[Dawn] US and Afghan forces stepped up operations against a Taliban faction linked to al-Qaida, arresting several key figures in the network in raids in two eastern provinces, NATO reported Friday.
A raid Thursday in the Manduzai district of Khost province led to the capture of a deputy commander of the Haqqani group who had been supplying weapons to other members of the network, NATO said in a statement. The commander was not identified but the statement said he was among ''several'' Haqqani group members rounded up in the raid.
Another Haqqani weapons supplier, who was also not named, was picked up Wednesday in Paktiya province, NATO said. The statement said he had been involved in smuggling weapons, ammunition and bomb materials from Pakistan to fighters operating in Afghanistan.
The US considers the Haqqani group, led by Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin, as one of the most dangerous Taliban groups because of its links to al-Qaida.
The group is suspected of playing a major role in the Dec. 30 bombing of a CIA base in Khost as well as a series of attacks in the capital of Kabul. It is based in the western border area of Pakistan, where U.S. forces cannot operate on the ground.
So far Pakistani authorities have resisted U.S. calls to launch a ground operation against the Haqqani network, saying its forces are overstretched fighting the Pakistani Taliban and other militants that have staged attacks inside Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
It is based in the western border area of Pakistan, where U.S. forces cannot operate on the ground.
[Ennahar] Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who executed Thursday in Mali the Malian customs helpmate, asked the member of the National Guard, held hostage along with him to "join its ranks," said on Friday security sources.
"We just learned from a reliable source that AQIM has asked the National Guard element (an element of the Malian army) captured at the same time as Merzouk "(executed Thursday) to officially become a member of 'AQIM, "said a security source which told AFP in northern Mali.
Another security source in the Malian National Guard has confirmed the information.
The soldier was kidnapped Tuesday by elements of AQIM, in the Kidal region (north-eastern Mali), at the same time as the employee of Malian customs executed.
The organization accused them of being hostile, told AFP Ag Klinine Mokhtar, a relative of one of the two kidnapped men.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2010 00:41 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
[Maghrebia] Mauritania freed two Malians detained during the July 22nd raid by Mauritanian and French commandos on an al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) desert base in Mali, AFP reported on Thursday (August 12th). A regional government official said the civilians received apologies and compensation. The raid aimed to free French hostage Michel Germaneau, 78, who was later slain by the terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2010 00:41 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
The confessed mastermind of bomb attacks against World Cup soccer fans said he had hoped to kill many more Americans in the explosions in which 76 people, including one American, died last month. Instead, FIFA chose to bore Americans to death.
Reporters learned at a press conference in which four arrested suspects appeared that the death toll from the three explosions would have been much higher if one of them hadn't backed out at the last minute. Haruna Luyima, the younger brother of the confessed plotter, said he had been tasked with planting a fourth device at a dance hall. Hard to find good help these days. Not much glory if you can't even get to work.
"But when I reached there I wondered why so many people watching football on television should be killed over nothing," the 27-year-old said. At the Thursday news conference at military intelligence headquarters in Kampala, Luyima said he placed the laptop bag containing the bomb in a flowerbed and fled without detonating it. NCAA footballs fan agree.
Officials found it the day after the July 11 attacks on crowds of people watching the World Cup final on TV. It's not the game that gets 'em. It's the beer commercials.
Al-Shabab, a militant Somali group with links to al Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for the attacks and said it targeted Uganda because Ugandan troops belonging to an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia have killed Somali civilians. Isah Ahmed Luyima said he masterminded the bombings and recruited his younger brother and a friend to help. A fourth man in custody who claims to be a member of al Qaeda allegedly made mistakes in the planning and was sidelined. All four men are in custody. Shoulda chosen to watch the game. Now, no TV.
Luyima, a 33-year-old Ugandan and former university librarian, said he joined al-Shabab insurgents in 2009 and fought alongside other foreign fighters against the AU peacekeepers who are protecting the beleaguered UN-backed government in Somalia. One of those poverty stricken third worlders who chose to even up the score though jihad. Oh, wait...
Most of the dead in the bombings in Kampala were Ugandans watching the final game of the World Cup. All four have admitted to taking part in the attack, according to Ugandan officials. Nothing spoils a good game like jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
#1
The Vuvuzela has finally proven useful!
It was so annoying that it drove away many people, so there were fewer casualties than expected when they bombed the WC pubs.
Fourteen individuals were murdered in ongoing drug and gang related violence in northern Mexico which included two CIPOL agents killed in Juarez while on duty. For a map, click here
Three unidentified men were shot to death in Juarez,m according to Mexican press reports. The attack took place near the intersection of calles Valle Grande Poniente and Valle Grande Sur where three men riding aboard a Chevrolet SUV were fired on by armed suspects. The vehicle tumbled down an embankment following the attack.
Two unidentified CIPOL agents were shot to death in south Juarez Thursday, according to Mexican press reports. The agents were attacked while riding their official Ford Lobo pickup truck near the intersection of Calle Desierto del Carmen and Bulevar Zaragoza in the Parajes de Oriente district, Armed suspects riding a black Chevrolet Suburban fired on the pair and killed them. CIPOL agents are similar to police detectives.
Three unidentified men were shot to death and a fourth wounded in Juarez Friday morning. The attack took place near the intersection of calles Puerto Dunquerque and Puerto Lisboa in the Tierra Nueva district. The victims were riding aboard a Nissan Sentra when they were attacked. Investigators at the scene collected 35 spent cartridge casings from unidentified rifles.
A man recent abducted was found dead in Juarez Friday, say Mexican news reports. The man, tentatively identified as Juan Pablo Contreras, 34, was found in the road near the intersection of Bulevar Cuatro Siglos and Calle Independencia with his head wrapped in duct tape. Reports do not say how he died.
Two unidentified construction workers were shot to death at a job site in Juarez, say Mexican press reports. The attack took place near the intersection of calles Modesto Flores and Bernardo Norzagaray in the Fernando Baeza district. Witnesses say armed suspects burst into the residence the two were working in and shot them.
Two unidentified individuals were found dead in the trunk of an abandoned car in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Friday, say Mexican press reports. The discovery was made near the intersection of calles La Rioja and Tucuma aboard a Volkswagen Jetta.
An unidentified man was shot to death and two others wounded in an attack in Juarez Friday night, say Mexican press account. The attack took place outside the victim's residence near the intersection of calles Canal de la Mancha and Valle de Juärez in the Infonavit San Lorenzo district. Two unidentified victims were wounded by stray bullets in the attack.
From the Seriously-Consider-Another-Line-of-Work Department
Mexican State police troopers were called out to rescue five armed robbers who had fallen into the hands or irate villagers, say Mexican news accounts.
Villagers in Tlachaloya in the state of Mexico, fell upon five armed robbers, capturing them then torturing them before releasing them to authorities after two hours of negotiations.
The lynching represents the third such event this month and the sixth since May in or near central Mexico.
#1
Sounds like someone's gotten fed up with the murder, robbery, and general mayhem. If they were armed (which they may be by now), they could do even more to clean up northern Mexico.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/14/2010 15:34 Comments ||
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SALAH AL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq: Eighteen civilians were wounded in the detonation of two houses in Samarra city on Friday, one of them belonged to a policeman while the other to a sahwa (awakening) tribal fighter, a local security source said.
Unidentified gunmen on Friday detonated the houses of a police officer in the rank of major and the commander of the sahwa force for al-Shohadaa neighborhood, central Samarra, with highly explosive C4 material, the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Unidentified? This is Samarra. Three guesses ...
The incident left 18 persons, mostly women and children who are now in a critical condition, wounded, he said.
Brave, brave lions of Islam ...
The source added that the blasts also caused material damage.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/14/2010 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] A MALAYSIAN court sentenced two Muslim brothers to five years in prison Friday for torching a Christian church during the height of a dispute over whether non-Muslims can use the word 'Allah' to refer to God.
Two ethnic Malay Muslim brothers in their 20s were arrested and placed on trial for the Jan 8 attack, which partially gutted a Protestant church. The attack came days after some Muslims were angered by a court verdict that allowed Christians to use the word 'Allah' in Malay-language publications.
The January 7 torching of a church in suburban Kuala Lumpur, which sent tensions soaring in the multi-ethnic country, was 'appalling and despicable', said Sessions Court judge S. M. Komathy Suppiah. 'You both by your shameful and dastardly acts, you have shamed the country,' she told Raja Mohamad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, 24, and Raja Mohamad Idzham Raja Ibrahim, 22.
Both men had pleaded innocent. They testified they were at a restaurant when they heard people planning to attack the nearby church. They said they went to the church and saw unidentified men smashing its window and setting it ablaze.
One of the suspects, Raja Muhammad Faizal Raja Ibrahim, 24, was detained by police after he sought medical treatment for burn injuries. He alleged he suffered the burns at a barbecue gathering after he and his brother, Raja Muhammad Idzham, 20, left the church area.
Reverend Thomas Philips, the head of Malaysia's inter-faith council, welcomed the verdict and said it was time for the nation to put the ugly episode behind it. 'We urge all Malaysians to respect one another's place of worship,' he told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
Will the muslims re-build this church (sarc.)
Posted by: JohnQC on the road ||
08/14/2010 11:57 Comments ||
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#1
Makes you wonder what now constitutes a casus belli. Five thousand armed terrorist on my border would do the trick for me.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
08/14/2010 16:32 Comments ||
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#2
Israel should make a clear statement to the government of Lebanon, that by allowing Hezbollah to conduct these activities around civilians, the Lebanese government is to blame if these civilians are injured or killed during hostilities.
Therefore, it officially asks the Lebanese government to evacuate civilians from this area of possible hostilities. If they fail to do so, then they are complicit in, or even actually encouraging, civilian casualties.
Finally, Israel should state that due to the hazardous nature of attempting to root "Hezbollah infrastructure" from this area through the use of ground forces, Israel will do so by air, as the situation requires.
And this may include the complete destruction of both civilian occupied Lebanese towns, and any underground facilities in the area.
Israel regrets that the Lebanese government so despises its own people that it would sacrifice them in support of a foreign sponsored terrorist organization.
#3
Israel should simply state that it has 100 tactical nuclear weapons that have been allocated to use against Hezbollah in Beirut and the south, should war break out. Israel should also state that it will use these nukes at the first launch of tactical missiles toward Israel, and that all casualties will be blamed on Lebanon, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/14/2010 23:28 Comments ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran is to launch its first nuclear power reactor next week, the Islamic republic and Russia which helped build the plant said on Friday after years of delays to the highly sensitive project. Guess the EU will be needing that ABM systen after all, huh?
The United States said the announcement showed that Tehran no longer needed to pursue its controversial program of uranium enrichment. But they will do it anyway.
"We are preparing to transfer the fuel inside the plant next week... Then we will need seven to eight days to transfer it to the reactor (core)," said Iran's atomic energy chief, Ali Akbar Salehi. Funny how they announced that right after the new moon.
"On Aug. 21, the fuel will be transferred inside the building in which the engine" of the Bushehr power station in southern Iran is located, he said, quoted by Iran's Fars news agency.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/14/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Lets hope the Ruskies dont get too irked when the thing starts to glow orange, around the start of September
Posted by: Black Charlie ||
08/14/2010 6:10 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.
