#5
Not Fred, Oliver! I was only 7 or 8 when "Curse of the Wolfman" showed at the theater, but I still remember how my jeans felt funny when Yvonne was on the screen for all too few minutes.
NIMRUZ PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Some people go cave exploring for fun, but when there is a possibility of stumbling on explosive materials, an armed enemy or a nasty surprise they've left to be triggered in the dark, it's about as far from fun as you can get.
Marines from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, are searching wet, pitch-dark tunnels ranging from 40 to 100 feet underground that connect the karez system - a network of wells and tunnels between the snow-capped peaks of the Buji Bhast Mountains and the arid desert plain here. The karez system was originally constructed hundreds, maybe thousands, of years ago. These days, insurgents are using these tunnels as a form of covert transportation and storage for IED-making materials. The Marines are putting a stop to that.
"We've found evidence of weapons, dwelling, trash. We know they're down there," said Co. E executive officer, 1st Lt. Husein Yaghnam.
"We can't collapse them because that will affect the farmers' irrigation system, but we can deter the enemy from using them," said the Toledo, Ohio, Marine. "It might open up opportunities just by deterring the enemy from using them."
What's it like descending along the sheer walls of these holes that travel all the way down to the limestone bedrock?
"It's kind of scary, because you don't know what's in the wells," said Personal Security Detachment platoon sergeant Cpl. Jason L. Paul, from Shiprock, N.M. The PSD Marines provide security for the battalion commanding officer, Lt. Col. Patrick Cashman, who sometimes personally investigates the wells for his own situational awareness.
"They're usually 40 to 60 feet down - straight down - and it's really dark down there," he described. "Every time we head down, I always tell my guys to be careful."
Fortunately for these young men weighed down with gear, drinking water, weapons, ammunition and a flashlight, going down on foot isn't always the first option they try. Sometimes they send down a robot - with varying degrees of success.
"Yesterday we sent the bot into three holes. In the first one it could only go in about eight feet, so we had to go in, retrieve it and investigate on foot," said Markbot operator Cpl. Garrett Andrews the day after a series of tunnel hunts. "Later we sent the bot down but didn't see any man-made passages."
#1
What they need is the equivalent of a 3D spider. That is, an ordinary spider's legs are designed to walk on a surface. A 3D spider would have legs going in every direction except directly forward and backwards, making it capable of using all the sides of a narrow tunnel at once.
In turn, it would be very stable, extending and contracting legs as needed, with a form of motion more like a centipede than a spider.
Salt-shakers on standby, but this looks bad...
Oct. 6, 2009— The remote base in northern Afghanistan where eight U.S. soldiers were killed this weekend in a deadly battle was well-known inside the military as extremely vulnerable to attack since the day it opened in 2006, according to U.S. soldiers and government officials familiar with the area.
When a reporter visited the base a few months after it opened, soldiers stationed in Kamdesh complained the base's location low in a valley made most missions in the area difficult.
"We're primarily sitting ducks," said one soldier at the time.
Known as Camp Keating, the outpost was "not meant for engagements," said one senior State Department official assigned to Afghanistan, and brings "a sad and terrible conclusion" to a three-year effort to secure roads and connect the Nuristan province to the central government in Kabul. Shouldn't bases in contested areas be 'meant for engagements?' For some reason, this smacks of State Department mischief.
The boulder strewn road that led into the valley was referred to by U.S. soldiers stationed there as "Ambush Alley."
In addition to the eight dead Americans, at least two Afghan Army officers were killed, with as many as a dozen Afghan National Policemen missing, according to military and Afghan officials.
The base, located less than 10 miles from the Pakistan border and nestled in the Hindu Kush mountains, was attacked almost every day for the first two months it was opened, hit by a constant stream of rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire.
By the third or fourth month of the base's existence, resupply had been limited to nighttime helicopter flights because the daytime left helicopters and road convoys too exposed to insurgent attacks. That remained true through the weekend. This sounds TOO MUCH like Khe Sahn...
The base had several near-misses with enemy fire over the years. In 2006, all daytime helicopter flights landing at the valley floor were cancelled when an American Blackhawk was nearly hit with an incoming rocket as it was taking off. After the incident, helicopters were banned from landing anywhere but an observation post some three hours' walk above the base on a nearby ridgeline. Even then, helicopters filled with troops or equipment were rushed during offloading, as pilots were keen to take off before drawing hostile fire.
And like many other remote and rural parts of Afghanistan, the local population had begun souring on the American presence after airstrikes had hit civilians in the neighboring villages. Sigh... foreign troops will ALWAYS sour the local population. The question is whether they bring valuable changes to the area, like SECURITY for the locals. Cash and goodies help too, but security is the most important 'export' we have. It also makes our troops safer too. Rest at the link.
#1
.. foreign troops will ALWAYS sour the local population.
Anyone who's lived in several military communities could testify of the love/hate relationship even in their own neighborhood, be it peacetime or war.
It's embedded in the culture. Just check any news report about a "soldier from..." committing a crime, but you never hear about a "employee from..." committing a crime from the same area.
#2
Judging from the pictures of Camp Keating, its purpose is not force projection, but area denial of an enemy supply route. While the valley they were located in could be traversed in an hour on foot, if forced up onto the steep hillsides surrounding it, even with a light load, it would still take a day or two. It would be very difficult to cross under any means with a heavy load.
This strongly inhibited enemy operations, which is shown by their willingness to commit a major element to attacking that base.
#4
Too true, Besoeker. I wonder why we haven't swamped the area with multiple mountaintop ranger stations? Sure seems like an enemy collection point, which is a rare and beneficial feature in irregular warfare.
If nothing else, couldn't we flood the airspace with UAVs and let the joystick crowd have at it?
#5
And the broken process (and those who took advantage of it) that somehow enabled this farce should also be made public and fixed.
These are American lives here. This kind of $hit is off-limits. Eight Americans died, a bunch of Afghans died, and however many were wounded. And the folks who caused these problems are probably more concerned with what they will be wearing to the office halloween party, if they are even aware of what they did.
#6
Whoops, just read Anonymoose's comments. Still, if the base is vulnerable, fortify it until it isn't. Perhaps it would have helped to have another base nearby that could have made the lives of any insurgents who tried to position themselves to attack the base miserable.
#7
Bernard Fall. "Hell in A Very Small Place".
Dien Bien Phu was surrounded by higher ground.
Viet Minh horsed artillery up there, somehow, along with enough ammo. SURprise.
If you want to deny a route, get into a watching position as high as you can get and call in fires.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/07/2009 10:42 Comments ||
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#8
Old Patriot addressed my related question(how can you safely operate a base where you don't control the high ground within attack range, especially in a 'weather-challenged' environment like A'stan?) Monday
(http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?
ID=280340&D=2009-10-05&SO=&HC=1)
"You quit playing games and start fighting a war. That means napalming the ridges when the 'insurgents' attack. That means using WP and flachette rounds to respond to attacks on areas you can't reach with rifle fire. That means ensuring you always have a couple of recoilless rifles assigned to one of these outposts that can "dust" ridgetops from within your compound. That means telling the "World Court" to go hang. You DON'T fight a war making your servicemembers wear boxing gloves and keep one foot in a gallon pail all the time. Of course, our "political leadership" is too "civilized" to do that, so we'll probably lose - just as we did in Vietnam.
control the high ground within attack range, especially in a 'weather-challenged' environment like A'stan?"
The rules of engagement generally prevent U.S. forces from searching or attacking Afghan mosques.
These don't seem to be good ROEs. We had the same problem in Iraq until we developed a force of Iraqis who did go into the mosques and put an end to weapons stockpiling.
As insurgents fired from three or four different locations above the base, they also maneuvered and over took one of the observation posts on higher ground, taking out a post meant to protect Camp Keating from enemy fire.
Not occupying the high ground seems like a no-no and asking for trouble.
Not occupying an outpost except in force doesn't seem to be a good idea.
Having close air support, more troops at the ready, and artilliary seems like a must.
Underestimating our enemy's capability seems like a problem.
#11
When you have a place like this, you need to protect it. That means having some outliers on the high ground, capable of defending themselves and the base below. We have far too many people making military decisions that have never read Clausewitz, or learned the lessons of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, or even Iraq. As a result, people die.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/07/2009 13:17 Comments ||
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#12
I saw the video this a.m. - one of the soldiers said they were there to be closer to the local populace...I'd imagine they could relocate to a better tactical position and still be close to the locals. Of course, I'm not on the ground there and wasn't on the OPT that set that camp where it's at.
#13
Anyone who's lived in several military communities could testify of the love/hate relationship even in their own neighborhood,
As an aside, not only military but any large intrusion of foreigners. We saw the same thing in the suburbs of Brussels, where a neighbor, herself a German national married to a Belgian, refused to socialize with us on the grounds that she had tired of befriending expats only to have them leave after a few years for an assignment elsewhere and never come back.
[Dawn] Ten Afghan army soldiers were killed and more than 100 Taliban militants died or were wounded in clashes in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. 'Ten members of the Afghan army were martyred and more than 100 enemies were killed and wounded in the south and east of the country in the past 24 hours,' a statement said.
Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the casualties were from two operations, in southern Helmand province and eastern Nuristan.
Nato and Afghan troops on Monday launched a joint operation in Nuristan to flush out Taliban insurgents who killed eight US soldiers at the weekend -- the coalition's heaviest toll in a single incident in more than a year.
Hundreds of militant fighters swept down a remote hillside at dawn on Saturday near the mountainous border with Pakistan, over which al-Qaeda and Taliban sympathisers are based, to attack two Afghan army and Nato outposts.
Two Afghan army soldiers and a police officer were also killed while 13 police and two Afghan journalists working for a radio station set up with US help were captured.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Kazakhstan agreed on Tuesday to allow French military personnel and equipment to transit through the Central Asian state to Afghanistan.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy oversaw the signing of the transit agreement by their foreign ministers.
It was not immediately clear whether Kazakhstan, which has no direct border with Afghanistan, will be used as a transit point for French airlifts, or it will be part of a land route also involving Russia and other ex-Soviet states.
Earlier this year, Kazakhstan allowed the United States to ship non-lethal supplies for its Afghan troops through its territory as Washington tried to diversify supply routes due to frequent attacks on convoys in Pakistan.
The deal follows a similar agreement between the United States and Russia which has said it would also negotiate transit for US allies including France.
The US-led coalition has boosted troop numbers in Afghanistan in an effort to suppress the Taliban insurgency which, according to some analysts, threatens to spill into Central Asia.
France is also in talks with Kazakhstan's southern neighbour Kyrgyzstan to renew an agreement allowing French military to use the Kyrgyz Manas air base to support Afghan operations.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Resting between frenetic bursts of fighting with tenacious Shiite rebels in the north, many Yemeni soldiers pass the day chewing qat leaves -- the mild stimulant plant that is the impoverished Arab nation's traditional drug of choice.
For the beleaguered troops dispatched to Yemen's rugged Saada province, the chewing sessions offer a welcome high and suppress fears that the rebels may have the upper hand against an army lacking basic gear such as helmets and body armor.
The Yemeni army has been embroiled in a five-year conflict with Saada's rebels that erupted when Shiite fighters took up arms against the central government, complaining of neglect and the widening influence of hard-line Sunni fundamentalists, some of whom consider Shiites heretics.
Shiites make up 30 percent of Yemen's population of 22 million.
Soldiers in the front line town of Harf Sofyan, where seven brigades of some 3,000 soldiers each are stationed, are showing the strain of prolonged fighting against a tenacious and clever foe.
"They have super powers, they do not fear death," one soldier said. Another suggested the rebels "are possessed by evil spirits" and have "alien powers no human can possess."
Both soldiers spoke to a reporter traveling with the Yemeni military but refused to give their names, fearing reprisal from their officers.
The soldiers' monthly paycheck is just a $100, but the troops, whose ages vary between 15 and 25 years, are allowed to take any booty the rebels leave behind, from food to equipment.
What the soldiers seek most, though, is their daily stash of qat leaves. And that is increasingly difficult to find in the devastated fields of Saada, where corpses and body parts lie scattered by the roadside, filling the air with the heavy odor of death.
The troops haggle daily for the leaves with local qat vendors, whose business is the only one still thriving in the devastated area. Even some commanders join the chewing sessions, which usually start after lunch and last up to four hours.
Qat is so popular in Yemen that cultivating the plant uses up nearly half of the country's water supply and farmers prefer to plant it for the high income it brings.
Both sides regularly announce advances on the battlefield, but the claims are difficult to verify because authorities have cut off access to the area. Caught between two forces, the local tribes often fight with whichever side has the upper hand.
Several cease-fire attempts have foundered, and the Shiite rebels, led by Abdel-Malek al-Hawthi, have refused to hand over their weapons or release any prisoners of war.
They accuse the government of not fulfilling its obligations under previous agreements, including freeing rebel detainees, paying compensation to victims and rebuilding Saada villages ravaged by fighting.
On Monday, the rebels said they shot down a government MiG-29 jet, the second this month, near the provincial town of al-Magash. The Yemeni Defense Ministry said the plane crashed due to technical reasons.
Government efforts to contain the rebellion have been hampered by a separate, secessionist movement in the south, as well as Yemen's crippling poverty and plummeting oil revenues. Some officials also blame corruption in the military for the failure to uproot the rebels.
The fighting, which has displaced about 150,000 people since 2004, flared up in August, with rebels capturing an army post on a strategic highway between the capital and the Saudi border.
The escalation has killed unknown numbers on both sides and crammed tens of thousands of the newly displaced into camps, schools and barns turned into shelters, while aid groups struggle to bring in supplies.
International relief agencies have urged the government to open up corridors to the trapped civilians.
"I have been living here in Harf Sofyan with my 12 family members for two months now, sleeping in the open and under the trees," said teacher Jamal Amin al-Jatham. "We have nothing now after we fled the fighting."
Ahmad Hassan, a 25-year-old farmer, said he walked with 10 other families across the width of Saada province, fleeing the military's bombardment of the rebels near the border with Saudi Arabia.
"We haven't gotten any water for the past three days, and we are living off the food given to us by some locals," said Hassan, as he sat in the shade of a date palm tree.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I was under the impression that kat chewers sat around vacantly dribbling green ickyness, not that they were jolted into frenetic aggressiveness. Perhaps that's why this phase of the civil war has taken five years thus far.
[Bangla Daily Star] Two criminals, including an outlaw, were killed in separate 'shootouts' between their cohorts and law enforcers in Faridpur and Chuadanga yesterday. We're on a roll here, with multiple shootouts a day...
The dead were identified as Lavlu Bepari alias Lavlu, 34, Waitaminnit! How can you be alias your own name?
a convicted fugitive and Korban Ali, 42, ... alias Korban...
a regional leader of outlawed Gono Mukti Fouz, reports our Faridpur correspondent. The dread Gono Mukti Fooz...
Acting on a tip-off, "Hello? Is dis da Rab? Lissen, dis is Mahmoud da Weasel..."
a team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) "Into the cruiser, men!"
raided Muktamancha area in front of the house of Poet Jasimuddin at Ambikapur, outskirts of Faridpur town, where a criminal gang was holding meeting around 3:30am, sources said. "[Yawn!] Cheese! Why do we hafta hold our meetings at 3:30 in the morning, chief?"
Sensing their presence, "Hark! My spider sense..."
"What about it?"
"It's tingling!"
"Is it a real heavy tingle? We haven't had time to read the minutes of the last meeting, you know!"
"It's pretty heavy."
"In that case..."
the criminals opened fire on Rab [BANG! BANG! BANGETY BANG!]
prompting them to retaliate and triggering a 'gunfight'. "Open retaliatory fire, men! Aim for the spot right behind their ears!"
Lavlu was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot "Aaaaiieee!... [thud!]... Rosebud!
"Got one, chief!"
"Good shootin', Sergeant Rafiq!"
while his accomplices managed to flee the scene. "Cheap flip-flops, don't fail us now!"
Rab recovered one pistol, two guns, and four bullets from the spot. "Where'd the extra round of bullet come from?"
"Ummm... Sorry, chief. That one's mine."
Lavlu, an accused in 17 cases, was earlier sentenced to 14 years' rigorous imprisonment by a court in an explosive case, the sources said. "Mother Bepari! Lavlu won't have to serve his 14 years rigorous imprisonment!"
"I'm so happy! Where is my baby boy?"
"Ummm..."
In Chuadanga, Korban Ali ... alias Korban...
was killed in a 'shootout' between police and his cohorts at Ghoshbila village in Alamdanga upazila, reports our Kushtia correspondent. [Bang bang bangety bang]... Aaaiiieee... [Thud]... Rosebud... [rattle]...
Korban, hailed from Binodpur under Alamdanga upazila, was a close inmate of Gono Mukti Fouz leader Tagar, who escaped breaking Chuadanga jail on May 15, 2008 and was killed in 'crossfire' with Rab on May 22 same year. [Bang bang bangety bang]... Etc... Etc...
On information, a team of Alamdanga police cordoned off Ghosbila field around 2:30am and asked the outlaws, who were holding a meeting, to surrender. "We got yez surrounded! Come out witcher hands up!"
But they defied and opened fire on police forcing the latter to retaliate. "Youse'll never take us alive, coppers!"
Korban was killed during the gunfight. Rosebud!
His accomplices, however, managed to flee. Like they never were there...
Police recovered a shutter gun and 10 bullets from the spot. "Chief! Chief! It's a shutter gun!"
"Really? Lemme see that! My old gran'ther used to have one of these!"
"Looks just like the one in the evidence room, don't it?"
Korban was accused in six cases, including four for murder, police said. He only had the death sentence on six systems. What a piker.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Only six cases, but 2/3rds were for murder, a respectable proportion.
A British prosecutor accused three men Tuesday of conspiring with the mastermind of a plot to kill thousands of airline passengers by blowing up their trans-Atlantic flights using liquid explosives.
Prosecutor Peter Wright was making his opening statement on the second day of the trial of Adam Khatib, 22, Mohammed Shamin Uddin, 39, and Nabeel Hussain, 25. Authorities say if the attack had been carried out, it would have been on par with the Sept. 11 attacks.
The trio "was prepared to help in the commission of terrorist acts and indeed did so," Wright told jurors at a London court. All three deny the charges but have yet to present their cases.
Last month, Abdulla Ahmed Ali was convicted of being the ringleader of a plan to down at least seven trans-Atlantic flights in simultaneous attacks which security officials say were directed by senior Islamic militants in Pakistan. He was given a minimum of 40 years in prison. Two others — Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Hussain — were also convicted of helping plot the attacks.
Posted by: ed ||
10/07/2009 09:07 ||
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German intelligence services learned that a new militant group with ten members, headed by a German of Syrian origins, had sprung up in the port city.
The leader was identified as Rami M in a secret report that has been leaked to Die Welt newspaper and the investigative television show Report Mainz.
The ten members are understood to have left Hamburg early this year to attend paramilitary camps in the Hindu Kush, however, two are thought to have recently returned.
All of them were said to have used Hamburg's Taiba Mosque as a meeting place, the same location frequented by the 9/11 leader Mohammed Atta and his accomplices. They went onto carry out the attacks on New York's World Trade Centre and Washington.
Posted by: ed ||
10/07/2009 09:24 ||
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Pakistan's army Wednesday said it had killed a top aide of fugitive Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah, as they continued their hunt for militant chieftains in the northwest Swat valley.
Nisar Ahmed, also known as Ghazi Baba, one of 15 Swat insurgents commanding a 10 million rupee (120,000 dollar) bounty offered by authorities in May, was killed in a clash outside the valley's main town on Wednesday, the army said.
"After a tip from an informant, the forces surrounded the house of Nisar Ahmed to arrest him but he resisted and started firing on troops," said Major Mushtaq Khan, a spokesman for the army-run Swat Media Centre.
"During the retaliatory fire, Nisar Ahmed was killed and his son was arrested," he told AFP, adding that no soldiers were injured in the exchange.
Posted by: ed ||
10/07/2009 09:51 ||
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#2
For those captured alive, how about a catch-and-release program? Before releasing, surgically insert a GPS and capsule of fatal toxin. If the guy strays off the reservation, the toxin is released. It seems like it would be a strong incentive to stay out of mischef.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/07/2009 13:01 Comments ||
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#3
Hmmmmm... Have the Pakistanis taken a page from the Bangladesh's RAB in dealing with the Taliban? At least the Pakistanis captured a "cohort", even if it was the son of the "accused".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/07/2009 13:34 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Two soldiers and three civilians were injured on Tuesday in a grenade attack in the summer capital of revolt-hit Indian-administered Kashmir, police said.
The blast in Srinagar's central square seriously injured two members of the border security force. Suspected militants hurled the grenade at their vehicle.
The attack also left three civilian bystanders injured and sent thousands of shoppers running for cover as troops rushed from shop to shop in search of the militants.
Rebels have been waging an insurgency since 1989 against India's rule of the region.
Last month militants triggered a car bomb in Srinagar that killed three policemen and a woman bystander.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] The security forces continued search and clearance operations in Swat and Malakand during the last 24 hours. According to a press released issued here by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Tuesday, the security forces conducted search operation in Taghan and Maira and apprehended 10 suspected terrorists. At least 8 terrorists voluntarily surrendered to security forces in Barshaur, Biha and Chuprial. During search and clearance operation at Banjir Banda, security forces recovered 21 communication sets. A local commander of TNSM Badshah Zeb Alias Gorkai Mullah voluntarily surrendered to security forces in Ushari Darra area of Dir. Terrorists fired 3 mortar rounds and 4 rockets in Kabutar Check Post. Resultantly, 2 soldiers got injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] One woman and three children were injured in a late night rocket attack in the Nothia area of Peshawar, DawnNews reported. According to police, several rockets were fired from somewhere near Peshawar's Ring Road area and one of them landed in the area. The rocket struck a house injuring the four who were immediately rushed to a hospital. One of the rockets landed in the Mukrawo area, while the others landed in the areas adjacent to Peshawar Cantonment damaging houses.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Nine militants surrendered to the security forces in Osheray Darra area of upper Dir on Monday, officials said.
A spokesman for the Frontier Corps also gave names of the surrendering militants to the media.
The surrendering militants promised to abide by the law in future and vowed not to take part in terrorist activities.
Those who surrendered included Maulana Bashir Ahmad s/o Dur Talab Khan, Muhammad Saeed s/o Mahmood Khan, Muhammad Ismael s/o Muhammad Essa, Bihar Ali s/o Javed, Zahid Badshah s/o Andar Khan, Yar Muhammad s/o Andar Khan, Muhammad Ayub s/o Sher Muhammad Khan, Sher Muhammd s/o Gul Khan and Imran s/o Muhammad Ayub.
The FC Spokesman said, the militants admitted that committed crimes against people, including killing and torture of innocent persons.
They also said that they felt guilty of their past conduct. They have also realised that their act has brought a bad name to Islam, the spokesman added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Upper Dir is just west of Swat, and so this suggests a strategy of continuing to push out from Swat.
[Dawn] Pakistani fighter jets bombed Taliban hideouts in a northwest tribal region on Tuesday, killing six insurgents and wounding three others, security and intelligence officials said.
The attacks struck in South Waziristan, where the military has vowed to launch an all-out offensive to purge the region of militants blamed for a wave of deadly bomb attacks in Pakistan over the past two years.
'Makeen and Nawaz Kot areas of South Waziristan were bombed,' said an intelligence official in the main provincial town Wana. 'We have reports that six Taliban were killed and an unknown number of them were injured.'
A security official based in neighbouring Dera Ismail Khan district confirmed the death toll and said three insurgents were also wounded.
The attacks come amid increasing speculation that the military is on the brink of a ground offensive into South Waziristan, a hideout of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants fighting in both Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.
Security forces have been launching targeted air strikes in the semi-autonomous region and blocking roads for months, and although the military have vowed to strike with full force, the timing is unclear.
Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told the private Samaa TV channel that the Pakistani Taliban leadership holed up in the tribal areas were responsible for '80 to 90 per cent of the terror activities in Pakistan.'
'According to our analysis, the root of the terror is in South Waziristan where this group is present. It is a must to root out this terror and curse, and for this purpose an operation in this area is inevitable,' he said.
'If we do not launch this operation then the terrorism will become strong and would spread in other areas.'
The offensive would follow similar military assaults against Taliban fighters in northwest Swat valley launched in late April, and another push against militants in nearby Khyber agency in September.
Despite military claims of success in both regions, sporadic attacks continue, with five militants killed and three soldiers injured in Khyber in clashes late Monday, a paramilitary Frontier Corps statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I think they're stalling, hoping the "dread AfghanPakistan winter sets in before they have to actually DO something.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/07/2009 13:36 Comments ||
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#2
theyve already been evacuating civilians. An extra five months or so of feeding refugees is a pretty substantial price to pay for deferring the op till spring.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a blast at a United Nations office in the capital which left five aid workers dead, a spokesman for the insurgents told AFP.
"This attack was launched by us -- we claim responsibility," Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Four Pakistanis and an Iraqi were killed Monday when a man dressed in military uniform breached strict security measures and detonated explosives in the heavily-fortified office of the World Food Program in Islamabad.
" The WFP is promoting the U.S. agenda. They are silent on massacres and do not comment on killings in Waziristan and other areas "
Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq
The attack pushed the U.N. to temporarily close its offices in the country and exposed the vulnerability of many international relief agencies working to provide aid to millions of civilians affected by the fight between the government and Islamic militant groups.
"The WFP is promoting the U.S. agenda. They are silent on massacres and do not comment on killings in Waziristan and other areas," Tariq said, referring to a lawless tribal district where the U.S. has launched missile strikes.
Pakistan's military has said it is readying for an assault on the northwest tribal belt near Afghanistan, a bastion of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan movement and an alleged hideout and training ground for al-Qaeda fighters.
"Pakistan has been threatening a military operation. We also reserve the right to retaliate. We will give them a befitting response," Tariq said.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik has already blamed the blast on Taliban militants, saying they were avenging a military push against them in northwest Swat valley launched in late April which left more than 2,000 militants dead including their leader Baitullah Mehsud who died in a U.S. drone attack on Aug. 5.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS/BHARAT RAKSHAK > PAKISTAN ISI AGENCY TELLS SURRENDERED TALIBAN [J&K]: GO TO JIAL OR JOIN JIHAD AGZ INDIA/ISI ORDERS 60 TALIBAN MILITANTS TO ENTER INDIA.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > CHIN, BURMA [Myanmar] NO LONGER THE BEST OF FRIENDS.
Aswat al-Iraq: A joint force arrested three suspected gunmen in southern Kirkuk on Tuesday, a source from the joint coordination center said.
"An Iraqi force from the 15th brigade of the 12th division of the Iraqi army, backed by U.S. troops, waged an airdrop on the wee small hours of Tuesday morning (Oct. 6) on al-Hamidiya village in Daqouq, southern Kirkuk, where three suspected gunmen were arrested," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that three Kalashnikovs and three hunting rifles were seized in the operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] A car bomb explosion has killed 16 people and wounded at least 30 others in the western Iraqi city of Fallujah, medics say. The attack came around the time of evening prayers in Amiriyeh, 15 kilometers (nine miles) southwest of Fallujah on Tuesday, a doctor from the town told AFP.
The city which lies in Anbar province has witnessed brutal attacks since the US-led invasion of 2003. In recent months, the security of the province has improved dramatically as attacks have dropped nationwide after US forces in the country left urban areas for military bases outside cities.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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The Israeli navy is set to begin deploying highly maneuverable unmanned craft called “the Protector” along the Mediterranean coast, particularly off the Hamas-held Gaza Strip in the south and Lebanon in the north where Hizbullah guerrillas operate. Built by Rafael Advanced Systems, the Protector is one of the new systems acquired by the navy and can carry a wide range of payloads, including cameras, sensors and weapons.
#1
Every now and again, ships just blow up for no reason. Like the Bermuda Triangle or something.
I've always heard there was something odd about the eastern Med, and parts of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aqaba and places over there. Never know when something might just, you know, happen. Never figure it out, either.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/07/2009 10:39 Comments ||
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#2
The Coast Guard could use these for our extensive coastline.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Sources in the Palestinian resistance have asserted that the dismissed government in the Gaza Strip tightened its grip on the Strip during the past two days and forbade the launch of rockets on Israel under any excuse, including in retaliation for the attempt by extremist Jews to storm Al-Aqsa Mosque. The same sources said the security organs of the Hamas government arrested in the past two days two gunmen who were preparing to fire rockets at Israel, questioned them, and released them some hours later.
The detainees belong to recently formed armed groups and were arrested in two separate operations. They told the Hamas organs that they were intending to fire rockets in retaliation for what is happening in Al-Aqsa Mosque by the settlers "and in the absence of any practical role in the arena by the factions which are now just issuing statements and slogans in futile marches." The sources said Hamas also confiscated the rockets that were due to be fired on Israeli targets and warned against repeating the attempt. It did this recently even with many large factions like Islamic Jihad. The resistance factions in Gaza accuse Hamas of wanting to control the resistance and allow the firing of rockets at the time it decides. Resistance sources say Hamas wants to consolidate the fait accompli truce in the Strip and fears its collapse if the firing of rockets was resumed.
Hamas had agreed with the main factions in Gaza after the war, which was launched at the end of last year on the Strip and caused immense destruction and ruin, to stop the firing of rockets, give people time to rest, and coordinate among themselves in the confrontation with Israel so as not to draw it into another war. The movement has been ruling the Gaza Strip since the middle of 2007 and succeeded in managing it and its rule, which Fatah repeatedly expected its collapse, has endured. Hamas remains the largest and strongest faction in the Strip despite the large number of resistance factions. The latter suffer from the scantiness of financial and logistical support, something which Hamas is not short off. It is even helping splits in other factions so that it remains the strongest, as sources explained to Asharq Al-Awsat.
Hamas had previously helped a Fatah activist to establish an organization in parallel to the movement and then allowed Khalid Abu-Hilal to form the "Fatah Al-Yasir" organization and followed the same policy with gunmen from "Fatah" when it helped finance groups in Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades to foil any unification of these brigades in Gaza. Following the establishment of the Popular Resistance Committees and their military wing "Al-Nasir Salahaldin Brigades", it encouraged leader Abu-Yusuf al-Quqa to split from the brigades' command which were led by Jamal Abu-Samhadanah, both of whom were assassinated by Israel later on. The sources revealed that Hamas is still pursuing the same policy and helped Abu-Abir, the former leader in Al-Nasir Salahaldin Brigades, to form a new armed group under the name of Al-Furqan Brigades. Abu-Abir is seeking to attract elements from the committees to operate under the new armed group he is leading. The sources added that the movement also financed and backed Abu-Abir after he swore allegiance to Hamas, its policy, and to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Fighting has broken out between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in eastern Gaza Strip after Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers crossed the border into the coastal region.
Military tanks fired at least seven shells at residential areas in the region, leaving at four Palestinians wounded, a Press TV correspondent reported Tuesday.
Local witnesses said paramedics were unable to reach the victims, one of whom sustained critical wounds.
Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services, confirmed the report, saying the military was not allowing rescue services to reach the scene of the incident to evacuate the victims, Ynet reported.
The Israeli military has yet to comment on the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Military tanks fired at least seven shells at residential areas in the region, leaving at four Palestinians wounded,
Damn poor shooting.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/07/2009 12:18 Comments ||
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That's why Rafael is working on robotank---to be called "Procurer".
[Al Arabiya Latest] Israeli police detained the leader of the Islamic Movement on Tuesday over charges of incitement during recent days' tension in Jerusalem, raising fears of further violence.
Sheikh Raed Salah was arrested during clashes between Palestinians and police in the neighborhood of Wadi Joz in Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem on the third day of sporadic violence in and around the Holy City. "He was arrested over his inflammatory statements in recent days and on suspicion of incitement," police spokesman Shmulik Ben-Rubi told AFP.
Salah, who has been arrested several times and spent two years in Israeli prison, has repeatedly called in recent days for Muslims in Israel and the Palestinian territories to "defend" the al-Aqsa mosque against Israel.
Several Israeli government ministers called for Salah's arrest and for the outlawing of his wing of the Islamic Movement, which boycotts Israeli parliamentary elections out of a refusal to recognize the Jewish state but runs several Israeli Arab town councils.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/07/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Just cut him up for spare parts or you'll be giving him and a hundred of his buddies back in a year or two.
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.
NIMRUZ PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Some people go cave exploring for fun, but when there is a possibility of stumbling on explosive materials, an armed enemy or a nasty surprise they've left to be triggered in the dark, it's about as far from fun as you can get. 
[Dawn] Kazakhstan agreed on Tuesday to allow French military personnel and equipment to transit through the Central Asian state to Afghanistan.
[Bangla Daily Star] Two criminals, including an outlaw, were killed in separate 'shootouts' between their cohorts and law enforcers in Faridpur and Chuadanga yesterday.
[Geo News] The security forces continued search and clearance operations in Swat and Malakand during the last 24 hours. According to a press released issued here by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Tuesday, the security forces conducted search operation in Taghan and Maira and apprehended 10 suspected terrorists. At least 8 terrorists voluntarily surrendered to security forces in Barshaur, Biha and Chuprial. During search and clearance operation at Banjir Banda, security forces recovered 21 communication sets. A local commander of TNSM Badshah Zeb Alias Gorkai Mullah voluntarily surrendered to security forces in Ushari Darra area of Dir. Terrorists fired 3 mortar rounds and 4 rockets in Kabutar Check Post. Resultantly, 2 soldiers got injured.
[Dawn] Nine militants surrendered to the security forces in Osheray Darra area of upper Dir on Monday, officials said.
[Dawn] Pakistani fighter jets bombed Taliban hideouts in a northwest tribal region on Tuesday, killing six insurgents and wounding three others, security and intelligence officials said.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a blast at a United Nations office in the capital which left five aid workers dead, a spokesman for the insurgents told AFP.
Aswat al-Iraq: A joint force arrested three suspected gunmen in southern Kirkuk on Tuesday, a source from the joint coordination center said.
[Iran Press TV Latest] A car bomb explosion has killed 16 people and wounded at least 30 others in the western Iraqi city of Fallujah, medics say. The attack came around the time of evening prayers in Amiriyeh, 15 kilometers (nine miles) southwest of Fallujah on Tuesday, a doctor from the town told AFP. 
[Iran Press TV Latest] Fighting has broken out between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in eastern Gaza Strip after Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers crossed the border into the coastal region. 
