#2
Next time, rake the suspects with 50BMG to prevent injury to the crew of the ship. The sooner we stop playing PC with these guys, the less our injuries and the sooner this pirate crap stops.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/03/2009 20:03 Comments ||
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#3
It looked like the vid was from Sri Lanka.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 20:04 Comments ||
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Heavy clashes between Somali government troops and hardline militia in the war-torn capital Mogadishu killed at least 15 civilians Friday, witnesses said. The government troops launched an offensive to dislodge the Shebab and other hardline fighters from positions in Mogadishu's Karan district which they had seized in recent battles.
"I have seen the bodies of six people who were killed by stray bullets. Three of them are from the same family," Ahmed Abdi Mumin, an elder in Karan, told AFP. Another resident, Hassan Abdullahi, said four people were killed at a former navy barracks in the district. Five others, including a child also died in the clashes, according to residents. "We will bury them today even without being identified," said Moalim Hassan Alas.
The Shebab and Hezb al-Islam, a more political group, launched an unprecedented nationwide offensive in May against the administration of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. The internationally backed Sharif has been holed up in his presidential quarters, protected by African Union peacekeepers as his forces were unable to reassert their authority over the capital.
[Maghrebia] An Algerian court on Wednesday (June 1st) arraigned ten suspected al-Qaeda terrorists for the June 17th ambush murder of at least 19 young gendarmes in Bordj Bou Arreridj, Liberation reported. Another 14 alleged members of a support network were charged with providing information to the terror group on the movement of security forces in the region. In related news, security forces in Khenchela province arrested some 50 suspects in connection with the June 22nd killing of five communal guards.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Spanish security officers charged five Maghreb nationals Wednesday (June 1st) with helping to finance a terror cell plotting attacks in Morocco, MAP reported. The suspects, who owned two shops in the southern Spanish town of Algesiras, were allegedly engaged in drug trafficking and other illegal activities. Four Moroccans from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta were arraigned earlier this week for allegedly creating a Salafia Jihadia cell to destabilise Morocco with violent strikes against tourist locations and diplomatic headquarters.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Alam Hossain alias Anu, regional commander of the outlawed Biplobi Communist Party, was arrested by Kalia thana police on Wednesday night.
We don't know if he's a New Biplobi, an Old Biplobi, or a Soon-to-be-Dead Biplobi ...
Two firearms including a pistol were recovered firearms from his possession, police sources said.
No shutter gun?
Officer-in-charge of Kalia thana Saeed Ahmed told BSS that acting on a tip-off, a team of police arrested Alam Hossain from a tea stall at Diglia Bazar under Narail sadar thana.
Another tip o' the hat to Mahmoud the Weasel ...
According to his confessional statement, police also seized one pipegun, one pistol and two rounds of rifle bullets from his possession.
A pipegun, now there's a respectable weapon for a Biplobi ...
Alam Hossain, 38, son of Abdul Latif of Matrapur-Naldanga village under Jhenidah district, was a listed and most wanted terrorist in the district, police said.
That's like being the third-best ballerina in Omaha ...
He was an accomplice of Dada Tapan, who was killed in a crossfire, the sources said.
"I'll talk! I'll talk! Just don't bury me next to Dada!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Uh, Steve, Omaha HAS a ballet group, and they're pretty good. They'd never make Carnagie Hall, but they're worth watching. Alam Hossain would never make the group. Islam frowns on dancing.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/03/2009 15:50 Comments ||
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#2
"Islam frowns on dancing."
Islam frowns on every goddam thing, OP.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/03/2009 16:31 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Special Branch (SB) of Police in Gazipur arrested Abdur Rahim alias Shahadat, the chief organiser of "Islam and Muslim", a new offshoot of banned Islamist militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
During a raid late Tuesday night, the intelligence officials along with local police also arrested Sajedur Rahman alias Hanif, a regional commander of the new organisation. According to the SB, Islam and Muslim had a plan to dominate an area comprised of several upazilas of Chapainawabganj, Rajshahi and Naogaon. The intelligence officials also seized some books on Jihad during their drive.
Following information gleaned from the two arrestees, the SB's anti-militancy unit captured Jalaluddin alias Jalal, Bagmara upazila JMB commander, at the once JMB-infested Bagmara in Rajshahi with an Indian single-shot gun and five rifle bullets.
The SB disclosed the arrests of the militants and seizures of the arms and books yesterday calling in journalists to its city office and handing them a statement that contained information on the arrests. The arrestees were also paraded before journalists. Shahadat along with Selim, a leader of JMB, formed Islam and Muslim following their disagreement with some influential JMB leaders over financial matters, according to the SB statement. However, Shahadat told journalists, "We started the outfit organising work around four months ago in an attempt to have our contribution in the country. We contacted around 15 people asking them to join."
SB officials said Shahadat was made the chief of Bagmara after Bangla Bhai made the upazila an organisational district. He actively took part in the Bangla Bhai-led vigilante operations in Rajshahi region under the banner of Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB) in 2004.
The three other arrestees were also close aides to Bangla Bhai. But due to his organisational capability, Shahadat was made the JMB commander of the greater Rajshahi region.
The SB officials also said Shahadat fled to India after the arrests of former JMB chief Abdur Rahman and his deputy Bangla Bhai. He played a key role in strengthening the JMB's wing in India during his two-and-a-half-years stay in Murshidabad, Nadia and Maldah districts of West Bengal state. "On his return, Shahadat formed the Islam and Muslim with an aim to dominate an area comprised of Gomastapur, Shibganj and Bholahat upazilas of Chapainawabganj, Bagmara of Rajshahi and Raninagar and Atrai of Naogaon," said the SB statement.
For their attempt to this end, the JMB members opted to wage an armed struggle (Jihad) with small arms rather than their usual usage of bombs. The newly-formed organisation also started training their members on arms and bullet manufacturing, the statement said. Asked how he learned to make arms and bullets, Shahadat told The Daily Star that he does not know how to make them.
Police earlier arrested four other members of the JMB offshoot in Shibganj, Bholahat and Gomastapur upazilas of Chapainawabganj and seized four single-shot guns from each of them, bullets, books on jihad and bullet-making materials. The arrestees are Abdul Munib, Abdul Mumin, Abdul Rakib alias Sumon, and Rabiul Islam.
Our Dinajpur correspondent adds: Rapid Action Battalion arrested Enamul Haque, 22, a JMB member and a charge-sheeted accused in a murder case, at Kalai upazila of Joypurhat yesterday morning. Police said Enamul was conducting JMB activities from hiding.
This article starring:
ABDUL MUMIN
JMB
ABDUL MUNIB
JMB
ABDUL RAKIB ALIAS SUMON
JMB
ABDUR RAHIM ALIAS SHAHADAT
JMB
ABDUR RAHMAN
JMB
ENAMUL HAQUE
JMB
JALALUDIN ALIAS JALAL
JMB
MOSTAFIZUR RAHMAN MONTU
JMB
RABIUL ISLAM
JMB
SAJEDUR RAHMAN ALIAS HANIF
JMB
SIDIQUL ISLAM ALIAS BANGLA BHAI
JMB
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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June 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese police arrested three men yesterday for allegedly attempting to export a measuring device that could be used for developing long-range ballistic missiles to Myanmar, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
The men, who worked at a trading company, a manufacturing company and an exporter, are alleged to have attempted to send the magnetic measuring device to Myanmar in January for 7 million yen ($73,000), the report said. One of the companies involved had allegedly tried to export the same device around September last year, the report said.
Police believe North Korea was attempting to help Myanmar gain missile technologies, the report said. North Korea is suspected of having ordered the device through a Hong Kong-based trading company that it controls, the report said.
Myanmar wants missiles? What for?
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday into the Sea of Japan, the South Korean Defense Ministry and military officials said.
The missiles appeared to be surface-to-ship missiles, ministry spokesman Won Tae Jae said, according to Yonhap News Agency. ''One was fired at 5:20 p.m. and the other at 6 p.m. from Sinsang-ni'' near the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, he was quoted as saying. The North fired a third missile and fourth at 7:50 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. from Sinsang-ni.
The first three missiles are estimated to have landed about 100 kilometers off the coast. South Korea is continuing to analyze the launches.
North Korea last launched a short-range missile on May 29. On June 22, North Korea issued a navigation restriction to the Japan Coast Guard for vessels passing through waters off its eastern coast in the Sea of Japan over a self-claimed military exercise. The ban covers an area about 450 km in length and 110 km wide along the coast of Wonsan from June 25 until July 10 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Japan time.
According to a ministry official, the landing points of the missiles launched Thursday are considered to be in that zone.
According to a senior Japanese government official, at least one missile apparently landed in an area of the Sea of Japan that is included in the restricted area.
The U.N. Security Council last month unanimously adopted a resolution to punish North Korea for its second nuclear test in late May, centering on tougher financial sanctions and the stricter enforcement of North Korean cargo inspections.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
At a certain point, you start to suspect that they're just grenade-fishing with heavy ordinance. There aren't a ton of fishing boats out there sweeping the test-area afterwards, are there?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/03/2009 8:39 Comments ||
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#2
Just a little saber-rattling, Mitch. Trying to keep the rubes in control. Something to contemplate, though - each of those missiles cost at LEAST $100,000, plus another $60-$80,000 to launch. The Norks are literally throwing money away to try to stay in power.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/03/2009 15:54 Comments ||
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At least six members of a group of infiltrating militants who "disappeared" soon after reportedly sneaking into the Indian side of the Line of Control in Gurez sector in March this year have been found buried in snow in Jammu and Kashmir.
The discovery of the bodies corroborates an earlier Army statement saying the militants were caught in an avalanche and had not escaped to relocate to other areas, as reported by a section of the media then.
Army officials here said six to eight infiltrators were buried by a huge avalanche. Their bodies could not be retrieved then due to the deep snow. But with the melting of the snows, the bodies of at least six of them have been found in the mountains.
Soldiers at an Army forward post caught sight of the corpses and informed their seniors earlier this week. The Army then launched an operation to trace the other bodies, during which six assault rifles were also found. "It has been confirmed that the terrorists were well equipped and clothed to infiltrate through the snow-laden ridge lines of north Kashmir," a defence spokesperson here said.
In March and April this year Gurez and neighbouring Kupwara witnessed a series of infiltrations bids by militants, most of which were foiled by the security forces.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/03/2009 19:18 ||
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#1
too bad no soccer teams air-crashed nearby
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2009 20:09 Comments ||
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Up to 26 Pakistani security personnel are feared dead after an army transport helicopter crashed in the tribal region of Orakzai, military officials say. Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC the helicopter crashed on the border of the Khyber and Orakzai tribal region.
The cause of the crash is unclear, although officials said the most likely explanation was a technical failure.
Insh'allan maintenance strikes again ...
he BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Islamabad says it is understood the MI-17 helicopter had been flying back to Peshawar from the Afghan border region when the pilot put out a Mayday alert. The helicopter then came down "in a hostile area" where it was fired upon by militants, according to officials. Troops were sent in and exchanged fire with the insurgents.
Military officials said that an investigation into the crash would be carried out.
But our correspondent says it is a serious blow for the Pakistani military as it prepares for the next phase of its offensive against Taliban militants in the north-west tribal belt along the Afghan border. The region - on the Afghan border - is controlled by Pakistan's most senior Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/03/2009 16:14 ||
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#1
I wonder if this was one of the new ones we just bought them?
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/03/2009 16:46 Comments ||
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#2
Really This is what is most important to most rantbabies?
Who Cares
#1 I wonder if this was one of the new ones we just bought them?
Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-07-03 16:46
Hope this is not hender a greater mission in the region
#3
Rantbabies? Pan's observation would be on the subject of maintenance, moron
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2009 17:16 Comments ||
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#4
Is that clown back again?
Mommy give you access to the computer in the basement again, p4k?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/03/2009 17:32 Comments ||
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#5
We gave the Paks MI17's P4K, we sent US trainers over there to train them, we are vested in them in their fight against the Talibon and AQ. Their loss is our loss and a blow to our efforts. Yes, winning this war is important to us "rantbabies" P4K.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/03/2009 19:09 Comments ||
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#7
yes, I believe we bought them from previous Russian Satellite countries
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/03/2009 20:30 Comments ||
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#8
The Pakistanis bought quite a number of MI-6/MI-17 helicopters from Russia, and were experienced in using them. We bought them some more to build up their arsenal. There's the possibility that this was one of the ones we bought, with some problems we didn't check out closely enough. If not, and it was a bird the Paks had had for some time, then Ins'allah maintenance is a distinct possibility, but nothing we could do anything about, or have any responisbility for.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/03/2009 21:14 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD U.S. missiles struck a training facility operated by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant hide-out Friday, killing 15 people and wounding 27 others, intelligence officials said.
The two attacks by drone aircraft took place in South Waziristan, a Mehsud stronghold close to the Afghan border where Pakistani troops are gearing up for a military offensive, two officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
They took place as U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met government officials in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. She discussed topics of "mutual interest" with them, a U.S. Embassy spokesman said.
The drone attacks were the latest in more than 40 believed to have been be carried out by the United States against militant targets in the border area since last August. Washington does not directly acknowledge being responsible for the attacks, which kill civilians as well as militants.
Most Pakistanis criticize the drone attacks, and Islamabad officially protests them as violations of its sovereignty. Still, most experts believe the government secretly approves of them and likely provides the United States with intelligence.
One of the attacks Friday targeted an abandoned seminary in the village of Mantoi that was allegedly being used by militants from Mehsud's group for training, said the officials. The other struck a hide-out in the nearby village of Kokat Khel, they said. In total, 15 people were killed and 27 others were wounded, they said.
On Thursday, U.S. Marines in neighboring Afghanistan launched a major anti-Taliban offensive in southern Helmand province. Pakistan said it moved troops to the stretch of its border opposite Helmand to stop militants fleeing the American assault.
The United States wants Pakistan to crack down on militants on its side of the border, believing it essential to stabilizing Afghanistan eight years after the invasion that ousted the Taliban there.
The Pakistani military launched an offensive in the Swat region close to the border since early May and is currently gearing up for operations in South Waziristan to eliminate Mehsud, who has been blamed for a string of deadly suicide attacks across the country that have killed more than 100 people in the past month.
In neighboring North Waziristan Friday, Pakistani warplanes bombed suspected militant hide-outs, killing at least four insurgents and wounding seven others, two more intelligence officials said. Those airstrikes hit targets where Taliban fighters killed 16 government troops in an ambush earlier this week, the officials said, also speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The U.S. appears to be ramping up the pressure on Mehsud, who is viewed in Islamabad with growing alarm. Last week, the Taliban leader narrowly escaped a strike on a funeral for militants killed in an earlier drone attack. Eighty people died in the strike, although Mehsud escaped unharmed.
Posted by: tu3031 ||
07/03/2009 07:10 ||
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#1
Long War Journal: A senior trainer of suicide bombers was reported to be among those killed in the Kotat Khel strike. "The missiles hit an office of Mufti Noor Wali who was once in charge of training militants for suicide attacks," a Pakistani intelligence official told Dawn.
Righteous hit. Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud works for Baitullah Mehsud, so is the monster who was brainwashing kidnapped or purchased children to be suicide bombers?
CNN: The people killed and wounded were Taliban fighters, the Taliban official said. But others in the village were scared to go out of their homes and retrieve the bodies because of the possibility of another missile attack.
Good. Bleedout is welcome.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 14:09 Comments ||
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#2
This is the only piece of news that references our op in Afghanistan. Must be going pretty well. Glad we are 'staying' after. I did hear of one casualty yesterday god rest his soul.
Police on Thursday arrested a would-be suicide bomber with an explosives-laden vehicle in Tajazai area of NWFP's Lakki Marwat district, reported a private TV channel as the APP news agency said that two other would-be suicide bombers had been arrested from in Islamabad.
The channel quoted Lakki Marwat District Police Officer Imran Zahid as saying that police had seized 600 kilogrammes of explosives from the bomber's vehicle in Laki Marwat. The DPO said the bomber had been identified as Sadaam, a resident of Miranshah area of North Waziristan.
Meanwhile, APP said the bombers in Islamabad, along with "an assistant", had been arrested on the basis of intelligence reports.
The news agency reported that the arrested men, identified as Imran and Iqbal, were members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Police also seized suicide jackets.
The men have been shifted to an unidentified location for investigation. Separately, the Online news agency reported that law-enforcement agencies, backed by intelligence officials, had arrested nine "terrorists" from various different areas of Punjab and seized explosives. The nine men were arrested from Sumandri, Faisalabad, Sanglawala and Jaranwala in an operation early on Thursday. The news agency quoted sources as saying that all nine men were members of a banned religious organisation.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] About 68 personnel of the Levies Force quit their job on Thursday following threats by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Orakzai Agency chapter. Sources said the TTP Orakzai chapter had threatened the Levies personnel to quit their jobs within 15 days, or face consequences. It was reported that 25 personnel belonging to Mamozai tribe and 43 hailing from Aakhel tribe quit their services and handed over their official arms and belts to the political authorities. On the other hand, the Levies personnel of other tribes of Orakzai Agency called a jirga to chalk out future line of action in this regard.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] The tribal lashkar in Doog Darra area of Dir Upper district Thursday killed two militants, including a key Taliban commander Maulana Naeemullah, in fierce fighting on Thursday.
Maulana Naeemullah was one of the top three local commanders, who facilitated the foreign militants to entrench in the area. There were also reports that several militants suffered injuries in the fierce clashes, triggered by the armed villagers' attempt to torch the house of an important Taliban commander Maulana Zakirullah at Chinar area.
Thousands of armed villagers have been trying to drive the Taliban militants out of the area for the last 25 days but the fighting escalated during the last five days in which 13 persons, including 10 militants and three lashkar men, were killed and several others sustained injuries. The villagers claim to have killed 45 militants in the conflict so far.
Local and lashkar sources told The News that the fierce fighting started on Wednesday evening when the lashkar fighters attempted to torch the house of Maulana Zakirullah.The lashkar has torched or destroyed around 60 houses of the alleged Taliban members and their supporters in the area. "Some 16 fighters of the lashkar were trying to set on fire the house when around 12 militants attacked them," a resident of Miana said, requesting anonymity. The clash resulted in the killing of three members of the lashkar while two others received serious injuries.
The slain lashkar members were identified as Ahmad Khan, Muftahuddin and Badshah. Sources said the fighters of the lashkar killed a Taliban commander, Maulana Naeemullah, along with another unidentified militant.
The bodies of the militants could not be removed from the scene of the fighting and were lying in Chinar area till Thursday evening. Locals said that the slain commander was the mastermind of the Taliban arrival and entrenchment in the mountainous Doog Darra. His death was a setback to the militants, who are now holed up in Ghazigay village after having retreated from other places.
Another militant who was killed in the fighting could not be identified. "His body was placed for identification," a resident told The News by phone. Dozens of Afghan and non-local militants are believed to be hiding in the area.
This article starring:
MAULANA NAIMULLAH
TTP
MAULANA ZAKIRULLAH
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
There's word floating around about another US drone attack in Pakistan. Latest word is 11 dead. No word yet on who.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] After the Hafiz Gul Bahadur-led militants in North Waziristan, another pro-government militant commander, Mulla Nazeer, also scrapped his peace deal with the government in South Waziristan Agency on Thursday.
A senior associate of Mulla Nazeer, Saada Janan, called The News from Wana, headquarters of South Waziristan, and claimed their Shura or council unanimously decided to scrap the peace accord with the government to protest the frequent US drone attacks in their territory. The political administration of South Waziristan, however, claimed that Mulla Nazeer has revived his peace accord with the government by sending 120-member jirga of Ahmadzai Wazir elders to negotiate with senior government officials in Wana.
Prominent Ahmadzai elders, including Malik Noor Ali, Malik Ghazi Mohammad and Malik Ajmal Khan led the jirga that called on South Waziristan Political Agent Syed Shahab Ali Shah and Assistant Political Agent Syed Abdul Ghafoor Shah in Wana. The elders said Mulla Nazeer had given them authority to hold talks with the government for restoration of peace in the region. Also, the jirga members said Mulla Nazeer allowed them to revive the April 2007 peace agreement with the government and promised not to attack government installations and security forces. After successful talks between the government and Ahmadzai Wazirs, the government later released six tribesmen who were held a few days back.
A close associate of Mulla Nazeer, who introduced himself as Sadda Janan, however, called The News and said they have nothing to do with a meeting of tribal jirga and political authorities. He said their Shura or council decided to scrap the peace agreement with the government as according to him the government was fully cooperating with US forces in targeting their leadership in Wana through drone attacks. He said they had already directed their fighters to attack government installations and fight against the security forces.
Asked about a similar stance already taken by Taliban commander in North Waziristan, Hafiz Gul Bahadur over US drone attacks, where drone did not fire missile during the past two months, Saada Janan argued all the three Taliban commanders -- Baitullah Mahsud, Mulla Nazeer and Hafiz Gul Bahadur -- in February last formed Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen or council of holy warriors, in which he claimed, all of them promised to fight alongside if anyone of them was attacked.
Mulla Nazeer and his Ahmadzai Wazir militants played decisive role in eviction of Uzbek nationals from Wana, Azam Warsak and Shakai areas when the government launched massive military operation against them in 2007.
This article starring:
BAITULLAH MAHSUD
TTP
HAFIZ GUL BAHADUR
TTP
MALIK AJMAL KHAN
TTP
MALIK GHAZI MOHAMAD
TTP
MALIK NUR ALI
TTP
MULLA NAZIR
TTP
SAADA JANAN
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Security forces killed 23 militants during the last 24 hours in the troubled Swat Valley, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Thursday.
According to the ISPR media update, security forces engaged militants hiding in a Nullah and killed five of them during a search operation in Kanju. Forces also targeted militant hideouts in the area around Miana, Ahingro and Banai Baba Ziarat. As a result, one militant was killed and two others were apprehended.
During a clearance operation in Meragai area, security forces demolished two terrorist hideouts and recovered eight rifles with 66 rounds, four pistols with 48 rounds and one binocular. The Army troops also consolidated their positions around Shah Dheri. At least 17 terrorists were killed during an exchange of fire in the area.
Besides, during a search operation around Chakdara, forces apprehended three militants and recovered illegal FM radio equipment, one rifle and a pistol. The ISPR release said the militants fired three rockets at the Jandola Fort in South Waziristan Agency. However, it said, no loss of life was reported.
Also, two truckloads of food and relief items were distributed amongst the displaced people of the Malakand Division. Repair work on the Takhtaband Bypass is still in progress by the Army engineers, the release added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] An intelligence agency claimed to have captured as many as five persons accused of having involvement in Islamabad Marriot Hotel blast here late on Thursday. According to intelligence sources, the accused were detained from separate areas of Checha Watni and Sahiwal while they are reportedly hailing from a banned religious outfit who were traced down through their mobile phone Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs). Two among five arrested alleged suspects of Islamabad Marriot Hotel blast were later identified as Ashfaqu and Sharif aged between 30-35 years while three are still unidentified, sources said revealing all are bearded persons.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Two cops were killed and a police officer and two passers-by sustained injuries when a patrolling car of the Agha Mir Jani police station was blown up with a remote-controlled device in Berri Bagh locality here on Thursday.
A full-fledged clean-up operation is likely to be launched in the southern belt of the provincial capital where militants are gaining strength and have become a constant threat to the peace of the city.
The cops were on a routine patrol in a private car when terrorists targeted the vehicle with a roadside bomb, killing the driver, Shafqat Jan, on the spot. Sub-inspector and head of the patrolling party Nusrat Khan, Constable Alamzeb and two passers-by were wounded. The injured were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), where Alamzeb succumbed to his injuries.
The policemen had just offered the funeral prayers of Shafqat when they were told about the death of Alamzeb. Later, Alamzeb's funeral prayers were offered at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines.
Belonging to the Chamkani village, Alamzeb joined the police force only two years back, while Shafqat of Surezai village was recruited in 2000. The attack is the fifth on police vehicles in the jurisdiction of the Agha Mir Jani police station during the past six months. It was learnt that around 65 suspects had been rounded up in the area and parts of Mashogagar, Badaber and other localities after attacks on police in the last few days.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] At least two persons were killed and three others injured, when a powerful explosion occurred in Ghas Mandi area of Gali Gul Zaman, Geo News reported Thursday. Relief teams including ambulances and bomb disposal squad arrived on the blast site. The injured were rushed to the hospital, where two of them succumbed to injuries. The people kick-started the relief activities on their own. According to preliminary reports, the blast was caused by a hand grenade that was two to 3.5 kilogram. According to hospital sources, the injured are quite out of dangers.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] An explosive packed vehicle has been recovered from Lakki Marwat area of Sara-e-Norang, police said Thursday. The police sources said a suicide bomber has also been arrested from the spot near GHQ Hospital in Tajazai.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
The Pakistan Army deployed some of its troops along the Pak-Afghan border to an area opposite Afghanistan's Helmand province, an Afghan Taliban stronghold where the United States launched a major offensive on Thursday. The deployment aims to block the Taliban's attempt to enter Pakistan to escape the US onslaught. Thousands of US Marines stormed into a river valley in Helmand in an operation that seeks to break the Taliban's hold on the opium-growing region and turn the tide of the war in Afghanistan. Helmand shares a 130-mile border with Balochistan and troops were being moved there to "challenge any crossing", the chief spokesman of the Pakistani military said. Major General Athar Abbas said, "The area which is not under stress at the moment, we can pull out troops from those areas and beef up the area which is coming under effect."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Iran Press TV Latest] Militant leader Maulana Fazlullah may have died after he was reportedly injured seriously in an attack in Pakistan's Swat valley, a report suggests. "This just in from our ace reporter, D.J. Wu!"
Should Fazlullah's death be confirmed, it would be the first major success since the Pakistani army launched operations in Dir, Buner and Swat in April. Killing large numbers of turbans and chasing them out of Swat's not a success?
The Pakistani army attacked Fazlullah's hideout in the Swat valley after they traced his call directing attacks to Tahrik-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi Spokesman, Muslim Khan, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced on Wednesday. I am just so surprised to learn that the TNSM and the TTP-Swat are one and the same! I'd have never guessed!
Malik said that in his conversation, Fazlullah disclosed that he had been surrounded and had lost many of his commanders. On Thursday, Pakistan's The Nation citing local TV channels reported that the militant leader has been killed. Islamabad's claims about the number of militants that the army has killed cannot be verified independently. The report about Fazlullah's death, thus, challenges the Pakistani government's claims. I'm not sure how it does, but neither am I taking any of the claims seriously.
This article starring:
Maulana Fazlullah
TTP
Muslim Khan
TNSM
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
#1
This would be so nice to have confirmed. Im'a waiting for the Fat Lady.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Thirty-six persons were injured, some critically, when a lone suicide bomber rammed his cycle of violence motorcycle into a bus carrying employees of the Army-run Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC) at the Peshawar Road near Chur Chowk, Rawalpindi, here on Thursday at around 4.15 pm, police said. The suicide bomber was the only reported fatality.
Initially, the death toll had been given as six but it was revised to one killed (the bomber himself) by the law enforcing agencies. Additional Inspector General of Police, Rawalpindi, Nasir Khan Durrani, confirmed that it was a suicide attack, saying that body parts of the suicide bomber and other evidence had been collected. Eight vehicles, standing around the targeted bus, were completely destroyed while the windowpanes of buildings and shops in a radius of over half-a-kilometer were shattered. Considering the traffic congestion in the area, the death toll could have been higher but fortunately it was not to be a perfect kill for the terrorists.
While Baitullah Mehsud remains the usual suspect, no group had claimed responsibility of the attack till the filing of this report. Teams of police, Rescue-1122, and Edhi Trust rushed to the scene and shifted the body and wounded people to different hospitals of the city.
Eyewitnesses told this correspondent that a young bike rider, aged between 20-22, hit the left side of the bus and almost immediately blew himself up. The explosion sound, according to one witness, was deafening and immediately the entire area was covered in dark clouds. The road was covered with glass shreds, scattered pools of blood, flesh pieces and broken bones, while a strong stench of burnt flesh and gunpowder hung over the area.
Another witness said he saw the bike-riding young bomber coming from a street, adding that he came straight towards the bus as it stopped at the traffic signal and came in between a car and the bus. He said the youngster blew himself up after a couple of seconds. Body parts of the suicide bomber and the bus scattered in a radius of hundreds of meters, he added. Local volunteers rushed to the scene to rescue the people trapped in the bus and other vehicles affected by the blast and started shifting them to hospitals, he maintained.
The witnesses said the bus was carrying employees of the Heavy Mechanical Complex (HMC).Additional IG Rawalpindi Nasir Khan Durrani, while talking to a group of media persons at the crime scene, said that the government bus, carrying about 30 staff members, coming from the Islamabad side and heading towards Mandra was hit by the suicide attacker at about 4.15 pm when it stopped at the signal. He said that the attacker hit the bus from the fuel tank side, causing more damage.
The additional IG had initially told reporters that six people had been killed in the blast, but he later revised that figure. "I was at the spot and was told that the toll was five to six, but later we checked with hospitals and they confirmed only one dead and 36 wounded."
The additional IG said the terrorists failed to hit the installations of sensitive agencies due to effective security measures and now they had chosen to hit moving targets.Durrani said the bombers adopted a new strategy for suicide attacks and now they had started using motorcycles for attacks. "Obviously, the attack is a reaction to the military offensive in the tribal regions and other parts of the NWFP," he said.Durrani said security agencies focused on checking vehicles and the terrorists used a motorcycle to hit their target, adding that security would be further strengthened.
"All vehicles are being checked at various checkpoints and sniffer dogs are also being used, but motorcycles were not checked in similar manner in the past."
"There is a high state of alert. All vehicles are being checked at various checkpoints and sniffer dogs are also being used, but motorcycles were not checked in similar manner in the past," Durrani said.
A joint investigation team has been constituted, he said adding the key terrorists involved in suicide blast of Pir Wadhai Chowk on March 16, had been arrested. He said that local terrorists were also involved in this act.
APP adds: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani in their separate messages strongly condemned the bomb blast in Rawalpindi. Both expressed sorrow over the plight of the injured victims and the damage to property and ordered an inquiry into the matter. Both also asked the concerned authorities to ensure the provision of immediate relief and best medical care to the injured. Others who condemned the attack included Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira and NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
[Haaretz Defense] A 17- year-old girl was killed in a blast in central Gaza near the Israeli border Thursday, Hamas security officials said, charging that an Israeli tank shell was to blame. The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers came under Palestinian fire across the border in central Gaza and returned fire, but they did not use tank shells. "The Zionists are responding to our mortar fire, Your Immensity!"
"Bring forth the women and children!"
"Yes, Your Enormity! Head 'em up and move 'em out, Mahmoud!"
IDF sources said that Palestinian militants had been firing mortar shells when the blast occurred, and they believed that it was Palestinian mortar fire that resulted in the casualties. There was a later report that said it was their counterbattery fire...
Palestinian Health Ministry official Dr. Moaiya Hassanain said the fatality was a 17-year-old girl, and one of the wounded was a 3-year-old girl. Earlier, Hassanain said the little girl had been killed.
The Palestinian news agency Ma'an named the dead girl as Hiyam al-Ayish, adding that her 24-year-old brother had also been wounded. Al-Aqsa hospital sources said that more people had been wounded. Other Palestinians raised doubts about the report that an Israel tank shell was responsible for the blast, noting that reporters were uncharacteristically banned from the area and the family refused to talk to them.
There have been sporadic border clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since Israel ended a devastating three-week offensive in Gaza in January, aimed at stopping Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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A school security guard was seriously wounded in Pattani on Friday afternoon in a drive-by shooting by two men on a motorcycle. Police said Royali Ding, 30, a security guard at Ban Khao Toom School in Yarang district, was followed by two men on a motorcyle while returning home from prayers at a mosque. He was fired on by the pillon rider and hit twice in the body.
A total of 148 Buddhist monks were flown here in an Air Force plane so that they could stay at temples during the Buddhist Lent, which starts on Wednesday. The monks came from northern and northeastern provinces. They will stay at some 100 temples in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
It is a tradition that all Buddhist temples must have at least one monk staying during the 3-month-long Buddhist Lent but most temples in the three southern border provinces are deserted because of the violence.
A top Iranian cleric said Friday that some of the detained Iranian staffers of the British Embassy in Tehran will be put on trial, and he accused Britain of a role in instigating widespread protests that erupted over the country's disputed presidential election.
The announcement by Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati alarmed European nations and fueled calls for tougher action against Tehran. Britain is pressing for members of the European Union to pull their ambassadors out of Tehran to protest the arrest of its embassy staffers last week a step that the EU so far has hesitated to take.
Jannati does not hold a position in the government or judiciary, but is the head of the Guardian Council, a powerful body in Iran's ruling clerical hierarchy that stands above the elected government.
Jannati took a tough line, indirectly accusing Mousavi of treason.
Posted by: ed ||
07/03/2009 14:19 ||
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Top|| File under:
#2
Time for the Brits to nuke the he$$ out of Iran, beginning with Qom. Putting diplomatic personnel on trial on such a trumped-up charge is an act of war, and should be responded to accordingly. Too bad Jimmah Kahtah wasn't man enough to do that in 1979. We wouldn't have had this problem today if he had. What a limp-wristed psychopath - HE belongs in Iran.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/03/2009 21:09 Comments ||
Top||
#3
From the NY Times:
As local employees of the embassy, those arrested did not have diplomatic immunity. None are British citizens.
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Iran on Thursday announced more arrests in the post-election turmoil, detaining seven alleged provocateurs of violence it says were linked to Iranian exiles, while a hardline lawmaker called for legal action against defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
The arrests continue a heavy crackdown that has squashed the mass protests that erupted over the disputed June 12 presidential vote. Iran's top police chief has said 20 people were killed in violence during the protests, and that 1,032 people were detained.
The Basij, a paramilitary militia that had a prominent role in putting down the protests, on Wednesday formally requested that Mousavi be investigated for the post-election protests, saying he "supervised or assisted in punishable acts." A hard-line MP on Parliament's legal committee, Mohammad Taghi Rahbar, echoed that call Thursday, saying Mousavi had continued his calls for protests even after Iran's supreme leader had ordered a halt to street unrest.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported Thursday that families of the "innocent victims" of bloodshed during demonstrations would receive government compensation. Fars said "terrorists infiltrated among protesters to foment unrest," causing the violence.
There was no word on who would receive compensation and how much - but it seems to refer to eight Basij members who were reportedly killed.
The compensation is to come from the state-funded Martyrs' Foundation, a body that helps families of those who died in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, in which more than a million people from the two countries were killed and far more wounded.
Iran has been eager to depict the unprecedented wave of protests as inspired by outsiders, apparently looking to boost the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was announced as a landslide victor over his pro-reform opponent Mousavi. Mousavi insists he is the winner, calling the official results fraudulent.
The newly announced arrests were of seven members of "anti-government groups" who were "provoking unrest" in Tehran and the northwestern city of Qazvin, the state-run satellite channel Press TV reported.
The Qazvin regional intelligence department said the suspects had confessed to connections with groups including the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK), or People's Mujahedeen, the armed wing of a France-based opposition group, the National Resistance Council of Iran. Iran has repeatedly blamed the MEK for inciting post-election unrest.
Meanwhile, the official tally of deaths among Iranian protesters during the demonstrations following the vote was upped from 17 to 20, police chief General Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam announced, according to the state-run newspaper Iran.
Police detained 1,032 people, and most have been released, said Ahmadi Moghaddam, adding that 500 policemen were injured in the clashes. He did not specify whether the numbers included those detained by the Basij, who are connected to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, not the police.
Despite the crackdown, which has halted protests since Sunday, Mousavi appears driven to maintain his opposition. In a challenging statement Wednesday, he said he would consider an Ahmadinejad government illegitimate and demanded political prisoners be released.
Tehran also faces pressure from the West, sharpened after the detention last week of several Iranians employed by the British Embassy. Iranian state television reported all but one of the detained has been released.
The EU on Thursday called on Iran to release all the employees, but it held off on a British request that all 27 EU ambassadors be withdrawn from Tehran. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said it was too early to recall the envoys and the EU was "awaiting how the Iranian authorities will react." He added that "more than one" of the employee remained in detention.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday called for next week's Group of Eight summit to send a "strong message of unity" in support of Iranians' human rights, and said efforts to address concerns over Tehran's nuclear ambitions must remain on track.
But her call stopped short of Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's statement this week that the G-8 nations would consider sanctions against Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/03/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
Alam Hossain alias Anu, regional commander of the outlawed Biplobi Communist Party, was arrested by Kalia thana police on Wednesday night.
[Bangla Daily Star] Special Branch (SB) of Police in Gazipur arrested 
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea test-fired four short-range missiles off its east coast on Thursday into the Sea of Japan, the South Korean Defense Ministry and military officials said.
Up to 26 Pakistani security personnel are feared dead after an army transport helicopter crashed in the tribal region of Orakzai, military officials say. Maj Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC the helicopter crashed on the border of the Khyber and Orakzai tribal region.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] After the 
[Iran Press TV Latest] Militant leader 
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Thirty-six persons were injured, some critically, when a lone suicide bomber rammed his 
[Haaretz Defense] A 17- year-old girl was killed in a blast in central Gaza near the Israeli border Thursday, Hamas security officials said, charging that an Israeli tank shell was to blame. The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers came under Palestinian fire across the border in central Gaza and returned fire, but they did not use tank shells. 
