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Drone attack leaves 12 dead in N. Waziristan
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sherry,
Per your comment of last night 11:45. Hispanic children already are the plurality in TX. In a few years (<5?) the Hispanic population will also be the plurality in TX. BTW, the Alamo is surrounded once again and Mexico would like nothing more than to regain the territories it lost in war.

The worm could turn very quickly. But then much of my teen years were spent growing up in a >80% Hispanic S.A. neighborhood and noticed more attachment to the racial group and the country of their cousins and uncles. As the Hispanic population gains political control of the border states, will there be a trigger, internal or external, that will cause then to separate from the USA? A reverse Texican if you will.

P.S. I live a LOT closer to you than you suspect.
Posted by: ed || 09/10/2009 0:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Lilian Helen Muriel Pape aka Lilian Harvey



Mirror, Mirror on the wall...

That's my dog Tie, he lives there too!

Oops!

Daily Gam Shot

Something more comfortable

Nightie Night


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 09/10/2009 11:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Ed:

Ditto California
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 09/10/2009 11:59 Comments || Top||

#4  A lady after my own heart - she loves Sammies and archery. Not only that, she's cute! Too bad she's older than my mother...
Posted by: Old Patriot || 09/10/2009 14:35 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Hat tip to the Kiwis. NZ agents join secret war in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/10/2009 17:44 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


German officer reportedly violated NATO bombing rules
Col. Georg Klein overstepped his authority and poorly evaluated the situation, said the NATO report following last Friday’s air strike in the northern province of Kunduz which killed dozens.

It is "completely clear" that Klein did not respect decision-making procedures, a high-ranking German NATO officer told the daily.

Such a decision should have been referred to the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), he said.

Klein called in US warplanes last Friday to bomb two coalition fuel trucks that had been captured by Taliban militants, fearing they would be used as truck bombs against NATO forces.

The preliminary report concluded however that ISAF troops were not in imminent danger as the trucks were stuck in the sand and were being closely monitored.

ISAF has acknowledged that civilians who had gathered around the tanker trucks seeking fuel were killed and injured in the attack, but have not provided any figures.

Local Afghan officials have said at least 54 people were engulfed in the inferno.

A spokesman for the German Defence Ministry declined to comment to the Munich-based paper, saying it preferred to wait until the official report had been completed.

The German government has so far reacted cautiously to the attack, which sparked intense anger in Afghanistan and beyond.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday expressed her "deep regret" for any civilians killed, but said she "will not accept any premature judgements" on the raid.

The bombing has revived debate within Germany on the deployment of its troops to Afghanistan, less than three weeks before general elections.

To put this event into perspective:
The Taliban stole these fuel trucks in order to turn them into truck bombs with which they would have attacked German forces, inflicting heavy casualties.

The political result of this would have been a complete German withdrawal from Afghanistan well before year's end.

Bombing these trucks at the time saved the mission for the time being.

If it is indeed the official policy of NATO that the life of a NATO soldier is worth less than the life of an Afghan illegal combatant war criminal Taliban civilian then German participation will become politically impossible.

Looking at the commentary here and on other US blogs I suspect the above might be true not only for Germany.

NATO is losing the hearts and minds of the people at home.
Posted by: Shinerong Flomonter6687 || 09/10/2009 15:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sure it wasn't Col. Klink?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 09/10/2009 16:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Frankly, everyone with good will in Germany is puzzled.

If that's an Obama plot to boost the Commies... well done.
Posted by: European Conservative || 09/10/2009 16:53 Comments || Top||

#3  "If that's an Obama plot to boost the Commies... well done."

Whaddaya mean "if," EC?

That's pretty much Bambi's fall-back position.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 09/10/2009 19:07 Comments || Top||

#4  The day after the Left (Die Linken, ex East German Commies) polled 4% stronger and the CDU/FDP lost absolute majority.

They may deny it like hell but we might face a dark red/green coalition in a few weeks.

Finally you have the Germans realizing that this is a war and act accordingly and then you stab them in the back?
Posted by: European Conservative || 09/10/2009 19:11 Comments || Top||

#5  "realizing that this is a war and act accordingly and then you stab them in the back?"

That's Bambi's fall-back position, too, EC. Sorry.

Does it help to realize that he's busy stabbing his fellow US citizens in the back, too? :-(
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 09/10/2009 19:33 Comments || Top||

#6  But we've got better relations with our EUropean allies now that we treat them the same way they treat us.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 09/10/2009 20:36 Comments || Top||

#7  It is "completely clear" that Klein did not respect decision-making procedures, a high-ranking German NATO officer told the daily.

This report is from The Local, "Germany's news in English". We didn't do this to you, European Conservative, although I agree it stinks to high heaven.

The problem is, as Shinerong Flomonter6687 states, If it is indeed the official policy of NATO that the life of a NATO soldier is worth less than the life of an Afghan illegal combatant war criminal Taliban civilian
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/10/2009 22:57 Comments || Top||

#8  I look forward to the final report on this thing, although that probably won't placate the light-minded among the German voters.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/10/2009 23:10 Comments || Top||


'We're pinned down:' 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush
Posted by: Chereling Angens3075 || 09/10/2009 07:31 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 

U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren't near the village.

"We are pinned down. We are running low on ammo. We have no air. We've lost today," Marine Maj. Kevin Williams, 37, said through his translator to his Afghan counterpart, responding to the latter's repeated demands for helicopters.
Posted by: 3dc || 09/10/2009 9:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Not one of the Attackers was worth a Marine's Life.
This is BS!
Posted by: 3dc || 09/10/2009 9:42 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm sure General McCrystal can explain. Tell me again, how is that "hearts and minds" campaign coming along?
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/10/2009 9:46 Comments || Top||

#4  These children are tomorrow's terrorists, and the women are nothing more than terrorist factories. Fuck 'em
Posted by: Destro_in_Panama || 09/10/2009 10:25 Comments || Top||

#5  These Marines are going to get payback against the officers that denied them artillery support. This is a blood grudge, a debt that must be paid.

It would have been better for whoever was directly responsible for that artillery support to provide it, then resign for disobeying an order.

As it is, he is cowering behind a "just following orders" excuse. And that is no shield from angry Marines.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 09/10/2009 10:34 Comments || Top||

#6  U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines -- despite being told repeatedly that they weren't near the village.

899. Art. 99. Misbehavior before the enemy

Any member of the armed forces who before or in the presence of the enemy—
(1) runs away;
(2) shamefully abandons, surrenders, or delivers up any command, unit, place, or military property which it is his duty to defend;
(3) through disobedience, neglect, or intentional misconduct endangers the safety of any such command, unit, place, or military property;
(4) casts away his arms or ammunition;
(5) is guilty of cowardly conduct;
(6) quits his place of duty to plunder or pillage;
(7) causes false alarms in any command, unit, or place under control of the armed forces;
(8) willfully fails to do his utmost to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy any enemy troops, combatants, vessels, aircraft, or any other thing, which it is his duty so to encounter, engage, capture, or destroy; or
(9) does not afford all practicable relief and assistance to any troops, combatants, vessels, or aircraft of the armed forces belonging to the United States or their allies when engaged in battle;

shall be punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.


Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/10/2009 10:38 Comments || Top||

#7  Start at the TOP moose, start at the TOP!
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/10/2009 10:39 Comments || Top||

#8  We all knew it was coming. I'm surprised it took this long. Any place in the decision-making chain where cowards can hide must be eliminated. And the ROEs need to be fixed. Again. It's a travesty how this same crap keeps coming up over and over. It's like nobody can learn a lesson by observation any more.
Posted by: gorb || 09/10/2009 10:57 Comments || Top||

#9  I'm sure General McCrystal can explain. Tell me again, how is that "hearts and minds" campaign coming along?

Well, he certainly is losing the war on the Home Front. Those too young to recall, part of the antiwar movement of the Vietnam period was composed of those who objected to the way the war was conducted with restrictions and ROEs just like this. He may be a great thinker and general, but he, like his brethren fail to grasp that wars are fought on two fronts. The one before them and the one at home.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/10/2009 11:04 Comments || Top||

#10  Such ROEs are nothing less than trraitorous condunct, in the sense that they aid the enemy and harm the US forces chances of success. The will also, of course, serve to lenghten the war through helping the enemy to survive, encourage civilians to assist them, and boost their morale by demonstrating a lack of will on our part.
Posted by: Bulldog || 09/10/2009 11:21 Comments || Top||

#11  this is from a reporter for McClatchy.

I would very much like to hear what the officers in question have to say before I judge them. Note, the key promise was for choppers, not for artillery. It sounds more like a snafu than a consequence of the ROE, but again, I would reserve judgement till we know the details and hear the other side.

Of course the new approach A. Will not succeed everywhere - no plan can prevent all human error B. Will not succeed until adequate resources have arrived in country - it is designed to work hand in glove with a surge in numbers, and to make the increased footprint more workable. C. It will have to evolve with tactical learning - no plan survives contact with the enemy, remember?

Posted by: liberal hawk || 09/10/2009 11:23 Comments || Top||

#12  Is any part of this the commanders knowing that the Obama Administration will hold them accountable for any civilians losing thier life, but not for the loss of our soldiers.
Posted by: plainslow || 09/10/2009 11:34 Comments || Top||

#13  That's why there is provisions for an Article 32 procedure to take place, by a disinterested officer, that is someone not subject to influence or interference. That's what happened as soon as the command got wind of Abu Ghrab.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/10/2009 11:40 Comments || Top||

#14  From Bill Roggio:

"No air was available and artillery support didn't arrive until another 50 minutes later, at about 6:40 AM. Even then, only white phosphorus rounds were fired. Attack helicopters showed up another half hour later, at about 7:10."

The support DID come, but it was late. To me that sounds more like disorganization, poor execution, not a ROE issue. Unless you think they were taking the extra 50 time to confirm that no civilians were present. Which is possible I suppose. Though it seems odd that the first rounds fired were Willy Pete, if the issue was ROE.

Posted by: liberal hawk || 09/10/2009 11:59 Comments || Top||

#15  they'd seen women and children in the village shuttling ammunition to fighters positioned in windows and roofs.

We can't give fire support because it could kill innocent civilians - women and children.
Posted by: Glenmore || 09/10/2009 12:06 Comments || Top||

#16  hmmm..not quite.

At 6:05 a.m., as our position was becoming increasingly tenuous, Swenson and Fabayo agreed that it was time to pull back and radioed for artillery to fire smoke rounds to mask our retreat.

"They don't have any smoke. They only have Willy Pete," Swenson reported, referring to white phosphorus rounds that spew smoke.


Read more

They weren't firing into the enemy positions, they were firing into the space between those positions and themselves to obscure visibility.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/10/2009 12:15 Comments || Top||

#17  There are no civilians in Afghanistan - only noncombatants aiding and supporting one side or the other.

Karzai is playing both sides, and needs to be eliminated. He needs to be the victim of a "roadside bomb". Abdullah isn't much better, but he at least stays bought.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 09/10/2009 14:50 Comments || Top||

#18  OP,
In my book they're combatants if they're carrying ammo, whether they're men, women or little kids.
Posted by: Glenmore || 09/10/2009 15:50 Comments || Top||

#19  We really need to push this out to the blog world in a very big way. This country needs to rally around this incident and ram it up Obamas crack. He IS the Commander in Chief and must be held accountable for this incident.
Posted by: C || 09/10/2009 23:30 Comments || Top||


Gordon Brown ordered mission to free kidnapped reporter Stephen Farrell
Gordon Brown approved a mission to rescue the British journalist Stephen Farrell in which a member of the Special Forces was killed this morning, The Times has learnt.

Plans for the raid, in which Farrell's Afghan interpreter, a civilian and dozens of Taleban fighters were also killed, were drawn up by British Special Forces commanders in Kabul during a weekend of secret planning.

Lieutenant-General Jim Dutton, a Royal Marine and deputy commander of Nato's International Security Assistance Force, headed the team and Mr Brown, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, and Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, were kept informed of what was being planned.

The Director Special Forces, a major-general who cannot be identified, has a direct phone link to the Prime Minister and would have informed Mr Brown in person of the risks involved. Whitehall sources confirmed that Mr Brown had given his approval for the rescue mission to go ahead.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "Ministers were kept informed throughout and supported the operation to secure the release of Mr Farrell."

Farrell, a New York Times journalist, was freed in the pre-dawn operation but his Afghan interpreter, Mohammad Sultan Munadi, was shot dead. A Taleban commander said that 48 of his men were killed in the raid, in which at least one civilian also died.

The pair were taken hostage by the Taleban on Saturday after travelling to the site of an air strike near Kunduz in which up to 125 people were killed.

Moments after this morning's raid Farrell phoned his American colleagues to say that he had been freed. He said: "We were all in a room, the Talebs all ran, it was obviously a raid. We thought they would kill us. We thought should we go out."

The two hostages ran outside. "There were bullets all around us. I could hear British and Afghan voices," he added.

Farrell said that Munadi went forward, shouting: "Journalist! Journalist!" but dropped in a hail of bullets. "I dived in a ditch," he said, adding that he did not know whether the shots had come from allied or militant fire.

After a minute or two, the dual Irish-British national who is a former Middle East correspondent for The Times, said that he heard more British voices and shouted: "British hostage!" The British voices told him to come over. As he did, he saw Munadi's body.

"He was lying in the same position as he fell," Mr Farrell said. "That's all I know. I saw him go down in front of me. He did not move. He's dead. He was so close, he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped."
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Bangladesh
2 Huji men's bail cancelled
[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court yesterday cancelled bails of two Harkatul Jihad (Huji) members, granted earlier by another court, in one of the two August 21 grenade attack cases on grounds that the charges brought against them were heinous and unpardonable.

Meantime, another Dhaka court yesterday fixed October 4 for hearing on the government petition seeking cancellation of bails granted to two Huji members in the other case.

The Huji members are Munshi Mohibullah alias Mohibur Rahman, brother of Huji Chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, and Arif Hasan Sumon, who obtained bail from a speedy trial tribunal.

Metropolitan Sessions Judge ANM Bashir Ullah issued the cancellation order after an hour-long hearing in presence of the two Huji members.

In the order, the judge said the charges brought against the Huji members were heinous. They along with the other accused killed 23 people including Awami League leader Ivy Rahman, wife of President Zillur Rahman, and injured many others by blasting grenades at an AL rally.

They had an intention to assassinate AL President Sheikh Hasina to create a void in the party and there was no alternative to cancellation of their bails granted earlier, the judge said.

On August 12 this year, Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 Judge Masdar Hossain granted them bail saying they were not directly involved in the incident.

The prosecution on August 17 submitted petitions seeking cancellation of the bails.

Earlier, the same court on August 3 ordered a further probe into the cases after the prosecution submitted petitions seeking fresh investigation.

Twenty-three people were killed and 300 others injured in the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004.

Two cases -- one for murder and the other for blasting grenades at the rally -- were filed following the incident.

On June 11 last year, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) pressed charges against 22 people including Mufti Abdul Hannan, and former deputy minister and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu.

CID arrested Hannan, Pintu and 12 others who are in jail custody now.

Pintu's brother Moulana Tajuddin and seven others have been absconding since the cases were filed.

The murder case is pending with Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court in Dhaka.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: HUJI


Crossfire goes on in Kushtia
[Bangla Daily Star] An outlawed party leader was killed in 'crossfire' in Mahadevpur village under Mirpur upazila of Kushtia early yesterday raising the number of such deaths in the district to 17 in 14 days.
Old Patriot, we must unfold The Map. Please warn the neighhborhood.
The deceased was identified as Anwar Hossain Kalu alias Kala Anu, ...
What, Anwar wasn't good enough for him?
... 39, son of Amu Malitha of Gacherdia at Daulatpur upazila in the district.

Anwar was a leader of Lal Pataka, a Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML) faction, and also a close associate of party's founder Ronny Biswas, who was killed in an 'encounter' last year, police said.
It's a party tradition, then, so that's ok.
Acting on a tip-off,
Mahmoud the Weasel strikes again!
Rab-12 members raided a house
a properly proletariat house, one hopes
at Mahadevpur at about 3:40am
Three forty? A curiously precise time in the dark of the morning
where a gang of extremists, led by Anwar, was holding a meeting.
"No, dammit, my name is Kala!"
Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the outlaws opened fire forcing them to fire back that triggered a gunfight.
Perhaps its an unavoidable side effect of the Spidey Sense that make the badmen fire so wildly and ineffectively.
At one stage,
The house belonged to theater people? How unexpected!
the accomplices managed to flee the scene while the body of Anwar was found lying dead on the ground.
In an overly dramatic pose, too, while his henchmen exeunted on tiptoe as if they'd never been.
Rab recovered one light gun, two bullets, five explosives and two sharp weapons from the spot.
Stage props, all, except the bullets later returned to the Rab vault.
Later police rushed to the spot and recovered the body.
"Why the rush if the body is already dead, Dr. Quincy? We still need to remove the organs from his Party comrade,to sell to the juices."
Anwar was accused in six cases including three of murder, police said.
Wanted on twelve systems, even his mother didn't love him.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caribbean-Latin America
Passengers of Mexico's hijacked Plane evacuated
[Iran Press TV Latest] All passengers of an Aeromexico flight which was earlier hijacked and landed in Mexico City; have been safely evacuated.

A Mexican official had earlier announced that the plane was hijacked and landed in Mexico City airport.

However, the people on board the flight were safely evacuated, officials said, as security forces swarmed the international airport within minutes of the drama unfolding.

Two men were shown being led away by security forces in handcuffs, as Mexican television said six people were arrested.

Unconfirmed media reports claimed the hijackers, initially said to be three Bolivians, were carrying explosives.

Mexican online media reported that Aeromexico Flight 576 had 104 people on board when it left Bolivia, and made a stopover in Cancun en route to Mexico City.

Television images showed chaotic scenes as the passengers, mostly dressed in shorts and T-shirts, descended from the plane, some carrying young children and clutching bags. They were briefly made to sit on the tarmac by the security forces, before being led away.

Less than an hour into the drama, Mexican officials said the situation was "under control" in the airport which sits in the middle of the Mexican metropolis.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jose Flores Pereira, a 40-year-old Bolivian, threatened to blow up the Aeromexico plane unless allowed to speak to President Felipe Calderon.

He told flight attendants that he had three accomplices, "the Father, Son and Holy Ghost".

He said that he acted on 9 September 2009, because the numbers 9/9/9 were the inverse of 6/6/6, the number linked to the Anti-Christ

lol - religious fanatics .. delusional and crazy , one and all ..
Posted by: Oscar || 09/10/2009 4:49 Comments || Top||

#2  They can't get it right.

In May 2005, it was reported that scholars at Oxford University using advanced imaging techniques[16] had been able to read previously illegible portions of the earliest known record of the Book of Revelation (a 1,700 year old papyrus), from the Oxyrhynchus site, Papyrus 115 or P115, dating one century after Irenaeus. The fragment gives the Number of the Beast as 616 (chi, iota, stigma), rather than the majority text 666 (chi, xi, stigma).[1] The other early witness Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C) has it written in full: hexakosiai deka hex (lit. six hundred sixteen).[17]

Significantly, P115 aligns with Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (C) which are generally regarded as providing the best testimony to Revelation. Thus, P115 has superior testimony to that of P47 which aligns with Codex Sinaiticus and together form the second-best witness to the Book of Revelation. This has led some scholars to conclude that 616 is the original number of the beast.[18][19]

Dr. Paul Lewes in his book, A Key to Christian Origins (1932) wrote:

"The figure 616 is given in one of the two best manuscripts, C (Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, Paris), by the Latin version of Tyconius (DCXVI, ed. Souter in the Journal of Theology, SE, April 1913), and by an ancient Armenian version (ed. Conybaere, 1907). Irenaeus knew about it [the 616 reading], but did not adopt it (Haer. v.30,3), Jerome adopted it (De Monogramm., ed. Dom G Morin in the Rev. Benedictine, 1903). It is probably original. The number 666 has been substituted for 616 either by analogy with 888, the [Greek] number of Jesus (Deissmann), or because it is a triangular number, the sum of the first 36 numbers (1+2+3+4+5+6...+36 = 666)".[20]

Professor David C. Parker, Professor of New Testament Textual Criticism and Paleography at the University of Birmingham, thinks that 616, although less memorable than 666, is the original.[21] Dr. Ellen Aitken said: “Scholars have argued for a long time over this, and it now seems that 616 was the original number of the beast. It's probably about 100 years before any other version."[22]
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/10/2009 12:31 Comments || Top||

#3  Rantburg U - a well-rounded education!
Posted by: Old Patriot || 09/10/2009 14:57 Comments || Top||

#4  The hijackers may be delusional and crazy, but everyone walked away.

If they been delusional from Mecca, it is likely the authorities would still be picking up the body parts.
Posted by: Skunky Glins 5*** || 09/10/2009 20:52 Comments || Top||

#5  If they were from Mecca, isn't delusional a given, Skunky?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 09/10/2009 21:56 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
US Gummit orders a few rounds of Winchester 40 cal ammo for Homeland Security
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/10/2009 16:33 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  FBI uses a Glock .40, I believe, and HS and ICE probably decided to use it, too, standardizing on one piece. As an aside, some gangsters decided if it's good enough for the FBI, it's good enough for them, as well.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 09/10/2009 19:53 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Bomb blast, drive-by shooting kill five in Balochistan
[Dawn] At least five people were killed and three others wounded in a bomb blast and a drive-by shooting in Balochistan province on Wednesday, officials said.

The bomb exploded in the small town of Soorab, some 250 kilometres south of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas rich Balochistan province that borders Iran and Afghanistan.

'An improvised explosive device which the two men were carrying with them on a motorcycle went off, killing both of them,' local police official Mohammad Sarwer told AFP.

Elsewhere in the province, gunmen opened fire on tribesmen loyal to a pro-government chieftain in Dera Bugti town, killing three people and wounding three others, local police official Ashfaq Jamali told AFP.

On Tuesday, gunmen on the eastern outskirts of Quetta set fire to eight trucks carrying fuel supplies for Nato forces fighting Taliban insurgents in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Bomb explosions and drive-by shootings are fairly frequent in Balochistan, rife with militancy, sectarian violence and a regional insurgency.

Hundreds of people have died since Baluch rebels rose up in 2004, lashing out against the central government, demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's wealth of natural resources.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Nato equipments seized from godown, 3 held in Quetta
[Geo News] Police claimed recovering Nato's stolen advanced telecommunication and electronic equipments during a raid on a warehouse in Quetta meanwhile, at least three persons, accused of stealing equipments, were arrested during the process, Geo news reported on Wednesday. SP Saddar police Dr. Farrukh Ali told a press conference police raided on a warehouse located on Sapni Road, seizing from there, the electronic and telecommunication equipments to be provided to Nato in Afghanistan including medical equipments, advanced telecommunication materials, x-ray machines, wireless, stretcher, wireless sets, computers, building materials and other goods. He said the recovered equipments are worth of millions of rupees while, the arrested accused persons including warehouse owner, were identified as Najeebullah, Agha Muhammad and Baz Muhammad.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Kind of hoping we would have at least gleaned information from tracking the telecom equipment . The supply route , the leads and players , and other specific intel . If all we got was 3 dodgy warehouse staff, then poor show , better off blowing the sh1thole up ... not just the warehouse , the whole of Quetta.
Posted by: Oscar || 09/10/2009 4:45 Comments || Top||


NWFP minister's father hurt, driver killed in attack
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Central Finance Secretary of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Malik Shameem Afridi was injured in an assassination attempt while his driver was killed on the spot and brother sustained injuries in the incident on Tuesday.

Sources said Malik Shameem, father of NWFP Housing Minister Malik Amjad Afridi and Senator Malik Abbas Afridi of the Awami National Party, was heading for his home located in the Babari Banda when unidentified assailants sprayed his car with bullets in the Belytang area.

The assailants, who were following the JWP leader's vehicle in their car, escaped towards the tribal area after committing the crime. In the firing, Malik Shameem and his brother Said Zaman sustained multiple injuries while driver Zeeshan was killed on the spot.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP


46 terrorists nabbed from Islamabad Madaris, NA panel told
[The News (Pak)] The Capital Police have arrested 46 terrorists during the last six months from the federal capital who were planning terrorist attacks on the Parliament House, intelligence agencies' offices, parliamentarians, National Defence University and other sensitive areas in the capital.

Inspector General of Police Syed Kaleem Imam told the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Interior here on Tuesday that these terrorists came here from different parts of the country.

He said most of the terrorists were arrested from different Madaris, located in the federal capital. He said despite lack of resources, Jawans of the Capital Police were performing their duties at the cost of their lives for the safety and security of the citizens.

A meeting of the committee, presided over by its Chairman Abdul Qadir Patel, lauded the efforts of the Capital Police for maintaining law and order in Islamabad and foiling a number of terrorist plots in the recent past.

Referring to the terrorist attack on the minister for religious affairs, the IG informed the committee that the head constable on duty with the minister foiled the assassination attempt of the attackers by firing four bullets at them.

He said an investigation in this regard was progressing in the right direction, as the police had got leads from suspects. Imam said the policeman, who sustained five bullet wounds, had been promoted to ASI in recognition of his bravery. In addition to this, he had also been awarded Rs 500,000 in prize money, the IG said.

He informed the committee that all the federal ministers would soon be provided special security squads for their safety and security. The IG called for an effective mechanism for monitoring the activities of the Madaris located in the federal capital.

Earlier, the committee discussed the registration of the Madaris in the federal capital and expressed concern over delay in their registration by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration.

The committee directed the ICT administration to expedite the registration of the Madaris and evolve an effective mechanism for monitoring their activities. The ICT deputy commissioner informed the committee that the ICT alone could not stop the mushroom growth of Madaris in the federal capital.

He said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was responsible for the allotment of plots to the Madaris as well as stopping encroachment in any part of the capital. He said there were 140 Madaris in the federal capital, out of which, 122 had been registered, while efforts were underway to convince the others for registration.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


7 terrorists killed, soldier martyred in Swat: ISPR
[Geo News] Seven terrorists were killed and one solider was martyred while two troops were injured during exchange of firing at Charai near Malam Jaba in Swat district, an ISPR statement here said on Wednesday. Search and clearance operations are continuing in Swat and Malakand. In Swat the security forces conducted search operation at Charai near Malam Jabba and during exchange of fire with terrorists one soldier embraced martyrdom and 2 soldiers were injured. As many as seven terrorists were also killed. As many as 11 terrorists voluntarily surrendered to security forces at Sarsanai, shadhand Banda and Bar Shaur while11 suspect terrorists were apprehended at Dosara Banda, Bartan, Nalkot Bagh Dheri and Rahatkot. Local Jirga handed over a terrorist to security forces at Bar Kabulgram near Martung. In Bajaur Agency security forces conducted search operation at Nawaga Bazaar and apprehended local terrorists commander along with 5 accomplices. A wanted terrorist Kalam Khan voluntarily surrendered at Khar. Regarding relief activities, as many as 10 trucks of mix rations have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Bajaur. As many as 294,841 cash cards have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Malakand.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Hamid Saeed Kazmi's security guard passes away
[Dawn] Police Commando Muhammad Ashraf, security guard of Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi, succumbed to his injuries and passed away at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) here on Wednesday.

The police commando was critically injured after sustaining five bullet injuries, safeguarding the minister from a terrorist attack a week ago.

The policeman hails from district Jhang and was the sole bread-earner of his family and father of three children. He had been serving in Islamabad Police as Head Constable for the last thirteen years and protected the minister by putting his own life at risk and shot three bullets at the assailants.

Muhammad Ashraf had been promoted as Assistant Sub-Inspector after being injured and saving the minister's life.

His funeral prayer was offered at Police Line Headquarters after which his body was dispatched to his native town.

Inspector General of Police Islamabad Syed Kaleem Imam, SSP (Operations) Tahir Alam Khan, SSP (Traffic) Dr. Sultan Azam Temuri, SSP (Headquarters) Muhammad Zubair Hashmi, SSP (Security) Ahsan Abbass, SPs, MNA from Jhang, son of Hamid Saeed Kazmi and other police officials attended his funeral prayer.

The IGP said that it is a very sad day for Islamabad police as a brave police personnel had been killed.

IGP Kaleem Imam said the government has announced Rs. 2 million for the martyred police officer. He said Islamabad police has appointed a coordinator who would resolve all the financial problems of his family on the behalf of Islamabad police.

Islamabad police will also give a job to one of his close relatives and would bear all the education expenses of his children.

The IGP said that 51 terrorists have been apprehended from Islamabad in connection with the attack on Hamid Saeed Kazmi, six arrests have been made.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Tankers supplying fuel to Nato attacked
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Four oil tankers, supplying oil to Nato forces across the border in Afghanistan, caught fire in the Akhtarabad area of the provincial capital on Tuesday when they were attacked by unknown armed men.

Confirming the attack, police told The News that the oil tankers were going to Afghanistan for supplying oil to the Nato forces. When the tankers were passing through the Akhtarabad area of Quetta, some unknown armed men, riding a motorcycle, attacked the oil tankers. The armed men opened indiscriminate fire with sophisticated weapons at the tankers. The police said one of the oil tankers caught fire, which engulfed the other three as well. Flames could be seen from miles, eyewitnesses said.

Fire tenders and police reached the spot. After hectic efforts of two hours, the fire fighters extinguished the fire. The police said one of the tankers was completely destroyed, while three others were partially damaged.

SHO Shalkot police station Khalil Ahmed Bugti told media persons that the police had recovered 50 empty rounds of different calibres from the spot. He said efforts were under way to trace the attackers. However, no arrest was made till the filing of this report. Police have started a probe into the matter.

APP adds: Supply of fuel and other items to Nato forces in Afghanistan was once again suspended after the Afghan forces closed the Pak-Afghan border here on Tuesday afternoon.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Kashmir fighting kills two militants, one Indian officer
[Dawn] Militants allegedly sneaked into India-administered Kashmir from Pakistan early Wednesday sparking a gunbattle with border forces that left an Indian army officer and two suspected militants dead.

An army patrol intercepted the suspected insurgents in Mendhar sector close to the cease-fire line dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan, said Col. Biplab Nath, an Indian army spokesman.

Mendhar lies nearly 110 miles southwest of Srinagar, the main city in India-administered Kashmir.

The incident could not be independently verified and there was no word from any of the dozen rebel groups that have fought Indian rule in Kashmir for two decades.

Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Drone attack leaves 12 dead in N. Waziristan
[Dawn] A US drone fired missiles into a house in Tabi Saidgai area of North Waziristan on Tuesday night, killing 12 people, most of them suspected militants. Local people said the missiles damaged the residence of one Maulvi Taib Shah who hailed from Lakki Marwat. It was not clear if Maulvi Taib was among those killed. A number of adjacent houses were also damaged in the attack.
Alas, poor Maulvi Talib. Titzup in the prime of life...
Some of the bodies, local people said, were charred beyond recognition. Three children and two women were among the dead, they added. The family was suspected of having links with Taliban militants.
Comes as a surprise, huh?
This was the second drone attack in the area in 24 hours. Five people were killed in a similar attack in Machikhel area of Mir Ali tehsil on Monday night.

Reuters adds: Nine or 10 militants were killed in the attack, intelligence officials said. They said the target of the missile strike was the house of a cleric near the Afghan border used as a militant hideout.
The holy man being Maulvi Talib...
'Nine to 10 militants have been killed. They are locals affiliated with the Haqqani group,' an intelligence official in the region told Reuters referring to veteran Afghan guerrilla commander Jalaluddin Haqqani.
This article starring:
Jalaluddin HaqqaniTaliban
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Iraq
Iraqi troops raid Baghdad house, killing two men
[Asharq al-Aswat] Police and witnesses say U.S.-backed Iraqi soldiers have raided a home in southeastern Baghdad, killing two men inside and arresting an Iraqi soldier from an intelligence unit. The U.S. and Iraqi militaries had no immediate comment on the report.

An Iraqi police officer says the raid took place before dawn on Wednesday in a predominantly Shiite district of the capital called Zafaraniyah. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information. A brother of one of the men killed said he had no idea what might have prompted the raid, which he called a "crime." He only wanted to be identified by his nickname, Abu Mustafa, because of security concerns.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Gaza border violence heats up: Israel enters, factions retaliate
Ma'an -- Clashes erupted as Israeli bulldozers and armored vehicles entered 800 meters beyond the Gaza border near Beit Hanoun and began destroying agricultural land near the border, witnesses said Wednesday afternoon.

Israeli soldiers reportedly fired on civilians in the area as they began bulldozing lands. Farmers fled the area and shortly after they reported hearing explosions from the same direction.

The Military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed they launched a rocket propelled grenade shell at the invading forces.

An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed the presence of troops in Gaza, saying forces "uncovered explosive devices" in the area and had snipers detonate the devices. She also confirmed troops were fired on by Gaza factions, but reported no injuries or damages.

Overnight two armed groups said they clashed with invading Israeli forces, then early Wednesday afternoon medics in Gaza said a young man came into hospital with wounds reportedly sustained from Israeli fire.

The day marks the largest number of reported clashes between Israeli troops and armed Gaza factions since the Israeli war on Gaza came to a close in January.
Posted by: Fred || 09/10/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: PFLP

#1  Beit Hanoun is near where the Israelis recently destroyed kidnapping tunnels. Looks like they want to be thorough.
Posted by: ed || 09/10/2009 1:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Being thorough means leveling the entire MME + some selected locations in EUrope.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/10/2009 2:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Unfortunately, g(r)om, I have to agree with you. It's a shame that the arab mindset can better accept living in a seventh-century hellhole without Jews, than a 21st century paradise built BY Jews.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 09/10/2009 16:04 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Three gunned down, one of them torched, in southern Thailand
Terrorists Suspected Islamic insurgents in Thailand's troubled south shot and killed three Buddhist men, setting the body of one of the victims on fire, police said on Thursday.

In the capital town of Pattani province, gunmen shot dead a Buddhist security guard working at an office for military veterans as he rode his motorcycle to a market late Wednesday, police said. The attackers then torched the 42-year-old's body and his motorcycle in the middle of the road in front of terrified onlookers, they said.

Gunmen shot dead a deputy village chief on the same day, also in Pattani province, police said. Meanwhile the deputy chief of another village in Songkhla province was shot dead as he sat in his car on Wednesday.

Also:

A school in Buerae village of Narathiwat’s Bacho district was set on fire on Thursday morning, Bacho police said. It took about 30 minutes for fire fighters to extinguish the blaze. One classroom was damaged. Police blamed terrorists separatist militants for the arson. Hem Yunu, director of the school, ordered suspension of all classes for two days to allow state authorities to inspect the incident scene.
Posted by: ryuge || 09/10/2009 03:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency



Who's in the News
53[untagged]
4Taliban
3TTP
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1al-Qaeda in Pakistan
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Pakistan
1Hamas
1HUJI
1Iraqi Insurgency
1Islamic Jihad
1Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
1PFLP
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Thai Insurgency
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2009-09-10
  Drone attack leaves 12 dead in N. Waziristan
Wed 2009-09-09
  Supply for Nato stops again after row with Afghans
Tue 2009-09-08
  Two foreigners among seven dead in NWA drone strikes
Mon 2009-09-07
  33 militants killed in Khyber Agency
Sun 2009-09-06
  'Taliban' kidnap NYT reporter in Afghanistan
Sat 2009-09-05
  Yemen suspends offensive on northern rebels
Fri 2009-09-04
  Andhra Pradesh CM killed in chopper crash
Thu 2009-09-03
  Iraq: 4 get death sentence in bank heist case
Wed 2009-09-02
  Suicide boomer kills Afghan deputy intel boss
Tue 2009-09-01
  Qaeda coordinator killed in N Caucasus: Russia
Mon 2009-08-31
  Ethiopian troops seize Somali town
Sun 2009-08-30
  Swat suicide kaboom kills a dozen
Sat 2009-08-29
  Suicide kaboom in Chechnya kills two, wounds six
Fri 2009-08-28
  'Surrendering' Qaeda boy tries to boom Prince Nayef, Jr.
Thu 2009-08-27
  Baghdad demands Damascus hands over boom masterminds

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