KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 80 Taliban fighters during a six-hour battle outside a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan Saturday, the latest in a series of increasingly bloody engagements in the region, officials said. The mathematical side of me says that makes about one dead for every 3.5 minutes of fighting or so.
Also Saturday, suicide bomber wearing an Afghan security uniform detonated his explosives at the entrance to a combined U.S.-Afghan base in the east of the country, killing four Afghan soldiers and a civilian, officials said.
The battle near Musa Qala in Helmand province -- the world's largest poppy growing region -- is at least the fifth major fight in the area since September 1. The five battles have killed more than 250 Taliban fighters, a possible sign that U.S. or British forces could be trying to wrest the area back from Taliban militants. Notice how they like to congregate where opium is grown? Kill all the growers. The sooner the better. I'll bet each grower supports way over a dozen constantly refreshed Taliban. For each grower killed there will be fewer jihadis created than the number of jihadi positions de-funded, and those created jihadis die once. Those funded jihadi positions keep getting refreshed.
The latest fight began when Taliban fighters attacked a combined U.S. coalition and Afghan patrol with rockets and gunfire, prompting the combined force to call in attack aircraft, which resulted in "almost seven dozen Taliban fighters killed," the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement early Sunday. It's easier to convert "scores of enemy dead" than "dozens of enemy dead" to the actual number, but I have a feeling there's some guy in the army who can't wait until he gets to say "coalition forces killed a gross Taliban today!"
The coalition said that four bombs were dropped on a trench line filled with Taliban fighters, resulting in most of the deaths. Ooh, the visceral side of me says that's a whole lotta dead bad guys, and I can't wait for the video to show up on youtube!
Taliban militants overran Musa Qala in February, four months after British troops left the town following a contentious peace agreement that handed over security responsibilities to Afghan elders. Musa Qala has been in control of Taliban fighters ever since. If this is what the Taliban call being in control, then that's OK with me!
Situated in the north of Helmand, Musa Qala and the region around it have been the front line of the bloodiest fighting this year. It is also the heartland of Afghanistan's illicit opium poppy farms. Maybe get rid of all the scattered poppy fields and you'll see them congregate on the major fields.
Violence in Afghanistan this year has been the deadliest since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. More than 5,200 people have died this year due to the insurgency, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials.
The suicide bomber walked up to a security gate for Afghan soldiers outside Forward Operating Base Bermel in the eastern province of Paktika, near the border with Pakistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. Four Afghan soldiers and a civilian were killed and six Afghans were wounded, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. No Americans were hurt. That's going to make him popular with the home team.
It was not immediately clear if the bomber had been trying to gain entry to the base. Well, not to some reporter-types anyway, I suppose.
Taliban insurgents have set off more than 100 suicide blasts this year, a record pace. Well, popcorn pops faster and faster right up until almost the end, too, and that's how you know it's about finished.
Elsewhere, Taliban militants killed three Afghan police who had been trying to prevent them from carrying out a kidnapping, said Helmand provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal. The militants successfully kidnapped an Afghan man during the gunbattle, he said.
Australia's prime minister, meanwhile, said more NATO powers must directly engage the Taliban to help ease the burden on Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands, which all have troops in the dangerous southern and central parts of Afghanistan.
Germany, Italy, France and Spain have troops in the relatively safer northern sections, a fact that is causing a rift within NATO. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said those countries need to help ease the burden on countries operating in the south. "Some of the other countries have lots of troops in Afghanistan, but they're not in some of the areas that are experiencing the heaviest fighting," he said. Imagine that.
The governments of the Netherlands and Canada, in particular, are coming under domestic pressure to pull out troops because of heavy casualties. "I think the Dutch government has been very courageous to date," Howard said. "It's not for me to comment on Dutch politics, but I do observe that the Dutch are making a great contribution and as are of course the Canadians."
#2
Karzai is demanding an end to the use of coalition air strikes. Air power is the overwhelming reason why battles like this end up the way they do. Are we and Karzai really on the same side, or are his statements just political BS for internal cover?
#8
"Some of the other countries have lots of troops in Afghanistan, but they're not in some of the areas that are experiencing the heaviest fighting," he said.
#9
"coalition forces killed a gross Taliban today!"
Doesn't that happen every day?
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
10/28/2007 13:30 Comments ||
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#10
80 Talibs escorted from gene pool at Musa Qala
This began with a different title but it seems the RB ghosts have changed it to this much better one!
"Step this way, gentlemen, to visit our Halloween House of Horrors. No, you shouldn't have the women and children with you. Pay no attention to the screaming, it's part of the attraction. The grinding sound you hear will make sense in a bit. It's actually the best part!"
#14
I'm still waiting for the use of napalm on the poppy fields - about halfway through the growing season should do it. Poppies are notoriously hard to kill - my neighbor and I have been trying for ten years now - but napalm does the job. Burns all the way down to the DEEP roots.
I want one of those licenses. Then I'm going to petition the government for an AR-15 and 5000 rounds of ammunition - my due as a member of the "militia".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/28/2007 15:37 Comments ||
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#15
Karzai is demanding an end to the use of coalition air strikes.
I have no problem with it. Let the Afghans fight the Taliban on the ground. It's counterproductive having 20,000 Americans plus 10,000 other westerners fighting the battles the Afghans should be fighting. It's their asses. Let them save it or die. A few thousand Americans is enough to prevent the Talibs/Pakis from taking power. Limit our role to that.
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2007 19:07 Comments ||
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#16
excellent point, Ed. Let the Afghan Army attack without air support, better yet, let Karzai lead them
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2007 19:12 Comments ||
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#17
With regard to ed's article, it looks like the Dutch (despite concerns about the Guantanamo Bay facility) are more willing to shoot through civilian shields to get to the bad guys than the Australians are. Interesting.
#19
Another article Brig. Gen. Ghulam Muhiddin Ghori, a top Afghan army commander in Helmand, said the foreign fighters are running training camps near Musa Qala to teach militants how to carry out suicide and roadside bomb attacks. But he said no big military operations are being launched to overtake the town itself because of a fear of civilian casualties.
"Afghan and coalition forces have surrounded the Musa Qala district center. We have started negotiations with tribal leaders there to take over Musa Qala from the Taliban," Ghori told The Associated Press. "The tribal leaders are also worried about these Taliban because the foreign fighters Arabs, Chechens, Baluchs and Uzbeks they are in Musa Qala."
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2007 20:27 Comments ||
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#20
Poppy fields need what was done to Carthage, sow them with salt. Actually some long lasting soil sterilants would be better. I can recommend several. Poppy growing towns; same as Carthage. No stone on another. Talibs; chop off the right hand and blind. Turn loose. A living example is better than a dead marytr.
Posted by: Rich W ||
10/28/2007 23:08 Comments ||
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The Sudanese government committed to an immediate cease-fire in Darfur at the opening of peace talks on Saturday, but the expected announcement was not met by similar pledges from rebels, who largely boycotted the U.N.-brokered negotiations. "The government of Sudan is proclaiming as of now a unilateral cease-fire in Darfur," said Nafie Ali Nafie, who was heading an important Sudanese delegation to the talks in the Libyan coastal town of Sirte. "We shall not be the first ones to fire arms."
The U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Andrew Natsios, praised the government for its pledge, but cautioned that there had been dozens of previous cease-fire declarations in Darfur broken by both government troops and rebel factions. The talks are aimed at ending over four years of fighting that have killed more than 200,000 people in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. With no major rebel players, however, there was little hope that Sirte would lead to a quick peace agreement and mediators said the goal to "create conditions" for effective peace talks to take place.
They said negotiations will also give a larger role to groups representing civilians, which have had little say so far. "We are going to try very hard to create a framework for the talks," conference spokesman Ahmed Fauzi said, warning this would be "a long process."
Immediately after the talks were announced, Adulwahid Elnur, the founder of the Sudan Liberation Army rebels, said he would boycott until the U.N. and African Union have deployed a joint force of 26,000 peacekeepers due in January. Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the rival Justice and Equality Movement, had initially agreed to the talks, but on Friday announced he was also boycotting because the U.N. were inviting smaller, less representative rebel factions to attend. JEM and the main SLA groups say the smaller factions attending are controlled by the Sudanese government. The U.N. and AU mediators say they tried to make the negotiations were as inclusive as possible.
Posted by: lotp ||
10/28/2007 00:00 ||
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The Algerian army, boosting attacks on al Qaeda-aligned armed groups, killed 15 activists and captured seven in the past two days near the Tunisian border, local newspapers reported on Saturday. They also seized large quantities of ammunition and destroyed several hideouts in the operation in Tebessa province, 630 km east of the capital Algiers, the government-owned El Moudjahid said, citing a security source.
One army officer died in the raid, which was carried out by a combined force of the army, police and municipal guards, based on tips provided by a militant who had surrendered, the independent newspaper Liberte conveyed. This group may have had links to a failed assassination attempt on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in September, said the independent daily El Watan. According to Reuters, 75 people were killed in political violence last month including 60 in suicide blasts.
Posted by: lotp ||
10/28/2007 00:00 ||
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FOOTAGE that allegedly shows a group of men practising military-style techniques in a New Forest terror training camp has been seen by a jury. A British Army officer told a court that the drills were similar to those of al-Qaeda insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the mobile phone footage, shot in Hampshire, was also reminiscent of basic Army training.
Five men all deny charges of being involved in setting up training camps. Among them is Mohammed Hamid, 50, who prosecutors say set up camps attended by the 21 July bomb plotters. The other men, all from London, are Mousa Brown, Kibley da Costa, Mohammed Al-Figari and Kader Ahmed.
Woolwich Crown Court was told the series of short clips were recovered from a computer owned by one of the five men on trial. The officer, referred to in court as soldier A, described how the activities were similar in some ways to basic Army training. He described the participants leopard crawling, conducting forward rolls, wrestling and jumping across streams.
He commented on one drill in which men bounced on their knees between two positions while holding a large stick in front of them. He said: "I have seen that used as a method of carrying a weapon system. It is not something that is taught by the British Army. I have seen it used by insurgents while in Iraq and the Taleban in Afghanistan. It is a favoured position of insurgents and Taleban."
Prosecutor David Farrell QC then asked the expert witness: "With what type of weapon?" He replied: "An AK-47."
The court heard yesterday how the men travelled to the New Forest on 28 April, 2006, for a four-day camp. It was one of a series of trips including paintballing, camping in the Lake District and visits to an Islamic centre in East Sussex.
Soldier A served as an infantry platoon commander on three active tours and now works as a British Army instructor. He told the court how leopard crawling might be used to approach an enemy while wrestling and other drills could improve agility. Asked what the point of one exercise in which the men could be seen conducting forward rolls he replied: "No tactical use whatsoever."
One video showed the men attempting to jump across a stream in a wooded area, cheered on by the camera operator. As one participant struggled to cross and eventually fell in, the court, including some of the defendants and jury, erupted in laughter.
Silent footage from a motion-sensitive camera hidden by police in the woods was also shown to soldier A. The footage revealed a group of men undertaking exercises in a forest clearing. Soldier A said the group practised a "fireman's lift", which could be used to evacuate soldiers from a battlefield.
Earlier, the court heard evidence from an undercover police officer who infiltrated the group claiming he wanted to convert to Islam. The officer attended a number of meetings at defendant Mohammed Hamid's home in Clapton, east London, and eventually a number of the alleged training camps. He said Hamid's defendant, Kibley Da Costa, admitted the group were "extreme" during a car journey after a meeting the week before the New Forest camp. He told the court: "He was talking about the meeting. He said to take everything 'gradual'. He said the group were extreme, but it was the right way to be. He also said we are not to attend Brixton mosque next door to the police station because he said the Muslims were a bit too good and worked for the government."
The meeting itself was recorded on a bugging device hidden in Hamid's home by police in September 2005. In one conversation played to the court yesterday Hamid tells a group of young men that they must be trained. He said: "Remember this, Allah has turned around and said every Muslim should be fully trained. He should be able to take on two kuffar (non-believers), right, he should be ready for Jihad."
Posted by: lotp ||
10/28/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Britain
#1
Can't wait for the defense to argue that 'just like' English and American Civil War and WWII 'reenactors' these gentlemen were just getting a head start in the timeline to form their own 'reenactment' society. Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket.
#2
RE: Reenactment...
They can play the Taliban, and me and my friends will be the ISAF forces. They get to play with sticks, we get M-16s and a Ma-deuce or two with live ammunition. I'm sure the Colorado Air National Guard will be glad to play the role of US Air Forces.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/28/2007 15:52 Comments ||
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High oil prices have forced energy-strapped North Korea to ground its fleet of ageing Antonov AN-2 biplanes for training flights, it was reported Sunday. The cutting edge of Stalinist technology.
'We understand North Korea has stopped flying AN-2s for a considerable time to funnel the oil for AN-2s to other planes,' South Korean state news agency Yonhap quoted a military source as saying.
The impoverished but heavily-armed Stalinist nation maintains a fleet of almost 300 AN-2 biplanes, developed in the Soviet Union after the Second World War as a multi-function aircraft.
The planes are capable of infiltrating deep into South Korea in case of war, Yonhap quoted the source as saying, with their capability for slow and low-altitude flight enabling them to evade radar detection. Well, of course they're low and slow. They're FREAKING BIPLANES, for Pete's sake. Maybe they could carry some hand grenades and throw them out the window during their trip.
#6
My mother HAS a WW1 "Practise" bomb, it's inert, made into a lamp and is beautiful. about 2 inches diameter and a foot long it greatly resembles those very early science fiction rocket illustrations, (Looks much like that blimp above, but slimmer, no belly bulge, four stubby fins, it's made of aluminum with a screw off nose cap of bronze, for when it gets dented supposedly)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/28/2007 13:56 Comments ||
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#8
Notice the windows. Not only can you infiltrate South Korean airspace but it looks like you could drop a half-dozen special operators behind our lines with that thing.
#10
An-2s have seen considerable combat action. Soviet forces used them heavily in utility roles at all times, and as battlefield spotters during the Hungarian invasion of 1956 and the Afghan War of the 1980s. Apparently some An-2s were used to dump riot gases on Chinese forces during border squabbles in the late 1960s.
The North Vietnamese used the type in their war with the Americans, employing it to haul cargos, sometimes into South Vietnam, and on occasion as an improvised attack aircraft. US records suggest the An-2 was not well-suited to the strike role, since mentions of encounters with armed An-2s usually state they were shot down. Vietnamese An-2s were used in later conflicts as spotters and utility aircraft. An-2s have been used by North Korea to insert spies and saboteurs into South Korea. An-2s have played roles in the wars of the Balkan and Soviet successions.
During the 1960s a An-2 attempting to engage South Vietnamese naval units was shot down by a F-4 Phantom under the control of an Air Intercept Controller (AIC) on the USS Long Beach (CGN-9).
#14
..When I was at Kunsan AB 84-85, we were repeatedly told that our first warning that a war had started might be one of these 'outdated' aircraft dropping NKSF troops near the base, just before the air/missile strikes started. They may sound funny, but they are mostly wood and with skilled pilots at the stick stood a good chance of getting through the air defense nets and at least getting close to their targets.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/28/2007 15:36 Comments ||
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#15
Don't knock the AN-2. It can carry 15 commandos 350 miles and set down on any relatively flat surface at least 600 feet long. The Nork battle plan called for them to fly into SKor and drop a full parachute batallion deep behind the front lines. That's why they have 300+ of them.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/28/2007 15:57 Comments ||
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#16
Looks like it'd be a fun little plane for a hobbyist.
Posted by: Abu Uluque6305 ||
10/28/2007 15:58 Comments ||
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#17
Old Patriot, that is why you never throw away old stuff like that. It is perfect for "out of the box" thinking.
Just imagine 300 plus paratroopers landing at your main C&C area right before war breaks out. Cause massive confusion for a few days at least.
#18
Hey if they are still had it right about the Norks plan to infiltrate a large number of SpecOps behind the lines just before an invasion. The South Korean really feared this scenaio. Not sure of lately but they used to catch Nork Infiltraion team on a regular basis.
#19
The AN-2 is not a joke, it is a legend among aviators and aviation enthusiasts. The cabin was deliberately designed with the same cross section as the Douglas DC-3 (built in the Soviet Union as the Li-2) for compatibility on Aeroflot local routes. That is, it will seat 3 abreast with a center aisle, stand-up headroom and a lavatory. Useful load (including fuel) is on the order of 4500 pounds.
The biplane layout was a widely ridiculed anachronism when the plane was developed in the late 40s, but the AN-2 got the last laugh by remaining in production into the 1990s.
Production was transferred to PZL in Poland in the 60s and PZL still provides support for the aircraft. They have been used for almost every conceivable purpose in every part of the world and there are thousands of them still flying.
The 1000 hp Ash-62 engine is derived from the Wright R-1820 Cyclone built under license in the Soviet Union, and later Poland, from 1934 onward. They were used in dozens of different Soviet bloc aircraft. American Cyclones were under active development from the late 20s till the 60s, with output increasing from 525 to over 1500 hp during that time. They powered tens of thousands of aircraft between 1927 and the end of production in 1968. These ranged from late 20s biplanes to the S-2 Tracker and notably included the B-17 Flying Fortress.
I have flown the AN-2 and have about 30 hours in the type. It is easy to fly and responds well but is a little tail-heavy. You have to be constantly aware of its size on the ground or you'll bash something with a wing-tip, but visibility is excellent for both ground handling and take-off/ landing. Cruising speed is said to be 100 knots but it will thrum along happily at 80 or 120, depending on how much fuel you want to use.
Stall characteristics are phenomenol. It can be landed almost vertically in a strong headwind and it will actually hover in a 35 knot headwind. Fuel burn is usually 40-50 gph, but this can be reduced on long flights.
The AN-2 is not certified for commercial use in the United States primarily because PZL will not go to the effort and expense to certify the engine here. American AN-2s are therefore registered in the Experimental category and are consequently fairly rare here. In Europe and certain other areas, it is very popular for sky-diving because of its fast climb, large doors, slow drop speed, and general cost-effectiveness.
The USAF reportedly has a number of AN-2s for spec-ops in various parts of the world. They are operated by the 16th SOW at Hurlburt Field, FL.
The only thing it can't do is get somewhere in a hurry or impress the uninformed with its looks.
Posted by: Lord Piltdown ||
10/28/2007 17:36 Comments ||
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#20
A natural STOL one that stalled from 0 fuel. Haha.
#21
The AN-2 is a great plane. My mechanic works on one at the place where I tie down my plane every spring. It is a no-frills real stick-and-rudder bush plane. No curved, formed windshield, but rather pieces of flat plexiglass formed into shapes that overall are curved and streamlined, well, as streamlined as an old Soviet plane can be.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2007 18:38 Comments ||
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#22
Lord Piltdown---send me an email.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2007 18:39 Comments ||
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#23
that said - how good against modern AA fire, radar intercepts, et al..... flying death traps
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2007 19:10 Comments ||
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#24
Commodore Frank----It is more logistical than combat. Sort of a Purple Heart Box in today's modern battlefield.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2007 19:20 Comments ||
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#25
Thanx for the pic RG.
It's an Iwan style Westland Lysander (http://www.warbirdalley.com/lysander.htm), I always loved this type of plane.
#26
Sounds like it's designed to be used before the battle gets to the field. It's quite comforting to know the North Korean fleet is grounded for the duration except for a real emergency. That, and the revelations about Syria's little mess should be causing amusing conversations in Mr. Kim's drafty halls of power.
#27
Hey, look, I never said that a biplane wasn't a good airplane. I was just implying that it's ridiculous in this day and age to have them in your military, much less a whole fleet of them.
#29
hmmmm... I refuse to apologize for ridiculing our enemies for using bi-planes in a modern war, does that make me bad? Does that make my denigrators stupid? You make the call....
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2007 20:38 Comments ||
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#30
It's not taking the place of a fighter, Gromsky, it's meant to take the place of a troop transport. Kinda like what we use helicopters for.
#31
hmmmm... I refuse to apologize for ridiculing our enemies for using bi-planes in a modern war, does that make me bad? Does that make my denigrators stupid? You make the call....
Well, gee, Frank, if the fact of having two wings outweighs any realistic consideration of function and capability, then yeah, I think the call is pretty obvious.
This isn't a Sopwith Camel. This reminds of the numbskulls who ridicule the TU-95 Bear for having propellers, as though this alone puts it in the same class of capability as, say, a Mitsubishi Betty or a B-24, with no consideration for what it really is and will really do.
As for the AN-2's vulnerability in its assumed role of infiltration transport, how is it significantly more vulnerable than a helicopter? A chopper with the same payload would have more power and therefore a larger IR signature. It is also a lot noisier.
Are we stupid for using C-130s and the C-27s, neither of which has fighter performance either?
This is ridiculous, but it would become deadly if we saw the same kind of silliness and jumping to conclusions among military planners. That kind of thinking was prevalent before Pearl Harbor, in fact.
Posted by: Lord Piltdown ||
10/28/2007 21:02 Comments ||
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#32
These guys have the job of flying so low they collect branches on the landing gear, and slow enough that they look like a fast car.
In a war they become an easy target. But if they are used in their normal role of dropping a sick of commandoes off BEFORE the shooting starts, or just as it starts, then 300 of these would be very useful - and hard to catch them all if they go out and come back in from an unexpected angle in a surprise attack scenario.
Its simply a case of right tool for the job. WOudl IO recommend that we use them? No, we dont do mass sneak attacks wiht hundreds of SF types and consider them disposable.
But thats not how they swing it in Little Kim's land. They cannot top our tech, so the only they they can do is look for ways arouind it by using our biases against us.
#33
Gee "Lord Piltdown". perhaps you'd be willing to pilot or paricipate in this flying coffin? I have no doubt it's a fine flying machine for it's period, to pretend it's an active war piece is to spin Zimbobwe's tank force, nice try, lose credibility... next nym?
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/28/2007 21:42 Comments ||
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#34
OK - you guys have convinced me. North Korea really has something going with these biplanes other than an utter lack of capability. How can the USAF get their hands on these wonder weapons, these workhorses of transport? If we cut a few V-22s, I'm sure we can afford some.
#35
#29 hmmmm... I refuse to apologize for ridiculing our enemies for using bi-planes in a modern war, does that make me bad? Does that make my denigrators stupid? You make the call....
Mr Frank G,
HA!
You Western Bourgeois types can laugh but I invented the AN2's Back Up Power Source, Yes A Redundant Robust Rubber Band System!
HA!
I can assure you and any phony Western Powers that I will get the last laugh!
did I say HA! yet?
BTW the stinking pilots aren't flying, so I put them on Half Rations!
<:(
Posted by: Kim Jong-il ||
10/28/2007 22:12 Comments ||
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#40
Y'all need to ask y'allselves, if these things are so unbelievably inferior, how come none have been shot down to date, in spite of penetrating S. Korean airspace from time to time?
#41
If Kimmie plans an invasion with special forces, he would use or crash 300 AN-2s and it would not make any difference to him. If he can insert 3000 to 4500 troops in, it is appropriate technology for him. The pilots could go in with the troops or they could die. No big deal to Kimmie. It is a lot cheaper to maintain AN-2s than a fleet of helos for the Norks.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/28/2007 23:42 Comments ||
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Turkish troops on Sunday killed 15 separatist Kurdish rebels in a clash in southeastern Turkey, the private Dogan news agency reported. The fighting reportedly occurred in the mainly Kurdish province of Tunceli, which is not near the border with Iraq where most of the recent clashes have occurred. The governor's office for Tunceli confirmed that clashes were taking place in the province but would not confirm any casualty figures.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2007 10:05 ||
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Paramilitaries on Sunday engaged the pro-Taleban insurgents entrenched in the hills of Manglor in Pakistans north- west Swat district, officials said. Fighting resumed at midday after security forces moved out of Fizaghat village to relocate to Charbagh area situated close to the stronghold of the diehard supporters of a fanatic cleric Maulana Fazlullah. The paramilitary personnel are intermittently firing mortars to neutralize the pockets of resistance in Manglor and to provide cover to ground troops, a police official said on condition of anonymity.
Military helicopter gunships are also providing aerial support to the embattled forces by targeting the fighters, he added. Though the gunfights were not so intense, heavy troop deployment and the mobilising of reinforcements hinted at a possible full-fledged operation against the rebels.
Violence raged in Swat, located some 160 kilometres from North- West Frontier Province (NWFP) capital Peshawar, after security forces laid siege to Fazlullahs seminary in the village of Imam Dheri on Friday. The anarchist cleric, who instigates Islamic rebellion through his illegal FM radio station, is believed to have gone into hiding before the recent clashes that had reportedly left at least 15 people dead.
Recently, authorities air-dropped leaflets in the volatile regions, asking the public to help the security forces in pushing the militants out of the area so that life and business could flourish.
Tension was running high in Swats sub-districts of Matta and Kabal that are seeing general exodus of locals to adjoining safer areas. There were also reports of armed militants assembling in Matta and another nearby village of Khwazakhela.
Government authorities recently deployed some 2,500 paramilitary troops in the otherwise heavenly valley to quell the violent uprising in which the armed extremists tried to enforce Taleban-style laws on the local population. The heavy deployment was followed by the suicide car bombing of a paramilitary truck, which killed more than two dozen people and injured many others.
In the recent past, the zealots bombed music stores and barber shops claiming the businesses violated the religious teachings. They also ordered females to wear Hijab, a traditional female headgear for Muslim women.
Meanwhile, security alert also sounded in the NWFP capital Peshawar on Sunday after three rockets fired from unknown location landed in one of the citys sensitive areas, the DawnNews television channel reported. However, there were no casualties. The channel said five more rockets aimed at the Peshawar airport and the garrison area were seized later in the day.
This article starring:
Maulana Fazlullah
TNSM
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2007 11:48 ||
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The NWFP Health Department has postponed a campaign for administering oral polio drops and vitamin-A to children in Swat district due to the current security situation, officials said.
We have held meetings with the donors and keeping the security situation in view have postponed the campaign till the law and order situation gets better, Dr Wahid, NWFP Health Directorate deputy director for the Expanded Program on Immunization, told Daily Times.
Wahid also said they had arranged a special anti-polio campaign during Ramazan this year and therefore children would not be adversely affected by the decision to postpone the campaign.
Regarding reports of parents refusing to administer the drops to their children, he said they comprised less than one percent of the target population.
According to Health Department statistics, one child was diagnosed with polio in Swat district in 2007, while two cases were reported in Nowshera district, one in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency, and one in Peshawar district.
The decision to postpone the campaign came after recent clashes between hardliner cleric Maulana Fazlullah and the paramilitary forces that were sparked after a suicide bomber targeted a military vehicle killing atleast 20 people and injuring 34 on Thursday.
Fazlullhah has been opposing the anti-polio campaign for children in Swat district and has repeatedly asked people, through his illegal FM radio station, not to administer the vaccine to their children.
On May 22 this year the Mutthida Majlis Amal (MMA)-led NWFP government signed an agreement with the controversial cleric wherein he agreed to drop his opposition to girls schools, polio drops and to stop arms production in exchange for government permission to run his radio station. Many clerics in the NWFP and FATA oppose the polio vaccination campaign, believing that causes infertility and is a western conspiracy to curb the growing Muslim worlds population.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2007 09:37 ||
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Top|| File under: TNSM
Two different pamphlets urging foreign guests, a reference to Al Qaeda and Taliban militants, to leave the tribal areas, and calling on the tribal people to join government forces, were airdropped in North Waziristan on Saturday in what appears to be a campaign to win hearts and minds.
Residents said the pamphlets, written in Urdu, were airdropped in Miranshah and Mir Ali. One of them was issued by Pakistani and Saudi clerics while the second pamphlet was issued by Waziristans hosts (local people).
A one-page pamphlet titled You were my guests obtained by Daily Times, read, Please leave my home and my country so that we can live peacefully.
Because of you [foreign militants], I am in trouble. My house is under attack and family members are dying and wounded because of you, the pamphlet read. You [foreign militants] are using my soil and you are spreading unrest in my area and country.
The second pamphlet, containing religious decrees against militancy, said a conspiracy was hatched to start an unending war between the tribal people and security forces, which would harm both sides at the end.
The enemies of Islam and Pakistan will achieve four objectives by making the tribal people and the government forces fight against each other. Their objectives are: to malign Islam and Pakistan, damage the countrys credibility, reduce the strength of tribesmen and the government forces and pit one against the other.
Saudi cleric: The pamphlet also quoted Saudi Mufti-e-Azam Sheikh Abdul Aziz as warning Muslim youths against elements instigating false jihad.
The distribution of pamphlets comes days after operation Al Mizan against foreign militants in the Mir Ali area earlier this month in which around 200 militants, including 50 foreigners, were killed besides a number of civilians and troops. Separately, two Frontier Corps personnel were injured late on Friday after a rocket attack on a telephone exchange in Miranshah.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2007 09:29 ||
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Top|| File under: TNSM
#1
Goodie. Dropping leaflets on people who can't read and write. That'll help.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/28/2007 16:17 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Yup, Barbara. As if leaflets are going to turn the tide against people who strap on bomb vests. I don't recall anybody ever using leaflets to get rid of a rat infestation. Just one more indication of how determined Pakistan is in its fight against homegrown terrorism.
Militants beheaded two more security personnel and seven civilians on Saturday, as a spokesman for pro-Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah warned that there would be no peace in Swat until enforcement of Islamic rule.
The decapitated bodies of four security personnel were found on Friday. Two more policemen were beheaded today (Saturday) and also seven civilians, NWFP Home Secretary Badshah Gul Wazir said. However, reports put the unofficial death toll among police and paramilitary soldiers at 12.
Maulana Sirajuddin, spokesman for Maulana Fazlullah, confirmed that they had beheaded the security personnel. According to Aaj News, Sirajuddin later offered talks with the government to end the violence, but Wazir denied any such offer had been received.
In the morning, security personnel dropped handbills in both Pushto and Urdu from helicopters in Mingora city and surrounding rural areas. The security personnel are in the area for protection of life and property of the local people. You are requested to back security personnel against terrorists and extremists, they said. Also, the militants occupied Char Bagh police checkpost at Kalam Road near Mingora city late on Saturday, Aaj News reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2007 09:23 ||
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Top|| File under: TNSM
RANCHI At least 18 people, including the son of former chief minister Babulal Marandi, were killed while three others were injured in a Maoist attack in Jharkhand's Giridih district early yesterday, police officials said. The incident took place in Chilkhari village of Giridih district, about 290 km from state capital Ranchi.
According to the police, around 30 to 40 rebels of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) dressed in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) uniforms attacked Chilkhari at around 1am yesterday while the villagers were engrossed in watching a cultural programme organised by Nunalal Marandi, the brother of Babulal Marandi. Arun Kumar Singh, the superintendent of police of Giridih district, said: "Eighteen people were killed while three others two women and one-three-year old child were injured in the Maoist attack."
Mahesh Ganju, a villager, said: "We thought they (Maoist rebels) were CRPF personnel and had come to provide security to us. Gradually they surrounded us and we thought it was security cover but then they started firing on us."
Babulal Marandi was also expected to attend the programme but wasn't able to do so. However, his younger son Anup attended the event and was killed along with 17 others when Maoist guerrillas fired indiscriminately at the gathering. Babulal Marandi said: "My family has been the target of Maoist rebels for a long time as we have been fighting against them and organising villagers to rebel against them.
"My brother and son committed a mistake by organising the programme late at night," he added.
His brother Nunalal blamed the local administration for security lapses leading to the massacre. "I had informed the police and district administration about the programme but no proper security arrangements were made to provide security to me and the villagers," Nunalal told IANS.
Babulal Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) party has called for a state-wide shutdown today to protest against the Maoist attack.
Chief Minister Madhu Koda has announced compensation for the kin of those killed. The officer in charge of the Deori police station, under whose jurisdiction Chilkhari falls, has been suspended. Koda said: "The families of those killed will be given Rs.100,000 and one member of each family will be given a job."
How does that fix the problem? Chief needs to run down the Maoists.
Chilkhari lies near the Jharkhand-Bihar border. Police forces of both states have started a joint search for the Maoist rebels involved in the attack. Police sources said 15 companies of paramilitary forces were involved in the joint operation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2007 03:52 ||
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Top|| File under:
SWAT, Pakistan Three rockets hit the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar before dawn Sunday, one striking a politicians house across the road from the US Consulate, but no one was hurt, police said.
One of the rockets hit the house of Awami National Party leader Bashir Ahmed Bilour, a former provincial governor, which lies about 20 meters (yards) from the consulate, his secretary Gul Mohammed Khan said. We heard an explosion and went on the roof and saw the remains of the rocket. It caused some damage but everyone is safe, he said.
Police official Imitiaz Khan said another rocket hit an empty house and another landed in a street, causing no significant damage or injury. The rockets were fired between 3:15 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. (2215GMT and 2300GMT). It was not clear from where or by whom. Imitiaz Khan said police were investigating and explosive experts were examining the rockets.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2007 03:46 ||
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At least 18 people, including a former minister's son, were killed overnight when Maoist rebels opened fire on a group of football spectators in eastern India, a police official said yesterday.
Between 30 and 40 heavily armed rebels stormed a village around midnight and opened fire on about 150 people gathered there after a match to watch a local cultural performance, police said. "Seventeen persons have been killed in the attack," district police superintendent Arun Kumar Singh told AFP in Jharkhand state.
One man died later of a bullet wound, taking the toll to 18, police said, adding that a three-year-old was among the three remaining wounded. "Intensive combing operations are going on," Singh said, adding that the border with Bihar, the state to the north, had been sealed to prevent rebels from fleeing there.
The night's entertainment was organised by the brother of the former chief minister Babu Lal Marandi, whose son Anup Marandi was in Chilkhari village for the match. "The police security personnel deployed left the place after the football match," said Singh. "They did wrong. They should have stayed."
The attack echoed the assassination of federal lawmaker Sunil Mahto, who was gunned down by Maoists posing as spectators at a football match in a village in the state in March. The attackers, including several women, wore fatigues similar to those used by India's anti-terror paramilitary forces and gradually surrounded the unsuspecting crowd before opening fire, witnesses said.
I think this just reiterates most of what we had yesterday. Not clear if the ceasefire was a false report or if it's aleady gone by the wayside. If not, it will.
Security forces backed by helicopter gunships attacked a militant clerics secret headquarters stronghold in northwestern Pakistan yesterday, killing several people as his evil minions militants kidnapped 11 others, police and a cleric aide said.
Fighting broke out in the village of Imam Dheri in Swat valley, the base of Maulana Fazlullah, a leader of Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shariat Muhammadi. Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad told Arab News army was deployed in Swat at the request of the provincial NWFP government.
He said some TNSM gunnies armed men had tried to set video shops on fire in Mingora but they were stopped from doing so by local policemen.
Provincial home secretary told a press conference in Peshawar in the evening evil minions militants beheaded a security personnel and publicly displayed his severed head.
An aide of Fazlullah said one of their fighters was killed and four were wounded in the military raid by security forces using mortars, missiles and strafing by helicopters. Other report said seven militants were killed. God willing, casualties on their side (security forces) will be more, Fazlullahs aide, Sirajuddin, told AP by telephone from Imam Dheri. We are sitting in our homes and mosque ... we are defending ourselves. We have carried out retaliation, he said. We have enough heavy weapons. Sirajuddin said the clerics supporters will fight until their deaths. He said the cleric was in hiding and has abandoned his stronghold.
That kinda leads to the conclusion he's not gonna fight until his death. He can always get more fanatical minions.
MinionsMinions Militants in the village and security forces fought with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and other weapons across the rushing Swat River, witnesses said. Hundreds of residents fled, local shop owner Rahman Khan said. The security forces attacked the Temple of Doom a building where Fazlullah had been appearing in recent days to urge his followers to target the Pakistan Army, police and other security forces, said Muhibullah, a local police official, in the nearby town of Mingora.
Also yesterday, minions militants ambushed a minibus carrying incompetent police and paramilitary forces on the outskirts of Swat, kidnapping eleven of them, Muhibullah said. He said rescue efforts were under way, but would not say how many police and security personnel were among the captives.
Separately, militants fired at a helicopter carrying a senior army officer yesterday in the same region. They missed the target and the helicopter made safe landing, said another local police official.
Gunmen in Baghdad snatched 10 Sunni and Shiite tribal sheiks from their cars Sunday as they were heading home to Diyala province after talks with the government on fighting al-Qaida, and at least one was later found shot to death.
...
The two cars carrying the sheiks seven Sunnis and three Shiites were ambushed in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Shaab at about 3:30 p.m., police officials said.
The sheiks were returning to Diyala province after attending a meeting with the Shiite-dominated government's adviser for tribal affairs to discuss coordinating efforts against al-Qaida in Iraq, police and a relative said.
Police found the bullet-riddled body of one of the Sunni sheiks, Mishaan Hilan, about 50 yards away from where the ambush took place, an officer said, adding that the victim was identified after his cell phone was found on him.
A relative of one of the abducted Shiite sheiks blamed Sunni extremists and said the attackers picked a Shiite neighborhood to "create strife between Shiite and Sunni tribes that have united against al-Qaida in the area." But, Jassim Zeidan al-Anbaqi said, "this will not happen."
The well-planned attack was the latest to target anti-al-Qaida tribal leaders and other officials in an apparent bid to intimidate them from joining the U.S.-sponsored grass roots strategy that the military says has contributed to a recent drop in violence.
Posted by: ed ||
10/28/2007 18:24 ||
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U.S. forces will turn over security to Iraqi authorities in the southern Shiite province of Karbala on Monday, the American commander for the area said, despite fighting between rival militia factions that has killed dozens.
Karbala will become only the eighth of Iraq's 18 provinces to revert to Iraqi control, despite President Bush's prediction in January that the Iraqi government would have responsibility for security in all of the provinces by November. But the target date has slipped repeatedly, highlighting the difficulties in developing Iraqi police forces and the slow pace of economic and political progress in areas still troubled by daily violence.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who leads the 3rd Infantry Division, said the Iraqis were ready to assume full control of their own security in Karbala province, home to shrines of two major Shiite saints, Imam Abbas and Imam Hussein. U.S. troops would remain ready to step in if help were needed. Lynch dismissed concerns about Shiite rivalries in the region, two months after clashes between militiamen battling for power erupted during a major pilgrimage in the provincial capital, also called Karbala, left at least 52 people dead. "Of course there's violence in the area but not nearly of the magnitude that would cause me to be troubled by it," he told The Associated Press on Saturday.
"This place is about a struggle for power and influence and there are indeed inter-Shia rivalries where different groups are trying to be in charge and sometimes they revert to violence, but it's not at the magnitude that's got me concerned," he said during a visit to a patrol base being constructed in Nahrawan, a Shiite city of 120,000 on the southeastern edge of Baghdad.
Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, has faced several bombings that have killed dozens of people since the Sunni insurgency began in the late summer of 2003, just months after the U.S.-led invasion in March. It also was the site of one of the boldest and most sophisticated attacks on U.S. soldiers in the war in Iraq, when gunmen driving American SUVs, speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers at the provincial headquarters and later shot them to death. A fifth soldier was killed in the Jan. 20 attack.
More recently, Karbala has been a focal point for rising tensions throughout the mainly Shiite south among rival groups maneuvering for power over the oil-rich area that also profits from religious tourism.
But Lynch, who commands a volatile mix of Sunni and Shiite areas south of Baghdad, said the Iraqis were ready to take over. "They've established a Karbala operations command that works with the Iraqi prime minister, and when security problems arise it's the Iraqi solution to the problem, not the coalition solution to the problem," he said.
The provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Raed Shakir, said more than 10,000 Iraqi security forces were "fully prepared" to maintain order. "During the past days, our forces were able to confront and chase armed groups without the help of the multinational forces. We were able to restore security by our own. This shows that we can work independently from the multinational forces," he said.
One of the most senior British commanders in Iraq has claimed that there is no point in fighting on in Basra, likening British troops in the city to "Robocop" and admitting that innocent people were hurt as a result of their actions.
The officer, who spoke to The Sunday Telegraph on condition of anonymity, said commanders had concluded that a military solution was no longer viable. "We are tired of firing at people," he said. "We would prefer to find a political accommodation."
The officer, who is responsible for thousands of troops, said the decision to pull soldiers out of the centre of Basra last month came after commanders concluded that using Iraqi forces would be more effective. "We would go down there [Basra], dressed as Robocop, shooting at people if they shot at us, and innocent people were getting hurt," he said. "We don't speak Arabic to explain and our translators were too scared to work for us any more. What benefit were we bringing to these people?"
British forces have struck a deal with Shia militias to withdraw to a single base at the international airport in return for assurances that they will no longer be attacked.
Yesterday, former military commanders and politicians expressed outrage at the officer's comments. Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said: "A lot of those who have served in Iraq will be disappointed and angry at being portrayed in this manner."
The former SAS deputy commander Clive Fairweather said he was appalled by the message coming out of Basra. "One wonders whether the Union Jack or the white flag should be flying over Basra airfield," he said.
#1
Its a consequence of the commander's failures there to hit the miltias, instead preferring to "negotiate" with them. Its now got them in deep shiite, and this bone head is whinging? Compare and contrast to Anbar, whre they RESPECT the US for fighting them like tigers.
#2
We don't really have any allies that are deadly serious about the War on Terror. The last couple of times we fought alongside the Brits they gave it their all. Methinks the Brits have gotten to the point where they need to be invaded by an actual army before they get serious. Appearently, they haven't figured out that historically, that isn't a strategy that works out well for them.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
10/28/2007 2:52 Comments ||
Top||
#3
We don't really have any allies that are deadly serious about the War on Terror.
Australia, Denmark, Poland, increasingly Canada, and possibly France. We are allied with democracies. They have elections and change policies.
#4
Yes, and something like 50% of the American population does not believe there is a war going on at all. Or rather, they believe the war is contrived by "neocons" by which they mean the Jews.
The British are not alone in their shame. I will believe the free world is serious when we talk about rooting out the problem at its well heads in Mecca.
Money spent on an Army or Fleet
Is homicidal lunacy. . . .
My son has been killed in the Mons retreat,
Why is the Lord afflicting me?
Why are murder, pillage and arson
And rape allowed by the Deity?
I will write to the Times, deriding our parson
Because my God has afflicted me.
#6
Let's not forget the British Special Forces wandering around in Iran, causing trouble. They and their commanders don't think the whole thing is pointless. On the other hand, if I understand what y'all have been saying about how the British handled Basra, the way they were required to fight, sadly, was pointless.
#7
Ultimately these rants are about the civilian leadership. Every one of the countries mentioned have produced warriors of the highest calibre, some not for centuries, but they have all demonstrated the ability to field excellent troops if there is the political will to do so and to support them.
#8
Lo, imperturbable he rules,
Unkempt, desreputable, vast --
And, in the teeth of all the schools,
I -- I shall save him at the last!
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/28/2007 13:27 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Grom has it exactly right...there is a significant percentage of people in this country, as well as in the UK (perhaps higher there), that think this war is contrived to benefit the military industrial complex (TM) and Big Oil (another TM). I think with the progress we are seeing in Iraq that history will show them to be fools.
#12
Reminds me of the betrayal and reassignment of Regimental Sergeant Major Lauderdale in the "Guns of Batasi." If we had a few more Lauderdale's, Basra would be tame as a lamb.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
10/28/2007 20:42 Comments ||
Top||
#14
""We would go down there [Basra], dressed as Robocop, shooting at people if they shot at us, and innocent people were getting hurt," he said. "We don't speak Arabic to explain and our translators were too scared to work for us any more. What benefit were we bringing to these people?""
Robocop? Talking about movies? And the translators were too scared to work for you? Sounds like they knew you weren't in it to win it. Perhaps instead of patrolling around in action movie props (his words!) and being reactionary, maybe the offensive is the way to win? Continuous actions agains the enemy, and continuous gathering of intelligence and maintenance of relationships with the locals. Once the locals see your strength and committment, they will join your side, the intelligence will come of it's own accord, and before you know it, you will have won. Witness the improvement since Gen. Petraeus took over. But if you sit back and get pounded, everyone knows you are the looser, no matter how many you kill. Victory doesn't wait.
And since we are on the subject of war, I thought of Lincoln. From Powerline: "When some wanted to cashier Grant early in the war, Lincoln said: "I cannot spare this man. He fights.""
Posted by: Mark E. ||
10/28/2007 21:06 Comments ||
Top||
Dor Alon, the Israeli energy company that sells fuel to Gaza, confirmed Sunday that it had received instructions from the Defense Ministry to reduce shipments. The confirmation followed a report by head of the Palestinian Fuel Agency, Mujahad Saalama, who said that on Saturday, a reduction of 40-50 percent was recorded in the supply of diesel fuel and that there was a decrease of 12% in fuel for the Gaza power station.
Nevertheless, Lt. Shadi Yassin, spokesman for Israel's Coordination and Liaison Administration, denied that the planned power cuts had been implemented. "Defense Minister Ehud Barak has not given any order and therefore, there have been no cuts in supplies," he said in a statement.
The reported fuel reduction move drew harsh condemnation from Palestinians in Gaza, which relies on Israel for almost all its fuel and gasoline and more than half of its electricity. "This is a serious warning to the people of the Gaza Strip. Their lives are now in danger," said Ahmed Ali, deputy director of Gaza's Petroleum Authority, which distributes Israeli fuel shipments to private Palestinian companies. "The hospitals, water pumping station and sewage will now be affected by the lack of fuel."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2007 10:02 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
The cognitive dissonance here is staggering. Don't the Paleos realize that if they killed all the Jews there would be no one to run the machines to provide them with electricity, fuel, and water and that the international aid would stop and most of them would starve? The Paleos are living proof that multiple generations on welfare depress the intellect and destroy the capability for rational thought. The Israelis should cut off all contact with Gaza and deport every Muslim from the West Bank and tell the Arabs to pound sand.
An blast ripped through a house in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least three Palestinians, witnesses and medical workers said. The source of the blast was unclear. An Israeli army spokeswoman said Israel was not involved. According to Reuters, medical sources said two young children and a woman died and at least two others were hurt. Residents searched through the rubble of the house for other survivors. Witnesses described a loud blast in a village east of the southern Gazan town of Khan Younis near the border with Israel.
Meanwhile, a bomb planted beneath a car used by the Hamas police force exploded early Saturday in the Gaza Strip and caused damage to the vehicle, the Hamas Interior Ministry said. A statement by the ministry, cited by DPA, said the identities of those who set the bomb off were unknown, adding the attackers were "trying to restore anarchy and disorder." The ministry also stated that a car belonging to a firefighter from the Hamas-run Civil Defence Department was burnt in Gaza City by unknown people.
Government troops captured three suspected Abu Sayyaf members in Parang, Sulu last Wednesday. Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Information Office (AFP-PIO) chief, said the three were not immediately identified. They were cornered by combined elements of the Air Force and the Light Reaction Co. (LRC) at their safehouse in Poblacion Parang at about 11 a.m. the other day. "The raid only lasted for about five minutes with negative resistance," Bacarro said.
Aside from the arrest of the terrorists, the military raiding team recovered a caliber .30 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) with five magazines and bullets and a Springfield Garand rifle from the suspects safehouse.
The involvement of the elite LRC that were trained by US military advisers was reportedly part of the operations to capture Indonesian terrorists Dulmatin and Umar Patek, both members of the international terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah. Bacarro refused to confirm or deny that targets of the latest operations were Dulmatin and Patek who are suspects in the bombings in Bali, Indonesia, where 202 people were killed on Oct. 12, 2002. The US government has offered a reward of $10 million for the capture of Dulmatin and $1 million for Patek.
Dulmatin and Patek slipped into Mindanao in 2005 and established links with the Abu Sayyaf to escape the crackdown launched by Indonesian security forces against the suspects. The military said more than two dozen other Indonesian militants working with JI are hiding in Mindanao.
Posted by: lotp ||
10/28/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf
#1
A BAR and a Garand? These terrorists are arming themselves from a US WWII weapons depot?
At least 27 Tamil Tiger rebels and soldiers have been killed in clashes in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Sunday. The military said it killed four rebels during clashes across the northern defence lines in Jaffna early Sunday. Elsewhere, security forces said they had killed 20 Tamil Tiger rebels and injured 11 in fighting across northern areas in the past 24 hours, the ministry said, while placing its own troop losses at three dead. There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/28/2007 11:54 ||
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COLOMBO - At least 22 Tamil Tiger rebels and soldiers have been killed in overnight clashes in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said on Sunday. Security forces claimed killing 20 Tamil Tiger rebels and injuring 11 in fighting across northern areas in the past 24 hours, placing troop losses at two dead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/28/2007 03:42 ||
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Top|| File under:
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- U.S.-led coalition forces killed about 80 Taliban fighters during a six-hour battle outside a Taliban-controlled town in southern Afghanistan Saturday, the latest in a series of increasingly bloody engagements in the region, officials said.
The Sudanese government committed to an immediate cease-fire in Darfur at the opening of peace talks on Saturday, but the expected announcement was not met by similar pledges from rebels, who largely boycotted the U.N.-brokered negotiations. "The government of Sudan is proclaiming as of now a unilateral cease-fire in Darfur," said Nafie Ali Nafie, who was heading an important Sudanese delegation to the talks in the Libyan coastal town of Sirte. "We shall not be the first ones to fire arms." 
The Algerian army, boosting attacks on al Qaeda-aligned armed groups, killed 15 activists and captured seven in the past two days near the Tunisian border, local newspapers reported on Saturday. They also seized large quantities of ammunition and destroyed several hideouts in the operation in Tebessa province, 630 km east of the capital Algiers, the government-owned El Moudjahid said, citing a security source. 
FOOTAGE that allegedly shows a group of men practising military-style techniques in a New Forest terror training camp has been seen by a jury. A British Army officer told a court that the drills were similar to those of al-Qaeda insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said the mobile phone footage, shot in Hampshire, was also reminiscent of basic Army training. 
Turkish troops on Sunday killed 15 separatist Kurdish rebels in a clash in southeastern Turkey, the private Dogan news agency reported. The fighting reportedly occurred in the mainly Kurdish province of Tunceli, which is not near the border with Iraq where most of the recent clashes have occurred. The governor's office for Tunceli confirmed that clashes were taking place in the province but would not confirm any casualty figures.
Paramilitaries on Sunday engaged the pro-Taleban insurgents entrenched in the hills of Manglor in Pakistans north- west Swat district, officials said. Fighting resumed at midday after security forces moved out of Fizaghat village to relocate to Charbagh area situated close to the stronghold of the diehard supporters of a fanatic cleric 
The NWFP Health Department has postponed a campaign for administering oral polio drops and vitamin-A to children in Swat district due to the current security situation, officials said.
RANCHI At least 18 people, including the son of former chief minister Babulal Marandi, were killed while three others were injured in a Maoist attack in Jharkhand's Giridih district early yesterday, police officials said. The incident took place in Chilkhari village of Giridih district, about 290 km from state capital Ranchi.
SWAT, Pakistan Three rockets hit the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar before dawn Sunday, one striking a politicians house across the road from the US Consulate, but no one was hurt, police said.
At least 18 people, including a former minister's son, were killed overnight when Maoist rebels opened fire on a group of football spectators in eastern India, a police official said yesterday. 
Security forces backed by helicopter gunships attacked a militant clerics 
One of the most senior British commanders in Iraq has claimed that there is no point in fighting on in Basra, likening British troops in the city to "Robocop" and admitting that innocent people were hurt as a result of their actions.
Dor Alon, the Israeli energy company that sells fuel to Gaza, confirmed Sunday that it had received instructions from the Defense Ministry to reduce shipments. The confirmation followed a report by head of the Palestinian Fuel Agency, Mujahad Saalama, who said that on Saturday, a reduction of 40-50 percent was recorded in the supply of diesel fuel and that there was a decrease of 12% in fuel for the Gaza power station. 
An blast ripped through a house in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least three Palestinians, witnesses and medical workers said. The source of the blast was unclear. An Israeli army spokeswoman said Israel was not involved. According to Reuters, medical sources said two young children and a woman died and at least two others were hurt. Residents searched through the rubble of the house for other survivors. Witnesses described a loud blast in a village east of the southern Gazan town of Khan Younis near the border with Israel. 
Government troops captured three suspected Abu Sayyaf members in Parang, Sulu last Wednesday. Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Information Office (AFP-PIO) chief, said the three were not immediately identified. They were cornered by combined elements of the Air Force and the Light Reaction Co. (LRC) at their safehouse in Poblacion Parang at about 11 a.m. the other day. "The raid only lasted for about five minutes with negative resistance," Bacarro said.
At least 27 Tamil Tiger rebels and soldiers have been killed in clashes in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Sunday. The military said it killed four rebels during clashes across the northern defence lines in Jaffna early Sunday. Elsewhere, security forces said they had killed 20 Tamil Tiger rebels and injured 11 in fighting across northern areas in the past 24 hours, the ministry said, while placing its own troop losses at three dead. There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
