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Jalaluddin Haqqani not dead, releases video, still 71
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Bomber kills Afghan policeman who caught Taliban
A suicide bomber in southern Afghanistan attacked and killed a police commander on Friday who was responsible for the arrest this week of a mid-level Taliban leader, a provincial police chief said. Two other policemen and a civilian were killed in the blast in the capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah, police said.

The bomber blew himself up after walking up to a vehicle in which a police officer known as Commander Mareez was travelling with some of his men, said police chief Mohammad Hussain Andiwal.

Mareez was responsible for the capture on Monday of an insurgent commander known as Naqibullah, Andiwal said. "The Taliban are behind the attack in retaliation for the capture of their commander," Andiwal said.

Three policemen were wounded in the attack, Andiwal said. Several shopkeepers were also hurt, residents said.

Taliban commander Naqibullah was captured after a shoot-out near Lashkar Gah in which three Taliban were killed. Naqibullah had twice escaped from prison and the Interior Ministry said in February he had been killed in a clash.
This article starring:
Naqibullah
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Naqibullah should be executed in the town square. Today.
Posted by: Frank G || 04/05/2008 9:07 Comments || Top||


Jalaluddin Haqqani releases video in new offensive
(AKI - By Syed Saleem Shahzad ) - Legendary Afghan mujahadeen leader and one of America's most wanted men, Jalaluddin Haqqani, has broken years of silence to launch the Taliban's spring offensive in a video received by Adnkronos International (AKI). In the 25-minute message, Haqqani called on the Afghan people to "stand up against the US-led forces in Afghanistan and drive them out."

Haqqani's hair is dyed red with henna and he speaks in his trademark low-pitched voice. His message is accompanied by a jihadist song in Pashtu. In the video, Haqqani pledges his allegiance to fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Omar, laying to rest any doubt that he had split from the mainstream Taliban and set himself up as their leader. Significantly, Haqqani praises a suicide bomber, Turkish-German Cuneyt Ciftci, who in March rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a compound used by NATO and Afghan forces in volatile Khost province, killing four people. The reference to the Khost bombing authenticates the video, which also confirmed that the 70-year-old Jihadi veteran is alive and apparently well.

A press release issued by the NATO joint command in Bagram, Afghanistan last December implied that Haqqani was dead or seriously ill. "Americans thought that with their developed technology they could plant the news of my death in the media, but now the media is realising their lies are aimed at demoralising the mujahadeen," Haqqani says.

The video was deliberately released last week, ahead of the NATO summit, taking place in the Romanian capital, Bucharest. The alliance, which is divided over policy in Afghanistan, is trying to agree on a more coherent strategy in the war against the Taliban, which many analysts believe it is losing.

Along with his son Sirajuddin, Haqqani, a veteran of the 1978-1989 war against the former Soviet Union, has built up a well-organised group in Afghanistan, known as the Haqqani network with roots in Pakistan's tribal areas. Copies of Haqqani's speech have been distributed all over eastern Afghanistan and are available in various formats, including cassettes and mobile phone video downloads.

After earlier reports of his death, the impact of Haqqani's video on Afghans is expected to be immense, especially on disenchanted Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group. Members of the Taliban are largely Pashtuns. Pashtuns bitterly resent the disproportionate influence enjoyed by the Tajik ethnic minority under president Hamid Karzai, a legacy of US cooperation with Tajik militias in overthrowing the Taliban.

Pashtuns have been the main victims of US-NATO bombing attacks on the Taliban and operate almost entirely in Pashtun territory in the south and east of Afghanistan.

The video aims to challenge NATO's efforts in recent months to portray the Taliban as a spent force made up of callow youths and lacking a credible leader, after the elimination and deaths of all top Taliban commanders in 2007.

Haqqani roundly dismissed claims that the Taliban was weakened. "I promise that not only American but all 37 allies will be humiliated and driven out of Afghanistan," he says. "Jihad is compulsory, and will continue until the end of time; we are without resources, but we have the support of God. We are geared for war. Bush and his allies had decided to kill us or arrest us - they consider us as weak and think of themselves as all powerful."

"They think we are not left with any place in the world to survive. They think we are destined either to die or to be captured... they think they are wealthy nations, with their money and with half the world behind them. They think that they can enslave poor Afghans - bomb us with their planes and gunship helicopters. They think they have everything and we are voiceless. The media is with them and belittles our resistance. We kill 80 and they report one or two. I promise the Afghan nation that soon we would be victorious,” he says.

Haqqani, on whose head the US has placed a 200,000 dollar bounty, remains the most respected tribal figure in southeastern Afghanistan.

The video is considered to be the most sophisticated yet produced by the Taliban. The inclusion of graphic footage of Ciftci's suicide bombing in Khost is important, as it shows an unprecedented level of planning and organisation hitherto not associated with the Taliban.
This article starring:
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  It's getting to be pretty obvious that the only way to "win" in Afghanistan is to totally destroy all the muslims living between Iraq and Burma. The sooner we get on with it, the sooner we'll quit having to have troops in that part of the world.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 04/05/2008 14:43 Comments || Top||

#2  he speaks in his trademark low-pitched voice.

My voice sounds like gravel being rubbed on sandpaper. Where do I go to trademark it?
Posted by: Free Radical || 04/05/2008 20:20 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
15 Govt Soldiers Killed in Fighting
At least 15 Somali government soldiers were killed Thursday when heavily-armed rebels overran a key checkpoint in the central region, reliable sources said. The battle erupted outside the town of 'Adado, in central Somalia's region of Galgadud, at around 6am local time when insurgents attacked a checkpoint outside the town.

Sandhere Ali Hosh, a local elder in 'Adado town, confirmed to Garowe Online by telephone that he counted 19 dead bodies, including soldiers and civilians. More than 40 people were wounded during the five-hour battle, whereby the warring sides used heavy weapons including rockets and tanks and locals reported that explosions had rocked villages outside 'Adado.

A passenger bus transporting civilians from the capital Mogadishu towards the central town of Galkayo, 750km north, was hit by a shell while drive. Six people inside the bus were wounded and rushed to a hospital in Galkayo, according to villagers.

The fighting stopped after insurgents took full control of the town and overran the positions of government troops, residents reported.

Col. Dahir Shidane, the commander of the Somali army's central regions brigade, confirmed to reporters that the government side suffered heavy casualties, but did not provide specific numbers. He stated that government troops lost six armored trucks, which insurgents burned inside the town.

He accusing the attacking fighters of being fighters loyal to al Shabaab, an Islamist group designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government last month.

Muktar Robow "Abu Mansur," spokesman for al Shabaab, told a Mogadishu radio station that the al Shabaab fighters had seized control of 'Adado and captured 11 military trucks from fleeing government troops, including tanks. The spokesman did not mention casualties suffered by the Islamist guerrillas, however.

Somalia's Islamist fighters are expanding their guerrilla war outside of Mogadishu, where there is a heavy presence of Somali, Ethiopian and African Union troops. In recent weeks, the rebels have attacked and briefly captured more than seven towns, including the capitals of three regions. Insiders say the war is expanding into regions controlled by clans opposed to the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which is recognized by the UN as the country's legitimate government.

Since January 2007, the Ethiopian-backed TFG has struggled to impose its authority across the country, which disintegrated into sub-units at the onset of the 1991 civil war.
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Courts


Home Front: WoT
Two Arrested With Infrared Cameras at LAX
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two men attempting to board a plane to China with nearly a dozen sensitive infrared cameras in their luggage were arrested on Saturday, a federal official said. Federal agents stopped the pair on the jetway as they were preparing to board the flight to Beijing.

The men had been in the United States for about a week, said Rick Weir, assistant special agent in charge of the Los Angeles office of the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security. Yong Guo Zhi, a Chinese national, and Tah Wei Chao, a naturalized U.S. citizen, were arrested for investigation of trying to take thermal imaging cameras with potential military use to China without the proper export licenses, Weir said.

Julie Salcido, a supervising agent with the Bureau of Industry and Security, said one of the men purchased the cameras, assuring the seller repeatedly that they were only for domestic use. "He repeatedly said he wouldn't export," she said.
You mean he .. lied?
Ten of the cameras, which measure about 2 inches square and cost about $5,000 each, were found in the men's checked luggage, Weir said. Salcido said it appeared they split the shipment up between them. The cameras have both commercial and military uses but they are "very expensive, highly sensitive," Weir said. "They're not something you could buy off the shelf."
Nothing suspicious here, nope. Should have done a Sandy Berger and stuffed the cameras into their socks.
The men were taken to the downtown Metropolitan Detention Center and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/05/2008 12:35 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm guessing that they weren't "made in China" for a reason?
Posted by: Frank G || 04/05/2008 16:22 Comments || Top||

#2  "I'm guessing that they weren't "made in China" for a reason?"

I'm guessing they will be within 6 months.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 16:52 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pak Navy averts attack on Korean ship
The Pakistan Navy (PN), working as part of the Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan (CMCP) to avert maritime terrorist attacks, prevented an attack on a South Korean ship by a speedboat loaded with rockets on April 1, the PN said in a statement on Friday.

It said the PN ships “Tariq” and “Moawin” prevented the attack on the South Korean ship “Mt Sunshine Sky” earlier this month, as it sailed to Bandar Imam Khomenei, Iran, from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It said the PN was participating in the CMCP, the maritime component of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), in line with its decision to fight terrorism in its all forms.
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Thats one I think we could let them keep.
Posted by: Omusoth Untervehr6133 || 04/05/2008 2:01 Comments || Top||

#2  in line with its decision to fight terrorism in its all forms

Man. What a dilemma. Should have sunk them both.
Posted by: gorb || 04/05/2008 3:26 Comments || Top||


Swat residents protest road closure
Residents of Gul Kada in Swat on Friday announced a hunger strike against the seven-month closure of Gul Kada Road by security forces.

Elders of Gul Kada, including former tehsil nazim Rafiul Mulk Kamran, naib nazim Rashid Iqbal, and Syed Khuda Bakhsh, announced the decision to carry out hunger strike during a large public meeting. They said the security forces closed the road for the last seven months, which caused enormous problems for thousands residents of the area.

They said residents could not wait anymore and gave a three days ultimatum to the security forces to re-open the road otherwise they would continue their hunger strike till death, and security forces would be held responsible of it.
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: TNSM


Iraq
The Great Jihadi Turkey Shoot - Virgin Vouchers issued all around
The Bad Guys Come Out To Die

In northern Iraq, Sunni Arab terrorists have changed their tactics recently, moving about in the open much more frequently. This has made them vulnerable to attack by helicopter gunships. As a result, in the last two weeks of March, U.S. AH-64 helicopter gunships made 25 attacks on these armed groups, killing at least 25 and wounding many more. When attacked, the terrorists will scatter, aborting any operations they were in the midst of. The enemy had earlier learned that, to move around, they had to do so without carrying weapons and in small groups. But this made carrying out attacks more time-consuming. When using those tactics, the AH-64s caught an armed group in the open about once every two weeks. But in the last two weeks of March, the gunships found more targets than they had over the past 13 weeks.

The Sunni Arab and al Qaeda terror networks in northern Iraq have been under a lot of pressure these the past few months. These new desperation tactics, apparently to try and increase the number of attacks dramatically, failed. And the main reason was that you can't hustle around carrying guns, day or night, while the AH-64s are up there. They want to go to Paradise and we want them dead, sounds like a win/win to me.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 04/05/2008 18:18 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  you'd think Allan would protect them, but noooooooo...
Posted by: Frank G || 04/05/2008 18:27 Comments || Top||

#2  you'd think Allan would protect them, but noooooooo...

Heh! The big turban in the sky is never there when you need him.
Posted by: Apostate || 04/05/2008 18:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Proof that Allah hates terrorists.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/05/2008 21:32 Comments || Top||

#4  On contraire, Darth, think about it.

He loves dead terrs, impatiently waiting for new arrivals so he can greet them with: "Hahah, fooled ya!"
Posted by: twobyfour || 04/05/2008 22:55 Comments || Top||


Suspected Qaeda hideout found on Iraq island
SAMARRA, Iraq (AFP) - A suspected Al-Qaeda hideout has been uncovered on an island on the Tigris river in central Iraq, by a group of Sunni Arabs fighting the Islamist militants, their leader said on Saturday.

The hideout, from where Al-Qaeda's operations in the provinces of Salaheddin, Anbar and Diyala are believed to have been coordinated, was found on an island in the Tigris near the city of Samarra, 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Baghdad.

Majin Younis Hassan, leader of the local anti-Qaeda group, said the hideout was discovered early on Saturday following an "intelligence tip".

"We found 1,500 heavy, medium and light weapons as well as several bombs," Hassan told AFP.

He said the underground hideout had four big rooms, each with eight beds.

"We found documents which were messages between the base and other Al-Qaeda branches. One document had the names of Al-Qaeda members, another was a message from the group's chief (Abu Ayyub al-Masri) to other members," Hassan said.

He said other documents involved exchanges of messages regarding "funding, the suspension of some fighters and new deployments in Samarra".

Since September 2006, the US military has been bankrolling anti-Qaeda groups across Iraq recruited mainly among Sunni Arab tribes and former insurgents.

US commanders say there are now around 130 such groups totalling some 80,000 volunteers, 80 percent of them Sunni and the remainder Shiite.

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 04/05/2008 17:53 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Bill Roggio's take on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly at Basra
A look at Operation Knights' Assault

By Bill Roggio April 4, 2008 4:09 PM

Eleven days after Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki launched Operation Knights' Assault in Basrah, the picture of the fighting in the city has become clearer. Maliki launched the operation after giving limited notice to Multinational Forces Iraq, and an inexperienced Iraqi Army brigade from the newly formed 14th Division cracked doing the opening days of the fighting. Basrah Operational Command rushed in forces into Basrah, including Army and elite police units, to stabilize the fighting, and six days after the operation began, Muqtada al Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army to stand down in Basrah, Baghdad, and the South.

The start of the operation

While the government of Iraq has been planning to conduct an operation to clear the militias from Basrah for some time, Maliki pushed up the time schedule for the operation by months, The New York Times reported on April 3. Maliki also failed to give proper advanced notice to the US military and almost no notice to the British forces in the south. This insured the Coalition forces were unable to properly back up the Iraqi Army with needed combat and logistical support from the start of the operation.

The US military was given notice of the operation on March 21, just four days before the Iraqi security forces began the advance into Basrah, The Times reported. General David Petraeus reportedly tried to dissuade Maliki from conducting the offensive, but the Iraqi prime minister pushed forward. Additional Iraqi Army, police, and special forces units began arriving in Basrah on March 24, and Maliki started the operation the next day.

The Basrah operation was initially planned to be executed in July 2008, when sufficient forces were available. The Iraqi Army and police have been massing forces in the South since August 2007, when the Basrah Operational Command was established to coordinate efforts in the region. As of December, the Iraqi Army deployed four brigades and an Iraqi Special Operations Forces battalion in Basrah province. The Iraqi National Police deployed two additional battalions to the province.

A green unit falters, reinforcements arrive

Maliki’s gambit to advance the Basrah clearing operation took a major setback once Iraqi security force met stiff resistance from the Mahdi Army. The decision to rush the operation forced a newly formed brigade into the fight just one month after the unit graduated from basic training. While the brigade has not been named, it was likely the 52nd Brigade from the 14th Iraqi Army Division, the most inexperienced units in the Iraqi Army.

The 52nd Brigade is far from “one of [the Iraqi Army’s] best — and also one of the most loyal to Prime Minister Maliki,” as reported at CBS News. The formation of the 14th was rushed, as it was not due to be stood up until June 2008. The first brigade was transferred from Wasit province, the second brigade was created in May 2007, and its third brigade (the 52nd brigade) graduated the Besmaya Unit Set Fielding Program on Feb. 18, just five weeks before the Basrah operation began. The officers, noncommissioned officers, and soldiers have not had time to work together, nor have they been tested under fire. The 14th Division still does not have its fourth brigade, nor does it have the requisite logistical and support units.

The fighting caused the 52nd Brigade to crack under the strain of the fighting, according to US and Iraqi military officials. An estimated 500 Iraqi Army soldiers and 400 policemen deserted during the Basrah fighting, Iraqi military officials told The Associated Press. The 500 soldiers were reported to be from a single Iraqi Army battalion. Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al Askari told Reuters an estimated 1,000 members of the security forces deserted. Some turned their weapons and vehicles over the Mahdi Army.

A brigade commander and the executive officer of a police unit in Basrah also deserted their posts, the Times reported. Several dozen officers are believed to have failed to carry out their duties. Most of those who deserted were green troops from the newly formed brigade. “From what we understand, the bulk of these were from fairly fresh troops who had only just gotten out of basic training and were probably pushed into the fight too soon,” an unnamed US military officer told the Times. Overall, "1,000 to 1,500 Iraqi forces had deserted or underperformed,” according to the Times, a number “that represent a little over 4 percent of the total” forces in Basrah.

The Iraqi security forces in the Basrah region have long been suspected to be infiltrated with militias. The operation in Basrah has exposed the level of infiltration, which at first glance, to not appear to be as severe as thought. There are over 16,000 police and 14,000 soldiers deployed in Basrah.

The Iraqi government has vowed to prosecute those who failed in their duty. “Everyone who was not on the side of the security forces will go into the military courts,” Maliki said. “Joining the army or police is not a trip or a picnic, there is something that they have to pay back to commit to the interests of the state and not the party or the sect.”

The Iraqi Army reinforces Basrah

As it became clear the operation in Basrah would be a tougher fight than expected, the Iraqi military and Multinational Forces Iraq began to augment its forces. At least one Iraqi Army brigade, the Iraqi National Police Emergency Response Unit, and the Hillah Special Weapons and Tactics unit were rushed to Basrah. An unconfirmed report received by The Long War Journal indicates the Iraqi Army brigade may have been the 14th Brigade from the 4th Iraqi Army Division, one of the Army’s best units.

The US military hastily cobbled together advisers for the Iraqi formations sent into Basrah. A company from the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division assigned to provide route security was rushed into Basrah to fill this role. Meanwhile, the nascent Iraqi Air Force conducted resupply missions in conjunction with the US Air Force. Equipment and soldiers were ferried into Basrah via air. US and British warplanes began to strike at Mahdi Army positions in Basrah, with the help of US forward air controllers embedded with Iraqi forces.

The Iraqi security forces fared better in the greater South

While the focus of the reporting centered on Basrah, the Iraqi security forces also combated the Mahdi Army in the Shia cities between Basrah and Baghdad. The Iraqi Army was able to secure Hillah, Kut, Karbala, Najaf, Diwaniyah, Nasiriyah, and Amarah in a matter of days after the fighting started. By March 29, the fighting in these cities largely stopped.

The Iraqi security forces quickly silenced the Mahdi Army in Najaf, the scene of Sadr’s uprisings in March and August 2004. Pro-government protests were staged in Diwaniyah, Karbala, and Hillah just days after the Basrah operation began. Security was deemed good enough in Hillah that the police SWAT team was deployed to Basrah.

Scores of Mahdi Army fighters were killed and hundreds captured in the southern region between Baghdad and Basrah. Major General Rick Lynch, the commander of Multinational Division Central, which controls Karbala, Najaf, Babil, and Wasit provinces, said 69 Shia terrorists were killed and 537 suspects were captured. Of those captured, about 230 remain in custody. Lynch estimated about 600 Shia terrorists were divided among 10 different cells in the provinces in Multinational Division Central's area of operations.

Sadr orders cease-fire

Just as the Iraqi security forces began to address the shortcoming in the operation and the situation in the center-south began to stabilize, Sadr decided to pull his fighters off the streets. Members of Maliki’s Dawa political party approached the leader of Iran's Qods Force asking him to get Sadr to stop the fighting. Shortly afterward, Sadr ordered his troops to withdraw from fighting and issued a nine-point statement of demands for the Iraqi government.

By this time, the Mahdi Army took significant casualties in Basrah, Baghdad, and the greater South. "Security forces killed more than 200 gunmen, wounded 700, and arrested 300 others, since the beginning of the military operations in Basrah," said Major General Abdul Kareem Khalaf, the director of operations for the Ministry of the Interior. The Mahdi Army suffered 173 killed in Baghdad during the six days of fighting.

Spokesmen from the Mahdi Army claimed the Maliki government agreed to Sadr’s terms, which included ending operations against the Mahdi Army, but the Iraqi government denies this. "I refuse to negotiate with the outlaws,” Maliki said on April 3. “I did not sign any deal."

Operations Continue

The Iraqi military and police continue to carry out raids against Shia terror groups in Baghdad, Basrah and the South. Maliki has changed his rhetoric, however, and indicated that “criminals” are now the target of operations. He also stated that security operations would be undertaken in Shula and Sadr City in Baghdad, two strongholds of the Mahdi Army. "I expect more crackdowns like this,” Maliki said.

Both US and Iraqi troops have conducted several raids against Shia terrorists in Baghdad and the South over the past several days. Iraqi security forces killed seven “criminal members” and captured 16 during three separate operations in Basrah today. US troops have advanced into Sadr City to deny the Mahdi Army launch locations for rockets and mortars fired at the International Zone. US Special Forces captured an “Iranian-backed Special Groups criminal” and two associates in Hillah on April 3. Coalition aircraft killed two Shia fighters after they fired on a patrol in Basrah on April 2. Iraqi police killed six members of the “criminal gangs” in Basrah and captured six that same day. Iraqi troops occupied the ports of Khour al Zubair and Umm Qasr in Basrah province on April 1.

Sadr has called for a million-man demonstration in Baghdad on April 9 to oppose the US presence in Iraq. “The time has come to express your rejections and raise your voices loud against the unjust occupier and enemy of nations and humanity, and against the horrible massacres committed by the occupier against our honourable people," Sadr said in a statement. But Sadr suddenly changed the venue of the protest to Najaf. Sadr’s followers held a protest today, but an estimated 1,500 marched in Baghdad.

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 04/05/2008 17:32 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maliki has changed his rhetoric, however, and indicated that “criminals” are now the target of operations.

Different label, same targets.
Posted by: phil_b || 04/05/2008 18:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Interesting take on things. I suspect that this unit was not necessarily as friendly to Maliki as it appears. In fact, it almost seems like he was trying to humiliate them on purpose. Perhaps their commanders were aligned with someone trying to undermine Maliki.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/05/2008 23:15 Comments || Top||


Christian Priest Killed in Baghdad
BAGHDAD (AP) - An Assyrian Orthodox priest was shot to death Saturday by gunmen using silencers as the Christian cleric and his wife returned home after a trip to the market in Baghdad. Father Youssef Adel, 47, had tried to escape the sectarian violence, fleeing the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Dora at a time when insurgents were burning down churches and uprooting Christians from their homes on threat of death.

He moved with his wife, Lamia, to a relatively safe area in the mostly Shiite central district of Karradah and presided over services at the nearby St. Peter and Paul church, according to an assistant. But in a tragic example of the dangers that continue to face Iraqis despite a sharp drop in violence, Adel was shot to death by gunmen near the gate of his house, another priest in the same church said, also declining to be identified for fear of becoming a target himself.

The gunmen used silencers, and his wife who was with him did not realize what happened until she saw her husband collapse, the priest said.

Neighbors and members of the congregation wept as they flocked to Adel's house to pay their condolences to his wife. The funeral was scheduled for Sunday. "Everybody is shocked," said Matti Zaki, a fellow priest who was among the mourners. "The sadness is everywhere in the house. I cannot find the suitable words to express the ordeal the family is going through."

Adel's assistant said the priest, who was married but had no children, directed a religiously mixed school for Muslims and Christians at the church. Adel, an engineer who became a priest about six years ago, was described as a compassionate man who preached about love and peace, and was heavily involved in helping orphans and widows and other charities.

"We never expected today's ugly killing because the assassinated priest has no enemies at all," Archbishop Severius Hawa said.
Umm, not exactly ...
Posted by: Steve White || 04/05/2008 15:41 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Islam, the religion of tolerance at work.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/05/2008 16:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Now, now, we don't know for sure that it was Muslims that killed him. It could have been Baptists, or Buddhists, or Hindus, or one of those other violent religions.
Posted by: Rambler in California || 04/05/2008 19:24 Comments || Top||


Iraq PM is a wuss reverses course, freezes raids
The world as I see it from my armchair! :-)

In a dramatic reversal, Iraq's prime minister ordered a nationwide freeze Friday on Iraqi raids against Shiite militants, bowing to demands by anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr only one day after promising to expand the crackdown to Baghdad.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued the order after al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia fought government troops last week in Basra and elsewhere, hinted at retaliation if Iraqi security forces continue to arrest his followers.

A statement by al-Maliki's office, broadcast on government television, did not mention the Mahdi Army by name or give a timeframe for the freeze. It said the move was designed to give a "chance to those who repented and want to lay down their arms."

But the statement was issued less than 24 hours after al-Maliki told reporters he intended to launch security operations against Mahdi Army strongholds in Baghdad, including Sadr City, home to some 2.5 million Shiites and the militia's largest base.

"It is not possible to look for only a military solution. There must be a political solution and that's why the prime minister issued today's statement," a top al-Maliki adviser, Sadiq al-Rikabi, told The Associated Press.

"We must have calm. Many politicians advised al-Maliki against confrontation, warning him that clashes benefited other parties," al-Rikabi said without elaborating.

In his Friday statement, al-Maliki said that extremists "who lay down their arms and participated in the recent acts of violence" would not be prosecuted.

American military officials did not respond to requests for comment.

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker had praised al-Maliki for his decision to strike at Shiite militias last week in Basra, even as he acknowledged that the operation ran into "a boatload of problems."

The clashes quickly spread throughout the Shiite south and to Baghdad, where Shiite militiamen pounded the U.S.-controlled Green Zone with rockets and mortar fire, killing at least two Americans.

Major fighting eased Sunday after al-Sadr ordered his men off the street under a deal brokered in Iran — a move which appeared to undermine al-Maliki, who had taken personal command of the Basra operation.

In Amman, Jordan, David Shearer, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said an estimated 700 people were killed and more than 1,500 were wounded in fighting that erupted after the Basra crackdown. He said the figures could rise "as facts and the numbers become more clear."

U.S. and Iraqi authorities had insisted the Basra operation was not aimed at al-Sadr's powerful political movement but instead at ridding the streets of criminals and gunmen who had effectively ruled the city since 2005.

But al-Sadr's supporters believed the crackdown was aimed at weakening their movement before provincial elections this fall. Al-Sadr expects to score major electoral gains against Shiite parties that work with the Americans.

A member of al-Sadr's 30-member bloc in parliament, Hassan al-Rubaie, told the AP that the decision to freeze arrests was made during talks Thursday between Sadrist representatives and al-Maliki aides.

Al-Rubaie said the freeze applied even in cases where an arrest warrant had been issued. He said negotiations were under way on other Sadrist demands, including the release of al-Sadr's followers detained without charge, reinstating soldiers and police who deserted during last week's fighting and the lifting of the siege of Sadr City and another Shiite neighborhood.

In his latest statement, al-Maliki also said families forced to flee their homes because of the latest fighting should be allowed to return home and that cash donations would be offered to the families of those killed or wounded in the violence.

He said Iraqis whose property has been damaged in the fighting also would be compensated.

In Basra, military and police officials said about 900 Iraqi soldiers and police deserted or refused to fight the militias after the offensive was launched March 25.

The officials said the mutiny involved an army battalion from the 4th Iraqi Division numbering about 500 men as well as about 400 policemen.

Deserters said they did not want to fight fellow Shiites and turned over weapons and vehicles to the Mahdi Army, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Iraqi officials have acknowledged desertions but described the numbers as insignificant.

However, the desertions cast new doubt on the effectiveness of U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces. The White House has conditioned further U.S. troop withdrawals on the readiness of the Iraqi military and police.

Despite a drop in fighting, Iraqi officials have insisted that the Basra crackdown will continue until it breaks the stronghold by armed groups.

It was unclear, however, whether the freeze order might affect the plan.

In a statement Friday, the U.S. military said Iraqi special forces had captured a suspected militant leader who has been rallying insurgents in Basra to fight against coalition forces.

The statement said the suspect was linked the kidnapping and murder of Iraqi security troopers and had been involved in oil smuggling "and foreign fighter networks."

Maj. Tom Holloway, a British military spokesman, said a roadside bomb targeted a British force "supporting an Iraqi-led operation at the very fringes of Basra." He said the British were "mentoring and monitoring" the Iraqi operation, but provided no further details.

Also Friday, a suicide bomber killed at least 15 people and wounded eight when he blew himself up during a policeman's funeral in Sadiyah, a town 60 miles north of Baghdad on Friday. Police said the bomber mingled among the mourners and then triggered an explosive vest.

And a roadside bombing killed four policemen and wounded one in Hillah, a mostly Shiite city about 60 miles south of Baghdad, a police spokesman said.

Posted by: gorb || 04/05/2008 01:49 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  1. According to Maliki, it is temporary so some can surrender. Sounds to me like it is part of some sort of negotiation.

2. It isn't total:

http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18152&Itemid=128

After receiving reports that Iraqi Security Forces were under attack and taking small-arms fire from a building, Coalition forces employed an unmanned aerial vehicle to observe and confirm the target in Basra’s Haiyaniya district. A rotary-winged aircraft then conducted the strike. An armed criminal was confirmed killed in the precision airstrike.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 10:07 Comments || Top||

#2  An armed criminalA terrorist was confirmed killed in the precision airstrike.

Fixed that for ya', cross.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 04/05/2008 10:22 Comments || Top||

#3  Note the increasing use of the word "criminal" for "terrorist." The Iraqi (and Afghanistani and Pakistani) governments are preparing themselves for a possible liberal administration in the US, and they want to get ahead of the "treat terrorism as a police problem" curve...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/05/2008 10:37 Comments || Top||

#4  This is one of the danger signs we should be looking for. Lack of political will. Will to shake off Iran, get rid of roving militias, govern themselves. If the army sucks, that's one thing, we can work on that. But if they have no will to have a peaceful, prosperous society, that's a big problem. 5 years into this, they would still rather kill each other than build a school. And before anyone even says it, I'm not being reactionary, we've given them every chance in the world to get their shit together.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 04/05/2008 10:53 Comments || Top||

#5  I think the "criminal" distinction is also an internal issue. It is to imply that the government isn't "after" Sadrists in general, but only the ones who attack government forces or are involved in other criminal activities. The notion being that a Sadrist who wants to chill out, take part in the political process, and cooperate with the government won't have any problems.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 10:55 Comments || Top||

#6  bigjim-ky: We should also not be tempted to draw conclusions one week into a months long campaign. There is an excellent article over at Bill Roggio's site. Part of the problem is that one of the units involved (14th IAD) went into battle with a brigade (52nd brigade) that had just finished basic training in February and cracked in battle. It doesn't mean the battle is lost or over.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 10:59 Comments || Top||

#7  Note this from Roggio's article:

An estimated 500 Iraqi Army soldiers and 400 policemen deserted during the Basrah fighting, Iraqi military officials told The Associated Press. The 500 soldiers were reported to be from a single Iraqi Army battalion.

So that puts things in a little different light. While I am not going to believe that 100% of the deserting soldiers came from one battalion, it is reasonable to believe that the vast majority of them did and that police desertions were probably more systemic withing the police units.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 11:05 Comments || Top||

#8  why do they think this letting them surrender shit is gonna work. wake up you have tried it before and it hasn't worked yet.
Posted by: sinse || 04/05/2008 11:08 Comments || Top||

#9  Dang, sorry to hog so much here but there is a lot of news on this subject this morning: Apparently raids on Sadr City haven't been "frozen" either.

US Soldiers Move Into Sadr City
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 11:11 Comments || Top||

#10  I'm not talking about the IA crosspatch, they performed quite well in many instances, poorly in others, but overall well. I'm talking about their leadership and the slugs that sit in their parliament. If they would rather run their country into the crapper than improve it, then we have a serious problem on our hands. If they WANT to have Iran pull their strings and run the country there isn't much we can do to help them. Maliki is a duplicitous character to say the least, we need to sound him out and figure out if we are wasting our time with this "bringing democracy to the mideast" thingy.
Posted by: bigjim-ky || 04/05/2008 11:11 Comments || Top||

#11  "why do they think this letting them surrender shit is gonna work. wake up you have tried it before and it hasn't worked yet."

Actually it DID work bigtime. It turned insurgent groups into groups of "concerned citizens" by allowing them to switch sides. You have to remember that this is a domestic issue for the Iraqis. They are engaged with their own people. They are going to give them every opportunity to surrender. We do the same thing. Even when we are engaged with an armed group in this country, our usual first reaction is to give them plenty of time to surrender. It appears that the groups are fair game if they open fire on government or coalition forces, though.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 11:14 Comments || Top||

#12  I'm talking about their leadership and the slugs that sit in their parliament. If they would rather run their country into the crapper than improve it, then we have a serious problem on our hands. If they WANT to have Iran pull their strings and run the country there isn't much we can do to help them.

I agree with much of that and I also think Maliki would too! The operation in Basra wasn't just to run down there and beat up Sadr's goons. There was a larger context. The economy in Iraq is improving. The demand for goods is increasing and Iraqi production of goods is increasing. Basra is practically the only and certainly the largest port facility to connect Iraq with the rest of the world and get goods in and out of the country by ocean freight. The only other route is over land via Turkey and that route is "hot" right now with the Turks fighting some Kurdish communists across the border. The only other routes are Iran, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The border with Saudi is mostly desert without a lot of transportation infrastructure and I believe there is one major road to Jordan.

So Iraq's economy NEEDS that port in Basra but it is being "run" by gangsters who are hijacking the freight and pocketing the proceeds. It is wrecking the economy. Many of these gangsters are Sadrists, but probably not ALL of them. The government is moving against these gangs and is in the process of securing the ports so that they can be rehabilitated for the good of the general economy of the country.

Sure, many of these individual gangsters might have the support of various Iranian interests, probably in both government and enterprise. But I think people would get a better idea by backing away a little so they can see the whole forest instead of concentrating on the individual trees and groves of trees. This is the Iraqi government establishing itself in Basra and taking control away from these thugs. It is a good thing. Maliki made a judgment call to send those troops in way early. It probably gave him the benefit of surprise.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 11:27 Comments || Top||

#13  I just did a quick look and it appears that the only major rail link out of the country is via Turkey. There is a rail line that goes from Basra all the way to Turkey and there is a branch that goes out into Anbar but doesn't appear to connect to Syrian or Jordanian rail from the map that I found. So that port in Basra is going to be very important in connecting Iraq's economy with the global economy.
Posted by: crosspatch || 04/05/2008 11:43 Comments || Top||

#14  The world as I see it from my armchair! :-)

Gorb, there is nothing wrong with your armchair!

~:) funny pic btw!
Posted by: RD || 04/05/2008 12:53 Comments || Top||

#15  Maybe it's just a hudna.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 04/05/2008 14:48 Comments || Top||

#16  no that didn'y work when they saw aol queda murdering their children and others at will is what turned them, but they can all be turned ata ahat though
Posted by: sinse || 04/05/2008 15:57 Comments || Top||

#17  aol qaeda? Marriage of corrupt evil terrorist organizations, huh?
Posted by: Frank G || 04/05/2008 16:18 Comments || Top||

#18  aol qaeda? LOL. Nice catch, Frank.
Posted by: Pancho Elmeck8414 || 04/05/2008 16:56 Comments || Top||

#19  "chance to those who repented and want to lay down their arms."

IOW, we're just armin' up!
Posted by: BA || 04/05/2008 17:13 Comments || Top||

#20  Nappy time, now all you little boys lay down on your prayer mats, and as soon as recess is over we'll continue with the murders.

Right now nappy time, heads down, no talking.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 04/05/2008 18:56 Comments || Top||

#21  Maybe it's just a hudna.

Now wouldn't that be ironic, clever, and rather Rovian.
Posted by: Gabby Cussworth || 04/05/2008 19:22 Comments || Top||

#22  never type and drink frank, it's just a bad idea
Posted by: sinse || 04/05/2008 20:47 Comments || Top||

#23  LOL - granted
Posted by: Frank G || 04/05/2008 21:48 Comments || Top||


Suicide bomber kills nine in Iraq’s Diyala
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber killed nine people and wounded 30 others at a funeral in Diyala province north of Baghdad on Friday, a senior Iraqi security official said. The bomber struck as people gathered at a cemetery near the town of Hamrin, north of the provincial capital Baquba, for the funeral of a policemen who had been killed on Thursday, said Abdul Kareem al-Rubaie, commander of Diyala security operations.

A U.S. military spokesman confirmed the strike and said at least 30 people were wounded. “This barbaric attack continues to show the desperate and horrific measures these individuals will stoop in order to hurt the innocent Iraqi people,” Captain Stephen Bomar, spokesman for U.S. troops in northern Iraq, said in an e-mail.

Diyala has been one of the main battlegrounds between Sunni Islamist al Qaeda militants and U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Posted by: || 04/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas says its gunmen wound Israeli minister's aide
Hamas said its gunmen wounded an aide to Israeli Interior Security Minister Avi Dichter on Friday when they opened fire from the Gaza Strip on an Israeli kibbutz that the minister was visiting. Mati Gil was shot and lightly wounded in the hip at the Nir-Am kibbutz and taken to hospital, Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom said.

A Hamas official said the Islamist movement carried out the attack together with a hitherto unknown group. "Our fighters targeted the Israeli minister Avi Dichter in a joint operation with the Protectors of Al-Aqsa," said Abu Obeidah, spokesman of Hamas's military wing. "We severely injured his assistant."

The minister was accompanying a group of US and Canadian Jews on a trip to show solidarity with residents of southern Israel, who are regularly targeted by rockets fired by militants in Gaza.

A witness told Israeli public radio "shots suddently rang out and hit Mati," as Dichter was briefing the visitors on the security situation. "Israeli soldiers then entered the Gaza Strip," Moshe Ronnen added, a claim confirmed by security sources.

For nearly a month, Israel and armed groups in Gaza appear to be observing a tacit truce. That has led to a drastic drop in the number of rockets fired and of Israeli attacks against the Palestinian enclave run by Hamas.
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2008 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Good Morning
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2008 09:26 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  and the Beatles have songs "Penny Lane" and Abbey Road". Coincidence? I think not!

/JoeM
Posted by: Frank G || 04/05/2008 11:27 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2008-04-05
  Jalaluddin Haqqani not dead, releases video, still 71
Fri 2008-04-04
  Maliki Vows Crackdown in Baghdad
Thu 2008-04-03
  Iraq commander leads convoy into Basra
Wed 2008-04-02
  45 Qaeda suspects held in Turkey
Tue 2008-04-01
  US charges Foopie with Africa bombings
Mon 2008-03-31
  Iraqi govt lifts curfew across Baghdad
Sun 2008-03-30
  Sadr orders fighters off Iraq streets
Sat 2008-03-29
  Maliki extends ultimatum for gunmen to drop the hardware in Basra
Fri 2008-03-28
  Iraqi forces say kill 120 militants in Basra operation
Thu 2008-03-27
  Twenty killed, 239 wounded in Sadr City clashes in 24 hrs
Wed 2008-03-26
  Maliki overseeing Basra operation
Tue 2008-03-25
  Tater urges 'civil revolt' as battles erupt in Basra
Mon 2008-03-24
  Ayman urges attacks on Israel, U.S.
Sun 2008-03-23
  Rocket, mortar strikes on Baghdad Green Zone
Sat 2008-03-22
  Fatah, Jund al-Sham fight it out in Ein el-Hellhole

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