a two-day operation in Tuwaitha. The purpose of the mission was to not just clear the route, but also to establish an Iraqi capability to keep the route safe for civilian and military traffic.
Capt. Brian Gilbert of Boise, Idaho, commander of Company D, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, currently attached to 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, was met by about 60 citizen volunteers at his companys combat outpost at the outset of the operation. The volunteers from Tuwaitha then led his Soldiers south into the village of Tuwaitha as they provided additional eyes during the route clearance.
This was in stark contrast to the reception 3-1 Cav. Regt. Soldiers had previously received in Tuwaitha. When they (3-1 Cav. Regt.) went down there before, the citizens were very non-compliant; no waving, no smiling, Gilbert said. There was nobody willing to fight (terrorists) and they encountered multiple IEDs.
After clearing the route, Soldiers worked with volunteers and policemen from the 1st National Police Brigade to establish checkpoints with blast protection. The checkpoints will be manned by national policemen and Iraqi civilian volunteers from the local concerned citizens group. Concerned citizens groups are made up of volunteers who commit to work with Coalition Forces to decrease violence in their neighborhoods.
By manning the checkpoints, Iraqi Security Forces and local citizens will be better able to monitor and control traffic around Tuwaitha. Leaders from 3-1 Cav. Regt. are optimistic that national police and concerned citizens will help reduce violence in Tuwaitha following the expulsion of al-Qaeda elements from the area.
As night approached during the two-day operation, local citizens provided an empty house for the Soldiers to rest in and contributed personnel for security patrols throughout the night. Soldiers were also treated to meals provided by the local populace.
The route into Tuwaitha had been a dangerous stretch of road for Sledgehammer Brigade Soldiers, with a history of roadside bombs. The clearing operation resulted in the discovery and neutralization of four IEDs along the route. Soldiers and Iraqis found two anti-tank mines, one mortar round and one large homemade explosive device in plastic containers.
Traveling on the road into Tuwaitha from Jisr Diyala has been a dangerous proposition for both Soldiers and citizens. In the days following the mission, Gilbert received feedback that citizens are now able to travel to Jisr Diyala to shop for the first time in six months. Gilbert said he believes the common threat of al-Qaeda prompted the Tuwaitha citizens desire to work with the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team Soldiers. Al-Qaeda is a threat to the locals and also a threat to U.S. Soldiers, Gilbert said. They wanted us to come down there and fight with them. So we did.
Gilbert said 3-1 Cav. Regt. plans to clear out greater numbers of insurgents and help legitimize more concerned citizens groups. Now that they have cleared out AQI and established concerned citizens groups, we can provide medical operations and projects that will provide enduring employment, Gilbert said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
You know, if couch potatoes can help find Steve Fossett using Google maps, why the hell can't we all band together to help find IEDs along the Tigris?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/14/2007 9:08 Comments ||
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#2
That is something that just sounds good: "concerned local citizens" and "local Iraqi volunteers".
#3
Soldiers worked with volunteers and policemen from the 1st National Police Brigade to establish checkpoints with blast protection. The checkpoints will be manned by national policemen and Iraqi civilian volunteers
Are these the same National Police that are supposed to be disbanded? Maybe they aren't so bad after all.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
09/14/2007 10:57 Comments ||
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Palestinian sources reported on Thursday night that the IDF was operating in the central and northern Gaza Strip. The army said that there was a suspected terrorist infiltration through the Gaza security fence.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car in a Gaza refugee camp Thursday, seriously wounding one man, the IDF and Palestinian hospital officials said. The car was struck while driving in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Hamas radio said the vehicle apparently belonged to terrorists activists from the Islamic Jihad group.
This article starring:
Islamic Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Suspected terrorists separatist rebels have killed four people in the insurgency-hit Thai south, police said Friday, as the Muslim-majority region began observing the holy month of Ramadan.
A 29-year-old Muslim woman was shot dead in an ambush early Friday morning in Narathiwat, one of three southern provinces beset by terrorist separatist violence that has killed more than 2,500 people since January 2004. As Ramadan began on Thursday, a 28-year-old Buddhist man and two Muslim men in their 60s were shot dead, also in Narathiwat, local police told AFP.
In a concession to local concerns about the holiday, the army said earlier this week that it would lift a curfew imposed since March on two of the most violent districts in Yala province from September 12 to October 21.
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
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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.
Air strikes and Afghan army gunfire killed more than 45 suspected Taliban fighters in a clash in a southern province just as the holy month of Ramadan began, the US-led coalition said. 
(SomaliNet) The mayor of Beledweyn city, 335km north of the Somalia capital, Elmi Saney Qasim has spoken out on Thursday a grenade explosion, which targeted his convoy inside the city overnight saying it was an attempt on his life. 
(SomaliNet) Local insurgents have ambushed positions of the Somali police forces in north of the capital Mogadishu on Thursday afternoon killing five soldiers and confiscated a vehicle mounted with anti tank gun and several rifles, witnesses said. The latest skirmish happened around Mother and Child SOS hospital in Huriwa district where the rival sides exchanged all sorts of weapons. 
Bangladesh's elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has killed 400 people since it was formed in mid-2004 to combat crimes in the South Asian nation, the head of the force was quoted as saying on Thursday. 
A 22-year-old German man of Afghan origin has been arrested in connection with the stabbing of a rabbi in Frankfurt. According to reports, he has confessed, but said that he didn't want to kill his victim. 
NEW DELHI: In what seems like a well planned and cleanly executed manoeuvre, Shahid Bilal - one of Indias most wanted terrorist and accused of the recent Hyderabad bombings - was reportedly killed in Karachi on August 30.
Taliban militants attacked a military base near the Pak-Afghan border on Thursday, sparking a battle that drew in army helicopters and left up to 50 insurgents and two soldiers dead, Inter Services Public Relations Director General Major General Waheed Arshad said. He said eight other soldiers were wounded in the fighting near Razmak, a town in the North Waziristan.
Cable operators in Swat stopped transmissions on Thursday for an indefinite period after receiving threatening letters, sources said. We have been receiving threatening letters for quite some time, and law and order is very bad in the area, Muhammad Hayat Chaman, a cable operator, told Daily Times. Hayat said if closure of cable TV could bring the Islamic system, the cable operators would fully cooperate with clerics. He said there were four cable operators in the area and all of them had stopped operating.
The latest fighting coincides with a visit to Pakistan by the American deputy secretary of state, John Negroponte. In talks with Mr Negroponte, President Musharraf said Pakistan's commitment to fighting the militants should never be doubted. 
Multi-National Division Baghdad Soldiers detained an Iraqi Army battalion commander for suspected involvement in criminal militia activities.
Iraqi Army Scouts, with U.S. Special Operations Forces as advisers, conducted an intelligence driven helicopter assault raid Sept. 12 resulting in the detention of 12 suspected insurgents and the destruction of an explosively-rigged structure.
Coalition forces killed a terrorist emplacing improvised explosive devices and discovered several caches of extremist media and production materials during weekend operations in Tarmiyah.
Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a car in a Gaza refugee camp Thursday, seriously wounding one man, the IDF and Palestinian hospital officials said. The car was struck while driving in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Hamas radio said the vehicle apparently belonged to 
