All is not quiet in northern Afghanistan. H/T OPFOR.
Swedish and Finish troops were attacked by Afgan resistance forces this night. The battle continued through the whole night and ended in the morning. Three rebels were killed according to the home Page of the Swedish Armed Forces.
The rebels attacked around nine pm (local time). It was a Swedish group of soldiers that was shot at close to Balkh, west from Masar-e-Sharif. One armoured vehicle under the name RG32 nicknamed "Galten" was shot at by what was believed to be both firearms and by anti tank grenades.
One Swedish unit with a tank joined by Finish troops were sent to the area as a reinforcement. The battle continued through whole night, sometimes intense, sometimes calm. In the morning the Swedish and Finish troops were reported to have secured the area.
No Swedish or Finish soldiers are reported to by Ănjured. Two injured and three killed rebels were found after the battle. The injured were given first aid by the Swedish-Finish troops. One of the injured rebels was sent to the German base Marmal for continued care.
The place of the battle is now investigated by the Swedish military-police. The Afgan military and police is also there now.
The Swedish-Finish force that was involved in the fighting is now on its way to reassemble in the camp Northerns Lights in Mazar-e-Sharif.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
07/26/2009 12:44 ||
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Don't know about the Swedes, but the Taliban might want to read some history before screwing with the Finns. Or ask the Russians.
And shouldn't "Finnish" have two "n's" in it? I figured the Stockholm News would know that.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been in day-to-day command of the Afghan insurgency ever since the Taliban's founder and leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, disappeared from view roughly three years ago. NEWSWEEK hand-delivered a list of questions for Baradar to a senior Taliban source. Within days, the Taliban's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, telephoned NEWSWEEK asking for an e-mail copy of the questions. A few weeks later Mujahid e-mailed to NEWSWEEK what he said were Baradar's answers in Pashto. See also: America's New Nightmare
#2
I'm straining to find any useful imformation in Baradar's words. It seems like just the usual low grade propaganda talking points. Am I wrong?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
07/26/2009 14:29 Comments ||
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Looks like NEWSWEAK has a new correspondent
Posted by: regular joe ||
07/26/2009 15:46 Comments ||
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Actually, NOT NEWSWEEK BUT NEWSMAX? > DE BORSCHGRAVE > TALIBAN COULD GAIN NUKES IN PAKISTAN [US Advisor = "Armageddon in Islamabad" iff US-ALLIES fail to defeat the Talibs + Pakis falls to the MiliTerrs]; + NO BIGGER ENEMY THAN AL-QAEDA [Approxi 1.0% of the Muslim Popul = 13.0Milyuhn Jihadists]???
A chronic shortage of helicopters forced commanders to ditch plans to counter Taliban home-made bomb attacks against British troops, The Sunday Telegraph has learned. Senior officers wanted to build a "necklace" of fortified watch towers through Helmand to spy on insurgents planting improvised explosives devices (IEDs) -- the single biggest killer of soldiers in the province.
But the plan, which was drawn up by officers serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade last summer, was dismissed because there were not enough troops available to occupy the towers or a sufficient number of helicopters to keep them resupplied with food, water and ammunition.
Last year military planners came up with a plan to reduce the IED threat by using towers similar to those used to monitor the activities of the IRA in Ulster during the troubles to dramatically curtail the Taliban's freedom of movement. It is understood that commanders wanted to use the towers as observation posts which would be able to direct artillery fire and combat jets on to Taliban positions whenever the enemy broke cover.
Troop shortages in Helmand have meant that Taliban fighters soon return to areas from which they have previously been cleared and plant IEDs. Commanders believe the towers would have had the same effect as maintaining large numbers of troops on the ground.
The model for the plan was based on the success of a series of watch towers erected in South Armagh in Ulster in the late 1980s to counter the activity of the IRA. Before the Army constructed its watchtowers in 1986, there were 19 IRA attacks against the security forces in the Crossmaglen and Forkhill areas, resulting in 84 deaths. Following their construction the murder toll dropped to 24 and commanders in Helmand hope that a similar effect could be achieved in Afghanistan.
Details of the plan emerge as the MoD announced that 150 extra troops would be sent to Afghanistan to replace those killed and wounded in recent weeks.
The shortage of troops and helicopters has proven to be a running sore for the government and the MoD for the past few months. Despite claims by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, that there are enough helicopters in Helmand for current operations, defence chiefs and former military commanders have claimed the opposite.
Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP and former infantry officer, said: "Yet again the MoD has failed to learn the lessons of history. These were learnt the hard way in Northern Ireland and they ought to be reapplied in Helmand. The bottom line is that there simply are not enough troops or helicopters to allow this to happen."
In a separate development, the growing use of IEDs and the injuries they have caused to British troops have led to some commanders to start questioning the tactics being used on operations and the "value" of killing vast numbers of Taliban fighters.
One officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: "19 Brigade's (the unit currently in Afghanistan) plan is essentially a very attritional clearance operation. The Taliban own the ground, they know we are coming, and have prepared defensive positions with IEDs. We are walking into this. Sometimes -- if we are successful -- we clear the obstacle, otherwise they detonate the device against us, causing huge numbers of casualties. I am concerned about the success of the mission, because I sense we are trying to do too much. Helicopters are clearly vital in terms of resupply and movement, but they can't help with close in clearance operations.
"You have to consider the lives of your soldiers, and how worthwhile is the thing you are trying to achieve. Is it worth the risk? Is it a sound military tactic to go face to face with the Taliban, does it really matter how many we kill? Vietnam demonstrated that a high body count does not necessarily win wars. The more we kill, the more the Taliban recruit. It seems we are walking into an ambush."
Sources have revealed that IEDs are now being covertly produced on an industrial scale
Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like the Taliban need be covert at all.
and are becoming increasingly more difficult to detect. Taliban bomb makers are reducing the level of metal in devices and have turned to the increased use of ceramics.
In the last 12 months, the use of improvised explosive devices by the Taliban has become the single biggest killer of British troops in Helmand. Of the 20 soldiers to be killed in Helmand in July, 18 have died after being caught in blasts from improvised explosive devices.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Never let an enemy use an easy and effective target without practising disproportionate retaliation. We have to win that war at any cost, including the charcoaling of Helmand.
#2
The towers do not have to be manned. Just set up a wire perimeter around them, and mount r/c machine guns on them. Any time someone gets close to the wire, they get a recorded speaker message to back off or else.
Design is important, because the bad guyz will try a car bomb to bust through the wire. So you give them a dose of their own medicine by wiring r/c mines on the only approach.
If they are willing to sacrifice several dozen for a mass attack, that is all well and good, because it will be a big enough motivation to send a helicopter.
#3
The Brits rely heavily on video cameras for security--why don't they use them for surveillance, reinforced with the mines, and then use drones or helicopters?
[Bangla Daily Star] Seven suicide bombers tried to storm security targets in an Afghan city yesterday, wounding personnel and a girl in the third Taliban commando raid in a week, authorities said.
Part of an increasingly deadly Taliban insurgency, the attacks underscored the vulnerability of Western-backed government forces less than four weeks before landmark elections and raised concerns for the security of the polls.
The interior ministry said "seven suicide bombers blew themselves up" in different parts of the eastern city of Khost, which is close to the border with Pakistan, where Islamist militants have carved out safe havens. "All of the bombers who had suicide vests on their bodies were identified and fired at by our brave police before they reached their targets," it said.
Three of the bombers set off their explosives in front of the town's police headquarters while another targeted the rear of the facility, it said.
Nearby, one suicide attacker tried to storm a police post, another detonated near a police rapid reaction unit and a seventh targeted a bank near the city centre, the interior ministry said.
Two police were injured in the attacks, the ministry added, but officials warned the toll would rise. "There are casualties but at this moment we don't know exactly how many people have been killed and injured," said defence ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi.
Azimi said some of the attackers were armed with machine guns and rocket launchers and exchanged fire with security forces before detonating their explosive-laden vests, although the interior ministry did not confirm this.
At least one of the bombers detonated a car rigged with explosives in front of the police headquarters, but that blast caused no casualties.
Four injured people, including three security personnel and an eight-year-old girl, were admitted to Khost hospital, a doctor said.
Zabihullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman, called AFP from an undisclosed location and said the insurgent Islamist group was behind the attacks. "Thirteen of our suicide bombers attacked government buildings in Khost," Mujahed said. Taliban members are known to exaggerate their claims.
On Tuesday, five people died when eight suicide bombers, some dressed as women and carrying guns, tried to storm official property in two Afghan cities, exposing the vulnerability of the government in the run-up to key elections.
Afghan authorities said later that police arrested seven would-be suicide bombers, who would have inflicted mayhem in further coordinated strikes against the Western-backed government.
Khost has become one of the most dangerous cities in Afghanistan over the last six months and the scene of repeated deadly attacks. The eastern province is just across the border from Pakistan's wild Waziristan tribal region, where US and Afghan officials accuse Islamist militants of plotting attacks on troops across the border.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
A hearty "Well done!" to the truly brave policemen of Afghanistan. May this be how that story ends there, from now on.
The Libyan government has formally asked Scotland for the compassionate release of the former Libyan agent jailed for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, the Scottish government said on Saturday.
Libyan authorities made the application on behalf of Abdel Basset al Megrahi, who was sentenced to life for blowing up a Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
"We can confirm an application for compassionate release has been made by Mr al-Megrahi, and forwarded by the Libyan Government to the Scottish Ministers," a Scottish government spokeswoman said in a statement.
"Scottish ministers will not comment on the content of the application and will now seek advice on the application."
Libya has repeatedly brought up the fate of the 57-year-old Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, most recently at a meeting in Italy between Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier this month.
But the British government has said it is a matter for Scotland, which has a separate legal system from the rest of Britain.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill will now consider whether the application should be granted.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Not just no, but HELL NO.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/26/2009 0:08 Comments ||
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A life sentence is supposed to mean until you die.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
07/26/2009 1:43 Comments ||
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Show him as much "compassion" as he showed his victims. Put him on the plane to Libya and boot him out the door at about 30,000 feet over Tripoli.
Welcome home, Abdel...
#4
So they should ask. After all the gentleman was under orders frm the Libyan government, if I recall correctly. It's the only thing that reflects well on them, in the whole sorry mess, that they haven't forgotten him, if only to issue this periodic, pro forma request.
(KUNA) -- Clashes between security forces and demonstrators on Saturday in Al-Daleh province, south of Yemen, resulted in the death of one individual and injury of seven others. According to local sources, the clashes took place after security forces tried to disperse people protesting the killing of people participating in a similar rally last Thursday in the Abin region. A Security source at that the Al-Daleh province said number of armed protestors fired shots at security personnel from afar and from roof houses. The clashes between security forces and followers of Tariq Al-Fadhli the Abin region protest, was in favor of the separation of south Yemen from the north. Eight people were killed and 18 others were wounded during the protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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At least 45 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were killed Saturday in an aerial bombardment of Meta province, the Caracol radio station reported.
The attack came as Colombian forces were hunting down Jorge Briceno, one of the leaders of the leftist rebel organization.
FARC, who have been fighting the state for more than 45 years, largely finance themselves with proceeds from drug trafficking.
The Marxist rebels have been pushed back by determined action under conservative President Alvaro Uribe, but have so far rejected negotiations and refused to renounce violence.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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The Marxist rebels have been pushed back by determined action under conservative President Alvaro Uribe, but have so far rejected negotiations and refused to renounce violence.
Cause we know how well that worked out in Sri Lanka. /sarc off
(KUNA) -- Three Turkish soldiers were seriously wounded during clashes with Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) armed men in southeast Turkey, security sources said Saturday. The clashes occured when PKK gunmen opened fire at Turkish soldiers who were searching for PKK separatists in Yoksekova town in Hakkara province, the sources at the Turkish Chief of Staff Command said in press remarks. The wounded soldiers were transferred to the nearest hospital while the Turkish army continued its hunt for the PKK gunmen, added the sources. Ankara is holding PKK responsible for the killing of more than 40,000 people since the outlawed party started its military campaign in 1984 to establish a country for Kurds in the predominantly Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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"The third Qaeda class offered an introduction to rocket-propelled grenades. Shortly after, Mr. Vinas graduated from terror school. (Other classes offered instruction in forgery, poison and advanced bombs. None mentioned the Geneva Conventions or the treatment of prisoners and civilians, the summary notes.)"
#5
The AP version couldn't resist a dig at the Bush Admin on enhanced interrogations, ignoring the fact the others aren't US citizens and hardened terrorists:
When the American-born al-Qaida recruit Bryant Neal Vinas was captured in Pakistan late last year, he wasn't whisked off to a military prison or a secret CIA facility in another country to be interrogated.
Instead, the itinerant terrorist landed in the hands of the FBI and was flown back to New York to face justice.
Months before President Barack Obama took office with a pledge to change U.S. counterterrorism policies, the Bush administration gave Vinas all the rights of American criminal suspects.
And he talked.
While an American citizen captured in Pakistan certainly presents a unique case, the circumstances of Vinas' treatment may p oint to a new emphasis in the fight against terror, one that relies more on FBI crimefighters and the civilian justice system than on CIA interrogators and military detention.
"This was by the numbers. It was a law enforcement operation and it worked," said a senior law enforcement official, one of several authorities who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the case.
The official said Vinas provided "an intelligence gold mine" to U.S. officials, including possible information about a suspected militant who was killed in a Predator drone strike last November.
Another law enforcement official said that under questioning, the 26-year-old Vinas gradually provided a "treasure trove" of information, allowing U.S. counterterrorism officials to peer deep inside the inner workings of al-Qaida.
(KUNA) -- The law-enforcement agencies conducted a raid Saturday morning in the southwestern city of Quetta, arresting seven militants, including three foreigners, hours after a university professor was killed in sectarian violence, said police. The combined teams of law-enforcement agencies and police conducted raid in the city of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, police sources told KUNA. The two sides, said sources, exchanged fire that left one militant killed and at least two policemen wounded. Sources said the raid ended in the arrest of seven militants, including three foreigners. They added that forces also recovered a big cache of arms and ammunition from their possession including suicide jackets, remote-controlled bombs and other explosive material. The raid came hours after unknown gunmen shot to death a university professor in the city on Saryab Road area. Following the killing, the local authorities declared three days of mourning.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Security forces on Saturday said they had killed at least 14 Taliban in Buner and Swat in last 24 hours during operations across Malakand. "During last 24 hours, search and clearance operations were conducted in Swat and Malakand division", the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
It said 10 Taliban were killed in Buner, while four were killed in Swat, and the forces also arrested 29 terrorists from various areas of the two districts. "Security forces conducted a search operation at Sappari Kandao, Koto Banda and Shadas and killed nine terrorists at Koto Banda and one at Zohaib post," it said.
The ISPR said the forces also killed two terrorists and arrested four during a search operation at Torshe Khan Sar. A terrorist training camp and a cave was also destroyed in the area and forces recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition.
The forces also conducted a search operation at Akhun Kalle, killing a terrorist and apprehending another.
During a search operation at Utror near Kalam, security personnel killed a terrorist, arrested another and recovered a number of arms and ammunition, the ISPR said.
It said the forces also conducted search operations in Bararai area of Khawzakhela, Malakand and Qambar and apprehended 21 suspected terrorists.
In neighbouring Dir, fighter jets pounded a suspected Taliban base, killing at least four, AFP quoted local police chief Ejaz Ahmed as saying. "It was a key Taliban stronghold in the area which has been totally destroyed," Ahmed said.
Local administration chief Javed Marwat said, "It was heavy bombing and the toll may go up."
Bomb: Meanwhile, six personnel of the bomb disposal squad and a civilian were injured while trying to defuse a bomb on the Indus Highway near Godi Banda. Upon receiving information regarding the bomb, the officials rushed to the spot to defuse the device. However, it exploded while being defused, APP reported. The injured include Sub-Inspector Muhammad Akbar, Technician ASI Sadat Habib, constables Javaid Iqbal, Qaisar Khan, Khalid Mehmood and driver Ahmed Ali. A tractor driver, Abdul Munaf, was also injured. A police motorcycle and two vans were also damaged.
NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and Inspector General Police Malik Naveed Khan have announced financial assistance for the injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad on Saturday was seen for the first time since Operation Rah-e-Rast was launched two months ago. Sufi was caught on camera by a private TV channel, showing him in a TNSM meeting in Peshawar. "Sufi left the meeting after he spotted the camera," according to the channel which said he "refused to talk" to the media. A TNSM supporter told Daily Times that Sufi had "trimmed and dyed his beard red to keep his identity secret". Meanwhile, a TNSM statement quoted Sufi as saying that he was neither arrested nor had he been in the custody of intelligence agencies.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak)] Maulana Rasheed Ahmad, a cleric from Swat, was freed on Saturday after remaining in custody for two weeks.
Sources told The News that Rasheed, whose name was first included and then dropped from the NWFP government's most wanted list of 21 Taliban leaders and commanders from Swat, reached his home at Turangzai in the Charsadda district after he was freed in Islamabad.
Rasheed was arrested from his home in Turangzai, where he taught at a Madrassa, by members of an intelligence agency and paramilitary troops on July 11 and shifted to an unknown place. Rasheed, who belongs to the Darushkhela village near Matta in Swat, had earlier been nabbed and cleared by military authorities in Swat. He was also bailed out by a court. The NWFP government first published his name in its most wanted list and announced a monetary reward for his capture, but then removed it, realising that a court had acquitted him.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak)] Security forces secured the release of two persons, including a foreigner, and arrested three kidnappers in Bara Tehsil of the Khyber Agency on Saturday.
Talking to reporters, Brigadier Mujahid Hussain said that on a tip off, security forces raided the house of Hashim Khan in the Milot village and recovered two kidnapped persons, identified as Nwanneka from Nigeria and Habibullah, a resident of the Khyber Agency.
He said the kidnappers arrested in the operation were identified as Zamindar, son of Duniya Gul, Mardan, son of Swat Khan, and Shah Wali, son of Abbas Ali, residents of Zakhakhel, Khyber Agency. He added that they were affiliated with the banned Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) outfit.
He said the Nigerian citizen was picked up from Peshawar four months ago as he was leaving for Islamabad, adding that $27,000 were also snatched from him. He said the kidnappers had demanded a huge ransom for his release.
Brigadier Mujahid said the other person who was recovered had been kidnapped from Badaber two years back and a huge ransom for his release was paid.
A spokesman for the LI, Zar Khan, said the kidnappers had nothing to do with his organisation, alleging that they were involved in drug trafficking.
Our correspondent from Mardan adds: A noted orthopaedic surgeon, who had been kidnapped last month, was recovered on Friday night.
Talking to reporters, Dr Suresh Rajpal said the kidnappers kept him at an unknown place. "They did not give me sufficient food. I was shackled during my detention," he recalled.
Dr Rajpal, who belongs to a family of Sikhs living for generations in Mardan, said he was released somewhere near Sardheri in the Charsadda district at midnight from where he made a phone call to his family.
He said members of his family reached there and took him home. He denied payment of ransom to the kidnappers for his release.
The doctor was kidnapped while he was on his way home from his clinic, situated at the Shamsi Road.
Doctors in Mardan had staged demonstrations and demanded his recovery. The kidnappers contacted his father, Dr Indersin Rajpal, by phone and demanded Rs 50 million ransom for his release. The amount was subsequently reduced to Rs 20 million.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Attock Police have arrested former MNA Shah Abdul Aziz on charges of his alleged involvement in the killing of Polish engineer Piotr Stanczak.
A member of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Atta Ullah Khan, who was arrested from Sabzi Mandi, Islamabad, confessed he, along with his accomplices, killed more than 50 people, including security forces personnel, government employees and a Polish engineer on the directives of former MNA Shah Abdul Aziz.
Atta Ullah said that he had assisted in over 15 suicide attacks and was involved in several incidents of target killings. The Basal police station arrested the accused and presented him before the Anti-Terrorism Court Rawalpindi Judge Baqir Ali Rana, who sent Abdul Aziz on three-day judicial remand.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Two policemen were killed when a roadside bomb exploded at their patrol vehicle western Fallujah, an Iraqi police source said Saturday. The explosion, in Al-Khaldiya area, is the third to take place in Fallujah today, the source told KUNA. Local authorities in the city of Fallujah imposed a curfew after the terrorist attacks against the city. Today's previous attacks, one of which targeted the headquarters of the Islamic Party in the city, resulted in two deaths and injury of tens others. The curfew was imposed by local authorities four days ago due to attacks on civilians and Iraqi police stations.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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Busy day at Mutual of Gaza...
Gaza -- Ma'an -- Two members of Hamas' military wing were killed late on Friday night during a "Jihad mission" east of Al-Bureij Refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip, a Hamas statement said. Ah. "Jihad mission". Fucked up did they?
The statement identified the victims as members of the Al-Qassam Brigades Osama Kamal Nabaheen and Bakr Jamal Nabaheen from Al-Bureij Camp. Otherwise known as "The Stupid Brothers"...
Hamas announced death of the two activists over loudspeakers calling on Gaza residents to participate in their funeral processions on Saturday. Or else... "Hey Mahmoud, why do we have to go to the funeral?"
"Because the loudspeakers told us to, dummy."
"But ain't that going to expose us to the ebil Juice?"
"Um .. yeah."
"Hey Mahmoud, where you going?"
"You go to the funeral. I'm going to .. strategerize."
[Jakarta Post] Local police officers from Makassar, the capital city of South Sulawesi, have arrested a man for his alleged link to the terror network responsible for a series of bomb attacks in the country over the last seven years.
As of Saturday afternoon, the East Makassar police office was questioning the man, identified only as MA alias TH.
The police nabbed MA, who said was a native of East Java, at his boarding house on Jl. Pengayoman in Makassar at around 5:30 a.m. local time. Police confiscated five ID cards bearing his photograph but with different names, birth dates and birthplaces. Birthplaces include Surabaya and Magetan in East Java, as well as Makassar and Luwuk Banggai in Central Sulawesi.
Police also seized two passports, one of them revealing he once visited Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, a laptop, four automatic teller machine cards and nine credit cards.
East Makassar Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Mansyur said local people reported MA had always spent his time inside his boarding house since he arrived on July 7. Some suspected he was Noordin M. Top, the most wanted terror suspect accused of masterminding the latest bombings in Jakarta last week and previous attacks since 2002.
Mansyur said MA confessed to committing cyber crimes that had earned him Rp 100 million by breaking into the computer systems of four banks. It remains unclear where the money has gone.
South Sulawesi police chief Insp. Gen. Mathius Salempang said investigations were underway to verify MA's connection with the terrorist group. "We don't know yet if he is linked to the terror network, but we definitely have to acknowledge people's suspicions," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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[Jakarta Post] Yogyakarta police's bomb squad conducted a search on members of an Islamic study group on Saturday in a move aimed at detecting the movement of terror suspects following two hotel bombings in Jakarta last week.
Hundreds of participants of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah study group who came from regions across the country had to go through a metal detector as they were entering the Manunggal Grand Mosque in Bantul regency. The police also searched their bags.
"We examined the participants to prevent unwanted incidents such as the infiltration of dangerous people," Bantul police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Stephen M. Napiun said.
He added the organizers of the activity had received approval from the National Police Headquarters and the Bantul regent, but he deemed the search was necessary.
Bantul police operational chief Comr. Surya Atatmaja said the precautionary measures were conducted to restrict the movement of terror suspects and to detect possible terror activities.
The search came after the National Police's counter-terrorism squad sifted through the Kumendaman area in Yogyakarta to locate the most wanted terror suspect, Noordin M. Top, who reportedly fled to the town along with Bahrudin Latief alias Baridin. The squad had previously raided Bahrudin's house in the Central Java town of Cilacap and found explosives and materials to make a bomb.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
ION WORLD AFFAIRS BOARD > SEPARATISTS MOVEMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES/PHILIPPINES AT SERIOUS THREAT FROM [Indonesian] JI MILITANT GROUP.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Muslim separatist rebels in the Philippines on Saturday declared a ceasefire against the military, and vowed that all civilians returning to their villages will not be harmed.
The "suspension of military action" by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) came two days after President Gloria Arroyo ordered the army to cease all offensives against the rebels to pave the way for the resumption of peace talks.
It was not clear whether the ceasefire declaration would lead to a drop in hostilities.
"This is meant to reciprocate the government move," MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu told AFP. "This was a natural course of action on our part, and we had been expecting to declare this as a consequence of the government's decision."
Kabalu said all MILF ground commanders had been told not to carry out any attacks as tens of thousands of civilians displaced by the fighting are expected to stream back to their homes in conflict zones.
He said however that rebels will remain on "defense mode" and will hit back if attacked or provoked.
The MILF broke a five-year-old ceasefire in August last year and launched attacks across the southern island of Mindanao, where they have been waging a bloody rebellion since 1978.
The attacks were carried out after Manila's Supreme Court outlawed a proposed deal with the government that would have given the MILF control over a large area of Mindanao, land it claims as an "ancestral domain."
Heavy fighting that followed since has left over 300 civilians and combatants dead, while over 400,000 people remain displaced.
It was not clear whether the ceasefire declaration would lead to a drop in hostilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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It was not clear whether the ceasefire declaration would lead to a drop in hostilities.
Hell the snark writes itself.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/26/2009 12:36 Comments ||
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These guys have to get another acronym name. Its just cracks me up to imagine Stifler's Mom giving a news conference.
Frank G. pointed out to me that the photo function didn't work with non-IE browsers, so I went ahead and fixed that, plus made sure the formatting buttons work with (I think) all browsers. I also added in a photo preview routine. Let me know if I broke anything else while fixing those, or if those aren't what I wanted them to be...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2009 00:00 ||
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thx Fred! You Da Man™
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/26/2009 10:01 Comments ||
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#3
Being non-tech, I'm not sure what you said, Fred, but you're still wonderful anyway. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/26/2009 14:12 Comments ||
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#4
Opera has problems, but they're Opera problems, not Rantburg problems.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/26/2009 15:22 Comments ||
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#5
It's a well known fact among Javascript programmers that Microsoft deliberately makes their browser's interpretation of Javascript "different" from all other browsers. Certain Microsoft programs written in Javascript, such as Outlook Web Access, won't run very well on other browsers although it runs fine on IE. That is the only reason I keep IE on my computer.
Experienced Javascript programmers know they have to test their programs with Firefox, or some other decent browser, and then with IE. Then, when their code doesn't work with IE, they have to code routines that detect the type of browser being used and develop alternative paths in their code for IE.
It wastes a lot of time. It sucks. But it's Microsoft's way of telling the world not to use other browsers.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
07/26/2009 17:47 Comments ||
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#6
Abu Uluque - correctamundo! The only reason I keep IE on my home computer is that we use Outlook at work, and if I access my email via webaccess in FF, I get a "lite" version of OE with a lot less functionality. The only website I access via IE is my webmail at work. I'd expect MS to describe that as an "inadvertant" issue
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/26/2009 18:24 Comments ||
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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.
The Libyan government has formally asked Scotland for the compassionate release of the former Libyan agent jailed for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, the Scottish government said on Saturday.
At least 45 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were killed Saturday in an aerial bombardment of Meta province, the Caracol radio station reported. 
(KUNA) -- The law-enforcement agencies conducted a raid Saturday morning in the southwestern city of Quetta, arresting seven militants, including three foreigners, hours after a university professor was killed in sectarian violence, said police. The combined teams of law-enforcement agencies and police conducted raid in the city of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, police sources told KUNA. The two sides, said sources, exchanged fire that left one militant killed and at least two policemen wounded. Sources said the raid ended in the arrest of seven militants, including three foreigners. They added that forces also recovered a big cache of arms and ammunition from their possession including suicide jackets, remote-controlled bombs and other explosive material. The raid came hours after unknown gunmen shot to death a university professor in the city on Saryab Road area. Following the killing, the local authorities declared three days of mourning.
Security forces on Saturday said they had killed at least 14 Taliban in Buner and Swat in last 24 hours during operations across Malakand. "During last 24 hours, search and clearance operations were conducted in Swat and Malakand division", the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad on Saturday was seen for the first time since Operation Rah-e-Rast was launched two months ago. Sufi was caught on camera by a private TV channel, showing him in a TNSM meeting in Peshawar. "Sufi left the meeting after he spotted the camera," according to the channel which said he "refused to talk" to the media. A TNSM supporter told Daily Times that Sufi had "trimmed and dyed his beard red to keep his identity secret". Meanwhile, a TNSM statement quoted Sufi as saying that he was neither arrested nor had he been in the custody of intelligence agencies.
[The News (Pak)] Maulana Rasheed Ahmad, a cleric from Swat, was freed on Saturday after remaining in custody for two weeks.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Attock Police have arrested former MNA Shah Abdul Aziz on charges of his alleged involvement in the killing of Polish engineer Piotr Stanczak. 
