#5
Annie was a big hit back then because people believed that you had to have one of them little thingys between your legs to shoot straight. She showed 'em good.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/22/2008 12:53 Comments ||
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U.S. Special Forces soldiers conducting a daring nighttime operation freed a kidnapped American working for the Army Corps of Engineers the first known hostage rescue by American forces in Afghanistan. Hooah!
The American, who was abducted in mid-August, had been held in a growing insurgent stronghold 30 miles west of Kabul, U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. They said several insurgents were killed in last week's mission to free him. two-fer!
Taliban militants have kidnapped dozens of international aid workers, journalists and other foreigners in recent years and have demanded large ransoms or the release of imprisoned Taliban fighters for their freedom. Increasingly aggressive crime syndicates have also raked in big money by kidnapping wealthy Afghans and foreigners and demanding ransoms. Taliban = criminals? In an AP article?
Hostage rescues are rarely attempted and are difficult to pull off successfully. Only two such missions are known to have occurred, both in 2007. In one, both Italian captives were wounded in a raid by Italian commandos. "well, if it can't be perfect, don't try"? How lib-like
Last week's rescue came to the attention of the AP after a U.S. military official sought to bring its successful outcome into the public eye. Officials declined to reveal even the smallest detail or the captive's identity, saying they did not want to compromise military tactics or the man's safety.
Three U.S. military officials told the AP that Special Forces troops were able to locate the kidnapper's hideaway in the Nirkh district of Wardak province outside Kabul, but would not specify how. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. "I can say no more, especially since you'll relay it back to your Talifriends"
In the case of the rescued American, who had lived in Afghanistan for several years, it was not known whether any ransom demands were made. But a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan said growing insecurity imperils its work to rebuild the country.
This guy didn't have any money at all. It was like a personal life mission for him to help others, said Bruce J. Huffman, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan.
We all felt sick about it, because he was never going to be able to pay a ransom. He's over here helping people and they're trying to make a buck off him.
News of the rescue comes on the heels of the targeted killing Monday of a British-South African aid worker by Taliban gunmen who accused her of spreading her Christian faith.
The hard reality is that more areas are insecure today than they were a year ago. There continues to be a wave of kidnapping even in the last few days, Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born U.S. ambassador to the U.N. told the U.S.-Afghan Business Matchmaking Conference in Washington on Tuesday. He said attacks are up 30 percent this year.
Mohammad Hazra Janan, the head of the provincial council in Wardak, where the American was kidnapped, said the number of abductions are rising every day. He said he knows that large ransoms are being paid.
There's no rule of law. The government can't prevent these crimes, he said. Of course the paying of a ransom only encourages that business to grow. But one effect on society is that the businessmen will flee the country.
The Army Corps of Engineers' work building roads and projects that provide clean water and power helps extend the reach of the Afghan government and stimulates economic growth.
Security has been a real problem, and the Corps of Engineers has been working diligently to build facilities for the Afghan National Army and police in order to foster a secure and stable environment, Huffman said.
The Corps takes precautions to mitigate risk, he said, though he provided no details.
No one would want to come over here and work if they thought something was going to happen to them, Huffman said. All our folks are volunteers. Everyone has different reasons why they volunteer and come, but I think most of the people we have get a lot of joy knowing they're making a difference and helping to build a nation.
Chris Klawitter, a German entrepreneur working in Afghanistan, said he knows several Afghan businessmen or their relatives who have been kidnapped.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2008 18:16 ||
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#1
I guess the word hasn't got out to Sticksville Afghanistan that the US does not pay ransom. But we do shoot dead the captors. Live (or not) and learn.
Posted by: ed ||
10/22/2008 18:36 Comments ||
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#2
building roads and projects that provide clean water and power helps extend the reach of the Afghan government and stimulates economic growth.
Which is exactly why these soft targets are attacked. The goal of our enemy is simple - destroy advancement and order.
#6
Not for long. World-wide shipping is coming to a standstill like nothing since the early 30's. Piracy is going to have to find another outlet soon.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/22/2008 11:31 Comments ||
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#7
So, if I'm on a yacht and these gomers pull up, what laws would I violate if I blow them away?
Depends on what you use to "blow them away". If you're talking heavy weapons, you'd run afoul of national laws regardless of what port in the world that you enter.
#9
I should think pirates would make wonderful target practice and easy work for any actual navy. As long as you can find them they are fair game and easy kills.
If you truly and completely blow them away, who would be left to file a complaint? The hard part is carrying a torpedo or 5" gun on your yacht (and the crew to man it.) Now, Panama and Liberia seem more than willing to register ships for a nominal fee - maybe they could expand the business into issuing Letters of Marque, so you would have legal cover for your 5" gun.
#11
If you truly and completely blow them away, who would be left to file a complaint?
Ah - you saw the same movie as I did, then.
The hard part is carrying a torpedo or 5" gun on your yacht (and the crew to man it.)
Sharks. With big frickin' lasers on their heads.
Now, Panama and Liberia seem more than willing to register ships for a nominal fee - maybe they could expand the business into issuing Letters of Marque, so you would have legal cover for your 5" gun.
Unlikely. Letters of Marque are issued by nations as an extension of their diplomacy, or rather, failure thereof. The Letter in essence creates an extension/auxiliary/militia of a national navy, with all the repercussions that derive from that.
If Panama or Liberia are lax in their ship registry, did it occur that the same laxness would take place in issuing such Letters? As in Somali pirates or an Al Qaeda outfit obtaining one?
If that occurs, then where in the legal spectrum does that place your armed yacht?
#12
well, then, an extra layer of plate steel on the bow, a "harpoon gun" on all points (explosive tip charge - see the Japanese whalers for supplies). Or substitute RPG's and call them .... fishing equipment. Time to locate and destroy the home ports, destroy the Somali pirate warlord compounds and their inhabiants, and discourage that shit. No arclight necessary, just dead bodies in destroyed pirate lairs. Or not, because the Somali taxi driver/State Dept might complain? Give em extra Wudu in Mog
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2008 22:16 Comments ||
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#13
From tonites front page of the NYPOST, "AVAST, SCURY DOGS! NATO Flotilla to Start Anti-Piracy Operations soon". A NATO flotilla sailing toward the Somali coast will begin anti-piracy operations within the next few days, but officials said Wednesday the alliance was still working out the rules of engagement for the seven ships. Link:
(AKI) - Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said that 991 suspected militants with ties to terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda have been charged and will be tried in the Kingdom's first ever terrorism trial. "We have started to bring before the courts 991 people implicated in various incidents," said Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Nayf bin Abdulaziz on Monday.
Prince Nayf added that the trials, involving some 30 terrorist attacks that killed at least 164 people since 2003, are due to begin. He did not specify a date for the start of the trials.
One of the reasons why the number of suspects is so high, is because investigations by police authorities in capital Riyadh lasted five years. During this time, tonnes of explosives, weapons, missiles and machineguns were seized.
The suspects are defined as being members of the "cells of the deviant sect", the name commonly used by Saudi authorities for Al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
yep sure do, but since Bin Laden is at odds with the Saudi Royals maybe alot of heads are gonna roll if they are found guilty of being al queda
Posted by: chris ||
10/22/2008 10:54 Comments ||
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#3
As members of a "deviant sect", they'll be on their way once they sign on with the officially approved sect of the One True Religion. Should take maybe a couple of weeks.
Bin Laden differs from the Saudi authorities mostly on the question of where the bombs should be planted. Point the guns in the right direction and they're good. They agree on the fundamental question of Muslim expansion and worldwide control. They differ on tactics, not goals. Each believes that they should be in charge, naturally, but the basic idea of making Islam supreme appeals to both sides. The mopes they arrested just need to get with the program.
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
10/22/2008 19:14 Comments ||
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(AKI) - Five terror suspects were arrested by British police in the central city of Birmingham on Tuesday. The five men, aged between 29 and 26, were arrested under anti-terrorism laws on suspicion of being involved "in the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism," police said in a brief statement.
Police raided five homes and two businesses early on Tuesday but stressed that the raids were not in response to an immediate threat to the public. Police released no information about the nationality or identity of the arrested men.
Britain's domestic intelligence service MI5 says on its website that the current terror threat level is 'severe'. It said there is a strong likelihood of future terrorist attacks and a continuing high threat level to the United Kingdom.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Anyone want to guess their religious affiliation?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/22/2008 11:36 Comments ||
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(AKI) - A Danish citizen of Pakistani origin and an Afghani national were found guilty on Tuesday of preparing a terrorist attack after they were filmed mixing explosives.
Hammad Khuershid was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Abdoulghani Tokhi was sentenced to seven years by a court in the town of Glostrup, just outside the capital of Copenhagen. Both are in their early 20s.
The men were arrested after an anti-terror raid that saw Danish agents filming them as they were carrying out a test blast. The explosives were reportedly the same as those used in the 2005 London bombings that killed 52 people. Both men claimed the explosives were going to be used for fireworks.
Really, really big fireworks ...
At the trial prosecutors alleged that Khuershid had ties to an Al-Qaeda operative but they were unsure whether the attack was going to take place in Denmark or abroad.
Investigators claimed to have found bomb-making manuals in the men's homes.
Tokhi has a residency permit to live legally in Denmark, but authorities said he would be deported after completing his sentence.
This article starring:
Abdoulghani Tokhi
Hammad Khuershid
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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A federal appeals court Monday blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslims into the United States from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until it can hear further legal arguments in the case.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed a federal judge's order releasing the men, and it ordered oral arguments in the government's appeal, to be heard Nov. 24.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina ordered the government Oct. 7 to release the men, all Uighurs, who have been held at Guantanamo Bay for nearly seven years. The same panel temporarily stayed Urbina's order a day later.
The government has been trying to find new homes for the Uighurs for years. It no longer considers them enemy combatants and provided no evidence in court that they posed a security risk. The men cannot be returned to their homeland because they face the prospect of being tortured and killed. China considers the men terrorists.
Judges A. Raymond Randolph and Karen L. Henderson sided with the government and issued the order without comment; Judge Judith W. Rogers dissented, writing that the Bush administration's legal theories were flawed. The government has argued it can detain the Uighurs without cause until it locates a new home for them.
Justice Department lawyers have argued that only the president or Congress has the legal authority to order the Uighurs' release into the United States. They have also said that immigration laws would preclude them from entering the country because they received weapons training at a camp operated by a designated terror organization.
Rogers rejected those arguments, writing that courts have the power to order the release under habeas corpus, a centuries-old legal doctrine that allows prisoners or detainees to challenge their confinement in federal court. The judge also rejected the argument that immigration laws would bar the Uighurs' entry, writing that such an interpretation would "rob" the men's rights of meaning.
Even if the men had received weapons training, she wrote, that "cannot alone show they are dangerous, unless millions of United States resident citizens who have received fire arms training are deemed to be dangerous as well."
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said, "We're pleased the court has granted our motion for a stay pending the appeal, and we look forward to presenting our arguments before the Court of Appeals."
P. Sabin Willett, who represents the Uighurs, said he was disappointed by the order, and he accused the government of running out the clock until Bush leaves office in January.
Urbina ordered the men released to live with Uighur families in the Washington area. "Because the Constitution prohibits indefinite detention without cause, the government's continued detention of the [detainees] is unlawful," Urbina said from the bench.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Albania had agreed to take them but pressure was applied from Euros and China. If they go back to China, they get a bullet in the head and a bill for the bullet sent to their families.
This is why I cringed when Bush announced his terrorism agenda after 9/11. Any government with a problem can declare protesters as terrs. These guys threaten China, not us.
#3
I don't see why the Constitution covers anyone that isn't a US citizen.
Posted by: chris ||
10/22/2008 10:49 Comments ||
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#4
Who determined they can't be returned to China? The Chinese government should have jurisdiction over its own citizens, rather than protected by the US Constitution or some vague concept of universal "human rights". The Uighurs need to work for reform within their own framework. What if the liberals and the UN deem the US a "terrorist sponsoring state" for fighting an "illegal war", trying to nullify our laws? Respecting the Chinese national identity would seem to do more to boost our esteem in their eyes, making diplomatic pressure on rogue states at the Security Council easier if relations aren't strained with a nation with veto power.
#5
Just another example to add to the pile proving that the "law enforcement" approach to terrorism won't/can't work. Those that think it can have been buried in evidence to the contrary, but still fight against the idea that military tribunals are NECESSARY when dealing with non-uniformed, not-nationalist combattants.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/22/2008 11:06 Comments ||
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#6
Chris - Everyone has some rights in the United States. You can't just walk up to a Frenchman and slap him, for example, no matter how much you want to. It's up to the courts or Congress to determine which rights do not apply to non-citizens.
Borgia - the Chinese government is a dictatorship, enslaving millions of its own people. Basic human rights are routinely denied. It only has veto power because the UN caved to them and ejected the freely elected Chinese government on Taiwan.
#7
Chuck I understand what you are saying but where they captured on US soil? Also it's not like they are of the same sort of criminal element that would be going up too someone and slapping them. Would you have given Muhammad Atta constitutional rights if he was caught before 9/11? That is if was captured before entering the US . Anyway I don't know too much about the Chinese ppl at Guantanomo but the besides basic human rights I don't think anyone there deserves too be treated under the Constitution.
Posted by: chris ||
10/22/2008 12:36 Comments ||
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#8
You can't just walk up to a Frenchman and slap him, for example, no matter how much you want to.
Oh, dear! I wish someone would have mentioned this sooner.
(APP): The Security Forces Tuesday successfully intercepted a suicidal explosive laden vehicle in Kabal and destroyed it before reaching to the target. An official of ISPR-run Swat Media Centre told APP that the vehicle was heading towards Sirsenai in Kabal Tehsil where security forces were engaging the miscreants.
Meanwhile, he said that a convoy of Frontier constabulary (FC) and Police hit a roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Sirsenai area of Kabal when they were moving from Kabal to Totano Banda.
The troops immediately retaliated with fire and during exchange of fire, five miscreants were killed including their local commander known as "Chotta Mufti". Two vehicles of FC were also damaged in the explosion.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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(APP): Security forces, while giving impetus to the ongoing operation launched against the miscreants in Bajaur Agency, have killed 11 more militants and injured around 10 during their fresh assault on Tuesday. According to security officials, jet fighters and gunship helicopters pounded Chinar, Charmang, Kohi, Babara and Hashim areas of Nowagai sub-division and claimed of destroying important dens of the militants.
The security forces also established their control in Loui Sam area, 15 kilometers in the North West of Bajaur's district headquarter, Khar, and continued their march to other areas. The law and order in majority of the areas of Bajaur Agency has been improved due to ongoing military operation in the agency.
On Tuesday, all the business centers and educational institutations remained open in District Headquarter, Khar, Tehsil Salarzai and Tehsil Atmankhel. Bank, post office and government offices also remained open in Khar area.
Meanwhile, Salarzai tribe of Bajaur Agency has announced of initiating action against the militants and extending full support to armed forces battling insurgency in the area. The announcement was made at a grand jirga of Salarzai tribe held at Pusht area of Tehsil Salarzai under the chairmanship of former MNA, Shahab-ud-Din Khan.
The jirga decided that from Wednesday, the Qaumi Lashkar will re-launch its operation against militants in Bando and Ghondai areas of the agency. The jirga members also decided to torch houses of 24 militants residing in these areas.
During the jirga, it was also decided any person found extending assistance to militants would be fined Rs. Two million and would be expelled from the agency besides confiscation of his all property.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Isn't it amazing how much more accurate the Pakistani jet fighters are than our own air assets! Ours would have killed dozens of innocent children and fluffy bunnies.
BAGHDAD Iraqi officials Wednesday reported finding mass graves with remains of 34 people, most believed to have been Iraqi army recruits waylaid three years ago by al-Qaida gunmen as they traveled to a training base near the Syrian border.
Farmers tipped off authorities last week about the graves, located in the Euphrates River valley near Syria about 200 miles northwest of Baghdad, according to a local mayor, Farhan Fitaghan.
Fitaghan told The Associated Press that two of the remains were women.
Most of the victims were believed to have been army recruits from the southern Shiite city of Karbala who were traveling by bus in September 2005 to a training camp in an abandoned phosphate plant in Qaim when they were stopped by gunmen and taken away, the mayor said.
The Qaim area had been among the most dangerous parts of the country for U.S. troops and their Iraqi allies. Al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni militant groups smuggled weapons and fighters from Syria, crossing the border near Qaim and heading for Baghdad and other major cities to the south.
Since then, authorities have been turning up more and more mass graves in former insurgent strongholds testimony to the brutality of the nearly six-year war.
#1
God bless them and curse the weakass Baathists in Syria who encouraged this. Hopefully Imad Mugniyeh was a beginning, not an end
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/22/2008 20:35 Comments ||
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#2
I remember that incident. There were comments at the time that had the recruits been armed, they might have been able to defend themselves against whichever group had murdered them. That the graves are now being found bespeaks the increased control unified Iraq, supported by the Coalition, has over their own country. May these finds bring peace to those who loved them.
Babel Governor Salem Al Missilmawi affirmed that the province will take over on Thursday security of the province from US Forces due to stability therein and understanding between all parties. For his part, Babel police Chief Fadel Radad affirmed that security forces are ready to take over as they are in control of the security situation therein due to the competence of recruits and the cooperation of citizens with the government.
US Forces will pull out to their bases and will no longer take part in any military operation unless upon the request of local authorities.
Babel is the 12th province out of 18 to take over security from coalition forces while six provinces are still remaining namely Baghdad, Waset, Diyala, Nineveh, Salah Din and Kirkuk.
Iraqi police and border guards have arrested seven members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps since Oct 18. The arrests come as the senior US commander in Iraq accused Iran of attempting to bribe Iraqi members of parliament to vote against the status of forces agreement that will allow US forces to remain in Iraq past 2008.
Iraqi police captured three armed Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps officers today in the city of Al Kut in Wasit province, a police official told Voices of Iraq. "Three Iraqi Revolutionary Guards along with their guide were detained on the border region between Iraq and Iran in eastern Wasit after entering Iraq illegally," said Police Major Aziz Latief al Imara. "The forces seized amounts of ammunitions found in their possession."
On Oct. 18, Iraqi border guards captured four more members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps in the Mandali district in Diyala province. "A force from the 4th contingent of the Iraqi border brigade in Diyala province arrested last night four members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard inside the Iraqi territories," an anonymous official told Voices of Iraq. "The four were in military uniform with guns in their possession and were moving within the Iraqi territories."
The seven Iranians were likely members of Qods Force, the elite special operations branch of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. The unit reports directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader.
Posted by: 3dc ||
10/22/2008 00:53 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Fifteen people were killed and 40 others injured in fierce clashes which erupted overnight and continued sporadically till noon in an area southwest of Iraq, an Interior Ministry source said Tuesday.
The deadly clashes occurred when people from the city of Ramadi, capital of western Anbar province, attacked people from Babel province near the Jurf al-Sakhar area, some 60 km southwest of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The battle, which erupted due to a disaccord between the two sides over rural lands, also resulted in the damaging of several houses and civilian cars, the source said.
Local security forces did not step in the fight but had been put on alert, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Seven suspected gunmen were arrested in two separate operations in Baghdad and Diala, the Multi-National Forces said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Coalition forces apprehended four Special Groups suspects Tuesday morning during two separate operations in Al Jadidah, about 25 km north of Baghdad in Diala province," said the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq.
"Coalition forces continue to degrade the Katai'b Hezbollah network with the capture of three suspected criminals Tuesday morning during an operation in Baghdad's al-Basra neighborhood," the forces said in another statement.
Coalition forces accuse the Special Groups Katai'b Hezbollah network of having support from Iran to launch attacks against Coalition and Iraqi forces to destabilize Iraq, while Iran dismisses such accusations.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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At least 15 men were killed and 14 wounded on Tuesday in fierce early morning clashes between insurgents and Sunni tribes in the central Iraqi province of Babil, police and a medic said. The ferocious firefight came just two days ahead of a planned transfer of security control in Babil from US to Iraqi troops.
The battle erupted in Jurf al-Sakhr, a town on the border between mainly Shiite Babil and the neighboring mostly Sunni province of Anbar, at around 5 a.m. local time and raged for about two hours, said Police Lieutenant Haider al-Lami in the provincial capital of Hilla.
The fighting pitted suspected insurgents against members of the Sunni Al-Osan and Al-Ojan tribes, who had formed anti-Al-Qaeda militias to oust the insurgents from their areas, Lami said.
Physician Mohammed al-Shammari from the nearby town of Iskandiriyya confirmed the death toll.
Jurf al-Sakhr witnessed frequent violence in the years following the US-led invasion of 2003 but a measure of stability was restored to the town after the formation of the anti-Al-Qaeda militia late last year. Before news broke of the early morning clashes, Babil Governor Salem al-Saleh Meslmawe had told AFP that US forces would hand over security control of the province to Iraqi forces on Thursday. "The decision represents the stability in the region," he said.
Babil police chief Major General Fadhel Radad confirmed the transfer plans. "The security forces in the province are ready to take control and these days they are handling the security efficiently in collaboration with the citizens," Radad said.
Babil, site of historic archaeological treasures, is the 12th of Iraq's 18 provinces to be handed over to Baghdad's control amid improving security. Baghdad, Diyala, Salaheddin, Nineveh, Kirkuk and Wasit remain under US control.
A US military spokesman confirmed that preparations were being made to transfer Babil to Iraqi command but declined to give a date.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Same incident as Xinhua report but here the McCoys (or is it the Hatfields) are labeled insurgents instead of the fight being over some rural land.
#3
my take is that if Islam allowed drinking the typical jihadi would (because of his obvious lack of self control)drink him self into oblivion and be too drunk to go fight.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
10/22/2008 23:05 Comments ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Four Iraqi soldiers were wounded on Tuesday in two separate incidents in northern and eastern Mosul, an Iraqi army source said. "Three soldiers were wounded when an explosive charge went off targeting an Iraqi army convoy near al-Ghabat bridge in al-Arabi neighborhood in northern Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq. "Another soldier was injured when a sniper opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in al-Bekr neighborhood in eastern Mosul," another army source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi police forces on Tuesday released a kidnapped individual from his captors in Missan, a security spokesman said. "Transport police patrols freed a kidnapped Baghdad-based individual from his three captors who took him from Amara center to Nahr al-Ez district, south Amara," Brig. Sadiq Salam, director of public relations in Missan police department told Aswat al-Iraq. The spokesman did not elaborate further details, but said the "captors ran away after head-on clashes with police."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"captors ran away after head-on clashes with police."
Aswat al-Iraq: An Iraqi army force arrested two wanted men, while police forces managed to defuse a bomb and found an unknown body in separate incidents in Mosul, a security source said.
"A force from the 2nd division of the Iraqi army arrested two wanted men during a crackdown operation in al-Jazaer neighborhood in eastern Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq. "A police force managed today to defuse a bomb placed under al-Jisr al-Khames bridge in western Mosul," he added. "Policemen found today unknown body, bore signs of gunshot wounds to the head and the chest, in al-Nour neighborhood in eastern Mosul," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: U.S. forces said on Tuesday they arrested five suspected al-Qaeda gunmen during operations in central and northern Iraq.
"One wanted man and four other suspected terrorists were detained Tuesday as Coalition forces continued to degrade al-Qaeda in Iraq's operating capabilities in central and northern Iraq," said the U.S. army in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq.
"A wanted man was captured by Coalition forces operating in the Jazeera Desert, about 52 km southwest of Mosul. The suspected terrorist, who is believed to be associated with the region's AQI courier network and senior leaders, surrendered himself to Coalition forces," it added.
"In Jalula, about 123 km northwest of Baghdad, forces targeted a suspected AQI car bomb and finance operative. Two men believed to be associates of the wanted man were detained during the operation," the statement also said.
"Another Coalition force operation targeting an alleged weapons facilitator in Baghdad netted two suspects," it noted.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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I'd like to trace the viral pathways of a rumor. And it's a cracker of a rumor: that Meir Dagan, the Mossad Chief, was assassinated in Amman, Jordan, and his killing was hushed up. The story began circulating around the Middle East today at a scorching velocity. And that's because aspects of it seemed plausible.
Dagan's portly face and penetrating eyes may be too well-known for him to take part in an actual spy operation (Israeli Channel 2 named him "Israeli Hero of the Year' for presumably ordering the hit on Hezballah's military commander Imad Mugniyah in Damascus). But Dagan does sometimes travel to Amman to exchange whispers with fellow spymasters. It is also true that Hezballah has sworn revenge for Mugniyah's killing, and the Mossad chief would make a fitting target.
Yesterday, the story started making the rounds on a few Arab internet sites. Then, according to one diplomat, it was picked up by DEBKAfile, a rightwing Israeli website, one of whose sensational ---and false-- reports about an impending terrorist attack in Manhattan actually prompted police to close down N.Y.'s bridges for several hours.
This time, DEBKAfile reported that: "on Oct. 12, Meir Dagan, the head of Israel's external intelligence service, the Mossad, was targeted by assassins while visiting Amman. Some describe a large bomb explosion alongside his convoy and add that Israeli and Jordanian guards with the convoy were injured. Others say Dagan himself was hurt or even killed in the attack. They claim Israel and Jordan are keeping the incident a secret."
And who's a faithful reader of DEBKAfile? The Iranians.
And who's a faithful reader of DEBKAfile? The Iranians. Oh, that explains so much! It still doesn't make sense, but it explains it.
They picked up the news about Dagan's supposed death and spun it out into the blogosphere, where Arab media networks picked it up and gave the story traction. Camera crews raced out to Amman airport to see if there were Israeli aircraft flying in and out. Amman diplomats frantically rang their official contacts. Nothing. The rumor gained such credence that the Jordanian Interior Minister summoned diplomats to deny it.
In Israel, officials also nixed the report ---which, admittedly, they would even if it were true-- but as one source told TIME: "If the head of Mossad were killed by assassins, you couldn't keep it quiet. It would make a huge splash ---like throwing a boulder in a pond."
In this age of cell-phones and instant Internet connectivity, it doesn't take long for stories to whizz around, and often, the speed at which they travel gives them an illusory substance, a specific weight and gravity, that really doesn't exist. But in this case, I can't help but wonder: what sparked the rumor of the Mossad chief's death? Was it pure mischief or something else? Stay tuned. Dewd! Meir Dagan kaboomed and Nasrallah poisoned! Hidden hands! Wheels within wheels!
#1
How do we know it wasn't one of Meir Dagan's many body doubles who claimed he was not dead? The Israelis have fabulous surgeons -- I'm sure a little plastic surgery would be as child's play to them. Of course, it could have been a body double that was killed, too... or not killed, as the case may be. ;-)
Gaza militants fired a Qassam rocket into the western Negev Tuesday evening, for the first time in over a month, in violation of a cease fire agreement between Israel Hamas, signed in mid-June.
The rocket struck an open area near Nativ Ha'asara. No injuries or damage were reported.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak consulted his advisors and security officials following the strike, and later announced his decision to shut down the border crossings between Israel and the Strip in response. This decision is in keeping with Israel's routine response to Qassam fire underscoring the message that rockets result in closed borders.
On September 14, a Qassam rocket struck a construction site in the western Negev town of Sderot, sparking a fire. Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Since the cease fire agreement went into effect on June 19, Israel has seen a sharp decline in the number of rockets fired into its territory from the Gaza Strip.
Israel and Egypt have enforced a border blockade since Hamas seized control of Gaza by force in June 2007. As part of the blockade, only limited humanitarian supplies were allowed to enter Gaza.
After the cease-fire took effect, more goods were allowed to enter, but a ban on exports from Gaza remains in effect.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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People flock to a house rented by a suspected terrorist who was arrested on Tuesday with 21 bullets, three kilograms of explosives, PVC pipes and bomb-making manuals, in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.
National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri identified the detained suspect only as Wahyu, a.k.a. Uci, and said the authorities were still investigating his background.
Wahyu is suspected to be involved in sectarian violence that claimed more than 1,000 lives in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in the early 2000s.
Suspected to be a member of Kompak, an Islamic militant group, Wahyu is on the Central Sulawesi Police's list of wanted people. Police also suspect him of being involved in the attack on the Police Mobile Brigade headquarters in western Seram, Maluku, on May 16, 2005.
"More details will come later," Hendarso said as quoted by detik.com.
#3
Well, since the badly misnamed WOT is actually a war against islam in the context of the assisted sucide of the West/european people, that he quits it or not is NOT relevant, since the problems and threats simply ARE NOT GOING TO FADE AWAY... besides, the goatse Man (I mean, come on, look at the "O" handsign...) is both a symptom and an agent of those threats, so what he does is irrelevatn, it's what he is in any regards. Just having him in the race, even without considering the probability he wins it, is very worrying about the future, to say the least. Maggots fester in corpses, actually, to them, a corpse is more alive than a real living body, they can't even grasp its decay, since they live from it.
#4
Biden says he is going to get tested and I agree. Will we still have an officer cadre left in the Armed Forces after he wins in November to counter that threat? Maybe but I have to tell you if the BHO presidency doesn't respond with deadly and overwhelming force the American people will come down on him like a load of bricks.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/22/2008 11:42 Comments ||
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#5
Mr. Wife thinks the new president is going to be tested, regardless who wins. Under the circumstances, I truly hope it's John McCain who takes the oath in January.
The Iraqi Web site Almalaf on Wednesday quoted diplomatic sources in Beirut as saying Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was poisoned last week and that his life was saved by Iranian doctors who were rushed to Lebanon to treat him.
The sources reportedly told the paper that a particularly poisonous chemical substance was used against the Shi'ite militia's leader. His medical condition was apparently critical for a number of days, until the Iranian doctors arrived and managed to save his life.
The site claimed that the sources believed it was highly likely that the poisoning was an Israeli assassination attempt.
Hezbollah has denied the report. Lebanese parliament member Al-Hajj Hassan, a member of the group, said: "This is a lie and a fabrication. It' true that I haven't seen [Nasrallah] this past week, but he's okay."
The Iranian medical team arrived on Sunday at 11:00 P.M., apparently on a special military flight. Officials considered flying Nasrallah to Iran for further treatment, according to Almalaf.
In September 1997, a Mossad team tried to assassinate Hamas' political chief, Khaled Meshal, by drizzling poison in his ear. The attempt failed, and two of the agents were captured while others found refuge in the Israeli embassy in Amman.
Nasrallah's second-in-command Imad Mughniyah was assassinated in February in a Damascus bomb blast. Hezbollah accused Israel of responsibility for the explosion, although Israel has denied any connection to the act.
Posted by: ed ||
10/22/2008 11:55 Comments ||
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#4
The report may explain rumors 10 days ago that Nasrallah has appointed his heir in case he is assassinated. Safi al-Din, the chairman of the terrorist organization's executive council and Nasrallah's cousin, will take over the leadership of Hizbullah if "the Zionists succeed in assassinating Hassan Nasrallah," the newspaper reported.
Hizbullah officials have investigated everyone who has visited Nasrallah since the reported attack and also are questioning Hizbullah officials. Israel was immediately blamed for the attack, but it also may have been carried out Hizbullah dissidents.
#5
Doesn't pass the smell test. Any halfway decent assassin could get his hands on poison that would do the job no matter what the doctors did. Sounds more like he took ill, and is using his own frailty as a PR weapon against Israel. That's actually a quite common play in the Muslim bag o tricks.
#9
Twice is coincidence. We get another datapoint, and I'm calling it a Shia mafia war. And I still say Muughniyah was an own-side hit.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/22/2008 16:45 Comments ||
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#10
Those wonderful, wonderful uberIslamic IRANIANS. Friends of Obama. Friends of the oppressed. Friends of any who will submit. What would we do without them . . . ?
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.
(AKI) - Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said that 991 suspected militants with ties to terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda have been charged and will be tried in the Kingdom's first ever terrorism trial. "We have started to bring before the courts 991 people implicated in various incidents," said Saudi Interior Minister, Prince Nayf bin Abdulaziz on Monday.
(AKI) - Five terror suspects were arrested by British police in the central city of Birmingham on Tuesday. The five men, aged between 29 and 26, were arrested under anti-terrorism laws on suspicion of being involved "in the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism," police said in a brief statement.
(AKI) - A Danish citizen of Pakistani origin and an Afghani national were found guilty on Tuesday of preparing a terrorist attack after they were filmed mixing explosives.
A federal appeals court Monday blocked the release of 17 Chinese Muslims into the United States from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, until it can hear further legal arguments in the case. 
(APP): Security forces, while giving impetus to the ongoing operation launched against the miscreants in Bajaur Agency, have killed 11 more militants and injured around 10 during their fresh assault on Tuesday. According to security officials, jet fighters and gunship helicopters pounded Chinar, Charmang, Kohi, Babara and Hashim areas of Nowagai sub-division and claimed of destroying important dens of the militants. 
Babel Governor Salem Al Missilmawi affirmed that the province will take over on Thursday security of the province from US Forces due to stability therein and understanding between all parties. For his part, Babel police Chief Fadel Radad affirmed that security forces are ready to take over as they are in control of the security situation therein due to the competence of recruits and the cooperation of citizens with the government. 
Aswat al-Iraq: U.S. forces said on Tuesday they arrested five suspected al-Qaeda gunmen during operations in central and northern Iraq.
