A suspected Taleban militant and at least five others have been killed by US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan. Raz Mohammed, described by the US military as a "high-level Taleban" was killed in the province of Paktika, close to the border with Pakistan. An Afghan woman and two children were also killed in the exchange, a US military statement said. "Coalition forces were fired on by Raz Mohammed and other Taleban forces when they attempted to capture Mohammed," the US military statement said.
So this wasn't the same group that got wacked yesterday while shooting rockets?
Two other suspected Taleban militants were also killed in the exchage. The violence came even as a campaign to disarm tens of thousands of Afghan militiamen entered its final phase.
This article starring:
RAZ MOHAMED
Taliban
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 8:53:28 AM ||
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The Saudi Interior Ministry said Thursday questions remain over whether terrorist leader Abdullah bin Rached al-Rachoud is dead or alive. "The ministry never confirmed that he was killed or captured but press reports published last week hinted that he might have been eliminated because he has not appeared on any video tape for a long while," Ministry spokesman Brig. Mansour Turki said. Rachoud appeared on a videotape before al-Qaida's main operative in the kingdom, Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, was killed in a clash with police last July. Rachoud is believed the mastermind of the terrorist attacks blamed on al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia. He figures high on the interior ministry's list of 26 most-wanted terror suspects.
This article starring:
ABDUL AZIZ AL MUQRIN
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
ABDULLAH BIN RACHED AL RACHUD
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Brig. Mansour Turki
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 9:08:45 AM ||
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#1
Abdullah bin Rached al-Rachoud is also rumored to be giving lengthy interviews @ Motel 6' Under.
Posted by: R ||
03/24/2005 10:41 Comments ||
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#2
When in doubt, it's alive and thriving. Next to oil lying is SA main export.
#3
Since he has not appeared on tape for a LONG while, I'd say they just got his make-up artist.:)
P.S. Just here for witty sayings, I'll leave the "True Knowledge" to you regular Rantb'ers.
That is all :)
Not specifically WoT raids, but likely part of a general cleanup?
A series of raids on commercial and residential premises in downtown Riyadh have led to the arrest of at least 172 people, mostly expatriates, allegedly involved in running gambling dens and selling or renting out fake and pornographic CDs. The raids also uneartherd two warehouses used for gambling by two different gangs besides a number of cozy rooms and shops used for illegal businesses like unlicensed telephone booths. "Raids are still continuing," said an eyewitness. So far, the raids have resulted in the seizure of 1.2 million fake, pirated and pornographic CDs, 200,000 obscene video cassettes besides forged iqamas and passports.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
They must have a heck of a customer base to carry such a large amount of stock on hand. Just how many perverted foreigners does the Magic Kingdom hire to run their oil business? I mean to say, it isn't possible that the Lions of Islam would indulge in such things, right?
#6
So far, the raids have resulted in the seizure of 1.2 million fake, pirated and pornographic CDs, 200,000 obscene video cassettes besides forged iqamas and passports.
I'm sure they'll be a detailed review of the evidence by the proper authorities...
Communist rebels in southern Colombia ambushed a military convoy on Wednesday, killing 10 soldiers in a hail of gunfire and explosions, authorities said. The troops were traveling by truck on a remote jungle road in Putumayo state, one of Colombia's biggest cocaine-producing regions some 300 miles south of Bogota, when they came under attack, said Adm. Mauricio Soto, the Colombian navy commander. Only one Marine in the convoy survived. Soto blamed the attack on guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been battling to topple the government here for 40 years. The group funds itself through drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
In February, the FARC launched some of its boldest attacks in two years on the military throughout the country, killing more than 50 soldiers and calling into question government assurances that the group was being weakened. Also Wednesday, police said suspected FARC fighters attacked a squadron of U.S.-supplied drug-fumigation planes and two escort helicopters in southeast Colombia, lightly damaging several of the aircraft and wounding a pilot.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
It is time for a new meme: all insurgents who cover their faces are cowards, afraid that their mothers would disapprove if they knew.
#2
And I recommend a new punishment for all insurgent cowards who are caught covering their faces: A baseball bat applied forcefully to the portion of the face they're hiding, one application per bullet carried upon their persons when caught, 10 per RPG round.
Protesters stormed the presidential compound in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, seizing control of the seat of state power after clashing with riot police during a large opposition rally. President Askar Akayev reportedly flew to Russia. One key opposition figure, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was at the scene, and state TV appeared to be in opposition hands — underscoring the impression that the hitherto fragmented opposition was consolidating control. Another leading opposition figure was said to have been freed from prison.
Thick plumes of black smoke rose from two burning cars, apparently belonging to government officials, near the government headquarters several hours after the takeover. It was unclear how the cars were set ablaze. The tumultuous scene was the culmination of the first major rally in the capital since opposition supporters seized control of key cities and towns in the south this week to press demands that Akayev step down amid widespread allegations of fraud during parliamentary elections in the former Soviet republic. An ex-lawmaker said Kyrgyzstan's former parliament will hold an emergency session later Thursday. Akayev's whereabouts were uncertain amid conflicting reports, but the Russian news agency Interfax said he was flown to Russia by helicopter, while his family was taken to neighboring Kazakhstan.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/24/2005 9:46:16 AM ||
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MOSCOW - The plane of Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev landed Thursday in neighboring Kazakhstan, the Interfax news agency reported, amid conflicting reports on the whereabouts of the Central Asian nation's veteran leader. The news agency quoted unnamed sources as saying that Akayev's plane had landed near Kazakhstan's main commercial city of Almaty.
The whereabouts of 60-year-old Akayev -- who has ruled this normally sleepy mountainous nation since 1990 and is considered the most liberal ruler in ex-Soviet Central Asia -- had been unknown since thousands of opposition supporters armed with rocks and clubs took over Kyrgyzstan's main seat of power. Previous reports said he left for Russia while his family fled to Kazakhstan.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 10:54 Comments ||
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#2
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan Mar 24, 2005 â Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev has resigned, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, citing an opposition leader hours after protesters stormed the presidential compound in the former Soviet republic. The Russian news agency quoted Kyrgyzstan opposition leader Felix Kulov, who was released from prison on Thursday, as saying that Akayev has resigned. The report could not immediately be confirmed.
Earlier, the Interfax news agency said Akayev had been flown to Russia and his family had been taken to Kazakhstan. The tumultuous scene was the culmination of the first major rally in the capital since opposition supporters seized control of key cities and towns in the south this week to press demands that Akayev step down amid widespread allegations of fraud during parliamentary elections in the former Soviet republic.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 11:01 Comments ||
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#3
Rocks and clubs? Damn, they sound serious. Or poor. Or both.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/24/2005 11:30 Comments ||
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#4
You know, this is not funny at all, my parents and brother are in Bishkek right now and there's nothing i can do to help them!!
#7
Alina, I hope your family members are OK for the forseeable future.
2x4: I'm fairly sure even if that could do some good it would get stopped in customs. Totally innocuous industrial equipment that can't be used as a weapon (except by, perhaps, an unusually large sasquatch) can get stuck in customs for three months in Moscow... and I am not sure if there are any other transshipment routes into or out of Kyrgyzstan.
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
03/24/2005 12:39 Comments ||
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#8
Alina, sorry that your family is caught in the middle of this. Generally speaking though (not related to your families situation) what do you make of what's going on there?
#9
All i am worried about are my parents. We are russian and there's a lot of discrimination going on from the muslim side. I just hope i can get my parents out of that damn country.
#14
Alina, while twobyfour was being more than a little flippant, advising your family to "hold up" in their home with a rifle and two weeks worth of food isn't the worst idea in the world. If this revolution follows the normal, modern pattern things should calm down fairly shortly. No need for your parents to abandon their country; she will need them, afterall.
#15
This would be a great time for China to make some territorial adjustments in its favor. Except that thanks to Operation Enduring Freedom, Uncle Sam is right next door in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
#16
What is the view by everyone regarding what this revolution means. Is the opposition serious about democracy or are they just trying to grab power for themselves?
The opposition in Kyrgyzstan says it has taken control of the capital Bishkek after overrunning the president's palace, the White House. Protesters fought running battles with supporters of President Askar Akayev before flooding government offices. Mr Akayev's whereabouts are unknown. They also took over state TV and announced the government had fallen.
That's page 125 in your "Revolutions For Dummies" handbook
Unconfirmed reports say the imprisoned Kyrgyz opposition leader Felix Kulov has been freed. Mr Kulov was once Mr Akayev's vice president, before he was jailed in 2000 under embezzlement charges. At the palace - also the seat of government - police opposition melted away as hundreds of protesters flooded into the compound, waving a flag from a second floor window and scattering documents. Officials were seen fleeing by the back door.
"Feet, don't fail me now!"
Mr Akayev's whereabouts were unknown, but there was speculation he was talking to officials from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in the outskirts of Bishkek. "He is most likely in the OSCE mission. There is nowhere else he can be now," former foreign minister and opposition figure Muratbek Imanaliyev told the Russian government news agency Ria. An OSCE spokesman in Bishkek denied the reports.
"Nope. Not here. Have you tried the French embassy?"
Until now the state television channel has not covered the growing protests on the news, showing nature programmes instead. But unidentified people appeared on Kyrgyz TV for a special news bulletin at 1700 (1200 GMT) announcing that power had passed to the opposition and government leaders had gone.
"Ladies and gentlemen! The government has fallen! We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. Tonight, on Wild Kingdom..."
The events in the capital follow growing unrest in the south. The protests were sparked by disputed elections in February, and a second round on 13 March, which saw the opposition reduced to just a handful of seats in the 75-member parliament. The unrest in Kyrgyzstan, a poor and mountainous country which is seen as strategically important, is being stoked by its economic problems and alleged government corruption. The protests have drawn comparisons with two other former Soviet states, Georgia and Ukraine, where popular uprisings toppled the government.
Except they don't have a color. It doesn't work right without a color, mark my words...
Protesters were also reported to have taken over a government building in the south-western city of Batken, the third major city in the south where protesters have taken control. BBC Central Asia correspondent Monica Whitlock said the demonstration in Bishkek grew rapidly from a few hundred people to as many as 10,000. Reporters said Akayev loyalists wearing civilian clothes with blue armbands chased protesters away, before the demonstrators returned and fought back. Reuters correspondent Dmitry Solovyov said: "It's volatile and people are running in all directions, breaking each other's bones chasing each other with sticks and stones." He said he heard several gunshots but could not say who had fired them. Russia expressed concern over the unfolding crisis. Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov urged calm, saying: "We wouldn't like to see force prevail as a method of resolving the conflict."
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 8:47:46 AM ||
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#3
Except they don't have a color. It doesn't work right without a color, mark my words...
When it was still being discussed as a future possibility Kyrgyzstan was supposed to be the Tulip (or more rarely "Lemon") revolution.
But I've seen few people name it such after the revolt actually happened: Not sure why such is the case -- perhaps it's because it's felt to be largely different than the peaceful revolutions of Serbia/Georgia/Ukraine/Lebanon which largely got results from sheer magnitude of public support -- perhaps it's just lack of good PR.
#4
A recent report says opposition leader Felix Kulov has been taken from jail to the television station, no doubt to resolve the color issue.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/24/2005 10:11 Comments ||
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#5
I wonder if part of the reason that the dynamic of *this* revolution was different from Ukraine or Georgia, was that Kulov was in jail. One of the things I had noticed and which had made me cynical about Kyrgyzstan's prospects was that the opposition wasn't unified: It had given it (to me atleast) the impression an uncontrolled, undirected mob where every mob was out for itself or for regional governors, without a specific vision for their society or country as a whole.
This now may change. BBC's reporting that he's emerging as the leader of the opposition, and urging for both calm and a peaceful transfer of power.
#7
Shipman, it helps if revolutions do have a vision.
When they don't have any vision at all, they are just mobs of looters. And when they have many vague visions borne of dissatisfaction, that's just what we call "civic unrest" and hardly likely to be successful unless it coavalesces to something more specific.
#9
Well, this wasn't exactly the Velvet Revolution, and Akyiev wasn't exactly Turkmenbashi, which is why no-one is particularly enthusiastic. On the positive side of things, it doesn't sound like the initial rioting and building-burning is breaking out into wide-spread bloodshed.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/24/2005 11:57 Comments ||
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#10
Thanks Aris. A vision is everything, perhaps a mission statment for the revolution should be required.
#12
While I understand what you are saying Aris, I would take my chances with a little anarchy if I were from Kyrgyzstan. Things have been a little too "old school" soviet in Central Asia for the past 15 years.
Several gunshots were fired in Kyrgyzstan's capital on Thursday as fighting broke out between supporters of President Askar Akayev and protesters demanding his resignation, a Reuters witness said. Reuters correspondent Dmitry Solovyov said hundreds of Akayev supporters, carrying sticks and home-made shields, had waded into a crowd of over 10,000 protesters gathered on Bishkek's main Ala Too square. "There is a fight going on with sticks and stones between thousands of people," Solovyov said. "It's volatile and people are running in all directions, chasing each other with sticks and stones." Solovyov heard several gunshots but said it was not possible to identify who had fired them. Police looked on as pandemonium broke out on the square, near Akayev's heavily-guarded White House headquarters. The opposition demonstrators, many wearing pink and yellow arm bands which are rapidly becoming the colors of anti-Akayev protest, subsequently repelled the president's supporters.
Ahah! They finally found a color! Now it should work better...
Solovyov later reported pools of blood near the main rostrum from which former prime minister Kurmanbek Bakiev and other opposition leaders had addressed the rally. The square was strewn with broken bottles and debris after the clashes. Earlier, demonstrators protesting over the outcome of elections in which Akayev won overwhelming control of parliament in this Central Asian state of five million marched past the White House. The building was guarded by two rings of police and interior ministry troops in full riot gear. Demonstrators, chanting "Down with Akayev," marched passed the building without attempting to breach the security cordon.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/24/2005 4:39:17 AM ||
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A criminal group of six members which had planned terror acts in Baku and was earlier detained in Azerbaijan, had ties with Al-Qaeda terror organization, the Ministry of National Security said in a statement on Thursday. The group members, led by Amiraslan Isgandarov, were sentenced to between three and fourteen years in prison by the court this February.
Isgandarov was proven to have been involved in military action within the Al-Qaeda terror organization in Afghanistan in 1999-2003, making and using explosives, and preparation of weapons of mass destruction. After returning to Azerbaijan, Isgandarov planned committing terrorist acts in the country. He conducted propaganda among representatives of ethnic minorities, in particular, young people. While attempting to set up an entity called "Jamaat", Isgandarov tried to sow the sentiment of hatred among people towards the Azerbaijani state. The criminal group was masterminding terrorist acts in different parts of Baku, including areas where large numbers of foreign citizens live and work, power ministries, strategic and other sites, and acquired parts of explosive substances.
Isgandarov was actively involved in preparing suicide bombers, trying to attract girls inclined to radical religious views. Upon consent of several girls, he instructed them to wait for their time to commit the terrorist acts. Isgandarov also acquired recipes of poisonous substances, planning to further use them to commit mass killings of people in Azerbaijani regions. The criminals wrote a letter to the Azeri government on behalf of the "Al-Qaeda Caucasus" organization demanding it to give up its anti-terrorist course and principles of a secular and democratic state, and warning of imminent explosions in Baku. During the search, the National Security Ministry impounded large quantities of TNT and other explosives, hand grenades, fuses, ammunition, books and tapes propagating terrorism and Jihad.
This article starring:
AMIRASLAN ISGANDAROV
al-Qaeda Caucasus
Al-Qaeda Caucasus
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/24/2005 4:42:36 AM ||
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#1
Isgandarov also acquired recipes of poisonous substances, planning to further use them to commit mass killings of people in Azerbaijani regions.
An influential warlord Rizvan Chitigov (aka Marine, American, Chemist) was killed in Chechnya yesterday. He was considered the third person in the Chechen resistance after Shamil Basayev and Dokku Umarov. Having terminated a special training course in the U.S., Chitigov, aka Marine, returned to Chechnya to command a tank battalion during the first Chechen war. During the second Chechen war, as the Federal Security Service (FSB) claims, he sent Shaheeds to Russian cities and planned terrorist attacks involving poison-gases.
Rizvan Chitigov, 38, was born and grew up in the village of Shali, Chechnya. Nearly the good half of the locals are relatives and friends of Chitigov. On the one hand it was good for him, since being outlawed he could always find shelter there. On the other hand, it was bad. The point is that, Shali is traditionally a peaceful village, therefore many of the warlord's friends have become his enemies in the recent years.
So, it is no wonder that Chitigov's wish to visit Shali about which he told one of his accomplices became known to many other people. Among those were Shali residents who work at the Criminal Investigation Department. "We knew that Chitigov who was spending winter in Baku, was to come last Sunday," one of the local detectives says. "So we got prepared to meet him: we invited Kadyrov's Special Forces unit [former Chechen president Akhmat Kadyrov's security service. Kommersant]. But we didn't know for sure where exactly Chitigov would put up at. We laid ambushes at several places simultaneously, but on Sunday night we started getting worried he was nowhere to be seen. We thought: have we frightened him away or just missed him?"
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
DOKKU OMAROV
Chechnya
RIZVAN CHITIGOV
Chechnya
SHAMIL BASAIEV
Chechnya
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/24/2005 12:17:45 AM ||
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MADRID- French police have arrested the military head of the armed Basque separatist group ETA near the Spanish border. The sources said Jose Segurola Querejeta, who Spanish and French police picked up in a joint operation at Lannemezan near the city of Tarbes, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the border, was "one of ETA's leading military figures. The Spanish ministry said he was hauled in along with fellow ETA suspect Miren Itxaso Saldua Iriberri.
And in a separate development, two ETA suspects were arrested on Wednesday night in Eruma, in the Basque Country. They were not named but security sources said they were aged 18 and 21.
Ministry sources said the arrests in France came as part of Operation Jail, a crackdown on ETA in south-western France and added they would give further details in a new conference on Thursday morning. Police moved in on Segurola as he parked his car.
On his arrest he was found to be in possession of a 9mm pistol, ammunition and false papers, while a 38mm firearm was found on Saldua, who likewise had ammunition and false documents on her. Police were investigating the contents of several plastic bags in the pair's vehicle which contained a substance believed to be explosives. The bags also contained false number plates and tools to break into vehicles, the statement said.
Earlier this month, ETA claimed responsibility for eight attacks in January and February, saying they were aimed at Spanish economic interests and politicians it claims are impeding a settlement to their separatist conflict. ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in a four-decade struggle for an independent Basque state covering parts of northern Spain and southwest France. The last fatal attack the group carried out was in May 2003.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 1:51:32 PM ||
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An Italian judge scorned for dropping terrorism charges against a group of alleged pro-Iraqi insurgents is suing senior members of the Italian government for character defamation, her lawyer has said. Judge Clementina Forleo has been harshly criticised for ruling in January that the activities the group was accused of -- including helping recruit suicide bombers for Iraq -- amounted to foreign guerrilla activity, which was not illegal. She convicted members of the group of lesser charges, like possessing or trading in false documents.
"One must not forget that this label, 'the judge who absolved the terrorists', has had serious consequences," Forleo's lawyer, Giulia Bongiorno, told Reuters. "Forleo has already been the subject of a series of intimidations and threatening letters." Among those being sued are Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli, Communications Minister Maurizio Gasparri and Gustavo Selva, chair of parliament's foreign affairs committee. "It's an honour," Gasparri, upon hearing of the lawsuit, told news agency ANSA, defiantly saying that the judge's "absurd" decision had helped undermine Italy's fight against terrorism. "I took issue with mistaken decisions, which I still maintain were extremely wrong ... Judge Forleo should be tougher with terrorism and more respectful of (government)," he said.
Forleo's ruling was the latest legal defeat for the Italian government, which has sent more than 3,000 troops to Iraq and has tried, in coordination with the United States, to step up anti-terrorism policing at home. But the Italian judicial system has yet to deliver one definitive conviction under strict anti-terrorism legislation enacted after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Forleo's precedent-setting ruling has outraged politicians. Justice Minister Roberto Castelli has opened a disciplinary investigation for possible negligence.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 10:26:58 AM ||
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TEXAS CITY, Texas â All but one of the 1,800 or so oil refinery workers have been accounted for after overnight search efforts following the thunderous blast that killed 14 and injured more than 100 others, officials said Thursday.
The fiery blast Wednesday at BP's 1,200-acre plant near Houston shot flames high into the sky, forced schoolchildren to cower under their desks and showered plant grounds with ash and chunks of charred metal. Windows rattled more than five miles away.
About 433,000 barrels of crude oil are processed a day at the plant, producing 3 percent of the U.S. supply.
"Welcome to life in Texas City," Marion Taylor, 55, said Wednesday. "I was born here and pretty much, it happens from time to time."
#2
Not a Terr action. But if that can happen from an accident, imagine what happens when someone goes after it on purpose...
And gasoline futures are up 2% becasue of this. Imagine the impact of taking a refinery completely off line (This one remains functional except for the part where the explosion was).
#3
This is a human tragedy, the oil implications come in a distant second.
Posted by: Dennis Kucinich ||
03/24/2005 11:01 Comments ||
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#4
But all that roiling black smoke! It's going to lead to global warming!! ... or global cooling!!!... So Fix It Now, for the sake of our children!!!! ;-)
#7
TEXAS CITY, Texas â All but one of the 1,800 or so oil refinery workers have been accounted for after overnight search efforts following the thunderous blast that killed 14 and injured more than 100 others, officials said Thursday.
The fiery blast Wednesday at BP's 1,200-acre plant near Houston shot flames high into the sky, forced schoolchildren to cower under their desks and showered plant grounds with ash and chunks of charred metal. Windows rattled more than five miles away.
About 433,000 barrels of crude oil are processed a day at the plant, producing 3 percent of the U.S. supply.
"Welcome to life in Texas City," Marion Taylor, 55, said Wednesday. "I was born here and pretty much, it happens from time to time."
#8
Not a Terr action. But if that can happen from an accident, imagine what happens when someone goes after it on purpose...
And gasoline futures are up 2% becasue of this. Imagine the impact of taking a refinery completely off line (This one remains functional except for the part where the explosion was).
#9
TEXAS CITY, Texas â All but one of the 1,800 or so oil refinery workers have been accounted for after overnight search efforts following the thunderous blast that killed 14 and injured more than 100 others, officials said Thursday.
The fiery blast Wednesday at BP's 1,200-acre plant near Houston shot flames high into the sky, forced schoolchildren to cower under their desks and showered plant grounds with ash and chunks of charred metal. Windows rattled more than five miles away.
About 433,000 barrels of crude oil are processed a day at the plant, producing 3 percent of the U.S. supply.
"Welcome to life in Texas City," Marion Taylor, 55, said Wednesday. "I was born here and pretty much, it happens from time to time."
#10
Not a Terr action. But if that can happen from an accident, imagine what happens when someone goes after it on purpose...
And gasoline futures are up 2% becasue of this. Imagine the impact of taking a refinery completely off line (This one remains functional except for the part where the explosion was).
I think the AP number killed is four. This is al-Jizz...
A huge explosion in a US petrochemical plant in Texas City has killed at least 14 people and left more than 100 people injured. The fire at the BP petrochemical plant on Wednesday triggered a major fire sending black smoke billowing into the sky. "It was just a real loud explosion," local resident Mike Martin said. "It sounded like a sonic boom, and it shook the pictures bad enough to where it knocked them off the wall. And it frightened me, so I jumped out of bed." Though what caused the blast is not yet known, authorities have ruled out terrorism as a cause. It is feared that the fatalities may rise. BP's Texas City plant is a sprawling industrial complex that stretches across 1200 acres with 30 refinery units. The plant processes 460 million barrels of crude oil every day, producing 3% of the US gasoline supply. It employs about 2000 people. Texas City is about 55km southeast of Houston. Last March, there was a blast and fire at a BP refinery in Texas City.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
Reuters says terrorism is not suspected but the cause is unknown, which is different to it being ruled out.
#2
AP says 14 killed, 100 injured too. AP also says the plant processes 433,000, not 460 million (!!!) barrels per day.
But then, it is AP, so who knows.
Posted by: ST ||
03/24/2005 6:44 Comments ||
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#3
Have they found anyone who shaved themselves completely and dressed all in white?
You know, like in that French chemical refinery explosion that "wasn't caused by terrorism".
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/24/2005 8:10 Comments ||
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#4
A week+ ago here on Rantburg somebody pointed out that Venezuela sends their oil to Texas and other places for refining. Not that I think they did anything in this matter, but made me wonder if BP does business down there and what effect, if any, this might have on the amount of oil Venz can get refined now. Is 433,000 barrels a day a lot, or is this plant a little one?
I used to live SE of Houston, and once visited Texas City in high school for a football game. Arund TCHS there was a sea of refineries. Pretty scary to imagine a fire of any size in that area.
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
03/24/2005 9:07 Comments ||
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#5
Oh Texas City has already been there and done that.
#6
Laurence - This may not have much of an impact. Word is that the section of the refinery that was heavily damaged is one that does final processing to produce a higher grade gasoline. The rest of the refinery is reportedly operational so they'll lose a product line but won't come anywhere near shutting down.
#7
True, Azcat. I've done a lot of refinery work and just because one part og the plant went to the moon on it's own doesn't shut down the whole plant. There are varying grades of gasolene refined at all refineries. On a side note, the EPA granted an air liscense for the construction of a new refinery to be built near Yuma, Arizona, the first new refinery to be built in the US in 30 years. Finally someone at EPA gets a little common sense.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/24/2005 12:05 Comments ||
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#8
Yuma? hmmmm- nearest oil = ? Natural gas up the wazoo, though....
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/24/2005 12:21 Comments ||
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#9
Laurence, Venezuela owns the Citgo refineries, not BP refineries.
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2005/02/01/ap1797688.html
Posted by: Tom ||
03/24/2005 12:27 Comments ||
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#10
AzCat, Tom - Thanks for the answers there. I didn't think they were connected at all, but I was curious.
Rantburg rules. :)
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
03/24/2005 13:12 Comments ||
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#11
http://www.platts.com/HOME/News/5485921.xml?p=HOME/News&S=n Link to announcement about Arizona refinery. Copy and paste. I never can get links to work. Dopey me.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/24/2005 14:55 Comments ||
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#12
I did a complete walk through, several times, of this refinery for a project proposal last year. I had meetings with people that work over there. This place has at least 10 gate with mini ports where oil tankers come in unload oil at about 8000 gallons per minute. I felt like an ant walking around this place, this is one huge refinery. I must admit I couldn't finish the walk through fast enough and get out there. I was scared that something like this would happen during my walk through. This is why I pray before I step out of my house every morning and now, I will pray for the affected people and their families.
Police on Thursday launched a manhunt for three suspects in an alleged plot to conduct bomb attacks in Metro Manila this Holy Week. ABS-CBN News Channel reported that authorities have linked the three to the bomb cache found in Quezon City Wednesday. The Central Police District has released sketches of two of the three suspected terrorists believed to have procured the bombs seized from a house in West Fairview Investigators identified the suspects as Jimmy Rivera and a certain Jim. The two were last seen on March 21. Authorities said they are tracking down a third suspect.
On Wednesday the military said it has foiled a plot by the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group to bomb "soft targets" in Manila during the Lenten break. Security forces are on full alert as tens of millions of Filipinos pray, shop and travel during one of the biggest annual holidays in the country. The military said it had foiled "a major plan" by Abu Sayyaf rebels to attack the capital of 12 million people by arresting the suspect, a convert to Islam identified as Tyron Santos, in Quezon City on Tuesday. Santos led soldiers to 10 sacks of explosives and 18 improvised bombs at an abandoned house, it said in a statement. A computer, video camera and several tapes were also seized. "The explosives belonged to the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) and were intended for the Lenten season bombing," Lieutenant-Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, the Army spokesman, told reporters.
Police have warned of fresh plots to attack Manila after Abu Sayyaf vowed revenge for comrades killed this month by security forces after a jail uprising. On Tuesday, the military paraded an Indonesian suspected of being a JI bomb expert who trained Abu Sayyaf members for last month's blast in Makati. The Indonesian, identified as Rohmat, said on Wednesday Abu Sayyaf leaders Khaddafy Janjalani and Abu Sulaiman gave P100,000 to a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for attacks during the Holy Week. "I know some Abu Sayyaf so I heard that Khadaffy and Abu Sulaiman want to bomb Mindanao, either (the cities of) Davao or Cagayan de Oro, and also Manila in the last week of March," Rohmat told reporters. "The place was not mentioned, as long as there are lots of people. They did not say if it's a mall, terminal or what."
Rohmat said the MILF member was trained by Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, an Indonesian bomb-maker for JI who was killed at a checkpoint in Mindanao in 2003 after escaping from National Police headquarters in Camp Crame. Rohmat said money for the attacks was coming from Indonesia and being arranged by Usman -- an Indonesian previously named by Philippine security forces as the leader of the JI cell in Mindanao. The MILF, due to resume peace talks hosted by Malaysia, insists it has cut all ties with foreign militants and has shunned calls from Abu Sayyaf leaders to rejoin the fight for an Islamic state in Mindanao. But security analysts said links between members of JI, Abu Sayyaf and the MILF can be informal and personal.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/24/2005 12:10:13 AM ||
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I thought hunting with horse & hound had been banned?
Posted by: Matt ||
03/24/2005 14:09 ||
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Excellent link, Matt! Thanks--
Posted by: Dar ||
03/24/2005 14:39 Comments ||
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Someday, when the superior design and capabilities of the A-10 are put into a mass-produced remote operated drone, ground war will truly cease to be a 2-Dimensional event, and in combination with smaller UAVs will integrate air and ground operations into a 3-D battlefield.
#3
Get the UAV platform and add a couple well-seasoned online gamers who've obsessively trained at it! Throw in some good oversight on engagement and we might have something.
#4
I would like to add a thanks to all the people that decided and were able to send A-10s for this. "People" may be the wrong term, here, and I appologize for that but I mean all the logistics that had to go into pulling off somethig like that. Very cool. (and should be reported more widely) Thanks.
#5
Tremendous story. And tremendous aircraft and systems. The A-10 is doing things its designers never dreamed of. That is what creative and free people do with designs. Thanks, Matt.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/24/2005 18:32 Comments ||
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#6
Looks like the link's gone bad. Can anyone post an excerpt?
(Am I the only one nostalgic for the "old" Rantburg that didn't have these damn annoying "link-only" posts?)
Posted by: Sheik Abu Bin Ali Al-Yahood ||
03/24/2005 20:20 Comments ||
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#7
Hey Sheik, the pointy goes over the link, then you left click.
#8
The A-10 is doing things its designers never dreamed of.
I dunno, having read about the plane's capabilities many years back, it seems to me they covered just about everything one would want in an aircraft whose main mission is close air support of ground forces. :)
#9
The A-10, as I best recollect, has never failed to make a showing at the Vidalia Onion Festival Air Show. Gawd, I love this plane. The whine it makes as it passes over brings tears to my eyes, and piss to a Jihadi's shorts...
#10
We have several wings(?) stationed here at D-M. We got lots of free air shows when they take off over us. You can practically touch them. And yet, they're so quiet (compared to an F-16, let alone an AV-8B or B-1).
A-10s often have an AMRAAM "just in case." I don't they've ever used one, but more than one has shot down enemy aircraft with its cannon, prompting a program manager to add a stickie to his sign to make it read "F/A-10."
More Iraqis are losing their fear of terrorists. In the last three days, tips from Iraqis have led Iraqi police and troops to several terrorist hideouts. This has resulted in some spectacular gun battles, and the deaths of over 130 terrorists (and about a dozen police and soldiers.) The Iraqis have been using their growing force of SWAT teams to carry out the raids, with American forces providing backup and air cover. One raid, north of Baghdad, left 85 terrorists dead, and revealed a suicide car bomb workshop, as well as documents and weapons. The dead terrorists included men from many foreign countries (Persian Gulf states, Algeria, Morocco, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.)
The government was quick to let the local media film the crime scenes and interview people. The police and army commandos have become national heroes, with their fame increasing after each successful raid. The traditional Iraqi style for such work was heavy handed, time consuming and clumsy. The SWAT teams are quick, efficient, and cause little collateral damage. This is in sharp contrast to the terrorists, who continue to set off bombs in crowded civilian areas, killing women and children in the process. The terrorists have also been hitting schools, and killing children, with mortar shells. This is probably a matter of an unskilled terrorist aiming the mortar, but the damage to the terrorists reputation is done. However, there have been deliberate killings of women and children by terrorists recently, apparently in an attempt to terrorize Iraqis into not supporting the government. This tactic isn't working, and the government is jumping all over this barbaric behavior to encourage Iraqis to stand up and turn in terrorists.
There appear to be no more than 3-4,000 terrorists and anti-government fighters out there. This was deduced when American intelligence paid close attention to terrorist operations last January, in an attempt to get a better idea of just how many terrorists, and anti-government gunmen, there actually were in the country. It was believed that the terrorists would make a maximum effort in January to derail the election, and would get all of their people out for this. Since January, there appear to have been substantial defections from anti-government groups, and the terrorists can no longer depend on Sunni Arabs to keep mum about where terrorist safe houses and workshops are set up.
American casualties continue to decline. U.S. combat deaths are down some 40 percent from February, and are only about a third of what they were in January. Casualties haven't been this low since the Spring of 2003, right after Saddam was toppled. The hard core Sunni Arabs who continued to support Saddam and the Baath Party are a broken force, with most of their leaders either captured, or negotiating deals with the government. Al Qaeda continues to see Iraq as their most important battleground. But the terrorists coming to Iraq find themselves fighting Iraqis, not Americans. The Iraqis, not happy about being the target for al Qaeda bombs, has gone after the terrorists with a vengeance. Al Qaeda is also being hammered in countries throughout the Middle East. This is not quite the sort of war Osama bin Laden had in mind, but it's what he's got, and it doesn't play well for bin Laden in the Arab media.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 10:40:52 AM ||
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And with all that high stress, they have to turn to homosexual orgies more often, as tension breakers.
#3
My dream is for the Iraqis to be idolized by the "on the street" arab for their freedom, democracy, and the harsh and brutal way terrorist scum are taken down.
Hoo-Rah!
#8
Spurrier-
A little less score building and a bit more work on keeping criminals off your team.
Mike (USC '97)
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/24/2005 21:18 Comments ||
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#9
LOL Mike - now they weren't necessarily "ordered for detention" - a lot were fighting charges, plea bargaining, besides they wanted college edumacations. Steve's a saint - just ask him
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/24/2005 21:24 Comments ||
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U.S. intelligence has determined Iraqi insurgents have resorted to using children and toys to deliver bombs, and also hiding bombs in corpses, ABC News reports. A State Department document said at least five improvised explosive devices -- referred to as IEDs -- have been placed in mannequins sometimes dressed as U.S. or Iraqi military personnel, the report said. Human and animal corpses have also been loaded with explosives and detonated when Iraqi or coalition forces attempt to remove the bodies.
Others have pretended to be "sheep herders to conduct surveillance activity" and "used children to carry IEDs into sensitive areas," and have embedded explosives in "watermelons, trees, tree stumps, and on guard rails," the report said. Extremists also use "garage door openers, cellular and satellite telephones, car alarms, and keyless entry systems as remote-controlled detonators for IEDs," the report said. However, the U.S. Army's National Ground Intelligence Center said vehicle-borne explosives continue to be the weapon of choice for terrorists, with at least 600 such attacks from May 2004 to January 2005.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 8:58:39 AM ||
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Salahuddin--
Is this what "god-fearing army" looks like? Just trying to keep up.
Posted by: Steve Spurrier ||
03/24/2005 14:29 Comments ||
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Keep it simple - the Islamists are bad guys, who like bad guys from ages past seek control through violence and intimidation. Though less than yesterday, there are still a lot of them in Iraq, and a lot more spread wherever other Muslims live. Their first target of terror is the other Muslims. The battle is far from over.
"The world is lovely, dark, and deep,
And Islamists lurk before we sweep,
But we have promises to keep,
And miles to go before we sleep,
And miles to go before we sleep."
Partly stolen from Robert Frost,
Posted by: Green Ink ||
03/24/2005 16:53 Comments ||
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Anybody who can mess with one of my fave Robert Frost poems is a friend of mine. Hi, Green Ink!
Iraqi and American forces killed 85 insurgents in a battle at what appeared to be the largest guerrilla training camp discovered in the war, officials said Wednesday.
Seven Iraqi policemen were killed and six were wounded in the battle at midday Tuesday.
The size and location of the camp, with scores of guerrillas living in tents and small buildings in a marshy lakeside encampment in western Iraq, revealed a new strategy among the insurgents, American military officials said.
It was the first time the military has come across insurgents organizing in such numbers in a remote rural location, similar to al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan, the officials said.
"A year ago, they preferred to organize in small cells in urban areas," said Maj. Richard Goldenberg, a spokesman for the 42nd Infantry Division, which sent soldiers and attack helicopters to aid the hundreds of Iraqi commandos who raided the camp.
"Here, they organized into a large group in a remote site, perhaps under the impression that coalition forces wouldn't look for them there."
Along with munitions, training manuals and suicide bomb vests, the Iraqi and American forces discovered identification papers showing that some of the fighters had come from outside Iraq, Goldenberg said. He declined to identify the nationalities of the foreign insurgents, although Iraqi officials said they came from Arab countries.
The fighting came just two days after an American convoy fended off a highly organized ambush by 40 to 50 insurgents on the outskirts of Baghdad. The American military said 26 attackers were killed in that battle Sunday in the town of Salman Pak, 12 miles southeast of the capital.
It was the most ambitious assault against the American military since the Jan. 30 elections and showed that the guerrilla war was still burning fiercely two years after the Americans invaded Iraq and despite the high voter turnout in the elections.
"This string of successes does have positive repercussions in that it may convince Iraqis not supporting the insurgents — but not supporting the United States either — to perceive that the tide is turning and not go with the insurgents," said Nora Bensahel, a Washington-based Iraq analyst for Rand Corp.
But while it has been "a fairly successful few days," Bensahel cautioned that "there's a long, long way to go."
Iraqi officials also credited other successes to intelligence that has begun flowing from citizens heartened by the elections and emboldened by film footage aired on state television that shows captured insurgents confessing their roles in attacks.
"Before, the people had a neutral stance toward this issue," said Sabah Kadhim, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "Now, they have turned against the terrorists."
Kadhim said insurgents initially operated in small cells but that crackdowns had caused them to change tactics and gather in larger groups. They chose the lakeside camp because of its terrain, he said.
"The area is full of marshes and lakes. It is hard to comb, and that's why the terrorists chose it," Kadhim said. "They used to use boats to get to the camp. It's difficult to get there, and to discover the location."
The battle on Tuesday began as members of the Interior Ministry's 1st Police Commando Battalion, acting on tips from residents of the area, approached the guerrilla camp by Lake Tharthar, Goldenberg said. It lies in a barren, arid region 100 miles northwest of Baghdad and straddles the border between Anbar and Salahuddin provinces, both insurgent strongholds dominated by the former governing Sunnis.
The training camp was so extensive that American and Iraqi troops were still searching it Wednesday, Goldenberg said.
Among the items seized were manuals with "techniques they would have used to train other insurgents to conduct operations," he said.
The 42nd Infantry Division, charged with securing the northern Sunni triangle, has never come across "such an organized facility for the Iraqi insurgent elements," the major said.
He estimated that 500 to 700 Iraqi commandos took part in the assault. The same unit has been working alongside the 42nd Infantry Division and was involved in a brief offensive sweep earlier this month in Samarra. In that operation, Iraqi commandos and American soldiers blocked off sections of the town to arrest suspected insurgent leaders, but they found that the leaders had gone into hiding or had fled.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/24/2005 4:40:50 AM ||
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#1
These people only understand one thing, overwhelming force. I am sure the 42nd ID was more than glad to be the catalyst. Hoorah!!!
Even though the Iraqi commando's are trained by the U.S., I don't trust them. Always sleep with one eye open. You never know when they will turn on you.
Say the word mujahid- or holy warrior - these days and many inhabitants of Baghdad are likely to snigger. An appellation once worn as a badge of pride by anti-American insurgents has now become street slang for homosexuals, after men claiming to be captured Islamist guerrillas confessed that they were holding gay orgies in the popular Iraqi TV programme Terror in the Hands of Justice.
For Iraqis opposed to the predominantly Sunni Islamist insurgency, Terror in the Hands of Justice, which airs twice daily on Iraqi public television, has broken the mystique of a force that used to strike terror into the hearts of anyone working with the Americans or the new government. But for many Sunni, even some who do not support the insurgents' goals, the programme's suggestion that the entire guerrilla movement comprises sexual libertines and petty criminals is an insult to their community.
The "terrorists" on television are almost certainly not actors but genuine detainees arrested by the security forces on suspicion of being part of the insurgency. Many Iraqis claim to have recognised on television the guerrillas who threatened them, while the families of some of the televised detainees have called up Iraqi politicians trying to convince them of their sons' innocence. However, many Iraqis believe that the stern-faced officers of the "Wolf Brigade", the Iraqi security unit that arrested most of the alleged terrorists, may have pushed the suspects - some of whom appear on the programme sporting bruises - to embellish their "confessions".
When the programme first aired two months ago, it mostly featured non-Iraqi Arabs who claimed to have entered the country to aid the insurgency, reinforcing many Iraqis' belief that the insurgency is driven by foreign extremists such as al-Qaeda. In time, however, the programme began to feature men who said they were petty criminals, killing "collaborators" for a few hundred dollars' bounty. In fact, the US and Iraqi security forces have for some time claimed to have ample evidence that many insurgent attacks were launched by out-of-work soldiers desperate for money. Some well-known insurgent captains had former lives under the old regime as gang leaders.
In recent weeks, however, the insurgents' confessions have become increasingly at odds with the movement's reputation for stringent Islamic austerity. One long-bearded preacher known as Abu Tabarek recently confessed that guerrillas had usually held orgies in his mosques, secure in the knowledge that their status as holy warriors would win them forgiveness of their sins. Another guerrilla commander had a somewhat unusual nomme de guerre for an Islamic insurgent - "Abu Lahab", an enemy of the Prophet Mohammed singled out in the Koran for special opprobrium.
Many Iraqi Shia, whose clerics and mosques are targeted increasingly frequently by insurgents, have no reservations about the show, claiming it shows the "true face of the criminals". But for some Sunni, the show is evidence of the depths to which Iraq's new rulers will go to defame the insurgents. In a sermon last Friday, the popular preacher Abd al-Salaam al-Qubaisy urged his west Baghdad congregation to "defend the reputation of the nationalist resistance" against the "Americans and their agents", a reference to the current politicians ruling the country.
Meanwhile, more mainstream Sunni leaders want the programme taken off the air, claiming it polarises an already divided country. Some human rights activists, meanwhile, say that the programme encourages police to abuse insurgent and ordinary criminal suspects by implying that it is desirable to extract as outrageous a confession as possible. Sabah Khadim, spokesman for Iraq's interior minister, says that the programme may have run its course, and should be reviewed. He denies that the confessions were extracted by torture but has his doubts as to whether those confessing are being truthful or simply saying whatever they think their captors want to hear. He also has reservations over whether the display of prisoners on television violates the Geneva Convention.
But, Mr Khadem says, the programme has been immensely effective in getting Iraqis to come forward with information about guerrillas, leading to a surge in the number of insurgents captured. "If this were not an emergency situation, we would not have run this," he says. "But it is an emergency situation, and this produces results."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
03/24/2005 12:08:51 AM ||
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#1
Well at least now we know why the looney left supports the Muj..
#2
You can see the homo/confession and others>> http://www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S1
scroll down and click back pages for others.
Posted by: Dr. Disgusted ||
03/24/2005 2:06 Comments ||
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Well, the fact that they are the objects of scorn, derision and snickering is actually very promising. They are being laughed at... and what impressionable youth wants to join an organization that everyone tells jokes about? I wrote something 2 years ago about precision-guided humor.
#5
He also has reservations over whether the display of prisoners on television violates the Geneva Convention.
It certainly does not! Terrorists are not entitled to GC protections!
God, why can't people get that through their heads? Are they wilfully stupid?
Posted by: Robert Crawford ||
03/24/2005 8:18 Comments ||
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Interesting concept... bin Laden and Zarqawi are chickenhawks, and when they get tired of the little boys they send them out to be martyrs and find some more young'uns to bugger... Whoda thunk?
Posted by: Dar ||
03/24/2005 9:22 Comments ||
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#7
Buggery in a Mosque? The false prophet and Allan must be pissed.
The jihadi's 72 virgins are now probably male goats. Probably doesn't bother them a bit.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/24/2005 9:47 Comments ||
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#12
Shaheed, there's no need to feel down.
I said, shaheed, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, shaheed, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.
Shaheed, there's a place you can go.
I said, shaheed, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.
It's fun to stay at the al-Qaeda camp!
It's fun to stay at the al-Qaeda ca-hamp!
They have everything for a sheik to enjoy,
You can hang out with all the boys ...
#18
My feeling is that these confessions are forced, and Iraqis probably don't believe them. But the fact that these jihadis are willing to make these false confessions peels away the aura of mystique and fear around them - the idea that they are willing to die rather than submit. The humbling reality, that they are only flesh-and-blood, and will confess - falsely - to things that are humiliating in the Arab psyche rather than be tortured, is going to deglamorize them and hurt future recruiting and funding.
#19
"Meanwhile, more mainstream Sunni leaders want the programme taken off the air, claiming it polarises an already divided country. Some human rights activists, meanwhile, say that the programme encourages police to abuse insurgent and ordinary criminal suspects." Wow that could have come from a DNC talking point memo! FYI if the Iraqis capture them, charge them under their criminal justice system, then they can't be classified as POWs (they are just criminals). So the cops can 'tune them up' and use any police method that they want to get information. I think the Iraqis are onto something here with exposing the Jihadist as pedophile homos. Whether or not it's tue the programme will curtail muslim recruiting, but I did hear that recruitment is up in San Francisco whe the story broke. They are even making a Gay-Terrorists movie due to release later this year: "Biting Pillows of Islam"
#22
LMAO-- "Biting Pillows of Islam"! Hey, isn't that the 32nd most holey, um, holy site in Islam?
Posted by: Dar ||
03/24/2005 13:18 Comments ||
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#23
I believe the confession on memritv references a 'de-frocking' documented some years ago.
I think for the most part the confessions ring true. Either way they're effective.
Posted by: R ||
03/24/2005 13:28 Comments ||
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#24
I believe these confessions are false, and designed to humiliate. They also point to the fact that people are being recruited who would confess to these things. When have you seen an Iraqi soldier confess to these kinds of humiliating things, even though he faced torture and a beheading? The quality of insurgent recruits is going down. Way down. They are getting the dregs - the bottom of the barrel, and this has got to be a real negative for their operational effectiveness.
#26
Ya don't unnerstan, Zarko. I coulda been a contendah...I coulda had class. I coulda been somebody. Instead of a fudge packin murderin scumbag, which is what I am.
Oh Al-lan I'm the Islamic dream
With a spindle up my butt till it makes me scream!
And Iâll do anything to slay infidels!
I lay awake nights sayinâ, thanks Ah-med!
Oh god, oh god, Iâm so fantastic!
Thanks to Ahmed, Iâm a sexual spastic!
And my name is BobbyOmar Brown
Watch me now, Iâm goin down
...
#32
#28, 29: The "FZ" I referenced is Frank Zappa, post #27 being an, ah, interpretation of his song "Bobby Brown Goes Down" applied to the subject at hand. :)
Haiku isn't my usual style, but maybe if I channel the old BeOS error generator...
#35
What could be more humiliating for a jihadi than such a public belief of him? How wonderful. I am no gay-hater, but it's great to see jihadis humiliated, in 72 different ways.
Frank G-I think you're onto something there in #15: male butts in the air in front of every male Muslim 5 times a day, every day of his life? Pretty hard to ignore. LOL.
#37
I think what the Iraqis are doing with this is very good. We should be dropping leaflets around afghanistan and pakistan saying the same thing. Because no matter what, you can't take them as seriously anymore and it will loosen their grip over people.
#38
Most of the people this needs to reach won't be able to read leaflets. The traditional way is cassette tapes and videos. Let the producers run off a couple hundred thousand copies, and feed them out through the smuggler routes; they'll probably make back their money and then some.
About 30 to 40 fighters were seen at a lakeside training camp attacked by US and Iraqi forces, an AFP correspondent who visited the site has said. The correspondent, who travelled with other journalists to the camp at Lake Tharthar, 200km north of Baghdad, said he saw 30 to 40 fighters there on Wednesday. The remains of three burnt vehicles were seen on a dusty road leading to the camp in the village of Ain al-Hilwa. A few mud huts were partly destroyed and a few big craters gouged the ground. One of the fighters, who called himself Muhammad Amer and claimed to belong to the Secret Islamic Army, said they had never left the base. He denied that scores of his fighters had been killed and said only 11 of his comrades perished in airstrikes on the site.
Iraqi commanders said 85 suspected anti-US fighters were killed in an assault by Iraqi troops and US aircraft on the camp Tuesday, adding that no one was captured and others had fled by boat. Asked about the presence of rebels at the camp late Wednesday, a member of the Iraqi police commandos that took part in the operation said Iraqi and US troops withdrew from the area at about 6.30pm (1530 GMT) on Tuesday. "The commandos killed 35 and US air raids killed 50. But no one was captured and many escaped by boat," General Adnan Thabit, a senior advisor to the interior ministry, earlier told AFP by phone from Samarra. "During the fight, 30 boats left." A statement from the outgoing government, which confirmed the number of fighters killed, said one Algerian was captured. Local hospitals told AFP they had received no casualties from the battle.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Well, if they are dumb enough to move back in, let them. Wait a couple of days while watching them and then take out the boats first before hitting the camp.
Posted by: Steve ||
03/24/2005 8:21 Comments ||
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who called himself Muhammad Amer and claimed to belong to the Secret Islamic Army
Now he's in the Double-Secret Islamic Army.
#4
key good news items (hat tip to ackerman at TNR):
1. The insurgents/terrs used a rural camp. Now thats playing to our strength - a place we can bring conventional weight to bear, and no civilians to worry about. Why not hide in an urban setting? Cause the terrs have ruined their relationship with the locals? Even in the heart of Sunni Triangle?
2. Even so we found this place with intell from locals. Somebody in the triangle really doesnt like these guys.
3. Iraqi forces took casualties and kept on fighting.
#5
LH: The insurgents/terrs used a rural camp. Now thats playing to our strength - a place we can bring conventional weight to bear, and no civilians to worry about. Why not hide in an urban setting? Cause the terrs have ruined their relationship with the locals? Even in the heart of Sunni Triangle?
You can't really do live fire exercises in urban areas. I've been wondering how they did their training. Now I know. Iraq's a big place, and not all of it is desert. They'll find another place to do their training. But having to scout out and provision a new place will definitely slow them down.
Worried about people sneaking in from Iran, U.S. troops and Iraqi border guards are focusing their attention on the "socket" - a remote section of frontier that juts into Iran and is used by smugglers, shepherds and even job hunters for illegal crossings. The strongest concern, however, is that the rugged area is being used by those helping Iraq's insurgency. Iraqi and US authorities long have accused Iran of meddling in Iraq, and the border guards and American technology are the first and main line of defense against infiltrators.
The task is a formidable one. The two countries are separated by mountains and rocky hills laced by narrow creek beds that provide numerous hiding places. Hundreds of thousands of munitions left over from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war are strewn throughout the area, making patrols even more difficult. Lt Col William Hart, who commands the 1st Squadron, 278th Regiment of the 42nd Infantry Division based in Athens, Tenn, said most of the illegal movement across the border has been stopped. "There's been some contraband, movement of vehicles in and out, smuggling operations," Hart said. But he described the crossings as "small-scale in nature" and said only a small percentage was tied to the insurgency.
Still, there is cause for concern. In February, the 278th Regiment announced it had captured Jaffar Sadiq Fette, a suspected Iranian intelligence agent, in the border city of Mandali. Fette allegedly was involved in the killing of an Iraqi intelligence officer and helped Iraqis go to Iran to train at camps run by the militant group Hezbollah.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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But....but.... but Hezbollah is peaceful in nature.... I heard it on ABC news so it must be true!
LADAH: A powerful bomb exploded outside a guesthouse in the Shakai area late on Tuesday, damaging the main gate and the boundary wall, a security official said on Wednesday. The guesthouse in owned by pro-government tribal elder and former federal minister Malik Faridullah Khan, the official said. Bomb attacks are common in South Waziristan. Militants often target pro-government tribal elders and political agents in such attacks. South Waziristan Agency chief administrator Asmatullah Gandapur was also targeted in one such attack in Tank in December 30, 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 00:00:00 ||
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GILGIT: Former Northern Areas inspector general police (IGP) Sakhiullah Tareen and four police officials were killed when unidentified men fired at his vehicle on Wednesday. Tareen was on his way back to Gilgit from Hunza when gunmen ambushed the vehicle he was travelling in near village Jotal some 30 kilometres from here. The attack left the former IG, his son Wajahat and his daughter-in-law critically injured. They were taken to the Combined Military Hospital Gilgit. Tareen died in the hospital where doctors are still trying to save his son and daughter-in-law. His other son Safiullah Tareen and driver were not injured. "It appears to be a sectarian murder. We have ordered investigations," said an Interior Ministry official. Authorities did not yet know who was behind the killing.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/24/2005 00:00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
"Coalition forces were fired on by Raz Mohammed and other Taleban forces when they attempted to capture Mohammed," the US military statement said. 
The Saudi Interior Ministry said Thursday questions remain over whether terrorist leader 
Communist rebels in southern Colombia ambushed a military convoy on Wednesday, killing 10 soldiers in a hail of gunfire and explosions, authorities said. The troops were traveling by truck on a remote jungle road in Putumayo state, one of Colombia's biggest cocaine-producing regions some 300 miles south of Bogota, when they came under attack, said Adm. Mauricio Soto, the Colombian navy commander. Only one Marine in the convoy survived. Soto blamed the attack on guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been battling to topple the government here for 40 years. The group funds itself through drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
Protesters stormed the presidential compound in Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, seizing control of the seat of state power after clashing with riot police during a large opposition rally. President Askar Akayev reportedly flew to Russia. One key opposition figure, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, was at the scene, and state TV appeared to be in opposition hands — underscoring the impression that the hitherto fragmented opposition was consolidating control. Another leading opposition figure was said to have been freed from prison. 
The opposition in Kyrgyzstan says it has taken control of the capital Bishkek after overrunning the president's palace, the White House. Protesters fought running battles with supporters of President Askar Akayev before flooding government offices. Mr Akayev's whereabouts are unknown. They also took over state TV and announced the government had fallen. 
Several gunshots were fired in Kyrgyzstan's capital on Thursday as fighting broke out between supporters of President Askar Akayev and protesters demanding his resignation, a Reuters witness said. Reuters correspondent Dmitry Solovyov said hundreds of Akayev supporters, carrying sticks and home-made shields, had waded into a crowd of over 10,000 protesters gathered on Bishkek's main Ala Too square. "There is a fight going on with sticks and stones between thousands of people," Solovyov said. "It's volatile and people are running in all directions, chasing each other with sticks and stones." Solovyov heard several gunshots but said it was not possible to identify who had fired them. Police looked on as pandemonium broke out on the square, near Akayev's heavily-guarded White House headquarters. The opposition demonstrators, many wearing pink and yellow arm bands which are rapidly becoming the colors of anti-Akayev protest, subsequently repelled the president's supporters.
A criminal group of six members which had planned terror acts in Baku and was earlier detained in Azerbaijan, had ties with Al-Qaeda terror organization, the Ministry of National Security said in a statement on Thursday. The group members, led by 
An Italian judge scorned for dropping terrorism charges against a group of alleged pro-Iraqi insurgents is suing senior members of the Italian government for character defamation, her lawyer has said. Judge 
Police on Thursday launched a manhunt for three suspects in an alleged plot to conduct bomb attacks in Metro Manila this Holy Week. ABS-CBN News Channel reported that authorities have linked the three to the bomb cache found in Quezon City Wednesday. The Central Police District has released sketches of two of the three suspected terrorists believed to have procured the bombs seized from a house in West Fairview Investigators identified the suspects as Jimmy Rivera and a certain Jim. The two were last seen on March 21. Authorities said they are tracking down a third suspect.
More Iraqis are losing their fear of terrorists. In the last three days, tips from Iraqis have led Iraqi police and troops to several terrorist hideouts. This has resulted in some spectacular gun battles, and the deaths of over 130 terrorists (and about a dozen police and soldiers.) The Iraqis have been using their growing force of SWAT teams to carry out the raids, with American forces providing backup and air cover. One raid, north of Baghdad, left 85 terrorists dead, and revealed a suicide car bomb workshop, as well as documents and weapons. The dead terrorists included men from many foreign countries (Persian Gulf states, Algeria, Morocco, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.) 
Say the word mujahid- or holy warrior - these days and many inhabitants of Baghdad are likely to snigger. An appellation once worn as a badge of pride by anti-American insurgents has now become street slang for homosexuals, after men claiming to be captured Islamist guerrillas confessed that they were holding gay orgies in the popular Iraqi TV programme Terror in the Hands of Justice.
About 30 to 40 fighters were seen at a lakeside training camp attacked by US and Iraqi forces, an AFP correspondent who visited the site has said. The correspondent, who travelled with other journalists to the camp at Lake Tharthar, 200km north of Baghdad, said he saw 30 to 40 fighters there on Wednesday. The remains of three burnt vehicles were seen on a dusty road leading to the camp in the village of Ain al-Hilwa. A few mud huts were partly destroyed and a few big craters gouged the ground. One of the fighters, who called himself Muhammad Amer and claimed to belong to the Secret Islamic Army, said they had never left the base. He denied that scores of his fighters had been killed and said only 11 of his comrades perished in airstrikes on the site.
Worried about people sneaking in from Iran, U.S. troops and Iraqi border guards are focusing their attention on the "socket" - a remote section of frontier that juts into Iran and is used by smugglers, shepherds and even job hunters for illegal crossings. The strongest concern, however, is that the rugged area is being used by those helping Iraq's insurgency. Iraqi and US authorities long have accused Iran of meddling in Iraq, and the border guards and American technology are the first and main line of defense against infiltrators.
