KABUL - The US military said Thursday it was investigating Afghan allegations that its troops killed four civilians in an overnight raid, including a woman school teacher and two of her children. The military had issued a statement saying that four militants, including a woman combatant, were killed in an operation in Khost province targeting an extremist Islamic militant. Three more people were arrested, it said.
But the Afghan education ministry later identified the dead as a high-school teacher, her young daughter, a teenage son and a relative. The ministry said in a statement it was deeply moved by the incident.
Khost government spokesman Kochai Naseri said five innocent civilians had been killed, including two men, two females and a teenage student. He accused international troops of not consulting Afghan officials in conducting the operation, contravening regulations.
The US military said it was investigating the incident, which occurred three kilometres (two miles) south of Khost city. Coalition forces are aware of the allegation of non-combatant casualties in Khost district, Khost province, and are conducting a joint investigation, it said in a statement.
The force said earlier that the raid targeted a militant linked to the radical Haqqani network and the Islamic Jihad Union, both associated with Al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Woman teacher? Is the Taliban pissed we beat them to it?
Well, at least somebody's doing something over there...
One French hostage has died and four others have been freed in a rescue operation by French troops on a yacht off Somalia, French officials say. Two pirates were killed in the operation and three were captured, the French presidency says. Two French couples had been seized with a child, who was among those freed from the yacht, Tanit, seized last week.
In another development on Friday, pirates released a Norwegian cargo ship, the Bow Asir, and its crew, the vessel's owners said. The Bow Asir had been held since 26 March.
The French operation to free those on board the Tanit - the third time French troops have freed hostages from pirates - began late on Thursday, five days after the yacht was seized, the office of President Nicolas Sarkozy said.
Negotiations with the pirates which began earlier this week had failed to secure the release of the hostages, the president's spokesman said. When talks broke down troops immobilised the vessel before moving in, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby reports from Paris. "With the threats becoming more and more specific, the pirates refusing the offers made to them and the [yacht] heading towards the coast, an operation to free the hostages was decided upon," he said. The spokesman confirmed that one of the hostages was killed, but added that the others - including the child - were now "safe and sound".
Earlier in the week Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner had left open the possibility that troops could launch an effort to free the French hostages, telling reporters French officials knew the location of the Tanit. ...and our hostages sound like a couple of beauties.
However, it also emerged that the families on board the yacht, which was reported to be heading down to Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, were urged not to travel through the Gulf of Aden. The region has become a haven for pirates and is the scene of frequent seizures and attacks on international shipping. A spokesman for the French foreign ministry said the couple - named as Chloe and Florent Lemacon - were "repeatedly warned" not to travel through the area. "It is difficult to understand why these warnings were not heeded," spokesman Eric Chevallier said. Certainment, zee pirates will not bother us...
The couple had refurbished the Tanit, a 12.5m (41ft) boat, and given up jobs in a bid to escape consumer society and navigate a route along the African coast to Zanzibar. I often wish I had a yacht to escape "consumer society"...
Speaking to French newspaper Ouest France, Mr Lemacon said they wanted to change their priorities in life. "We don't want our child to receive the sort of education that the government is concocting for us. We have got rid of the television and everything that seemed superfluous to concentrate on what is essential," he said. We would, however, like the government to bail us out when zee pirates kidnap our pretentious asses...
Looks like they wanna raise the stakes...
NAIROBI, Kenya Escalating a dramatic Indian Ocean standoff, more U.S. warships as well as pirate reinforcements with an international gallery of hostages rushed Friday toward the spot where four Somali bandits are holding a U.S. sea captain aboard a drifting lifeboat.
The pirates apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over Capt. Richard Phillips captured in a failed effort to seize the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday and hope to link up with their colleagues who are using Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages captured in recent days as human shields.
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus said U.S. warships also are headed to the area, more than 300 miles (480 kilometers) off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast. "We want to ensure that we have all the capability that might be needed over the course of the coming days," he said.
Pirates have been holding Phillips hostage aboard the lifeboat since his crew thwarted the attack Wednesday on the 17,000-ton U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama.
Mohamed Samaw, a Somali resident of the pirate stronghold in central Eyl town, who claims to have a "share" in a British-owned ship hijacked Monday, said four foreign ships previously captured by pirates are heading toward the lifeboat. A total of 54 hostages are on two of the ships, citizens of China, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines, Tuvalu, Indonesia and Taiwan. "The pirates have summoned assistance skiffs and motherships are heading towards the area from the coast," said a Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. "We knew they were gathering yesterday." Samaw said two ships left Eyl on Wednesday afternoon. A third sailed from Haradhere, another pirate base in central Somalia, and the fourth one was a Taiwanese fishing vessel seized Monday that was already only 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the lifeboat.
He said the ships include the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized earlier this month. The ship's crew of 24 is made up of five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians, two Filipinos and 12 Tuvalus.
Another man identified as a pirate by three different residents of Haradhere also said the captured German ship had been sent to the rescue. "They had asked us for reinforcement and we have already sent a good number of well-equipped colleagues, who were holding a German cargo ship," said the pirate who asked that only his first name, Badow, be used to protect him from reprisals. "We are not intending to harm the captain, so that we hope our colleagues would not be harmed as long as they hold him," Badow said. "All we need, first, is a safe route to escape with the captain, and then (negotiate) ransom later," he added.
Phillips thwarted Wednesday's takeover of the Maersk Alabama by telling his crew of about 20 to lock themselves in a room, the crew told stateside relatives. The crew later overpowered some of the pirates but Phillips, 53, surrendered himself to the bandits to safeguard his men, and four of the Somalis fled with him to an enclosed lifeboat, the relatives said.
The freighter that was the target of the pirates headed away from the lifeboat Thursday, Maersk shipping line said, and a teams of armed Navy SEALs is on board, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. The Alabama was sailing toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa its original destination and was expected to arrive Saturday night, said Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy whose son, Shane Murphy, is second-in-command of the vessel.
FBI hostage negotiators started Thursday to work with the U.S. military to secure Phillips' release. The sea captain has a radio and has contacted the Navy and the crew of the Alabama to say he is unharmed, Maersk said. Company spokesman Kevin Speers told AP Radio the lifeboat was out of fuel and "dead in the water." Most of the lifeboats are about 28 feet (8.5 meters) long and carry water and food for 34 people for 10 days, said Joseph Murphy. The lifeboats are covered and Murphy, speaking after a briefing by the shipping company, said he suspects the pirates have closed the ports to avoid sniper fire.
Maersk said the lifeboat is within sight of the USS Bainbridge, the Navy destroyer that arrived on the scene earlier Thursday.
Gen. Petraeus said other warships would arrive shortly. U.S. officials said the guided-missile frigate USS Halyburton was among ships en route.
Steve Romano, a retired head of the FBI hostage negotiation team, said he doesn't recall the FBI ever negotiating with pirates before, but he said this situation is similar to other standoffs. Although pirates release the vast majority of their hostages unharmed, the difficulty will be negotiating with people who clearly have no way out, he said. "There's always a potential for tragedy here, and when people feel their options are limited, they sometimes react in more unpredictable and violent ways," Romano said. More. Looks like he tried to make a break for it... WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Department officials say the American boat captain held by Somali pirates tried to escape but was recaptured. Captain Richard Phillips jumped over the side of the small lifeboat where he has been held for two days and began swimming.
Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about unfolding operations, say Phillips was retaken by the pirates after he jumped from the boat around midnight local time in open ocean off the Somali coast. A U.S. Navy ship patrolling nearby was able to see Phillips moving around and talking after his return to the pirate's boat. The defense officials think he is unharmed.
#1
Very aggravating. 4 dolts in a life boat hold the US at bay. I wouldnt be half surprised to see if they get away with that. Have to admit it, they have balls. It will be interesting to see what happens when their armada arrives. Sounds like they are more organized then we are.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/10/2009 9:59 Comments ||
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#2
So why did the Navy not sink the lifeboat when the captain jumped out?
#3
Appears the Navy and the SEALS hands are tied until the State Department lawyers and/or the White House, Attorney General tells them to act. I can't imagine they would NOT have that lifeboat under 24x7 sniper night vicion coverage. The frustration from USN operators must have been intense when Captain went overboard. I'm sure they want to ventilate that life boat with sniper fire.
#4
When the pirates transfer themselves and the captain to one of the arriving hostage ships, it's check mate at best. Our options are rapidly shrinking.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 10:47 Comments ||
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#8
Actually, this is starting to look like a pirate flypaper tactic. The booty boyz phone home for help and all their boyfriends come out to help, only to be taken out by the US Navy once they try to engage.
A Somali in contact with a pirate leader said the captors want a ransom and are ready to kill the hostage, Capt. Richard Phillips, if attacked.
The pirates' strategy is to link up with their colleagues, who are holding Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages, and get Phillips to lawless Somalia, where they could hide the hostage and make it difficult to stage a rescue, the Somali said. That would give the pirates more leverage and a stronger negotiating position to discuss a ransom. Anchoring near shore also means they could get to land quickly if attacked.
The Somali, who helped negotiate a ransom last year to pirates after they seized a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said he has talked with a pirate leader in Somalia who helped coordinate the failed effort to seize the Alabama.
He said the pirate leader had been in direct contact with the lifeboat via a satellite phone but lost contact after Phillips' captors threw the phoneand a two-way radio dropped to them by the U.S. Navyinto the ocean, fearing the Americans were somehow using the equipment to give instructions to the captain. They acted after Phillips' failed effort to escape.
#15
If Obama fails to give an ok for taking the pirates out, this captains life is on his head. It's his administration and he's the power behind it. We should have already resolved this when the captain got away the first time.
Posted by: Charles ||
04/10/2009 14:16 Comments ||
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#16
The President has to make a decision or not. He and Hilarity have to consult. She is an expert with regards to the Barbary Pirates. They have to make certain no involved or not involved countries aren't being insulted and whether or not we need to apologize to anyone now or later. Being a lawyer, he has to check with a bevy, flock, or herd of lawyers. The lawyers will have to approve any targets which could take a really long time--particularly if they have to file a lawsuit against the pirates. There is the lawsuit complaint and then the interrogatories and answers to the interrogatories for both sides. Then there are the depositions of witnesses and expert witnesses. And then the motions. And then the trial... We're down the road a few years and some good paydays for the attorneys. I'm beginning to worry about the captain about this time.
#17
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates holding an American hostage on a drifting lifeboat want $2 million for his release, a fellow pirate onshore said on Friday.
The pirate, speaking to Reuters from Haradheere port, also said other pirates were taking a hijacked German ship, with foreign crew on board, toward the scene in the Indian Ocean where the lifeboat is floating, watched by U.S. warships.
"Knowing that the Americans will not destroy this German ship and its foreign crew, they (the approaching pirates) hope they can meet their friends on the lifeboat," said the pirate, who has given reliable information in the past but asked for his name not to be used.
"Our friends (on the lifeboat) hope for $2 million ransom as well as their own safety," he added.
...and,
A second US warship -- this one bearing helicopters -- arrived Friday off the Somali coast amid a tense standoff with pirates holding a US ship captain whose recent escape attempt failed, the Pentagon said.
The guided-missile frigate USS Halyburton "is on site, in the vicinity" of the small lifeboat where pirates are holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage, said US Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman.
The Halyburton "brings helicopters" to the volatile scene, said Whitman, who declined to say if the warship was within view of the lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean.
The US destroyer on site, the USS Bainbridge, has been monitoring the lifeboat but has no helicopters, another US official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer was also in the region but further away than the other two vessels, he added.
#18
Big Zero to FBI Negotiators
"Dang. Forgot to include the Somalis in the bail out bill. Tell em we're working on it, then Congress needs to vote on it, and remember, we are not at war with you."
#22
As for trying to sink the lifeboat (Boston Whaler), probably wouldn't work too well.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
04/10/2009 15:46 Comments ||
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#23
The those with more naval knowledge than I do: How difficult would it be to lay up the other ships the pirates haveheading toward the scene? Not a sink'em thing, just a stop the ships ability to move thing.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/10/2009 15:48 Comments ||
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#27
This "government" can't protect it's citizens along our own border. How can we expect to be protected 10,000k's away on the high seas? Forget it, we're toast with Barry and this bunch.
#28
I think if I'm George W. Bush right now I'm really, really happy that I never did anything about these pirates for the simple reason that now I get to watch and laugh while Bambi tries to deal with this particular situation. Somebody's gonna have to pay the ransom for that captain and there won't be a damn thing Bambi can do about it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/10/2009 17:35 Comments ||
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#29
Obama's response to the pirates: "Uhhhh Ummm....Present!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2009 18:55 Comments ||
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#30
FAR SIDE > Well, this should'nt last long.
Pragmatically, "MARITIME JIHAD/PYRI-I-I-TE NAVAL CAMPAIGN" > IIRC Pirate Histoirez they will wage a LT ACTIVE DEFENSE all along the African coasts, ultimately toward the DEFENSIVE MISSLE-AIR UMBRELLAS OF NUCLEARIZING IRAN +INCREASINGLY MILTERR TRUUUBLED INDIA.
HIDDEN FACTORS = Islamist destabilzation of EGYPT, SAUDIS, + ETHIOPIA???
#32
WAFF.com > STRATEGYPAGE - WHY THE[Somali/African]
PIRATES ARE IMMUNE FROM ATTACK? The Somali Pyraaates now operate as far east the SEYCHELLES ISLANDS. The SOMALI RADICALIST GROUP AL-SHABAAD has warned KENYA NOT to interfere with its armed gunmen along the coasts - EITREA + SUDAN are prob sympathetic towards the Somali pirates. The pirates are not only well-armed and vilently aggressive, but are also MEDIA-SAAVY [read, POLITICAL]???
MOMBASA, Kenya - The US navy rushed in FBI negotiators and a destroyer Thursday as Somali pirates holding an American hostage on a lifeboat were drifting on the Indian Ocean with no fuel. In a rare admission it was ready to negotiate with pirates suspected of links to terror-listed groups, the Federal Bureau of Investigations said it was assigning negotiators to help secure the release of the ship's captain. "FBI negotiators stationed at Quantico (Virginia) have been called by the Navy to assist with negotiations with the Somali pirates and are fully engaged in this matter," spokesman Richard Kolko said in a statement.
I confess my opening statement to the pirates would be .. simple ...
When the four pirates were ousted from the 17,500-tonne Danish-operated container ship, they took the captain hostage on a lifeboat. "Apparently, the lifeboat has run out of gas," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said ahead of a meeting in Washington.
Sorta like the Bambi administration ...
"Most recent contact with the Alabama indicated that the captain remains a hostage but is unharmed at this time," Kevin Speers, a US-based spokesman for Maersk, told reporters on Thursday.
It was believed to be the first US merchant ship hijacked since the North African Barbary Wars in the early 19th century.
Whatcha gonna do about it, Bambi?
A commander from the group of pirates who took the ship said pirate reinforcements were on their way to try and help those holding the hostage, who are effectively surrounded. "We are planning to reinforce our colleagues who told us that a navy ship was closing in on them and I hope the matter will soon be solved," Abdi Garad told AFP by phone from the northern pirate lair of Eyl.
"They are closely monitored by a navy ship and I think it will be difficult for us to reach the area promptly," he admitted, with US helicopters swirling the area. "But we are making final preparations and will try our best to save our friends."
Good luck with that ...
The Maersk Alabama's chief officer, Shane Murphy, told his father that the crew used "brute force" to overpower the pirates, who were armed with AK-47 assault rifles, ABC News reported.
Bet a lot of pirates woke up the next day stiff and sore. Lunch was soup ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"...the matter will soon be solved, Abdi Garad told AFP by phone from the northern pirate lair of Eyl."
#2
This must not be news, anymore. I search the front page of The Washington Post before I left for work, and didn't see anything...
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/10/2009 6:07 Comments ||
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#3
The FBI did such a splendid job rounding up all of the ACORN criminals, nothing much for them to do but sit around. This gives them an opportunity to stay engaged, brush up on their Somali clan linquistic abilities. Besides, how could DoD handle anything this complex ethnically nuanced.
There is no evidence, experts say, of any links between the pirates and Islamic militants in Somalia, and officials said it was unlikely that the United States would strike directly at pirate sanctuaries along the Somali coast
#6
When the pirate reinforcements get ther. Sink. Everything. Then it will be another couple hundred years. If not, the Barry admin is going to end up having to downplay serveral of these events before his time is up.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/10/2009 11:11 Comments ||
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#7
The NYTimes is telling Obama what to think. Next, it will tell Hillary what to do. Meanwhile, Gates has been found hiding under a desk.
#9
The FBI did a great job of negotiating with the Abu Sayyaff to get the Burnhams released as well. The FBI helped with a money transfer that help to fund the terrorists and in the end, months later, Martin Burnham and Edobora Yap were kill. Grace was shot in the leg. If I am ever taken hostage PLEASE call a used care salesman NOT the FBI, I want someone that can negotiate!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/10/2009 12:44 Comments ||
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#10
PLEASE call a used care car salesman NOT
Sorry, fixed
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/10/2009 12:45 Comments ||
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#11
I'm not entirely certain that I'm the kind of guy you'd want negotiating on your behalf. The only thing I know for certain that would come out of it is, that the hostage takers would get no money. None. But I have this great leathered up Buick in back with E-Z miles on her.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/10/2009 12:53 Comments ||
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#12
I'm with Nimble here, and even worse, how close to you have to get to the USN before they'll rescue you?
The Cap'n attempted escape, at night, but the Bainbridge was a few "hundred meters" away?
Isn't the logic completely backward here - shouldn't the USN be teaching the FBI how to conduct hostage negotiation, rescue, recovey and after action analysis?
The only possible hope is some sort of Eisenhowerian "enlarge the problem" setting - suck in all the reinforcements the Somali navy elects to deploy, track them arriving, besiege them at sea (when has that been done?) and deliver the ultimata.
OK naval historians, RN or USN - what are the protocols and precendents involved?
#13
What will be truly pathetic is if the Bainbridge is jouned by the Decatur (DDG 73) and the Preble (DDG 88). I wonder how many of the sailors will understand the irony. Those guys understood made the protocols and precedents.
#14
What sorry irony that would be, but you're right on the money with the history.
I'm from Ohio originally, near Eaton, which is the seat of Preble County. I'll wander over to the Navy webiste to see if the have a USS Eaton on the roster at present. That would complete the fun.
#17
I'm not entirely certain that I'm the kind of guy you'd want negotiating on your behalf. The only thing I know for certain that would come out of it is, that the hostage takers would get no money. None. But I have this great leathered up Buick in back with E-Z miles on her.
#21
Snowy Mountain, I think you just found a brand new Anti-pirating weapon. When they pirates try to board, launch one of our useless cars at them! I can just picture it now, them all pointing up and yelling "BUICK!"
Posted by: Charles ||
04/10/2009 21:54 Comments ||
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RAJSHAHI, Apr 9 (UNB): Twenty-four suspected cadres of outlawed Sarbahara group and Islamic militant Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were arrested in a special crackdown on them in Bagmara Upazila early Thursday. Police said a "listed Sarbahara cadre" and a JMB man were among the arrested persons.
Bagmara thana OC Shahabuddin Khalifa said police arrested them conducting an overnight operation against Sarbahara and JMB extremists as the two leftist and rightist groups got going again "through regrouping gradually" in the area. "There were cases against the arrested persons in the past," police said, adding that they were being interrogated.
Besides, police also arrested two persons with weapons in Durgapur Upazila. They are Abdul Mannan, 28, son of Abu Taher, and Rahidul Islam, 26, of Singa village.
The special drive was launched Wednesday night as "law-and-order situation might deteriorate due to increase in terrorist activities", police sources said.
Bagmara once was a stronghold of Sarbahara and JMB militants wherein the then JMB leader Bangla Bhai, later executed, had carried out a violent vigilant drive to root out the outlaws in 2004.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Forty more BDR men were shown arrested Thursday for their alleged involvement in the Feb 25-26 carnage inside the headquarters of the border force while a big band of 52 remanded, reports UNB. From among the fresh arrests, 20 were taken on five-day remand while another 20 sent to jail.
Court sources said 40 mutiny suspects were produced before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rashid Kabir by CID police in the afternoon. The plainclothes police sought them on 10-day remand for interrogating them as part of a long-drawn investigation process being carried on to unveil the mystery behind the carnage. After hearing, the court granted 5 days.
Meanwhile, earlier-arrested another 32 BDR jawans were also taken on five-day remand when they were produced before the same court this afternoon.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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The suspects in the alleged terrorism plot include two security guards, an English language and three accountancy students. Of the dozen men detained, eleven of them are Pakistani and arrived in the UK on student visas at different times in the past six months.
Sounds like the Talibs and Qaeda honchos were flooding the zone. Either they were planning an especially big op and needed the muscle or else they were getting sloppy ...
Some of the suspects, whose ages range from their late teens to 41, were said to speak fluent Pashto, the language of the Pashtun people of Afghanistan, and another had alleged links to Yemen.
Pakistani intelligence sources said that one of the men held had confirmed links to the Waziristan area of Pakistan, a Taliban stronghold on the frontier with Afghanistan.
As often seen with massive police raids, local residents were shocked at the implication that there were terrorism suspects in their midst on the terraced streets of Manchester, Liverpool and Clitheroe, Lancs.
The Daily Telegraph can disclose the names of six of those held.
:: Sultan Sher was arrested at a cyber net café in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester, alongside a man called Tariq.
:: Abdul Khan, 26, an English language student was arrested in Liverpool, where a student known as Adil was also detained.
:: Abid Nazeer, 22, the alleged ring-leader of the group, who was born in Pakistan and lived with two others arrested in Cheetham Hill, including Hamza Shinwari.
Neighbours said the men moved in around September last year, during the festival of Ramadan.
Bushra Majid 33, said she had heard the two men speaking on mobile telephones in Pashtun dialect used by Afghans. She also described the men as having the appearance of Afghans, with darker colouring and longer beards than most Pakistanis.
Mrs Majid, a housewife with four children, said that they worshipped at the nearby Al-Falah mosque every day. "They were very nice neighbours, they were very religious to the extent that, out of respect, they would not look me in the eye," she said.
"They were always giving alms to the widows so that they could buy ammunition. Such thoughtful warriors!"
Two suspects were arrested at the Clitheroe branch of Homebase, where they worked as security guards, having checked into a local guest eight days ago (April 2). The pair, both Pakistanis, paid £30-a-night for rooms at the Brooklyn Guest House. Each morning they walked the quarter of a mile to Homebase where there job was to sign staff in and out as they stocked shelves in readiness for the store's official opening yesterday.
Thirty pounds is sixty dollars. That's $400 a week. That's a decent hotel bed in a quiet, outlying suburb in the U.S. Where did these jokers get the money? Or is that such an obvious question that no one in Britain has asked?
"They both just seemed like nice, ordinary lads in their late twenties," said a Homebase source. "One spoke relatively good English, the other not too well. I was amazed to hear they'd been arrested."
All dozen suspects appeared to have kept a low profile in the areas they lived.
Sleepers, each one, and recently activated to do a big job ...
Neighbours and landlords said they knew very little of them and had contact with them only on an occasional basis for mundane reasons, such as when they needed a faulty washing machine to be fixed.
The Pakistani accountancy students were at Liverpool John Moores University and had started renting a property three weeks ago. They paid cash up front for six months.
Businessman Ali Shalash, whose rented the flat to them spoke of his surprise. "They spoke good English and just said they were students. I think they said they were doing accounting. I have been in the flat many times in the last few weeks to do things like fix the washing machine.
LMK: "There was nothing about them that was suspicious in any way. They are very nice people, gentle and polite. Let's see what happens. "Maybe it's a mistake."
Safwa Mohamed, 26, who is studying nursing at John Moores University and lives in Wavertree, Liverpool, where three men were arrested, said she used to travel on the same bus as the men into college. "They would stay as a group and they would wander around together -- they were pretty quiet," she said. "They would get the 86 into town and then walk to the university. I used to see them walking on the road."
One neighbour of the group said: "Loads of men live there, they are all Yemeni and I used to talk to them because my husband is also from Yemen. I was very shocked when I heard they had been raided by terror police."
You bring in Yemenis when you need boomers and cheap muscle. Ditto for most of the Paks. Real question is, where's the masterminds?
Three other students were arrested in Cheetham Hill and are believed to be at Manchester University.
At a property raided Manchester police sealed off a grey MG Rover ZR, which contained on the driver's seat a copy of the English-speaking newspaper from Pakistan called "The News". The headline read: "Taliban blamed for sectarian suicide attack on Mosque".
On the vehicle dashboard in front of the gearstick, there was a small paper cut-out of a foreign military figure holding a machine gun.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 11:39 ||
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#3
Mrs Majid, a housewife with four children, said that they worshipped at the nearby Al-Falah mosque every day.
Ah, the old student visa mode of getting around (and carrying out terrorism "man-caused disasters"). I'm no genius but Ima thinkin the worship thingee at the local mosque might be part of the problem.
An al-Qaeda cell was days away from carrying out an "Easter spectacular" of co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks on shopping centres in Manchester, police believe.
Sources told The Daily Telegraph that the arrests of 12 men in the north west of England on Wednesday were linked to a suspected plan to launch a devastating attack this weekend. Some of the suspects were watched by MI5 agents as they filmed themselves outside the Trafford Centre on the edge of Manchester, the Arndale Centre in the city centre, and the nearby St Ann's Square.
All but one of the men arrested were Pakistani nationals who came to Britain on student visas. This suggested a possible new tactic by al-Qaeda, which had previously used British-based extremists who travelled to Pakistan for training.
The issue of student visas represents a potential security nightmare for the police and MI5. There are 330,000 foreign students in Britain and around 10,000 such visas are issued every year to Pakistanis alone.
Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, has described the student visa system as "the major loophole in Britain's border controls".
Several of the suspects who were being questioned last night, were from the al-Qaeda heartlands in Pakistan's border area with Afghanistan.
Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester, said police had been forced to act to protect the public. Asked about al-Qaeda involvement, he added: "We know what is the nature of the threat to this country and where it comes from."
But he sought to reassure shoppers, and added: "I would like to say I would have no hesitation, or any of my family, in using any of those locations that have been mentioned."
The security services suspect that several of the men arrested were trained at religious schools in Pakistan and sent to launch suicide attacks on the West. They were suspected to have chosen Easter as the most significant Christian holiday for an attack.
Police believe the suspects may have smuggled bomb-making equipment into the country and were ready to launch their attacks. Yesterday, searches focused on a property in Highgate Street, Liverpool, although nothing "significant" had yet been found.
Sources said police had arrested the man they suspected was the ring-leader, Abid Naseer, 22, at an address in Galsworthy Avenue in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. He is said to be from the tribal areas of Pakistan where the Taliban and al-Qaeda have established their base.
The alleged members of the cell had signed up for a range of student courses, while two were employed as security guards at a new Homebase store in Clitheroe, Lancs.
Among the locations raided on Wednesday afternoon was the Cyber Net Café in Cheetham Hill, where it is thought the men communicated using emails. Security sources suspect they received their instructions from al-Qaeda commanders in Pakistan.
The leader of the Pakistan Taliban is Baitullah Mehsud, who last week claimed responsibility for an attack on a police compound in Lahore and promised to attack the West. At least one of the arrested men is from Mehsud's heartland of South Waziristan, sources in Pakistan said.
Posted by: ed ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Enough is enough!US and UK should cut ties with the Pakis until they abandon their jihadi ideology.
Deport the families of any british pakis caught involved in terrorism/spreading hatred about the west!!!!
A desperate search was under way last night for the terrorist bomb factory from which a suspected al-Qaeda cell planned to launch a devastating attack in Manchester.
Hours after Britains most senior counter-terrorism officer resigned in disgrace, police operations were concentrating on a rundown block of flats east of Liverpool city centre. The block was cordoned off and large quantities of material were seized for examination. People were evacuated from the area around the flats, which had been rented out by a private landlord to foreign students.
A dozen men are being questioned after raids that had to be rushed forward after Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, the countrys most senior anti-terrorism officer, inadvertently disclosed details of the police plans. Ten of the 12 men arrested on Wednesday were Pakistani nationals who entered Britain on student visas.
All were from the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the heartland of al-Qaeda and mujahidin activity. They appear to have exploited a visa regime described by a minister last week as the major loophole in Britains border controls.
Any thoughts of, you know, closing the loophole?
Security sources are alarmed that terrorists may have exploited weaknesses in the vetting of student visa applicants to plant sleeper cells here.
Gordon Brown said that the police and intelligence services had thwarted a very big plot. He added that he would be raising his concerns with President Zardari of Pakistan.
For all the good that'll do ...
The alleged Manchester plot represents a significant shift in tactics by terror groups based in Pakistan who view Britain as a prime target. Between 2002 and 2006 their emphasis was on training young Britons. But if these plot allegations are proven, they suggest that planners are now exporting operatives here.
This weeks suspects had been under covert surveillance for a month and preparations for the swoop were already advanced before Mr Quick allowed crucial documents to be photographed as he went to brief the Prime Minister. The suspects were allegedly seen filming in central Manchester and intelligence services had intercepted chatter suggesting that an attack could occur as early as this weekend.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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The rocket launched by North Korea last Sunday was made using the technology of the Long March-1 rocket China fired in the 1970s.
Couldn't get a more recent set of plans ...
After looking at video footage of the rocket launch released by AP on Tuesday, Chae Yeon-seok, a former president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, said, the external appearance of the rocket shows that the North must have used technology of the Chinese rocket to make it.
The assembly method also seems to be Chinese. "The North set the first-stage booster rocket up vertically first, and then put the second and third-stage rockets on one by one. This assembly method is often used in China and backs up speculation that North Korea has borrowed the technology," Dr. Roh Woong-rae of KARI said. "You could see gas gushing out from the upper part of the first-stage booster rocket immediately after the rocket was launched, which is a characteristic of a rocket that uses liquid nitric acid as fuel." He added this corroborates a long-held speculation.
Asked if they believe the rocket was capable of carrying a satellite, experts said it seemed it had enough room in its upper part to carry a satellite.
The difference between the last two launches is that North Korea did not release a video clip of its abortive 2006 missile test, when the rocket flew for 42 seconds and exploded. This time, it released a five-second video. "Despite another failure, North Korea has been telling its people that the launch was a success," Chae said. "It seems the North is trying to mislead the public by at least releasing the video clip of the first few seconds."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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See also WORLD MILITARY FORUM > US ACCUSES CHINA OF HELPING IRAN, NORTH KOREA DEVELOP NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
ARTIC = Officially, its merely "NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY/-GIES" [read. ENERGY]; Unofficially covertly its SSSSSSSSHHHHHHH NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND LR MISSLES???
ISLAMABAD: In the past, jubilant Pakistani authorities have announced that foreign (read Indian) agents were involved in explosions and attacks in the restive Swat region based on examination of the corpses of the killed attackers.
But the acid test cops and officials used to determine whether any of the dead ones was Indian was to check whether the man had been circumcised. If not, they would summarily dub him Hindu and therefore an Indian agent.
But as more such cases showed up, in places where there was not a ghost of a chance of any Indian involvement, doctors and officials began to worry about the methodology. Its then that they stumbled on a little-known anthropological fact about Pashtun tribes in Waziristan, from where many of the Tehreek-e-Taliban or Pakistani Taliban come.
It appears that many in the backward tribal areas of the country like Waziristan dont undergo the mandatory circumcision that all Muslim males should undergo. The story took a rather comic turn when some of governments own injured paramilitary soldiers, when examined, were found to be uncircumcised. This was especially true of wounded soldiers of the Frontier Constabulary from Waziristan, engaged in fighting Taliban militants.
Kamran Khan, a legislator from Waziristan in Pakistans lower house of parliament, told the Times of India that many in the poor tribal areas fail to undergo circumcision because it is either not mandated in their tribal codes or because in many villages there are neither hospitals or even barbers, who perform most circumcisions in rural areas.
People are either circumcised in hospitals or barbers do the job. Neither we have hospitals in Waziristan nor institution of barbers, Khan said, adding that poor people of Waziristan cant afford to take their male children to other areas for circumcision.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 17:55 ||
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Neither we have hospitals in Waziristan nor institution of barbers
You don't need that - just a knife. Lorena Bobbit can give you lessons.
Foiling an infiltration bid, BSF troops on Friday gunned down a Pakistani intruder along the international border in Samba sector of Jammu region.
"BSF troops deployed observed suspicious movement of a Pakistani around 3.15 am," a BSF spokesman said here, adding the ambush party asked the intruder to stop but he started running towards the border fence.
The troops opened fire and the intruder died on the spot about 150 meters inside Indian territory, he said adding an FIR has been lodged and dead body handed over to the police.
The body of intruder could not be identified and efforts shall be made to hand over his body to Pakistani rangers after post mortem, the spokesman said.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 16:30 ||
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should leave the dead bodies where they fall for the birds and animals to feed on, and make it well known among the ISI/Jihadi tools
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/10/2009 18:34 Comments ||
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Pakistan's president has called on America to provide his country with an arsenal of drones and missiles to target militants blamed for a wave of violence rather than carrying out independent operations that violate the nation's sovereignty.
In an interview with The Independent, Asif Ali Zardari said Pakistan had made it clear that it was willing to "take out high-value targets on our own, and we welcome the technology and intelligence assistance that will give us the ability to succeed". He added: "I cannot condone violations of our sovereignty even when they are done by allies and friends. We would much prefer that the US share its intelligence and give us the drones and missiles that will allow us to take care of this problem on our own."
Mr Zardari's comments, made in a wide-ranging interview in which for the first time he conceded more than one of the 10 militants who carried out the Mumbai attacks may be Pakistani, came as senior US officials visited Islamabad and called for greater trust between the two countries. The Obama administration's regional envoy, Richard Holbrooke, said: "The United States and Pakistan face a common strategic threat, a common enemy and a common challenge and therefore a common task."
Pakistan is confronted by a fresh spike in militant violence. Hundreds of people have been killed and wounded in recent weeks and a senior Pakistani Taliban leader has vowed that his suicide bombers will carry out two attacks every week.
Ironically, the wave of violence, believed to have been carried out by militants loyal to the Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, has been seen as a response to an escalation by the US in the number of missile attacks launched against militants in Pakistan's tribal areas using pilotless drones. Mr Mehsud told journalists his recent operations were a direct act of revenge.
Pakistan is under intense pressure to deal with the militants, especially those blamed for cross-border raids against Western troops in Afghanistan. Despite public denials, it is understood Pakistan co-operates with the US drone strikes. But there is little doubt that such tactics are increasingly unpopular with the Pakistani public.
Mr Zardari said: "President Obama once said that he would act if we weren't willing and able. We certainly are willing and with international support we will become even more able."
The President also acknowledged that more than a year after elections, many in Pakistan are growing frustrated with a seeming lack of progress. "After a decade of dictatorship the people had enormous expectations of rapid improvement in their lives. That is still very much our priority but the enormity of the economic crisis both within Pakistan and internationally, compounded by the war that we fight within and along our borders, has made progress much slower than we hoped."
Asked about the disputes between his party and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N at a time when many hoped the country's democratic parties would be working together, he said: "The ups and downs of democracy should not be interpreted as a lack of stability ... There is the usual tug of power politics and the tendency of some observers to paint Doomsday scenarios. But I think the people appreciate that our democratic government is functioning."
He claimed Pakistan was co-operating with India's investigation into November's Mumbai attacks that left 164 people dead and that a "substantial" number of arrests had been made. He said those responsible were also threatening the "very existence" of his country. Asked about the nine militants whose bodies still lie in a Mumbai morgue, he said: "Our investigation ... is continuing. Some of these terrorists may in fact have been born in Pakistan. But we believe that this operation was international, with significant support from within India itself."
Asked about a deal to allow sharia in the Swat valley, Mr Zardari said he and his allies had been led by "ground realities". He said the deal was intended to uncouple public demand for swifter justice from support for the Taliban. "I think it would be premature to call it a bad deal. It's an evolving situation."
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 15:48 ||
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Sorry, boys, but if you want drones you'll have to build your own, like the Israelis. How about you send in some, y'know' soldiers and do the job the old-fashioned way?
#3
How about you send in some, y'know' soldiers and do the job the old-fashioned way?
What a cruel person you are, expecting the Pakistan army to actually walk the 20 ft across the street from Frontier Corps HQ and act against Haqqani or drive the half mile from Peshawar Garrison and its 60000 troops to the Taliban training camp.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 16:18 Comments ||
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Besmirching the Mighty Pak Army.
Ya oughta be ashamed, Johnny...
#8
Let's keep things the way they now stand. If you are a Talibunny in NW Territory. ask not for whom the drone toils. It toils for thee. Kaboom! Never more will you do your evil deeds. Never more. If I were one of them, I would call the reconnisance drones "The Shadow". The Shadow knows. OK, I'm done with my punning for awhile. The drone groans can end.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
04/10/2009 17:35 Comments ||
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I think this could work. But with dual controls, like Drivers Ed cars. They start the mission, then it gets magically diverted to a real target, for which they get the responsibility, then we return control.
#11
ION WORLD MILITARY FORUM [GOOGLE Chinglish tranlation] > IIUC THE USA WILL NOT INTENTIONALLY FIND, KILL OSAMA BIN LADEN BECUZ IT COVERTLY USES THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN TO CONTAIN RUSSIA AND CHINA. THE US TO DESTROY OSAMA BIN LADEN IS TO DESTROY THEIR PROXIES AL-QAEDA AND THE TALIBAN.
Britain should refer suspicious student visa applications to Pakistan as a way to help ensure that the ISI plants aren't discovered prevent terrorism, the country's high commissioner to Britain said Friday.
Wajid Hasan's suggestion came the same week that 12 people were arrested in Britain with suspected links to al Qaeda. Eleven of those arrested were Pakistani nationals, some of whom were in Britain on student visas, officials told CNN. "If they (the British authorities) had referred these cases to us, we would have made inquiries, and then told them whether to issue them visas or not," Hasan told CNN from Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
"That's why I suggested, I've been suggesting, that in case there are doubts, they should always be referred to our home ministry ... so that we could also be made responsible for it."
The Paks can give up some cannon fodder and a few false flags while making sure the best ISI plants get settled nicely into Cambridge ...
British authorities have not yet given any evidence related to the arrests to their Pakistani counterparts, Hasan said. As soon as they do, he said, Pakistan is ready to start its own investigation.
"Once the investigations are over in England, probably these boys will be released and they will have no evidence for (prosecution)," he said. "I don't know, because we have not been provided any information as far as what they have found on them to make suspicions they were planning to commit some sort of mischief there.
"They could be innocent students," he added. "So we have to check it here as well, and they have to make the inquiries thoroughly because otherwise it will have a very bad impact for the Pakistani community."
They could be innocent students. I could be the next Lotto winner. I could lose fifty pounds and Morgan Fairchild could be my wife.
Hasan said he doesn't blame Britain for not referring the applicants to Pakistan before issuing them visas. The application procedures are already "quite tough," he said, and require the applicant to provide evidence that he is a student and has gained admission to a school in Britain.
He suggested that in the future, Britain should consider asking for Pakistan's help to investigate suspicious applicants. "It's difficult, but it can help if they are referred to Pakistan if they suspect any student of having any links to anybody," he said. "We could make inquiries here."
The chief constable for Britain's Greater Manchester Police indicated Thursday there would have been the potential for terrorist acts this coming weekend if police had not made the arrests. The 12 people were arrested Wednesday night at several locations, mainly in northwest Manchester, and counterterrorism police were questioning them and carrying out searches as part of the probe.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 11:41 ||
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Fox opens new henhouse franchise...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/10/2009 11:56 Comments ||
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Whilst Afghanistan was seen as the training ground of terrorists in the immediate aftermath of the September 2001 attacks, recent experience has shown that increasing numbers of al-Qaeda extremists are being trained across the border in the tribal areas in the north west of Pakistan.
President Obama openly refers to his "Af-Pak" strategy for combating militancy, such is the prevalance of terror suspects who have been radicalised in Pakistan.
"have been" radicalized? They've been radicalized from day one.
Of the four men who carried out the London suicide bombings in July 2005, three were young British men of Pakistani origin who had travelled to the country to receive religious and military training.
Just rounding out their education, much like Brits of old would travel to the continent to learn about wine and which fork to use at dinner ...
Mohammed Siddique Khan, the leader of the plot, was raised in Beeston, West Yorkshire, but was understood to have made regular trips to terrorist training camps in southern Punjab, and was captured on video at Karachi airport in November 2004 with his accomplice Shehzad Tanweer, 22, another British national of Pakistan origin. They returned to Britain the following February. The third bomber of Pakistani origin, Hasib Hussain, aged 18, had travelled to Pakistan 12 months before the attack.
Meanwhile, the alleged plot to bomb shopping centres in Manchester has been linked by MI5 to two al-Qaeda suspects in Pakistan - British Pakistani Rashid Rauf, who has been implicated in at least one other alleged terror plot, and Baitullah Mahsud, the leader of Pakistan's Taliban movement who has promised attacks on the West in hate-filled pronouncements in recent weeks.
So many UK terror suspects have links to Pakistan that thousands of innocent travellers between the two countries every year are now closely monitored for signs of suspicious activity.
Which apparently is wrong, or at least suspicious, since the poor dears will be traumatized by having been briefly considered as terrorists ...
Latest estimates suggest 4,000 young British Muslims have been trained in terrorist camps in Pakistan, and with 400,000 British citizens visiting Pakistan each year, there are fears that many more will become radicalised.
They aren't being radicalized in Pakistan, they are radicalized in Britain by imans in British mosques. They're going to Pakistan to polish their skills.
Monitoring of regular visitors has intensified, which has raised the possibility of a change in tactics by terrorists, who may have switched to using Pakistani nationals who may not be so closely monitored when they visit the UK.
Shahid Aslam, a British employment solicitor who runs an immigration consultancy in Lahore, said terrorists could easily take advantages of gaps in the British visa application process to enter Britain on a valid visa. He claimed there had been a number of cases where employees of agencies processing visa applications in Pakistan had accepted inducements to speed and guarantee entry visas.
So the agencies and their employees need to be screened, tossed and turned to Brit advantage.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 11:40 ||
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So...is this progress? Cuz I figured 99% easy...
#3
What annoys me is the continuing silence and denial from the muslim community.If we were not oppressed in Iraq/Afghan/Palestine/Kasmir/Chechyna blah blah blah!!!!
Six people, including an alleged Indian spy, have been arrested by Pakistani authorities for indulging in "suspicious" activities, a media report claimed on Friday.
They were arrested at Sihala, close to the garrison city of Rawalpindi near here, Dawn News channel reported.
The alleged Indian spy was arrested on suspicion at the Police College in Sihala after being spotted in the area, it quoted the Commandant of the College as saying. The five other suspects were rounded up following information provided by the alleged spy, the report said.
The Commandant declined to give name and details of the alleged Indian spy, but claimed that maps of important cities and phone numbers were found in his possession, the report said, adding a special team has been formed to question him.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 10:36 ||
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You know you've made it when a "special team" is formed just for you.
#2
but claimed that maps of important cities and phone numbers were found in his possession
That's me pretty much any time I travel.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/10/2009 11:15 Comments ||
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Except that your phone numbers don't connect to safe houses in Quetta ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 12:27 Comments ||
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WAFF > TAMIL POLITICAL LEADER IN INDIA WARNS OF VIOLENCE IFF LTTE LEADER IS HARMED. INDIA must STOP SRI LANKA [Govt-Army] from destroying the TAMIL TIGERS and aligned.
In a surprising statement, Pakistan on Friday said it has "credible evidence" of Indian involvement in the March 3 terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team here, more than a month after it ruled out any Indian link to the incident.
"With the help of other intelligence agencies there has been considerable progress in this case. One thing is for sure that there is an Indian hand behind the attack," Lahore police chief Pervez Rathore told reporters here.
"I must tell you that there is credible evidence of Indian involvement in the attack," he said.
Mr. Rathore's comments come nearly a month after Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik ruled out any Indian involvement in the attack that killed eight people and injured several others, including six Sri Lankan cricketers.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 10:31 ||
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"With the help of other intelligence agencies there has been considerable progress in this case.
Called in the ISI did he?
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 10:33 Comments ||
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If I needed evidence manufactured I'd certainly call in the ISI ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 10:43 Comments ||
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MUMBAI: An Oman national, who was intercepted at the Sahar airport last year for carrying explosive substances inside the heels of two pairs of shoes, was convicted by a sessions court to five years' rigorous imprisonment on Wednesday. The court also levied a fine of Rs 1,000 on the accused Ali Hadi Badar Nassar Mohammad (29).
According to the prosecution, Mohammad was to board a flight (WI 808) to Muscat on July 23, 2008, when officers at the baggage screening counter detected firecrackers in his luggage. The crackers were placed in a polythene bag. Air India security staff, who were screening the baggage, removed the polythene bag as it is illegal to carry explosive substances in an aircraft. However, an officer realised that the scanner detected more explosive substances than were found. He immediately informed the Sahar police who searched Mohammad's baggage thoroughly. They came across four shoes with unusually large heels. They were broken open to reveal 68 explosive substances including two sound crackers, small silver foil-coated bombs, anar and sutli bombs (firecrackers). Mohammad was booked under the provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Aircraft Act.
During interrogation, Mohammad told the police that he had first visited India in 1992. In 2000, he went to Thailand. Then, he came back to India in 2003 and again in 2006. In 2008, he travelled to five Indian cities in a span of 21 days. The officials found his movements suspicious. On July 22, he picked up a consignment of explosive substances from a person in Mumbai.
Mohammad told the police that two men in Muscat had asked him to bring the consignment. He added that he had travelled to different Indian cities for medical treatment but the police could not find any hospital records.
"We traced a trader in Chor Bazaar from whom Mohammad had purchased the shoes. A cobbler who concealed the explosive substances inside the shoe heels was also traced,'' Patil added.
The anti-terrorism squad also questioned Mohammad. A chargesheet was filed and the case was tried by the Sewri sessions court. Chemical analysis reports were produced as evidence.
Mohammad's counsel, Majeed Memon, said his client had a mental ailment and they would appeal in the HC. Memon added that the police were required to secure a special sanction from the district magistrate before filing a chargesheet which they did not do.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/10/2009 08:07 ||
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MINGORA: Sufi Muhammad wrapped up his peace camp in Swat on Thursday, in protest against the delay in the implementation of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation.
But the peace deal with the provincial government is intact, Sufi Muhammad, head of Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-Muhammadi, told a news conference before moving out of the district. If something unpleasant happens after our peace camp has been wrapped up, President Asif Zardari will be held responsible, Sufi read a written statement in Pushto. He said the federal government was not sincere.
TNSM spokesman Amir Izzat Khan said Sufi Muhammad left for Amandara town in Malakand where he will chair a shura meeting. The ball is now in the presidents court, he told Daily Times. Malakand Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed said the federal government would sign the regulation soon. This stage will be crossed, like other stages.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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LAHORE: The Taliban agreed to leave Buner district unconditionally after successful talks with a peace jirga in Mingora on Thursday. Malakand Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed told a private TV channel the Taliban had agreed to leave Buner and would completely vacate the area by Friday (today). He said the Taliban had made no demands for vacating the area.
They'll be back ...
Earlier, the local jirga held talks with the Taliban under the supervision of the commissioner. Javed said Maulana Waliullah mediated between the jirga members and Taliban. He said people of the area were satisfied with the result of the dialogue and were happy the Taliban were leaving Buner.
During the jirga, its members had offered the top Taliban leadership in Swat a peace deal and apology to end the standoff resulting from villagers executing 20 Taliban last week, elders told Daily Times. Waliullah confirmed the jirga members unconditional apology to the Taliban. We want peaceful settlement of the Taliban presence in Buner, he said.
"Please don't kill us!"
A group of Swat Taliban moved into Buner last week. However, local villagers resisted them, engaging the heavily armed Taliban and killing 20 of them.
Whatever has happened was a mistake on the part of some people and all us jirga members regret the incident, the statement, quoting the Buner jirga members, stated.
I dunno, whacking 20 Talibunnies should give you confidence ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Hi. The Pakistan official is lying. Buner is as good as fallen to the Taliban - Bill Roggio (Long War Journal) even colored it red a while ago (he relies on CENTCOM). Mandeep Bajwa of Orbat.com says the Pakistan Army has already made clear they're not going to fight for Buner. If you read between the lines, the Buner people have begged forgiveness of the Talibans for resisting them. Taliban came in peace only to discuss imposition of Sharia, say the Taliban. This is another lie: they never come in peace, they are not going to withdraw. They've soften up the locals through fear, and they'll be back in force very shortly on the pretext of "you're not doing the sharia thing properly" or "You havent made reparations for our men you killed", or "you're working with the Pakistan government". This is their SOP and how they've taken over darn nearly the whole NWFP. Its very serious.
Posted by: Ravi ||
04/10/2009 23:03 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD -- A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden truck into a wall around a police headquarters in northern Iraq on Friday, killing five American soldiers and two Iraqi policemen in the single deadliest attack against U.S. forces this year, the U.S. military and Iraqi police said.
A sixth American soldier and 17 Iraqi policemen were also wounded in the blast that took place near the national police headquarters in southwestern Mosul -- Iraq's third-largest city and al-Qaida's last urban stronghold. Suicide bombings -- a hallmark of al-Qaida's attack style -- continue to threaten the city.
Lt. Col. Michael Stuart, chief of U.S. operations in Mosul, said the target was the Iraqi national police complex and not the U.S. patrol. He said the American patrol just happened to be on the same street when the attack occurred. "It was just bad timing," Stuart told The Associated Press.
Friday's blast was the deadliest single bombing attack against U.S. troops this year. A suicide car bomb struck a U.S. patrol in Mosul on Feb. 9, killing four American soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter. Also, four U.S. soldiers were killed Jan. 26 when two helicopters collided over the northern city of Kirkuk.
The suicide bomber made a sharp turn as he approached the police complex, then rammed his truck through an iron barrier, hitting a sandbagged wall beyond it and detonating his vehicle near the station's main building, Iraqi police said. The blast shook the entire complex, according to witnesses and police.
The U.S. military said two people were detained in connection with Friday's attack, which is under investigation, and the names of those killed were being withheld pending notification of families.
Although U.S.combat troops have to leave of Iraqi cities by the end of June under the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement that went into effect this year, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, told The Times of London this week that the American troops may have to stay in Mosul and another northern city, Baqouba, after the deadline because insurgents remain active there.
The policemen wounded in Friday's blast were taken to a nearby hospital, said a Mosul police officer with the provincial command. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Mosul had been relatively quiet in recent weeks compared to Baghdad where attacks killed at least 53 people this week.
BAGHDAD - Tens of thousands of followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr thronged Baghdad on Thursday to mark the sixth anniversary of the city's fall to U.S. troops, and to demand they leave immediately.
"Down, down USA," the demonstrators chanted as a Ali al-Marwani, a Sadrist official, denounced the U.S. occupation of Iraq that began with the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003, and the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue in Firdos Square.
The crowds of Sadr supporters stretched from the giant Sadr City slum in northeast Baghdad to the square around 5 km (3 miles) away. Protesters burned an effigy featuring the face of former U.S. President George W. Bush, who ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and also the face of Saddam.
"God, unite us, return our riches, free the prisoners from the prisons, return sovereignty to our country ... make our country free from the occupier, and prevent the occupier from stealing our oil," Sadr said in a message read by a Sadr movement aide Asaad al-Nassiri.
Sadr being too busy to attend. I think he's studying for final exams ...
"God, make us the liberators of our land," the message said, drawing roars of approval from the crowd, many clutching or wearing Iraqi flags, and some wearing Iraqi national team tracksuits in a show of nationalist sentiment.
Hammering home the nationalist message, Nassiri exhorted the demonstrators to shake hands with each other and Iraqi police and soldiers overseeing the march. Long queues formed to kiss the police and troops on the cheeks and shake their hands.
Under a bilateral security agreement signed with Bush, all U.S. troops must withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011. Many at the demonstration did not trust the United States to live up to the commitment to withdraw.
"Iraq has experience of occupation ... No country has emerged from it through politics and transparency. It will only end through the sword," said demonstrator Khalid al-Ibadi, referring to uprisings against British and Ottoman rule of Iraq.
Other than Germany, Italy, Japan ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Of course, when the US leaves on schedule, there will be a mighty line up to claim credit for having driven the US out.
Hey guys we understand hating the West is well what you do. And we didnt expect any thank-you cards for extinguishing Saddam and Co. But lets not forget both Sadr I and Sadr II were assassinated by the Baathist regime. Seethe on dudes!
#5
Looking at the photos of the crowd, I was certain there were more fans in the stands in Detroit for the UNC-Michigan State NCAA final than marching in Baghdad for this "Huge Protest."
On this day in history: April 10th
1912 The RMS Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England for her first and only voyage. (Global Warming the cause)
1916 The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City.
1919 Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.
1933 New Deal: The Civilian Conservation Corps is created.
1963 129 Sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea. (Global Warming)
1970 Paul McCartney announces the break up of The Beatles. (Global Warming)
1972 For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.
#5
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
KABUL - The US military said Thursday it was investigating Afghan allegations that its troops killed four civilians in an overnight raid, including a woman school teacher and two of her children. The military had issued a statement saying that four militants, including a woman combatant, were killed in an operation in Khost province targeting an extremist Islamic militant. Three more people were arrested, it said.
MOMBASA, Kenya - The US navy rushed in FBI negotiators and a destroyer Thursday as Somali pirates holding an American hostage on a lifeboat were drifting on the Indian Ocean with no fuel. In a rare admission it was ready to negotiate with pirates suspected of links to terror-listed groups, the Federal Bureau of Investigations said it was assigning negotiators to help secure the release of the ship's captain. "FBI negotiators stationed at Quantico (Virginia) have been called by the Navy to assist with negotiations with the Somali pirates and are fully engaged in this matter," spokesman Richard Kolko said in a statement.
RAJSHAHI, Apr 9 (UNB): Twenty-four suspected cadres of outlawed Sarbahara group and Islamic militant 
Forty more BDR men were shown arrested Thursday for their alleged involvement in the Feb 25-26 carnage inside the headquarters of the border force while a big band of 52 remanded, reports UNB. From among the fresh arrests, 20 were taken on five-day remand while another 20 sent to jail.
The rocket launched by North Korea last Sunday was made using the technology of the Long March-1 rocket China fired in the 1970s.
Britain should refer suspicious student visa applications to Pakistan as a way to help 
At least three in every four terror plots currently under investigation in the UK have their roots in Pakistan, according to the security services. 
Six people, including an alleged Indian spy, have been arrested by Pakistani authorities for indulging in "suspicious" activities, a media report claimed on Friday.
BAGHDAD -- A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden truck into a wall around a police headquarters in northern Iraq on Friday, killing five American soldiers and two Iraqi policemen in the single deadliest attack against U.S. forces this year, the U.S. military and Iraqi police said.
BAGHDAD - Tens of thousands of followers of anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr thronged Baghdad on Thursday to mark the sixth anniversary of the city's fall to U.S. troops, and to demand they leave immediately.
