The Ministry of Defence has faced heavy criticism for failing to provide troops with technology that could help prevent "friendly fire" incidents after three soldiers died when an American jet dropped a bomb on them.
Ministers had been warned by MPs this year that they had repeatedly failed to invest in a combat identification system to protect British forces from accidental attacks by allies.
Ministers had been warned by MPs this year that they had repeatedly failed to invest in a combat identification system to protect British forces from accidental attacks by allies.
Yesterday it emerged that the three soldiers died in Afghanistan when a US plane called in by British troops to attack Taliban insurgents they were fighting accidentally hit them with a 500lb bomb instead.
Continued on Page 49
#2
Hokay, how is it that Muslim terrorist atrocities against fellow Muslims are never termed "friendly fire"? That's what it is, or are all of us foolish Westerners so gulled into believing that substantial rifts exist in how Islam wants us all DEAD?
I thought so. Well, when does the MSM start mentioning how Islamic "friendly fire" kills far more Muslims that the West has ever had the courage to do?
#3
CORRECTION: Well, when does the MSM start mentioning how Islamic "friendly fire" kills far more Muslims THAN the West has ever had the courage to do?
#5
You just knew the Brit lefties and chickenshiite Tories were going to engage in a Paleo-style corpse swarm over this -- if these troops had come home alive they'd have spit on them.
Posted by: regular joe ||
08/25/2007 9:10 Comments ||
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#6
There's a bigger issue here. Britain's model for command and control across the services is a bit different from ours, an older dispersed model. Plus their investment in training and equipment far lags the quality of their (older) troops.
They need an upgrade, but which one? The Euroforce or US-compatible? And how much do we make available to / design alongside them, given that some UK government (Brown's, possibly) will opt for the full Euro alignment?
I do know that we've offered them tech to solve the ID issue. But there has to be a political will to move in the US direction plus an agreement within the upper UK military ranks. And, they have to find the money for it, which is harder and harder now that the EU 'treaty' binds them to a huge welfare burden for an essentially unrestricted immigrant flow.
#7
The US has been bombing friendlies since WW2. There's a tiny bit of truth in this old joke: When the Germans start bombing, the British take cover. When the Brits start bombing, the Germans take cover. When the Americans start bombing, everyone takes cover.
In the case of strategic bombing in WW2, however, the situation was completely reversed.
#8
One of my dad's war stories was one that said a whole squad of infantry soldiers was wiped out in a "tactical" airstrike during the push north out of Luxembourg toward Bastogne. I checked it out - it was true. It wasn't the only incident, either. Many of our soldiers during WWII would praise and curse the "airdales" in the same breath.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/25/2007 13:53 Comments ||
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#9
"The US has been bombing friendlies since WW2"
Lemme give you a hint: everybody's been bombing friendlies since WW2.
Friendly fire is a much bigger problem than is generally admitted. The problem here is that the Brits are more than a decade behind the Americans in blue force tracking. Other counties are even worse off.
That said, the 9th Air Force was proudly known as "the American Luftwaffe" for its impartial strafing of both sides during WW2.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/25/2007 15:33 Comments ||
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#10
Lemme give you a hint: everybody's been bombing friendlies since WW2. The problem here is that the Brits are more than a decade behind the Americans in blue force tracking.
And how many times has it happened that the Brits bombed their own? Supposedly they are the ones far behind with the technology, but I've heard only about incidents involving American pilots. Plain dumb luck?
#17
No doubt. 6 Harriers probably fly no more than every other day. CENTAF Air Power Summaries show 40-50 CAS missions a day, so the Harriers contribute around 5% of aircraft and less in flight hours and bombs dropped due to Harrier load limits vs A-10s, F-15s or B-1.
Will the investigation show the FAC called his own coordinate to be bombed (happened before) or a bomb malfunction? The other possibility of the pilot entering wrong coordinates and verifying it seems small since in that case the bomb is more likely to wildly off.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2007 20:01 Comments ||
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Gunmen shot and killed a Somali radio journalist in the south of the country Friday, a colleague said, in the third violent death of a journalist within two weeks. Abdulkadir Moallim Kaskey, who worked for a local station called Benadir, died and a woman traveling with him was wounded in an attack on their minibus in southwestern Gedo province, said a colleague, Mohamed Sanweyn. "Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey was a young talented journalist, and we are deeply concerned by his killing," another colleague, Mohamed Mo'allin, told the Associated Press by phone. He did not know why Kaskey had been killed.
On Aug. 11, two journalists from Mogadishu-based HornAfrik were murdered, the first man by gunmen and the second in an explosion when he returned from his colleague's funeral.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
You cannot imagine how conflicted this news item makes me.
A van packed with explosives blew up Friday outside a police station in the Basque country, shattering windows, destroying cars and injuring two officers in the first serious attack by the separatist group ETA since it called off cease-fire in June.
Authorities blamed ETA for the pre-dawn blast targeting a Civil Guard station in Durango, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Bilbao, the region's main city. It caused residents of nearby apartment buildings to dash out in the streets in rainy weather, some still in their pajamas.
The police facility also includes living quarters for 30 officers and their families, although it was not known how many people were there at the time of the blast. ETA usually phones in warnings before it attacks, but this time it did not. "Families and children live in that police station, which makes the attack all the more despicable," said Paulino Luesma, the Spanish Interior Ministry's representative in the Basque region. Two officers were treated for cuts from flying glass and later released.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder how the Basque feel about being compared to muzzies? I wonder if the Basque people are ripe for conversion to Islam?
#2
Based on reading about Basque history and culture, I don't think they are likely converts.
This is a people that quite likely are direct descendents of the original Cro Magnon humans in western Europe. They have distinctive faces, a language that cannot reliably be affiliated to any other known language in existence, a unique profile of blood types (many Rh negatives) and a culture and remaining homeland they defend fiercely. They give allegiance, not to a country or an ideology, but literally to a 'house' etxea, a clan symbolized by their ancestral homes which are given names of their own. Two Basques introduce themselves not by surname but by the name of their family house even if that building is no longer standing. A well known modern Basque poem goes, in English,
I shall defend the house of my father,
against wolves, against draft, against usury, against the law.
I shall defend the house of my father.
I shall lose cattle, orchards, pine groves,
I shall lose interest, income, dividends,
but I shall defend the house of my father.
They will take my weapons and with my hands I shall defend the house of my father,
they will cut off my hands and with my arms I shall defend the house of my father,
they will leave me armless, without shoulders, without chest
and with my soul I shall defend the house of my father.
I shall die; my soul will be lost; my descendents will be lost,
but the house of my father will endure on its feet.
ETA might perhaps consider some operational coordination with jihadis. But for their own purposes, not as converts. The Basques are not likely to embrace their dissolution into a caliphate.
Ignatius of Loyala, founder of the Jesuits, was Basque and is still highly revered there, although not necessarily by the ETA types.
#3
Another reason that I doubt Basques are good candidates for conversion to Islam is that among traditional Basque families women have an homored place as well as men.
For instance, traditionally each etxea has an etxekandere, an older woman who is seen as the spiritual head of the house and who looks after blessings and prayers for all members of the family, living and the dead buried in the house burial ground. This is true even in devoutly Catholic families, or so I've read.
Somehow it's hard to see your basic sexually screwed up jihadi dealing well with a people who stubbornly endure on their own terms even while in many cases doing quite well as explorers, capitalists and outstanding seamen.
BAGHDAD - This year's U.S. troop buildup has succeeded in bringing violence in Baghdad down from peak levels, but the death toll from sectarian attacks around the country is running nearly double the pace from a year ago.
Some of the recent bloodshed appears the result of militant fighters drifting into parts of northern Iraq, where they have fled after U.S.-led offensives. Baghdad, however, still accounts for slightly more than half of all war-related killings the same percentage as a year ago, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press.
The tallies and trends offer a sobering snapshot after an additional 30,000 U.S. troops began campaigns in February to regain control of the Baghdad area. It also highlights one of the major themes expected in next month's Iraq progress report to Congress: some military headway, but extremist factions are far from broken.
More spinning at the link. They did mention that one attack killed 500 Yazidis. The military offers no statistics to the contrary. Quagmire!
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/25/2007 17:03 ||
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#1
To the AP:
Terrorist Murderer Death == Civilian Iraqi baby ducks and bunny Death
#2
Yes according to the AP all Iraqi on Iraqi deaths are the the fault of US forces.
According to the moonbats and muslims there are thousands killed everyday by US forces. They spread this crap about the web on a daily basis as part of their infowar. The AP is just trying to back them up.
Hyderabad, India: Twenty persons were killed and nearly 60 injured in two powerful near-simultaneous blasts at a crowded park and a popular eating joint in Hyderabad on Saturday evening.
Eight persons died when an explosion ripped through an auditorium in Lumbini Park in the heart of Hyderabad when a laser show was on, police said.
The blast occurred at about 7.45 pm when the laser show had just started. So powerful was the blast that some of the bodies were flung into the air and scattered over the area.
The police rushed to the spot and took the injured to the nearby Mediciti hospital. The condition of several injured persons is stated to be critical.
In another blast around the same time at Gokul Chat Bhandar at Kothi area, at least 12 persons were killed and scores were injured. The police is not sure whether it was a LPG cylinder burst or a bomb explosion. The injured were rushed to Osmania General Hospital.
The police cordoned off the areas and sounded a red alert across Hyderabad and conducted searches at railway stations and bus depots.
Soon after the explosion, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy reviewed the situation with Director-General of Police M A Basith and other top officials.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 12:04 ||
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#1
Near-simultaneous blasts and they don't want to conclude but one of them was a bomb?
What kind of eating joint was it? Unless it was Muslim, we can make a good guess as to the religion of the perps (and even if it was Muslim, it might be the 'wrong kind'). Or is that 'profiling'?
India's majority has been mighty patient and accepting of such attacks, even on their Parliament; when (if) that ever ends, the confrontation could dwarf anything in the last 50 years.
#2
Reports of a third blast at Osmania University and the recovery of 2 unexploded IEDs at one site.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 12:53 Comments ||
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#3
About a decade ago I went to Hyderabad India on business (they've got a Hyderabad in Pakistan as well). I could be wrong but I think Lumbini park is in Gulcunda fort in the center of town. That's where I saw a light show at least. The center of town is the Muslim part of town, by the way. Gulcunda is one of only two real tourist attractions in the city. The other is a temple (might be Gokul Chat Bhandar, I honestly have no idea).
The people in Hyderabad were nice people even if a few did quiz me on US support for Pakistan (well if you hadn't sided with the Soviets...). It makes me sad to hear the city was targetted.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/25/2007 19:01 Comments ||
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#5
Some history....
OPERATION POLO: THE LIBERATION OF HYDERABAD
L N SUBRAMANIAN
The State of Hyderabad comprised most of the Deccan Plateau. At the time of Indias independence, Hyderabad was the largest Indian princely state in terms of population and GNP. Its territory of 82,698 sq miles was more than that of England and Scotland put together.
Having risen from the ruins of the Mughal Empire, it was like many other princely states where a Hindu majority was ruled over by a ith a Muslim ruler called the Nizam. Established in the 18th century by Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jha, it came under British protection under the policy of Subsidiary Alliances instituted by Arthur Wellesley.
In 1947 the Nizam of Hyderabad was Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan, a man of vast wealth. Dreaming of an independent state he sought Dominion status from the British only to rebuffed by Lord Mountbatten. The Indian Government was averse to a forced takeover and agreed to conclude a Standstill Agreement. It was hoped that this would open negotiations and the eventual peaceful accession of the state. However this only emboldened the Razakars a militant organization led by Kasim Rizvi. Helped by the manipulations of the Nizam and his men the Razakars aided by the communists let loose an orgy of violence.
The Razakars went on a recruiting spree including many from outside the state. There was an orgy of political murders and Hindu villages were razed. By the spring of 1948 they become bold enough to raid the Union territory. On 6th September a police post near Chillakallu village came under heavy fire from Razakar units. A squadron of Poona Horse and a company of 2/5 Gorkha Rifles were sent to investigate. They too came under fire. The tanks then chased the Razakars to Kodar, in Hyderabad territory. Here they were opposed by the armoured cars of 1 Hyderabad Lancers. In a brief action the Poona Horse destroyed one armoured car and forced the surrender of the state garrison at Kodar. Since the trouble began the Razakars had attacked about 70 villages in the state, 150 attacks outside the state, killing, raping and looting. The Nizam was given a last warning to rein in the Razakars.
The Nizam instead continued to insist that the conditions were normal and that his own troops were capable of maintaining law and order. Then hoping to get the UN to intervene, a delegation of his advisors left for UN headquarters via Karachi. This raised the possibility of the same power politics that plagued the case of Jammu & Kashmir. It was time for decisive action. The first plans for a military operation were outlined by Lt General E.N. Goddard GOC-in-Chief Southern Command. This envisaged the capture of Hyderabad the state capital with a dual thrust by 1st Armoured Division, from Vijayawada (Bezwada) in the East a distance of 250 km and Sholapur in the West, a distance of 300 km while small units will pin down the Nizam forces on the border.
Hyderabad had a large army with a tradition of hiring mercenary forces. This included Arabs, Rohillas, UP Muslims and Pathans. The State Army consisted of 3 armoured regiments, a horsed cavalry regiment, 11 infantry battalions and artillery. There were supplemented by irregular units with a horse cavalry, four infantry battalions (Saraf-i-khas, paigah, Arab and Refugee) and a garrison battalion for a total of 22000 men. Finally there were the Home Guards and Razakars. They were commanded by Major General El Edroos an Arab. The Razakars totaled about 200,000 although only 25 percent were armed with modern small arms and the rest with muzzleloaders and swords.
The Indian Armys police action was as violent as it was swift. It killed 1373 Razakars and captured 1911. In addition Hyderabad State Army lost 807 killed and 1647 captured. The Indian Armys losses were never officially revealed but a figure of less than 10 killed is commonly accepted. It was a sudden and crushing blow to a movement that had vowed to hoist the Asafia flag on the Red Fort.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 19:50 Comments ||
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#6
There were apparently harsh measures taken against the Razakars, especially the Arabs... summary execution. The survivors were deported to Yemen IIRC
The Indian State took possession of the Nizam's jewel collection. Kept in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India, they are occasionally put on display
Dating back to the early 18th century to the 20th century, the jewellery includes the world famous 184.50 carat Jacob diamond mined in the 11th century A.D. and priced at over Rs. 400 crore. Twenty-two priceless uncut Colombian emeralds, believed to have been part of the Romanov treasury, the Alexandriate ring, step-cut emerald arm bands weighing 100 to 150 carats and said to be from Tippu Sultan's collections and a 250-carat necklace studded with 12 diamonds unearthed from the hinterlands of Golkonda are also part of the display.
some of the pieces...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 19:56 Comments ||
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#7
The MIM, the Islamist political party that organized the Razakars, still exists. Its main MP is the son of a Razakar leader.
Known for his pro-Pakistan sympathies, he has a history of asking quite detailed technical questions in the Indian parliament on Defense matters. Many think him an ISI operative.
He has built an office block that coincidently overlooks a DRDO defense facility.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:17 Comments ||
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#8
The Jacob diamond
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:18 Comments ||
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#9
WOW great read John. I'll bet the local Mooselimb old timers git royally pissed off every time those Jewells are "Aired Out".
*
damn wouldn't my girls fight over those rocks eh?
~:)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/25/2007 20:20 Comments ||
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#10
Hyderabad, Aug. 25: The explosive chemical used in the Hyderabad twin blasts was manufactured at Nagpur, police said on Saturday. Investigators also confirmed that the twin explosions were carried out by crossborder terrorists. Bomb experts who worked on the unexploded bomb found near the Malakpet foot overbridge near Veknatadri theatre, identified the explosive as Neo Gel 90, a slurry and emulsifier (class 2 explosives) manufactured by Ameen Chemicals at Nagpur. A wooden container was used to stuff the slurry. The bomb was fitted with an alarm clock manufactured by Prince Company.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:22 Comments ||
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#11
Nasty bit of work ... ball bearings and glass shard shrapnel...
Police said that high explosive slurry (ammonuim nitrate plus emulsifier) was used in all the bombs that shattered the peace in Hyderabad on Saturday. All the three bombs the ones at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat and the unexploded one at Malakpet were connected to mechanical timers for detonation. Commissioner of Police Balwinder Singh confirmed that the blasts were terror acts. The two explosions are linked, he said. At least 36 people were killed and 39 were injured. Sleuths of the City Security Wing and bomb experts said that high explosives were stuffed in metallic containers and placed in black bags at Gokul Chat Bandar and Lumbini Park. "We found pieces of nine volt batteries and remnants of high explosives at the scene of the blasts, said a senior police officer.
At Gokul they used cycle balls and glass pieces as splinters, the police officer said. He added that the same technique was used in the Dilsukhnagar Sai Baba temple blast to produce maximum casualties. Four persons were killed in that blast in November 2002. There is a metal detector in Lumbini Park but they dont usually check the baggage, said the police officer. Experts from the bomb squad confirmed that both the blasts were triggered at 7.40 pm with timer devices. Black bags were also used in the Mecca Masjid blast which occurred three months ago. But whereas RDX was used in the Mecca Masjid, slurry was used in Saturdays blasts. Meanwhile, mischief mongers spread rumours across the city and police got 16 bomb threat calls. All of them were found to be hoax.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:24 Comments ||
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#12
184.50 carat Jacob diamond, jeebus!!
John is it approximatly the size of a Hard Ball? Damn, looks flawless too, not that I would know.
Worth? Priceless because of its history... the Gulf A-rabs would pay anything to git their hands on it.
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
08/25/2007 20:28 Comments ||
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#13
Indian politicians are at it again... the Chief Minister has visited a hospital...
Describing the blasts as the cruellest act against humanity, he said its perpetrators could have no religion, ideology or national identity.
Unwilling to point the finger at local Muslim groups...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:37 Comments ||
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#14
It must be those stateless, atheist, random bomber people... yes.. anybody but Muslims...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:40 Comments ||
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#15
Muslims? Where is the previous tie-in? Certainly not...
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 20:45 Comments ||
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#16
The current Indian government has pressured the police against "unfairly targeting" the Muslims.
Not a single terror case has been solved since they have been in power. This will be no different.
The perpetrators will be said to have vanished, either to Pakistan or Bangladesh and that will be that...
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 20:58 Comments ||
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#17
/cynical asshole, John, you should be used to me by now ;-)
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 21:24 Comments ||
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#18
Reports of unexploded bombs being discovered in a movie theatre in Narayanaguda and in Dilsukhnagar suggested that the attacks - similar to the Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad that killed 16 people this May - were well-planned serial attacks aimed at causing maximum casualties among citizens chilling out over the weekend.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/25/2007 22:53 Comments ||
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#19
It's like a Rambo Series: Same story, over and over again. They aren't stopped and then, finally, people get sick of them and anhilate them.
Since the trouble began the Razakars had attacked about 70 villages in the state, 150 attacks outside the state, killing, raping and looting. The Nizam was given a last warning to rein in the Razakars.
The Nizam instead continued to insist that the conditions were normal and that his own troops were capable of maintaining law and order. Then hoping to get the UN to intervene, a delegation of his advisors left for UN headquarters via Karachi. This raised the possibility of the same power politics that plagued the case of Jammu & Kashmir. It was time for decisive action
The Indian Armys police action was as violent as it was swift. It killed 1373 Razakars and captured 1911. In addition Hyderabad State Army lost 807 killed and 1647 captured. The Indian Armys losses were never officially revealed but a figure of less than 10 killed is commonly accepted
One guerrilla of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit has surrendered to the police in the Doda district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. LeT guerrilla -- Abu Hafiz, alias Bashir Ahmed Malla, of Doda district surrendered before Indian security forces and also laid down arms and explosives late Thursday, the news agency United News of India reported Friday. Hafiz was active in Bharat, Kulhand, Desa and Kothi areas of the Doda district since 2003.
Gunship helicopters pounded two different positions of suspected militants as six soldiers were killed in two suicide attacks on as many military convoys in North Waziristan, a military spokesman said on Friday.
A convoy coming from Bannu was attacked by a suicide car-bomber near Kamar post, 18 kilometres east of Miranshah, killing five soldiers. Another convoy faced a suicide attack when it reached Dosali, 35 kilometres south of Miranshah, spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said, adding that a soldier was killed in the attack. He said the suicide attacks also injured 30 soldiers. The injured were rushed to a Bannu hospital. Suicide attacks are difficult to stop but we are taking precautionary measures, Gen Waheed told Daily Times, as the operations near Miranshah and Mir Ali towns followed the morning attacks on security forces.
Some reports suggest the same convoy was hit twice, but the military spokesman denied this, saying that two convoys were attacked. Gunship helicopters are pounding suspected areas near Miranshah as we have received credible intelligence about the presence of militants there, the spokesman said.
According to residents, the operation took place in Qutabkhel, five kilometres southeast of Miranshah, where gunship helicopters made various sorties starting from 3:00pm.
Reports from Mir Ali town said helicopters also pounded Patasi Adda. No casualties were reported in the two military operations.
A Touchi Scouts jawan, Zaman, was kidnapped from a chowk in Miranshah and authorities are searching for him, local administration sources said. In another incident, two Frontier Corps and an army jawan were injured after a remote-controlled bomb went off near the Banda post.
AP adds: About 250 militants and 60 Pakistani troops have died in a month of fierce fighting near the Afghan border, the army said on Friday. In the past one month, we lost about 60 soldiers in suicide and other attacks, Gen Waheed said. He added that security forces also killed about 250 militants in the same period.
The fighting has been intense in the North Waziristan tribal region, where militants pulled out of a September peace deal that critics said allowed extremists to take control. Pakistan has about 90,000 troops in the border region tasked with countering Al Qaida and Taliban militants and their local supporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) on Friday claimed that it had killed six people, five security personnel and a Baloch spy working for the government, in two separate incidents. The BLA claimed it fired rockets on a security forces camp in the Siyapadh locality of the Khoistani Marri area on Friday, killing five security personnel. BLA spokesman Bibarg Baloch told Daily Times via satellite phone from an unidentified location that the BLA had killed the army personnel.
The organisation also claimed responsibility for detonating a bomb at a security forces camp in Sibi. The killing of army personnel in Kohistani Marri could not, however, be confirmed from official sources despite repeated attempts by Daily Times to verify the BLA claim.
The BLA spokesman said there had been no let-up in military operations in Balochistan. Government forces had initiated the latest round of operations in Pishin, Kahan, Chapikach, Bamboor, Jandaran and Uch Daman, he said, adding that the epicentres of the latest operations were the Marri and Bugti tribal areas, where forces were using fighter jets and heavy artillery. Bombardment of these areas, which started several days ago, continued till Friday morning. Many Baloch women and elderly citizens have been killed in the fresh round of military operations, said Baloch.
The BLA also claimed responsibility for killing Niaz Mohammad Marri, who the spokesman said was a traitor. Unidentified assailants killed Marri in the Kili Kamalo area of Quetta on Friday. Marri was a Baloch traitor who was operating as an agent for government intelligence agencies. He provided Baloch secrets to the government and facilitated Baloch youths recruitment in intelligence agencies to undermine the nationalist struggle, the BLA spokesman said.
He said not many people were aware of Niaz Marri but he was even more dangerous than former Balochistan government spokesman Raziq Bugti, whose killing last month the BLA had also claimed responsibility for. We wish to warn all Baloch people who join the Pakistan army or its intelligence agencies to prepare for dire consequences, the BLA spokesman warned.
He said the BLA had formulated a long hit-list of Balochis and Punjabis operating as government spies. All of them have been issued warnings individually. If they continue to work for the government, the BLA will have no option but to kill them one after another, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unknown assailants gunned down an activist of the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) early on Friday. The banned SSPs activist Kaleen Ullah, 22, was shot dead in Tareenabad Colony in Cantonment Police Stations jurisdiction. The assailants managed to escape from the scene.
This article starring:
KALIN ULLAH
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Coalition forces detained a foreign fighter during an intelligence-driven operation in northern Arab Jabour Aug. 22.
Intelligence indicates the targeted individual is a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device cell leader targeting coalition forces operating in the Arab Jabour area. He was born in Egypt but came to Iraq in the early 1980s and later joined al-Qaeda fighters. He has Iraqi citizenship and believed to be a former high ranking official of the Baath party during Saddam Husseins reign.
There were three other individuals detained during the operation.
A clash between troops and Kurdish rebels near Turkey's southeast border with Iraq left 10 rebels and two soldiers dead, the military said Saturday.
The fighting erupted Friday near Uludere, a town in Sirnak province, when the troops called for the rebels to surrender but were met with gunfire, the military said in a statement on its Web site.
It was the number of casualties in a single clash in recent months.
The rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.
Kurdish rebels have killed about 80 soldiers since January, most in roadside bomb attacks on military vehicles.
Turkey has threatened to invade northern Iraq to eradicate rebel bases there if U.S. or Iraqi forces do not crack down on the PKK.
During a visit by Iraq's prime minister to Ankara last week, the two countries agreed to try to root out the rebels. But Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said the Iraqi parliament would have the final say on efforts to halt the guerrillas' cross-border attacks into Turkey.
The military statement said troops were pressing ahead with anti-rebel offensives in Sirnak, but gave no further details.
Coalition Forces delivered several blows to al-Qaeda in Iraqs car bombing networks Friday, killing two terrorists and detaining 18 suspected terrorists during operations in central and northern Iraq.
Information from a raid in Baghdad Aug. 15 led Coalition Forces to a weapons facilitator in the city. Two men in the targeted building refused to comply with the interpreters instructions and made threatening movements toward the assault force. Coalition Forces defended against the hostile threat and engaged the two men, killing both. One of the men was identified as the weapons trafficker sought in the raid. Coalition Forces detained one suspected terrorist from the scene.
Iraqi and Coalition Forces detained nine suspected terrorists associated with two high-profile bombing attacks during operations in Kirkuk and Tikrit. In Kirkuk, Iraqi and Coalition Forces targeted a member of the local car-bombing cell who is believed to have used his house to store the truck bombs used in the July 16 attack that killed 80 people. The ground forces detained four suspected terrorists linked to the cell. Coalition Forces also targeted associates of Haytham Sabah al-Badri who participated in the Samarra Golden Mosque bombing. Coalition Forces detained five suspected terrorists during the operation and found an 80-pound bag of Iraqi money.
In Mosul, Coalition Forces conducted two raids targeting the suicide bombing network there. A precision raid nabbed a suspected expert car bomb maker in charge of all suicide bombers in the area. During another raid, Coalition Forces detained three suspected terrorists linked to a safe house operator who shelters suicide bombers for attacks in Ninewa and Dahuk provinces.
During a raid in the Tarmiyah area, Coalition Forces captured a suspected senior operative of a bombing network whose leader was killed during an operation Aug. 20. Three additional suspects were detained for their ties to the bombing network. Each operation presents us the next piece of intelligence, the next target, the next mission to capture and disrupt the networks conducting brutal and indiscriminate attacks against Iraqis, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. Were pursuing them relentlessly we want to stop them before they can strike.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
It's become clear that we have the upper hand and they will disappear by attrition.
This, of course, is bad news for the MSM and thge democrats. However, attrition is taking it's toll on the MSM as well. Do you think the democrats will fare better ?
Coalition Forces killed seven terrorists and detained 12 suspected terrorists during operations Friday to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraq networks in central and northern Iraq.
Coalition Forces returned to an area east of Tarmiyah where they killed 13 terrorists and captured 12 suspects last week during an operation targeting an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell in the area. Local Iraqis who had helped Coalition Forces target the cell last week continued to provide information about terrorist operations there. Upon the assault forces arrival on the scene, two armed men engaged them with small arms fire. Coalition Forces returned fire in self defense, killing the two terrorists. As the assault force continued to secure the group of buildings, they encountered five separate armed men, each attempting to barricade himself in a room. In each case, when the armed men drew their weapons, Coalition Forces defended against the hostile threat and engaged them, killing all five.
Inside one of the buildings, the ground forces found fighting positions carved out of the structure. Coalition Forces detained four suspected terrorists, and assess that nine individuals identified by name in intelligence reports had been killed or captured.
With the help of the Iraqi community, we basically crippled this cell, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. Well continue working with local citizens to dismantle the rest of the networks that threaten the security of Iraq.
Three other operations in the Tigris River Valley rounded up eight suspected terrorists. In Mosul, Coalition Forces detained two suspects while targeting an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq leader who issues orders to attack Kurds, Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces, and is believed to be a key recruiter for al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Near Taji, information from an operation Aug. 17 helped Coalition Forces target a weapons facilitator who is associated with al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders. The ground forces detained four suspected terrorists during the raid. North of there, an operation to disrupt al-Qaeda in Iraqs influence in Bayji netted two suspected terrorists allegedly tied to the top terrorist leaders in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers battled with insurgents in the Doura neighborhood of Baghdad Aug. 20 leaving three suspected terrorists dead. Troops from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div, heard gunfire near a bridge and went to investigate. When the Warriors saw a checkpoint taking fire, they engaged one insurgent with small arms fire, killing him.
Twenty minutes later, the troops began taking small arms fire and noticed numerous suspected insurgents armed with AK-47s and PKC machine guns preparing fighting positions. The troops once again opened fire killing two more insurgents. Combat aviation elements were called in for support but did not fire. There were no Coalition casualties from either incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Iraqi citizens and police fought back against an al-Qaeda attack on two villages near Kanaan early Thursday morning, brought on because the villagers had begun assisting Iraqi Security Forces in pushing the terrorist group out of the area.
An unknown number of terrorists were killed, said Skeik Thar al-Karki, the paramount sheik for the Karki tribe, stating they could not determine the number because AQI members load the bodies in vehicles during attacks. Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of Coalition Forces in Diyala province, visited leaders in both villages where they reported 10 citizens killed, 11 wounded and 14 women and children taken hostage. Many villagers commented to Sutherland that this kind of brutality would only stiffen their resolve and cause other nearby villages to stand up against AQI. This is a disgraceful act showing the truly barbaric acts of al-Qaeda and the disdain they show for the foundations of Islam, said Col. Sutherland. Their actions will not be tolerated and they will be brought to justice.
The attack was targeted at two senior sheiks in Kanaan who have been backing concerned local nationals and security forces in their stand against AQI, said Thar.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
My condolences for those who were killed, wounded, or taken captive. However, resistance must continually be offered to ensure that your manhood is not questioned.
Sixty suspected al-Qaida in Iraq fighters hit national police facilities in a coordinated attacks in Samarra, sparking two hours of fighting that saw three people killed and more than a dozen insurgents captured, police said Friday.
There were no details on insurgent casualties, but police arrested 14 suspects.
The masked attackers drove into the city at dusk Thursday in about 20 vehicles, including pickups with machine-guns, then split into small groups and assaulted four police checkpoints and a headquarters building, a Samarra police official said.
One policeman and two civilians - a woman and an 11-year-old girl - were killed in the fighting in the city 95 kilometers north of Baghdad, and nine others were injured including a police commando and three children. There were no details on insurgent casualties, but police arrested 14 suspects, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Strange. An unusually large and complex attack but few casualties. How could they manage to kill only one of their (presumed) targets? Or, if civilians were the target, only two? And manage to get 14 of themselves arrested (20% of attack force)? It doesn't add up to me; something is incorrect about the story as written.
#3
To me it sounds more like the Iraqi police screwed up somehow and made up a story about a big attack to explain it. That may not be the case, but I have serious doubts about the story as written.
At least 18 people were killed in pre-dawn clashes between Shia militiamen and US soldiers in Baghdad on Friday, a medic and security officials said. Doctor Mohammed Abbas from the Al-Noor hospital in Shuala where the clashes took place said he and his colleagues had received 18 corpses of people killed in the firefight. Those dead were killed by shrapnel and two of them are women, he said, suggesting that some of the dead could be civilians. We have also admitted 15 wounded people.
Prob'ly all of them were. You know how we like potting civilians.
An Iraqi security official said US troops clashed with militiamen between 3:00am and 5:00am on Friday. American soldiers in helicopters fired at militants in Shuala area before dawn, he told AFP on condition of anonymity. The US military did not immediately comment. Pictures by an AFP photographer showed a car riddled with bullets, its windowpanes completely shattered.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Ala Abu Srour, the local leader of the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank city of Jenin, was killed when undercover IDF troops opened fire on his car, Saturday, Palestinian security forces said.
Another Islamic Jihad gunman was wounded in the incident but was in a stable condition after hospital treatment, the sources said. An Israeli military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv confirmed such an incident, saying that three gunmen had been killed.
According to the spokeswoman, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary border policemen, in a joint operation, killed all three gunmen who were travelling in a vehicle. She said the Israeli force later found two additional assault rifles and ammunition clips in the vehicle.
Israel says raids against Palestinian militants help to foil attacks against its citizens. Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, where the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas holds sway, say such operations harm chances for peacemaking.
Israel recently stopped pursuing hundreds of wanted Fatah fighters in the West Bank in a bid to boost Abbas after the Islamist Hamas movement seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.
But it has carried on targeting Islamic Jihad, a group that has mounted numerous attacks against Israelis since the start of a Palestinian uprising in 2000 and opposes Abbas' efforts to revive peacemaking with Israel.
#1
I love "feel good" stories in the morning. Makes me feel all sunshiney inside
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 8:07 Comments ||
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#2
Palestinian leaders in the West Bank, where the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas holds sway, say such operations harm chances for peacemaking.
Of course it does, because for them "peacemaking" = "Jew killing". How in the hell is there supposed to be any "peacemaking" obtained with people vermin whose sole desire is genocide? It's long past tea to rip the mask off of the Palestinian "peace" process and start calling a spade a spade.
Israeli military boats fired at several Palestinian houses in Beit Lahyia, north of Gaza, Palestinian witnesses said on Friday. They told KUNA Israeli gun-boats which usually cruised near the Gaza shores fired at houses close to the beach, damaging several of them.
#1
Just a little reminder that it's time to stop the shag, steal your daddies cue and get back to school, bye, bye, so long farwell aufwidersehen, see you in September etc.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
08/25/2007 4:02 Comments ||
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#2
Paleo Maggy May?
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2007 6:47 Comments ||
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#3
I vaguely recall a Palestinian Navy was in the works; guess it didn't help much here...
Two Palestinians were killed and one wounded after Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Border Police who were operating in a West Bank village in search of Palestinian fugitives. Among the dead is an 11-year-old boy, Palestinian officials said. Elsewhere, the IDF killed two Palestinian gunmen in the northern Gaza Strip after they opened fire at a military force.
In the West Bank, Mahmoud Ibrahim Karnawi, 11, was shot after troops moved into Saida village, witnesses said. They said the troops were trying to arrest his older half-brother, a wanted Islamic Jihad operative, and came under fire as they approached the family's home, setting off a gunfight. Neighbors said the boy was inside the home at the time of the shooting and hit in the crossfire. Hospital officials in the nearby town of Tulkarem confirmed the death. The IDF said that it was unclear at this point whether the boy died from Israeli gunfire or not, Israel Radio reported. Relatives said the boy lived in Israel with his parents - a divorced Palestinian woman who is now remarried to an Arab Israeli. The family was visiting relatives in the West Bank at the time of the shooting, the relatives said.
Border Police said its forces came under fire during an operation, sparking an exchange of fire in which two Palestinians were killed and another gunman was seriously wounded. It said one of the dead was a gunman, but did not immediately have details on the identity of the second. A member of the border police was lightly wounded and treated at the scene, the army said, adding that troops confiscated two AK-47 rifles and ammunition.
Meanwhile, Golani Brigade troops killed two Palestinian gunmen near the northern Gaza Strip's Karni Crossing after they opened fire at the force.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Hamas security men scuffled with rowdy Fatah supporters, fired in the air and briefly detained journalists at a protest against the Islamic group's rule in the Strip. Hamas gunmen fired over the heads of hundreds of demonstrators who gathered after Friday prayers organized by the rival Fatah movement. The protesters converged on a former Fatah compound in Gaza City now occupied by Hamas, chanting pro-Fatah slogans, throwing stones and empty bottles and waving yellow Fatah flags.
It was the second time in recent weeks that Hamas men have clashed violently with Fatah protesters - and could signal possible cracks in Hamas's two-month-old ironclad rule of Gaza. Harassment of journalists and political opponents appears to be on the rise.
When several Hamas security men roughed up a Reuters TV cameraman filming the protest and tried to confiscate his camera, protesters surrounded the Hamas men, beat them to the ground and prevented the cameraman's arrest. The demonstrators cursed the Hamas men, calling them "Shiites" - a derogatory allusion to Hamas' alliance with the hardline Shiite Muslim regime in Iran.
The Hamas men also detained a photographer working for Agence France Press and a cameraman for the Russian TV channel Russia Today, along with two other reporters working for local news outlets. They also broke a TV camera belonging to the Arabic-language TV network al-Arabiya. All four detained journalists were released after being held briefly, Hamas officials and witnesses said. A Hamas militia spokesman, Saber Khalifa, said no protesters were injured. He had no comment on the reporters' arrest.
The Islamic militant group claims it is willing to tolerate dissent but has cracked down on the remnants of Fatah in Gaza, including breaking up private parties earlier this month where people were singing pro-Fatah songs. At a protest in mid-August, Hamas security men clubbed Fatah protesters, seized the cameras of journalists covering the event and raided media offices to prevent news footage from getting out. Hamas has closed down all opposition media and banned protests that lack official permission.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
fired in the air and briefly detained journalists
Is this written out somewhere in a secret Palestinian instruction manual or does a predisposition for gunsex and kidnapping journos go deeper down to some sort of genetic level?
A bomb exploded as Buddhist monks collected alms in Thailand's restive south, killing a man and injuring 11 other people, including six soldiers who were guarding the monks, police said.
A bomb hidden underneath a table in front of a grocery shop in Pattani's Muang district went off as two Buddhist monks climbed off a military vehicle to accept an offering of food from the shop's owner, said police Col. Somchit Nasomyon. The blast instantly killed the shop owner, Yaowaphan Thientham, Somchit said. It also injured six soldiers who were part of the patrol guarding the monks, three villagers and two monks known as novices because they are under 15 years, he said.
Buddhist monks have been slain and dozens injured in bomb explosions. For three years, the military has provided escorts for Buddhist monks while they collect alms in the morning.
During an official visit to Malaysia earlier this week, Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and his Malaysian counterpart Abdullah Ahmad Badawi discussed the ongoing construction of a bridge connecting the countries to facilitate the movement of people across the border. "Malaysia has no policy of supporting separatism (within southern Thailand). It wants to develop its northern region, and that cannot happen if the violence in southern Thailand continues," Surayud said in his weekly address Saturday during a visit to Narathiwat.
Surayud and Abdullah also discussed establishing exchanges of students and Islamic teachers, as well as a program to allow Thais to cross the border to work and return home at night.
The families of the Fatah al-Islam terrorist militia battling Lebanese troops for the past three months, began leaving a battered Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon on Friday. "The evacuation has begun," the source said. "We announced a ceasefire to ensure the evacuation within a specific time frame."
Witnesses said the Lebanese army told journalists to stay away from the area where the civilians -- 22 women and 41 children -- were to leave the camp. The civilians are said to include the wife of Fatah al-Islam chief Shaker al-Abssi and the widow and child of his number two, Abu Hureira, who was killed in recent weeks.
He added that the army was processing the group before taking them out of the camp. A military source said the group would likely be questioned by the army command and any foreigners among them would then be handed over to their respective embassies. Anyone needing emergency medical assistance, particularly the children, will be taken to hospital, the head of the Palestine Red Crescent Society said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Fatah al-Islam
#1
Hope that "processing" includes looking under the burquas to make sure they be wimmin.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Gunmen shot and killed a Somali radio journalist in the south of the country Friday, a colleague said, in the third violent death of a journalist within two weeks. Abdulkadir Moallim Kaskey, who worked for a local station called Benadir, died and a woman traveling with him was wounded in an attack on their minibus in southwestern Gedo province, said a colleague, Mohamed Sanweyn. "Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey was a young talented journalist, and we are deeply concerned by his killing," another colleague, Mohamed Mo'allin, told the Associated Press by phone. He did not know why Kaskey had been killed. 
Gunship helicopters pounded two different positions of suspected militants as six soldiers were killed in two suicide attacks on as many military convoys in North Waziristan, a military spokesman said on Friday.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Unknown assailants gunned down an activist of the banned 
Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers battled with insurgents in the Doura neighborhood of Baghdad Aug. 20 leaving three suspected terrorists dead. Troops from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, attached to the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div, heard gunfire near a bridge and went to investigate. When the Warriors saw a checkpoint taking fire, they engaged one insurgent with small arms fire, killing him. 
At least 18 people were killed in pre-dawn clashes between Shia militiamen and US soldiers in Baghdad on Friday, a medic and security officials said. Doctor Mohammed Abbas from the Al-Noor hospital in Shuala where the clashes took place said he and his colleagues had received 18 corpses of people killed in the firefight. Those dead were killed by shrapnel and two of them are women, he said, suggesting that some of the dead could be civilians. We have also admitted 15 wounded people. 
Ala Abu Srour, the local leader of the Islamic Jihad in the West Bank city of Jenin, was killed when undercover IDF troops opened fire on his car, Saturday, Palestinian security forces said. 
