Saleh Al-Oufi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, was killed in a shoot-out with police and security forces in Madinah yesterday. In a coordinated strike, security forces raided premises in both Riyadh and Madinah after locating armed terrorist suspects. In Riyadh, four terrorists died and one was arrested. In Madinah, two died â including Al Oufi â and one was injured. According to an analyst on Al-Arabiya TV, they were traced from calls on their mobile phones. It later transpired that the mobile calls between the terrorists had also been intercepted by the US Embassy, the analyst said.
Good idea. Point it out. Play it up. That way next time they won't be on the phone.
The operations followed warnings by the diplomatic missions of Australia, Britain and the United States 10 days earlier that militant attacks were imminent against their properties and nationals in the Kingdom. The US Embassy in Riyadh and its consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran were closed on Aug. 8 and 9, following âcredible informationâ about possible strikes.
Apparently with good reason...
In Riyadh, the events took place near Exit 5 on the Riyadh Ring Road in the Al-Maseef neighborhood to the north of the city, the site of many wedding halls and new up-market houses inhabited by an affluent section of the society. It attracts young bachelor Saudis with its array of Internet cafes and coffee shops. Police had a suspect building under surveillance since Wednesday and at around 6 yesterday morning contacted the insurgents, asking them to surrender.
"Throw down yer guns and come out witcher hands up!"
The terrorists tried to escape, but found themselves hemmed in by security forces.
"Mahmoud! We're surrounded!"
Trapped, they opened fire in a renewed attempt to escape.
"You'll never take us alive, coppers!"
Three of them were gunned down, one was injured and captured.
One of the dead militants, Farraj Al-Juwait, is believed to be on a wanted list of 36 terror suspects. According to Al-Arabiya TV, the body of a fourth militant was mutilated beyond recognition.
"Careful, Mustafa! Don't step in that!"
"Damn! It's on my shoe!"
Al-Arabiya said he probably blew himself up when the security forces tried to capture him.
[KABOOM!]
"Cease fire, men!"
According to Brig. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Interior Ministry, some of the militants were from the third list of the 36 most wanted men. He blamed the militants for initiating the gunfight. âWe always give them (terrorists) time to surrender, but unfortunately they preferred the path of violence. We had to fire back in self-defense,â he said.
And a damned good job of firing back it was!
The detainees in the capital included the owner of the villa. He was arrested for providing logistic support to the terrorists.
"My house! You've shot up my house!"
"Stick 'em up, Pops!"
While the Riyadh raid was under way, a tandem operation was mounted in Madinah. According to security sources, up to seven separate operations were under way in the morning. In the neighborhood of Al-Bahar, a densely populated suburb of the city two km south of the Prophetâs Mosque, police and security forces engaged a group of insurgents holed up in a house in the area.
"Huh huh! They'll never find us here, Ahmed!"
"YOU IN THE HOUSE! COME OUT WITCHER HANDS UP!"
After negotiations failed, the insurgents opened fire at about midday and security forces responded. Eyewitnesses said that considerable damage to property occurred during the engagement.
"My house!"
"Stick 'em up!"
Speculation at the time of the raid that one of the two insurgents killed was Saleh Al-Oufi, the last but one remaining terror suspect on the list of 26 most wanted men and current head of Al-Qaeda in the Kingdom, was later confirmed by Gen. Mansour Al-Turki. In a text received at 4.10 p.m. he said, âIt is confirmed now that Saleh Al-Oufi has been killed in Madinah today.â
"Yep. That's his lip. I'd know it anywhere."
One injured insurgent was taken to hospital and a total of nine arrests were made in six other locations. The suspects were taken away for questioning. A police officer, Lance Cpl. Muhammad Muawad Al-Harbi, was wounded in the exchange of fire and later died and an bystander was severely wounded. Prince Muqrin, Madinah governor, and Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Prince Muhammad ibn Naif attended the funeral prayers for Al-Harbi at the Prophetâs Mosque.
Didn't do poor Harbi much good, but it's a good public relations gesture...
Having secured the area, police conducted an intensive search for weapons and explosives. The militants surrendered to the security forces in four of the raids in the city.
"We quit! Cheeze! You guys got big guns!"
In a fifth, however, they fought back, leaving at least one building gutted and several vehicles charred. Smoke from a raging fire billowed across the sky blanketing the surrounding landscape.
"My car! They blew my car!"
The Ministry of the Interior exercised its usual caution in confirming Al-Oufiâs identity. In an earlier communication to Arab News Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said, âUsually the identity of killed persons has to be confirmed clinically and by personal identification which has not been done in the case of todayâs operation. An official statement will be issued today to give final results.â
"I can say no more!"
A raid by security forces in early April which left 14 insurgents dead, four injured, and one in detention, engendered speculation that Al-Oufi had been killed in the operation. DNA tests later proved that it was not Al-Oufi. Following the deaths of Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin â the probable mastermind of the kidnapping and beheading of American engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr. â and his second in command and the reported capture by the security forces of Rakan Mohsin Mohammad Al-Saikhan, the No. 3, in an encounter with the Saudi security forces on June 18, 2004, the Saudi cell of Al-Qaeda, nominated Saleh Mohammed Al-Oufi as the head of the organization. He was fifth in its hierarchy of surviving leaders. Kareem Al-Tohami Al-Mojati was skipped over possibly because he is Moroccan and has limited knowledge of Saudi Arabia. It was Al-Oufi who led Al-Qaeda following the death of Al-Muqrin. He spearheaded the terrorist attack on the US Consulate building in Jeddah last year. Al-Oufi, a native of Madinah, was the next in line and the obvious choice. In 1994, he was deployed by Al-Qaeda against Russian troops in Chechnya. He was injured in one of battles there, forcing his return to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
... there being no laws in Soddy Arabia against conducting warfare in somebody else's country.
The news of the death of Al-Oufi was greeted with joy by Madinah residents.
"HUZZAH!"
Mansour Ali Al-Muhammadi, resident of Al-Saieh area, to the west of the Prophetâs Mosque, was near the scene of the shootout. âI was happy and sad at the same time. Happy that finally a criminal was gunned down and sad that such an incident could happen in the peaceful city of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). These terrorists have no dignity and do not care about people and no one is sorry that they are dead.â Yesterdayâs antiterrorist offensive was the first since the liquidation of Yunus Al-Hayyari, the Al-Qaeda terrorist from Morocco, recently. When he assumed power, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah announced that there would not be any letup in the fight against the deviant forces.
Apparently the only guy who will mourn his passing is the takeaway delivery driver. Every time Oufi's wife went to the fridge to ask him what he wanted for dinner, he'd get all agitated and call out for lamb kabobs with extra yogurt...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Is Al-Oufi finally Al-Deady? Or is he going to be dead again sometime in October?
In its first session to try 36 of Al-Houthi followers, the special penal court, decided to adjourn it until next Monday. The suspects were accused of forming armed saboteurs cells to start a reign of terror in Sanaa. The courtâs decision came after the disturbance that the accused caused by raising their voices as the prosecutor was presenting his indictment. He could hardly proceed in presenting the charges. The suspects repeated slogans against America and Israel.
The prosecutor accused the suspects of being involved in armed groups that aim at havocking government premises, attacking military, political and social leaders. They have distributed roles among themselves to carry out their attacks. The prosecution assured that the gang had rented houses where they used to hold their meetings, and store weapons. They used false names and modern communications means in their movements. The prosecution listed several incidents carried out by the gang; of these are the hurling of grenades at military vehicles and buses that resulted in a number of casualties among the military men and the causing of destruction to a number of markets. They were also charged of surveillance of the movement of key government figures in prelude to attacking them. The suspects that are being prosecuted are 36; seven of them are being prosecuted in absentia. There is also a woman among these suspects.
Security forces detained those al-Houthi followers following the armed confrontations in Sanaâa. Their movement seemed to be an attempt to revenge the murder of their leader Hussein Baderedeen Al-Houthi who was killed in the armed conflict with the government Forces in Saada in September 2004.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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BEIJING: Authorities in Chinaâs Muslim northwest have detained 179 people in a crackdown on an indigenous Islamic sect, an activist said Thursday. Authorities in the Yili district on Chinaâs northwestern border are trying to wipe out the Salar sect as an âevil cult,â said Dilxat Raxit, who advocates for Chinaâs Muslims, in a phone call from Sweden. The local authorities are âfighting the Salar sect and have seized 179 people, who are still being held,â said Raxit, a spokesman for the World Uighur Congress, which represents Chinaâs Uighurs, another Muslim group.
A police official contacted by phone in Yili confirmed that authorities are fighting âan evil cultâ but denied that anyone had been detained. The official, who would give only his surname, Feng, said he didnât know the groupâs name. According to Raxit, the Salar sect is a type of Islam practiced by some Chinese Muslims who are members of the Hui ethnic group and is native to western China. It is not related to the similarly named Salar ethnic group, who are also Muslims, he said. Hui are descendants of Muslim traders from central Asia and members of Chinaâs dominant Han ethnic group who converted to Islam.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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I'm sure the Chinese Civil Liberties Union will protest this any minute now
AUSTRALIAN soldiers are being blindfolded, stripped naked and menaced by savage dogs for up to three hours in extreme training exercises to prepare them to resist torture.
The intensive regime, approved at the highest level of government, is about to be upgraded in response to the growing threat from enemies who do not respect the rules of the Geneva Conventions.
Defence Minister Robert Hill has confirmed interrogators are authorised to use threats of physical and sexual abuse during simulated interrogation sessions at the Defence Intelligence Training Centre at Canungra, near the Gold Coast.
"When approved by the exercise director, working military dogs that are muzzled and short-leashed may be used during advanced RTI (resistance to interrogation) training, in the presence of RTI trainees (including naked trainees), in order to create realism," Senator Hill said in a written response to a parliamentary question from federal Labor MP Daryl Melham.
The use of guard dogs by US soldiers at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib jail last year to intimidate Iraqi prisoners provoked worldwide outrage and led to prosecutions of American personnel.
The Defence Department would not confirm whether Australian troops sent to Iraq had received the training but did confirm that some civilian employees were trained by the military to resist interrogation for postings such as Iraq.
Senator Hill detailed how trainees are blindfolded for much of the exercise and can be made to stay naked for a period of up to three hours.
"Trainees may be requested to strip naked for the purpose of searching. Nudity only occurs in advanced practical RTI training. Participants in basic practical training are only stripped to their underwear," he said. "In no circumstances are RTI trainees kept naked for a period longer than three hours in aggregate during the RTI exercise."
The army's interrogation training manual is being updated for the first time since 2001 to take into account the threat of torture to Australian troops captured in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where a new contingent of 190 Special Air Service soldiers and regular service personnel will be deployed next month.
A spokesman for the Defence Department said last night they now "assumed" enemy interrogators might not comply with the Geneva Conventions.
"Not all combatants faced by the ADF (Australian Defence Force) abide by the Geneva Convention and the laws of armed conflict," he said. "ADF personnel need to be prepared and made aware of what they may face after capture."
Senator Hill acknowledged earlier this year that if the army's training techniques were used on prisoners of war, they would be inbreach of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
"Techniques that would not be permitted by the 1949 Geneva Conventions include personal verbal attack to lower morale and weaken the will to resist, and the employment of ploys and tricks such as impersonation, fake documents, and threat (only) of dire punishment," he said.
Australia Defence Association executive director Neil James - a qualified interrogator and the original author of the ADF's interrogation training manual - told The Weekend Australian that the training had three levels and was one of the most strictly controlled exercises in the defence force.
He said all soldiers received theoretical training and that troops in combat roles received basic practical training.
Mr James said some of the troops in Iraq would have at least received basic practical training.
In each session there is a medical officer and a "neutral" umpire who have the ability to stop the training at any time.
A former soldier, who had witnessed a training session and spoke to The Weekend Australian on condition of anonymity, detailed how the troops undergoing the training were hauled out of bed at night, stripped naked outdoors and kept awake for hours.
"In the one I saw, the soldiers were stripped naked when they arrived at the place of interrogation," the former soldier said.
"This was in the middle of winter. They were very cold. One guy nearly went down with hypothermia and had to receive medical attention.
"They were put in a stress position, which is essentially squatting with your hands tied behind your back, naked.
"At various times, we'd take someone into the interrogation area from the holding area for an hour at a time.
"After they interrogate them, they take them back to the holding area and anything from five minutes to four hours later they'll take them back again.
"They get repeated questioning, sexual humiliation by officers of the opposite sex. It was an eye-opener.
"People react in various ways. The bulk were stoic, some were defiant, and one was a complete basket case by the end of the night."
Mr James said that the first resistance to interrogation training was put in place after the Korean War when Australian prisoners of war were kept in inhumane conditions and attempts were made to brainwash them.
He said that for many years the military operated a simulated prison camp but it was closed in 1974 by the Whitlam government.
"That course has never been resurrected, which to many in the defence force is a stupid decision," he said.
He said even a small amount of training to prepare troops for the "shock of capture" made a big difference.
"Your ability to resist is increased by some minor commonsense training," he said.
NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy said there should be an independent inquiry into training that had the potential to abuse human rights.
"We've got a litany of problems with issues of discipline, cruel and unusual punishments, bastardisation in the military," he said.
"The Government needs to stamp out any training techniques that treat our soldiers in a degrading and humiliating fashion.
"We've learned nothing from the problems in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and there's no excuse for treating our soldiers in this way."
Posted by: Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World ||
08/19/2005 11:31 ||
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Hey, "Civil Liberties" douchebag. They're doing it for their own good, you friggin idiot!
But I'll bet if they got captured by some Iraqi "freedom fighters" and they were pulling the same shit, you'd have no problem with it, right?
#2
Nudity only occurs in advanced practical RTI training. Participants in basic practical training are only stripped to their underwear,"
We have that here, too. It's called the personals section of the Boston Phoenix.
Posted by: Joan Kennedy ||
08/19/2005 12:36 Comments ||
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#3
Because everybody knows, the Geneva conventions apply only to us, and not to them. So we mustn't train our soldiers to resist.
And besides, we must ignore that pesky part of the Geneva conventions that says that they only apply to uniformed combatants of a nation-state. Some guy caught red-handed with a black turban and an AK must receive the benefit of the doubt as to his guilt or innocence.
The Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy in south-eastern Turkey, the PKK, has announced a one-month ceasefire. The statement called on the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to hold fire until 20 September. But the PKK said rebels would defend themselves if attacked. Last week Turkey's prime minister described the situation in the south-east as a political problem which needed settling through more democracy. The PKK statement on Friday said the ceasefire call was a response to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's speech.
The PKK has been blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The rebels called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire last summer. More than 30,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has been going on for more than two decades.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 08:48 ||
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A Moroccan man who was friends with three of the 9/11 suicide hijackers has been found guilty in Germany of belonging to a terrorist organisation. Mounir al-Motassadeq, 31, was sentenced to seven years in prison following a year-long retrial.
Not quite grounds for ululation, but I'm happy to hear it. I was afraid they were going to let him off...
However, the court in Hamburg ruled there was no proof that he knew about the 11 September 2001 plot. Motassadek was originally convicted of those charges in 2003 but the verdict was overturned and a retrial ordered. After the original conviction was quashed by Germany's Supreme Court last year, the retrial heard new evidence - excerpts of interviews with key al-Qaeda suspects provided by the US. One of these told how Motassadek had taken part in vitriolic anti-US discussions in the home of hijacker Mohammed Atta, but also insisted he was not aware of the 9/11 plot.
"Nope. We never told him about it. We wanted it to be a surprise. I mean, he's vicious and all, but not very bright. His job was mostly going out for coffee..."
Prosecutors argued that Motassadeq provided key assistance to the "Hamburg cell", pointing out that he signed the will of Atta - believed to be the ringleader of the 19 suicide hijackers - and held power of attorney on the bank account of another hijacker. While the hijackers were attending flight training schools in the US, he used that power of attorney to handle the transfer of small amounts of money for them. Motassadek had also admitted attending an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in early 2000. But he has repeatedly denied any prior knowledge of the attacks on New York and Washington, saying that the favours he did for the hijackers were just part of being a good Muslim.
"Most of them were my lovers, but I don't think they really respected me..."
When Motassadek was originally convicted, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Following the quashing of that conviction he was released on bail. Announcing the fresh verdict, Judge Ernst-Rainer Schudt did not explain the reasons, but he criticised the US for not giving more evidence. Washington had refused to let the court question captured al-Qaeda suspects, citing security concerns, and released only excerpts of information the prisoners revealed during interrogation. "The point is we would have liked to have questioned them ourselves," said Judge Schudt. He said the summaries released by the US did not constitute "sufficient proof in either direction". The BBC's Ray Furlong in Berlin says the latest verdict is something of a surprise as there had been an expectation that Motassadeq would be acquitted, after a fellow Moroccan was cleared of having links to the 9/11 hijackers. Abdelghani Mzoudi was cleared by the same Hamburg court in February 2004 and the decision upheld by Germany's federal appeals court in June.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 08:34 ||
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Bavaria is expelling three suspected Islamist radicals from Germany, the southern state said on Thursday, as its tough home affairs chief positions himself to be Germanyâs next interior minister. âAnyone who wants to replace our free democratic order with an Islamist theocracy has no business here,â the Bavarian minister, Guenther Beckstein, said as he announced the expulsion of two Bosnians and a Moroccan.
The three were members of a group called Tablighi Jamaat whose followers aim to create an Islamic state, Becksteinâs ministry said in a statement. It said they were âmissionariesâ who had tried to spread extremist ideas including the value of âmartyrdomâ, a term also used by militants to justify suicide attacks. The three have until Sept. 10 to leave voluntarily or be deported. In its annual report released in May, Germanyâs domestic intelligence agency described Tablighi Jamaat as dedicated to peaceful means but said there was a risk the movement could be exploited by violent radicals.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Couldn't we put them on the Hindenburg all aflame?
--The three have until Sept. 10 to leave voluntarily or be deported.--
#2
The incident happened on Post and Kearny in front of the Ralph Lauren clothing store near the Crocker Galleria shopping center, the dispatcher said.
#5
Alright, PR, you got me there: it sounded like Judgement Day. Actually, it sounded like a damn large explosion followed by the unique cacophony of every fire truck, ambulance, and police car within ten miles converging on one place at one time.
I imagine that this was some sort of accident, although if it does turn out to have been a bomb it probably wasnât the ROP. Best guess would be that Earth First or the ALF is moving up (or would it be down?) in the world.
Tom Demartini, a construction worker who was sitting in his truck outside the store in the heart of the city, said he saw the sidewalk rise up six or seven inches.
"It sounded like a big poof, then there was a lot of smoke," Demartini said. "One woman looked like she was badly burned."
#11
I have seen nothing of this on the news in europe what time did it happen?
Posted by: Alex ||
08/19/2005 15:22 Comments ||
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"Transformers by themselves usually don't lift the sidfewalk 6 inches. I bet there was some explosive gas in the vault as well."
I said that a transformer caused the explosion. As far as the sidewalks, that' easy. Once a transformer is on fire underground, it releases gases, like carbon monoxide and because the fire happened underground, pressure builds up and as you say, BOOM!
Explosions that uplift sidewalks doesn't happen all in one explosion. First, the transformer explodes and catches on fire. Second, as the fire is burning, gas and pressure is building up. Then, usually a second or third explosion, uplifts a sidewalk.
#13
Sounds similar to DC's recent problems with exploding manhole covers in Georgetown. Washington Gas and PEPCO pointed fingers and made faces at each other for a while, but eventually settled on a joint operation of tearing up the streets and redoing all the cables and conduits. Also vented manhole covers to reduce pressure. It seems to have worked...for now.
#14
In California all underground stuff is usually vented but that doesn't get rid of built up gas. I am guessing the transformer set off some gas. That or some leftwing nut jobs head exploded while he was working underground.
This is not an article. I am currently working at the intersection of Market and Second streets in San Francisco. There has been a large explosion (or at least it sounded rather large) about one block from my current position in the Crocker Galleria Mall. There is a gunpowder type smell in the air and some small fires nearby. I will post more information when I have it. PLEASE post any information you may find.
#1
SF Chron has explosion in sewer at Kearney & Post blowing man hole cover off and injuring one. Buildings in the financial district are evacuating. Hard to tell what it is as it could easily be a utility related explosion based on the article. Police have not ruled terrorism in or out.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/19/2005 15:12 Comments ||
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That should be underground, not sewer. Electrical is current prime suspect.
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
08/19/2005 15:13 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD, Iraq â Masked gunmen seized three members of Iraq's largest Sunni Arab party and shot them to death in front of a mosque in northern Iraq, a day after gunmen elsewhere opened fire on Sunni leaders debating Iraq's constitutional process, injuring four people.
The violence came as followers of a radical Shiite cleric joined Sunni Arabs in protesting the inclusion of federalism in a new constitution, stepping up pressure on negotiators struggling to find a compromise just three days before a deadline to approve the charter. With Sunni Arab negotiators still holding out against federalism and some other Shiite and Kurdish proposals, pressure of a different kind was mounting on Sunnis who support the constitutional process.
The masked gunmen seized the three Sunni Arab members of the Iraqi Islamic Party in Mosul while they were hanging posters urging people to register to vote in a planned Oct. 15 referendum on the constitution that is being drafted. The attackers later blocked a major road in front of Dhi al-Nourein Mosque, then brought the three out of cars and forced them to stand against a wall before spraying them with gunfire. The gunmen fled and the bodies were left behind. The party has been urging Sunnis in recent weeks to register to vote in an October referendum on the new constitution. Many Sunnis boycotted the Jan. 30 elections following threats by insurgents seeking to derail the U.S.-backed political process and calls by clerics not to participate.
The shootings came a day after masked gunmen burst into the Sunni grand mosque in the tense city of Ramadi as religious, political, and tribal leaders met to discuss possible Sunni participation in the constitutional process. The gunmen asked participants to end their meeting, then opened fire on them, said Omar Seri, secretary of the governor of Anbar province. Three members of the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars and a bodyguard were injured, Seri said.
Negotiators from the biggest Shiite party have been pressing for federalism, hoping to create an autonomous region in areas they dominate in central and southern Iraq as Kurds have in the north â both areas rich in oil. But they also face opposition from within the majority religious community, including from followers of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who staged anti-federalism protests in several districts of Baghdad.
In mostly Shiite Sadr City, about 1,000 people demonstrated waving Iraqi and Shiite flags and chanting "No to separation, yes to unity."
"We reject federalism under occupation. Federalism does not represent our people's aspirations," said Abdelzahra al-Sueidi, an al-Sadr aide.
In Kazimiyah â another Shiite bastion â hundreds of al-Sadr supporters turned out at a protest, flying national flags and holding up banners reading "We want a united and stable Iraq." "After all, we are one united people whether we are Sunnis or Shiites, Kurds or Arabs," Hazim al-Aaraji, another al-Sadr aide, told the congregation in a Kazimiyah mosque during Friday prayers.
More than 1,000 people also rallied in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad, to protest the proposed constitution. The demonstrators chanted slogans against the proposed division of Iraq. U.S. officials are eager for the Iraqis to agree on a draft constitution by the new Monday deadline after they failed to strike a deal by the original Aug. 15 date. The United States believes a constitution would be a major step in the political transformation of Iraq and would help lure disaffected Sunni Arabs away from the Sunni-dominated insurgency. If parliament signs off on the draft, it will go to the voters for ratification in a referendum Oct. 15. But passions are running so high that a charter might sharpen sectarian and ethnic differences here, complicating political compromise. Talks were under way Friday in the heavily guarded Green Zone of central Baghdad. If the factions do not agree by the new deadline, parliament must be dissolved.
In Thursday's constitutional deliberations, Sunni Arab members of the drafting committee met with al-Jaafari to present their objections to federalism and other issues blocking an agreement. Afterward, leaders of the factions â Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds â conferred late into the night at the home of Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi. Haitham al-Husseini, a spokesman for the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq â the biggest Shiite party â said he expected a breakthrough within 48 hours.
Parliament voted unanimously last Monday to extend the deadline by one week after negotiations deadlocked over a number of issues. In addition to federalism, stumbling blocks included Kurdish demands for the right to secede, distribution of oil wealth and the role of Islam. Mahmoud Othman, a Kurdish lawmaker, said all sides were determined to finish the constitution on time "but the question is, would this draft satisfy the Sunni Arabs' demands."
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 13:50 ||
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Is there hazardous duty pay for putting up political posters in Iraq?
#4
where's that Tater pic where he's telling the sniper where to put it? damn
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/19/2005 18:49 Comments ||
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Interesting that Sadr doesn't want federalism.
My guess is that the southern Shia have some intention to leave Baghdad and thus Sadr city out on an oil-less limb.
Over 100 homemade bombs seized in Munshiganj
MUNSHIGANJ, Aug 18:âMore than 100 homemade bombs were seized from a house under lock and key at Baligaon in Tongibari upazila Thursday evening, reports UNB. Police held Rashida Begum (38) suspecting her involvement in making of the bombs. Tongibari thana OC Shah Alam said the bombs seemed not so powerful but enough to create panic by blasting them. Munshiganj is the only district where no bomb was blasted on Wednesday.
Looks like they found the bombs that were supposed to used there. Somebody oversleep?
JMB activists' confession
Three people including two Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) activists arrested in Satkhira and the capital have admitted to having carried out blasts in their districts Wednesday, the day a series of explosions rocked the entire country. Superintendent of Police (SP) in Satkhira Abdur Rahim yesterday told reporters that JMB had executed the almost synchronised blasts to free Ahle Hadith Chief Dr Galib, who had been arrested for alleged links to Bogra bombing.
Our Satkhira Correspondent reports: Nasir Uddin, 45, and Maniruzzaman Munna, 35, were held three hours into the bombings. Nasir, a farmer, and Munna, owner of a signboard shop, claimed themselves to be members of Jamaatul Mujahideen, and told police that they detonated bombs in two spots in the town Wednesday morning.
Police in plain clothes arrested Nasir at his Bakal Islampur house at about 1:30am after a tip-off by a local rickshawpuller. "The rickshawpuller said to have seen him carrying the bag that exploded shortly after he had dumped it near women and children's court [Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal]," said an official of Satkhira Sadar police. Following leads obtained from Nasir, police arrested Munna at his house in Itagacha area of the town. Munna told police that on August 15, Nayeem called him on his cellphone, saying he [Munna] has to do a 'dawati job'. Nayeem called him again on August 17 at 8:00am and asked him to meet him in a lane behind the women and children's court, police told reporters quoting Munna.
Munna, who also took Nasir with him, found an unknown man with two bags waiting for them. The man asked Munna to leave the bag in the court building after switching on the timer of the bomb. But he refused to do the job, as he feared police might identify him easily. So, Nasir took the bomb to the courthouse while Munna carried the other bag to Hospital-er More in the town. Police also picked up Anisur Rahman Khokan, 50, also a signboard shop owner, yesterday morning on suspicion of having involvement in the bombings.
Meanwhile, SP Abdur Rahim told reporters that they have been confirmed that the JMB cadres had unleashed the countrywide serial blasts. The arrestees also said Ahle Hadith Chief Dr Galib is their leader. "They ran the attacks to get their leader freed," the SP said yesterday. Satkhira police produced the two before a court, seeking 10 days' remand for each, but Magistrate Saidur Rahman granted eight days'. Sources said the two would soon be taken to Joint Interrogation Cell (JIC) for questioning.
DHAKA
Ramna police arrested Ruhul Amin Bachchu on a pavement between Hotel Sonargaon and Bangla Motors when a bomb inside the packet he was carrying exploded in his hands at 11:15am Wednesday.
"Oooh! Ow! Ow! Ow! My fingers! Where are my fingers!"
"Over there by the fireplug!"
"Thank Gawd! I was afraid I'd lost them!"
Detective Branch (DB) of police took him for questioning after treatment at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Sources in the police said Ruhul had confessed to having made the attack but Shahidul Islam, deputy commissioner of DB, denied the claim. On his confession, DB took the arrestee to the spot and several other places to learn more about the blasts.
"Don't kill me! I'm disabled! I ain't got no fingers!"
But the DC told The Daily Star last evening, "He is yet to admit the crime." Ruhul, however, claimed himself to be a labourer and said he had come across the packet on the pavement and right after picking it up, a bomb went off in his hands.
"Yeah! It wudn't mine! Somebody left it there!"
He was taken on a five-day remand yesterday.
"Remand him, Danno!"
Meanwhile, our Kushtia correspondent adds: Shamsul Alam, another JMB activist arrested in connection with Wednesday's countrywide explosions, had admitted his involvement in the blasts. Law enforcers, however, were tight-lipped about the information extracted from Alam, arrested Wednesday in Kushtia town. Police said Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) nabbed him from Chourhas area soon after the blasts.
"Drop the shutter gun, Alam!"
"I ain't got no shutter gun! Don't kill me!"
Alam told the local police that he was involved in the bombing in his region.
"I'll talk! I'll talk! I dunnit! I can show you the crime scene..."
"You can show us later!"
"When?"
"About 2 a.m.!"
He was sent to Dhaka yesterday for quizzing by the JIC.
"Don't let 'em get me!"
Our Kushtia correspondent gathered that Alam hails from Kishorinagar under Daulatpur upazila and is a regional leader of the JMB. According to the locals, he got military training from JMB leader Bangla Bhai in Natore three years ago. After the training, he had returned to his village and dedicated himself to organising the militant outfit, which now has at least 100 activists across the district. Alam had passed Alim exams in 2000 and Fazil in 2002 and joined local Shehala Dakhil Madrasha as an assistant teacher. While a student of madrasa, he was involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS), the student wing of ruling Jamaat-e-Islami.
JMB blamed for blasts-Police deployed at KPIs in Chitagong
CHITTAGONG, Aug 18: - Top detectives here in the port city today confirmed involvement of outlawed Jamaat-ul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) in yesterdayâs countrywide blasts. A dozen of the outlawed party workers have so far been taken into police custody today. The detainees were facing primary police interrogation till the time of writing this report.Live bomb carriers detained yesterday from different city points reportedly confessed to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) that they had never enrolled as the activists of any political party formal or outlawed.
"Really! We didn't! Don't kill us!"
The detainees reportedly admitted that they ultimately had refrained from planting the bombs even after they received Taka 1000 each for the job. Slow decision-making in discharging the assigned duty is believed to have left them into police handcuff. Investigators quoting the detainees said that the perpetrators of yesterdayâs blasts supplied money to the hired workers through unknown people.
"And what'd these unknown people look like?"
"They looked... ummm... kinda unknown."
"Mahmoud! Hit him again!"
Most of the bombers deployed yesterday were not known to each other. All security agencies are now in the field to figure out the dens of the militant and communal organization Jamaat-ul Mujahidin Bangladesh. Senior intelligence officials admitted that a methodical search plan had already been prepared to track down the leaders and workers of the underground anarchists.
It'll be interested to see which pols get indignant about the methodical search plan, though we'll probably never really see the detail of the politix working out. Bangla's press isn't as informative as the Pak press, possibly because their spelling and grammar are so bad...
Security arrangement at all key point installations (KPI) here in the port city has been reviewed today with adequate importance. New squads of plain clothed police have been deployed in and around the KPIs. Open operation of Jamaat-ul Mujahidin Bangladesh declared prohibited by the government in February this year when indiscriminate killing believed to have been perpetrated by the leaders and workers of the organization drew flak from different corners. The government also ordered arrest of the partyâs top leaders. Subsequently, police nabbed a professor of Arabic department of Rajshahi University Dr. Abdullah Al Galib on charge of preaching youths to fight a religious battle for establishing Islamic rule in the country. Detectives have information that Siddiqul Islam alias Bangla Bhai is leading the underground militant party. Despite frantic efforts by the top detectives and the security agencies Bangla Bhai could not be brought to justice.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 10:40 ||
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August 19, 2005: Suicide bombings have become less common, and arrests of terrorists have risen sharply in the past month. Actually, incarcerations have been climbing since last Fall, as more terrorists and gangsters are caught red-handed. Before that, many of the 50,000 arrests resulted in a brief interrogation, and release of the suspect. But now more bad people are being identified and kept incarcerated. Many of these are career criminals who had been freed by Saddam in 2002, or escaped in the confusion of the 2003 invasion. But the crime wave these thugs have generated in the past two years is coming to an end. The rampant criminality is the one thing all Iraqis are united in opposition to. More tribal vigilantes are being formed, and either killing gangsters, or pointing them out to police or coalition troops.
As a result of all this, the prisons are full. The number of prisoners held in U.S. detention centers has increased from 5.400 last September to about 11,000 now. Unlike the past, a larger proportion of these captives are hard core terrorists or gangsters and harder to deal with. The Iraqis are building new prison camps to take care of their own skyrocketing arrests. The Iraqis are also taking some of the gangsters being held by the Americans. This leaves the U.S. prisons with a more violent and active population, which requires more efforts by the guards, and more guards in general. American commanders have called for more troops just to take care of this larger, and more violent, prison population. An infantry battalion from the U.S. 82nd Airborne battalion is going to Iraq, and is likely to be more involved in dealing with the prisoners, than going out and collecting new ones.
Many potential prisoners, being hunted in their own towns and neighborhoods, have become more vicious in their attempts to terrorize their neighbors into supporting the cause. Sunni Arab leaders are increasingly subject to threats, and attacks. The long feared civil war within the Sunni Arab community is under way. It's actually been going on, and growing, for over a year. But now there are towns in western Iraq where armed factions regularly battle each other. Al Qaeda gangs are increasingly seen as "foreign occupiers", and attacked by nearly all factions in the Sunni Arab community.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 10:30 ||
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#1
This reminds me of a headline that I saw last year about prisons crowded despite the drop in crime. Sounds like Iraq need to start clean by dispatching some of the thugs.
#2
Headlines say they are going to execute 3 Ansar al Sunna thugs soon. I hope the trials get underway so they execute another 11,000 asap, including and or especially the foreign fighters.
I wish I could get more info on the clashes between Sunni's and jihadi's. I just can't get a grip on how this conflict is going. No enemy casualty reports versus 2-3 US fatalities/day. I guess some clarity that the bad guys are taking a beating would ofset some of the frustration of losing good men and women.
#3
The typical Iraqi on the street is becoming impatient with the government *not* executing thugs faster. While the current president is adamantly opposed to capital punishment, he understands the reality, though. If some candidate could promise to execute a hundred a week, he would be a shoe-in for president.
#5
These guys (Strategy Page), seem like they know what they are talking about. However, every time I hear this fairly good news, the papers talk about how it's getting worse. Even some high profile people are losing faith. I don't trust the MSM, but how do we decide what's true, if we don't get facts, just opposeing sides.
#6
The glass is half-empty.
The glass is half-full.
The glass isn't as full as it could be.
The glass isn't as empty as it could be.
The glass isn't as empty as it will be.
48% of those polled say the glass isn't full.
Due to the raging insurgency, more people see the glass as less than full compared to this time last year.
Unless more water is added to the glass, it will soon be less full than it is now.
John Kerry says more water should be added to the class to combat global dry air.
John Kerry is sure the glass used to have more water in it, but it's drying out due to global warming.
Howard Dean is sure the lower water level is due to a Karl Rove plot, planned and directed by his moron-of-a-boss.
Dan Rather says the glass should be more full.
No one knows how long the water has been in the glass, so it might not be safe to drink.
If you don't taste what's in the glass, how do you know it's not vodka?
Gimme some more time, I'll find other spins to the glass with some water in it.
Do you trust your president and his staff to adjust to changing conditions and make progress toward their stated goals? Do you believe there could be setbacks without losing the war, based on your historical knowledge of past conflicts?
Do you believe the media is more interested in ratings and selling ads than in informing you?
Can you develop any more factoids about the partially-filled glass of apparently clear liquid? Did you shake the glass to make sure it really is a liquid? Confused yet?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/19/2005 12:21 Comments ||
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#7
Perhaps Lynn Stewart will be available to help defend in the capital cases.
Posted by: Curt Simon ||
08/19/2005 12:41 Comments ||
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#8
Arrests up, bombings down. Not at all a suprising correlation is it?
A group claiming links to al Qaeda said on Friday it had fired rockets at a U.S. Navy ships in Jordan and an Israeli port, according to an Internet statement. The statement, which could not be authenticated, was signed by the Abdullah al-Azzam Brigades of the al Qaeda Organization in the Levant and Egypt. It was carried on an Islamist Web site not often used by other groups which say they are linked to Osama bin Laden's network. "A group of our mujahideen have targeted U.S. vessels in Jordan and (Israel's) Eilat port with three Katyusha rockets before safely returning to their base, as fast as our feet could carry us"
the statement said. "Zionists are a legitimate target and we warn the Americans, who are spreading their corruption throughout the world and who have stolen $64 a barrel is stealing? What's your government doing with all that moola, bub?
the wealth of the Muslim nation, to expect even more stinging attacks. We sting like bee, but float like fairy - errr - butterfly.
"This is our debut operation in Jordan," it added. "And as we have begun to destroy the throne of the Egyptian tyrant, we warn the Jordanian tyrant to release our jailed brothers and voluntarily abdicate before we force you to go."
Earlier this month, the group was one of several organizations that said it was behind the bomb attacks on a market and hotels in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It has also claimed the October 2004 bombings at another Egyptian Red Sea resort. Three rockets were fired at two U.S. Navy ships in Jordan's Aqaba port on Friday. They missed their targets and instead hit a warehouse and a hospital, killing a Jordanian soldier, and struck the Israeli port of Eilat. A Jordanian security source said authorities were searching for three men after the attack, which was launched from an industrial warehouse area near the entrance to the city.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/19/2005 07:31 ||
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#1
According to a different Rooters report, the rockets "narrowly" missed their targets. Hitting a warehouse, a hospital and a neighboring port. Yep, sounds pretty near to me.
#2
Got 'em in the right county, anyway. Most of them...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 12:22 Comments ||
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Most of them...
Heh. That gets my vote for Todays' Most Scathing Remark in the Fewest Words.
As I understand it, the Katyusha is basically a big-ass bottle rocket, normally fired in a barrage as an area weapon. These mooks did well to hit something besides the ground in their 'debut operation'.
#4
Well they didn't do much damage but give al-Q credit for being able to smuggle a bunch of Katyusha rockets to southern Jordan. It shows they have willing assistants among the bedouins and the Jordan Navy who are willing to take bribes for helping (the former) and looking away (the latter).
If they can do this, they can do other things that are
#5
This is not good news despite the "gang that couldn't shoot straight" nature of today's attack.
Prior to the USS Cole attack, there had been a failed, indeed bumbling attempt to attack I believe the USS The Sullivans. So the AQ boyz went draw to the ole drawing board and about a year or so later nearly sank the one billion dollar USS Cole and did indeed kill 17 sailors.
#7
Jordan has repeatedly shown the capability to kill make things uncomfortable for those who damage the countries' security/prestige. Expect painful beatings roundups woth occasional disappearances, far outweighing any PR benefit this "attack" made. If Abdullah learned anything from Dad, it was that a fist works when deployed - see "Black September"
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/19/2005 19:02 Comments ||
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Government troops in Nepal have killed six Maoist rebels in clashes in a western district which left a soldier injured, officials say. The clashes are said to have occurred during a search for rebels who took part in a deadly attack on an army camp in a neighbouring district last week. At least 70 soldiers and rebels were killed in the clash. It was some of the bloodiest fighting since King Gyanendra seized direct control of power in February.
In a separate incident, suspected rebels set off a home-made bomb in the residential complex of a royal adviser, Sachit Shumsher Rana, in the capital, Kathmandu. The bomb caused minor damage and no has been hurt. Clashes between rebels and government troops have increased since King Gyanendra assumed direct control of the country in February, saying politicians had failed to tackle the insurgency. The clash earlier this week provoked the United States to warn Nepal's king to return the country to democracy or face a slide towards chaos. About 12,000 people have died in the 10-year Maoist campaign which is aimed at replacing the monarchy with a communist republic.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 08:52 ||
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This is from American Forces Press Service, not the AP or BBC, AFP or CNN, so one must carefully consider the source. O.K., so I do detect a bit of optimism!
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2005 â Progress in Iraq continues, and this includes the work extension granted earlier this week to draft the country's new constitution, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman said today. "They have made substantial progress," Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said about the Iraqis during a Baghdad briefing today, "but needed more time to put together a document that will be the foundation of a free and democratic Iraq for years to come."
"As Iraq's President (Jalal) Talibani said after the vote to extend the work on the constitution, 'We should not be hasty regarding the issues and the constitution should not be born crippled,'" Lynch noted. The original deadline for the constitution was Aug. 15. Iraqi lawmakers, however, voted on the extension right before the deadline. "We are confident that the Iraqi people will complete this process and continue on the path toward elections for a permanent government at the end of this year," Lynch said.
He pointed out that coalition forces made gains when they shut down a chemical production facility and storage site in Mosul on Aug. 9. Forces acted on information obtained during interrogation of a detainee that insurgents were producing two chemical agents that, when combined, created lethal gas.
The facilities actually contained many different chemicals still being analyzed. Security operations this week proved fruitful as well.
"This week, 100 percent of the brigade level operations by coalition forces were conducted jointly with the Iraq security forces," Lynch said. "We continue to be impressed by the dedication and courage of these forces."
More than 180,000 trained and equipped Iraqi security force members are duty across Iraq, and "they are making a difference," he said. Those combined operations detained more than 129 insurgents, including foreign fighters and multiple weapons caches across Iraq.
Reconstruction is seeing some "amazing" progress, Lynch pointed out. "Last November, there were significant military operations in (Fallujah)," he said. "By this November we will have completed 438 projects totaling $71.3 million and will continue the progress with an additional 19 projects worth over $65 million after the elections." The people of Fallujah, he said, have reliable access to electricity and water, and can send their children to one of the 49 schools now open. Fallujans also will soon have their own TV and radio station.
Lynch also announced a new link, "This Week in Iraq," on the Multinational Force Iraq Web site that will highlight progress being made. "That link will give audiences worldwide simple access to the amazing number of good news stories across Iraq," he said.
Continued insurgent actions, such as the bombing attacks in Baghdad Aug. 17 that killed dozens of civilians, Lynch explained, are just proof of the insurgents' complete lack of regard for human life. "We would like to extend our condolences to the families of the innocent Iraqi civilians the that were murdered during the horrific attacks here in Baghdad yesterday," Lynch said. "Those attacks show the depths (to which) the terrorists will stoop to target the innocent civilian population. "They not only used car bombs to kill innocent civilians at bus stops and taxi stands, but also to kill those Iraqis who were rendering medical care to the injured."
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/19/2005 07:31 ||
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#1
Statement By Jordanian Official Source
Amman, Aug. 19 (Petra) -- A Jordanian official source stated the following:
Three katyusha rockets were fired about 8:30 am Friday 19/8/2005, from a warehouse in Aqaba area where the first hit a warehouse for the Jordan Armed Forces in the port and resulted in martyring the Jordanian soldier Ahmad Jamal Najdawi and wounding another, and the second exploded near the military hospital where the third exploded in Eilat area in Israel. First-hand investigations pointed that the warehouse was rented few days ago by four persons carrying the Iraqi and Egyptian nationalities.
Upon directives from His Majesty King Abdullah II, HRH Prince Hashem Ben Al Hussein the Regent, accompanied by a number of security officials arrived in Aqaba to follow up the incident.
http://www.petra.gov.jo/nepras/2005/Aug/19/26968000.htm
#2
DEBKAfile Exclusive: The multiple Katyusha rocket attack Friday on Jordanâs Aqaba port, US naval shipping docked there and the twin Israeli Red Sea port-resort of Eilat was the work of a Jordanian al Qaeda team controlled by Abu Musab al Zarqawi.
August 19, 2005, 11:47 AM (GMT+02:00)
1. Two US warships anchored in Aqaba. One, the USS Ashland landing ship with elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Force aboard, was just missed and damaged. The rocket struck a warehouse on a nearby pier. No US marines or sailors were hurt. Both ships have put out to sea.
2. Another rocket exploded on the Emir Haya base parade ground during drill practice and is believed to have killed at least one Jordanian soldier and wounded several.
3. The Katyusha aimed at Eilat landed on a road outside the airport, exploded partiall and injured one Israeli. Aqaba port was cleared of shipping and Eilat airport closed. DEBKAfileâs Eilat sources report Jordan has imposed curfew on eastern Aqaba and is scouring the town for the missile launchers and brought in military reinforcements. Israeli and Jordanian security are cooperating in the investigation
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 9:02 Comments ||
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#3
I was hoping to see some counter-fire instead of retreating from the terrorists.
The good news is that this happened from Jordan. Jordan have friendly relations with us and Israel. Whomever, shot these missiles, better leave Jordan now because I can the see the DeWalt saw and drill kit being fitted with brand new blades and bits.
You're right, these two vessels can't but we have plenty ships that can do it. Bottomline, this better not go unpunished and punished publicly. In other words, no "Law Enforcement Method." Gather intelligence quickly and retaliate harshly.
#7
They couldn't even see them coming, main search radars have to be turned off coming into port. They tend to fry shore-side electronics. My Navy brother-in-law told me a story about how a ET on a destroyer turned on the big radar in Naples, I think it was. Blew up every light in a local hardware store.
Posted by: Steve ||
08/19/2005 10:09 Comments ||
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#8
I doubt Phalanx would be turned on in port. Too much clutter and chance for mis-targeting. I assume they fired the 122mm Katyusha. It has a 40 pound non-armor piercing blast-frag warhead. It might have been embarassing if it hit, but wouldn't do much damage, maybe not even penetrate the hull.
Posted by: ed ||
08/19/2005 10:18 Comments ||
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#9
And it's not complete without the official Jihadi Seal of Approval:
"A group of our mujahideen have targeted U.S. vessels in Jordan and Eilat port with three Katyusha rockets before safely returning to their base," the statement said.
"Zionists are a legitimate target and we warn the Americans, who are spreading their corruption throughout the world and who have stolen the wealth of the Muslim nation, to expect even more stinging attacks.
"This is our debut operation in Jordan," it added. "And as we have begun to destroy the throne of the Egyptian tyrant, we warn the Jordanian tyrant to release our jailed brothers and voluntarily abdicate before we force you to go."
Not a very impressive "debut" boys. Hope you can run fast.
#10
..The Navy then implemented measures aimed at increasing the physical security of ships in port.
HELL YEAH
Hope Jordan will do a search and destroy of sorts
Posted by: Jan ||
08/19/2005 10:32 Comments ||
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#11
aqabas not all that big, and its pretty isolated. Desert all around. Only other nearby population center is Eilat,Israel, and Im pretty sure the jihadis arent running THERE. So the Jordanians need to surround the city - one main road going north to the more populated parts of Jordan, I think. And the Saudi border, nearby.
The sharm bombing showed these guys have beduin contacts. Most likely theyll try to escape through the desert, probably into Saudi first, then to Anbar prov in Iraq.
Of course IF this is Iraqi blowback, it seems kind of stupid. Youve just learned all about planting IEDs, making car bombs, and you try to rocket a SHIP?!?!?!
Okay, you're kicking our butts & cutting off supply lines in northern Iraq but we got buddies! buddies wid rockets!! in Jordan, the ole man's home of record!!! we're contendahs!!!!
A group of our mujahideen have targeted U.S. vessels
Can't hit the side of a barn, but we targeted 'em. Maybe they'll scare people and kill a couple Jordanians or somethin'.
#13
Of course IF this is Iraqi blowback, it seems kind of stupid. Youve just learned all about planting IEDs, making car bombs, and you try to rocket a SHIP?!?!?!
LH,
This is probably indicative of a lack of a deep infrastructure in that region (as you indicated isolated desert; cue the Lawrence of Arabia soundtrack). If you have a lot of horses in the stable, then you can send forth the troops to do small operations. If they get picked off, so be it; there's more where they came from. But if you don't have depth, then you have to figure you'll get one chance before the security forces roll up your operations. And if you've only got one chance, you better make it big, Big, BIG!
#14
well theyve just blown their cell to kill one Jordanian soldier, and to scare the living daylights out of an Israeli cabdriver. Doesnt seem like a cost effective effort.
#17
Trying to hit a destroyer with a katyusha. Good luck. Those things are area weapons, not point weapons. Trying to hit something with one is like trying to hit a car from a skyscraper with a rock from 3 blocks away.
#18
Well, I think there's probably a lot of "Being Dr. Evil" going on in Al Qaeda circles. One cannot be satisfied with a mere shark; it must have laser beams in its head as well. In this case, you're correct: you could more easily have sent one man to walk on the pier and shoot the soldier, but image is so important in the Arab world. No, the shark has to have laser beams.
Posted by: Number Two ||
08/19/2005 19:36 Comments ||
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#21
The PHALANX is part a ship's "last ditch" defense ags anti-naval missles, and was never designed or intended to be target-selective - once the button is pushed, the missle/rocket plus anything on the PHALANX's radars, and includ all persons inside same, would be obliterated in mini-seconds.
* "Sighted Rocket, Sank/Shredded Harbor". The PHALANX is a violent, devastating weapon system - even with upgrades, about the best the Navy's CO's can do vv target-selectivity - read, protection of innocents - is to TRY and get the PHALANX to fire all its rounds in a single direction/vector so as to narrow its scope of destruction - read, "acceptable/collateral casualties"!?
Pakistan has arrested a purported number 3 senior figure in the Taleban militia near the border with Afghanistan, officials said on Thursday. An intelligence official said Ustad Mohammed Yasir was arrested last week along with another man near the northwestern town of Nowshera. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao confirmed the arrest but did not give any details.
"We can say no more!"
Sherpao and Leslie Neilson were separated at birth, I believe...
The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of his job, said Yasir had been a spokesman for fugitive Taleban supreme leader Mullah Omar after the ouster of the hardline regime in late 2001. However, Yasir was not a ranking Taleban member during its rule, although he had served on a prominent council of Islamic clerics at that time.
Ah, a number 33.
The intelligence official said that Yasir, in his 50s, was previously a close aide of an Afghan Islamist faction leader, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, but joined the Taleban rebels after Sayyaf decided to back U.S.-supported Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
Taleban hierarchical system [mos]
# 1.0 The one-eyed goon himself, El Senior Cross Eye.
# 2.1TPt assistant turbin and patch tender.
# 2.1GmTf assistant Goat milker & Turbin fluffer.
# ..
# ..
# ..
# 3.0 "We can say no more!"
Question: Are all Tabeban senior level? Do they have a junior level or rookie club?
Posted by: Captain America ||
08/19/2005 8:12 Comments ||
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#3
They're all senior level because they possess the unprecedented ablility, to chant "Death to America" after the word "peck" in the tongue twister below.
"Peter Piper picked a peck "Death to America" of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck "Death to America" of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper Picked a peck "Death to America" of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck "Death to America" of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?"
Iraq yesterday said the rush-hour bombings that rocked Baghdad sought to create a sectarian crisis in the war-torn country as fresh rebel violence killed 12, including four US soldiers. At the same time, Russian Vladimir Putin called for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops and the holding of an international conference on Iraq.
At least 43 people were killed Wednesday when three car bombs ripped through a central Baghdad bus station and a nearby hospital, shattering the capitalâs relative calm of recent weeks. Insurgents continued their attacks yesterday, killing four US soldiers and eight other Iraqis, including a child, elsewhere in the country. The soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the northern town of Samarra, the US military said, taking to around 50 the US military deaths across Iraq in August, according to an AFP tally based on Pentagon figures. Another US military convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in Baghdad early yesterday with Iraqi officials reporting some American casualties in the blast although the US military had no immediate comment. âOur troops have seen American soldiers evacuating some of their wounded colleagues from the humvee after it hit the bomb,â a Defense Ministry source said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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Banned Islamic extremist group Jamayetul Mujahideen is linked to a wave of bombings across Bangladesh that killed two people and injured 100, police said Thursday. âOne of them has confessed that he was Jamayetul Mujahideenâs local leader and that he carried out an attack here,â said Abdur Rahim, superintendent of police in Satkhira district, where two people were detained. âWe are still questioning both men to get an idea about this organisation,â Rahim said. The home ministry said leaflets bearing the name of Jamayetul Mujahideen were found at all the blast scenes.
Jamayetul Mujahideen and another hardline group, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh, were banned in February for alleged links to a series of bombings of non-governmental groups, religious shrines and other targets. Bangladesh security forces arrested almost 90 people in connection with a wave of simultaneous bombings that police said Thursday were linked to a banned group of Muslim extremists. Around 350 small homemade bombs exploded on Wednesday within an hour of each other in almost every town or district across the country, killing two people and injuring more than 100.
Put RAB on the case. That'll get 'em under control...
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#1
I am thinking that Crossfire$#8482; incidents are soon to follow.
KOLKATA: Police in eastern India said on Thursday they were questioning two men arrested in connection with distributing leaflets and raising money for an organisation which had Al Qaeda as part of its name. The flyers explained in Urdu that the money would be used by 'mujahideen' (holy warriors) fighting in support of Muslims around the world. The coupons were sold under the name of Mujahideen Al Qaeda Pacific International.
I wonder if this is the same bunch they had the other day or another bunch?
Posted by: Fred ||
08/19/2005 00:00 ||
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#2
Kolkata is a mixed city like Bombay, but 95% of the people speak the Bengali language. If these two were passing out flyers in the Urdu language, then there are targeting to create a potential Pakistani cell in India. Urdu language is the native language of Pakistan.
The rule is simple. The young Pakistani in Kolkata who is willing to donate to the mujahideen, then he is a strong candidate for a senior level position and therefore a potential terrorist or homicide bomber is recurited, within India.
The truth is the status of "senior level" means nothing. Bottomline, this is excellent work from people on the ground. I believe the Indian police nipped a terrorist cell in its infancy. Indian agencies don't put up walls. All agencies will work together to eliminate threats from within.
In India, God comes first and the flag is second in line.
#3
Urdu is an official Indian language and is quite commonly used in parts of the country (esp Punjab). Cities like Calcutta with large immigrant populations will have tens of thousands of Urdu speakers, not necessarily illegal Pakistani immigrants.
India's PM gave a speech recently which he wrote himself. It was written in chaste Urdu.
Posted by: john ||
08/19/2005 14:31 Comments ||
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#4
I never said that Urdu wasn't not an official language of India. I know that in Kolkata, there are three main languages, Hindi, Bengali, and Urdu.
I just simply made a statement that Urdu is an official language of Pakistan. You are right, they are not necessarily Pakistani immigrants. Also, on the other hand, they can be Pakistani, couldn't they? I believe, I did say "potential Pakistani."
My point is that Kolkata is 15% poor Muslim and its an recruiting rich environment. Speaking Urdu gives the Muslims in Kolkata advantage when end up in Pakistan for terrorist training via Haj Saudi Arabia.
I want to give lots of credit to the Indian police. I think they averted a huge disaster.
#5
on the other hand, they can be Pakistani, couldn't they? I believe, I did say "potential Pakistani."
You're right. There are now tens of thousands of illegal pakistani immigrants living in India. During the recent cricket test series, a large number of "fans" never went back.
Most illegals are probably economic migrants but will be vulnerable to the call to jihad.
And yes, the Indian police and IB (intelligence bureau) are quite effective.
Posted by: john ||
08/19/2005 15:20 Comments ||
Top||
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.
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