A report that Canadian soldiers were abducted in Afghanistan is false and all troops have been accounted for, officials said Wednesday after a head count to make sure. The Prime Minister's Office announced that all 2,300 Canadian personnel and another 4,200 coalition troops in the war-torn country were safe. The head count was conducted after the Al-Jazeera and Reuters news agencies reported Taliban claims that it had abducted several soldiers.
Maj. Scott Lundy, spokesman for the multinational brigade based in Kandahar, said while the military immediately questioned the accuracy of the Taliban claim, it had to double check as a precaution. "This is not the first time they have made these claims and they have always proven false," he said. Al Jazeera was reportedly no longer broadcasting the abduction story by Wednesday afternoon.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 10:52 ||
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No Cody action figures in Afghanistan? No oversized G.I. Joe's?
KANDAHAR - Police arrested Thursday a suspected Taleban militant entering a provincial capital in restive southern Afghanistan with explosives loaded on a donkey, officials said. Police had reports that some explosives were being brought into the city on a donkey, the government spokesman in troubled Zabul, Gulab Shah Alikhail, told AFP in the provincial capital Qalat. Police arrested the man with the explosives today, he said.
Alikhail said the explosive material was meant for destructive purposes and said it was work of the enemies of Afghanistan, official jargon for the remnants of the ousted Taleban regime.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 10:11 ||
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Passerby: "Excuse me sir, but I couldn't help but noticing that Jackass has explosives."
Talibani: "I'll have you know, it's a Donkey, not a jackass."
Passerby: "I'll have you know, I was talking to the Donkey."
KABUL - A suspected Taliban suicide bomber was killed when the explosives strapped to his body detonated prematurely at a Turkish company in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said. The bomber was trying to enter the office of a Turkish construction company in the Andar district of southern Ghazni province, but the explosives went off when he was in the car parking area, police director Abdul Wakeel Kamiab said.
"Now which wire am I supposed to connect before....KABOOM!"
"The explosion did not cause any casualties or damage to the property," he said.
"However, the guy who has to sweep up the carpark is pissed"
"Hey, who moved the mop and bucket, dang it! ..."
Kamiab blamed the attack on the remnants of the ousted Taliban regime.
In a separate incident a suspected Taliban rebel was killed while planting a landmine in a sports ground in Sharan, the capital of southeastern Paktika province, a provincial official said. "A Taliban planting a landmine in a local sports ground became victim of his own ill attempts. He was killed as the bomb he was planting went off," Ghamay Khan Mohammadyar, secretary to the provincial governor told AFP.
"Now was it cover the mine and arm it, or arm it, then cover...KABLOOEY!"
Security officials said two Taliban insurgents were also killed and nine wounded in an operation near Ghazni city. "In joint operation of Afghan army, police and coalition forces two Taliban were killed, nine were wounded and one was arrested in a village called Madrasa," army general Akram Samai told AFP. The operation was launched after a tip off that Taliban members had gathered in the area. "We had reports that Taliban were coming for training to this village," Samai said.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 09:30 ||
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A local Taleban commander in Afghanistan has promised to inflict a massive defeat on British forces there. Mawlawi Amira Hamza al-Ghazi said it was his fighters' Islamic duty to defeat the enemy. "We have to give them a teeth-breaking defeat again," he told the BBC in an exclusive interview.
The Taleban commander's group is based in the southern province of Helmand, where more than 3,000 British soldiers are currently deploying. Helmand is one of Afghanistan's most dangerous provinces, and a centre of Taleban activity. It produces 20% of the world's opium.
British soldiers replaced US forces in the area as part of an expansion of peacekeeping operations by Nato at the start of May.
The British commander in Helmand, Col Charlie Knaggs, said he was convinced the Taleban had been put under severe pressure by the international forces there. A soldier with the parachute regiment's elite Pathfinder unit told the BBC's defence correspondent Paul Wood that they had killed some 30 Taleban insurgents since arriving in Helmand three months ago.
Our correspondent says people in the towns do not seem to support the insurgents. But one British soldier told our correspondent that he felt there was more support in the region's countryside.
Mawlawi al-Ghazi was with 50-70 fighters - armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades - when he spoke to the BBC's Pashto service in Afghanistan. The Taleban fighters said they were just leaving on an operation against the enemy - the enemy being British soldiers and Afghan security forces. "It is our Islamic duty... we have plans for the enemies. All Muslims, local and international, are supporting us," said their commander.
"We have advanced equipment to use against them. Throughout our history we have defeated them many times, but they do not understand."
Asked why they were fighting, Mawlawi al-Ghazi said US President George W Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair wanted to destroy Islam. "It is the order of our commander, [Taleban leader] Mullah Omar, that we must fight against these people... He is alive and we are all under his command."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:47 ||
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#1
LOL, well okay, then. Interviewed by the BBC, eh? Wonder who they're rooting for...
"We have to give them a teeth-breaking defeat again."
This fool's fighting not just the last war, but ancient history. We'll see your "advanced equipment" and raise you armed unmanned aerial surveillance. Die in your mud hut, mutt.
#2
I suppose what happened in the Autumn of 2001 was the first stage in the victorious Taliban campaign. I expect they'll have a few more like that before throwing in the towel.
#5
The lack of definite and indefinite articles in some reports indicates the ethnicity of the authors. Say no more.
Posted by: Howard UK ||
06/08/2006 8:04 Comments ||
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#6
Anyone see this on the news last night? Hilarious! There were never more than 6 Talis in shot at any one time... as the head honcho was being interviewed one distinctly noticed the same five / six people filing past at varying intervals.. over and over again.. classic. All six of you versus the Paras/Marines?? Mmmmm..
Posted by: Howard UK ||
06/08/2006 8:07 Comments ||
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NAIROBI, June 7 (Rooters)- Islamic militias captured Mogadishu -- an anarchic city no single group could control for 15 years -- because of superior training, popular support and religious motivation, experts said on Wednesday.
The Islamic fighters, who fought an alliance of warlords widely believed to have been funded as part of the United States' counter-terrorism war, were also getting external assistance, according to a U.N. report.
The militia transformed the face of warfare on Mogadishu's battle-scarred streets, shifting away from the traditional haphazard, frenzied attacks made famous by the book and movie "Black Hawk Down".
#1
Islamic militias captured Mogadishu -- an anarchic city no single group could control for 15 years -- because of superior training, popular support and religious motivation, experts said on Wednesday.
Oh, heavens! They're unstoppable! Just like the Nazis!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/08/2006 7:07 Comments ||
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#3
So, by "superior training", they mean they didn't stick their guns around the corner and shoot them one-handed?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/08/2006 7:15 Comments ||
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#4
So they won Mogadishu, ya say? Wotta prize!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 8:52 Comments ||
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#5
The heroic Lions of Islam marched triumphantly into the grand streets of the great City Mogadishu, as the jubilant crowds line the streets and cheered......aw shit....sorry, wrong war.
Scores of Somali residents fled the warlord stronghold of Jowhar on Wednesday fearing a bloody offensive for control of the town by Islamic militia who took Mogadishu two days ago.
Gunmen loyal to sharia courts seized the capital on Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism coalition of warlords, widely believed to be backed by Washington. Their victory came after fierce fighting that had killed 350 people since February.
Locals said the warlords were preparing to defend their last redoubt of Jowhar, 90 km (55 miles) north of the capital, including an advance line outside the town.
"There are so many fighters and weapons in Jowhar but most of them have been taken to the Congo military camp 5 km away," Abdi Warsame, a farmer, said by telephone.
Fighters loyal to Jowhar warlord Mohamed Dheere had been reinforced by allies defeated in Mogadishu and the strategic town of Balad, on the road north, which fell on Sunday.
"Some people have started fleeing Jowhar for fear of the fighting," Warsame said. "Most people are saying they have no option but to support whoever takes over Jowhar."
He said some warlord militia were leaving for Mogadishu after not being paid.
Islamic militiamen said their men, camped south of Jowhar, have been ordered to prevent planes from landing at the town's airstrip to block any escape by the warlords.
Political analysts say if the Islamic militia captures Jowhar, they will control most of the south of Somalia, raising questions about whether they will help install a weak interim government in the capital or set up a rival administration.
The government, too weak to enter Mogadishu, has been based in the provincial town of Baidoa since February.
Mogadishu resident Ali Abdikadir said a family member of a senior Islamic cleric told him they had a government in waiting.
"The day they take over Jowhar they will announce their government," Abdikadir said. "I don't think they plan to cooperate with the interim government. Some of them even said the government should surrender to the Islamic courts."
The Islamic victory dislodged warlords from Mogadishu for the first time since they ousted military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, but clan fighters vowed to reclaim lost ground.
Ali Nur, a warlord fighter, said a new war against the Islamic side would be waged by the Sa'ad clan of slain warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed. A disastrous attempt by U.S. troops to capture him in 1993 was depicted in the film "Black Hawk Down".
"We are strengthening our defences, digging trenches and putting up sand bags, preparing for war as a clan and not as the coalition," Nur said in a clan district of Mogadishu.
The United States said on Wednesday it might be open to dealing with the Islamic militia, possibly signalling a new approach to Somalia which Washington fears may become a base for terrorists.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington the administration would "reserve judgment" about the group.
"I think that as a matter of principle that we would look forward to working with groups or individuals who have an interest in a better, more peaceful, more stable, secure Somalia...who are also interested in fighting terrorism," he said when asked if Washington would deal with the militia.
The chairman of the Mogadishu Islamic courts, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, appeared on Wednesday to back away from comments made at a rally in which he vowed to turn Somalia into an Islamic state.
"Socialism was tested as a way of ruling the world but failed, democracy has been tested and is failing, the only way now is to try Islam. But it's up to the people to decide," he told Reuters.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 01:43 ||
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#1
Socialism - Git out o here!!
Dhimmocracy - booooooooo...
Whats left - ISLAM - go on, give it a try.
An increasingly powerful Islamic militia rolled through its newly captured territory and installed a religious court in one town Wednesday as the remnants of a U.S.-backed alliance of warlords desperately tried to regroup.
The Islamic Courts Union controls the Somali capital and surrounding areas after defeating the secular warlord alliance in weeks of battles that killed at least 330 people many of them civilians caught in the crossfire.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, have confirmed cooperating with the secular warlords, who charge the militia has links to al-Qaeda.
The Bush administration has not confirmed or denied giving money to the alliance. President Bush warned this week that the chief concern "is to make sure that Somalia does not become an al-Qaeda safe haven."
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday the Islamic Courts Union had sent a letter to the United States, adding that Washington was reserving judgment on the group.
"In terms of the Islamic courts, our understanding is that this isn't a monolithic group that it is really an effort on the part of some individuals to try to restore some semblance of order in Mogadishu," McCormack told reporters.
Their aim, he added, "is to try to lay the foundations for some institutions in Somalia that might form the basis for a better and more peaceful, secure Somalia where the rule of law is important."
McCormack was answering a question whether the Islamic Courts group had pledged in its letter that it was not going to harbor terrorists. McCormack would only confirm that the letter had been received.
"I think that as a matter of principle that we would look forward to working with groups or individuals who have an interest in a better, more peaceful, more stable, secure Somalia who are interested who are also interested in fighting terrorism," he said.
Somalia has been without a real government since largely clan-based warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, dividing this nation of 8 million into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms.
Militiamen toting heavy machine guns installed an Islamic court in Balad, about 20 miles from the capital. Chanting residents said that an Islamic state would help pacify a nation wracked by anarchy since 1991.
"Allah is our God, Muhammad is our prophet and Islam is our religion, so we are in favor of acting on the holy Quran," said local cleric Mohamud Anshur.
Shop owner Mostaf Hassan Ali said he would give the militia a chance.
"The secular militia did not provide reliable security to this town. Now, we can rest assured the Islamists can improve the situation," he said.
About 20 miles away in Jowhar, their last remaining stronghold, secular warlords took up defensive positions two days after being pushed out of the capital in a humiliating defeat that came despite U.S. support for their alliance, which has said it wants to root out terrorists.
If militiamen capture Jowhar and consolidate power in Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts Union will effectively control all of the major towns in southern Somalia, further isolating the U.N.-backed transitional government in Baidoa, 155 miles from the capital.
Interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi told journalists in Baidoa that the international community needed to urgently send food, medicine and temporary shelter to assist residents of Mogadishu driven from their homes by the fighting.
He called for international mediation to bring peace to Somalia's troubled capital and to prevent any future outbreaks of violence. He said his government was ready to begin negotiations with the Islamic militants.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 01:27 ||
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With the latest news confirming the control of Somali capital Mogadishu by the "Union of Islamic Tribunals" (UIT) a new era of Jihad has begun in the Horn of Africa. From my observation of the development of Islamists movements in Somalia, at least since the last US involvement in 1992-1993, it took more than a decade for the Jihadi networks to penetrate the previously existing militias formed by the tribes. The UIT, or "Ittihad al mahakem al Islamiya" is not just another Muslim militia in Somalia, as al jazeera is attempting to project, so that Western media would follow. The "Mahakem" (tribunals), although initially supported by some tribes are now a structured Islamist-Jihadist militia, fully controlled by the Salafi-Imams of the area. Former members of the "Mahakem" are revealing that behind this force, the hands of al Qaida (East Africa) are omnipresent. The former members said the prime objective of this organized force is to assert its power in the capital first. In other words, the "Mahakem" wants to "digest" this first victory first.
In fact, the Islamist militia, as soon as it took control of the city, contacted members of the official government and proposed to become the "legs" of the executive branch. This attractive proposition could be accepted by the current members as an interim solution. The "Mahakem" in fact have chased out members of the cabinet into the areas outside Mogadishu, claiming the latter are "War Lords" which in fact is true. But all members of the Government were warlords, including the leaders of the "Mahakem." One of the so-called warlords defeated by the Jihadist group was the minister in charge of disbanding the militias!
In short, the shrewd planners behind the "Mahakem" practiced the strategy of preemptive strike against the competitors and secured the capital. They prompted their move for fear of the "Union for Peace and Against Terrorism" said to be supported by the US. In reality, according to sources in Somalia, the Jihadists were moving steadily to secure the capital, which in turn forced their opponents to form the counter terrorism coalition. And as soon as this coalition began to act, the "Mahakem" moved swiftly to secure the center of the country. So, contrary to the Salafist "stories" circulating on the web and al jazeera's powerful news line since last week, it was the Jihadists (al Qaida inspired) who preempted the move of their adversaries. Nevertheless, a new "front" is now open in the Horn of Africa. Now, it is important that the new strategy promised by the US President takes into consideration that the move of the "Mahakem" is serious. More analysis is coming.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:29 ||
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A violent campaign by al Qaeda militants fighting U.S.-allied Saudi Arabia has been defeated, King Abdullah was quoted as saying by Saudi newspapers published on Wednesday.
"I can assure you that your country is well and the evil-doers are, thank God, defeated," the king said at his royal court before a delegation of visiting government officials on Tuesday.
"We say that they are finished now. As we have said before, we would drive them back whether it takes 20 years or more, but, God willing, they already have been," he said in comments carried by al-Riyadh daily.
Islamist activists allied to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group have been waging a violent campaign aimed at toppling the U.S.-backed monarchy, which is also the world's biggest oil exporter, and expelling Westerners.
Officials say about 144 foreigners and Saudis, including security forces, and 120 militants have died in attacks and clashes with police since May 2003, when al Qaeda suicide bombers hit three Western housing compounds in Riyadh.
In February they tried to attack the world's largest oil processing plant at Abqaiq, but analysts say that in the face of tough Saudi security policies backed by Western intelligence agencies, the campaign has run out of steam for the moment.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:27 ||
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#1
Translation: Whatever concession that the Salafist militants were seeking was granted by the relatively more moderate Saudi princes.
Well, I'll pass. Because few al-Qaeda hotheads got splashed, it does not mean that the infiltration of Soddy police and security forces by al-Qaeda is not going on apace.
#3
The Al Qaeda campaign running out of steam for the moment and being defeated are not the same thing. Reminds me of the many previous Saudi reports of having the terrorists "surrounded". Or as the Religious Policeman once mocked:
"Tho' many be surrounded,
and the surrounding be complete,
all shall escape
but the one with bad feet".
#4
Sorry King thing as long as a Saud is alive AQ will be alive because the House of Saud pays AQ's frieght and spreads the message that allows AQ to exist and grow. Salafism and Whabbism are the part and parcel of the problem. You and your princelings pay the way for all of that and more.
#5
Hey...just think. Our prez is walking hand in hand with the foreign minister of SA.
For some reason, this is a bad thing. If you're on the Left, it shows complicity with Corrupt Islam. If you're on the Right, it shows complicity with Corrupt Islam.
So, basically, if you disagree with the transformation taking place in SA, you're a Lefty or a Righty.
What if you take a longer view? Let us say that your president has been working with the House of Saud in order to change fundamentally the actions of Sunni muslims. Do you expect changes to occur overnight? Do you expect Lefties in the US to adhere to the truth overnight? Do you expect the Righties to have patience overnight?
The cool thing about being an American is, you never have to wait to find out if you're right in your opinions or not. If anything takes any time, anything at all, then whatever your solution, you're wrong. Now! Now! Rant!
No need for patience.
The House of Saud has taken real, concrete steps to deal with Islamic terror. There's a very good chance that it will be collaboration with the House of Saud that helps us deal with the new Somali problem. I believe that there are serious muslims involved with trying to stem the tide of terrorism in the world. From the Saudis and Sunnis I know, I believe they are working with us. But it isn't going to be a NOW NOW kind of deal. But it is real, it is palpable. If you can't do the math on the number of bad guys the Saudis have helped us deal with...then, what the hell is math for?
There are times when I wonder if you have children. Especially difficult children. Like, colicky children. They're testers. But, it's just one child. Imagine trying to change the colicky behaviour of millions. When you finally find a parent with the patience to help change the behaviour, why do you heap condemnation instead of praise? Will there be lapses? Will there be mistaikes? Of course there will. But if we recognize the changes as they take place, and say thank you, don't you think that's a better spoonful than vinegar?
#8
OregonGuy, it won't make a jot of difference if we get 'concessions' or some help from the Saudis now because they feel pressured or even if a few of them want to stem terrorism.
Terrorism is the symptom of the disease and the disease is cultural and religious.
So we lose if we defeat terrorism yet they keep the madrassahs and imams and Islamofascist dream alive.
Because terrorism will just pop up again in the next generation as soon as the threat of overwhelming force disappears.
We will only have won when their culture changes. And the measure of that success is when Saudi Arabia opens up, when it becomes illegal within Saudi Arabia to slag off other religions. When Saudi Arabia becomes a tolerant beacon of human rights, when it becomes legal in Saudi Arabia to be gay or to vote and drive a car if you're a woman.
Because their culture cannot live in harmony with ours and the Imams do not want to live and let live separate but different because the temptations of a successful and free society usually tempt the Ummah away. So they have to fight and kill us to keep it together.
#9
When Saudi Arabia becomes a tolerant beacon of human rights, when it becomes legal in Saudi Arabia to be gay or to vote and drive a car if you're a woman.
The sun will be red and expanding at 20 miles a day.
An Internet trail left by a British computer expert has led investigators to an intricate terror network spreading from the backstreets of Baghdad through cells of young militants living in European capitals to Islamic extremists plotting car-bomb attacks in North America. For nine months police and intelligence agents in eight countries have patiently worked through a forest of e-mails and intercepted telephone calls that have so far led to the arrest of up to 30 men.
Most of these suspects have never met. They had no need. They were recruited, groomed by skilled propagandists and schooled in bombmaking via the Internet. A senior security source told The Times that there is a far greater number of terror networks operating in Britain than had been thought, all using the internet to plot attacks here and abroad.
A series of criminal trials in Britain, the US, Canada and Bosnia over the coming months will determine whether the much maligned Western security agencies have successfully disrupted a dangerous ring of Al Qaeda sympathisers or been duped by faulty intelligence. In a week when the competence of Scotland Yard and MI5 is being questioned, the outcome of what police here codenamed Operation Mazhar will demonstrate whether the long-promised co-operation of rival international intelligence agencies is succeeding. The operation is not connected to the raid in Forest Gate, London.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 01:06 ||
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Prisons are full of so-called "computer experts" who thought they were smarter than the cops.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 10:38 Comments ||
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An American student who was arrested in London as he prepared to board a flight to Pakistan is wanted in New York for allegedly providing military gear to al-Qaeda, officials said Wednesday.
The suspect, 26-year-old Syed Hashmi, is charged in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court with providing military equipment to people who took it to members of Osama bin Ladens terrorist organisation in Pakistan. The military gear was to be used by al-Qaeda to fight against United States forces in Afghanistan, the indictment said, without elaborating on what the equipment was. It alleged that Hashmi and others conspired to provide, and then actually provided, material support or resources to al-Qaeda between January 2004 and last month.
A New York grand jury also charged Hashmi with conspiring to assist al-Qaeda further by agreeing to make and receive a contribution of funds, goods and services to the terrorist group. Hamshi appeared in a London court on Wednesday and refused to consent to extradition. He spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth in a brief appearance. A judge denied Hashmis application for bail and ordered him held until his next court date on June 15.
Hashmi was arrested Tuesday night at Heathrow Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Pakistan, prosecutors in London said.
Prosecuting attorney Laura Rosefield, representing the United States, said he was carrying a large amount of cash when he was arrested. Rosefield said Hashmi was a US citizen who had lived in Britain since 2003, though his student visa had expired.
British police said on Wednesday they had arrested a man under anti-terrorism powers at an airport in northern England, an operation the BBC reported was linked to a security swoop last week in Canada.
A 21-year-old man from Bradford was detained at Manchester Airport late on Tuesday and has been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire, a police spokesman said.
The BBC, citing unnamed sources, said the man, believed to be of Pakistani origin, was being questioned in connection with the arrest last week of 17 Muslim men in Canadas largest counter-terrorism operation. Several are charged with plotting bombings in major Canadian cities and training militants. West Yorkshire Police said the BBC report was speculation and would not comment further.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:38 ||
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Hamshi appeared in a London court on Wednesday and refused to consent to extradition. Hashmi was a US citizen who had lived in Britain since 2003, though his student visa had expired.
He no longer has a legal right to be in the country. Expel him to his country of origin -- extradition need not apply in this situation. In my amateur opinion, of course.
Swiss justice authorities said Thursday that they had thwarted a plot by a group of North Africans to attack a plane of the Israeli airline El Al, and had made seven arrests in the process.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office said the individuals had been seized in sweeps which began on May 12 in Zurich and Basel, AFP reports, following an investigation which had shown that their cell had 'very seriously considered' attacking the Israeli carrier in Switzerland.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 11:10 ||
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Investigations also found that one of the members of the group had links to Mohamed Achraf, the suspected mastermind of a plot to blow up the National Court in Madrid.
Achraf was arrested in Switzerland and then extradited to Spain in April last year.
According to the statement, justice officials moved in on a group carrying out thefts across the Zurich region in early 2005.
Subsequent investigations found that part of the profits from the thefts were going towards financing a terrorist organisation and that the arrested people had contacts with similar cells in France and Spain.
The arrest of 17 suspected terrorists in Canada last weekend may be linked with the similar actions in Bosnia-Herzegovina last year, Bosnian media reported Wednesday. The Prosecutor's Office of the Sarajevo-based Bosnia-Herzegovina State Court, according to reports, handed over to their Canadian colleagues some information obtained in a couple of operations by Bosnian police against suspected terrorists last year.
Bosnia's intelligence service (OSA) detained in October last year Mirsad Bektasevic, a Muslim with Swedish citizenship and of Serbia and Montenegro origin, Turkish citizen Abdulkadir Cesur and Bosnian citizen Bajro Ikanovic, all suspected of planning suicide attacks on Western diplomatic missions in Bosnia.
From Bosnia to Sweden to Canada oh my.
A certain amount of weapons and explosives, as well as video tapes with instructions for a prayer before the suicide attacks, was found in the suspects' homes during the operation.
Bektasevic, Cesur and Ikanovic, who have been in custody since the arrest, last month pleaded not guilty before the State Court, where the trial against them has been ongoing. The court did not confirm or deny involvement in the arrests in Canada.
A spokesman for Bosnia-Herzegovina Prosecutor's Office, Boris Grubesic, told media that during the investigation into suspected terrorist activities last year the office contacted many countries. However, he refused to give details of the contacts or reveal the names of the countries involved.
The arrests of Bektasevic and Cesur in the Bosnian capital last year led to a number of arrests in Denmark where five men and one woman were detained last November over suspected terrorist activities, believed to be linked with the alleged terrorist group in Bosnia.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:46 ||
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NEIGHBOURS in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga were curious about why so many young Muslims used to visit Qayyum Abdul Jamal.
The oldest of the 17 arrested as part of a North American terror cell, Mr Jamal is alleged to have encouraged his followers to attend training camps in Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. Some of the Canadians are believed to have attended the same camps, run by al-Qaeda, as British militants thought to include at least two of those who murdered 52 people in London on July 7.
The Westerners were taught weapons handling and bombmaking, and how to operate cells and stay in touch with activists from other countries, using the internet. Their role back in suburbia was to radicalise other young people and pass on expertise.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police worked with Scotland Yard in Pakistan, tracing the movement of several individuals allegedly working on plots to bomb targets in Britain.
Investigators in Toronto are questioning Mr Jamal, 43, about claims that he helped to run a training camp in Washago, a rural community where locals heard machinegun fire and saw men in camouflage gear.
Police claim that the group tried to obtain three tonnes of ammonium nitrate for a bombing campaign, a charge all those arrested vigorously deny.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 01:39 ||
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The arrest of six Mississauga men for allegedly conspiring to blow up the Parliament buildings and the Toronto Stock Exchange is the latest stop on a complex web of terror that connects back to the world's most wanted man, international investigators are saying.
Investigators say the arrests of the Mississauga men are linked to an intricate terror network spreading from the back streets of Baghdad through cells of young Islamic militants living in European capitals.
The arrest of 17 suspects, many of them teenagers, picked up in Mississauga and across the GTA during a counter-terrorism sweep on the weekend, is said to be the latest stage in dismantling a terrorist network that's linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:24 ||
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A translator with ties to Fort Benning is under arrest, charged with threatening to blow up a Delta Airlines plane. The FBI and Columbus police made the arrest Tuesday. 45 year old Saleh Nasser Al Suwailem is being held in the Muscogee County jail.
He was arrested around 1 pm Tuesday at Titan Linguist Operation & Technical Support on Veterans Parkway. Authorities say the Saudi national told someone he wanted to blow up an airplane after being denied a job as an interpreter for US military operations in Iraq. The Muscogee County Sheriff's Department sent bomb dogs to sniff his luggage, but they didn't detect anything. Sheriff's Captain Joe McCree says Al Suwailem was already being watched. "I was told he had been placed on the FBI watch list for terrorist because he has been flagged for his numerous trips in and out of the country," McCree tells News Leader 9. The suspect says he was only making a joke while having some drinks. He's due to appear in federal court next week.
DUBAI Arif Ali Durrani, the flamboyant Pakistani arms dealer convicted of conspiring to smuggle military aircraft components to the Middle East has been sentenced to 12 and a half years in jail. Durrani, 56, who ran his international arms business from the Mexican resort town of Rosarita, was convicted in March this year by a US court of illegally exporting restricted weapons components from America to the UAE, Malaysia and Belgium. US District Court Judge Larry A. Burns also sentenced Durrani to three years probation and ordered that he be deported from the US once he has completed his sentence.
The court in San Diego, California heard that Durrani conspired with two Southern California arms dealers to illegally export millions of dollars in military aircraft parts, some of which were destined for Iran. Illegal exports included temperature control amplifiers for the General Electric J85 turbine engine used on the F-5 fighter and other military aircraft; an afterburner hydraulic actuator for the J85 engine; and 1st Stage Turbine Nozzles for the Honeywell T55 engine used on the Chinook military helicopter.
Durrani had a previous conviction for weapons export offences in the US. In 1987 he illegally exported HAWK missile system components and, after serving his criminal sentence, was deported from the US. Ultimately, he took up residence in Rosarito Beach and from there began orchestrating his illegal export business from Mexico.
On June 12, 2005, Mexican law enforcement officials arrested Durrani for being in Mexico illegally. Days later, Durrani was being deported by Mexican authorities to his native Pakistan when ICE agents met his connecting flight in Los Angeles. Upon his arrival, ICE agents arrested Durrani.
I'm sure the fact his flight made a stop at LAX was accidental
Durranis co-conspirators, retired Navy officer George Budenz, 60, and Richard Tobey, 38, both previously pleaded guilty in federal court to violating the Arms Control Export Act and are awaiting sentencing.Durranis sentencing was the final act in a 12 year investigation run by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). By vigilantly pursuing illegal arms dealers, particularly those with a history of selling US military hardware to state sponsors of terrorism, ICE is helping to keep sensitive technology from falling into the wrong hands, said Mike Unzueta, special agent in charge for the ICE office of investigations in San Diego. Durrani is clearly an enemy of the United States and the sentencing judge saw that too.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 09:47 ||
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#1
Flamboyant, ya say? Like Liberace was "flamboyant" maybe?
#3
12.5 years + 3 years probation then deported? Does this mean he'll be on the streets in the US for three years before they deport him? If so, why not straight from prison to the airport and out?
Posted by: Cowboy is a compliment ||
06/08/2006 14:29 Comments ||
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"On June 12, 2005, Mexican law enforcement officials arrested Durrani for being in Mexico illegally."
An American citizen who once lived in New York was indicted yesterday on charges of conspiring to send money and military gear to associates of Al Qaeda to use against United States forces in Afghanistan, federal prosecutors said.
The defendant, Syed Hashmi, 26, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London on Tuesday night as he was trying to board a flight to Pakistan, according to the United States attorney's office in Manhattan. Prosecutors said he was carrying a large amount of cash. He was jailed pending extradition proceedings.
The conspiracy alleged in the indictment was based in London, law enforcement officials said, but Mr. Hashmi, who had been living in England for two and half years, was charged in the United States because he is an American citizen. He was born in Pakistan and came to the United States as a child, officials said.
One law enforcement official said the arrest of Mr. Hashmi reinforced investigators' belief that New York was a link in a web of worldwide terrorist activity.
Mr. Hashmi had an address in Flushing, Queens, until about three years ago, and graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in political science, the official said.
The official said Mr. Hashmi was a member of Al Muhajiroun, or the Emigrants, a London-based group, now ostensibly disbanded, that praised the 9/11 attacks and was active in New York. Investigators have said a few members were involved in terrorist activity. The group has been linked to the Finsbury Park Mosque in London, which investigators called a magnet for terrorists.
Between January 2004 and May 2006, Mr. Hashmi and at least one other man who has previously been arrested in New York conspired to provide "material support or resources" to members of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's terrorist group, according to the indictment handed up by a federal grand jury.
Prosecutors refused yesterday to name the other man. But a senior law enforcement official said Mr. Hashmi was an associate of Mohammed Junaid Babar, another former Queens resident, who pleaded guilty to providing support to terrorists. The two men knew each other in London, the official said, where Mr. Hashmi introduced Mr. Babar to radical circles. Mr. Hashmi was "kind of a mentor" to Mr. Babar, the official said.
The military gear was to be transported to Qaeda associates in South Waziristan, Pakistan, the indictment said, and used by Qaeda fighters against United States forces in Afghanistan. Mr. Babar admitted supplying gear to fighters in the same area of Pakistan. The indictment did not specify the gear, but another law enforcement official said it included night-vision goggles.
Mr. Hashmi appeared in Magistrate Court on Bow Street in London yesterday. He refused to consent to extradition. He faces a maximum of 54 years in prison if convicted of all four counts.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:27 ||
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Yes, nice catch. Now we'd like to see him in Gitmo. Please send him back.
MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan - Militants triggered a bomb near a patrol of troops in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday and soldiers opened fire in retaliation, wounding one civilian, an intelligence official said. The soldiers were on a routine security patrol when the roadside went off in a bazaar in Mir Ali, a town in North Waziristan tribal area, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make media comments.
No one was injured in the explosion but the passer-by was hit by a bullet when the troops retaliated, he said.
Suspected Islamic militants - believed to be Arabs, Central Asians and Afghans and local tribesmen allegedly linked with Al Qaeda and the Taleban - are suspected in attacks and clashes with security forces in North Waziristan in recent months. The militants have called for the withdrawal of Pakistani troops in the area and demand Islamic laws be enforced there.
On Wednesday, another roadside bomb exploded near an army convoy on the outskirts Miran Shah, North Waziristans main town, wounding two soldiers and a civilian. At least 65 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in the violence since January 2006.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 10:16 ||
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soldiers opened fire in retaliation, wounding one civilian
To be a tribal elder in Pakistan's Waziristan region once meant unquestioned power and respect. These days it connotes title to a way of life ruptured by the modern world. Increasingly, it also carries a death sentence.
Some 150 tribal elders have been killed in Waziristan in the past three years. No arrests have been made; no prosecutions handed down. But most of the whispers point to the Taliban, who have publicly condemned many elders for supporting the military's war against radical militants.
Without the authority of the elders, there is little to stop the growing power of radical mullahs and the Taliban they support in a troubled land where top Al Qaeda figures have been thought to hide. Government efforts to clean up the region have only backfired, pushing the tribal system to the verge of collapse, observers contend. What is happening in Waziristan, they add, is a wake-up call for the rest of the tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 02:04 ||
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fu--ck achmed--i thought i could settle down to a spate of mountain golf and smote neck head shuffleboard with a side of bouzkashi thrown in-- now i gotta be martyred by young talibs before i can enjoy the curly headed smoothe youth early bird special
Posted by: yo momma ||
06/08/2006 15:42 Comments ||
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A man described as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's "spiritual adviser" inadvertently led US forces to the spot where the militant leader was finally located and killed, the US military says. Major General William Caldwell said the operation to track down the most wanted man in Iraq was carried out over many weeks, before two US air force F-16s killed him with a bombing raid on a house in a village north of Baghdad. "The strike last night did not occur in a 24-hour period. It truly was a very long, painstaking deliberate exploitation of intelligence, information gathering, human sources, electronic, signal intelligence that was done over a period of time - many, many weeks," he said.
He said a tip from someone in Zarqawi's network put US forces on the trail of Sheikh Abd-al-Rahman, the militant's "spiritual adviser". He would not say when they received this tip, but said they had clear evidence about a month-and-a-half ago that began the process that led them to identify the safe house where Zarqawi was eventually killed.
Gen Caldwell said Wednesday night was the first time US forces had "definite unquestionable information" they could strike the target without causing collateral damage to civilians. "We had absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Zarqawi was in the house," he said. "We knew from having watched the movements of Abd-al-Rahman that he was there too."
Once the target had been identified, two F-16 jets were dispatched towards the small house in a palm grove 8km (five miles) north of the town of Baquba. The lead aircraft dropped a 500lb bomb, and then the aircraft returned for a second run, with the second jet dropping another similar bomb. "Following this strike Iraqi security forces, specifically Iraqi police, responded to that location, they were the first ones to arrive on the scene," Gen Caldwell said.
They were followed "very shortly thereafter " by US ground forces, who "swept through the site and identified six persons that had been killed in that strike at that time". The dead included a woman and a child, and two others still to be identified.
Zarqawi's body was taken a secure location. "By visual identification it was established that that probably was him, but they... did further examination of his body, found more scars and tattoos consistent with what had been reported which we knew about him.
"They then did fingerprint identification and that came back at about 0330 this morning as positively identified as Zarqawi having been killed." DNA analysis could be completed within 48 hours.
Zarqawi's death allowed coalition forces to go after his network - those people who had been used to establish his movements, patterns and habits, Gen Caldwell said. Coalition and Iraqi forces moved quickly, conducting 17 simultaneous raids in and around Baghdad within hours of Zarqawi's death. "And in those 17 raids last night a tremendous amount of information and intelligence was collected. It is presently being exploited and utilised for further use. I mean it was a treasure trove, no question," the general said.
#1
"And in those 17 raids last night a tremendous amount of information and intelligence was collected. It is presently being exploited and utilised for further use. I mean it was a treasure trove, no question,"
#6
I wish the military would not release info on HOW they tracked Zarqawi. The more info released, they harder it will be to track future targets. Say something like an old Apache tracked Zman's New Balance sneaker prints.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 14:30 Comments ||
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Releasing this info is designed, among other things, to make other members of the terror network very nervous. Nervous about what we might know, nervous about who might rat on them.
Nervous people make mistakes and get caught or killed. That gives us more info which we exploit then release ....
#10
"#6 I wish the military would not release info on HOW they tracked Zarqawi. The more info released, they harder it will be to track future targets. Say something like an old Apache tracked Zman's New Balance sneaker prints."
How do you know that we are getting the straight story? Could be the "spiritual advisor" turned him in and escaped into witness protection and his long awaited sex change operation after his 'fake' death. Its good to let the bad guys think death can come at any time no matter what their security.
#11
So Zahman is still alive? Wonder for how long?
I'm sure that lotp and Nimble are right on the button - any information released is going to be designed to increase our effectiveness and make things really hard for the shit-heads...
This 'treasure trove' is going to be really interesting ;)
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
06/08/2006 15:29 Comments ||
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It's all a smoke screen. They simply followed the trail of camel schit covered condoms.
#13
1. Do you believe Zarqawi was traced through Rahman?
2. Do you believe remaining terrorists will be more careful meeting associates/imams/supporters?
3. Do you think AQ stopped using satphones when info was disclosed that the NSA was tracking them?
4. Same for cell phones?
5. Do you believe future homegrown terrorists will be more careful with the disclosure that much of Canadian terrorists internet comms were intercepted?
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 15:37 Comments ||
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its been in the news that internet was being monitored for YEARS now. Yet they continued to use it. They dont really have much choice, not that many ways to communicate. Theyve tried messengers, but you can follow messengers.
Remember, in WW2 it was no secret we were trying to break German and Jap codes. What WAS a secret was how good we were at it, and just which codes had been broken, and when.
As long as the technical details arent given out, theres no harm in giving out broad items.
And in fact it may be necessary now, to confirm that this was a win. There are some spinning now, that Zarq was betrayed from within his org, and this is taken as proof that his death is actually GOOD for the terrorists.
#19
"Spiritual advisor" to Zark puts him just below demons on the evil scale, but without any supernatural powers.
I don't know if it's been mentioned on any other threads, but I got a kick out of one of Gen. Caldwell's responses: a reporter mentioned that the Pres. had said that special forces were involved in the operation, but that Gen. Caldwell hadn't mentioned them. To which Caldwell said, (quoting from memory) "If the President of the United States said special forces were involved, special forces were involved."
#24
A man described as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's "spiritual adviser" inadvertently led US forces to the spot where the militant leader was finally located and killed
I'ma tellin' yez, dem Holy men ain't nuttin' but trouble!
#25
Fox News reported Zarqawi was caught in part as the result of information from a "surprising source." Two other major events occurred within a few hours of getting Zarq - was one or both somehow part of a 'deal'? 1) US seems to have 'blinked' and backed off the pressure on Iran regarding its nuclear activities. 2) Iraq's political powers reached an acceptable selection of the rest of the ministers. Did some Sunni sell Z for the ministry slot and/or some Shia sell him for concessions to Iran? It all just seems like more than coincidence.
But this shit is serious, let it go ed. There are no apache trackers, there is no White Mountain, Cochise is ded. Say something like an old Apache tracked Zman's New Balance sneaker prints.
Like I said, there are no Apache trackers, sniffing the ground like a kangaroo rat, none, gone, been gone for years. None, zilch no Apache trackers left.
#32
Might not be hearing much from Tator for a while. Resale on rural safe houses may fall into a bit of a slump as well. As US taxpayers we can all share in the pride of our tax dollars used to purchase those 500 pounders.
#33
Next picture you see of his Spiritual Advisor will be taken in an "Undisclosed Location", with Ed McMahon (is he still alive?) handing him one of those oversize "Lotto Winner" checks -the $25mil reward for kill/capture of Zarqawi.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/08/2006 13:33 ||
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Kewl. I'm listening to Limbaugh, and he just called the MSM asswipes.
He's right though, today is a good news day, and the MSM issues one negative downer after the other. The left has taken a spiral downward. All things are pointing toward that. ABC claims that we are currently within a White House inspired spin created to boost Bush's ratings. Actually, nothing has happened, there is no good news.
I tell ya, it's a good news day.
#6
Soooperb! - still too quick for a PoS like him though...
And what's with the clip below 'Is it unethical to celebrate Zarqawi's death?' and this from Fox!!
sheesh!
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
06/08/2006 15:13 Comments ||
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I heard ABC radio this morning talk about the raid. First "expert" says "This will have no effect whatsoever on the insurgency!"...exact words. Then they put on Nicholas Berg's lame-ass old man who says "This is a celebration of revenge. How could I celebrate that?"
The MSM is so sad and so predictable. They see the world through a revised marxist vision. Rather than bourgois vs. proletariat, it is now strong vs. weak. The weak are "right" regardless of the facts of their actions. They are wholly non-acountable and given a total pass, their word is always believed, they are lionized and can essentially do anything and the MSM will take their side and actively support them.
Zarq and Al Q are the weak vs. the strong US military. He can cut off people's heads, target civilians and kill thousands, but he gets the pass. In fact, everyone else is the weak compared to our military. Likewise the US govt is always the strong and thus always suspect and portrayed in a negative light.
This mindset by default actively engages against the interests of the United States. The MSM is NOT our friend.
Moderator note: this story was originally posted by Reuters on Nov. 20, 2005. It's reproduced at Free Republic. If someone could post the source URL for the original Reuters story in the comments it would be very helpful. AoS.
A roadside bomb that killed a US Marine in the restive town of Haditha on Saturday also killed 15 Iraqi civilians and led to intense clashes with insurgents. The powerful bomb detonated as a US military convoy was passing through the town, which is 220 kilometres north-west of Baghdad.
The US military says immediately after the blast, gunmen opened fire on the convoy. US and Iraqi soldiers returned fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding another in a firefight.
A cameraman working for Reuters in Haditha says bodies had been left lying in the street for hours after the attack. He says the town has been virtually shut down for the past two days as US and Iraqi forces try to impose order.
The casualties from Saturday's blast raised the death toll from attacks across Iraq over the past three days to at least 166. Sunni-led insurgents are stepping up their battle against US and Iraqi forces ahead of parliamentary elections in December.
Rose Garden
Washington, D.C.
7:31 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Last night in Iraq, United States military forces killed the terrorist al Zarqawi. At 6:15 p.m. Baghdad time, special operation forces, acting on tips and intelligence from Iraqis, confirmed Zarqawi's location, and delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq.
Zarqawi was the operational commander of the terrorist movement in Iraq. He led a campaign of car bombings, assassinations and suicide attacks that has taken the lives of many American forces and thousands of innocent Iraqis. Osama bin Laden called this Jordanian terrorist "the prince of al Qaeda in Iraq." He called on the terrorists around the world to listen to him and obey him. Zarqawi personally beheaded American hostages and other civilians in Iraq. He masterminded the destruction of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. He was responsible for the assassination of an American diplomat in Jordan, and the bombing of a hotel in Amman.
Through his every action, he sought to defeat America and our coalition partners, and turn Iraq into a safe haven from which al Qaeda could wage its war on free nations. To achieve these ends, he worked to divide Iraqis and incite civil war. And only last week he released an audio tape attacking Iraq's elected leaders, and denouncing those advocating the end of sectarianism.
Now Zarqawi has met his end, and this violent man will never murder again. Iraqis can be justly proud of their new government and its early steps to improve their security. And Americans can be enormously proud of the men and women of our armed forces, who worked tirelessly with their Iraqi counterparts to track down this brutal terrorist and put him out of business.
The operation against Zarqawi was conducted with courage and professionalism by the finest military in the world. Coalition and Iraqi forces persevered through years of near misses and false leads, and they never gave up. Last night their persistence and determination were rewarded. On behalf of all Americans, I congratulate our troops on this remarkable achievement.
Zarqawi is dead, but the difficult and necessary mission in Iraq continues. We can expect the terrorists and insurgents to carry on without him. We can expect the sectarian violence to continue. Yet the ideology of terror has lost one of its most visible and aggressive leaders.
Zarqawi's death is a severe blow to al Qaeda. It's a victory in the global war on terror, and it is an opportunity for Iraq's new government to turn the tide of this struggle. A few minutes ago I spoke to Prime Minister Maliki. I congratulated him on close collaboration between coalition and Iraqi forces that helped make this day possible. Iraq's freely elected Prime Minister is determined to defeat our common enemies and bring security and the rule of law to all its people.
Earlier this morning he announced the completion of his cabinet appointments, with the naming of a new Minister of Defense, a new Minister of the Interior, and a new Minister of State for National Security. These new ministers are part of a democratic government that represents all Iraqis. They will play a vital role as the Iraqi government addresses its top priorities -- reconciliation and reconstruction and putting an end to the kidnappings and beheadings and suicide bombings that plague the Iraqi people. I assured Prime Minister Maliki that he will have the full support of the United States of America.
On Monday I will meet with my national security team and other key members of my Cabinet at Camp David to discuss the way forward in Iraq. Our top diplomats and military commanders in Iraq will give me an assessment of recent changes in the political and economic and security situation on the ground. On Tuesday, Iraq's new Ambassador to the United States will join us, and we will have a teleconference discussion with the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet. Together we will discuss how to best deploy America's resources in Iraq and achieve our shared goal of an Iraq that can govern itself, defend itself and sustain itself.
We have tough days ahead of us in Iraq that will require the continued patience of the American people. Yet the developments of the last 24 hours give us renewed confidence in the final outcome of this struggle: the defeat of terrorism threats, and a more peaceful world for our children and grandchildren.
May God bless the Iraqi people and may God continue to bless America.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 10:29 ||
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Conspiracy theorists to claim Zarq has been toes up for sometime and taken off ice as an election year ploy in 5..4..3..
Al-Qaida in Iraq confirmed the death of its leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and vowed it will continue its 'holy war' in a statement posted on the Web on Thursday.
'We want to give you the joyous news of the martyrdom of the mujahed sheik Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,' said the statement, signed by 'Abu Abdel-Rahman al-Iraqi,' identified as the deputy 'emir' or leader of al-Qaida in Iraq.
I'm pretty happy about it myself
'The death of our leaders is life for us. It will only increase our persistence in continuing holy war so that the word of God will be supreme,' it said.
So the more of you we kill, the happier you're gonna be? Say, we do have a lot in common.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 10:29 ||
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The death of our leaders is life for us. It will only increase our persistence in continuing holy war so that the word of God will be supreme
#2
May Zarq enjoy his 72 grapes. TO article mentions that the translation of virgins is a little muddy and may just be "white raisins" - a boon of sweet fruit in an arid deser. Zarq's gonna pissed - heaven is a handful of raisins?
by Dan Darling AS INFORMATION CONCERNING HIS DEMISE continues to surface, the death of Abu Musab Zarqawi marks the end of one of the most accomplished mass murderers in the modern history of terrorism. According to the claims of responsibility released by his own group in Iraq, Zarqawi and his followers have conservatively murdered thousands of Iraq civilians and hundreds of coalition soldiers--in addition to perpetrating the February 2006 bombing of the al-Askariyyah Mosque in Samarra that instigated a wave of sectarian violence across the country.
Born Ahmed Fadel Nazal al-Khalayleh, Zarqawi was first identified as a major threat during a meeting of the German-Atlantic Society in Berlin in the fall of 2002. There, Hans-Josef Beth, the head of Germany's International Terrorism Department of the Security Service, warned that Zarqawi was an al Qaeda leader who "has experience with poisonous chemicals and biological weapons." Even before the beginning of the Iraqi insurgency, the State Department's 2002 Patterns of Global Terrorism report already marked of the scope of his murderous ambitions, noting that "In the past year, al-Qaida operatives in northern Iraq concocted suspect chemicals under the direction of senior al-Qaida associate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and tried to smuggle them into Russia, Western Europe, and the United States for terrorist operations."
Zark was involved in the Millenium Plot in Jordan in 2000. One of his death sentences stems from that. I believe al-Tawhid was involved in the plot to blow up the EU Parliament, as well. So he's not a recent phenomenon, nor was he an exclusively al-Qaeda phenomenon.
The nature and extent of Zarqawi's activities inside Iraq prior to the invasion have always been the subject of debate, though it is generally agreed that he spent a considerable amount of time in northern Iraq working with the al Qaeda associate group Ansar al-Islam.
Tawhid cadres went into the establishment of Jund al-Islam, with the bulk of the cannon fodder coming from Mullah Krekar's Islamic Movement of Kurdistan.
In February 2003, then-Secretary of State Collin Powell told the U.N. Security Council that Zarqawi, was "an associated and collaborator of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaida lieutenants" and had "traveled to Baghdad in May 2002 for medical treatment." "During this stay," Powell noted, "nearly two dozen extremists converged on Baghdad and established a base of operations there." These claims have been disputed by critics, including many who have argued (erroneously) that the 9/11 Commission report debunks any past claims of Iraqi collaboration with al Qaeda (in fact, the report never mentions Zarqawi).
Yet according to the text of a Senate Select Intelligence Committee report, imprisoned al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah "indicated that he had heard that an important al-Qaida associate, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi . . . had good relationships with Iraqi intelligence." In its discussion of Zarqawi's stay in Baghdad, the report noted that "As indicated in Iraqi Support for Terrorism, the Iraqi regime was, at a minimum, aware of al-Zarqawi's presence in Baghdad in 2002 because a foreign government service passed [redacted] information regarding his whereabouts to Iraqi authorities in June 2002" and that "The HUMINT [Human Intelligence] reporting indicated that the Iraqi regime certainly knew that al-Zarqawi was in Baghdad." As recently as May 2006, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld stated that "Zarqawi was in Baghdad during the pre-war period. That is a fact."
ZARQAWI'S EXACT RELATIONSHIP with Osama bin Laden has also been debated, with war critics alleging that the two were rivals before the Iraq war brought them together. Yet this theory ignores a great deal of evidence, such as a September 2003 Washington Post report that Zarqawi met with al Qaeda military chief Saif al-Adel in eastern Iran more than a month before the invasion to begin laying the groundwork for the Iraqi insurgency. Zarqawi's 2004 letter to the al Qaeda leadership describes Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri as "gracious brothers . . . leaders, guides, and symbolic figures of jihad and battle" and Shadi Abdallah, the man whose testimony in German court is often cited by critics, would later note that Zarqawi "could do nothing without the prior agreement of the cleric Abu Qatada," a U.K.-based Islamist who has long regarded as bin Laden's top representative in Europe.
They were "rivals" in the sense that they ran parallel organizations. The organizations ended up touching in Iraq when Zark became an al-Qaeda emir. Qaeda's roots are in the jihad against the Soviets, while those of al-Tawhid lie in the takfir ideology. Zark's adherents are extreme even within the al-Qaeda organization — takfiri tried to kill Binny for not being Islamic enough when he was in Sudan.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Zarqawi has emerged as the primary terrorist opponent of the United States and its allies as well as the most effective insurgent commander. His strategy has been to instigate a sectarian civil war aimed more at destroying the country than in overthrowing its government. Not content simply to kill Iraqis in order to satisfy his murderous impulses, Zarqawi and his organization have been linked to dozens of attempted terrorist attacks in the Middle East and Europe, including a thwarted chemical attack in his native homeland of Jordan in April 2004. His influence was felt as far as the recent arrests in Canada, where the Mississauga News reported that "Zarqawi's outfit passe[d] on bomb-making manuals, advice on how to sustain terror cells and even ways to use credit card fraud to hack into vital Internet sites" to the accused terror suspects. Had he survived, Zarqawi might well have followed through on the strategy recommended to him by al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri, which called upon him to expand his war to encompass the rest of the Middle East.
He'd already started doing that with the attacks in Egypt, which will ultimately be laid at his door, and the new cells in Lebanon and Gaza.
Zarqawi's death is unlikely to prove the immediate end of either al Qaeda in Iraq or the Iraqi insurgency, as Zarqawi was, by his own account, only a servant or representative of al Qaeda's international terrorist organization.
They're always "modest" like that — every tyrant and dictator for life is "only carrying out the will of the people."
Yet it must be noted that Zarqawi was also a monster of unspeakable proportions. The United States, its coalition allies, and the new Iraqi government have much to be thankful for in bringing an end to this mass murderer's career.
In fact, Zark was a charismatic leader — think about that next time somebody's extolling the charisma of his political candidate — and he was apparently a brilliant organizer. He had threads running through Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunna, al-Tawhid, and probably other organizations that haven't come to light. He was a terror kingpin, and the Bad Guyz will have a hard time replacing him, if they're able to. He's a more significant victory for us than Khattab's death or KSM's capture was...
Dan Darling is a counterterrorism consultant.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 09:27 ||
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We need a mug shot of Dan for the upper right corner ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 10:00 Comments ||
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#2
Mass murderer? We need to be careful about defining deviancy down. I'd think you need at least 100K to get into the exalted league of Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pot. This guy is a murderous thug who takes advantage of the abesence of any adult supervision to enjoy his sickness. I don't really consider Slobo a mass murderer, either, though he comes closer, having controlled the state organs of execution. This guy is more a Ted Bundy with out fetters. Let's demean him, not increase his reputation.
#3
I dunno, Ted Bundy was a sweet, smooth guy from all accounts, the nice, likeable guy a girlfriend would like to meet her father. Zarqawi, on the other hand, seemed like a bona fide thug, the "green man" tattoed ex-con, boy-rapist and drug user.
#5
charisma is a word for charm - it was discussed by Max Weber years ago - it can be used for good (reagan or clinton, depending on your POV) or for evil (Hitler). But the attraction to it is probably part of human nature.
#8
I think that there are some on facebook, if you are interested. I wrote that under very little sleep, by the way, so I really hope everyone enjoyed this.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 10:53 Comments ||
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#9
Very nice news.
I'm not jumping up and down and screaming with joy as I did the moment I heard that Uday and Qusay were waxed. . . but still, it's very nice news.
Very nice indeed. . . scumbag.
Posted by: Azad ||
06/08/2006 11:17 Comments ||
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#10
We don't put editors' pictures up on site so they don't end up on Boris' hate site.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 11:26 Comments ||
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#11
Damn, there go my hopes of seeing Fred in his customized skullcap as a Rantburg pic ...
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 11:52 Comments ||
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#12
We can still get pix of Fred in that hot little leather number, right? ;-)
Posted by: Dar ||
06/08/2006 12:05 Comments ||
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#13
we haven't seen Fred with "khyber flyer" lid on for a spell!
The Iraqi parliament has approved Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's nominees for the key government posts of defence and interior ministers. The two posts had remained vacant for nearly three weeks due to wrangling between the main parties in the governing Shia alliance.
This is very good news, and if Zarq man hadn't picked yesterday to die (not that I'm complaining, mind you), this would be the lead news on any decent MSM site ...
Jawad Bulani, a Shia, is the new interior minister and Abdul Qadir Obeidi, a Sunni, the defence minister. Shirwan Waili has also been approved as minister of national security. The nominees were approved by an overwhelming majority and sworn in by the parliamentary speaker after brief questioning by members of parliament. Filling the posts was seen as vital in furthering the government's efforts to fight the insurgency. For the first time since the parliamentary elections in December 2005, Iraq now has a complete government.
Lt Gen Obeidi, a general in the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein, told parliament that he had been demoted for opposing the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. He said that he was forced to retire in 1992 and detained two years later. He faced a military court which ordered the confiscation of his house and other assets. Gen Obeidi insisted that he had no links to any Iraqi political faction.
Mr Bulani was a member of Iraq's interim Governing Council in 2004. He became a member of the Iraqi parliament in 2005. During the rule of Saddam Hussein he was an air force engineer but left the armed forces in 1999.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 09:24 ||
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"decent MSM site "
And such sites might be what? (For future reference.)
Baghdad, 8 June (AKI) - Following the death of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killed in an US air raid near Baquba on Wednesday, Wariya Arbili takes over the mantle of the 'oldest' al-Qaeda militant in the country, according to specialist intelligence website Debka. Arbili heads the second militant group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunna. The organisation controls various areas of the country, and in particular a large part of Kurdistan. Its strongholds are in Kirkuk, Mosul, Tel Afar and the so-called 'Sunni triangle' - northwest of Baghdad which is inhabited mainly by Sunni Muslim Arabs.
According to anti-terrorism forces, the rivalry between al-Zarqawi and Arbili had recently persuaded Osama Bin Laden to appoint a new world operations' leader with authority over both al-Zarqawi and Arbili. Bin Laden appointed to this key post an Iraqi al-Qaeda's militant, Abdulhadi al-Iraqi, who replaced Abu Farj al-Libi, arrested by the Pakistani police, anti-terrorism sources said. Abdulhadi's absolute priority is to bring order between the two rival groups and to avoid a bloody clash for the leadership.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 08:43 ||
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No! We *want* a bloody clash for leadership! "There can be only one!" Get yer knives out, boys!
Posted by: Dar ||
06/08/2006 9:27 Comments ||
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#3
From DEBKA: Al Qaeda has already named Abdallah Bin Rashid al Baghdadi, head of its shura council in Iraq, as Abu Musab al Zarqawis successor. DEBKAfiles counter-terror sources reveal Western intelligence agencies dealing with terrorists in the region know nothing about the new man. Al Qaeda has already vowed to fight on after Zarqawis death in a statement on its web site.
DEBKAfile discloses: Zarqawis death leaves Wariya Arbili as the most senior al Qaeda player in Iraq. He is chief of al Qaedas second largest affiliate in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunna, an organization which controls large tracts of the country - especially in parts of Kurdistan - with a foothold in Kirkuk and Mosul as well as Tal Afar to the north and sections of the Sunni triangle.
DEBKAfiles counter-terror sources reveal that a quarrel which flared recently between Arbili and Zarqawi led to Osama bin Laden naming a new worldwide operations chief with authority over both. He is an Iraqi from the north, known only by his nom de guerre, Abdulhadi al-Iraqi, and he replaces Abu Farj al-Libi who was captured by Pakistani forces. Bin Ladens choice of an indigenous Iraqi ops chief pointed to the high importance the al Qaeda leader attaches to the Iraq warfront for the future of his organization. Abdulhadi now faces the urgent task of bringing order to al Qaedas ranks, which are packed with foreign adherents, and Iraqi affiliates to avert a bloody power struggle among commanders.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 9:47 Comments ||
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#5
RE: The pic. I never learned those pistol techniques in my defensive handgun class.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 10:18 Comments ||
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#6
Juggling .45s was the first thing they taught us.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 10:29 Comments ||
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#7
...Will someone please hand Mr. Arbili his red shirt?....Thankyouverymuch.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/08/2006 12:03 Comments ||
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#8
"Great news, fellow Jihadis! It seems a big American retail chain has seen our brave fight against the Yankee Zionist Dogs and wants to support us. Look at the beautiful red and white T-shirts they sent!
#10
With Zarky gone, and the cell numbers of most of the group in our posession, and Iraqi speaking agents, why not invite the boyz to a team prayer and last camel roast ?
#13
The organisation controls various areas of the country, and in particular a large part of Kurdistan
I could believe sunni areas and even shitte areas. But if you expect me to believe they are controling Kurdistan you are delussional. The Kurds would kill them.
Posted by: Charles ||
06/08/2006 14:34 Comments ||
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#14
Maybe the out-takes from Zarq's last video were too Humiliating to allow him to live. Ratting out the clowns.
More outtakes! More making fun of 'em! Makes them blow up real good. Worked beautifully.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, was believed to be behind many of the most headline-grabbing attacks of the conflict in Iraq. The Jordanian-born fighter rose to prominence as leader of the Islamist Tawhid and Jihad group in 2003.
Tawhid was founded to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy. It was active in Europe at least as early as 2000.
In 2004, al-Zarqawi announced that he pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden and changed the organisation's name to al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The group carried out some of the most deadly attacks in Iraq since the US-led invasion, including the January 2005 bombing of a crowd of police and Iraqi National Guard recruits in the southern city of Hilla that killed 125 people. Al-Zarqawi is alleged to have personally beheaded at least two American hostages during 2004 - Nick Berg and Eugene Armstrong. During 2005, al-Qaeda in Iraq began to move their campaign beyond Iraq's borders - carrying out a suicide attack on a Jordanian hotel that killed 60 people and claiming responsibility for a rocket attack against Israel.
That was a mere extension of the al-Qaeda operation to al-Tawhid.
The US put a $25 million on his head, the same as for Osama bin Laden, and al-Zarqawi was sentenced to death three times in his native Jordan.
Guess they can close the books on that one now...
The group was also at the centre of the Iraqi sectarian conflict that has threatened to develop into all-out civil war.
Zark and his organization are takfiri. Anybody who doesn't agree with them 100 percent is an infidel. That puts Shiites into the same category as Lutherans.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the bombing of Shia mosques and al-Zarqawi described Shia muslims as "enemies of Islam" in an audiotape posted on the internet in June. But analysts believe that despite being a prominent figure in the Iraqi uprising, his influence was often exaggerated by the media.
Which just goes to show you don't have to be a genius, or even moderately smart, to be an analyst.
His organisation was believed to be only 3,000 strong at most and US army officials admitted raising al-Zarqawi's profile by blaming attacks on his group, the Washington Post reported in April. After reports that he had been dislodged as political leader of the Iraqi uprising, al-Zarqawi released a video in May in an attempt to maintain his profile - a move that may have provided the US with information on his whereabouts.
Born Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayla in 1966, al-Zarqawi was known in the Jordanian industrial town of al-Zarqa as a small-time criminal. He adopted his Islamist radical ideology while in a Jordanian prison in the late 1990s. After being released in an amnesty, al-Zarqawi went in 1999 to Afghanistan, where he formed links with bin Laden. He fled during the US-led war that toppled the Taliban government in late 2001, passing through Iran to Iraq, according to US officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 08:48 ||
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On tombstone:
"Never did learn to fire an MG right."
"Please do not throw cigarette butts in urinal."
"Employees must wash hands before returning to work."
"Do not eat the big white mints."
Posted by: Dar ||
06/08/2006 9:23 Comments ||
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#2
I mourn his purty mouth. We will never see it's like again...
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's older brother says the family had anticipated the death of the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader for some time. "We anticipated that he would be killed for a very long time," Sayil al-Khalayla told The Associated Press on Thursday in a telephone interview from al-Zarqa, the poor industrial town that al-Zarqawi called home and from which he derived his name.
Something to do with his line of work, I guess...
"We expected that he would be martyred," he said, in a low voice, signalling his grief over the death of his brother, whose real name is Ahmad Fadhil Nazzal al-Khalayla. "We hope that he will join other martyrs in heaven."
Define "heaven."
In the wake of a triple hotel bombings in Amman last November, claimed by al-Zarqawi's group, his family told King Abdullah II that they "severed links with him until doomsday".
"Yeah. Really. Got nuttin' to do with him. We don't even know him."
In newspaper adverts, 57 members of the al-Khalayla family, including Sayil, reiterated their allegiance to the king.
On Thursday, in Jordan's al-Zarqa town, al-Zarqawi's three sisters arrived at the family home but declined to talk to reporters as they entered the house. With the women was al-Zarqawi's borther-in-law, Abu Qudama, who said: "We are not sad that he's dead. To the contrary, we're happy because he's a martyr and he's now in heaven."
In front of the family house, a 13-year-old boy, who said he was al-Zarqawi's nephew, stared at a crush of reporters who had gathered there. "I'm so sad about my uncle," said the boy, who identified himself as Omar. He said the family heard the news of al-Zarqawi's death on Aljazeera.
Other family members declined to come outside to speak to reporters, who knocked several times on their door. Speaking to Aljazeera on Thursday, Abd al-Bari Atwan, editor of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, said he thought the killing of al-Zarqawi was timed to boost the new Iraqi prime minister. "I think this was an organised coincidence," he said. "I think the Americans planned for this operation a long time ago, which helped them find information about al-Zarqawi's location and lay siege to it. For sure, prime minister al-Maliki, who faces difficulties in forming a national unity government, knew what would happen. Which is why he chose this day to announce the ministers of defence, interior and national security, so that it would coincide with the the killing of al-Zarqawi, which they thought would be a great victory."
Muntasr al-Zayyat, an Egyptian expert on Islamic groups, told Aljazeera: "Al-Maliki and other Iraqi politicians do not recognise the truth. The first thing to know is that the Iraqi resistance is from Iraq itself.
Zark wasn't, though...
"Al-Zarqawi is one of the few mujahidin Arabs (holy fighters) who entered Iraq to fight US and foreign forces which occupied the country. Without the support of honest Iraqis to the Iraqi resistance, al-Zarqawi would not be able to stay all this period doing operations that harmed the occupation forces."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/08/2006 08:37 ||
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he thought the killing of al-Zarqawi was timed to boost the new Iraqi prime minister. "I think this was an organised coincidence," he said. "I think the Americans planned for this operation a long time ago, which helped them find information about al-Zarqawi's location and lay siege to it.
It's always a conspiracy, isn't it?
Do they appreciate Karl Rove?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/08/2006 9:04 Comments ||
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#2
"we're happy because he's a martyr and he's now in heaven"
So much for shunning and full-page ads and allegiance to the king -- there's still vermin in al-Zarqa.
#3
Got some bad news for ya Sayil. Heaven will be filled with all kinds of people, but there will be a few notable exceptions. Like 'No death-cult gunsexer homicidal psychotic muzzie pieces of sh*t allowed'.
#4
Why on earth would Zark's family have any sympathy for him whatsoever? This insurgency isn't going to last forever, and they're going to find themselves on somebody's short list someday.
After the WoT is sewn up, perhaps the next one ought to be the WACT - War Against Conspiracy Theorists. At the very least it ought to get rid of a good part of the shallow end of the gene pool.
Posted by: grb ||
06/08/2006 15:40 Comments ||
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#5
Clearly his family back home in Jordan took out that ad in the hope that it would buy them protection from Jordan's secret police, who are not very nice people. Equally clearly, the family is very proud of their son, the terror kingpin. Finally, if we were keeping an eye on al Zarqawi for just ages, think how many of his visitors must have been followed home in the meantime! :-)
#6
Why on earth would Zark's family have any sympathy for him whatsoever?
Fame! (Infamy) It's all glory - all fifteen minutes of it. This is the islamist version of entertainment and superheros and hollywood. These are the guys who know the "stars".
U.S. air raid north of Baghdad kills most wanted militant in Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida-linked militant who led a bloody campaign of suicide bombings, kidnappings and hostage beheadings in Iraq, has been killed in a U.S. air raid north of Baghdad, Iraqs prime minister said Thursday.
Zark was also the head cheese of al-Tawhid, which extends far beyond Iraq.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said al-Zarqawi was killed along with seven aides Wednesday evening in a house 30 miles northeast of Baghdad in the volatile province of Diyala. Today, al-Zarqawi was terminated, al-Maliki told a news conference, drawing loud applause from reporters as he was flanked by U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and U.S. Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
Fox News sez they got him by shadow tracking. Rather than targeting him, they were following his pet holy man, Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman. Zark's OPSEC would be drum-tight having your head cut off would be a good incentive not to blab, I'd guess but not quite so for the holy man. The press will probably try to pooh-pooh the hit by saying we got him by accident. The subject has already been broached at the MNF news conference.
Al-Maliki said the air strike was the result of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area, and U.S. forces acted on the information. Those who disrupt the course of life, like al-Zarqawi, will have a tragic end, he said.
Twwo laser-guided 500-pound bombs' worth of tragic end.
Khalilzad added the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is a huge success for Iraq and the international war on terror.
Bigger than the public realizes. al-Qaeda in Iraq is the training ground, but al-Tawhid is the international Takfir organization.
June 8, 2006
Release A060608a Coalition forces kill Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi BAGHDAD, Iraq Multi-National Force-Iraq Commanding General, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., announced the death of al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi in the following statement during a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad June 8:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Coalition forces killed al-Qaida terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman, yesterday, June 7, at 6:15 p.m. in an air strike against an identified, isolated safe house.
Apparently there were computers and papers picked up, too. The MNF briefing said they carried out 17 raids in the immediate wake of the hit, based on the intel. The bodies don't seem to have been vaporized, since they were able to ident the corpses based on appearance as well as fingerprints. DNA confirmation to come.
Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi and some of his associates who were conducting a meeting approximately eight kilometers north of Baqubah when the air strike was launched.
Fox News sez Jordan provided the intel that led to the targeting...
Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike, and elements of Multi-National Division - North, arrived shortly thereafter. Coalition forces were able to identify al-Zarqawi by fingerprint verification, facial recognition and known scars.
The hit took place yesterday, and the announcement was held off to confirm it was him.
Al-Zarqawi and al-Qaida in Iraq have conducted terrorist activities against the Iraqi people for years in attempts to undermine the Iraqi national government and Coalition efforts to rebuild and stabilize Iraq . He is known to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis. Al-Zarqawi's death is a significant blow to al-Qaida and another step toward defeating terrorism in Iraq.
Zark's been reported dead at least three times before, which goes to confirm my contention that we only have to be successful once. I doubt he'll be reported dead again, though I'd guess the Bad Guyz will report he's alive a few times. There's been a Qaeda announcement that he's titzup, by the way.
Although the designated leader of al-Qaida in Iraq is now dead, the terrorist organization still poses a threat as its members will continue to try to terrorize the Iraqi people and destabilize their government as it moves toward stability and prosperity. Iraqi forces, supported by the Coalition, will continue to hunt terrorists that threaten the Iraqi people until terrorism is eradicated in Iraq .
#3
This no rumor. A massive blow to the terrorist, a huge victory for America, Iraq, and all decent people everywhere. The death of this monster will marked as the beginning of the end of Al Queda operations in Iraq. And watch for the celebrations by the ordinary people there. They're going to nuts with joy.
#8
Now who gets the $25M? Hopefully not an "ex" terrorist! I hear one of his own turned him in! Doh! Not a good idea for a guy in your position to be pi$$ing off anybody around you, Zark!
And someone ought to tell Mr. Al-Maliki exactly how to use the word "tragic"! :-)
Hopefully people have had enough of the BS, and more and more people are going to start turning these guys in now. In that case, this will mean something. Otherwise it may just be political jockeying in AQ's ranks, or Iran getting upset with the guy enough to decide to have us do a little work for them.
Posted by: grb ||
06/08/2006 6:15 Comments ||
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#9
This is huge! Not just the development (predicted yesterday0 but timig-wise as well. Thank you Karl Rove!
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
06/08/2006 6:28 Comments ||
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#10
NEXT!
Posted by: bruce ||
06/08/2006 6:48 Comments ||
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#11
The classical Greek definition of a "tragedy" is a play in which the protagonist is done in by his own errors and failings. In the classical Greek sense, Zarqawi's end is a "tragedy."
In modern terms, it's "an excuse for a party."
Nice shooting, boys!
Posted by: Mike ||
06/08/2006 6:56 Comments ||
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#18
Bet he didn't expect that 500 lb bomb from 30000 ft.
Still, for a beast who got pleasure from sawing off the heads of struggling victims, he died for too easily.
Posted by: john ||
06/08/2006 7:45 Comments ||
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#19
Ululululuulu!!!
Now who gets the $25M?
No one. Though I do hope they do show up and try to collect.
Tips and intelligence from Iraqi senior leaders from his network led forces to al-Zarqawi..."
Interesting that other Al Qaeda ratted him and his boys out especially coming so soon after yesterday's StrategyPage article: Zarqawi Scheduled for Martyrdom
So fewer carbombs against civilians and more attacks against American and Iraqi forces?
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 7:48 Comments ||
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#20
OT : this has been asked before, but... is the first fat lady pic the esteemed site boss and owner in drags???
#22
but... is the first fat lady pic the esteemed site boss and owner in drags???
No, Fred is the second picture.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 8:02 Comments ||
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#23
A friend of mine's son is an FBI analyst who was part of the team that figured out where the SOB was (not hyperbole -- he's gotten commendations for his Iraq analyses). Needless to say, my friend is busting shirt buttons.
#24
This is great!!! Life just got better for thousands, and I heard oil priced dropped today as well!
Who cares who gets the $25 million. The program is designed to get the folks in the organizations to turn each other in. If it was Zarks #2 that turned him in it would be even better. This will breed paranoia in the group and fracture the trust.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/08/2006 8:04 Comments ||
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#25
More good news on Captains Quarters, I had hoped this would happen:
Minutes after the Zarqawi's death was announced the long-debated interior, defense and national security posts were filled in a giddy session of parliament. Abdul Qadir Muhammed Jassim, a Sunni Arab and former Iraqi army commander, was named defense minister, Jawad al-Bolani, a Shiite, was put in charge of the interior ministry, and Sherwan Alwaeli, a Kurd, was named the country's top official for national security.
"I call on Iraq's various communities to take responsibility for bringing sectarian violence to an end, and for all Iraqis to unite behind Prime Minister Maliki," Khalilzad said.
Posted by: Steve ||
06/08/2006 8:14 Comments ||
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#26
MSNBC sez Al-Maliki said the airstrike was the result of intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by residents in the area, and U.S. forces acted on the information. Casey said the hunt for al-Zarqawi began two weeks ago, and his body was identified by fingerprints and facial recognition.
A Jordanian official said Jordan also provided the U.S. military with information that helped in tracking al-Zarqawi down. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was addressing intelligence issues, would not elaborate, but Jordan is known to have intelligence agents operating in Iraq to hunt down Islamic militants.
So was Jordanian intel infiltration of Al Tawhid the key? At least it's not inconsistent w/ AQ fingering Zarq.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 8:23 Comments ||
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#27
Great news, obviously. Interesting decision to kill and not capture. I hope this is the start of a trend.
#28
one of his key lieutenants, spiritual advisor Sheik Abd-Al-Rahman
I assume that is Sheikh Abd Al- Rahman Abd Al-Khaleq. He is also a big score by himself. MEMRI Prior to his return to Jordan, Al-Maqdisi was either connected with or a member of Jam'iyat Al-Turath Al-Islami (The Society of Islamic Heritage), considered the principal Salafi organization in Kuwait. The Society was directed by Sheikh Abd Al- Rahman Abd Al-Khaleq, an Egyptian who came to Kuwait in the 1960s a nd helped bring "Jihadi thought" to the Palestinian youth in Kuwait. Among the other returnees from Kuwait were Abu Anas Al-Shami, the Shari'a authority of Al-Zarqawi's group, who was killed in Baghdad; Abu Qutaybah, senior military official in Al-Zarqawi group; and Ghazi Al-Tawbah, whose exact expertise is not known. These three, together with Al-Zarqawi, were the nucleus of the Jihadi movement in Al-Zarqaa.
Posted by: ed ||
06/08/2006 8:34 Comments ||
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#29
No virgins for you, Zarq! Could not even die like a martyr.
Two young members of the crowd showed the camera a child's sandal, a backpack with a teddy bear on it and a stuffed animal. The site sat across a dirt road from a grove of palm trees.
#35
Do it right
bombing him in the night
Shadow tracking
Posted by: Barry Gibb ||
06/08/2006 9:24 Comments ||
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#36
Barry, here I thought all you cared about was making sure your voice sounded like a 13 year old girl. I had no idea you were so interested in World Affairs. I take it Zarq's old song was 'Stayin Alive'?
CONGRATULATIONS celebrations, ululations all round let's hand out the sweets!
This is sincerely a turning point in the war, as much for the PR and psychology of him being dead as anything else.
If believed that p*d off Iraqis sold him out, other Iraqis will think that finally the Sunnis are sick of violence and ready to rebuild the country which will make nation building a HELL of a lot easier
Secondly, is the simple logistics of him being dead and each link of the chain that goes down the harder it is to operate even for a decentralised web like this. Also I hope the holy man got iced as well.
Thirdly, just look at the Gold market. Price of gold has been going down for weeks now on back of US dollar strength, Fed comments backing dollar.
But today after Zarq got squished, gold price went down a massive $14.20.
Gold market thinks it's a turning point in Iraq.
Because if Iraq goes well, and the US can call the troops home then i) the US doesn't have to inflate dollars to pay the billion a day it costs (strenthening the dollar, weakening gold) and ii) the world is that much safer against Islamofascists.
Looking forward, the Gold market is discounting the possibility of success in Iraq meaning the US will win this war on terror.
It's a long road but every now and then there's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel that tells you success is not only possible but very VERY achievable. It just takes pressure and time.
Well done.
If you win Iraq, you'll bring Iran to heel without much pressure and then you can pressure the Saudis.
The Islamofascist war isn't going to be as long as first thought it Iraq becomes the beacon of freedom and hope it has the potential to be.
#48
If I was into gun sex I'd be doing it right now. Oh happy day!
Posted by: Rafael ||
06/08/2006 11:23 Comments ||
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#49
My uulator has gotten a bit rusty from lack of use. Anybody got any Neatsfoot oil handy cause this thing is going to get a workout! Awesome news. Now use this to up the op tempo and roll up a bunch of bad guys, whether Al Q, local militia or Iranian agents. GET IT DONE!
#52
I was perturbed this morning when my significan't otter turned on the bedroom TV and woke me up. But then I heard the news. Happy, happy! Joy, joy!
#53
One more camel rider gone to join Muhamhead in hell. So much for the Kaaba pagan moon god promise of 72 raisins and young boys fine as pearls. Guess what rag head, the pedophile for profit lied to you. Good riddance!
#57
Al-Maliki calls Al-Jizzera and asks to speak to Zarqawi. She replies "We're sorry sir, he's dead."
The next day, he calls Al-Jizzera again and asks the same secretary if he can speak to Zarqawi. Again she replied "Like I told you yestday, sir, he's dead.
The next day, he calls Al-Jizzera again and asks the same secretary if he can speak to Zarqawi again. Somewhat upset, she replied "Sir, I've told you twice already that he's dead! Why do you keep asking for him?"
"I just like to hear you say it!"
:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
Posted by: grb ||
06/08/2006 13:13 Comments ||
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#58
thanks Delphi kewl
yep badanov... LOL! I watched the treason defeatists, the Mustachioed one Christiane Aman-Long-Horse-Face-pour practically CRY and then disassemble Zarks death as per usual
mrp: The AP and Reuters stringers in Iraq will be easy to identify - they'll be the ones wearing black armbands....heh!
#63
A local radio station gave credit to Sheik Abd-Al- "Noodles" Rahman, whose piss-poor attention to OPSEC in the course of the previous month, led the good guyz to all 18 of their hideouts.
#3
Not to bust anyone's bubble but so was Osama after Tora Bora. We're dealing wid slick, wily, pragmatic men here - iff one accepts or believes MSM reports that the Commies-Maoists have been providing support to Radical Islamist and other terror groups both before and after 9-11, then one must also accept that Radical islam may had learned and adopted many of the tricks and deceptions used by the Commies, etal., i.e. LOOK-ALIKES, TO INCLUDE BIOLOGICAL RELATIONS. Only those whom truly know Osama, etal. can tell if he or anyone else truly is dead - IS WHY OSAMA'S "BODY/CORPUS" MUST BE FOUND AND AFFIRMED, SO MUST ZARKEY'S!? See also Tom Cruise as Agent Ithan Hunt in the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE trilogy. YES, VIRGINIA, SPIES ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHOM USE FACE MASKS.
Howard UK - Please accept my abject apologies for referring to Sabrina as a "dumpling" yesterday. It was a term of endearment, I assure you. And I recommend you take a quick peek at that Good Morning thread, again, to see the last comment. Worth your trouble, I think, heh. :)
#7
When you have the top American ground commander and the Iraqi PM stand side by side and confirm this , then its a 100% certainty , sorry Joseph .. Thats how they work .. We won , he lost , but he knew that anyway .. His last video seemed to me to show tombstones in his eyes . Dead , dead , dead . bye bye kk thanks :)
What will be interesting , is whether there will be a decline in suicide bombings and whether Iraqis will stop living in fear . Hopefully theres a slew of information to be gathered round his dead body
Rot in Hell you evil bastard! Along wih your chief Lt Rahman according to the latest news!
Hopefully, the joke that the translation actually is "72 Virginians" is realistic, but regardless may this evil bastard spend his days burning in the lowest pits of the most vile hell there is.
#15
Damn! It's too early for RB time, we'll have to wait for the long-awaited fat lady pic and for the collective gunsex! In the meantime, all we can do is ululate privately and pass candy around... it's just not the same.
My heart goes to all theses wannabe-jihad boyz all around the internet who have lost their butcher-in-chief and main homoerotic fantasy : playing with themselves in front of islamic snuff-movies won't be as enjoyable now that their idol has croaked... hope he suffered.
#16
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!YES!
BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR YEARS. ROT IN HELL YOU SON OF A BITCH.
#19
Rot in Hell, Zarq. I just finished cooking off over 100 meatballs for camp dinner this weekend. Time to go home and pour a double shot of Scotch just in case this is for real. Can't hurt to start this party early. Like I said:
ZARQAWI KILLED!!
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has just announced the death of terror leader Abu Musa'ab al-Zarqawi in a joint press conference with Ambassador Khalil Zad.
Al-Maliki explained that Zarqawi (and 7 of his aides) was killed in an air raid in the little town of Hibhib 8 km north of Baquba after receiving tips from residents in the area.
General Casey says more details on the operation will be available in a briefing at 3 pm local time. General Casey mentioned that Zarqawi's identity was confirmed through his fingerprints.
CONGRATULATIONS TO IRAQ, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WHOLE WORLD ON THIS VICTORY.
Posted by Omar @ 11:45
Posted by: DanNY ||
06/08/2006 5:25 Comments ||
Top||
#24
Comment at Iraq the Model:
Dear Omar and Mohammed
Well done the Americans and the Iraqi people who gave the competent Authorities where he and his henchmen reside and operate.
HibHib is a sunny area and this show how the decent and nationalsit Iraqis care about peaceful and tolerant Iraq of the future.
Let those who harbour, support, finance, logistically assist and help those killers of our good Iraqi people learn theri lessons and remember, how long it might take the long arm of the Law will reach and get rid of them.
As for the supporters who love to see Iraqi democracy and freedom fail or falter, keep you mouths shut, engage your pens and soundbites when you know what you are talking about.
Evil will be defeated whoever is deals in it.
My sincere amirations and thanks for the American Airforce pilots who had carried out this surgical strike without a great deal of collatoral damage to the area.
Soldiers, we ( the silent majority of Iraqis) are all very proud of you.
We thank your good US mothers for you. They should be very proud of you all.
Gen Casy thank you Sir and your staff too.
Kind regards
Hameed Abid
Posted by: DanNY ||
06/08/2006 5:29 Comments ||
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#25
Just to put into perspective some of the things said on the BBC forums *sigh* , The collective one brain-celled leftys are on it :p
"A man of unimaginable evil. We should pray for his soul."
"It's their country Paul, and if they want to resist a foreign invader they have every right to. The 'insurgents' didn't start any war and didn't ask for one, the bombs dropped on their heads first and murdered their families, so now they will continue the war until they have won their country back. My sympathies go to the family of Al-Zarqawi."
and my personal favourite gems
"nothing. I doubt if he ever actually existed in the first place!"
"This is truely sad news, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a hero in the face of overwhelming aggression. I sincerly hope that his death has not been in vain and he will have inspired others through his sacrifice. "
Although i may add , most of the posters are very positive ..The mind boggles !
#35
Morning, All. I had the dis-pleasure to listen to Nick Berg's Father on Fox this morning.
Fox: Mr. Berg, how do you feel about Zarqawi's death?
Berg. I'm saddened that another human life has been taken.
Fox: But surely the fact that this man who is responsible for thousands and thousands of murders is cause for some relief?
Berg: The lying George Bush is responsible for the hundreds of thousands of deaths in Iraq.
Fox: But don't you feel a little relieved that the man who killed your son is dead?
Berg: I don't know that he killed my son.
Fox: It was on videotape.
Berg: do you believe everything you see on television?
Fox: but it was authenticated numerous times.
Berg: By the lying FBI and the Lying George Bush Who lied us into this war blah, blah, blabity-blah, lying George Bush, blah blah, lying Republicans.
Totally consumed by BDS.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/08/2006 7:39 Comments ||
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#36
Deacon,
It's so sad to see BDS come into its terminal stage. It wouldn't surprise me if they chewed off their noses to spite their faces.
Posted by: DanNY ||
06/08/2006 7:45 Comments ||
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#37
Even his fleas are ululating this a.m.
Send his remains home to Jordan for a, um...state burial, but send the head to Riyadh.
And good news for Tater, you've just moved up on The List. :: spit ::
#39
It's their country Paul, and if they want to resist a foreign invader they have every right to.
I wonder if the turd that wrote this is aware that Zarq's not Iraqi.
Remember : self-determination and nationalism is perfectly ok ONLY for "brown people" fighting against the imperialists, regardless of actual facts (for example the idea that "national liberation struggle" is generally a front for a wholly totalitarian ideology such as national-arabism/Algeria, communism/Viet Nam, or islamism/Iraq).
On the other hand, when a westerner dares to be nationalistic or to take a stance on sovereignty (for example in being worried about population substitution through settlement immigration), then, he's a bigot and should be denounced.
#40
Send his remains home to Jordan for a, um...state burial, but send the head to Riyadh.
With his thingie in the mouth according to Islamic practice
JFM, I once read a french article (Mena, I think) about the "arab way of war", where the jewish author mentioned the cultural habit of arab fighters to "feminize" their foes by emasculating executioned prisoners. And from what I've read on Algeria ("Ye olde thingie in the mouth", or "Ye old testicles in place of the eyes"), or what happened to jewish prisoners in the 1948 war, it is very real.
#41
I he was still alive I think it went something like this:
CUSTOMER: Here's one -- nine pence.
DEAD PERSON: I'm not dead!
MORTICIAN: What?
CUSTOMER: Nothing -- here's your nine pence.
DEAD PERSON: I'm not dead!
MORTICIAN: Here -- he says he's not dead!
CUSTOMER: Yes, he is.
DEAD PERSON: I'm not!
MORTICIAN: He isn't.
CUSTOMER: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
DEAD PERSON: I'm getting better!
CUSTOMER: No, you're not -- you'll be stone dead in a moment.
MORTICIAN: Oh, I can't take him like that -- it's against regulations.
DEAD PERSON: I don't want to go in the cart!
CUSTOMER: Oh, don't be such a baby.
MORTICIAN: I can't take him...
DEAD PERSON: I feel fine!
CUSTOMER: Oh, do us a favor...
MORTICIAN: I can't.
CUSTOMER: Well, can you hang around a couple of minutes? He won't
be long.
MORTICIAN: Naaah, I got to go on to Robinson's -- they've lost nine
today.
CUSTOMER: Well, when is your next round?
MORTICIAN: Thursday.
DEAD PERSON: I think I'll go for a walk.
CUSTOMER: You're not fooling anyone y'know. Look, isn't there
something you can do?
DEAD PERSON: I feel happy... I feel happy.
[whop]
CUSTOMER: Ah, thanks very much.
MORTICIAN: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
CUSTOMER: Right.
Posted by: bruce ||
06/08/2006 8:30 Comments ||
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#42
I am damned glad that foul, horribly evil animal is dead. I hope that the people we handed him over to were Shia and that they gave him a good foretaste of what he can expect in Hell before they sent him on his way there. May many more Al-Q bastards follow him quickly and Bin Laden most of all.
Posted by: mac ||
06/08/2006 8:34 Comments ||
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#43
"And good news for Tater, you've just moved up on The List."
Well put, Em. Added a good laugh to my morning elation. I heard the news on the radio before I got out of bed this morning. What a fine day it is!
Congrats to the American forces who carried this out, and to all who helped (apparently there were tips from local Iraqis, some involvement of Jordanian intell, etc)
#45
It's 0515 and I just got up to the good news. And good news it is! It took time, frustration, and treasure, but we got him. A great victory for Iraq and the US. Our biggest enemy is not Zark, though. It is the MSM. They are the enemy just as much as Zark was.
BTW, RexMundi, Ima payin for drinks. You don't have to pay me back.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/08/2006 9:18 Comments ||
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#46
O, Happy day! Burn in hell, Bee-yatch!
Posted by: Dar ||
06/08/2006 9:24 Comments ||
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#48
And from what I've read on Algeria ("Ye olde thingie in the mouth", or "Ye old testicles in place of the eyes"), or what happened to jewish prisoners in the 1948 war, it is very real.
I was thinking in Algeria (did I say I am a Pied Noir?). I have no firm informatioon about this being in use in Middle-East (but no reason to doubt it is) but it has some sweet connotations, apart of revenge: mess with us and you will get little enjoyment of your 72 virgins.
#53
I take this as an indication that he's now officially run out of senior aides.
Well that, and maybe oxygen.
Heartfelt thanks to our brave troops and any Iraqis who helped run this rutbag to ground. I will be celebrating all weekend on my camping trip. I have 1.75 liters of Vodka and Gin frozen into blocks of ice and a complete Martini bar plus appetizers for the evening. This will be followed by spaghetti and meatballs for 50 people plus Danish Tuborg lager and British Whitbread Pale Ale. I just may have to party until I puke for pure fully-adulterated joy.
All fellow Rantburgers, where ever and whenever you spot an American soldier in uniform, please thank them personally for their contribution to your freedom. I do it every single time I humanly can (even driving around the block and pulling up to a walking individual sometimes).
I cannot tell you how many looks of pleasant surprise and outright gratitude I have gotten. I always assure these fine people that there are many fellow Americans who understand the dire threat that they defend us from and just how deeply all of us appreciate the gift of freedom that they put their lives on the line for.
Again, deepest and endless thanks to all of our fine troops.
#62
Thank you, tw, I shall. Glad to hear that someone so sweet as you does the same. It certainly must make a soldier's day to have a nice person like you show some respect and gratitude. Have a great weekend as well.
Saturday morning will begin with a service of some of the world's finest coffee. In this case, a lightly roasted Gayoland Sumatra high altitude, shade grown hand picked organic fair trade Arabica with some Columbian Huila de-caf for the nervous set. Then it's the butter-fried French toast made with killer cinnamon bread and served with real maple syrup. My Saturday night dinner will involve a New York strip steak that is almost two inches thick. Camp-mates will be thrown my special homemade whup-@ss chili dogs and fine Italian sausages. Much drinking to follow along with live music and dancing all night. I'll prolly trot out the sax and flute for a midnight seranade.
Please, everyone celebrate this special occasion in your own way. Three cheers for the USA!
BAGHDAD - Seventeen of the 50 people kidnapped two days ago from a Baghdad street by gunmen have been released, many showing signs of torture, police and defense officials said on Wednesday.
Police originally came across eight victims wandering aimlessly together late at night on Canal street, the major north-south highway in east Baghdad, with signs of torture on their bodies. Police patrols were then alerted to search for others and another seven were found singly throughout the area, three of whom had bullet wounds in their legs. Al Kindi hospital confirmed that 13 people had been brought in by police for treatment and showing signs of torture.
In a separate statement, the defense ministry confirmed the release earlier on Tuesday of two others.
On Monday at least 50 people were snatched in a raid in broad daylight by armed gunmen dressed in commando uniforms on central Baghdads Salhiya street where several travel agencies are located. The massive operation involved about a dozen trucks, including two painted in distinctive commando camouflage style.
Iraqs interior ministry announced on Tuesday an internal inquiry into the dramatic kidnapping operation, which initially was believed to be an official raid by the ministrys security forces.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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I guess that just didn't want to be left out.
GAZA CITY, GAZA Strip An Israeli air strike Thursday killed the top Hamas enforcer in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital officials and group members said.
Israel has accused militant faction leader Jamal Abu Samhadana of spearheading rocket attacks on Israel and of the fatal 2003 bombing of a U.S. convoy in the Gaza Strip.
Two other people were killed and seven were wounded in a strike on a Popular Resistance Committees training camp. Looks like the Muzzies are having a bad day.
#1
An Israeli air strike Thursday killed the top Hamas enforcer in the Gaza Strip...
Any mention of how Hamas is still "honoring" their self-proclaimed cease-fire? Most MSM outlets include that tidbit in their stories (FoxNews is blocked by my work firewall).
Violence flared at the Gaza border with Israel as Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian policeman and two civilians and wounded five other people, medics and witnesses said. The Israeli army said troops opened fire at three men they suspected were trying to infiltrate the tense frontier near the Karni commercial crossing.
Witnesses said the troops fired more than once and shot artillery and a missile from a pilotless drone. Medics said some of the injuries suggested artillery fire was used. The army denied using artillery fire.
Israeli troops have increased their vigilance along the border amid an upsurge in rocket firings from Gaza. A rocket hurt an Israeli woman when it slammed into a home on Tuesday. Israel responded by an aerial bombing of a rocket depot in Gaza. Witnesses said Israeli artillery gunners also pounded other parts of Gaza, in an apparent response to rocket launchings, setting off loud explosions.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Hamas-led government agreed Wednesday to withdraw a controversial private militia from public areas of Gaza in an agreement with the rival Fatah movement aimed at halting weeks of bloody infighting. The black-clad Hamas militia has been at the center of the power struggle. The agreement came after hours of talks mediated by Egyptian diplomats and joined by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas official.
"They are going to be in places away from the public. They are not going to be visible to people," said government spokesman Ghazi Hamad. Under the arrangement, the militia is to be folded into the official Palestinian police force, he said.
That'll work well. Always does.
Hamas also agreed to withdraw the 3,000-member force from public view last week. But within days, the gunmen returned to their positions on the streets. After Wednesday's deal was announced, the Hamas force remained in public view.
It's encouraging to see that Hamas' word is as good as it always has been.
With most security forces loyal to Fatah, the Hamas government deployed its private militia last month. Sixteen people have been killed in fighting between the sides since the Hamas force was activated.
Abbas has said the Hamas force is illegal but said it could be folded into existing security agencies. "In this meeting, we agreed to remove all things that can lead to tensions in the Palestinian streets," said Abdel Hakim Awad, a Fatah spokesman.
That would involve bulldozing Gaza into the Med.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/08/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Who gives a rat's ass, you can't pay them anyway.
Filipino armed forces cannot launch an attack against militants of the al-Qaeda linked Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) as they are being sheltered by the countrys largest Muslim rebel group - with which the government is currenty holding peace talks - a leading army general said Tuesday. About 30 Indonesian JI militants are hiding in the camps of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Mindanao Island, Army's Sixth Infantry Division chief Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana told Adnkronos International (AKI).
"It's difficult for us to launch an offensive against them because they are protected by these rebels. We are avoiding a mis-encounter between soldiers and rebels but this can still happen in the future," Obaniana warned. "Our latest count of JI in Mindanao is 30. Ten of them are hiding in Central Mindanao region," the general added.
Obaniana said the JI along with the Abu Sayyaf, led by Khadafi Janjalani, remains a serious threat to the country's security.
However, he did not mention if the leaders of the 30 JI are Dulmatin and Omar Patek. The two fugitives terrorists, believed to be hiding in Mindanao, have bounties on their heads from the US State Department.
Eid Kabalu, spokesperson for the MILF, denied the report, saying they are a revolutionary group and they did not need support from foreign organisations.
"That's not true. In fact, since July last year, there were no JI monitored in our areas. If they want to launch operation, they should coordinate with our troop's task to interdict terror groups," he said to Aki.
Last year, the Filipino government and MILF set up an Ad-hoc Joint Action Group, a team composed of police officers and five representatives from the MILF tasked to intercept terrorist and criminals in Mindanao.
The MILF, the Philippines main Islamic rebel organization, has been fighting for an independent state in Mindanao since 1977. The group is currently holding peace talks with Manila.
Based on a 2003 cease-fire, the talks are hosted by Malaysia and remain on track despite difficulties in the determination and delimitation of areas to be placed under a prospective Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, as the new MILF-controlled area is likely to be called.
At the same time, Kabalu shrugged off claims of Malaysian authorities that a Malaysian militant group called Darul Islam helped Patek and Dulmatin flee to Mindanao after the Bali bombing in 2002.
"There are no other groups except Abu Sayyaf facilitating the entry of JI in Mindanao," Kabalu pointed out.
"I think Darul Islam could be just a 'title' to make the issue bigger. There are many groups of Darul Islam. Apparently, they (Malaysian authorities, ndr) are pointing to the group to Abu Sayyaf," he said.
Malaysian police officials said Dulmatin and Umar Patek were among seven Indonesians who slipped into Mindanao with the help of a group called Darul Islam between 2003 and March 2006.
Darul Islam, which literally translates into 'abode of Islam,' was the name of the first Indonesian militant group, which fought for an Islamic state in central Java in the early fifties.
By 1962, the Indonesian Darul Islam had been defeated by the Indonesian government and its main leaders had been captured and killed.
However, according to the Brussel-based think tank International Crisis Group, off-shoots of the Darul Islam have been at the heart of most Islamic terrorist movements that have sprung out in Southeast Asia in the last decades, including Jemaah Islamiyah.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 02:59 ||
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#1
Commies protecting the Radical Islamists, ergo only the Radical Muslims attacked Manila - move along, boyz, nothing extraordinary here!?
Gunmen clad in police uniforms opened fire at a carnival in Patikul, Jolo, killing one person and wounding two more, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said prior to the attack, unidentified men also failed to blow up an Evangelical church on the island, about 950 kilometers south of Manila.
"Authorities are investigating the motives for the attacks," Capt. Jose Ritche Pabilonia, a spokesman for the militarys Southern Command, told The Manila Times.
He said the attack at the carnival killed Rosalino Fabian, 25, a native of Zamboanga del Norte, and wounded Monico Maywila, 27, and Rommel Romero, 30, both from Zamboanga City. The trio, all carnival workers, were sleeping when the attack took place.
The killing came just a day after unidentified men lobbed a grenade at a Protestant church in Campo Islam Village, also in Patikul. "It did not explode," Pabilonia said.
He said no group claimed responsibility for the twin attacks but suspicion fell heavily on the Abu Sayyaf group linked to the Qaeda terror network, which is threatening to strike US targets on Jolo.
A powerful landmine explosion Tuesday killed two government soldiers on the neighboring island of Tawi-Tawi, also a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.
The soldiers were sent to pacify two warring clans in the village of Datal, Sapa-Sapa, when the explosion occurred. It was not immediately known if the bomb was the handiwork of the Abu Sayyaf.
The blast coincided with the medical mission of the US Navy hospital ship Mercy in Jolo.
Earlier media reports said Khadaffy Janjalani, the leader of the Abu Sayyaf group, and two Jema'ah Islamiyah bombers, Dulmatin and Umar Patek, both linked to the 2002 Bali attack, were spotted in Jolo, allegedly plotting to strike against the USNS Mercy.
Filipino and American troops were tightly guarding the 272.5-meter-long hospital ship off Jolo Island. Muslim villagers have volunteered to protect the ship and its crew from attacks by Abu Sayyaf militants, said Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, the commander of military forces in the troubled region.
A US Orion spy plane was spotted flying over Jolo as troops tightened their guard on the main island where hundreds of poor Muslim villagers were screened by health workers before they were allowed to board the ship.
Habacon said the reports of the sighting were unconfirmed. "We have no reports about the three terrorists hiding in Jolo, but the Abu Sayyaf has been a threat to everybody on the island, even before the Americans arrived," he said.
The USNS Mercy is configured with state-of-the-art medical equipment and a strong multispecialized medical team capable of providing a wide range of services onshore and on the ship. Filipino and civilian medical professionals and nongovernmental organizations worked side by side with US and Philippine military personnel.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 02:56 ||
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The leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf terror group and two Indonesian suspects of the deadly 2002 Bali bombings have been sighted recently on southern Jolo island but could not launch attacks because of logistical problems, officials said Monday.
Khadaffy Janjalani and the two Indonesian militants -- Dulmatin, who goes by one name, and Umar Patek -- may be plotting to attack American and Philippine troops on Jolo but they have been constantly distracted by US-backed offensives, two Philippine military officials told reporters on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to talk to the media.
The militants also have run low on ammunition and other weapons, one of the officials said.
US Pacific commander Admiral William Fallon flew under heavy guard to Jolo Monday to visit American troops, including those aboard the US Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy, who were providing medical help to hundreds of impoverished villagers.
The humanitarian mission bolsters Washington's efforts to improve its image in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries deemed crucial in the global war on terror.
Janjalani and the Indonesian militants have taken refuge in Jolo's vast mountainous heartland near Patikul town -- a rebel stronghold under control of Radulan Sahiron, a one-armed Abu Sayyaf commander also wanted by Washington, the military officials said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 02:32 ||
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In a major concession, world powers are no longer demanding that Iran commit to a prolonged moratorium on uranium enrichment and are now asking only for a suspension during talks on its nuclear program, diplomats and officials said Wednesday.
The proposal and a connected offer to allow continued uranium conversion are part of an effort to avoid a showdown over international concerns that the Iranians are trying to develop nuclear weapons. Backing off the previous stance on enrichment signals a possible readiness by the United States and key allies to accept some limited form of enrichment by Iran, despite years of warnings from Washington that Tehran wanted such technology to make atomic warheads.
Iran insists its nuclear program is intended only to produce power, arguing it needs enrichment technology to produce fuel for atomic reactors that would generate electricity.
And since they signed the NPT, we're sorta stuck on that point.
Since talks between European nations and Iran broke off last August, the public stance by the European negotiators and the United States has been that Iran must commit to a long-term halt in enrichment as a precondition for talks. Still, a diplomat said that despite the concession, a long-term moratorium remained the preferred goal of the six nations that approved a package of incentives for the Tehran regime last week the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
06/08/2006 00:25 ||
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#1
History: "...and so it was. Because of their unwillingness to fight when advantage was on their side, they had to fight later, expending tremendous amounts of treasury and blood."
#3
No clear mention/indicia on the Net whether the so-called "world powers" = includes USA. KUWAITI NEWS AGENCY [KUNA.net] reports in its Wednesday edition that the US has made it clear to all concerned that Iran must first de facto suspend all efforts to enrich uranium before the USA will engage in serious negotiations over Iran's alleged nuclearized "domestic energy" needs or requirements. Iran earlier for its part has said it will not discuss its right to nuclearizd energy wid the USA. Will say again that Dubya = NOT BILLARY = unlikely to give Iran the many chances Saddam had in the '90's - BUY THAT POPCORN, BOYZ!?
#4
Forgot to mention that KUAN.net also reports the US STATE DEPT. WARNS THAT AL-QAEDA AND AFFILIATED GROUPS > planning to launch worldwide terror strikes, in international regions beyond the ME, and against both PRIVATE-SECTOR, COMMERCIAL, AND PUBLIC SECTOR TARGETS, i.e. ANYONE and ANYTHING, mostly but likely not only ECONOMIC, and including but not limited to Americans.
#5
In the end, Bush is not going to permit Irant to have nuclear weaponry. We are simply marking time, checking the boxes.
Posted by: Captain America ||
06/08/2006 1:21 Comments ||
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#6
Yep. It's a game we can play, too. Think we know all the nitty-gritty details? LOL. Not a chance. And neither do the Mullahs. And last, but not least, we wouldn't tell Solana what day it is, much less hand him the keys to the kingdom. To wait and see is our lot.
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.
KABUL - A suspected Taliban suicide bomber was killed when the explosives strapped to his body detonated prematurely at a Turkish company in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said. The bomber was trying to enter the office of a Turkish construction company in the Andar district of southern Ghazni province, but the explosives went off when he was in the car parking area, police director Abdul Wakeel Kamiab said. 
A local Taleban commander in Afghanistan has promised to inflict a massive defeat on British forces there. 
With the latest news confirming the control of Somali capital Mogadishu by the "Union of Islamic Tribunals" (UIT) a new era of Jihad has begun in the Horn of Africa. From my observation of the development of Islamists movements in Somalia, at least since the last US involvement in 1992-1993, it took more than a decade for the Jihadi networks to penetrate the previously existing militias formed by the tribes. The UIT, or "Ittihad al mahakem al Islamiya" is not just another Muslim militia in Somalia, as al jazeera is attempting to project, so that Western media would follow. The "Mahakem" (tribunals), although initially supported by some tribes are now a structured Islamist-Jihadist militia, fully controlled by the Salafi-Imams of the area. Former members of the "Mahakem" are revealing that behind this force, the hands of al Qaida (East Africa) are omnipresent. The former members said the prime objective of this organized force is to assert its power in the capital first. In other words, the "Mahakem" wants to "digest" this first victory first.
An American student who was arrested in London as he prepared to board a flight to Pakistan is wanted in New York for allegedly providing military gear to al-Qaeda, officials said Wednesday.
A translator with ties to Fort Benning is under arrest, charged with threatening to blow up a Delta Airlines plane. The FBI and Columbus police made the arrest Tuesday. 45 year old Saleh Nasser Al Suwailem is being held in the Muscogee County jail. 
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Last night in Iraq, United States military forces killed the terrorist al Zarqawi. At 6:15 p.m. Baghdad time, special operation forces, acting on tips and intelligence from Iraqis, confirmed Zarqawi's location, and delivered justice to the most wanted terrorist in Iraq. 
AS INFORMATION CONCERNING HIS DEMISE continues to surface, the death of Abu Musab Zarqawi marks the end of one of the most accomplished mass murderers in the modern history of terrorism. According to the claims of responsibility released by his own group in Iraq, Zarqawi and his followers have conservatively murdered thousands of Iraq civilians and hundreds of coalition soldiers--in addition to perpetrating the February 2006 bombing of the 
Baghdad, 8 June (AKI) - Following the death of al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killed in an US air raid near Baquba on Wednesday, 
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's older brother says the family had anticipated the death of the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader for some time. "We anticipated that he would be killed for a very long time," Sayil al-Khalayla told The Associated Press on Thursday in a telephone interview from al-Zarqa, the poor industrial town that al-Zarqawi called home and from which he derived his name.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - 
BAGHDAD, Iraq Multi-National Force-Iraq Commanding General, Gen. 
BAGHDAD - Seventeen of the 50 people kidnapped two days ago from a Baghdad street by gunmen have been released, many showing signs of torture, police and defense officials said on Wednesday.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Hamas-led government agreed Wednesday to withdraw a controversial private militia from public areas of Gaza in an agreement with the rival Fatah movement aimed at halting weeks of bloody infighting. The black-clad Hamas militia has been at the center of the power struggle. The agreement came after hours of talks mediated by Egyptian diplomats and joined by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas official.
