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Salafist Group renamed "Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb"
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Afghanistan
15 killed in Afghanistan
A suicide bomber blew himself up on Friday outside a US-funded aid office in Afghanistan while the NATO-led force said it might have killed a senior Taliban leader in an airstrike. Separately, police said 10 Taliban rebels and a policeman died in a battle near the border with Pakistan.

Police in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, were following the suicide attacker after a tip-off when the blast happened close to the offices of the Alternative Livelihoods Programme, police said. The NATO-led force in Afghanistan meanwhile said it destroyed a “known insurgent command post” also in Helmand and killed a senior Taliban leader and his deputies. In another incident early on Friday, 10 Taliban militants and a police officer were killed in a gun battle in Paktika province, the provincial governor said.

A man shot dead a member of Afghanistan’s national assembly in Kabul on Friday, a government spokesman said. Mohammad Islam Mohammadi was killed walking to a mosque in an upmarket neighbourhood. Separately, unidentified gunmen killed a police officer in Kandahar province late on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
Renewed clan festivities kill four in central Somalia
(Somalinet) At least four people have been killed and seven more were injured in renewed clashes between clan militias in central Somalia on Friday. The fighting happened early today in Biyo-Adde settlement 40km north of Mahaday town of middle Shabelle region in Somalia, causing human casualties. The dead includes members of rival militias as well as civilians hit by stray bullets.

Mohamed Indhagir, one of local residents in Mahaday told Somalinet that the situation is now calm but there is fear of resuming the war. The fighting militias were belonging to Abgal clan of Hawiye tribe who had long-term conflict. The latest clashes came as clan elders from both sides were trying to end the conflict through dialogue.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Islamist fighters arrested at Somalia-Kenya border
(SomaliNet) Authorities in Kenya said their forces have arrested five men of foreign fighters including a U.S. national and a French national suspected to be fighters for Somalia's defeated Islamist movement, the Kenyan news papers reported. The five, which are believed to be belonging to Somalia Islamists, were carrying two AK 47 rifles with more than 120 rounds of ammunitions when they were arrested. Others were a Tunisian and two Syrians. A senior police official was quoted as saying a joint security team arrested the men late Wednesday at a border crossing near the Kenyan coastal town of Lamu.

This brings to 18 the number of suspects arrested in the area carrying passports of countries outside the East African region. Kenyan troops on Saturday arrested 13 foreigners carrying American, British and Arabian Gulf passports at Kiunga as they attempted to cross the border from Somalia. Officers from the Anti-terrorism Police Unit are interrogating the suspects. Government sources said the suspects could be brought to Nairobi for further interrogation. The suspects were handed over to the country's anti-terrorism police to carry out more investigations. "We are doing a background check on the suspects but so far their passports look genuine," the official added.

One of the men was carrying a U.S. passport, two had British passports and the rest carried Syrian, Saudi Arabian and Yemeni passports. Last week, the Kenyan government deported 34 people suspected to be members of the Islamist movement. The Islamists, who once controlled much of southern and central Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu, have retreated to remote regions near the Kenyan frontier, prompting Nairobi to close its border and lock out thousands of refugees.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  that US passport is fake. Destroy it. "Disappear" the holder. Thanks
Posted by: Frank G || 01/27/2007 8:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Speaking as a Canadian, I would be delighted if any Canadian "national" caught amongst these jackals was summarily shot. Then feed him, and his passport, to the pigs.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/27/2007 9:06 Comments || Top||

#3  Be careful with that jackals usage. Perhaps you mean cur?
Posted by: Shipman || 01/27/2007 10:07 Comments || Top||

#4  In the original Jungle Books, Mowgli has the utmost scorn for a pack of wild dogs, whom he insults for having hair growing between their toes. Perhaps that's the feeling Excalibur is aiming for?
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/27/2007 19:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Actually, the horn of Africa is home to the endangered Simean Jackal (sometimes called a fox or wolf). Maybe we should extend the Endangered Species Act to there. No building in the habitat, especially no mosques or madrassas.
Posted by: Jackal || 01/27/2007 19:39 Comments || Top||


Pirates resurface in Somalia
(SomaliNet) The local authorities of Harardhere town in central Somalia Friday have expressed great concern over reviving pirates in the town. Abdisalan Khalif, chairman of Harardhere town in Mudug region, central Somalia confirmed the local media that Somali pirates massed at the town which was notorious for piracy in the past. The pirates were reportedly preparing to launch acts of hijacking the ships on the the Somalia coasts.

Khalif rebuffed that residents in Haradhere were supportive of the pirates. “The pirates inflict harm to the civilian population, so there is no way residents can back the pirates”, he said.

Khalif said the government should send troops to crush down the pirates. The Islamic Courts Union, which was in control of the area for the past six months, eradicated the practices of piracy before they were forcefully driven out by the Ethiopian and Somali government troops. Harardhere, a coastal town was the hotspot of Somali pirates but Islamists later flushed out all pirates in the area.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So the Islamic Courts whacked the pirates?
This is the first (And only) Good thing I"ve heard about them. I hope the casualties were very high on both sides.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/27/2007 9:03 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Salafist Group renamed "Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb"
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) has changed its name after it asked for advice and permission from Osama Bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda. “All Muslims inside and outside Algeria are invited to deal henceforth with the “Organization of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb”. The organisation’s new name was expected since the announcement of the “Blessed Union”, in mid-September.

The organization leadership contacted Al-Qaeda leader, after his deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, announced GSPC had joined World Jihad Organization, to ask him for advice as concern the renaming, we read in a statement the Salafist Group posted on Islamic websites. The GSPC got the approval of Bin Laden for the step, goes on the statement signed by the chief of the organization Abdelmalek Droukdal alias Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud.

After he echoed two events: GSPC joining Al-Qaeda -calling it “God’s generosity”-, and the allegiance Salafist Group pledged to Bin Laden -he calls “current era’s lion”-, Abdel Wadud concluded “the old name of the organization should be changed so as to show unity is sound, coalition is strong and link is sincere between the Mujahideen in Algeria and all their brothers in Al-Qaeda organization”. He then explains how he wanted to make this name changing since he joined GSPC (created in 1998) but he delayed it for he was waiting Osama Bin Laden’s permission and advice. From now on, all our statements will be released under the new name “Organization of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb”, Abdel Wadud stressed.

Former security investigations revealed contacts between the GSPC (under the leadership of Nabil Sahrawi) and “Al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia” (under Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, killed last summer). The aim was to draw Jihadists from North-Africa, the Maghreb and African Sahel, who believe in Al-Qaeda’s doctrine based on targeting West’s interests and fighting regimes which declared war on Jihadists. An attack against a military barrack in Mauritania, executed by Khaled Abul Abbas, chief of the GSPC in the Sahara, on June 2005, came as part of this tendency, according to well informed sources. Al-Qaeda was interminably giving guidelines to the Salafist Group since 9/11 attacks.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  “Organization of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb”

Also known by their acronym “O-AIM”. Which sounds kinda gay to some but you should see their cool logo with a lion holding a scimitar in its teeth.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 01/27/2007 9:45 Comments || Top||

#2  I see this as a step backwards, Preaching, Combat & Boogaloo is a huge brand.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/27/2007 10:23 Comments || Top||

#3  "Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb"

lololol, “O-AIM” me 0'Allah into the ground!

lmao Mr. Ship, huge huge BRAND.. The new one is just a poor weak rip off excuse of, "Al-Qaeda by Maynard'G'Krebs"

/ole ref...way way moldy
Posted by: RD || 01/27/2007 14:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Work?!!
Posted by: Maynard G Krebs || 01/27/2007 14:28 Comments || Top||

#5  Al-Qaeda looks better in print & sounds better to the ear than GSPC ever did.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 01/27/2007 20:12 Comments || Top||


Britain
Alleged bomber likened to Jesus
A WITNESS told a British court overnight how an alleged terrorist looked like "Jesus nailed to the cross" after his bomb failed to properly detonate on a crowded underground train in London. The testimony came at the trial of six Muslim suspects accused over the failed suicide bombings on July 21, 2005, exactly two weeks after multiple suicide attacks left 56 people dead in the British capital.

Passenger Abisha Moyo, speaking as the court discussed the case of Hussain Osman, 28, said she heard a bang and then saw a man falling on to his back on top of a rucksack in the carriage. "He was in a position like Jesus when nailed to the cross, with his arms out to the sides," she said.

Osman and five others - Ramzi Mohammed, 25, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 33, Yassin Omar, 26, Muktar Said Ibrahim, 29, and Adel Yahya, 24 - deny charges of conspiracy to murder and to cause explosions likely to endanger life. Their trial at the top security Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London is one of Britain's highest profile cases in years and is expected to last four months. In other testimony, a retired nurse told the court how the alleged terrorist fled through her home following the failed attack, telling her "I'm just passing through."

Prosecutors said Osman climbed over a garden wall of Lola Henry's home, which backs onto the underground railway track, entered through their dining room window and exited their front door. Ms Henry recalled that she heard the noise of "someone running from my dining room area to the hall towards the front door before seeing the man identified by police as Osman. "The man said 'I won't hurt you, I'm just passing through' or words similar to that. He then opened the front door and went out," Henry said in a statement.

Another passenger, Eunice Olwa, said she saw the man squeeze himself between two train carriages and then jump down on to the track and walk away calmly. "It was like he was strolling in the park," she said.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thou shalt not take the name Tom Cruise in vain.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/27/2007 9:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Passenger Abisha Moyo, speaking as the court discussed the case of Hussain Osman, 28, said she heard a bang and then saw a man falling on to his back on top of a rucksack in the carriage. "He was in a position like Jesus when nailed to the cross, with his arms out to the sides," she said.

Don't they have free psychiatric care in SSRB?
Posted by: gromgoru || 01/27/2007 12:33 Comments || Top||

#3  And if he had crouched like he was hiding in a dark, wet sealed well, he would have been likened to the 12th imam. Gee.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/27/2007 12:45 Comments || Top||


Europe
ETA terrorist had 'planned to attack Americas Cup'
An arrested Eta terrorist was planning to carry out an attack on the Americas Cup planned for Valencia later this year, police said on Friday. Íker Aguirre Bernadal, 26, was arrested on Thursday on a train between Perpignan and Barcelona carrying bomb-making plans, EUR 3,000 in cash and documents with false identities.
Did he take a wrong turn at Islamabad?
Anti-terrorist police sources said Aguirre had been sent to plan an attack on the international yachting regatta by the Basque separatist group's military leader Garikoitz Aspiazu, known as 'Txeroki'.
That's not a name, that's a Scrabble rack.
The Americas Cup is due to start in April and reaches its climax in July. It will be opened by the King of Spain Juan Carlos, who has previously been the target of Eta assassination plots. The competition is expected to attract jihadis celebrities and royal families from around the world. Anti-terrorist sources said it appeared Eta was attempting to set up a 'commando' cell in Spain to carry out bomb attacks on the world's biggest yachting regatta.
So they send Numbnuts on a train with bomb plans, cash, and fake IDs, prolly sweating up a storm. The Allenists run their ops so much more professionally.
Agents on the French-Spanish border to stop terrorists entering the country spotted Aguirre, who is wanted in relation to a series of Eta attacks in the Basque Country in 2004.
Posted by: Seafarious || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maybe they won't carry out the plan if they appease them with more diplomacy? Maybe not!
Posted by: Gloque Elmang4914 || 01/27/2007 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  That's not a name, that's a Scrabble rack.

Heh heh hee. Keeper.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/27/2007 4:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Someone I know used to refer to the Basque language as “Upper High Cro-Magnon”.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 01/27/2007 8:03 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Bombing kills 11, wounds 35 in Pakistan
A suspected suicide attacker exploded a bomb near a Shiite Muslim mosque in this northwestern Pakistani city late Saturday, killing at least 11 people, including the city police chief, and wounding 35, police said. Most of the victims were police and municipal officials who were clearing the route for a procession of Shiites in a crowded old quarter of Peshawar, said police officer Aziz Khan. The procession had yet to begin.

This weekend marks the start of the festival of Ashoura,
Is it already time for the bloody rag festival?
when Shiites mourn the 7th century death of the prophet Muhammad's grandson, Imam Hussein. In the past the festival has been a target for sectarian attacks.

The blast went off in a bazaar area about 200 yards from the mosque that was the starting point for the Shiite procession. It caused a power outage that left the city center in darkness, complicating rescue efforts. At the bomb site, investigators found what appeared to be two legs from a suicide attacker, police officer Raza Khan said.

Eleven bodies and 35 wounded people were brought to Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, Aziz Khan said. The city's police chief, Malik Saab, was among the dead, said provincial police chief Sharif Virk. Hundreds of people crowded around the hospital seeking news on loved ones. By loudspeaker, hospital officials appealed for calm and blood donations. Aziz Khan had been on duty near the mosque when the bomb went off. "I thought my eardrums had burst. Then there were flames and the people were in panic. I remembered that there was a police contingent, so I went to see what had happened to my colleagues. Many were wounded in a bad way," he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion will likely fall on Sunni extremists. Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani condemned the attack, saying it had been orchestrated by the "enemies of Pakistan, Islam and humanity."
Members of the first two, enemy of the third.
Most Pakistani Shiites and Sunnis co-exist peacefully,
And I have a great investment for you, an Irish Bar in Quetta.
but militant groups on both sides are blamed for sectarian attacks that claim scores of lives every year. Security is already high across Pakistan for Ashoura, amid fears that the sectarian violence in Iraq could stir up animosity between minority Shiites and majority Sunnis in Pakistan.
Posted by: ed || 01/27/2007 16:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  blood donations? Shiites could call it part of teh festival....no needles, just swords and sling blades sickles
Posted by: Frank G || 01/27/2007 16:47 Comments || Top||

#2  14 and counting as parts are matched up.
Posted by: ed || 01/27/2007 16:50 Comments || Top||

#3  This would be an excellent time to fill out some contracts on some of the more obnoxious turdlings in the area. Let's see how much they enjoy American-made IEDs.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/27/2007 18:09 Comments || Top||

#4  meant to "cleverly" strike out sling blades....sh*t!
Posted by: Frank G || 01/27/2007 18:10 Comments || Top||


Two blasts rock Quetta
Two blasts rocked Quetta on Friday, Aaj Television reported. The channel quoted police officials as saying that miscreants fired two rockets from nearby hills that landed in the residential areas in Shahbaz Town and Jail Road. The first rocket hit a three-storied building in Shahbaz Town and damaged the building, while the second one also hit a building on Jail Road. No casualties were reported.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  couldn't be Hek's boyz. These guys actually hit something
Posted by: Frank G || 01/27/2007 8:10 Comments || Top||


Militants kill cop in Tank
Suspected militants killed a policeman and critically wounded another in Pakistan’s wild tribal, said officials on Friday. The suspected militants ambushed a police vehicle when it was on a routine patrol late on Thursday in the town of Tank. Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack. “They (militants) fired indiscriminately at the vehicle, killed a policeman and fled,” said an intelligence official. In another incident, dozens of militants attacked a tribal police post in Bajaur with rockets and machine-gun fire on Thursday night, critically wounding a policeman.

Also, suspected insurgents fired two rockets at a checkpost in Tank, a district adjoining South Waziristan, early on Friday, but they hit a wall and caused no casualties, said police. A Pakistani military air strike in the Zamzola area of South Waziristan region last week destroyed a suspected Al Qaeda hideout, killing at least eight people and sparking a protest. Two policemen were wounded on January 21 when a remote-controlled bomb exploded near a police van in Tank.

Pakistani troops have killed hundreds of Taliban and Al Qaeda militants who fled Afghanistan after the 2001 ousting of the Taliban regime.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I thought it was in a tank.
Posted by: Jackal || 01/27/2007 7:38 Comments || Top||

#2  I thought it was in the hoosegow (jail).
Posted by: Bobby || 01/27/2007 10:18 Comments || Top||


Iraq
U.S. military reports deaths of 7 troops
The U.S. military reported the deaths of seven more American soldiers Saturday, while Sunni insurgents bombed another market in a predominantly Shiite district, killing at least 13 people in a bid to terrorize Baghdad before a U.S.-Iraqi crackdown.

The U.S. deaths raised to at least 12 the number of service members killed in the past three days. The most recent seven deaths were the result of roadside bombs, two in Diyala province, two in Baghdad and three others at an unspecified location north of the capital.
Posted by: ed || 01/27/2007 16:11 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bless their hearts.
Posted by: newc || 01/27/2007 16:42 Comments || Top||

#2  RIP, you've more than earned it.

The most recent seven deaths were the result of roadside bombs,...

The new Iranian ones, I'd guess. I really hope someone's keeping a tally...
Posted by: xbalanke || 01/27/2007 20:20 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Violence halts Hamas-Fatah negotiations
All-in-all the article is pretty encouraging except for the last line.

Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah have suspended talks because of a groundswell of violence between them, spokesmen for the two groups said Friday. Ongoing clashes between the two groups Friday left at least 11 people dead -- including civilians and Fatah and Hamas militants -- and in three locations in Gaza, Palestinian security and medical sources said.

Eight people were killed and about 30 people wounded at the Jabalya refugee camp north of Gaza City, the sources said. At least two people were killed in clashes in Gaza City, and a two-year-old boy was killed in Khan Yunis, the Palestinian sources said. In addition, at least 18 people on both sides were kidnapped.

The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades -- Fatah's militant wing -- also kidnapped 11 Hamas members in Nablus in the West Bank but later released them, a spokesman for the Brigades said.

Fighting between Fatah and Hamas has raged in recent months. The two groups have differences in ideology and vision over what a Palestinian state should be and how it should be formed.

On Sunday, Abbas met with Hamas exiled political leader Khaled Mashaal in Syria, but the two failed to make much progress toward creation of a national unity government, they told reporters. One of the sticking points is how the competing security forces of Fatah and Hamas should divide their responsibilities.

Both sides expressed a desire to continue the discussions. They also agreed on the need to stop the spilling of Palestinian blood in factional fighting.
Posted by: gorb || 01/27/2007 04:28 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  On the other hand
Int'l aid to Palestinians up since Hamas win
Posted by: gromgoru || 01/27/2007 12:28 Comments || Top||

#2  If this sort of thing continues, I shall have to buy more popcorn.
Posted by: DMFD || 01/27/2007 20:35 Comments || Top||


Mortar shells target Palestinian Preventive Security in Gaza
(KUNA) -- Dozens of mortar shells targeted the headquarters of Palestinian Preventive Security in Tal Al-Hawa, west Gaza City Friday evening, Palestinian sources said. Four personnel of the headquarters were injured in the attack and were hospitalized. Militants also attacked with RPG launchers the house of Director General of Internal Security Rashid Abu-Shibak in Al-Rimal district, south Gaza. The house was damaged in the attack but no casualties were reported by the police sources.

Meanwhile, Palestinian medical sources said the death toll of the renewed clashes between Palestinian ruling Hamas movement and Fatah faction in north Gaza Strip Friday rose to 12. The personnel of the Hamas-led Executive Force surrounded the house of Mansour Shalayel, a leading activist of rival Fatah Movement in Jabaliya refugee camp earlier this evening. When the Fatah-led Presidential Guards stepped in to lift the siege on Shalayel a gun battle erupted, leaving Shalayel's brother and nephew killed and several others injured, according to eyewitnesses. The siege on Shalayel's house has ended later tonight.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  On the other hand
PA security forces members to start getting wages
Posted by: gromgoru || 01/27/2007 12:30 Comments || Top||

#2  paleo death toll at 21 by evening local time (on the 27th)
Posted by: mhw || 01/27/2007 19:06 Comments || Top||


15 dead as violence reaches new height in PA territories
Hamas gunmen stormed the home of a militant from the rival Fatah movement, witnesses said, sparking a deadly gun battle and capping a day of factional violence across the Gaza Strip that killed at least 13 people, including a 2-year-old boy. The fighting on Friday was among the deadliest in nearly two months and marred the first anniversary of Hamas' upset victory in Palestinian elections. After nightfall, the fighting showed no signs of slowing, as the sound of gunfire echoed throughout Gaza City.

The heaviest shooting was concentrated around the home of Mansour Shaleil, a local Fatah leader in the Jebaliya refugee camp just north of Gaza City. Hamas gunmen surrounded the home early Friday to detain Shaleil, accusing him of involvement in a shooting that killed two Hamas supporters. After an hours-long standoff, dozens of Hamas gunmen stormed the house and exchanged fire with Shaleil and his supporter, according to witnesses and ambulance drivers. They later withdrew, Palestinian media reported, leaving Shaleil unharmed. Two men identified as Hamas militants were killed. "It looks like they forgot who the enemy is," said Maher Mekdad, a Fatah spokesman. "They forgot the Israeli occupation."

Fatah gunmen, meanwhile, kidnapped 19 Hamas militants and threatened to kill them if Shaleil was harmed, officials on both sides said. After Shaleil's rescue, Hamas and Fatah officials said they were working with mediators to arrange the hostages' release.

During the day, fighting also spread to the headquarters of the pro-Fatah Preventive Security agency in Gaza City. Four Hamas gunmen were killed in a battle outside a nearby mosque. Hamas accused Fatah gunmen of starting the battle and wounding several worshippers in a drive-by attack. Mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades were fired during the melee, smashing windows on several homes.

In other incidents, fighting erupted outside the residences of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas. Hamas officials said Zahar's home was damaged by two rocket-propelled grenades.

Hundreds of security forces loyal to Abbas, who was in Europe at the time, were sent into the streets to protect his compound and various security installations. In all, 13 people were killed and 45 wounded throughout Gaza, medical officials said, in addition to two others killed just before midnight Thursday. Friday's dead included a 2-year-old boy who was shot while traveling in a car in the southern town of Khan Younis. Hamas and Fatah officials accused each other of firing the deadly shot. Just before midnight, a Palestinian policeman was killed in a patrol car, and his partner was wounded in the legs, officials said.

Abbas has threatened to order early elections, but Hamas has said it would boycott a new vote. Abbas' threat to call new elections, along with the deadlock in unity talks, has fueled the factional violence. Both Fatah and Hamas officials said late Friday that unity talks would be suspended until the fighting ends. Both sides blamed each other for the breakdown. "Following the awful massacres committed today ... we have decided to postpone all dialogue with Fatah," said Ismail Radwan, a Hamas spokesman.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, meanwhile, Fatah gunmen kidnapped a group of nine people, saying they were Hamas supporters. The group, consisting of a religious instructor and his teenage students, was freed after several hours.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Both Fatah and Hamas officials said late Friday that unity talks would be suspended until the fighting ends.

May your fights be numerous and fruitfull, wish you both from all my heart!
Posted by: twobyfour || 01/27/2007 0:30 Comments || Top||

#2  I think I'm getting sick of popcorn.
Posted by: Mike N. || 01/27/2007 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Article: "Following the awful massacres committed today ... we have decided to postpone all dialogue with Fatah," said Ismail Radwan, a Hamas spokesman.

15 dead is an awful massacre? These guys are sissies.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 01/27/2007 2:30 Comments || Top||

#4  Yep, Barb's gotten rich off the popcorn concession, but it's time to change to Doritos and death dip.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/27/2007 4:44 Comments || Top||

#5  Is it soup civil war yet?
Posted by: Scott R || 01/27/2007 6:44 Comments || Top||

#6  Teach both sides fire discipline, (sp) Then this will end quickly.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/27/2007 9:11 Comments || Top||

#7  And sights alignment too. But to both side at once.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 01/27/2007 11:36 Comments || Top||

#8  Come on boys! Aiming is not your forte. Start suicide booming each other.
Posted by: gromgoru || 01/27/2007 15:00 Comments || Top||

#9  Teach both sides fire discipline, (sp) Then this will end quickly. Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-01-27 09:11

And sights alignment too. But to both side at once. Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-01-27 11:36


No, we don't want them getting that much better. We want them to waste as much ammo as they can, so the next time they're up against the Israelis they're still their same lousy shots and wasteful of ammo.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 01/27/2007 15:17 Comments || Top||

#10  #4 Yep, Barb's gotten rich off the popcorn concession, but it's time to change to Doritos and death dip.

I'm not sure what death dip is, but Ima gonna go lookin fer sum.
Posted by: Mike N. || 01/27/2007 15:57 Comments || Top||

#11  Mortars, grenades and bombs, oh my. The Paleos may yet pull off a genuine civil war.Their proudest accomplishment in decades. 20 toe tags and counting.
Posted by: ed || 01/27/2007 16:16 Comments || Top||

#12  death dip : a mayo(or egg) dip left outside in the sun and re-fridged for use the next day. I'll pass :-)
Posted by: Frank G || 01/27/2007 16:21 Comments || Top||


Nine killed in Fatah-Hamas clashes
FACTIONAL clashes flared again in the Gaza Strip overnight between the ruling Hamas movement and president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party, killing nine people in barely 24 hours. A Fatah loyalist, four Hamas members, a teenager and a toddler were killed in the volatile coastal strip and another two Hamas supporters died of wounds received in an attack on Thursday night, medics said.

The clashes came after two weeks of relative calm in fighting between the rival factions, which had killed more than 30 people since mid-December and threatened to derail renewed talks over forming a unity government.

Nabil al-Jarjir, a member of armed Fatah offshoot the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, was killed in the northern town of Jabaliya by troops from a controversial interior ministry force loyal to Hamas.

Fatah spokesman Maher Miqdad accused force members of "executing" Jarjir after surrounding his house. Hamas said Jarjir was killed "in a shootout" with interior ministry troops who had come to arrest him.

Calling Jarjir "one of the lackeys of the putschists," an allusion to Fatah leaders, the ruling party said he was the principal suspect in an attack on a jeep transporting Hamas troops in Jabaliya late on Thursday.

That attack wounded seven of the Hamas-run force and five bystanders. Two of the wounded Hamas men died in hospital overnight, medics said.

Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniya called the jeep attack a "regrettable crime."

"We are working seriously on throwing light on the incident and finding those responsible," said Mr Haniya, who remains at the helm of a beleaguered Hamas-led government amid persistent deadlock in talks on a national unity administration acceptable to Western donors.

Soon after Jarjir's death, Hamas member Raed Soboh was killed and another wounded in Jabaliya when their car was fired on, medics said.

In the same neighbourhood, troops loyal to the ruling Islamists surrounded the house of another Al-Aqsa Brigades member, Mansur Shamayel, and fired several rocket-propelled grenades at it, witnesses said.

A teenage boy, 16-year-old Fadi Al-Khaldi, was killed by gunfire nearby, medics said.

In the southern city of Khan Yunis, a two-year-old was killed in the crossfire between the rival supporters.

In Gaza City, three Hamas loyalists were killed in exchanges with security force personnel under Abbas's command.

A general with the pro-Fatah security services, Jihad Sarhan, was also shot in the legs by Hamas forces in northern Gaza, security sources said.

Meanwhile, nine members of Hamas and five members of Fatah were kidnapped in tit-for-tat abductions in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank, nine Hamas members were kidnapped in the northern village of Kafr Qalil by Fatah, security sources said.

Deadly violence between Hamas and Fatah erupted on December 16 after Abbas called for early elections to resolve the standoff with Hamas over forming a coalition cabinet. Hamas rejected the move as a coup attempt against its democratically elected government.

Abbas is hoping that a unity government will lead the West to lift a debilitating aid freeze imposed on the Palestinian government after Hamas took office last March.

The European Union, the United States and Israel consider Hamas a terrorist organisation and are demanding that the Islamists renounce violence and recognise Israel and past peace deals before they resume the aid flow. But Hamas has steadfastly refused to do so.

Talks between the two factions resumed this week after Abbas met Hamas's exiled political supremo Khaled Meshaal in Damascus. The latest talks, which were due to happen today, was postponed after the renewed clashes.

Haniya said Hamas was "determined (to pursue) the dialogue" despite the violence.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Way, way to0 early to be sure, but Hamas seems to be getting the worst of it tactically.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/27/2007 4:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Every death, on either side, is a cheerful thing.
Posted by: Jackal || 01/27/2007 7:40 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Philippine troops raid MILF rebels, 6 dead
Fighting erupted in the southern Philippines on Saturday between security forces and Muslim separatists engaged in a peace process with the government and at least six people were killed, rebels and military officials said. Mohaqher Iqbal, chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), told Reuters soldiers were shelling rebel positions in Midsayap, a farming town in North Cotabato province.

"Fighting is still raging in Midsayap," Iqbal told Reuters by telephone from a hideout on the southern island of Mindanao. "We're still trying to confirm if our troops suffered some casualties because OV-10 planes were also indiscriminately dropping bombs in several villages in Midsayap."

Iqbal said the conflict was ignited by a land dispute between native Muslims and Christian settlers in Midsayap, and hundreds of villagers had fled the area. "The fighting must be stopped because it could affect the peace process. We've called up the international peace monitors to defuse the tension before it could further escalate into a full-blown war."

Lieutenant-Colonel Julieto Ando, a military spokesman in Cotabato, said six people were killed in the fighting including three rebels and three members of a pro-government militia. He said fighting broke out when soldiers chased a group of armed men raiding rice farms in Midsayap, seizing produce from local farmers.

Iqbal said the troops were using 105 mm howitzers and aerial bombardment. "We're definitely filing a protest before the ceasefire panel," he said, asking the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team to help stop the military operations.

A truce between the government and the MILF, the largest of four Muslim rebel groups in the southern Philippines, has been holding since July 2003 despite minor skirmishes.

Peace talks, brokered by Malaysia since March 2001, were stalled in May last year because of differences over the size and wealth of a proposed homeland for about 3 million Muslims in the south of the mainly Roman Catholic country. Last December, the MILF rejected a proposal by the government to resume negotiations because it was not satisfied with offers that would expand the existing five-province autonomous region for Muslims.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/27/2007 07:12 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Another victory against the MILF.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 01/27/2007 9:14 Comments || Top||

#2  OV-10 planes were also indiscriminately dropping bombs

Bullshit, pilots aim carefully
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/27/2007 10:00 Comments || Top||

#3  But they cant hit shit, they're phils. The best they can do is get w/in a grid of the enemy. No sights no training, they suck.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 01/27/2007 10:45 Comments || Top||


Cop Killed, School Torched in Southern Thailand
Jihadi *sswipes Suspected Muslim separatists ambushed police patrols and torched a school as Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont returned to southern Thailand Saturday for a third attempt at ending the bloody insurgency, officials said.

A police sergeant was in critical condition after he was shot three times at close range while on patrol with three other officers in the busy market of Yala's provincial capital, said police Maj. Suthas Noosikhong.

On Friday night, suspected insurgents killed a police sergeant in Pattani province and set fire to a government school in Yala province, totally destroying it.

Surayud, who arrived in southern Thailand Friday night, said he hoped for a peaceful solution to the conflict. "My government is standing firm on appeasement reconciliation and a peaceful solution despite clear evidence strong rumors and speculation that the situation is not improving," he told some 1,000 community and religious leaders in Pattani province on Saturday.

On his first visit, Surayud groveled shamelessly offered an apology to the local Muslims for past government wrongdoing, which was widely praised by supposed moderates in the south. But, predictably, the insurgency has continued unabated.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/27/2007 06:48 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  From Thailand to Afghanistan to Beslan to schoolgirls left to burn in Arabia, the leftards support barbarians who have decided to bypass burning books and go straight to burning teachers instead. And they call them Minute Men.
Posted by: Excalibur || 01/27/2007 9:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Yeah, well, some bible-thumpers over here don't like teaching evolution or sex-ed, so they are just as bad, maybe worse.
Posted by: Leftist idiot || 01/27/2007 19:44 Comments || Top||

#3  One of the times the statement, particularly the "maybe worse" matches the name exactly. WTG Leftist Idiot!
Posted by: Phineter Thraviger || 01/27/2007 20:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Leftist idiot, I'm not sure if your handle or comment is meant to be ironic.

Anyway, the teaching of science is fraught, because the essence of science is scepticism and continual re-examination of the evidence in order to falsify what is 'known', whereas education is about conveying some certainty about things.

This is difficult enough with intelligent adults and impossible with children. Ergo, you cannot teach science to children, you can only teach children about what science thinks it knows.

You may not like the theory of evolution taught as just theory (which of course it is), but I find this preferrable to such PC idiocy as climate change taught as incontrovertable fact.
Posted by: phil_b || 01/27/2007 20:18 Comments || Top||

#5  Look at the website: it's our own beloved Jackel. He's making allowances for those - like me - who aren't clever enough to notice it's him, ever since I cussed at him the other night when he quoted the Kos Kiddies. Some of us -- like me -- aren't subtle enough to notice if it isn't really obvious.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/27/2007 22:10 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
Three killed, five injured in LTTE attack in Northwestern Sri Lanka
(KUNA) -- At least two Sri Lankan troops and one civilian were killed and four others injured when suspected rebels of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked a route-clearing patrol in the Northwestern part of the Island Nation Friday. The slain civilian was travelling in a passenger bus which was caught in the attack Friday morning, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported. Three civilians and a policeman were also injured in the attack, the news agency said.

Violence has increased in the Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka during the past year, resulting in the loss of lives of more than 3,200 civilians, security men and Tamil rebels.
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


G'morning...
US woman fights off lion with penNine killed in Fatah-Hamas clashesIslamist fighters arrested at Somalia-Kenya borderSalafist Group renamed 'Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb'Pakistan using terror as tool, says Afghan FMHigh tension prevails in Beirut following bloody clashesPirates resurface in Somalia
Posted by: Fred || 01/27/2007 10:15 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And perhaps often did!
Posted by: Jolutle Shomoque5678 || 01/27/2007 10:46 Comments || Top||

#2  I always wanted to grow up to be Robert Wagner
Posted by: Frank G || 01/27/2007 11:43 Comments || Top||

#3  Natalie Wood, 0 Dear God Why? Dear Lord you Broke the mold and therefore my Heart. Yes my Everlasting Eternal Crush Upon Her, the Divinest Creature of them all...

¢¾ Natalie Wood ¢¾

0 Dear God Why? Dear Lord you Broke the mold and therefore my Heart. Yes my Everlasting Eternal Crush Upon Her, the Divinest Creature of them all.

hard, kick me
Posted by: Purple P || 01/27/2007 14:46 Comments || Top||

#4  ¢¾ were *hearts* in Preview, somehow they were cruely changed during Submit Query.


Posted by: Purple P || 01/27/2007 21:52 Comments || Top||



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