ON BOARD NRB CORTE-REAL (Reuters) - Somali pirates attacked a 26,000-tonne, Panama-flagged bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, but were driven away by sailors spraying them with water-hoses, NATO alliance staff said.
The NATO officials, on board a Portuguese warship protecting shipping lanes from piracy, said an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade landed in the commanding officer's cabin during the attack and bullets were fired at the ship. The pirates left after water hoses were turned on them, NATO staff officer Stephan Gresmak said.
"They looked for an easier target," he told a Reuters reporter on the Portuguese ship NRB Corte-Real.
Eight pirates, armed with AK-47s, were on board the skiff that attacked the MV Anatolia soon after daybreak in the southwest corner of the Gulf of Aden, the officials said. The Anatolia also used evasive steering to escape.
"It was on later inspection the Commanding Officer saw the bullet holes in the superstructure (outer skin) of the ship," Gresmak said. "The Commanding Officer reported an unexploded RPG round in his cabin to the UK Maritime Shipping Centre, and they advised not to touch it."
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:03 Comments ||
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#2
In case anyone is wondering, these are not your typical 3/4" garden hose. They are 3+ inch fire hoses. Standard drill has them controlled by several crew members at once. Kind of tough to stand up and aim an AK-47 when you are hit by one.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 14:05 Comments ||
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#3
It's still stupid that all-out war isn't waged against the Somali pirates. Instead, the world waits until the pirates have hostages, raising the stakes of armed intervention and waits until they've received millions of dollars of ransom in order to upgrade their boats and weapons.
#4
49pan, are Flamethrowers ALLOWED on a ship? I know they don't want them to carry guns (stupid) but is there a law against just placing barrels at key places, with napalm in it, and letting loose? Or even Dynamite?
Posted by: Charles ||
04/11/2009 18:56 Comments ||
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#5
Charles, you REALLY don't want flamethrowers aboard ships like these. Consider what they are carrying - oil (yeah, I know crude oil is actually relatively hard to set on fire), LPG, etc.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 20:41 Comments ||
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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Somali pirates hijacked an Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew Saturday, a NATO spokeswoman said, as U.S. warships blocked bandits trying to send reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain was being held hostage for a fourth day.
The tugboat was towing two barges when it was attacked, according to Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program. He said maritime industry sources had informed his organization of the hijacking.
Mwangura said the tugboat was U.S.-owned. A diplomat in Nairobi who deals with maritime affairs said it was Italian-owned. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.
Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO's Northwood maritime command center, said the tugboat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast as it was towing barges. She said 10 of the 16 crew were Italian nationals, adding that Italian government officials and the company that owned the vessel were involved in trying to secure their release.
The attack took place as the American captain of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama was held on a lifeboat watched by two U.S. warships, hundreds of miles from land. We need to react swiftly, using the full might of our power, when piracy arises. This is not a Criminal undertaking that can be settled by Lawfare, it is asymmetrical warfare, only with a profit motive rather than theological extremism pushing it. We do not ned to hold hearings to try to understand the Pirates. We need to have a realistic deterrent in our navy, not shackle them with Diplomatic Resolutions. The Navy needs to be allowed to respond with overwhelming firepower and attack not only the pirate vessels but their bases on land.
This Administration is showing the World just how weak it is. Expect more and worse attacks.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/11/2009 12:21 ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 13:47 Comments ||
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#3
I'm with Deacon here. If we rescue the captain pronto, drop some bombs on some bases and make a point of telling them that we're not trying to stop them, but they can't attack our ships or people, we likely won't have to deal with this at all. They won't screw with Americans and we don't screw with them. Let India handle it. All we need is a mutual understanding that screwing with us hurts. Bad.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 13:50 Comments ||
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#4
Barak/Jimmy Carter/Obama will do too little too late. He will wait until we have lost any elements of suprise and then sign off on some stupid Operation Rice Bowl event that will fail. I do expect the rest of the terrorist world to be taking note that they can take Americans with the full power of DOD watching and hobbled while our Sec State tries to get the FBI out of their offices and booked on business class flights so they can negotiate. Like all that bank robber and domestic negotiating skills will work when they dont even speak the language or understand the culture of the terrorists, this is amature hour, again!
I'm not sure if the comment in yellow was Fred or Deacon but I agree with you. We need to hit them fast, hard, and with extreme violence.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:02 Comments ||
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#5
It all comes back to trying to win a war on the cheap, and failing to convince our enemies that we really ARE the baddest of the bad when we're messed with. One ARCLIGHT strike on Eyl or Hardhare and this would end IMMEDIATELY. The people "advising" President Bush weren't willing to do that, and the problems continue to escalate.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:08 Comments ||
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#6
Drinks!
See ya in the Oclub, Frank!
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:31 Comments ||
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#7
Where the hell are the SEALS?? They could have come up under that boat and taken out the pirates bfore the sound of a burp cleared the air.
#8
#5, too true. We have now suffered a great propaganda defeat, and we have given the Islamists more ammo to trumpet the claim that the US is a paper tiger. I am sorry, but the life of a single hostage does not deserve the response that has been given this event. Furthermore, the moment the FBI was mentioned I knew no good could come of this.
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.
Phillips jumped into the water during the night and tried to swim towards the USS Bainbridge, but pirates jumped in and recaptured him, the official told AFP. "The captain jumped off and tried to escape," the official told AFP, adding that he had no details about how the pirates managed to take him back. The incident lasted "around half an hour," the official said.
The Bainbridge, accompanied by a P-3 Orion surveillance plane, was preventing the pirates from moving their hostage to a larger ship.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Wait a minute.....the second ship is called the Halyburton?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 0:26 Comments ||
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#3
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#7
Our sailors had better be careful not to let themselves be 'Cole-ed'; they're surrounded by potential suicide speedboats, they're distracted by a totally different situation, and they are handcuffed by their C-in-C. It's a formula for disaster.
#8
Obama is obviously a graduate of the "Jimmy Carter School of Hostage Negotiation".
Every enemy of ours around the world is watching this and realizing just how empty the suit is that sits in the Oval Office. The question is not "if" they will move against us or our interests...but simply "when"?
#9
Turn the scene about, to an on-land scenario. Four thugs hold a captive in a 7-11. SWAT surrounds them. In most juristictions, the idea would be to wait out the criminals.
In this case, being at sea adds a level of difficulty, as does the design of the lifeboat. It is an enclosed boat, not open topped.
Let's be patient. The best outcome is that Captain Phillips is freed unharmed.
#11
Darth Bolton was asked on Fox about this situation. I really like this guy.
Isn't it something that some nations are afraid to confront the problem because they might get sued by human rights groups for violating the rights of the Pirates? We are so screwed!
#12
The EUniks are totally wussified, when they are afraid of so-called human rights groups suing them for pirates' human rights. This is suicidal behavior. The moral core of Europe is rotted out.
We in the US are heading the same direction. Negotiations are for people or groups with some kind of mutual respect. It involves some trust, but some verification that the terms of the negotiated agreement will be respected and maintained.
In the case of the pirates, it is not appropriate to negotiate with them, because by doing so, we are legitimizing their existence as pirates and way of doing business.
So what is an appropriate response? We have short term goals and we have long term goals. Our short term goal is the rescue of Captain Phillips and to ensure his safety. There are a number of tactical ways to do that. Our long term goal is to put an end to piracy.
It is obvious that the Big O administration, like Carter, especially like former pres Clinton, sees piracy and terrorism as law enforcement issues. That means that we will always be on the defensive, which is to show weakness. The Navy is waiting for instructions from Washington. That is a recipe for disaster and weakness. What can I say? It is a doomed strategy.
My 2 cents solution is to:
1. take care of the tactical solution and perform the hostage rescue.
2. Perform a bombing run on the beach between the sea and the town of Eyl. A little demo of what we do bombing and strafing, just like what we do a the aerial bombing and gunnery ranges in Nevada.
3. Demand the unconditional and safe release of hostages in Eyl and ships offshore within 24 hours. Bring in warships to receive the hostages. Tow or get the hostage ships underway and away from Eyl.
3. If our demands are not met, bomb and strafe the town and everything in it to rubble, charred remains, and dust.
4. Take the same methods in 1 through 3 to the next town nearby.
You give the pirates a chance to do it right. If they do not comply, then they suffer the consequences. Problem is solved. The pirates have committed an act of war, and must suffer the consequences of the act.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/11/2009 13:19 Comments ||
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#13
HERE is a link to an article in some kind of language about piracy around Eyl. I was looking for a pic of the town and I found this site. Interesting pics.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/11/2009 13:47 Comments ||
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#15
I'm sure we have a Los Angeles class submarine in the area. Have it surface at about 25 knots directly undere the lifeboat. In the confusion, send a half-dozen marines into the lifeboat with close-in weapons. Problem solved.
The pirates we capture should be dropped on the beach in the nearest pirate harbor - from about 500 feet. I think that would be a sufficient message that we're not going to put up with this pirate behavior.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:32 Comments ||
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#16
On this situation, I'm with all for using lotsa force against their fellow pirates, not trying to turn them like we do in the WoT.
Difference is, this aint religion, this is organized crime. Mobsters will understand if you send them their friends head with a note explaining to them that we don't want war, we just want to stay out of each others way.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:39 Comments ||
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#17
We need to have a heart to heart, we-don't-want-a-fight, let's just go our separate ways, talk.
#18
heh, Snowy - I have the boxset of Firefly DVDs, and I'd forgotten that one
damn, I wish it was still on, or Serenity II
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 15:02 Comments ||
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#19
While we're on the subject of Firefly, the photos stash needs a pic of Badger (a fence the protagonists sometimes deal with) for all the respectable businessmen types you always find on the fringes of places like the Gulf of Aden.
Unfortunately the scene I am looking for isn't on youtube.
#20
But was the Bainbridge authorized to throw him a line and haul him aboard by Barry?
Could you try not being stupid, for once?
The Bainbridge is several hundred yards off the lifeboat.
The captain jumps - at night. It's not like the pirates stood there dumbfounded.
Even if the Bainbridge had a boat in the water, it'd be several minutes before they could get there. As it was the pirates would've had him back long before the boat got there.
If they tried laying down covering fire, from several hundred yards off, at night, it's likely they'd have shot up the captain.
Not my intent to be critical or argumentative, but there is substantially more to this story than the brave skipper of the Maersk Alabama.
Yeah, not critical or argumentive. As for "more to this story", I'm waiting with bated breath for your analysis.
#21
Ouch. While not wanting to step into this fistfight, I would say a couple things. One - we all want the Captain back safe and sound. Two - the state of lawlessness around Somalia is ridiculous and the shipping companies are abetting it by paying enormous amounts of money as ransom, Dane geld as it were. Three - our President Empty Suit's law enforcement mentality is worth JACK SHIT when the other side is not an American citizen on our land.We end up feeding, lawyering-up, doctoring-up people who should be summarily shot on sight. The world's obsession with granting Human Rights to people who neither grant nor recognize the same is stupid and suicidal. Any Human Rights Activist should have to spend a year or two (at subsistence level) in Mogadishu, FATA, SWAT, Gaza, an unprotected house in Sderot, etc before they are allowed to say anything. Four - it is now open game on Americans everywhere - thanks O and Joe "gird your loins" Biden. Five - Our military is frustrated without leadership from the CinC. Look for a bleeding of enthusiasm among the world's best warriors. Wasn't that one of the Democrat Party planks, though? Mission accomplished.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 18:31 Comments ||
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#22
"An army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions." - Napoleon
#23
Patience is not necessarily the wrong approach here. But that lifeboat must not get close to shore (if the lifeboat has propulsion it should foul a heavy steel net with a cable back to the frigate) and other hostile vessels must not get close to it, or to our naval ships. And I do like the idea of messing with their communications - not jamming it, but badly degrading it for most of the time.
A criminal was killed in a shootout between his cohorts and Rab members at Dakkhin Keraniganj in the city early yesterday.
A shootout, not a crossfire ...
The dead was identified as Nasiruddin Suman alias Kosai Nasir, son of Nazim Kosai of Kaliganj village.
We have no idea where that is ...
He had been accused on twelve systems in at least 17 cases on various charges including murder and extortion, said Rab.
So his mother didn't love him ...
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Rab-10 arrested Nasir from Purba Chorai on Thursday.
Thanks to Mahmoud the Weasel ...
"During interrogation, Nasir told Rab personnel that he had hidden illegal arms and ammunition at a place near Nazirabagh Residential Project at Dakkhin Keraniganj," Rab said.
He also confessed to being on the grassy knoll ...
When the Rab members took Nasir to the spot at about 3:15am, ...
... the right time for a crossfire at least ...
... his accomplices opened fire on the law enforcers ...
... somehow knowing the RAB was coming ...
... prompting them to retaliate.
And the only one who catches a round of bullet is ...
Nasir was killed in the shootout while his cohorts managed to escape.
As if they had never been there in the first place.
Rab said they recovered three firearms and five bullets from the spot.
"Which spot?"
"That spot!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Wow, they not been having these for a while, or just not reporting them on rantburg?
#3
Gromky, we look for these but they haven't been reported in the last several months (up to a year). The authorities have gotten wise and realize that it makes them look bad overseas. Also, the new government seems less willing to use crossfires to clear out the bad boys. And here recently, the whole BDR mess has kept the RAB quite busy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 10:33 Comments ||
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#4
The BDR men can't be crossfired easily. They seem to be having serious health problems - heart and kidney ailments that lead to tragic early death.
The 3:15 am return to crime scene seems reserved for particularly noxious specimens
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009 13:23 Comments ||
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#5
Yup, takes a stout heart and a strong kidney to be trussed and led to the secret lair in a dark upazailla at 3 in the morning, all the while hoping your buddies have their spider-sense switched on -- and that's when you realize that your curly-toed slippers don't say 'Keds' ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 14:09 Comments ||
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Six more members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday confessed to their involvement in the February 25-26 Pilkhana carnage before magistrates. Metropolitan magistrates Rashedul Kabir and Dilara Alo Chandana recorded the confessional statements of the six.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested 15 more BDR members in connection with the case yesterday. Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Abdul Kahar Akand of CID said all the 15 BDR jawans were arrested at Pilkhana for their alleged involvement in the bloodbath.
With yesterday's arrest, the number of arrestees rose to 1028 while 31 of them made confessional statements. Besides, 190 BDR members so far have been placed on remand in connection with the Pilkhana carnage that left 75 people killed, including 57 Army personnel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 00:00 ||
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FBI agents are investigating the Somali pirates who hijacked a U.S. ship and are holding its captain hostage, U.S. officials said Saturday, raising the possibility of federal charges against the men if they are captured.
Even as Navy warships were in a standoff with the pirates floating in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, FBI agents from New York were investigating how the hijacking unfolded, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Attorney General Eric Holder said this past week that the Justice Department had not seen a case of piracy against a U.S. ship in hundreds of years. But authorities have prepared for such an event as the threat of piracy along the African coast has risen.
"If there were ever a U.S. victim of one of these attacks or a U.S. shipping line that were a victim, our Justice Department has said that it would favorably consider prosecuting such apprehended pirates," Stephen Mull, the acting undersecretary of state for international security and arms control, told Congress last month.
Under U.S. law, crimes aboard U.S. ships or against U.S. citizens fall can be prosecuted in U.S. courts, even when they occur in international waters.
The FBI investigation is being run out of New York because the office there oversees cases involving U.S. citizens in Africa. Other field offices take the lead depending on where in the world the crime occurs.
The FBI has a legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya and has agents elsewhere in Africa to assist the investigation.
Whether charges ever get filed depends on how the standoff plays out. If the pirates are captured at sea, it will be much easier for U.S. authorities to prosecute.
The pirates have summoned reinforcements and are trying to make it back, with the hostage, to lawless Somalia. That would make it harder for authorities to stage a rescue attempt and would make the FBI's case murkier because the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Somalia.
#1
This is Operations or nothing is. This is the nub of the issue: Are these pirates or alleged larcenists. The 0bama administration appears to be coming out in favor of the later. This idiot is going to let things go until the whole nation demands war so that, like Roosevelt, he can distract attention from his economic blunders.
#4
The FBI has no business here. This is warfare. Leave it to the pro's.
The FBI investigates crimes. The basic premis here is that they do it AFTER the fact. This is defense and we as a nation must always be on the offense. The desk officer in Kenya can not solve theis not can the investigators in New York prevent this, only sailors on partol can, well and some well placed OGA's.
Let's see the FBI has a great history when dealing with the terrorists. They paid the ASG 300k, they did a wonderful job with the Klinghoffer (sp) hostage, 911, Ruby Ridge, Waco, Oklahoma City, Den Dozier, etc...
Note to the FBI.. Let the SEAL teams deal with this and go back and deal with the white collar criminals that got out country into this economic crisis!
Spitting mad!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:18 Comments ||
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#5
So pissed I did not spell check, Sorry.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:19 Comments ||
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#6
The only valid use for the FBI, State dept or any negotiations is to improve the potential of a SEAL team being successful in recovering the hostages. This is a friggin joke. Our nation figured out how to handle pirates very early in its history. I cannot believe we forgot.
Piracy and terrorism are not law enforcement problems.
#7
a classic at AOSHQ: 34 I heard the FBI was out there. They must be copying DVDs. I knew that anti-piracy warning was serious.
Posted by: rdbrewer at April 11, 2009 12:52 PM
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 14:41 Comments ||
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#8
I desperately hope someone in charge or advising those in charge know that we tried to buy our way out of our last pirate problem and it didn't work.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:42 Comments ||
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#9
Lol! Frank.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:42 Comments ||
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#10
I still have that one owner Buick. Owned by a senoir citizen.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:44 Comments ||
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#11
Even more worrying in the short term is the FBI's experience in this environment. Sure, the FBI are excellent hostage negotiators, but
1. Only inside of the USA. Will their psychological techniques work on Somali pirates?
2. On land. Really, how many hostage situations has the FBI handled involving a lifeboat on the open ocean? Lack of technical understanding is likely to get someone killed.
#13
Mike N: Give it a 6 months, if Bambi screws this up like we expect, then somebody is going to try something similar. They'll push the limit on what can be used "legally".
I'm personally for shooting Beetles off at the pirates. Takes up less room and more to fire.
Posted by: Charles ||
04/11/2009 19:01 Comments ||
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#14
FBI attorney in New York hard at work freeing the hostage.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 19:10 Comments ||
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#15
Here's what the good Cap't is in: Photo of an enclosed lifeboat similar to the one found on the Maersk Alabama
#16
Someone posted a link the other day to the Boston Whaler website.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 20:40 Comments ||
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#17
Sherry,
Since it's you, I'll assume that's not sarcasm and that is the vessel. It seems as if, given it's out of fuel, it ought to be easy for SEALS to tie up to and the Bainbridge to tow out to sea where discussions can proceed on a less equal footing.
#18
Thanks Nimble -- I've seen this picture shown on several news reports over the last few days, so I'm thinking, it's the real thing. The word "enclosed" is often used in the news report.
Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of Pakistani Taliban, who claimed credit for the recent deadly attack on a police academy near Lahore, has links with the country's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), a media report said.
Based in lawless border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mehsud was tipped off by ISI, to enable him escape attempts to capture or kill him in the last two years, Newsweek reported.
Several operations were launched by Pakistani security forces in the last couple of years to kill or capture Mehsud, who is also suspected to have hand in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the news magazine noted. But each time he vanished without incident.
He heads a group known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban and has made a name for himself since late 2007 as one of the militants' most ambitious leaders, Newsweek said.
Two counter-terrorism expert familiar with official US government's reporting told the magazine that officials in both Washington and Islamabad suspect Mehsud has contacts inside the ISI, Pakistan's "inscrutable and sprawling intelligence agency".
Mehsud's contacts, the theory goes, are tipping him off before Pakistani troops can pounce, Newsweek said.
The report quoted a Pakistani source, who follows the issue, as saying that high-level American officials have shared with their counterparts in Islamabad some intelligence, indicating that renegade ISI elements helped Mehsud's group train for the December 2007 assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
US officials, it said, either declined to discuss that point or said they couldn't confirm it.
Given Mehsud's "odious reputation" and Pakistan's "purported knowledge" of his whereabouts, "it's a puzzle why they're ignoring and avoiding any strike against him," one tribal elder in the region told Newsweek.
"Baitullah is very much mixed up in Afghanistan and with Al Qaeda," one Afghan Taliban commander told the news magazine, adding that Mehsud was capable of shipping foreign fighters into Afghanistan "and even [farther] west".
Several US officials consider such threats to be mere chest-thumping, but they don't rule out the possibility that Mehsud could be cooperating with better-equipped jihadists, such as the remnants of Qaeda's high command, the report said.
Frances Townsend, a top counter-terrorism adviser to former president George W Bush, notes that Mehsud has already demonstrated his ability to mount attacks inside Pakistani cities, well beyond his base of operations.
"You have got to be careful about dismissing [his more expansive threats] out of hand," Townsend warned.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009 08:28 ||
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#1
No surprise meter on this item? What, is it out for repairs or something?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/11/2009 13:02 Comments ||
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#2
Fred needs a picture of a polecat. If there's a human equivalent, Meshud fits the bill.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:41 Comments ||
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#3
Fred needs a picture of a polecat. If there's a human equivalent, Meshud fits the bill.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:41 Comments ||
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Doesn't this always happen at the peace jirgas? It's like throwing out the first pitch...
Several people were feared dead and wounded Friday in a reportedly suicide blast at a peace meeting of tribal elders in a Pakistani northern tribal town, said sources.
A suicide bomber reportedly blew himself up when a peace Jirga was underway in Hodeed area of Bannu tribal town in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), tribal sources told KUNA.
They said several people are believed to have been killed and wounded in the explosion. However, security sources said that it was a bomb blast that wounded more than five tribesmen but there was no life loss.
Three men including a terrorist suspected separatist militant have been killed in fresh attacks in Thailand's restive south, police said on Friday.
They said a 35-year-old railway worker was shot dead by men who opened fire on a train in troubled Narathiwat province on Friday afternoon. Three other people were wounded in the attack. The state railway line is often targeted by terrorists separatist militants in three Muslim-majority provinces near the Malaysian border.
In nearby Pattani province a 29-year-old man was killed in a clash with security forces on Thursday. The same day, the headless body of an 18-year-old man was found dumped in a rice field, authorities said.
#1
the question is wrong. It's not how much military does it take, it's how much backbone does James Earl Carter II have? 2 Seals with a K-bar could take care of this if given the orders
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 8:54 Comments ||
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#2
In other news....French Navy Commandos, possibly assisted by the "amphib" cell within the GIGN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) storms French sailboat off Somalia coast. One hostage and two pirated killed. Four hostages, including a small child, were freed.
Never thought we'd be out-JSOC'd by the French. I salute them!
On this (Late) day in history: April 11th
1865 President Abraham Lincoln makes his last public speech.
1876 The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
1905 Albert Einstein reveals his Theory of Relativity.
1945 American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
1951 President Harry Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
1961 The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
1970 Apollo 13 is launched.
1976 The Apple I is created.
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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.
A criminal was killed in a shootout between his cohorts and Rab members at Dakkhin Keraniganj in the city early yesterday.
Six more members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday confessed to their involvement in the February 25-26 Pilkhana carnage before magistrates. Metropolitan magistrates Rashedul Kabir and Dilara Alo Chandana recorded the confessional statements of the six.
