Rome, 28 Dec. (AKI) - A video of the decapitation of an Afghan hostage, posted to al-Qaeda-linked websites on Wednesday, bears the stamp of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It's the first published video showing the beheading of a hostage in the hands of an Afghan terrorist cell. Five minutes long, it shows many of the trade marks of videos published by al-Zarqawi's Organisation of al-Qaeda in Iraq from the ritual forced confession to the beheading and a gruesome finale.
Entitled "Death Sentence" the new video echoes the production techniques used in the films of al-Qaeda in Iraq, with the victim appearing before the camera for a forced confession. "My name is Sayd Allah Khan and I am from the Khost province" the man says, speaking in Pashtu. "I work as a spy for the Americans along with four other people. My job is to blow up Islamic schools in Waziristan -[a tribal area on the Afghan-Pakistan border] The group receives 45,000 dollars and my share is 7,000 dollars," he says.
The first part of the film ends with an appeal from the victim to others not to collaborate with the Americans "so as not to end up like me". After the forced confession, the second gruesome segment shows the decapitation. Before showing the man having his thoat slit, there are several seconds of images of President George W. Bush and American troops, just time for the narrator to pronounce the name "al-Zarqawi". Then seven hooded men are shown holding the victrim to the ground, one is tasked with the decapitation while the others yell "Allah is great" and, speaking in Pashtu, urge people to jihad (Holy War). The film concludes with an image of Sayd Allah Khan's head placed on top of his body, the same finale that was used in the early videos of jihadi groups.
The video was shot on 12 September though only recently posted on the Internet. It is not possible to ascertain whether the execution was carried out by Taliban or by al-Qaeda militants. There have recently been reports of joint operations in southern Afghanistan. The video bears the symbol "Labbaik" of the video production company used by jihadi groups in Afghanistan and that several weeks ago posted a brief film of the four suspected terrorists who had escaped from the Afghan base of Bagram. This latest video reveals how the practice of decapitation initiated by al-Zarqawi and, in the early days, resisted by the leadership of al-Qaeda, has reached Afghanistan.
Furthermore the frames in which Bush appears and the name of al-Zarqawi being pronounced, could have been specially inserted to celebrate the Jordanian-born terrorist who is now believed to be a key member of the leadership of the al-Qaeda network.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 08:52 ||
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Dummies. Make sure knowledge that Arabs are beheading Afghans gets wide publicity in Afghanistan. The give rewards for ratting them out.
Posted by: ed ||
12/28/2005 9:15 Comments ||
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ed: Make sure knowledge that Arabs are beheading Afghans gets wide publicity in Afghanistan.
They're speaking in Pashtu. I guess this means they're Afghans. Makes no difference, though - I think beheading Muslims is bad PR for the Taliban or al Qaeda. Beheading infidels is fine - but doing it to Muslims is going to get a lot of other Muslims angry.
December 28, 2005: Some companies that operate freighters or fishing vessels in pirate infested waters, such as those off Somalia or those around the Straits of Malacca, have begun to take steps to enhance ship security. Both passive and active anti-piracy measures have been seen in use. Many of the passive measures are similar to those already in use in the waters of the region by smugglers and others who prefer not to be boarded by customs officials or warships forming part of the coalition against international terrorism. For example, lining the shipâs rail with barbed wire, welding shut some hatches, and so forth.
Since merchant ships can afford to have only two or three men on watch most of the time, some companies have supplied their ships with automated surface radars, to sound alarms if anything approaches, and have even placed motion sensors on their ships, in case someone attempts a surreptitious boarding.
Quite a number of ânon-lethal weaponsâ have also been adopted, such as the powerful sonic âcannonâ that a luxury cruise ship used a few months to discourage attack. In addition, some ships are reportedly using fire hoses and even steam lines, that can be played on anyone attempting to board. Another measure is to uses an electrified âfenceâ jutting out from the shipâs sides that can provide an intruder with a 9,000 volt jolt. Less spectacular measures include the use of pepper sprays and âtanglefootâ foams or glues that can be sprayed on decks. One technology reportedly in the works uses low frequency sound waves that are supposed to induce bowel movements.
The "so-called" Brown Note. Mythbusters tested this and found it to be un-proven.
Reportedly, some companies have been quietly providing arms to their merchant seamen, though this is generally denied. Nevertheless, at least some vessels working along the Somali coast have been found to have small, heavily armed security details aboard, hired through agents of the more reliable autonomous regimes in Somaliland and Puntland, in the northern part of the country.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 10:42 ||
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The "so-called" Brown Note. Mythbusters tested this and found it to be un-proven.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/28/2005 12:12 Comments ||
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using fire hoses and even steam lines,
Not a myth, live steam really works.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/28/2005 12:47 Comments ||
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Not a myth, live steam really works.
Especially if you like your pirate lobster-style.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2005 13:23 Comments ||
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I've noticed that most of these pirate reports state that 5 pirates boarded.
That's interesting, if they leave one man to guard their boat that means that the number of pirates is actualy small.
Instead of defending against them, sink their small boat, preferably before they board your ship, that will put them out of business very shortly.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/28/2005 19:30 Comments ||
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Especially in the heavily shark-infested waters off Somalia.
Moroccan security forces have dismantled a suspected terrorist cell that was said to be plotting attacks in the North African kingdom. Eleven Moroccans were detained in sweeps of the allegedly nascent terrorist group believed to have links to a radical Islamic movement, the official Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) news agency reported on Tuesday, citing unidentified police officials. The report did not indicate the location or time of the arrests, but said the group was active along the border of neighbouring Algeria and Mali to the south.
Its alleged leader, Mohamed Said Idghiri, was described as a militant in a radical Islamic group with international ties. He was detained on returning from secret paramilitary training in the border area, with plans to carry out attacks, MAP said but did not elaborate. The suspects are to appear in court.
Last month, the authorities arrested 17 Moroccans accused of links to al-Qaida and of planning to carry out attacks on tourist sites and public buildings in the kingdom. Morocco has stepped up its counter-terrorism measures after five near-simultaneous attacks in Casablanca in May 2003 that killed 45 people, including 12 bombers.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 11:08 ||
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Five Saudi policemen died Tuesday by a suspected "terrorist" who went on a rampage. A Saudi Interior ministry statement said the gunman was arrested.
The ministry stated he shot dead three policemen at a checkpoint in northern Qassim province.
The gunman earlier killed two policemen on patrol near the town of Buraida. Al Arabiya television network said the man was on a list of 36 wanted "militants" linked to al Qaeda.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/28/2005 12:44 ||
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Oops! Looks like Hamza has bitten the hand that feeds. Again!
See what happens when you pay protectionist money to murderous thugs? Eventually, they turn on you.
A member of the Saudi Arabian branch of Al Qaeda terror network, who was on the kingdom's most-wanted list, was shot dead by police, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Mohammed Abdel-Rahman al-Suwailimi, 23, a Saudi citizen, died Tuesday after being shot by police in pursuit of him for the shooting deaths of five policemen earlier in the day near Buraydah, some 300 km northwest of Riyadh. Al-Suwailimi was number seven on the list of 36 people issued by Saudi authorities last June in connection with terrorist incidents. Authorities said they had recovered six hand-grenades, three machine guns, five revolvers, ammunition and fake license plates in the car al-Suwailimi was driving. They also found a cache of gold jewellery and Saudi currency worth more than $1,00,000. According to the most-wanted list, al- Suwailimi was skilled in the use of computers and the Internet.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/28/2005 12:44 ||
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According to the most-wanted list, al- Suwailimi was skilled in the use of computers and the Internet.
...Which means he was roughly equivalent in skillz to my 16 year old niece. Feh.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/28/2005 18:42 Comments ||
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NAJRAN, 28 December 2005 â A deadly fight between members of two tribes in Yadma, in the southern Najran region, last week resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man, Al-Watan reported. The cause of the clash, in which three others were wounded, was unknown.
Don't take much to set them off
The violence continued after members of one tribe pursued two brothers of the murder victim, firing shots in an attempt to kill them.
"Keep after em, boys! We'll teach them they can't mess wid us'n!"
The brothers escaped when members of their tribe answered with gunfire.
"Hey, where'd they git so many guns? Curly toed slippers, don't fail us now!"
About 200 members of the police and Special Forces swooped in to control the situation. Some arrests were made. Authorities closed down all routes in and out of Yamda in an attempt to round up the suspects.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 11:48 ||
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Riyadh â Police on Wednesday shot dead a militant on Saudi Arabia's most-wanted list, the second major terror suspect to die in the country in 24 hours, a Saudi security official said. Abdel-Rahman Saleh Abdel-Rahman al-Mutab, who was No. 4 on the list of the kingdom's 15 most-wanted suspects, was fatally shot north of Riyadh, the security official said. Police had been chasing Mr. al-Mutab since he escaped from the running gun battle in which fellow militant Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Mohammed al-Suwailmi, No. 7 on the most-wanted list, killed five policemen before being fatally wounded Tuesday, officials said. The deaths of the two militants brings to 10 the number of people on the most-wanted list who have been captured or killed. The list was issued in June.
The latest clash began Tuesday when Mr. al-Suwailmi shot and killed two policemen in a drive-by attack outside the city of Buraydah, northwest of Riyadh, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. He then sped 12 miles southwest and sprayed gunfire at a security checkpoint near the town of Al-Midhnab, killing three more officers, the agency said. Police chased the car and fired at it. Mr. al-Suwailmi was wounded, captured and died later of his wounds, the statement said.
The ministry said a second militant escaped by bravely hijacking a woman's car at gunpoint, forcing her and her driver out. The security official identified the militant as Mr. al-Mutab, but he could not immediately give the circumstances in which Mr. al-Mutab was killed. Police found several grenades and other weapons in the car after Mr. al-Suwailmi was captured, the ministry said.
Mr. al-Suwailmi, 23, was involved in recruitment and propaganda for Islamic militant groups, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya satellite television reported. It was not immediately clear whether he was directly linked with any specific attacks. Saudi officials reported in September that police killed Mr. al-Suwailmi along with four other militants in a gun battle in the eastern city of Dammam. But Mr. al-Suwailmi soon afterward released an audiotape on the Internet saying he was still alive, and Saudi authorities backed off the claims.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 08:45 ||
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Ahhh, good news as the year reaches its finale.
Five German tourists have been reported missing in eastern Yemen, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman says. It is unclear whether the tourists had been kidnapped, but that every effort was being made to ensure their safety, the spokesman said.
"Hans, where should we holiday this year?"
"I don't know, Gertrude, Algeria is just so predictible. I've got it, Yemen!"
Last week two Austrian tourists were kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen who had been demanding the release of their relatives from prison. The tribesmen released the tourists unharmed on Saturday. German spokesman Martin Jaeger said the tourists, who are members of the same family, were on an organised tour when their vehicle was "delayed". "The foreign office is in contact with all the relevant authorities and is trying to find out where this family could be," he added. "We will make every effort to bring this family to safety as quickly as possible."
UPDATE: The former German deputy foreign minister and his family have been kidnapped while on a touring holiday in Yemen, according to reports on German state television.
Bagged them a choice set of hostages, did they?
Unidentified sources in Berlin and Yemen identified the hostages as Juergen Chrobog, his wife and three children.
Germany to cave in 5..4..3...
The five were travelling in a two-car convoy in an area called al-Irim, Shabwa province, in the east of the country, when a group of armed tribesmen surrounded their vehicles, Yemeni government officials said. The Germans were forced out of their cars and into the vehicles of the gunmen, who then sped off. It is understood that the kidnap is intended to put pressure the Yemeni government for the release of jailed members of their tribe. The kidnappers belonged to the al-Abdullah bin Dahha tribe, a number of whose members were arrested two months ago after a clash with another tribe. The bin Dahha tribe has accused the government of favoring the second tribe.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 08:34 ||
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Curious that they are Germans, don't you think? Only a few days after the Germs cut a deal with terrorists in another country. I'd say they were kidnapped, and they know Germany will bend to their will. Reap what you sow guys.
#2
What is it with people wanting to vacation in Yemen? Their loss seems worthy of a Darwin Award. The only tour operator I'd go to Yemen with is the United States Marine Corps.
#3
Yemen is a quite beautiful country and you don't need the USMC to hold your hand if you decide to travel there.
I bet it was totally happenstance that the people kidnapped were German- if it is a conspiracy against Germany, that would be pretty impressive planning. Yemen is extremely tribal in nature, and I think that this is what it is- some tribesmen who want some "justice".
#5
IIRC, this whole kidnap thing was one of the draws for tourists. You get to live the whole Adventures of Tin-Tin thing, the only problem was when Yemeni gov't had a disagreement with kidnappers one time and hosed down the hostages with AK fire. This tends to spoil what should have been the trip of a lifetime.
Posted by: bruce ||
12/28/2005 18:14 Comments ||
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Police on Wednesday shot dead a militant on Saudi Arabia's most-wanted list, the second major terror suspect to die in the country in 24 hours, a Saudi security official said. Abdel-Rahman Saleh Abdel-Rahman al-Mutab, who was No. 4 on the list of the kingdom's 15 most-wanted suspects, was fatally shot north of Riyadh, the security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Police had been chasing al-Mutab since he escaped from the running gunbattle in which fellow militant Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Mohammed al-Suwailmi, No. 7 on the most-wanted list, killed five policemen before being fatally wounded Tuesday, officials said. The deaths of the two militants brings to 10 the number of people on the most-wanted list who have been captured or killed. The list was issued in June.
The latest clash began Tuesday when al-Suwailmi shot and killed two policemen in a drive-by attack outside the city of Buraydah, northwest of Riyadh, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. `He then sped 12 miles southwest and sprayed gunfire at a security checkpoint near the town of Al-Midhnab, killing three more officers, the agency said. Police chased the car and fired at it. Al-Suwailmi was wounded, captured and died later of his wounds, the statement said.
"He's dead, Jim!"
The ministry said a second militant escaped by hijacking a woman's car at gunpoint, forcing her and her driver out. The security official identified the militant as al-Mutab, but he could not immediately give the circumstances in which al-Mutab was killed. Police found several grenades and other weapons in the car after al-Suwailmi was captured, the ministry said. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
12/28/2005 08:14 ||
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The German state of Bavaria banned a radical Islamist group on Wednesday, saying materials seized from its offices urged Muslims to murder Jews and Christians.
"With todayâs ban of the Multi-Kultur-Haus (MKH) association, Bavaria is making the limits clear to supporters of foreign extremist organisations," the stateâs interior minister, Guenther Beckstein, said in a statement.
He said authorities raided the associationâs offices on Wednesday morning and seized a number of items. As the group is based in Bavaria, the ban effectively shuts it down.
Bavarian authorities had been watching the MHK in the town of Neu-Ulm for some time. Security officials had previously seized textbooks and other publications, materials Beckstein said clearly showed the groupâs radical nature.
One book seized from the MHK library called on Sunni Muslims to "execute Jews and Christians as infidels," the statement said.
An audio cassette said: "Oh worthy ones, oh friends of love, send us bombs to kill the Jews with. No to the Jews, no to the Jews!"
A confiscated compact disc glorified the death of martyrs and described the rebellion in Chechnya as "a wonderful example of Islamic unity thanks to brother Muslims from all over the world who have joined the Jihad."
Beckstein, who has deported Islamists in the past for what Germany calls "preaching hate," warned of further moves against any similar groups.
"Organisations which are aggressive in nature ... and call for the use of violence will not be tolerated here," he said.
Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese origin who was mistakenly kidnapped by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and imprisoned for five months in Afghanistan, is from Neu-Ulm.
A German security official told Reuters last week that Masri appeared to be a fringe player on the townâs Islamist scene before he was seized by the CIA under its "rendition" policy of moving terrorism suspects from one country to another.
A Hamburg-based cell of al Qaeda has been blamed for the September 11 attacks on America. Since then, Germany has cracked down on Muslim militants living in the country and has had a number of high-profile trials of radical Islamists.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/28/2005 12:50 ||
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Turkish police detained five people Monday on suspicion of plotting to assassinate the governor of the mainly Kurdish eastern province of Van on New Year's Eve, local security officials said. The operation in Van city was carried out jointly by anti-terror police and intelligence units. The detainees, among them two women, were suspected of plotting to assassinate Van Governor Niyazi Tanilir and other local officials, the sources said.
The police also seized a pistol, explosives and about 200 bullets in the homes of the suspects. There was no immediate word on whether the suspects belonged to any outlawed group. The separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States, is active in the region and has attacked government targets in the past.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 00:00 ||
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Srinagar, India Dec 28: Three Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) terrorists including its deputy divisional commander and a fidayee were killed by troops during an encounter at Khrew Pampore on Tuesday night, police said. A house was also destroyed in the gunfight.
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 15:15 ||
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The three were pakistanis...
According to CNS the troops of victor force with the help from Delhi Police laid siege around a group of militants at Nagroo Mohalla Pampore on Wednesday night. The militants and troops, according to the news agency exchanged heavy gunfire triggering a fierce encounter. In the ensuing gun battle three Jaish-e-Muhammad militants including its deputy divisional commander Qari Suhail and his associates Afaaq Ahmad and Danish of Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PaK) were killed.
Quoting the spokesman of Victor Force, the news agency said the siege was laid with the help of Delhi Police and army intelligence wing. One of slain militant Afaaq, according to the news agency was a fidayee. The slain militants according to the victor force spokesman was wanted for many attacks on troops. Troops have also recovered arms and ammunition from the encounter site. The local residents said the house of Muhammad Akram Bhat was completely destroyed with mortar shells by the troops.
Quoting the spokesman of JeM Abu Quduma, the news agency further said the troops laid a siege around the militants asking them to surrender. The militants declined the surrendered offer and engaged the troops in a gunbattle killing 15 soldiers in the firefight. He said, âin the gunfight, three of the outfit militants including the area commander Qari Abdul Wahid alias Qari Suhail of Pakistan, Muhammad Sadiq alias Danish Maweya of Pakistan and Afaaq Ahmad of Palandri Muzaffarabad were martyred.â
The outfit spokesman further said the chief operations commander of the outfit Badri Baba has paid glowing tributes to the slain militants.
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 15:31 Comments ||
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India Wednesday successfully test fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush from a warship in the Bay of Bengal, defence ministry sources said. The missile was launched from INS Rajput that was anchored 40 km offshore between Paradeep port and the test range Chandipur in Orissa's Balasore district at about 1.58 p.m., the sources said.
... Older picture showing launch from smaller offshore patrol vessel
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 14:10 ||
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Ideal tool for urban redevelopment in Karachi...
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 16:38 Comments ||
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I wonder if they can shoot when they aren't anchored.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/28/2005 17:08 Comments ||
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Depends on particular Prithi variant being used.
Dhanush means "bow". It is the stabilized launcher. The arrow is the naval Prithvi.
Also the ranges are with 500kg - 1000kg conventional warhead. Range with nuclear payload will be greater.
IIRC David Albright mentioned that BARC had developed a 200 kg 15kT nuclear warhead for the Prithvi in the early 90's.
SS-250/Prithvi-II - range 250 km, 500 - 750 kg payload - single stage, dual engine, liquid fuel.
SS-350/Prithvi-III - solid fuelled, two stage version with a 350 km range and a 1000 kg payload
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 17:18 Comments ||
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I wonder if they can shoot when they aren't anchored.
Look at the photo closely. The wake of the OPV can be seen. The ship was moving. Dhahush is a stabilized platform meant to allow firing from a moving warship.
There has reportedly been one underwater test firing of the Naval Prithvi from this pontoon launcher when it was submerged.
The intention is for eventual submarine deployment.
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 17:27 Comments ||
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Whis is the range with nuclear payload greater?
Professor MC Puri from IIT Delhi was killed and five others injured in a shootout at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Wednesday evening. The police have identified the injured as Dr Pankaj Gupta, Dr Sangeeta and one Mr Patel.
According to police, four to five persons came in a white Ambassador car inside the campus of the Institute and opened fire from AK-47 automatic weapons outside the J N Tata auditorium, where an international conference was on, at around 1700 hours. The injured were admitted to M S Ramaiah hospital. Police have cordoned off the area and launched a hunt for the assailants who fled the scene.
The Institute is on the hit list of terrorist groups, including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 11:53 ||
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The attack was on IISc Bangalore.
The dead professor was from the IIT Delhi
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 12:26 Comments ||
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Reports say there was no real security on the campus - just a few middle aged, pot bellied cops without any firearms or even tasers.
Soft target for the jihadis...
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 12:28 Comments ||
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The jihads left behind 2 grenades and an AK-47 with three mags.
The seminar they attacked was on "Operations Research Applications in Indian Infrastructure"
Wonder if the jihadis (probably pakistani or bangladeshi fodder) could even read?
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 13:16 Comments ||
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Mr. Patel owns a hotel
Actually Mr Patel is a phamaceutical lab assistant. He was hit after coming outside on hearing screams.
The war on terror will not be won unless there is recognition of ALL the victims of terror - no matter their background...
The deceased was Professor M C Puri, Professor Emeritus in the Mathematics Department of Delhi's Indian Institute of Technology. He had retired a few years ago.
The injured are Dr Vijay Chandru a senior scientist of IISc, Dr Pankaj Gupta of IIT, Vijay Patil, a lab assistant at the Dhanvanthri Kshetra, Cadilla Phamaceuticals Laboratory within the campus, and Dr Sangeetha.
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 14:00 Comments ||
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Quetta, 28 Dec. (AKI/DAWN) - There is no let-up in the ongoing military operation in Pakistan's Baluchistan province, with paramilitary forces seizing control of two more camps of Marri tribesmen and recovering a huge cache of weapons on Tuesday. A general strike was held in the provincial capital Quetta as well as other parts of the province on Tuesday to denounce the government's policies in Baluchistan. The federal government however has insisted that it will continue its operation although it is open to dialogue.
Baluchistan, a province that is rich in natural gas reserves, has been plagued by violent attacks throughout this year. Tribal groups there have been demanding more political autonomy and a greater share of the area's resources, most of whose revenues go to the central government.
The current raid by the Pakistani security forces began after the 14 December rocket attack on Kohlu town when Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf was on a visit there and machine-gun fire on a helicopter the next day that wounded the inspector-general of the paramilitary Frontier Corps. According to sources, paramilitary troops entered the Dera Bugti area and the Marri tribal agency on Tuesday after helicopter gunships destroyed the camps in Bakar and Peekal which were allegedly being used to launch attacks on government troops.
"Bakar and Peekal are fully in control of the (federal army) forces," the sources said. They said a huge quantity of arms and ammunition had been found dumped in secret hideouts established in the mountains. A heavy contingent of paramilitary troops has been deployed in the areas where the alleged militants' camps and hideouts had once been located, the sources said.
Sources said paramilitary forces backed by helicopters gunships were continuing the operation in Kohlu district but were facing pockets of resistance. They said that although some more deaths had been reported in these areas the exact figures were not known yet. They said that the paramilitary forces had sealed off the whole Marri area and were not allowing any of the injured to be moved to hospitals. Meanwhile, Nawabzada Mir Balach Marri said that security forces had intensified their operations in various areas of the Marri tribal agency and had killed innocent people, most of them women and children.
The four-party Baluch Alliance called for a complete strike in the province to protest against the military operation in Kohlu, the paramilitary forcesâ presence in Dera Bugti, the plan for the Kalabagh dam in Punjab which is expected to have a singnificant impact on the province as well as other mega development schemes in Baluchistan. Routine life in the province was paralyzed by the complete strike as all markets, shops and business centres remained closed and there was no traffic on the roads.
In some areas protesters resorted to stone-pelting and setting tires on fire. A dozen vehicles were damaged. Six injured people were taken to the hospital in the provincial capital, police said, adding that two of the injured suffered bullet injuries. They were injured by the gun fire from a vehicle in retaliation to the protestors hurling stones.
The government in the meantime has said that the crackdown against what it called a momentum of militancy in Baluchistan would continue, though it was ready for a dialogue to solve the troubled provinceâs problems. "We will not allow anyone to take law into their own hands,... fire at law-enforcing agencies, destroy electricity towers and other government installations... and block mega projects,â Pakistan's interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told the Senate at the end of a three-day debate on Baluchistan. The government âwill leave no stone unturnedâ to respond to the challenge, the minister said, apparently dismissing the opposition demand to end the crackdown.
Sherpao said the government believed in dialogue despite all what was happening in Baluchistan that he blamed on what he called âmiscreantsâ and âfrarisâ (fugitives). âWe will continue dialogue that is consensus of this house,â he said without elaborating how.
He rejected the oppositionâs objection against the use of the terms of âmiscreantsâ and âterroristsâ by the government for those involved in attacks in the province over the entire year and said these descriptions would be used for those responsible for 187 bomb blasts, 275 rocket attacks, eight attacks on gas pipelines, 36 attacks on electricity transmission lines and 19 explosions on the railway line this year from January until the current violence.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 10:31 ||
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WANA: A land mine exploded near an army pickup truck on a road in a tribal region in South Waziristan, injuring three soldiers, a government official said on Tuesday. The explosion happened on Monday when the troops were travelling to get water from a stream, said Mohammed Wisal Khan, a local government administrator. The soldiers were moved to a military hospital in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, but there were no details on their injuries. On Tuesday, another soldier was wounded in a landmine explosion while he was walking to a nearby post west of Wana, Khan said. Six local tribesmen and an Afghan were arrested, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 00:00 ||
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A remote-controlled roadside bomb destroyed a government vehicle on Monday, but the three South Waziristan administration officials inside were not hurt, District Police Officer Dar Ali Khattak told reporters. Mohammed Wisal Khan, his driver and two bodyguards escaped unharmed in the attack in Himat, a village near Dera Ismail Khan, Khattak said. The officials, including the Wana tehsildar, were looking for Ahmedzai Wazir tribesmen against whom the administration launched a crackdown following the killing of two paramilitary soldiers in Wana.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 00:00 ||
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Interpol, the international police agency, issued an "international wanted persons notice" Wednesday for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Boy, he's in trouble now!
The agency issued the "Red Notice" at the request of the North African nation of Algeria, which is pursuing the arrest of the insurgent leader "in connection with the kidnapping and murder" in July of two Algerian diplomats in Iraq.
Red notices are passed along to all of Interpol's 184 member countries. They "serve to communicate to the world's police that a suspect is wanted by a member country and request that the suspect be placed under provisional arrest pending extradition," said Interpol, headquartered in Lyon, France. Al Zarqawi is wanted by U.S. and Iraqi authorities in connection with a slew of terror-related actions in Iraq and he is being sought by Jordan, where his group claimed responsibility for last month's deadly hotel attacks.
"We congratulate Algeria for being the first country to take the important step of requesting an Interpol Red Notice against al-Zarqawi," said Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said in a statement. "This will decrease the likelihood that such a notorious suspect will be able to evade detection." Noble said that even though al-Zarqawi is wanted for arrest in several countries, "no other country had taken the important step of authorizing Interpol to issue a Red Notice and to have it placed on Interpol's public Web site for police and general public to see the various identities used by the suspect."
Most likely no one else figured it was worth the time to fill out the paperwork
Earlier this month, Interpol published a U.N. Security Council "public notice" for four people, including al-Zarqawi "who are the targets of sanctions against al Qaeda and the Taliban." "Those notices are aimed at helping a United Nations Security Council committee to carry out its mandate regarding the freezing of assets, travel bans and arms embargos aimed at groups and individuals associated with al Qaeda and the Taliban."
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 10:13 ||
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What is the meaning of this? Do we have to give up this guy when we catch him . Is the New York Times going to represent this terrorist and has a copy of the warrant.
At least nine prisoners and guards were killed in a gun battle at an Iraqi high-security jail on Wednesday after detained guerrilla suspects, some of them foreign, grabbed weapons and tried to flee, officials said.
One inmate snatched a Kalashnikov rifle from a guard as a handful of high-risk prisoners were taken out at dawn to clean the yard, a guard from the Baghdad prison told Reuters. After raiding the prison armoury, the group freed more comrades but U.S. and Iraqi troops based around the jail quelled the revolt.
Five staff and four inmates were killed and five prisoners and a U.S. soldier were wounded, the U.S. military said, denying assertions by police, including an Interior Ministry general, that the death toll was at least 20 among the detainees, who include some of the most violent of Iraq's insurgents.
A Russian, a Tunisian and a Saudi were involved, he said.
In other violence, rebels ambushed an Iraqi army patrol near Dujail, 60 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, late on Tuesday, killing two soldiers and wounding seven, police said.
Serious attacks have increased in the past week following a lull around the December 15 election, when some rebels from the once dominant Sunni Arab minority observed an informal truce to encourage their community to vote for the first time and stake a share in the new parliament.
Some Sunni politicians have warned that anger at results they say are forged and which confirmed the dominant position of Shi'ite Islamists could prompt more attacks, not just by the al Qaeda-linked Islamists bent on wrecking the U.S.-backed political process but also by Sunni groups that backed the vote.
The Electoral Commission, assailed by protests over the past week, produced a U.N. official at its daily news conference on Wednesday to insist the ballot was fair.
Commission chief Hussein Hindawi said a few ballot boxes out of more than 30,000 might be ruled invalid but that this would not affect the overall result.
The Iraqi Islamic Party, driving force behind the main Sunni electoral bloc, the Iraqi Accordance Front, issued a statement condemning the past week's violence.
"At the time when many political groups are preparing to end the political crisis through flexibility and patience and insight ⊠the party condemns these acts and calls on all sides to be patient and to act responsibly," it said.
Up to 3,000 people marched to protest against the election results in the northern Sunni Arab city of Samarra on Wednesday, police said.
But despite public protests, leaders on all sides say talks have started behind the scenes to put together a coalition government of all the main factions, including Sunnis who mostly boycotted January's interim election.
U.S. officials are working hard to mediate in the hope that a consensus government can bring some stability and allow Washington to start withdrawing some of its 160,000 troops.
Even without extremely bloody attacks, stability that might bring prosperity is elusive; the top U.S. military engineer in Iraq said December had been the worst month so far for attacks on Iraqis working on U.S.-funded reconstruction projects.
"It's been a pretty bad month," Brigadier General William McCoy said, noting Baghdad had only six hours of electricity a day in the coldest season, down from 11 in October.
President Jalal Talabani is launching a series of bilateral meetings at his Kurdish power base, starting with Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, the most powerful Shi'ite Islamist leader, on Thursday. Hakim's Shi'ite coalition partner, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, will also attend, an aide to Jaafari said.
Hakim on Wednesday backed a plan for a local referendum that could hand the strategic northern oil city of Kirkuk to the Kurds, the Shi'ites' allies in the present, interim government.
Officials put the number of prisoners at the Kadhimiya maximum security jail at over 200. It lies inside the sprawling Adala military base, known to Americans as Camp Justice and once used by Saddam Hussein's secret police.
he U.S. military said: "Sixteen prisoners attempted to escape the facility after first storming the armoury."
The Justice Ministry prison guard told Reuters: "At 6:30 a.m., five prisoners were taken out to clean the yards.
"When the officer was trying to shackle their legs to stop them from escaping, one of them pushed the officer aside and another attacked the guard standing nearby and took his gun. Then he shot the officer dead and wounded the guard."
"The five prisoners rushed toward the armoury and shot the sleeping guard dead before they grabbed weapons, ammunition and body armor and also some keys."
Among seven other prisoners the now armed inmates freed and armed were a Russian, a Tunisian and a Saudi, he said.
"The group rushed the gate, firing on soldiers there and killing two of them," he added. "They also killed a translator called Firas, a maintenance worker and another guard."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/28/2005 12:47 ||
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"The five prisoners rushed toward the armoury and shot the sleeping guard dead before they grabbed weapons, ammunition and body armor and also some keys."
Sleeping on duty, definately a No No.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/28/2005 19:41 Comments ||
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TWENTY Iraqi detainees and a warder were killed today in a failed breakout from a Baghdad prison, an interior ministry official said. Prisoners stole a weapon from a guard at an Iraqi detention facility in the northern Shiite pilgrimage district of Kadhamiyah, before shooting dead one prison officer and wounding another. Guards then opened fire on the detainees, killing 20, the official said. Many of those detained at the facility are held on terrorism charges.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 11:31 ||
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too bad the Saudis didn't install the fire suppression system
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2005 16:48 Comments ||
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"too bad the Saudis didn't install the fire suppression system"
Or that the Saudi religious police, the Muttawa, didn't show up and make sure the female prisoners (assuming there were a few) had their head coverings on before they ran outside.
An inmate in a Baghdad prison grabbed an assault rifle from a guard Wednesday and opened fire, killing eight people, police said.
The Shiite religious bloc leading Iraq's parliamentary elections, meanwhile, held talks with Kurdish leaders about who should get the top 12 government jobs, as thousands of Sunni Arabs and secular Shiites protested what they say was a tainted vote.
The prisoner fired indiscriminately after grabbing an AK-47, killing four guards and four inmates, said Iraqi army Brig. Gen. Jalil al-Mehamadawi. Three inmates were wounded, he said. Guards then overtook the gunman and restrained him, he said. The prison was a Justice Ministry facility that also housed foreigners, officials said. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
12/28/2005 08:10 ||
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The governor of Iraqâs restive Diyala province survived an assassination attempt on Monday when a makeshift bomb hidden in a cigarette kiosk exploded near his motorcade, the governorâs office said. The governor, Raad Rashid Jouad, was unhurt, but his secretary was killed in the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 00:00 ||
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Three British citizens were kidnapped today as they entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, Palestinian witnesses and security officials said. The hostages are thought to be a man, a woman and their child, according to reports. The woman worked with a local human rights group, a police source told Reuters.
I'll bet we can guess whose rights she was concerned about.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Palestinian police said the kidnappers' car was spotted heading north, and that a pursuit was under way. A Foreign Office spokesman was unable to give further details but said UK officials were looking into it.
UPDATE: A British human rights worker and her visiting parents were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip. The 25-year-old woman is understood to have been showing her mother and father around the town of Rafah when they were snatched.
"and over there is the market where I shop and, oh look, here are some locals.."
"Honey, why are they shoving us into the boot of their car?
The Foreign Office confirmed that there had been a kidnapping but their identities and the details of the abduction remained unclear. A spokesman said: "We are in a position to confirm reports of three Britons missing in the Occupied Territories. At this stage we have no further details." It was reported that the woman worked at the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights.
John Strawson, a reader in law at Birzeit University in the West Bank and Middle East expert, said it was likely the trio would be released unharmed. "Unlike in Iraq the kidnappings are not so much aimed at the foreigners themselves as at embarrassing the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and trying to show he has no control over the Gaza Strip," he said. "The main aim is just to demonstrate that no one is safe. I suspect they will be released unharmed - it will be a big change to the situation if anything happened to them."
A spokesman for the Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights confirmed that the woman had been working there for two or three months, and had been taken with her parents. He said she was aged 24 and originally from Scotland. It was not known from exactly where in Scotland. But he did not name her and said investigations were continuing into what happened.
The incident is the latest in a series of abductions in Gaza that has undermined attempts by the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to establish order in the coastal strip following Israel's withdrawal earlier this year. Militant groups have kidnapped a number of foreigners, usually using them as bargaining tools to get relatives released from Palestinian prisons, secure jobs from the Palestinian Authority or settle personal scores.
Last week, two foreign teachers were kidnapped by Palestinian militants near Gaza City. Gunmen abducted Hendrik Taatgen, a Dutch headteacher at a private American school, and his Australian deputy, Brian Ambrosio, as they left for work. The abductors, who claimed to have ties to the radical PLO faction, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, demanded the release of an imprisoned militant leader. They later released the captives unharmed.
Meanwhile, armed tribesmen today kidnapped a family of five Germans in eastern Yemen, local security officials and the German government said. The family was seized in al-Irim, Shabwa province, to try to force the government to release members of the tribe al-Abdullah bin Dahha who were arrested after a clash with another tribe. In Berlin, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said the family, which had been visiting Yemen since Christmas Eve, had disappeared and it was not clear if they had been kidnapped.
When I think Christmas vacation, Yemen tops my list. That'd be the "no way in Hell" list. Gaza ranks 5th, behind Somalia, Sudan and France.
Tribesmen occasionally kidnap westerners in Yemen, usually to try to force concessions from the government. Hostages are usually released unharmed, but several were killed in 2000 when security forces carried out a botched raid to free them.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 10:51 ||
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nothing says "peace on earth goodwill toward men" like Christmas in Ein-El-Hellhole
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2005 12:06 Comments ||
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Kidnappings are a stock feature of Paleo, Iranian and QA terrorist groups. That of course includes the whole Iranian government and it's proxies which happen to include lots of Paleos does it not?
I think they are too quick to assume who did what and for what reason.
Gaza, 28 Dec. (AKI) - A commando of Palestinian militants has stormed an electoral office in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to stop the Fatah movement from registering a new list of candidates. A similar assault by gunmen is reported in Rafah, where armed men are said to have surrounded the electoral office. The gunmen are loyal to imprisoned uprising leader Marwan Barghouti and oppose the inclusion of Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Cabinet minister Nabil Shaath on the candidatesâ list for the 25 January elections.
Meanwhile the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas met millitant leaders on Wednesday morning in Gaza and appealed to them to halt rocket attacks on Israel and respect a general truce ahead of the PA elelctions, scheduled for 25 January. After meeting Abbas, a leader of Islamic Jihad, which has carried out suicide bombings despite the truce, said he did not believe there would be an extension to the "period of calm" militants agreed to follow at a Cairo summit.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 10:29 ||
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Ah! Platform committee is at work.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/28/2005 10:34 Comments ||
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"Full employment at any cost and a car bomb in every garage! Or else!"
From 6 p.m. local time, Wednesday, Dec. 28, any person entering the buffer zone of northern Gaza will be a target. Israeliâs armed forces has formally conveyed this notice to the Palestinian Authority.
It follows daily Palestinian Qassam missile attacks on surrounding Israeli locations and the failure of PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to stop the shooting. Jihad Islami Wednesday rejected his appeal to cease the missile fire. Washington justifies Israelâs response to the Palestinian attacks but regrets the decision to enforce a security zone in northern Gaza.
Posted by: Steve ||
12/28/2005 08:39 ||
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about friggin time!
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2005 9:08 Comments ||
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Lessee if Hamas decides to hold a Widows and Orphans Picnic-n-Quilting Bee in the area right about 5:30 or so...complete with baby duck petting zoo and Kaaba Moon Rock Bounce.
Posted by: Leon Clavin ||
12/28/2005 10:44 Comments ||
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Washington justifies Israelâs response to the Palestinian attacks but regrets the decision to enforce a security zone in northern Gaza.
The only thing to regret is ever believing that the Paleos were an actual "partner" in any peace negotiations. That they have been unable/unwilling to enforce any agreements or impose order is a clear indicator that further talks would be a colossal waste of time. Any U.S. President would do well to never again bring up the idea of Palestinians having their own state until the Paleos themselves take the necessary steps to cure themselves of their addiction to armed conflict and Jew killing.
#5
Yep, I called it. Paleos send out a kid to be the first one hurt: Israel began enforcing a no-go zone in northern Gaza, firing shells and threatening to shoot anyone who approaches the border â an attempt to stop Palestinian rocket fire. A 14-year-old Palestinian boy was slightly wounded by a shell fragment, Palestinian doctors said.
JERUSALEM - The Israeli air force said it carried out an airstrike early Wednesday against a training base belonging to a Palestinian militant group in Lebanon, hours after a northern Israeli town was hit by rocket fire. The army said the base, located south of Beirut, belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small militant group that has waged a decades long fight against the Jewish state.
They're not exactly 'popular'.
âThis is in response to the firing of projectile rockets last night toward Israeli communities,â the army said. It said it views such attacks with âextreme severityâ and holds Lebanon responsible.
Seven Katyusha rockets were fired at north Israel from southern Lebanon overnight Wednesday, Lebanese police said. No one immediately claimed responsibility.
Nor will they while F-15s loiter in the area.
A spokesman in southern Lebanon for the Shiite radical Hezbollah movement, which controls the border between Lebanon and Israel, told AFP he knew nothing about the incidents.
"Please don't bomb us!"
Sultan Abu Aynaeyn, in charge of the Palestinian Fatah movement in Lebanon, strongly denied any implication by Palestinians in a statement to a local television station.
The Lebanese foreign ministry did not react to the new wave of violence amidst an ongoing political crisis.
That's no surprise.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2005 00:00 ||
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cowards and fuckwits - Lions of Islamâ¢
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2005 0:17 Comments ||
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Now, now, frank-- When you're an iron age tribal savage who's in disfavor with theblood godwar goddeath godmoon god confronted by a modern military and society,sometimes discretion(sp?) is the better part of valor. Everyone can have a bad day now and then.
Posted by: N guard ||
12/28/2005 0:30 Comments ||
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Assad Sr. = Saddam in the 1970's > the various Palestinian terror orgs are free to recruit, train, plan and move around here. Lebanon must show that it either controls its own territory or not - it and other anti-Israel states can NOT accuse Israel of violating regional UNO resolutions/directives when they themselves are in [repeated] violations. It again appears that Assad Jr. might have to choose between IRAN or ISRAEL WHOM HE PREFERS BE DESTROYED BY!?
Indonesian authorities said today that a recent spree of deadly, violent armed robberies in the country may have links with Islamic militants seeking money for terrorist operations.
Gunmen last week made off with more than 130 million rupiah (about 541,000 baht) in one of five recent bank robberies in Jakarta. In one of the robberies they shot and killed a security guard and injured two bystanders.
Nearly two weeks earlier, two people were shot dead in a gold shop robbery in Yogyakarta, 400 kilometres southeast of the capital.
National police spokesman Inspector General Paulus Purwoko told reporters that the bullets used in a December 22 bank robbery were similar to those found with guns owned by Azahari bin Husin, one of Asia's most-wanted terrorists who was killed in a raid last month.
"We have found the similarity between the gun used in the bank robbery and Azahari's. There are strong indication of links between recent robberies with the terrorist group," Paulus told reporters.
Moslem militants robbed a jewelry shop in West Java province of Banten to help fund the October 2002 Bali blasts that left 202 people dead, mostly foreign visitors.
Security authorities in the world's most populous Muslim nation have warned that Azahari's accomplice Noordin Mohammed Top and Jemaah Islamiyah's new recruits may try to carry out reprisal attacks to avenge Azahari's death.
The head of the country's intelligence agency (BIN) has also recently warned that terrorist groups will change their targets from bombings in public areas to coordinated operations to kidnap ministers, government officials and foreign diplomats in the country.
In response to the warnings, security authorities have been on high alert against possible militant attacks during Christmas and New Year celebrations, deploying 61,000 personnel throughout the archipelago.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also stepped up his personal security after intelligence reports that terrorists may try to assassinate him.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/28/2005 12:59 ||
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THEY MAY be regarded as partners in terrorism, but the Indonesia-based extremist network Jemaah Islamiyah does not exactly see the Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf Group as an ideological brother -- but more of an armed band that "lacks discipline and more interested in committing crime."
This was how the Royal Malaysian Police painted the relationship between the JI and ASG, which are often pictured in the West as closely-linked warriors waging jihad in the region.
In a briefing last week with international journalists in Kuala Lumpur, the RMP top brass suggested that while the JI may have been aiding the ASG in terms of "training," the fraternity has been based more on muscle than on mission.
"Looks like there has been some training provided by the JI to the Abu Sayyaf, but then JI members have found that the Abu Sayyaf lacked discipline," said C. Pakianathan, chief of the RMP Special Branch division.
"They (ASG) were more interested in committing crime. They did
not have a strong ideology although they portray themselves as a very serious organization," he added.
Pakianathan also said JI operatives had trained in Camp Abu Bakar, the former stronghold of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, until it was overrun by government troops during the Estrada administration.
"They are having problems, in fact, (with) no fixed training area now," he noted.
The officer reported, however, that while the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) "leadership is not favorable to the JI anymore," the "old cooperation" still persists between their low-level members.
Also in the briefing, the RMP said Indonesia remains as JI's combat zone, with Jakarta and Bali as its prime targets.
But the Malaysian police said JI suicide bombers may already be changing their strategy to adjust to the tighter security environment by choosing "smaller targets with high psychological impact."
The JI launches suicide bombing missions using recruits who have "no adverse police records" to minimize the chance of detection, and who have surveyed the target location themselves.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
12/28/2005 12:57 ||
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Hey.. old Mohammed was interested in loot as well.
Theft from the kaffirs is quite islamic.
One of the rewards for the faithful.. that and slave women for rape...
Posted by: john ||
12/28/2005 13:07 Comments ||
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This Malay cop is full of crap! The JI have training camps on Mindanao and are linked to not only the ASG but the MILF. Someone needs to look at the Royal Malay police payrolls.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/28/2005 19:05 Comments ||
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The Moro Islamic Liberation Front denied accusations by the military that it broke a fragile truce and assured Manila it is sincere in the peace talks. "There is no truth to the accusations. The MILF has not violated the cease-fire and we continue to abide by the provisions of the truce," Eid Kabalu, a spokesman for the MILF, told The Manila Times on Tuesday.
Southern Command chief, Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, said the rebels were recruiting new members in the southern region and have been secretly training in at least eight provinces and towns. He said they have monitored at least 80 training activities in Zamboanga Sibugay, Lanao, Maguindanao, Cotabato, and as far as Tawi-Tawi. "This is a serious violation of the cease-fire agreement. Among those who testified to the MILF activities are local officials and former trainees," Adan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 00:00 ||
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MILF sincere? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA god stop! I spewed coffee out my nose! Eid remind me of Bart Simpson when he say I did not do it, no body say it, can't prove a thing. The only thing the MILF is sincere about is continuing the kaos on Mindanao and lining their pockets by extorting money from farmers and mining companies.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
12/28/2005 7:59 Comments ||
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A judge handling Al-Medina case of financial irregularities was beaten up while jogging in the hill-top town of Harisa northeast of the Lebanese capital on Wednesday, a security source said. The source told KUNA justice Nathem Al-Khouri was practising his exercise near the house of his brother in Hairsa when a person hit him on the head several times. He was hospitalized for treatment of injuries, the source said. The targetted judge, who had been targetted with a bomb blast, was responsible for the file of Al-Medina Bank, where huge sums of money had gone missing. The judge ordered, on August 20, sealing the bank to avert mishandling of its files.
I've got no evidence for this, I don't even know the details of this, but my nose tells me it's connected with Hariri...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 20:42 ||
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Israeli warplanes carried out on Wednesday mock raids over Lebanese territories prompting Lebanese Army anti-aircraft units to target the roaring warplanes with anti-aircraft fire, hours after Israeli jet fighters struck a Palestinian guerrilla base south of the Lebanese capital. The Israeli warplanes carried out flights over the coastal town of Naameh, where the jet fighters, earlier, struck a Palestinian base in the region, prompting Lebanese Army troops manning automatic anti-aircraft guns to target the warplanes.
The warplanes also flew at medium altitude over the southern market town of Nabatieh, Iqlim Al-Tuffah and the nearby port city of Sidon, the Western Bekaa in southeastern Lebanon and the region of Marjeyoun, breaking the sound barrier. The overflights coincided with high tension in the border region, and new verbal threats by Israeli officials, in response to overnight rocket attacks on northern Israel,that damaged houses and caused shock among Israeli settlers.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2005 20:42 ||
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At the United Nations, officials and diplomats said Wednesday that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has nominated Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz to lead the next stage of the Hariri probe. They said Brammertz, a deputy prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, had accepted Annan's offer and that the world body was waiting to make an announcement because the chief ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, had not written a letter formally releasing him. They spoke on condition of anonymity because his appointment had not been made public.
Appointing a Belgian ICC dude prolly means the UN has formally lost interest in the inquiry.
There was some fear that the United States, which opposes the ICC, might object to Brammertz's appointment, but U.S. Ambassador John "Darth" Bolton said Wednesday that was not the case. "We believe strongly that a clear signal of determination and continuity must be sent to Syria's leaders," Bolton said in a statement. Brammertz was not commenting on issues relating to the Hariri position, including the threats, ICC prosecution spokesman Christian Palme said.
A pro-Syrian group that claimed it killed a Lebanese editor has threatened to kill the next head of the U.N. commission investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the editor's newspaper reported Wednesday. An-Nahar newspaper said it had received a statement signed by "The Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom in al-Sham," the group that claimed responsibility for the death of Gibran Tueni with a car bomb on Dec. 12. Al-Sham is the Arabic term for the historical region that encompassed Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
The statement said Detlev Mehlis, who stepped down this month as chairman of the U.N. commission, was lucky to escape death. Mehlis had concluded that Syria was involved in the killing of Hariri, who was slain by a truck bomb in Beirut in February. Syria denies the charge. "Mehlis was able to slip out of our hands a moment before it was too late when he chose to resign because he understood the message and realized that if he did not do that, his end would be wretched like the end of all traitors who betray Arabs and Islam," the statement said.
Ummmmm.....hokay. If you say so.
An-Nahar published the full text of the statement, but did not say why it believed it to be authentic or how it had been received. When The Associated Press called the paper's offices, staff said that the person who could answer such questions was not immediately available.
"He's out having a face transplant and his fingerprints changed, see..."
The statement described Mehlis, a German prosecutor, as a "filthy infidel" who had politicized the investigation to implicate Syria. It warned Mehlis's successor, who has not been appointed, not to come to the same conclusions. The statement ended with an ominous Arabic saying: "He who has given advance warning is excused."
#1
"He who has given advance warning is excused." I think I will implement this policy during long car rides with my children. The corrolary will be "He who gives no warning until the car is loaded with stench will continue the trip bungied to the roof-rack."
Blowing up opposition politicians and shooting journalists with divergent viewpoints is certainly one way to bring unity and freedom. It's nice that they call their fantasy country The Sham.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/28/2005 16:48 Comments ||
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"He who has given advance warning is excused."
Did'nt we give Saddamn, like years? 17 Resolutions and soldiers on his doorstep for months was a pretty good warning. We are excused, it is Alan's way.
#3
It is obvious that someone in Syria believes they have power and God on their side. Or not. maybe it is Hitler all over again. Who knows or cares.Syria is NOTHING on the stage of the world but one ganglord trying to make ammends with others who they have screwed.
They may have worked on border issues with Iraq, but they should have known that if we were sening our Bllod there to protect Iraqis, it was not a good idea to maintain status quota.
Now, I AM starting to get pissed with Syria. It is plainly obvious they have no idea how bad their transgressions are.
Caught via LGF
A pro-Syrian group that purportedly killed a top Lebanese editor has threatened to kill the next head of the UN commission investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a newspaper reported Wednesday. So don't bother replacing him, k?
An-Nahar newspaper said it had received a statement signed by "The Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom in al-Sham," the group that claimed to have killed the paper's general manager Gibran Tueni with a car bomb on Dec. 12. Al-Sham is the Arabic term for the historical region that encompassed Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Sham is right on.....
The statement said Detlev Mehlis, who stepped down this month as chairman of the UN commission, was lucky to escape death. Mehlis had concluded that Syria was involved in the killing of Hariri, who was slain by a massive truck bomb in Beirut in February. Syria denies the charge. "It was...someone else"
"Mehlis was able to slip out of our hands a moment before it was too late when he chose to resign because he understood the message and realized that if he did not do that, his end would be wretched like the end of all traitors who betray Arabs and Islam," the statement said.
An-Nahar published the full text of the statement, but did not say why it believed it to be authentic or how it had been received. When The Associated Press called the paper's offices, staff said that the person who could answer such questions was not immediately available. "He's in a meeting with President Assad...er... he's busy"
The statement described Mehlis, a German prosecutor, as a "filthy infidel" who had politicized the investigation to implicate Syria. It warned Mehlis's successor, who has not been appointed, not to come to the same conclusions.
"We warn him of the dangers of politicizing (the investigation) and call on him to announce, according to what the commission has found, that Syria is innocent of the blood of Hariri," the statement said. "we'll prepare the statement for you"
The statement ended with an ominous Arabic saying: "He who has given advance warning is excused."
The alleged authors of the statement had not been heard of until they claimed responsibility for Tueni's killing. Tueni, who was also a member of parliament, was a leader of the campaign to remove Syria's influence from Lebanon.
Mehlis has said he received threats during his work in Lebanon. When he moved around the country, he was always heavily guarded.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2005 15:12 ||
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[4 views]
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#1
That was a Bad Move. The Third in one month in fact.
WASHINGTON - The United States has imposed sanctions against nine companies from China, India and Austria for supplying Iran with military equipment and technology, the State Department said on Tuesday. The sanctions, which ban the companies from doing business with the US government and US companies, were based on the Iran Non-Proliferation Act of 2000, which aims at preventing Teheran from developing nuclear weapons.
âThese entities will be sanctioned based on credible information that they transferred equipments and technologies referred on the multilateral control lists to Iran,â said State Department spokesman Adam Ereli. âThey are serial offenders,â he added.
The companies hit were the public company China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (Catic), missile builder China North Industries Corp. (Norinco), the chemical equipment group Zibo Chemet Equipment Corp., Hongdu Aviation, Ounion International Economic and Technical Cooperative Ltd, Limmt Metallurgy and Minerals.
Two Indian chemical groups were also cited: Sabero Organics and Sandhya Organics. Also cited was Austrian firearms maker Steyr-Mannlicher.
Ereli did not provide details on what the companies supplied to Iran, but stressed the credibility of the information on which Washington based the sanctions, which took effect December 23. He noted that Norinco, a leading Chinese defense industry conglomerate, is a repeat offender.
He also praised the Austrian government for its cooperation in the case of Steyr-Mannlicher, suggesting as well that the sanctions on Steyr could be lifted quickly.
They just need to tell us everything they know.
Some 40 companies have been sanctioned since the establishment of the Iran Non-Proliferation Act. âItâs an important and effective tool in constraining Iranâs efforts to develop missile and WMD (weapons of mass destruction) capabilities,â Ereli said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/28/2005 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I wonder if the CHinese companies appear in the supply chain feeding into Wal-Mart, etc.
#2
Steyr-Mannlicher sold 800 .50 caliber sniper rifles to Iran. Isuggest after the US-Iran war, every family member of soldiers killed by those rifles sue Steyr into bankruptcy.
Posted by: ed ||
12/28/2005 7:42 Comments ||
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#3
No, No, No, we've already been down the "Blame the Gun, not the Shooter" route.
Put the blame where it truly belongs, on the trigger puller.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/28/2005 8:12 Comments ||
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#4
Sanctions against Chinese companies.......whoa, man, heavy. I'll bet that they are quaking in their boots. Probably form some other company or another name.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2005 9:02 Comments ||
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#5
Steyr sold the siper rifles under the fiction they were for the police and border police. That excuse holds up as well as selling to the Ministry of Health to shoot rats. Know any Afghan drug smugglers operating BMPs? Steyr knew they could not get an Austrian export certificate to sell to the Iranian military, so this convenient fiction. The targets are American soldiers and nothing else. The US might as well sell the Bulgarians nuclear warheads under the rubric of radiation therapy.
Posted by: ed ||
12/28/2005 9:06 Comments ||
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#6
The sanctions, which ban the companies from doing business with the US government and US companies, were based on the Iran Non-Proliferation Act of 2000, which aims at preventing Teheran from developing nuclear weapons.
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Rome, 28 Dec. (AKI) - A video of the decapitation of an Afghan hostage, posted to al-Qaeda-linked websites on Wednesday, bears the stamp of Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. It's the first published video showing the beheading of a hostage in the hands of an Afghan terrorist cell. Five minutes long, it shows many of the trade marks of videos published by al-Zarqawi's Organisation of al-Qaeda in Iraq from the ritual forced confession to the beheading and a gruesome finale.
December 28, 2005: Some companies that operate freighters or fishing vessels in pirate infested waters, such as those off Somalia or those around the Straits of Malacca, have begun to take steps to enhance ship security. Both passive and active anti-piracy measures have been seen in use. Many of the passive measures are similar to those already in use in the waters of the region by smugglers and others who prefer not to be boarded by customs officials or warships forming part of the coalition against international terrorism. For example, lining the shipâs rail with barbed wire, welding shut some hatches, and so forth.
A member of the Saudi Arabian branch of Al Qaeda terror network, who was on the kingdom's most-wanted list, was shot dead by police, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. 
NAJRAN, 28 December 2005 â A deadly fight between members of two tribes in Yadma, in the southern Najran region, last week resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man, Al-Watan reported. The cause of the clash, in which three others were wounded, was unknown. 
Riyadh â Police on Wednesday shot dead a militant on Saudi Arabia's most-wanted list, the second major terror suspect to die in the country in 24 hours, a Saudi security official said. 
Five German tourists have been reported missing in eastern Yemen, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman says. It is unclear whether the tourists had been kidnapped, but that every effort was being made to ensure their safety, the spokesman said. 
Police on Wednesday shot dead a militant on Saudi Arabia's most-wanted list, the second major terror suspect to die in the country in 24 hours, a Saudi security official said. 
Turkish police detained five people Monday on suspicion of plotting to assassinate the governor of the mainly Kurdish eastern province of Van on New Year's Eve, local security officials said. The operation in Van city was carried out jointly by anti-terror police and intelligence units. The detainees, among them two women, were suspected of plotting to assassinate Van Governor Niyazi Tanilir and other local officials, the sources said.
WANA: A land mine exploded near an army pickup truck on a road in a tribal region in South Waziristan, injuring three soldiers, a government official said on Tuesday. The explosion happened on Monday when the troops were travelling to get water from a stream, said Mohammed Wisal Khan, a local government administrator. The soldiers were moved to a military hospital in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan, but there were no details on their injuries. On Tuesday, another soldier was wounded in a landmine explosion while he was walking to a nearby post west of Wana, Khan said. Six local tribesmen and an Afghan were arrested, he said.
Interpol, the international police agency, issued an "international wanted persons notice" Wednesday for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of al Qaeda in Iraq. 
TWENTY Iraqi detainees and a warder were killed today in a failed breakout from a Baghdad prison, an interior ministry official said. Prisoners stole a weapon from a guard at an Iraqi detention facility in the northern Shiite pilgrimage district of Kadhamiyah, before shooting dead one prison officer and wounding another. Guards then opened fire on the detainees, killing 20, the official said. Many of those detained at the facility are held on terrorism charges.
Three British citizens were kidnapped today as they entered the Gaza Strip from Egypt through the Rafah crossing, Palestinian witnesses and security officials said. The hostages are thought to be a man, a woman and their child, according to reports. The woman worked with a local human rights group, a police source told Reuters. 
Gaza, 28 Dec. (AKI) - A commando of Palestinian militants has stormed an electoral office in Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to stop the Fatah movement from registering a new list of candidates. A similar assault by gunmen is reported in Rafah, where armed men are said to have surrounded the electoral office. The gunmen are loyal to imprisoned uprising leader Marwan Barghouti and oppose the inclusion of Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Cabinet minister Nabil Shaath on the candidatesâ list for the 25 January elections. 
JERUSALEM - The Israeli air force said it carried out an airstrike early Wednesday against a training base belonging to a Palestinian militant group in Lebanon, hours after a northern Israeli town was hit by rocket fire. The army said the base, located south of Beirut, belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small militant group that has waged a decades long fight against the Jewish state.
WASHINGTON - The United States has imposed sanctions against nine companies from China, India and Austria for supplying Iran with military equipment and technology, the State Department said on Tuesday. The sanctions, which ban the companies from doing business with the US government and US companies, were based on the Iran Non-Proliferation Act of 2000, which aims at preventing Teheran from developing nuclear weapons.
