During a fire fight Sept. 9, 2007, near the village of Qaleh Saleh, Tag Ab District, Kapisa province, Afghanistan, Army Sgt. Jonas Jerome Allen and Spc. Charles Villasenor had a little run in with Murphys Law.
Fortunately for the two Paratroopers and their fellow Soldiers, a second law came into effect after the first. This time the law wasnt named after Murphy; it was named after Sir Isaac Newton. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, is Newtons third law of motion.
Paratroopers from the LRSD, along with a Marine Corps Embedded Training Team and soldiers with the Afghan National Armys 3rd Kandak, 3rd Brigade, 201st Corps, were on a mission to assess damage from an earlier engagement when the unit began taking enemy fire. . . .
Soon after the fighting began, Murphys Law came into effect.
I fired four to five bursts and I had to reload due to a break in the link; when I charged the weapon I noticed that the right side charging handle was still towards the back of the weapon, Villasenor said.
During his reloading there was a malfunction with the MK-19, said Spc. Christopher L. Baker, who was driving the truck Villasenor was manning the gun on at the time. When he couldnt fix the malfunction I called gun down over the radio.
When I heard over the radio that [Villasenors] gun was down, I was still shooting my weapon and we were taking contact from a house and the rooftop, Allen, then a specialist, said. I glanced at [Villasenors truck] and saw that the gunner was having trouble and I knew we need the MK-19 rocking.
I could not fix the gun at that time because what I had was a major malfunction and it requires the weapon to be almost completely disassembled in order to fix, Villasenor said. . . .
Enter Newtons Law.
I jumped out and told the gunner (Villasenor) to get out and get into my turret, Allen, who is Ranger-qualified, said.
At that time, we were still taking sporadic small-arms and RPG fire when we jumped out and switched trucks, Villasenor said.
Allen had more experience operating the MK-19 than Villasenor. He also had additional training from his team leader on major malfunctions, Allen said. Once the two gunners swapped trucks, Villasenor began to fire the .50 cal., while Allen began to work on the malfunctioning weapon.
I jumped into the turret and saw that the charging handle was stuck behind the bolt and I knew the only way to fix it was to disassemble the weapon system, Allen said. I knew I had to hurry because we were taking RPGs and small-arms fire and Id rather fire at the enemy than to have the enemy fire at me.
Allen said he disassembled and reassembled the weapon as fast as he could. I just was thinking that if I hurry up and fix the MK-19, I could start engaging the enemy and kill them, he said. Once he repaired it, he had the driver of the truck move him into a better position then he put it to use. . . .
Posted by: Mike ||
03/05/2008 08:56 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#12
The American soldier is often stereotyped by the usual suspects as lazy [re:Bettle Baily] and inattentive. However, they demonstrate remarkable acumen and adaptivity and dexterity when life provides the proper motivation. Focused like a laser beam.
A former US navy sailor has been convicted of spying and supplying a pro-al-Qaeda website with information on American warship movements.
Hassan Abujihaad, 32, was found guilty of providing material support to terrorists and disclosing secret national defence information.
He was arrested last year in Phoenix, Arizona.
Abujihaad, a Muslim convert previously known as Paul Hall, faces 25 years in jail when he is sentenced on 23 May.
Pakistani nuclear scientist A Q Khan, under house arrest for the past four years for proliferating atomic technology, was hospitalised on Wednesday after he complained of weakness and ill-health.
Khan was initially provided medical treatment at home after he complained that he was feeling unwell. A check-up revealed that he was suffering from low blood pressure and fever caused by some infection.
Following this, doctors advised his hospitalisation for a detailed check-up.
He was admitted to a hospital in Islamabad on Wednesday morning and doctors treating him said they were hopeful he would return home in the next few days, Dawn News channel reported.
Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, had confessed in early 2004 to passing atomic secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
Posted by: john frum ||
03/05/2008 16:29 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
He was admitted to a hospital in Islamabad on Wednesday morning and doctors treating him said they were hopeful he would return home in the next few days
Hundreds of US troops will be involved in military operations in Pakistan's restive tribal areas, according to a former head of the country's powerful intelligence agency, ISI.
Seven hundred and fifty American commandoes will participate in upcoming military operations in the Pakistani tribal areas," retired General Hamid Gul, former ISI director-general, told Adnkronos International (AKI).
I confirm this to you on the basis of my information that those American commandoes will be sent [to Pakistan] through private [security] contracting firms like Blackwater and they will supervise the whole operation," said Gul referring to Blackwater, a private security firm that has been at the centre of a controversy over private contractors in Iraq.
The firm came under scrutiny after a shootout last year in which 11 Iraqis were killed.
Gul was head of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence service between 1987 and 1989 and worked closely with the CIA during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
He reportedly became disillusioned with the US when it failed to follow through on Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal and called on Muslims to "stand united to confront the US in its war on terror" after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Reports in the US media on Sunday said that Washington is sending 100 military trainers to Pakistan who may also participate in operations against the militants.
Pakistan will also continue its efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to the conflict with tribesmen who back the Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents, sources in Washington told the Pakistani daily Dawn, adding that the military offensive will not terminate the peace talks.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, is in Pakistan, the second such visit in 17 days. Mullen was expected to meet Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf, the head of the Pakistan armed forces, General Ashfaq Kayani, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majeed as well as civilian leaders.
Musharraf is seen as a key US ally in its war on terror and Gul believes that the alliance between the Americans and Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf is forcing the Pakistan Army to carry out an operation which it is not ready for.
The Pakistan armed forces are not ready to fight against their own tribal brethren. Thats why these American commandoes will be sent to Pakistan to take part in the action, and thats why Americans will supervise the operation, Gul maintained.
#2
The Pakistan armed forces are not ready to fight against their own tribal brethren. Thats why these American commandoes will be sent to Pakistan to take part in the action, and thats why Americans will supervise the operation...
#3
Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen. The less that's reported in the open sources we see -- except for the frequent promotion announcements of new #3s -- the happier I'll be. ;-)
Is this a good cop, bad cop situation? Pakistan negotiates, we harm?
#4
President Bush promised to bring the killers to justice. It certainly appears that 2008 is going to be a year of rolling up al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
#5
If I recall correctly, Bush said something to the effect: "Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done."
In A joint operation carried out by the West Bengal CID, the district police and the Armys intelligence unit in Berhampore on Tuesday, four persons, including three youths from Jammu and Kashmir, were arrested with a large number of fake currency notes. The security forces claim it to be an important step in gauging the extent of the racket sponsored by Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to flood the country with counterfeit currency.
Those arrested are Hafizul Rehman, a resident of Beldanga in Murshidabad who is reportedly the mastermind, Mansoor Ahmed, Feroz Ahmed and Mohammed Yusuf, all in their twenties and residents of Budgam, Baramullah and Srinagar districts of Jammu and Kashmir, respectively. According to sources, an accomplice of the group, Dilip, managed to escape. Murshidabad Superintendent of Police Basak Dasgupta said the counterfeit notes to the face value of Rs 40,000 were in the denomination of Rs 1,000.
Intelligence sources told The Indian Express that raids were conducted on two hotels near the Berhampore bus stop. All four had checked into Hotel Mayur and Hotel Royal on Monday night. Using a decoy customer, both hotels were raided around 10 am on Tuesday. We believe they had crossed over from Bangladesh and had been staying in Murshidabad for nearly two months. A fake 10-Dinar note has also been recovered from the accused.
Though the four havent named any militant group during initial interrogation, sources said the police suspect it to be Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been smuggling counterfeit notes through the porous Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal and the Northeast. Over the last two months, there have been more than 20 raids in Assam alone during which fake currency notes have been recovered.
After the fencing of the international border in J-K and Punjab, the focus of the smugglers shifted to the Nepal border. When the situation became volatile in Nepal, the sources said, J-K-based militant groups began concentrating on the Indo-Bangla border through Murshidabad and via Silchar and Karimganj into Assam.
In all probability, the notes are printed in Bangladesh and are brought to Berhampore. Runners (who carry the notes) from J-K come by train to Kolkata and then take a bus to Berhampore. Once a deal is over, the runners avoid Kolkata where security checks are tighter. Instead, they go to Malda and then take a train to Delhi from where they go back to Jammu or Srinagar. These fake notes are then used by militants to reward people for their services or to make purchases. It is a circle that involves many people. This is the first strike on the racket in a long time, said a source.
According to the security forces, lower denomination notes would cost 40 per cent of the notes value, while higher denomination ones like those seized in Berhampore would cost only 30 per cent. Sources said the seized notes were of superb quality, in which previous printing glitches had been overcome. Given the volume of fake currency entering the country, this is only the tip of the iceberg, the sources added.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
Police said on Tuesday that clashes with kidnappers of a local nazim had killed at least five people, including two Uzbek and two local militants, while another Uzbek militant was arrested in the Tajuari Police Station precincts in Lakki Marwat district.
However, the abducted nazim and two others, who had been travelling with him at the time, were safely recovered in the incident.
Tajuari Police Station House Officer (SHO) Saadullah Marwat told Daily Times the kidnappers had abducted Pachgan Ahmedzai Nazim Muhammad Idrees alongwith the two fellows, while they had been enroute to Gambela area, at around 10am.
He said that villagers formed a party and followed the kidnappers along with the police. After talks with locals, the three abductees were released, although a clash ensued between the police and the militants. He said that one villager, and four militants were killed in the shootout. Saadullah said intelligence agencies took the Uzbek militant with them.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
Amir Haider Hoti, the Awami National Party (ANP) candidate for the chief minister slot said on Tuesday that peace could be restored in Swat and Malakand regions only through dialogue and that the coalition government would include clerics, militants and all concerned parties in the peace process.
Hoti was briefing the media at the Shahi Mehman Khana after a meeting with newly elected members of the provincial assembly (MPAs-elect) from Swat and Malakand division. The would-be chief minister warned his government would take action against all those who do not participate in the peace process and continue negative activities.
ANP Provincial President Afrasiab Khattak, General Secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain and Senior Vice President Baz Muhammad Khan were also president at the meeting.
Hoti said he discussed in depth the Malakand situation and restoration of peace with the MPAs-elect. He said the incoming governments priorities and policies also came up for discussion. Hoti said different proposals were forwarded but there was a consensus among the members that peace was possible only through negotiations. Thats the only way and clerics, militants and all those concerned be included in the peace process, Hoti added.
Hoti said his government would also review the policies of the previous government in this regard and remove the flaws, adding that the meeting did not discuss the formation of government or distribution of ministries. Referring to the renaming of the province as Pakhtunkhwa, Hoti said talks were in progress with the PPP and decision would soon be made in this regard.
Waqar Ahmed, MPA-elect from PF-82 Swat-3 who attended the meeting, told Daily Times, We discussed a lot on restoration of peace in Swat and will unfold our plan after the formation of the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: TNSM
Five suspected terrorists killed by security forces at the Nahaqqi checkpost in Mohmand Agency on Monday were buried in their ancestral village Nawagai on Tuesday.
A local who attended the funeral said the men identified as Muhammad Sadiq, Muhammad Kamal, Iqbal Khan, Sarzamin and Bahadur Khan were going to Mian Mandi Bazaar for a business deal and had been mistaken for terrorists. Security forces fired rockets at a car carrying five suspected militants at Nahaqqi checkpost on Monday when they refused to be searched.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
LAHORE, Pakistan - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a prestigious naval college in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, killing at least five people and injuring 19, officials said. The blasts sent thick black smoke billowing over the college and scattered debris and human remains at the scene, which is just off the citys historic Mall Road. Two buses and several cars caught fire afterwards.
Two suicide bombers attacked the naval college, Lahore police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal told AFP. The first drove into the security post and they opened fire. His head was blown over the wall into the naval compound by the force of the blast, Iqbal added. He cleared the way for the second bomber to drive into the parking lot where he also exploded himself.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema said five people were killed and another 19 were wounded, according to initial reports. The blasts were so huge they shook the windowpanes of my office opposite the college. I thought the building was collapsing, Lahore lawyer Arif Saeed told AFP.
Navy spokesman Captain Akbar Naqi confirmed there were two suicide bombers and said that one navy personnel was among those killed. The Naval War College trains senior naval officials from Pakistan and from other countries including China, Sri Lanka and at least a dozen Muslim nations.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11135 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
His head was blown over the wall into the naval compound by the force of the blast...
#3
Sinse:
1) Because Pak has a sensitive cosatline, with a major port at Karachi.
2) Because India if floating a non-trivial blue-water navy. And the little Pakis haveto keep up appearances.
India Tuesday stressed that terror groups active in the country have linkages with groups in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) here today, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said groups including Lashker-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami, Hizbul Mujahideen and Al-Badr have international networks. "Indian security and intelligence agencies are monitoring the activities of such groups and networks and relevant information and inputs in this regard are regularly shared with the various state governments," Patil said.
"Vigilance is being maintained on the countrys borders to prevent infiltration of terror elements into India," Patil said, adding, "Border fencing or floodlighting and coastal security are being strengthened".
"Globally, bilateral and multilateral cooperation are continuing to check and counter terrorism and several institutional mechanisms have been developed towards this end," the Home Minister said.
Meanwhile Indias Minister of State for Home Affairs Prakash Jaiswal told the Lok Sabha today that the government has credible inputs about terror threats to religious places in the country. "The complete details about such threats cannot be divulged in public interest," Jaiswal said.
#1
Why don't they come right out and say that terror groups in India have links to MUSLIMS in Pakistan? The sooner Pakistan is totally, humiliatingly crushed, the sooner problems in India, Nepal, Afghanistan, and parts of Iran will end. Once India and Afghanistan absorb their various sectors of Pakistan, India should declare that all muslims must emigrate. Crush bangladesh and do the same thing there. Just make sure to hang every single Inter-Service Intelligence member and agent from telephone poles, so they can't reorganize.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/05/2008 12:02 Comments ||
Top||
#2
And yet, according to the State Department we consider Pakistan a good guy for sharing certain Arms control stuff, and not India. Google up the ITARS requirements and read some of the surprises ther
Iraq has captured an Al Qaida-aligned cell that recruited and deployed women for suicide operations.
On March 1, Iraqi and U.S. troops raided a suspected Al Qaida safe house in Al Makhesa, in northeastern Diyala. Officials said scores of suspected women operatives recruited as suicide bombers were arrested.
The women suicide cell was said to have consisted of 100 operatives. Officials said Al Qaida has increased its use of women for suicide operations.
The women cell was said to have operated in the Diyala province. Officials said some of the women were recruited by their husbands for suicide operations against Iraqi and U.S. forces.
The U.S. military also detained the commander of the women suicide cell. Officials said the male commander was based in Ghalibiya in western Diyala.
U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus reported a slight increase in suicide-vest attacks in Iraq. He said the suicide vests were being handed to women, regarded as being more capable of reaching their targets than car bombs.
"We are going after Al Qaida relentlessly wherever they are, and wherever we can find them, we put our teeth into their jugular," Petraeus said on March 2.
#3
I suspect that with all of those AQ and Anti-US Iraqi's that there a lot of widows/singles that are easy targets for this type of thing. Especially if there is not a decent support system from the clans/tribes. Promise to take care of the kids & you've got a candidate for an explosive belt.
I plead ignorance on the matter but I'm a suspicious soul. Anyone with more insight?
#5
Does this imply that the vests have an arming device/process to preclude preplanned detonation by some lovely who freaks out in the armory? Must be a remote which would then allow the 'good guys' to jam them or predetonate them on signal saturation.
H/T Bill Roggio MOSUL, Iraq The killing of an al-Qaida leader in Mosul recently will force the extremist Islamist group to reorganize within its last urban stronghold. This comes at a time when al-Qaida in Iraq finds itself under increasing U.S. military pressure and at a time when the organization is apparently trying to establish a common cause operational relationship with nationalist insurgents.
Maj. Adam Boyd, an intelligence officer with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, said Jar Allah "was a senior military leader, planner and facilitator in Mosul for all al-Qaida in Iraq [AQI] operations."
His death "forces now the enemy to reconsolidate and reorganize. It forces them to re-think how they are going to conduct operations," he said.
Jar Allah, a Saudi Arabian with the alias of Abu Yasir al-Saudi, died in Mosul last Wednesday, but word of his demise only came Sunday in a news conference in Baghdad. Boyd said the attack was a result of multi-sourced intelligence gathering. He gave no other details, but it was clear much came from Iraqi security forces, who "in Mosul are very good at intelligence." At the U.S. military news briefing in Baghdad, Jar Allah was said to have been an associate of AQI leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri and came to Iraq from Afghanistan in November with a group of foreign fighters.
Among major attacks in and around Mosul for which he was responsible was a Jan. 28 improvised explosive device (IED) and sniper attack that left five U.S. soldiers dead. He was also believed to be behind a coordinated vehicle-bomb and foot-soldier assault by gunmen on an Iraqi-U.S. outpost that went awry with the appearance of Bradley Fighting Vehicles at a checkpoint.
Mosul about 255 miles north of Baghdad is important to al-Qaida. It is Iraq's second-largest city (population about 1.8 million) and close to Syria, from where foreign fighters and insurgent supplies are believed to enter Iraq. And it is a gathering point for operatives pushed out from Baghdad and points in between by U.S. and Iraqi military operations. Boyd said it is believed there are 400-600 hardcore AQI operatives in Mosul and Nineveh province. Included in the hardcore number are those who belong to the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) group, which is believed a creation of al-Qaida but with an Iraqi nationalist face.
Since December 150 AQI/ISI facilitators, planners and cell leaders have been killed or detained, but "it is like having a bucket of sand and taking a Dixie cup of sand out: the sand will fill back in. But there is a little less sand in the bucket," Boyd said. Retaliatory attacks result from the affected terror cells, but they are "not as coordinated" and "less and less capable" as experienced leadership is removed. And "it is important to understand that having more and more success with the senior leaders [doesn't] remove the threat of the insurgent cells."
In addition to hardcore AQI and ISI operatives, there are about 1,200-1,600 other various insurgents or insurgent supporters in the area, he said. "Not all are fighters. Some of these are simply supporters that are providing bedding-down locations, or facilitate travel, or smugglers of arms and ammunition, but ultimately they are part of the problem," Boyd said.
Among other groups operating in the Mosul area are Jaish Islamiya and Ansar al-Sunna, and the Revolution 1920 Brigades, composed mainly of former Baathist officials, former military personnel and opposed to coalition presence. U.S. officials say it is these groups that AQI and ISI are attempting to form a working, operational relationship with. "What they are trying to do is take a fractured insurgency and bring the groups together into a less fractured one," a senior officer with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment said of the effort.
Boyd said, "We've heard varied reportings of attempts at recruitment, we've had varied reports of these mid- to senior-AQI types and leaders of other cells" holding talks. Recruitment, he said, means trying to get members of other groups to surreptitiously join AQI or ISI and advance their interests in their home organizations, most of which are opposed to AQI's practice of spectacular attacks car bombings and suicide vests, for example that often result in the death of ordinary Iraqi civilians not involved with coalition forces. Jar Allah was heavily involved in the effort, Boyd said. "He was a senior facilitator and definitely had his finger in many pots. He was very into recruitment and very much in the process of bringing cells together under a common-cause banner. He was very much so part of the integration of multiple cells, trying to put them under an umbrella, if you will, of [AQI or AQI-influenced] leadership."
Meanwhile, al-Qaida tries to maintain its presence in Mosul amid a steady push by U.S. forces to dislodge, capture, or kill them. More joint U.S.-Iraqi combat operations posts (COPs) are being built in the city's districts and neighborhood, facilitating 24/7 security presence in the zones. It is from these COPs that troops respond to attacks in their areas, patrol on foot and in vehicles, and conduct outreach efforts with the populace to gain their trust and their information.
Troops from two U.S. battalions rotate in and out of the COPs from anchor bases on the outskirts of the city. In addition to the U.S. troops, there are about 18,500 soldiers from Iraq's 2nd Division and about 1,800 police. Mosul, however, still remains a dangerous place with up to two dozen significant incidents, mainly involving IEDs, occurring daily.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in January the "decisive" battle to take Mosul from insurgents was about to begin. The battle is occurring, but not in a Stalingrad sense of heavy street fighting for now. Instead it is a steady campaign of spreading security cordons, targeted raids on suspect locations and joint efforts to rebuild infrastructure.
This article starring:
ABU AIYUB AL MASRI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
ABU YASIR AL SAUDI
al-Qaeda in Iraq
JAR ALLAH
al-Qaeda in Iraq
Ansar al-Sunna
Islamic State of Iraq
Jaish Islamiya
Revolution 1920 Brigades
Posted by: Sherry ||
03/05/2008 15:12 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq
#1
Running out of #3s -- and #2s, too -- are they? Their god is clearly not pleased with them.
#2
Aww, come on, TW, you know that their real gods, Baal and Moloch, are happy with any type of human blood. Priests, worshippers, sacrifices, captured enemies...all the same to them. Their "Allah" cover story is worn about as thin as "Universal Exports, Ltd."
#3
DRUDGEREPORT > WORLDTRIBUNE > PETRAEUS [Iraq]:AL QAEDA IS TRYING TO COME BACK IN - "WE CAN FEEL IT". Indics that AL QAEDA GETS MEN AND SUPPLIES FROM SYRIA, albeit recently their numbers [fighters] from Syria have dropped by 50%. Petraeus also indics that THE USA-ALLIES + IA, ESPEC IA TROOPS'FROCES, CANNOT KEEP PLAYING "WHACK-THE-MOLE" WID INSURGENTS ALL THE TIME, + MUST BE ABLE TO PERMANENTLY HOLD AREAS ONCE THESE ARE TAKEN OR CLEARED.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday ordered Iraqi security forces to make all-out efforts to secure the release of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop. Paulos Faraj Rahho was kidnapped last Friday in the northern city of Mosul after a deadly shootout in which three of his companions were killed. The prime minister has asked the interior minister and all security officials of Nineveh province to follow the case and work very hard to release (Rahho) as soon as possible, Malikis office said in a statement. Maliki said that any attack on the Christian community is an offence against all Iraqis.
The Christian community is an essential part of Iraq. It cant be separated from the people and the countrys civilisation, said the Shia prime minister of the predominantly Muslim country.
Iraqi forces in Mosul have fanned out to search for Rahho whose abduction has been branded as atrocious by Pope Benedict XVI. Rahhu, seized while on his way home after holding mass, was the latest in a long line of Christian clerics to be abducted in Iraq since the US-led invasion of March 2003. Iraqs Christians, with the Chaldean rite by far the largest community, were said to number as many as 800,000 before the invasion. The number today is believed to have dropped to half that figure due to massive emigration. Associated with the Crusader invaders and regarded as well off, they are often victims of sectarian cleansing, killings and kidnappings at the hands of Sunni and Shia Islamists, as well as criminal gangs.
On January 6, a series of bombs exploded outside churches and a monastery in Mosul, in an apparently coordinated attack that wounded four people and damaged buildings, as Christians celebrated Epiphany. Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, the 80-year-old patriarch of the Baghdad-based Chaldean Catholic Church, was among 23 clerics whom the pope elevated to the status of cardinal in November.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
As he should do. About bloody time he realized it.
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi court has acquitted two top Shia officials charged with orchestrating death squads which stormed into hospitals to snatch Sunni Arab patients and murder them, a court spokesman said on Tuesday. It was the first time two high-ranking Shia officials had been charged over a wave of sectarian killings that exploded across Iraq after the bombing of a Shia shrine two years ago.
A three-judge panel on Monday found Hakim al-Zamili, a former deputy health minister, and Brigadier General Hamid al-Shammari, who headed the ministrys security forces, not guilty of kidnapping, murder and corruption charges.
The judgement was delivered by Central Criminal Court of Iraq which is an independent court, spokesman Judge Abdul Sattar Gafoor said. It issued the verdict to free the two men.
US embassy spokesman Philip Reeker also confirmed the acquittal of the two officials, while noting serious allegations of witness intimidation and other irregularities during the two-day trial. We understand an Iraqi court has found two former ministry of health officials not guilty of kidnapping, murder, and corruption charges, he said.
Following the trial in the Central Criminal Court, the panel cited a lack of direct evidence as the ground for its decision to acquit the officials, Reeker said. There remain serious allegations of witness intimidation and other irregularities in this case that have not yet been fully or transparently resolved within the Iraqi system, Reeker said.
Zamili and Shammari were charged with five counts of murder and another five separate counts of kidnapping. Their trial was marred by the absence of several prosecution witnesses who failed to show up after reportedly receiving death threats. The two were alleged to have formed a private Shia militia that would storm into Baghdad hospitals and snatch wounded and sick Sunni Arabs from their beds, issue death threats to doctors and gun down family members visiting patients.
Reeker said many parts of the trial process appeared credible to outside observers and several participants in the investigation, and the trial demonstrated noteworthy determination and courage that the charges be fairly heard.
The very fact that the charges were investigated and brought to trial reflects modest progress toward the rule of law, he said.
The trial was seen as a test of the commitment by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, head of a Shia-led government, to crack down on Sunni and Shia extremists alike. Zamili and Shammari were arrested early last year but there had been doubt they would be brought to trial.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
According to an NPR report, the gentlemen were returned to the tender care of the American troops. Sadrites (or perhaps it was Badrites, I was focussed on a tricky-ish bit of driving at the time) are seething that they weren't set free immediately.
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi military helicopter crashed in northern Iraq, killing a US soldier who was on board and seven others, the US military said Tuesday. The M-17 helicopter was reported missing Monday, the military said in a statement. The Iraqi Defense Ministry said the Russian-made aircraft got caught in bad weather and was found Tuesday south of Beiji, about 90 miles south of Mosul.
An Iraqi air force official said six Iraqis and two foreigners were killed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to release the information, could not elaborate on the nationalities of the two foreigners.
All eight people on board the helicopter died in the crash, the US military said. One was a US soldier, military spokesman Lt. Michael Street said. Street said he was unaware that another foreigner was on board the helicopter.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
All died in the service of their countries and civilization. May they each find themselves in the afterlife of their belief. And may their memory bring comfort to those who sacrificed much that they might sacrifice all.
Israeli cabinet okays Hamas, Jihad Islami targets for attack It's Debka so the usual caveats apply
DEBKAfiles military sources disclose that Israels security cabinet approved Wednesday, March 5, a series of terrorist targets for early attacks as part of a sustained military offensive against escalated Palestinian attacks from Gaza on Israeli civilians.
Prime minister Ehud Olmert and defense minister Ehud Barak earlier obtained a quiet nod from US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice before she wound up her visit. These targets are revealed here by DEBKAfile:
1. Chiefs and senior officers of Hamas and Jihad Islamis armed wings.
2. Their senior political officials in the Gaza strip, excluding prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, but including hard-line Mahmoud a-Zahar.
3. Hamas and Jihad institutions, including police stations.
These decisions were taken at the security cabinets first exhaustive review of Israels Gaza options.
Israeli ground forces and Palestinian fighters clashed inside the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. According to Reuters, Palestinian witnesses said a column of Israeli armoured vehicles crossed the border in central Gaza Strip and came under mortar and machinegun fire.
Israeli helicopters circled overhead as the soldiers surrounded the home of a senior Islamic Jihad member. The Islamic Jihad movement said the man was a leader of its armed wing. During the firefights at least three Palestinians wrere killed, reports have indicated. Among the victimes was a baby. Israeli officials said it was a "pinpoint operation." The soldiers seized two Islamic Jihad activist and were pulling out two hours after the incursion, witnesses said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad
#1
The Pals seem to be aiming for as many baby deaths as they can manage this time around.
#3
An ARCLIGHT strike or six down through Gaza would kill quite a few babies. The paleos should be very thankful the US hasn't "loaned" the Israelis a squadron of B-52s. I'm sure the "Israelis" could use them to good effect.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/05/2008 12:40 Comments ||
Top||
#4
#1: The Pals seem to be aiming for as many baby deaths as they can manage this time around.
GOOD, no next generation.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/05/2008 12:56 Comments ||
Top||
Troops from the elite Egoz unit killed an Islamic Jihad commander in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. The army said that he was one of the terror group's leaders in Gaza City, Israel Radio reported. In addition, three Palestinian gunmen were killed in clashes with IDF troops in central Gaza, Palestinians reported.
Eyewitnesses said that about 25 armored vehicles entered Gaza through Kissufim Crossing. The soldiers arrested two Islamic Jihad terrorists and pulled out two hours after the incursion, they said. Defense officials said it was a "pinpoint" operation in Khan Yunis aimed at Gaza terrorists. The IDF confirmed that the operation was over.
The witnesses said that during the clashes, IDF tanks fired shells and attack helicopters fired missiles.
Palestinian medical officials also said a one-month-old baby girl was killed by a ricocheting bullet. Also, eight gunmen and three civilians were wounded, none of then seriously, the officials said.
On Tuesday morning, two Palestinian gunmen were killed in two separate air strikes as the IAF targeted Gaza rocket launching cells, Palestinian sources reported. Four other operatives were wounded in the attacks, the sources said.
The air strikes came moments after an elderly couple's Sderot home was heavily damaged by a rocket. Fortunately, the two were out of the city at the time. Despite claims by Palestinian sources that one member of the Kassam rocket squad killed in the air strikes was a Hamas member, the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Days into the heavy Kassam rocket barrages that have pummeled the city since last Wednesday, the couple, Shlomo and Alice Gigi, both in their seventies, had on Sunday decided to take a vacation after refusing to do so for years. "They said 'how will it help us? In the end we'll go back to our reality," their son Motti told Army Radio. However, earlier this week the two were convinced to spend a few days at Motti's home in Givataim.
Seven more Kassams fired from Gaza hit the western Negev Tuesday. One of the rockets struck the Ashkelon Beach region while the other hit an open area south of the city. The other rockets landed in open areas in the western Negev. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad
#1
Where is the outrage from the UN at this?
Bastards
Sri Lankan troops captured stretches of Tamil Tiger-held terrain in the islands northwest on Tuesday, killing seven rebels in clashes that took the two-day death toll to 23, the military said.
Troops took control of a one square kilometre parcel of rebel-held scrubland in the northwestern district of Mannar, as well as a rebel checkpoint and one mile stretch of road, officials said, part of a strategy to gradually retake the Tigers northern stronghold to win and end a 25-year civil war. Seven Tigers were killed in a battle for the land that sits on a border separating rebel-held from government territory in the north, the military said, adding 16 rebels were killed in fighting in the north a day earlier.
Whenever we come across positions which are advantageous for us, we will be taking over that location, said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara. When we have taken over these areas, then (the Tigers) have to take their heavy weapons (and pull back). That means the villages and the roads are safe.
Bombing: Fighter jets bombed the Tigers de facto state for a second day running, hitting a rebel artillery position and an underground munitions store, the air force said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who want an independent state in north and east Sri Lanka, were not immediately available for comment. The government and rebels trade death toll claims that are rarely possible to independently verify. Analysts say the military has the upper hand in the latest phase of the long-running war given superior air power, strength of numbers and swathes of terrain captured in the islands east. But they still see no clear winner on the horizon. Since the start of 2006, more than 6,500 rebels, 1,200 military personnel and over 980 civilians have been killed, according to the military, which says it aims to defeat the Tigers by the end of the year.
The Tigers are regularly hitting back with suicide attacks increasingly targeting civilians and roadside bombs, experts and the military say, which have deterred some tourists and have worried some investors in the $27 billion economy.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/05/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11133 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"The Tigers are regularly hitting back with suicide attacks increasingly targeting civilians and roadside bombs..."
too bad this bad grammatical construction isn't playing out in real life; it would be real nice if the Tigers get go after roadside bombs. Odds are they would lose some more....
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.
In A joint operation carried out by the West Bengal CID, the district police and the Armys intelligence unit in Berhampore on Tuesday, four persons, including three youths from Jammu and Kashmir, were arrested with a large number of fake currency notes. The security forces claim it to be an important step in gauging the extent of the racket sponsored by Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to flood the country with counterfeit currency. 
LAHORE, Pakistan - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a prestigious naval college in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, killing at least five people and injuring 19, officials said. The blasts sent thick black smoke billowing over the college and scattered debris and human remains at the scene, which is just off the citys historic Mall Road. Two buses and several cars caught fire afterwards.
India Tuesday stressed that terror groups active in the country have linkages with groups in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
MOSUL, Iraq The killing of an al-Qaida leader in Mosul recently will force the extremist Islamist group to reorganize within its last urban stronghold. This comes at a time when al-Qaida in Iraq finds itself under increasing U.S. military pressure and at a time when the organization is apparently trying to establish a common cause operational relationship with nationalist insurgents.
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi military helicopter crashed in northern Iraq, killing a US soldier who was on board and seven others, the US military said Tuesday. The M-17 helicopter was reported missing Monday, the military said in a statement. The Iraqi Defense Ministry said the Russian-made aircraft got caught in bad weather and was found Tuesday south of Beiji, about 90 miles south of Mosul.
Israeli ground forces and Palestinian fighters clashed inside the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. According to Reuters, Palestinian witnesses said a column of Israeli armoured vehicles crossed the border in central Gaza Strip and came under mortar and machinegun fire.
Troops from the elite Egoz unit killed an Islamic Jihad commander in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. The army said that he was one of the terror group's leaders in Gaza City, Israel Radio reported. In addition, three Palestinian gunmen were killed in clashes with IDF troops in central Gaza, Palestinians reported. 
Sri Lankan troops captured stretches of Tamil Tiger-held terrain in the islands northwest on Tuesday, killing seven rebels in clashes that took the two-day death toll to 23, the military said. 
