Gunmen shot dead a senior Saudi security officer outside his house in Makkah yesterday, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said unidentified gunmen shot the security officer just after he stepped out of his house. An informed source identified the murdered officer as Lt. Col. Mubarak Al-Sawat from the General Investigation Department. The source said the officer, in his 40s, received more than 10 gunshots, adding that police were investigating the drive-by shooting. Police have put up a number of checkpoints all over Makkah and are engaged in a massive manhunt to track down the criminals. Security sources did not confirm or deny whether the shooting was related to any terror attack.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) have been secretly operating a base in the Philippines to help the country fight terrorists.
It is the first time the AFP have operated a foreign-based squad, News Ltd newspapers reported.
Officers have helped confirm the fire on a Manila Bay ferry which killed 118 people last year was caused by a terrorist bomb and planted by members of terrorist group Abu Sayyaf and Rajas Sulaiman.
They were also investigated a series of bombings in Manila earlier this year and the secret terrorist training camps of Jemaah Islamiah around Mindanao and other parts of the Philippines.
Officers also reported on new links between local terrorist groups and assisted in uncovering a bomb plot on the Manila train system.
Palestinian militants fired light arms and rocket-propelled grenades at Israelis near an army post on the Gaza-Egypt border on Sunday, wounding three Israelis, the army said. One militant was killed in the attack. Two of the Israelis were hurt badly, and one was in moderate condition, the army said. The violence began when the militants shot at soldiers and civilians doing engineering work near the post, the army said. Militants later fired two grenades at the post, it said. The soldiers returned fire, killing one of the attackers. A second attacker escaped, the army said. Islamic Jihad said the attack was a joint operation between its militants and militants affiliated with the Fatah movement. The attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli officials to help coordinate Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
"Welcome to Paleostine, Madame Secretary!"
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2005 22:40 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
I've added Opinion as Page 4, rather than keeping opinion pieces in a separate table. I'll import the existing opinion pieces as I get time. Let me know where I've missed a spot and I'll fix it.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2005 17:24 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Search and a lot of the sidebar links seemed to be nonfunctional earlier today. Search worked again the last time I tried it, but I haven't checked the sidebar links.
Also, isn't there an RSS feed somewhere around here?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/19/2005 17:58 Comments ||
Top||
#2
There used to be an external RSS feed, but it works through ASP. The reason search sometimes doesn't work is because it's in ASP, too, and I haven't rewritten it in PHP yet.
There's still a lot I have to do behind the scenes yet, so I apologize for all the stuff that doesn't work quite right. I'll move the search page up on my to do list...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2005 18:14 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Good Lord, Fred, don't apologize!
You do so much already - anything more you do is just icing on the best cake around.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/19/2005 20:24 Comments ||
Top||
#4
What Barbara said. What you've given us is already wonderful, even if the mechanics are unfathomable to me. Please debug only when you have extra free time -- we don't want you to start feeling down again. ;-)
KABUL, Afghanistan - Fighting raged across southern
Afghanistan on Sunday as the U.S. military pounded suspected Taliban positions with airstrikes that killed as many as 20 militants along a narrow mountain footpath. That's raging?
Sure seemed like it from the hotel bar ...
A Taliban spokesman, meanwhile, claimed his fighters had assassinated a kidnapped Afghan police chief and five of his men for collaborating with the U.S.-led coalition. If you kidnap someone, and you later kill them, isn't that murder? I thought assassinations took place in the open.
U.S. aircraft opened fire on a group of suspected Taliban along a narrow footpath in the high mountains northwest of Gereshk, in southern Helmand province, after rebels had pinned down a coalition ground patrol with rocket and small-arms fire. "Initial battle-damage assessments indicate 15 to 20 enemies died and an enemy vehicle was destroyed," the army said in a statement. No Americans were injured.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara added a warning to the insurgents. "When these criminals engage coalition forces, they do so at considerable risk," he said. "We are not going to let up on them. There is not going to be a safe haven in Afghanistan." O'Hara told The Associated Press that additional U.S. and Afghan forces had been sent to the scene and the numbers of rebel dead could rise.
Three months of bloodshed across the south and east has left hundreds dead and sparked fears that the Afghan war is widening, rather than winding down. Whose fears? Y'all been making those "sparks" for quite a while, now!
Sure seemed fearful from the hotel bar ...
Afghan and American officials have warned they expect more bloodshed ahead of key parliamentary elections in September.
Will the MSM be disappointed if that doesn't happen?
In other violence Sunday, three rockets smashed into the southern city of Kandahar, jolting residents but causing no casualties. One of the rockets hit an empty lot near the former home of fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, which now houses U.S. special forces troops, said Gen. Salim Khan, the deputy police chief."The one rocket hit right next to Mullah Omar's home, and two other rockets hit fields in Kandahar city," said Khan. "The Taliban did this. Nobody else would do such a thing."
Elsewhere in Helmand, gunmen shot to death three men — a judge, an intelligence worker and an employee of the provincial education department, said Haji Mohammed Wali, a spokesman for the governor. He said it was not clear whether the Taliban or some other armed group was behind the Saturday night attack. Which means it's not clear whether it should be in this article, or somewhere else.
In a victory for Afghan forces and the coalition, national army troops captured Hazrat Ali, the former Taliban intelligence and information chief in central Ghazni province, said Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Murat. No soldiers were injured in the operation Friday in Gelam district, Murat said.
Nice catch.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/19/2005 14:13 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
In a victory for Afghan forces and the coalition, national army troops captured Hazrat Ali, the former Taliban intelligence and information chief in central Ghazni province, said Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Murat. No soldiers were injured in the operation Friday in Gelam district, Murat said.
I take it this guy has dibs on being the "Good" Murat?
Posted by: Phil Fraering ||
06/19/2005 16:51 Comments ||
Top||
#2
So, a 20/0 casualty ratio. That's like infinity, right? Not good odds for the bad guys.
Helicopter gunships and fighter jets streaked across the desert sky Saturday as American and Iraqi forces battled insurgents near the Syrian border, killing at least 50 militants in two massive offensives to stanch the flow of foreign fighters from Iraq's western neighbor.
The U.S. military reported the deaths of two American soldiers, killed north of Baghdad during an attack as they were taking a captive to jail.
Intelligence officials believe Iraq's western Anbar province is the main entry point used by extremist groups, including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida in Iraq, to smuggle in foreign fighters. Syria is under intense pressure from Washington and Baghdad to tighten control of its porous 380-mile border with Iraq.
On Thursday, a U.S. general called Syria's border the "worst problem" in terms of stemming the flow of foreign fighters.
The next day, about 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces backed by battle tanks launched Operation Spear in the desert wastes around Karabilah and Qaim. The offensive entered its second day Saturday in Karabilah, a dusty, blistering hot town about 200 miles west of Baghdad, is considered an insurgent hub.
About 50 insurgents have been killed since the operation began, Marine Capt. Jeffrey Pool said from Ramadi, the provincial capital. Three U.S. troops have been wounded and about 100 insurgents have been captured, the military said.
Dozens of buildings in Karabilah were destroyed after airstrikes and shelling, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
"The goal is not to seize territory," said Marine Col. Stephen Davis, of New Rochelle, N.Y. "This is about going in and finding the insurgents."
Karabilah's streets were empty, and the military said about 100 people fled the town. At one home, a family gathered on their porch, hanging a white flag from the roof to signal U.S. jets not to bomb their home.
Troops searching the town found four Iraqi hostages beaten, handcuffed and chained to a wall in a bunker, Davis said.
Some of the men were believed to be Iraqi border guards. Troops searching the bunker found nooses, electrical wire and a bathtub filled with water for electric shocks and mock drownings, Davis said.
Later, Marines and Iraqi soldiers took fire outside a mosque and a small band of insurgents fled inside, Pool said. Three militants were killed.
The U.S. military also reported incidents of insurgents breaking into homes and using families as human shields, resulting in injuries to 10 civilians.
U.S. and Iraqi forces also found a bomb-making factory in the town, Pool said. It contained blasting caps, cell phones and other materials to make roadside and car bombs, he said. Troops also found sniper rifles, ammunition and a mortar system.
A nearby schoolhouse believed to be used for training terrorists had instructions for making roadside bombs written on a chalkboard, Davis said.
A second offensive of similar size, Operation Dagger, was launched Saturday, targeting the marshy shores of a lake north of Baghdad. About 1,000 Marines and Iraqi troops, backed by fighter jets and tanks, took part.
Operation Dagger seeks insurgent training camps and weapons caches in the Lake Tharthar area, 53 miles northwest of Baghdad.
On March 23, U.S. and Iraqi forces killed about 85 militants at a suspected training camp along Lake Tharthar and discovered booby-trapped cars, suicide-bomber vests, weapons and training documents.
The insurgents captured then included Iraqis, Filipinos, Algerians, Moroccans, Afghans and Arabs from neighboring countries, officials said.
The western region has been flush with militant fighters in recent weeks. Marines carried out June 11 airstrikes that killed about 40 of them after a nearly five-hour gunfight on the outskirts of Karabilah.
Insurgents in the area also killed 21 people believed to be missing Iraqi soldiers. The bodies, including three that were beheaded, were found June 10.
Marines carried out two major operations near Qaim last month, killing 125 insurgents in Operation Matador and 14 in Operation New Market. Eleven Marines were killed in those actions, which targeted insurgents using the road from Damascus, Syria, to Baghdad.
Iraqi troops did not participate in the earlier offensives. This time, they fought alongside the Americans and used their language skills and local knowledge to spot foreign fighters, said Col. Bob Chase, chief of operations for the Second Marine Division.
Separately, the U.S. military said Saturday that two soldiers were killed and one was wounded after fighting with insurgents late Friday while transporting a detainee near Buhriz, about 35 miles north of Baghdad. A civilian and the detainee also were killed, and five Iraqi police officers were wounded.
At least 1,718 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
In other violence, a suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi military checkpoint in Tikrit on Sunday, killing two soldiers and one civilian, officials said. Thirteen others were wounded.
Separately, gunmen killed two Iraqi police officers in western Baghdad as they headed to work Sunday morning, an official said. The policemen were on their way to Diyala Bridge police station in the capital when the shooting occurred, Iraqi army Capt. Usama Adnan said.
A second band of gunmen killed an electrical engineer who was on his way to work at the Dora oil refinery in southern Baghdad Sunday, said Dr. Muhanden Jawad of the capital's Al-Yarmouk hospital.
On Saturday, insurgents also killed at least four people in Baghdad, including two Iraqi soldiers and a 10-year-old girl, hospital and police officials said. Twenty-one people — including an Iraqi journalist — were wounded in the suicide bombings and shootings.
The girl was killed and two people were wounded when a roadside bomb missed a passing American military convoy, said Dr. Muhand Jawad of Baghdad's Al-Yarmouk hospital.
A suicide car bomber slammed into an Iraqi army convoy in the Yarmouk neighborhood, killing two soldiers and wounding six near dangerous road leading from downtown to the airport, police Lt. Thaer Mahmoud said.
Also, a farmer found seven corpses in a field in eastern Baghdad, police said. The men, wearing civilian clothes, were shot in the back of the head and had their hands bound.
The body of a Sunni tribal leader also was found Saturday outside Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad. Sheikh Arkan Shaalan Jassim al-Edwan, who had been shot, was sprawled on a fallen roadside portrait of Saddam Hussein, police Lt. Adnan Abdullah said.
More than 1,100 people have been killed since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari's Shiite-led government was announced April 28.
Posted by: too true ||
06/19/2005 06:46 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Sunday" news that includes Friday and Saturday events, just in case there wasn't enough mayhem for press time Sunday.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/19/2005 9:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
We'll see what kind of senior military leaders we have soon. Undoubtedly, we are picking up intel on the staging areas in Syria from which these terrorist [cause they ain't Iraqis in any number]are coming from. Either the OIC is going to play 'yes sir, yes, sir three bags sir' and let this continue or he's going to put his career and pension on the line and follow the example of the Army commanders on the Mexican border who tired of chasing the Apache to the Rio Grande and stopping. The Army launched cross border assaults against known Apache villages from which raids where initiated from without informing the State Department. Of course this created a big diplomatic flurry with loud protests from the Mexican government, but it also disrupted the Apache raids as well. The fruitlessness of conducting unending defensive operations while granting the enemy a protected environment will start to destroy the troops morale. If the leadership is going to ask the soldier to be willing to give up his life then they had better damn well be ready to give up their nice retirement as well.
Posted by: Jong Cravirong9792 ||
06/19/2005 9:09 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Sounds like that Sunni Sheik met up with the mythical "Phoenix".
#4
At one home, a family gathered on their porch, hanging a white flag from the roof to signal U.S. jets not to bomb their home
Lucky it wasn't bomded anyway -- your buddies the terrorist destroyed the sainctuary of the white flag.
Some of the men were believed to be Iraqi border guards. Troops searching the bunker found nooses, electrical wire and a bathtub filled with water for electric shocks and mock drownings, Davis said.
Posted by: Red Dog ||
06/19/2005 12:51 Comments ||
Top||
#7
If Bush really has stone cojones, he'll put out the word that the capital of any nation that continues to allow its citizens to "participate" in the "holy war" in Iraq will be radioactive slag the next time we capture any of them. I'm sure the "source" will immediately dry up, while the leaders of 26 Muslim nations scream how "cruel" the United States is.
BTW, the message from "Sluge" yesterday was mine. I put in my information, but I guess Fred's software is smarter than I am...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/19/2005 13:59 Comments ||
Top||
Unidentified masked men shot and wounded a suspected "spy" while his driver and cousin were gunned down in the same attack in broad daylight in Wana bazaar, witnesses said. Abdur Rehman, 45, was seriously wounded and immediately taken to a private hospital in Wana, regional headquarters of South Waziristan, for treatment, witnesses said. "Their pick-up was attacked by masked gunmen around 1pm in Wana bazaar. The man's driver and cousin, however, died instantly," they said. The attack took place just when thousands of tribesmen gathered in Azam Warsak to observe the death anniversary of Nek Muhammad.
"It's Nek's death anniversary, may Allan keep him. Let's go kill us some spies!"
A tribal elder told Daily Times that Rehman was an "undercover agent" for a security agency, and suspected that militants were behind the attack. Three months ago, Rehman's brother was killed in North Waziristan while another brother was killed in Paktika for having alleged links with US forces in Machadad Kot base.
Two Afghan businessmen were wounded when a bomb planted in their car exploded in the northwestern tribal region of Pakistan on Saturday, an official said. The bomb went off shortly after the men, who are brothers, entered the car outside their home on the outskirts of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, said Ghulam Khan, a government official in the region. He said it was not clear who targeted the men, who were being treated at a hospital in Peshawar. Miran Shah is located near the Afghan border, where a number of Afghan refugees have been living since fleeing their homeland during a quarter century of war starting with the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. Many later settled in Pakistan.
A police station in Khanqah Dogran was torched on Saturday after police clashed with protestors angry at the inclusion of their town in the recently upgraded Nankana Sahib district. The protestors and police accused each other of setting fire to the police station, whose main gate and portico was burnt. The protestors later stormed the police station and destroyed furniture and equipment...Police said they had asked the protestors to disperse peacefully but they refused, after which they fired warning shots to scare them away. However, the police action angered the protestors further and they started throwing stones at the policemen. According to protestors, some policemen rushed into a mosque with their shoes on and fired volleys of tear gas shells at them. Soon after, flames were seen rising from the police station.
DUBAI - Gunmen shot and seriously wounded Al Arabiya's senior correspondent in Iraq during an apparent kidnapping attempt in Baghdad on Saturday, the Arabic satellite channel said.
We'll be blamed, of course.
Nabil al-Khatib, executive editor of the Dubai-based channel, said the correspondent, Jawad Kadhem, was shot in the neck and was undergoing treatment at a Baghdad hospital. He said two gunmen approached Kadhem, apparently trying to kidnap him. Iraqi policemen at the scene fired at the gunmen, who returned fire wounding Kadhem. "He is in serious condition," Khatib said, adding that their motive was not clear.
Eight Al Arabiya employees have died in Iraq since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, including three killed by US forces, and five who died in a car bombing by suspected militants of its Baghdad office in October last year.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Article: Gunmen shot and seriously wounded Al Arabiyaâs senior correspondent in Iraq during an apparent kidnapping attempt in Baghdad on Saturday, the Arabic satellite channel said.
Gunmen need to improve their aim. Maybe we can give them lessons.
GAZA - Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian terrorist gunman who attacked a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, the Islamic Jihad group said, claiming responsibility for the assault.
The attack on the settlement of Kfar Darom coincided with a visit to Israel and the West Bank by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who earlier told reporters Palestinians must keep to a truce ahead of a planned Israeli pullout from Gaza.
Worked well, didn't it?
Islamic Jihad said one of its terrorists gunmen, along with a terrorist fighter from al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, fired at Kfar Darom in retaliation for recent Israeli raids against militants in the West Bank.
Israeli fire killed the Islamic Jihad terrorist gunman, the group said, basing its information on a confession an account given by the surviving terrorist attacker. The Israeli army did not immediately confirm the death but said terrorist gunmen had fired at a Kfar Darom watchtower.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
Three criminals were killed in "crossfire" with police in two incidents in Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia and Chandina upazila in Comilla district yesterday. Pakhi Mollah, 28, and Hasmot Ali alias Hasu, 30, were killed in "crossfire" between police and their accomplices at village Selimpur in Daulatpur upazila early yesterday.
Daulatpur police arrested four alleged criminals including Pakhi and Hasu from Sihala village on Friday morning, police said, adding that Pakhi and Hasu admitted to possessing arms at various locations in the upazila.
"Ouch! Ooooch! I confess! Put that down!"
A police team led by the officer-in-charge of Daulatpur Police Station started for Sihala village with Pakhi and Hasu at about 3:30am torecover the firearms.
"Youse comin' wit us, you two."
"But it's 3 am!"
"The sun hurts our eyes. Shuddup and move!"
When they reached Selimpur field, cohorts of Pakhi and Hasu attacked the police, prompting them to retaliate.
Can't expect the police not to 'retaliate', can you?
The two criminals, trying to escape from the police van during the hour-long gunfight, got caught in the "crossfire" and died on the spot, police said.
No need for the Chittagong Medical School ER, a real cost savings.
Pakhi was accused in six cases on various charges including murder, abduction, rape and robbery, while Hasu in five cases, of them two for murder, police said.
Such good boys.
UNB adds from Comilla:
The highway robber, who was arrested during a gunfight between police and robbers on Friday, was killed in an "encounter" between police and his cohorts at Tirchar in Chandina upazila early yesterday.
An 'encounter' is almost as good as a 'crossfire'.
Five highway robbers were killed during Friday's gunfight with police at Kalamura Bridge in Brahmanpara Upazila. Sagar, 28, arrested from the spot during the gunfight, gave some important information about his accomplices as he was interrogated, police said.
As per police instructions, he called his four accomplices -- Alamgir, Akbar, Hridoy and Asad -- over telephone and asked them to come to Tirchar with Tk 20,000 to secure his release from the police.
"Boys! Ya gotta come down to the secret rendevous and spring me!"
When police along with Sagar went to the spot at about 2:45pm, his accomplices opened fire on them, forcing the law enforcers to fire back.
"We don't want him, we'll keep the money!"
Trying to flee, Sagar was critically injured during the gunfight, police said, adding that two sub-inspectors and three constables were also hurt in the incident.
Cut filling out the paperwork.
Sagar was rushed to Chandina Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead.
If only they'd gotten him to the Chittagong Medical School ER ...
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.
Palestinian militants fired light arms and rocket-propelled grenades at Israelis near an army post on the Gaza-Egypt border on Sunday, wounding three Israelis, the army said. One militant was killed in the attack. Two of the Israelis were hurt badly, and one was in moderate condition, the army said. The violence began when the militants shot at soldiers and civilians doing engineering work near the post, the army said. Militants later fired two grenades at the post, it said. The soldiers returned fire, killing one of the attackers. A second attacker escaped, the army said. Islamic Jihad said the attack was a joint operation between its militants and militants affiliated with the Fatah movement. The attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli officials to help coordinate Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Unidentified masked men shot and wounded a suspected "spy" while his driver and cousin were gunned down in the same attack in broad daylight in Wana bazaar, witnesses said. Abdur Rehman, 45, was seriously wounded and immediately taken to a private hospital in Wana, regional headquarters of South Waziristan, for treatment, witnesses said. "Their pick-up was attacked by masked gunmen around 1pm in Wana bazaar. The man's driver and cousin, however, died instantly," they said. The attack took place just when thousands of tribesmen gathered in Azam Warsak to observe the death anniversary of Nek Muhammad. 
Two Afghan businessmen were wounded when a bomb planted in their car exploded in the northwestern tribal region of Pakistan on Saturday, an official said. The bomb went off shortly after the men, who are brothers, entered the car outside their home on the outskirts of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, said Ghulam Khan, a government official in the region. He said it was not clear who targeted the men, who were being treated at a hospital in Peshawar. Miran Shah is located near the Afghan border, where a number of Afghan refugees have been living since fleeing their homeland during a quarter century of war starting with the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. Many later settled in Pakistan.
A police station in Khanqah Dogran was torched on Saturday after police clashed with protestors angry at the inclusion of their town in the recently upgraded Nankana Sahib district. The protestors and police accused each other of setting fire to the police station, whose main gate and portico was burnt. The protestors later stormed the police station and destroyed furniture and equipment...Police said they had asked the protestors to disperse peacefully but they refused, after which they fired warning shots to scare them away. However, the police action angered the protestors further and they started throwing stones at the policemen. According to protestors, some policemen rushed into a mosque with their shoes on and fired volleys of tear gas shells at them. Soon after, flames were seen rising from the police station.
GAZA - Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian 
Three criminals were killed in "crossfire" with police in two incidents in Daulatpur upazila in Kushtia and Chandina upazila in Comilla district yesterday. Pakhi Mollah, 28, and Hasmot Ali alias Hasu, 30, were killed in "crossfire" between police and their accomplices at village Selimpur in Daulatpur upazila early yesterday.
