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Nigeria military nabs Bokoboy at senator's home
Today's Headlines
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
27 Killed in Blast, Collision on Roads in Afghan North
[Tolo] At least 27 people have been killed and more than 50 others injured while traveling in northern Afghanistan in two separate incidents, local officials said Friday.

A roadside kaboom tore through a minibus carrying people in Dawlat Abad district of northern Balkh province on Friday, killing at least 19 people and injuring 16, the Ministry of Interior front man Sediq Sediqqi said.

Most of the victims were children and women, he said Friday.

No group including the Taliban has grabbed credit for the blast.

Insurgents use improvised bombs (IED) to target Afghan and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
troops, but most of the victims are civilians.

It comes after a deadly bus-and-truck collision on Thursday night killed eight people and injured 36 more, mainly football fans, in northern Jawzjan province which borders with Balkh.

The incident took place about 09:00 PM local time, when a minibus of football fans crashed with an oil tanker, the head of 303 Pamir Corps in northern Afghanistan Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai told TOLOnews.

The fans were headed to Kabul to support their football team in the grand final of the country's first premier league, he said.

"Unfortunately, eight football fans were killed and 36 others were maimed in the accident as their vehicle collided with a fuel tanker on the Shibirghan to Aqcha highway late on Thursday," he added.

The grand final was held in Kabul on Friday afternoon between teams from the north Simorgh Alborz and the west Toofan Harirod.

The fans were on their way from Jawzjan province to Kabul 300 kilometres away.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Six Afghan Police Poisoned, Shot Dead: Officials
[Tolo] Six Afghan coppers were rubbed out after being poisoned by colleagues in southern Afghanistan, officials said Saturday.

The shooting, which is the latest in a series by Afghan security personnel targeting their local and foreign colleagues, occurred in Gereshk district of volatile Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province on Thursday.

"A cook and a policeman first food-poisoned their colleagues in their post, and after they fell unconscious they were rubbed out," provincial front man Ahmad Zeerak told AFP.

He said the policeman involved in the shooting had been tossed in the calaboose
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
but the cook was still on the lam.

Farid Ahmad Farhang, a provincial police front man, confirmed the incident.

The Taliban grabbed credit for the attack, according to purported front man Yousif Ahmadi, who said eight coppers were killed and their weapons seized.

Afghan police are the key force in supporting US-led NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
forces in a war against the Talibs.

Afghanistan has witnessed a surge in insider attacks, often by Taliban spies, in which more than 50 foreigners and dozens of local forces have been killed by their colleagues this year.

The unprecedented number of insider killings comes at a critical moment in the 11-year war, as US-led NATO forces plan to hand security responsibility to the Afghans ahead of a withdrawal of combat forces by the end of 2014.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
German court convicts 10 Somalis of piracy
(Sh.M.Network) -- Ten Somalis were given jail sentences of up to seven years on Friday for hijacking a cargo ship, in Germany's first modern-day piracy trial.

The raid on the German vessel MV Taipan, 530 miles off the Horn of Africa in April 2010, had been conducted with near military precision, the judge said, rejecting the defendants' claim that they had been forced into it.

The pirates had hoped to extort a ransom of at least $1 million, Judge Bernd Steinmetz told the Hamburg state court.

"You were each going to get a share of that, even if it was only going to be a small share," Steinmetz said as he convicted the men of piracy and kidnapping.

Defence attorneys had sought acquittals, calling the hijacking an act of desperation by people living in political and economic turmoil in one of the world's most unstable countries.

One of the defendants told the court: "It's a tragedy what happened here. Our country, my country is broken. I'm not a pirate."

Somali pirates netted $160 million last year and cost the world economy some $7 billion, according to the American One Earth Future think-tank.

Steinmetz said he had taken into consideration the desperate living conditions in Somalia when passing sentence.

The jail terms -- seven years each for seven of them and three years for the others who were deemed minors at the time of the incident -- were below prosecutors' demands of up to 12 years and well below the maximum penalty of 15 years.

The Somalis were captured by Dutch commandos after they freed the MV Taipan on April 5, 2010. They were taken to the Netherlands and later extradited to Germany.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Pirates

#1  One of the defendants told the court: "It's a tragedy what happened here. Our country, my country is broken. I'm not a pirate."


"I'm a simple, but well-armed, fisherman. I fish for tankers and cargo ships. It's our culture, you wouldn't understand."
Posted by: Frank G || 10/21/2012 8:15 Comments || Top||

#2  It's not piracy. We're just redistributing the wealth so everyone has a fair share. Ask your President!
Posted by: SteveS || 10/21/2012 12:28 Comments || Top||


Government troops carry out operations after Explosion
(Sh.M.Network)--Somali security forces have carried out on Saturday morning purge operation in the town of Baidoa, the procincial capital of Bay, after roadside blast has killed more people on Friday, reports said.

The forces have launched a dawn crackdown at several villages in the city, where the officials suspected to be hideouts of Al shabab affiliates. Dozens of suspects were locked away
You have the right to remain silent...
during the sweep.

"These operations began at dawn this morning and we locked away
You have the right to remain silent...
more people who are mainly youth that are still in police custody and their investigation is still pending," said a police officer who asked not to be named.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Clashes in ex-Gadhafi Bastion Kill 9, 122 Wounded
[An Nahar] Clashes between Libyan pro-government forces and fighters of Bani Walid, a former bastion of slain dictator Muammar Qadaffy
...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years until he was ejected from the gene pool by his indignant citizens...
, killed nine people on Saturday and maimed more than 100 others, a medical official said.

"The hospital has received nine people killed and 122 maimed," from the fighting, said the medical official in the city of Misrata, northeast of Bani Walid, where pro-government forces are being treated.

"Most of the injuries were caused by light weapons, suggesting close-quarter fighting, and some were hurt by shrapnel," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
Witnesses said that Misrata's main hospital was packed with the maimed and their distraught relatives and that ambulances were constantly arriving with more casualties from the battlefront.

The fighting erupted as pro-government forces pushed into the center Bani Walid to snuff out criminals and diehard former regime loyalists who found shelter there, Colonel Ali al-Sheikhi, front man of the chief of staff, said.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Now up to 22
Posted by: tipper || 10/21/2012 12:01 Comments || Top||


Khamis Gaddafi killed during fighting in Bani Walid
Khamis Qadaffy, youngest son of the former Libyan dictator, has been killed during fighting in the town of Bani Walid, a year to the day that rebel forces killed his father, Muammar.

A short statement from the Libyan national congress front man, Omar Hamdan, said the 28-year-old was killed "in battle" but gave no further details. His body was found after a day of heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or desultory fighting...
between the town's pro-Qadaffy garrison and militias allied to the Libyan government. Government forces reported 13 dead and 121 maimed, amid a fourth day of bitter festivities for control of the town.

Khamis's death prompted wild celebrations in Misrata, Libya's third city, which was besieged for six months by his 32nd Brigade, blamed for an orgy of murder, rape and torture.

Khamis was known as one of the most hardline of Qadaffy's sons: after studying in a Russian military academy, he formed the 32nd Brigade as a special unit to be at the service of his father.

Reports said his body was being brought to Misrata, in a repeat of last October when his father's body was put on public display before being buried at a secret site. Khamis has been wrongly reported dead several times.

For many Misratans, the death of their chief tormentor was a cause for both celebration and torment. Former militiaman Muhsen al-Gubbi, who battled with Khamis's forces in the city last year, said: "I want to cry. I am still waiting to see his body, I want to make sure he is dead."
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


France 24 TV: Cairo reporter 'savagely attacked'
A correspondent for La Belle France 24 TV was "savagely attacked" near Cairo's Tahrir Square after being seized by a crowd, the network said Saturday. It was the latest case of violence against women at the epicenter of Egypt's restive protests.

The news channel said in a statement that Sonia Dridi was attacked around 10:30 p.m. Friday after a live broadcast on a protest at the square and was later rescued by a colleague and other witnesses. La Belle France 24 did not give further details about the attack, but it said its employees were safe and sound, though "extremely shocked," and that it will file suit against unspecified assailants.

The network, which receives state funds but has editorial independence, said it and the French Embassy were working to bring Dridi back to La Belle France.

"More frightened than hurt," wrote Dridi in French on her Twitter page Saturday. Referring in English to a colleague, she tweeted: "Thanks to (at)ashrafkhalil for protecting me in (hash)Tahrir last nite. Mob was pretty intense. thanks to him I beat feet from the unleashed hands."

Ashraf Khalil, who works with La Belle France 24's English language service, said the crowd was closing in on him and Dridi while they were doing live reports on a side street off Tahrir. He said the attack and rescue took about half an hour, but it felt like a lot longer.

"The crowd surged in and then it went crazy. It was basically me keeping her in a bear hug, both arms around her and face-to-face," he told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named, estimating that at least 30 men were involved. "It was hard to tell who was helping and who was groping her."

Khalil said they retreated into a fast food restaurant with a metal door, to keep her out of the reach of the attackers. He said they hustled into a car, and some men banged on it as it sped away. Some of their belongings had been stolen, he said.

"It didn't feel organized or targeted. It felt disorganized," he said. "I felt angry. I love Tahrir. I have a lot of nostalgia for Tahrir. I am still angry. I know this is not the first time this happened; it happened to other people I know. Still, it was a shock."
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Lara Logan is going to have a new ally.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/21/2012 6:48 Comments || Top||

#2  "Still, it was a shock."

Don't get out much, do you, Mr. Khalil?

Ms. Dridi (and other women) ought to have the right to go anywhere they please, unaccosted.

That said, she's an IDIOT to go to someplace like that where it's just about guaranteed she'll get attacked.

I don't know what world you live in, Ms. Dridi, but I live in the one in which I don't go to countries (and spend my hard-earned money) where I am guaranteed to be attacked and/or killed. Even if it's for work. Would love to see the Pyramids. Ain't gonna happen. :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 10/21/2012 9:27 Comments || Top||

#3  "It didn't feel organized or targeted. It felt disorganized"

The important question:

Was a YouTube video involved?
Posted by: Pappy || 10/21/2012 14:15 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria military nabs Bokoboy at senator's home
Nigeria's military incarcerated
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
a member of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
at the home of a prominent senator, as ongoing violence blamed on the sect in a nearby city has killed at least 23 people in recent days, officials said.

Shuaibu Muhammed Bama had been found "in a serving senator's home" in Maiduguri on Thursday night, military front man Lt. Col. Sagir Musa said. Musa described Bama as a commander who organized attacks in Bama, a town just southeast of Maiduguri in Borno state.

Those living in Nigeria's Moslem north often take the name of their town or village as a surname. He also is not the first to join Boko Haram from that town. Authorities blamed a Christmas Day car booming of a Catholic church outside Nigeria's capital that killed at least 44 people on Habibu Bama, a former soldier from the town. Security forces killed Habibu Bama in June, the sect has said.

Musa did not name the senator in his statement. However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
the only senator who has a home in the area where Bama was incarcerated
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
in is Sen. Ahmed Zanna, a member of the governing People's Democratic Party in Nigeria's National Assembly. Zanna and officials in his office could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday morning.

Rumors have always circled that Boko Haram received backing from some political sponsors in Nigeria, a country where politicians often arm hard boyz to rig elections. In January, President Goodluck Jonathan
... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau...
himself said that the sect had infiltrated all levels of government, including the armed forces and security agencies.

This is not the first time a serving senator has been accused of being in league with Boko Haram. Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume was incarcerated
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
in November and faces charges that he was involved with the group.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa language of Nigeria's north, is blamed for killing more than 690 people this year alone, according to an AP count. The sect wants Nigeria's government to release its imprisoned members and to implement strict Shariah law across this multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people. The sect's attacks have raised religious tensions across Nigeria, which is largely split between its predominantly Christian south and Moslem north.

Meanwhile,
...back at the bake sale, Umberto's Mom's cannoli were a big hit...
hospital records seen by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named in nearby Potiskum, Nigeria, showed the local hospital has received at least 23 corpses after fighting began there Thursday. Officials at Potiskum General Hospital declined to comment about the killings, though some of the corpses of the dead still filled the hospital's mortuary.

Potiskum, a city 140 miles (230 kilometers) west of Maiduguri, has seen increasingly violent attacks carried out by Boko Haram in the last six months. On Saturday, the burned-out remains of schools still smoldered in the city, razed after attacks locals blamed on the sect.

Boko Haram, which speaks to local journalists in telephone conference calls at times of its choosing, could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.

The killings in Potiskum continued Saturday, as witnesses said gunnies raided the Potiskum home of a former Nigeria Customs Service official and killed him and his son. An AP journalist saw a convoy of military vehicles arrive in the city Saturday afternoon, likely reinforcements coming in to help the soldiers stationed there.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Arabia
Qaeda leader killed in Yemen drone strike
[Pak Daily Times] A top member of al Qaeda network in Yemen has died of wounds suffered in a drone strike carried out earlier this month in the eastern province of Shabwa, a tribal chief said on Saturday. Adel al Abab, also known as Abu al Zubair died hours after he was targeted by a drone in the village of Saeed in Shabwa, the tribal chief said. The drone strike was carried out earlier in October, he said, without specifying the exact date, but added that several turbans, including an Egyptian member of the jihadist organization were killed in it. Abab jumped out of his car and bravely ran away when he saw the drone "but he was hit in the head by a shrapnel", the tribal leader said.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Caribbean-Latin America
New fighting erupts Saturday morning in Nuevo Laredo: 10 die

For a map click here. For a map of Tamaulipas state, click here

By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com

Fighting between drug gangs and Mexican security forces began anew early Saturday morning in Nuevo Laredo killing 10 armed suspects, according to Mexican news accounts, Twitter accounts and narcoboard postings.

According to a post in mforos.com, gunfire was exchanged in numerous colonies in Nuevo Laredo beginning at 0230 hrs. The colonies affected included Infonavit, Benito Juarez and San Rafael colonies in western sectors of the city.

According to the account, units of the Mexican Army observed a convoy of vehicles, and as the drivers of the convoy were signalled to stop, soldiers were fired on, sparking a pursuit and gunfight.

A second pursuit and gunfight took place about 20 minutes later when a separate Mexican security forces convoy came under gunfire and pursuit. The exchange of gunfire included Mexican Army, Mexican Naval infantry and Tamaulipas state police units.

The fighting lasted until 0420 hrs.

According to a late report posted on the website of Proceso newsweekly, local government sources claim they have counted a total of 10 armed suspects dead in six separate engagements.

Father south in Ciudad Victoria, the state capital of Tamaulipas, one armed suspect was killed in an armed confrontation between a Mexican Army road patrol and two armed suspects Friday. According to news posted on the website of Milenio news daily, the two suspects fired on the Mexican Army unit from a vehicle.

Mexican Army return fire killed one suspect. The news story does not state the second suspect had been detained, so it is presumed the second suspect escaped the shootout.

One pistol and the vehicle were seized following the conclusion of the encounter.

New Los Zetas Group Appears

According to a news item posted on the Noticias-mexico.com website, a news story on Saturday morning's firefights had been appended with an announcement of the formation of a new separate Los Zetas group, according to the translation, opposed to Los Zetas' leader Miguel Trevino, who has apparently assumed leadership of the gang in the wake of the shooting death of Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano at a baseball field in Coahuila earlier this month.

The group has dubbed itself Los Legionarios, which has been described as a renegade Los Zetas group. The announcement said that Trevino, known as Z40, had a hand in the death of Lazcano Lazcano.

It is unclear if the Saturday morning shootouts had anything to do with the formation of the new group. Blog del Narco has claimed fighting has erupted between shooters aligned with Z40 and the new Los Legionarios group, which has killed eight.

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
Posted by: badanov || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian forces kill 49 militants in North Caucasus
Russian security forces have killed 49 militants in an operation across the North Caucasus region, where rebels are fighting to carve out an Islamic state, Russia's top anti-terrorism body has said.

The agency, which serves as a mouthpiece for law enforcement agencies operating in the region, gave no time period for the operation, which was launched days after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, led a meeting of the country's security council.

Putin has pushed the North Caucasus insurgency, rooted in two separatist wars in Chechnya, back to the forefront of national politics.

He has told security forces to ensure that militants do not launch attacks on the 2014 Winter Olympics and other high-profile events planned in Russia.

"A series of co-ordinated measures allowed for the suppression of the activity of a number of notorious leaders, members of bandit groups and associates, and allowed for a significant disruption of the bandits' supply system," Interfax quoted an agency statement as saying.
Posted by: tipper || 10/21/2012 12:07 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Breitbart: Second Suspect Arrested Over NY Bomb Plot
A Caliphornia man nabbed
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
on child pornography charges has been linked to the foiled plot by a young Bangladeshi to blow up the New York Federal Reserve, the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
reported Friday.

The Times said Howard Willie Carter II was nabbed
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
after an FBI agent found 1,000 images and three video files containing child pornography on a laptop and hard drive in the trash near his San Diego apartment.

After tracing the computer back to Carter, Sherlocks found emails on it addressed to "Yaqeen," a name that had surfaced in the investigation of the bomb plot.

The Times said Carter had been placed under surveillance as early as August, but that officials had waited until after the Nafis arrest to arrest him.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Michigan shooting
Another poster presented a link to another video on the same incident here
Posted by: Skidmark || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Three, including MQM activist, killed in Karachi
[Pak Daily Times] Three people, including an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
's (MQM) Muttahida Organising Committee (MOC), were killed in separate acts of violence in the city, on Saturday.

An activist of MQM's MOC was rubbed out near his house at Korangi Sector 2 within the precincts of Awami Colony cop shoppe. A police official said that two unidentified pillion riders opened fire on 30-year-old Muhammad Aqeel, son of Muhammad Naseer, while he was sitting near his house along with his friends. Resultantly he received multiple gunshots and was rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where doctors pronounced him dead
He's dead, Jim!
. Following the incident, a large number of MQM activists reached the hospital.

He added that the dear departed was unmarried, used to live in the same area and hailed form Haripur Hazara. He said that the police have lodged FIR No 545/12 on the complaint of the dear departed's brother Ismail against unidentified persons and initiated probe.

A father of two children was killed at Sector 16, Orangi Town within the limits of Pakistain Bazaar cop shoppe. According to the police, the dear departed was identified as Irfan 40, son of Abdul Waheed. Irfan went outside during wee hours of Saturday to buy breakfast, when armed riders shot him dead and escaped. His body was brought to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for medico-legal formalities. A police official said the dear departed used to work in a private bank. He added that initial investigation revealed that the incident occurred over personal enmity.

A handcuffed, tortured body of a youth was found from PECHS area, within the jurisdiction of Ferozabad cop shoppe. A police official said that unidentified culprits tortured the victim mercilessly before shooting him in his forehead and later dumped his body at an abandoned place. The identity of the victim could not be ascertained yet. The body was taken to JPMC for an appointment with Dr. Quincy and later moved to morgue for identification.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Twin blasts in Peshawar suburbs
[Pak Daily Times] PESHAWAR: Two roadside kabooms occurred in Barra Sheikhan, a suburban area of provincial metropolis. However,
a clean conscience makes a soft pillow...
no causality has been reported so far, sources said on Saturday. According to details, myrmidons planted explosives on Frontier Road and later detonated them with a remote-control device. No loss of life and property has been reported so far. Police have started investigation in this regard.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Banned terror group claims IHK hotel attack: report
[Pak Daily Times] The banned Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) has grabbed credit for an attack outside a popular hotel in Indian-held Kashmire (IHK) that killed a bellboy, media reports said on Saturday.

The banned outfit said four of its attackers "lobbed grenades and opened fire" on an Indian army convoy as it passed through the highway where the Silver Star Hotel is located, the Urdu language Kashmire Uzma newspaper said. "Four of our fidayeen (suicide kaboomers) attacked the army convoy in which one of the army vehicles was badly damaged," the daily quoted LeT front man Abdullah Gaznavi as saying over the telephone.

The attackers "reached their hideouts safely", Gaznavi added. Heavily-armed gunnies stormed the hotel on Friday after an abortive attempt to attack the army convoy, killing a bellboy and injuring two others, the Indian police said. Gaznavi, however, blamed "retaliatory firing" by the Indian armed forces for the death of the hotel staff member.

The attack, the first in Srinagar since May, occurred on a day when several bigwigs from the army, police, intelligence agencies and government met to review the security situation in the state. In the May attack, two motorcyclists fired on a group of army officers, injuring seven.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Southeast Asia
Triple bombing in southern Thailand
At least three bombs exploded in its downtown Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province Saturday night, wounding many people. Police suspect terrorists insurgents carried out the attacks in Tak Bai district ahead of the eight-year anniversary of the Tak Bai massacre on Oct 25, 2004.

The blasts occured about 9 p.m. yesterday, though details were still coming to light at press time last night.

Police said a bomb hidden in a parked car exploded in front of Tak Bai Plaza hotel and another bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle later exploded in front of the Sodsai karaoke bar, located 100 meters from the hotel. The third explosion took place inside a grocery shop in the district's downtown area.

Police said terrorists insurgents also sprayed bullets into a marine police camp. The officers inside briefly exchanged gunfire with the assailants, killing one of them at the scene.
Posted by: ryuge || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria insists on national dialogue at Brahimi talks
[Pak Daily Times] Peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi on Saturday pressed in Damascus
...Home to a staggering array of terrorist organizations...
for a truce to break the cycle of bloodshed in Syria, while the regime said a national dialogue free of foreign interference held the key.

Brahimi met Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and opposition leaders tolerated by President Bashar al Assad's regime in a bid to win support for his plan to secure a truce for a key Mohammedan holiday next week.

But the talks were clouded by tensions in neighbouring Leb, where opposition leaders and the prime minister linked a deadly bombing that killed a top security official to the Syrian regime.

On the ground at least 65 people were killed in violence on Saturday across Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, as fighting raged on northern battlefields and around Damascus.

The foreign ministry said Muallem discussed with Brahimi "a halt to the violence ... in order to prepare for a global Syrian dialogue, free of any foreign intervention".

"Such a dialogue is the only way to emerge from the crisis," it said.

Muallem also complained to Brahimi about regional countries who host, arm and train rebels, saying their action was undermining the UN-Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
envoy's mission.

Syria has repeatedly blamed its neighbour Turkey as well as energy-rich Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
and Qatar of supporting the armed insurgency.

Brahimi is hoping to secure a ceasefire during the four-day Eidul Azha Mohammedan holiday starting October 26 that he believes could pave the way for more permanent peace initiatives.

Hassan Abdel Azim of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, an opposition group tolerated by the regime, voiced support for the proposed truce.

The ceasefire could pave the way for a political process if it was broadened to include the release of prisoners held by the regime and the supply of medical aid to beleaguered citizens, he said.

"The violence in Syria has reached a dangerous level which threatens the illusory sovereignty and independence of the country," Abdel Azim added after meeting Brahimi.

Taking a far tougher line, the exiled opposition says the regime must take the first step and halt its daily bombardments.

Brahimi is expected to hold talks with Assad later on his Damascus mission.

The envoy toured several countries with influence in the Syrian conflict over the past week, including Leb and Iran, and warned that the violence could spread and set the whole region ablaze.

These fears were compounded when a massive car boom went kaboom! Friday in Beirut, killing at least eight people, including a senior intelligence chief linked to the anti-Damascus camp in Leb, General Wissam al Hassan.

Leb, which was under Syrian military and political control for 30 years until 2005, has been divided over the conflict in Syria and the scene of violence between supporters and opponents of the Damascus regime.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati linked the murder to last month's discovery of kabooms allegedly being planned by Michel Samaha, a pro-Damascus former minister. "I cannot separate the plot uncovered last month and what happened yesterday ... After the discovery of explosives, logic dictates that the two cases are related," Mikati said.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi, for his part, has condemned what he called a "terrorist, cowardly" attack. Such incidents were "unjustifiable wherever they occur," he said.

Meanwhile regime forces and rebels clashed on Saturday around a besieged army base near the strategic northern town of Maaret al-Numan, which the beturbanned goons seized on October 9, an AFP correspondent said.

Machinegun fire and kabooms rang out from Wadi Deif base on the eastern outskirts of the town, and warplanes struck the town and its outskirts.

The Syrian Observatory said fierce festivities broke out on the Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
-Damascus highway south of Maaret al Numan after rebels attacked a military convoy.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria Jets Resume Bombarding Town as Clashes Erupt
[An Nahar] Syrian warplanes resumed bombarding the key northwestern town of Maaret al-Numan on Saturday, as festivities erupted on a nearby highway and an kaboom rocked a town in Damascus
...The place where Pencilneck hangs his brass hat...
province, a watchdog said.

The warplanes pounded Maaret al-Numan as they have daily since it was overrun by rebels on October 9, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

One rebel was killed in fighting after cut-throats attacked a military convoy on the highway south of Maaret al-Numan, which connects the northern city of Aleppo
...For centuries, Aleppo was Greater Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo. Although relatively close to Damascus in distance, Aleppans regard Damascenes as country cousins...
with Damascus, the Observatory said.

The military wants to regain control of the highway to resupply units under fire in Aleppo for the past three months and assist 250 troops besieged in their Wadi Deif base.

On Friday, fighters there accused the regime of using cluster bombs in the attack, echoing claims by a rights group.

Rebels showed AFP debris from cluster bombs they accused the air force of dropping on residential areas, as well as dozens of others that failed to explode on impact.

Human Rights Watch
... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world...
has accused Syria of using cluster bombs, a charge denied by the military, which insists it does not possess them.

In Damascus province, plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the town of Harasta after a powerful kaboom rocked it, followed by shelling that killed two civilians killed, the Observatory said.

Government forces enjugged
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
20 people in Harasta, 10 kilometers (six miles) northeast of Damascus, while fierce fighting broke out in the nearby town of Irbin, the Britannia-based watchdog said.

The latest violence comes a day after 133 people were killed nationwide, including 55 civilians, 45 soldiers and 33 rebels, according to the Observatory.
Posted by: Fred || 10/21/2012 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2012-10-21
  Nigeria military nabs Bokoboy at senator's home
Sat 2012-10-20
  Leb: Wissam al-Hasan Assassinated in Beirut Bomb Blast
Fri 2012-10-19
  144 Dead as Syria Jets Blast Maaret al-Numan and Suicide Bomber Hits near Interior Ministry
Thu 2012-10-18
  Iranian-American Pleads Guilty to Plot to Kill Saudi Envoy to U.S.
Wed 2012-10-17
  ROPer arrested for attempting to blow up Federal Reserve Bank in NYC
Tue 2012-10-16
  Pak President Admits Creating Terrorist Groups
Mon 2012-10-15
  Gunmen kill 20 at mosque in northern Nigeria
Sun 2012-10-14
  Israel AF kills head of Al-Q affiliate in Gaza
Sat 2012-10-13
  96 Dead, Including 41 Troops
Fri 2012-10-12
  US names new diplomat to Libya to replace Stevens
Thu 2012-10-11
  US embassy security chief gunned down in Yemen
Wed 2012-10-10
  Turkey Intercepts Syrian Civilian Plane
Tue 2012-10-09
  Taliban bravely shoot Pakistani schoolgirl campaigning for peace
Mon 2012-10-08
  Syria Rebels Advance in North, Pushed Back in South
Sun 2012-10-07
  1 dead, 10 arrested in anti-terror sweep in France

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