Hattip Lucianne.com
One of the largest hauls of weapons, explosives and bomb-making equipment ever found in southern Afghanistan has been uncovered by the Royal Marines in a huge underground cavern in Kandahar province, the Ministry of Defence disclosed yesterday. The hidden bomb factory was discovered after a night-time assault last week on a Taleban compound which involved elements of 42 Commando Royal Marines, a Royal Canadian battle group and Afghan troops. Well done, all!
In an operation codenamed Shahi Tandar (Royal Storm), the combined troops launched a helicopter and ground assault on an isolated Taleban stronghold to the north of Kandahar city. During a search of 50 compounds and other buildings, the coalition troops seized eight insurgents and a massive stockpile of weapons, including AK47s, grenades, anti-personnel mines and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Hidden in the underground cavern were all the ingredients for making improvised explosive devices, such as pressure-plate triggers, explosives, detonators, fuses and ball-bearings, used to create shrapnel. A store of 20 kilos of opium was also discovered.
During the operation which lasted for two days, a Canadian soldier was killed. Rest in peace, soldier, with our thanks.
The Marines from 42 Commando were used in the operation because they are serving as a regional battle group, based at Kandahar airport, and can be deployed anywhere in southern Afghanistan.
Ethiopian forces supporting Somalia's Western-backed government pulled out Tuesday from two main bases in Mogadishu in a move welcome by residents who viewed them as occupiers.
"The Ethiopian forces withdrew from key positions in northern Mogadishu overnight and our fighters took control of the areas in order to avoid a power vacuum," said Sheikh Hassan Osman, an Islamist official.
Many residents were overjoyed by the departure of soldiers they saw as occupiers, though some analysts fear it will leave a power vacuum and trigger more violence by Islamist rebels who have been battling the government and each other.
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Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
A Turkish-owned tanker and a Philippine-operated bulk carrier seized by Somali pirates and held for months were released on Tuesday, officials said."The ship was released today. The crew is fine," said Kubilay Marangoz, a lawyer for the Istanbul-based YDC Maritime company.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Pirates
#2
Doubtful. Think of it in terms of an organized crime racket.
If the price goes too high, the shipowners will conclude it's exceeded the cost of doing business; that maybe it's better to let the navies deal with the problem rather than pay out.
Those that are running the pirates are aware of this.
An explosion at Russia's bailiff headquarters in Ingushetia province, bordering Chechnya, has killed at least eight people and injured 23 others.
The brick building's facade was blown away on Tuesday and its top story hung dangerously over the gutted interior.
The three-story building in Ingushetia's main city, Nazaran, serves as a headquarters of the regional bailiffs' service, Marat Prokopenkov of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's southern branch said on Tuesday.
Rescue workers recovered seven dead from the rubble of the building while another 24 were pulled out alive, but one of them - a woman working for the bailiffs - died in the hospital. Another injured person is in critical condition.
After the initial investigation, Prokopenkov said that it appeared that a gas leak caused the blast but added that terrorism could not be ruled out.
Ingushetia experiences almost daily outbreaks of violence due to militant activities, personal and business rivalries and deep-seated anger at government oppression and heavy-handed police tactics. Attacks on police checkpoints and offices by rebels are also common.
Deadly explosions of gas used for cooking and heating are common throughout Russia, which is plagued by shoddy construction and safety violations.
In the capital of Dagestan, another North Caucasus province, a bomb exploded beneath a police officer's car on Tuesday after he got behind the wheel, severing his legs and leaving him in serious condition in the hospital, police spokesman Shamil Guseinov said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Mexico is one of two countries that "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse," according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.
The command's "Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)" report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. "In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.
"The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."
The Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., is a Defense Department combat command that includes different military service branches, active and reserves. One of its roles is to transform the military's capabilities.
In the report's foreword, Marine Gen. J.N. Mattis, the Joint Forces commander, said "Predictions about the future are always risky. ... Regardless, if we do not try to forecast the future, there is no doubt that we will be caught off guard as we strive to protect this experiment in democracy that we call America."
The report is the latest focusing on Mexico's security problems, which stem mostly from drug violence and corruption. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security and former U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey issued similar assessments.
Despite such reports, El Pasoan Veronica Callaghan, a border business leader, said she keeps running into people who "are in denial about what is happening in Mexico."
Last week, Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa instructed his embassy and consular officials to promote a positive image of Mexico. He's also vowed to continue the crackdown on drug cartels.
#2
...people who "are in denial about what is happening in Mexico." It seems as if the entire country is in denial, look who they choose to run the place. I'm becoming more concerned as Jan. 20th approaches.
#3
Gee, ya think that maybe having a serious border barrier along the whole route might just change some of the dynamics (insofar as Mexico's travails directly affecting the US)? Sorta like that little barrier thingy did over in Israel, in terms of their problem? Better for both Mexico and the US. Shaping the battlefield. Etc.
#4
The wall is one thing, but equally, if not perhaps more important, is the breakup of the ruling cartels or families in Mexico. There is simply not enough upward opportunity within Mexico for the average person. These barons have a stranglehold on both the government and the economy. This situation has to change for Mexico to realize its potential.
#9
I don't remember where I read this (Hot Air, Drudge) but it seems some of the Mexicans who have been living, working, and getting an education here are going back to Mexico and running for office. They are also organizing people in something like our political action committies. If true they could possibly make a big change in Mexico. It depends on what the drug cartels do.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/14/2009 19:18 Comments ||
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#11
Just a random thought, they lost a huge chunk of teritory that's now Texas (And surrounding states) How about this collapse we just take the rest?
Can't be worse than dealing with the illegals here, declare it America, and all the Illegals (And Mexicans)are now americans, and Mexico would just dissapear.
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
01/14/2009 19:33 Comments ||
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#12
Need to look at the UK.
10% chance of Gilt default implies Argentina==UK.
Best hope Brown leaves SOON, or one US ally is going to dissolve.
#13
Compare wid WAFF > RussPert Konstantin Shivkov = US CAN ATTACK/ANNIHILATE RUSSIA 2012-2015. Russia may break up in THREE PARTS, to wit:
* WESTERN RUSSIA - to EuroUnion = EU.
* CENTRAL RUSSIA + SIBERIA? - To USA [Arctic Corridor?]. Methinks CHINA is more likely to get SIBERIA or bulk of same given how may CHIn laboerers are already there wid more to come legally or illegally + GROWING CHIN MILECON INFLUENCE IN KAZAKHISTAN, TAIJIKISTAN + KYRGHZSTAN
* EAST RUSSIA - to CHINA.
US MILITARY THREAT TO RUSSIA GREATER THAN DURING OR AFTER THE COLD WAR, HENCE RUSS MUST PRIORITIZE MODERNIZATION OF ITS NUCLEAR ARSENAL, espec STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE AND ANTI-BMD MISSLES.
#14
Also on WAFF/RENSE/TOPIX > SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE US-RUSSIAN CONFLICT: US SIGNS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP PACT WITH GEORGIA Russia cannot attack or wage war Georgia anymore widout inviting a US MILITARY RESPONSE???
Thus the Diplom + Geopol importance of the NEW POTUS OBAMA ADMIN as a "JIMMY CARTER II", for IRAN + NUCLEAR ISLAMISM + now RUSSIA, etc.
#15
TOPIX > CHINA'S AUTHORITIES ARE GETTING SCARED + CHINA's TOUGH ATTITUDE MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO QUELL DISSENT.
* WORLD MIL FORUM [paraph=GOOGLE Chinglish translation]> Ditto for NORTH KOREA = REFORMS AND OPENING UP OF NORTH KOREA IS MORE LIKELY THAN NOT TO LEAD TO NATIONAL COLLAPSE OF TOTALITARIAN RULE.
Also on WORLD MIL FORUM > NEW US-GEORGIA PACT AND CENTRAL ASIA MILITARY BASES PROVES US DESIRES TO SEPARATE/DIVIDE RUSSIA, WEST ASIA FROM REST [Pan-Asia Breakup and Partition] + US IN FOREFRONT OF EURASIAN ETHNIC, MULTI-REGION CHAOS.
#16
Mexico has already descended into chaos. last 6 months of 2008 Mexico had more beheadings than Iraq.
without the pressure release of illegal immigration to the US Mexico would have already gone over the edge. IIRC money wired into Mexico from the US is the largest single economic input. larger than their oil exports.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
01/14/2009 23:26 Comments ||
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#17
Lest we fergit, WAFF [old-2004] > CIA REPORT: RUSSIA COULD BREAK UP/DISNTEGRATE INTO 5-8 STATES, WHILE THE US WOULD PROSPER.
* WORLD MIL FORUM > A COLLAPSE OF MEXICO AND US TAKEOVER WILL THREATEN CHINESE PAN-AMERICAN TRADE AT THE PANAMA CANAL. CHINA'S PLA MUST DEVELOP CONTIGENCY PLANS AND HAVE MILITARY FORCES BASED NEAR THE PANAMA CANAL ZONE.
A woman who identified six gunmen of the Mumbai attacks has disappeared mysteriously, a private TV channel quoted the Indian media as saying on Tuesday. According to the channel, the Mumbai Police said on Tuesday that Anita Uddaiya, the woman who had identified the bodies of six terrorists in JJ Hospital, had been missing since January 11. The police have started searching for the woman at the complaint of her daughter. According to the police, the woman had seen the terrorists as they got out off a boat. The crime branch of the city police, which is the investigating agency in the Mumbai attacks, is also probing the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Brother of former Afghan premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was released from a prison in Peshawar on Tuesday after serving a six-month term jail term. Shahabuddin, 45, was reportedly arrested by intelligence officials from Peshawar's University Road area in August last year. His family confirmed he had reached his home in Shamshatoo refugee camp.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hizb-i-Islami-Hekmatyar
A passenger plane flying from Pakistan to Denmark was evacuated on Monday after a bomb threat against it while it was on a layover at Oslo's main airport, police said. Because a phone call is cheaper than a bomb...
"The threat came in at 4:40pm when the plane was on the ground. It was evacuated and we are now inspecting it," said Hans Holmgrund, the police station chief in Gardermoen, where Oslo's international airport is located. He said the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane was a Boeing 777 and that the evacuation "went well and was not problematic".
The Dagbladet daily's online edition quoted airport information chief Jo Kobro as saying the threat had been called in to an airport information desk. "A threat was called in from a Pakistani number," he said. Some 300 people were reportedly onboard at the time.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Militants in northern Pakistan's Swat Valley have announced a week-long ceasefire. Pakistani news network, Geo News, said on Monday members of a peace committee met Maulana Fazlullah, powerful chief of the banned Islamist militant group, Tehrik-i-Taliban, at an undisclosed location and discussed peace proposals with him. We've known the govt was gonna capitulate ever since they threw Perv out.
Fazlullah and his militant group are committed to strictly enforce Sharia law in the country. He has links to the Pakistani Taliban. If Mullah Radio's the powerful chief of the banned Islamist militant group, Tehrik-i-Taliban you might think he has close ties with them. Who the hell writes this stuff?
Militants announced a ceasefire on a condition that security forces would not take any action against them.
Both Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are active in the Swat Valley, which has been the target of an insurgency since August 2007. Hundreds of people have been killed in recent battles between security forces and militants led by Fazlullah.
In 2008, local Taliban militants targeted a number of schools in the region in a campaign to stop young girls attending school, and threatened further reprisals in 2009. Last year Taliban militants destroyed more than 130 schools in the Swat Valley and attacks on schools in the region reportedly deprived more than 17,000 students of education.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
The U.S. military officially signed over Camp Fallujah to the Iraqi government Tuesday, marking the end of U.S. control at a base that once housed nearly 8,000 servicemembers.
Fallujah was long a symbol of the worst in Anbar province, which some had called "lost" to the insurgents midway through the war. Since then, Sunni tribes have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq and joined with U.S. troops, bringing a measure of stability to the region that had previously been unthinkable.
Maj. Gen. Martin W. Post, deputy commander of Multi-National Force-West, officially signed over the camp to the Iraqis. It is the latest base to be returned to the Iraqis, including those in Qaim, Habbaniyah, the Haditha Dam, Ramadi and several small combat outposts.
Before handing over Camp Fallujah, the U.S. military also removed some 32,000 concrete and dirt barriers, 95,000 metric tons of scrap metal and 900 containerized housing units, officials said.
#2
I think it's great and a sign of the progress we've made.
My hope is that we turned the base over in working condition so that the Iraqis can move in and get to work. And so that we can, in six months, what the place looks like. That will tell us a lot about how responsible the Iraqi army is these days.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/14/2009 14:47 Comments ||
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#3
900 containerized housing units (CHU's)
In rough figures (last year's prices), that's more than $ 22M USD. Gotta wonner where they all ended up.
(AKI) - A series of bomb blasts killed at least nine people and injured 18 others in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Monday.
In one attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of Baghdad's Jadidah market, killing four and wounding nine others, said Iraqi news agency Voices of Iraq.
In a separate incident, two policemen were killed and six others were injured when an improvised explosive device went off in the centre of the capital.
In the neighbourhood of Yarmouk, a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army truck carrying ammunition killing three soldiers and injuring four bystanders.
Although attacks in war-torn Iraq have diminished in the past 18 months, militants continue to target security forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Police forces on Tuesday arrested a gunman in northern Mosul, according an Iraqi army source. "The forces on Tuesday (Jan. 13) arrested a gunman who tried to flee after throwing a hand grenade at a police patrol in al-Jameaa neighborhood in northern Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The bomb did not explode and the forces managed to arrest him shortly after his escape," he also said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi army forces arrested five persons involved in detonating the communication towers of Asia Cell Company, and attacking an army patrol in northern Mosul, a military source said on Tuesday.
"The arrest operation took place in al-Qahira neighborhood, northern Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The army force seized three roadside bombs and three AK-47s during the operation," he said. "The operation relied on intelligence tips," he added. The source pointed out that interrogation is currently underway with the arrested persons.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
cell towers make good gallows...just saying
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2009 8:56 Comments ||
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#2
Frank - probably plays he$$ with reception, not that that's a bad thing...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/14/2009 11:45 Comments ||
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An explosion from an IAF strike is seen in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on Tuesday,Palestinian medics: 18 gunmen, 3 civilians killed in IDF strikes on Gaza city.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Tuesday accused Israel of aiming to "wipe out" the Palestinian people in Gaza by refusing to end its deadly war on Hamas in the battered enclave. "This is the 18th day of the Israeli aggression against our people, which has become more ferocious each day as the number of victims has risen," Abbas said in Ramallah.
"Israel is keeping up this aggression in order to wipe out our people over there," he said at the opening of a meeting of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).
"Our people are holding up well," Abbas said. "They continue to defend themselves and will never surrender."
Abbas once again welcomed efforts by Egypt to end the 18-day-old war that has killed more than 900 Palestinians in Gaza, nearly half of them civilians. "What is essential is to stop the aggression. It must stop, Israel must withdraw from Palestinian territory, lift the blockade and reopen the border crossings so that our people's suffering can end.
#1
It was a single bomb, not a "huge air strike". A "huge air strike" would be a formation of a hundred planes dropping multiple weapons each turning that entire neighborhood into rubble. This was what looks like one single bomb or artillery round or missile with a secondary explosion.
#2
Sounds more like Abbas is more concerned about positioning himself to be their leader again and less concerned about trying to save the "Palestinians".
#4
We've seen quite a few hits like this in the last couple of weeks. Obviously hitting a large stash of goodies.
I wonder where they are getting their intelligence from?
#5
"Our people are holding up well," Abbas said. "They continue to defend themselves and will never surrender."
Easy for you to say, seeing how they're not taking a lotta incoming on the West Bank, right, Mahmoud? What a prick, trying to horn in on Hamas's martyrdom action.
#7
No, a huge airstrike would be to drop one of them bunker busters about every 1/4 mile, on a good target, the north-south length of Gaza and time them all to detonate at exactly 6:00 pm, preferably with a slight breeze blowing from the west to east. Big boom boom jar jar, blot out the setting sun.
#11
Arclight: 4 oz. Bicardi 151 and 1 oz Peppermint Schnaps.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/14/2009 19:25 Comments ||
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#12
Well, GolfBravo, I was really enjoying your video presentation until I remembered that Obama is going to be our "glorious" Commander in Chief. wretch
Then I was thinking how great it would be for Israel to let all the nice Palestinians over to their side, then just blow the h-ll out of Gaza, and build a new Gaza for the nice people. then I woke from my slumber and remembered . . .
how much I wanted to fly fighter jets when I was in college (30 yrs ago), but they weren't accepting women back then . . .
Anyway, I agree that Abbas is flip-flopping: "Israel is keeping up this aggression . . ?
Violence and aggression are such plastic terms over there. Suicide bombers, missiles from Gaza to Israel is okay though.
gatewaypundit.blogspot and sweetness-light have some interesting footage of Moslem protests in Europe. I found the one where the London police are running from the protesters the most sickening.
The Navy is closely tracking an Iranian ship that has attempted several times to breach the naval blockade imposed on Gaza and transport humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
On Tuesday, the boat docked in Port Said, Egypt, but the Egyptians refused to allow it to unload its cargo and at midnight Wednesday the boat tried sailing into Gaza. A Navy Sa'ar 4.5-class missile ship intercepted the Iranian boat and transmitted a clear message on Channel 16 - the international communication line for ships - that it would not allow the boat to dock in Gaza.
On Wednesday morning, when it was 30 miles off the Gaza coast, the Iranian boat again tried to move toward the Strip, and the Navy again intercepted it. It then returned to el-Arish, Egypt, and two Egyptian boats prevented it from docking there.
Since that time, the boat has been sitting 30 miles off the coast of Gaza and is being closely tracked by the Israeli navy. Israel and the Egyptians have been coordinating all activity regarding the Iranian boat.
The head of the humanitarian aid group sponsoring the ship, Ahmad Navabi, said in comments aired on Iranian television Wednesday that the Israeli navy approached the cargo ship, Shahed, about 20 miles off the coast of Gaza at dawn Wednesday, and ordered it to turn back."An Israeli warship approached our cargo ship and warned us not to approach Gaza. We could see the lights at Gaza coast. We were forced to change route toward an Egyptian port," Navabi said.
#2
You have submarines, Israel. Subs have torpedoes.
Just sayin' is all.
Posted by: Mike ||
01/14/2009 16:48 Comments ||
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#3
Better to avoid a direct, overt confrontation with Iran right now. Last thing the Israelis need is something that much of the world would recognize as a casus belli.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/14/2009 17:31 Comments ||
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However, Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, said that Hamas's position regarding the Egyptian initiative had not changed. He said that despite reports that Hamas had agreed to the cease-fire initiative, there were still a number of differences between Egypt and the Islamist movement that needed to be addressed
THREE rockets fired from Lebanon slammed into northern Israel early today in the second such attack in less than a week that comes amid a devastating war in the Gaza Strip, officials said.
"Three rockets landed outside Kiryat Shmona,'' a town at the border between Israel and Lebanon, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
In Lebanon, a security official said that one or more rockets were launched into the Jewish state from the southern Lebanese border area of Habaniyeh and that the army retaliated.
"Between one and three rockets were launched from an area 4km west of the village of Shebaa and Israel responded within a minute with four rockets that landed north of Ghajar,'' the official said.
The attack comes on the 19th day of a massive Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip - which has sparked widespread outrage across the Muslim world - and less than a week after a similar attack.
On January 8 three rockets slammed into northern Israel from inside Lebanon, lightly wounding two Israelis in an attack in which the Hezbollah Shiite militia denied any involvement.
The projectiles sowed panic on both sides of the border as it sent echoes of the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon, which broke out amid Israel's last major offensive in Gaza.
According to analysts in Lebanon, last week's incident was likely carried out by a radical Palestinian faction but with the tacit approval of Hezbollah.
"Nothing happens in the south without Hezbollah's knowledge,'' said Osama Safa, head of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies.
#2
remember that when the UN proposes peacekeepers in Gaza
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/14/2009 8:40 Comments ||
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#3
It's ok. UNIFIL is going to tell on them. And whoever fired those rockets is going to be in *big trouble*. They might even get put on *restriction*!
The IAF attacked some sixty targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Tuesday, actually from Tuesday evening to Wednesday sunrise
Israel Radio reported. The targets included 30 terrorists smuggling tunnels, seven weapons storehouses, 15 Kassam launch pads and 10 Hamas outposts.
mhw: please note how I changed your in-line. Start it on a separate line. No brackets. Thank you. AoS.
Israel pressed on with its assault on the Gaza Strip, sending its tanks into built-up areas in the city of Gaza, the deepest thrust since the attack began as the military said "there is still work ahead" against Hamas in a devastating 18-day-old attack.
Israel continued its air and sea bombardment of the strip as its ground troops traded gunfire with Hamas forces on the streets and the Palestinian death toll rose to 952 with thousands injured, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Israel says 10 Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by Hamas rockets have died.
Explosions and heavy machinegun fire echoed through the city of 500,000 after Israeli tanks moved nearer to its densely populated downtown area but did not enter, residents said.
Talat Jad, a 30-year-old resident of the Gaza suburb of Tel al-Hawa where tanks thrust overnight, said he and 15 members of his family gathered in one room of their house, too frightened to look out the window. "We even silenced our mobile phones because we were afraid the soldiers in the tanks could hear them," Jad said. "Some of us recited from the Quran and others prayed the sounds of explosions would die down."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
An Israeli army patrol came under gunfire from inside Jordan early on Tuesday, the army said, adding that no one was hurt in the rare attack that comes amid Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. "A border guard patrol near the Rabin crossing came under fire from an unknown source from inside Jordanian territory and fired back in their direction," a spokesman told AFP. "There were no injuries or damage," he said.
A Jordanian military official denied the incident. "Nope. Nope. Never happened."
"No firing took place from Jordanian territory in the direction of an Israeli patrol and the reported information is totally unfounded," the official told AFP, asking not to be named.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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An Israeli from the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel on Tuesday shot and killed a Palestinian man from a neighboring village. The settler claims that he fired into the air after a group of Palestinians began hurling stones at his car while he was driving down Route 55. "Hey, Mahmoud! I gotta great idea! Let's take some rocks to a gunfight!"
Police have located the gunman and detained him for questioning, after hours of searching for him.
The settler had contacted police late Tuesday evening and told them that he had fired into the air in order to disperse a group of Palestinians throwing stones at his car. Nevertheless, it took police some time to track him down.
The Samaria and Judea Police Department were notified around the same time they received the settler's call of a Palestinian found on the road with critical wounds.
According to police, there is evidence to support the version that he had been under attack at the time of the incident. Stones were found around on the site and his car bore traces of rock damage. Police have opened an investigation into the matter.
Earlier Tuesday, Israeli security forces shot a Palestinian man as he attempted to grab the gun of a Border Policeman in the Hebron Hills. The Palestinian died of his wounds in hospital shortly thereafter.
The incident, which took place at the Tarkumiyah checkpoint in the West Bank, came amid high tensions over Israel's ongoing offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
Also Tuesday, Palestinian militants opened fire on an Israel Defense Forces patrol near the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba early Tuesday, lightly wounding three soldiers. The wounded troops were evacuated to Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karem hospital for treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Goliath could not be reached for comment.
The difference between a rock and a bullet is mass and velocity. Both can kill.
#4
I'm totally cool with throwing rocks. I'd like to heft a few myself - each about 250M in diameter, made of nickel-iron, and flung at 88,000Km/h at selected targets. None of the targets on my list are in Israel.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/14/2009 11:56 Comments ||
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#7
Lol, he probably died of a seizure or something - such an excitable boy, to quote Warren.
they are good little rock throwers, I'll give 'em that, they rarely miss
Could be one of those cultural thingies? "Youths" in France pelt and stone a lot (police, firefighters,...), and IIUC, this is very common in algeria too, when "shahids" from different city blocks have a fight, they rather pelt each others rather than have a brawl.
#8
It is. Young muslims are supposed to pelt dhimmis to remind them of their inferjior status since these cannot under pain of death, give them tha pair of slaps they deserve. Adult muslims, are not supposed to perform thee kind of childfren games but they will not restrain the youth either.
#9
Where the rocks lie thick upon the ground, it's tempting to pick up a few and shy them at the nearest target. In French cities there's a long tradition of the peasants throwing prying up cobblestones for the same purpose during revolutions.
The Israel Navy on Tuesday turned away an Iranian ship that was attempting to dock in Gaza in order to deliver humanitarian supplies to the residents of the coastal territory, Iranian radio reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Another load of 'tractor parts' & 'grain', Machmoood???
Uh-huh.
(AKI) - Israel stepped up its military offensive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip on Tuesday with troops reportedly moving closer to Gaza City. Medical officials said 12 Palestinian gunmen, believed to include members of the ruling Hamas movement were killed in morning fighting. Israel claimed to have attacked more than 60 targets in Gaza overnight as Operation Cast Lead offensive entered its 18th day in what has been described as the 'third-stage' of its military operation.
Thirty Palestinians were killed in clashes in the neighbourhoods at Zaytoun and Tel al-Hawwah in Gaza.
As Israeli soldiers began inching closer to Gaza City on Tuesday, fresh Palestinian rocket attacks were reported in southern Israel. Seven rockets reportedly struck the Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions but nobody was wounded in the attacks.
"We are working to deepen the blow to the military wing, (of Hamas) to minimise the attacks and strengthen deterrence, in order to truly create a better security reality for the residents of the south that are under threat of fire," said the Israeli army chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi at a meeting of the parliamentary foreign affairs and defence committee.
"Soldiers are doing an extraordinary job, we have made many achievements in damaging Hamas and its infrastructure, its regime and its military wing, but there is still much to be done."
According to Palestinian medical sources, more than 920 Palestinians have been killed, and over 4,200 have been injured, among them 292 children, since Israel began its military action on 27 December.
Israel has banned journalists from entering Gaza, making it difficult to confirm casualty figures.
Thirteen Israelis - including 10 soldiers - have been killed in Operation Cast Lead. Four of the dead soldiers were killed due to 'friendly fire' from other troops.
In a separate incident, the Israeli army said that a patrol near the Jordanian border came under fire from the Jordanian side. The Jordanian government has denied that any officers fired at Israeli police. "A military source in the general command of the Jordanian armed forces denied ... that shots had been fired from the Jordanian side on the Western border, affirming that there is no truth to this information," said Jordan's official Petra news agency.
The incident follows a previous one on Sunday, when allegedly, Israeli forces came under fire near the Syrian border in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon was expected in the Middle East on Tuesday, a day after calling for an end to the fighting. "My message is simple, direct and to the point: the fighting must stop," said Ban on Monday before his departure. "In Gaza, the very foundation of society is being destroyed: people's homes, civic infrastructure, public health facilities and schools."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
"In Gaza, the very foundation of society is being destroyed: people's homes, civic infrastructure, public health facilities and schools."
Gee...too bad...no place to hide bombs/rockets, no way to transport bombs/rockets, no place for the jerkweeds to hide, and no jihadist training facilities....makes me feel all tingly...
Two bombs exploded on Wednesday at a Thai-Malaysian border checkpoint in this southern border province, but no one was injured in the incident occurred hours before Thai new defence minister and the army chief are scheduled to visit the jihad insurgency-plagued region.
Narathiwat police and other security personnel rushed to the scene and found that a bomb had damaged four aluminium computer boxes installed about 300 metres from the border. The computers are to record the number of vehicles crossing the border each day. Another bomb exploded three metres from the first blast site as the authorities were beginning to inspect the scene. There were no reports of casualties.
The bombings occurred a few hours before Thailand's new defence minister retired army general Prawit Wongsuwan and Army commander-in-chief Gen. Anupong Paochinda were to visit the region.
Speaking to reporters before departing, Gen. Prawit said the visit was to boost troop morale and to review the work of the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC). "The number of violent incident has receded recently as s result of increased public understanding and improved public support for local security personnel," the defence minister said. He added that Tuesday's Cabinet resolution to establish a committee tasked with developing the five southern provinces will boost efforts to tackle terrorism insurgency in the southern border region, while Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who concurrently heads ISOC, will help facilitate its work.
The premier will make a one-day visit to Yala, one of the most troubled border provinces, on Saturday. It will be his first visit since taking office in December.
Ten suspected militants went on trial on Tuesday for allegedly killing a Christian schoolteacher and plotting to bomb a cafe. The defendants, including a Singaporean who allegedly met Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, face lifetime sentences in prison if convicted on charges of illegal possession of explosives, murder, plotting a terrorist attack and harbouring fugitives. The men are suspected members of the Southeast Asian terrorist network, Jemaah Islamiyah, which is accused of carrying out several suicide bombings against Western targets in Indonesia since 2002, including bombings on the resort island of Bali, their indictment said.
Police raids, last July, seized 22 loaded explosive devices. They were allegedly intended to carry out an attack at a bar, Kafe Bedudel, frequented by non-Muslims, in a hilly resort town on the Sumatra Island. The attack was called off after the militants realised it might unintentionally kill Muslims. Defendant Fajar Taslim, a 35-year-old Singaporean teacher of Pakistani heritage, is allegedly a member of a Singaporean cell believed to have plotted to hijack a plane in Bangkok in 2002 and crash it into the international airport there.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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Sri Lanka is tightening the snare around the Tamil Tigers and their elusive leader with air raids and a sea blockade in an offensive that is fast taking the separatist rebels' last territory, the military said on Tuesday.
Air force jets hit a jungle hideout often used by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) founder Vellupillai Prabhakaran on Monday night, the air force said. The air force said the target had been hit, but it was not clear if Prabhakaran was there. The Tigers could not be reached for comment. But a pro-rebel website reported that the military was targeting civilians with artillery attacks, which the military denies.
The military in the last two weeks has seized two major strategic targets, the rebels' self-proclaimed capital of Kilinochchi and Elephant Pass, which puts the entire Jaffna Peninsula under their control for the first time since 2000. After those two decisive blows, the army has turned all of its units toward the eastern port of Mullaitivu and is surging through a wedge of jungle surrounding it that measures no more than 330 square kilometres. Many experts foresee a rapid end to a ground war that has turned into one of Asia's longest-running, with combat raging off and on since 1983. Analysts expect that the Tigers will go back underground as the army closes in on Mullaittivu. The Tigers, according to former rebels and military officials, lost most of their surface-to-air missiles in the 2005 tsunami, but keep the few they have along with anti-aircraft guns to protect Prabhakaran.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/14/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A Turkish-owned tanker and a Philippine-operated bulk carrier seized by Somali pirates and held for months were released on Tuesday, officials said."The ship was released today. The crew is fine," said Kubilay Marangoz, a lawyer for the Istanbul-based YDC Maritime company.
An explosion at Russia's bailiff headquarters in Ingushetia province, bordering Chechnya, has killed at least eight people and injured 23 others. 
(AKI) - Militants in northern Pakistan's Swat Valley have announced a week-long ceasefire. Pakistani news network, Geo News, said on Monday members of a peace committee met Maulana Fazlullah, powerful chief of the banned Islamist militant group, Tehrik-i-Taliban, at an undisclosed location and discussed peace proposals with him.
The U.S. military officially signed over Camp Fallujah to the Iraqi government Tuesday, marking the end of U.S. control at a base that once housed nearly 8,000 servicemembers. 
Aswat al-Iraq: Police forces on Tuesday arrested a gunman in northern Mosul, according an Iraqi army source. "The forces on Tuesday (Jan. 13) arrested a gunman who tried to flee after throwing a hand grenade at a police patrol in al-Jameaa neighborhood in northern Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The bomb did not explode and the forces managed to arrest him shortly after his escape," he also said.
Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi army forces arrested five persons involved in detonating the communication towers of Asia Cell Company, and attacking an army patrol in northern Mosul, a military source said on Tuesday.
Israel pressed on with its assault on the Gaza Strip, sending its tanks into built-up areas in the city of Gaza, the deepest thrust since the attack began as the military said "there is still work ahead" against Hamas in a devastating 18-day-old attack. 
An Israeli army patrol came under gunfire from inside Jordan early on Tuesday, the army said, adding that no one was hurt in the rare attack that comes amid Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. "A border guard patrol near the Rabin crossing came under fire from an unknown source from inside Jordanian territory and fired back in their direction," a spokesman told AFP. "There were no injuries or damage," he said. 
(AKI) - Israel stepped up its military offensive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip on Tuesday with troops reportedly moving closer to Gaza City. Medical officials said 12 Palestinian gunmen, believed to include members of the ruling Hamas movement were killed in morning fighting. Israel claimed to have attacked more than 60 targets in Gaza overnight as Operation Cast Lead offensive entered its 18th day in what has been described as the 'third-stage' of its military operation. 
Ten suspected militants went on trial on Tuesday for allegedly killing a Christian schoolteacher and plotting to bomb a cafe. The defendants, including a Singaporean who allegedly met Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, face lifetime sentences in prison if convicted on charges of illegal possession of explosives, murder, plotting a terrorist attack and harbouring fugitives. The men are suspected members of the Southeast Asian terrorist network, Jemaah Islamiyah, which is accused of carrying out several suicide bombings against Western targets in Indonesia since 2002, including bombings on the resort island of Bali, their indictment said. 
Sri Lanka is tightening the snare around the Tamil Tigers and their elusive leader with air raids and a sea blockade in an offensive that is fast taking the separatist rebels' last territory, the military said on Tuesday. 
