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'Qatari Emir survives assassination'
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So, it's two and half chicks with a wagon?
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 09/06/2011 0:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot

Natalia Cigliuti aka Claire Fence in "Simon Sez" aka Wilma in "Held Up" aka Serendipity in "Reality Check" aka Rosanna in "Kill Speed" aka Roz in "What Happens Next" aka Detective Harper in "The Glades (TV series)" (age 33)


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 09/06/2011 1:47 Comments || Top||

#3  so it really is the chicken before the egg

or cart, or something
Posted by: Frank G || 09/06/2011 7:14 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Missing Germans found dead in Afghanistan
[Al Jazeera] The bodies of two German citizens who went missing in a province north of Kabul last month have been found, according to the provincial governor.

Germany has around 5,200 soldiers deployed as part of NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
's mission in Afghanistan, most of them in the north.

"The bodies were found today in an open area and they appeared to have been killed by gunshots," Baseer Salangi, the Parwan governor, told the Rooters news agency.

Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, said in late August that two German citizens were missing in Afghanistan and may have been kidnapped.

Westerwelle declined to give any details about their identity. Afghan officials said at the time they had been exploring the region.

Salangi said the bodies were found in a desert frequented by Kuchi nomads, and he suspected they were involved in the killings.

He did not say how the authorities had identified the victims to be Germans.

Kidnapping is a lucrative business in impoverished Afghanistan and scores of locals and foreigners have been kidnapped by criminals with financial motives and by Taliban-linked fighters in recent years.

Violence has risen to its worst levels in Afghanistan since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban government and now spread to the once peaceful north.
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  May their families be comforted ...
Posted by: Adriane || 09/06/2011 1:21 Comments || Top||

#2  "...they had been exploring the region."

May their intelligence agency dispatch two replacements.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 09/06/2011 8:44 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
US drone raids kill dozens in S Somalia
[Iran Press TV] US drone attacks have killed dozens of al-Shabab fighters in southern Somalia during the past 24 hours, Press TV reports.
Well done, drone drivers!
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Al-Qaeda has Libya missiles, EU says
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/06/2011 00:53 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Large Libyan convoy arrives in Niger
See Fred's post below for more.
Reuters: A large convoy of Libyan armored vehicles escorted by the Nigerian military arrived in the northern Niger desert town of Agadez late on Monday, a French military source and a Niger military source told Reuters.
Agadez is more west-central Niger, and according to Google Maps there is no main road from it to bordering Libya to the northeast. There is a road to the north from Algeria.
The convoy contained between 200 and 250 Libyan military vehicles and included officers from Libya's southern army battalions, and likely crossed from Libya into Algeria before entering Niger, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

The French military source said he had been told Muammar Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam might be considering joining the convoy en route to bordering Burkina Faso, which has offered Gaddafi asylum.
Burkina Faso is southwest of Agadez, and one would have to drive the convoy through the entire populated part of Niger to get there.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought people from Nigeria are Nigerians and, therefore, people from Niger must be ___? I mean, I can appreciate the dilemma, but it's still very confusing.
Posted by: Pollyandrew || 09/06/2011 14:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Nigeria = Nigerians
Niger = Nigeriens (nee-jer-reens)
Posted by: matamoros || 09/06/2011 21:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Thank you, matamoros. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/06/2011 21:49 Comments || Top||


Mubarak's Trial Postponed as Clashes Erupt Outside, Inside Court
[An Nahar] The trial of Hosni Mubarak
...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011...
and his two sons' trial was postponed on Monday after the prosecution and defense lawyers clashed in the court room.

Dozens of the ousted Egyptian president's supporters and opponents clashed near the Cairo court before he arrived on a stretcher.

The session was to hear witness testimony to try to determine who gave the orders for the killing of hundreds of protesters in the revolt that ousted the former autocratic leader in February.

The hearing was to be held off-camera unlike the first two sessions which saw Mubarak appearing in court bound to a stretcher and caged, in gripping images broadcast live on television.

But footage broadcast by state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
on Monday showed the 83-year-old again arriving for the hearing at the police academy in the capital's outer suburbs in an ambulance on a stretcher.

Before he drew up, demonstrators clashed near the courtroom.

"We have not abandoned you," the pro-Mubarak protesters chanted, while their rivals shouted, "Punishment, punishment, they killed our children with bullets."

The decision to stop the live television broadcast was taken by trial judge Ahmed Refaat, who was apparently exasperated by the charged atmosphere in the courtroom at the last hearing as an army of lawyers jostled for position.

Mubarak's first dramatic appearance in court came as a shock to Egyptians who were glued to watching the proceedings on television, never having believed he would be forced to go on trial.

After the adjournment of the August 15 session, several relatives of victims and some lawyers jumped on a bench and started chanting "Execution!" at Mubarak as he was wheeled out of the cage.

After the earlier two formal sessions, the court was on Monday to begin questioning to try to determine who gave the order for the shooting of protesters during the January-February revolution.

"The court will hear four witnesses, including the head of communications in the central security force and officers responsible for operations from the same force," the government daily al-Ahram said.

The court would investigate whether the orders to fire on the crowd were given solely by the interior ministry or if Mubarak was also implicated.

More than 850 people were killed in the 18 days that led to Mubarak's ouster after a three-decade rule and thousands more were maimed, according to official figures.

Former interior minister Habib al-Adli is being prosecuted along with Mubarak for suppressing the popular uprising. Those found guilty for the deaths could face execution.

Mubarak's sons Gamal and Alaa are being tried for corruption along with their father. They all pleaded not guilty
"Wudn't me."
to the graft charges in the first hearing which was held on August 3.

The former president, who suffers from heart problems and depression, is in jug in a hospital near Cairo, while reports that he was also suffering from cancer have been denied.

His sons are being held in the Tora prison complex on the southern outskirts of Cairo.

A wealthy businessman close to the former presidential clan, Hussein Salem, is being tried in absentia in the same trial.

Three Kuwaiti lawyers flew into Cairo on Sunday to join Mubarak's defense team. Their leader Faisal al-Oteibi told news hounds at the airport that two more colleagues would follow.

"We are five Kuwaiti lawyers and have come to defend Hosni Mubarak out of gratitude," she said, referring to the former president's support for Kuwait during its occupation by Saddam Hussein's forces in 1990-1991.

But Egypt's independent newspaper al-Masry al-Youm quoted Justice Minister Abdel Aziz al-Gindi as saying no formal request had been submitted or granted for the Kuwaiti lawyers to take part in the trial.

Mubarak is the most high-profile leader to appear in person in court after having been ousted in this year's "Arab Spring."

Tunisia's ex-president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, in exile in Soddy Arabia since his overthrow in January, was tried in absentia in Tunisia, while Libya's Moammar Qadaffy
...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years...
has become a runaway since the fall of Tripoli late last month.

Legal experts say a thorough probe of Mubarak's alleged crimes should have taken several more months, but Egypt's ruling military to which he handed power has expedited the process to mollify protesters

Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Rebels Still Hope People Inside Bani Walid Would Rise Against Al Qathafi Loyalists
[Tripoli Post] After negotiations by the rebel forces over the peaceful handover of Bani Walid were reportedly said to have been dead and buried, rebel forces who have managed to oust former Libyan leader Muammar Al Qadaffy
...a proud Arab institution for 42 years...
from power after a 42-year rule, they have now surrounded the city, but still hoping that the people inside would rise up against Al Qadaffy loyalists.

Al Jizz's on correspondent near Bani Walid, Sue Turton reporting on developments there, said that the rebels have pushed to within 7km of the centre of the town, and that they exchanged fire with members of the Al Qadaffy forces.who later retreated instead of setting up a defensive position there. The reason for that could have been more talks.

Another group later came forward from the centre of Bani Walid saying that they were completely separate from the others, and that they wanted to talk, but soon even these talks broke down.

Later reports indicated that the rebels once again said they would stop going any further and pulled back from that 7km mark to wait yet again to see if they can reach some kind of agreement that would help them to take the town without firing a bullet and avoid bloodshed.

They are very concerned that there could very well be civilians killed, so they are willing to talk to just about anybody that puts their hands up and says they represent anything to do with the pro-Al Qadaffy forces, the Al Jizz reported said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight...
despite the waiting, rebel reinforcements have been arriving outside the desert town southeast of the capital and Bani Walid is now completely surrounded from all sides. Thousands of rebels surround Bani Walid, a desert town southeast of the capital, where many have been speculating that Al Qadaffy, on the run since losing his capital last month, could be hiding.

While rebel commander, Mohammed al-Fassi, is reported saying that the door is still open for negotiations over the town's surrender, a small convoyof fighters arrived Monday at a checkpoint about 70 kilometres from Bani Walid under the command of Ismail al-Gitani. They were part of a larger force al-Gitani commands. He said he was ordered to reinforce the northern approaches to the town.

Earlier on Sunday, speaking in the eastern city of Benghazi, Ahmed Bani, the NTC's military front man, said that its fighters were in control of key strategic points around Bani Walid.

"There was fighting in Bani Walid, now I can say our revolutionaries have control of some important points around Bani Walid. And they are raising the independence flag over there," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Top Gaddafi security chief in Niger as surrender talks fail
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Members of runaway Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy's
...a reminder that a single man with an idea can screw up an entire nation...
entourage, including his internal security chief Mansour Daw, have crossed the border into Niger, a Tuareg source told AFP.

The identity of the other individuals, believed to number around ten, who arrived in the northern Niger city of Agadez escorted by a top Niger Tuareg rebel leader, was not immediately known.

The group were led into Niger by Agaly Alambo, a historical leader in Niger's Tuareg rebellion with very close ties to Qadaffy.

"In any case, these people who came with Agaly are neither Qadaffy's sons nor his close relatives," the Tuareg source told AFP condition of anonymity, adding that all had now reached the capital Niamey.

Agaly Alambo, head of the Niger Movement for Justice, the country's main Tuareg rebel group since 2007, had been living in Libya since Qadaffy brokered an end to his struggle against Niamey in 2009.

Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had escaped from his bonds and overwhelmed this guard using the bludgeon the faithful Filomena had smuggled to him in the loaf of bread...
negotiations for the surrender of Qadaffy's forces in the Libyan town of Bani Walid have failed and will not resume, an official said, opening the way for a military attack.

"I am leaving the military commander to resolve the problem," said Abdullah Kenshil, the chief negotiator for Libya's new government, the National Transitional Council (NTC). The town southeast of Tripoli is one of the last strongholds of pro-Qadaffy fighters where at least one of the ousted despot's sons is reported to be hiding.
This article starring:
Agaly Alambo
Mansour Daw
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Reuters said a 250 vehicle Libyan convoy arrived in Agadez Sunday.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/06/2011 0:39 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar Denies Evacuation on Order on Hasaba
[Yemen Post] Sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar, who is Yemen's most powerful and influential tribal leader as well as president Saleh's nemesis, denied government claims yesterday that he had ordered the evacuation of the Hasaba district in Sana'a, the capital.

Hasaba is one of the al-Ahmar's loyalists' main strongholds in the capital. When the Sheikh first announced his support of the revolution, president Saleh immediately retaliated by shelling the neighborhood, hoping to crush the growing dissident movement in its nest. As a result hundreds of families had to leave the area, fearful for their lives.

Ever since, Hasaba has been the scene of sporadic armed festivities despite an agreed truce between the Hasheed tribe, led by the Sheikh and the regime.

Yesterday, a government front man accused Sheikh Sadeeq of pushing the country towards a civil war, presenting as proof his alleged "evacuation plan" of Hasaba. According to the regime, Sheikh Sadeeq wanted to clear the area of all civilians, leaving him free to position more of his men.

The Sheikh went on saying that such fallacy was merely an attempt by the regime to deflect the public's attention from the fact that the Opposition had unveiled its plan to assassinate some well-known opposition leaders.

He also warned against state propaganda, urging the press and media to be wary of all "news" coming from the government since it was clearly on a "lying spree".

The Sheikh closed his statement by declaring that "his brave loyalists" would not stand idly while Saleh's regime is irresponsibly putting civilians in harm's way.

Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


The National Yemeni Council for the Revolution Denounces Siege of Sana'a
[Yemen Post] The National Yemeni Council for the Revolution decried the regime's new attempt to stifle the Opposition when Ahmed Saleh, the president's eldest son and head of the Elite Republican Guards, ordered his men to close all road accesses to the capital.

Since Saturday, the army has been setting road blocks, literally barricading the capital within its walls. Sources from within the palace told the Yemen Post that it was a precautionary measure, since the Yemeni National Security Agency warned against an armed offensive.

Eye witnesses claimed as well that men loyal to the regime were seen sabotaging power lines in order to deprive Sana'a residents from electricity. The Yemen Post was not however able to confirm those allegations independently.

Since the Opposition announced that it was planning for an escalation of the revolutionary movement, the government has been busy tightening its security, with yet more military personnel in the streets and an increase in checkpoints near strategic areas of the Yemeni capital.

In its statement, the Council declared that the regime's intimidation campaign will not deter the movement from its goals, no matter how many measures the government will decide to take against its own citizens.

Since May, Yemenis have been plagued by electric blackouts, fuel penury and water shortages. The Opposition has many times accused the government of using public utilities as a way to blackmail people into submission, while the regime maintains that sabotage was at the root of the disruptions.

The Council also encouraged he Youth to stand the course, warning the international community that the "days to come will be memorable" and that the World will witness "Yemen's greatness".

Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Air Strikes on Yemen Mosque Kill 7 Civilians
[An Nahar] Military air strikes on a mosque killed seven civilians Monday in Jaar, an al-Qaeda stronghold town in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, a local official said.

"The Yemeni air force accidentally shelled a mosque in Jaar, killing seven people and wounding five others," the official told Agence La Belle France Presse, on condition of anonymity.

"The air force hit the Grand Mosque in Jaar whereas the target was a small mosque held by suspected Al-Qaeda cut-thoats," situated near the town's entrance, said the official.

Nearly an hour after the two raids, fighter jets flew over Jaar, 12 kilometers north of Abyan's thriving provincial capital Zinjibar which was seized in May by Partisans of Sharia (Islamic Law), an organization linked to the al-Qaeda network.

A medical official in al-Razi hospital in Jaar confirmed the toll.

Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


'Qatari Emir survives assassination'
[Iran Press TV] The Qatari Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has reportedly survived an liquidation attempt in Qatar's capital, Doha.

According to Egypt's al-Fajr newspaper, unknown gunnies attacked the Qatari Emir's motorcade near his palace on Monday.

The Egyptian newspaper said Sheikh Hamad has reportedly been injured in the attack and was taken to hospital, adding that eight of the Emir's bodyguards were killed in the incident.

Al-Fajr says a media blackout has been imposed on the incident with Qatari officials refusing to comment on the incident.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Alamo, Davy was counting their remaining cannon balls and not liking the results...
Iranian Ambassador to Qatar Abdollah Sohrabi has denied Sheikh Hamad's liquidation report, saying that the Emir is currently in the French capital, Gay Paree.

Sheikh Hamad has ruled the Persian Gulf state since 1995. He came to power after deposing his father in a palace coup and was crowned on June 2000.
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Suspect released by ATF last year arrested in Mexico last week
Jean Baptiste Kingery, a suspect released last year by US authorities in a grenades case, was arrested Aug. 31 in Mexico and has been charged with violating that nation's organized-crime laws, according to U.S. officials. Mexican police raided his home in Mazatlan and other locations nearby where they reported finding materials that could be used to construct 500 grenades, the officials said. ATF agents arrested Mr. Kingery in Arizona in June 2010 after months of surveillance and seized 116 grenade hulls and parts in his possession, the officials said.

The suspect told investigators he helped operate a mill in Mexico manufacturing improvised explosive devices made from the U.S.-sourced grenade components, they said. Mr. Kingery allegedly said he supplied the weapons to a cartel called La Familia Michoacana and also helped the cartel convert semiautomatic rifles into military-style machine guns.

Nonetheless, he walked free without being charged after just hours in custody, officials said.
Mod note at 1430 CT: all GunWalker-related posts should be listed as 'WoT Background' (red) if background, and as 'WoT Operations' (blue) if about arrests, attacks, etc. If in the US, file under 'Home Front: WoT' if in Mexico, file under 'Caribbean-Latin America'. I've moved this post to WoT Operations.

GunWalker, the narco-gang-vigilante violence in Mexico, the links between those gangs and (for example) Hezbollah, and the failing Mexican state are indeed WoT related.

AoS.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/06/2011 00:47 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...because catch and release has worked so well in Afghanistan. /sarc off
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/06/2011 9:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Let me know me when the people responsible for Operation Fast & Furious and the deaths of Agents Terry and Zapata have received justice.
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/06/2011 14:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Let me know me when the people responsible for Operation Fast & Furious and the deaths of Agents Terry and Zapata have received justice.
John, I fully expect to receive warnings about chaining up in Hell before THAT happens.
Posted by: USN,Ret. || 09/06/2011 22:41 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Four killed as groups clash in Karachi
[Dawn] At least four people, a woman among them, were killed and two others injured in a clash between two religious groups in Godhra area of New Bloody Karachi late on Sunday night.
Lutherans and Anglicans feeling their oats again?
Two of them were pronounced dead on arrival at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and the two others died later.

Hospital sources said the condition of one of the injured was critical.

Police reinforcement was sent to the affected area.

A police officer said the two groups had a history of festivities over collection of donation and management of a hospital in the area.
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Clashes leave 10 militants dead in Orakzai, Swat
[Dawn] At least 10 gun-hung tough guys were killed by security forces during festivities in Orakzai Agency
... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
and Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
district on Sunday, sources said.

They said that security forces shelled suspected locations in Ghiljo area of Orakzai Agency after a convoy was hit by a landmine planted on road in the region. Three security personnel were maimed in the landmine blast.

The injured coppers were identified as Ramazan, Juma Khan and Yousaf Khan. They were shifted to Combined Military Hospital in Thall town of Hangu district
... Hangu is famous for its greenery, hills, beauty and water. Most of the people of this area are Bangash & Orakzai Pashtuns. Part of the Bangash are Shia. The Orakzai and the Sunni Bangash are determined to kill them...

The security forces shelled suspected locations after the incident and destroyed three hideouts of krazed killers. Sources said that eight gun-hung tough guys were also killed in the shelling.

Security forces also launched a search operation in Gall, Zakhtun and Essa Khan villages and recovered a large quantity of landmines and 26 rocket shells.

Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him...
two gun-hung tough guys were killed and two others injured in exchange of fire with security forces in Manglor area of Swat district on Sunday.

Two security personnel were also injured in the firing.

Sources said that security forces, occupying the hilltops in Besh Banr area of Manglor, launched a search operation and killed two krazed killers.

The security forces also continued a search operation in Tilligram area of Charbagh. Two gun-hung tough guys had been killed during a search operation in Tilligram two days ago. Security forces had also recovered a boom jacket and weapons in Tilligram and Mala Jabba areas.
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP


US hails Pakistan's capture of al Qaeda leader
[Dawn] The White House on Monday hailed Pakistain's capture of a "senior al Qaeda operative" as an example of counterterrorism cooperation, and a US official said the United States had provided "critical" tips and technical help.
Now being held in the guest suite at the Karachi Hilton...
The bad turban had been involved in plotting attacks against the interests of the United States and other countries, White House front man Josh Earnest said after Pakistain announced that it had captured Younis al-Mauritani.

"This is an example of the longstanding partnership between the US and Pakistain in fighting terrorism, which has taken many cut-throats off the battlefield over the past decade,"

Earnest said in a statement issued while President Barack B.O. Obama was visiting Detroit for a Labor Day speech.

"We applaud the actions of Pakistain's intelligence and security services that led to the capture of a senior al-Qaeda operative who was involved in planning attacks against the interests of the United States and many other countries," he said.

In Washington, a US official monitoring the situation said Mauritani's capture was "another major blow to al Qaeda."

"The US provided critical lead information and technical assistance in working with Pakistain to eliminate the threat posed by this terrorist," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...

Mauritani played "an absolutely central role in planning and coordinating al Qaeda's operations in Europe, plots that targeted both European and American interests," the official said.

"The Paks deserve real credit for their hard investigative and operational work in taking deadly threats like al-Mauritani off the battlefield," the official added.

"There is clearly more to be done, and both sides recognize the imperative of acting together against these dangerous targets."
Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Iraq
Housing Undersecretary escapes assassination
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq’s Housing & Reconstruction Ministry’s Undersecretary, Faleh al-Amery, has escaped an assassination attempt in central Baghdad on Monday, according to a statement by the Shiite Sadrist Trend.

“The motorcade of Amery was exposed to an armed attack, while on his way to inspect his Ministry’s projects on central Baghdad’s Mohammed al-Qassem Highway,” the statement reported, charging what he termed as “corruptors and terrorists,” with having been behind the assassination attempt.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Four bombs dismantled in Wassit
WASSIT / Aswat al-Iraq: During a security raid police forces found four bombs ready to be detonated, and successfully dismantled them, a police commander said today.

General Hussein Abdul Hadi told Aswat al-Iraq that the bombs were found in Numaniya area, 40 km north of Kut, during a search for wanted individuals based on intelligence information.

No suspects were found in the area during the raid. The bombs were dismantled by explosion experts.

Kut, the center of Wassit province, lies 12,307 km east of San Miguel, California 180 km southeast of the capital, Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Baghdad Ops Cmdr escapes assassination attempt
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Commander of Baghdad Operations, General Ahmed Hashem, has escaped an assassination attempt by an explosive charge blast that wounded two civilians in central Baghdad on Monday, a security source reported.

“An explosive charge, targeted against the motorcade of Baghdad Operations Commander, General Ahmed Hashem, had blow up when it passed close to Baghdad Province’s Headquarters, wounding 2 civilians, but caused no losses to the General’s motorcade,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sometimes I'm glad I'm a nobody.
Posted by: American Delight || 09/06/2011 3:35 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IAF targets weapons manufacturing site in Gaza
The IAF attacked a weapons manufacturing site in Gazoo on Monday night, according to an IDF spokesperson statement. The target was accurately hit.
That means they had satisfying earth-shattering secondary kabooms...
The attack came in response to Kassam rockets that were fired into the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council on Monday.
Posted by: || 09/06/2011 04:50 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Five dead in Thai teashop attack
Five people including a nine-year-old boy were injured in a shooting at a teashop in Narathiwat province on Tuesday morning.

Police in Muang Narathiwat learned of the attack about 11:30 a.m. and a combined police and military team was dispatched. They found 14 spent 9 mm cartridges in front of and inside the teashop and were told that the injured people were taken to the hospital, police said.

The teashop’s owner told police that eight people including the boy were having tea when two men showed up on a motorcycle. The man riding pillion stepped walked toward them and fired at each of them with a pistol. The victims fell from their chairs and the attackers then fled.

Police blamed separatist terrorists militants.
Posted by: ryuge || 09/06/2011 06:26 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran Guards Kill 22 Kurd Rebels
[An Nahar] Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have killed 22 rebels of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) in a new offensive along the northwestern border with Iraq, state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported on Monday.

"Twenty-two PJAK rebels were killed in the new Guards operations in Sardasht Heights, and another 27 rebels have been maimed," the report said.

Guards operations officer Colonel Hamid Ahmadi said the offensive launched on Friday would "continue until all counter-revolutionaries, rebels and bully boyz have been cleared away."

Iranian media reported on Saturday that two Guards had been killed on the first day of the offensive.

PJAK rebels have clashed repeatedly with Iranian forces in recent years, drawing retaliatory bombing of their rear-bases in mountainous border districts of Iraqi Kurdistan.

In July, Iran launched a major offensive against the rebels, shelling border districts for weeks.

Commanders said they had halted operations during the Mohammedan fasting month of Ramadan to give the rebels a chance to pull back from border areas but they had failed to do so.

Human Rights Watch
... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world...
said on Friday that it had evidence that Iran may have deliberately targeted civilians in its offensive against the rebels.

It accused Turkey too of failing to take adequate precautions to protect civilians in its campaign of shelling and air raids against suspected rear-bases in northern Iraq of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Ankara announced the resumption of operations against PKK rear-bases in mid-August. The group has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey since 1984.

Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Being USA's ally really pays off.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/06/2011 5:20 Comments || Top||


Red Cross Granted Access to Damascus Prison for 1st Time
[An Nahar] The International Committee of the Red Thingy said Monday it was for the first time granted access to a Syrian detention center.

"The Syrian authorities have granted the ICRC access to a place of detention for the first time," ICRC president Jakob Kellenberger, who held talks with Syrian President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
on Monday, said in a statement.

He said the ICRC was able to visit the Damascus
...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti...
Central Prison in the suburb of Adra on Sunday.

"Initially, we will have access to persons jugged by the Ministry of the Interior, and we are hopeful that we will soon be able to visit all detainees," Kellenberger said.

"This is an important step forward for our humanitarian activities in Syria," he said.

During talks with Assad, Kellenberger said he discussed the use of force by security forces and the need to respect the physical and psychological well-being of the detainees, as well as the latest developments in the country since his last visit in June.

"The purpose of these visits ... is to ensure that detainees are treated humanely and that their dignity is respected and preserved," the ICRC said.

Kellenberger also said that his main concern was to ensure that the maimed and sick are able to obtain medical care.

More than 2,200 people have been killed in Syria since almost daily mass protests began on March 15, according to the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
, and activists say over 10,000 have been placed in durance vile.

According to Amnesia Amnesty International, the number of deaths in Syrian prisons rose sharply in 2011, describing it as one of the "most shocking features" of the regime's crackdown.

"No less than 88 such deaths have been reported to Amnesia Amnesty International as occurring during the period from April 1 and August 15," including 10 children aged between 13 and 18, the human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
group said at the end of August.

For at least 52 of them, Amnesty said "there is evidence that torture caused or contributed to the deaths."

Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


8 Dead as Syrian Forces Raid Hama, Homs, Idlib
[An Nahar] Syrian troops and security forces on Monday launched an assault on the central cities of Hama and Homs, where they rubbed out six people, activists said, while at least two were reported killed near the Turkish border.

"More than 30 military vehicles and security forces raided Hama this morning and heavy gunfire was heard in the city," Omar Idlibi, front man of the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone.

In Homs two people were killed in the al-Khalidiyeh district and a third in al-Bayyada, while a fourth person was rubbed out at Tell Kalakh in the Homs region, Idlibi said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights for its part said a man and his son were rubbed out in the Bustan al-Diwan quarter of Homs as they rode on a motor scooter.

The Observatory said 80 people were tossed in the slammer in al-Khalidiyeh, where reinforcements were sent from Hama with four armored vehicles and seven trucks.

The LCC front man also said that in Idlib region in the northwest a sniper killed a man who was trying to cross the border into Turkey.

A Turkish local source in touch with the Syrian community on the other side of the frontier said two people were killed and five maimed in an assault by Syrian troops on the village of Ain al-Beida.

The governor's office in the southern Turkish province of Hatay sent ambulances to the border to pick up maimed people from the incident, Turkish NTV television said, without specifying the number of injured.

Also in Idlib, the LCC said the village of As-Sabil was surrounded and arrests were made.

Near Jabal al-Zawiya in the northwest a grave containing seven bodies was found by locals, who were prevented by the army from retrieving them.

More than 2,200 people have been killed in Syria since almost daily mass protests began on March 15, according to the United Nations
...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas...
, while human rights
...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
groups say more than 10,000 people are behind bars.

President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor...
's regime says it is fighting "armed terrorist gangs."

Posted by: Fred || 09/06/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Recep Erdogan could not be reached for comment.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 09/06/2011 16:25 Comments || Top||



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Tue 2011-09-06
  'Qatari Emir survives assassination'
Mon 2011-09-05
  Pakistan detains top al-Qaida suspect
Sun 2011-09-04
  Sudan declares emergency in Blue Nile state
Sat 2011-09-03
  European Union Lifts Sanctions on Libya
Fri 2011-09-02
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Wed 2011-08-31
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Tue 2011-08-30
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Mon 2011-08-29
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Sun 2011-08-28
  Rebels claim capture of last army base in Tripoli
Sat 2011-08-27
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Fri 2011-08-26
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